The New Year: State of the Sim
Posted on Wed Dec 31st, 2014 @ 1:25pm by Commodore Kathleen O'Shea
Happy New Year! I hope everybody has had a wonderful holiday season, and managed not to blow the diet's too much.
The last year has brought major changes to New Frontier, with the most significant being the move to Theta Fleet, a move which gives us the opportunity to grow in new directions that were not possible before. The creativity and writing here have taken a huge leap upward, and communication is at a level I have never seen in our 6 2/3 years as a sim. There will be many more interesting changes as we move into 2015 as well...many new ideas that will be brought online to enhance your experience here even further.
Now...the bad. The level that we are writing at is what I want to see us maintain. And the missions will become even more complex (like you thought that was even possible lol). Given that, there are some key positions on New Frontier that require a high level of participation. That said, there will need to be a couple of changes personnel-wise as we move into the New Year. I completely understand that RL takes precedence over simming. We have all been there. But some positions just need a lot of time and attention. Those positions are as follows:
CO
XO
CAG
Marine CO
Combat Operation (Currently Open)
Chief Diplomatic Officer
Flight Operations
Logistics and Materials (Currently on Placeholder Status)
Corps of Engineers
CMO
Chief of Planetary Operations (New position being added in 2015)
Positions that allow for more flexibility are as follows:
All Sciences
Chief Counselor
COB
Intel (But this is rapidly changing to be included in the first category)
Chief Engineer
Security (Again...this is an evolving roll)
Civilian Positions
Communications
Operations
Non-Department Head Positions
That is NOT to say that these positions are not as important as any other on the sim, but the nature of the departments scope of practice within our overall sim theme do not require them to be as active (we can work around these a lot easier when writing).
Also, certain positions will be listed as autonomous within the sim, meaning that you are free to develop your own missions and ideas. This is not to say that we do not want you to participate in the main missions (and at times the main mission may revolve around or heavily involve your departments). Some of you are in heavy requirement departments. It just means that due to the nature of your department you have the freedom to operate a bit more independently. These include:
Sciences
Intel (We need a wide reaching HUMINT network.)
Security (Mainly involving station security within this scope...all of those civilian shops and businesses, the port of entry and customs facility, and immigration and visitation. Also, security will be responsible for securing all ground facilities on Stratkas IV.)
Medical: CMO and Counselor (To a degree. Will still require participation in the main missions.)
Flight Operations (All of that traffic)
CAG (Anti pirate and smuggler operations)
Engineering (Fixing things and projects)
Corps of Engineers (Projects)
Operations (Keeping things running)
Materials and Logistics (All of that...stuff! lol)
Chief of Planetary Operations
Civilians
BUT...anybody is allowed to do small side missions and posts as well. It's just these departments will always have other areas of concentration outside of the main missions.
The Forum:
The forum will see a huge upturn in need and use this year, as we will be adding as much information as we can think of for you to use. We have several planetary facilities on Stratkas IV that will regularly be used. Additionally, there are tons of NPCs, NPC Businesses both on and off station, NPC tech, And facilities away from the station that will be referenced and used on a routine basis. Plus...there is the Delta Quadrant now. And a wormhole. lol
As such, we need to ensure that everybody is signed up on the forum. Your level of participation is entirely up to you beyond the minimum of updating your characters location and participating in mission planning.
More...and more...and even more stuff! Yes, it is coming. Those that made the transition from OF to Theta know we already added quite a bit of new items to the sim. But more will be coming, including a ton of new ground vehicles and just everyday stuff. It's the little details that can make things interesting. :-)
New Departments:
Several new departments are under development for the sim which will enhance the sim overall, and add some spice to operational writing. This includes Planetary Operations and Customs and Immigration.
I am looking forward to the potential that 2015 has to offer. We have some ideas in place already that are going to allow for our creativity to grow in leaps and bounds. As we move into the new year, please remember that any ideas that you have...share them with us! Starbase 80 is everybody's sim, and as such we want to make sure everybody has the best experience possible. The same goes for any issues that you may have. Communication has been an issue in the past. I would like to never re-visit that again. :-)
And thank you all. You are the people that make the sim a living creation. We could never accomplish what we do without each and every one of you. I appreciate you folks more than you ever will know.
Everything is Awesome!!!!
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Chris
Category: General News
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