The origins story (13th Dec 97)
Outside the Winter of 2091 raged on. Inside, the dim neo-light of the Jack Ups Bar flickered as five figures huddled around a nearly broken table in a dark corner . With rather distressed looks on all of their faces, they talked amongst themselves.
There was Crash, the obvious Captain of the troupe, sitting at the darkest area of the table. Crash had risen among the ranks to become the most feared and respected leader of his time.
Beside him sat Big Kev. Kev was the powerhouse of the group. This you could tell, more by the determined look on his face, than the size of his fists. But they were quite convincing too, mind you.
A harsh gleam shone off the polished steel cyber implants of the one known as Neuromage. "Mage" as he was called, was the most mysterious of the five men. He always seemed to be distracted by something that only he could see. But despite his inattention, he was a force to be reckoned with. More like a 21st century magician if you will.
The comedian of the group was the one called Good Guy Doll. The only thing quicker than his jokes was his temper. He's helped win many a battle by taunting his would be assailants into a frenzy and then into his trap. And what traps they were...course, that is "Dolls" specialty.
Lastly, there was Klaatu. A new initiate, who had taken his oath only moments before. Little is know about him at this time and he seems to like it that way.
They spoke of what was to come. In just ten days The Core would unleash a Global Data Purge. A mutant Doomsday variant of Babbages' Mindwipe. This virus would delete all stored records in the world. It would be like the millenium bug of 2000, except much, much worse. All would feel it's effect. History would cease to exist. Something had to be done.
They spoke of the past. How each one had in their own way heard the calling. Unlike the factions, they were not bound by rules, but by belief in what was right. And slowly, their numbers grew. Each proud to wear the A.P.P.A. name with pride.....
But in 10 days everything changes. Established ideas crumbling. Little of the world, as they new it, will be the same. But the A.P.P.A. shall live on. All who wished to join would have to earn the right to wear the new icons by their names.
Like the phoenix from the ashes... the A.P.P.A. will be reborn, better than ever,to take on the new challenges in the world of Chron X™...
Neuromage's "Beyond the Blurb" comments (15th Dec 97)
How did the APPA really start? Was really like in the "Origins" page?
Well, yes and no. The idea for the APPA originally came from Crash... he was known as "Crash*s APPA" then. I think there might have
been some quiet rivalry between us ; I'm not sure. Anyway's, I asked him what APPA meant and he told me. I thought it was a cool
concept so I put APPA behind my name too. I must have been one of the first to do that, if not the first (this was in October). Then
more and more people started putting APPA behind theirs too. It was never meant to be a faction, but the APPA believers became so
many that it was a natural progression.
In any case, I first caught wind of the APPA becoming a faction early Dec.; the meeting described in the "Origins" page was held on the 5th of December, in the Jack-Ups Bar room of the Core. It was a long meeting but everyone came out committed to the idea of the
APPA as a full fledged faction with a well conceived structure and purpose. It was also decided that the APPA would be a democratic
faction. Crash would not 'rule' and run the faction on his own. Votes were to be made by members on issues and decisions.
So when did the 'real work' on APPA begin?
The next meeting took place a week later on the 12th. This was a major meeting involving even more people (we set up an APPA room
in the Core for it), and major issues were thrashed out. The present 5 rank structure was the main issue, the other issues were things like
whether APPA were to be an exclusive faction. A lot of thought (and arguement) went into the present structure. We made sure that
each rank was significant, both from the achievement of the member as well as their contribution to the APPA and to ChronX™. Each
rank had a purpose, which gradually increased as they progressed up the ladder. In addition, this progress had to take a fair amount of
time so that 'one month wonders' don't show up. In APPA, you pay your dues to earn your rank; anyone with a rank can be respected
for being 'good enough' to wear the badge that goes with it.
I guess the bottom line was that we wanted APPA to make ChronX™ a better game by making sure that there are better players (in
terms of fair play and sportmanship).
How did the APPA structure come about?
My own small contribution to this was the Mentor system. I had noted that newbies tended to pull the plug more often (the temptation to pull is high when you are losing every game). So I came up with the mentor system, which is based on the old "apprentice, journeyman,
master, guildmaster" system. By mentoring newbies, APPA achieved the following:
Ensured that newbies got a good first experience of ChronX™
Developed their skill faster to reduce the tendency to cheat.
Develop a faction that was based on relationships between players. By the time the initiate
becomes an icon holder, he/she should be good friends with the Mentor. This builds chain
will make sure that everybody in APPA knows everybody else.
I'd like to add here that the current structure was not my own. All I did was to come out with the concept, an idea, but the others built it, polished it and buffed it up to a shine.
What more can we expect from the APPA?
Well, to tell you the truth, I really don't know. The APPA is not driven by one person or even the Board. The coolest thing about it is that everybody plays a part. If someone tells the the Board about a cool thing that could be implemented, we will go all out for it. Its our way of making sure that everyone is heard. I believe that this is the only way for the APPA to evolve continously. I'm just as excited
about the next idea that will come in from the email/ICQ/Chat/ Core.
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