IOT Developmental Thread

Seeking opinions/assistance on another idea I've had.

It's called Dreamland-- set in an alternate ~1915, with the POD in the First Opium War. Under pressure from the British, as well as a different relations minister, the Emperor decided to legalize but heavily tax opium, naturally changing the course of events. The Emperor gradually opened ports to Europeans, and the Qing economy was assisted, as well as no political power being seized by any European nations. Modernization still eluded the Qing, and they still declined, but the European situation in China was different and much more nationalized, competitive, and influential in Western politics.

Embryonic so far but as to rules I figure I'd want a province-based map with each province providing some amount of resources, thinking manpower and (?) capital. More complex rather than less, though this is obviously the area I need most help

The general geopolitical landscape would see great powers in Britain, Russia, Germany, Portugal, France, the Dutch, and America. The Portuguese and Dutch are much more powerful because they engaged in the Chinese economic competition heavily, with Macau becoming one of the most important ports of the world. Spain also was more powerful, but the Spanish-American war actually came sooner and still saw the Americans take the Philippines, Spain's most important colony. Austria, Italy, and the Ottomans are less favored in this timeline because none of them were particularly participant in the more competitive scramble for China. Japan is less favored here as well, because the Meiji Restoration would be less motivated and the Chinese would still be considered the regional power. In Africa, Ethiopia is much more powerful and European imperialism in general is less intense, though similar borders were drawn and certain powers did attempt to colonize here.

Overall the top 15 or so powers of the world would be America, Mexico, Brazil, Britain, Netherlands, France, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Italy, Russia, the Ottomans, Ethiopia, Qing China, and Japan. Other countries like Argentina, Belgium, Spain, Iran, the Nordics, and Bolivia could also be open to players, of course, but not as powerful as the others.

Anyway yeah I'm pretty set on what the map and stats would look like, I'd just need help with the actual game. That's why I came to the Development thread :)
 
Funny that, I hd always heard of and thought of the Philippines going to the US as a sideshow to the loss of Cuba (and Puerto Rico, but mostly Cuba). What happened to the ACW and why would the Meiji Restoration be 'less motivated'? Not to mention that it was a fundamentally reactionary movement aginst the modernistion efforts from the Shogun, although it culminated in Japan's modernisation anyway. Plus China's self-strengthening effort did not happen solely on the strength of the First Opium War, nevermind that if they thought of themselves weak enough to abide by British demands without war, that would be an even more powerful drive for modernisation decades before it happened irl.

There is also the question of the Taiping Tianguo. Did they happen? Did they receive aid from Europeans seeking to expand their influence in China?
 
Question - Would it have been possible to evacuate from eastern sea? What I mean is, would it have been possible for the refugee group to have been a fleet?

Yes! It is entirely possible for flotillas from along the coast or across the ocean to have come in through the eastern passage before the worst of the storms hit.
 
Funny that, I hd always heard of and thought of the Philippines going to the US as a sideshow to the loss of Cuba (and Puerto Rico, but mostly Cuba). What happened to the ACW and why would the Meiji Restoration be 'less motivated'? Not to mention that it was a fundamentally reactionary movement aginst the modernistion efforts from the Shogun, although it culminated in Japan's modernisation anyway. Plus China's self-strengthening effort did not happen solely on the strength of the First Opium War, nevermind that if they thought of themselves weak enough to abide by British demands without war, that would be an even more powerful drive for modernisation decades before it happened irl.

There is also the question of the Taiping Tianguo. Did they happen? Did they receive aid from Europeans seeking to expand their influence in China?

Is it totally unprecedented to have a separate thread developing the history of a game? Because I'd like to take a little while discussing each of these points.

I'd reckon the American Civil War would be fairly unaffected by the war. If anything, the North's victory would be even quicker, as it's likely the American expansion into the new Chinese markets would increase Northern industrial power even more. Unless there was another significant Republican nominee capable of rabble rousing as Lincoln, however, or another major event significant enough to trigger all out secession, the actual war proper would probably still occur on roughly the same timeline.
A better question of American history would be how the development of western territories might be different with the change to China's economy, considering the incredible importance of exploited Chinese labor to building the Western economy. Most likely, the immigration would be lessened, possibly supplemented with an increase in immigration from Ireland and Italy. This would be a good discussion, though.

The Meiji Restoration I'd love to discuss, as my knowledge here is lacking in some places. As far as I know of it, the actual tangible expansion of European political power in the East (Opium Wars in particular) was a big motivator. The opening of Japan was also a significant motivator and catalyst, obviously, and to my understanding the Americans were also highly motivated to "open" Japanese trade because of the situation in China. I'd figure that the Americans or somebody would still eventually open Japanese trade, but I think it may happen less aggressively and later in the timeline. All these factors I think would contribute to a less industrial and centralized Japan in this alternate 1915, but again, I'm not as knowledgable on this subject and am curious what others think.

