Alpha Centauri Re-Imagined feeler...

[Mellian]

I have just completed re-working the fudge interactive history rules system for an Alpha Centauri game, with society/faction and action templates, and now currently in the process of creating a high resolution Chiron map on Photoshop with different layers categories for different type of maps.

Since I am doing all this, all inspired from the Poli Sci United Nations course I am taking in University, thought I put a feeler out there to possible start another Chiron Chronicles type co-operative story game, but re-imagined Alpha Centauri.

edit: Rules described in following post.


Earth, with somewhat different general events to adapt to recent real life history and real possible future situations, so goes to hell. United Nations grows a backbone at some point and quite the global authourity backed by reformed peacekeeper forces as due to the collapse of the remaining superpower and feeling the vacuum it left a long with resulting global issues to handle and 'police'. Future still looks bleak, so as an attempt to postpone the inevitable, UN leads a project to build the huge colony ship UNS Unity using the orbital and some system infrastructure in the 2050s, with the ship being completed and launch by 2060. Earth has bit of Nuclear War in the 2070s which led to the collapse of most of the worlds countries and civilization, resulting in a post-apocalypse Fallout/Wasteland/Mad Max/Jericho type world.

UNS Unity is huge, the biggest space vessel ever built and the first interstellar one, using the most advance technologies available to the United Nations a long with creating new ones. Unity few kilometers long and half a kilometer or so wide. Whole ship is heavily compartmentalized due to being built in chunks and modules, a lot of them designed to be swapped easily or jettisoned from the main keel skeleton of the ship. Apart from the front Command Section and the back Engineering/Engine Section, with the center having the 12 Colony Landing Pods, rest of the bays, modules and sections filled with small to large cargo pods filled with everything need for colonization of a new world. There is also some shuttle bays allowing unity to carry 5 Jumbo Shuttles. Also happens to be some armouries to equip entire regiment of UN peacekeepers sent a long with the colonists. Then there is enough cryo bays filled with 100 000 thousand frozen colonists in cryo sleep.

The 100 000 colonists comprises the best of the best the UN manage to recruit for this colonization, spanning from engineers, technicians, scientists, doctors, and such of all sort, including the thousands of soldiers, security, crew, and command officers. All of the swore an oath to uphold the UN Charter (which by the time of the launch in 2060, as changed somewhat in comparison to todays UN Charter) and UN Colonization mandate.

When UNS Unity arrives to the Alpha Centauri binary system (trinary if you include the distant yet close proxima), disaster is struck. It unsure what happened, but something struck the ship, causing a lot of damage. With information on hand and sense of urgency, write up as some kind of meteor impact, in reality being an ancient alien sentry defense drones. While the damage to the engines was repaired in time, still doesn't leave enough time to decelerate and to achieve proper orbit around Chiron. That and have a mutiny uprising instigated by a faction of the soldiers and security memebrs which led to complete chaos when all the cryo bays were opened, there was mad dash to get into whatever available colony landing pods, shuttles, escape and cargo pods. As Unity does gradual decaying orbit around Chiron, jettisons all the cargo/hydroponic/cryo/engineering/medical/etc bays throughout the planet after doing the same with the colony landing pods and cargo pods in set programmed and designed manner incase of such of emergency. Eventually, remains of Unity crashs onto the planet, leaving a huge hundred of kilometers gash to the surface. A century later, a study was done with help from all factions, estimated about 70-80% of the colonists manage to survive planetfall.

Chiron, while habitable, it is just barely breathable. A world of which mindworms, fungus fields, later discovered planetmind, primitive alien humanoid native race later discovered to have psionic abilities, ancient ruins of ancient alien civilization or colony attempt, ancient alien shipwreck suggesting the natives do not originate from this world, and other hidden mysteries and wonders humanity have to deal with. That coupled with the disastrous planetfall spreading groups of colonists throughout Chiron, results in many very different and unique societies/factions.

