Fyni

I very much admit I've contributed very little in terms of long form writing - and this is indeed a weakness. However, on the same token I believe been the outsider candidate here has it's own strengths. I have a very keen awareness of how the lore impacts the players it is been made for. I know what is needed from that perceptive, what is excessive. Why? Because I have been a long time lore consumer, and I have seen some thing flounder and other succeed. However, you can ask the lore writers I've talked to, who have approached me with things from basic ideas to near complete lore docs - how I have reviewed and made recommendations - which I hope shows a solid foundation which can be improved upon. Beyond the company which owns the ship itself which will require a lot of special considerations, I'd categorise them into two groups: the hands off and hands on. While all the freelancer ships will have their own command, some companies would demand certain standards of their ships, leading to them been more homogenised as the player ship encounters them. This will provide a short hand for ghost roles, antags and lore writers to add these ships in where required to make an impact. On the other side, more varied companies, with a strong thematic core will provide creative freedom while fitting into already established lore. As for exactly what these companies would look like is something I have only put surface level thought into at this moment. However, I fully believe the companies need to have strong archetypes, much like our current megacorp roster, so they can be understood simply and easily, with more depth under that surface. Ironically, I find a lot of big lore movements which happen in arcs have very little impact in the game itself. People will mention it and it may crop up as an antag gimmick or two, but then it's forgotten. The reason why small lore I believe can be more impactful is because it can be delivered in a more direct and impactful way. We need to focus on what is happening in the game server and deliver to that as much as we do longer term goals. Why? Because people will get more involved and interested naturally if current lore news is extremely relevant to their current in game situation - even if the scale of said news is smaller. And this becomes more important in Anabasis because I foresee players will be making decisions based on this more impactful small lore then something on a much grander scale, very far away. For example, imagine our Anabasis ship is off near whatever Himeo becomes in NBT2. Lore of whatever massive poltiical shakedown which may be going on on Qerrbelek isn't going to really matter in the round to round, whereas "Skrell ships attempting to force trade with group near Himeo" will have a much larger impact. We need to focus on what is going to be important, geographically and thematically, even if just through the delivery of smaller snippets and this is something a loremaster could direct. I've had time to consider my answer, and I'd say my vision of aurora is on a "slightly hard of centre" if sci-fi hardness were to be a spectrum (it is.). We clearly disregard a lot of universal laws in favour of our narrative (faster then light working like it does, time in general) but in other places we are a bit tighter. For me, the key importance of keeping it "slightly hard" is been consistent and believable in how we approach things. We need to avoid completely disregarding our own established rules and numbers in favour of narrative - something we already do for the most part - but this still leaves room for adding new things. I think my app and questions have made clear my main goal if I was LM would be to further integrate the lore and the gameplay beyond what we have right now, and sometimes we need to make new things to enable this gameplay. With the given example, I believe fantasy like minerals could be integrated, but must fit within rules. Link them in ways to phoron or bluespace, the "big two" breaks we have from "realistic sci-fi" and it's the duty of the lore team to, when able, to find a compromise which allows these elements to fit. I think a push for a true hard sci-fi disregards completely what we already have in game, something which I think happens a lot. We just need to find the right balance.

The psirens will, once mappers/coders get to it, begin to appear on exoplanets and away sites more frequently. Their introduction was in part meant to diversify our enemy simple mob roster for away sites and Ody - and I am looking to expand on this more in the future too.

I'd like to add here that he Dreams arc was built on a lot of lore written by @naut in her capacity as DLM, and we discussed ideas and lore direction constantly. While I personally ran the events, the arc could not have been what it is (was) without her help.

