Proposed STGOD Setting.

Spyder · Post by **Spyder** » 2005-12-17 02:53pm

Gates would be cool. What would actually be quite neat would be to have an STGOD that was totally ground forces, an idea for next time perhaps.

Ford Prefect · Post by **Ford Prefect** » 2005-12-18 01:14am

The idea of transit gates for diplomatic purposes appeals. If I can take ambassadors from Crobuzon without a Sunlance equipped starship in orbit, I would prefer it that way. It also fits with the left over tech thing.

Nephtys · Post by **Nephtys** » 2005-12-18 01:50am

I vote that we figure out a gate network, and some parties can participate and some don't have to. Give em limitations to prevent stuff like armies from passing through, or mass trade or something... perhaps a mass limit per hour or something like that?

Having a gate is optional.

Duckie · Post by **Duckie** » 2005-12-18 01:53am

I'd be party to a gate. However, mine will have armed guards, weapons checks and such nearby, and all sorts of fun procedures for getting in. I assume everyone else would, too, although that likely wouldn't stop a determined assasin.

Entering through it will be just like arriving for a normal diplomatic negotiation (which is everything short of a full cavity search when you're in the Khar Imperium).

Spyder · Post by **Spyder** » 2005-12-18 02:42am

Nephtys wrote:I vote that we figure out a gate network, and some parties can participate and some don't have to. Give em limitations to prevent stuff like armies from passing through, or mass trade or something... perhaps a mass limit per hour or something like that?

Having a gate is optional.

I think trying to set up a canon gate network for everyone to use ahead of schedule is going to add too much time to the preparation phase. What might be a better idea would be to assume connections between member worlds but as each empire makes contact, each one will nominate a single world to be connected, then the connection gets noted and we maintain an official list of inter-empire connections.

For example, United States of America meets France. USA nominate planet Freedomfry, while France nominate planet Maginot. "Freedomfry USA to Maginot, France" gets added to the list.

Academia Nut · Post by **Academia Nut** » 2005-12-18 03:37am

That sounds good Spyder, but if I may, I think I have an idea for how to run a gate network. First off would to make them small so that only a few people, like say a diplomatic party, could get through at once. Then, in addition to keeping the gate guarded, you can remove an address from the gate during times of war, sort of like removing an e-mail address from the safe list on your spam blocker. This was the reason that the gate network collapsed during the Age of Steel, for as more and more planets were invaded and counter-invaded and such the dangers of having an open gate sitting on your planet were so great that most planets simply wiped their gates memory banks so that nothing could get through. Thus as time passed, even if someone rediscovered the address for another world, it was useless as no connection could be made. Only with the rediscovery of FTL spacecraft could the connections be re-established on both ends and allow diplomatic parties through. Thus we have the fluff reason for why nations need to make contact with one another before they can use gate travel, and there are no worries about freaking out the neighbours by sending a ship capable of destroying their cities with fire from orbit just to safely get diplomats over there.

In addition, I would suggest that all of the nations that have gates on their worlds see them as a point of pride tying them to the old Age of Silver and thus gives them more legitimate authority over anyone who is "new on the block" and thus never had access to the gate network. I'm sure the Neo-Victorians would love this RP angle because they could use it to snub outsiders even more.

Dahak · Post by **Dahak** » 2005-12-18 05:31am

Or we can have these gates (small, mass limited) suddenly activate for no apparent reason throughout the galaxy which may have been only considered archeological artefacts before. This would give a nice reason for a sudden diplomatic activity the starting phase of a STGOD usually has...

Thirdfain · Post by **Thirdfain** » 2005-12-18 11:43am

If you add gates, someone's gonna toss a suitcase nuke through sooner or later.

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2005-12-18 12:01pm

Thirdfain wrote:If you add gates, someone's gonna toss a suitcase nuke through sooner or later.

Stargate Iris. Nuke simply rocks the facility and does no damage. Naquada-enhanced warheads bounce off those things, it'll handle this situation.

Duckie · Post by **Duckie** » 2005-12-18 12:40pm

Thirdfain wrote:If you add gates, someone's gonna toss a suitcase nuke through sooner or later.

Build an unarmed, armorless satellite and place/move the stargate in there along with the security procedures. Go by shuttle to the nearest actual location.

Suitcase Nuke will ruin the gate and a few hundred people's days. Other than that it will hardly be a catastrophe. All of this comes at the cost of, it appears, several minutes of waiting time for diplomatic visits.

Although the amount of precautions I'm taking with mine might be considered a point expenditure. Which is naturally quite impossible to do, because points are the near-complete domain of the Khar Imperial Navy.

Dahak · Post by **Dahak** » 2005-12-18 01:14pm

Well, I think an Iris is a perfectly safe and sensible device, might even be an already built-in thing. Of course, someone might try to be sneaky and send a suicide bomber through or something. To avoid this, it is best not to put it exactly smack in the middle of your capital...

Glimmervoid · Post by **Glimmervoid** » 2005-12-18 02:10pm

My first thought on reading this was infecting my diplomats with a slow acting biological weapons.

Now I don’t like the idea of gates but hear are some ideas any way, what about the gates not connecting to each other (with the possible exceptions with peoples own private gate networks) but to some kind of “hub” planet or maybe some kind of mod ruled gate control agency.

Hawkwings · Post by **Hawkwings** » 2005-12-18 02:16pm

this STGOD sounds very interesting and I'd like to get involved...

Any idea on when it'll start?

Companion Cube · Post by **Companion Cube** » 2005-12-18 02:33pm

Hawkwings wrote:this STGOD sounds very interesting and I'd like to get involved...

Any idea on when it'll start?

I think it was mentioned a few pages back that it'll be starting up just before or after the new year, so I assume that's still the case.

