STGOD 2020 Concept/Planning Thread

[Rogue 9]

Well we've kicked around ideas for a week now, so time to make it official. I believe the plan is to run a space-based STGOD. We need to hammer out the rules and get nation concepts going.

There have been a couple of proposals for the ruleset. The one I'm most familiar with is the rules from STGOD 2k8, found on the Imperial Wiki. (Note: Using the Wiki for STGOD rules documents was a brilliant idea and we should probably do it more; it's a lot easier to reference.) Crossroads, Inc. has drawn up this document, which draws heavily on the 2k8 rules but going into a lot more detail.

Of course, these are always community collaborations, so if anyone wants to suggest modifications, alternatives, or start hammering out something completely new, we can do that.

We should also work up the setting background. We probably don't want to retread 2k8 with the fallen Empire, etc, but some sort of setting background helps keep the game coherent.

[Crossroads Inc.]

So yeah lets get this ball rolling I'd agree with.
For anyone that takes a look at the Doc Rogue posted of mine. It is a bit more complicated than what we normally use, but may add in a number of interesting mechanics that could potentially be a great deal of "FUN"

That aside...

In terms of hashing out a concept and setting, well our options are usually "generic galaxy with empires starting to expand" or "Pre-built backstory galaxy with a unified plot" like the "Fallen Imperial" STGOD we had, god, we put soooo much back story into an empire that had long since toppled by the time we finished.

[Rogue 9]

I don't know that going much more complex than 2k8 is a good idea, to be honest. I like those rules, but by the time you shovel much more than that onto the system, you've made a great big document that people aren't going to want to reference all of the time.

I don't think we should (or can) use either of those suggestions as written, to be honest. While I like 2k8, there are things that need to be addressed - to start with, it's inconsistent as to whether the throw weight of a fleet is 10% or 20% of its base value (which we go with, or another value entirely, depends on how lethal we want combat to be), and it's unclear whether Stealth Rating is compared to the total of the opposing fleet's C3 or to the highest enemy C3 present.

If we do want to go the route of the pre-built backstory, a Backstory thread like 2k8 had where we took turns copy-pasting the previous background and adding on details to accommodate our nations' existences worked well.

[Crossroads Inc.]

Yeah.... I agree
I mean i would.. at SOME POINT love to have a game here to "Beta-Test" it... but this isn't really that time, especially if we are trying to revive things... For this one, simpler is better.

And yes also, once we have enough people who have an idea of what they want to do, a "Back story-Story Thread" is a good idea. Mostly gives a place for people to do posts just about their own empires history, maybe some introduction of characters and key people to introduce into the world.

[Rogue 9]

We'll also need to nominate moderators. TimothyC already volunteered. Anyone else? Nothing wrong with modding and playing, though he isn't.

[Crossroads Inc.]

I may step in to co mod, I am thinking of taking a low key role in the game in any case, i want to participate, but not sure I can be a "big player" in terms of activity. so taking a mod role and playing the Empire here and there may work best

[Rogue 9]

RE: copy/pasting and adding to the timeline, that came about later in the planning thread. This is the process I referred to. Of course, we can just go with the poorly defined galaxy with empires just starting to expand, too.

[Eternal_Freedom]

I say go with the poorly defined galaxy where empires are expanding. Perhaps a few, extinct "Precursor" civilisations who left random shit behind to help spice things up.

For instance, the planned backstory to my faction does feature another species, but they aren't around anymore because we killed them.

[Crossroads Inc.]

"Precursors who left shit behind" is always a good plot device to go with for spicing things up.

My own Sectors backstory has a "somewhat" Precursor group in the guise of a Super powerful race from outside the Galaxy, their civilization was doomed, built Ark-ship... came to this one.. And meddling in the races of my Sector, partly as a means of a grand plan.... And partly out of boredom

[Eternal_Freedom]

"Precursors who left shit behind" is always a good plot device to go with for spicing things up.

My own Sectors backstory has a "somewhat" Precursor group in the guise of a Super powerful race from outside the Galaxy, their civilization was doomed, built Ark-ship... came to this one.. And meddling in the races of my Sector, partly as a means of a grand plan.... And partly out of boredom

That sounds rather reminiscent of the Progenitors from Homeworld, and their massive intergalactic ship that broke up in the Karos Graveyard.

[Rogue 9]

As I recall, the genesis behind the recently fallen Empire in 2k8 was a desire for Earth not to wind up in the hands of a player. (In the 2004 game, Straha had possession of Earth as somehow taken over by Monaco, which was hilarious in itself. )

[Crossroads Inc.]

That sounds rather reminiscent of the Progenitors from Homeworld, and their massive intergalactic ship that broke up in the Karos Graveyard.

