Pace and Style on Obsidian Command

2.1 Style Guides

OC uses Nova site based simming and is formatted similarly to many writing based trek sims in our rpg circles, at least on the surface. We use primarily 3rd person novel formatting and do not leave Tags in the body of the post once it is completed.

The GM has some writing and style guides in our wiki, exclusively about this approach.

01: New/ Potential Players Information
02: Posting Rules & Guides

If you’re familiar already with written trek simming, emphasizing detailed posts of over 500 words, you will probably have a fairly easy time writing on OC, but, as with any sim, you should be prepared to adapt to some nuances and “house rules''.

2.2 Player Motivated vs Top Down RPG styles

Whats all this “A-plot” business about? What’s the deal with “threads” and how will I know what to write and when and what part I should play? Why are you guys always calling this sim “writing based”— aren’t pretty much all of these trek sims writing based?
OC is a proprietary blend(™) of both player motivated story and GM led top down simming! The sim handles a GM led throughline of story we will often call the “A-plot” in a nod to Trek screenwriting, where there is an A-plot and a supporting B-plot that ties in. But this is a nod only. Because while the GM titles the “Mission” according to the A-plot design and the A-plot may have a general effect on the sim overall in some fashion (such as an alert status, or some effect on the base) the A-plot is a proportionally small part of the volume of posts on the sim.

Most of the posts people write on OC are character development or supporting story threads and rely on the motivation of the writers to generate relevant-to-themselves non-fluff ideas and, if so inclined, to look for others interested in co-writing posts and threads of their own designs. Threads are a minor arc, or a story told over a series of posts, sometimes with a subtitle to help readers to track them through the archives or to use the search function to find them. Threads can be generated by anyone on the sim. They are kind of like B-Plots or C-Plots in a Trek episode, except that we don’t think of them in any lesser sense and threads don't necessarily need to apply to the A plot— just not conflict with it!

With the many opportunities for supporting characters, back story, and additional locations to flesh out, the sim is mostly made up of posts or threads that are arranged into a timeline concurrent with the A-plot, even if they never affect one another. The extensive open spaces for creating posts and threads to explore player led character concepts is what some refer to as “sandbox simming” — that is a curated location and timeline left open to writers’ imaginations to fill in the rest (short of world breaking for others).

For writers accustomed only to writing based on cues and tags given to them from GMs the majority of the time and the occasional character development fluff post a small part of the time, the OC approach is almost the exact reverse. The player is responsible to self generate a meaningful story for their character/s and seek out joint posting with others for the most part, and then the occasional tags from the GM will tip him off when he’s needed for the more gradually unfolding A-plot.

We understand that some players may be expecting only to respond to tags and sim action directed at them by a GM. That is a common approach in Trek RPGing. But we believe players often do want more chances to blossom in their own personal development as writers and storytellers and while OC can provide the universe for sharing that kind of open world writing, the onus is on the player to do that for themselves and share that journey with the rest of us. The GMs and players of OC have discovered how personally rewarding this approach has been along each of our own individual sim writing journeys and it is our vision and mission to give others this same opportunity.

2.3 Sim pace and participation minimums

What is the Pace of OC’s simming?
This is a great question, and one all simmers need to know so they can anticipate how much they will need to read, how often they need to respond to tags and if there are any minimum posting requirements.

Let’s start with pace of play and what you should expect to account for OOC.

As a general rule it’s a good idea to aim to post at least once every couple of weeks, making a post of over 500 words in length with reasonable grammar and spelling. On OC, we’re not really bean counting your posting so much as looking for communication and participation in general. Different players contribute to different levels and we understand that. What we hope is that each player can write solos fairly regularly (weekly, bi weekly, or monthly as suits you) and if in a Joint Post, make sure to either answer tags promptly (within a day or two) or communicate when you will be available to answer tags, so that Joint Posts in progress are not frozen due to unclear availability and spotty participation.

Players who are going to be out of contact for a week or two should inform the GM team or the sim they will be away so that their co-writers aren’t left hanging and can make other plans around the absent character. It’s rude to leave people without response, just as it would be rude to walk out of a lengthy boardgame without making arrangements for your cards and space at the table. It makes the game no fun when players do this. If this happens, the GM has to step in and help everyone to get around you and recover their writing momentum and close any gaps in the story that your absence creates. Just communicate. No one will think less of you for having a need to step away. But they will get well and properly annoyed if you ghost. Oh and let them know when you’re back, otherwise they will not know to include you. Communication 101, am-i-right?

