Sleazy's Guide to the Galaxy

[Sleazy]

As a bit of new content for the front page, I'm going to be putting together a series of... lets call them "tourism pamphlets". The idea is that they will be short, surface-level descriptions of places / races / concepts that are specific to our version of Star Wars: not nearly as detailed as a wiki article (we already have the wiki for that level of detail), more stuff that works together as a "starter pack" for new players, to make it easier for them to get started.

All of them will be written in character as Sleazy (Vittore Montegue's protocol droid), as if they're little briefing packets about places his owner might go and people/races he might encounter traveling about the galaxy for work.

What would be the best things for me to focus on? Should I stick to locations and roleplay settings (Jovan Station, Ossus, Corellia, etc)? Should I do little spotlights on important/popular races (Cizerack, Hapans, Hutts, Alliance races, etc) and factions that a new person might want to play? Are there events from history that I should focus on? Specific individuals (the Empress?) or groups that a completely new player would need to be aware of? A selection of "starship spotter" info about Mon Cal cruisers, Imperial ships, Hapan ships, etc that an unsuspecting traveler might bump into? Practical things like a How To guide on getting (safely) from one side of the Alliance-Imperial border to the other? All (or none) of the above?

[Tiberius Anar]

I like this idea very much.

I recommend that you start with places including incidental descriptions of key people along the way. The interested reader can always learn more OOC by looking these people up.

[Sleazy]

I've quickly cobbled together an example of the sort of thing I have in mind. I'm still working out the kinks in Sleazy's narrative (think of him as the illegitimate love child of HK-47 and JARVIS), but you get the vague idea. There will be separate doodads about Jovan Station and Bothawui, hence me not naming any names this time around.

Too vague? Not vague enough? Not focusing on the right kinds of details?

Good morning, idget.

This data packet concerns the political entity known as the Alliance of Free Planets.

The Alliance came into existence after the Rebel Alliance (the "Alliance to Restore the Republic") managed to use Starkiller superweapons to force a ceasefire with the Galactic Empire. The Alliance now controls roughly a third of the Republic's old territory in the mid and outer rim, with many more sectors defined as neutral and beyond Imperial control under the terms of the Treaty. While the Alliance starfleet is not as formidable or numerous as the Empire's, it's borders are still well-defended: given your aversion to being obliterated into your constituent atoms, it would be wise to only attempt to cross at one of the approved transit points. Jovan Station would be my recommendation, though I would recommend avoiding the Shatterstar Lounge: I think we both remember what happened the last time you paid a visit to a seedy alien brothel.

Bothawui is the Alliance capital. The government is led by the Alliance Senate, which consists of representatives of the various worlds and states within their territory. In addition to the Bothans, the Mon Calamari and Quarren, Cizerack, and Hapans wield considerable military and political power in the Alliance. Other prominent organic meatbag races include the Bith, Gran, Gossam, Mirialans, Sluissi, Sullustans, Verpines, and Wookiees. Many human worlds form part of the Alliance, including Contruum, New Alderaan, Lantillies, and Naboo. The Alliance is also home to significant refugee populations from many non-human worlds still in Imperial space.

Alliance Space is protected by six Alliance Fleets. The First Fleet under Admiral Reshmar is responsible for most of the Alliance's offensive action and operations beyond it's borders, while the Sixth Fleet is responsible for supply and logistics; the remaining defensive fleets are headquartered at Dac, Onderon, Bothawui, and Sluis Van. Many sovereign naval forces also contribute to the defense of the Alliance, including the Hapan Royal Navy and the Cizerack Trade Fleet, organized for joint operations by Admiral Vansen Tyree. A separate Alliance Security force exists for interstellar customs and law enforcement, overseen by Hapan exile Dasquian Belargic.

It should be noted that while the Jedi world of Ossus lies within the borders of the Alliance of Free Planets, there is currently no formal affiliation between the Jedi and the Alliance. Reports suggest that the situation is somewhat strained, and as you can imagine the Galactic Empire is somewhat cranky about all this. I do hope you aren't planning on antagonizing the situation further.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Looks great to me! Maybe sprinkle in a few links (like make Ossus a link to the Jedi forums?) to spice it up.

[Captain Untouchable]

Still undecided if I should link to things wiki style (ie. you click on the word) or in a "related links" section at the bottom, and still undecided if I should link to wiki pages (which might not have been written yet) or just to places on the forums. Depends how faction sticky threads and what-not pan out.

I could also use this as an "Okay, I need to go through and make sure that every wiki page I have linked to is up to date before I publish this article" process, but it seems like the wiki process might have changed a little with the whole Resources forum and what-not, so I'll need to find out about that before I get started. Is there a designated Admin responsible for the wiki (the way Christin is responsible for Facebook/etc)?

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I wouldn't overthink the links too much. You could link to a wiki if there's an appropriate page, or to a member profile, or to a specific thread, or to a forum. I'd link them in the text (wiki style) rather than having an additional list of links at the bottom.

Also, you don't have to add links at all, but if you were doing a 'news' report on RP goings on, having a link to the thread/s you're talking about would be cool.

edit: the wiki process has not changed as far as I know, but maybe I don't understand the question.

[Captain Untouchable]

The wiki question was basically "can I go on an insane page-creating spree without getting permission first?" basically. I know that ship designs, planets, races, etc all need approval via the Resources forum, so I wasn't sure if there was some behind the scenes wiki Admin / team / etc related to that approval process. If not, I shall get back to being my usual wiki busybody self.

I'm not trying to overthink the links per se, but stuff like this used to be my job, so I'm hard-coded to at least think about it.

I could link to the Alliance / Ossus / Jovan Station forums from the text, definitely. I could link to character accounts from their names. I could also link to the wiki pages, but I obviously can't do both at the same time... and while forums/accounts might make more sense for this specific article now, wiki stuff will make more sense when I come to write a Bothawui article (because there's not really any forums to link to). If I pick something now (such as linking to a wiki page if there is one, but not if there isn't) that might potentially change at some point down the road (if a page gets created), that potentially makes more work for me in the long run from having to go back and change things I've already done to make sure they are still correct/relevant/optimally useful.

So yeah. Not overthinking it, just... regular thinking it through.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Um, I'm not sure on the Resources forum, I'll let Christin weigh in on that as it's her baby.

Otherwise yeah, you can continue to go hog wild in the wiki.

[Captain Untouchable]

In that case, I will probably go the "link to wiki pages, and make sure the wiki pages are done before the article goes live" approach. I'm housebound and I have nothing better to do, so I might as well put it to good use.