Thirdfain · Post by **Thirdfain** » 2005-12-18 02:59pm

So, wait: Why are these stargates even necessarry? I don't see why. Can't we just, I dunno, use transmissions and courier ships for communications?

Glimmervoid · Post by **Glimmervoid** » 2005-12-18 03:04pm

Thirdfain wrote:So, wait: Why are these stargates even necessarry? I don't see why. Can't we just, I dunno, use transmissions and courier ships for communications?

I agree, they really add nothing but to force player to deal with some thing in there writing. If people really want the entire lets force diplomacy with “Uber ancient tech” angle cant be just have some ancient hologram transmitters same basic effect but with out all the risks.

Dahak · Post by **Dahak** » 2005-12-18 03:06pm

Thirdfain wrote:So, wait: Why are these stargates even necessarry? I don't see why. Can't we just, I dunno, use transmissions and courier ships for communications?

Well, because it's like different?
We always have transmissions and courier ships. Why not try something else for a chance, that doesn't require pages of descriptions of ships flying to and fro, and communications for landing and stuff?

Duckie · Post by **Duckie** » 2005-12-18 03:22pm

Adds character interaction at close range, allows for sneakiness relating to plots, etc.

---Semi-In-Character-Moment---

Perhaps the Stargates were related to the Khar Dryu-Nyab-Eq-Dryu, which just recently became navigable. Scholars have determined that it is likely that during the War at the Age of Silver, the Khar Empire's FTL systems were destroyed by some sort of bomb or device that upset the fragile balance of the DNED, making 'wakes' or ripples that would rip any starship to pieces before it could complete the translation into Eqmydj.

Naturally, as artifacts of an advanced and powerful culture they are obviously related to the Old Khar Empire, as no inferior race could build such objects of vast glory.

Lancer · Post by **Lancer** » 2005-12-18 03:50pm

*ahem*

In time, we, the people of Avalon, rebuilt the civilization of the Ancestors using the technology left to us. Colonies of old once again bloomed with life, and the gateways between stars shimmered with light. Through our explorations, we reclaimed a hundred worlds out of the countless thousands that the Ancestors had touched.

In time, we encountered many infant civilizations, just discovering the sciences that governed the universe. We watched as they grew into great nations and empires. Inevitably, they came into conflict, and the stars burned. Some, driven by the desparation of war, found us and tried by force to take our worlds, only to find themselves stopped by impenetrable shields. From inside the sanctuaries of our worlds, we watched with contempt as the rest of the galaxy collapsed.

Eventually though, our defenses crumbled under the swirling chaos outside our realms. The great shields that protected our colonies were the first to fail, their power finally fading after centuries of bombardment. When they gave, we retreated through the gateways of the Ancestors, but in time their power ebbed as well. Before our peoples could be stranded on worlds under siege, we retreated to Avalon, our sanctuary and stronghold. We took all our technology with us, leaving the elegant spires of our great cities to crumble into dust.

The gates are dead and inert, if you want to use em you'll have to develop your own or use one left to you by your ancestors / engineers / makers.

Thirdfain · Post by **Thirdfain** » 2005-12-18 04:03pm

MRDOD wrote:Adds character interaction at close range, allows for sneakiness relating to plots, etc.

Um, I don't get it. You can't do that without some random network of stargates?

This is a problem for a number of reasons. These things could be used to make blockades inneffective. Who cares if all the grain ships to your capital are getting shot down, when you can run a pipeline through the stargate and mass-import all the foodstuffs you need?

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2005-12-18 04:07pm

Thirdfain wrote:
MRDOD wrote:Adds character interaction at close range, allows for sneakiness relating to plots, etc.
Um, I don't get it. You can't do that without some random network of stargates?

This is a problem for a number of reasons. These things could be used to make blockades inneffective. Who cares if all the grain ships to your capital are getting shot down, when you can run a pipeline through the stargate and mass-import all the foodstuffs you need?

Just keep dialling the effected world so anyone else gets a busy signal.

Alternately, gasp, blockades aren't 100% effective.

Nephtys · Post by **Nephtys** » 2005-12-18 04:15pm

Or like we said. Put a mass limit on gate transit. Like a few hundred kilograms per hour lets you bring a diplomatic party, but for trade? That's squat.

Thirdfain · Post by **Thirdfain** » 2005-12-18 04:17pm

Just keep dialling the effected world so anyone else gets a busy signal.

Alternately, gasp, blockades aren't 100% effective.

Sure they aren't, but adding little shortcuts? Why bother?

Frankly, I don't see the stargate thing adding anything really great to the game, while forcing everyone to adopt to them. Why bother?

More to the point, not everyone in the game is familiar with Stargate and their quirks and operations. I sure am not. Why should we all have to contend with them?

Dahak · Post by **Dahak** » 2005-12-18 04:22pm

Thirdfain wrote:

Just keep dialling the effected world so anyone else gets a busy signal.

Alternately, gasp, blockades aren't 100% effective.
Sure they aren't, but adding little shortcuts? Why bother?

Frankly, I don't see the stargate thing adding anything really great to the game, while forcing everyone to adopt to them. Why bother?

More to the point, not everyone in the game is familiar with Stargate and their quirks and operations. I sure am not. Why should we all have to contend with them?

We don't need to use THE stargates, but the rough concept.

And I, for one, like that concept, and think it does add something to it. I would like to have them.

Academia Nut · Post by **Academia Nut** » 2005-12-18 04:23pm

Thirdfain wrote:More to the point, not everyone in the game is familiar with Stargate and their quirks and operations. I sure am not. Why should we all have to contend with them?

You could always say that your nation was in a part of space that never had gates, you destroyed them, you figured out a way to turn them off, etc. and simply say that you don't use them and its impossible for anyone else to use them, but that will allow other people to use them if they want to.