It’s almost time for our third annual anniversary webcast. Admiral Ken Gillis returns as host, and yes, it will again include real prizes!
Join us on July 8th at 5:00 PM ET (-4) / 10:00 PM BST (+1) in the fleet watch party channel of our Discord server. We’ll be announcing the newest members of the Hall of Fame (in case you missed it!), drawing names from among our monthly award winners over the last year for some real-world prizes, and there might also be a surprise or two.
See you there!
And yet another year of IDF is in the books with our 22nd Anniversary today. To remind you of how old we really are, here’s a quote from last year’s anniversary post:
“On our 22nd Anniversary, we will be further removed from the premiere of the 2009 Star Trek film (May 8, 2009) than IDF’s launch was from the premiere of The Next Generation (September 28, 1987): 14 years, 1 month, 26 days vs. 13 years, 9 months, 6 days.”
Well, here we are! For this year’s celebration, each of our 12 sims created a movie poster to capture their unique essence and feel. We are also very fortunate to have Amanda Rose from RPG Writing, NX-1701-G from Zodiac Fleet, and Beth from Sim Central to judge the entries in three categories: overall image quality, how much does it look like an actual movie poster, and general creativity/originality. Before we get to the posters themselves, we first have an announcement from a special guest:
Now, the 12 movie posters:
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And your winners are…
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| 1st Place: USS Wayfarer CO: Captain Akeno Misaki Poster by: Akeno Misaki | 2nd Place: USS Sunfire CO: Captain Rhenora Kaylen Poster by: Bonnie Durnell | 3rd Place: USS Eclipse CO: Captain Aven LaCroix Poster by: Aven LaCroix |
| “I’m impressed by the technical skill and originality that went into this poster.” “If you’re familiar with Anime movie posters, this is spot on.” “Having anime Trek characters in the mirror universe with the crack showing the Federation and Terran emblems on different sides was brilliant.” | “Of all the posters shared this was the one that actually made me want to join the game in question.” “Image expertly merged the dinosaur imagery with clear Trek imagery without making them appear distinct.” “This poster screamed movie poster. I would expect to see this on the wall in some theater. A starship with dinosaurs and big lettering. Well done!” | “I’m not typically a fan of the starship and character posters, but this one spoke to me.” “I kept wanting to rate this poster higher in my rankings. There’s a lot to like with the faded facial imagery and ship… …[including] ‘Coming Never,’ which was mildly amusing.” |
Congratulations to all three winners, and a special thanks to our judges! However, to quote Kirk from Star Trek III, we’re not finished yet! Here are superlative awards for our other nine games:
| Best poster for Seinfeld/Trek crossover USS Albion CO: Captain Dick Sprague Poster by: Akeno Misaki | Some bold judges not to pick this one! USS Chuck Norris CO: Captain Aurther Winters Poster by: Bonnie Durnell | Best poster for past meeting the future USS Churchill CO: Captain James Stewart Poster by: Akeno Misaki |
| Best poster if you actually watch Picard USS Eminence CO: Captain Alex Shepard Poster by: Akeno Misaki | Best poster for a random trailing light USS Ganymede CO: Captain Dyllon McMahon Poster by: Akeno Misaki | Best poster for a low Earth orbit view USS Liberty CO: Captain Kaylia Strenvale Poster by: Akeno Misaki |
| Best poster for the IMAX experience USS Montana CO: Captain Jackson Adams Poster by: Bonnie Durnell | Best poster for “Aft torpedoes, fire!!!” USS Washington CO: Captain Shran dh’Klar Poster by: Akeno Misaki | Best poster that could double for Dune Starbase 80 CO: Captain Kathleen O’Shea Poster by: Bonnie Durnell |
While we’re on the topic of movies, we are now further removed from our July 4, 2001 founding than it was from the premiere of the first Star Trek film Star Trek: The Motion Picture (December 6, 1979): 22 years vs. 21 years, 6 months, 28 days. Feel old yet?
Continuing last year’s tradition, we again have a second video message:
Happy IDF anniversary, everyone!