One or two per lore team would be ideal - making for roughly ten, though more can always be established. I distinguish actors from background for one key reason: background is stuff we hardly see in game in a big way beyond antag gimmicks (see: solarian marines) whereas actors will be designed to directly effect the ship and the gameplay, bringing the lore directly into more then just ones backstory. These actors need to be at the front constantly, as targets of contracts, rivals or even giving said contracts. They need an established identity and personality, ideas of strength and consequences which helps players make more well informed decisions. These can be backed up my in game items - uniforms, gear, guns - which will encourage none canon usage too. See how arcs inspire antags. I personally shy away from bluespace. It's exsistance is pretty much required to enable a lot of gameplay things, but we should seek to use it as little as possible. I believe there is a lot of interesting things that can be done within the boundaries of "hard" sci fi, and that in this case limitation is merely the vehicle for further creativity. My major concern is a combination of how overbloated some pages are, our hatred of making more pages, and the complete failure of some summaries to really summarise. It leaves new players looking at the page for, say, Xanu which is longer then wikipedia's page for most countries and is jampacked with expandable boxes which makes one glaze over. Until my rework of the nations boxes, you couldn't find the name of the planet's leader in a decent amount of time. You still can't find that it's people are often a french or indian origin. Instead, the summary is vague and unhelpful. This is not a knock on whomever wrote it - as a real wiki page, it reads great - but as a helpful entry point to a new player, not so much. And I will say this outright: I don't think any lore what so ever should be cut (at least for the wiki's sake.) It just needs to be reformatted and presented better. I see no issue with having *many* pages. We should not be afraid of short pages - it merely makes the wiki more searchable. Some pages should be naturally longer, but when something would make sense for it's own page, it should be on it's own page (to use the Xanu example - the Xanu corporations and the Xanu military details). Some pages read like a google doc, not a wiki page where we can easily link at any time to another page. I didn't want my application to become a cry for wiki changes, but I believe we have a major hurdle to new players and our lore in it - and this wiki reform will be something I will still champion should this be unsuccessful.

Date: 08/08/2468 Supply Status: 90% Operational Funding Balance: 1,575,000电 Horizon Location: LES AN-T 16412 Current Destination: LES AN-T 16501 Per yesterday's allied group conference, a plan has been put in place for the strike on the Lighthouse. The Chainlink for it's part will frame this as assisting the legitimate authority of the region in an anti pirate operation. The group brought together is a welcome one, and shoes the Chainlink's willingness to aid and respect local authorities in dealing with pirates and other undesirables while also furthering the aims of Operation Deep Dive. Dubbed Operation Texel by Commodore Courbet of the 33rd Fleet, a squadron of five ships (AXSV Vikram and Hathi, PRASV S'rendarr's Light, KKV Blade of Moghes, all lead by the AXSV Tigre and the Commodore himself) will lead a strike on the outpost identified at Outpost Chi to draw out the pirate ship into an open confrontation, before disengaging from the outpost to lead them away from it's fixed defences to be destroyed in part. When this is completed, the squadron will move onto the Central Relay. At this time, the signal will sound and the SCCV Horizon, Nyami and Tinirau will ingress past the disabled Outpost Chi and move into a holding position nearby planet Chryse. When signalled again to confirm the engagement of all defending pirate vessels, ("Bart has triumphed and returned to Dunkirk.") the Horizon is to be scan each Buoy, from Alpha through to Delta from close range to identify which marks the passage to the Boneyard in the Lemurian Sea. Meanwhile, the Swimming Amongst the Heavens of the Celestial Creed will ingress from the Sea itself, and begin scanning from Delta to Alpha - hopefully to meet in the middle. Upon finding the correct buoy, the Horizon is to launch a boarding operation. It is not expected for the buoys to be heavily defended, though the Horizon must prepare to face resistance. The sensor relay in the buoy is to be reconfigured to connect to the Horizon's venator array, then the Horizon is to jump into the Sea using it's guidance, giving the signal "The sun set over the Horizon." Needless to say, the Horizon is not a military craft. This operation, despite been to our benefit and at our behest, is one spearheaded by military vessels and our goal is to be focussed on the Boneyard. Combat is to be avoided where possible. We will not speak until you leave the Lemurian Sea. Remember, the hopes of the SCC and the spur lay on your shoulders, if a new phoron deposit truly lays in the Sea. A hope and a dream for a brighter, more peaceful tomorrow. - Yin'altorz Qreblikis, Section Director (SCC)

