The Final Confrontation

[DvD-IT]

After the fatal crash when I lost my saves, I could recover the map seed though. That's why you get the full map and all this.

This will get based on a game, precisely a new scenario, just when the Prologue ends with an advent set in Modern Era...

 

[DvD-IT]

When you thought it could be dead, well, it isn't...

PROLOGUE: Modern Ages​

Chapter VIII

290 AD - 2005 AD

Something's Wrong In The Mankind


290 AD: Where did we leave it off? Ah yes. The pathetic Zulu-Roman attempts of destroying the mighty Carthaginians. What happened then? They decided to abort any further attack. They signed a plurimillenarian peace treaty with Hannibal, meaning that whoever breaked the treaty that was supposed to last *almost* forever, he would have faced the wrath of Hannibal. Surely a tasty wrath.
It has to be mentioned, noted, and greatly exhalted the courage and the braveness of a fanciful pack of ambassadors (actually, one Zulu and one Roman) who managed to get past the mighty Carthaginian defense - and enter Hannibal's palace. If they came out alive, hm, we still can find no one who can tell us that.
Those were also the years when the Zulu and the Romans finished splitting the world in two parts. Ended discovering new lands. And strangely, ended fighting. And also discovering new technologies. Mankind suffered a terrible cultural and innovative paralysis.

...but it wasn't really like so.
Many wars, the pernicious they could have been, led to impressive technological advance. Military advance, but in peacetime this often translated to civil uses of these new devices. Sometimes, Rome and Zulu even fought wars just for the reason of 'needing to wake up my people's creativity'. And that was sadly true. In their process of colonizing new lands, Rome and Zulu fought massively to gain controls of certain pieces of land. And often, they had to come upon mutual treaties. The map above says it all.
But then, the treaties worked so well that, once ended the world colonization, the two Great Powers never fought then. Not one soldier was killed. Not one shot fired. Not one bulled wasted.
290 AD, gunpowder is knowing its greatest heights. Cavalry battalions dominated the battlefield. Fast, and powerful enough. Sadly Rome had to abandon his Legionaries. But they were adapting to the new combat rules.

The truth is, both Great Powers were secretly funding advanced researches over the centuries. The population was quite apathetic though, let's say, lazy. They worked and payed taxes for centuries under the two so-called Republics, but they were actually two militarist regimes with a strong 'democratic' appeal. Worked for centuries, and their vital conditions were almost the same. Nothing less, nothing more. Which, the people couldn't complain. But also couldn't improve.
So, it took really long to the two powers to achieve the great technological advance we know today, due to their people laziness. But this laziness, this stagnation, this moral, cultural depression was caused and made on purpose by the two powers to keep it quiet, and achieve the ultimate technology to destroy their foes. Zululand for Rome, Rome for Zululand. And the Carthaginians for someone else.

All of this, until 25th October 2005.

WARNING​

FROM: Roman Communications HQ
TO: High Imperial Command
OBJECT: Imminent cataclysm


Shaka's gonna own us.
367 Zulu Nuclear missiles detected ready for launch. We expect them to be launched at 12:05 AM.

Pity.

25 OCTOBER 2005: The DooM Begins.
The Final Confrontation is just started.​

 

[Mirc]

When you thought it could be dead, well, it isn't...

These are the words I was waiting for!
Rome is the best civ in the game! Go ROME!

 

[DvD-IT]

THE FINAL CONFRONTATION: Nuclear Warfare​

Chapter IX

28th October 2005 AD

Dawn of a new Era: The Mankind Sunset?


28th October 2005. 11:58, DvD's palace trembles and shakes of fear. 367 ICBMs were about to wipe out half of the planet where everyone weared red shirts.

"What do we need to do, sir? A diplomatic attempt to stop them?"
"There's no time for this. Alas, the fastest way to answer is their same weapon." said the Emperor DvD in one of his crudest faces. A face of great sadness, and cynism.

12:01: An Helicopter takes DvD and his top generals and flies away, in an attempt to reach Carthage and request political asylum.

12:02: The Roman Military High Command receives the order to launch all their ICBMs from all their global storing facilities, for a total of 322 ICBMs.

