In the distant past, ancient forces of ambiguous intent strove to craft for themselves a static system; a snow-globe of the stars, as it were. A place to where creative endeavors seemed simple, disconnected, and lost amongst themselves; a homeostatic matrix of defined parameters and determined demarcations, suspended in the vastness of the intergalactic void, in that abyssal sea to which starlight dare not wander in its prismatic journey across the cosmos. Yet, in their sublime intellect and despite their endless desires for eternal watch, these Great Architects were not merely settled to observe their unique universe as a sparse meadow of burning fusion and terrestrial spheres dancing in staccato melody; they, like all great scientists and empiricists, need something more...
They needed rats for their maze.
In the seemingly endless, regurgitating flow of creation, in that sea of dislocated time and fractured space, they found select creatures – civilizations far and wide – to inhabit their sterile segment of the great forge. They brought them from their disconnected systems, their disparate cosmological realms, and their ever-unaligned temporal flows of causality, and supplanted them within a space and time separate, different, and aside from the very constants of the great omniverse. In their wisdom, they blinded these men, women, beasts, and vermin to their own pasts and installed amongst them myth, legend, tale, and faith to forestall the inevitable departure from the safety and security of their natal habitat.
They planted these seeds upon nurturing worlds filled with alien stock to benefit them. They gave them technology beyond their years and connected paths of dim travel that would come to launch them from star to star in instants. In their light, they let them bask, grow, and flourish; worldly empires of stellar congruence grew beneath the ever-loving eyes of the disconnected heralds. In many ways, they created a paradise for their subjects; they cared for their every desire and gave them a world to which they knew nothing, but were never far from the tools necessary to change their station... Even so, walls of colored glass and chambers filled with the desires of men changes nothing when the bars remains locked and the blackness of forgotten worlds to which they once called home remain outside the portcullises of time.
In short: one cannot paint a prison into a palace.
Though gifted as the subjects were, there was to be no mistake: they were prisoners. Their memories from beyond the Cloud gone, and even the knowledge of their ever-watchful benefactors obscured to them, the Architects of that panopticon sought to insure a simple means of restriction that, in turn, would force their subjects to adapt, to learn, and to survive. Those timeless scientists shunted their subjects, not as creatures, but as travelers between the stars; in their wisdom, they adjusted the constants of space and time to prohibit superluminal (faster-than-light) travel by any means aside from those gate-like tunnels of adventure and journey, leaving guardians to protect their gestalt artifices of physical mastery. They insured that, by no means, could their transplanted playthings leave their sidereal laboratory... All-in-all, they doomed their children to a slow death of entropy.
Even so, as the rats learned the maze and erected villages, towns, cities, and sprawling civilizations beneath the watch of their eternal overseers, a time must come when children are left to their devices, either right or ruin. As such, the Great Architects left their diaspora of creatures to their devices; they left the prisoners to rule the prison, functioning within the guidelines of a disjointed cosmos, and with a single, sprawling paragon to which abide: adapt, learn, and escape.
They needed rats for their maze.
In the seemingly endless, regurgitating flow of creation, in that sea of dislocated time and fractured space, they found select creatures – civilizations far and wide – to inhabit their sterile segment of the great forge. They brought them from their disconnected systems, their disparate cosmological realms, and their ever-unaligned temporal flows of causality, and supplanted them within a space and time separate, different, and aside from the very constants of the great omniverse. In their wisdom, they blinded these men, women, beasts, and vermin to their own pasts and installed amongst them myth, legend, tale, and faith to forestall the inevitable departure from the safety and security of their natal habitat.
They planted these seeds upon nurturing worlds filled with alien stock to benefit them. They gave them technology beyond their years and connected paths of dim travel that would come to launch them from star to star in instants. In their light, they let them bask, grow, and flourish; worldly empires of stellar congruence grew beneath the ever-loving eyes of the disconnected heralds. In many ways, they created a paradise for their subjects; they cared for their every desire and gave them a world to which they knew nothing, but were never far from the tools necessary to change their station... Even so, walls of colored glass and chambers filled with the desires of men changes nothing when the bars remains locked and the blackness of forgotten worlds to which they once called home remain outside the portcullises of time.
In short: one cannot paint a prison into a palace.
