GENERAL
» WHAT IS FUTUROLOGY?Futurology is a mission-based game where characters are employed to save the worlds they visit, performing a number of tasks in order to protect the timeline.
» WHAT ARE THE COMMUNITIES?![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png) futurology is the network community, for text/voice/video posts. epidemiology is the log community, where action threads will be logged out. axiology is the OOC community. Finally, thirstology is the meme comm.
» EXPLAIN MISSIONS.Characters will be sent to various worlds on missions, which will last a few months; the exact ending date may change depending on character actions. Characters will be given housing in the area and an appropriate amount of pocket money, along with opportunities to gather information from the locals.
As information comes in, groups of people will be sent to do certain tasks. For example, say the current monarch has been acting strange and erratic lately, and sentences all dissenters to death. The characters discover that just before this began, a travelling circus came to town. A group will investigate the travelling circus performers while the rest attempt to keep peace in town, and discover that one of the performers is actually an evil sorcerer who has been controlling the monarch through an enchanted item that was surreptitiously placed on their person while they were watching the circus.
Certain tasks will be entirely voluntary, where characters can choose to go or not go. In the interest of keeping characters who might not volunteer involved, certain tasks will be mandatory.
Characters are allowed to go off and do their own thing relating to missions, but they need to be discussed with mods first (so we can tell you the basics of how it'd go down, like whether or not that passage in the sewers leads anywhere important, etc!) and logged out, either with a group or as a narrative.
» HOW DO I GET INVOLVED?
Be active! Simply by being a part of the game, your character has involvement in the plot. Extra activity will give you more chances to have important roles.
You may also run player plots. Characters will be allowed to go off on their own and attempt certain things as long as it has been cleared by a mod and they write a thread or narrative detailing it. Submit player plot ideas here.
APPLICATIONS
» WHAT CHARACTERS CAN I APP?
You can app any fandom, canon AU, or original character. Fandom OCs are allowed but must be from open worlds such as World of Darkness, MMORPGs, etc. You may also app "native" OCs who voluntarily joined ALASTAIR from their original world.
Non-humanoids can be apped, but they must be able to communicate and carry out tasks given to them. If they can do so with their original body, they can keep it. If they can't, a synthetic (android) body will be provided for them by ALASTAIR. There currently are no height caps for characters.
Companion type characters can be apped provided that they display sufficient personality within their canon. For example, Kero from Cardcaptor Sakura and many of the droids from Star Wars would be considered appable; however, Naga from the Legend of Korra would not. You're always welcome to ask the mods if you're unsure if your character would be appable.
There is no age restriction on characters and you may app characters with unique needs. Characters such as vampires will have blood bags supplied to them, and characters with illnesses can be cured or provided medication depending on what the player wants.
The following characters are not allowed to be apped:
→ CRAUs
→ Fandom AUs. You could app 2014!Castiel from Supernatural, but not from an "always a human" AU.
→ Character doubles, as of April 2017. If there is already a Sherlock Holmes from the novels in-game, we will not allow any other version of Sherlock Holmes to be apped. Any doubles currently in game or queue will be grandfathered in.
» CAN I APP FROM A NEWLY RELEASED CANON?
You may app from canons as soon as they are released provided there is enough canon for the character you wish to app. We ask that you be respectful of other players and put up a spoiler opt-out post if you do app from recently released canons.
» HOW MANY CHARACTERS CAN I PLAY?
Players are currently allowed to have a maximum of two characters in-game at a time. In order to apply for a second character, a player must submit double AC (four proofs) for two months, for a total of eight proofs over those two months. This can be done retroactively; however, all proofs submitted must abide by regular AC standards. Please see this post for additional details.
» ARE THERE SAMPLE APPS I CAN LOOK AT FOR REFERENCE?
There absolutely are! Take a look at this page for a variety of apps that have been shared with player permission.
» DO YOU ALLOW APP CHALLENGES?
At this point in time, we do not allow app challenges for the same character as we feel this is not be feasible with our current application process.
» ARE THERE ANY CHARACTER/CANON/GAME CAPS?Players are allowed a maximum of two characters in-game at a time, and one application in the queue at a time. There is currently a cast cap of six characters and a cap of 80 characters in-game.
