I have a soft spot for civilian Trek games, ever since being a member of the Kal-Dixas Spaceport sim ten years ago. The last one I joined, SS Walkabout closed in June, and I've been searching for another ever since. Does anyone know of a good freighter/civilian ship (or civilian station) based PBeM game? Or a colony that isn't overrun with Starfleet types? Not that I'm against playing Starfleet characters - I just get tired of the rank-and-file mission structure, and civilian games tend to get away from that. I enjoy the atmosphere more - people are more interested in the writing and community of players than in gaining rank. My preference would be play-by-email, but failing that, I guess I could bring myself to join a forum-based game. So anyone know of a good civilian game set in the Trek universe?
There used to be a game called Elite MANY years ago on the Amiga and Atari - we're talking late 80's/early 90's. There is apparently an Elite 4 which has been under development for some time. Might be along those lines.
Well, thanks, guys, but... I don't think we're on the same page. I'm asking about Play-By-EMail RPGs, commonly referred to as sims.
I used to play that on the Amiga 1200 (early 1990's!). Yikes. Brings back memories of Strauss and trying to rotate my ship around before doing manual docking. Game became too difficult as you always were fending off space pirates and the police, lol.
Does anyone read anymore? From my first post: But thanks anyway, Devys. So far, you're the only person to respond on topic.
I'm afraid that I don't know of many. Civilian based Trek RPGs (well Trek RPGs for that matter) don't seem to last very long anymore. I'm afraid that I don't know of any which are still active.
I can suggest sims where rank isn't any overriding factor over stories, but for civilian only sims, no. Can however suggest a sim or two that has more civilians than fleeters.
Why not design one of your own? I'd love to help develop your PBEM "sim" concept's back-story & vessel / station stats. Do you have a webspace such as Geocities that would be available to display your sim's information? trekwriter31@yahoo.ca
Thanks for the reply, Lashmore. I'll be happy to take a look at any you suggest, especially if it's something where the civvies are more than just on the sidelines with nothing to do. And Jason, thanks for the offer, but I've GMed games in the past and I don't have the time needed to develop and run one now. And to be perfectly blunt, I've seen you post idea after idea here, on TCR, on STPMA, without ever developing one beyond its infant stages. It doesn't seem as if you have the patience or the attention span to put something together yourself, let alone be a team player with someone who takes it seriously and doesn't flit from one shiny object to the next. We would not work well together at all.
Well, I can suggest ...and I kinda hate doing it publicly as I think OOC the fleet has hierarchy problems that desperately need thinking, but Obsidian Colony or Deep Space 5 from obsidian fleet as the best choices over there for civilian application. Hell if I remember correctly Obsidian Colony was looking for a Mayor of the civilian population which would be fun after watching Jericho. For story where rank doesn't matter, there is a ship thats gonna be labelled 'Rogue' soon in which I am Executive Officer. A conspiracy forming within starfleet command has elad the USS Roanoke to be falsly accused of crimes against the constitution and been labeled as pirates to be either arrested or shot on sight. The crew must unravel the mysteries as well as survive in a galaxy where everyone is hunting them. And if beign labeled rogue was not enough, half of the ships crew are undesirabels of the federation as it is. Former criminals, former assassins and former thieves. Being Rogue allows many civilians to take up important positions within the crew and story without the need for any starfleet academy attendance...and yes, if starfleet vessels push us into a corner, we're going to fight back in order to defend ourselves. With the CO and XO being former criminals, theives and a little bit of assassin, add alcoholism to the fact...the USS Roanoke is far from a rank based game but rather a character driven simulation. We tackle what other trek sims fear to do. Realism in a much truer to reality darker version of the trek universe. PM me if any of this is of interest to you, I will provide links.
Oh. Obsidian Colony must be the only high-profile sim like this out there. I just left that group, actually. My experience with their GM was so bad that I'm really tempted to speak out of school, but shall bite my tongue for now. I actually found the Walkabout sim by way of Obsidian Colony's page. They were the only two sims in the Obsidian Fleet that looked remotely interesting to me, and so I joined Walky, which first left, then folded. Still, it was a much better experience than the hell that is Obsidian Colony, where once again the Fleeters are the only ones who can ever actually get involved in the storyline, and damn few of them. It sounds like you've got an interesting concept here. But, for right now, it's not for me. Thanks, though, and I certainly wish you good luck!
Well I have no experience with obsidian Colony to give a rebuttle, as far as I know you're 100% correct I know there are 'elitist' groups within all fleets, so it doesn't seem implausible anyway. ...hows that for a diplomatic way of saying it. lol Anyway, good luck.
Wow, I have to say, I've never played a Trek PBeM RPG, but from the comments in this thread, they don't really sound like much fun at all!
Oh, they can be a hell of a lot of fun... or they can just be hell. You need the right mix of people, and the right GM. Of course, that all depends on what you're going for. There's a bunch that are nothing more than munchkin types with zero plot and all "kewl battles." Then there's the groups more focused on creative, collaborating writing and character development. And everything in between. You need to look around for one with a setting that interests you, and then see if you like the other people involved.
I don't give a hoot what you'd appreciate. You offered a rather annoying reply in my thread, to which I responded honestly, and frankly, with great restraint. If your ego is too fragile to deal with a calm, albeit straight up and blunt rebuttal, you'll never survive on the internet. Now, hopefully, I've made plain where I stand on your pedantic interloping; if you don't like it, you're welcome to stay clear.