All The Way Back STGOD Recruitment

[Straha]

I'm in, if I can scrounge up the time.

[Ace Pace]

I'm in, I'll do a Hub Mk2.

[Pcm979]

I've got some ideas, but I don't really know how they work; Most of the ones I've seen have pretty much served as wank material for the participants.

[Murazor]

Well. I am most thankful for having been invited. I am interested, but my schedule is (like always) kinda pressing, so I'm not sure if I will be avalaible as often as required.

[Hotfoot]

Some basic information abou the Mega-Evil Empire

Throughout the galaxy, no empire has matched the power, the control, or the terror of the Tomari Empire. Their reach extends over thousands of planets, over the course of thousands of years. They claim that all of the races in the galaxy were once part of its great Empire, originally founded in another galaxy. As such, diplomatic relations when encountering a new stellar nation invariable comes down to demanding subservience. Some nations willingly concede, not willing to fight a losing war against such a large nation. Others fight, and are eventually crushed by the great fleets of the Tomari Empire. A few flee, abandoning their worlds behind them, hoping to start again, far away from the Empire.

None stand before the Empire and survive. Once a nation has been annexed, their taxes go to the empire, their industry works for the Empire. Populations that cause trouble are enslaved and forced to work in brutal camps until their spirits or their bodies are broken. Populations with "useful" characteristics, such as telepathic talent, shapeshifting, or genetic malleability are farmed for individuals useful to the empire. All telepaths are registered with the central psionic bureau, and eventually put to work for the Empire's secret police. Telepaths who refuse initially are "encouraged" to join. The process is painful, and quite often the more resilient telepaths are simply lobotomized in one of two ways: if a minor telepath, the telepathic part of the brain is removed, with little concern of the other portions. If a telepath of considerable power, the part of the brain holding long term memories and personality are destroyed, replaced by an advanced computer system allowing the use of the brain's telepathic functions for other purposes. In order to gain some measure of freedom, these telepaths are forced to root out traitors in the Empire, in all but the ruling family.

The Empire's ruling family is made up of an amazingly potent family of telepaths. They are the true power behind the Empire. The Senate is little more than a show to placate the masses, an elaborate ruse, in which supposedly modified humans and aliens who are "immune" to all telepathic scans are allowed to argue over various aspects of the Empire. The fact of the matter is that they are immune to scans, except for those of the ruling family, who essentially control them all through the use of the touted "modifications". It is a common game among the younger of the ruling family to see if they can fool the lovers of the senators when directly controlling them.

The pure Imperial troops undergo extensive training and indoctrination, and the core troops are fiercely loyal to the empire. Province defense forces are often given minimal training, but similar levels of indoctrination. They are to act as fodder in the event of any major threat to the Empire.

Citizens of the Empire proper tend not to be overly telepathic, as the majority of those with the telepathic trait were adopted into the ruling family long ago. However, they lead very comfortable lives on the backs of their provinces, and as such are largely happy with the empire.

Citizens of the Provinces are free to move from Province to Province, through strict records of lineage are kept for purposes of retaliation (it is not uncommon for entire bloodlines to be wiped out in response to a terrorist attack on the Empire). Becoming a citizen of the Empire is a difficult process, and often only reserved for provincial citizens who have performed above and beyond their duty to the Empire.

The Empire itself is ruled strictly by humans and a small, non-human "adopted" family that represents a small core of the original empire's non-human origins. Imperial Citizens are largely human, with small cores of loyal non-humans who have dedicated themselves entirely to the Empire.

The Empire claims that one day, eventually all races will prove their worth and join the Empire as true citizens, but until that day, they must show their worth to the Empire with every fiber of their being. The first step to proving worth is reaching a level of advancement where the province is allowed to elect a provincial governor from their own people, rather than having one appointed to them by the Empire.

The official religion of the Empire is Polytheistic, adopting the religions of new provinces into the fold of the Pantheon, but with the Caveat that none are as high in the Pantheon as the Ruling Family, who are all Gods to be worshipped by any true citizen of the Empire. They are forgiving, in that they do not demand to be worshipped instead of existing deities, but indicate that true devotion will enhance your life, and the chances that your nation will quickly become Citizens of the Empire. Denouncing the divinity of the Ruling Family is a very painful method of committing suicide.

[SirNitram]

A first draft of my nation's history and involvement with the Evil Empire, based on talks with Hotfoot.


Vell-Os.

Litany Of Shame.

In the First Times, all humans lived on Earth, the Luminous Cradle. It was a better time. Terraforming and atmosphere shields were unneeded. Wars scorched battlefields, not continents. But even in this glowing, golden time, there was shame and chains. Among the humans were the powerful, the telepaths. Their powers were growing, but the others feared them. Some wielded their powers for evil, and the many felt the pain of retaliation.

There was no choice. To stay was to encourage a cycle of violence, as one lashes out against the many for their acts, and the many descend upon the few, encouraging another to lash out. Vell, a king amongst his human people, led the path. He taught his brothers the art of striding stars, of crafting vessels of telekinetic force, and leaving the world of their birth.

