Starlife
de la terre à la lune
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2010
- Messages
- 1,498
Hello all. I am making this thread a "Survey", because I find comments more useful than voting (which can be done by any and all lurkers).
There are roughly five options, though I am open to suggestions. I feel I could get into modding any of these five projects. The goal here is to not suggest stuff that you believe I might be completely uninterested in modding myself. Longevity of the NES is my goal.
Some of these options are more developed than others. The options are the following, in no particular order:
I. Legacy of Urth
II. Real-world "biopunk"
III. The Underdark
IV. Fictional Colonization
V. Lords and Lands
I. Legacy of Urth / science-fiction / fantasy
(loosely based on The Book of the New Sun)
Thousands of years ago, man created an empire throughout the galaxy, driven by thinking machines and android sailors. These machines eventually branched off into a cornucopia of biological races, humanity being their framework. Eventually, the dichotomy of cold, hard logic and human emotion erupts into an epic struggle, which consumes humanity's empire. The last emperor of humanity eventually leads an exodus to the backwater planet of Urth, where he constructs a palace. When the emperor dies, and humans are practically outlawed from using the "magical" technology of the thinking machines / neo-races derived from human constructs, those who followed the last emperor enter a period of great chaos. A thousand years later, the Autarch emerges, forging a Commonwealth from the old palace of the emperor, and bringing Urth into a "new era". Yet this era is anything but golden, for the sun is slowly dimming and the planet is overrun with fantastic dangers, such as mutants, "aliens", cyborgs, and other aberrations.
Players would take control of a state within the Commonwealth, from player-created cultures, where they would be presented with a variety of challenges and possible goals. This would essentially be a fresh-start NES, taking place after the period of chaos following the death of the last emperor. The emergence of the powerful Autarch will be the centerpiece of the NES, but how your peoples deal with it is up to you -- do you remain nomadic, or settle -- and what kind of cultures and states will develop as a result?
Resources are slim from a general stripping of Urth long ago, and technology will be scattered around. There would be reworking of used metals and fantastic machines -- so hard to say what "age" this NES would be in. Think of the iron age though, with swords and other blades mostly, with a lot of strange ruins and lost techs lying beneath the dirt (though none of them usable). A mix of fantasy and science-fiction and traditional fresh-start properties. The moon will be green, and will thus emit a dulled green moonlight (green from "ancient" terraforming procedures), and Urth would be regularly visited by "foreigners", which are actually aliens or biologically-enhanced thinking machines from the long past.
Oh, and much of the land will be covered in a shroud of darkness, so you will need to explore and expand. I could go on and on, but let's leave it at this, for now.
-
II. Real-world "biopunk" / science-fiction
(loosely based on The Windup Girl) (the following is ripped from my post in the NES ideas thread)
Instead of humanity triumphing over its myriad problems, they were overcome by them. Overpopulation led to an increasing demand on food, water, and other resources. Agricultural centers were pushed to produce more, and so crops were genetically modified beyond recognition. A few major conglomerates took over most of the world's food production, many of them based out of the United States of America. These powerful organizations used famines to tout their products. For example, after one organization had a hold on the food supplies of a certain country, another conglomerate could come around, using bioterrorism to inflict rot or rust on the 'genehacked' crops -- and thus, in turn, tout their own genehacked product.
The result of the food crisis is that millions died of starvation, war, and struggle. Because more people means more food, racial and ethnic tension escalated, with many countries violently purging minorities (for example: the purging of ethnic Chinese from Malaysia, and the subsequent migration of those Chinese to Thailand -- this is just an example, I am leaving things vague, and you will soon see why). Many types of fruit we know today no longer exist. Lemons, oranges... gone. There are, of course, many exceptions in polities that have preserved a "seedbank", where old fruits and tastes may be tinkered with genetically, and once again released into the world. These are rare. Even so, all of the seeds in a seedbank are not original seeds. The majority of the world's natural genetic seed stock has been supplanted by the genetically engineered seeds. That is the food aspect. Now to energy.
Peak oil is long past. Getting from one country to another in mere hours is a thing of the past. Coal is still used in certain reserves, controlled tightly by governments. One major form of energy for some societies is the "kink-spring", manually wound energy storage devices. Because physical exertion is required to wind a spring, a variety of animals have been bioengineered to be bigger, stronger, and more resilient (example: meglodonts in Thailand). However, constant bioengineering of animals has naturally caused some to enter into the wild (example: the common house cat is just a memory; now there are large cats that can change colors like a chameleon, first created by a rich businessman for his spoiled daughter). Other societies use other forms of energy, such as wind and hydroelectric. Also leaving this vague, for a good reason! [ continue reading ] For transportation, sea routes have been largely maintained or expanded, and dirigibles are common in the skies. Thus, international trade is possible. Many types of ships travel the seas, mostly some derivative of the broad "clipper ship" or "steamship" category. Onto the environment.
