Theurgy: The Next Generation

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Theurgy: The Next Generation

July 02, 2023, 10:16:53 PM

If you haven't read AL's newsletter yet, do that first.

Then go cry.

There's been a lot of talk on Discord already, but I'm making a thread to discuss our next steps. To sum up the convo over there: we love this sim, there's nothing else like it, and we want this community to continue, even if it's somewhere else.

There's going to be a VC on Saturday July 8th, in Discord.

00:00 Australia (sorry Steg and Sqwel) July 9
22:00 Taiwan
15:00 Western Europe
14:00 UK
10:00 Eastern US/Canada
09:00 Central US
06:00 Alaska (also sorry Dume)

Please tell me if I mathed the time zones wrong.

Re: Theurgy: The Next Generation

Reply #1 – July 02, 2023, 10:36:07 PM

Just as a note the 00 for Steg is Sunday at midnight.

Re: Theurgy: The Next Generation

Reply #2 – July 02, 2023, 11:51:49 PM

For those who can't participate, I'll happily volunteer to take notes during Saturday's campfire meeting. I'll post a transcript of the meeting in here, so those who can't participate can still read what we've talked about and voice their ideas.

Re: Theurgy: The Next Generation

Reply #3 – July 03, 2023, 12:30:25 AM

Quote from: Nesota Kynnovan on July 02, 2023, 11:51:49 PM

For those who can't participate, I'll happily volunteer to take notes during Saturday's campfire meeting. I'll post a transcript of the meeting in here, so those who can't participate can still read what we've talked about and voice their ideas.

Very much obliged

Re: Theurgy: The Next Generation

Reply #4 – July 03, 2023, 01:32:22 AM

I do advise that we all write our thoughts and feelings, desires in regards to our characters, as I feel continuing the story without AL doesn't feel right.

We should look into saving as much of our content as possible so our characters' histories can be transferred to what we as a group come up with doing next.

As to what form our group will take to tell our characters stories, I'm open to the many discussions that will be happening.

AL, thank you for all you have done for us and it has been a blast. I hope one day you may be able to give Theurgy a rebirth!

Re: Theurgy: The Next Generation

Reply #5 – July 03, 2023, 01:41:51 AM

I should be able to be online at that time.
I can drum up some ideas for how the story and/or characters can continue.

But I don't know how to run a forum or anything like that. So there is that.

Re: Theurgy: The Next Generation

Reply #6 – July 03, 2023, 10:45:33 AM

I will try to join you on saturday.
But if I can't I would like to present the question if it is possible to get a "copy" of the last backup with all the data from the forum and the wiki, so that would be the lion's share in preserving the legacy of the sim.

Re: Theurgy: The Next Generation

Reply #7 – July 03, 2023, 12:38:15 PM

I've run, managed forums, designed themes, etc. I have also run group RPGs and been part of several forum based ones with varying capacity.

I won't be able to make the meeting but would love recap of it all.

I'm sad to see AL decision but get it. Family first.

As for the sim, I'd love to continue my characters and the stories and writing with all of you.

Re: Theurgy: The Next Generation

Reply #8 – July 03, 2023, 02:19:11 PM

Subject to trains I will be at a convention this Saturday, so cannot attend

As for my characters

In general I want to keep these crazy kids going. I hear them talking to me daily (I mean that in an abstract sense, not a serial killer documentary sense). I got a second chance with this community and I want to carry on with it.

Put me down for whatever.

Edited to add - whatever happens let’s keep a door open for AL

Re: Theurgy: The Next Generation

Reply #9 – July 03, 2023, 05:26:25 PM

New beginnings means new opportunities - we have a chance to either continue on in a sequel of sorts; or perhaps create a whole new alternate universe/timeline c:

Re: Theurgy: The Next Generation

Reply #10 – July 04, 2023, 05:45:52 AM

I won't be able to attend since I'm working during that time, but I'm looking forward to seeing the minutes/notes of the call. If I see anything to add, I'll toss it towards the note taker.

I'm also tagging @GroundPetrel in case

Re: Theurgy: The Next Generation

Reply #11 – July 06, 2023, 07:51:31 PM

Things to discuss....

Assuming we keep Theurgy going forward... Captain Ives, the Theurgy Class, Valkyrie, and Valravn fighters are creations of Auctor and the artists... unless we get permission to use those particular assets we'll have to swap ships and equipment.

