Welcome Packet
From USSArcadia
The “Welcome packet” is sent out ot every new recruit who joins Arcadia. It contains some information about the ship, and a summary of the rules of the game.
Contents |
Welcome
Welcome aboard USS Arcadia. This is an advanced simulation of the Star Trek™ Simulation Forum. We meet every Wednesday evening at 11 PM ET in the “Ready Room” chat room at www.stsf.net.
We are a Sovereign class starship, registry number NCC-1742-E. Our ship's motto is ‘To Ride Onward To Glorious Strife.’
The current host team is Captain Lo'Ami and Commander Alces.
Space exploration is a fun and exciting hobby. Anything can, and will happen, and there are often no rules in space.
Rules
However, games always have rules, and these are ours. They seem cumbersome and overwhelming when assembled like this, but don't let them throw you. In a short time, they will fall into the “business as usual” category and you will barely notice them.
E-mail Group String
A Google Group has been established to manage the ship's mailstring. The email string for the group is:
You must be a member of the group to use the group mailstring. Mail sent to the string from non-group members is never received.
To become part of the group mailstring, sign in using a Google account for the email address you would like to join with. Then, go to the USS Arcadia Google Groups page and select "Apply for membership." Follow the instructions in the confirmation emails. After that, you're in.
Ship's Roster
The ship's roster of players can always be found at the Arcadia's website on the Roster page.
Any graduate of the STSF Starfleet Academy, whether already assigned to the ship or not, may apply for an open position.
If you're interested in changing posts or working in another department, send an email to the host team.
Bridge positions and department head positions will be filled at the discretion of the host team.
Rank and Chain of Command
We're not really Captains and Commanders, we just play them on the Internet. Players only outrank each other in the context of the story. However, within the story, the Chain of Command must be respected. New players start of at the rank of Ensign (or equivalent) and are promoted by the host team as warranted by tenure and ability. The ranks and their abbreviations are as follows:
- Ensign: Ens
- Lieutenant, Junior Grade: Lt(jg)
- Lieutenant (full): Lt
- Lieutenant, Senior Grade: Lt(sg)
- Lieutenant Commander: Lt Cdr or Lt Cmdr
- Commander: Cdr or Cmdr
- Captain: Cpt or Cptn
Although there are exceptions, the rank of Commander is usually reserved for the First Officer.
In addition to the Arcadia's Security Department, we are also staffed by a Marine contingent. The Marine ranks (and their equivalent) are as follows:
- 2nd Lieutenant (Ensign): 2Lt
- 1st Lieutenant (Lt Jg): 1Lt
- Marine Captain (Lt): MCpt
- Major (Lt Cdr): Maj
- Lt Colonel (Cdr): Lt Col
Responsibilites of each player
- Attend as often as possible. If you can't attend, notify the mailstring as early as possible. This way, people who are in the middle of some plot line with you have a chance to think about alternatives.
- Work with other players in developing the story. Either work with your department head to establish your area's role in the main story, or work with another player to develop a sub-plot. If you don't interact with other players, this may as well be an email sim.
- Write logs between sims. A log can either be a recap of what you did the week before, your character's personal thoughts on events that have occurred, or it can add additional events to the story in order to further the plot. Logs should be sent to the entire mailstring as well as posted in the Arcadia folders
- Create a biography for your character. If you have special characteristics that you want others to acknowledge (your species or telepathic abilities, for example) then you have to write them down for all to see. The host team may choose, at their discretion, to limit the abilities of your character. For example, a player who creates an omnipotent, Q-like, character may suddenly find themselves striped of their powers. All biographies must be approved by the host team before they are posted. Following approval, you are requested to post your biography to the Arcadia bios folder on the STSF boards and to the mailstring. You are requested to keep your biography up to date as your character develops.
- Come to each sim prepared to participate. This includes reading the mission brief (or plot summaries) in advance, as well as reading the logs written by the other players. When a mission brief is sent, it is posted in two places: the Arcadia boards at www.stsf.net and by email to the group string. Most sims follow the previous sim directly. When an official mission brief is not sent out, the plot summaries on the website serve as its equivalent.
Additional Responsibilities of the Dept Chiefs
- Determine how their department will contribute to the story as defined by the mission brief.
