The info below is copied from the front page of http://www.swtor-rp.com/home. Put together and written by Ganden and staff members. (IC) is the person’s character, and (OOC) is the person in real-life.
How often do you listen to the radio? Everyday? I know I do. And I know how important it is, not just from an entertainment standpoint, but also as a tool to boost community involvement in media and local events. Now, incorporate that into Star Wars: The Old Republic, and what do you get? Radio Free Nar Shaddaa!
For those who haven’t yet experienced it, Radio Free Nar Shaddaa (or RFNS for short) is a service run by your fellow players which provides the community of SWTOR with entertainment and music. They’re perfect for any rave event where you need some wicked beats to rally your guests into a night of boogie and good times.
There’s more to RFNS than music and raves. I had the opportunity to interview the crew to find out what they’re really about. Continue below for an insider’s look into RFNS!
The ultimate question: what is Radio Free Nar Shaddaa?
RFNS: Radio Free Nar Shaddaa is an attempt by members of the RP community to provide a service to the community at large and to try and bring the community together by giving players something to get invested and involved in. It also provides something to listen to while RPing, grinding, etc. It was developed out of a conversation that took place in the Out-of-Character chat room on this very site (SWTOR-RP) between Alasha, R’lin (Thrissily/Reena), Phylok, and several others (some of whom became staff). It’s very much a labor of love and is fully a volunteer effort.
We at RFNS feel that music has the ability to enhance roleplay and so we decided what better way to contribute to the community than to give a platform players to share their love of music and to share word of in-game events and experiences. RFNS is not limited to music! We also encourage news broadcasts, talk radio, and advertisements of events and guilds. We’re also planning to start running bounty announcements and anything else we think might add value to the RP player base.
Who are the staff behind the project? Tell us a little about yourselves.
• First is Phylok:
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(IC) Phylok brings Republic interests to the neutral station. He is loyal to the Jedi Order and the Republic. His musical preferences are varied across multiple genres. A trained archaeologist, he uses the radio station for a creative outlet.
(OOC) He is played by an IT pro in his mid 30’s. He plays a wide variety of music during his show, and welcomes requests. His show runs from 8 to 10pm central time. He has experience being a guest DJ in past from other games. And when this was discussed he jumped at the chance to be on the air and have his own show. He was also our first DJ.
• Second would be our newest DJ Sonfax:
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(IC) Sonfax is in his twenties and is the owner of the Port Nesh Diner which is currently on Corellia in House Organa. His other job is with Exploration and History, where he’s a partner with Yask. Music is one of his other hobbies, where he has written a number of songs and has played the Mandoviol for more than half of his life.
(OOC) Sonfax is a fifteen year old Sophomore in High School. His main hobby is music, listening, playing, and creating music. He is not playing TOR full-time, and is currently playing Guild Wars 2. He plans to return to TOR when it goes free-to-play.
• Then there is Jenos:
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(IC) Jenos is the Assistant Director of the Intergalactic Federation of Musicians and tries to make sure all musicians are well represented. He also tends to slide some of his own compositions into the mix when possible. He approves of the neutral stance taken by the station by broadcasting to everyone, even though most of its staff appears to be Imperial oriented.
(OOC) Jenos’s alter ego is the slightly-less-awesome Nathan, a recently graduated individual with a music education degree. When not playing TOR, he tends to write prose works as well as compose music (something which he has started advertising on SWTOR-RP: http://soundcloud.com/evannok).
•Our best known DJ Vaanthe:
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(IC) Note is a well-known DJ, skilled in mixing tunes, keeping up with the latest music, and making sure that any party she attends stays fun. A trained singer, she opted to pursue the part-time career as a DJ on Nar Shaddaa and other locations while also still using her medical skills. Yes, not only can Note rock the rhythm, but she can also fix up sentients. Note keeps up a regular monthly gig with the Kal’vyshde, a group known for holding various events on Nar Shaddaa and other places. She also can be hired for gigs, as well as now playing for RFNS.
(OOC) The real Vaanthe is an Iridonian in… okay, not really. A college professor, she spends her days tormenting students and helping to shape their minds for the future. Oh, beware for the future! She has been roleplaying for more a good number of years, which includes beginnings in table top gaming as well as chat based roleplay places like forums, IRC, MuXes, and other various formats. She enjoys playing MMOs as well, and has played a few that include Everquest, Star Wars Galaxies, and others.
