Nova Mundi: 2100+ roll-call/discussion thread [OOC]

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Le Socialiste
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Re: Nova Mundi: 2100+ roll-call/discussion thread [OOC]

Post by Le Socialiste »

I'd be interested in a story about the Tolimanis, specifically one about the Ghellhonite Empire pre-CSA contact. Another one would be the rise of the Planetarist movement, perhaps within the context of the current war and how 'space dwellers' view the conflict. Just a couple ideas I've personally been curious about.
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Re: Nova Mundi: 2100+ roll-call/discussion thread [OOC]

Post by Red Commissar »

It will be more convoluted on the planet if my Congo ship gets there, I promise you that.
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Re: Nova Mundi: 2100+ roll-call/discussion thread [OOC]

Post by NoXion »

Red Commissar wrote:It will be more convoluted on the planet if my Congo ship gets there, I promise you that.
I don't understand?
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Re: Nova Mundi: 2100+ roll-call/discussion thread [OOC]

Post by Red Commissar »

NoXion wrote:
Red Commissar wrote:It will be more convoluted on the planet if my Congo ship gets there, I promise you that.
I don't understand?
Well, if the CSA is pulling the natives of the planet in one way, the Congo would naturally try to counter that at every turn through diplomacy and subterfuge. So the possibility of increased conflict, political scheming, assassinations, destabilization, and other cloak and dagger routines. Considering the native species are at best only just reaching industrial revolution-type techs, the introduction of two significantly more advanced factions in their planet with existing rivalries and their own specific, narrow agendas would introduce a wildcard into the tensions between the Ghellhonites and the Tolimani.

The way I see it, if the native species exists in the future with significant power and weren't crowded out by humans, they would look upon this period in their history as a really, really bad time. I mean for the heck of it we could have the posts about pre-contact written by a native of the planet in the future, kind of a mournful look back at a time when things were "simpler" as it were.
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Re: Nova Mundi: 2100+ roll-call/discussion thread [OOC]

Post by Le Socialiste »

What do y'all think about the possible direction I might be taking the Union in the next several turns (read the latest game thread posts if you haven't already)? I've been thinking about taking Marispatria further down the path its been leaning towards for some time now, what with Chancellor Baldassare's election and my newest post to the game thread. I don't know how this fits in with what Noxion envisioned the Union to be, and maybe he'd be kind enough to voice his thoughts on the matter, but my plan is to keep building upon this trend until it inevitably evokes a reaction from the people - with the result being the collapse of the current structures and a 'restoration' - if you will - of Marispatria as it is supposed to be. Kind of a 'collapse' followed by a 'rebirth', or restoration.
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Re: Nova Mundi: 2100+ roll-call/discussion thread [OOC]

Post by Heretic »

Damn that's deep....

Even if I pretended to view the Technocratic Union as being worse than Mary Sues and bad milk combined when I played the Watchmen, I had my reservations about it. I viewed it as another Culture/Federation expy that must do no evil in this setting (no offense, NoXion). You made the Union more complex than that, Le Socialiste, showing that a generation can change the mentality of a nation and that the polity does have flaws. The idea that the Union is walking a thin line that could cause the collapse and needs to get up makes it seem more whole, sympathetic, and interesting.
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Re: Nova Mundi: 2100+ roll-call/discussion thread [OOC]

Post by NoXion »

Le Socialiste wrote:What do y'all think about the possible direction I might be taking the Union in the next several turns (read the latest game thread posts if you haven't already)? I've been thinking about taking Marispatria further down the path its been leaning towards for some time now, what with Chancellor Baldassare's election and my newest post to the game thread. I don't know how this fits in with what Noxion envisioned the Union to be, and maybe he'd be kind enough to voice his thoughts on the matter, but my plan is to keep building upon this trend until it inevitably evokes a reaction from the people - with the result being the collapse of the current structures and a 'restoration' - if you will - of Marispatria as it is supposed to be. Kind of a 'collapse' followed by a 'rebirth', or restoration.
I like it. I intended Marispatria to be a somewhat idealised, but I've always felt that without some very real flaws it would be a dull element to the story. The possible implications of a situation where an entire generation has grown to reach political maturity in the context of a war was something I hadn't really considered. I like the way it can be tied in with the other pitfalls, challenges and drawbacks that I myself have considered, including bureaucracy, corruption (although given the moneyless economy I imagine for the Union corruption springs from politics rather than economics), and the somewhat isolationist effects of economic autarky and a self-contained political community, created as the result of attempts to balance out the various interests covered by the Union's considerable geographical expanse.