I will say outright that my knowledge of Anabasis is actually only a little more then the regular well informed player. I have kept upto date with the diaries, chatted to some lore teams about their plans, but I have not actually read the big plans and I am currently not involved - so my original post and this answer are from that perspective. This may be a lore role, but the lore must always be in support of the regular gameplay on the server. Anabasis is designed to fix our greatest problem: a reliance on antags. From an admin's point of view, I have seen us have this trouble constantly. Anabasis needs to happen to resolve this, and I think the approach and plan from that angle is excellent. The massive lore changes and time skip are in support of this. I may be bias because of my admin's perspective to server health and population based on antags, but I truly believe the time skip is something that has been needed to be done for a long time even without a "new big thing" to prompt it. We need a shake up of the status quo, a lot of the lore writers want a shake up, all the cakes which have been in the oven for years to finally cook. I know a lot of people were and still are concerned about losing what we have now, but sadly what we have now is slowly declining. We still have decent pop, but viable hours to play are down, pushing Europe and Oceania players out unless they wish to be awake and gaming at silly hours. So, in short? I think Anabasis solves these issues. Both the matter of server health while also allowing lore teams to explore new ground they would never be able to without it and make changes they've been wanting for years. It's worth all the work and the risk and I truly believe that. I like to think Dream has been a micro example of this. Create a few small groups who can happily get involved with the Horizon, make deals back and forth, laugh, shoot. The whole gamut. The issue we have right now is the Spur is far too organised. You could never reasonably expect, say, the Horizon to decide to canonically hoodwink a Solarian ship to get some advantage, or to decide to fire upon a Dominian ship because they've been paid to. These sorts of decisions are beyond the Horizon - both because the SCC would not allow it but also because the "actors" (the solarians, the dominians) are too great a power that the players could never hope to actually make an impact outside of events set up for such. Dreams featured ARCO (who I did not flesh out as well as I could after the casino incident - but that is another story) and Meropis, two smaller groups, tiny enough that they could be bullied by the Horizon, suffer reasonable consequences going both ways, plot and scheme and all sorts. I strongly believe we need more of these small groups to truly enable canon rounds to shine - and I believe every lore team has the ability to make them. Part of small lore is like I said above - small factions who can be directly interacted with and influenced for good or ill. But on the news articles point, it needs to be represented in round. We need micro changes on the ship, in how people play. The obvious first step is fixing the newscasters to show it in game, but the second is truly where a loremaster could shine - focussing the various lore teams on creating relevant articles relevant to the current state of the server. The big news arcs continue, sure, but the small news tells a story around where you are. What you're doing. The wiki needs work. Trio always wanted to make a new player lore guide, but I believed what we have now is literally throwing players in the deep end. We need top focus on what is important to new players to know. I love how much lore we have, how many little details you can find, but at the same time a new player does not need it all. Adding new infoboxes to nations was one example of me pushing for this last year - until they were added, asking a new player to find the name of the leader of their home planet was a joke. I'd love to have that in game, but that is a dev task as much as a lore one. First, each lore team works at a different pace. I personally, if I were LM, would do my best to support and enable each team to the greatest extent they were willing to deliver, from small to large, but also provide motivators for that work. During Dreams, I reached out to the whole lore team to see who would like to contribute, and offered to help run unrelated events too. I think offering the opportunities for the teams to make an impact even without a huge arc is a great motivator. It seemed to reignite the desire for the teams to run their own arcs and come up with their own events, something I wish to see way more of.

Hello! We're happy with the reworked sprite - though I like to reiterate we are looking for it to be a custom screen and not a hat. This is approved.