A forum moderator at SWTOR-RP, Vaanthe also spends her time fielding out hate mail in her PM box as well as trying to herd cats (AKA known as trying to help out roleplayers). An avid writer, player of the violin, and traveller, she also enjoys reading, dancing, plays, and chasing after dreams. Music is ever the voice of the human experience as she believes, and so it is due its reverence.
• Next would be the infamous Alasha:
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She is the red-haired Darth-gone-good. From an IC standpoint, she serves as an Imperial benefactor, having been known as a patron of the arts. She uses her Imperial know-how and underworld contacts to make sure the station is permitted to operate on a Hutt-owned world and that it runs with the efficiency of any Imperial operation.
Behind that mask is Kristie: a red-haired Darth that hasn’t gone good if you ask her friends and husband. She’s an administrator of Radio Free Nar Shaddaa and her primary function is development and maintenance of the website and all things technical for RFNS. Running a radio station like this—even in its fledgling stage—has a lot of moving parts, and so she’s constantly looking for ways to improve the experience of the listeners and the community as a whole. If anyone has a suggestion for something they’d like to see on the site, her door is always open to hear them.
In addition to the keeping the wheels spinning, she also helps in herding cats, otherwise known as staff-wrangling. She lives in Sonoma County, California, with her husband and two cats Percy and Tonks. When not wielding a lightsaber in the Star Wars universe, she’s a support engineer, amateur photographer, unabashed foodie, gearhead, and classically trained dramatic soprano.
• Last, and quite possible least is R’Lin:
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Not much is known about this upbeat, friendly, Sith lord. Rumor has it that he was a Jedi once, others say he was a Corellian smuggler. Still, others indicate that he slaughtered his whole family on the path to power. The only thing that is known for certain is that he does whatever job he undertakes well, never stopping until it is complete. He brings this single-minded dedication to his efforts at Radio Free Nar Shaddaa, usually working behind the scenes alongside Alasha to make sure what needs to be done is done and that the staff have what they need to do what they want during their broadcasts.
R’lin’s real life counterpart is a Quality Systems Support Administrator who goes by the oh-so-common name of Christopher. He currently lives in the North Georgia Mountains and commutes to Atlanta on a daily basis which leaves lots of time to listen to the radio (usually audio books). He is responsible for the broadcast server and managing programming for RFNS, running a weekly show as well as throwing random program and content ideas against the wall to see just what sticks. When not playing SWTOR, working, or uploading obscure music to the RFNS autoDJ, he spends his time reading, playing with his 9 year old son, and generally finding new and varied ways to geek out; the crazier the method the better.
How can we tune in? Can we stream it live?
There are a number of ways to tune in to Radio Free Nar Shaddaa. The easiest is to visit http://www.radiofreens.org and use the Flash player embedded in the sidebar of the site. This same Flash player can also be found on a number of Enjin sites including this one (in the Ebon Hawk forum sidebar). If you prefer to use your own player, beneath the Flash player you will find links for common music players including iTunes, Winamp, and Windows Media Player.
Recently, RFNS signed up with TuneIn radio (http://tunein.com/) which offers free apps for listening via your mobile device such as an iPad, iPhone, or Android phone. Radio Free Nar Shaddaa is always a live stream at this time, though there’s not necessarily a live DJ on the air. We always have an AutoDJ running when there are no broadcasters using the stream and most of the music you hear there comes from Alasha and R’lin’s personal collections. It’s a very eclectic mix and shows you what happens when two former music majors are given a place to share their… unusually varied musical tastes with an audience.
Otherwise, each show reflects the broadcaster’s unique personality. There’s a schedule of shows up on the website, and we’re always looking for more DJs as we try to grow and serve the community. If you can’t DJ, however, there are other ways to get involved such as recording an ad to be played by our DJs and during our AutoDJ rotation (this would be great for those of you running events or recruiting for a guild).
Are there any limitations to RFNS? Is it freely accessible to anyone?
We do not know of any limitations at this time, though as with any technology we’re sure someone somewhere will run into some technical problem. If you can run Flash player, you can listen to RFNS. There is no cost to listen and it’s available to anyone; even people who aren’t on the Ebon Hawk server, though our in-character broadcasts will be limited to our community. There’s also no cost to get involved with RFNS, so if you’re interested in being a part of it, feel free to sign up on the site and start discussing on our forums, or drop a line to one of the admins for the station. We’d love to have you join us!
