UFOP: StarBase 118, a Star Trek PBEM RPG

[unum]

We are a community of people who love writing and Star Trek. We've been together as a group since June of 1994 and have enjoyed years of simming under a highly trained command staff. Our group offers an extensive and complete training course upon acceptance that will acclimatize you to our rules and ways of simming. We also offer a very active forum, an online database to organize your character's information, and of course, a ship to suit your simming style. If you want to learn more, just head to our website and click on the "Prospective Members" link on our index page. We'd love to have you join our group. See you soon!

http://www.starbase118.net/ (http://www.starbase118.net/)

[Arch Lich Thoth-Amon]

Hello and welcome to the pnpg boards, unum. Glad to have you here. Okay, checking out your link right...now!

Update: Oh, this is so very cool. Being a writer of sorts, as well as being VERY familiar with the Star Trek Universe, I signed up immediately.

[unum]

Hello and welcome to the pnpg boards, unum. Glad to have you here. Okay, checking out your link right...now!

Update: Oh, this is so very cool. Being a writer of sorts, as well as being VERY familiar with the Star Trek Universe, I signed up immediately.



Awesome! We're glad to have you join us. :)

[Arch Lich Thoth-Amon]

When does the next game begin? I can't wait to get started.

[unum]

When does the next game begin? I can't wait to get started.

Once you have submitted an application through our website, someone in the Personnel Department normally contacts you within 48 hours, and if your application is approved, you are scheduled for the next Academy class. Academy classes normally start on Mondays and last for about one week. Depending on the day your application is received and processed, that can mean the upcoming Monday or the next Monday.

After you complete the Academy training, which teaches you about the formatting style of StarBase 118 sims, you will be assigned to a duty post on a ship. We always try to give you your first choice of duty assignment whether that's Medical, Tactical, Security, Ops, Science, Helmsman, Counselor, Engineering, Diplomat, Intelligence Officer, or Marine. There are specialty opportunities within each of those positions also. We do have one starbase, StarBase 118, if you are interested in a position mainly on a starbase. The starbase position allows for occasional missions on a ship assigned to the starbase. Each ship and the starbase participates in their own mission, which can last from one month to three months depending on the complexity of the mission. After each mission, the crew are given a shore leave for about two weeks in which the ship often travels to a fun location, like Risa, a deep space station, or anywhere else different from the mission, where each writer has the opportunity to expand on their character's personal life and personal relationships, conduct a research project, enjoy a holodeck adventure, or leave the ship to visit family on Earth or anywhere else, just to name a few. The captain of the ship often hosts a party for the crew with a fun and unique theme during a shore leave in addition to the things I mentioned above for character-building activities.

When you complete the Academy course, you are often assigned to a ship that is in the middle of a mission, but it's very easy to catch up with the progress of the mission through reading previous sims and through the help of your captain and mentor. You just jump right into the mission and begin helping to write the story that is new, and its beginning, middle, and end are written entirely by the crew with the guidance of the captain.

[unum]

Interview with Counselor Askade
By Alleran Tan

On every Starfleet vessel and installation a counselor is present to see to the mental well-being of the crew. The role of the counselor is a very important one and they are, in every way, a valuable member of the medical staff of a vessel- many of them hold medical degrees in addition to any other degrees (almost always psychology), although counselors with more esoteric qualifications are permitted to serve.
Today I present an interview with Counselor Askade, one of our new councilors in the fleet.
Counselor Askade serves on the USS Constitution-B. I asked Counselor Askade what she felt about the role of the counselor in the fleet and she said,
“Well, just being assigned to a ship, I can say that the job of a good counselor is to listen and then give thoughts on solutions to the problem.”
Can’t argue with that one. They say the secret to being a great conversationalist is to listen…
I asked her if she, as a writer, had a favourite “session”? Does her character? Are they different? She said,
“I have not had any just yet, so not at this time. All I can say is that I will do my best for my crew, and serve my Captain well.”
An interesting answer; we’ll just have to see how that plans out. Curious about her profession, I asked Counselor Askade what makes a good counciling session. She wrote,
“One thing is comfort. If there is any tension, it will not go well.”
Makes sense to me. She said further,
“I have one idea in mind, for a session, and that is to go on the holodeck, and do a combat session with some of the crew members, so they know that i will stand by them in any situation.”
The idea of a warrior-counselor is certainly an intriguing one! I, personally, would love to see that holographic combat session. I’m sure she’ll let me know if she does decide to write such a thing!
But back to the task at hand. I asked the good Counselor if she had any advice for councilors just starting out in the fleet and she said,
“Read the wiki bio’s, and Listen to them.”
Listening seems to be a continuing theme here, although as discussed earlier it’s a very important part of a Counselor’s job. After all, they are tasked with (amongst other things) the assessment of a crewman’s mental health. Listening is the best way to find out exactly how someone is doing… a life in space can be a distressing and challenging one.
I asked Askade if she had any other duties her character can perform. Her answer was very broad. She wrote,
“If need be I can multi-role, as a tactical officer, security officer, and combat medic.”
A very revealing answer about a very interesting character: a warrior and a healer. As a Klingon, her closing words were very appropriate. She said,
“Just one thing: honor your crew, and captain with everything you have.”
Thank you for your time, Askade; I hope your new post goes well!

The Star Trek adventure continues at http://www.starbase118.net/ (http://www.starbase118.net/).

[unum]

An Interview with Michael Okuda

I can vividly remember my first Star Trek convention in the late 80s where James Doohan was one of the guest stars. Star Trek: The Next Generation was received by fans as a long-awaited return of the beloved world of Gene Roddenberry to television. Long before Amazon.com or any other online retailers, getting your hands on Star Trek memorabilia was a little more challenging than it is today. You could purchase the items at conventions or through catalogs, and for me, the convention I attended was the first time I’d seen a large manual with a beautiful cover and incredible illustrations inside. That book was titled Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual published by Pocket Books. I’d seen Michael Okuda’s name in the credits of The Next Generation episodes, but I’d never learned much about him. When I purchased the technical manual, my eyes were opened to the genius of Mr. Okuda’s vision of the future and to his major contributions to Star Trek.

As I read through the manual and saw Mr. Okuda’s name more and more over the years, it became apparent that he was a true pioneer. Along with his wife, Denise, they went on to write numerous Star Trek stories and serve as advisors for the subsequent television series Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise. More recently, Mr. Okuda has been involved with the remastering of the original series on DVD to enhance the special effects, as an advisor to the MMORPG Star Trek Online in its initial stages, and designing logos for NASA.

His most famous contributions to Star Trek include the graphical user interface for the LCARS computer system used on the Enterprise-D and other Starfleet vessels. In appreciation for his contributions in this area, the visual style of the LCARS was named “okudagrams”.

Want to learn more about Mr. Okuda and his memories of working on Star Trek? Read the Michael Okuda interview (http://www.starbase118.net/blog/2011/10/24/interview-with-michael-okuda/) at UFOP: Starbase 118.

[Arch Lich Thoth-Amon]

Very cool. Thanks for sharing.