Disclaimer: Still pretty new in the grand scheme of things, let me know if anything looks off.
That didn’t go as planned. The overwhelming thought of the thousand remnants of the Greek army, shattered and defeated. Clearly, Troy was stronger than anticipated. And who needs that Helen person anyway? Plenty of other women in Greece.
NinNES I: Antiquity Broken
Background: The Trojan War has ended. Rather disastrously too. The great walls of Troy managed to hold against the defenders, but when the famous horse entered the city for the coup de grace, some Trojan fool thought it funny to light the whole thing on fire, as an insult to the Greeks. Their most powerful heroes died in the flames that night. The Greek Army never managed to recover.
The following morning was a rout, as the Trojans crushed the broken armies of Greece.
Now, Greece has fallen. The only power in all of Europe preventing the armies of Egypt, Persia, and Troy from invading has now collapsed.
What will happen?
Mechanincs:
Welcome!
I am new to NESing in general, but have loved it thus far. I figured that I would try my hand at modding one, and this seemed like an interesting start.
You take control of a nation in 1100 B.C, or in many areas a city-state or tribe, and attempt to lead it through a classical world that developed in numerous different ways.
There are three key differences:
1. Greece can no longer act as a bulwark against Middle Eastern nations.
2. According to the Aeneid, the Romans were Anatolian Greeks, or Trojans. This NES assumes that is true, thus Rome has absolutely zilch in terms of base advantages over other Italian city-states. A good leader could theoretically still make the Roman Empire if they so desired though.
3. Troy has managed to retain their power, and controls most of West Anatolia, though not as far north as Byzantion. (Constantinople/Istanbul)
Economy:
Each area has its own economy relative to numerous factors. 90 something percent of the map is dirt poor as it is inhabited by nomadic tribal people, or a very simple agrarian society. In this NES, nations will have gradually more developed economies based on distance from Babylon, as well as other factors like politics, geography, and time elapsed.
This economy can be changed and upgraded in any way you see fit, though numerous natural resources in your areas are likely to help you. As with most NESs, I will be using EPs, or economic points.
Technology:
Technology is relatively under your control. I don’t think a “tech tree” is quite accurate, as it feels stiff and not really organic.
I don’t quite think the hands-off approach is right either from a player standpoint.
So, you are allowed to make certain areas of tech a priority, and emphasize funding into them. This will greatly increase your chances of getting a breakthrough there, though it is not guaranteed.
Similarly, there is a small chance of receiving a random tech in any category simply due to a person discovering it in your nation. It is a very, very small chance, however.
Theory Points:
Something new here, I figured that with the massive amounts of historical Greek philosophers and scientists littered throughout the known world, the clear lack of a Greece should prompt other nations to pursue these ideas and pastimes.
Every nation will NOT have even one TP to start, though some highly developed nations such as Troy and Persia will start with an income.
I don’t want Erik the Icelandic mathematician theorizing on the existence of infinity. At least, not immediately.
The way these work is that you will in time acquire certain buildings or social policies that promote learning in your nation. Libraries, academies, schools, etc. They will contribute to your TP income.
You, as a player, can then invest TPs wherever you think prudent. They heavily influence technology as well, as investing in mathematics may provide drastically more efficient infrastructure buildings, whilst investing in chemistry could provide a new metal to use for war, such as iron or steel. I’m not about to give anyone steel anytime soon.
You can choose which field to invest in, though not the random bonuses you get.
Weaponry:
I am going to allow certain “designs” to emerge over time, similar to EQ’s Capto Iugulum system.
HOWEVER
I am not going to allow you to directly commission a design, that is too ahistorical for this time period. You could, at the most, encourage blacksmiths and engineers in your nation through policies and economic investure. Don’t expect a new design though.
If you can find a weapon you cannot produce yourself, you can then reverse engineer it. Your people may or may not be able to produce the item itself immediately, depending on the materials used. For example, an advanced catapult designed by the Egyptians could require large amounts of iron. If your nation doesn’t have iron yet, tough. It can attempt to rebuild the weapon with an inferior material, such as bronze or copper, and it may or may not work.
Also, these designs are not going to be marginal improvements over the previous, they are more along the lines of chewing up and spitting out the competition. Thus, difficult to produce.
Discipline:
The other element of warfare is the soldiers.
I am representing how good your soldiers themselves are through discipline, a rating of 1-100%.
1% means you have no army. At all.
100% would be similar to the Spartan style birth-to-death professional army.
Chances are most people will hover at about 35-50%, (tribal players exempted) which implies a trained army or militia, though not overly much. This rating will affect your combat to some degree, though not an immense amount.
Diplomacy:
I am always going to allow everybody to see the world map. Not really accurate, I know, but I am taking measures to ensure historical realism is preserved, thus making the map available purely as a resource for the player.
For Example:
Diplomacy is limited to those with you have contact previously, or know about. Italians could pursue diplomacy with other Italians, Carthaginians, Greeks, and perhaps Egyptians. Beyond that would be dependent on your trust in rumors, sketched maps, and word of mouth. Chances are diplomacy would also take significantly longer the farther away someone is. If, for example, a Trojan vessel managed to sail all the way to England, it could be several (2-3) turns for every diplomatic message sent one way or the other.
Political Unity:
This is intended to make it difficult for certain types of nations to achieve empires. Greece and Italy, for example, are going to suffer from a very low political unity rating unless you take significant measures to instill national pride and unity. This is basically stability.
Projects:
Projects are allowed, they will help you tremendously, but they are expensive. You want one, it is most likely going to be awhile on 100% EP.
Domestic Orders:
I will take into account ALL domestic orders you send me. You enact a law or policy, something is going to happen. Might be good or bad, but something will come of it.
Stories:
Stories are not necessary in any way, shape, or form. If you do write some, I will take that into account. Issuing orders through stories for example may allow you bonuses or abstract values like diplomatic contact that you could not otherwise achieve.
Nation Stats:
Nation/Player
Capitol City
Natural Resources
EP: Bank/Income
TP: Bank/Income
Political Unity
Projects
Other Misc. Facts Worth Mentioning
Army Stats:
Unit: Attack, Defense, Mobility, Cost.
I’ll fill these in later, once I fill in the map.
Navy Stats:
Ditto to the above.
Map:
I haven’t yet filled in any of the nations, as I want preliminary feedback for the rule system. However, I have decided on using this map for the game.
So, what does everybody think?
(You still get catch my meaning though. It's out of reach.)
