Training Tutorial 4: Difference between revisions

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===Tutorial 4: Military time, stardates, and how to address officers===
===Tutorial 4: The world through the eyes of your character===
By now you have a feel for how the game is played: other characters move things forward and leave tags for your character to add in dialogue. On the most basic level you can get along by just filling in the blanks, deciding what your character will say and responding to whatever the other writers on your ship send in your direction.


===MILITARY TIME===
Sims from other writers will include descriptions of events that they can see and their character’s reaction to those events. When you come to write a sim for your *own* character, you will need to mention the actions that everyone can see happening, but you need to remove all internal reactions from other characters. It doesn’t make sense, for example, for you to have a passage in your sim that describes how another cadet is feeling and why, because there’s no reason for you to pick up on that! (Unless you’re an empath of course, in which case you might find yourself with some idea!)
Our group uses military time. It's a simple concept, but one that can take a little getting used to. Here's a quick example: 6:23am is written 0623 hours. For AM times, just add a “0” at the beginning.


Instead of the clock resetting at 1pm, it continues to count up. 1pm becomes 1300, 2pm becomes 1400, and so on. An easy way to calculate this is to take any PM time and add 12 to the number. So, 6pm would be 6+12=1800 hours.  At midnight, the clock starts over at Zero-hour: 0000 hours.
Let’s take a look at an example. Cadet Doe reads the following sim from Cadet Bloggs:


===STARDATES===
  ((Example: Cliff Edge))
The Star Trek universe uses a special dating system, due to the fact that everyone is moving around the galaxy at different times of the night and day. Our calendar is based on the Earth moving around the sun, but not everyone in Starfleet comes from Earth. So we use a system called "stardates."
 
  Bloggs felt his heart rise into his mouth as he stared over the edge of the cliff. He had always been afraid of heights. He watched the first officer, Commander Rollins, throw a cheeky wave at both him and Cadet Doe. He was sure that command officers were supposed to be a little more responsible.
 
  Bloggs: We have to go all the way down there? oO I’ll never make it! Oo
 
  Doe: Response
 
  Bloggs gestured for Doe to go first.
 
  Bloggs: After you? Maybe you can show me how it’s done?
 
  Doe: Response


On the show, stardates were usually selected arbitrarily as a series "start value" and an "end value," so they didn't really mean anything. For our purposes, though, we need a way to keep track of everything that's happening In Character. You will be glad to hear that the In Character Stardate system is very simple. The format of our stardates is as follows:
When Cadet Doe comes to answer his tags and send in his reply, it would be a little strange for the thought that Bloggs has about not making it, unless Doe happens to be a telepath! It would also be strange to be reading narrative about Bloggs feeling his heart in his mouth and being afraid of heights because unless Doe knows him already he isn’t going to know! Anything that isn’t immediately relevant to Doe needs to go but things that he can see and hear get to stay:


'''yyyymm.dd'''
  ((Example: Cliff Edge))
 
  Doe stood at the cliff edge filled with eager anticipation. If someone had told him that the exam he would be taking at the end of years of hard work at the academy would include rappelling down a rock face then he would have asked whether or not it was by virtue of his good grades that he had earned that privilege! The first officer, Commander Rollins, threw a cheeky wave at both him and Cadet Doe as he started his descent.
 
  Bloggs: We have to go all the way down there?
 
  Doe: All the way? Buddy, you could jump to the bottom and barely even feel the impact when you landed. oO Don’t tell me this guy is going to wuss out on us! Oo
 
  Bloggs gestured for Doe to go first.
 
  Bloggs: After you? Maybe you can show me how it’s done?
 
  Doe offered his colleague a confident grin.
 
  Doe: No maybe about it! Watch and learn, Bloggs!


Where:
When you’re thinking about what to add between those double colons, you have a huge amount of things to consider. The best advice? Put yourself in your character’s shoes and think about all five senses as well as internal thoughts. Throw the doors open and let everyone take a look at what’s going on inside your character. This is your chance to tell their story and make a mark on the sim!
* yyyy = The current In Character year
* mm = The current REAL month
* dd = The current REAL date
 
Meaning...:
* The current REAL date is simply the current date. For example, if today is the 18th day of the month, the number you'd put in for "dd" would be 18. Note that the date portion is always two digits, so the 4th of the month would be 04.
* The current REAL month is a two digit number representing the real month. If it is January, the number is 01, in February is 02, and so on.
* The current In Character year is figured by adding 377 to the actual current year. So, in the year 2000, we added 377 to create a In Character year of 2377. In 2014, we added 377 to create an In Character year of 2391.
 
When you add all these parts together, you have a stardate. Let's try one: June 15th, 2004 would become 238106.15. And the time, if it's 6:30 p.m.: 238106.15 – 1830h.
 
To make it easy for you, today's stardate – {{stardate}} – can always be found on the main page of the wiki: https://wiki.starbase118.net/wiki/
 
===FORMS OF ADDRESS AND RANKS===
The appropriate formal forms of address are as follows:
 
At all times, use of the rank and last/only name of the officer is appropriate, AS IS the rank alone. For example:
 
* Commander Marlet
* Commander
 
However, keep in mind that when speaking a rank, you use it's abbreviate form. So, if you're asking Lieutenant Junior Grade Joe Bloggs to come to the bridge, you'd say: "Lieutenant Bloggs to the bridge." This works similarly with flag ranks. "FltAdml. Wolf" becomes "Admiral Wolf" when spoken. In dialog, spell out the ranks. Do not use “Lt. Bloggs” when in dialog, use “Lieutenant Bloggs.”
 