Of course, coastal cities such as New Orleans are no longer habitable, while other cities have created intricate networks of dikes to prevent flooding (example: Bangkok). It is hard to say whether or not the Earth is warmer per se, so I'll avoid that issue for now (for the sake of this setting summary). I will have to create a map with some flooded areas (Immac's old NES comes to mind). Unlike my previous NESes, the map will rely on KISS principles. What is the state of... everything?
I like to rationally consider this fate of our world, instead of say that nuclear war broke out everywhere and everything is radiated and dying and there are zombies. No. That is not what I want. That isn't to say there isn't any nuclear fallout. But I don't want to make this a post-apocalyptic madhouse. I'd rather consider the effects of extreme biological tampering and overpopulation, rather than the effects of nuclear weapons / power plants. But don't rule it out altogether, obviously. Rather, I want to seriously consider the socio-political effect such events had on Earth, and go from there. I am thinking polities arranged around areas still containing a modicum of resources, and polities arranged around ideology, ethnicity, religion, and so on. For example, I don't want to do away with the Catholic Church, but I do want to do away with Italy -- and maybe morph Catholicism into something different. I don't want to do away with Buddhism, but the People's Republic of China will no longer exist. I'd like us to consider what remains, and what dies.
I am thinking nation-states that had (during our time) relied on international trade and exertion of influence are defunct and have become largely localized. I am thinking something as vague as "France" may no longer exist in such a setting, due to a variety of factors ranging from ethnic tension to starvation or a lack of proper water supply. That is where the players come in. I like how Thlayli's new NES handles things. I'd like to appoint a few exceptional NESers to take control of Earth regions and to develop/evolve interesting histories, cultures, viewpoints, polities, etc., based on the information I have given. In some respects, this is a fresh start, because I am not giving you everything to start with -- it must be created, first. And I felt no better way to create than to give a lot of that power to respectable NESers.
Of course, South America's outcome should be inherently related to North America's (this is just an example). Fine -- that is where certain regional "directors" might overlap, and I'll have to come in and mess with things. But overall, I want those regional directors to focus on coming up with events unique to their regions -- localized events, situations, and realities. After the gradual decline of oil use, mass starvation, and invasive biological engineering, societies will have become cut off from the rest of the world in many practical ways (travel, trade, etc.), as already mentioned. New solutions would be needed, which regional directors can go into more detail about. The point is, things should be semi-feudal, but re-emerging into a viable world network through a new spurt of stability.
Something I want to consider is: How did the world remain connected, if at all? What is the fate of the Internet, or advanced electronics, or nanotechnology, or the space station / space flight in general (most likely the latter is completely useless, unless an alternative source of energy was found that could drive such an immense project)? We can consider these questions, as well. [As for Internet and computing, I believe such technology will still exist, but will have problems finding enough electricity or power, and will thus be less widespread -- and, due to hackers, Internet networks would most-likely be localized and not contain sensitive information.]
-
III. The Underdark / fantasy
(loosely based on Mr. Temba's Civilization II scenario! -- half-joking, but please tell me you know what I'm talking about) + (Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth) -- but actually, this would be quite different from both of those
A massive earthquake opened the land, and through the deep cracks, entire towns were displaced. After the disaster, your entry point was nowhere to be seen -- as if you had been sucked through a portal, never to return to your green, lush world. You would begin with a single town that has fallen through the crust of the planet. Beneath the surface, an entirely foreign world has been revealed to you. Most of your people have died, and you will have to start from scratch, attempting to eke out an existence in this sunless world.
This would be a fantasy fresh-start.
-
IV. Fictional Colonization (historical fiction / fantasy)
Essentially, you control a group of settlers on a "new world", and attempt to create a successful colony or series of colonies in the name of your home country. Again, exploration and expansion.
Not much on this one, but I could flesh it out if interest is expressed.
-
V. Lords and Lands (historical fiction / fantasy)
Players would assume the role of a powerful family vying for control of a fictional empire/kingdom/throne, cutting throats, stabbing backs, marrying off daughters, signing letters, and shuttling resources in the process.
Not much on this one, too, but like option IV, I could flesh it out if a suitable amount of interest is expressed.
-
EDIT: By the way, don't feel bad for posting interest in one of the ideas not fleshed out. I wrote the ones that are a little bit fleshed out in a matter of minutes during work.
