A player who is familiar with Star Trek pbem and understands that such games cannot work without a regular participation from everyone.
Players should also be able to interact with other characters and capable of writing creative well composed posts.
I try to offer as much freedom as possible on this ship. However, it is definitely driven by missions. So although I'll accept posts about relationships, I do expect players to write their characters into the on-going plot, and, whenever possible, offer ideas that will help the mission to evolve.
If you play a head of department, it will occasionally happen that the CO or XO give a few lines to your character, according to the needs of the on-going mission. It will however remain neutral and no personal thoughts will be attributed to your character.
If you feel uncomfortable with this procedure, don't join.
Since our timeline is so soon after the Dominion wars, I do not believe that the Cardassians would likely be accepted on board a Federation ship at this time. Likewise, Romulans and Borg also come under this restriction.
The DM receives about 20 genuine posts per month.
Our yahoogroup is strictly for in-game posts only. So
the figures you can see on the groups' archives are a
genuine representation of our activities.
If you don't write and you fail to let me know why you can't, then you will be removed from the game within a fortnight, without notification.
The current story line is as described on the logs
section of our website,
here.
A post should represent a minimum of 400 words, written in the 3rd person, although first person is acceptable in certain circumstances, like with the writing of logs or flashbacks.
Either novel or script format are accepted.
Posts should always start and end as follows :
ON : Title of the post
Day : xx - Time : xx - Scene : xxx
[exemple: Day: 03 - Time: 14.00 - Scene : Bridge]
...
OFF
Character's rank and full name
Position
USS Dark Matter
Each month the Dark Matter will select a post and place it on the website. These posts represent what this pbem stands for, which provides reading material for our potential new members.
Players are encouraged to vote for any post they particularly enjoyed, by sending me (lrs_persson@yahoo.com) the title and author of their favourite entry.
I prefer canon Star Trek.
But I'm prepared to make exceptions, providing that the character suggested is credible and not crippled with the non-acceptable super hero syndrome.
The DM isn't a cross genre sim. I truly prefer characters who fit within the Star Trek universe, mainly with an academy background for officers, or who have the desire to serve aboard ships, for civilians.
Positively No. I have never believed in the intrusion of marines in Star Trek pbems.
There are plenty that do, though. And I'm sure it won't be difficult for you to find an appropriate sim.
It's obviously better if you are familiar with the series and movies. But the DM isn't a game with an obsession for technical details. The only requisite for this ship is common sense.
If at any time you have doubts about what to write, you can always contact the CO or XO.
Another option is to search the internet for relevant information.
Here are three interesting websites :
>> Daystrom Institute
>> StarTrek.com Library
>> Memory Alpha
First off, you can get an idea of my writing style with these posts :
. Collision (Jan'05) |
. Assurances (Dec'06) |
I am into pbems since 1999 and have been in all the major fleets found online.
As the Captain of this ship, and unlike many COs in other pbem games, I take a very active role in all our missions.
I created this game in December 2004 after noticing a growing lack of quality and consistency on the ships where I played. So I decided to create the type of game I would have liked to find. I see it as a protected space for those rare players who actually like to write and take pride in the way they develop their characters.
As for myself, being the CO doesn't make me anything "special". I am a crew member just like everyone else, at the exception that I am often stuck on the Bridge ;-).
My role also consists of making sure that missions are run smoothly. I also reply to each and every enquiry and see to it that our website is updated regularly.
All missions begin with background information, and everyone can take on whichever direction they chose, resulting in an open ended plot. However, questions are always welcome at any time.
What is important to me, is to have missions with a proper beginning, middle and ending.
If at some point, there is no input from the players, then I as Captain will move things along, without imposing my will upon the game itself.
Promotions aren't distributed like confetti.
Besides, with most department head players starting as Lieutenants, it doesn't leave much room for promotion. However I do consider promotions every two missions.
If you feel you need to learn how to play, check these following websites, to find other games :
- www.pbm.com.
- rec . games . pbm (Google Groups).
Academies being the bane of experienced players, there is none on this game.
All you need to join is to send me a bio of your character, and a post (400 word minimum).
If you are accepted (which is likely to happen, unless you write like a 7 year old ;-) ) you will be able to send this post as your first contribution towards the game.
Players usually start with the rank of Lieutenant. Unless you prefer to play an NCO, Ensign or Civilian, none-the-less the posting rate remains the same : once a week.
If you join while the ship is about to complete a mission, you can write your character going to Starbase Dyerma IV, where the DM regularly returns. Otherwise you'll have to flashback your arrival in order to be on the same time-line as everyone else.
Once on board you'll have to report to the XO. And from then on, it's up to you to bring life to your character.
The absolute freedom offered on the DM means that this is not the best of places for being 'baby-sitted' <hint> ;-).
These second characters are owned and protected by crew members.
They are to be treated like primary characters. To get one, you need to submit a bio for the said character and post at least once per fortnight for it.
This is in addition to what you already write for your regular role.
I prefer to avoid split-fixes. So slight mistakes that do not affect the plot will be ignored. After all, a pbem is only for entertainment and we all have a real life that takes up most of our time. (ie : I truly can't be bothered to chase each and every inaccurate details ;-). )
In the event of more serious mistakes, I contact the players off-game to point out the error, so that it doesn't develop any further. Ideally, the player who created the fault should amend his post with another entry. If it isn't done, then the CO or XO will make the needed correction.
Although a game shouldn't move too fast, I would hate it to become stuck because players aren't sure how the mission or shore leave should continue.
Yes, back posting will occasionally occur at any time during a mission.
I try to offer as much freedom as possible on the DM, so, yes, players can move time forward as well, if they want. I prefer however that no one jumps too far into the future, as otherwise it can disrupt the mission and any plans some players might have, including myself.
There are no defined guidelines regarding the length of an in-game day, when compared to RL days. On the DM we have days where a lot of events will happen (sometimes it takes weeks just to describe a single day), while other days will be rather empty and even skipped.
No. I prefer players to create original characters, as opposed to using those already created for the series.
This is simply to ensure that excessive posting doesn't happen on the DM. If this happens, the other players assume wrongly that they have to keep up with this posting rate to remain within the game.
When a mission related post reaches the game, good players will want to react to it. But in order to make every one happy, I have discovered that it's best not to have too many such posts per week, otherwise it's virtually impossible to follow the plot and post for one's department.
No, I don't use MSN. I can't spend much time on line and so prefer to rely on emails.
Not at all :-). I just wrote them this way so as to be as straightforward as possible.
All pbems are the same, they want decent behaviour and respect. I just didn't have the energy or time to write them like some far-fetched law documents.
I hate the "background" nonsense that clutters certain games. What I want is to play my character and interact with other writers, not to be muddled up with one hundred paragraphs of rules and regulations.
Ted
Aka Lars Persson
CO
USS Dark Matter
