Drafter: Fran Churchard (Gateway Station / USS Suttner) <<Note: It should be stressed, the "FRPG Race" would be entirely voluntary and would likely only involve the one or two people from a unit that choose to particpate.>> The aim behind this idea was, simply, to provide an opportunity for players from all ships to post together. It is intended to be a fun event, not something more serious, a sort of posting free-for-all if you will. The format is based on something Matt Breckenridge (currently CONN, USS PROPHECY) and I came up with when we were serving together on the Gateway - 'The Catullan Race'. This, in RPG terms, is an event held once a year on the Catuallan homeworld, where small ships surf a particle wave released by the planet's moon and then charge for the finishing ring. Matt and I posted this race on our own the first time around, but I'm hoping to open it up to anyone in the fleet who's interested. For further background on the first race, see the Gateway Archives for 2000, starting from approximately the 19th May. The Fine Print All registered participants for the race will need to have maintained a minimum posting frequency of 1 post per week for the entire month (4 weeks, therefore minimum of four posts) BEFORE THE START OF THE RACE in order to be permitted to take part in the event. The Plan * All those wishing to enter will create a ship, either on their own
or in pairs, to race in the event. Full technical specifications will
not be required; a broad outline should suffice, as half the challenge
is writing about the ship so that the rest of the competitors get a good
mental image of it. There are, however, several logistical difficulties, in particular. The Winner After consultation with the ExO Council, I think the fairest way to decide this would be a vote by all those participating, towards the end of the second week. The only other options would be to make the winner completely random and pull a name out of the hat, or get in a judging panel, neither of which seem particularly desirable. Second place will be decided in the same way; other than that, finishing positions will be left unspecified. Participants will be asked to vote simply on the basis of whose posting they enjoyed reading the most, not who is the best writer, had the best ship, and so on. They would, however, be encouraged to take into account how much of an effort people have put into the race, not in terms of quantity posted only, but also in terms of the detail invested in their ships and so on. This would mean that whilst posting the race, players would have to be careful not to assign specific positions to other ships e.g. 'Two ships were pulling in front' not 'HAVOC and XERXES were pulling away in front'. After the winner has been decided, everyone can then post their own vessels crossing the finishing line. The Timing I would be reluctant to do the race over a holiday period as inevitably some people will be away and thus unable to join in. On the other hand, if it takes in term-time, lots of people will be very busy. My current thinking is to set it in November, when mid-terms in the States should, I think, be finished (?), and no-one in the UK is likely to be doing exams. I'm hoping the same is true of players in other countries. I am aware some people may find they simply cannot spare the time, however I would point out that their arrival post can be written in advance, and the final week is not essential (although I am hoping everyone will join in !), so for those with real time constraints, there are ways round the problem. If the race is approved by the Council, I intend to ask for firm declarations of interest by the end of July. Once I know who is participating, I can set up a mailing list to discuss exact dates, and hopefully that will help us accommodate as many people as possible. Mailing Lists etc. When I mentionned this idea to the ExO council, some of them very helpfully passed the message on to their crews. Initial feedback suggests there are already between 6 to 10 people interested, which is more than enough to make it workable. I would be surprised if their were more than 15 entrants (that works out at approximately two per ship), but at a pinch, I think it could be managable with as many as twenty if some people were racing in pairs. As I said, the logistics are complicated, but I am happy to do all the organising, and beyond asking ExO's to act as relays in passing messages on to their crews, there is no reason why anyone else should be dragged in unless they want to help. I will make it emphatically clear to everyone that they cannot stop posting on their main ships in order to participate in this race. However, if players who might otherwise post with blistering frequency drop down to one post a week on their main ships, I hope CO's would be sympathetic as this would only last for three weeks and would be a unique opportunity to interact with players from all over the fleet simultaneously. The numbers involved mean that it is inevitabley almost impossible for all seven ships to do things as a fleet. Even getting two ships together for a joint mission is complicated, and so I think there is a lot to be said for having at least one occasion where people from different ships get together. People who haven't posted with their ACT friends for ages can get together and race as a pair, those who've since transferred to other ships can hook up with old friends - the possibilities are endless. I hope it would be a lot of fun; personally, I have a terrible weakness for ships, flying and technobabble which I know several others in the FRPG share, so 'racing' my own ship inevitably seems like a great idea! But for those people who don't share in this particular obsession, there's a still a great chance here; those who aren't happy messing around with technology can pair up with someone who is, and enjoy themselves interacting with other participants, cheering on their team and all the rest of it. Flying will dominate the middle week of the three, but the first and third weeks will be more messing around than anything else, with plenty of scope for minor plotlines and interaction (I've already had someone asking if they can play a saboteur, though I'm taking that under advisement!). There is plenty of scope for lunacy unnconnected with flying and ships. Finally, I would like to stress once again that this is likely to be a fun event. If it is a little. implausible that all these people would congregate to surf round a moon, then I'm happy to let it slip past. (grins) However, do not fear, this will not be unrestrained chaos, and I have no doubt the partcipants will keep their imagination within the bounds of plausibility, as they would on any mission. Any questions or comments, please send them to fran@fchurha.fsnet.co.uk. As ExO for the Suttner I do read the Council lists, and so can respond on-list to any comments made through Mike Huber. Many thanks for taking the time to consider this proposal. Fran Churchard, CO's Comments: The events leading up to the race providing great posting opportunities
for the players on the crew. It also showed great cooperation between
the two players that were participating in the race. Vtoes: Outcome: Passed/Closed SD 2.20520.1401 |