Input Required: Fleet Timeline
Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 4:55 pm
Greetings members of the 11th Fleet
We need your input on a matter which has been under discussion by the Fleet Admiralty and the COs of the fleet for some time. Frankly, many are split on the issue, with the major stumbling block being how much it affects you, the everyday simmer. As our purpose on the PFA is to serve all of you, and provide you with an enjoyable environment to roleplay in, it only makes sense for us to come and ask your opinions on this topic.
The topic in question is the speed at which In Game (or In Character) time progresses in relation to the time progression of the real world. For years, most fleets have maintained an equal ratio; advancing their fleet’s year by one with each turn of a new year in the real world, and still many more sims have instead opted not to concern themselves with the year, and either leave it undefined, or leave it at its ‘default’ value on the day that the sim was founded.
However, with the amount of time it often takes for sims to progress through one mission, which In Character may only last a week or a month at most but will often extend into months in the real world, many of us believe that there isn’t enough time within the year to be able to fit in enough story telling without having to skip large gaps of time. Star Trek series most often had about 26 episodes in each season, which spanned a year in character; for many sims, the amount of missions they can push out in a year ranges from 2-5 on average. So, a proposal was put forward to alter the progression of In Character time; essentially we would only advance the In Character year once every two years. This would allow another full year for simmers to fit in stories and missions within the space of that In Character year, meaning that we have to skip out less, and that we can write about events that are linked with each other within a reasonable IC time frame.
We won't force any sim to adopt the fleet timeline, just like we don't now, but it will be what is used for the purposes of Fleet Canon and GAC articles. So you do not need to worry if you feel one way, but the popular vote goes the other. Your own sims can either go with whatever is decided here, or they can choose to ignore it. Sim timelines have always been rather flexible when it comes to sims joining up for a plot together, but this decision is to assist in managing the timeline for the fleet-at-large.
We would appreciate all of your input, as you are the ones who will be most affected by whatever happens with the IC year if your sim uses it or plans to make use of and follow it in the future. The topic has three simple voting options; Maintain current progression, Slow IC time progression to 2:1, and Abstain. Please only use abstain if it really doesn’t matter to you either way; we would obviously rather you chose one of the two other options, but we understand that not everybody will be interested in this, and the abstain option will be there to allow us to see that you’ve put the effort in to read this and to vote, even if you don’t mind which way we go. Please feel free if you wish to post in the topic your comments and thoughts regarding this potential change; we encourage freedom of speech on the forums and would appreciate any additional comments on your views if you have any.
Thank you for reading this, and please take the time to select your option. The poll will run for 14 days.
We need your input on a matter which has been under discussion by the Fleet Admiralty and the COs of the fleet for some time. Frankly, many are split on the issue, with the major stumbling block being how much it affects you, the everyday simmer. As our purpose on the PFA is to serve all of you, and provide you with an enjoyable environment to roleplay in, it only makes sense for us to come and ask your opinions on this topic.
The topic in question is the speed at which In Game (or In Character) time progresses in relation to the time progression of the real world. For years, most fleets have maintained an equal ratio; advancing their fleet’s year by one with each turn of a new year in the real world, and still many more sims have instead opted not to concern themselves with the year, and either leave it undefined, or leave it at its ‘default’ value on the day that the sim was founded.
However, with the amount of time it often takes for sims to progress through one mission, which In Character may only last a week or a month at most but will often extend into months in the real world, many of us believe that there isn’t enough time within the year to be able to fit in enough story telling without having to skip large gaps of time. Star Trek series most often had about 26 episodes in each season, which spanned a year in character; for many sims, the amount of missions they can push out in a year ranges from 2-5 on average. So, a proposal was put forward to alter the progression of In Character time; essentially we would only advance the In Character year once every two years. This would allow another full year for simmers to fit in stories and missions within the space of that In Character year, meaning that we have to skip out less, and that we can write about events that are linked with each other within a reasonable IC time frame.
We won't force any sim to adopt the fleet timeline, just like we don't now, but it will be what is used for the purposes of Fleet Canon and GAC articles. So you do not need to worry if you feel one way, but the popular vote goes the other. Your own sims can either go with whatever is decided here, or they can choose to ignore it. Sim timelines have always been rather flexible when it comes to sims joining up for a plot together, but this decision is to assist in managing the timeline for the fleet-at-large.
We would appreciate all of your input, as you are the ones who will be most affected by whatever happens with the IC year if your sim uses it or plans to make use of and follow it in the future. The topic has three simple voting options; Maintain current progression, Slow IC time progression to 2:1, and Abstain. Please only use abstain if it really doesn’t matter to you either way; we would obviously rather you chose one of the two other options, but we understand that not everybody will be interested in this, and the abstain option will be there to allow us to see that you’ve put the effort in to read this and to vote, even if you don’t mind which way we go. Please feel free if you wish to post in the topic your comments and thoughts regarding this potential change; we encourage freedom of speech on the forums and would appreciate any additional comments on your views if you have any.
Thank you for reading this, and please take the time to select your option. The poll will run for 14 days.