FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Jump to: Premise / The Exosuit / Discoveries / OOC Mechanics / Apps & Reserves / Activity, Drops & HiatusesPREMISE & SETTING
WHAT IS THE GAME ABOUT? is a dynamic (location-changing) pan-fandom RP inspired by No Man's Sky & Warframe, set in the vast expanse of space. It focuses on survival and exploration with characters waking up in stasis pods with no clue as to how they got there. They are left only a single message to start and guide them on their journey: Find The Atlas. Characters must decide if they wish to seek the Atlas to discover who or
what it truly is, or eke out a new life for themselves among the stars as they encounter challenges both good and bad, aliens species which can offer aid and insight into the mythos of the galaxy, and the mystery of why and how they came to be in this strange universe.
Players' actions will have a direct impact on the plot and will affect the game as a whole.
WHERE DOES THE GAME TAKE PLACE? The game takes place in the far-reaches of space in an unknown universe. Characters will traverse a variety of environments as they move from planet to planet, searching for The Atlas and a way home. While they initially will have access to only one planet, characters will be able to expand their horizons (and accessible worlds/star systems) by progressing with in-game story lines and exploration. Kind of like being space-nomads.
WHAT IS THE ATLAS? Some believe it a cosmic entity; others an ancient alien race lost to the void of space. Whispers in the stars claim that The Atlas has the ability to give birth to entire planets and stars; maybe even to make one a God. But the true nature of what The Atlas is something characters will have to discover themselves...
SO WHAT'S THE ENDGAME? While there is no time frame of when we expect the game to end, the basic "goal" of the game is to find The Atlas. There's no time limit on finding it, but we encourage players to be communicative in what they want to see, do, and encounter along the way! The first planet should take anywhere from 2~4 months, depending on how quickly players act and figure things out. Each "chapter" of the game should take ~6 months to finish.
HOW DOES WORLDBUILDING WORK? Build it and they will come! With the completion of the first planet we will be opening up world creation for people to submit their own flora, fauna, artifacts, technology and alien race ideas. These will then be implemented into the game as it unfolds. In essence, players will be helping to create their own story going forward.
WHAT IS THE GAME'S PACE? The game currently operates on a 1:2 ratio of 1 day in game being equal to 2 days IRL.
HOW DO CHARACTERS ARRIVE? All characters will wake up in a stasis pod. The exact details will depend on the current
arrival conditions but in general they will wake up once someone wearing an Atlas exosuit or technology interfaces with their pod. The reanimation sequence will begin and for a few brief moments characters will feel like they are suffocating until life support comes online.
WHAT DO CHARACTERS ARRIVE WITH? Character
do not bring anything from home with them. They wake from stasis with nothing but their
Atlas exosuit, a wrist communicator, and three days' worth of rations in whatever form of nutrition they require stored in their stasis pod. No clothes, no jewellery or accessories. No hair scrunchies. Sorry.
WHAT IF MY CHARACTER DOESN'T WANT TO FIND THE ATLAS? That's fine! Characters are not
required to go and seek out The Atlas. They are more than free to explore the universe as they desire or start a new life among the stars. However, the only way to figure out how they got there and why, and if there's a way home is to try and find The Atlas.
IS THERE A NETWORK? No. The Atlas is an action-based game which has no general network for characters to use for texting/calling/posting. Down the line there will be technology which allows two-way communication between characters in real-time, but nothing resembling a network.
CAN CHARACTERS BUILD ONE? No. At this time characters have neither the resources nor the understanding of the alien technology required to do so.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A CHARACTER DIES? Because death in the game is permanent, when a character dies they are considered dropped. The character's body will not fade away or disappear, and it is up to characters and players to decide what to do with their remains.
BUT MY CHARACTER'S IMMORTAL! Immortal characters are a different story. Because abilities such as immortality and healing are powered by the exosuits, when an immortal character is mortally wounded it drains the power from their suit to 0%. When this happens, they become incapacitated/unconscious and must receive a "kick-start" from another exosuit in order to recharge and regain consciousness.
HOW DOES LANGUAGE WORK? Characters will find that they all speak one common tongue which (currently) has no known name. All knowledge of their native language(s) and those from their own worlds/universes will be gone from their memories. They will remember they existed and that people spoke them, but not
how to or any of the words used in them.