Things to discuss but something to point out.

Re: Theurgy: The Next Generation

Reply #12 – July 06, 2023, 08:27:58 PM

Ok, so the above is ansewred...

New topics

Community fund to pay for website hosting and associated services.

Community fund for more art.

Contribution amount for funds. (5- 10 dollar range suggested)

When to contribute... (as necessary, quarterly, etc)

Written agreement for the above? If so I have lawyer friends that can draft something up if we eant to get formal.

Also i can check with my lawyer friends about tax or monetary implicationsbof a small international effort like this. I think legally we'd count as customers since we're not selling or hosting anything nor functioning as a business. Just friends sharing costs for shit for a fan project.

(unsure of their rates, my lawyer friends don't work for free(

Re: Theurgy: The Next Generation

Reply #13 – July 06, 2023, 08:40:13 PM

I really propose we don't get ahead of ourselves and wait with these kinds of things until after Saturday's campfire meeting. Right now no one really knows what to do from here on, and we should first get an idea on our bearings before we start going into details. :D

Re: Theurgy: The Next Generation

Reply #14 – July 07, 2023, 01:56:54 AM

We have 6 months.

I strongly believe that this initial campfire should be simply about ideas how to go forward. A suggestion about a community fund is fine to make but the details (When, how much, lawyers,) should not be discussed saturday. No decision making.

we need to find out what writers want to do before we push too far ahead. There may be writers that do not want to progress without lucan's involvement. There have been discussions regarding the alteration of the forum's rules for characters, and content. But we need a safe and stable forum before any of that can be sorted out.

Re: Theurgy: The Next Generation

Reply #15 – July 07, 2023, 04:11:20 AM

Campfire Discussion Topics: 8 July 2023

Since everyone can't make this, my suggestion would be to use this as a brainstorming session. Let everyone say their piece, take time to think about it, then come to a decision here on the forum where everyone has a chance to see and comment. Here is a list of discussion topics based off conversations I've seen over the past few days. There are a lot more topics that people have mentioned, but this is a starting point. Please comment or message on Discord with anything you think should be added. Or something I forgot. I'm sure I forgot something.

1. Set Speaker Rules: Some people are loud, some people are quiet, and setting some etiquette rules will make sure everyone has a chance to speak

2. How is everyone feeling? Let loose some emotions. Cry session. ~~Don't tell the Vulcans.~~

3. What’s next? The broad strokes of where our main focus is going to be. Let everyone with an idea have a few minutes to pitch their plan
- Continue the main Theurgy plot
- Stay in the Theurgy Universe but go to a different ship
- Theurgy characters go to a different universe (Merger with Uncharted Frontier / other sims?)
- Hard reset (new sim, new characters, new era?)
- Others

4. Administration: Auctor was doing the work of ~10 people on his own. We need to decide how to run the game now
- Website Maintenance (forum, wiki, website backups, etc)
- New Applicants
- Story progression (plotting, GMing, etc)
- Art
- Old members who want to return to the sim right now

5. Website Infrastructure: Technical shit
- Brutus got a forum backup from Auctor (our heroes) on 4 July 2023. Anything you post on the forum from then on needs to be backed up on your own computer [Show/Hide]

- Brutus is also the discord owner now (he’s still awesome)
- New webhosting platform
- Wiki database move

Here's the list of times for the call again, which I have formatted slightly better this time around.
There's going to be a VC on Saturday July 8th, in Discord.

06:00 Alaska
07:00 Pacific US
09:00 Central US
10:00 Eastern US/Canada
14:00 UK
15:00 Western Europe
22:00 Taiwan
00:00 Australia (Sunday, July 9)

Topics for future discussions AKA stuff to worry about later, but it's on the list!
[Show/Hide]

Re: Theurgy: The Next Generation

Reply #16 – July 07, 2023, 04:15:42 AM

Rae, I think this is 100% on target. Thank you for getting it out and organizing it. This will give us a great template for Saturday's meeting.

Re: Theurgy: The Next Generation

Reply #17 – July 07, 2023, 07:14:08 AM

I suggest Rae play the host to the campfire and probably we should vote on a triad to take the lead on setting the agenda for future discussions.

I host my sims on RPG Initiative which supply free hosting with ftp access, I’m not sure what kind of forums they can supply but they are quite good with support. I’m assuming we are staying with forums as our simming medium???

