Outpost Phoenix Sim Guide

Outpost Phoenix Sim Guide

(Authored 201608.17. Revised 201911.21.)

I.) Welcome to Outpost Phoenix

Outpost Phoenix's mission is to provide safety and security to the Tahnna'Whana Star System, to make first contact and bring trade opportunities in and around the Tahnna'Whanna Sector within easier reach of the Federation, to expand the Federation's scientific and cultural knowledge, and to provide the most exciting Star Trek Roleplay experience available. Welcome to Outpost Phoenix!

Outpost Phoenix is a realtime, live action, freeform role-playing, Discord-based sim that meets every Saturday at 1600 EST/1300 PST/2100 UTC. We are an active, non-affiliated, live sim group that has been active since 2000. We have openings in every department. If you're interested in joining, please stop by and check out our Wiki at http://opx-finalfrontier.wikidot.com/ to sign up! Also, feel free to drop by our Discord Server and ask about our sim!

II.) What is Simming?

The Outpost Phoenix Sim (short for 'simulation) is a role-playing game in which you simulate the life and career of an officer or enlisted crew of a Starfleet planetary outpost. The game is not won or lost; the object is to have fun creating a character—and shaping that character's experiences—while becoming involved in Star Trek–style plots with others' characters.

Upon your acceptance to Outpost Phoenix (often abbreviated as 'OPX'), your character will be assigned a position aboard one of our sims. These positions include Helm, Operations (Ops), Science, Medical, Tactical, Engineering, and Security. Some players choose specific positions within their department, such as stellar cartographer, for example (a list of suggested positions can be found here.

III.) Outpost Positions

These are the descriptions of the Standard Player Positions listed above. On OPX, these positions each constitute separate departments. When you join, you will be assigned as an officer in a given department, reporting to a higher ranked officer serving as Department Head. These responsibilities are general guidelines.

  • Position: OPERATIONS MANAGER (OPS)

Character Responsibilities: OPX's Operations Manager is a utility officer who does a little of everything, including running sensor scans, handling communications, and monitoring outpost- and ship-wide status & functions. Additionally, s/he can pilot the ship, control tractor beams and transporters, and even arrange power distribution to major systems during emergency situations. A jack of all trades, the Operations Manager is a key figure, and anyone functioning as an Operations Manager should take care to monitor all happenings in the sim because the CO will often rely heavily upon the information Ops can provide.

In-Sim: Generally Ops is not a department and consists of a lone officer who serves on the bridge. Ops should coordinate with Helm, Engineering and Tactical and report any suggestions to the XO or the Captain. This position can be challenging during battle situations.

  • Position: HELM

Character Responsibilities: Although Outpost Phoenix is a Planetary Outpost sim, there are several ships assigned to the outpost. The helm officer controls the speed and direction of a ship being used in a story.

In-Sim: As with Ops, Helm is generally not a department, consisting instead of a lone officer who serves on the bridge. Generally, the position is merged with Operations Manager. This position can be slow at times, especially if the ship is simply in orbit around a planet or the episode takes place on a planet, so it is often considered acceptable to work with Ops and Tactical in slower situations. During high-risk maneuvers, helm is one of the key positions on the ship.

  • Position: TACTICAL (TAC)

Character Responsibilities: Tactical officers are in charge of Outpost and Ship offensive and defensive capabilities. These officers have direct control of phasers, photon torpedoes, shields and any and all other weapons or defense mechanisms. They also control tractor beams, give damage reports and status reports in regard to weapons, defense, and ship integrity, and can control communications if necessary. Some of these secondary duties may be given to Ops if both posts are present in the sim.

In-Sim: This can be one of the more exciting positions because Tactical is heavily involved with the action packed starship battles that take place from time to time. Tactical officers tend to be suspicious about unknown vessels that come into contact with the Outpost of Ship. This is entirely in keeping with their duties, as they have the responsibility to see that no enemies catch them unawares. Leave the diplomatic duties to the CO and XO: the Tactical officer is all about offense and defense.

  • Position: SECURITY (SEC)

Character Responsibilities: Security officers oversee all necessary security measures, both on the Outpost and on those occasions in which crew members need to leave the Outpost/Ship on official business, such as Away Team duty. Security officers are responsible for handling intruders, supervising security on away teams, providing unobtrusive but safe escort for diplomats, etc. Security oversees any aspects of a mission involving the personal safety of those involved as well as the safety and security of any persons or objects in their care.

In-Sim: The Security officers should work on all aspects of security within the sim including (though not limited to) registering weapons, maintaining the brig, providing security for guests, escorting away teams, and conducting routine patrols. The Chief of Security (CSec) will generally coordinate these actions.

