Popcornlord
Steampunk Mechanic
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2007
- Messages
- 787
Convenient Wiki Link
-A Brief History of the Galaxy, Volume IV, Chapter 1
CosmicNES: Shards of an Empire
Welcome to the pre-thread for CosmicNES, my first venture into the world of modding. This game is a stat-based semi-fresh start, with a strong emphasis on medieval style diplomacy. In this game, you play as a House/Clan/Family, most likely part of a larger whole, as you plot your way to glory. Intrigue, colonization, and huge space battles are all tools at your disposal, as well as the more peaceful arts of trade and diplomacy. Interested? The game begins in around a week, so feel free to sign up!
Backstory:
This NES begins immediately after the fall of the “First Galactic Empire”. A lot of backstory is either available on the wiki, or is conspicuously missing. Feel free to make up as much as you want; what I’ve written is intended as more of a guideline. I will fill in some extra information on update 0.
Races:
The Humans have just achieved basic unity with the rise of the Empire, underneath the rule of the Imperator. Thanks to the difficulty of interstellar communications and transportation, early colonies were obliged to follow a feudalistic society. Although communication is now easy, and individuals can move between systems almost instantaneously, the system has stuck. Some question whether this was a step forward, or a step backwards for society. But most just worry about the constant power struggle, and how to come out ahead.
The Terthen are a nomadic, tribal species with strong family ties. Unlike the humans, their basic unit is the Clan, not the House. At heart, however, it is still feudalism. Lower clans pay their allegiance to greater clans, which in turn pay allegiance to the Hiritor. The trading of family members is just as common. But each clan is far more independent, and wars are frequent. Cities are something of a rarity. Instead, much of modern Terthen society is centered around the spaceship.
Mhulkn are in editing.
Stats:
Each System, Ship Type, and Family will have their own stats. In fact, each member of each family has their own stats, although they’re brief. To keep it all somewhat organized and not a complete pain, stats will be accessible on the Wiki. You may add stories on pages with stats, but cheating by actually modifying the numbers will get you two strikes. If people would like, I can copy the stats over here.
House Stats
System Stats
Ship Stats
Character Stats
Advisers:
A player may select three other people (who must be the head of either a major or minor house) as “ advisers”. There are three kinds; Military, Intelligence, and Economic. You may change your advisers at will. Most of the houses will not have enough vassals to fill all positions; instead, they will need to choose which adviser positions they want filled, if any.
A military adviser can give military orders to all of the vassals of his lord. However, any ship receiving conflicting orders will tend to favor their direct lords. The main purpose is to allow coordination; whether the vassals listen or not is a management problem. A fleet will use half the military adviser’s rating if it is higher than the local commander’s skill.
The Intelligence adviser is given greater freedom when performing espionage within the borders of his master, whether for or against him. He has a chance of being informed of espionage acts in the empire; it is up to the advisor what he does with this information. As such, it is important that your intelligence adviser is someone you can trust. The chance of finding espionage plots is dependent on his skill.
The Economic Adviser can create and manage nation-wide projects. The success of these projects is based on his economic skill. Note that the economic adviser will need to pay for these projects himself, and will likely require reimbursement.
Minor Houses:
Some of the major houses will have minor houses as vassals. These vassals do not own territory, own ships, or make money. Instead, minor houses provide a pool of people for the player. Generals and advisers may both be taken from the minor houses, and they are always open to marriage proposals. Be warned, as they may also gain the support of the commoners, considering the commoners have a low loyalty to you. Minor houses will often represent major factions, and may be created without player action.
Ship Design:
Players are free to design their own ship types. Just send me a PM named “Ship Design: (Ship Name), (Player)” with what you want out of the ship before your orders (at least if you want to build the ship next turn). This can be as simple as “A cheap cruiser” to exact numbers. I will PM you back with the stats I derived from it. You may confirm that it’s satisfactory, or request changes. Once this is done, the ship is treated as a regular design that no one has researched and only you know about. Once you research it, it will be open for anyone to research.
Note that a ship will, by default, only be able to move one turn's worth of distance into empty space. Please tell me if you would like to make the ship long ranged or not.
Technology:
TP (Technology Points) can be spent in two in two areas: Design, and Theory.
Any design you know about, and have the ability to research, can be unlocked by paying the appropriate amount of TP. You may build the ship on the same turn, if you want to. Designs can be transferred freely between allies.
Theory is divided into a few different fields. Each TP represents approximately a 1% increase in the appropriate field.
Combat:
Combat happens when two enemy fleets are in the same system, and does not end until one of them is completely destroyed. Although there’s a program I’m using to keep everything impartial and random, detailed strategies are encouraged and will likely lead to bonuses for your side. Furthermore, certain strategies may lead one battle to be divided into multiple “skirmishes”. Please, get creative and use all three dimensions to their maximum.
You may also choose any of your own characters to command a fleet. The higher their military skill, the bigger the bonus to the fleet in battle. If there are multiple commanders, the one with the highest skill will be used.