So it was that Human and Vell-Os diverged. In the endless night, grand new worlds were built; gossamer realms of metal held together by telekinetic force. The limits of the universe were pushed back; even lightspeed knelt before the realms we discovered. We spread, a small, but powerful host.

We never forgot our brothers. As the centuries turned, they would journey outwards. When they came to the edge of Sol's light, we met them there. We taught them how to duplicate our powers; how to construct shields, how to cross the vastness of hyperspace, how to extend their lives and health.

We had no idea of what would come. The rise of the False Ones was our fault; we had discovered how to transform Human to Telepath, if not a true Vell-Os. After centuries of rule by those who would see our true natures, we didn't fathom how it would backfire. The False Ones would dominate the Empire that rose, and we were enslaved by threats against our populace.

It would take centuries to gather the power and the allies to topple the Empire. But we had no choice; it was our mistake, and we had to atone. Even today, we must atone for the horrors we brought forth in our attempts to rejoin our brethren.

[Hotfoot]

Now, as far as structure is concerned, here is what we've got so far. This is not the final version, so feedback is appreciated, but be aware that whatever we end up using should at least seem somewhat similar.

Star Nations will have a very many star systems. Each system will have two ratings, each from 0-10. These ratings are Resource and Defense. A system with 10R will supply your empire with 10 resource points each "turn" (currently, six months). These are used to build new ships, increase the Resource and Defense values of your colonies, and so on. A system with 10D will have a massive amount of system defenses, well trained militia, and especially powerful planetary shields.

Systems will be grouped into "Clusters" of roughly seven systems apiece. These are effectively states, provinces, or what have you. This makes for easier record-keeping on a few levels.

Right now, the rough estimates for the gradient power scheme are as such:
Grand: 12 clusters
Major: 9 clusters
Minor: 6 clusters
Lesser: 3 clusters

The Tomari Empire, by the way, is well above Grand.

At game start, it will be assumed that for all of your planets, you will have an average of 5 points to put into Resources and 5 points to put into Defense. Increasing either attribute costs ten Resources and takes one "turn" to increase by one point.

Also, at the pre-game point (which we will be doing first), younger races are assumed to start out at roughly Minor level. What happens in the pre-game will determine what you have when the game actually starts. Some people might be beaten back inside their former borders and start the game as lesser powers, others might make tremendous victories and end up with enough planets to be considered "grand".

Ship costs:
Rather than using "Capital Points", "Cruiser Points", and "Escort Points", ships are paid for in straight Resource Points. This means that, if you REALLY want to, you can make fleets of nothing but capital ships or cruisers or escorts. I don't think I should have to tell any of you that this is a brutally stupid idea. As of right now, if you were to have perfectly average ships, the costs would be as follows:
Capital (Battleship): 10 points
Cruiser (Cruiser): 2 points
Escort (Frigate): 0.5 points

There are limitations, including diminishing returns. If you spend 100 points on a battleship, it will die like a dog to 10 normal battleships. You can reduce costs of your ships in a similar way, but the general rule is if you're spending fewer points on a ship than the next scale down, it's effectively as capable as the lighter scale of ship. There is a fair amount of playing you can do with the prices to make different classes of ships, but there are still logical limits.

Fleets will tend to be divided up into sector fleets, fleets that defend each "Sector" you own. As of right now, an average sector fleet is roughly made up of 4 Capitals, 20 Cruisers, and 100 Escorts (using the points given above). This equates to 40 points spent on capitals, 40 points spent on cruisers, and 50 points spent on escorts. However, if you want to create, say, three types of capital ships (Dreadnaughts, Battleships, and Carriers), each with different point costs (15, 10, 7.5), then you could have more ships, but with relatively the same strength. This type of additional variation in each class can be done throughout the other two classes without problem.

Take in mind these numbers are considered the average and a suggestion. Feel free to make your "Average" capital 12 points, or 11, or 15, or whatever, it doesn't really matter. Just be aware that more expensive ships will mean smaller fleets, which can be a factor in defending a cluster made up of multiple systems.

Also, in order to encourage people to increase their own resource base, every month 10% of your total military force (rounded up) must be paid for in Resources to portray the cost of maintaining your fleets. So if you've got 1,500 points in fleets, you have to pay 150 points every "turn" for upkeep. This means that you simply can't just sit on your ass and build a massive fleet of doom.

I'm still working on how specifically to do ground forces and such, but this is the basic structure of the game as of this moment. If you have any suggestions, comments, or criticisms, please let me know.

[Bugsby]

National Rough Draft

The Bistrei are a sub-human species. They are shorter than average humans, standing about 5 feet tall on average. What they lack in size and strength, they make up for in quickness. The Bistrei are remarkably fast and agile, with almost instantaneous reflexes. They are incredible jumpers. Their language is very different from the Imperial Common, sounds like a series of whistles, chirps, and croaks. For these reasons, the Bistrei are sometimes called the Birdmen.