With yet another July, it is again my great privilege to formally announce the newest members of the Independence Fleet Hall of Fame. Induction is the highest honor this club offers–reserved for those with exemplary service or extraordinary contributions to the fleet, according to the Hall of Fame Charter (pdf). Without further ado, your Hall of Fame Class of 2023 is as follows:
Inducted by Election:
of the USS Sanctuary
The longtime Commanding Officer of the Sanctuary, Steven MayTa Death was the fleet’s all-time leader in command months with 89 when he and his sim transferred to sister club UCIP in 2020. He also managed 17 posting titles during his IDF career. Finding his niche by leading offbeat missions, his crew enjoyed their Marine-centric and action-packed storylines. There will never be another MayTa!
of the USS Sunfire
A mainstay of the renaissance era Sunfire, Maryam Syed was an integral part of helping lead the fleet back to its earlier glory days. Her outstanding contributions in-story, affable nature, and excellent recruiting also ensured the Sunfire remained great for many years. Showing superb breadth, she won six total awards, including Rookie of the Month, Best Post, MVP, and the Recruitment award.
of the USS Sunfire
A first-rate team player, Spaardra Tamis was an indispensable member of both the Sunfire and the fleet. As IDF was reestablishing itself during the renaissance era, her superior posting quantity and wide recruiting efforts were exactly what was needed at the time to jumpstart operations. Of her five total awards, two were for Recruitment and three were for Most Posts.
Inducted by the Veterans Committee:
None this year.
Congratulations to our three 2023 inductees! Thank you for providing a timeless example for us still role playing today to emulate. You will hereby forever be remembered for your extraordinary service to Independence Fleet. Well done! There are now 41 total members of this most exclusive club.
That’s two more inductees from the Sunfire, and our first from the Sanctuary.
Late June brings May awards:
Lieutenant Bonnie “Bon-Bon” Durnell
Computer Systems Specialist
USS Sunfire
For “The Mrs.”
Whoah! Nice post with rich description and a chilling enemy. Very well done!
Capt. Akeno Misaki & Cmdr. Mashiro Munetani “Shiro” & Lt. Cmdr. Raelyn Mckenzie & Lt. Cmdr. Mark Johnson & Lt. Luna Eclipse of the House of Martok
CO / XO / CSTO / CMO / CFCO
USS Wayfarer
Great action, and an interesting plot twist. Nice work!
Commander Donald “Don” Key
Flight Control Officer
USS Albion
For “He’s Dead Jim”
An important plot advancement and funny shenanigans to boot.
Captain Dick Sprague
Commanding Officer
USS Albion
Hilaroius! But more importantly, interesting and with lots of openings for people to explore. Well done!
Lieutenant Commander Shoniara T’ghann-Travis
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Washington
She put forth outstanding material throughout the month and created excellent openings for other crewmembers to get involved. Great work!
Commander Donald “Don” Key
Flight Control Officer
USS Albion
For writing 17 posts.
Ensign J.B. Dersch
Tactical Officer
USS Washington
In only his second month, he tied for the second most posts on the sim and worked diligently to further integrate himself both in game and behind the scenes.
None this month.
None this month.
Thanks again for another great month in IDF!
It’s been more than a year since the last major awards were presented. Here is our fourth Special Commendation Medal, which is awarded for achievement above and beyond the call of duty at the crewmember level.
Awarded to Lieutenant Commander Shoniara T’ghann-Travis (previously known as Shoniara T’ghann Dex before her marriage in-story) of the USS Washington for sustained superior role playing. Using her encyclopedic knowledge of Trek, she effortlessly writes detailed posts and collaborates with others to tell truly immersive stories within the canon. In the nearly two years since her first post on August 19, 2021, she has tallied 9.33 total awards, good for 13th place all-time, which includes one MVP and five Most Posts.
As many of you already know, the 30th anniversary of the premiere episode of Star Trek: Deep Space happened earlier this year. “Emissary” introduced us all to an entire new style and world of Trek. However, today is also a fairly important day in the history of DS9, and we have a special guest to fill you in:
On the Ides of May, here are your April awards:
Lieutenant Commander Mark Johnson
Chief Medical Officer
USS Wayfarer
For “Day 7: Deena, a pleasant surprise.”