I mean we could switch to a Discord, it also has a website version, to roleplay on and still text based no mic required. And that’s utterly free.

Email or group type site is also an option. Those are part of the big ones like Google or Yahoo so are free.

I recommend doing polls on every aspect of the decision making process so that way a record of everyone’s voice is visible. Polls will also give us a way to narrow down the many options open to us.

I look forward to the meeting.

Re: Theurgy: The Next Generation

Reply #18 – July 07, 2023, 01:47:04 PM

I'm hoping to stick with forums as the key writing platform to be honest. Just simpler to respond and have as a outlet.

Re: Theurgy: The Next Generation

Reply #19 – July 07, 2023, 02:13:12 PM

As you can all imagine, I have...a lot of thoughts and feelings on this, and I won't be able to make it to the call on Saturday due to an all day commitment. In 2 weeks I will have been a member of the Theurgy sim for twelve years. July 21st, 2011. So to say this is special to me is an understatement of gross proportions. As noted above, discord ownership was transferred to me once we all realized it was an easy thing to do that took very little time or effort. I am willing - happy even - to keep the Discord ownership so that slice of our community continues. I also have a sql file backup of the forum as of 7/4; for now, keep a backup of any post y'all make. I don't want to discourage people from continuing to write if that brings you joy in times of uncertainty. I know it does for me

Ya'll bear with me, I'm writing this without my daily dose of coffee. But briefly, I would agree on nominating Rae to oversee the call, given the outline she provided (if she's willing). I would prefer to continue to write on a forum. I've done posting over emails, discord, nova servers and traditional forums and forum RP is what I prefer. I am willing to help admin a forum (this, or another one, depending on how things go) for when we figure out our next steps. I'm willing to try to learn the techincal side of things - some of it is similar to what I do for work, some of it is not, but after a quick chat with my wife to make sure she'd be fine with me spending more time on this project, i'm willing to do it. If we have to get whole new web hosting (or take over the hosting here) I'm willing to put my name on the paper.

I cannot run the sim in the same way that AL did. I don't have the ability to do the work of 10+ people so it would be the kind of thing where we would all be pitching in

Story wise - the ship is half the reason I'm here and id love to continue the story on the USS Theurgy if possible. I have no issues with content warnings - the me of 12 years ago would not understand the need for them in the way that the me of today does. Content warnings are fine. this is a forum, a simm, a community and a story that deal with deep topics, not all of them palatable. Adult content of a myriad variety. Its one of the reasons I signed up to begin with and as I would hope that our ability to write such while telling an excellent Star Trek Story continues. I like that we have the freedom to explore all kinds of content. I want to see that going forward. I dont know if I have it in me to craft as well plotted a story as AL did but I'm happy to help work with everyone to craft whatever we decide comes next. Any notes I have about the original planned plot (or things Id like to think i figured out over 12 years but honestly probably havent) I'll be happy to share down the road.

TL;DR - I like this place, I like all y'all, and i'll step up however I can even if it exhausts me.

Re: Theurgy: The Next Generation

Reply #20 – July 08, 2023, 01:59:55 AM

I agree that Rae should be in charge of the campfire meeting.
As for the future... I am a relative newbie to the Theurgy Family, that being said, I really feel welcome here and enjoy writing with you all. I would like to be able to continue that collaboration.

I will do what I can to help in whatever capacity I am able to ensure this group can continue well into the future.

Re: Theurgy: The Next Generation

Reply #21 – July 08, 2023, 02:41:43 AM

I concur with everything @Brutus‍ said above and would be willing to help graphics and the technical side. Also I love crafting stories as it leaves me the ability to try new things but I think for sure voting for elements to happen would be great too. I'd love to help be a crafter of it all if that helped too. Whatever way I can be of service basically. I've been here 3 years now so don't want to see it go away either.

Re: Theurgy: The Next Generation

Reply #22 – July 08, 2023, 04:48:28 AM

Like I mentioned in Discord, I won’t make the meeting tomorrow, so here are my thoughts on the list published by @rae (ty again)...

#1) Etiquette Rules for VC

There is an old army rule known as the “6 P's: Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.”

