E_McAllister

Hmm...you make an interesting point, rosetto. It may be advisable to check out several of the advanced sims. I myself prefer a more laid back atmosphere, but not so laid back that nothing gets done -- I mean, these sims only have an hour bracket per week, to run. On the kind of RP I'm used to, one hour is barely enough time to get ten minutes into the scene at hand, unless all the participants already know what they plan to do ahead of time, and just dig right in. A decent length scene on a MUCK usually takes three to four hours, if you plan to complete the entire scene in one sitting. One of the main reasons I'm not as active in that kind of RP as I used to be is that I don't usually have that many reliable, consecutive hours to devote to online RP, anymore. The one hour brackets they use here are more alluring now, for that reason. See, I'm not used to chatroom RP. It sounds like that might be the reason why these sims are able to get a lot more done with much less time. MUCK client RP is freeform, but usually turn-based when you have more than three people in a scene -- there are no strict rules, but everybody usually agrees on a turn order, and each player posts only one at a time. I was reading some of the moose tips on these forums, and I heard that one of the main reasons that prefixes like {Cptn} are used is to keep it clear whom is supposed to be responding to whom. I take it that on here, everybody is posting in the same room at the same time, and several different scenes are occuring all at once? If that's the case, I'd like to sit in on some of the advanced sims, to see how the 'flow', so to speak, works. I see you've been posting several logs for your character -- I apologize that I haven't had time to read through them, just yet. I'm curious -- how far are you going with your character's development, at this point? My original intent was to come up with a character beforehand, and then integrate them into the academy, but...I'm starting to think it might be better not to do that. The ultimate goal is to graduate and join an advanced sim, right? Some are TNG, some are TOS...some have open spaces only for engineers, some only for doctors, some sims I imagine will have different background restrictions from others....etc, etc. I don't have a problem with any of that of course, but it leads me to conclude that I shouldn't really do much with my character concept, until I know where I'll be playing. I like what you're doing, and if you're game, I think it would be interesting to maybe involve one another in some logs at some point in the future. Also, I don't know anything about how STSF itself works just yet, but you mentioned you were new to this sort of thing. I'd be happy to help out if you're looking for advice or a sounding board for things like character concepts, RP tips...stuff like that :)

Wow, thanks for all the great responses, folks :) I was planning on observing the Arcadia sim last night, but...life got in the way. I'd still like to observe at least once before I get involved any more deeply, so I'll have to peruse the schedule a bit more. I'm glad for the realization that "it's just a game" around here, too...I must admit, I've had more than my fair share of people who tend to take RP a bit too far, and too personal. As I was saying in my last post, I think I'll take Sorehl's advice and lay off a solid character concept until I get through the academy. I have a habit of getting interested in an RP, creating a crazy-detailed character concept, and then finding out what fits in best, meaning that said character undergoes revision, anyway. At this point though, I'm interested in something operations/engineering related, if it's TNG. I enjoy the technobabble from that era, heh. If I end up getting involved with TOS, I'd probably go the route of medical or sciences, just because I'm not quiiiite as good with the technology of that time period. An ENT sim would be interesting, but I imagine that's not in the cards at the moment :P Anyway, thanks again for the warm welcome, all!

Ah, excellent. Thanks for clearing all that up, and for the detailed reply! That actually helps a lot, knowing that I don't have to be concerned about who sees the ideas for my character and backstory until after the Academy sims. It'll be easier to just be J. Random generic Cadet-man until I get a feel for the place, and then introduce a real character idea. I can completely understand the desire to disallow certain ideas when it comes to character creation. I've had to do that on more than one occasion on my own game, to keep characters from having unfair advantages, or advantages that aren't fun for others. You mentioned "log committment". By that, do you mean the player would be called upon to create a certain number of logs throughout the week, between sessions? Fair enough -- when/if I get to that point, I'll give each advanced sim the once-over before I commit to anything. From what I have read of them already, I have my eye on some over others. I like all trek, so the timeslot is more important than the era, really, though if I played TOS, I would probably change a lot of the character concept I have in mind. Number of players is a factor, too. If there's a sim that doesn't have many people, and is looking for participants, I'd be willing to consider helping it out :) And thanks for the welcome, Kent :P I wasn't really sure what to do for a username, but McAllister is the last name I chose for whatever character concept I come up with, so...there ya go, heh.

Hi there, all :) I've been reading about STSF for about a week now, and as it looks like I'm probably going to give it a try, I wanted to try breaking the ice with an introductory post. It'd be nice to at least meet a few people before diving into Starfleet Academy, heh. A little about me: I've been an avid fan of text-based RP for about...12 years or so, now. I primarily play on pueblo and telnet clients, specifically those with a MUCK interface. I run a MUCK RPG (yeah, yeah, I run amuck :)) that's been in operation since about 2000. It's anime based. I hope nobody thinks I'm trying to toot my own horn with that bit. I promise I'm friendly! I just wanted to say something about my experiences with online text-based RP, so people have a better idea where I'm coming from. I was eight years old when TNG hit the air, so I grew up with the series during my impressionable years. I pretty much like anything Star Trek, but I prefer the TNG/DS9/VOY universe to that of TOS. There's nothing wrong with TOS, it was just a bit before my time, is all. I even loved Enterprise -- about the only thing I can't palette from the Star Trek universe is the original Motion Picture. To date, I've tried to watch it three times...even when I was actively trying, I wasn't able to stay awake during any of those attempts :P I found STSF by random searching, which was prompted by a friend of mine who's been trying to get me to play Star Trek Online. I have a general contempt for MMOs which exceeds my love for Trek, so I decided to see if there were any alternatives out there. What most interests me in STSF are three things. One, it's Star Trek. Two, it's text based RP. Three, it looks as though it would fit into my schedule nicely. I'm married, with a full time career and my little 7 month old daughter/trekkie in training. So far I'm pretty sure she has no idea what Star Trek is, but she seems to like it when the show comes on while I'm feeding her, and Alexander Courage's mighty score is reduced to hastily crafted lyrics regarding eating her vegetables :( Because I have her, though, what I really need is an RP experience that I can enjoy after she goes to sleep, but not so late that I'll be a zombie at work tomorrow. Not hogging the computer would probably be something my wife would appreciate, as well. I can be flexible, but the one-hour stints once a week around 11pm EST would be ideal for that, with postings about logs and such scattered in-between. At this point, I'm planning to sit in on at least one advanced session as a passive observer before I enter the Academy, to get an idea of exactly how STSF does it's thing. From what I've read, I hear that's an acceptable thing to do... I have an extensive background prepared for my character, but I thought it best not to go into all that, just yet. Though, if anybody could give me some tips on how I should time things, I'd appreciate it. For one, when is it appropriate to start sharing said character background? After I've attended at least one Academy session? Or would it be better to post it somewhere beforehand (where?), so the character I intend to play at least somewhat "exists" before I begin? Also, I have written my character up to the rank of ensign, awaiting a pending assignment and fresh from the Academy, to make it easier for her to fit into an advanced session as a new officer, when the time comes. Of course, she'll have to go through the academy first, and I respect the fact that she (and I) will need to graduate. Is it okay for my background to reach this far already? I was hoping to just say that her experiences in the Academy sims just sort of "fit in" with her time there, in her background. Anyway, I tend to type to exhaustion, so I hope this wasn't too long. Nice to meet you all! :P