Outpost Phoenix has combined its Security and Tactical departments into a single entity under one Sec/Tac Chief. Officers in these Departments will generally be expected to fulfill both roles at the discretion of the CSec.

  • Position: ENGINEERING (ENG)

Character Responsibilities: The Engineers are the mechanics of the Outpost and the Ships. They are responsible for the upkeep of all systems, including but not limited to, power generation, the computer, and propulsion.

In-Sim: The engineers are often considered the miracle workers of the ship; when the CO asks for the impossible he very frequently looks to his engineers to pull it off. Engineers are usually found in Engineering, but they can work on the bridge at a computer console if necessary—they also journey throughout the ship to perform repairs. Engineers may often join away teams to lend their unique expertise. The Chief Engineer (CEng) is in charge of Engineering—oftentimes even the CO will be reluctant to challenge his Chief's authority in this environment.

  • Position: MEDICAL (MED)

Character Responsibilities: A ship's medical officers are responsible for maintaining the health and physical well-being of the crew as well as treating the injured, pronouncing the dead and performing autopsies when required.

In-Sim: This is undoubtedly one of the most challenging positions, as sim plots do not frequently involve medical problems, so medical officers are forced to rely on common sense and creativity to find ways to keep their characters busy in sim without interfering with the main plot. If, for example, the crew's health is generally good and there are no injured personnel in sickbay, a medical officer may have no situations directly requiring his/her involvement. The medical team should make sure that the crew is in good health by performing routine physicals. Medical personnel are almost always in Sick Bay but will frequently join away teams, especially when casualties are reported or expected or when the away team is expected to perform a medical function, such as providing aid to victims of a disaster or investigating an outbreak of disease. The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) is generally the most experienced doctor aboard the ship.

  • Position: SCIENCE (SCI)

Character Responsibilities: Science personnel routinely use sensor readings, tricorders and any other analytical equipment at their disposal in order to gain an understanding of the unknown. Science officers will often be charged with finding solutions to these problems once they are identified.

In-Sim: Along with Medical, this is one of the most challenging sim positions. This position generally calls for strong creative and improvisational abilities, especially when faced with unknown substances and species, as well as an ability to work closely with the Command Staff. Science officers frequently join away teams, and their responsibilities are delegated by the Chief Science Officer (CSci).

After your application is processed, either the CO or the XO of the sim to which you have been assigned will send you a letter of welcome. This letter will advise you of the time and location at which the simulation takes place, the department in which you will be working, and anything else you might need to know before your first sim. Your sim will start promptly at the appointed time, so make sure you arrive a few minutes early to get acquainted with your fellow crewmembers and to prepare for adventure!

IV.) ROLE-PLAYING

During the sim, you should act as if you are a Starfleet officer serving at your assigned position. The command staff will give you orders and describe the general events that are taking place—it is your job to come up with realistic solutions to the problems that your ship is currently facing.

Example:

You are a Science Officer aboard the USS Lothlorien. The CO advises the crew that the Lothlorien is currently evacuating a colony on a planet suffering from severe tectonic disturbances. The CO turns to you for recommendations, and after a moment's thought you say…

This is the great thing about simming: you can respond however you like. Be creative—this is your chance to offer a unique solution to a problem and potentially save your ship. However, remember that this is a Star Trek sim; your answers should be plausible within the Star Trek universe. Oftentimes the CO will write a problem into a sim and not have a specific resolution in mind—he will consult the crew and frequently use the most creative and believable idea to solve the problem.

Unfortunately, not every sim can directly involve every department with the plot. Most Star Trek episodes dealt with a specific character or department—it is very difficult to write a believable plot which equally involves Engineering, Medical, Science, Tactical, Security, and Operations. As a result, you will often find yourself without specific orders. In this situation, take the initiative! Consider your rank and position: in the current plot, what would (for example) a Medical Officer without specific orders do? Oftentimes you will be able, for example, to come up with a way to contribute that the CO may not have considered. However, bear in mind that only Hosts are empowered to initiate events outside of their character's influence: as a tactical officer, you may not cause three Romulan Warbirds to warp into your sector. Instead, you must use the resources available to your character to contribute to the plot.

Bear in mind that, each week, your sim is telling a story. Every story has lead and supporting characters—and though the CO and XO will try to spread the action around to everyone, you will often find yourself cast in a supporting role. If you're not in a lead role, don't worry—try offering your expertise to those that are more directly involved. Alternately, try working on an unrelated subplot—just try not to interfere with the main action! Your CO and XO are trained to pay attention to everyone: if you help them make it possible to give you a bigger role, they'll frequently do it.

