Victory Handbook
This notice was placed here by AlleranTan, so go bug them to finish the page if nothing's happening.
Introduction
First and foremost, welcome to the USS Victory! If you're reading this, it's likely that you've been linked to this handbook by either Commander Andrus Jaxx, his first officer Commander Ash MacKenna or your mentor, whoever that may be.
This page serves as a combined welcome and 'HowTo' page for simming as part of the USS Victory crew.
Basic Simming
Simming Format
How to sim in UFOP would have been taught to you in the academy. Rather than go over the specifics of how to make a sim, this section will instead cover how we do things on the Victory, since different ships can have their own "style" of doing things.
Understandably, our style is almost identical to what you would have encountered at the academy. The only thing which might be surprising is that we don't capitalize the last names of crew members who are speaking (which some other crews do).
A (short) basic sim will look something like this:
To: ufop-sb118-victory@yahoo.com
Subject: Ensign James Ricky - Greeting the World
Message Body:
(( Ensign Ricky's Quarters, USS Victory ))
:: Ensign James Ricky woke up with a smile on his face. Today was his first day aboard the USS Victory, and he was excited. ::
Ricky: Hello, world!
:: Jumping out of bed, he got dressed and left his quarters, heading to the bridge. On the way, he saw another crewmember. He smiled, waving his hand. ::
Ricky: Petty Officer T'tala, right? You're Captain Jaxx's assistant aren't you?
T'tala: Response.
Ricky: Great. Hey, I'm new to the ship... what can you tell me about Captain Jaxx?
T'tala: Response.
Tag! TBC...
-----
Ensign James Ricky
Security Officer
USS Victory
What to Sim
Your character! :)
Well, that's probably a little less precise than you were probably for, so let's elaborate.
Generally speaking, there's always something interesting and fun going on on the Victory. Sometimes this is a set mission- the ship has been assigned to a task by Starfleet Command- or it's something a lot more freeform, such as a dramatic event onboard the ship. In any event, your character should have something to do to contribute, even if this contribution isn't at the forefront of the action.
How, exactly, your character helps out will vary wildly based on the duty post your character is assigned to on the Victory. This is where your creativity as a writer comes in.
Need Help Getting into the Story?
Okay, this does seem to come up from time to time- how do I get involved?
On the Victory, there's a few ways to jump right in. Generally the easiest thing to do is to ask the command staff OOC'ly if there's any thing you can do IC'ly to assist- they're sure to have ideas.
Alternatively, you can introduce a twist of your own. Maybe your character spots something on long-range sensors. Maybe there's a fight in the ship's bar... who knows. The sky's the limit here.
Finally, if you're really stuck or seeking variety, you may play a PNPC. Once you're comfortable with your main character and settled in with the crew, you can create what's known as a Player NPC or PNPC. A PNPC is like a regular NPC, but only you can write for them. In some ways they're like a second character, but they're supposed to play a supporting role. A good PNPC might be:
- A boyfriend or girlfriend for your character.
- Your character's assistant or work partner.
- Your character's family member, such as a parent or child.
- A close friend.
However, there's no obligation to tie your character to your PNPC. In fact, one of the good uses of PNPCs is that they allow you to play in any division you wish on the ship, or get involved in plots you would otherwise have to stay out of. With that in mind, you also might want to create a PNPC that:
- In a different department.
- Is a different species or gender to your main character.
- Really dislikes your main character! Nothing like conflict to get the stories flowing.
Meeting Fleet Requirements
Generally speaking, UFOP requires ten sims a month to be considered a "part time" simmer. Simmers who are more active sim every other day (fifteen a month, a "full time" load) and some sim every day. Some sim more often than that... but that's far from required.
It's a casual observation that the more someone sims, the lower the quality and the shorter the length of the sim is. So sacrificing quality for quantity is obviously not desirable. However, someone who only sims twice a month- even if those sims are the bees knees- isn't desirable either.
So each writer must find a balance, find what works for them. But no matter what you decide is best for you, UFOP membership requires at least ten sims a month to be considered active- it's just not fair to your fellow simmers to sim any less. Generally speaking, these sims should be evenly spaced out (every few days), rather than a large burst of activity at the end of the month.
Consistently maintaining a sim count higher than the bare minimum (generally 20+ a month) and answering your tags with alacrity looks very good for promotion, keeps your character involved in the plot and allows for a much more fun simming experience for the whole crew.
Additionally, in order to advance in rank beyond Lieutenant you should be showing that you are, in some capacity, involved in the OOC working of the ship and the fleet. This is generally something small and, in most circumstances, doesn't take up much more time than an hour a week. Something like becoming a wiki editor, a forum moderator, writing something for the Fleet News or in some way contributing to the ship and the fleet as a whole. Even Ensigns can contribute, so don't be shy- ask away.