So ya, anyone interested? All stuff apart maybe the map is ready to start.

-mellian


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[Darsnan]

Originally posted by Mellian
currently in the process of creating a high resolution Chiron map on Photoshop with different layers categories for different type of maps.

Can you expand on this comment: for the different types of maps are you referring to different types of environments (such as ice/ snow or jungle/ forest), or are you referring to different texture files (such as for rainfall levels or different colors for fungus)?

Originally posted by Mellian
When UNS Unity arrives to the Alpha Centauri binary system disaster is struck. It unsure what happened, but something struck the ship, causing a lot of damage. With information on hand and sense of urgency, write up as some kind of meteor impact, in reality being an ancient alien sentry defense drones.

Maybe a mass driver on Nessus (a la Ian Douglas’s “Star Corps” where a moon is defended by an ancient mass driver. Link )? Say the mass driver on Nessus is automated to fire on any spacecraft not transmitting the correct codes, and so of course it fires on the Unity.

Originally posted by Mellian
There is also some shuttle bays allowing unity to carry 5 Jumbo Shuttles.

Why? Are you planning to develop a corresponding unit here?

Originally posted by Mellian
Also happens to be some armouries to equip entire regiment of UN peacekeepers sent a long with the colonists.

I think a better tack would be to say that there are enough supplies to explore an entire world, and then to upgrade/ diversify the units in the #UNITS section of the alphax.txt file correspondingly.

Originally posted by Mellian
primitive alien humanoid native race later discovered to have psionic abilities,

Are you planning on replacing the NL with these aliens?

Originally posted by Mellian
ancient ruins of ancient alien civilization or colony attempt, ancient alien shipwreck suggesting the natives do not originate from this world

Note that wgabrie previously did some work in this area (Link), most notably replacing the UNS Unity wreckage with an ancient abandoned alien city.

Also, as far as the ancient alien shipwreck is concerned: what landmark are you planning to replace with this?


Anyways, I think I can help out by contributing ideas/ concepts to your backstory, and helping with new faction development. I can also help significantly with updating the alphax.txt file.

I probably would not be interested in participating in a co-op type game, but would definately be interested in following how it plays out.
I am also extremely interested in your graphics mods: it does sound very interesting to me, as most of the scenarios I generate take place on other worlds, and so if I had more texture files available I could simulate this concept better.

One thing I noticed you haven’t addressed yet is the Interludes: are you planning to address this as well?

D

[Mellian]

Link that describes the rules...

http://wiki.phoenyx.net/wiki/bin/vie...ractiveHistory
http://www.niksula.cs.hut.fi/~juuso/...les/rules.html
http://wiki.phoenyx.net/wiki/bin/vie...terminantsMean
http://wiki.phoenyx.net/wiki/bin/vie...nantsMeanPart2
http://wiki.phoenyx.net/wiki/bin/vie...dra/CombatInIH

So that, is the jiff of it. Only to really about figure the initial societies/factions and their stats, background story, with a general timeline of before and after Planetfall, starting locations once the map is completed, and then after straight forward. With the actions and results, can write of story around it.

I do not have the html files at work where I created modifying and re-describing the rules to fit for Alpha Centauri type story game, but the only real difference from the links above is it is sci-fi base, added population growth determinant and rules, description on how crafts and technology base will work within Alpha Centauri context, and general 'unit costs' for the difficulty of construction/training actions.

Once I have the map done, then only thing left there determine the start locations and the starting stats/what the society starts the story game with.

-mellian

[Darsnan]

Originally posted by Mellian
Link that describes the rules...

http://wiki.phoenyx.net/wiki/bin/vie...ractiveHistory
http://www.niksula.cs.hut.fi/~juuso/...les/rules.html
http://wiki.phoenyx.net/wiki/bin/vie...terminantsMean
http://wiki.phoenyx.net/wiki/bin/vie...nantsMeanPart2
http://wiki.phoenyx.net/wiki/bin/vie...dra/CombatInIH

So that, is the jiff of it.