Let's return to our example…

You are a Science Officer aboard the USS Lothlorien. Your ship is currently evacuating a colony on a planet that is suffering from severe tectonic disturbances. But the CO hasn't given you any specific orders, so what do you do? Here are some very reasonable options…

  • Offer your help on the Away Team. While helping with the evacuation, you might just find a clue or two about the cause of the earthquakes.
  • Offer to help the Transporter Chief beam people up. You might be able to suggest an idea that would boost transporter power so the Integrity could beam up more people at once.
  • Offer your services to the CMO to assist in the triage area. People escaping from the planet would be very likely to have all sorts of minor injuries—cracked ribs, for example—that someone with basic first aid experience could help to treat or, at least, prioritize and stabilize. If you dealt with those problems, the medical staff would be free to concentrate upon the more serious injuries.
  • Stay on the Bridge, at an auxiliary station, searching for a nearby M-class planet where you could transport the evacuees until a more permanent arrangement could be made by Starfleet. After all, no matter the size of your ship, it probably won't be big enough to accommodate the entire population of the colony for any length of time.

As you can see, if you use your imagination and ingenuity, there are many opportunities for your character in a sim—even if you don't appear to be directly involved with the plot. Which one will you choose and how will it affect the adventure? That's what makes simming so much fun!

If you perform very well, you will earn the ultimate reward: PROMOTION. If you work hard, you will get a chance to move up in the ranks. Believe it or not, all of us, including the CO and XO, started out as ensigns once upon a time.

Star Trek simulations are both fun and challenging to those people who want to exercise their creativity, role-playing skills, and knowledge of the Star Trek Universe. We invite you to join our crew and BOLDLY GO WHERE NO ONE HAS GONE BEFORE…

For a more detailed guide to simming, please refer to the OPX Simming Tutorial.

V.) General Guidelines for Simulations

During a sim, you will have to relate your character's words and actions, while the hosts will also have to describe sim-wide events. As this would become rather confusing if everything was described in words, OPX uses a common system of shorthand to make sims easier to understand. Please also take a few moments to to read our [[[Simming Tutorial]] page.

Unmodified text represents speech:
Ensign Skor: Hello, sailor!

To represent a character's actions, enclose your text with double colons:
Ensign Skor: You'll never take us, Cardassian! ::draws his phaser and fires::
Lieutenant Jones: ::watches Skor fire and nods approvingly:: Nice shot, Ensign.

When communicating at a distance using a commbadge or a ship's communications system, preface your text with: +Name of person with whom you wish to communicate+.
Lieutenant Jones: +Skor+ Ensign, report to Engineering.

When assigned to Away Team (AT) duty or the crew is otherwise split, you will generally be assigned a symbol to indicate your presence in a certain location. The most common symbol for this purpose is $, but others are used from time to time. Text without symbols generally indicates that you're with the main party of the sim:
Ensign Skor: $::walking down the path::
Lieutenant Jones: +Skor + Ensign, report.
Ens Felson: $+Morgan+ Nothing to report, Captain.

OPX Symbols, Abbreviations, etc.

  • ACTION> or AXN> Indicates a sim-wide action that cannot be performed by an individual. Generally reserved for hosts. ("AXN> A Romulan ship decloaks to starboard" would be an example.)
  • Computer> A line spoken by the ship's computer.
  • (Name)> A line spoken by a guest character/NPC.
  • +taps+ The speaker has tapped his commbadge in order to communicate.
  • =/\= An alternate to "+taps+."
  • NPC Non-Player Character (a made-up character).
  • AT or @ The speaker is with the Away Team.
  • ::AA:: At the start of a sim, a host will call for the crew to come to attention. ::AA:: indicates that the speaker is At Attention.
  • SD Stardate (usually expressed as YYYYMM.DD as in SD 201810.10 representing 10 October, 2018)

Starship Locales:

  • MB Main Bridge
  • ME, MEng Main Engineering
  • SB Sickbay or Shuttlebay.
  • SB1, SB2 Sickbay or Shuttlebay 1, 2, etc.
  • TR, TR1, TR2 Transporter Room 1, 2, etc.
  • TL Turbolift

VI.) OPX Wants YOU!

Outpost Phoenix is currently accepting applications for crew members. Outpost Phoenix is looking for intelligent, creative and dedicated officers to join the crew. We have a long tradition of honor and excellence. Please access our website for more information about the Outpost Phoenix and Submit An Application. You can also visit out Discord Server and talk to the Crew and Command Staff.