12:05: Most of Roman ICBMs reach their targets and explode. 315 Zulu cities were targeted, just one could safely activate their SDI prototype: the Zulu capital where Shaka had his palace, Shaka's House.

12:07: All Zulu ICBMs reach their targets and explode. 367 Roman cities were targeted and all razed to ground.

--
World Population 1st January 2005: 9.435.657.221
Rome Population 1st June 2005: 4.567.365.134
Zulu Population 1st July 2005: 4.857.856.245
Carthage Population 31st September 2005: 152.225.621
~ From Roman Intelligence Agency Report, filed 1st October 2005

DvD was reading this in the helicopter. All was mute, or at least for him. The helicopter, the sky, the few, emotionally destroyed people near him. And at a certain point, the sky darkens. It was 12:45, DvD could just imagine the terrible effects of the nuclear war that just started.

They arrive in Carthage. Strangely, they are greeted there and Hannibal takes DvD in his palace. The sky darkens.

Shaka in the meantime, exits from his underground nuclear bunker and looks at the sky. He then checks his watch: 01:01 PM.
He then remembered of when he said, centuries ago: "Sunny. The more the time passes, the more I'm sure the prophecies are true and will reveal one day."
He made an evil laugh. Desperate for the global tragedy, but immensely happy for the advent of the prophecy: the sky would have turned black, and this would have signed the last hour for the enemies of the Zulu people. When the sky colour would have matched the Zulu dress colour, that would have been the moment when the whole world would have fallen to its knees.

--

29th October 2005

Roman Losses: ~ 4.621.563.000
Zulu Losses: ~ 4.921.000.000
Carthage Losses: 0

And that's what, once arrived to Carthage, the top level Carthaginian advisors explain to DvD, just after having a flash where he reminded of Hannibal making an evil laugh the day before, in the moment of meeting him and greeting him so kindly in his palace.

That night, DvD and his fellows take the helicopter and tries flee for a desperate attempt to reassemble a some kind of 'civilization'. But he gets caught from Carthaginians troops.

"What does it mean?" says Hannibal that was just about to sleep, when the soldiers brought DvD and the others back to palace
"I say what it does mean! Why can't we leave this place?"
"Oh my cunning people here. You wanted to escape without telling me anything! Well even if you asked I wouldn't have let you DvD. In case you didn't notice, you are prisoner."
"Prisoner." replied DvD
"Prisoner. For an indefinite time."

 

[DvD-IT]

And this begins!

From now on, the story will follow Civ in my new scenario.
I'll explain a few things of this:

- It is the same map seed of my Deity Shaka Game III
- Its terrain has been slightly modified
- It is a post-nuclear scenario, so it contains a lot of Pollution, Deserts, and random stuff here and there
- It is a Regicide game: DvD, Hannibal, Shaka. I'll fight for my own survival, so it'd be better to watch not to lose this...
- It uses the European Terrain Mod as it gives a very dark effect
- Terrain stats have been modified: due to the nuclear impact on land, even floodplains won't give 3 Food as before. This will greatly limit city growth, as grasslands will only provide 1 Food
- Global Warming is Global Cooling: due to the sky darkening (due to the ICBMs...), the Sun rays won't reach Earth as they did before. This makes the land progressively chill. So Desert -> Plains -> Grasslands and so on until Water (!)
- Rome and Zulu start with a certain amount of gold, and some naval and terrestrial units scattered all around the globe. This gives a bit of realism.
- Carthage was not touched from ICBMs. His land still suffers the terrible nuclear impact, but their civilization is intact.
- All start in Future Era (no research, pratically).
- Domination substitutes Communism. Both Rome and Zulu start with this government.
- Rome and Zulu start with a Settler, a Worker, and a Legionary for the latter and an Undead for the former.
- DvD is the Roman King unit, and he's trapped with an Helicopter in Carthaginian land.

- The game starts in Week 43, 2005.

There are a few new units there, and a few modified. The Legionary is now a unit that needs Robotics (15/15/2). They will be progressively named everytime we'll encounter them. For now, here's the, chilling indeed, starting position:

And here is my poor King Unit.

 

[Mirc]

Great, DvD!

 

[Sybot]

About frigging time DvD! I've been waiting for this since game III ended!



Can't wait to read it. Destroy Shaka!