SURVIVOR: OKINAWA RULES
FAIR PLAY
While we can monitor your actions somewhat, due to the anonymity of the internet, it is impossible for the Survivor: Okinawa staff to completely enforce fairplay rules. We are therefore putting our faith and trust in the "honor system". While lying and cheating are to some degree elements of the game of Survivor, it is not permitted to take advantage of the internet to perform such actions. In other words, if you couldn't do it on an island, don't try to do it on the internet.
Examples:
* It is NOT permitted to cut and paste bits of one conversation and e-mail them to another person. Hearsay is hearsay. In the same vein, forwarding e-mails to anyone OTHER than the Survivor: Okinawa staff is not permitted.
* "Blocking" a tribemate who is still on the island with you, or using an alternate screen-name to talk to only a few select people. If you are online, all people still on the island should see that you are online. If you don't want to talk to them, they should be aware that they are being ignored.
* Talking to people who have been voted off the island. We will TRY to keep the game running quickly, and it should not be long before you are re-united with your old friends. Please do not talk to tribemates who have been voted off until you have been voted off yourself. Also, if you make the jury, please don't talk to people who did not make the jury. We understand that this is impossible to enforce, as there is nothing we can threaten you with, but please respect the integrity of the game. The players still in the game deserve a fair and unbiased jury.
* Breaking silence period AND failing to report someone who IS breaking silence period are both forbidden. Should we hear that you have done either of these, you will immediately fall off of a cliff, be eaten by a shark, have an accident with a machete... in other words, be immediately removed from the game.
* There are other examples, but I'm sure you can think of them yourselves. Play fair. Role-play. Don't take advantage of the internet any more than is necessary. Some advantages of the internet are permitted, such as having two simultaneous "one-on-one" conversations, or having a group chat and a one-on-one chat simultaneously. But for the most part, please PRETEND you are on an island with these people!
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SKILL CHARTS
The advantages of having a "skill chart" are simple. One, they allow a fair method of determining work around camp and challenge winners while allowing the contestants to keep a flexible schedule. People are not "rewarded" in the challenges for simply being able to be online longer than others, as is the case in many online Survivor games. Also, it encourages the role-playing aspect of the game, which makes the story more interesting. That way, you can end up with characters like Gina, who was great around camp, but maybe not so much in the challenges, and Colby, who had an immunity streak based on his dominating physical presence.
And while we have adapted the skill chart system somewhat, it is important to note that it was devised by Rafe Judkins, creater of Survivor: Tonga. Without his work, we would have been in a heap 'o trouble here. Thank you Rafe!
Each survivor will be given 200 points to divide between the 8 categories, with a maximum of 50 points per category. The minimum is up to you, but it is HIGHLY recommended you have at least 10 in each of these categories:
COOKING - This is the Survivor's ability to prepare food for other members of the camp. Survivors with high cooking points prepare more filling and nutritous meals for their tribemates, thus lowering hunger and increasing energy around camp. Survivors with low cooking points will prepare lower quality food and can sometimes even ruin the meal, making it inedible for their tribemates. This skill is also used for building fire. And though this skill is mainly used around camp, some challenges may call for the ability to make fire or work with food.
BUILDING
- This is the Survivor's ability to create/repair both the shelter and
other necessary items around camp (animal traps, fishing poles, weapons
for hunting, really anything you can think of. . .). A Survivor with high
building points is able to work quickly and at high quality, while a survivor
with low building points works
slowly and at lower quality and may sometimes break things. Although this
skill is mainly used around camp, it may also be called for occasionally
in challenges.
SEARCHING - This is the survivor's ability to find and locate varying objects. This skill will generally be used in foraging for food (berries, coconuts, shellfish, etc.), but also comes in handy when exploring the area around camp for streams, waterfalls, or groves of fruit that might prove invaluable to the tribe. It is also useful for finding non-food objects, such as firewood or building materials. A survivor with high searching points is able to bring back more food in a smaller amount of time and is more likely to discover important locations around camp. Although this skill is mostly used in and around camp, it may also be occasionally necessary for challenges.