The Bistrei were some of the first to be overrun by the Empire and labored for a long time under its yoke. However, they were never heavily oppressed. Their worlds are not particularly abundant in resources, so the military and industry never had much use for them. They have few psychics, so the Royal family was not too interested in them, yet they are strangely resilient to psychic suggestion. Some inquiries were made into this in the early years of the Empire, but all the best psychic scientists were able to determine is that the Bistrei'i brain has "tough mental fiber." Whatever that means.

The Bistrei are fiercly independent and refused even to send a representative to the Senate. This wasn't because they could see through the sham that the Royal Family had set up. Rather, they refused to participate in the system that cost them their freedom. For this, other nations regard them as outsiders. Moreover, they think the Bistrei are fools for refusing even the slight control over their fate that the Senate offered.

The Bistrei are fierce in combat. On the ground they mainly rely on fast-moving infantry and power armor to close distance with their enemy and tear the lines apart with energy blades. Their light weapns and heavy artillery are excellent and their power armor is unrivaled, but in all other areas they are deficient. They have no tanks or heavy armor. In the air, they rely on a fighter-based fleet to maximize the natural advantage given them by their heightened reflexes. They have many different types of fighters and heavy bombers, and their fleet carreirs are impressive.


If anything in here is bad, let me know. That's why its a rough draft.

[frigidmagi]

United Protectorates.

History;

The UP began roughly 1,000 years ago. An off course colony ship stray off course and in the face of a pirate attack fled through a wormhole. The passage through the unstable bridge in space-time damaged the ship heavily causing it to crash on the somewhat inhabitable planet of Lastport. The passage and crash took a heavy toll on crew officers, wiping out the whole senior bridge staff and leaving many departments headless. Meanwhile causalities among the colonist in a twist of fate were mostly among the wealthier leaders of the expedition.

A young Lt. Mattews of the engineering department of the ship moved fast to restore order and establish a working chain of command that he believed to be vital to ensure the continued survival of all those who still lived. He met and made a close alliance with Lt. Claudia Sharps the surviving officer of the security detail on board ship, Lt. Sharps was an experience solder on earth and well respected among her troops.

Drawing together the other emerging leaders in a secret meeting the young pair convinced the others to accept their leadership. Several versions of this meeting have circulated into the mythology of the UP. From stirring speeches from Lt. Mattews and impassioned pleas from Lt. Sharps to deal making to outright threat and blackmail. However there is no true known record of what passed in that meeting.

They moved them out of the ship and surveyed the new world they found themselves on. The world of Lastport is a mountainous, cold world in the middle of an ice age. It is a world of towering mountain chains, deep narrow valleys and shallow cold seas. Mattews decided to cannibalize the ship and to dig a settlement under a nearby mountain, avoiding spreading out survivors across the valleys. The digging was a long torturous process but was completed in time to avoid winter. It was then that the colonist learned that winters on Lastport were literally lethal to men outside.

Mattews and Sharps would wed towards the end of that winter. Afterwards several other underground cities would be built has the population expanded. For with the expectation of the climate the people were lucky that they landed on a world where they could live off the native animals and plants until terran foodstuffs could be planted in large enough numbers.

Mattews and Claudia remained in control for about 50 years, during that time Mattews would take the title of Lord Protector of the United Cites and Protectorates of Lastport. The couple would have 9 surviving children, 8 boys and 1 girl. Mattews would die under suspious circumstances however and Claudia would follow him soon after. Popular myth ascribes both deaths to poison. The surviving department leaders and the heirs of the ones who had died had in time established their own cities and pressed for equal authority with the Mattews. The Mattews and their followers refused and war resulted.

This began the cycle of civil war and rebellion that would dominate UP history. Has the Mattews fought with or allied with various houses and other competing houses did the same. There were at the time two competing theories behind the warfare, first was the theory of unification that the various houses were all part of a single nation that should and must be united at all cost. The second was the theory of Independence the idea that all the Houses were in fact separate and distinct nations not under the aegis of any other House or group of Houses. While some houses did hold to this theory for a long time, among them House Andersen and House Nickles the Unification theory held the majority opinion.

During the later years of the Reign of Lord Protector Nathan, called the Warrior, Jason Mattews first began to write the pivotal political discourse of the United Protectorates. Before his birth Lord Protector Nathan had established representive counsels for the cities that acknowledge his rule, extending rights and privileges to citizens. However it was Jason who reason out the existence of human rights preexisting any government grant and the extent of those human rights. Has Heir he wrote a small number of books laying out his arguments for an expended reprehensive government and a surrender of several privileges of the Houses and the Mattews.

After he assumed the office of the Lord Protector, he called a convection, this convention was made up of loyal House members, sitting counselors, solders and others. Before this assembly Lord Protector Jason laid out the Constitution of the United Protectorates. The first official apperance of the name used today. After 35 days of debate, the vote went 85% in favor and the reorganization of loyal held lands began.