Characters whose language/time period lack certain words will learn these as they are used and contextualized by their peers, i.e. someone from the 1870s will hear the language equivalent of "computer" and know how to say it, but someone will need to tell them what exact it is and what it does before they understand the definition. It's the same as learning any new word in your native language.
WHAT ABOUT 4TH WALLING? Unless specifically allowed in someone's permissions post, we would like to say no to this.
WILL THERE BE EVENTS? Yes! But they won't be the typical style of events normally seen in games. There will be no holiday-themed events and nothing like a character "loss" where they turn into an animal/opposite gender etc. But there will be plot-related, environmental, and character-based events which will provide lore and encourage CR and character growth.
WHAT ABOUT TRANSPORT? HOW DO CHARACTERS GET AROUND? For now? On foot. You're going to have to work those legs if you want to get anywhere in a timely fashion. Down the road however characters will have access to more advanced methods such as vehicles, teleporters, and spacecraft.
DO CHARACTERS AGE? Nope. While wearing their suit characters won't grow any taller or older, their hair won't become any longer, and women will find that they lack a menstrual cycle (yes, we went there).
MY CHARACTER CAN SURVIVE IN SPACE/VACUUMS. CAN'T THEY JUST LEAVE? Sure they can--if their have the power for it in their suit. And for the record? 20% functionality isn't anywhere near what they need to pull it off. Even someone like Superman will find that without the necessary upgrades & conditions, spaceflight without a vehicle is impossible.
WHAT IF MY CHARACTER GETS INJURED? Better be more careful! We know sometimes it can't be helped, and luckily for your characters those suits are handy as well as stylish. All Exosuits will seal and sanitize non-lethal injuries so that they can heal without risk of infection. Broken limbs will need to be set prior and it can't regrow anything missing, but besides that? Characters should be right as rain so long as they rest.
WHAT DO CHARACTERS DO FOR FOOD/WATER? Git gud. Alternatively, scavenge! Characters only get three days worth of rations in whatever form of nutrition they require to keep themselves fed and watered so they'd better investigate their environment thoroughly for options. A guide of what food and drink options characters have per planet will be noted in its information page.
CAN CHARACTERS GET PREGNANT? No. Characters are sterile upon arrival and cannot procreate with each other or any other races they encounter.
WHAT ABOUT MATURE CONTENT? All mature content should be properly labelled and place behind a cut. While we don't discourage characters having sex (they're more than free to), we ask that you either fade to black or move it someplace private rather than posting it in the community.
ATLAS EXOSUITS & DEVICES
HOW DOES THE SUIT WORK? The suit provides protection from inhospitable and hostile environments by converting energy both from sources around it (sunlight, power cells, etc) and from the digestion of food. Currently they only function at 20%; the bare minimum needed for survival on an alien planet. Suits also work to regulate the abilities of characters. See "Does my character keep their powers?" below for more details.
WHEN HAPPENS IF IT RUNS OUT OF POWER? If a suit's energy level becomes 0% either through over-usage of powers or mortal wounds (in the case of
immortal characters) they become incapacitated/unconscious and must receive a "kick-start" from another exosuit in order to recharge and regain consciousness. Suits recharge naturally on their own without needing a kick-start provided they have at least 1% power or more.
CAN MY CHARACTER SEE HOW MUCH POWER THEIR SUIT HAS? Yep! It'll be displayed in the same fashion the initial Atlas message whenever they wish to view it. By default all suits starts at 100% power.
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENT BETWEEN FUNCTIONALITY AND POWER? Functionality is what characters have access to technology-wise through their suit. In this case the base 20% characters arrive with gives them basic life support on mildly inhospitable planets and some very basic recovery options.
Power is how much & how long characters can use an ability or suit function before it runs out of...you guessed it, power!
A suit at 0% power leaves a character incapacitated until someone gives them a kick-start and recharges it. A suit at 0% functionality leaves a character dead, because it has no functions or capabilities beyond the cosmetic.
CAN THE SUITS BE REMOVED? Yes, they can! But we really wouldn't recommend it unless they're in a hospitable environment. Removing one's suit means the removal of their life support and the ability to use their powers. So suit removal in an inhospitable location? Means inevitable, within-three-minutes-death. Please keep these on.