A battle goes like this:
Each defender, in turn, randomly chooses an attacker. The defender rolls a number between one and the total of its counter-ship stat (Anti-Capital, Anti-Cruiser, Anti-Squadron) and its attack stat, multiplied by 1/10 of all bonuses plus one (So from 1 to (AS + Att) * ((Bonus / 10) +1)). This is countered by one to attacker’s anti-ship plus its defense stat plus 1/10 of all bonuses plus one. If the Defender wins, the attacking ship is destroyed. Otherwise nothing happens.
The same thing happens for all attacking ships, including those destroyed this turn. This continues until one side wins.
Bonuses can include leadership, strategy, technology, defense preparations, a bonus +1 for defenders, and whatever else counts. It’s a rather broad category, which gives the freedom for all the fun stuff you guys might think up.
TL
R; match up the anti-ship with who you're against and put in some strategy, and you’re golden.
Map:
Lines represent star lanes/trade routes between stars. A ship can move the distance of one dotted line or up to two solid lines in one turn.
Blue is Human, Green is Mhulkn, Yellow is Terthen, Red belongs to House Tyther. Anywhere but House Tyther is free to claim.
The Greyed out areas are unexplored. Exploration parties are cheap, as a general rule 1-3EP, and the more invested, the more info you get out. The first to explore a system can name it. Colonization is significantly more expensive, with an estimated cost of 15-25EP, the more money, the more successful it is. Colonization will take a few turns to pay off, but when it does, it will really pay off!
Note that a ship will, by default, only be able to move one turn's worth of distance into empty space.
Joining:
Signup sheet below. You may also choose to take the pre-created House Tyther if you aren’t feeling creative. You will initially claim one system. I will deal out the rest at update one, to both players and NPCs.
With your signup post, say if you are interested in playing as the leader (of the Humans.)one of the three main factions. For the Mhulkn and the Terthen, leadership will be semi-random, with favoritism towards experienced players. If this is one of your first NESes, please don’t apply for these positions. Humans will have an election after a good number of players have signed up. Don’t like your king? Rebellion, assassination, etc. You have options.
"Strikes"
To keep the peace, this NES will utilize a simple retribution system. Every time you miss an order deadline without informing me, you get a strike. Every time you modify any of the stats on the wiki (which should be impossible anyways), you get two strikes. If you get to three strikes, you've been NPCed this turn, and will need to talk to me to get your position back. You may remove strikes you've gotten by helping me out with the wiki or writing particularly good stories. You may not have negative strikes.
Other
Don't feel obliged to follow the government systems set out in the Wiki. Nothing is set in stone. In fact, I will be disappointed if there are no government changes by update five.
-A Brief History of the Galaxy, Volume IV, Chapter 1
CosmicNES: Shards of an Empire
Welcome to the pre-thread for CosmicNES, my first venture into the world of modding. This game is a stat-based semi-fresh start, with a strong emphasis on medieval style diplomacy. In this game, you play as a House/Clan/Family, most likely part of a larger whole, as you plot your way to glory. Intrigue, colonization, and huge space battles are all tools at your disposal, as well as the more peaceful arts of trade and diplomacy. Interested? The game begins in around a week, so feel free to sign up!
Backstory:
This NES begins immediately after the fall of the “First Galactic Empire”. A lot of backstory is either available on the wiki, or is conspicuously missing. Feel free to make up as much as you want; what I’ve written is intended as more of a guideline. I will fill in some extra information on update 0.
Races:
The Humans have just achieved basic unity with the rise of the Empire, underneath the rule of the Imperator. Thanks to the difficulty of interstellar communications and transportation, early colonies were obliged to follow a feudalistic society. Although communication is now easy, and individuals can move between systems almost instantaneously, the system has stuck. Some question whether this was a step forward, or a step backwards for society. But most just worry about the constant power struggle, and how to come out ahead.
The Terthen are a nomadic, tribal species with strong family ties. Unlike the humans, their basic unit is the Clan, not the House. At heart, however, it is still feudalism. Lower clans pay their allegiance to greater clans, which in turn pay allegiance to the Hiritor. The trading of family members is just as common. But each clan is far more independent, and wars are frequent. Cities are something of a rarity. Instead, much of modern Terthen society is centered around the spaceship.
Mhulkn are in editing.
Stats:
Each System, Ship Type, and Family will have their own stats. In fact, each member of each family has their own stats, although they’re brief. To keep it all somewhat organized and not a complete pain, stats will be accessible on the Wiki. You may add stories on pages with stats, but cheating by actually modifying the numbers will get you two strikes. If people would like, I can copy the stats over here.
House Stats
Spoiler :
System Stats
Spoiler :
Ship Stats
Spoiler :
Character Stats
Spoiler :
Advisers:
A player may select three other people (who must be the head of either a major or minor house) as “ advisers”. There are three kinds; Military, Intelligence, and Economic. You may change your advisers at will. Most of the houses will not have enough vassals to fill all positions; instead, they will need to choose which adviser positions they want filled, if any.
