SDNW5 Preliminary Discussion Thread

[Skywalker_T-65]

WOW...again I miss a whole lot of stuff. Darn it though, I don't have time to reply to everything that we have been discussing. That being said...what I can reply too:

1. Clarification: Arcadia may be Space Sweden, but that doesn't mean we are going to be insular and not talk to anyone. Just not make a whole bunch of allies/trade routes.

2. Micro/Macronation for Crossroads: I have no problem with it being a mid sized nation. And assuming the map goes this way, you could have a trade route with Arcadia. New nation means it won't be a threat to our power, so we're perfectly fine with having you trade with us (I'll just have to edit my prologue post). Somewhat naturally though, I don't want my nation to be too far from everyone else though.

3. Map: I won't be online later today, but if we have it up on Sunday/Monday I can look at it.

4. Date: 3300 is fine by me.

(out of time...more later)

[Crossroads Inc.]

I won't have many points, so I am looking at two trade route tops. I am working on a prologue post that will lay out sending out "Embassy ships" to establish trade routes with near by nations. Of course at this point I don't know who that may be, though there are a few people I would LIKE to make early contact with

And since it seems a "medium" nation is ok, I can go forward with my OOB plans knowing now what I have to work with.
I am also putting 1000 points aside for the Skothians "Ark Ship"
Hopefully I won't ever NEED to spend those points in story, but I'll put them there just in case.

EDIT: ok VERY ROUGH layout of my ships, would like someone to check math as well as my pts for the ships, again to see if they seem too big or too small compared to others.:
========================


Battleship = 250
Cruiser = 150
Destroyer = 100
Corvetter = 50

Star Fleets
Homeworld Defense Force x2 (2050 total) 4100
Battleship x 1
Cruiser x 2
Destroyer x 6
Corvette x 18

Exploratory Defense Force x 9 (950 total) 9500
Cruisers x 1
Destroyers x 4
Corvettes x 8

Planetary Defense Force x 6 (400 total) 2400
Destroyer x 2
Corvette x 4


1000 reserved for ArkShip
1000 Yet to be decided.

Total Ship Numbers
2 x BB 250pt 'Edselon' Battleship
11 x BC 150 'Tuckra' Cruiser
60 x CA 100pt 'Winebego' Destroyer
132 x DD 50pt 'Durendal' Corvette

[Panzersharkcat]

I think I have one left. I mentioned it earlier to ECR, I think, but I don't think he took me up on it.

[Darkevilme]

The Hierarchy also has a spare trade route unassigned.

[Imperial528]

I have a trade route open as well.

[Crossroads Inc.]

'll be happy to trade with any of you, especially the Chams as I always seem to fall in with them during one of these
Still restricted by trying to figure out the map as it where.
That is at least something I can start up discussion on. Where ever everyone ELSE may end up, I know EXACTLY where I will be, at least assuming this is the "normal" Milky Way we are playing in.
Basically, my Sector is about 50LY from THIS Star in the Sagittarius cluster.

[OmegaChief]

I don't think we're going for an astronomically accurate map Crossroads, so don't worry too much about that.

[Simon_Jester]

My attitude towards use of 'real Milky Way' stuff is that I'm militantly indifferent to it. I may do so myself because I'm a compulsive calculator, but as a matter of mod policy I officially Do Not Care.

I intend the map to represent a slice taken from the galactic plane, in an area roughly 2000-3000 light years across (consistent with both the size of the map in sectors and the nominal speed of hyperspace travel), with "coreward," "rimward," and "spinward" directions corresponding to some kind of up/down/right/left coordinates on the map. The only reason for that is so that there's a vague resemblance between the map and some justifiable astronomical feature (a chunk of our own spiral arm), and so that we can talk in-character about directions on the map without resorting to deliberate silliness like "galactic west."

Deliberate silliness is permissible, and I definitely have one group of characters who will happily and constantly talk about "galactic west" or the constellation of Ursa Major in a location countless light-years from any of the stars that make up that constellation in Earth's frame of reference.

[takes modhat firmly off, hangs it on a peg]

Basically, my Sector is about 50LY from THIS Star in the Sagittarius cluster.

At hyperdrive speeds that's too close to Sol, you'd have been 'discovered' some time in the early hyperspace era and your species' stories would have been (one way or another) integrated into the human diaspora long ago.

[Beowulf]

I intend to utilize the following descriptors for directions: coreward, rimward, spinward, widdershins, north and south. North and south are out of the plane of the map, and assuming coreward is to the top of the map, and spinward to the right, north is coming towards the viewer. Incidentally, you could easily refer to west and east on the map to refer to widdershins and spinward, and have it make sense.

[Simon_Jester]

Actually, if coreward is "up" on the map and spinward is "right," then as you stare at the map, north is away from the viewer.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... 008-10.svg

As you see, when viewed from galactic north... yeah.

Honestly, I messed that one up in SDNW4. As a player, before anyone had even said the first thing about me being a mod, I arbitrarily started saying "coreward" to describe 'up' on the map, and "spinward" to describe 'right.' That was mostly because I thought "Spinward Expanse" as a name for my quadrant of the map was a cooler name than "Antispinward Expanse." Only later did I realize that it meant a viewer looking at the map would be seeing it from Galactic South.

The reason I used "antispinward" and not "widdershins?" Quite simple. I was a Star Control 2 fan before I was a Pratchett fan.

Anyway.

If people don't mind the idea that the map is being viewed from galactic south, we can use the SDNW4 directions. If not, we'll need to reverse the direction of "spinward." This is very easy to do before anyone actually gets round to drawing a map, and I'm too busy with tax calculations today to take the time.