Ah, OK - that clarifies it better for me. Since there are a lot of people out there (like myself) who are unfamiliar with the Chiron Chronicles and the Fudge interactive history rules, then I'd suggest updating your first post with this info, so it becomes clear to people what you would like to do.
Anyways, I don't know how much help I would be in this. I can still probably contribute as far as giving ideas for the development of the backstory on Earth.

D

[Mellian]

Originally posted by Darsnan
Can you expand on this comment: for the different types of maps are you referring to different types of environments (such as ice/ snow or jungle/ forest), or are you referring to different texture files (such as for rainfall levels or different colors for fungus)?

Essentially. Layers for the different type of terrain, layer marking the fungus fields, a layer for all the bases/cities, layer for borders, layer for each landmark, and so on. With a photoshop file, can continue adding more layers to make temperature infrared type map, tides, trade routes, culture, languages, and etc. Then with the psd, can generate gif/jpeg maps of Chiron or zoom-in of particular area. When I say high resolution, I meant large enough to make a poster of the map, where each pixel equals about a single square kilometer.

Maybe a mass driver on Nessus (a la Ian Douglas’s “Star Corps” where a moon is defended by an ancient mass driver. Link )? Say the mass driver on Nessus is automated to fire on any spacecraft not transmitting the correct codes, and so of course it fires on the Unity.

Hmm, that makes more sense, and opens story possibilities later on for any faction that goes into space and setup Nessus mining bases.

Why? Are you planning to develop a corresponding unit here?

Not really, maybe some story possibilities when the remains of UNS Unity is found and explored. Can also be a boost to any faction interested in expanding into space by having remains and damage space shuttles.

I think a better tack would be to say that there are enough supplies to explore an entire world, and then to upgrade/ diversify the units in the #UNITS section of the alphax.txt file correspondingly.

Yes, a long with means to defend themselves, police the new colony, enforce the charter, and etc. I also planning to use the GURPS Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri book a long with the alphax.txt file.

Are you planning on replacing the NL with these aliens?

NL? You mean the Proginators, or the mindworms? Thinking possibly the natives being descendants of Proginators, or simply different race, and reserve the whole alien crossfire storyline for later. I just like the idea of natives to contend with, instead of just with other humans and mindworms.

Note that wgabrie previously did some work in this area (Link), most notably replacing the UNS Unity wreckage with an ancient abandoned alien city.

Also, as far as the ancient alien shipwreck is concerned: what landmark are you planning to replace with this?

Thinking of maybe keeping the UNS Unity wreckage. As for the alien shipwreck, thinking of 'The Ruins', and possibly ruins of abandoned alien city at the center with monoliths in surrounding area. Would explain the huge fields of fungus, covering the damage to the planet by the shipwreck over time which may happen with Unity wreckage, or huge reaction to the alien race who had to abandon the shipwreck and their city, reverting into stone age natives they are today with myths and legends of planet punishing them for their transgressions to the environment. Monoliths in the area, if we keep them, may be newer and built by the native predecessors in attempt to replicate the ones found elsewhere.

Anyways, I think I can help out by contributing ideas/ concepts to your backstory, and helping with new faction development. I can also help significantly with updating the alphax.txt file.

I probably would not be interested in participating in a co-op type game, but would definately be interested in following how it plays out.

What I am proposing is not a game within SMAC or SMAX, proposing co-op story using a ruleset to regulate all the authors basically.

I am also extremely interested in your graphics mods: it does sound very interesting to me, as most of the scenarios I generate take place on other worlds, and so if I had more texture files available I could simulate this concept better.

Only a recreated Chiron map in Photoshop, not graphics mod for the game.

One thing I noticed you haven’t addressed yet is the Interludes: are you planning to address this as well?

The ones you get while playing? Sure, story points of learning about the mindworms and planetmind, just may include learning about the natives and their origins, a long with the Proginators if not the same.

-mellian