OOC MECHANICS
» WHAT ARE THE ACTIVITY REQUIREMENTS?
Activity Check is open from 00:01 UTC on the 1st of the month to 23:59 UTC on the 5th. Activity must be provided within that timeframe. Late submissions are not accepted. We require two proofs of activity:
→ Five action/log comments in a single thread. These can be in any community if, for example, a network thread turns to action.
→ Seven network comments in a single thread. These can be from any community or IC inboxes.
You can provide two proofs of five log comments, two proofs of seven network comments, or both proofs. Both threads must be with different characters. All threads submitted must have been started during that month. Threads started during the AC check-in period or from months prior cannot be used as proofs. Log posts or network posts made with no replies are not eligible for activity check, but can be used for extra activity.
There are a few caveats to AC, listed below:
→ If you are on hiatus you will not need to comment to AC; however, retroactive hiatuses and hiatuses made during the AC check-in period will not exempt you from AC. Hiatuses must be made before the 15th of the month in order to qualify for AC exemption.
→ If you were accepted in the last two weeks of the month, you are required to check in for AC but will not need to submit activity proofs.
→ If you find you do not have activity and wish to take a strike, you must PM the mods before the end of the AC period to discuss your situation. Strikes will be granted on a case-by-case basis. You will be required to provide 1.5x AC (equivalent to 3 proofs) the following month in order to clear your strike.
Consecutive hiatuses and strikes are not allowed and will result in the character being idled. If you have extenuating circumstances, please contact the mods before AC closes so we can discuss it on a case-by-case basis.
» EXTRA ACTIVITY?
In the interest of fairness, NPC CR will not determine any privileges given to characters. Instead, extra activity proofs given will award you points which will be able to be cashed in for IC rewards. Head over to the AC Bank for more information!
» SO WHAT EXACTLY CAN I BUY THROUGH THE AC BANK?Just about anything your heart desires! We've provided a list of rewards that you're welcome to choose from, but you're by no means limited to only what's on the list. Feel free to propose something to us and we'll do our best to work out a compromise with you if what you've requested isn't feasible with the game's meta.
Please note that all items that provide practical and/or dangerous use such as weapons, armor, pets, and abilities must be purchased through AC rewards, regardless of whether they are ICly available to characters in the current mission setting. This includes materials that may later be used to make weapons as well.
Submissions to AC Bank are accepted month-round, however you are only allowed to submit once per month. This means that if you buy an item through the AC bank on May 15, you will must wait until June in order to buy something else or submit more threads.
» WHAT HAPPENS IF I DROP/HIATUS?
For regular drops, your character will be sent away on a different mission; this is IC knowledge, a message is sent out alerting all the transferred character's teammates. Please use the drop post. If you idle out, you will not be able to reapply for two months. If you reapply for the same character and elect to keep their in-game memories of their previous stay, you are welcome to come up with your own ideas for missions they may have gone on while they were transferred. Please submit your ideas to us so we can get them approved! However, characters who are dropped and then re-apped by the same player will not be allowed to keep any AC rewards purchased during their previous stay.
If your character has been in-game longer than 6 months, they have the option of being actually sent home and getting closure with their close CR! However, you must contact us regarding this kind of drop, so that we can tie everything into our meta! These are considered permanent drops; while another "version" (read: another timeline) of them can still be apped by a new player or by yourself at a later point, you will not be allowed to re-app that character with their old ALASTAIR memories.
For hiatuses, characters can be on autopilot or sent on a side-mission that would take them away from the group for the duration of the hiatus. You may ask the mods to create a side-mission for your character; please note that on your comment when filling out the hiatus form. See this post for additional information.
Please note that there is no IC mechanism stopping characters from transferring to support roles (non-field work), something that is only OOCly possible by dropping, so please consider these requests carefully before making them.
IC MECHANICS
» IS THERE A LANGUAGE BARRIER?Yes and no! All spoken language and messages (voice or text) sent over the network will be magically translated so that characters can understand each other. Written language in books and notes, on the other hand, will not be translated except for those in Oska. During mission debriefing, ALASTAIR technicians will upload language packs to characters' jewelcomms. This will allow them to read any native languages the technicians might expect them to encounter in mission worlds. Please note that this will not affect characters who cannot read in the first place!