• Check your gear out tonight, or log in early before the meeting; do a coms check with someone. Adjust your shit as needed (or requested)
• Round Robin’s work great for large meetings; Rae has been nominated as Speaker – let her run it. Set a topic, call out a name; that person only speaks for an allotted time, or says pass. So on and so on down the list of attendees.
• Don’t interrupt.
• Wait your turn.
• Have an idea of what you want to say beforehand and stay on topic – Rae, you will need to enforce this. Only Rae.
• This should be a time to express opinions and share ideas, not a time to argue or debate them. That will only eat up time, and everyone deserves a chance to say their peace.
• Lastly, be mindful of language – some might not be using headphones and might have young ears around, just food for thought. Keep it classy.

#2) How am I feeling?

This week has been rough (more RL issues than anything else) on top of an equally shitty year for me (so far). As anxious as I am about the future of the sim, I also feel a strong desire to see it survive and carry on. I am more than willing to contribute to that end, however I can.

#3) What’s next?

I think we should proceed with the framework for Episode 2 that has been established – finish what Auctor and those that came before have given us. I see no reason to alter ships, or merge with another sim, etc. We have between us the collective creativity to accomplish the objectives we already have, and have a damn good time doing it.

#4) Admin

I have no expertise or ambition to be in anything resembling a leadership role. I am comfortable with helping out with applications, brainstorming plot ideas, and the like. I really wish I had more to offer, but I just don’t.

#5) Website Infrastructure

It took me months to figure out this site. Not much I can offer here, but I’ll cheerlead the fuck outta yall who can.

Future topics will be discussed then. Let's figure out how to get our feet under us first.

Re: Theurgy: The Next Generation

Reply #23 – July 08, 2023, 05:33:36 PM

So here's what I have been pondering.

We could do various things at the same time.
Forum Index
1. Theurgy RPG
Here we can continue to tell the story of the USS Theurgy and her crew on their mission of defeating the parasites all over known space. Of course with new Gamemasters by election, and they must adhere to as much as Auctor's canon as possible though we as a group can discuss episode plots and so on during an intermission for the next one.

2. Theurgyverse RPG
Here we can explore the various alternatives like a different ship and changing the course of where and how we want to go, though staying within the current set Lore of the original sim. Different Gamemasters should be elected for this as so not to overburden those leading the original.

3. Rebrand RPG
Here we can simply seek out different paths, maybe have different characters, ship, overall story and maybe even different enemies. A fresh clean slate, though some elements of the original could somehow be reintroduced differently, the same or whatever. It all depends on us. Of course I recommend different Gamemasters for same reason as before. Though if players believe they can handle it, then of course run for the position, elected as well.

Of course if people want to take their characters to Uncharted that is completely okay as well. Could treat it as if falling through a dimensional tear that lands them in an alternate universe (Uncharted or whatever it becomes).

The point I'm making is finding infrastructure is simple and with our powers combined LOL we can locate what we need and get it set up in no time. Administration is probably our biggest hurdle. Who leads, who decides and who helps solve conflict within the group. It is also possible that perhaps we elect leaders for various purposes and together they can help the group move forward as well as govern the process for new players.

Like I said in the Next Generation thread, RPG Initiative has free hosting, ftp access and different forms that our RP can be done on and they can install for us. I'll be happy to donate to the project should it be needed.

Oh also a topic for later is the inheritance and additional characters system Auctor was doing. What do we do about this.

Here is an idea for Administration format moving forward:

Storyline Development Committee
- This could be split into Episodes and Chapters subcommittees if needed.
- I think that 3 to 5 people as needed after a brainstorming discussion to offer ideas.

Applicants Committee
- This could have Inheritance, Stasis, Additional and Applications subcommittees.
- 3 to 5 who could also be Mentors.

Technical Committee
- Forum admins and mods
- Wiki admins and content writers

Discord Committee
- Mentors would probably be best here so they can help with orientation and gauging players commitment and so on.
- Admins and mods of course.

Graphics Committee
- Whoever has art skills is welcome to come forward
- We can have avatars, posters, signatures, and so on as separate subcommittees

Re: Theurgy: The Next Generation

Reply #24 – July 09, 2023, 03:26:58 AM

Hello all,

These are the notes from the campfire discussion yesterday (I must say, I'm terribly disappointed that there was no fire involved, so respectfully request that we either HAVE fire next time or use a different term for the sake of my fellow pyros who also risk devastating misleading-ment):

Campfire Notes for the Future