When speaking to an officer of lower rank, use the rank, and last/only name, OR the last name alone, OR the rank alone, OR "mister". (Yes, you can call a female officer "mister.") For example:
 
* Ensign Kyle
* Kyle
* Ensign
* Mister Kyle
 
When speaking to a Doctor, call them by their rank, or call them "Doctor," followed by their last/only name. For example:
 
* Commander McReedy
* Doctor McReedy
* Doctor
 
StarFleet officers generally only call others by their first names while off duty, or when they're alone together and regulations aren't important. Be careful if you're speaking to an officer of higher rank, at any time!
 
===RANKS===
There are many ranks one can ascend through in our group. Here's a list of them, with their abbreviations:
 
* Ensign (Ens.)
* Lieutenant Junior Grade (Lt. JG / LtJG / LtJg.)
* Lieutenant (Lt.)
* Lieutenant Commander (Lt. Cmdr. / LtCmdr.)
* Commander (Cmdr.)
* Captain (Capt.)
* Fleet Captain (FltCapt.)
* Commodore (Cmdre.)
* Rear Admiral (RAdml.)
* Vice Admiral (VAdml.)
* Admiral (Adml.)
* Fleet Admiral (FltAdml.)
 
More detailed information about ranks, including Marine Corps ranks and their Starfleet equivalents, see the [[Starfleet Rank Index]].
 
===PROMOTIONS===
Once you have completed training and are posted to a ship, you are automatically promoted to the rank of Ensign. At the discretion of your commanding officer, you can rise in rank to Lieutenant Commander. To become a Commander or Captain, you must take both a written and a practical exam, which is administered by a friendly member of the community staff. You must also receive a recommendation that you are prepared for promotion.
 
All ranks above Lieutenant Commander are presented at the discretion of the Captains and Executive Councils.
 
For more information on promotion criteria, check out the [[Promotions]] area.


===SEE ALSO===
===SEE ALSO===
* Extra Credit! If you want to develop your skills further, we suggest you check out the "Writer's Workshop" blog posts on our Community News: https://www.starbase118.net/category/column/writers-workshop/
* Extra Credit! In your mission to master the art of simming, take a look at our tutorials on advanced simming in our tutorials library:
** [[Writing_Improvement_Squadron/Plot_and_Story#Taking_Cues_from_Lost|Taking Cues from ''Lost'']]
** [[Writing_Improvement_Squadron/Creating_Original_Material#Creating_a_World_Within_Your_Sim|Creating a World Within Your Sim]]
** [[Writing_Improvement_Squadron/Style_and_Mechanics#How_to_Add_Magic_to_Your_Story|How to Add Magic to Your Story]]
* You can always find this tutorial on our website: https://wiki.starbase118.net/wiki/index.php/Training_Tutorial_4
* You can always find this tutorial on our website: https://wiki.starbase118.net/wiki/index.php/Training_Tutorial_4


Revision as of 13:53, 7 May 2023

Cadet Orientation
Chat on Discord • Website Tour • Introduce Yourself • Prepare Your Character • Training Tutorials • FAQ • Intro to Star Trek


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Training Tutorials
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Tutorial 4: The world through the eyes of your character

By now you have a feel for how the game is played: other characters move things forward and leave tags for your character to add in dialogue. On the most basic level you can get along by just filling in the blanks, deciding what your character will say and responding to whatever the other writers on your ship send in your direction.

Sims from other writers will include descriptions of events that they can see and their character’s reaction to those events. When you come to write a sim for your *own* character, you will need to mention the actions that everyone can see happening, but you need to remove all internal reactions from other characters. It doesn’t make sense, for example, for you to have a passage in your sim that describes how another cadet is feeling and why, because there’s no reason for you to pick up on that! (Unless you’re an empath of course, in which case you might find yourself with some idea!)

Let’s take a look at an example. Cadet Doe reads the following sim from Cadet Bloggs: 

 ((Example: Cliff Edge))
 
 Bloggs felt his heart rise into his mouth as he stared over the edge of the cliff. He had always been afraid of heights. He watched the first officer, Commander Rollins, throw a cheeky wave at both him and Cadet Doe. He was sure that command officers were supposed to be a little more responsible.
 
 Bloggs: We have to go all the way down there? oO I’ll never make it! Oo
 
 Doe: Response
 
 Bloggs gestured for Doe to go first.
 
 Bloggs: After you? Maybe you can show me how it’s done?
 
 Doe: Response

When Cadet Doe comes to answer his tags and send in his reply, it would be a little strange for the thought that Bloggs has about not making it, unless Doe happens to be a telepath! It would also be strange to be reading narrative about Bloggs feeling his heart in his mouth and being afraid of heights because unless Doe knows him already he isn’t going to know! Anything that isn’t immediately relevant to Doe needs to go but things that he can see and hear get to stay: 

 ((Example: Cliff Edge))
 
 Doe stood at the cliff edge filled with eager anticipation. If someone had told him that the exam he would be taking at the end of years of hard work at the academy would include rappelling down a rock face then he would have asked whether or not it was by virtue of his good grades that he had earned that privilege! The first officer, Commander Rollins, threw a cheeky wave at both him and Cadet Doe as he started his descent.
 
 Bloggs: We have to go all the way down there?
 
 Doe: All the way? Buddy, you could jump to the bottom and barely even feel the impact when you landed. oO Don’t tell me this guy is going to wuss out on us! Oo
 
 Bloggs gestured for Doe to go first.
 
 Bloggs: After you? Maybe you can show me how it’s done?
 
 Doe offered his colleague a confident grin.
 
 Doe: No maybe about it! Watch and learn, Bloggs!

When you’re thinking about what to add between those double colons, you have a huge amount of things to consider. The best advice? Put yourself in your character’s shoes and think about all five senses as well as internal thoughts. Throw the doors open and let everyone take a look at what’s going on inside your character. This is your chance to tell their story and make a mark on the sim!

SEE ALSO


Starfleet Academy
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