During this time the rebel houses attempted several offensives only to be thrown back, however Lord Protector Jason did not counter attack, preferring to attempt diplomatic means of unification. These means failed and lead to his assassination at the hands of House Dunmire. A series of popular revolts occurred at this point has the House Lords underestimated how popular Lord Protector Jason had been among the common folk.

After the rediscovery of Space Flight and FTL the rebel Houses would flee the system and Loyal Houses would colonize nearby systems. Never winter a temperate mild world was the first system to be so colonized by House Ryan, who for the systems rights, traded it’s holdings on Lastport to the federal government. This began a pattern has loyal Houses left the system for greater and more profitable holdings and rebel Houses were driven out, leaving the Mattews and the federal government in sole poession of Lastport.

The rebel Houses continued waging war on the federal government until Lord Protector Mark was killed in a fleet action, leaving behind his pregnant wife Lady Protector Rebecca to lead the federal forces. She is the only person in history to hold the title of Protector and not be born a Mattews.

She single handedly lead the federal fleets in the offensive action that shattered the rebels ability to wage war in the void and took the remaining rebel planets of Windcall, Firsthallow and Gathering point. At this point the civil wars were over, the last rebel House, the Godfreys, surrender almost exactly 75 years before contact was achieved with outsiders.

Contact with the Empire came fast on the heels on contact with other local nations. From the beginning there was friction. Even 75 years after the last shot of the civil wars the people of the UP were still a militant people and stubborn. Worst the UP was an aggressive free trader, who ignored any attempts at outside restriction or control over what they could sell or buy or how much of it. Also came religious tension has the UP is massively monotheist in it’s make up, with Christians and Jews being the two leading religious groups. Add in the UPVN’s tradition of hunting down pirates and doing away with them via military justice no matter their citizenship or rank and tension was the order of the day.

When the Empire finally had enough of the rank defiance and rebellion of the United Protectorates, a fleet was dispatched to crush them once and for all. The fleet assaulted Newport a federal colony and laid siege to the planet for 3 weeks of horror able fighting. The Empire Admiral a political appointee, had mistakenly brought a number of press to present his walk over of the neo-barbs. Instead live video footage of Imperial Troops being slaughtered in the underground halls of Neoport’s cities were plastered across the galaxy. The United Protectorate Void Navy’s 1st fleet attacked the besieging empire fleet, outmaneuvering the Admiral who had underestimated the UPVN’s firepower, training and resolve.

Rather than wait for the inevitable onslaught of the Empire the UP decided to attack, sending 3rd fleet and 4th fleet on the offensive. The UP was able to take 5 systems and land troops on additional 3 before the Empire recovered. The counterattack was savage, knocking the UP out of empire held void in a matter of weeks and pushing into UP space. Despite heavy loses in ships and ground troops the empire could not be stopped. The desperate defense of Stormhold, a bare 30 light years from the capital of Lastport just barely stopped the empire fleet. It was one defeat to many and the revolts began to spring up across the empire and other frontier nations began to confront the empire. The UP was able to retake the worlds it had assaulted and expand dramatically supporting many local rebellions.

[Thirdfain]

"There is a single guiding light behind the Polisch Volk: Though the yoke, lash, and chain may fall upon them, the dream of the Ryzcspospolita never dies. Countless oppressors have learned this to their detriment: The Polisch Ryzch will rise."
- Book of the Volk, Aleksander 4:17

The Polisch people have inhabited the Galician Clusters since time immemorial. The Book of the Volk records a unified Polisch state having existed at that time, though after centuries of occupation by the Tomari, it is uncertain as to how much of the proscribed Book is true and how much is myth.

The distant history of the Polisch ethnicity within the Empire is muddled, though evidence reports to previous small-scale bids for independence. Only the most recent are accurately recorded. Roughly two hundred years ago, a movement began in the Galician Clusters to gain a degree of autonomy within the Empire through co-operation and support of the Imperial state. The Polisch were known as a useful, loyal segment of the population, and greater autonomy was granted. Fifty years ago, the great Polisch statesman, Andrzej Belkie was elected as governer of the Galician Cluster. The Polisch people were now a favored minority within the Empire, under the direct rule of a man they chose from within their numbers.
Andrzej's Spring, it was called: For one season, the exploitation stopped. Imperial industry was replaced with Polisch, The Book of the Volk was read openly, and telepaths were carefully sequestered and released to the Imperial family only in small numbers.
It was too much. Andrzej, and indeed the entirety of the Polisch people, had too much faith in the structure of the Empire. They did not realize how little the Tomari cared, or how deeply exploitative they were. The Tomari claim that full citizenship would bring freedom turned out to be just another lie. As the flow of resources out of the Galician Clusters slowed, the Empire decided to make an example of the Polisch. Resistance was fierce, but against the battlewagons of the Imperial Fleet, the defenders could do nothing. Vast stretches of territory were simply bombed from orbit. The Polisch were relegated to an ethnic status as Provincials of the lowest class: a proscribed race.
The last fifty years have seen this status hanging over the heads of the Poles. Every child has the white star branded on his or her hand, an indelible sign of their status. The starports of surrounding sectors see the prison transports land, to divulge thousands and millions of broken men and women, white stars sewn to their jackets. These deported slaves are taken to work to death in labor camps for the benefit of more loyal provinces. Meanwhile, the bloodstained, emptied villages of deported Poles are filled with colonizing familes of Imperial citizens, who soon fill their stomaches with food taken by shackled Polisch hands from the land which Poles once owned.
Galicia was a large region, however, and the Poles a fruitful race. The deportations are far from complete. The Tomari are now officially painted in the latest chapters of the Book of Volk (now mostly spread only by word of mouth and memory) as being Russchians: the word translates as both "Oppressor" and "Demon." The Volk are restive, angry, and determined. Large numbers are escaping into the bush, hiding in the dark alleys of the shattered Polisch cities, and preparing for an uprising. This secret army- the Armia Krajowa, the Home Army, has been launching attacks with greater and greater frequency. Suicide bombs ruin grounded starships. Occupation soldiers follow whores into dark rooms from which they never emerge. In space, a brave handful have hijacked freighters, refitting them in secret as raiding vessels. Entire bulk haulers full of deportees have been captured, swelling the ranks of the resistance with men and women who have every reason to hate the Empire.
The Galician Cluster is ripe for revolt. All it would take is a diversion of Imperial forces from the region, and the Armia would launch it's plan to rebuild the Ryzch. On the lips of billions, the slogan rests:

"Jed Naród! Jed Volk! Jed Ryzch!"

The Tomari would do well to fear.

[Hotfoot]

A general review of the tech level and various rules for this game. These are up for discussion, but chances are these will not have any major changes to them:

Planetary Shields will be common, though they will vary in relative strength and durability.

Ships will have weapon strengths in the 20-200MT range (tentative).

Weapons mounted on Escorts can pose a threat to even Capital ships. If tiny fighters can mount weapons powerful enough to threaten Capital ships, it would be silly to claim Escorts couldn't for some reason. Of course, a Cruiser still makes for a much better platform as far as raw firepower is concerned.

Missiles will outrange fighters, which will outrange direct fire weaponry. Direct fire weaponry will have greater firepower than fighters, which will have greater firepower than missiles. Putting all of your firepower into a single salvo will give you a considerable alpha strike, but will cripple you in combat longevity, and also create a window of vulnerability when you have to fall back to reload.

Powered Armor, Genetic Engineering, Cybernetics, and Telepathy are all viable for just about any nation. Concerning telepathy, after the fall of the Tomari Empire, Telepath Detectors and defenses will become relatively commonplace (not like in every home, but expected in most houses of government, major ports of call, etc.), but there will be no telepathy area denial devices that completely negate psionics. When telepathic powers are used to mimic technology and ships, they are prone to the same things other ships are. Thus, ECM, EMP, Interdictors, etc., will have the same or similar effects on ships like the Vell-Os have.

On a similar note, there are to be no "Magic Bullets". You get what you pay for, that's it. You could have a glass cannon, and it would do just as much damage as a "Mega-Ypress Anti-Singularity Supergun" if both ships are equal in points.

FTL travel has no exact speed as of yet, but it will likely work as such:
Capitals have the slowest speed, taking nearly a day to travel between clusters, and several hours to travel inside of clusters.
Cruisers are faster than capitals, about twice as swift.
Escorts are about three times as fast as capitals.
Quickships (couriers, etc.) are ships which are little more than a reactor, an oversized hyperdrive and realspace engine, and are the fastest ships in the galaxy, but have virtually no combat potential.
Cargo vessels will run the full range, depending on what type they are.

Interdictors will most likely continue to be weak ships with a reactor and an interdictor generator. Interdiction fields will not snap on or off at will, and even destroying an interdictor will not cause the effect to dissipate immediately.

Purely random hyperspace jumps will be dangerous, especially if the ship is taking fire while it is activating the hyperdrive.

Each type of ship is generally good at something. Escorts tend to be good at Active Defense (ECM and Point Defense), Crusiers tend to be the best mix of speed, firepower, and defense, and Capitals tend to increase the effectiveness of all other ships through a combination of highly trained officers and high-end command and control computers and equipment.

Burning worlds is an act that is to be shunned by the vast majority of the galaxy. Even the Tomari Empire would hesitate to burn worlds if they could find another way to pacify or punish them. While it may be the quicker way to deny your enemy resources, it's also a very fast way to get them several allies.

Regular Military vs. Militia: Given equal numbers, Regular Military will win, barring acts of unforgivable stupidity. However such a victory will take a reasonable amount of time with a reasonable amount of losses, as the Militia will use intimate knowledge of the terrian to fight a vicious guerilla war for as long as possible to hold out for reinforcements. Use of high-powered nukes is seriously frowned upon, and can have similar results on the planet as orbital bombardment depending on how they are used. The first wave of any planetary assault will have a very high loss rate, just the nature of things.

