03-25-2011, 01:52 PM
Rimworlds™ is best described an interactive game/novel.. Inspired by the game that won the first ever "Best Play-By-Mail Game" award given by GAMA, it is a turn-based highly-detailed play-by-web game that encourages and supports role-playing and player involvement in how the game progresses.
Basics
Game Pieces
A game piece in the Rim can be a starship, starbase, or planetary colony. A player may run as many of these pieces as he chooses.
Game Time
Because of the time-space distortion of interstellar travel, time is experienced differently in the Rim for different types of pieces. While one day passes aboard a starship, two months will pass aboard a starbase or colony.
Game Actions (Orders)
Each action carried out in the Rim by a piece carries a time charge, measured in fractions of a day by starships and in weeks by starbases and colonies. A time charge of zero is applied to many "look-up" actions that simply report the piece's status.
Game Turns
Each earthly day, beginning at 4:00 a.m. Universal (Greenwich Mean) Time, a player receives the right to use an additional day (or two months) in having his orders carried out. He may use all or part of that turn and the rest will be deposited in a "timebank," which can hold up to six days. When a player deems it necessary, he may withdraw time from the bank and use it to give orders – with the exception of attacking other pieces. Combat cannot be conducted for longer than one day (or 2 months ), although each turn will begin with the participants having the exact same status as they ended the previous turn, so a new combat can continue from exactly where the previous one finished.
The Rim Universe
The rim is an isolated section on the outreaches of the milky-way galaxy. It consists of 1,500,000 sectors arranged in a three-dimensional grid that contain approximately 31,000 stars. Each star has twelve potential orbits around it (labeled 'A' – 'L') any of which may have a planetary body or asteroid belt occupying it. Planets have from no to sixteen continents which are subdivided into regions. Each region has its own climate, water supply, vegetation, animal population, and minerals; some have natives ("Xenos") who may be stone-age barbarians or may have a technology that allows them planetary spaceflight.
Much of the Rim is unexplored, approximately one third of it is known as "Compact Space" -- the name of the region where seven highly civilized planetary governments have banded together in a trade compact that allows them to cooperate and work together while facing the joint menaces of the "Jacks," who run an interstellar crime syndicate and the Pl'strll'n, a reptilian race that considers all other species to be inferior and best used as a food-source.
Space Travel
Jump
Travel between sectors is accomplished with jump engines of various sorts, some warp space around themselves, some use hyper-space, some use tachyon drives, but the effect is the same: instantaneous (as far as the ship's crew is concerned) transport from one sector to another.
System
Within a sector, starships move by using rocket engines that expel reaction mass in the direction opposite the one they wish to travel.
Thruster
Although they may be used for only a brief period of time without damaging them, thrusters provide maneuverability, especially in combat.
Role-Play
Role-play in the Rim is definitely part of the fun. Some forums on the Rimworlds™ message board require that all entries be made in character. You will be rated by the GMs and Moderators on the roleplay you show and certain bonuses are available to those with high ratings.
Fleet Leader
The player-character who leads each player's fleet is the boss – the in-game equivalent of the player himself. Normally, he is the one who is ennobled, chosen as a member of the Parliament or Senate, and generally speaks for the player's entire position. At each player's discretion is whether or not he also commands a ship, base or colony.
Piece-Commanders
Each starship captain, starbase commander or colony leader is a separate player-character and can be fleshed out in detail and brought into the story-telling aspects of the game.
Compact Council
The Compact is administered by those fleet-leaders who choose to participate in the game as Parliamentary Representatives, and by the Grand Senate which is appointed by the game masters from among the Representatives or other players who actively involve themselves in the game's role play. While the Representatives must approve every change made in the compact or the laws derived from it, all such changes must be proposed by the Grand Senate.
Species
There are five different species to which all fleet-leaders and all piece-commanders belong. These five races, the Terrannen, the Katr'ne, the DAZ-Goth, the Uefamy1, and the W'cha jealously guard their knowledge of interstellar travel and do not permit a leadership role to any of the other races to be found in known space. Each species has certain inborn traits and talents that are useful when commanding a ship, base or colony.
Affiliations
There are seven governments who have created the Trade Compact. At one time in the past, all of the members of an affiliation were exclusively members of a particular species, but when the Trade Compact was signed, all Affiliations agreed to accept members of all species into their ranks and this is commonplace today. Each Affiliation is eager to encourage more trade, more exploration, and more ships defending Compact Space from the Pl'strll'n and eliminating the pernicious blight called the Jacks. All Affiliations, therefore, are willing to provide a small starship to any fleet-leader who wishes to move off planet and begin interstellar operations.
