Ephemeral Teams
We have a few types of group activities:
Anybody Anytime Activities
Self–explanatory. The most casual activities, lacking in structure and without any group preparation.
Anybody in Cloud 9 Chat can join voice at any time and launch into the 'verse.
Anybody else who is around at the same time is welcome to join voice.
Voice chat participants may either join the same party or do different activities.
Open Activities
Anybody at scheduled times. Meetups in voice & 'verse may be weekly, daily, or at any recurring interval.
These are also casual, without any structured groups, although may include some planning.
Participants may come and go as they wish during the scheduled times.
See Events in Cloud 9 Chat for the times. Anybody may schedule these.
Hybrid Activities
Anybody at a scheduled time. Meetups in voice & 'verse are only once per week.
These can be considered regular, with partially and temporarily structured groups and some planning.
Participants may come and go as they wish; there is still no expectation of any commitment.
See Events in Cloud 9 Chat for the time. Only the one time will be scheduled.
Crew & Fleet Activities
Anybody who becomes a Cloud 9 Citizen and completes onboarding to join the fleet.
Commitment ranges from regular to hardcore (or "upgraded regular"), depending on the crew.
All crews meet at least once a week for an average 4 hours per session and may extend into campaigns.
Crews offer the most structure, include planning, and are our highest priority with group activities.
Additional channels in Cloud 9 Chat open up to crewmates after joining the fleet.
Cloud 9 Ephemeral Teams
Our Ephemeral Teams participate in hybrid activities. They are hybrid by functioning as a midway point between Open Activities and Crew Activities. Open Activities are the most inclusive, yet exclude structure, while Crew Activities are exclusive, yet include the most structure. Hybrid Activities are still inclusive and they include a small amount of structure.
An Ephemeral Team (ET) is a team that is ephemeral, in that it lasts for a very short time, only one session. One or more ETs may be formed during a single session, each operating as a one-session group. They consist of individuals in Cloud 9 Chat the who gather in ET voice and in the 'verse at a scheduled time to participate in activities similar to how we run ops in our crews, yet with less structure and no commitment.
Being impromptu in nature, these teams also have temporary designations. While there is no obligation to accept a teammate designation, participating in structured ways is the purpose of these teams, so it helps to be more involved in these ways. Participants without any assigned roles or positions may simply fulfill the responsibility of what we call a generalist in our crews.
Why We Do It
We do it to have structured fun! These teams provide participation options for individuals who are only occasionally available but would still like to participate in at least partially structured group activities. They also provide teammates, be they regulars or intermittent dabblers, with opportunities to participate in different ways during different sessions.
As a shameless plug, our hybrid activities are also a form of recruitment for our first fleet. While our ephemeral teams have teammates, in our context, they are distinct from our crews and crewmates. If you are in Cloud 9 Chat, then you can be a teammate on an ephemeral team, regardless of membership status. If you become a citizen and complete onboarding, then you can be a crewmate on a crew in the first fleet.
It is incredibly easy to attain citizenship and just as easy to join the fleet. Central to the prerequisites is time. If you are going to be participating in group activities anyway, you might as well let them count toward the steps to joining the fleet.
Information on how to join the fleet is available starting on the Join Us section of this site. To summarize, apply to join us, participate with us, become a citizen after a few weeks of general group activities, go to orientation, participate in initial training via Phoenix and the Runners, our first two crews, and transfer to Euphoria, the lead crew in the fleet. Training is very easy and fun! It covers the basics, so anything more intermediate or advanced can be covered later on in the main crews. It's mainly to establish fleet-level uniformity. Elements of uniqueness are introduced later depending on how each crew runs operations. You can form or join your next crew after spending some time with Euphoria and adjusting to how we run ops in that crew and on a general fleet level.
Our ephemeral teams and hybrid activities are an excellent way to warm up to the idea of joining the fleet.
Crewmates in the fleet are welcome to participate as teammates on ephemeral teams and serve in lead roles, during which they can give participants a glance into what activities are like in our crews.
How It Works
The Cloud 9 Activity Guide will be made available at a later date, which will provide details on activities in ways that are similar to but not as in–depth as the crews in our fleet. In the meantime, the basic steps outlined below will help you get started.
Basic Steps:
Plan in ET chat or one of our voice channels at any time.
Join ET voice for a session at or during the scheduled time.
Decide together on teammate designations/responsibilities.
Assemble team, party launch into Star Citizen, run ops.
Disband team and teammate designations at end of session.
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