Slight addendum to the Defense rating of planets: after some consideration and conference with otherse, defense ratings will be reduced in cost to 5 points per level of rating, with a soft limit of something like 3-6 rating increases allowed per "turn".

Feel free to discuss and critique.

[Thirdfain]

These ship rules are just silly. Capship advantage is that it's a C3 center? WTF? Why ever build capships? Better to field nothing but cruisers, with a couple pure C3 model cruisers to keep the fleet in order- you could have the same firepower while moving twice as quickly.

Your model is flawed. Capships are fleet combat vessels and should be the most efficient source of raw firepower and damage absorbtion. Cruisers have always traditionally been power projection tools, not main combatants. Escorts, well, that seems disco to me, but the system for capships and cruisers makes no sense.

[Hotfoot]

Of course, according to you, a thousand escorts wailing on a single capital ship shouldn't stand a chance.

Perhaps you should read a little more closely. Capital ships still do tons of damage and soak up the same, but they ALSO give a bonus on fleet command and control.

Cruisers, on the other hand, are the best blend, or MIX of speed, firepower, and defense. I don't see how you could possibly make the argument otherwise. Escorts sacrifice firepower and defense for speed, and capitals sacrifice speed for firepower and defense.

[Thirdfain]

Excuse me, I don't see the place in your post where you say anything of the sort.

Each type of ship is generally good at something. Escorts tend to be good at Active Defense (ECM and Point Defense), Crusiers tend to be the best mix of speed, firepower, and defense, and Capitals tend to increase the effectiveness of all other ships through a combination of highly trained officers and high-end command and control computers and equipment.

Hmmm? Escorts ECM, cruisers a "mix," capships C3.

I don't see where it says that capships are the most efficient source of firepower and durability. Perhaps you could point it out?

[Hotfoot]

It's inferred. I shouldn't have to spell things out to you, most people should be able to figure out that if Cruisers are the best mix (something I emphazised in the first post) of all three attributes, then it should stand to reason that escorts are better at speed and that capitals are better at offense and defense (in this case, passive defense, as escorts have the strength of active defense).

Don't get snippy just because I don't subscribe to your particular brand of capship uberness.

[Thirdfain]

If by "my particular brand" you mean "the entire reason every major power in the world spent the first half of the decade building huge numbers of capital ships" then, well, I think I have at least a little reason to be snippy, no?

[Hotfoot]

Are you trying to compare the STGOD to real-world examples? Because those always fall to pieces, as there is no good comparison to look towards. STGODs make use of a fleet combat model unlike anything before presented in our history, mixing missiles with fighters with direct fire weaponry.

If you want a realistic STGOD, that's fine. We'll have nothing but missile boats, it will all be set in one solar system, there will be no aliens, and I'll get to have fun explaining to everyone why they can't have a relative time reference.

[Comrade Tortoise]

This will be added on to, I am still working on the history

Name: The Colony of Aracokra (the TCA)
The Aracokra
Government Type: Guild-Based Republic/Dominance Heirarchy

History: The pre-spaceflight history of the Aracokra is fairly irrelevant. The post spaceflight history however… The Aracokra, as a space faring nation, is fairly old. They have been plying the space lanes for some time. Expanding out from their home world of Darius IV, and creating their current form of government, and taking surrounding clusters of systems. Mostly uninhabited, some were an exercise of conquering or assimilating pre-spaceflight civilizations. The usual Imperialist stuff. Then, the Empire started knocking on their doorstep. A few parsecs away they were busy conquering a cluster which was the first inhabited cluster outside of Colonial territory. The Colony braced itself for a war. Not only would the Colony refuse to acknowledge some <squawk>‘s divinity, as they were and are monotheists, but that possibility never came. When they heard that the UP invaded the Empire in retaliation for an attack on one of their major worlds, the Colony decided it was time to strike, They “liberatedâ€Â

[Hotfoot]

Sorry for the delay folks, a combination of crunching some numbers and school projects got the better of me.

I'm still hammering out the total numbers involved in how many ships/fleets/ground forces will be available at game start and during the pre-game portion.

As it is, I think I've got a good combat model which will work with minimum amounts of fuss and bullshit, but not require people to do seriously complex math every time they want to have a fight.

The big shift is that more isn't the best. Clumping all of your ships together into a one big blob will not give OMG UBER point defense and firepower. It will increase both, but you will have diminishing returns compared to smaller battlegroups. Basically, as you increase the number of ships linking fire control, point defense, and navigational computers, the system lags, ships fall out of firing patterns, and so forth. Smaller taskforces will be able to coordinate such things much better, but will have less overall firepower and defenses at their command.

With weaponry emphasis, remember that you can have to choose how much firepower, range, and endurance you will have. Normally, it is considered that a ship or fleet will have enough energy/ammo/whatever to keep going for the length of a normal battle, with a given damage over time. It's generally unwise to pack more ammo than you'll generally need, as only the longest of battles would ever require it, and all that extra ammo can cause nasty secondary explosions. However, if you want to front-load your damage, you can do so at the expense of your endurance and your total damage over time.