Ckey / Discord Username: Fyni / Fyni Have you read the Lore Team Rules and Regulations wiki page? Yes Past Experiences and Knowledge I’m a long-time creator of worlds and games master outside of Aurora. Ever since I was a child, I’d create and imagine things for the games with friends, weaving the narrative around it. Obviously as I grew older, this expanded, became more refined. In the modern day, this translates to several settings for ttrpgs created wholesale, or “mini settings” within pre-existing ones. The position of Loremaster is somewhat halfway between these. Finally, relevant to Aurora, I have worked with many members of the lore team in the past. Both in creating my one arc so far, but also aiding with their own projects. Proof reading, giving feedback, co-ordinating devs and artists to bring their vision to life and making suggestions which often shine in the final product. My fingerprint in this regard is everywhere, from my first bit of ingame spriting for the Golden Deep a few years ago to recent aid with Caria. Examples of Past Work, if any My work on A Dream for Tomorrow includes working with Naut on the Lemurian Sea page, alongside updates to the Light’s Edge and a new Outer Eyes page which are yet to release. --- 1) Describe your thoughts about the Anabasis project as a whole, whether they be negative or positive. Massively positive. Coming from a non-lore perspective, everything Anabasis is offering, primarily with the contracts game mode and persistence is exactly what we need going forward. Away missions prove eternally popular, and persistence gives a reason to play even in low pop, knowing you are making a difference to the overall health of the ship. The lore changes been fundamental to setting these up is as much an opportunity as a task too. 2) What is your plan regarding Anabasis as a Lore Master? What sort of focus would you bring to the table? The lore needs to support the gameplay, and this seems to be doubly so the case for Anabasis. A focus must be put on the “actors” of the lore – the things which directly impact the ship and its crew – over the “background” of the lore – the things which determine a character’s backstory but lack day to day importance. Been able to determine what the actors are – be it freelance companies, pirate fleets, trade networks – and to expand on it as a focus to enable the gameplay desired in Anabasis. While the background is extremely important, a focus should be on these actors and I’d hope I could get each lore team to put at least one on the table – maybe more and hopefully linked ones. 3) What do you think the current setting lacks? What are its biggest flaws? I think our main lack is “small lore”. This can be anything from tiny news stories to chat over IC, to smaller powers who ply their way through the Spur. This is a stance I’ve long held, and I thing with the coming of Anabasis this is more important then ever. We need something greater than the independent spacer, but smaller than state backed fleets and militaries. The largely uncontested control by states over their territory leaves very little wiggle room at the moment for decisions contrary to them, doubly so right now with the SCC hovering over everything. The sinta pirate fleets are a great example of what could be made, and I’d love to see more in that vein. Our biggest flaws are perhaps meta issues. First, it’s the absolute cliff wall a new player may face. We need more tools to enable new players to get immersed in the lore, while also enabling new players who are maybe seeking a HRP environment without an urgent need to learn lore. This is something best resolved through a wiki rework and repolicy, combined with better in game representation of said lore right from the start. And I’d like to make one thing clear on this: it is not my intent to reduce the lore, but rather to provide a better pathway for new (and returning) players. 4) Do you lean towards a space opera writing style regarding the events and the setting, or towards a hard-scifi style? Why? I personally prefer a harder sci fi background, however this is something which is difficult to represent in the context of the game, most of all in ship combat and overmap traversal. Fundamentally, there will always be a gameplay to hard sci fi logic disconnect, but by that same logic we cannot follow the flexible logic of a space opera within the context of the server. I believe having the hard sci fi background grounds things and makes decisions and knowledge IC much more important and impactful – and is something which will fit the Anabasis mission goals excellently. A base line of narrative rules could link style deeper into Anabasis, and would be best implemented early on. 5) What are your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to being in a management position? My main strength I’ve found is my ability to engage team members and direct them towards a mutually desired outcome. In the context of Aurora lore, this would be enabling wide lore team participation in Dream, but also the reignition of various team’s desire to run events and arcs within the game itself. I believe I can drop enough breadcrumbs to inspire people to work, and in a direction I desire. My weakness is often personal deadlines – which can extend to larger projects, though this is something I am seeking to improve via keeping accountable via the help of third parties.

