SDNW5 Discussion Thread I

[KhorneFlakes]

I've been watching. Trying to pick together a nation description post and a prologue, but schoolwork has been slowing me down.

[Simon_Jester]

OK then, KF, remembering what happened to you in SDNW4, I've got some... advice.

[modhat on]

Triage time. Put only the crudest, most basic, necessary information into the nation description post. Skip the prologue entirely unless it's vitally necessary. Just get yourself out there, and do something in Story Thread that get's people's attention and makes you look cool.

A man can only write so many hundreds of words a day. Concentrate yours on action, not lengthy descriptive passages you'll never use and that matter only to someone who's already decided your nation is cool and interesting.

[modhat off]

[Esquire]

Hey Simon - are you familiar with the TV show "Better Off Ted"? I think some of it might be ripe for relabeling as Umerian SCIENCE! projects.

[Simon_Jester]

I know nothing of this show. Feel free to suggest things.

[Esquire]

It's sitcomish - the adventures of a research director at a fantastically amoral multinational. The company labs churn out things like cancerous toupees, biocomputers with bowel problems, and the dreaded octochicken. It seemed appropriately mad and scientific.

[Simon_Jester]

Just remember that mad science is a relatively small arm of Umerian society. Internally the Technocracy is well policed and research ethics are observed consistently.

On the other hand, the Technocracy sheds renegades, dissidents, and men whose GENIUS was not APPRECIATED by the MORAL BUFFOONERY of the Technarchs like... I don't know, like a Bastian in a heat wave?

The latest instance was the one with the attack noodles. No one likes to talk about it, but at least a dozen senior researchers were sent into permanent exile over it, and dozens more wound up in the doghouse.

[Simon_Jester]

Good, good, Darkevilme. Do you think you could clean up the formatting a little? The lack of whitespace between paragraphs is a bit... um.

Also, I'm a bit twitchy about the grammar, although that's not such an issue.

Still, it's good- it just... kind of gets in the way of my appreciation of what's going on. Although I did gather that you're pitching this iteration of the Chamarrans as a bit more supersoldier-ized than the last...




EDIT: Aaaaand robo-Spartans. And rebels with a truly unreasonable number of bazookas. Gotta love those Space RPGs.

[Karmic Knight]

OK then, KF, remembering what happened to you in SDNW4, I've got some... advice.

[modhat on]

Triage time. Put only the crudest, most basic, necessary information into the nation description post. Skip the prologue entirely unless it's vitally necessary. Just get yourself out there, and do something in Story Thread that get's people's attention and makes you look cool.

A man can only write so many hundreds of words a day. Concentrate yours on action, not lengthy descriptive passages you'll never use and that matter only to someone who's already decided your nation is cool and interesting.

[modhat off]

Along these lines, I've posted what will be the eventual pretty OOB for The Commonwealth, meant to get across that odds are, no single person actually knows the armed power of the nation. That being said, now that I've introduced Cret Basto, I'm going to work on a Millennial party story post to kick off my actual story posting. Oh, and the continuing adventures of Marcus Aurelius and Mike.

[Darkevilme]

Tried to fix post, glad you liked it Simon. And yes we're aiming a little more super soldier, Chamarrans continued the genetic engineering project after the accident. I should probably keep a list of biotech improvements they have as part of the genome lest we lose track and end up going overboard.

And, kitties smell a potential for a proxy war.

edit:

Also I wonder whether the Hellenic mechs always had forcefields or they reverse engineered mech shields from the many downed Chamarran mechs during the crusade wars.

[Simon_Jester]

Given that shields are probably ubiquitous in this setting, and (I suspect) have been for a long time, intangible force-screen protection for armored vehicles is unlikely to be a new idea.

Then again, with Hellenes you never know.

[Esquire]

Depends on the model - combat mechs have had shields since they were invented, but dueling models don't. Preserves that authentic, traditional duel-between-giant-robots feel.

[Darkevilme]

Fair enough either works. It's just if the Klavostani's are any measure of man then stealing the technological marvels of their betters (*cough*Beam technology*cough*) is in vogue for the lowly men of this particular corner of space. Then again, perhaps it is just a measure of the men of the sultanate if the Hellenics feel no need to engage in such thievery.

Everyone is lucky perhaps that the Hierarchy is too prideful to steal too many technologies from their neighbours. It saves them from tanks with shields due to the way their shield stuff works.

Chamarrans have bubble shields, which are good for infantry and mechs but for reasons I'm going to leave vague they wont work on anything with either too much ground contact or no ground contact at all. So they won't fit onto aircraft or tanks.

Chamarrans also have starship shields, which have none of the bubble shield limitations but can't be arbitrarily scaled down. This is why Chamarran dropships like in the recent post are somewhat less space hueys and somewhat more...troop carrying sky fortress.

[KlavoHunter]

Not sure if I want to use the same story of "We stealded your Beam Cannon tech", since it's only been a scant 50 years... I may say "They're something different", and then gleefully begin drawing parallel blue lines across a starfield.


Also, Simon, I have redirected the trade route between Klavostan and you, unfortunately. The Commonwealth was able to reciprocate in trade the way you were not.

[Simon_Jester]

Not sure if I want to use the same story of "We stealded your Beam Cannon tech", since it's only been a scant 50 years... I may say "They're something different", and then gleefully begin drawing parallel blue lines across a starfield.

