Preview - NinNES III: Birth of an Empire

Right, so this is going to be the literal successor to my original NES, NinNES I: Antiquity Broken. Here.

From what I can tell, it was a decent enough game, but marred by my poor modding skills, most notably a lack of consistent updates. As expected for a first NES I suppose. I can only try to get better through more attempts, so I will continue with another game.

It's going to be set with the start 0 AD (or CE if you prefer) right in the thick of classical empires, and with a significant religious aspect. Christianity will be there, and just starting off. You may not make Jesus your king though. Sorry. However, the papal states haven't taken off yet, and that entire religion will be open to reinterpretation if you so desire.

The map will be the same Europe + Middle East one used in NinNES I, I'm not going to expand it yet, probably in the potential third game in this series I'll make it a world based one. I'll post both the map and backgrounds for each nation in a bit. I'll probably get a few up today and post them as they are done.

This is just starting development really, and thus a pre-thread (and an empty one at that), but I'm checking to gauge general interest in this era NES. Feel free to post or not. Asking questions is acceptable. I don't really expect anything yet though.

Can I be the German Empire?

One of them, sort of. There are going to be a minimum of 2, most likely 3-4 German states, not counting the West or North Germanic people. Forming the German Empire is certainly feasible.

I'm in. What happened in the Sogdiana / Bactria area? Is it viable for me lay as a nation there, and would it have the Greek influence it did in OTL?

Viable? Yes. Very little has happened there due to the failings of a great Greek conquest (will go into detail later). The people there are essentially farmers and raiders with the nearest influences being the semi-republican nation of Scythia directly to the west. The natives there are the ancestors of OTL Turkish people right now, and more or less a pure Altaic people. The only difference being that, due to Scythia, the ideas of democracy and self-government are far more pronounced in that region than most areas of the world.

Ok, cool. Do you have the timeline completely planned out or is it still in development?

Expressing interest. Is it possible to play as the pope?

justokre said:

Ok, cool. Do you have the timeline completely planned out or is it still in development?

Click to expand...

I more or less know what I want to happen in most regions, except modern-day Russia, France, England, and maybe Poland. Those are of rather secondary importance though considering how early we are. Details are in the works as I get to each nation, Italy and Greece are mostly done for example. Other nations less so.

SouthernKing said:

Expressing interest. Is it possible to play as the pope?

Click to expand...

If you want to. You won't have the power of authority he had in real life, you'll essentially be one of 5 churches that holds equal power. You will also be in a pagan-majority nation if that's the case.

Sicily

At the end of the great 2nd Trojan War, Sicily was known as "Greater Sicily" and more or less in a strong position. A major colonist within the Mediterranean, colonies up and down the Illyrian coastline and a few heading towards Iberia as well, the future was bright. However, when a brash young king took it upon himself to unite Greater and Lesser Sicily, much happened he did not expect. Massive Phoenician intervention led to many towns and cities being raided and destroyed early in the war, making their future grim. Only when the state of Alba Longa entered the war in favor of Greater Sicily did the tide change. This eventually resulted in a minor victory for Sicily proper, who united the two sicilies and also managed to demand the valuable island of Sardinia. However, in the Macedonian Phoenix War, most of their Illyrian possessions were lost, with just a few trade outposts left in the region.

Past Player Priority: Popcornlord

Alba Longa OOC: Rome

As the middle ground state between the barbarians of the north and civilized Sicilians for most of their existence, Alba Longa was the definition of a secondary power. Their existence was mostly reliant on trade between the distant Tetwan region and the east, namely their staunch allies Troy. In fact, their founder was a Trojan according to local legend. Little happened until a Venetian princess married the heir to Alba Longa, triggering what we in the modern era would refer to as a succession crisis. Veneti was easily overpowered, and the two states were permanently united into one. Once they grew in stature, they allied themselves with their southern neighbors the Sicilians and fought alongside them in both the Sicilian Unification War and the Macedonian Phoenix War. They did not however gain any land or tribute from Phoenicia, and lost some territory to Macedonia, meaning this state is marginally in decline.

Past Player Priority: More Epic Than You

Macedonia

As the most militaristic state in the world, and the creator of the greatest general this world has ever seen, you might think that Macedonia would be a giant empire. However, even the greatest general has weaknesses. Alexander the Great (OOC: Not OTL Alexander, conquered Greece and Thrace regions) forged the single strongest nation, but a coalition between exiled Greeks, Trojans, Phoenicians, and even the occasional Sicilian mercenary overpowered his son Alexander II. The end result was much land lost to Troy in particular, with Greece proper being given to his uncle Theomindyias. A couple generations passed with Macedonia being the quiet backwater it once was before a so-called Alexander V (no known relation to previous Alexanders) took control of the nation and went conquering. Rather than attacking the even more powerful Trojan nation or their now-puppet Greece, he went for Illyria, Albania, Bulgaria, etc. Alexander V referred to this war as a "Phoenix War" for it was "Macedonia rising from the ashes". More importantly, he codified the nation and civilized it's people. The end result is a primary power that is second only to Troy itself, and wields considerable influence.