Each Affiliation is led by an Admiral who is elected by the members of his affiliation for a one earth-year term.
Alliances
Although alliances of players are controlled completely by their members, they are allowed to alter their transponder to display their alliance identity, which allows their ships not to attack each other in group combat. Each alliance, to be able to have their transponders altered, must have a leader who is both a fleet-leader and who has joined the Parliament.
Non-Player Characters
X.O.
Each ship, base or colony has an executive officer whose talents complement his commander's. He is in charge of all ground operations aboard a starship as well as serving as the commanding officer of the Marines stationed aboard the ship. One forum on the Rim's message board is devoted to the ability for piece-commanders to ask questions of their exec.
Officers
Additional staff members may be recruited from time to time. They will have a particular talent will permit the commander's orders to be accomplished more quickly and completely.
Yeoman
The yeoman serves to remind the captain of circumstances he may have forgotten, or equipment that is unavailable.
Crew
Starships and starbases employ six types of workers: Space-Hands, Gunners, Engineers, Pilots, Marines, and Specialists. Each type of worker accomplishes specific tasks and is rated by its group morale and experience which enable to group's members to accomplish the tasks set for them by the captain.
Non-Crew
Passengers are a source of revenue for starship captains and starbase commanders. Colonists and Mercenaries must be transported to the surface of a planet in order to be given orders.
Xenos
Planetary natives can be traded with, recruited for crew positions, enslaved, pillaged, or ignored. (Although they may not ignore strangers who have set down a mining shuttle in the middle of their sacred burial site.) Xenos are rated by tech level for zero (stone-age) to ten (interplanetary – but not interstellar - space travel)
Civ-Levels
Every planet inhabited by a Rim Civilization is rated in terms of its Civ-Level.
Civ-0 is a planetary colony that has few aspects of civilization and is either a temporary state while a Civ-1 colony is established, or the equivalent of a mining camp whose only purpose is to take as much mineral wealth off planet in as little time as possible. Civ-1 describes a colony that is self-supporting. Civ-2 colonies have built up their industry enough to begin to export goods to the rest of the rim and not depend simply on sending raw materials off planet. Civ-3 are preparing to take their rightful place as semi-affiliations and building up their defenses to protect their claimed space which by this point numbers many sectors surrounding the colony. Civ-4 colonies have a number of in-game and out of game advantages, including providing free play for a limited number of players.
Affiliation Home Worlds are rated Civ-5, 6, and 7.
Basics
Game Pieces
A game piece in the Rim can be a starship, starbase, or planetary colony. A player may run as many of these pieces as he chooses.
Game Time
Because of the time-space distortion of interstellar travel, time is experienced differently in the Rim for different types of pieces. While one day passes aboard a starship, two months will pass aboard a starbase or colony.
Game Actions (Orders)
Each action carried out in the Rim by a piece carries a time charge, measured in fractions of a day by starships and in weeks by starbases and colonies. A time charge of zero is applied to many "look-up" actions that simply report the piece's status.
Game Turns
Each earthly day, beginning at 4:00 a.m. Universal (Greenwich Mean) Time, a player receives the right to use an additional day (or two months) in having his orders carried out. He may use all or part of that turn and the rest will be deposited in a "timebank," which can hold up to six days. When a player deems it necessary, he may withdraw time from the bank and use it to give orders – with the exception of attacking other pieces. Combat cannot be conducted for longer than one day (or 2 months ), although each turn will begin with the participants having the exact same status as they ended the previous turn, so a new combat can continue from exactly where the previous one finished.
The Rim Universe
The rim is an isolated section on the outreaches of the milky-way galaxy. It consists of 1,500,000 sectors arranged in a three-dimensional grid that contain approximately 31,000 stars. Each star has twelve potential orbits around it (labeled 'A' – 'L') any of which may have a planetary body or asteroid belt occupying it. Planets have from no to sixteen continents which are subdivided into regions. Each region has its own climate, water supply, vegetation, animal population, and minerals; some have natives ("Xenos") who may be stone-age barbarians or may have a technology that allows them planetary spaceflight.
Much of the Rim is unexplored, approximately one third of it is known as "Compact Space" -- the name of the region where seven highly civilized planetary governments have banded together in a trade compact that allows them to cooperate and work together while facing the joint menaces of the "Jacks," who run an interstellar crime syndicate and the Pl'strll'n, a reptilian race that considers all other species to be inferior and best used as a food-source.
Space Travel
Jump
Travel between sectors is accomplished with jump engines of various sorts, some warp space around themselves, some use hyper-space, some use tachyon drives, but the effect is the same: instantaneous (as far as the ship's crew is concerned) transport from one sector to another.