We can certainly discuss the other ideas.
There are roughly five options, though I am open to suggestions. I feel I could get into modding any of these five projects. The goal here is to not suggest stuff that you believe I might be completely uninterested in modding myself. Longevity of the NES is my goal.
Some of these options are more developed than others. The options are the following, in no particular order:
I. Legacy of Urth
II. Real-world "biopunk"
III. The Underdark
IV. Fictional Colonization
V. Lords and Lands
I. Legacy of Urth / science-fiction / fantasy
(loosely based on The Book of the New Sun)
Thousands of years ago, man created an empire throughout the galaxy, driven by thinking machines and android sailors. These machines eventually branched off into a cornucopia of biological races, humanity being their framework. Eventually, the dichotomy of cold, hard logic and human emotion erupts into an epic struggle, which consumes humanity's empire. The last emperor of humanity eventually leads an exodus to the backwater planet of Urth, where he constructs a palace. When the emperor dies, and humans are practically outlawed from using the "magical" technology of the thinking machines / neo-races derived from human constructs, those who followed the last emperor enter a period of great chaos. A thousand years later, the Autarch emerges, forging a Commonwealth from the old palace of the emperor, and bringing Urth into a "new era". Yet this era is anything but golden, for the sun is slowly dimming and the planet is overrun with fantastic dangers, such as mutants, "aliens", cyborgs, and other aberrations.
Players would take control of a state within the Commonwealth, from player-created cultures, where they would be presented with a variety of challenges and possible goals. This would essentially be a fresh-start NES, taking place after the period of chaos following the death of the last emperor. The emergence of the powerful Autarch will be the centerpiece of the NES, but how your peoples deal with it is up to you -- do you remain nomadic, or settle -- and what kind of cultures and states will develop as a result?
Resources are slim from a general stripping of Urth long ago, and technology will be scattered around. There would be reworking of used metals and fantastic machines -- so hard to say what "age" this NES would be in. Think of the iron age though, with swords and other blades mostly, with a lot of strange ruins and lost techs lying beneath the dirt (though none of them usable). A mix of fantasy and science-fiction and traditional fresh-start properties. The moon will be green, and will thus emit a dulled green moonlight (green from "ancient" terraforming procedures), and Urth would be regularly visited by "foreigners", which are actually aliens or biologically-enhanced thinking machines from the long past.
Oh, and much of the land will be covered in a shroud of darkness, so you will need to explore and expand. I could go on and on, but let's leave it at this, for now.
-
II. Real-world "biopunk" / science-fiction
(loosely based on The Windup Girl) (the following is ripped from my post in the NES ideas thread)
Instead of humanity triumphing over its myriad problems, they were overcome by them. Overpopulation led to an increasing demand on food, water, and other resources. Agricultural centers were pushed to produce more, and so crops were genetically modified beyond recognition. A few major conglomerates took over most of the world's food production, many of them based out of the United States of America. These powerful organizations used famines to tout their products. For example, after one organization had a hold on the food supplies of a certain country, another conglomerate could come around, using bioterrorism to inflict rot or rust on the 'genehacked' crops -- and thus, in turn, tout their own genehacked product.
The result of the food crisis is that millions died of starvation, war, and struggle. Because more people means more food, racial and ethnic tension escalated, with many countries violently purging minorities (for example: the purging of ethnic Chinese from Malaysia, and the subsequent migration of those Chinese to Thailand -- this is just an example, I am leaving things vague, and you will soon see why). Many types of fruit we know today no longer exist. Lemons, oranges... gone. There are, of course, many exceptions in polities that have preserved a "seedbank", where old fruits and tastes may be tinkered with genetically, and once again released into the world. These are rare. Even so, all of the seeds in a seedbank are not original seeds. The majority of the world's natural genetic seed stock has been supplanted by the genetically engineered seeds. That is the food aspect. Now to energy.
Peak oil is long past. Getting from one country to another in mere hours is a thing of the past. Coal is still used in certain reserves, controlled tightly by governments. One major form of energy for some societies is the "kink-spring", manually wound energy storage devices. Because physical exertion is required to wind a spring, a variety of animals have been bioengineered to be bigger, stronger, and more resilient (example: meglodonts in Thailand). However, constant bioengineering of animals has naturally caused some to enter into the wild (example: the common house cat is just a memory; now there are large cats that can change colors like a chameleon, first created by a rich businessman for his spoiled daughter). Other societies use other forms of energy, such as wind and hydroelectric. Also leaving this vague, for a good reason! [ continue reading ] For transportation, sea routes have been largely maintained or expanded, and dirigibles are common in the skies. Thus, international trade is possible. Many types of ships travel the seas, mostly some derivative of the broad "clipper ship" or "steamship" category. Onto the environment.