How is it connected to SWTOR?
Officially, we have no connection to SWTOR. We are a completely independent effort that was spawned from the TOR-RP community in an effort to bring the roleplayers of the Ebon Hawk server together and to foster communication and play between the disparate groups of the newly combined server. It is also our sincere hope that we will be able to provide an entertaining and valuable service to the community at large and have some fun ourselves along the way. We are all avid Star Wars fans, and TOR fans, and more than eager to do what we can to make the time of those who listen to RFNS more enjoyable.
What kind of events does RFNS cover?
RFNS will cover pretty much anything. If there’s a rave in the bowels of Nar Shaddaa, we’ll be there. If there’s a fight night, we’ll be there. If your great, great Corellian grandmother has a mad bingo night, we might be there. yes, we will probably laugh, but we will be there. The point is, no matter what the event, if people want to publicize it or have a DJ present or a show broadcast from there, we are more than happy to do so. Soon, we will actually be hosting IC events on the Ebon Hawk server, so keep your eyes and ears open. In addition to actual in game events, we are more than happy to advertise for any in game events or guilds free of charge. This is a community driven service, and we are here to help in any way we can.
Old Information about RFNS, written by myself as a temporary hold for the thread.
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General Information
Hello, and welcome to the main thread for Radio Free Nar Shaddaa. What is Radio Free Nar Shaddaa? RFNS is a community-run project working to broadcast music 24/7. RFNS is a radio, not a movie theater or interactive video game. It only plays music and other audio-related things. Nar Shaddaa is a planet in the Star Wars Universe. It started as an In-Character Radio Station for Star Wars: The Old Republic, on the main Roleplaying server. Now, it is expanding to other games as well as areas out of games. RFNS broadcasts 24/7, mostly with an Auto-DJ. RFNS is mainly with Roleplaying communities, so if you hear something that makes no sense to you, it’s either a bad joke or In-Character news with something that happened in RP. Currently, nearly every day of the week has its own show, put on by staff members of Radio Free. I am currently broadcasting every Friday, with my first show being on Friday the 21st from 9 PM EST until Midnight EST. I am not the owner of this broadcasting server, I am not an administrator for the server, I am just a DJ and Staff Member for the server.
Want to help? Let me know! We’re talking almost everyone who has a background with music and broadcasting and setting up playlists. Of course, we won’t accept stupid people who want to broadcast with us.
Too Long Didn’t Read? http://radiofreens.org/ RFNS is a Radio Broadcasting Station. I am posting this here so you guys can possibly open up to new music and possibly even broadcast for us.[/details]
Schedule
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The Auto-DJ is always on.
September
21 September: Sonfax’s First Official Broadcast
Theme: N/A; All sorts of music is being played for this night’s show.
28 September: No show. I have Pep Band duties at the local High School football game. Because of this, there may be a show on Wednesday the 26th.
October
5 October: Sonfax Broadcast Night
Theme: Rock; All sorts. Why? Four things in history happened on October 5th. 1) Queen released Crazy Little Thing Called Love as a single in 1979. 2) Elton John released Goodbye Yellow Brick Road today in 1973. 3) Led Zeppelin released their third album today in 1970. 4) Steve Miller was born today in 1943. At least one song will be played this night during the set for each thing happening, and maybe more!
12 October: Sonfax Broadcast Night; May be cancelled due to Pep Band. This pep band is optional, so I may or may not attend.
Theme: TBA. Depends on my mood, either dance, loud, slow, soft, etc…
19 October: Sonfax Broadcast Night;
Theme: Dance, Groove; 1) Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released Damn The Torpedoes today in 1979. 2) INXS released Kick today in 1987.
26 October: Sonfax Broadcast Night;
Theme: Blues and Jazz; Popular Demand
November
23 November: Sonfax Broadcast Night;
Theme: Video Game Music Night
30 November: Sonfax Broadcast Night;
Theme: Most likely a single broadcast of The Wall in its entirety.
December
7 December: Sonfax Broadcast Night;
Theme: TBA.
14 December: Sonfax Broadcast Night;
Theme: TBA.
21 December: Sonfax Broadcast Night;
Theme: TBA.
28 December: Sonfax Broadcast Night;
Theme: Something special for my final broadcast of the year.
Have any questions? Let me know!