#1 All The Way Back STGOD Recruitment
Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2005 11:04 pm
I would like to preface this by saying that there will be a fair amount of work involved in this before we can even get started properly. Ideally, if we got this going, the actual game itself would start sometime in December or January. That doesn't mean, mind you, that things won't be happening, but they will be things to set up the game properly.
Anyway, here's the deal. I like STGODs. They're fun, enjoyable, and frankly getting people together for games of SE4 is a bit of a hassle. I'm interested in starting a new STGOD, and doing so in such a way that maximizes (I hope) the fun parts while minimizing the dull/irritating/annoying parts.
To that end, this STGOD will have more structure than previous ones. This is to help newer players better understand the underlying concepts more seasoned players take for granted, as well as to help resolve disputes as they should arise. The specifics of the system are not yet totally formulated, but they are an extension of the Resource Point system that was hammered out for the FSTGOD back on SDN.
Also, I think that something that needs more player involvement is the backstory of the game. The start of the game proper should be more involved in the continuation of an existing universe, rather than a meet-and-greet that ends chaotically having achieved little more than introductions. Thus, I present to you the following nugget of plot:
When a civilization reaches the point where they can establish and maintain an interstellar nation, their technology hits a plateau, where only minor improvements can be made. This means that a new ISN of less than a dozen planets in size is technologically comperable to a well established ISN dozens of planets in scope. However, lacking the resources and infrastructure of the larger ISN, the younger would lose in a full scale war. However, should two destroyer groups meet in the void, there is a level of parity that is to be expected.
That said, most players will begin as young interstellar nations, having only recently solidified their foothold in the stars, when suddenly they become aware of a slumbering giant beyond the reaches of their controlled space. A vast empire of unknown age, waiting for the younger nations to make themselves known so that it might conquer them. Other players will have already been conquered, either by force or through fear. In any event, the players realize that they are not alone in this conflict, and they put aside their differences for the time in order to deal with the greater threat of the empire. For years, war rages, but the empire, in its decline, cannot fight off so many vandals and visigoths pounding at its walls, and it crumbles. Conquered worlds are liberated, though some only to be conquered once more by their so-called saviors. At this point, the differences once again come to the fore, as every nation scrambles for power and resources. Soldiers that once fought side by side now slaughter each other in the hopes of defending their own civilization.
Some wish for security.
Some wish for power.
Some wish for freedom.
Some wish for everything.
Fast foward several decades or centuries. The once minor powers have now cut their own empires from the corpse of their great enemy. Some still fight over contested worlds. New nations are making themselves known. This is where the game begins.
If you're interested, if you know you're going to play, or just want to help out with some fun, random writing, I would like it if you posted in here. The exercise of setting up the common history is going to be a work in collaborative fiction, detailing first contacts, first bloods, pitched battles on ground and in the void, of victory and defeat, and intrigue galore.
Some caveats:
-Earth is not a part of this STGOD. It is not in known space, and is probably not in the galaxy. It is only known through ancient myth and legend, and virtually none of the ancient history survives, not even in the grand empire's archives.
-This is Science Fiction, with several fantastic elements involved. However, due to the potential for abuse, some things will simply not be allowed, such as Magic, Ansibles, Matter to Energy devices, and so on. I'll get more into the hard rules of the deal later, right now I'm just trying to establish the setting and flavor.
-This is an open project in that anybody can join and play, but it is collaborative. If any one player starts to make the process unbearable to the group at large, they will be dealt with by the group. While the game itself will have an adversarial edge to it, in the end, we are still playing together.
Now, that all said, who's interested? :)
Anyway, here's the deal. I like STGODs. They're fun, enjoyable, and frankly getting people together for games of SE4 is a bit of a hassle. I'm interested in starting a new STGOD, and doing so in such a way that maximizes (I hope) the fun parts while minimizing the dull/irritating/annoying parts.
To that end, this STGOD will have more structure than previous ones. This is to help newer players better understand the underlying concepts more seasoned players take for granted, as well as to help resolve disputes as they should arise. The specifics of the system are not yet totally formulated, but they are an extension of the Resource Point system that was hammered out for the FSTGOD back on SDN.
Also, I think that something that needs more player involvement is the backstory of the game. The start of the game proper should be more involved in the continuation of an existing universe, rather than a meet-and-greet that ends chaotically having achieved little more than introductions. Thus, I present to you the following nugget of plot:
When a civilization reaches the point where they can establish and maintain an interstellar nation, their technology hits a plateau, where only minor improvements can be made. This means that a new ISN of less than a dozen planets in size is technologically comperable to a well established ISN dozens of planets in scope. However, lacking the resources and infrastructure of the larger ISN, the younger would lose in a full scale war. However, should two destroyer groups meet in the void, there is a level of parity that is to be expected.
That said, most players will begin as young interstellar nations, having only recently solidified their foothold in the stars, when suddenly they become aware of a slumbering giant beyond the reaches of their controlled space. A vast empire of unknown age, waiting for the younger nations to make themselves known so that it might conquer them. Other players will have already been conquered, either by force or through fear. In any event, the players realize that they are not alone in this conflict, and they put aside their differences for the time in order to deal with the greater threat of the empire. For years, war rages, but the empire, in its decline, cannot fight off so many vandals and visigoths pounding at its walls, and it crumbles. Conquered worlds are liberated, though some only to be conquered once more by their so-called saviors. At this point, the differences once again come to the fore, as every nation scrambles for power and resources. Soldiers that once fought side by side now slaughter each other in the hopes of defending their own civilization.
Some wish for security.
Some wish for power.
Some wish for freedom.
Some wish for everything.
Fast foward several decades or centuries. The once minor powers have now cut their own empires from the corpse of their great enemy. Some still fight over contested worlds. New nations are making themselves known. This is where the game begins.
If you're interested, if you know you're going to play, or just want to help out with some fun, random writing, I would like it if you posted in here. The exercise of setting up the common history is going to be a work in collaborative fiction, detailing first contacts, first bloods, pitched battles on ground and in the void, of victory and defeat, and intrigue galore.
Some caveats:
-Earth is not a part of this STGOD. It is not in known space, and is probably not in the galaxy. It is only known through ancient myth and legend, and virtually none of the ancient history survives, not even in the grand empire's archives.
-This is Science Fiction, with several fantastic elements involved. However, due to the potential for abuse, some things will simply not be allowed, such as Magic, Ansibles, Matter to Energy devices, and so on. I'll get more into the hard rules of the deal later, right now I'm just trying to establish the setting and flavor.
-This is an open project in that anybody can join and play, but it is collaborative. If any one player starts to make the process unbearable to the group at large, they will be dealt with by the group. While the game itself will have an adversarial edge to it, in the end, we are still playing together.
Now, that all said, who's interested? :)
