Heeey there. This was posted on the 10th this month about then I realized that I really didn't have the time for this thread after posting it, so it was locked.
Right now I'm tentatively thinking I'm going to have time to do something like this but would prefer not wasting time, so I'm doing a temporary interest check instead.
So tell me. Sci-fi story based SG. Whadya think?
Extreme majority of 'gameplay' will not be based on chance/dice/etc., just GM (read: my) decisions, but failure should still be an option. At the moment I'm not planning on any "game-y" mechanics like levels, abilities, quantified skills, etc.
And a preview of the possible future story (as in, if I actually start this) is that this won't be very focused on things like spaceships. And there will be two primary characters, that can be separated with the view of the players changing between the characters based on the progression of the plot.
Main possible flaw is that I'm probably not the best at writing, a bit more so with dialogue. And that this would actually be my first 'character-based' SG where characters are more than just advisors to the player. So flaws in writing and character stuff would be more apparent.
So I'd appreciate people telling what they thought of this. I'd like to at least know there's a chance of participation before starting.
Two final notes: I tried experimenting with present tense in this and I really don't think it worked. So that's probably going away if this does continue. And finally, the content below is the actual OP that was posted at first.
The automated AI voice comes to life as a suited figure runs through the ruined corridors.
“Backup generators offline.”
“Capacitor discharge in 5.”
“4.”
“3.”
“2.”
“1.”Darkness.
Well, even more darkness now that the dim red lights had gone out. Starting to sprint, the person passes through a doorway with “BRIDGE” made out in large uniform lettering above it. Once at the center of the darkened bridge, they stop. They raise their left arm, and it suddenly lights up. After messing with a few options, they wave their arm at an important-looking console in the main room and it lights up.
“SOTERIA EXPEDITION – EMERGENCY DATA LOG” appears at the top of the hologram being projected by the console, along with extreme amounts of much smaller text below it. The suited person hurriedly scrolls through the text until they find a passage that they apparently find more interesting than the rest.
Expedition Captain -> Chief Engineer: “One of the ensigns up here in the bridge tell me that shields are, well, they’re ‘glitching out’ I think? Whatever it is, it’s definitely a bad sign and I need you to check it out. I’ve attached some of the info to this message.” [ATTACHED FILE]The person reaches their gloved finger out, holding it over the attached file prompt. Within a few seconds, they withdraw their finger, and instead scroll down further.
Sensors Automated Report: Potential danger detected. Natural origin. Micro-asteroid. No threat. Passing over.
WARNING: Shield integrity at [UNKNOWN]
System Alert: Reactor core breach.The person operating the console drops their head down slightly, as if regretting something. They continue searching through the logs. Light starts to come in through where the windows used to be, revealing the ruined hull and massive destroyed windows.
System Alert (EXT. PRIORITY): Reactor meltdown imminent.
System Alert (EXT. PRIORITY): Reactor at critical levels.It was here that the text ended. Once again, the person deeply sighs. They make a swiping gesture towards their arm and the console shuts off. The text “LOGS DOWNLOADED” appear on their left arm.
The hull shudders as it starts to encounter atmosphere. The figure knew they didn't have much time, but also knew that that they would have to survive in order to save their people. Chief Engineer Samantha Reese never thought it would happen like this, but she know she would have to make the most of it. Something did this on purpose. The strange errors on the shield, the precise ‘asteroids’ breaching several key systems. It couldn't have been a coincidence.
But her suspicions would help no one if she died. The Chief Engineer knew she had to act fast to escape this, and springs to action. While she struggles to move across the ship, dodging pieces of debris falling past her towards the planet, the groaning and shuddering of the hull around her gets more and more intense.
Quickly going through her options, she decides on a plan. An escape pod is close by. Not powered, but if she gets to the escape pod fast enough, Reese estimates she’ll have enough time to start a manual launch and get the internal generator going.
The pod is across the hall in front of her, to the left. If she makes a small detour, she can probably grab something, but even taking the time to get something is iffy. If she does take something, it can only be one thing. Anything more than that will take too long.
To her left, Reese sees a security locker. It would contain a rifle and a decent amount of ammunition. Maybe even some other things. She also realizes that she can manually eject and take the crystal hosting the entire Archives of the ship. But if Reese momentarily ignored the escape pod, she knows she could probably find something intended for the expedition. A drone, handheld scanners, or something else equally useful. But disregarding all this, Reese knows that she can simply just make a run straight for the escape pod and not bother risking her life for anything else. Or she could risk her life even further doing something even more different.
Chief Engineer Reese knows time is already rapidly running out as small segments of the hull start to be torn off by the stress of atmospheric entry. She has to act fast to live.
You have to act fast to live.
Oh look, another sci-fi SG from yours truly! I'll never learn, will I?
Trying something different this time. Going for more of a story-based adventure instead of my typical 'technical sandbox' thing. Though one of my goals when I do these kind of SGs involves the idea of learning via jumping into the deep-end. In my case, this is really just mostly writing and dialogue. So if you do notice anything particularly bad, feedback would always be great.
Also don't be shy to point it out if you're feeling that I'm railroading too much. Considering that the story in this is going to be much more present than in everything else I've done up until this point.