Below you will find some guidelines to help you understand how things are meant to work aboard the XFY simm. These have been divided into a number of categories for easy access.
Game Rating
The Xavier Fleet Yards RPG is a play by email simm which has been rated PG-13. This is the BravoFleet standard and has been set up to create a comfortable atmosphere for the players in the simm.
This rating means that profanity should be limited to what you might see on the Star Trek television series. i.e. Nothing worse than "damn", "shit, "hell", etc. As well, there should be no overtly sexual posts, kissing is as far as it needs to go, beyond that leave it to peoples imaginations.
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Promotions
The XFY is an "equal opportunity simm" -- that means that promotions are given out based on merit, not the personal biases (good or bad) held towards you by the command staff. That said, we're also an easy going simm and we all get along very well so there is no need to worry!
At one time there was a point system, kept privately, which was used to help decide when promotions ought to be given. This has since fallen into disuse because of the cumbersome work required to keep it up to date, especially during periods in which there were high volumes of posts.
When you first come aboard the XFY, ranks tend to be assigned low as you can be promoted easier than you can be demoted. As such, sometimes the first promotion will come relatively quickly. Individuals who transfer from other BF simms are not likely to take advantage of this as they have already been granted a commission and subsequent promotions by other BF COs. All of that said, promotions are not he priority of simmers on XFY. We are all here with a mature mindset, we are playing for fun and to develop our writing and dramatic skills, we want ranks that fit our characters. Some may play a character who is a rogue and, despite the frequency of quality of posts, the character would never merit a promotion.
Promotions are granted, at the end of missions, to characters who merit a promotion in an IC sense. Players who are not up to par may be penalized and not see their character promoted, however a lack of a promotion is more likely due to the intentional flaws of your character rather than you ability as a player.
* - promotions are withheld from those who have not completed bios (see "Bios" section) or have consistantly not met posting quotas (see "Posting Requirements" section)
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Posting Requirements
According to BravoFleet rule #3: "You must post at least once every week, or you will give up your position, unless you make other arrangements."
This rule was found to be a bit too strict and as such we have made "other arrangements" by setting out the following guidelines. It is felt that these strike a balance between fairness to frequent posters and a reasonable amount of time to be requested of the average player.
There are different levels of requirements depending on your involvement in the simm. These scaled guidelines have been set due to the fact that people playing characters occupying higher positions in the simms are more likely to be "tagged" and play a bigger role in keeping the game moving. They are as follows:
- Command Staff (CO, XO & 2XO) and those at Lt. Cmdr. or higher: post at least one (1) time per week
- All other Senior Staff: post at least two (2) times per three weeks (i.e. once every 1½ weeks / 10 to 11 days)
- Commissioned Officers, Warrant Officers & Enlisted at or above PO1: post at least one (1) time per two weeks
- Others: post at least one (1) time per three weeks
Not meeting posting requirements can result in being assigned to a less plot-vital position in the simm or being removed from the game altogether.
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Posting Guidelines
Posting, as a rule, is done on the XFY in a script style format. For long posts in which you delve into your character, a novel/prose format is also acceptable. Overtime we have developed other guidelines to make the plot easier to follow.
Subject line
The subject line of the post should read as follows: Mission #, Post # - Name of poster(s) "Tile". Whereas the first # is the specific mission number and the post # is the sequential post number.
eg. the first post in Mission 4 and subsequent posts might be as follows:
Mission 4, Post 1 - Neirbo "Intro"
Mission 4, Post 2 - Barnard "Shoot-em-up"
Mission 4, Post 3 - Rian & Slader "The Wounded Soldier"
Mission 4, Post 4 - Jartham "Uber Times"
etc
* - This may be modified from time to time for certain missions
Example Post
This post is not taken from the game, it is a mock post done in fun to provide an example.
---
OFF:
I hope you guys enjoy this one...
ON:
Droj walked on to the bridge and found his way to the command chair, he took a seat an looked around at his officers.
Neirbo: Well it looks like a nice day to me... *grins* promotions for everybody!!!
OFF:
It was due time after all ;)
ON:
Crewmembers: Yay! Hear, hear!
Neirbo: Well you all deserve it, *standing, smiling wide* the best crew in the fleet after all!
OFF:
Captain Nadroj Neirbo
Commanding Officer, Xavier Fleet Yards
Executive Officer, TG2, TF44
http://www.jord.ca/xfy/
---
In this example post you will note the keys to posting:
- The "ON" and "OFF" indicators tell us whether you are on or off topic, that is to say whether you are in or out of character, they are normally only found at the beginning and end of posts but sometimes, as in this one, they can be found in the midst of the post to provide context, indicate a change in point of view or other relevant OOC information.
