Ship Manager In Training (SMiT)

SMiT will provide trainees with the needed experience to become the SM of a ship. During training, candidates will plan and run a mission arc that will last around 5-6 weeks; write, email, and post mission orders; conduct mission debriefs; write Intel and weekly reports; keep attendance; edit and email transcripts (if applicable); ensure that crew writes, emails, posts logs; run a crew evaluation session, etc. In short, do all tasks a ship/station SM usually does!

Throughout the 6-week training, the SMiT will receive help and feedback from the SM, CO and the crew. This will give the SMiT the needed experience and learning environment to develop the needed leadership skills and administrative abilities required from Ship Managers.

Below is a detailed list of tasks the SMiT will perform during the arc. This list offers links to examples and a clear run down of how each show be performed. If any questions arise pertaining these tasks, email the Paula Greene's SM and/or CO for help.


Mentors

Being a ship manager is quite different than being a player. Therefore, SMiTs will not only be guided throughout training by the Paula Greene SM but also by a mentor.

A mentor is a SM or Chat Trainer. The mentor is there for the SMiT to give advice, constructive criticism, and answer questions. After each mission on the training ship and if the mentor didn't attend the mission, the mentor will be emailed the comments the training ship crew gave the candidate so that the mentor can help the trainee improve. When possible, the mentor will check the mission arc plan and mission orders before the candidate sends those out to the Paula Greene SM for final approval. The mentor will be added to the ship's roster for the duration of the candidate's training.

The SMiT can find his/her own mentor or the Paula Greene SM will assign one. The Paula Greene SM can also act as mentor. It is key that the mentor be someone that the candidate is comfortable with. If the candidate wishes to have his own mentor; The mentor of choice must either be a current SM or a past of a past SM in good standing with the game and be able to attend all the missions.


Planification of Arc

Two weeks prior to SMiT, the trainee must email the Paula Greene SM the mission arc breakdown (example of a mission arc breakdown) for approval.

When planning the mission arc, the SMiT should check the ship's roster and verify with the Paula Greene SM if there will be a COiT or XOiT training at the same time. This should be taken into account when planning the arc. The mission arc should not be over complicated or require too many NPCs. SMiT is to remember that this is training and that it is best to start with a simple arc to get the feeling of how SMing works. The arc should last 5-6 weeks (the Paula Greene SM will let the SMiT know how many weeks training will last) and the arc should be concluded in the final week.


Mission Orders

Once the SMiT planned the arc and it was approved by the SM, the SMiT will need to write mission orders (if not already done in the arc planning). These should be sent out at least a week before the first mission so that the CO as enough time to read them, ask questions if need be, and write the mission briefing. (Note: If there is a COiT or XOiT running at the same time, that trainee will write the mission briefing.) Mission orders contain information which pertain to the overall mission.

Mission orders must be emailed to usspaulagreene@startrek.acalltoduty.com and posted on the PG Boards inside the SMiT's own forum. The title of the email and of the thread should be: Mission Orders SD (write stardate of mission here). Example: Mission Orders SD 10603.31.

Example of mission orders.

Note: You are to use Admiral Crenshaw as the admiral issuing the orders. He is the official admiral ACTD uses when mission orders are concerned.

Pre-Mission Tasks

The SMiT should be in the mission room and OOC room at least 15 minutes prior to mission. During those 15 minutes, the SMiT is to perform the following tasks:

* On a spreadsheet (or other document), take attendance. This means to also note if a player arrived late (within 15 minutes before mission or later), did not attend but sent warning, left early, etc. [See Attendance/Log Stats Section]
* Ensure that CO (or COiT/XOiT) verifies that all players are in both rooms with the proper nickname.
* Ensure that CO (or COiT/XOiT) performs a location check so that everyone knows where they are starting from.
* Ask players if they have any questions about the mission briefing and the mission.
* Post the mission opener in Mission Room.

Mission openers should include:

* The ship's name and mission stardate.
* The mission number, the arc/mission title, and the part number (if applicable).
* A small summary of what has happened so far and where the mission is starting. This summary is NOT to mention what will happen in the current mission.
* A "resume mission" or "begin mission" warning.

Example:

Host SMiT_JohnDoe says:
USS Paula Greene, 10603.31

Host SMiT_JohnDoe says:
Mission #162, The Invisible, Part 2

Host SMiT_JohnDoe says:
After receiving a distress signal from McKinley Station, the Paula Greene changed route to offer help. Now that they have arrived at the Station, the crew is ready to assess the situation and take control of the situation.

Host SMiT_JohnDoe says:
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Resume Mission>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


During Mission

During mission, the SMiT must provide crew with the needed ACTIONs in the mission room and with information in the OOC room (or in whispers), as required. The SMiT is to keep an eye on both rooms so to ensure that all questions are answered (in OOC) and that ACTIONs are done in mission.

The SMiT can play NPCs as required.

The SMiT will be given moderator powers (aka a gavel) in both rooms. The SMiT is to give voice to all players in the mission room and spec those who are not players.

MS Chat Moderator Powers Tutorial (Note: This tutorial shows the basic things a SM can do in MS Chat so that the SMiT can perform their tasks. A more comprehensive and detailed chat manual is available to SMs.)

To help the SMiT never miss a line directed towards him/her, it is recommended to us MS Chat macros.

