SDN Worlds 4 Commentary Thread V

[Simon_Jester]

Uh, Zor?

I hate to disappoint you, but Verio just ordered your guys to pull escort duty for the immobilized Centralist capital ships. Mostly because he's trying to maximize the number of cruiser-weight units he can throw at the Boskonians, and you guys only brought along one capital-grade carrier and two cruiser-sized ships, along with those 50-pt superfrigates. Verio may be underestimating those superfrigates because they're relatively light compared to the ships the Centralists use as the decisive striking arm- I wouldn't be surprised if that was a common doctrinal flaw for the Centralists when looking at the Atlantean navy.

His other motive for picking you guys to take the place of his own screening formation is that he trusts your squadron commander not to randomly betray him, while he finds mongoosoid Eoghans shifty and creepy.

It's entirely possible that you'll be attacked- say, if the Kavoolite warp-strafers come back. And it's totally logical for you guys to be preparing your weapons and small craft for battle. But there's no reason to expect that you'll be attacked.
_________

Out of character, part of my problem is that I simply couldn't imagine the bad guys here scraping together a large enough force to offer everyone enough kills to go around, given the sheer size of the fleet some of the bigger players sent along. Even after systematically neutralizing most of the Coalition's heavy capital ship advantage, I had to leave someone behind, and it came down to either an anticlimactic end to the campaign for my Centralist characters, or one of the smaller multinational contingents getting left out.

If it's any consolation, I have you pencilled in for a major role in the post-Zebes cleanup, though I don't plan to write those battles in any comprehensive way.

And there's always the pirates in H-6 for you to thump on.

[Force Lord]

Still editing my last posts. Meanwhile I'll probably end my involvement in the C-6 fracas.

[Shroom Man 777]

Hah, the Lost try to get the help of the greatest diplomat in Wild Space - an expert in Solarian-Bragulan relations no less.

And hooray for new map update!

[Shinn Langley Soryu]

One problem: All the inhabitable systems in Sector O-25 are already claimed by the Belkan Empire. I suppose I could displace a few planets to make room for the Anglian protectorates if Steve really wants to press the issue further, though. Either that or the protectorates can be shifted over to Sector N-25 instead and the Belkan Empire gets to keep its territories the way they are.

We really need to start marking all the other minor nations out on the map. I also need to do some actual story posts; I especially want to finish up the Soramirez storyline and get the Santo Domingo Rogues, Gallian War, and Cananaan storylines moving again, but ideas just aren't coming to me...

[Shroom Man 777]

You could respond to the Shinrans' diplomatic inquiries. Rogue wants more friends in his party. But it looks like everyone is too worried about catching geostigma.

[Simon_Jester]

I've got too many renegade moogle problems to tackle other Shinra-related issues at this time.

I will respond to Rogue, but my impression was that his messages went out well into Q4, so I'm trying rather hard to wrap up my Q3 storyline- and actually get a BEEEF post or two out before the thing slips hopelessly from collective memory.

[Steve]

Hrm... I picked O-25 because I wanted those worlds to be reasonably along a trade route, or at least fairly close to one of the hyperspace arteries of the area, and because Siege and I had considered running a continuing interaction with the Anglians dealing with the various Cevaukian cartels trying to extort tribute on threat of committing piracy. I suppose O-26 could work.

And since Jester's already introduced "Romulans" with the Kavoolites, I've decided to go ahead with my idea, and that local system is the Two Worlds of the Rihannsu (that is, Diane Duane's visualization of the Romulans). They are a willing protectorate of the Empire due to, well, as with many things in their culture, it has to do with mnhei'sahe, "the Ruling Passion", in this case a sense of obligation to the Anglians for protecting them. (And if these Belkans are anything like the ones from actual AC world, I suspect it was a Belkan invasion armada that was repulsed by the Royal Navy to create the feeling of obligation in the first place).

[Simon_Jester]

Though to be quite honest, I'd never envisioned the Kavoolites as being more than aesthetically Romulan- a source of names and imagery, but without many of the detailed physiological quirks such as copper-based blood, superhuman strength, blah blah blah.

The social context is totally different, for starters... [trails off into mumbled lecture about Heim-drive polities and neo-feudalism]

[Steve]

Not superhuman strength, just a bit over human baseline (muscle structure is thicker/stronger, perhaps?). Anyway, the fun thing about the Rihannsu as planned is that they only really need to have left a wider group in the distant past to function in a setting; most of their culture and mentality stems from the issue of their being descended from a group that, for its own reasons, chose to cut off its ties with its homeworld and find their own way in the stars.

[Simon_Jester]

Well, you can have my Kavoolite splinter culture if you agree to pick a location for that "Amazonia" protectorate you've been mentioning in chat. Deal?

[Steve]

Well, you can have my Kavoolite splinter culture if you agree to pick a location for that "Amazonia" protectorate you've been mentioning in chat. Deal?

You mean the concept I threw into consideration, amongst many, that you are now insisting I use?

[Simon_Jester]

You used all the other concepts I remember you mentioning. Why not this one?

[Shroom Man 777]

Its a coincidence that these Belkans are near the Cevaucians. Since Moby is also an Ace Combat freak. Perhaps Cevaucia should fund an anarchist organization called Worlds Without Boundaries.

