General Report July '23
Posted on 04 Aug 2023 @ 8:31pm by Commander Calliope Zahn
JULY ‘23 GENERAL REPORT
Active crew: 8 (LOA Crew: 2)
total word count: 55,415
OF Post count: 111
13.85 posts/ active player
CURRENT ROSTER
Markus/ Sep & DeHavilland
Nikki/ Zahn
Polar/ Steiner & HaiRoa
Aaron/ Sikan (LOA)
David/ Rubens
Tara/ Haille
Spiral/ Brek
Sara/ Wagner (LOA)
Em/ Ovim
Zach/ Samual Johnson
POST TRACKER SPREADSHEET
OBSIDIAN COMMAND DISCORD SERVER
Obsidian Command’s 3rd Simmiversary!
In the coming month of August, OC will be celebrating three years of being in operation!
We are collecting reflections and comments and memories to combine into a retrospective to send up for a fleet news item next month.
If you are a player or a friend or guest of Obsidian Command and would like to include any contributions, please send them along to the GM team! Thank yoU!
OVERVIEW OOC
Personnel incoming/outgoing— Chistery/ Tann Has resigned the sim.
July was yet another strong posting month. Five in a row! The TFCO had a summer break, but we should hear back soon, hopefully, about the Supreme SPM award.
The new breakout mission use seems to be working smoothly, with most people opting to use the main mission thread, but several finding the other locations preferable for certain characters and stories, which also seems to be helping us prioritize our order of catching up on reading, as the sim has grown in quantity of posts— allowing players to, at a glance, decide if the location of the mission directly affects the threads they are playing in. I have had no questions or issues come up with any of the players using the mission selections so far!
OOC MISSION UPDATE
After some GM team discussion and consulting with David, we’ve decided to make Mission Four a transitional mission, involving diplomats and delegates as well as dealing with the secrets the fleet has been keeping from its own. The pieces to release this mission (including a decision on a title…) are being arranged presently. I think.
RECRUITMENT
Still accepting applications!
If a prospective player has some questions about applying, please do not hesitate to join us in our discord and ask away!
OBSIDIAN COMMAND DISCORD SERVER
GENERAL STORY SUMMARIES (IC)
For a brief summary of each post, see earlier news entry
Individual Post Summaries July '23
USS Pathfinder on Recon:
Theseus and Pathfinder set a return course for Obsidian Command, at top speed. Along the five day return ride, they handle hiding evidence that might point to the USS Alabama’s involvement with their mission and the injured recover in sickbay. (continued from June)
Loki System:
Continuing posts following the ibn Sharjar thread on Planet Obsidian, and following the exploits of one Ferengi Art Dealer on the station. Also, a new Dockyard PM arrives and he and his wife begin to settle in. (continued from June)
FLYING SOLO CHALLENGE
Me again.
But Polar really could have taken it from me. *barely dodges the bear for July*
Again, a really strong count from a selection of writers, and some laudable writing too.
Notice that our monthly word count in solos alone is consistently over half of the volume of our words on OC (about 3/4ths this month!) This makes us stand out, I think, as a sim that really engages with character development, world building, and truly meaningful storycraft. I’m just proud of everyone writing with us.
Surely someone else will out-word me for August?
Nikki 10,421 (5 posts)
Polar 9,936 (3 posts)
Markus/Sep 7,024 (3 posts)
Spiral 6,175 (2 posts)
Zach 3,048 (1 post)
Total solo word count: 36,604
JP CLUB: Taggaholics Anonymous
Bragging rights for all those members in a month who have a byline in 3 or more JPs! (5 or more JP bylines for those on the command team). See if you can get your name on the list and a chair in the support circle.
The month of July Taggaholics are:
David.
*surrenders the sole chair to David*
Others one post away from joining him were: Sep and Nikki
It was an active month for solos. Not so much for JPs. What can we say? Reach out and start a JP with someone today!
JULY AWARDS
Outstanding Volunteer - Spiral
When we started doing the sim’s monthly reports as our own news items, our sim activity was a little slower and there wasn’t always very much to the reports. But as the sim has grown with new players and new activity, keeping up with the monthly reports has been something difficult for just one person to do! Thankfully there have been those who have come along to help make sure their fellow players’ best work is featured and awarded. Spiral is one of the most faithful to regularly send in quotes to highlight, posts to feature, and award nominations to consider. This effort is much appreciated across the sim, and I believe a vital piece of our shared motivation as writers. Thank you, Spiral! (nominated by GM team)
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Outstanding Volunteer - Polar
Polar has been a big help in maintaining the monthly post summaries, helping to fill out the brief descriptions of each post, so we always have an easy reference to look back on! Thanks to his jumping in to assist with this, we have not had a lapse on any of the summaries. Polar has also helped to compose two FAQ wiki entries and maintain wiki reference content. He championed a move to run some ongoing mission locations in the Nova system, and he’s proactive in engaging the other writers and onboarding when we have new players. Basically if there’s something that he sees needs doing, he’s probably already on it. (nominated by Nikki)
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Internal Life -Sep
For “A Tiki Wake”
For its bittersweet description of how several crew members cope with grief, by sharing fond memories of Major Minka Mazur. This post also has a special atmosphere, as it uses a foreign language (French) to perfection. (nominated by Spiral)
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NPC Award - Polar
for bringing Senior Deputy Marshal Dredan Cubo to life.
Cubo went from being just a name dropped in the background, to a full character. And although his story has, so far, mostly been told in a passive voice, within a few posts he has gained a solid career, a family, and a complex mission. This is a character who can only live in the past, since he has no future, however, since the mystery around his cruel demise has not been solved, he remains very much alive in the reader’s mind. His story won’t be complete until we know what really happened to him. (Nominated by Spiral)
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Feature Post: Cast Away
Three amusing characters in the persons of Oroff, Desha, and young Brek in his years as an accountant, negotiate the situation as the two young Ferengi are loaded into a transport to take them away to Happy Trails Farm. While this post is mostly full of character, there are undertones of mystery as something fishy is going on at the boss’ house which leads him to want to send his daughter out of harm’s way. Dashes of stinging wit will keep the reader smirking.
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Post Spotlight: Camp Sunrise - Stranger on the shore
Another great example of a jp that’s a great collaboration between three writers, who worked together to reveal, through light touches, the existence of a lost Marshal whom no one knew about. Through the tenacity of Chief Deputy Marshal Steiner and the somewhat reluctant cooperation of Major Wallace and CPO Xeri, the mysterious officer’s life is brought to the fore, with the use of an immersive flashback, coloured by Bajoran culture.
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Post Spotlight: A Tiki Wake
Ptolemy Cumberland’s wife Minka Mazur, has died in child birth (as was revealed gut-punch style in a post spotlighted previously! See “Medical Report”) And he gathers with some old friends at a beloved bar where emotions and memories stir. A heartening read by a skillful writer.
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Post Spotlight: Ibn Sharjar: The Trickster’s Hammer of Fire
On the return leg of their journey for the children to choose their new stars, the travelers pick up speed, concerned to make it to shelter to avoid the peak radioactive activity of an impending sunstorm. They rush headlong into brutal desert winds full of obsidian glass. This adventure picks up the pulse!
THANK YOU
Thanks to Polar, David, and Spiral for offering quotes, awards, and post selections for the month!
Category: General News