HELP TOPIC: Character Creation

[Kirok]

HELP TOPIC: Character Creation

When you first join Shadow Fleet, you are required to create a character. After all, what kind of SIMM would we be if nobody had a character? Now you may be thinking, "Where do I begin?". If that is the case, just follow these simple steps and you will have a character you both like and enjoy SIMMing with, in no time!

Name:
Your character's name is one of the most important things you need to think about, as it will be used by everyone in the fleet. Now, this could be something as simple as your first name and the last name of someone you know, or it could be more complex, for example a Klingon name. You may also use one of the many random name generators out there on the internet. One of which is listed below.

Whatever you choose to call your character, make sure you like it first, as you will not be able to change this later.  Please though, pick a name that fits with your character's species and/or background.

Related Links:
>> SciFi Name Generator: Human, Andorian, Borg, Cardassian, Klingon, Romulan, Tellarite, Vulcan.
A very good random name generator with names for both males and females of each species (except the Borg). Just select the race from the drop down menu and the name will appear in the text box underneath.

Biography
The biography is probably the most important aspect of character creation, as it includes all of the background of your character. However, writing bios can be difficult and requires imagination and creativity. You can't just simply write a short paragraph on your character, listing previous assignments and general interests; your bio needs to be detailed and well thought out.

One of the most difficult things to get to grasps with is the need for precise dates. If you intend for your character to be 40 years old, you must get the date of birth correct. In this case, if the current date was 2391, it would be in 2351. You would also need to be realistic with your character age and dates of assignments. If you are starting off as an ensign, and your character is 40 years old, you would have to include a lot of background to say why he is just an ensign at 40. Perhaps he was an enlisted crew member who decided to take a commission? This needs to be clearly identified in the bio.

You also need to get dates of assignments and position correct. If your character was born in 2356, for example, the earliest s/he could join the academy as an officer would be in 2374, when s/he was 18. If s/he joined as an enlisted crew member, the earliest s/he could join would be in 2372, when s/he was 16. These things need to be considered or the bio will not make any sense.

Here is a step-by step guide to creating a bio:

• 1. What is your character's date of birth?
• 2. What species is your character?
• 3. Who are your character's mother and father, brothers and sisters?  Are or have they been married? Do they have children?
• 4. When did your character decide to join Starfleet?
• 5. Why did your character decide to join Starfleet?
• 6. Where was your character assigned?
• 7. Are there any special features of your character?

All these questions should be answered in your bio.

Related Links:
>> Character Biographies board
A collection of character biographies from other members of the fleet.
>> Character Test
A long and thorough test to reveal how much thought and imagination you have put into your character.

Image
It is important that others can imagine your character when posting. To do this, you need to add an image to your character's personnel file. This can be an image of a celebrity or simply an image you find on the internet, but it must match your character's species and any physical information stated in the bio.  Generally speaking, www.stavatars.com, is the suggested site to use to help you find a face pic!

One thing to remember is that you shouldn't use main characters from the normal Star Trek series.

Related Links:
>> Memory Alpha: List of unnamed Starfleet personnel
A list of unnamed personnel with images. A good resource if you need an image of someone in a Starfleet uniform.

Additionally, you can request one of our members to create a custom image for you if you can not find one you like or that fits your character, all you need do is ask and provide a base image to work from.

Remember! Take your time to create a character you know you will enjoy playing as you cannot change this information at a later date. If you're not sure about playing a species, it's a good bet you won't enjoy it.