As OC is a writing centric sim it is, by correlation, also a reading centric sim. Just as you are hoping others will read your posts, you must make an effort to attentively read the posts of your fellow players. As of the time of this document OC tends to put up 20-30 post entries per month. Maybe you can’t read every post, all of the time, but you should be reading something. How else will you participate with one another, or know what you can respond to or plot about? Keeping up with reading is part of the pacing on OC that you will have to set for yourself. Make time for this too.

Now, concerning the pace of the story, let’s break this into some detail.

The A-plot or Main Mission, is, usually, a slower moving central story which the GM will make an effort to create a sim-wide opportunity for players to choose to participate in, either with their main character or as an NPC, by collaborating with the GM. OC uses the term “Mission 1” “Mission 2” etc, but as a sim with a broad structure, with many simultaneous threads, stories and adventures happening concurrently, these are over arching terms that can be thought of as “Seasons” of the sim. The A-Plot Main Mission tends to span a couple of IC weeks but may take many months of real time to write before the next “mission” is begun. In our first two years of writing, OC has only completed two Missions and is only part way through a third as we begin our third year as a sim.

Why do missions take so long? Because we fill our days!
There are twenty four hours in a standard day, most species are awake for at least fourteen to sixteen of those. On Obsidian Command or if aboard a garrission vessel, there is both on duty and off duty time, mission related activity, meetings, assigned tasks, time spent at their normal duty post, meals, recreation or just private time in their quarters at the end of their shift. On Obsidian Command there is also access to the Promenade, with shops, art galleries, casinos, restaurants, spas and commercial activities; and the huge environmental level, with parks, lakes, woods, sports venues and arenas. There is also the chance to visit the planet Obsidian, from the wild dangerous deep deserts, inhabited by nomadic tribes, religious zealots; with far flung oasis, villages and farms; some smaller settlements, both legal and unauthorised; or the bustling capital, Kalara, with its mix of ancient old buildings, markets, cafes, temples, culture and customs, to the more modern bars, spaceport and Starfleet facility.

On Obsidian Command we really are in it for the long-haul!
To us writing is a passion, a lifestyle, an ongoing hobby and a creative experience. We focus on our characters, their evolving plots and stories, their interactions with the characters of other writers, from the dramatic classic StarTrek adventure to the quiet routine of their daily lives. Many of our writers have adventures planned out for their characters that may take several years of real time writing to complete. Some of our A-Plots have been years in the making. For example, Mission 3, “Into the Deep” began as a chance encounter with an aggressive alien species on what used to be a previously running ship sim, seven real time years ago! The mission has been reintroduced afresh on OC.

2.4 Simultaneous Missions

Why are there multiple missions?
We run Four Missions at once, this may sound confusing but it is our way of dividing up what is going on across our simming environment.

1. Main Mission
This is the A-Plot, run by the GM and all posts related to that mission will go here. The number will change as we work through these storylines, M1, M2, M3 and so on.
2. Ongoing Mission - Station Life
This is for any posts that take place onboard Obsidian Command station, which are not part of the Main Mission.
This might be civilians on the promenade; the activities of crew members who work on OC in their primary role; members of crew's families who live there; or any other posts that take place on OC.
3. Ongoing Mission - Area of Operations
This is for posts that take place in the Loki System or nearby space, also not part of the Main Mission.
This could be routine system patrols, supply runs to nearby planets, Dockyard test flights; Away Team missions to some of Loki's other planets.
4. Ongoing Mission - Planet Obsidian
For all posts that happen on the world of Obsidian, again, not related to the main mission.
This covers the tribes of Obsidian; the civilian Merchants who trade with them; the various colonies on the planet; a shopping trip to the Markets of Kalara; a Science Team exploring the planet and so on.

Essentially our posts are either part of the Main Mission and so go in there. Or if they are not Main Mission related, then they go in the Mission according to which location they take place in - OC, nearby space or on the planet. Trust us, it is easier than it might seem at first.

In conclusion...

Although we hope you will like it once you dive in with us, we know our style may not be for everyone! But we’re all-in with our simming vision. We are not elitist, but we are the elite! And we are eager to help others who are also interested in earning their way into a very fulfilling, high quality sim writing experience.

This is what we do, what we are good at, it is why we write here and it is what we love to share with others...