[Imperial528]

While we're on the topic of the map, just exactly how large is a sector?

[Simon_Jester]

The current answer is "less than but not much less than 100 light years across."

Unless people want to change that, which is OK.

[Akhlut]

I will say now that I'm rather happy I included Scumdogia in my nation. It allows for all sorts of potential narrative adventures.

[Beowulf]

Actually, if coreward is "up" on the map and spinward is "right," then as you stare at the map, north is away from the viewer.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... 008-10.svg

As you see, when viewed from galactic north... yeah.

Honestly, I messed that one up in SDNW4. As a player, before anyone had even said the first thing about me being a mod, I arbitrarily started saying "coreward" to describe 'up' on the map, and "spinward" to describe 'right.' That was mostly because I thought "Spinward Expanse" as a name for my quadrant of the map was a cooler name than "Antispinward Expanse." Only later did I realize that it meant a viewer looking at the map would be seeing it from Galactic South.

The reason I used "antispinward" and not "widdershins?" Quite simple. I was a Star Control 2 fan before I was a Pratchett fan.

Anyway.

If people don't mind the idea that the map is being viewed from galactic south, we can use the SDNW4 directions. If not, we'll need to reverse the direction of "spinward." This is very easy to do before anyone actually gets round to drawing a map, and I'm too busy with tax calculations today to take the time.

I'm fairly certain that you're looking at the map wrong. drawing a mental box around sol, you'll see that coreward is down, and spinward is right, which implies we're looking at the galaxy from the south pole. More explicitly, North is defined as being the direction from which you view a rotating body, and see it rotating counter clockwise. The little orbit of Sol is going clockwise.

[Simon_Jester]

Are you sure about that definition of "north?" I really have no idea how the astronomers do it.

Because then we have this:

http://messier.seds.org/more/mw.html

"Considering the sense of rotation, the Galaxy, at the Sun's position, is rotating toward the direction of Right Ascension 21:12.0, Declination +48:19. This shows that it rotates "backward" in the Galactic coordinate system, i.e. the Galactic North Pole is actually a physical South Pole with respect to galactic rotation (defined by the direction of the angular momentum vector)."

I am so confused.


EDIT:

Also...

Well, shit.

This act of heavy-metal and Browncoat terrorism will not go unanswered!

[Darkevilme]

It was made a while back. But I've only had the 3dness in me recently. So I take Simon's statement that one must ignore all forms of physics in order to have a spacecraft that can be termed a space trireme. And I reject it entirely.
http://i440.photobucket.com/albums/qq12 ... llenic.png

[Simon_Jester]

[Ship is approached in a takeover attempt by a hero-band of bombdiscus-throwing myrmidons, singing joyously]

"In the Nautikon, you can cruise the stars with ease!
In the Nautikon, yes, you can slay seven harpies!
In the Nautikon, come on now people, make a stand.
In the Nautikon, can't you see we need a hand.
In the Nautikon, come on, protect the motherland.
In the Nautikon, come on and join your fellow man.
In the Nautikon, come on, people, and make a stand.
In the Nautikon, in the Nautikon.
They want you! They want you! They want you as a new helot!"

[Crossroads Inc.]

THAT Picture, mixed with THAT Song... You two have set the current bar for AWESOME in this game ;D
EDIT: speaking of pics...

For anyone that wondered what the mysterious "ArkShip" looks like...

[Skywalker_T-65]

Man...sucks to be Simon. Loosing a battleship to them? Ouch...just ouch...

Incidentally, I don't particularly care how we look at directions on the map. I purposely didn't use any actual star names to avoid that eventuality. Also, for a medium nation, your ships do work Crossroads. They aren't a match for a larger nations ships (your BB equals my BC (battlecruiser). But that is an image you would want to go for...if your ships are the size of a major nations ships then something is wrong with your people...why would they need a 700 point supership after all? (note, I don't count the Ark Ship in that).

Also got my second prologue post up now if anyone cares to read it.

[Simon_Jester]

That was a Tornado-class battlecruiser. 175 points. About 150 after the Space Security Force and the Scumdogian technicians are both done with it.

Also, I imagine the terrorists will be rounded up quickly. Their PR angle could use... a little work.

[Skywalker_T-65]

Oh, battlecruiser. Shows I need to read more carefully. Still, not something you want random space pirates stealing.

[Simon_Jester]

Definitely not.

At the moment, all my dreadnoughts are named after either mythological titans (the Titan-class) or some kind of historical heavy line combatant (the Myrmidon-class).

All my battlecruisers are named after weather (Tornado-class), historical explorers (Explorer-class), or distant-historical fast capital ships (Haruna-class)

Sirocco is a weather phenomenon.

[OmegaChief]

Hmmm, these terrorists of yours could proove interesting Skywalker, if they stick around for a while that is, one of my first storylines is going to be a quite popular Capellan leader off visting the major galactic stats to sample thier culutures and improve relations, which could lead to interesting things if Arcadia First try to step in.

[Skywalker_T-65]

Oh, they'll be around for awhile. Arcadia First are going to be the main antagonist in my storyline unless another Nation steps in. Which could also happen if AF gets adventurous and launches attacks on other nations (they've proved that they can get old ships to use...speaking of which, the Oscar class is 25 points, but none are in service, hence them not being in my OOB).

[OmegaChief]

They could also be used to trigger some intereting conflict between players, which was what I was thinking we might be able to pull off.