LCARS:NovaFAQ

Nova is a content management system designed specifically for role play games. Popular within Star Trek communities, it's well suited for games with hierarchical organization, such as star trek and other military-like settings, though with a little bit of patience it can be adjusted for other settings. It has many things in common with both forum and mailing list (play by email) rp. Some of its advantages include:

• Easy app/bio management system, with the ability for staff to review and approve easily. Once approved, bios are displayed in a well organized manner for players and visitors alike.
• The ability to group posts into missions, to make it easier to read a story arc from start to finish later. Think of a log as a scene within the story, and the mission as a book, episode, or movie.
• A built in editor that allows players to write a cohesive post together, and allow them to thread and edit together their contributions for a more enjoyable reading experience.

If you have any questions that you think should be included here, please either drop them on the talk page, or contact the command team. We'll address them as soon as we can.

FAQ

Why Nova?

Nova is a content management system designed specifically for written role play games, and does not require the specialized modifications that forums may, it provides a ready made website for display of supplemental information for the game, and it's fairly easy to install and maintain. The ability to link multiple characters to one account makes writing easier for more prolific players (a feature most forums need to install a mod for), and allows for writers to make sure their collaborations and communications get directed to the right person when they want to interact with a particular character. The manifest system allows for quick access to hierarchical information, as well as department groupings. The system makes it possible to control access to what players can edit themselves, allowing for granular control when delegating tasks to staff and players.

Like a forum, it provides a way to write with other players built in, but like a mailing list, it allows the players to format it as needed by only making use of one text field for all collaborative writers to contribute together. In mailing list RP, you have to edit a joint post together in some third party software (such as sharing a text document back and forth, or worse yet an email that you had to clean all the less than characters out from quoting back and forth, before Google Docs was a thing), or on a forum, each contribution is a self contained little nugget that can't be blended together when the narrative wants it, but on Nova you have a built in editing system that allows all contributions to be edited together into one cohesive piece of prose.

How do I get started?

Follow the join link in the Nova menu, where you'll be given a chance to review the game rules. These include important things like expected behavior standards and character creation guidelines. From there, you'll be taken to the application form where you will fill out your personal information and character bio. Be aware that you are agreeing to abide by the rules if you submit an application, and if there's anything in the rules you do not feel you can adhere to, you should either discuss it with the command team before joining, or you may not be a good fit for this game.

How do I get started writing?

Once your application is approved, and you're given full access to the Nova, you will have access to the writing control panel. From here, you can either start a new mission post or edit a saved one. Often times when a new member joins the crew, either the command team or a fellow crew mate will offer to write a joint mission post, otherwise known as a log, with the new player. One person will write what's called a starter: the beginning of the log that sets the scene for where it will take place, and often times what might be expected to happen within. Then all involved crew members will take turns contributing to the log by editing and saving it within the system. Once the scene is resolved, and all parties involved are satisfied and have signed the log, one person will make sure the title is in the correct format and post the log. This makes it available for everyone else to read.

If you have an idea for a log, don't hesitate to get writing. You do not need to write with anyone else, even though we understand this is how most people prefer to do most of their writing in an RP or sim; half the fun is in interacting with the other players after all! Just make sure you've got an idea of what else is currently happening on the ship (or wherever the plot is taking place) by reading recently released logs. You wouldn't want to contradict what has already been established in the plot. We welcome all players to contribute to what's happening in the sim, we simply ask that if wish to introduce a large element to the plot, or interact with something that's already established, you discuss it with the command team or the player/s who originated what you wish to influence. We try not to say no to most ideas, but be aware that depending on what else is going on and established canon (both Star Trek hard canon, and sim canon), your ideas may need some adjustment to play well with everything else.

Why is there a word count on the edit field?

We may not hold to a minimum word count for participation, but some of our players have been known to write long logs. In order to make it easy to see when a log might be reaching a point where it should be split into multiple parts or wrapped up, we provide a running count of characters and words that have been written thus far.

How do I plan out and brainstorm logs before I start writing?

We have a Discord server to make it easy for all players to discuss happenings for the sim, both in character and out. There you can ask your crew mates if anyone is interested in helping you with your idea, check in with the command team to see where you might be helpful, or simply just chat about whatever's happening. From there you can move to private message for more in depth discussion. If the crew member you wish to write with is not on Discord, you can use the Nova's built in private message system, or if they've listed another instant messenger handle in their bio, you can try to reach out that way.

If there is interest, we may put together a recommended method (and wiki template) to allow people to post plot ideas and requests on the LCARS as a subpage of one's user page. Feel free to let us know if this is something you're interested in by either commenting on this page's talk page, or reaching out to the command team with comment.

What are the biggest stylistic differences between writing on Nova and forum RP?

You may need to refer to your character by name more often than you're used to, as Forum posting often is done as a dedicated user per character, allowing you to use pronouns without having to specifically state who you're writing for, where as Nova being a cohesive and collaborative piece of prose means that each time someone adds something new, they need to make it clear the focus has shifted.

Nova tends to work better with short and frequent contributions to a log, where as forums tend to encourage longer posts in lower frequency. That's not to say you can't write a lot with each contribution to a log, but it depends upon the story the log is trying to tell. As an extension of this, Nova does also encourage more out of character communication and plotting, in order to ensure that all writers get an enjoyable experience. This may mean things like, your character may be an asshole and not give a shit about what people think of them, but you need to discuss with the writers of the character you're interacting with to decide together what the most enjoyable way for writers and readers to experience that asshole nature.