Finally, the Taiping Rebellion. I don't think it would have been anywhere near as large. A big claim of the rebels was that the government had lost the Mandate of Heaven, and given that the British victory in the Opium Wars was one of the most cited examples of this, as well as the cause of many of the peasantry's discontents, I don't know exactly how extensive it would've been without Qing defeat. However rebellion probably still would've happened in some capacity, as the southern poor were very unhappy with Qing rule for other reasons. A more stable Qing government would likely have been able to prevent or contain uprisings more effectively, especially if it had the support of Western governments, which it likely would've considering this timeline sees the Qing in support of trade with the West, something most of the southerners were against. The impact of this would probably mean an even more robust Qing economy, given the horrific effects of the war on the population and infrastructure of China, but of course that was already a part of this alternate history.
 
I don't know that the Qing would necessarily be more stable. That the Heavenly Emperor would bow to foreign demands might have really fractured the country into civil war. Indeed even after the Second Opium War, when the necessity of modernisation was made evident by all the concurrent rebellions as well as repeated Western military superiority, this was soon abandoned with the displacement of the general-scholars that defeated the Taipings, and even its limited adoption as policy eventually erupted in the Boxer's Rebellion.

Aside from that, I cannot imagine what this could change outside of China itself. The US enjoyed the same privileges in China in 1854 as the European powers and still bombarded the Japanese into submission. If the expansion of Western influence in Asia was a motivator for the Shogunal modernisation against which the Maiji Restoration emerged, your timeline does not change this in the slightest. Indeed, it makes it all the more obvious.

In short, what your scenario makes me think would happen is the Qing disintegrating for good half a century before they actually did under dissension in the elites and the continuous revolts that plagued the realm for most of the century, barring concerted foreign intervention for one side. Of course the effect of such chaos on the China trade and Canton would be enough to galvanise the Europeans to intervene or seek trade elsewhere, making things more interesting everywhere. I can see Macau becoming once more the sole hub for the China trade, but I can also imagine it being seized by some unruly faction in a frenzy. All in all, the ripples would create a truly unimagined world that I see as much different from yours.
 
With the current R2D round's finish line in at least theoretical sight, I can finally start prepping Roll II Rule in earnest. As mentioned in the early brief, each player gets a unique* in-game avatar, though I'm also angling to provide region/tech/flavour-appropriate sprites for all other cities and units. As such, this is your chance to reserve uniforms and et cetera.

I'm primarily pulling graphics from Civ2 and possibly Civ3. I think I can manage most real-world forces; I've dabbled in sprite edits so if you want a palette swap and minor tweaks (lookin' at you, 'Lec), you can post a request and I'll see what I can do.

For those of you interested in submitting your own graphics, here's the basic layout for Test of Time-style sprites:

1. Icon border, AKA maximum size. Exact dimensions may be tweaked based on the subject, but as a general rule the final image should fit within the green box.
2. Icon area. 62x62 pixels. The pattern is for isometric layout, although this isn't a requirement.
3. Unit sprite itself.
4. Shield icon, indicates ownership.
5. Unit size, following NATO joint standard.
6. Serial number when more than one unit of type, i.e. '153rd Battalion, 25th Division'.
7. Health bar, based on maximum hitpoints.
8. Unit name, used for unique NPCs and/or special individual units (i.e. large ships).
 
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Is there a Civ2/3 Ninja?
 
Ja, ist doable. Digging through my Civ2 sources it's better than anything on-hand. :p
 
Are there any swole chick units that are armed with a mini gun?
 
Roll to Dodge: Ludicrous Edition Round IV has concluded and the game will probably launch by week's end at the latest. This is a final call for customized sprites, as once the game is underway anything more than minor tweaks is liable to hold it up.

If you're using a set as-is you don't need to worry; I'll infer what to use based on your in-game signup.
 
I REQUEST A PROPHET SPRITE. OR SOME OTHER KIND OF CULTIC RELIGIOUS LEADER SPRITE.
IF NONE ARE WILLING TO MINIMALISM, I SHALT FORCE THEM TO DO SO! FUN THROUGH POWER!
 
I'm years late but I just finished Breaking Bad for the first time. How come nobody ever does drug-gang IOTs?
 
I'm years late but I just finished Breaking Bad for the first time. How come nobody ever does drug-gang IOTs?

@EQandcivfanatic does his series of prohibition NES games every so often, which is in the same ballpark.

I wanted to do a prohibition NES in 1980s miami, which is probably closer to what you're looking for, but no one would make a map for me when I asked :(
 
I know I make a lot of promises I don't really keep, but since CYOViking didn't get a whole lot of love I'm gonna run a game based on a weird old Warhammer Skirmish campaign soon. Quest for the Grail, if anybody remembers.

The premise is that in the absence of a King, some douche has created a false icon of the prime religion and used that to leverage himself as King and imprison the high priestess. In the anarchy that follows, the Paladins (players) and their warband roll around the land, jousting, smiting monsters, the wicked/righteous, and anything that falls into Lance range, and generally seeking Adventures in the Arthurian sense.

Gameplay will probably be in the form of long-form responses to adventures and money spent on recruitment (which will be die roll based, since you're scrounging around for peasants to pressgang or Knights to join you, so you don't necessarily have a whole lot of control over who you get). Warbands are meant to be fairly small and casualties high.

Crisis in Camelot: Coming Soon (as soon as I make a map I like)
 
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