For example, let's look at the Krell Lances from STGOD4. These monstrosities were direct fire (short range high damage) and sacrificed all firepower (and a lot of protection) just to get off one, insanely high powered shot at close range. These would have less overall destructive potential compared to a cruiser that stayed in the battle over the course of a normal-length engagement, would be worthless at fighter and missile range, but provide a devestating surprise at close range.

Similarly, we can look at a ship with a burst weapon that doesn't take away all of the ship's firepower, but provides a good "shock" at the beginning of an engagement. By lowering the overall firepower of the ship outside of the burst, the total damage over time is reduced compared to another ship of the same class, but provides high initial firepower, a plus for raiding. However, once fired, this burst cannot be regained until after it has been tended to by a fleet tender or returned to a military base for refit/reloading.

Any weapon which provides bursts of high energy over regular intervals but does not change damage over time is considered to simply be fluff for the purposes of a battle. Players can decide amongst themselves what affect, if any, that would have in an engagement.

Once again, as far as range:
Missles > Fighters > Direct Fire

As far as firepower:
Direct Fire > Fighters > Missiles

All weapons systems become more effective the closer the respective fleets get. Just the way it is. Skirmishes will happen at Missile Ranges. Pitched battles close to direct fire range. If you specialize in a specific type of weapon system, you try to spend as much time in the range that suits you best. Remember that while specialization can be good, overspecialization can be very, very bad. If all you have is missiles, expect to be torn to pieces eventually, same if all you have is guns.

On ground combat. Ground combat takes much longer to complete than fleet combat. There are good, established reasons for this. I expect that most ground campaigns will take roughly a month in game time to complete, give or take a couple of weeks, depending on the development of the planet and any major disparity in forces. A large group assaulting a freshly developed colony with almost no defenses will be able to conquer it in very little time, assuming there is any resistance at all. Meanwhile, a tiny group attempting to assault a fortified homeworld will be wiped out in short order.

How you build your militaries is up to you. Take in mind that a conventional military uses combined arms. Reliance on a superweapon or some crazy piece of kit isn't going to save you. Orbital bombardment is frowned upon as well, as it tends to destroy countless civilian lives as well as destroy the infrastructure of the planet. Smaller scale directed bombardment from high-altitude fighters with spotters on the ground, however, are considered precise enough to be safe to the rest of the planet.

Troops cannot be landed until planetary shields have been battered to the point of failure. At that point, you can glass a world instead of invading, but only if you want a reputation as being genocidal. Yes, that's right, glassing a planet = genocide. Even with as many planets as there are, people are not immune to entire planets being wiped clean of life. Reactions may vary from culture to culture, but there will be strong reactions all around.

Specific point values and costs to follow. By the way, as far as disputes go, I'd be very happy if everything was resolved amicably by the players, with as little mod intervention as possible. Since that may not always be the case, and since I won't always be online at the time of a dispute, I will need another person or two who would be willing to help in mod-like duties. My only request in this is that any decisions you make as a mod are forwarded to me so that I can see just what's going on.

[Murazor]

Despite all appearances, I am still interested. It is just that I seem unable to write a decent description of the race I want. Will try to find time to post something.

[frigidmagi]

Go ahead and drop me a PM of your race, maybe I can help you hammer something out.

[frigidmagi]

Hey by the way are neural-machine links allowed?

[Hotfoot]

Mind-Machine interfaces are just fine. If they weren't, some cybernetics would be impossible, after all.

[Marcao]

Tomari Empire
Candela System, Candela III
Crystal Spire: Royal Palace

The Candela system was one of the brilliant jewels in the crown of the Tomari Empire. It was located in the inner core and possessed within it the population, technology and luxuries that such positioning entailed it. The entire system seemed to be awash in activity from the mundane to the dramatic. Every day thousands of transport ships and civilian traffic ranging from luxury liners to pleasure ships plowed the paths between its worlds. The Tomari naval forces in the system itself were significant; at any given moment well over three hundred individual signatures ranging in size from common escorts to uncommon dreadnoughts were present within the system. Over ten billion souls inhabited the space stations and colony stations in orbit over various worlds, giant automated factories in orbit over the primary gas giant of the system and other locations through the system churned out a bewildering array of goods. The Candela system was awash in opulence for those with the influence and credits to claim it.

The heart and soul of the Candela system was Candela III. The world was ideal for human life and had been the first world within the system that had been populated during the early days of colonization. Since that time it had prospered in ways that many of the initial colonists of the world would have never expected. The economy of the world itself rivaled that of the Imperial home world in some respects, and in some cases exceeded them. The wealth which flowed through the world was staggering. The orbital defense network which surrounded Candela III protecting the glittering world beneath like a mother protecting its first born was no different in scale than the system protecting the imperial home world. The three hundred naval ships which resided within the system at all times were seasoned veterans, among the best that the Tomari had to offer. Candela III had never been attacked successfully, an honor that only a handful of other core nations could claim.