Of course, coastal cities such as New Orleans are no longer habitable, while other cities have created intricate networks of dikes to prevent flooding (example: Bangkok). It is hard to say whether or not the Earth is warmer per se, so I'll avoid that issue for now (for the sake of this setting summary). I will have to create a map with some flooded areas (Immac's old NES comes to mind). Unlike my previous NESes, the map will rely on KISS principles. What is the state of... everything?
I like to rationally consider this fate of our world, instead of say that nuclear war broke out everywhere and everything is radiated and dying and there are zombies. No. That is not what I want. That isn't to say there isn't any nuclear fallout. But I don't want to make this a post-apocalyptic madhouse. I'd rather consider the effects of extreme biological tampering and overpopulation, rather than the effects of nuclear weapons / power plants. But don't rule it out altogether, obviously. Rather, I want to seriously consider the socio-political effect such events had on Earth, and go from there. I am thinking polities arranged around areas still containing a modicum of resources, and polities arranged around ideology, ethnicity, religion, and so on. For example, I don't want to do away with the Catholic Church, but I do want to do away with Italy -- and maybe morph Catholicism into something different. I don't want to do away with Buddhism, but the People's Republic of China will no longer exist. I'd like us to consider what remains, and what dies.
I am thinking nation-states that had (during our time) relied on international trade and exertion of influence are defunct and have become largely localized. I am thinking something as vague as "France" may no longer exist in such a setting, due to a variety of factors ranging from ethnic tension to starvation or a lack of proper water supply. That is where the players come in. I like how Thlayli's new NES handles things. I'd like to appoint a few exceptional NESers to take control of Earth regions and to develop/evolve interesting histories, cultures, viewpoints, polities, etc., based on the information I have given. In some respects, this is a fresh start, because I am not giving you everything to start with -- it must be created, first. And I felt no better way to create than to give a lot of that power to respectable NESers.
Of course, South America's outcome should be inherently related to North America's (this is just an example). Fine -- that is where certain regional "directors" might overlap, and I'll have to come in and mess with things. But overall, I want those regional directors to focus on coming up with events unique to their regions -- localized events, situations, and realities. After the gradual decline of oil use, mass starvation, and invasive biological engineering, societies will have become cut off from the rest of the world in many practical ways (travel, trade, etc.), as already mentioned. New solutions would be needed, which regional directors can go into more detail about. The point is, things should be semi-feudal, but re-emerging into a viable world network through a new spurt of stability.
Something I want to consider is: How did the world remain connected, if at all? What is the fate of the Internet, or advanced electronics, or nanotechnology, or the space station / space flight in general (most likely the latter is completely useless, unless an alternative source of energy was found that could drive such an immense project)? We can consider these questions, as well. [As for Internet and computing, I believe such technology will still exist, but will have problems finding enough electricity or power, and will thus be less widespread -- and, due to hackers, Internet networks would most-likely be localized and not contain sensitive information.]
-
III. The Underdark / fantasy
(loosely based on Mr. Temba's Civilization II scenario! -- half-joking, but please tell me you know what I'm talking about) + (Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth) -- but actually, this would be quite different from both of those
A massive earthquake opened the land, and through the deep cracks, entire towns were displaced. After the disaster, your entry point was nowhere to be seen -- as if you had been sucked through a portal, never to return to your green, lush world. You would begin with a single town that has fallen through the crust of the planet. Beneath the surface, an entirely foreign world has been revealed to you. Most of your people have died, and you will have to start from scratch, attempting to eke out an existence in this sunless world.
This would be a fantasy fresh-start.
-
IV. Fictional Colonization (historical fiction / fantasy)
Essentially, you control a group of settlers on a "new world", and attempt to create a successful colony or series of colonies in the name of your home country. Again, exploration and expansion.
Not much on this one, but I could flesh it out if interest is expressed.
-
V. Lords and Lands (historical fiction / fantasy)
Players would assume the role of a powerful family vying for control of a fictional empire/kingdom/throne, cutting throats, stabbing backs, marrying off daughters, signing letters, and shuttling resources in the process.
Not much on this one, too, but like option IV, I could flesh it out if a suitable amount of interest is expressed.
-
EDIT: By the way, don't feel bad for posting interest in one of the ideas not fleshed out. I wrote the ones that are a little bit fleshed out in a matter of minutes during work.
We can certainly discuss the other ideas.