MS Chat Macros Tutorial

Debriefing

Once the mission is finished, two debriefings will be done. The first one will be concerning the mission. The SMiT is to start a debrief where the SMiT and CO will each give their comments about the mission and the weekly tasks (such as emailing/posting of logs). During that debrief, SMiT will let the crew know about time jump between mission and any other relevant mission info.

Then, the SMiT will be asked to come in a separate chat room where the Paula Greene SM, CO, as well as a random PG player, will give the SMiT feedback on the mission and weekly tasks s/he performed. This feedback will be key in helping the SMiT improve and learn.


Logs

The SMiT is to ensure that crew writes, emails, and posts logs. If crew members do not submit logs, SMiT is to react accordingly.


Transcripts

The SMiT will need to edit the mission transcript. A higher performance level will be required for SMiTs for this task (for example, adding the cast list, ship's logo, etc.). The edited transcript is to be emailed as an attachment to usspaulagreene@startrek.acalltoduty.com and transcripts@startrek.acalltoduty.com at least 24 hours before the next mission. The file name of the transcript should be PaulaGreene*stardate* (Example: PaulaGreene1060331.rtf). The title of the of the email should be "USS Paula Greene Transcript *stardate* (Example: USS Paula Greene Transcript 10603.31). The body of the email should be something like "This message includes a Star Trek: A Call to Duty mission transcript of the USS Paula Greene. The transcript is for entertainment purposes only and cannot be redistributed or copied c. 2006."

Examples of edited transcripts: here. Our best example of an edited transcript can be found here.



Intelligence Reports

Intel reports must be sent to intelreports@startrek.acalltoduty.com before the 3rd of each month. When writing the intel report, the SMiT is to focus on his arc and not what happened before on the Paula Greene. The SMiT is to send the intel report to the Paula Greene SM first for review and approval.

Example of intel reports.


Weekly Reports

Each week, the SMiT is to email the Paula Greene SM with a small report on where the mission arc is and with comments on the crew (if applicable), such as behavior, lack of logs, absence, etc. Normally, a SM would send this to his FM, as required.

Example of weekly report:

Mission #162, SD 10603.28
The mission went as planned. After picking up new crew members at SB 214, the ship heads to the last known location of the USS Anamudi. During their travel, they research the ship, it's crew, and the Megara System. Once arrived at the location, they see the Anamudi is still intact with all its crew members... only problem is that no one seems to be moving on the ship.

Players worked well together. They had no logs to write for last week's missions. Some are forgetting the colon (:) after using **. It was brought to their attention in debrief. The CMO did not attend mission tonight and didn't send warning. The CNS arrived 5 minutes after the mission started. All other crew were there on time for pre-mission tasks.


Attendance/Log Stats

Throughout training, SMiT will need to keep track of attendance and logs. Attendance includes arriving on time or late, leaving when dismissed or earlier, being excused from mission or absent without excuse. Logs tracking includes emailing and posting of logs on time or late. Extras such as OOMs or supplementary logs should also be tracked.

This tracking of attendance and logs stats serves when command crew evaluates the crewmembers to decide on promotions, awards, commendations, demotions, etc.

There isn't a set system for tracking such stats. It is to the SM to use a system that will suit him/her and provide the needed information. Here are a few examples used on various ACTD ships.

* Example done by a XOiT trainee.
* Example used on a few ships.

Monitoring Subspace

During training, the SMiT will have moderator power over the forum assigned to him/her on the Paula Greene Boards.

SMiT is to ensure that posting is done properly. If there is double posting of logs, logs posted in the wrong thread, mistakes in stardates, etc., SMiT is to take action by either editing the post or asking the player to correct the mistake.

Posting on the boards should follow ACTD guidelines.

Subspace Tutorial

A SM would normally have Admin powers over their ship's Subspace. However, in training, the SMiT will only have moderator powers. The tutorial below lists the different tasks a SM will be able to do on Subspace (with Admin powers) and how.

Subspace Tutorial - Admin powers

Crew Evaluations

Part of the SM's job on a ship is to evaluate the crew every few months with the help of the XO and CO. In the week after the last mission of SMiT, the trainee will meet with the PG SM and CO in a chat room. There, they will discuss crew performance and possibility of awards being given. Although PG crew cannot be promoted, it will be discussed in crew evaluations if players would be eligible for promotions and why on a "normal" ship. SM and PG CO reserve the right to give or not the awards to the crew. The crew evaluation session will be conducted by the SMiT.

ACTD Crew Evaluation Guidelines

ODN

A SM has various access on ODN and can perform tasks like promote or demote crew members, give awards, etc. The SMiT will not have this access on ODN during training. The following tutorial shows what powers a SM will have on ODN and how each tasks are performed.

ODN Tutorial

Mock SM Interview

After the last mission, the SMiT will undergo a mock SM interview. This will allow the candidate to experience what an interview would be like for a SM position and better prepare for an actual interview. It will also give the SMiT a set of questions and a format that can be used when interviewing potential command crew. The interview will occur in chat at a time and day determined by the SM and SMiT. Questions will be from real interviews conducted by ACTD FMs when looking for a SM.

Candidate Evaluation

At the end of training, the crew will evaluate the SMiT with the SMiT evaluation form. The Paula Greene SM will then send the SMiT a compilation of the comments crew gave about the trainee's performance. Below is a link to the evaluation form the players will be using to evaluate the performance of the trainee.

SMiT Evaluation Form