IOT Developmental Thread

[NinjaCow64]

Multinational Election Game

Here players would be influencing elections around the world. You might represent a corporation, a rich person, illuminati-like. Players compete or team up to influence a series of elections around the world, including presidential, prime ministerial, legislature, even dictatorial coups and transfers of power. Heavily focused on soft power, money contributions, polling, and the various issues each country faces. Winning elections can result in various levels of influence with those who win, which you can use to your advantage either in world affairs, changing the face of the country you can now influence, or even using it to influence other elections.

So it would be a Sonespirarcy sort of game? I like. Could I be the Reptoids (baby eating shapeshifting lizards from another dimension)?

 

[Kinich-Ahau]

So I'm considering running a new NESLife/IOTLife, and I'd like to get some feedback before posting the thread. I've noticed that most/all previous NESLife games have started with a few simple organisms, and while this works great for allowing players to start the game with macroscopic life, it also means that they miss out on all sorts of fascinating potential organisms and evolutionary paths. So, if I were to run this game, would you all prefer to start with a few simple multicellular organisms as is traditional, or would you rather start with a single cell and have every subsequent development be due to the players? I have a few ideas to increase the rate of speciation, so please don't base your decision on the possibility that we'll go a dozen turns or more without seeing multicellular life arise.

 

[Civ'ed]

IOTLife

There's two words that don't belong together /s
Single Cell would be cool in all seriousness.

 

[SouthernKing]

So the last month or so I've been on and off working on/spamming chat with a concept (which has come this far only thanks to help from certain people) for an 18th century althist NESIOT.

Here's a preview of one (still work in progress) part of the map:

 

[Civ'ed]

Alternate history, but STILL Egypt has that weird border that literally amounts to a straight line

 

[SouthernKing]

because it's literally been like that forever?

 

[Civ'ed]

untrue

 

[Crezth]

It literally does not matter how hard you work or whether it actually makes a difference, people will *always* complain about your maps.

 

[Tee Kay]

[boxer.png]
untrue

Exception that proves the rule, really.

Successive Egyptian polities (or polities based in Egypt, specifically the Egyptian Nile Valley) rarely managed to exert meaningful authority much further south than Aswan, and even when they did like in the 19th century, it was only for a relatively brief, contested period.

Compared to most NES maps I've seen SouthernKing actually did good.

 

[Thorvald of Lym]

glob damn it why do ppl get inspired at the same time

So while the jury is still out on the Civ Project, there seems to be support for a Civ2-based game so I figure I can run a mini-IOT as proof of concept. Bearing in mind there's a seven-player cap before I start getting creative in workarounds, what sort of setting would interest people?

Lo! in the night a vision did come to me: To prove our love for 'Lec, I thought about building a game around the neo-Nazis in KIOT. Playable factions would be the GSG 9 pockets, the Osterkamp reich, Pottsylvania and Tinpot Tony the Gethic Hand, with UN peacekeepers as a fake eighth faction dispersed amongst Schüller's officers. (In fact I'm pondering holding the General Assembly as a 3-5-player external committee.)

The game would likely focus more on military frontlines than state-building, although there's enough wiggle-room for reconstruction politics, and of course super-secret research into alien technology. (Heck, depending on the outcome we could use this to fast-forward the game proper, when it finally resumes. ) Assuming 'Lec vets, who's interested?

 

[Ailedhoo]

glob damn it why do ppl get inspired at the same time


Lo! in the night a vision did come to me: To prove our love for 'Lec, I thought about building a game around the neo-Nazis in KIOT. Playable factions would be the GSG 9 pockets, the Osterkamp reich, Pottsylvania and Tinpot Tony the Gethic Hand, with UN peacekeepers as a fake eighth faction dispersed amongst Schüller's officers. (In fact I'm pondering holding the General Assembly as a 3-5-player external committee.)