A military adviser can give military orders to all of the vassals of his lord. However, any ship receiving conflicting orders will tend to favor their direct lords. The main purpose is to allow coordination; whether the vassals listen or not is a management problem. A fleet will use half the military adviser’s rating if it is higher than the local commander’s skill.
The Intelligence adviser is given greater freedom when performing espionage within the borders of his master, whether for or against him. He has a chance of being informed of espionage acts in the empire; it is up to the advisor what he does with this information. As such, it is important that your intelligence adviser is someone you can trust. The chance of finding espionage plots is dependent on his skill.
The Economic Adviser can create and manage nation-wide projects. The success of these projects is based on his economic skill. Note that the economic adviser will need to pay for these projects himself, and will likely require reimbursement.
Minor Houses:
Some of the major houses will have minor houses as vassals. These vassals do not own territory, own ships, or make money. Instead, minor houses provide a pool of people for the player. Generals and advisers may both be taken from the minor houses, and they are always open to marriage proposals. Be warned, as they may also gain the support of the commoners, considering the commoners have a low loyalty to you. Minor houses will often represent major factions, and may be created without player action.
Ship Design:
Players are free to design their own ship types. Just send me a PM named “Ship Design: (Ship Name), (Player)” with what you want out of the ship before your orders (at least if you want to build the ship next turn). This can be as simple as “A cheap cruiser” to exact numbers. I will PM you back with the stats I derived from it. You may confirm that it’s satisfactory, or request changes. Once this is done, the ship is treated as a regular design that no one has researched and only you know about. Once you research it, it will be open for anyone to research.
Note that a ship will, by default, only be able to move one turn's worth of distance into empty space. Please tell me if you would like to make the ship long ranged or not.
Technology:
TP (Technology Points) can be spent in two in two areas: Design, and Theory.
Any design you know about, and have the ability to research, can be unlocked by paying the appropriate amount of TP. You may build the ship on the same turn, if you want to. Designs can be transferred freely between allies.
Theory is divided into a few different fields. Each TP represents approximately a 1% increase in the appropriate field.
Spoiler :
Combat:
Combat happens when two enemy fleets are in the same system, and does not end until one of them is completely destroyed. Although there’s a program I’m using to keep everything impartial and random, detailed strategies are encouraged and will likely lead to bonuses for your side. Furthermore, certain strategies may lead one battle to be divided into multiple “skirmishes”. Please, get creative and use all three dimensions to their maximum.
You may also choose any of your own characters to command a fleet. The higher their military skill, the bigger the bonus to the fleet in battle. If there are multiple commanders, the one with the highest skill will be used.
A battle goes like this:
Each defender, in turn, randomly chooses an attacker. The defender rolls a number between one and the total of its counter-ship stat (Anti-Capital, Anti-Cruiser, Anti-Squadron) and its attack stat, multiplied by 1/10 of all bonuses plus one (So from 1 to (AS + Att) * ((Bonus / 10) +1)). This is countered by one to attacker’s anti-ship plus its defense stat plus 1/10 of all bonuses plus one. If the Defender wins, the attacking ship is destroyed. Otherwise nothing happens.
The same thing happens for all attacking ships, including those destroyed this turn. This continues until one side wins.
Bonuses can include leadership, strategy, technology, defense preparations, a bonus +1 for defenders, and whatever else counts. It’s a rather broad category, which gives the freedom for all the fun stuff you guys might think up.
TL
R; match up the anti-ship with who you're against and put in some strategy, and you’re golden.Map:
Spoiler :
Lines represent star lanes/trade routes between stars. A ship can move the distance of one dotted line or up to two solid lines in one turn.
Blue is Human, Green is Mhulkn, Yellow is Terthen, Red belongs to House Tyther. Anywhere but House Tyther is free to claim.
The Greyed out areas are unexplored. Exploration parties are cheap, as a general rule 1-3EP, and the more invested, the more info you get out. The first to explore a system can name it. Colonization is significantly more expensive, with an estimated cost of 15-25EP, the more money, the more successful it is. Colonization will take a few turns to pay off, but when it does, it will really pay off!
Note that a ship will, by default, only be able to move one turn's worth of distance into empty space.
Joining:
Signup sheet below. You may also choose to take the pre-created House Tyther if you aren’t feeling creative. You will initially claim one system. I will deal out the rest at update one, to both players and NPCs.
Spoiler :
With your signup post, say if you are interested in playing as the leader (of the Humans.)
"Strikes"
To keep the peace, this NES will utilize a simple retribution system. Every time you miss an order deadline without informing me, you get a strike. Every time you modify any of the stats on the wiki (which should be impossible anyways), you get two strikes. If you get to three strikes, you've been NPCed this turn, and will need to talk to me to get your position back. You may remove strikes you've gotten by helping me out with the wiki or writing particularly good stories. You may not have negative strikes.
Other
Don't feel obliged to follow the government systems set out in the Wiki. Nothing is set in stone. In fact, I will be disappointed if there are no government changes by update five.