I will make a PR and like it, thank you

While I agree entirely, this is a subject beyond the scope of this post.

By it's nature, you cannot ready as a ST. It is a ghost role.

Given Ody's reliance on STs (it doesn't need one, but at that point it's just a glorified away site with a few guys there), this is not something I would push for.

I feel like this topic has been done a million times, but I'm doing it again. With the canonicity indicator, it's even more important: Extended should not be in secret unless there are no viable antag readied. Even then, it should likely attempt auto traitor, converting any new arrivals with traitor on. Furthermore, secret should check to see what game types are eligible, select one and go rather then the try and try again it does now. I realise however this is a code thing and may not be easily implemented, so it's less important. I know already the main argument. People like the occasional extended round, to do away missions or to get plenty of workplace RP. The thing is, extended can be voted for, and most if not all antag rounds usually have thirty to sixty minutes of uninterrupted extended at the start while antags set up or are still escalating small. Furthermore, people can play off duty and ignore 80% of antags if people merely wish to have an IC chat by hiding out in a service booth or similar. Finally, most rounds before pop and after our daily three or so high pop rounds are invariable extended. I'd love to see people who are so into extended actually use these too. Extended, while fun, always leads to a large dip in pop afterwards and can lead to pop ending early. I really think this would help, alongside incentives for antag readies - but that is not the topic of this thread.

BYOND Key: Fyni Discord Username: Fyni Character Name: Dido Sophonisa Item Name: (if you are applying for multiple items, it should be made into a list with the description, name and appearance together): Sophonisa Cape (alternatively, Carian Patrician Cape) Item Function(s): A fashionable cape, showing off the icon of the patrician family Sophonia. It has a hood which can be pulled up or down. Otherwise it has no function. Item Description: As it would appear in game: This shoulder cap is the dark navy blue of the ancient Carian patrician family, Sophonisa. Two thin flowing strands of fabric hang off the back, one in Carian purple, the other in white showing the golden handed icon of the Sophonisa. Around the neck and hood is a white furred band. Extended Description: The Sophonisa family, represented by a sinister golden hand set in a purple moon on a field of silver, is an ancient Carian patrician house which predates the Dominian viceroyalty of the planet and is known for a long line of bankers who credit accurate readings of the stars for their success. Even today, they hold a non-voting seat on the Adirim, where they support House Kaneko - and have long been rumoured to hold some discontent to House Caladius due to financial conflicts. Why is your character bringing this item to work?: This cape is a highly fashionable item representing their patrician family. How did your character obtain this item?: Dido has long has an eye for fashion after her childhood ambition to be a fashion designer. She had this item custom made with the aid of Carian tailors. What value does this item have to your character, and what story does it tell?: Multiple. First, the cape holds obvious similarity to Morozian fashion while taking an distinctly "different" design, indicative of Caria's strangeness and isolation from the rest of the Empire. Second, it was designed by Dido herself, and it is something she is highly proud of even if her career ambitions were laid aside to join one closer to the rest of her family - finance. Finally, it marks her a member of the Sophonisa family. Even if the family is in decline, they remain proud of their ancient heritage which predates the Imperial Viceroyalty. Sprites:

We're still concerned that this item appears to be an all encompassing hat. When we said a screen, we envisioned something similar to this (excuse my crude rendition): A full head enclosing hat is something both us and the synth lore team would not allow as a serious, regular item - it is a bit over the line into unserious and silly (though could work as a costume/halloween item.) We'd like to see the sprite reworked to fit this design if possible.

Hello! We discussed this item however these are too much of a straight up 8 ball as they are - and a hat fully replacing the head makes this veer right off into "silly" territory. We would like to see a screen projection for the bishop frame - fitting the style of the others - to consider this.

Very well. Ban should be lifted.