Potential new Temporary Sim

[Lizzie Vaughan]

I am looking to run a temporary sim set on a medical vessel something like this.

I have been given the ok in principle, so I want so gauge interest. Please reply to this post if you are. and if we have sufficient interest, more details will be forthcomong.

[Solluk]

This seems like something that should become a regular sim.

[Solluk]

Hello,

Most fleets do not keep specialty vessels like 'Medical Ships' as regular sim ships because they are worried about running out of mission ideas that fit within the narrow specialty of such vessels.

After reading this post, I felt that a Medical Ship could be a viable sim ship- not merely as a special temporary sim, but as a regularly appearing sim.

As such, I challenged myself to create six months worth of mission ideas for such a ship.  I was able to do so, and I believe I could probably create more.  (The mission ideas are on the http://www.shadowfleet.org/forum/index.php/board,341.0.html mission submission board.)

I would be very happy to see a medical/hospital ship become a regular component of Shadow Fleet.

Cheers!

[Rhymus Cleroux]

I think the idea of an aid ship is an excellent one, considering our setting. I dare say we're more likely to run out of ideas for the more combat capable ships than we are any sort of humanitarian aid vessel. The moral choices are near limitless. Who to save, and who to let die? Help the many or the few? How much are you willing to risk in order to save lives?

I'll put in my two cents. This is certainly an interesting idea, and I wouldn't mind seeing it take its place in the fleet.

[James H. Hawk]

The problem with making this more than just mission ideas, I think.

Making a permanent SIMM (as opposed to a Feature SIMM) requires an equally permanent crew. Typically a crew should have about 10 people at least per SIMM. I belive that it would be hard to find 10+ people who would be interested in and committed enough to run a permanent SIMM focused entirely on medical.

A medical SIMM would of course focus on medical stuff which means that those in the Medical and to a lesser extent Science Departments would have much more to do than other departments and the mission would end up "focusing" on them. This leaves little for other departments to do. Sure maybe Security would have to subdue an unruly patient or something or the transporters are down so Flight has to pilot a shuttle full of the doctors down to the planet they are saving, maybe something inevitably breaks so the Engineers have to fixt it. I think it would eventually get boring, especially for the non-medical people. It would just get repetitive and the same old thing.

Now maybe you'd think you can solve this problem by NPCing most other departments more or less and having more medical people? I don't think that idea would work either. For one you may end up taking a large chunk of the Medical officers leaving the other SIMMs short handed and also how would you have 5 or 6 or whatever number of doctors be able to take part in the mission properly and be able to have everyone doing something useful?

I personally reckon that even the medical people would eventually get bored. There's only so many times you can cure an uncurable disease, save a planet from a deadly virus, treat victims after an enemy attack and all that. Sure it might be fun for a while but it would get repetitive. Even if the missions are different the process would be the same old thing over and over again.

On a normal SIMM you can have a combat mission now and then, maybe a diplomatic or science mission somtimes. You can even have a medical one at times. Getting a brand new story and idea every month is what makes Shadowfleet consistently interesting.

I belive that a Medical SIMM could be quite fun as a Feautred SIMM. I think there was one about to start before the site went down a few months ago. You could also do a bunch of arcade threads with people interested in this idea. I just don't think it will work as a permanent SIMM on its own.

Of course this is just my opinion, its by no means an infallible truth.

[Naira]

There was a sign up for a medical ship featured simm just prior to the site crash and I remember a few people being interested, myself being one of them. I agree that I think this would work better as a featured thing that could work for one or a few missions, but I can't see it working out long-term with keeping other departments busy. Besides, a few of our current Simms are short staffed already so I couldn't see the justification in opening up another.

[Jada]

I once (years ago) helped set up and played in a medical ship game, but the GM bailed after a few days, so I can't offer any experience on it. The concept was provide relief to refugees of the destruction of Romulus while exploring Romulan space, dealing with pirates, and so on.

I think it could work long-term, but with an expanded focus for the mission profile. That is, not just focusing on  medical plotlines, but also on what the ship does and where it goes. For example, a hospital ship in the Dominion War or in the aftermath of a disaster like the destruction of Romulus not only has to treat injuries and cure plagues, but also has to conduct relief efforts (engineers building water purifiers, power generators, replicators; operations organising supplies), contend with enemy powers and pirates (space battles and melee combat for the security & tactical), thwart war profiteers and fraudsters trying to profit off it (mysteries for diplomats and security types), provide counselling (for counsellors) and the occasional anomaly, strange alien life-form, or medical weirdness (for scientists, more biological than physical). The medical storylines can become the least important there, so it needs a good focus on them: not just "treat all these people" but "work through this very specific problem and roleplaying scenario". The narrow focus of the mission profile justifies the focus on a medical ship (the Enterprise can do all these things on an off-day, a medical ship is needed for long-term efforts) but to maintain it it should advance over the course of the season: ongoing storylines, changing conflict and intrigues, character development.

With the right stories and GM-led storytelling, it can be extended for quite a while. One season could do a warzone, the second a disaster area. But the concept is less "ER in Space" and more "DS9 on the Road". Or "M.A.S.H. in Space"

[Lizzie Vaughan]

I like that thought, M.A.S.H. in space!

[Solluk]

Hello!

I wanted to chime in with a few thoughts.

First, I do not think you need a plethora of PC medical personnel just because it is a medical ship.  I do not expect any department, including Medical, to be more heavily crewed by PC's on a medical/hospital ship than it would be on any other sim.

Second, I do not think a medical ship is restricted from having combat opportunities beyond restraining unruly patients (though that will certainly come up.)  Medical ships respond to areas in crisis, and areas in crisis tend to be rife with conflict or the anxieties and political disagreements that routinely produce conflict.

Third, I do not think a medical ship will only perform medical missions (though I expect those to be much more frequent) any more than I expect a Defiant class ship to only do combat missions, a Nova to only do Planetary Surveys, or a Galaxy to only do Exploration missions.  "You are the only ship in range to respond to X incident" is a tried and true Trek storytelling trope and method of putting a ship that is not ideal for a particular job outside of its comfort zone.  Being outside of your comfort zone can be fun, and break monotony.

Fourth, the idea that some PC's on some missions will not have much to do is a problem that has not been solved on any Trek sim I've ever participated in.  I don't think a particular type of ship would be especially problematic in this regard, and I think a small crew (just department heads) makes this less of a problem than a large crew (department heads and multiple members of each department.)   A sim with five or six people might give players more to do than a sim with ten or twelve.

As Mr. Hawk pointed out, this is only an opinion, no worse or better than your own.