The possibility of a rebirth or restoration sounds interesting. However, safeguarding the revolution will require vigilance from external as well as internal threats. The other Earth powers in the mid-22nd century are stronger and more stable than they were in the mid to late 21st, and thus are much more likely to stick their oar in should the Union show significant signs of weakness or internal disarray. That state of affairs could be a significant obstacle to those who feel the Union has strayed too far from its ostensible mission of establishing a better kind of society than the one it replaced.
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Re: Nova Mundi: 2100+ roll-call/discussion thread [OOC]

Post by Heretic »

Sooo...are we still playing or is this the part where Noxion writes stories?

PS: I came back from Finals and I shat bricks when I saw the whole Daemon System war thingy article. Good job Noxion!
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Re: Nova Mundi: 2100+ roll-call/discussion thread [OOC]

Post by NoXion »

Heretic wrote:Sooo...are we still playing or is this the part where Noxion writes stories?
I don't see why both can't happen at the same time, for now at least. Check out the Random Story Vault!
PS: I came back from Finals and I shat bricks when I saw the whole Daemon System war thingy article. Good job Noxion!
Aw, thanks. It was easier than I thought it would be.
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Re: Nova Mundi: 2100+ roll-call/discussion thread [OOC]

Post by Le Socialiste »

I've finally completed my finals, so I'll be posting again in good time.
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Re: Nova Mundi: 2100+ roll-call/discussion thread [OOC]

Post by Mather »

BTW, Noxion told me that all the countries that took part in the combined assault for the wormhole and the Daemon System lost between 60 to 70% of the total deployed from their space fleets.
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Re: Nova Mundi: 2100+ roll-call/discussion thread [OOC]

Post by Le Socialiste »

^ Yeah, I assumed as much. But at least the Machines are on the way out (there's still that CyberShadow holdout near Venus though, did anybody forget about that?).
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Re: Nova Mundi: 2100+ roll-call/discussion thread [OOC]

Post by Red Commissar »

Le Socialiste wrote:^ Yeah, I assumed as much. But at least the Machines are on the way out (there's still that CyberShadow holdout near Venus though, did anybody forget about that?).
I have some plans in mind for Venus, I just need to find someway to set it up. I don't know whether or not we're *supposed* to know what it really is or not.
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Re: Nova Mundi: 2100+ roll-call/discussion thread [OOC]

Post by NoXion »

I intended the CyberShadow puppetry/influence thing to be a way of counter-balancing the fact that the Pan-Asian Federation didn't have any obvious allies. I think that had I been less open as a GM about fact that the PAF was under the control of a secretive bunch of a-human AIs (say that instead I had only revealed that fact to whichever player chose the PAF), then the game's events would have turned out differently - I remember Mather saying to me that the PAF would have made good allies for Texas were it not for the whole AI thing. But when I was creating the game I also figured that the PAF would be large enough to be it's own thing, preferring to use economic influence and subterfuge, rather than pure native military strength or the superiority in numbers granted by an alliance or treaty.

As for IC knowledge, I imagine that following the fall of Beijing, Marispatria would have gleaned a fair amount of information about the AI control of the Pan-Asian Federation from those of the Pan-Asian upper echelons who survived the battle and didn't off themselves to avoid capture.
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Re: Nova Mundi: 2100+ roll-call/discussion thread [OOC]

Post by Red Commissar »

From your description of the nations, the Pan-Asian Federation presented and operated in a moderate preservationist manner.
(to the rest of the world, they present themselves as "moderate" human supremacists - divide and conquer),
So yeah, even from the beginning Pan-Asia just seemed like a throwback to our time in their structure, much like Texas.

