Background Story for DW

[SwordOfJustice]

Hopefully you can recycle tech quotes.

Here's the first one I've done, as an example. I'll get a batch ready and PM David.


<Tag>TXT_KEY_TECH_ZENSUNNI_TEACHINGS_PEDIA</Tag>
<English>
" Home can be anywhere, for it is part of one's self"
- Zensunni saying

In ages long past, the Zensunni were followers of the teachings of Maometh, the "Third Muhammed". But we broke away to form a new sect, seeking a new path to enlightenment. Yes, we sought to return to the ways of our fathers. We again remembered the truth of Buddallah, the One, whose word has always been rendered to us by the prophets. Ali Ben Ohashi was our first leader; his light was incandescant amongst the stars.

We wandered throughout the galaxy from our first home on Poritrin, finding many new homes but never peace. For peace lies within the self. Salusa Secundis, Bela Tegeuse, Harmonthep, Arrakis, all these worlds were part of our journeys. May Buddallah guide you in yours.
</English>

- Sword

 

[davidlallen]

David, the file DuneWarsText.txt only contains quotes like this:
* As soon as you build your first spice harvester improvement, found your spice corporation. This will give you a lot of commerce income for each improvement you control.

My mistake. Which patch do you have? In the 1.3 release there was a problem with this file, as you have discovered. If you have one of the recent patches such as 1.3.6 then you will see the whole file.

DuneWarsText.xml appears to contain stubs but you don't want me to use that because of the other languages, yeah?

That is right; you enter data for one language in DWT.txt, and my script will copy that into all the other languages for DWT.xml. (Sorry, I haven't completed the program which will automatically translate it into the languages.

 

[davidlallen]

<Tag>TXT_KEY_TECH_ZENSUNNI_TEACHINGS_PEDIA</Tag>
<English>
" Home can be anywhere, for it is part of one's self"
- Zensunni saying

In ages long past, the Zensunni were followers of the teachings of Maometh, the "Third Muhammed".

Please note there is a separate entry for TECH_whatever_QUOTE. Please put the quote into the quote section, and the details into the TECH_whatever_PEDIA section.

 

[SwordOfJustice]

Please note there is a separate entry for TECH_whatever_QUOTE. Please put the quote into the quote section, and the details into the TECH_whatever_PEDIA section.

Got it. I've sent you the first few via PM.

Cheers,
Sword

 

[Ajidica]

I personaly don't see an issue with the default backstory we already have. The Emperor got pissed at the Harkonens for not delivering enough spice, which in turn made the Spacing Guild mad at him, so he opens up Dune to the whole Landsraad to see if they could get more spice than the Harkonnens.

 

[davidlallen]

Welcome back! (Or, thanks for posting again!)

We need to explain why the civs have low tech at the beginning of the game. You don't get carryalls, for example, until 2/3 of the way through the tech tree.

 

[Ajidica]

I'll probably be around but as I'm behind on my mod I can't help with much.

low start tech> Have any of you read the anthology 'Road to Dune'. Icluded is a short story in an alternate Dune universe that was to be the initial dune. Basicly the emperor decided to mediate a disagreement between house linkham (Atreides) and Hoskanner (Harkonnen). Basicly the emperor had linkham start out on a low initial level to see if they could get more spice in one year than the Hoskanners could starting from a similar level a few years previously.

 

[Hived]

...okay, it's late, but just some ideas running out of my head:

Checked the leaders:
They are all from the same timeline, excluding the young Atreides and Corrino and the old Atreides/Liet.

So a thematicly a story-change should have happened, during the Harkonnen-invasion.

My suggestion: As you know, Duncan Idaho provoked a "small" lasegun-shield-explosion. Let's assume, such an explosion happened with the big shield in Arrakeen! Somehow, the Atreides (or even a Tleilaxu spy - who knows, what they are about, maybe it was an Ixian... somehow they have to appear)... whoever, someone has "quick-repaired" the shield. The next moment a Harkonnen ship shot a laser-beam on this shield. KABOOM. Carthag was counter-attacked by a huge army of Fremen wanting revenge for the death of their large population in Arrakeen, they were forced back with biologal weapons. No one can live there for years.

