| STAR TREK RPG | |
| ASR, or Star Fleet | |
| |
| Authors: | Various |
| Format: | |
ASR (short for alt.starfleet.rpg), or simply "'Star Fleet," is a play-by-e-mail interactive fiction writing group formed in 1991. Like most other groups of its kind, players take on the role of department heads and command staff on board a starship or a starbase and write collective "missions," directed by the command staff.
Today, there are roughly 100 players taking part in ASR, split between 18 ships in three distinct timeframes.
A brief history[]
The beginning[]
ASR began in 1991 simply as "Star Fleet" on the free discussion boards of the old Prodigy network. Soon, however, due to higher-than-expected traffic on its boards, Prodigy was forced to shut them down and begin charging for service. As such, Star Fleet was forced to look for a new internet home.
Alt.StarFleet.RPG[]
Star Fleet would find its new home on the newsgroups, which were free to anyone with an internet connection and a newsgroup reader. At this time, several Star Trek-related writing communities began to crop up, and so Star Fleet began identifying itself as ASR, an abbreviation of its newsgroup identity: alt.starfleet.rpg.
E-Groups and Yahoo[]
Around 1998, ASR moved its main posting archive to E-Groups, which had the capability to store ASR's collective work and distribute them via mailing lists. As such, the individual "units" (ships or starbases on which the writers play) began using E-Groups for their own archives and mailing lists as well.
Since then, E-Groups has been taken over by Yahoo, but the archive remains in the same place as it has since 1998.
The Modern Era[]
ASR has continued to evolve, gaining its own domain in 2003, reverting to its original name and splitting off into three distinct timelines in the past eighteen months.
STAR FLEET: PRIME[]
This timeline is the "original" timeline. It takes place about 40 years after Star Trek: The Next Generation, in the year 2423 at current. The technology is similar to that of TNG, but several new developments, such as "dimensional warp" (similar to the hyperspace concept of the Honor Harrington novels by David Weber) and the inclusion of electronic warfare systems make it unique amongst its counterparts; these technologies, along with the organizational setup of the PRIME universe, give it a far more militaristic feel than TNG, something more akin to the Dominion War episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
10 of Star Fleet's units call the PRIME timeline home, split into 2 "color" fleets: Blue Fleet and Silver Fleet. In addition, an 11th will soon be opening for recruiting.
A brief trailer promoting PRIME can be viewed here.
STAR FLEET: ORIGINS[]
This timeline, opened in May 2009, follows the alternate timeline established by J.J. Abrams in the 2009 Star Trek movie (hereafter abbreviated as "ST2009"). Set in the year 2262, it follows the events of ST2009, the most pivotal of which is the destruction of Vulcan. This timeline attempts to capture the rugged grittiness of ST2009 while blending it with the idealism and frontier mentality of Star Trek: The Original Series.
7 of STAR FLEET: ORIGINS's units are Constitution-class starships like Enterprise, with an 8th, the Pegasus, of the same class as the USS Kelvin. They are split into two fleets: Sixth Fleet and Twelfth Fleet.
A brief trailer promoting ORIGINS can be found here.
STAR FLEET: BEYOND[]
The newest of Star Fleet's timelines, this one is the most unique. BEYOND is set in the same post-TNG timeline as PRIME, but several hundred years later, in the year 2772. At this point, Star Fleet's exploration has taken it to the frontiers once again, this time via a wormhole to a new galaxy, M-81 or "Bode's Galaxy." This timeline attempts to recreate the "science and exploration" tones of The Original Series in a setting far into the future. New technologies, such as the "intelligent starship" (drawing influence from the "Bolo" artificially-intelligent heavy tanks of Keith Laumer) make it exciting and new.
BEYOND has a single starship in active RP, appropriately named the USS Odyssey.
A brief trailer promoting BEYOND can be found here.
Joining Star Fleet[]
Before joining, please feel free to browse our web site and post archives. If you like what you see and are interested in becoming some part of the Star Fleet universe- wherever that may be- the procedure is simple: send a note to the Flag Council of Star Fleet expressing your desire to join. Be as specific as possible- if you know which timeline you'd like to join, please include that information in your note.
If you have a character in mind, you can send that along as well, but be forewarned: not every character is approved- disruptive or "super" characters will not be approved, as they tend to upset other players.
From here, a member of the Star Fleet Bureau of Personnel will work with you to place you on a unit you will enjoy.
External links[]
- ASR promotional trailer videos:
- ASR web site
- YahooGroup post archive
- ASR support Wiki