How do folks play Trek online?

[Lt. Dade]

Hi again,

I played for a little while in a STAR TREK email sim, which was more of a (delightful) creative writing exercise than it was an RPG, really, but I've never played any RPG successfully online.

What methods do you all use to play online? Email? Messengers? Something else?

I'm having a little bit of trouble locating Trek gamers in the Twin Cities since I moved here, and now I'm thinking about online play. What does a Trek game gain by being played online? What does it lose?

Opinions and anecdotes welcome. Thanks much!


word,
will

[Don Mappin]

Oh yea. Lots. My preference is IRC but it works best with small groups and good typists. PBEM and PBMB aren't my cup of tea and frequently fall more into the realm of "interactive storytelling" than actual role-playing for my tastes.

I wrote an article on this awhile ago that you can find here.

[Perrryyy]

What does a Trek game gain by being played online? What does it lose?

I'd be interested to hear what narrators form games I used to be in think of this.

Second part first..

For me, online games tend to be slow.. painully so. I also have a very hard time remembering plot over several days (though that could just be short attention span).

The main problem I've seen in online games is keeping everyone involved. In one game I played, I created (much to my dismay later), a character that was too specialized, and I also only stuck to thread parts that directly involved my characters' specialties.

From my own perspective, my creative writing skills were not up to snuff, but it's obvious yours are, so no problems there.

I ended up bowing out of that game for the most part due to my own problems, not problems with the game (other than perhaps speed).

Now the first part...

What's the gain? I think the main gain is anyone with a net connection can play, from anywhere in the world (but you knew that).

Help any?

[Perrryyy]

Originally posted by Don Mappin
Oh yea. Lots. My preference is IRC but it works best with small groups and good typists. PBEM and PBMB aren't my cup of tea and frequently fall more into the realm of "interactive storytelling" than actual role-playing for my tastes.

I wrote an article on this awhile ago that you can find here.

Question about IRC games. Am I right in assuming that you have to be able to "think on your feet"? If I take 5-10 minutes to come up with something in an online chat, that slows the game down terribly, doesn't it?

That's the one thing keeping me from playing an IRC style of game (along with my self-diagnosed lack of writing ability).

[AslanC]

I have no run one (aborted) IRC game and played in another.

I like it.

It is very much like table top roleplaying, but with less goofing off and a fair bit slower.

I remember thinking "They'll beam over to the pleasure craft and be back in time."

Then I noticed the session end was coming and they were still on the other ship...

So it takes time.

But overall very enjoyable stuff

[Don Mappin]

Originally posted by Perrryyy
Question about IRC games. Am I right in assuming that you have to be able to "think on your feet"? If I take 5-10 minutes to come up with something in an online chat, that slows the game down terribly, doesn't it?

Not necessarily, but that's a big reason I like it. IRC gaming can move quickly or slowly depending on how the GM handles it. I've been in IRC games that moved as fast as--or faster than--a tabletop game with the right players. The quality of role-playing was better as well. Inversely I've also been in larger games where stuff really dragged on.

Preparation on the GM's part is key, as is being a fast typist. (100+ wpm here.)

I like the thought of having to think on your feat. In a "real" Trek game you don't have 2-3 minutes to decide what to do when the Romulan appears in front of you with disruptor in hand...

[Don Mappin]

Originally posted by AslanC
I remember thinking "They'll beam over to the pleasure craft and be back in time."

Pleasure craft? Were there LGTs?

Damn I wanna play in one of your games!

[Sawyer II]

I've run several play-by-emails, the last one to finish up was a Spycraft game. And I have to say, of all the pbems I have been DM/GM/Narrator or a player/character in, there is a wide range of gamers.

Some gamers like to practice their writing skills in their posts. I have seen the other end of the spectrum - the player who makes his post in a one sentence-small syllable words. (He was playing an orc, so it fits his character.)

But the best, my Spycraft game, had five players posting replies just as if they were sitting across the table from me, in plain speak and no waxing eloquently. [Had to look up that word also.] No long speeches, no one-line actions. There was enough detail to know what the character was doing, and I replied just as if I was reading from my notes hand-written the night before the game.

I can't get into IRC games cause I work a 6 week rotating shift [7-3, 3-11, 11-7]. I can't guarentee I'll be available to get online at a specific time each night or week. Sucks for my table-top game, not to mention my bowling league also. Plus my family comes first.

But with pbem, I can read the post at work, formulate what my reply is going to be, and send something out before bed time. When the players post as often as they can, the game flows fast. 'At the speed of the slowest players' is my standard line.

[Lt. Dade]

So far it sounds to me like the benefits outweigh the potential losses, especially in an IRC game.

So the next obvious question would be, what sort of IRC program can somebody recommend me for Mac OSX (preferably) or PC?

I'm also wondering now, what sort of preparation time do you all think an online game requires versus a tabletop? To me, it seems like maybe more preparation since descriptions and such could/should be typed up before hand and all that.

Hmm.

word,
will

[dimeboy99]

http://anomaly.mushpark.com/index2.html

I am really enjoying this type of RP.

[Sawyer II]

Originally posted by Lt. Dade


So the next obvious question would be, what sort of IRC program can somebody recommend me for Mac OSX (preferably) or PC?

I used IRCle 3.1 for OSX myself. But Versiontracker.com has lots listed for you to chose from.

[IronLance]

Depends if you're looking for online RPG or trying to create your own with some like-minded friends.

If you're looking to join a group there are plenty out there and you'd need to use pretty much what everyone else in the group uses.

If you're looking to start your own, then see the url inthe post above for a list of available IRC's.

The group I'm with started off in AOL chatrooms. Since then, about six or seven years ago, most of the players have left aol and continue to RP in AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) chatrooms. We continue to use AIM because there are still players on AOL. However, AIM is a free download for Mac or Windows and even has a Linux version.

Is something lost in RP when you play online vs altogether in one room? Certainly, no stuffing your face with pizza together, no getting to see a players face when a particular trap or joke is sprung on them, essentailly none of the visual stuff that can make an otherwise boring night worthwhile.

On the other hand ( ), is there something gained by doing an online RP? Again it depends on exactly what you're after. I don't know where you moved from, but online RP can allow you to continue to interact in RP with your friends you had to leave. In the case of my group, it allows people from all walks of life, regardless of race, sex, and even age, to come together to do what they love... Trek Role Playing! And even online you can sling those Out-Of-Character comments back and forth and get the desired effect!

Online can be as fun or as boring as the players choose to make it. If you decide to try it again, and I'm sure you found this out the first time you tried an online RP, it's something like a table-top RPG and nothing like a table-top RPG.

obtw, I'm nearly the original H&P (Hunt & Peck) typist, so I'm sometimes behind the curve. But time and practice help a lot, and in most cases the other players will make allowances.

Good luck and have fun!

IronLance
http://www.stgenesis.com/

[RaconteurX]

Originally posted by Lt. Dade
What sort of IRC program can somebody recommend me for Mac OSX (preferably) or PC?

Snak (v4.8.6 is the latest, I believe) is a nice, stable, feature-filled IRC client for MacOS. You can get it and many other chat clients here.

[Nemesis]

I personally use MSN Messenger or AOL Instant Messenger and I find that it works pretty well.

My brother is in Texas and I am in Los Angeles, so it would be pretty difficult for us to play otherwise. I know other options are available but the messengers seem to work best for us.