Though gifted as the subjects were, there was to be no mistake: they were prisoners. Their memories from beyond the Cloud gone, and even the knowledge of their ever-watchful benefactors obscured to them, the Architects of that panopticon sought to insure a simple means of restriction that, in turn, would force their subjects to adapt, to learn, and to survive. Those timeless scientists shunted their subjects, not as creatures, but as travelers between the stars; in their wisdom, they adjusted the constants of space and time to prohibit superluminal (faster-than-light) travel by any means aside from those gate-like tunnels of adventure and journey, leaving guardians to protect their gestalt artifices of physical mastery. They insured that, by no means, could their transplanted playthings leave their sidereal laboratory... All-in-all, they doomed their children to a slow death of entropy.
Even so, as the rats learned the maze and erected villages, towns, cities, and sprawling civilizations beneath the watch of their eternal overseers, a time must come when children are left to their devices, either right or ruin. As such, the Great Architects left their diaspora of creatures to their devices; they left the prisoners to rule the prison, functioning within the guidelines of a disjointed cosmos, and with a single, sprawling paragon to which abide: adapt, learn, and escape.
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? PLEASE JOIN US IN OUR I.R.C CHANNEL: #FT-BRAVO
WELCOME
To the FT-Bravo Program
First and foremost, on behalf of both the Staff and Students of the FT-Bravo Continuity Roleplaying Program: welcome. If you are reading this, you are no doubt curious about the purpose of this thread and, by extension, the Program. For most of you, you are likely familiar with previous incarnations of “FT-Bravo” as an alternate continuity and canon setting in relation to what is commonly called “FT-Prime” (or the primary continuity and canon). Rest assured, such remains the same; FT-Bravo is still an alternate setting, differing from the broader Future Technology Community of NationStates in that the participants (hereafter referred to as “Students”) are not considered a part of the over-arching canon and continuity of what is generally considered “NationStates Future Tech” or “FT-Actual”.
Regardless of your familiarity with previous incarnations of FT-Bravo, as you have no-doubt gathered, this incarnation is a bit different. To put it simply: the FT-Bravo Continuity Roleplaying Program is not intended to be a destination, but a journey. To that end, it must be understood that previous incarnations of FT-Bravo functioned purely as a sanctuary for learning FT players aside from FT-Actual – a sort of “Kiddie's Table”, as it were. To a degree, this incarnation is similar to the original reboot as crafted by Essos (Miehm), but is now being re-calibrated to suit the purpose of that reboot more adequately.
The FT-Bravo Continuity Roleplaying Program's indicated purpose is as follows: to serve as a temporary housing setting for FT players less knowledgeable in the etiquette, standards, protocols, and largely unwritten rules of FT-Actual as to allow them to become acclimated to such and with the express purpose of integrating them into the primary Future Technology continuity and canon. To put this concisely: FT-Bravo is no longer simply meant to be somewhere for new initiates into Future Technology to sit and escape from the hectic (and often chaotic) brawl of “FT-Prime”; it is a tutoring program meant to educate and integrate new individuals into the primary Future Technology canon. It is not somewhere one “stays” or even necessarily “wants to be”; it is meant to be a way-point between “obscurity” and the over-arching breadth of the Future Tech cosmos.
As such, in closing, it is to be understood that the Program is a voluntary association of individuals seeking to educate (“Staff” or “Tutors”) newer players in the hopes of teaching these new players (“Members” or “Students”) the basics of the standards, methods of play, etiquette, and nature of FT-Actual so that they may leave FT-Bravo and integrate more readily and easily into the community at large.
In short: the goal of joining FT-Bravo is to leave it more acquainted and better equipped to integrate with a community otherwise shut-off and often seemingly inclusive. If such is your goal, please read-on and, with some luck, we hope to find you journeying through the vastness of the Cloud soon...
THE BASICS
Of the FT-Bravo Program
[ I ] · The Future Technology Bravo Continuity Roleplaying Program is a voluntary association of educators (“Staff”) and students (“Members”).
i · The duty of the Staff is to educate, assist, grade, and consistently help Members during their time in FT-Bravo with the hopes of integrating them into the larger Future Technology community.
ii · The duty of the Members is to learn, listen, collaborate, compromise, and consistently grow as players during their time in FT-Bravo in order to integrate into the larger Future Technology community.
iii · The Program is not a socially-mandated punishment.
[ II ] · The Future Technology Bravo Continuity Roleplaying Program is a closed setting, continuity, and canon separate from FT-Prime/FT-Actual.
i · The Program exists in a distant dwarf galaxy/large molecular cloud known only as “the Cloud”.
ii · Members are subject to a certain set of restrictions in order to increase collaboration, cooperation, and consistency while in the Program.
iii · Users seeking entry must apply and be approved by a simple majority of the Staff to gain entry into the Program.
iv · Users may be ejected from the Program through a simple majority of the Members pending a simple majority approval of the ejection process by the Staff.