» WHAT'S THE TIME ZONE/DAY RATIO?The game runs on UTC time. To convert UTC to your time zone, you can use this handy dandy website. The game also runs on a 1:1 day ratio, meaning for every one OOC day, one IC day occurs. Sometimes OOC time dilation is needed for the sake of events, and these will always be noted. For the sake of ease, if lunar eclipses/full moons/etc. affect your character, they will occur on the same days that they do IRL regardless of the world.
» HOW DOES THE NETWORK WORK?Characters will receive an enchanted piece of jewelry (of their choosing). When the wearer wishes it, it will display videos or text in front of them that only they can see, or play audio messages. Instead of using a physical or holographic keyboard, characters need only think up the message they wish to send. They can broadcast messages to the whole crew or have one-on-one conversations via personal inboxes. However, filtering to certain groups of people is not possible and neither are private threads to specific characters. You may, however, mark something as "private" as shorthand for a thread carried over to a character's inbox. Anonymous posts and replies are also not allowed. All conversations in a network broadcast are publicly visible, and voice-to-text/dictation is available for those who need it.
The piece of jewelry can be whatever the characters want within reason — ALASTAIR will provide a variety of necklaces, bracelets, rings, earrings, etc. but they don't have any enchanted belly button piercings, for example! As long as it's somewhat professional, characters will be allowed to have it.
Characters will be allowed to choose a name to identify themselves by when they first use their jewelry. Usernames can contain spaces and symbols, so Two Words! works fine. If they decline to choose a username, it will default to their real name, all lowercase, no spaces, i.e. johndoe.
For more information on the network, see this post!
» WHAT CAN MY CHARACTERS BRING WITH THEM?Characters are limited to whatever is on their person at their canonpoint. This includes clothing, trinkets, armor, weapons. Please detail what your character is bringing with them in the inventory section of your application.
They can also arrive with pets and mounts provided that the animals are with the character at the time of arrival. There is a two pet limit per character; this includes both pets the character brings from their home world as well as pets earned through AC rewards. Mounts will count as pets in this case. Please be aware that we have a no breeding policy in place when it comes to pets; all pets will be magically neutered while in ALASTAIR. Those furry families your recruit dreams of will have to wait.
If you would like to regain an item or pet that was not listed on your application, you may do so through AC Bank.
If characters are injured at time of arrival, you can choose to have them either keep the injuries or have the injuries be healed.
» WHAT ABOUT MY CHARACTER'S MAGICAL PET?We will allow some special pets to be apped in on a case-by-case basis, provided the pet in question gets its abilities nerfed so as not to be game-breaking and is in the character's possession at their apped canon point. Please check in with us first. Be aware that fantasy animals such as pegasi, phoenixes, etc. cannot be redeemed via AC rewards.
UPDATE: As of 25 May 2017, magical and mythological creatures may now be purchased through the AC bank. Flying mounts are permitted, as long as they are no bigger than a horse (two passengers max). You may purchase your magical pet with its powers intact for a higher bonus coin sum, or you may purchase the pet and its abilities separately.
» WHAT ABOUT MY CHARACTER'S POWERS?
All powers are allowed. Potentially game-breaking powers will be nerfed on a case-by-case basis. Players are also allowed to request loss of their characters powers or a strengthening of their powers (or completely different powers entirely!) via the AC Bank.
» MY CHARACTER HAS SPECIAL NEEDS.
As long as the the mechanic in question does not have wide-reaching consequences for the whole game, you're free to play your ghost as invisible, or your vampire as allergic to sunlight, medicine can be provided to the sick—or not! We leave this up to player choice. Pick whatever is most fun or easiest for you to play!
» WHAT IF MY CHARACTER DIES?
This game has a form of permadeath. If your character is not immortal in some way, a death will require a drop. However, the character will still be appable by others in the future.
Exceptions may be made when either game or player plot allows it, but all instances will need mod permission. With regards to player plots, there must be a reasonable IC mechanism that explains how a character is brought back to life (e.g. another character has a canon ability to resurrect the dead), and you must check in with the mods before going forward with the revival.
» MY QUESTION ISN'T ANSWERED HERE.
Ask it here and we will do our best to reply promptly!
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futurologists) wrote2015-09-04 03:25 pm
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