- Lines of text are preceeded by the characters' name
- Situation descriptions are written in paragraph form when not within a line of text
Situation descriptions are surrounded by asterisks (*) when within a line of text
- the post is ended with the signature of the character(s) involved, including name, rank and position to help other players place the character when they may not recognize the email address or immeadiately associate the name with a position
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Respecting other players
As members of the XFY simm we are all, essentially, part of a writing team, with each player being the writer of their individual character. When posting, it is important to keep in mind that other players may have a plan in mind for their character that has not yet been revealed and, by using their character to any extreme extent, you could ruin that plan.
As such, we strongly encourage joint posts (JPs) for character interaction. These can be done in real time over instant messaging systems. A list of IM software employed by each player can be found in the secure Crew Area. If you do not use IM software, you can alternatively email a partial post to another player for them to add/comment on the usage of their character. Email addresses are also listed in the crew area.
We also realize that, in a game that can sometimes move rapidly, this can slow things down and cause the story line you have in mind for your character in the dust. Therefore we encourage people to, when a JP is not readily possible, to opt for a short post ending with a "TAG" for the relevant player(s) or to use as little interaction as possible.
For example, the following would be acceptable use of another player's character:
if, in post 1, the player of "Jim" indicated that he saw the explosion of a ship
Bob: *taps* Jim, did that ship blow up?
Jim: (tag)
Bob: It did!? I can't believe it!!
The above would be acceptable because we know from Jim's earlier post that the ship blew up and that Jim saw that.
The following example would not be acceptable:
if, in post 1, the player of "Jim" indicated that his character was sitting down for dinner in his quarters
Bob: *taps* Jim, what are you doing this evening?
Jim: (tag)
Bob: Oh really? I love chicken do you mind if I join you?
Jim: (tag)
Bob: Great! I'll be there in 10 minutes.
The above example is not acceptable because we do not know whether or not Jim was having a private dinner which he might not have mentioned and certainly might not have invited someone to.
If you find yourself in a "grey area" and are unsure, it is always best to try for a JP, which are strongly encouraged anyway, and allow for the opportunity to provide more detailed posts with more accurate character interaction.
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Chain of Command
Below is how the Chain of Command (IC) works, in theory, aboard Xavier Fleet Yards. This is only to be used as a guide however, as the CO, or acting CO, may designate anyone to replace them in command, not necessarily the next in line. If the CO or acting CO is incapacitated then the next in line in the Chain of Command would become acting CO. On the other hand, under extraordinary circumstances, if the acting CO is lower than other available officers in the chain of command, the senior officer could relieve and replace the acting CO. Remember this is all in character information to assist you in writing a post and does not have to do with the operation of the simm.
The Executive Officer and/or the Chief Medical Officer may relieve the CO of command if he/she is judged unfit for command. This can only be done with the support of the XO, CMO and a majority of the remaining senior staff.
Chain of Command (by position)
- Commanding Officer
- Executive Officer
- Second Officer
- Departments Heads (by rank, then seniority of rank)
- Chief of the Boat
- Acting Departments Heads (by rank, then seniority of rank)
- Ops Coordinator
- Senior Officer in ops
There is, loosly. a "Chain of Command" out of character.
To prevent confusion, the players playing the CO, XO and 2XO are usually the managers of the game. Currently the players of the top three officers are the IC game manages but these characters occupy the posts of Task Force CO, Base CO and Base XO. You may verify who is who under the contact page.
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NPCs and PPCs
An NPC is a "non player character" that is to say a character which has been created to enhance game play but is not controlled by any particular player. Sometimes NPCs are created as "fodder" to kill off much like red shirts in TOS. Other times, long term NPCs are created (which you will see on the crew manifest), to fill positions which are not being filled by PCs.
An NPC can be used by anyone in their posts, but posts should not be made from the point of view of an NPC.
A PPC is a "partial player character" (sometimes denoted as PCC or player controlled character). They are like an NPC except that they are "owned" by a particular player and tend to be more developed. There are guidelines in order to create PPC which are approved or rejected by the CO.
PPC creation guidelines:
- a PPC candidate must be established as an NPC in a number of posts, at least 3, and must have had some character development
- the player seeking a PPC designation must have completed an advanced bio and must create an advanced bio for the PPC if the designation is granted
- there must be a valid reasoning to change an NPC to a PPC, eg. long-term development plans, companion of the player's primary character
- a limit of 3 PPCs for any player
- NPCs are not automatically designated as a PPC if requirements are met
A PPC should be considered the same as a regular player character. Only the PPCs owner should make substantial posts respecting this individual and the owners can also make posts from the PPCs point of view. If you wish to use a PPC in your post substantially, follow the same procedure as you would with a player character. Contact the owner for permission or do a joint post with the owner.