CAN MY CHARACTER UPGRADE IT? Yes! As characters progress and move the story along they will be given the chance to upgrade and restore functionality to their suits again by participating in plot-relevant posts. Those who have completed the first planet should expect to see at least two of these.
HOW DO I UPGRADE MY CHARACTER'S SUIT? In order to upgrade a character's suit there are several conditions that must be met:
- There needs to be an IC log which offers an upgrade
- Your character must tag into this post during the chapter it takes place in
- Your character needs at least (2) threads in the post with at least (10) comments from your character per thread†
- You must submit these threads for consideration to our upgrade post
†These must be separate threads, i.e. you may link (2) separate threads from one top-level comment, but not the top-level comment itself. If you link a top-level comment it will only count as (1) thread.If all of the above conditions are met and you receive approval--congratulations! You now have a new upgrade for your character! For further information, please see our
upgrade post.
CAN UPGRADES BE SHARED AMONG CHARACTERS? No. At this time the only way for a character to receive an upgrade to their exosuit is to participate in the applicable plot post during the chapter in which it was released.
DOES THIS MEAN I CAN MISS UPGRADES FOREVER? Not at all! We will have upgrades reappear throughout the course of the game in various rotations so that most if not all characters will be able to acquire them at some point, providing they participate in the appropriate logs. While the source & nature of a reoccurring upgrade may differ, when it boils down to it its function should be roughly the same as previous iterations.
CAN THE SUITS SHARE INFORMATION? Yes. As long as one character interfaces their suit with another, they can acquire all information stored in the original suit's database. If Character A has explored the environment and acquired basic map data, they can then share this with anyone they interface with. Please note that
this does not apply to upgrades. Only information can be transferred between suits.
DISCOVERIES
HOW DO DISCOVERIES WORK? Discoveries are our way of allowing players to explore & learn more about the environments they come across as we progress through the game. Since most information on the
Flora, Fauna & Resources page is locked, players must "discover" it via this system in order for it to be made available. Once it's on the FFR page it can be assumed that
all characters are privy to it via word of mouth. For full information on Discoveries please check out our
Discoveries page.
WHAT ARE RESOURCES? Resources are extra items or objects that characters can collect from the planet's surface and take with them that inherently have some sort of value to them. This value can be relevance to the plot, that the items are worth something to other species they might encounter, or that they have a property which will aid characters in their journey.
WHAT HAPPENS IF I FAIL AT A DISCOVERY? Nothing bad, just the usual flavortext of
"You found rocks!" or
"Congratulations on the sand!" There is
no punishment for failing a discovery, and all discovery success/fails are determined entirely by RNG.
HOW DO I MAKE A TIER 1: LOCATION DISCOVERY? Since these are considered
player plots you will first need to head on over and make a submission on our
plot submissions post. Once approved, please use the OOC comm to gather your party members! Then when you're ready please use the
Tier 1 Discovery Form and reply to the
Discoveries page with the appropriate information and we'll get you started along your way!
The player who first submits the player plot request will be our go-to contact for your discovery so make sure you're available!
OOC MECHANICS & PLOT
HOW FAST DOES THE PLOT MOVE? It's largely player-dependent, but the general idea is that each "chapter" of the game's story should take ~6 months, and each new "area" should last 2~4 months.
HOW OFTEN DO EVENTS OCCUR? One major story event should take place every 1-1.5 months, with smaller bits of information and discovery available in between.
CAN WE SUBMIT PLOT IDEAS OF OUR OWN? Deffo. We very much encourage this! If you have something in mind that you'd like to do, please take it to our
plot submission post & we'll see if we can work it in.
CAN WE MAKE AND RUN OUR OWN PLOTS? Sure! Contact us and we'll even help build a small adventure for you if you'd like.
IS REPLYING TO THE GAME-WIDE HMD MANDATORY? Yes. No ifs, ands, or buts. When you submit AC during HMD-specififc months we require links to your comment on the HMD in order to pass you.
APPLICATIONS & RESERVES
WHEN DO RESERVES OPEN? Reserves are open from the
1st at 00:00 EST to the
5th at 23:59 EST of every month.
WHEN DO APPS OPEN? Applications are open from the
3rd at 00:00 EST to the
5th at 23:59 EST of every month. You must have a reservation in order to apply for your character.