[ III ] · The Members of the Future Technology Bravo Continuity Roleplaying Program shall be divided into four (4) groups known as “Classes”.
i · Members are assigned to “Classes” randomly in order to introduce them into the general “group-based canon” structure of the larger Future Technology Community and to gauge the capability of each Member to cooperate, collaborate, and compromise with other players working in close tangent to one another.
ii · Each “Class” of Members is to be randomly assigned to one of four (4) tutors in accordance to availability and emphasis as defined by the Staff.
[ IV ] · The Future Technology Bravo Continuity Roleplaying Program consists of a fifty-two (52) week (one standard defined year) tutoring program.
i · The Program consists of six (6) “Grading Cycles” consisting of eight (8) weeks each, in addition to a four (4) week “Final Grading Cycle”.
ii· Members are graded at the end of each “Grading Cycle” according to four (4) criteria for a total of twenty-five (25) points each, totaling one hundred (100) points; these criteria are: Creativity, Literacy, Sportsmanship, and Overall Quality. In addition each “Class Tutor” may grant up to ten (10) extra points in a fifth category known as Exceptionalism.
iii · In addition to those categories defined in IV(ii), each Member will receive a “Class Grade” based on five categories of twenty (20) points each on a sliding scale of -10 to +10 points known as the “Praise/Penalty System”. These categories include: Creativity, Cooperation, Collaboration, Conduct, and Overall Quality.
iv · The “Praise/Penalty System” functions as such: each class can receive a possible total positive “Praise Value” of +50 points, or a possible total negative “Penalty Value” of -50 points. Praise/Penalty Values are applied individually by the total number of members in each “Class” rounding down to the first whole integer.
[ V ] · Members of the Future Technology Bravo Continuity Roleplaying Program must receive a certain point value to matriculate each “Grading Cycle”.
i · Grades are accrued accordingly as defined in IV.
ii · Grade values are divided into seven (7) different “Letter Grades” for ease of understanding and utilization. Such are as follows: >100 (AE+), 100-95 (A+), 94-90 (A), 89-80 (B), 79-70 (C), 69-60 (D), 59-50 (E), 49-25 (F), <25 (I or Incomplete).
iii · A Member must make above 49 points to pass a “Grading Cycle”; a Member that makes 49 or less points in two consecutive “Grading Cycles” is subject to plenary ejection from the Program.
iv · For a Member to matriculate the Program, they must score more than 400 (of 900) cumulative points by the end of the Program as defined by IV.
[ VI ] · The Future Technology Bravo Continuity Roleplaying Program adheres to the Code of Bro and all its axioms.
i · The “Code of Bro” shall be defined as understanding that at the basis of each Future Technology entity or civilization, a degree of understanding and collaboration through its use much be based on mutual understanding and compromise between all parties involved in the specific instance of its use.
ii · The Axiom of Consistency of the Code of Bro shall further be defined as the understanding that each entity, civilization, technology, etc. should be kept as close to its original understanding as defined in accordance to collaboration and compromise. Such is to say that: a given entity (civilization, technology, etc.) should remain consistent in its effects across all instances of similar use. “X-Plasma burns oxygen, not nitrogen; it will always burn oxygen, not nitrogen.”
iii · Such applies in adherence to the Rule of Cool.
[ VII ] · The Future Technology Bravo Continuity Roleplaying Program adheres to the Rule of Cool and all its axioms.
i · The “Rule of Cool” shall be defined as the understanding that in some instances, certain entities, civilizations, technologies, etc. will be embraced and used despite their violation of physical laws or conventions for the sake of their novelty or “coolness”.
ii · The Axiom of Absurdity of the Rule of Cool shall further be defined as the understand that “at some point this has gone too far”; such is to be understood to mean that, in the usage of the “Rule of Cool”, certain entities, civilization, technology, etc. will approach absurdity and will violate both the “Rule of Cool” and the “Code of Bro” in such a way as to make it unable to be used. “You can't use the Rule of Cool to have a ship so large it causes the Galaxy to fly apart; that's the 'Rule of K00L'.”
iii · Such applies in adherence to the Code of Bro.
