Good day Commanding Officers, Players, and general lurkers of the Fleet. We hope you’re having a great day, and are keeping well.
As part of the modernization efforts of the Fleet, one of the things we want to work on is ways to provide you with more support. It has been said that simming is a collaborative experience – it’s about teamwork, cooperation, and mutual creativity. As part of this effort, the Joint Fleet Command and the Fleet Council have worked out a new system to help Commanding Officers get a little more support. One of the biggest pieces of feedback we received was the need for support in being able to find ways to successfully navigate maintaining a sim. From idea creation, to mission planning, and sometimes just having a soundboard to make sure you are on the right track, a partner in crime can be invaluable.
But reaching out to someone to get that help is hard, and sometimes you’re not sure who to go to. So we took some of that out of the way for you all, and are rolling out the Sim Buddy System. This will partner two sims together as a sort of “sister ship” configuration, allowing them to work together to ensure that both are succeeding. This will involve having a direct line of communication with them, an option to work together and create plots together, and a check in system with the various Task Force Commanding Officers (who are participating as well), to ensure things are working well.
How will this work?
Using our advanced calculation computer proved useless. So instead we propped up Lancaster’s love of Beer and had him get to work crunching some numbers. A combination of posting metrics, story type, crew sizes, and seniority were used to calculate everything, in hopes of pairing each sim with a sim that will fit with it well. Using these systems, plus some checks and balances, the Fleet has paired each sim with a sister ship.
Once you have been told your sister sim, it’s a simple matter of opening the dialogue with them. Chat with them, get to know one another, and maybe share a joke. Here, we have a starter for you:
Q: What does a Romulan frog use for camouflage?
A: A croaking device.
Ha.
Now that you have bonded over the shared pain of that terrible pun, you can begin the working part of the relationship. How much support you need from each other is up to you. Just want to chat once a month and check in? Great! Need a weekly working session, awesome, do it up. Your relationship is yours to do as much or as little as you want.
Now, of course we know that every pairing might not work as expected, and that’s okay. There is always the option to see about finding someone you might work better with, just reach out to the Joint Fleet Command, explain the situation, and then we will work to find you a new working partner. No hard feelings! Now, if for some reason you can’t get ahold of your partner, don’t panic. Loop your TFCO in, and they’ll connect with them, and make sure everything is okay.
We want to stress that this initiative is us trying to make the experiene of being part of the Fleet better by providing mutual support and creating connections across the Fleet so everyone feels welcome. And this is a growing phase, so there will be moments where this adapts and changes, and who knows, if it works well enough, we might shuffle it in the future so you get to work with other people in the Fleet.
Questions you might ask
“Hey, my friend wants to become a CO, can I be their partner?”
A great question! But, this program is designed to pair you with someone who you may not necessarily have worked with before. New ideas are the lifeblood of a growing Fleet! Look at Picard and all the good it did.
“My sim doesn’t take place in the prime universe. How do I cooperate with another sim?”
Well, the first multiverse crossover we saw was through a transporter accident. Well, except Minawara, his first crossover was Miles O’Brien kidnapping Sisko, but that is neither here nor there. Have some fun with it! Also, most of this is Out of Character, unless you don’t want it to be!
“I want to do a Joint Mission, what’s the best way to do that?”
Wonderful question. Currently there are a couple of places people can post that are outside of normal sims. Esquimalt Station in Task Force 72 for example is, technically, open to all! Alternatively, with places like Google Drive and the new up and coming Guilded, there are a couple places you can go to write content together. If you need a central hub, just let us know.
“I’m anti-social, do I have to participate?”
Well, technically no, participation is not mandatory – this is a hobby we do for fun after all – but it is highly encouraged. You never know who you’ll meet.
And that’s it, that’s all! If you have any questions, direct them to the FC and JFC, but don’t bother Lancaster too much, we’re still giving him water and encouragement after all that math he did for us.