IMO it would have been better to have the whole cybershadow angle to be revealed over time as you are saying, rather than revealing them from the get-go. If we had a player who could commit to Pan-Asia and not pull out like Frank did, then it would have been up to them to keep that fact secret.

The dynamics of the game would have certainly been different, Pan-Asia appearing to be the preservationist answer to Extropian Marispatria.

What I wonder now is how to deal with the remnants of cybershadow. I took Khartoum out of the picture using the madvert mess as pretext, but we still have Extropian California and New Hope Sky City that are still around but are not openly declaring their real nature for obvious reasons.
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Re: Nova Mundi: 2100+ roll-call/discussion thread [OOC]

Post by NoXion »

I'm thinking that with the defeat of the Machine Army and the Gang of Twelve in the Sol and Daemon systems, the Cybershadow controlling interests in California and New Hope would have effectively evaporated, especially considering that such "assets" weren't really put into action. Californian elites are probably most concerned with keeping their economy afloat and I imagine that New Hope will be quietly distancing themselves from the former PAF.

In game terms the threat from the CyberShadow has been broken, but in wider historical terms they will return.
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Re: Nova Mundi: 2100+ roll-call/discussion thread [OOC]

Post by NoXion »

At the moment I'm dithering over whether or not to take a break or not. Help?
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Re: Nova Mundi: 2100+ roll-call/discussion thread [OOC]

Post by Red Commissar »

Personally I suggest you put out the next turn and we can let it sit for a few weeks for winter downtime.
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Re: Nova Mundi: 2100+ roll-call/discussion thread [OOC]

Post by Le Socialiste »

I agree with RC, but whatever works for you Noxion.
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Re: Nova Mundi: 2100+ roll-call/discussion thread [OOC]

Post by NoXion »

So I thought I'd use this little break to do some thinking about the history of the 21st century again...

In an attempt to sort things out better, I'm going to list by geographical region the historical developments that I've imagined so far for this future history:

North America: Catastrophic collapse of the United States, followed by an 80-year or so Mad Max-style civil war/conflict across the continent, perhaps egged on by external interests (possibilities include but are not limited to: the Star Kvlt, the Syndicate, China/Pan-Asian Federation, fascist Russia?). Still feel that I need to fully flesh-out a fictionally plausible initial catastrophe. One nuke in DC doesn't feel like it would be enough any more. So maybe something more along the lines of multiple nukes plus a minor invasion of extra-dimensional horrors?

South America: Rise of the PRSA, involving a social revolution and possible conflict with Integralists (who are sponsored by Russia perhaps?).

Europe: Increasing social unrest as a result of continuing (and worsening?) maladministration, leading to a revolution as EURONET AIs break their loyalty-assuring software patches, and in concert with those on the streets as well as increasing numbers of liberated Mechanoids and Hybrids, foil the alienated European elites' plans for a new world order. Speaking of which, I smell a potentially juicy opportunity for the deconstruction of common conspiracy theory tropes here - could be an opportunity to examine what would "really" happen when a ruling elite comes to regard those it considers beneath them as "useless eaters". Contrary to conspiracy theorists' fever-dreams, I imagine that such an attempt would backfire spectacularly! At least in Nova Mundi.

Africa: Outbreak and stabilisation of the Malagasy Nanotopia, otherwise I imagine things to be fairly chaotic, with PMCs, foreign corporations, wannabe dictators and evangelists of all stripes running amok, until the rise of the PRGC imposes some semblance of order to the continent (thanks Red Commissar!).

Asia-Pacific: Increasing power and influence of China, leading to the formation of the Pan-Asian Federation. Conflict with Russia?