[ VIII ] · Members of the Future Technology Bravo Continuity Roleplaying Program are subject to certain restrictions.
i · Members may not use, create, devise, generate, or otherwise utilize any means of superluminal (faster-than-light) travel or technology aside from the established gate/wormhole network; such is to include weaponization of superluminal technology and FTL inhibition or prohibition technology.. Relativistic and/or “slow-boat” travel is free to be utilized and improved upon insofar as it remains slower-than-light.
ii · Upon entry, Members may occupy/possess one (1) stellar/planetary system, one (1) major metropolitan/populated planet or analogue, and up to two (2) minor metropolitan/populated planets or analogues to be considered “colonies” or otherwise “colonized”.
iii · Members may not possess a population – actual or implied – to be of a value greater than fifty (50) billion persons; if warfare or conquering leads to a higher population, “infrastructure is considered to break down”, and mass starvation or general loss of values higher than such is imposed.
iv · Members must have a minimum of three (3) primary industries/economic strengths and a minimum of three (3) economic weaknesses.
v · Members may not, under any circumstances, In-Character leave “the Cloud” and travel elsewhere in the cosmos until completion/matriculation of the Program
[ IX ] · Additions to the Basics of the FT-Bravo Continuity Roleplaying Program may be made at the leisure of the Staff (“Tutors”).
i · The duty of the Staff is to educate, assist, grade, and consistently help Members during their time in FT-Bravo with the hopes of integrating them into the larger Future Technology community.
ii · The duty of the Members is to learn, listen, collaborate, compromise, and consistently grow as players during their time in FT-Bravo in order to integrate into the larger Future Technology community.
iii · The Program is not a socially-mandated punishment.
[ II ] · The Future Technology Bravo Continuity Roleplaying Program is a closed setting, continuity, and canon separate from FT-Prime/FT-Actual.
i · The Program exists in a distant dwarf galaxy/large molecular cloud known only as “the Cloud”.
ii · Members are subject to a certain set of restrictions in order to increase collaboration, cooperation, and consistency while in the Program.
iii · Users seeking entry must apply and be approved by a simple majority of the Staff to gain entry into the Program.
iv · Users may be ejected from the Program through a simple majority of the Members pending a simple majority approval of the ejection process by the Staff.
[ III ] · The Members of the Future Technology Bravo Continuity Roleplaying Program shall be divided into four (4) groups known as “Classes”.
i · Members are assigned to “Classes” randomly in order to introduce them into the general “group-based canon” structure of the larger Future Technology Community and to gauge the capability of each Member to cooperate, collaborate, and compromise with other players working in close tangent to one another.
ii · Each “Class” of Members is to be randomly assigned to one of four (4) tutors in accordance to availability and emphasis as defined by the Staff.
[ IV ] · The Future Technology Bravo Continuity Roleplaying Program consists of a fifty-two (52) week (one standard defined year) tutoring program.
i · The Program consists of six (6) “Grading Cycles” consisting of eight (8) weeks each, in addition to a four (4) week “Final Grading Cycle”.
ii· Members are graded at the end of each “Grading Cycle” according to four (4) criteria for a total of twenty-five (25) points each, totaling one hundred (100) points; these criteria are: Creativity, Literacy, Sportsmanship, and Overall Quality. In addition each “Class Tutor” may grant up to ten (10) extra points in a fifth category known as Exceptionalism.
iii · In addition to those categories defined in IV(ii), each Member will receive a “Class Grade” based on five categories of twenty (20) points each on a sliding scale of -10 to +10 points known as the “Praise/Penalty System”. These categories include: Creativity, Cooperation, Collaboration, Conduct, and Overall Quality.
iv · The “Praise/Penalty System” functions as such: each class can receive a possible total positive “Praise Value” of +50 points, or a possible total negative “Penalty Value” of -50 points. Praise/Penalty Values are applied individually by the total number of members in each “Class” rounding down to the first whole integer.
[ V ] · Members of the Future Technology Bravo Continuity Roleplaying Program must receive a certain point value to matriculate each “Grading Cycle”.
i · Grades are accrued accordingly as defined in IV.
ii · Grade values are divided into seven (7) different “Letter Grades” for ease of understanding and utilization. Such are as follows: >100 (AE+), 100-95 (A+), 94-90 (A), 89-80 (B), 79-70 (C), 69-60 (D), 59-50 (E), 49-25 (F), <25 (I or Incomplete).
iii · A Member must make above 49 points to pass a “Grading Cycle”; a Member that makes 49 or less points in two consecutive “Grading Cycles” is subject to plenary ejection from the Program.
iv · For a Member to matriculate the Program, they must score more than 400 (of 900) cumulative points by the end of the Program as defined by IV.
