Make it So Challenge #8: It's About Time

by Charlie Plaine, Make it So Host

17th March 2014

Today brings the eighth - and final - challenge of the team phase; the final test of teamwork and cooperation before we move on to the final phase of Make it So. The teams have been shifted yet again, giving each contestant the chance to work with the last two (2) peers they haven't had the chance to work with. For the final time, contestants have been arranged into three (3) teams of three (3) members each, and must once again work together to design cards for this challenge. We will be relying on the judges and the public to rate and comment on each of the cards in each of the submissions, and as this is the final team challenge, these votes will determine who will be eligible to become the Next First Edition Assistant Designer.

As with previous weeks, the teams have been re-arranged and are different this week than they have been in previous weeks. This re-arrangement comes with unique challenges: perhaps the time zones will be less (or more) advantageous, or personalities will mesh more naturally this week versus the previous week. Designers often have to work with many different types of people all across the world, and these challenges are designed to test the contestants' ability to work in less than ideal environments.

This week, we're asking the teams to make a new time location, and giving them a chance to really show off their creativity as they do.

Time Locations
A Time Location is a card type that represents a location, but one outside the "normal" timeframe of the spaceline. For those that are unaware, the "normal" timeframe of First Edition is the late 24th century - from The Next Generation through Nemesis. With some rare exceptions, missions are representative of their locations as they exist in this "normal" timeframe. The Time Location card type allows design to have "past" or "future" versions of these locations and respect the "normal" timeline.

However, each new card type added to the game comes with extra rules baggage. As a refesher, here is the Glossary entry on the Time Location card type:

time location –A card type representing a location in the past or future of the Star Trek universe. Time locations may be or locations.

A time location is not a mission or spaceline location, but it has a corresponding mission identified by the lore of both cards. For example, the mission Agricultural Assessment corresponds to the time location Sherman’s Peak; both are located at Sherman’s Planet. You may not seed or play a time location unless the corresponding spaceline location is in play.

A time location is placed by itself on the table, creating its own planet or space location separate from the spacelines. The card may have special instructions to be carried out when it is seeded or played; if you cannot carry out all instructions, you may not seed or play the time location.

Playing a time location uses your normal card play.

Cards that affect the mission, such as Supernova or Black Hole, have no effect on the time location. Cards at the time location are not at the corresponding mission and cannot attempt it. Ships and personnel may travel between the time location and the mission using a card that allows time travel.

The cards listed on a time location as “native to this timeline” may be reported directly to the location if it is in play. You may choose to report personnel on the surface of a planet time location, aboard any of your compatible ships or facilities at the time location, or aboard any opponent’s facility there that you are allowed to use (e.g., Deep Space Station K-7). You may report a ship or facility in space at the location (in orbit of a planet). When reported in this manner, you do not need an open doorway, such as an Alternate Universe Door, to allow you to report these Alternate Universe icon cards.

You are not required to have the time location in play to use cards native to that location, or to report them to that time location if it is in play. They may be reported normally to a facility on the spaceline, or by any other legal reporting method, if you have an open Doorway card which allows cards to play.

Teams are going to create six (6) cards for their submissions. While there are no hard and fast rules about what card types they submit (except for at least one Time Location), there are expectations for their submissions. Here are the expectations for the challenge:

1. There must be a matching mission. Teams can create any time location, either planet or space, in any quadrant, but their submitted time locations must match a mission's location. Conceptual locations, such as "The Future" or The Celestial Temple (from Emissary) are prohibited. If the matching mission location does not exist in First Edition, teams must create the location as part of their submission; they may choose to create a new mission persona of an existing mission if the original mission is unsuitable.

2. There must be a related way to time travel. In the current state of First Edition, the "gold standard" card for time travel is Temporal Vortex. However, it is the long term goal to remove most cards from the game (at least as cards), and thus weakening this card as a time travel engine. Each team should create a card that allows time travel, but is in some way related to their time location(s). For example, teams could create a card that allows ships native to the time location to time travel; or, perhaps an event that allows time travel and enables a card drawing engine. There are a lot of possibilities. Note that this card should not be better than Temporal Vortex as it is now.

3. There must be at least one personnel or ship native to the time location. One Time Location submitted by each team must indicate that there is some subset of equipment, personnel, and ships that are native to it. Each team's submission must include a personnel or ship that is part of that native subset, though each team can include multiple personnel that meet this requirement. Conversly, not every personnel and ship in the submission needs to be native to one or more of the Time Locations, as long as at least one meets this requirement.

The submission requirements of this challenge are to create a new Time Location, an associated mission (if necessary), a thematic time travel card, and at least one personnel or ship that is native to the Time Location. The goal of the challenge is for teams to either inspire a new deck type, or to provide a new tool for existing decks, via their Time Location and support cards. For example, let's say there was a "Chocolate" affiliation and a "Jelly" affiliation in the game; a team might choose to create a "Peanut Butter" Time Location, and support cards, that would work well with both "Chocolate" and "Jelly." Or, they might want to make "Lemon" as an entirely new idea that can do something savory instead of sweet. The field is wide open, but the goal is to make an interesting Time Location that gives some First Edition players a new tool.

Challenge #8: It's About Time
This week, the teams are tasked with creating a suite of six (6) cards that add a new Time Location to First Edition; detailed expectations for this challenge are outline above, but include: at least one Time Location, at least one personnel/ship native to that Time Location, a "thematic" way to time travel to/from that Time Location, and a corresponding mission for that Time Location (if it does not yet exist.) This suite of cards should either provide a support package for an existing deck, affiliation, or faction; or, enable a new such deck. There are no restrictions on the types of cards the teams need to submit, other than those outlined above. (Remember, guidelines and high level rules for each of the card types is available in the MiS Lessons #3 article.)

Note to the teams: Design your cards as if Temporal Vortex does not have a icon.  The judges and the public will be asked to judge the cards with the same information in mind.

The judges will be rating your cards on how well they make use of the principles of First Edition design. Well-designed cards respect the templates, breaking them only when necessary, and work within the existing rules structures; such cards are as elegant as possible, respect precedent, are creative and demonstrate an understanding of the state of the game. In addition, judges will be looking to measure how effectively the submissions enable or support decks in First Edition play. Hopefully the community will use this challenge's discussion thread to let you know what they're looking for too. But beware: it's impossible to please everyone!

Your entries are due by 11:59 PM server time (Eastern Standard) on Wednesday, March 26th, 2014. Entries must be sent via PM to MidnightLich on the forums and not posted anywhere else. Voting and judging will be done anonymously, so you may not talk about your cards during the judging period. You will have the opportunity to discuss them after voting is complete. Late entries may be accepted, at a penalty, at the discretion of the judges.

Good luck, and may all your time travel get you precisely where and when you wish to be.

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