Based on this discussion about de-complicating OtherSpace, I got to thinking about the idea of a theme reboot. We’ve expanded on the theme, we’ve opened the multiverse, and we’ve even offered variants of the original MUSH theme set in the 2650 Orion Arm of the Milky Way galaxy.
But we’ve never, since 1998, done a total reboot. And maybe it’s time.
How would I do it?
We’ve got a small playerbase these days, so I’d start small. And I wouldn’t start where the game began 16 years ago. I’d shove the timeline all the way back to 2550, with players starting in the Solar Consortium on Earth, Luna, and Mars. And I’d toss out all the original pre-2550 timeframe lore for purposes of the reboot. Sivad hasn’t been settled. They haven’t met the Demarians, Nall, or Zangali yet. And they certainly haven’t encountered the ominous Ri’Kammi Hive Minders who can bestow upon them the gift of OtherSpace technology.
Instead, they’ve mostly been working on not blowing each other up and trying to find common ground while exploring Sol System for exploitable resources and trying to develop FTL technology.
The first new story arc would involve players inventing the technology that would be used for faster-than-light travel. The next would deal with testing, potential acts of sabotage between competing interests, and prototyping. The third might see the first ship and crew equipped with an FTL drive embarking on a mission of exploration, which could lead them to Demaria, Odari, Nalhom…who knows?
At the start, the reboot would involve a couple of worlds and just one race at character creation: Human. More options would come available as the story arcs progress.
This is an interesting idea for the reboot.
My question is however, what will happen to the universes as they are now? Will everything we know today disappear? and with it the things we created? Like Impiruil Bail, the bright Cluster and so on?
And if all of that will disapear what will happen to the characters we all have created and grown fond off (for the most part anyway).
I would grandfather in what people have developed for themselves. I can sympathize with the connection people make to their characters and their worlds. Previously, I’ve gone the route of ripping people loose of what they knew, or told them they were losing what they knew, and…I’m not fond of that outcome.
I would probably take the Ancient Expanse worlds and races out as options in chargen to avoid confusion for newbies, but I wouldn’t rule them out in a separate chargen area if players there go on a recruiting spree. But I wouldn’t run around nuking grids or characters.
Yay, we get to keep our carefully collected piles of stuff!
I’ve experienced big changes and/or theme reboots on other games in the past. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. The good thing about -not- ripping everything up, wiping, etc, is that it won’t be -painful- to try something new, and people wouldn’t feel like they -had- to ditch all of their work to force-upgrade to this new and improved thing.
I have to say my second favorite thing about Otherspace (yes, the first thing is y’all, break out the ‘awwwwww’. Okay now be quiet I’m talking) is the whole ‘rifted’ mechanic where you can take someone from else where and else when and just have them experience this crazy future world with all of its science and technology.
But, hey, it’s an idea, and ideas as a whole are worth tossing around for a while until they either fly or fall.
I approve of this.
I would, as always, go political for RP. 🙂
That is all. Approve of this as is. Would set the stage to either develop the Stellar Consortium, go to war with the Nall, etc.. Or a different route.. all while maintaining the ‘core’ Otherspace experience.
What about Sanctuary? Would that be brought back in it’s original capacity? As someone who has lost developed characters (Stargazer, Eryn, Moonshadow, to name a few of my favorites) in the past when things have changed I would like to not lose Jasra. So you additional comment Brody is welcome.
Um…Sanctuary is back, in the Ancient Expanse, under Rathenhope’s oversight. Has been. A good long while. Isn’t going anywhere.
OH… I should have remembered that. 😀
So I was thinking. (AAAH, NOOO!) But yes, I was thinking. I recall that Sunny and Voluria et al were looking forward to the ‘original’ grid getting put back in, and I’m not sure what happened to that, feel free to correct me of course, but how about (if it’s not troublesome), have that grid ready for them, and narrow the many multiverses down to:
Otherspace: Classic (for ye Golden Age)
Otherspace: Age of Rifts (our current happy mess)Narai, maybe your Star Wars thingy can be classified under this umbrella?
Otherspace: Star’s Rebirth (the new boots)
I think that’ll cover the bases, just leaving out Chia; but I really feel like we’re invested in space opera, and a chunk of swords-and-sorcery-soap-opera in the middle breaks up the flow. There are always rifted Fastheldians to play if somebody -really- gets the itch.
I think as long as we have one wiki or section of the wiki clearly delineated for the new ‘boot’, done before we open the doors, we can get a solid start. And hey, if a new person plays with us for a while, likes it, and wants to get into the multiversey goodness? There’s always a rift.
*pop*
You still run into the problem off having too many ‘universes’ for people to play in. Which I think is what the old Man (haha) is trying to eliminate.
Still worried that those are overcomplications for new players. What I foresee happening is that the Wiki will be vastly simplified to a reference source for the rebooted OS – although I won’t delete pages for Ancient Expanse, etc. We would treat the Ancient Expanse OS as, effectively, a player-run universe a la Narai’s ROE project.
And for the sake of keeping it simple, RoE will be on the back burner until further notice.
The Bright Cluster will be inactive.
I shall focus on RP in the rebooted OS.