SDNWorld Redux - Casting Call & Planning MK II

[Shinn Langley Soryu]

Personally, I've been looking more towards the Israel Defense Forces and Singapore Armed Forces as models for my military. Discounting American military aid, both of them seem to maintain decent levels of readiness and maintenance on budgets of roughly US$10-20 billion a year (US$10 billion for Singapore and US$20 billion for Israel, give or take several billion, or so Wikipedia says). The way I see it, for a Duchy that can reasonably spend up to US$35 billion on defense, maintaining armed forces on par with those two nations could be managed.

Needless to say, the point system has had me stymied ever since it was first implemented; no matter how I crunched the numbers, I could never get my military to the specifications I wanted. It's basically the only thing blocking my entry now. I'm perfectly willing to do what Setzer did and have Sea Skimmer or someone else coach me on how to budget a military properly.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Just a quick semi-upate to the map:

HEUGE World

Changes from last time:

- Added Cialan and Vulpesia (North of PeZookia, unmarked yet. Cialan is green)

- Added Frequesque. Left the numbers so far.

- Moved the New Continent and Frequesqe according to Marina's suggestions, so that people can see how the setup would look

- Added a placeholder for the Untamed Continent as per Marina's suggestions

Still no Svalbadia or the Icy Continent, sorry. I'm posting that so that people can comment. While I get on a train home :D

I think you kinda need to make Old Continent, New Continent, and Fourth Continent (including Tonkin) about 1.5 times to twice as large, otherwise I approve. They're just way to small at the moment, though.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

If you did not allocate points for the equipment, then it's grossly obsolete T-34/PzIV/Sherman/Pershing analogue sort of stuff (as a general rule, un-point-controlled "grossly obsolescent" stuff has to be stuff that was used in OTL WW2--if it came out after WW2, it's too modern and needs to be accounted for with points. There are some exceptions, but only for navy/airf force stuff, not Army), but that's okay, yes.

Hmm... but if say I decided not to throw away any of my old equipment? Say equipment that came in the 60s like the T-64 tanks?

If you object then, I will just fill them up with existing old equipment then. I have been thinking of mothballing some of the old reservist equipment anyhow.

[Lonestar]

Pezook, check your PMs.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Hmm...according to my handy-dandy list, Setzer is on the New Continent with our residual psycho.

Is that correct?

It works fine; the New Continent can have chunks added considering it's fairly small but occupies a largeish position. I was intending for it to be arranged so that OD is temperate, like parts of South Africa and Rhodesia, and Shepistan tropical/coastal mangrove regions, with the border between the two being a subtropical forest where the al-Nitrami fighters live. Tonkin would be about on the same level as OD, and Svalbard would be at the bottom of a V between the two toward the southern ocean, slightly skewed toward Tonkin. Add the other islands at your discretion, really.

I was thinking that the northern continent looks a bit like Zealandia with the North Pole as the center of mass and the large southern end being north of the Old Continent, and the northern peninsulas thrusting down south here into one of the oceans, somewhat fattened around the centre so there's marginally habitable areas in a circle around the Arctic. A suitable place for a bunch of Russians.

[Czechmate]

Could Shepland and Frequesue be moved a little, with Frequesue nudged down about where the fifty-pixel '500 kilometers' measuring line is? As it is the map looks a bit strange, with Shepland's little strip of land occupying where Frequesue (which is supposed to be sort of like africa-australia) should, roughly speaking, be.

like this

EDIT: hay shep, you should call your missles SS-28s. there's no Russian land-based BM with that designator yet, so you're good.

[phongn]

Also, if Japanistan and IRT get involved, things will get very messy immediately.

Oh yes, we are involved already!

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Also, if Japanistan and IRT get involved, things will get very messy immediately.

Oh yes, we are involved already!

Well, I meant, militarily, with men fighting on Shep's side.

And yes, I see that you continue do brisk two way arms business...

[Karmic Knight]

Could Shepland and Frequesue be moved a little, with Frequesue nudged down about where the fifty-pixel '500 kilometers' measuring line is? As it is the map looks a bit strange, with Shepland's little strip of land occupying where Frequesue (which is supposed to be sort of like africa-australia) should, roughly speaking, be.

like this

Aren't we supposed to have a tropical-subtropical north? Which would denote closer to the equator.

[Coyote]

Yeah, I sure am glad all my good friends in the MESS are rushing to my aid.

Okay, there, President Shaakashvili.... er, I mean, Lonestar!

We're still making sure everyone checks in on the main story thread. There's still posts going up in the Prologues thread.

You'll probably have to attend the MESS conference by teleconference.

[Czechmate]

I didn't want to cluster the continents together too much more; fake-North America and the Old Continent are both supposed to get a lot bigger.

[Lonestar]

Okay, there, President Shaakashvili.... er, I mean, Lonestar!

We're still making sure everyone checks in on the main story thread. There's still posts going up in the Prologues thread.

You'll probably have to attend the MESS conference by teleconference.

Naw, I'm already in Canissa, and Shep has agreed to back off.