RUNNING - This is a physical skill used mostly during challenges. It is the survivor's ability to move quickly over land. It is also used in hunting.
SWIMMING - This is a physical skill used mostly during challenges. It is the survivor's general water-based abilities (swimming, rowing, etc.). This skill is also useful when fishing.
STRENGTH - This is a physical skill used mostly during challenges. It is the Survivor's brute physical strength (think Colby or Mike). This skill is also useful for hunting and heavy labor around camp.
DEXTERITY - This is a physical skill used mostly during challenges. It is a basic measure of the Survivor's aim, flexibility, and hand-eye coordination. This skill is also useful in both fishing and hunting.
FOCUS - The player's ability to concentrate and remain focused on the task at hand. Around camp, a player with high focus will be able to stay "on-task" for longer without being distracted and will be able to accomplish more. It is recommended that players with low focus switch tasks occasionally to maximize efficiency. Focus will also be important in many challenges.
Each skill is important in its own way and how you divide up your points
is up to you, but rest assured your skill chart will have a dramatic effect
on your performance in the game.
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WILL POINTS
In addition to the eight main skills, "Will Points" provide
a measure of a Survivor's determination. Each Survivor will begin with
100 Will Points (also, for each of the 200 Skill points that you do not
attribute to either cooking, building, searching, running, strength, swimming,
dexterity, or focus... you will gain FIVE Will Points.)
These Will Points can be spent either in challenges or in endeavors around camp to aid in their successful completion. But be careful, as your Will Points go down, your overall Energy will also be harder to keep high. Exactly how Will Points are utilized will be discussed further in later sections.
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CAMP ACTIVITIES
There are three keys to surviving in the wild: food, water, and overall
energy level. These are the three measurements we will use in Survivor:
Okinawa to measure your well being:
HUNGER - Hunger will be a measure of just that, how hungry you are. Your
hunger level starts at zero, and will increase according to your lack
of food and your level of exertion. Every hunger point gained can be removed
by eating one serving of food. So if you are spending your days running
through the woods hunting and going all-out in challenges while only eating
one serving of coconut, your hunger is going to skyrocket. However, if
you spend
some time resting, and have set up a good store of solid foods, you should
be able to keep your hunger relatively low. But as Hunger increases, Energy
decreases more rapidly. So doing an activity at a level 7 hunger will
be much more costly to your Energy then performing the same activity at
level 0 hunger. Also, remaining at a Hunger level higher than 10 for more
than one day could adversely effect your heatlh.
THIRST - Thirst is a little more straightforward. Each survivor requires
approximately five servings of water a day (sometimes more or less depending
on your exertion). For each serving you miss, your thirst will increase
by one point. As thirst rises, Energy decreases more rapidly. Furthermore,
a Thirst rating of 10 or higher could cause health problems. And if you
remain higher than 10 for three days in a row, your Energy will plummet
to zero, which will result in your expulsion from the game for medical
reasons.
ENERGY - Energy is the most important of your three Camp Ratings. You
begin with an Energy level of 100, which drops according to your Hunger,
Thirst, Camp Environment (Shelter, sleeping arrangements, etc.), Effort
in Camp Activities, Effort in Challenges, and Will Points remaining. Each
activity you perform around camp will have to be marked with an effort
level (Very High, High, Medium, Low, or Very Low) seen by your fellow
tribemates. Also, your effort in challenges must be marked (Very High,
High, Medium, Low, or Very Low), which will be seen by your tribemates
as well. The higher the effort you put into activities and challenges,
the more quickly your Energy will drop. Also, as your
Will Points drop as you get further into the game, your Energy will begin
to decrease more quickly. After all, it's hard to stay energized if you
don't even really have the determination to stick around. And if your
Energy should ever reach 0, for whatever reason, you will be immediately
removed from the game for emergency medical treatment.