System
Within a sector, starships move by using rocket engines that expel reaction mass in the direction opposite the one they wish to travel.
Thruster
Although they may be used for only a brief period of time without damaging them, thrusters provide maneuverability, especially in combat.
Role-Play
Role-play in the Rim is definitely part of the fun. Some forums on the Rimworlds™ message board require that all entries be made in character. You will be rated by the GMs and Moderators on the roleplay you show and certain bonuses are available to those with high ratings.
Fleet Leader
The player-character who leads each player's fleet is the boss – the in-game equivalent of the player himself. Normally, he is the one who is ennobled, chosen as a member of the Parliament or Senate, and generally speaks for the player's entire position. At each player's discretion is whether or not he also commands a ship, base or colony.
Piece-Commanders
Each starship captain, starbase commander or colony leader is a separate player-character and can be fleshed out in detail and brought into the story-telling aspects of the game.
Compact Council
The Compact is administered by those fleet-leaders who choose to participate in the game as Parliamentary Representatives, and by the Grand Senate which is appointed by the game masters from among the Representatives or other players who actively involve themselves in the game's role play. While the Representatives must approve every change made in the compact or the laws derived from it, all such changes must be proposed by the Grand Senate.
Species
There are five different species to which all fleet-leaders and all piece-commanders belong. These five races, the Terrannen, the Katr'ne, the DAZ-Goth, the Uefamy1, and the W'cha jealously guard their knowledge of interstellar travel and do not permit a leadership role to any of the other races to be found in known space. Each species has certain inborn traits and talents that are useful when commanding a ship, base or colony.
Affiliations
There are seven governments who have created the Trade Compact. At one time in the past, all of the members of an affiliation were exclusively members of a particular species, but when the Trade Compact was signed, all Affiliations agreed to accept members of all species into their ranks and this is commonplace today. Each Affiliation is eager to encourage more trade, more exploration, and more ships defending Compact Space from the Pl'strll'n and eliminating the pernicious blight called the Jacks. All Affiliations, therefore, are willing to provide a small starship to any fleet-leader who wishes to move off planet and begin interstellar operations.
Each Affiliation is led by an Admiral who is elected by the members of his affiliation for a one earth-year term.
Alliances
Although alliances of players are controlled completely by their members, they are allowed to alter their transponder to display their alliance identity, which allows their ships not to attack each other in group combat. Each alliance, to be able to have their transponders altered, must have a leader who is both a fleet-leader and who has joined the Parliament.
Non-Player Characters
X.O.
Each ship, base or colony has an executive officer whose talents complement his commander's. He is in charge of all ground operations aboard a starship as well as serving as the commanding officer of the Marines stationed aboard the ship. One forum on the Rim's message board is devoted to the ability for piece-commanders to ask questions of their exec.
Officers
Additional staff members may be recruited from time to time. They will have a particular talent will permit the commander's orders to be accomplished more quickly and completely.
Yeoman
The yeoman serves to remind the captain of circumstances he may have forgotten, or equipment that is unavailable.
Crew
Starships and starbases employ six types of workers: Space-Hands, Gunners, Engineers, Pilots, Marines, and Specialists. Each type of worker accomplishes specific tasks and is rated by its group morale and experience which enable to group's members to accomplish the tasks set for them by the captain.
Non-Crew
Passengers are a source of revenue for starship captains and starbase commanders. Colonists and Mercenaries must be transported to the surface of a planet in order to be given orders.
Xenos
Planetary natives can be traded with, recruited for crew positions, enslaved, pillaged, or ignored. (Although they may not ignore strangers who have set down a mining shuttle in the middle of their sacred burial site.) Xenos are rated by tech level for zero (stone-age) to ten (interplanetary – but not interstellar - space travel)
Civ-Levels
Every planet inhabited by a Rim Civilization is rated in terms of its Civ-Level.
Civ-0 is a planetary colony that has few aspects of civilization and is either a temporary state while a Civ-1 colony is established, or the equivalent of a mining camp whose only purpose is to take as much mineral wealth off planet in as little time as possible. Civ-1 describes a colony that is self-supporting. Civ-2 colonies have built up their industry enough to begin to export goods to the rest of the rim and not depend simply on sending raw materials off planet. Civ-3 are preparing to take their rightful place as semi-affiliations and building up their defenses to protect their claimed space which by this point numbers many sectors surrounding the colony. Civ-4 colonies have a number of in-game and out of game advantages, including providing free play for a limited number of players.
Affiliation Home Worlds are rated Civ-5, 6, and 7.