Nice post, not rushed, with very good detail and description. Well done!
Lieutenant Ayana Hillis & Commander Jonathan Grayson & Commander Samantha Howard
ACSTO / XO / CMO
USS Washington
A very interesting predicament of a First Contact with a human civilization–and outstanding job among several excellent nominations this month.
Ensign Alyssa Strong
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Albion
For “Shower, Hot Chocolate, SURPRISE!”
Awesome.
Captain Rhenora Kaylen
Commanding Officer
USS Sunfire
For “GENESIS”
Great way to start a mission–with the Obsidian Order bashing your door in. Good luck!
Commander Jonathan Grayson
Executive Officer
USS Washington
Commander Grayson had a great month leading a new mission, working closely with a new player, and keeping the story moving with inputs from everyone. Great job!
Commander Jonathan Grayson
Executive Officer
USS Washington
For writing 10 posts.
Lieutenant Callisi Veera
Chief Operations Officer
USS Churchill
Really stepped up to fill in while the Captain was unwell to keep the sim moving after having zero posts the month prior.
Ensign J.B. Dersch
Tactical Officer
USS Washington
The new Ensign was active right out of the gate with great contributions.
None this month.
As always, great posting!
With the year nearly 1/3 over, the year’s total awards are hereby 1/4 presented:
Lieutenant JG Patra Rommel
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Wayfarer
For “Coming to grips with true love”
A follow-up to last month’s best post: Sweet nothings.
Capt. Shran dh’Klar & Cmdr. Jonathan Grayson & Cmdr. Samantha Howard & Lt. Cmdr. Shoniara T’ghann-Travis & Lt. Cmdr. Callie Raven-Grayson & Ens. T’Plana-hath & Ens. James Phoenix & Lt. Seth Travis
CO / XO / CMO / ACMO / CC / IO / TO / CDO
USS Washington
For “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Lots going on in this post! Way to keep it all together!
Marine Captain Emily Janeway
Marine Commanding Officer
USS Albion
For “Debriefing on the issue of cargo transport failed”
Good one.
Captain Shran dh’Klar
Commanding Officer
USS Washington
For “Signal Mystery”
Great way to get things going.
Lieutenant JG Patra Rommel
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Wayfarer
Excellent writing and teamwork! She stayed engaged and found ways to help the plot even though her character wasn’t with the rest of the crew on Risa. True talent!
Commander Jonathan Grayson
Executive Officer
USS Washington
For writing 10 posts.
Ensign Kitiuas Thenis
Science Officer
USS Sunfire
One of the newer members of the Sunfire, Thenis steps up with month some quality posts and helping others get involved.
None this month.
None this month.
I also want to comment on the retro version of the IDF website earlier this month. While our website no longer looks like this, it’s amazing to think that these awards that we started in month one of July 2001 are still going strong today thanks to all the great writing from YOU!
If you visited our website yesterday, you probably noticed that it looked like it was straight out of 2002 (or 2001?). And you would be right! Using records from the Internet Archive, we reconstructed our Angelfire site from the days of yore using the current fleet line up, creating a mash up of then and now. The simming world was quite different back then–and so were our web development capabilities! In case you missed it, we’ve archived the 2023 retro site here.
But why now? Fast forward to April 14-16, 2011–it was exactly 12 years ago that IDF hosted the first modern SciWorld Online Convention, which incidentally was 12 years after the original SciWorld in 1999. In early 2011, the Simming League was largely dead and the community had drifted apart over the previous few years: Clubs rarely interacted with each other anymore. SciWorld 2011 changed all of that by serving as the genesis for a new era of cooperation and celebration. In addition to SciWorld, we also now also have FallFest, Khitomer, and Babel. SciWorld renewed interest in the Tournament of Simulations and the Simming Prize as well.
On a related note, a few of you have pointed out that we missed our typical April Fools’ Day joke this year. While we can’t go back in time to fix that, we hope this blast from our past was still fun nonetheless. Until next year…
