Sim Updates
Posted on Sun Oct 27th, 2024 @ 4:51pm by Captain Nycolas Temple
Edited on Sun Oct 27th, 2024 @ 4:52pm
Greetings Crew!
As we are now deep into our new mission, I thought it would be a good idea to update the sim's premise, review what's come before, and show what is yet to come. We're about to hit 8 years since the Pandora launched and we enjoyed around 6 years of simming before the hiatus. Now that we're back again and embarking on a new journey, it's time to start this new chapter in our story.
Previously... Phase One and Two:
The Pandora's stories are actually categorized into phases, based loosely after the phases of the moon. The first two Phases of the Pandora's journey were code-named "Rise" and "Dark Side" respectively and contained three missions each. "Rise" saw the beginning of the new Pandora as we started our journey into the Expanse ("New Moon Rising"), came face to face with the dangers and mysteries of the area ("Into the Wild"), and encountered the unique phenomena within ("Divided We Fall"). "Dark Side" continued our trend of bold mission types as we assisted with the Breen occupation on Paradise Outpost and a traitor ("Death in Paradise"), uncovered a Section 31 plot that threatened an innocent planet ("Evils Within"), and had a tumultuous confrontation with the Alrakis Pact as we attempted to reach home ("The Gauntlet").
Updating the Canon
It has been three years since the Pandora returned home to the Sol system. The year is now 2394.
The Inconnu Expanse remains too dangerous to explore due to the on-going conflict between the remaining forces of the Alrakis Pact, namely the Breen, and the Resistance born from the battle for Paradise. The Pact has fallen into disarray as members such as the Talarians and Tzenkethi break off to serve their own goals, while the Resistance struggles to protect their planets. As such, the Federation has deemed the area off-limits to further scientific exploration while they attempt to negotiate a peace settlement.
The Pandora will not return to the Inconnu Expanse for now but may do so in a future mission.
Phase Three: Gibbous Light
During the waxing gibbous phase of the moon, the moon will appear brighter in the night's sky as the sun illuminates its surface up to 90%. For the Pandora, this indicates a brighter period for us and a move away from the heavier, darker missions of Phase Two. We have already begun this journey with "The Only Thing Left was Hope", as our crew finds each other again, finds the Pandora, and finds a new purpose. The mission title is a play on the Pandora fable where after the box was opened and all the evils were unleashed to the world, the only thing that remained inside was hope.
Upcoming missions will focus more on exploration, adventure, and discovery, in a more episodic nature. The intent is still to have missions that pose interesting ideas, dilemmas, and conflicts to resolve - just without the constant impending doom hanging over our heads.
And all of that bring us to our new sim premise:
Pandora: The Rapid Response Vessel
Essentially instead of being based in one particular area, the Pandora can be sent to anywhere on the Federation's borders. We are sent as a first response to find out the problem and come up with a solution (or to recommend a solution to Starfleet). We will have a mix of different mission types and problems to solve - be they scientific, mechanical, diplomatic, conflict, etc. Importantly, the missions will be ours to solve and deal with - no set ending in place, more episodic instead of fitting an overall arc.
No other sim in our Fleet's task force is doing something like this. This premise will help us stand apart from the other Star Trek sims and provide us with a brand-new phase of story possibilities for us. Everyone will have the opportunity to shine and to make decisions that move the story forward.
We shape the outcome of the mission together.
And we will definitely have downtime for personal stories or away missions, or fun things that you want to explore without being forced into the narrative of being trapped in the Expanse. We won't be jumping from mission to mission right away, we will only respond when there's an unknown mystery to solve. So plenty of opportunities for character work and joint posts still.
Part of this new premise will mean the Pandora may have a home base station to come back to, which will allow for civilians to be based at as well.
The future is brighter
Eight years on and we're still finding fun new things to write about. I'm really excited about this new phase and I hope you will each embrace the new ship's premise with enthusiasm and promise. We are opening up the possibilities for the sim, creating a broader scope in which to play missions, inviting new opportunities to show off your characters and their skills, allowing more in-depth time for personal stories and doing something that no one else is doing right now.
Are you ready to go boldly, Pandora?
- AJ
Captain Temple
Category: Sim Announcement
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