Yeah. Different catgirls. Besides, his decision to use LoGH starships really makes more sense with some kind of axial beam weapon where you bundle the hull around a cluster of guns that run much of the ship's length. Chamarran ships don't have that design paradigm, which strongly suggests they're not using the same weapons.

Also, Simon, I have redirected the trade route between Klavostan and you, unfortunately. The Commonwealth was able to reciprocate in trade the way you were not.

I figured. Still no word from Fenreer; if you have an alternate way to get in touch with him, could you?

[KlavoHunter]

Yeah. Different catgirls. Besides, his decision to use LoGH starships really makes more sense with some kind of axial beam weapon where you bundle the hull around a cluster of guns that run much of the ship's length. Chamarran ships don't have that design paradigm, which strongly suggests they're not using the same weapons.

OK, though I don't know if I'll be going with Hard SCIENCE! Particle Cannons.

I figured. Still no word from Fenreer; if you have an alternate way to get in touch with him, could you?

Where do you want the Dwarves to go on the SDNW5 map?

doesn't matter where they go... they'll thrive anywhere. Well, that is, if I can get the time to write for them. Just my luck we started at the time we did. Might be a bit before I get into full swing.

[OmegaChief]

Interesting that the sector with rebels in it is Q23, that's pretty close to the Authority, who I'm sure are totally not behind it at all.

[Esquire]

Fair enough either works. It's just if the Klavostani's are any measure of man then stealing the technological marvels of their betters (*cough*Beam technology*cough*) is in vogue for the lowly men of this particular corner of space. Then again, perhaps it is just a measure of the men of the sultanate if the Hellenics feel no need to engage in such thievery.

I see what you're trying to do, but it won't work, I say! The Klavostanis and the Hellenes understand who the real threat is.

[Esquire]

Oh - a word about the rebels in Q-23. They're the remnants of the regular military of the old sector government, which was an independent nation until about a decade ago. They're Hellenic, culturally speaking, but too devoted to Ares to play nice with others. They took advantage of the Chamarran invasion to stab the Confederacy in the back and got steamrolled for it; it's entirely possible that other nations in the area had ties with them before the Confederate invasion and might provide the rebels with arms. The Confederate policy is to try and prevent weapons shipments from reaching the surface of occupied planets but not ask too closely about where they came from - the last thing we need is another war.

[Simon_Jester]

Fair enough either works. It's just if the Klavostani's are any measure of man then stealing the technological marvels of their betters (*cough*Beam technology*cough*) is in vogue for the lowly men of this particular corner of space. Then again, perhaps it is just a measure of the men of the sultanate if the Hellenics feel no need to engage in such thievery.

I see what you're trying to do, but it won't work, I say! The Klavostanis and the Hellenes understand who the real threat is.

The Turk!

(Come on, the idea of three-way glaring matches is fun...)

[Skywalker_T-65]

Yeah, the three way glaring match is going to be fun. Space Greeks vs Space Turks vs Cat-Girls!

On a different note, there are two things going with my next post: One, I can get a pure Arcadian post up tomorrow if I have the time to type (wasn't able to today...getting up at 3:45 am for a college visit that lasts all day will do that to you). Two, if anyone wants to do a collaborative post with the Space Swedes or SPACE VIKINGS (or heck, Arcadia First even) just need to say it in the thread or send a PM my way (I don't get any, so it won't clog the inbox ).

(And Space Sweden Industries is totally not selling Space RPGs...remember, we sell Plasmoid Carl Gustavs! So we aren't selling anything to the Hellenic Rebels, or the totally not there Makay Remnants! )

EDIT: I'm working on not putting 'Space' in front of everything in case you can't tell...

[Shinn Langley Soryu]

Homicidal Homura strikes again!

Also, we still know nothing about the Makayan remnant or the Hellene rebel faction.

[OmegaChief]

Of all the weapons to unleash Shinn, of all the weapons, I am now terrified of the Holy Empire's biowarefare program.

[Shinn Langley Soryu]

Of all the weapons to unleash Shinn, of all the weapons, I am now terrified of the Holy Empire's biowarefare program.

Hopefully, things will never degenerate to the point where I have to use that weapon on the Bastians. The Chamarrans will be far more likely targets, though as long as the Hellenes and Klavostanis are still around, I'm not really planning on getting involved in that clusterfuck. You never know, though.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

[Darkevilme]

0.o Shinn saw Chamarrans were engaging in experiments using a sleeping eldritch entity and wanted to one up us....

Pray the kitties never find out you have a plan to unleash mindcontrol parasites to enslave them. >.> This would move you from the category of 'prospective target' to that of 'the antichrist'.

[Simon_Jester]

Given the way you set it up...

Well. D. would be within his rights to assert that it just doesn't work on Chamarrans as advertised, and does something else that is either different, less thoroughly effective, or both. I can think of several good and compelling reasons why it might not; I'll leave it as an exercise to Darkevilme what those might be.

I'd honestly be less inclined to say this if it weren't pitched as such a bizarre, horrific, yet implicitly effective strategic weapon. But it's like, oh... nanites that turn people into Tau, that sort of thing.

Now, the fact that Unit 731 is pursuing bioweapon research against the Chamarrans, that in and of itself isn't disputable- exactly how effective those weapons are and what they do really ought to fall somewhere between the wildest fantasies of the tentacle-monster-fangirl running the Haruhiist lab and "it's not working," because there's two players involved in that bit...