US Civil War 2012 - Scenario Idea/Discussion

[GhostOfDisco]

Just something I'd like your advice on-

While Virtual PC is getting installed on my Mac (and later Civ II with scenarios and FW ), I'm thinking of making a scenario based on a "Red State"/"Blue State" civil war in the near future (2012 is the tenative date, as a presidential election is essential to the backstory, and 2008 seems too early). Basically, the "culture wars" continue to divide the nation, with a social conservative narrowly winning the presidential election in 2012. Outraged, the "blue states" secede from the Union and form their own country/take the country back from the "red state" people. And thus the war begins.

Some things I'd like you're advice about:

• From the most recent election terms, the "blue" states would consists of the northeast (from Penn NEward) and the West Coast states, plus maybe a few contiguous states for game balance. (Washington stays "red state," as does Maryland - though the latter might be so, perhaps, due to martial law (need a buffer b/w blue states and DC) What states in particular should I add the the "blues" to keep balance and reflect the red state/blue state divide?
• In the scenario, the US military stays loyal to the Union, so the blue state nation is supported at the beginning of the scenario by military units of foreign friends - People's Republic of China troops on the West Coast (as conservatives/Republicans are more likely to oppose the PRC - geopolitics make strange bedfellows), European Union on the East. (Of course, the Blue state player would probably have to eventually make their own units, hopefully unique ones). What do you think of that?
• A map, and where to place cities. I've tried making an "USA" map at least twice before, but I always have trouble on just where to place the cities, as the lines between states is sadly missing on the Civ II maps. My roads are probably not the same as the real US roads, though I'd like them to be. Can anyone help me on this?
• What to do about Hawaii and Alaska. This scenario will focus mainly on the continental US, so I don't want to cover a vast expanse of Canada and the Pacific (to reach the aforementioned states) if I don't have to. Any suggestions?
• Canada and Mexico. Not sure what to do about them. On one hand, I can't ignore the fact that I need to include at least some of the Mexican and Canadian landmasses on any continental US map made (otherwise, you could perform an amphibious landing on northern Maine! ). On the other hand, I don't want Canada and Mexico colonizing empty areas of the US, or sending their units deep into "Yankee" territory while officially not at war with either the Union or the Commonwealth (the name of the "blue state" secessionist civ at this time). Nor, since Canada and Mexico are populated areas, should their areas be unpopulated areas upon which the Red and the Blue duke it out. What's your advice on this topic?
• The date of the scenario. I'd like to begin the scenario with modern units in order to take advantage of the great "Modern Units" stuff done by the artists here, but they might seem obsolete by 2012. 2008 might make the units more plausible, but it might be too soon in time (it's not that many years away, and it might be obsolete by the time I finish it. I dunno.) What do you think?
• Tech trees. I've tried my hand at scenario designing in the past, and the whole thing of tech trees, of what technologies should be researched and how should it all go, has stumped me. I'm tempted not to allow any research at all, but then reviewers don't like it when there's no research, and the scenario does last 8 years, after all. (Did the armies of 1945 have the same equipment as those in 1939? I think not.) Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.
• If I have research, there will undoubtedly be new units to build. What should they be? They'd be more advanced than the current units, to be sure, but they wouldn't be interstellar starships with laser guns, either. And it seems that there exists a dearth of units between "modern" and "space level" sci-fi. Anyone want to help me on this?
• The size of the initial armies. Doing a little research, the US Army has 20 combat divisions overall (ten active, and ten National Guard). If I do 1 unit per maneuver brigade, it means the red state side has 60 land units to its name, not counting the artillery and helicopter units accompanying the divisions. (That number goes up to 69 with the addition of the Marines) And that's not including the navy and air force. What do you think? (The blue state would have the same number of combat units - albeit from the EU and China - at the beginning.)
• Every city will have at least one nominal defender, so that advances are not too fast (unless the AI moves the city defenders out of the cities). Not sure if he should be the same as the insurgent/gurrellia fighter unit (you know, those guys who spring up whenever you conquer a city.) He should be able to be defeated by a regular Army infantryman, but I'm not sure if I want him to have the infiltration skills that go with the guerrilla fighters. Any thoughts?

I look forward to your comments and appreciate your advice.

[GhostOfDisco]

So... does anybody want to discuss this scenario idea?

[techumseh]

This forum doesn't always move that fast, plus it's a lot to digest.

I'll take a stab at a couple.

1. Maps. First, I see if there's a map already made that I can use. Here's a couple of places to look:

http://www.civgaming.net/mercator/

http://apolyton.net/civ2/

If I have to make one, I take an old atlas and draw a grid over the area I want to map. Then I get a blank map in the Civ2 Map Editor of the size I want, and fill it all in with desert. Then I use glacier terrain to mark the intersection points of an equivalent grid. Then I map, square by square through the grid. Remember that the horizontal length of a "square" must be twice the length as the vertical, in order to compensate for the greater horiziontal dimension of the diamond-shaped tiles of the game.

2. Nominal defenders. How about a police unit?

[Harry Tuttle]

Re: US Civil War 2008/12 - Scenario Idea/Discussion

Wow, this is thought out.

Originally posted by GhostOfDisco

• From the most recent election terms, the "blue" states would consists of the northeast (from Penn NEward) and the West Coast states, plus maybe a few contiguous states for game balance. (Washington stays "red state," as does Maryland - though the latter might be so, perhaps, due to martial law (need a buffer b/w blue states and DC) What states in particular should I add the the "blues" to keep balance and reflect the red state/blue state divide?

• Minnesota, Michigan, maybe Wisconsin.
  
  
  

• In the scenario, the US military stays loyal to the Union, so the blue state nation is supported at the beginning of the scenario by military units of foreign friends - People's Republic of China troops on the West Coast (as conservatives/Republicans are more likely to oppose the PRC - geopolitics make strange bedfellows), European Union on the East. (Of course, the Blue state player would probably have to eventually make their own units, hopefully unique ones). What do you think of that?