Federation News Network
The importance of being there.
As this is primarily a group story-telling game within which you play a single, but important role, consistent involvement is key.
We don’t expect anyone to reschedule their wedding day around mission times, nor do we believe a perfect attendance record is essential (life does throw up roadblocks, after all), but making missions on a regular basis is nonetheless important for both your understanding of the mission arc, and for your crew’s sake, too.
You are a major part of every mission, and your sudden disappearance can cause the story to grind to a halt, reducing everyone else’s fun. There’s no real way for a ship to fight its way out of a greedy black hole if its NAV officer is suddenly unavailable for several missions in a row, and it means the whole mission will need to be re-evaluated around you absences.
Often, a GD will concoct a secondary mission just for a certain department or for a crewmember who may not be part of the main plot. It could be a nasty rhinovirus outbreak to keep the doc busy during treaty negotiations, or it might be a Cardassian vole chewing ODN relays to give the Engineers a run for their money while everyone’s busy at an archaeological dig… but if that side mission has been crafted for you, and then you don’t show up week after week, well… what happens with that Cardassian vole, then? Disaster, that’s what! With no Engineer to hunt it down and repair the damage, the blasted thing will destroy your ship!
(Have at it, Engineers!)
Equally, regular logs are also a mainstay of the game. Knowing what your character is thinking, feeling and planning makes mission time more fun for you and for your GD, too. As your GD is there as a story facilitator, they will occasionally take mental notes on your logs and implement them in the game. Never fear that a plan you have outlined in a log will be countered by a GD in mission out of spite. If your plan is sound, nine times out of ten, it’ll work in mission. A GD is not there to ruin your crew’s success, rather they are there to ensure the pace of a mission remains enjoyable all round and that all players get some fodder for log-writing each week.
Of course, any good GD will throw in the occasional curve ball, but that’s part of the fun, right?
With both attendance and log-writing in mind, it’d be rather unfair on those writing regularly, and making time for their missions, if others were putting in less effort and slowing everything down and to that end, we have a set of time limits in place on non-participation.
If you pass beyond these time limits, you risk removal from the ship in question. You will be warned 1 week in advance of your removal, so you have an opportunity to correct the pattern.
Non-writing of logs: 4 missions in a row (or an on-going pattern of non-writing)
Non-attendance: 3 missions in a row (or an on-going pattern of non-attendance)
Non-communication with your GD or CO (total radio silence): 2 weeks.
These time limits may be breached without penalty only if your GD and CO are informed beforehand. If you need to take an extended holiday away from the game (for instance, for exams or a long vacation), you can be granted a Leave Of Absence for a specific number of weeks agreed with your GD and CO. That way, a reason for your character’s disappearance can be written into the mission and things can progress more smoothly until your return.
(Missions, smoother than an android’s butt, eh Data?)
All in all, we hope you enjoy playing Star Trek: Engage. We certainly enjoy making it available for you to play, and we look forward to many great missions in the future.