- Make sure all players assigned to their department have an opportunity to participate in the department's activities relating to the mission brief, should they choose to.
- Sometimes, real life concerns get in the way and people don't have time to do all of these things every week. This is just a game after all, and real life commitments have to come first. Everyone has a limited amount of free time.
But like everything in life, the amount of enjoyment you get from the sim is directly related to the effort you expend. Players who interact with the other players, attend regularly, write logs, and think about who their character is and what they're going to do next week, will ultimately have more fun than the players who don't.
Attendance
This is a group activity. Attend as often as possible.
If you can't attend, notify the mailstring as early as possible. Reasons are not necessary; no one's trying to pry into anyone's business. But you want people who are in the middle of a plot line with you to have a chance to think about alternatives, and you want the host team to know that you're still interested. ;-)
That being said, don't panic if you can't come. It is just a game after all. However, promotions are based on attendance and participation.
If you do miss a sim, it is your responsibility to make sure that you are up-to-date in the plot when you come back.
Leave of Absence
A player can be placed on LOA status for one of two reasons:
- he/she requests it
- he/she is absent four or more weeks in a row. If a player is absent for four or more weeks, he/she will automatically be designated as LOA.
Generally, a leave of absence should not last more than three months. They can be extended when asked. The host team reserves the right to remove a LOA player from the roster at any time, or to reduce the player's rank upon his/her return. After a six month absence, the host team may ask a player to requalify by graduating the Starfleet Academy again.
A player on LOA is always able to return to the ship, but he/she may find that the host team has assigned his/her specific post to another player. Upon the player's return, he/she will be reassigned a post consistant with his/her existing roster. This does not mean that a player will lose his/her post if he/she goes on vacation or has other short-term reasons for not attending. It does mean that someone else can have a turn if a player takes an extended leave.
Courtesy to Other Players
It's tough to invent things, it's tough to act, and it's tough to write. What's even tougher is doing it in front of people you may or may not know. Encouraging words about other people's efforts are always welcome. Unsolicited criticism is not. To help maintain an environment where creativity is encouraged, please respect the following rules:
- Don't take liberties with someone else's character. You may not play another's character if its player doesn't come one night, unless you have the player's prior permission. If you use another's character as anything other than an incidental character in one of your logs, show it to the player first before you publish it to the group.
- Don't pick a fight in character with another player unless you've both agreed out of character that you want to play the conflict. Even if you think it's obvious that you're only 'in character', the line is easily dulled and it can be very uncomfortable for both your scene partner and your audience.
- If you have a problem with something another player is doing, do not confront him/her publicly. Send a private message to one of the host team and let them handle it.
- If you are having trouble fitting in, or getting involved in a story, let someone know. A simple private message saying "Can I join in your scene?" will usually get you right into the action.
Whew, that seems like a lot of rules. Believe it or not, this little bit of structure will help everyone to be spontaneous and creative. You will have questions as you get settled into the game. Your host team is always available with answers, so don't hesitate to ask.
You are about to embark on a magnificent adventure. Welcome to the USS Arcadia. I hope your career in space is filled with glorious strife.
Website Addendum
Arcadia's website is a wiki. The essence of the wiki concept is collaborative development, and it is hoped that Arcadia's website will be a collaborative exercise of the GMs and players.
There are a number of features to which players can contribute. They are:
- Adding NPCs that they play to the list.
- Adding descriptions of aliens we've encountered, people we've encountered, places we've explored, and technology we've developed.
- Helping to edit and include missing information in the Plot_Summaries.
Editing is relatively easy. Registration is required, so we can track who edits what when and discourage automated spam. For most changes, the player should simply log in and click on the page's edit button. Many of the additions that can be made by players can be done by copying the form of an already existing entry, so only a minimum of "coding" is necessary. Mistakes are easily corrected by reverting a page to its previous version, so, do not worry about "messing things up." The software prevents players from editing some pages. The general rule is that if you're allowed to edit it, you're encouraged to edit it with your improvements!
Arcadia's website is hosted at http://ussarcadia.game-host.org:8080 . If port 8080 is blocked, it can be accessed also at port 8000.
| Captain Arphazad Lo'Ami Commanding Officer | Commander Zar Alces First Officer |
USS Arcadia
NCC-1742-E
