Hello, mourners!
So this year we wanted to do something special to celebrate you - the players that make the game what it is. There are so many unique characters, perspectives, and plots going on that sometimes it's hard to keep up, but we know for a fact that YOU are what makes the game great, and we want to celebrate that. SO...!
We are going to be holding a New Years Commendation contest for the entire playerbase.
The rules are pretty simple.
There are a few main BIG categories we're going to be judging:
* Roleplaying - Who has impacted the landscape of the game the most? Who has stuck to their roleplay the longest? Who have you had the best roleplaying interactions with personally? Interpret it how you want, but this category is for roleplay!
* Trading/Design - Who has made the most fun designs? Roleplayed being an artisan most convincingly? Interpret it how you want, but this category is for designers and traders.
* Mining/Manufacturing - Who has made their living from manufacturing, mining, and scooping? Who do you think of first when you think of these things?
* Hacking - Somewhat self explanatory, but who do you think the best hacker is? Most notorious? Most recognizable? Most stylish?
* Captaincy - Who is the best at tackling incursions, cosmpiercers, space PVP, space stuff in general? Interpret it how you want, but tell us who you think of when you think of Admirals!
* Bashing/EXP - Because it's a different sort of thing than combat, who has spent the most time mindlessly killing things, or who do you think of when you think of the top/best bashers?
* Combat/PVP - Arena, caches, cosmpiercers, bounty hunters... who do you think of when you think of people willing to throw down?
* Performance - Who is the most iconic, most unique, most tenacious, most...? Interpret it how you want, but this category is for performance of all types!
* Classes - You can vote for one of each class - Who do you think screams Fury, Scoundrel, Beast, Nanoseer and Engineer? Whether it's by representing their class through roleplay the best, or just being a damn good example of their class - interpret how you want to, but tell us your favorite spacer of each class!
* Most Helpful - Thinking specifically of newbies and other players in need, who always goes out of their way to help those who need it with advice, money, or anything else, including helping attract and keep new players?
We know it's hard to choose just one for these categories, so we will also be accepting write-in categories for more specific things, which can be either IC or OOC. (By that I mean they are still about the game and the player's *characters*, but they can get a bit OOC - for example, "Most melodramatic baddie") Players can submit a total of five write-in categories with their suggestions for 1-5 nominee names for each. For example, you could submit "Most likely to lick random things" with a list of your top three nominees in that area. These are mostly for fun, and because we know there are lots of small areas where people shine that might not be represented in these "broad" categories.
You can also submit nice anonymous notes along with your votes for either the main or the sub-categories, which will be sent along to the nominee. This whole thing is really about making other players feel warm and fuzzy and appreciated. If you have enjoyed your time playing with someone in the game, let them know! Whether you have enjoyed roleplaying with them, hunting with them, or just enjoyed their character's existence from afar, now is the time to let them know.
Admin/Storytellers can be written nice notes, but they won't be receiving any special prizes for their work as admin - that's their job! This is just a nice way you can tell the staff thank you for their hard work, if you want to. And in case you'd like to send a message to another player but run out of nominations, you can write one anonymously as well without using up a nomination. Get out there and tell people you appreciate them!
And finally, if you have any other write in categories for NPCs or other things in Starmourn, you are totally allowed to suggest those as well. Favorite NPC? Favorite "ship" - not spaceship, NPC love story? You get the idea. This is great for us because it lets us know what NPC interactions people are enjoying, etc.
A few rules and details:
- You cannot nominate or vote for yourself this time. Sorry!
- Everyone who is nominated in any category, including write-ins, will get a little trophy listing all their nominations and a prize of 10 credits per nomination category, up to a max of 50 credits and the *winner* of any write-in category will receive an additional winning trophy. This will be determined by player vote via referendum, after the nomination phase. The players will also get sent on any warm fuzzies from their fellow players, which is the real prize.
- Winners of the big categories will receive a slightly bigger prize, which is currently TBD. They will also get sent on any warm fuzzies from their fellow players, which is the real prize.
- There will be a fun in-game event to celebrate the winners IC - most likely not all the write-in categories will be entirely IC, so we won't be able to celebrate all of them at this event, unfortunately! However, they will be posted on the news board for everyone to enjoy. And if any NPCs happen to win any categories, maybe they'll make a surprise appearance at the event?
You can access the forms at HELP 17.1 - please copy and paste the form into pastebin, a google doc or the body of an email and send either in-game via message to Damiel, or to damiel@starmourn.com.
The last date to submit your commendations and warm fuzzies is sync on Dec 31st - after that, we'll go through, combine any categories that are too similar along with the nominees, and then put all of it back up in game as public referendums so that you, the players, can vote from the final list, which will be posted on January 1st. Referendums will be up for a week for you to make your final votes.
Have fun, and share the love! If you have any questions about the contest, feel free to contact us!
Soren