WHO CAN I APPLY FOR? We accept:
- Canon characters
- Original characters
- Silent protagonists (such as the Persona protagonists)
- Variant protagonists (such as Dragon Age & Mass Effect protagonists)
- Canon AUs (so long as they have a "canon" source i.e. MCU vs Earth-616)
- Fandom PCs (meaning "player-characters" from games like WoW, D&D, etc)
We
do not allow applications for:
- Historical figures (unless coming from a fictional source)
- Game transplants/CRAUs
- Fandom OCs (OCs made for a canon universe)
CAN I APP A CHARACTER WHO HAS DIED IN-GAME? Yes you may! However there is a
(1) app period hold on applying for a character after they have died in-game. If BOB dies in January, the soonest anyone can app BOB is March.
IS THERE A CAST CAP? There is currently a cast cap of
(8) characters per fandom, not including canon AUs. We allow
(1) canon AU of a character at at time, meaning there can only ever be (2) versions of a character in-game at the same time.
In the case of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Agents of Shield, & Netflix series, due to very specific licensing issues with the MCU, we are going to consider the MCU movies as the main canon, and all Netflix/Agents of Sheild series to be sub-canons of their own. These sub-canons will have a cast cap of
(2) per series.
HOW MANY CHARACTERS CAN I APPLY FOR? You may apply for
(1) character app round for a total of
(2) characters.
ARE APP/RESERVE CHALLENGES ALLOWED? Yes. We allow
(1) challenge per application. We will wait until both apps have been submitted before making a decision on either.
I GOT REVISIONS. HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO SUBMIT THEM? You have
(48) hours to submit your revisions. If you fail to do so your application will receive an automatic rejection.
WHAT ABOUT NON-ENGLISH CANONS? So long as you can provide either a translation, LP, or summary of both the game and your character you may submit an application for them. If you have no source material for us to consult against your application then you cannot apply for them.
IS THERE A WAIT ON NEW CANONS? We have a
(1) month wait period on new canons to help those who have yet to see it avoid spoilers.
CAN I CANON UPDATE MY CHARACTER? Yes, you may. Simply head over to our
canon update page and fill out the application form. Once you have been approved you may update your character at anytime. Please note that canon updates are
instantaneous and
do not physically affect characters.
COOL! WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I CANON UPDATE MY CHARACTER? Please see the
canon update page for details. The short version? Your character receives an optional update, freezes, and repeats the last 5 minutes of their life. They then receive all mental information from the canon update.
WHAT'S THE AGE LIMIT FOR CHARACTERS? Due to the nature of the game we will not accept characters who are mentally or physically younger than
(14) years old. They must be 14 or older.
MY CHARACTER HAS A PET/COMPANION. CAN THEY ARRIVE WITH MY CHARACTER? Unfortunately, no. They most likely wouldn't fit inside the stasis pod with them, and if they did? They would lack an exosuit to keep them alive and it would make for a very sad arrival to the game.
MY CHARACTER IS A HORSE/TRANSFORMER/NON-HUMAN. WHAT HAPPENS TO THEM? While we would
prefer characters to fit within a 7'5"x4'5" space, it is not necessary. Non-humans characters
cannot and will not be humanized and arrive in their natural states.
MY CHARACTER IS POSSESSED/HAS MULTIPLE PERSONALITIES. WHAT HAPPENS TO THEM? So long as they can simultaneously exist in a single body without the aid of an object they are fine to app. But you must write out a full application for all personalities/possessors you intend to play.
MY CHARACTER IS DEAD/ILL/DYING! Not anymore! Dead characters will find themselves in their body prior to their death. Undead characters will find themselves in their undead bodies. Ill or dying characters will find mortal wounds gone, but players have the option of keeping the symptoms of their character's illness(es) if they would like.
MY CHARACTER DOESN'T HAVE A PHYSICAL BODY/IS A GHOST/GOD. WHAT HAPPENS TO THEM? We'll take this on a case-by-case basis. Please don't hesitate to ask below in the comments!
WHAT IF MY CHARACTER IS HANDICAPPED OR HAS MISSING/ARTIFICIAL LIMBS? For lore reasons this will also be covered on a case-by-case basis, so please ask below if you have a certain character in mind.