[ VI ] · The Future Technology Bravo Continuity Roleplaying Program adheres to the Code of Bro and all its axioms.
i · The “Code of Bro” shall be defined as understanding that at the basis of each Future Technology entity or civilization, a degree of understanding and collaboration through its use much be based on mutual understanding and compromise between all parties involved in the specific instance of its use.
ii · The Axiom of Consistency of the Code of Bro shall further be defined as the understanding that each entity, civilization, technology, etc. should be kept as close to its original understanding as defined in accordance to collaboration and compromise. Such is to say that: a given entity (civilization, technology, etc.) should remain consistent in its effects across all instances of similar use. “X-Plasma burns oxygen, not nitrogen; it will always burn oxygen, not nitrogen.”
iii · Such applies in adherence to the Rule of Cool.
[ VII ] · The Future Technology Bravo Continuity Roleplaying Program adheres to the Rule of Cool and all its axioms.
i · The “Rule of Cool” shall be defined as the understanding that in some instances, certain entities, civilizations, technologies, etc. will be embraced and used despite their violation of physical laws or conventions for the sake of their novelty or “coolness”.
ii · The Axiom of Absurdity of the Rule of Cool shall further be defined as the understand that “at some point this has gone too far”; such is to be understood to mean that, in the usage of the “Rule of Cool”, certain entities, civilization, technology, etc. will approach absurdity and will violate both the “Rule of Cool” and the “Code of Bro” in such a way as to make it unable to be used. “You can't use the Rule of Cool to have a ship so large it causes the Galaxy to fly apart; that's the 'Rule of K00L'.”
iii · Such applies in adherence to the Code of Bro.
[ VIII ] · Members of the Future Technology Bravo Continuity Roleplaying Program are subject to certain restrictions.
i · Members may not use, create, devise, generate, or otherwise utilize any means of superluminal (faster-than-light) travel or technology aside from the established gate/wormhole network; such is to include weaponization of superluminal technology and FTL inhibition or prohibition technology.. Relativistic and/or “slow-boat” travel is free to be utilized and improved upon insofar as it remains slower-than-light.
ii · Upon entry, Members may occupy/possess one (1) stellar/planetary system, one (1) major metropolitan/populated planet or analogue, and up to two (2) minor metropolitan/populated planets or analogues to be considered “colonies” or otherwise “colonized”.
iii · Members may not possess a population – actual or implied – to be of a value greater than fifty (50) billion persons; if warfare or conquering leads to a higher population, “infrastructure is considered to break down”, and mass starvation or general loss of values higher than such is imposed.
iv · Members must have a minimum of three (3) primary industries/economic strengths and a minimum of three (3) economic weaknesses.
v · Members may not, under any circumstances, In-Character leave “the Cloud” and travel elsewhere in the cosmos until completion/matriculation of the Program
[ IX ] · Additions to the Basics of the FT-Bravo Continuity Roleplaying Program may be made at the leisure of the Staff (“Tutors”).
JOINING
The FT-Bravo Program
As defined above, for a user to become a Student and gain entry to the program, an application must be submitted and receive a simple majority amongst the Staff. Below you will find a spoiler with the code for the application with it. All minimum values of the application must be met, while all maximum values may not be exceeded. Full and accurate completion of the application is required. Refusal, inability, or ignorance as to components of it leading to and incomplete application will invalidate the application; such will result in the Staff not voting on the application and a requirement to re-submit (not edit) the application to this thread. Please, do not edit your applications once they have been posted; insure before posting that everything is in order. An editing of an application after it has been posted – for any reason – will result in its invalidation.
ROSTER
Of the FT-Bravo Program
— PROGRAM STAFF/TUTORS
· Essos (Program Director and Founder) [Miehm]
· Vocenae (Assistant Program Director and Chairman of Staff) [Voc]
· Avenio (Voting Staff Member)
· Kyrusia/Sylvrca (Voting Staff Member) [Kyrusia]
— PROGRAM MEMBERS/STUDENTS AND CLASSES
[ CLASS ALPHA – Essos ]
· [nation][/nation]
[ CLASS BETA – Vocenae ]
· [nation][/nation]
[ CLASS DELTA – Kyrusia/Sylvrca ]
· [nation][/nation]
[ CLASS GAMMA – Avenio ]
· [nation][/nation]
Credit for many of the ideas included herein goes to Kyrusia.