Past Player Priority: christos200

Map will be up soon, as will more backgrounds.

Greece

Greece proper. The object of contention in the 2nd Trojan War, Greece had previously been annexed outright by Macedonia, by a combination of military and threats by Alexander the Great. However, after numerous factions liberated Greece during the 2nd Trojan War, Greece was something of a mystery. Troy could not simply annex the entire region, yet at the same time could not afford to let them be independent. In the end, Greece was established as an "independent" nation under Theomindyias, uncle of Alexander II. Theomindyias was weak and ineffectual, and easily gave in to Trojan demands. His heirs did the same. While there is nothing stopping Greece from breaking free of Trojan influence, the kings thus far have not even wanted to.

Troy

During the 1st Trojan war, this city-state successfully turned back wave after wave of invading Greeks. In the following years, Troy established itself as an independent entity from the crumbling Hittites, taking a full 1/3 of the Hittite Empire with them. They started off their existence striking a balance between domestic and foreign affairs, developing infrastructure and conquering new lands. They initially allied themselves with Macedonia, before questioning that policy when Greece stood united against them. They took part in the coalition war against Greece, and are the number 1 enemy of Macedonia to date. Thanks to domestic investments, this nation is still significantly stronger though.

Past Player Priority: Gem Hound

Phoenicia

The ultimate traders, Phoenicia's role in the Antiquity era was to provide a home for wealth and knowledge both, being perhaps the single most technologically gifted state during this entire time. However, it was not to last, as an alliance with Lesser Sicily drew them into a long war with most of OTL Italy, eventually resulting in the loss of one of their most valuable colonies in Sardinia. They still control the Carthage region however, as well as a few cities near Cyrenaica and Iberia to serve as friendly ports. The most intriguing news coming from Phoenicia however, are these tales of a man said to have been sent by God himself...

Past Player Priority: mythmonster2

Chersonesus

This state was based on the peninsula of Crimea. It was populated by refugees who fled the Macedonian regime in Greece. It was led by the most paranoid and cynical ruler to date. So much so in fact, that he not only had his people toil for years to build a giant wall around the island, but also dug a canal straight through the isthmus, turning Crimea into an island. As this former Greek general was not satisfied, he engineered the anti-Greece coalition during the 2nd Trojan War, and managed to take much of the Black Sea's coastline for his nation before his death.

Previous Player Priority: Lokki242

Urartu

The state of Armenians, Urartu is mountainous and highly isolationist. They are mostly herders and farmers that live there, though the soldiers of the nation are experts in rough terrain. This state has a long standing alliance with Utia, Scythia, and Medea in a pact that has lasted near 1000 years, to the surprise of all. There are rumors that none of the members are exactly please that the status quo has remained for so long, but so far that is all they are: rumors. This state assisted in the destruction of Assyria.

Previous Player Priority: spaceman98

Armenia

An offshoot of Armenia, this state was a conquest by the second cousin of an Urartu king. It was a combination of Hittite, Phoenician, Sumerian, and even some Urartu lands at the time. After it was conquered, negotiations between the remaining states (not Hittites) led to it's independence as a neutral asylum state. It has an agreement to not engage in military actions against other states in return for the same. Think OTL Switzerland. It still has the same ruling dynasty has Urartu to the best of everyone's knowledge, but relations are mediocre at best. Also inhabited by majority Armenians.

Map of the known world. The only thing this is missing is any potential players in the general white areas, such as justokre.

And...I'm going to stop for today. If anyone would like to reserve a nation on the map now, I will put you down (assuming it's previous player is okay with that, if it has one). Feedback would be appreciated, as this is a fairly rushed job to be honest. I might have done something really stupid in there.

Tetwan still exists? :3

Half of it got split off as Andalusia, but pretty much all of the old states exist in some form. The last 1000 years have been relatively peaceful as more people settle down and build cities.

I'd like Troy if GemHound doesn't claim it.

Otherwise, I may claim Carthage.

Carthage isn't independent.

EDIT: Nintz, you might wanna pop some VM's soon to old players.

That's true. Then Phoenicia will be my second choice, if myth monster doesn't return.

The third choice will come when those two claim.

@Arrow - Both claims have been noted.

@Bair - I will when the backgrounds are more complete. Still only part way through them.