Similar, though I had come up with my concept long before I played Homeworld back in the day.
I was always annoyed any the idea of some "Super Advanced Ancient Civilization" that had conveniently died off, usually for reasons of plot. I wanted to have a Super advanced civilization still around, though, only "mostly" dead. My Peeps [The Skothians] are a bit like a Gandalf.
Very powerful, guiding the younger races, but only around here and there, sometime vanishing for decades only to come back in some moment of need. Probably more similar to the "First Ones" from B5... though less sinister

[Rogue 9]

Well, if you've played a space STGOD with me before, you know my general concept: Early human colonization fleet (sometimes STL, sometimes FTL, depending on the needs of the setting, but usually STL) settles on inhabitable worlds in and around a nebular cluster, and integrate with some of the local aliens but not others (which I will submit to the moderators as a minination or two). Form of government will be a parliamentary democracy with elected head of state, foreign policy will be trade friendly, anti-pirate, and very much speak softly and carry a big stick. "Trade friendly" will remain true whether or not we have mechanical benefits to trade in the rules. They'll be very much Monroe Doctrine-esque in their approach to the smaller NPC power/s in their vicinity; if they won't join the Republic, they're not getting conquered by anyone else either.

[Rogue 9]

Anyway, rules proposals (which we need to hammer out before anyone can write an ORBAT).

I say we take for the most part the STGOD handbook rules on the Imperial Wiki (linked in the first post) with the following alterations:

1.) Clarify that fleet throw weight = 20% of basic cost and 20% of O (the wiki consistently says 20% of base weight, but alternates between 20% and 10% of O, the latter of which combined with O's dependence on C3 to get its special abilities makes it potentially not worth it).

2.) Since Stealth creates a rating that's specific to the individual ship, clarify that it is compared to the highest enemy C3 present, with the caveat that a total opposing fleet C3 greater than the ship's S rating will permit the opposing fleet to triangulate sensor ghosts and eventually locate the stealth ship. (This is how we eventually wound up playing these rules by player consensus in the 2008 games, and seems a necessary compromise considering how easy it is to get an S rating of 11 or higher, and how easy it is to get total fleet C3 into the 30s without too much trouble.) Perfect cloak does not exist; if a stealth ship is triangulated and enemy vessels get close enough, it can be spotted on short range sensors.

3.) Clarify whether or not O merely ceases to be targetable by the attacker without a C3 advantage or becomes unusable altogether; the wording is unclear on that. (I favor the former, with the addition of losing its inability to be soaked by D without a C3 advantage, simply being added to general throw weight.)

The floor is of course open to other suggestions; I'm just getting the ball rolling.

[Lonestar]

scratches chin

shall..the Grand Dominion ride again?

[Crossroads Inc.]

I have a question...

What do people feel about "Plot Device Ships"
IE, for purposes of plot, or ones own backstory, there is some unfathomably powerful race/ship in far off mysterious reaches. Within ones own story it may interact, again for plot device reasons... But would not take direction action in the game itself...

I ask because, well I would rather not spend, say 1000 points of my OWN points making some "God ship" that wouldn't have much of a real purpose.

[Rogue 9]

Like... How do you mean? If you aren't paying points for it, it shouldn't help you.

[Crossroads Inc.]

Well yeah, it wouldn't.
I guess its hard to put into words, other than maybe using a B5 reference...
Like, If one of us were doing a B5 civ, and had "The First Ones" interacting with us for plot reasons. Well their ships are super duper powerful, and would exist in the game, but wouldn't exactly ever be "used" in the game. Does that make sense ?

[Rogue 9]

Ah. Then I don't see why not, but keep in mind you're giving the moderators a tool.

[Crossroads Inc.]

oh yeah that's right, lol.

But yeah, I touched on it earlier, by my area would basically have a "First Ones" type race, kicking around in an 8KM Long "Ark Ship" that would be on par, power wise, with a Imperial Star Dreadnought. It is meant purely as a symbol along the lines of:
"This race you do not fuck with and do not upset or they will squash you."

It may show up here and there, making various cryptic statements and vague messages... But would never involve itself in any sort of combat that could effect the game.

[VX-145]

Are signups open for this? I have some vague ideas for a polity, and it's been a good decade and a half since I was involved in any sort of forums RP.

Which is kind of sobering to think about, to be honest...

[Crossroads Inc.]

I'd say your ok since we are all still very much in the planning stages at this point.
Also would love to have fresh faces for a game like this, since so much of us are old guard players.

[Rogue 9]

Are signups open for this? I have some vague ideas for a polity, and it's been a good decade and a half since I was involved in any sort of forums RP.

Which is kind of sobering to think about, to be honest...

Absolutely! The more the merrier.

[VX-145]

That's good I think I can make the idea I had work in most galactic settings, but I'm happy to try and contribute to setting backstory as and when I can.

The brief outline of my idea: an STL colony effort (from Earth, if applicable - if not, then generic human) that went horribly wrong, stranded in a region of space with no habitable planets. They're entirely habitat-based, and probably a direct democracy/sort-of-Anarchist society with a relatively low population. There's some ideas there that can tie into other backstories (why did things go wrong? who did they find out about first? etc etc) but it can also be a standalone thing. There's some details to hash out, of course, but those can wait.

I'm not too confident in my ability to tell what makes a good rule-set (or rather, I've confidence that I'm not good at that) so I'll leave ruleschat to people who are.

[Rogue 9]

Sounds kind of like Thirdfain's Floaters, as I recall them. It's certainly a concept that works.