Results:
Arrakeens and Carthags population doesn't exist anymore.
The Fremen on this side of the planet are largely reduced.
Harvesters and tech-material from offplanet are no longer present.

So far... but why doesn't the guild appear and help out/send men/tech/smugglers?
There are different possilble answers to this question:
1.) such a large lasegun-shield-explosion blows much sand in the atmosphere letting each landing ship feel like a thopter in storm. (alternatively: the navigators sight is "reduced" because of high ozon-fluctuation in the upper atmosphere...). That's why they come back, as soon as the dust is away (let's say, when offworld trade is invented)

2.) Because of the explosion the planet has been swept a bit out of its track that's why the two moons have also changed their track and crushed. Similair to the "sand in the atmosphere"-theme, no guild ship can cross this "asteroid belt".

3.) Even worse: The explosion created a wormhole. The planet disappears. The guild is searching the whole galaxy but will first find it, when someone "invents" Offw.Tr.

4.) The explosion attracted all grown-up worms. They came together, got wild and died. That's why only very few spice is found anymore on dune. Only the little "bringer" survived the whole crap). Similar story like komas, but with eradicated Arrakeen and Carthag. btw. the leaders are of course still alive, because spice extends life

4a.) Same worm-story, but guild also has another planet where spice "grows" (they tried to steal the worms in the books, too, now they managed it). They don't tell anybody, that's why they sometimes come along getting some spice from "here". Of course their planet is not suited for worms, their worms die some day and they have to come back to dune and also fly nasty "homeworld-trips" to bring some weird wine

So far... many more new ideas are needed... or upgrades of existing ideas

in that case: don't use your brain for killing, but thinking

Greetz, Hived!

 

[Deliverator]

While it is fun to think up possible backstories, I wonder whether it is better to keep the nature of the apocalypse mysterious and let people decide for themselves what happened.

As soon as we have an official backstory for the apocalypse then people will start to pick holes. My view is that it is suitable to have some mystery in a Dune mod, but then I tend to like films that don't fully explain themselves and leave stuff open to interpretation.

 

[Hived]

While it is fun to think up possible backstories, I wonder whether it is better to keep the nature of the apocalypse mysterious and let people decide for themselves what happened.

As soon as we have an official backstory for the apocalypse then people will start to pick holes. My view is that it is suitable to have some mystery in a Dune mod, but then I tend to like films that don't fully explain themselves and leave stuff open to interpretation.

Partly I agree... I also prefer "open ends" or left mysteries. The David Lynch Film is very good in this, showing up enough, to tease you, but leaving (unintended?) several holes open, you'd love to fill with sense. The repetition of some of these elements just makes you even more suspicious on what it is about (think of the "mouse shadow in second moon"... free translated from german )...
anyway new players (like me one week ago) might be confused, seeing the well known characters, but being left alone with a settler and two soldiers, not knowing why spice is not the worthiest in the beginning

That's why "some kind" of story should be brought to them initially!
It is okay, to leave that story open... maybe it's for some people enough to say, that just "something" happened... but I suppose, the majority of players will not be satisfied with only "something".
To leave the exact happening open is one thing, but to say: be creative yourself, find a story that fits with all our implementations another.

IMO it is more useful, to discuss several options. Soon you'll see then, which ideas are more "loop-holey" and can decide, which story fits best.
Both, finding loopholes as closing them works IMO better, when discussing them together.

Greetz, Hived.

 

[Ahriman]

I included a few expansions on an interpretation of the backstory in the succession thread.

 

[Deliverator]

I included a few expansions on an interpretation of the backstory in the succession thread.

I liked the name the Great Catastrophe.