SDNW5 Preliminary Discussion Thread

[Panzersharkcat]

I'll run that by Akhlut, then.
EDIT: If he says no, we'll come up with some other reason. Also, I'd rather not end up with cemented power blocs before we even start, especially since I'm trying to play a neutral outside of that Cold War.

[Akhlut]

Two strong allies like that would make the Kritarchy try very hard to drive wedges between the two, somehow. Fake sabotage bombings are not out of the question, for instance.

[TimothyC]

I'm sorry that I didn't make it clear earlier - I'm up for the long three way cold war, but thinking about the timing, The GRB that hits my empire happens just as humans start expanding (the growth of humanity saves the Kryptonian's asses).

[KhorneFlakes]

Speaking of which, I am thinking of jumping on the Bastian bandwagon, because Akhlut won't let me blow up the Covenant. And turn their homeworld into cheese. Why do I want to blow them up, you ask? Simple: I do not like the Covenant or anything Haloid-related beyond Combat Evolved.

So thus because I feel like, I want to blow them up. And turn their planets into cheese.

[Simon_Jester]

...Why not jump on the little grey men bandwagon? Or some other, entirely different bandwagon? Let's not turn the game into the Grand Alliance of Panzersharkcat's Loyal Peace-loving Reliable Heavily Armed Minions Versus Everybody Else.

[Vanas]

That chaotic Bee OOB is up... I have the niggling feeling I've missed a trade route so it might get tweaked slightly later.

[Panzersharkcat]

Err. I dunno. Doing that may end up being less of Cold War and more of everybody ganging up on the Greys or forming giant power blocs sitting around a giant powder keg while waving around flamethrowers.

EDIT: Simon posted just as I was going to but I'll put it up anyway.
Clarifying edit: Outside of the three-way Cold War with the Greys, I want the Bastians to be neutral. That means no space UN. Just lots of trade routes to places and attempts to solve conflicts peacefully. Even within the Cold War I have planned, I'm trying to have an Emperor who will attempt to end it.

[Simon_Jester]

Hmm.

KhorneFlakes, why don't you and Feralgnoll play off each other? It sounds like the Braxians take themselves waaay too seriously to be likeable to the Screworlders.

[KhorneFlakes]

True. I believe I will play off with Feralgnoll. The moment I read about the Braxians I knew the Screworlders weren't going to like them much if they are ultra-militaristic. the Screworlders will probably play pranks on them like the Umgah. And crash ships flying bombs into their asteroids. And turn their monuments into cheese. You get the point.

Needless to say, I'll say this once: You can trust a Screworlder of either species, but always be wary of it's intentions. They'll probably play a prank on you or do something they find funny to you sooner or later.

[Simon_Jester]

By the way. While everyone's busy buddy-buddying, is there anyone who'd like to trade with the Umerians?

[Akhlut]

The Kritarchy may be interested. At least the Philosopher's Kingdom would be.

Also: while the Screworlders might want to war with the Covenant, the Hegemony would gladly assemble a merc fleet to either fight them directly or raid their home system while they're out.

And the Holy Empire probably doesn't think well of an unknown power invading a neighboring system and trying to eradicate them. Iran wasn't pleased with the USA when the latter invaded Iraq, for instance.

[Simon_Jester]

That might be a problem. The Umerians are still, after over a thousand years of UFOlogy, not entirely convinced the Kritarchy exists, and suspect the Greys of being an elaborate swamp gas manifestation.

(I'm not sure I'm being serious, but I love the idea that if the Greys refuse to acknowledge the existence and legitimacy of human polities, some of the human polities refuse right back)

[Shinn Langley Soryu]

By the way. While everyone's busy buddy-buddying, is there anyone who'd like to trade with the Umerians?

Umeria would probably be one of the few countries the Holy Empire would be willing to do trade with on a regular basis, so I might as well link up one of my unused trade routes to your country.

Despite what some people may be led to believe, the Holy Empire's main exports are not mass media-related. It kinda leans towards the Soviet Union in that much of the economy is based on exporting cheap military hardware to whoever's willing to buy. Everybody else seems to be interested only in the business of peace, so I might as well invest in the business of war.

[Scottish Ninja]

Never mind, then. After reading things more closely, the Holy Empire is expansionist. Well, as long as they don't make entrances into Bastian territory, the Bastians will probably leave them alone.

Anyway, if Scottish Ninja sees this, I ask this: do you mind if mercs hired from the Volscian Confederacy get used to fight in brushfire wars between the Grey Kritarchy and Neithian Union/Bastian Star Empire?

If they want to take your money, I couldn't possibly object - well I could, but I can't stop them. *Volsci Congress in the background: "yes take them for the love of god please"*

Anyway, I'm imagining that a good chunk of my exports would probably take the form of raw materials - those corporations doing unauthorized mining I referred to earlier; possibly also agricultural goods. (I am hereby claiming the name of the United Vegetable Company. This may also involve an onion planet.) Other exports - not sure, but something's gotta be going through Land's End. Gotta figure out some of that.

[irishmick79]

By the way. While everyone's busy buddy-buddying, is there anyone who'd like to trade with the Umerians?

Sure, why not.

[OmegaChief]

By the way. While everyone's busy buddy-buddying, is there anyone who'd like to trade with the Umerians?

I've got one last trade route to fill up myself that I can wing your way if you like Simon, perhaps involving parts from the Authorities disturbingly advanced gravity manipulation technologies.

[Rabid]

the Authorities disturbingly advanced gravity manipulation technologies.

Eh. Funny you mention that, the Stellar Nation practically run on gravity-manipulation :

All their ships, even shuttles, have artificial gravity, they move via gravitic-propulsion (built-in inertial compensator, very-high accelerations), and their military navy use gravguns (a "refinement" of their mining equipment technologies) which throw things at very high velocity toward their targets [1].