DOES MY CHARACTER KEEP THEIR POWERS? Yes and no. All characters
technically still have their powers upon arrival, but they will not necessarily have access to them all. Due to the way the game works all abilities a character has (sans minor biological ones) are powered by their exosuits. The stronger the ability, the faster and more power it drains from the suit.
Game-breaking powers such as pocket dimensions, those strong enough to destroy anything larger than buildings, time manipulation, and future-sight are
off-limits and cannot be used, regardless of exosuit upgrades and functionality.
Basically no matter how powerful or strong a character is, they are limited to what their suit has the capacity to "fuel" them. All exosuits start at 20% functionality and should leave powered characters at roughly 20% power.
WHAT ABOUT CROSS-CANON POWERS? Unfortunately we are going to say no to this. Anything that requires a power source or resource specific to a world cannot be transferred or taught to a person not originally from that world.
Tactile skills such as hand-to-hand combat, hacking, and craftsmanship however
is acceptable.
WHAT IF MY CHARACTER HAS SPECIAL DIETARY NEEDS LIKE BLOOD, SUNLIGHT, ETC? Upon emerging from their stasis pods all characters will receive 3 days' worth of rations in whatever form of nutrition they require. After this your character will be required to figure things out for themselves. If however you still have concerns, please feel free to contact us in the comments below.
ACTIVITY, DROPS & HIATUSES
WHAT ARE THE GAME'S ACTIVITY REQUIREMENTS? All AC must be submitted before
23:59 EST on the 27th. After this date AC is
closed while we process all submissions. An OOC post detailing the results will go up on the
29th detailing who was dropped/swept from the game. Players are required to meet
one (1) of following Activity Requirements every month to remain in game:
- (1) post by your character with at least (10) comments from your character
- (2) threads with at least (10) comments from your character per thread†
†These must be separate threads, i.e. you may link (2) separate threads from one top-level comment, but not the top-level comment itself. If you link a top-level comment it will only count as (1) thread. WHAT HAPPENS TO MY CHARACTER WHILE I'M ON HIATUS? Autopilot. Currently we do not allow characters to fall into comas or become unconscious because there is no in-game reason for this to happen.
WHAT HAPPENS TO MY CHARACTER WHEN I DROP? When a character is dropped they freeze and become unresponsive for one single moment, after which they return to themselves. The next day other characters will find them missing, with no clue as to where they went save for a trail of footprints (if the environment facilitates it) that leads several kilometers in one direction. After 2km, the tracks stop and it seems as if for all intents and purposes, they have vanished.
CAN I RE-APP A CHARACTER I'VE DROPPED WITH THEIR IN-GAME MEMORIES? The answer to this is yes so long as the character meets the following (3) requirements:
- They must have been in-game for at least 3 months prior to being dropped
- A character can only be re-apped in the same "game chapter" in which they were dropped
- You cannot have taken more than (1) AC exemption during this time period
What this means is if you drop a character during Chapter 1 of the game (the first planet), you can only re-apply for your character
during that chapter. Once the game hits Chapter 2 you can no longer apply for any characters you may have dropped during Chapter 1. Characters "re-apped" after the chapter in which they were dropped will have
no previous memories of being in-game.
I MISSED AC BECAUSE OF _______. WHAT DO I DO? So long as you have a legitimate reason for missing AC (rl, network/computer issues, etc.) we encourage you to
contact the mods ASAP. Forgetting/being absent-minded is
not an acceptable excuse.
HOW LONG CAN I HIATUS FOR? Hiatuses can be declared for up to
(30) days at a time. Please see our
hiatus page for details.
HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO HIATUS TO BE EXEMPT FROM AC? A player must be on hiatus for at least
(14) days of the month in which they wish to be exempt from AC. If a player hiatuses for a duration which spans 2 AC periods they must select
(1) AC period to be excused from.
I NEED TO TAKE AN EXTENDED/CONSECUTIVE HIATUS BUT I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH AC TO DO SO. WHAT CAN I DO? First make sure you're aware of our current
hiatus rules regarding hiatuses which excuse you from activity check. If you have taken an AC exemption for one month you must meet AC for the next two months before you can receive another exemption. If you do not meet this requirement because of extenuating circumstances, please
contact the mods ASAP. Sometimes exceptions are made.
Your question not answered above? Then feel free to ask us below in the comments!
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