If Candela III was the heart and soul of the system, then the Crystal Spire located in the central continent of the planet and the seat of the royal family representatives in the world was the heart of the world. The Crystal Spire itself dominated its surroundings almost as an afterthought, its sheer size and scale dwarfing even the largest of skyscrapers in the cities. The Crystal Spire rose two and half kilometers into the sky and hovered in its entirety fifteen or so meters above the surface of a lake. The lake itself was almost completely encircled by a series of mountain ranges. The Spire itself possessed a theater shield allowing it to hold at bay almost any bombardment. The mountains which surrounded the Spire were believed to house no less than 25 divisions of elite armored and mechanized forces, these forces were elite, hypo trained and more than willing to die to a man in order to safeguard the lives of their living gods. The mountain ranges themselves housed an impressive array of anti-air and anti-orbit weapon systems, making the Crystal Spire the most secure facility in the surface of the world.

The Spire itself housed well over five thousand servants of all types, was patrolled by the elite royal guards men and women with the gift of telepathy sharpened to razor’s edge by some of the best training the Tomari could provided. It was argued by many that Candela III existed purely to provide services and pleasure to the handful of members of the royal family that resided within the spire. From within the hallowed walls the royal family could ask for literally anything they wished and it would be provided from a shiny bauble to the extermination of thousands. Such was life within the Tomari Empire for members of the ruling family that was the entitlement they received for being living gods.

Ashmaraeh Tomari was the mistress of the spire, related by blood directly to the original ruling family she had been the fourth daughter born to the current rulers of the empire. Her facial features were without flaw a combination of her genetic heritage in combination with prolong treatments that were second to none among the known worlds. She did not walk so much as glide down the halls of the spire, her four honor guard two men and two women moving in absolute silence at her sides. She could feel the thoughts of her guards faintly as she walked could feel the weight of their determination and sense the weight of their duty around their shoulders. These four had been tasked with her safety since before she had been born and they had carried out their duties well.
She took the time to look about as she moved towards her final destination, her eyes catching sight of the movements of those that scattered before her passage. She knew the face and name of every servant within the spire by memory. She knew their worlds of origin, she knew how long they had served, and she knew their preferences in all manners of their lives. They were her servants and it was an honor, and for many she knew that it was. Still, as the years progressed she had begun to discover that while she knew nearly all that there was to know about those that served her, something eluded her. Did she know their hearts? Did they serve because it was their honor to serve or did they serve out of fear? She knew their minds but she did not know their hearts. The realization had not bothered her at first, but as the years had dragged on something had changed.

Her steps slowed when they reached the end of the hall, the elevator before her parting open the second its sensors had detected her presence and that of her guards. Her lead guards moved within first followed a moment later by herself and the final two guards. Her mind reached out, forming a link between her mind and that of the elevators artificial intelligence unit. In truth, the linked was formed between herself and the AI which oversaw the inner workings of the Crystal Spire itself. Minutes later, the elevator was climbing towards the location she desired. Even now, she could hardly believe that it was time. She took a deep breath and held it, losing herself for a moment in contemplation of what had led her to this moment.

She had never been the most powerful of her siblings. Of the three sisters that had been born before her, she only possessed more strength than one, and two of the sisters born after her easily bested her in terms of raw mental capability. Her training had been overseeing by the Vell-Os and was as complete as any other member of the royal family. Nonetheless, it had become exceedingly clear to her that she would never ascend to a position higher than the one she had been born into. Her early years had been punctuated by her stature and she had been taught that it was natural for others to serve her. Entire worlds were devoted to satisfy their whims, her words were like law. Her first twenty four years had all taken place in the Imperial home world where she had not escaped the mood and excesses of her family.

Shortly after her twenty fifth birthday she had been granted her first duchy, the world of Candela III would be her charge. The time to rule had arrived. She had spent the next fifty years doing her best to rule while slowly but surely attempting to wean herself away from the debauchery and opulent excesses of her birth world. She managed well enough, although her first marriage ended in relatively failure. She had married purely because her father had suggested that it was a good match, and the two children that had been born during that marriage were healthy and strong. Nonetheless, she had never truly loved their father and as a result her relationship with her children had suffered. Her children were twenty five now themselves, and both had been sent to worlds in the outer core for them to rule. Her husband was still alive, although he did not spend much time in Candela III anymore. No, he indulged his vices in the home world and she was glad to be rid of him. She did not begrudge him having moved on, how could she? She had moved on herself…
The elevator doors opened, her guards moving out of the elevator first before accompanying her in their usual position as she moved. This floor contained her sleeping quarters; the floor in its entirety was nearly consumed by them. It did not take long for them to arrive at the main entrance to her quarters, the door opening a millisecond after she came before the door as if on its own volition. A moment later she was striding within her familiar quarters, a handful of servants scattering and bowing as she moved. It took a minute or so for her to stride towards the nursery, her lips parting as it came within sight. “Allow no one to disturb me.â€Â

[frigidmagi]

Marcoa posted! SANTA IS REAL! HE REALLY IS!