Their only real-limitation is power-generation (currently : Matter/Antimatter reactions in military vessels).


They also have some long-term projects about refining the technology, its range and... dexterity...



[1] : note it's not their only armament, or even their main one.

[Karmic Knight]

By the way. While everyone's busy buddy-buddying, is there anyone who'd like to trade with the Umerians? ;)

The Commonwealth's corporate interests would love to trade with the Umerians. The Commonwealth usually produces heavy industrial goods, and seeing the technically efficiency would be something the corporations would be hugely trying to swipe preach cultural sensitivity of.

[OmegaChief]

the Authorities disturbingly advanced gravity manipulation technologies.

Eh. Funny you mention that, the Stellar Nation practically run on gravity-manipulation

All the more reason for us to be allies and trade partners then!

[Skywalker_T-65]

Oh, and Space Sweden ships stay far away from Space Japan territory...considering our nation is the same name as one of their sectors.

With the way things are going, it may very well have been the case that some of Space Sweden's founders were exiled political dissidents from Space Japan. It'd explain quite a few things, like some of the location names and the existence of the Miyazaki Sector.

You know...that actually does work...but only some of them, unless the Empire has colonists from Earth, considering a major tenant of Arcadian faith is 'fabled homeland of Terra'. That would have to wait till we see the map though. And that also just gives me more reason to stay far away from Space Japan. They might not be happy with the exiles (if we go that route). I'm also going to assume my OOB was okay and start working on ship designs, but I won't be able to post anything till tomorrow (unless I get my laptop connected tonight, which I doubt).

EDIT: Also, the spot of 'Arcadian adversary' is still open for anyone who doesn't like Space Sweden (well, aside from the Stellar Nation and Bastian any way). Though that might wait till the map is up I suppose.

[Rabid]

As far as being an "enemy of the Stellar Nation" goes... It's hard to be their enemy, on different levels :

First you have to piss them off, which is a bit hard given how chill they are ("want to colonize this previously unclaimed sector and don't want us on the way ? No problem, just give us a month or two to get out of the way.").

There's a few ways though :

- Attack their allies without provocation and refuse to cease the conflict when they bring their own ships on the battlefield (generally met with a campaign of wiping the floor with the attacking Space Navy)
- Disrupt interstellar travel in the Hub or Ascension sector (generally met with a campaign of wiping the floor with the attacking Space Navy).
- Attacking their ships outside of your sovereign territories. See above for the results.
- Attacking one of the Holy Worlds ("Where He Saw The Light" / "Where he Was Born"), attacking the worlds of the Hub sector and/or attempting to drive out the Nation from the Ascension sector. This one is a sure way to incite a Djihad against you and get your worlds nuked to hell and back unless you do a U-turn in your policies.

And even then, as soon as you shake the white flag, they are quick to cease the hostilities, and work with you to rebuild what has been destroyed, as long as they have the assurance you're not going to act stupid again.


The Community hate war. But by the Prophet if they have to defend themselves they hold nothing back !

Don't piss-off the Stellar Nation.

[Simon_Jester]

Umeria would probably be one of the few countries the Holy Empire would be willing to do trade with on a regular basis, so I might as well link up one of my unused trade routes to your country.

Despite what some people may be led to believe, the Holy Empire's main exports are not mass media-related. It kinda leans towards the Soviet Union in that much of the economy is based on exporting cheap military hardware to whoever's willing to buy. Everybody else seems to be interested only in the business of peace, so I might as well invest in the business of war.

Hmp.

OK, remember that I worked all this out years ago; it has to do with the strengths and weaknesses of Umerian society. Umeria's main imports, aside from a few raw materials that they just burn through at preposterous rates like chrome, are cheap manufactured goods for the civilian economy. They've got a solid military-industrial complex, but (also like the USSR, though in a different way) the Ministry of Production isn't good at calibrating the industrial system to provide consumer luxuries. That's partly intentional, but it creates a supply/demand pattern that's just impossible to resist. Ask Aklhut about what kind of exports go to the Umerian fringe worlds...

Conversely, Umeria mostly exports stuff at the high and low ends of the economic scale: raw materials, but also wacky stuff like high-end machine tools (need a drill that can bore hulls in your new impervium tank armor, for the factory?), precision tooled particle beam weaponry (the Umerians may not lead the galaxy in any other form of technology, despite all the mad science, but by GOD they know their particle beam cannons), and advanced Artificial Stupidity expert systems. Things like that.

There's plenty of high technology, but less low technology than you'd find in a state that didn't have a command economy.

[Esquire]

Speaking of which - any interest in a storyline where some Umerian engineers are hired to help improve Hellenic weapons technology? Could be fun to watch SCIENCE!!! interact with outright rejection of the scientific method.

[Force Lord]

Hey Shinn, how 'bout the HR gets to have good relations with the Centrality? Well, as good as an isolationist empire can permit.

[Simon_Jester]

My god! The Centrum-Spacetokyo Axis! It makes SO MUCH SENSE!

(Seriously, the Centrality always reminded me of fascist Italy- it's calmer and less brutal than outright Nazi-style totalitarianism, and the Italians shared that overtone of bungling haplessness that makes the Centrality so fun)


And, Esquire, Umerian scientists range from fairly staid, normal researchers, through flamboyant "think big" dreamers like Nick Christofilos (taken from a real person of the same name, who was a key mover behind the time the US did a nuclear test just to see what would happen if you nuked the upper ionosphere, and accidentally EMPed Honolulu), up through outright lunatics like Doctor von Murderstein.

So the possibilities are nigh-endless.