Although this all sounds quite complicated, it isn't. All it requires from you is to post on the board once each day (in the game), noting your activities around camp and the following information:
Tasks: Finding Water, Cooking Breakfast
Description: Take two water containers (each with 16 servings) to the stream and fill them up. Return and cook paella (3 servings of shellfish, 4 servings of rice, and 1 serving of pepper) for breakfast.
Effort Level: Low
The food made by the people who cook whichever meals you had that day and the amount of water you have collected will be divided evenly amongst the tribe to determine Hunger and Thirst.
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CHALLENGES
In most on-line games, challenges are based on things that would never really be of use to you in actual Survivor. This means that, in general, those people with the most on-line availability and know-how usually end up winning. But in Survivor: Okinawa, we eliminate that aspect of the game through the Skill Point System. Most every challenge will be judged based on the three criteria below (don't get too caught up in the details, it's just to give you a basic idea of what's happening. The Host will be doing all of the math so you need not worry about that :-D):
1. SKILL CHART. Each challenge will be a combination of different skills.
For instance: In the "Rock Bottom" challenge from Survivor:
Marquesas (where the survivors had to search for and bring up yellow conch
shells from the sea floor) it would be a combination of 1/2 Swimming,
1/4 Searching, and 1/4 Dexterity. Each survivor's points would be averaged
to give them a Base Score out of 50. (So, if you had 35 swimming, 15 searching,
and 20 dexterity: your base score would be (35 * .5) + (15 * .25) + (20
* .25) or 26.25 out of a possible 50).
2.
WILL POINTS. Because we know survivors can sometimes pull out an incomprehensible
victory when they absolutely need it (Kathy, Kelly, Tammy, etc.), each
survivor begins the game within 100 or more "Will Points" to
use as they please. Each Will Point you devote to a challenge will be
divided by 5 then added to your base score to result in
your Pre-Energy Score for the challenge. (So, if I devoted 5 will points
to this immunity, I would have a Pre-Energy Score of 27.25)
3.
ENERGY. As the survivors exert themselves to make camp and battle the
elements, their participation in challenges is effected greatly. Thus
in the game, whatever your energy score is (out of 100) will be multipled
as a perecent against your Pre-Energy score to give you your Final Score.
(So, if my energy was at 86, my Final Score for this challenge would be
27.25 * .86 = 23.435).
(*Note: If it is a team challenge; each of the teammates' Final Scores
will be added together to create the Team Score.)
4. Ties. If there is a tie in Final Score (or Team Score), whichever Survivor (or Tribe) devoted more will points to the challenge will win it.
Although many of the challenges in Survivor: Okinawa will be based on
this skill point system; there will also be some that are purely mental
in nature. For these challenges: Will Points and Energy have no real bearing
on the result; and they will instead be based on your performance as an
individual or tribe in some kind of timed on-line competition. These special
challenges will be noted in advance so that you can be sure to be on-line
at the correct time. And while we intend NOT to make you be on-line at
any one time, one or two of these may pop up, although generally not as
an immunity challenge.
The scoring system again may seem quite complicated, but for you it is
easy. Before each challenge, you must only send us an e-mail looking something
like this:
Challenge:
Canoe Wars
Effort: Medium
Will Points: 2
The rest of the calculations will be done by us to determine the winner of each challenge, and then you get to read about it the next day in the write-up.
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TRIBAL COUNCIL
To as closely approximate the actual game as possible, each Tribal Council will begin with 8 questions being sent to every tribe member. After all members have answered, the questions and answers will be sent out to the whole group, at which point voting will precede.
When the votes have been counted, an e-mail will be sent to the tribe reading them off one by one and revealing who has been kicked off.
(*Note: A "Silence" period is instituted as soon as the first Tribal Council e-mail is sent. Regardless of whether or not your alliance has firmed up who to vote for, you are absolutely not allowed to speak to any other tribe member once Tribal Council has begun. If you must make a statement or hand signal to another tribe member, it has to be done in front of all members at the Tribal Council, just like on the show.)
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Those are the rules for Survivor: Okinawa. Have fun and make sure to apply
as soon as possible. Email us with any questions!
-Okinawa
Staff
survivorokinawa@comcast.net
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