[Mayabird]

LoC9,

If they're reacting that strongly to Volksland the government is going to be dragged through the streets by revolutionaries before being hung by the lampposts the moment they find out about the utter fiasco your entire pirate campaign has been. Or have you not even been paying attention?

That being said, you're going to have trouble if the orks show up, considering the heavy and humiliating losses you've been taking. Hoffman is not long for this plane of existence. Cordial already has the fruit basket picked out.

[Simon_Jester]

LoC9,

If they're reacting that strongly to Volksland the government is going to be dragged through the streets by revolutionaries before being hung by the lampposts the moment they find out about the utter fiasco your entire pirate campaign has been. Or have you not even been paying attention?

That being said, you're going to have trouble if the orks show up, considering the heavy and humiliating losses you've been taking. Hoffman is not long for this plane of existence. Cordial already has the fruit basket picked out.

All I ask is that: LoC9 not have the Prussian government collapse before the Prussian Second Fleet, or what's left of it, gets home. And that I keep creative control over the characters I set up for the Zebes storyline- particularly von Musel, Kircheis, Mittermeyer, Reuental, and the ever-popular von Mückenberger.

EDIT: Oh. And Arnold. He'll get his place in the sun, never fear.

That aside, LoC9 may be referencing the humanitarian side of Volksland- the fact that his indiscriminate planetary bombardment most likely blew up or gassed millions of people, the vast majority of whom were innocent. Prussia isn't Shepistan, so that could plausibly bring down a government; indeed, it says more about the Prussian state that it only almost led to the fall of the government, "using some bureaucrats and admirals as scapegoats."

Whereas Zebes is a straightforward military reverse, albeit a pretty big one. The planet Zebes is a fortress world with little civilian population side from Weavel's labor battalions, and as long as the fleet doesn't collapse entirely before Coalition reinforcements arrive, there won't be a large scale slaughter of ground troops on the planet below, which is what would give the whole incident the kind of megadeaths needed to provoke a really really major interstellar incident.

His political system may react more strongly to the former than to the latter. Indeed, I can imagine the Prussians "rallying round the flag" after Zebes, which might allow the government responsible for the debacle to keep office... though it would have disastrous effects on the Prussian Navy's ability to draw the right lessons and promote the right people.


I think the main effect of Zebes is that the doctrinal flaws revealed in the Prussian fleet will lead people to take their military rather less seriously. That and, of course, the fact that they sent a large fraction of their fleet out and got it thoroughly banged up, which leaves them vulnerable- the ships that survive will need extensive dockyard repairs before they can be considered fighting fit, given the sheer number of bits that Nugak and Friends have missiled, plasmaed, and macrobeamed off.

A great deal depends on when the orks attack; I assume this post takes place in Q4. By that point... well, I don't want to release a list of casualties from Zebes until I'm finished writing it. If LoC9 has a genuine storyline in mind, I'll try to wrap it up as quickly as I can, so that he won't have it hanging over his head.

[Lord_Of_Change 9]

I was definitely referring to the humanitarian side of the Volksland incident. I am currently planning a 'bitter war with the Orks storyline', with a side of internal unrest. My plan is to have major attacks begin in a couple in-game months, with smaller attacks beforehand.

[Simon_Jester]

A few in-game months would take us up to the beginning of 3401, which gives me time to wrap up Zebes, so I am satisfied with this.

That said, the aftermath of Zebes will have significant implications for the Prussian military posture in late 3400 and early 3401; committing a third of your line of battle to walk into an ambush can do that sort of thing.

[Shroom Man 777]

[Footnotes:
COLON: Central Observation Logistics Operations of the Nation
ASS: Advanced Search Scouts
TURDS: Technical Undercover Reconnaissance Detachment Squads]

[Simon_Jester]

Some wonky interrogation procedures you've got there, Tanasinn.

EDIT: Also, Murca. Wow. Just... wow.

[Tanasinn]

My interrogation policies tend to operate on the principle that you can use technology or ESPers to get information, but this can possibly damage the information in the process. Obviously I don't expect other players to abide by this, but it's the state of interrogation in the Union. Softer ESPer procedures are ineffective (because the target's an ESPer).

Insofar as the DII is concerned, building a rapport with a prisoner is still the preferred technique, but in this case, it wasn't going to take. So they went with their other preferred techniques - isolation, paranoia-building, and of course lying/stagecraft.

(It occurs to me the DII could have saved time by offering him a chance to switch sides, but let's assume the DII went with the...less friendly method to ensure he was entirely forthcoming. )

As for who the foreign investors in domestic chaos in the Humanist Union are, if anyone wants to step up, that'd be cool.

[fgalkin]

Eh, just don't let them sleep for a week while planting some gentle mental suggestions in their hallucinating mind and they'll tell you everything in no time.

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

[Steve]

The "Murca" thing is laying it on a bit thick, isn't it?

[Shroom Man 777]

As thick as a serving of Big Mac and FREEDOM FRIES!

Don't worry, it has happy ending!

Heck, for a lot of people, Murca IS a happy ending! Of Freedom!

[PeZook]

Thick? But Murca is the perfect nation in a galaxy full of dirty socialists!

[Shroom Man 777]

Worst. Bodyguards. Ever.