On the Victory, we like to think we're better than most ships- while we can't step outside UFOP bounds, we'd like to think that every member of our crew puts out a good quality sim every other day on average. That's three-and-a-bit sims a week, or fifteen a month. Again, this looks good for promotion!
Common Problems
Not every voyage is smooth sailing, and while simming these are some of the issues you might encounter. Some of them are general, while others are very specific in nature. In any event, they should be treated with caution.
Telepaths
Telepathy is a very powerful sense, most commonly found in Vulcans and Betazoids (and others). As such, caution should be advised when simming telepathy.
The best way to sim telepathy is as just another passive sense. In addition to reading someone's body language, you could also sense basic emotions from them; distress, joy, sadness, pain and anger are examples of 'passive' sensing. You might be able to sense a Romulan assassin creeping up behind you, for instance, or that the Klingon warrior standing before you is just a hologram. The range of passive sensing would be, generally speaking, line of sight. This makes it a balanced, well reasoned sense.
Telepaths such as Betazoids can "talk" privately to those who can hear them. While useful, speaking telepathically to someone while others are in the room is considered very rude- it's the equivalent of pulling out your cell phone to send someone an SMS while they're standing right there, so others can't see what you're saying.
It should be noted that forcefully entering the mind of someone who does not consent to such an action (to read their memories, to alter their thought patterns or to damage their psyche) is a very serious criminal action and can be humiliating for the victim. Starfleet officers and civilians alike are expected to refrain from these actions, except where faced with no other choice.
Of course, nothing comes for free. Telepathy presents its own set of problems and issues; sometimes two people just don't get along, but will act nice to each other to preserve their feelings. How would you feel if you could tell the person you were talking to really didn't like you? Some people distrust telepaths. How will your character deal with this prejudice?
When the ship's in distress, perhaps your character is overwhelmed by the rush of fear and panic into their minds. How do they deal with that? Almost any "power" can be turned into a weakness with enough creative work.
The only hard and fast rule we have is that no character can have telekenetic powers. That is to say, no character may move physical objects with their mind. Years of experience in the simming world have taught us that such a powerful gift solves too many problems too easily, and makes a character far too powerful.
Polishing your sims
When writing sims, one should be mindful of the readability of your work. Generally speaking, a properly formatted post will be clean and easy to read, with a correct use of punctuation and grammar. Occasional typos are fine, but frequently making mistakes a spell-checker would pick up can be annoying.
Generally speaking, it's a good idea to always:
- Use a spell-checker. This is the easiest and most effective way to dramatically improve the quality of your sims.
- Read your sims before posting them. If YOU wouldn't read your own work, who will?
- Use whitespace to make your posts more readable.
- Splash in actions, thoughts and the like. Generally speaking, no more than two thirds of your sim should be 'speech'.
One should also be aware of runaway dialog. Unless your character is giving a big speech, you should keep your spoken lines fairly short, giving other players plenty of time to contribute.
Omniscience
While we, the writers, can read any sim in the fleet (and know what's going on all over the ship) your characters do not. Part of realistically playing a character is making sure that the character only reacts to what they know. There's nothing wrong with picking up hints or clues about what's going on all over the ship, but even powerful telepaths should be mindful to keep some surprise in store for their characters.
MSPNPC
A Mission Specific Player Non-Playing Character, or MSPNPC, is an NPC assigned to a specific player for the duration of a mission. They are usually antagonists, and are simmed using an anonymous e-mail address.
Any member of the crew can apply for an MSPNPC position, but they are generally only allocated to simmers who have demonstrated both the ability to handle an increased workload and those who have been on at least one mission (so they know the ropes, so to speak).
Anonymous Email Accounts
At the beginning of a mission, the CO takes volunteers for people to play these roles, and assigns them each to an anonymous e-mail accounts. During the mission, no one knows who is playing which MSPNPC, including the other MSPNPCS. We have found that this adds to the suspension of disbelief, removes expectations from the MSPNPCs, and makes the game more enjoyable. At the end of the mission, identities are usually revealed.
Some writers make a game of privately trying to guess the MSPNPC's writers just before the big reveal, so feel free to join in with that, too!
Simming a MSPNPC
MSPNPCs are simmed just like any PNPC. Writers of MSPNPCs are advised to avoid including information that would reveal their identity. Simming an MSPNPC is a great chance to try something new or challenging with a character, since they are designed to be temporary.
It should be noted that although MSPNPCs are usually villains, writers are reminded that ALL UFOP sims must be PG-13. Scenes of extreme cruelty or sadism, even from MSPNPCs, isn't acceptable. If you want your character to commit a serious 'kick the dog' moment, it is best to 'fade to black' or employ vague or poetic wording to do so. If you're ever in doubt that a scene might not be PG-13, it probably isn't... but the PG-13 rating is a very subjective thing. As always, if you're uncertain, ask your CO.