VII.) Biographies

Each crewmember of OPX is required to write a biography of their character. A biography is a document containing relevant information about your character, from physical characteristics to a Starfleet record. Biographies also generally include your character's Starfleet history: a history of your character's time at the Academy makes a good place to start, because this is an experience shared by the majority of the characters. A general Biography Template can be found on the OPX Wiki.

From here, feel free to be as creative as you like. For example, talk about your character's life prior to the Academy, or his or her family background. Give a psychological profile – what sort of personality does your character have? How is s/he likely to react in a given situation? What are his or her hobbies? Are you creating a new species for your character? Perhaps a background on your character's people might be helpful. Remember, the purpose of the biography is to introduce your fellow simmers to your character – you don't need to include every possible detail, but a bit of time and effort will make the simming experience more interesting for everyone.

It is always a good practice to submit your character’s bio to your Host Team for acceptance. They may suggest some edits to make your character better fit their specific sim setting. If you and your Host Team cannot come up with a reasonable compromise during this process, you may need to consider making a different character to play on that sim.

Once you’ve written up your bio and had it approved by your Hosts, you will post it to the biographies channel on the OPX Discord Server and to the OPX Wiki for your new crew.

Also remember that your character's bio will change as s/he grows. Did you receive an award or a promotion? Make a note of it! Did your character get married? Mention it in the bio! Updating your character's biography earns points for promotion, but more importantly, updates will help both you and your crewmates remember that your character isn't necessarily the same person s/he was when you first joined OPX. And remember, if you update your bio, post the updated one to your Wiki Page and the Discord Server.

IIX.) Duty and Personal Logs

After each sim, every crewmember is expected to write one Duty Log (DL) and one Personal Log (PL). You've seen these before in Star Trek. Often, when an episode opens, you'll hear 'Captain's Log' followed by a brief summary of the events which have led up to the point depicted, while at other times you'll hear a character making a 'personal' log entry of their private life and/or feelings about the mission.

Well, it's the same way on OPX. Your Duty Log is usually a summary of what happened to your character during the course of the sim, written from a first-person perspective. Remember, though you as a player are aware of all sim events, your character is not—you should try to limit your DL to your character's experiences. A DL can also include your character's recommendations for the following sim: for example, a Tactical Officer on the Bridge during a battle with a hostile alien species could, in his or her DL, offer theories about why the aliens attacked and offer recommendations for avoiding future conflicts. Duty Logs also include your character's job-related activities between sims. If, for example, your character writes a report about a piece of alien technology s/he encountered, that's a DL.

Personal Logs, on the other hand, detail your character's off-duty life. These can include your character's plans for time off, your character's feelings about the current mission, or even your character's feelings about his or her fellow crewmembers - how are they getting along? Does your character feel as though s/he is fitting in? Just like in real life, your character will often grow and evolve as a person - your Personal Logs will give you and your crewmates a weekly chronicle of your character's development and add to the fun of the sim.

There's another type of Personal Log: the Story Log. Story logs, as the name implies, tell stories about your character that take place outside the confines of your weekly sim. You frequently see Star Trek characters spending free time in a holodeck simulation, for example - well, there usually isn't time to do this in your weekly sim, so why not write a story about an experience your character had in the holodeck? Want to flesh out experiences from your character's past? Dramatize them in a story log! Want to write about your character's shore leave on Risa? Story log - just keep it clean! Many OPXers prefer the story log to the more traditional personal log. The important thing is to write something you enjoy.

A third type of log - one which is not required of a crewmember - is the Joint Log (JL). Sometimes, this simply means that two (or more) people collaborate to write a story log, just as two people might co-author a novel. More common, however, is the 'mini-sim,' in which the authors get together in their free time and actually sim out the action of the story. Once the 'mini-sim' is completed, one of the participants writes up the events in prose form and sends the completed story to the other participants for their suggestions and approval. When all parties involved approve of the story, it is sent to the crew and posted to the appropriate message board by one of the authors.

Remember, logwriting is the best way for your crewmates to get to know your character. While you sim in-character, most sims won't provide many opportunities to show your character's intricacies - and even when they do, these details often scroll off the screen before everyone can read them. Your logs, however, can contain almost anything you like - and your crewmates can read them at their leisure. To qualify for promotion, you must write logs, send them to the crew, and post them on your ship's message boards. However, once they find a style they enjoy, many OPXers take the opportunity to explore their characters and write in excess of the basic requirements.

