OngoingWorlds blog

News & articles about play-by-post games, for roleplayers & writers

Jul
21

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30 Years of STF: 1991-2021

Category: Roleplay Systems, Roleplay-related projects, Roleplaying community Tags: , , Leave a Comment

Main banner/logo from April 22, 1998 (archive.org)

A few weeks ago I got to celebrate the 20th anniversary of my home club. But how about a 30th anniversary?

As far as I can tell, today is the 30th anniversary of the founding of STF, which likely makes it the oldest club still in existence, if not ever. According to a 1994 history by Jim Midyette, what would eventually come to be known as the Star-Fleet Sim Club (and later STF) began on July 21, 1991 on Prodigy when a group of Star Trek fans decided to return fire against some 90210 fans:

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Jul
4

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Independence Fleet: 20 Years

Category: Roleplay Systems, Roleplay-related projects, Roleplaying community Tags: , , Leave a Comment

Last year I got to mark my own 20th simming anniversary. This year I get to celebrate something even better: my club’s 20th anniversary. That’s right, founded all the way back on July 4, 2001, Independence Fleet turns 20 today. Given our humble and downright volatile beginnings, it’s hard to believe we’re still operating today. Nonetheless, here we are!

In addition to holding a Trivia Day earlier this year and a special Webcast yesterday (both with real prizes!), we also did our normal anniversary tradition of inducting the newest members of our Hall of Fame.

But a 20th anniversary calls for even more. With that in mind, this morning we published two items that we hope our members and the entire online role playing world can enjoy:

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Jul
4

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2019 ToS Winners

Category: Awards, Competition, Events, Roleplay Systems, Roleplaying community Tags: , , 2 Comments

It’s time to announce the winners of the latest Tournament of Simulations (ToS). Finally! We asked for nominations back in February, and you responded by nominating 29 absolutely incredible games from across the community. After a few delays, here we are with this year’s champions. In case you were wondering, this is how we select the winners. This is an extra special ToS as it marks twenty years since that first tournament back in 1999.

As I say every year, evaluating sims is a subjective art, and this is certainly true with ToS.  We’re not here to identify the best games as this is impossible.  Instead, we’re here to identify what we think are outstanding role plays that exude excellence.  A different set of judges may very well chose a completely different set of winners.  And that’s okay!  With that on the record, here are your 2019 anniversary year tournament winners:

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Feb
16

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20 Years of Sunfire Script

Category: Behind the scenes - running RPGs, Events, Play-by-post discussion Tags: , , , , 4 Comments

Utopia Fleet

For as long as I can remember, I’ve heard people say, “I’ve been simming for 20 years.” Well, I can finally say it myself.

I’ve been simming for 20 years. 

Wow, that felt good!

On February 16, 2000, the USS Sunfire NCC-3935, a Bedford class starship, launched in old Utopia Fleet’s Deep Space Exploration Division.  I was the ship’s CMO.  That’s Chief Medical Officer for all you non-Trek role players.  Fast forward to today and it’s hard to image my life without play-by-post role playing.

I’ve been a writer, a politician, a diplomat, a founder, an editor, a counselor, an investigator, a philosopher, a Captain, an Admiral, and even a game show host–all of which are never going to happen IRL (that’s In Real Life for you non-simmers).  Role playing’s taught me a lot about people, life, and myself.  All in all, it’s been a fun ride.

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May
23

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What a 20th Anniversary SciWorld, Trivia, and More!

Category: Awards, Behind the scenes - running RPGs, Events, Play-by-post discussion, Roleplay Systems, Roleplay-related projects, Roleplaying community, Trivia Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a Comment

What a SciWorld! Unfortunately, I was only able to attend my own event, I’ve but I’ve reviewed the transcripts and it looks like it was a excellent convention! I saw a lot of great ideas exchanged and some really interesting discussions. Most importantly, I saw the best of the simming and role playing community: YOU! In short, the 20th anniversary of SciWorld was everything I hoped it would be and more. We’re off to a superb start for the next 20 years.

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May
17

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SciWorld 20 Years 1999-2019: Saturday May 18th

Category: Behind the scenes - running RPGs, Events, Interviews, Play-by-post discussion, Roleplay-related projects, Roleplaying community, Trivia Tags: , , 1 Comment

When I announced SciWorld 2019 last month, I failed to notice that this would indeed be the 20th anniversary of the SciWorld Online Convention (Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/EGBwV54). Wow! What a milestone! How could I have missed it?!?

Well, I did. To make up for it, I’m posting an edited version of a previously unpublished interview I conducted with Ender Maki back in 2011. For those who may be wondering, simmer Ender Maki is credited as being the founder of SciWorld. The interview wasn’t conducted for the purpose of publishing, but rather to collect information so I could flesh out a few articles on the old Simming Encyclopedia (which lives on today as Roleplay Wiki). As such, the interview may seem a little disjointed. But it’s still great! Without any further ado, here is Ender Maki, in mostly his own words, from 2011…

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Sep
8

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Star Trek’s 50th Anniversary: Your Favorite Trek

Category: Interviews, Play-by-post discussion, Roleplaying community Tags: , 10 Comments

The first episode of Star Trek, "The Man Trap," aired on NBC on September 8, 1966.

The first episode of Star Trek, “The Man Trap,” aired on NBC on September 8, 1966.  While it was the sixth episode filmed, the studio elected to show it first because of its horror-based plot.

Fifty years ago today the very first episode of Star Trek aired.  In “The Man Trap,” viewers saw Captain Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and the rest of the USS Enterprise crew battle a shapeshifting alien attempting to steal the salt in their bodies, which of course would kill them.  (Spoiler Alert: The crew survives and the mission continues… otherwise we probably wouldn’t be publishing this article!)  Reviews of the episode were mixed.  For what it’s worth, I like it.

Most people, including many in the cast and crew, expected the show to last only a season or two and to be nothing more than a footnote in television history.  As they say, the rest is history.  The Star Trek franchise is now valued in the billions of dollars and a cultural phenomenon that permeates many sectors, including the simming and online role playing community that we’re all a part of.  Just imagine, for a moment, simming without Star Trek.  Gene Roddenberry surely could not have foreseen all of this!

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Jul
13

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25 Years, The Evolution of a Club

Category: Roleplaying community Tags: , , , , 2 Comments

star fleet 25 years

A Star Trek fan group and a 90210 fan group went to battle on Prodigy.

Sounds more like a lead-up to a joke than a legacy, but then again, as they say, sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. Read More

Apr
20

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Blue Dwarf is 15!

Category: OngoingWorlds site news Tags: , , , 1 Comment

This article was written by Andy Longman from Blue Dwarf.

blue-dwarf-fifteen-years

7,884,000 minutes
131490 hours
5475 days
15 years.

All of these are big numbers. And all of these tell us exactly how long the Blue Dwarf sim has been running.

From it’s first ever story post on 23rd April 2000, to today people have been continually contributing to the ongoing saga. Read More

Jun
23

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Thank You For The Year!

Category: Uncategorized Tags: , , , 2 Comments

o-beer-cheers-facebook

Here’s to another year!

Today, June 22nd, 2014. Marks one year for me as an Ongoing Worlds member. The reason I’m making this is to thank the members of Ongoing Worlds and the countless number of the other big faces in role playing. Read More

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