game's run time → i don't have a planned run time, no. i personally prefer to let a game run it's course and wrap things up when it "feels" like time, rather than shut things down while the game's still strong and people are having fun. kind of a fly by the seat of my pants kind of mod in that way.
overarching plot & player impacts → i'm also not too heavy on the mod plots. i'm crazy about player-driven plots with main events to keep the inspiration flowing but i like to give characters as much influence on things as possible. in relation to empseq, i'm hoping to allow characters control via ranks. captains will have the privilege of going off on their own missions, whatever they are. new world exploration, heading back to their homeworld to resolve problems there, etc.
mission mechanics → i'm going to rewrite this a little bit tomorrow when it's not 2 am, but i'll be rewording it so it doesn't say "successful" any longer. i think missions of any kind should be applicable. the general idea is just that characters will need to have experience under their belt. the most important piece of their rank climbing journey is to find a partner to team up with, which will be the most time consuming. teaming up is meant to be permanent, and can be changed only if someone dies (or drops...) or if both team members petition to the alliance. there's a huge reprimand for doing so that will need to be figured out.
powers & abilities → i'm not currently planning on any nerfs but i will be thinking about this some tomorrow.
application process → i've also come to enjoy 'slightly different' app approaches so i'm thinking the apps will be most heavy on explaining powers and abilities and how each character will benefit the Alliance, how they fit into their role (fighters and navigators both have typical personality types that i will expand on) and if they'll want to return home for any reason. other than that i'm currently thinking wiki pages and bullet points for the personality section.
franchise caps → it's not set in stone yet but there will be cast caps (6? 8? what's reasonable?) and as far as franchises with multiple canons, i'll have to say only a single character counts unless there's reasonable argument that they're different. an example is that comics steve rogers and movie steve rogers are reasonably the same character, but sherlock holmes from the book and the bbc sherlock are reasonably not the same.
thank you so much for these questions, they got me thinking and i really appreciate that!
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thank you so much for these questions, they got me thinking and i really appreciate that!