Elsewhere/Undefined: The Belter Rebellion (perhaps with help from Free Mars and the Lunatic Tendency) breaks the stranglehold of the State (Russia) and capitalist corporations (China/PAF) on space activity, enabling a greater degree of independent colonisation of space and sowing the seeds of the later Planetarist movement. Perhaps the Belter Rebellion was instigated by the demands made on space-based industries during the Russia v China/PAF conflict? Also, at some point during the 21st century the Abyssian Dwellers reveal themselves. Again the temptation is to tie it in with a Russia-China/PAF conflict, maybe have the war or certain event(s) within it as the reason for the Dwellers revealing themselves.

---

Posted in this thread because even though it's not directly related to the game, as players you have effectively been co-creators to some degree and I value your input. As for the turn; I intend to get it out before the end of the year, but I'm in no rush as I still have that holiday feeling...
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Re: Nova Mundi: 2100+ roll-call/discussion thread [OOC]

Post by Red Commissar »

Thanks for the turn Noxion. How many weeks are we considering for down time?
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Re: Nova Mundi: 2100+ roll-call/discussion thread [OOC]

Post by NoXion »

Well, since I was personally planning to post the turn sooner than I did, maybe a week or two, depending on the demands on everyone's time?

Possibly longer if anyone's up for this recent brainwave of mine:

Nova Mundi: Inundata

Image

The year is 2500. Over three hundred years ago, the Cybershadow threat was driven out of known space, and the societies of Earth prospered in the relatively peaceful aftermath. But something was amiss - global temperatures were rising, with various factors being blamed, including thermodynamic pollution and continued methane clathrate extraction in the Arctic Circle. The resulting conflicts, migrations, disputes, floodings and attempts at land reclamation redrew the map in more ways than one, and the accompanying political turbulence hampered attempts at a global response to the average sea level increase of 28mm a year. At about the turn of the 26th century, the sea level rise has levelled off but is still slowly increasing, which is particularly worrying as the rise is no longer in line with temperature increases which have plateaued, thanks to greater ocean colonisation and off-world migration. The total sea level rise since 2150 totals 100 metres, wiping out large areas of previously dry land.

ImageImage
The rise in sea levels has seen a great expansion in ocean surface and submarine colonisation

There have been other developments over the centuries - the natives of Ghellhonus have been an advanced industrial civilisation for over two centuries, and developed their own spacefaring capabilities a century ago. The ME/RC colony in the Sirius system are in the centuries-long process of building a Matrioshka Brain around Sirius A in order to support their second, greater super-intelligence. Finally, astronomers have detected a large object heading towards the Solar system from the depths of interstellar space, which appears to be artificial and will reach the edge of the Solar system in 2550 CE.

Image
As well as the oceans, perhaps people have taken to living in the skies?

The rest, including drawing on the map of Earth (the above image is a thumbnail, I have a large version for us to fiddle with), was something I was hoping the rest of you could have a hand in creating. As players of my first game you've helped to build it simply through playing it, but this time around I was thinking the end result might be better if we took the opportunity to learn some lessons and apply them before the start of the new game. But by starting a new game in later in the same setting, we also get to use the events of the previous game as a backstory of sorts, with enough time in between for new factions to arise as well as old familiars to develop.

What do you say? If anyone's up for it, I'll start a thread.
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Re: Nova Mundi: 2100+ roll-call/discussion thread [OOC]

Post by Pelarys »

Just a quick post to tell everyone that I'll be controlling the The People's Republic of South America from now on. Looking forward to playing with you guys.
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Re: Nova Mundi: 2100+ roll-call/discussion thread [OOC]

Post by Mather »

What do you say? If anyone's up for it, I'll start a thread
But we haven't finished this game yet?
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Re: Nova Mundi: 2100+ roll-call/discussion thread [OOC]

Post by Le Socialiste »

I'm definitely interested in the idea, but what would happen to our old game? Would this be more of a temporary thing, before we revert back to the current game thread? Regardless, this 'new world' is something I think we'd enjoy fleshing out.
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