Stormtrooper Academy

Welcome to the Stormtrooper Academy!

There are a number of requirements you have to fulfil and these are outlined below. All of your training will be outlined in your welcome topic on this section of the comnet. If you haven't yet go ahead and post a new topic introducing yourself now and then come back to this thread. [Your Name]'s Academy Topic would do as a title. (e.g. Bob's Academy Topic)

There are two phases to complete, split into two parts each. Phase 1 is about familiarising yourself and creating your new character

Phase 2 is about showing us your writing standard and getting yourself immersed in the Vast Empire.

At each stage a trainer will be available to help you and give you feedback on your character and writing.

Phase 1

You may work on both parts now and when complete to an academy trainer's satisfaction you can move onto Phase 2.

ID Line

Update your ID line. Your ID line will stay in your signature and appear on every post you make. Its a quick and easy way for everyone to know which squad you are representing when you post.

To access your signature you must update your profile. In Comnet you will see a link under the “Comnet5” image which says “Profile”, click on that and scroll to the bottom to see an area you can enter text, this is your signature. Your ID line for now should read:

TRN/PVT [callsign]/.SQD/.PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE

Reading

While you're here why don't you go and check out the army wiki here: Stormtrooper_Corps Pay attention to the the "Basic Army Information"

Have a look at the Character_Creation_Guidelines This is a work in progress, but still provides some information about the Vast Empire's place in the Star Wars Universe. Familiarize yourself with the Vast Empire's own continuity as well as our character race guide

And the roster here: Roster This is where we keep a roster of the organisation of all the Vast Empire's Divisions.

Biography

Post a biography in your academy topic by copying and pasting the below and filling in the required information.

   ==Physical Appearance==
   Name:
   Homeworld:
   Age:
   Species:
   Native Language:
   Gender:
   Skin Color:
   Height:
   Weight:
   Hair Color:
   Facial Hair:
   Eye Color:
   Distinguishing Features:
   
   == Background History ==
   (Give about 1-2 paragraphs worth of background history for your character. 
   This doesn't have to be long and detailed since this is a new character for you, and you need to still flesh him/her out a bit.
   If you do want to go into great detail, by all means do so!)
   == Character's Personality ==
   List/write about your character's personality. 
   What makes him/her the way she is? 
   Anything in particular (pet peeves, etc.) that irk your character? Etc.[/ooc]

Rules for your bio:

You cannot mention Jedi/the Force/anything of the sort. Even as an obscure portion of your back story.

We are currently in 11 ABY (after battle of Yavin), so the Jedi are virtually extinct and live only in rumors especially in our neck of the woods, Thrawn is a threat to everyone not in his army, and the Emperor only died (as in ROTJ) five years ago. (The Jedi are beginning to appear in the galaxy as a whole, but they are mostly rumors)

“My parents/lover/friend were/was killed by rebels so I grabbed a gun and ran off to seek revenge" is a massive cliche. Try and think of something more original.

Considering the following questions may help you write your biography: What reasons brought your character to the army? In the real world many soldiers are just doing what they see as an available “job.” Most people will take the option of peaceful settled careers when the option is available. What would you call your characters most defining personality trait? If your character had friends and they were asked to describe him/her how would they do so? What does your character see in their own future? Do they intend to become a career soldier and rise through the ranks, do is this just temporary for them?

Our method of writing here is in third person, so please do the same, thanks. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

The academy staff will work with you on your bio.

Feedback

You will receive feedback and one of the following grades:

Pass: Great job, your bio was so good that it passed first time with no real errors, well done! Your trainer will comment on what they liked about your bio and make some suggestions about the future prospects of your character in the VE e.g. “I'd see a character with those traits having in character trouble on long deployments, this would be interesting in story as...” Minor corrections: You just need to make a few changes for this to be passed. It might be a few typos or it could be a small issue with your character or your trainer may feel you need to add a bit more information. Your trainer will outline the nature of the required changes and comment on what they liked about your bio Major Corrections: There may be large continuity issues with your character or it could be entirely lacking in satisfactory background information. Your trainer will outline the issues, but will explain what works well in your biography.

Once you have received a pass grade, carry on to phase 2

Phase 2

Writing

Go to [1] and look at the prewritten simulation scenarios. Your next task is to show us what level your writing abilities are at. Pick one of the scenarios and write a 500+ word post about your character's actions in that scenario. Have a look at the posts in the story board to see how our member usually write a runon. Each of the stories has some guidelines.

Your story will be marked against set criteria:

Grammar and Spelling: The writing must be of adequate standard with few spelling mistakes. It is advisable that you write your post in MS Word first.

Concept: Show an understanding of the scenario and write about an appropriate and believable set of actions. The actions should be mildly interesting to any reader.

Coherent: The post should be easy for anyone to read and follow.

You are not required to “finish” the story, simply write a post in such a manner that if this were a group story other people could follow on from your post and write about their own character's actions.

Grades

Pass: Great job, your story was so good that it passed first time with no real errors, well done! Whilst it may contain some errors the work is enough to show us that you are more than capable of progressing from the academy and writing with one of our squads. An academy trainer will point out the best aspects of your work and will make some suggestions.

Minor Corrections: There are some parts that the academy staff feel you need to work on, without making the changes for you they will point you towards what needs changing. The story may have a slight inconsistency in style, or maybe just needs some expansion.

Major Corrections: There are some slightly more significant issues with the story. It is still a good piece of work, but may need some major changes to style or sections may need rewriting. Your trainer will outline the issues, but will also tell you what was good about the story.

Rewrite: the staff member feels your post has glaring issues which need to be worked on before you can be placed. The trainer will outline what they are and describe what you can do in an entirely new post to make sure you pass. Pick a new story from the selection and write another story taking the trainers comments on board. Do not be disheartened at having to write another story, this is relatively common and the trainers may feel the need to see more of your work before passing you on.

Reports

Complete a report and send it to your academy trainer using the comnet's messaging system. In the army squads you are expected to send a report to your squad leader and assistant squad leader every Thursday just to let them know what you have been up to and formally discuss any issues arising. Your squad leaders can then pass information up the chain of command before the VE's weekly meetings. Reports form an integral part of the organization of the VE army and help us respond to the needs of our members as quickly as possible.

Callsign: Activity Report: (number of posts, wiki work, IRC time, etc)

Questions/Concerns:

Post Graduation

Once you have graduated, you will be placed in a squad for a one month internship. These appear on the roster as "attachments." Whilst you are doing your internship you can seek both your new squad leader and academy trainer for guidance. When you are placed introduce yourself on both your squad's topic and the internship topic here: [2]

If you have any concerns about your squad or squad leader please don't hesitate to contact the Commander of Training or your Academy Trainer to voice your concerns. You can always message myself with questions as well. The internship is a time for you and your squad to get to know each other and it's also a time when you'll be getting used to writing runons with a gfroup of people