By the way I could point out that Shep shot first and offered no explanation why.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Could Shepland and Frequesue be moved a little, with Frequesue nudged down about where the fifty-pixel '500 kilometers' measuring line is? As it is the map looks a bit strange, with Shepland's little strip of land occupying where Frequesue (which is supposed to be sort of like africa-australia) should, roughly speaking, be.

like this

EDIT: hay shep, you should call your missles SS-28s. there's no Russian land-based BM with that designator yet, so you're good.

No, that's not what we're going with, Frequesue is going to be placed coequal with Australia, roughly, because otherwise I can't fit anything in, as the Fourth Continent, America, and the Old continent need to be scaled up enormously for this map to be sane.

[PeZook]

Okay, gentlemen. You just got a lot more spare land.

I increased the size of continents so that they don't look silly ; The side effect is that population density just fell for everyone. Enjoy increased infrastructural expenses, yo!

The map is almost done. Everybody's there except for:

ZOR

NORSEMAN

I'd like to ask you to send me map outlines. The ones I have are either sucky, or impossible to actually find

Similarly, if anybody got missed for whatever reason, let me know via PM.

CHANGES

- Removed all labels: in process of migrating them to hooge pixelfont

- All continents enlarged by 33 to 50%

- Untamed continent added: very nasty environment, arid and/or tropical, never tamed but rich in resources

- New Continent is now a part of the Impact Archipelago: the remnants of a continent destroyed utterly by an asteroid strike six million years ago.

- Added Greenland - just like real greenland, not much there

- Random island chains. Lonestar, the one you sent me is the eastern part of the Impact Archipelago, just flipped 90 degrees

The western chain is Hawaii, also flipped on the side. The Archipelago is 2600 kilometers across, BTW.

- Setzer is now part of the Impact Archipelago as a dark-green island northeast of the New Continent. No need to thank me

- Added Cyprus,with Vohu's country. Look closely, it's there.

THINGS LEFT TO DO

- Blowup of Frequesque listing the nations there

- Labels

- Zoria, Norseman, anybody else I missed

- Random island chains all over the Pacific to make things interesting

Any suggestions, comments?

EDIT: I was thinking of appending Norseman to the IRT, to make MESSamerica look "fuller", so to speak. That, or I'll populate that sea with Norseman and Zor as island nations.

[phongn]

Outline of Svalbardia. It's just a duchy, though maybe place it somewhere between Frequesque and the New Continent towards the south?

EDIT: If you put Norseman by me, he'll probably be utterly paranoid about my bomber swarms coming for him one day.

[Grand Moff Yenchin]

My island isn't on the map. Maybe put me west of MESSamerica and north of Frequesque?

[Lonestar]

- Random island chains. Lonestar, the one you sent me is the eastern part of the Impact Archipelago, just flipped 90 degrees

I think you must have linked to an old map or something

AND, the those islands were intended to be near the Shepland continent, because we(Shep, me) have a WW2 history with 'em.

[PeZook]

I think you must have linked to an old map or something

Not, the link is good, just refresh 'em.

AND, the those islands were intended to be near the Shepland continent, because we(Shep, me) have a WW2 history with 'em.

Well, if that's the case, then I'll just move them back, it's not a problem.

I can always replace them with another island chain

[Karmic Knight]

I think you must have linked to an old map or something

AND, the those islands were intended to be near the Shepland continent, because we(Shep, me) have a WW2 history with 'em.

Hit shift + refresh.


PeZook
Is the untamed continent Australia + something?

It really reminds me of Australia.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Alright, here's the first official map.

If a volunteer would kindly clean it up and then we can start adding the islands to it as well.

Does anyone have an objection? The mauve nation added to the New Continent is Setzer's power, and I rejiggered it to make it seem to make sense generally while still allowing East Shepistan to be called East Shepistan.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Oooh.

I like PeZook's. Think we can combine the two to make the final map? Any objections to that idea, to take what seem to be the best features from both my map and PeZook's and fit them together to make the final map?

[PeZook]

PeZook
Is the untamed continent Australia + something?

It really reminds me of Australia.

It's a mashup of Australia and India

And, Marina: Just tell me what to incorporate, and you'll have a cleaned-up labelled map by Monday afternoon. Or tomorrow, but that depends on my wife

EDIT: Oh, I meant monday afternoon GMT +1

[Czechmate]

I prefer Frequesue's size on PeZook's map.

How many people here have IRC?

[Shroom Man 777]

Could you move Shepistan OD + Island Ring a bit to the right? (So that the Western tip of the Shepland mass is aligned and directly south to the southern tip of "Greenland".)

It's kind of... "heavy" on the Old Continent side. If we center Shepistan OD + Island Ring, it balances out between the Old Continent and MESSamerica.

Maybe Frequesue could be smaller just by 1/3rd? Maybe put it near the Untamed Continent? (For bloody fun! We can see the Frequesue dudes kill savages and stuff.)

This, plus a "centered" Shepistan OD + MESSamerica would balance the map perfectly, IMO. I think (just me) it would look nicer and more evenly distributed.


EDIT:

Langley:

Maybe you can take slight liberties with your OOB. Just something slight and not too drastic.

[PeZook]

That's left, Shroomy

I'll wait for Marina and Lonestar's opinion before I fiddle with New Continent's placement on the map.

EDIT: Oh, and Frequesqe is less than 2500 kilometers from the Untamed Continent. Remember, the world is round, Mr. Comes-from-a-seafaring-nation