IX.) Code of Conduct

Being a member of OPX is a privilege, not a right. With this privilege comes certain duties and responsibilities, and expectations of behavior.

Generally speaking, OPX strives to adhere to a 'PG-13' rating. While this is an entirely subjective rating system, remember that we do have a number of simmers that are minors and we should restrain ourselves accordingly. Be mindful that anyone could be using a text-to-speech program, have someone else looking at their screen, or could be of any age.
OPX does not force any specific style of simming upon any of its members, but we do have certain guidelines that each member must follow to help ensure we all have a good time, after all, if a game isn’t fun to play, why play it?

Below are some of those basic guidelines. This list is not exhaustive.

  • Every member of OPX must treat other members with respect at all times.
  • Respectful behavior should be upheld in personal interactions between players outside the sim setting as well. This means that Out-of-Character (OOC) interaction as well as In-Character (IC) interaction must be respectful at all times.
  • In the sim setting, no member should ever write or do anything that would be considered inappropriate by your fellow crewmates, whether in the live sim, in a log, in a Wiki article, or any other communication. This includes (but is not limited to) injuring or killing a fellow crew member without their permission, descriptions of graphic violence or sexual acts, or inciting mutiny. If you ever have the slightest thought whether something you are planning might not be appropriate, run it past your CO or XO before you proceed.
  • OPX has a Chain of Command (COC), generally represented by the rank of the individual characters, and the posts of Department Head, and topped by your XO and then your CO. Your characters are expected to abide by the COC and follow orders within the context of the sim. This also applies to OOC questions and comments as well. Follow the COC with your questions when you can, it will streamline communications and help the sim run more smoothly.
  • If a fellow simmer informs you that they find your conduct objectionable, and you persist in this objectionable behavior, you may find yourself the target of a formal complaint. If the complaint is deemed valid, the consequences could include a formal reprimand, probation, suspension, dismissal from your sim, or dismissal from OPX. Though simming is ultimately just a game, your fellow simmers are people, too, and are entitled to respectful treatment.
  • If you have a problem with a fellow simmer, you should first attempt to work things out with that person one-on-one. If this proves difficult or impossible, you should then consider filing a formal complaint. If you wish to file a formal complaint, follow chain of command to do so. (If the person about whom you wish to complain is in your chain of command, you may bypass him or her and proceed to the next person up the chain.) While you are free to consult with anyone you like before proceeding with a formal complaint or during the course of one, action on the complaint progresses in accordance with your pursuit of it via the chain of command. Remember that formal complaints against fellow crew members are serious matters. All complaints will be taken seriously and investigated fully, but those found to be false, frivolous, and/or malicious will likely result in disciplinary measures against the complainant.
  • Please recognize that OPX has no 'real world' power – if you have a complaint you feel needs to be addressed in the real world, don't hesitate to contact the appropriate authorities. Remember, too, that no matter how well you think you know someone from their online persona, s/he may be completely different in real life. Be cautious.
  • Political discussions are highly discouraged. We all have our own worldviews, and while Star Trek is rife with allegory for politics and world events, there's a time and place for serious political discourse and OPX isn't it. Hosts reserve the right to ask individuals to either move their conversation to PM's or stop at any time. Failure to comply once asked will result in disciplinary action.
  • While there is a chain of command both in and out of the sim, which is to be followed, non-Hosts cannot 'pull rank' outside of sim discussions. A fictional rank does not translate to power outside of sims.
  • Attendance is never required, and real life always comes first. However OPX does maintain an Attendance Policy posted on our Wiki. Please review it.
  • OPX maintains several Standing Orders posted on our Wiki. Please review them.
  • All logs, character biographies, stories, etc. posted to the Outpost Phoenix Wiki, Discord Server or email list will remain property of the author. By posting logs, biographies, stories, etc. to the Outpost Phoenix Wiki, Discord Server, or email list, however, the author grants permission for Outpost Phoenix and its Command Staff to publish said intellectual property in perpetuity. Their player characters remain theirs and no one will be allowed to write for them. The exception will be that the Command Staff will write the minimum necessary to expedite the IC removal of the player character from play without disturbing gameplay for other PCs players. Unless removed at the request author during their IC removal, NPCs will remain posted to Outpost Phoenix and be able to be used by the Crew in order to maintain the development of the setting. Outpost Phoenix, Tahnna'Whanna IV, the Tahnna'Whanna Sector and all ships & locations created by the Command staff and Crew of OPX crew, remain the property of Outpost Phoenix and may not be used without permission of the Outpost Phoenix Command Staff.

Good luck on your new adventure; we look forward to simming with you!

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