The game would likely focus more on military frontlines than state-building, although there's enough wiggle-room for reconstruction politics, and of course super-secret research into alien technology. (Heck, depending on the outcome we could use this to fast-forward the game proper, when it finally resumes. ) Assuming 'Lec vets, who's interested?

The Director is most pleased. I sign up!

 

[Thorvald of Lym]

Support noted, but a friendly reminder that this isn't a sign-up thread.

 

[Ailedhoo]

Support noted, but a friendly reminder that this isn't a sign-up thread.

Too late: Aile Dhoo has signed up!

 

[Sonereal]

IU2 map, no red countries allowed.

Spoiler :

 

[Thorvald of Lym]

'Lec has endorsed my little project and several people have voiced interest, so mini-KIOT it is. To wit, here's a comparison of the basic faction arsenals thus far, for review and recommendation:

GSG 9: All of the enclaves share the same tech profile. Schüller's men have the best equipment in general, but they're pricey and starting armies are small. Not shown: high-tech prototypes that may be unveiled during the course of the game.

Pottsylvania: A middling ground between GSG 9 and the Nazis, with an aesthetic to match. Equipment is somewhat dated but the home industry makes it easy to churn out. At Megs' suggestion the foot soldiers blend modern Bundeswehr and the wartime legacy; I mixed in Eastern armour to help distinguish it both from GSG 9 and Osterkamp's forces. Still debating whether to give it a unique air force or piggyback off the German planes.

Das Vierte Reich: Yes it's mostly WWII, so sue me. Will probably be the most diverse arsenal at the start; geared for the offensive, it has strong attack power, but its hardest hitters are expensive and holding ground may prove a challenge until captured industry is brought up to speed. Like GSG 9, it has its own secret tech tree, and early access to NBC weapons.

Vancore's Vanguard: As an expeditionary force it currently has a limited arsenal and will depend on cooperation with local GSG 9 elements to keep from being overrun. By and large the weakest troops, save for its specialists, it is nonetheless cheap and easy to reinforce and can supplement limited initial firepower with controversial tactics. May be expanded if Ailed was planning to gear for total war.

UNTAG: International intervention force comprising Britain, Korea, Australia, the Levant, Acadia, and the North American states. Not actually a faction in itself, the forces will be controlled by a committee of additional players representing the sponsor states. Individual units are strong and specialized with an emphasis on defence, but reinforcement is slow, limited, and depending on the course of the war some sponsors may opt to pull out entirely. Will likely be expanded with British and/or Arab air squadrons.

TO COME: Schüller's secret projects, Other influence, and a potential framework for supers.

 

[Ailedhoo]

Vancore's Vanguard: As an expeditionary force it currently has a limited arsenal and will depend on cooperation with local GSG 9 elements to keep from being overrun. By and large the weakest troops, save for its specialists, it is nonetheless cheap and easy to reinforce and can supplement limited initial firepower with controversial tactics. May be expanded if Ailed was planning to gear for total war.

The Vanguard are the elite units of the Gethic Hand and as such should be distinct from the common troopers of the Gethic force. The Peaceshield Corp strike force is leaded by the Vanguard of the unit but the Vanguard would regard normal troops as cannon fodder aid to their own unit. As such the strike team will be known as the Peaceshield Corp.

There was some grey troopers in Mike Baudoux's Units & Cities I notice; they look the nearest to the gas masked wearing vanguard. Consider those as a possible model for the Gethic warrior elite. The vanguard will be very expensive but they are tough.

Question: is it possible to to mod in Alpha Centauri style nerve gas? The Gethic artillery could use some...

 

[NinjaCow64]

I would be interested in playing this.

 

[Ailedhoo]

Sorry Thor but I found another pack: the Martian Dawn!

The Psi Trooper model will be excellent for the vanguard!

Also that Mind Police would make a good model for coreguard...

 

[Sonereal]

What game is that from?

 

[Thorvald of Lym]

They're all Civ2 mods.