New community game

[Panopticon (OP)]

Looks like we are almost ready for set up, there is still one very important piece of info I need from you guys though: naming themes. At least for leaders and so on.

[niflheimr]

If all other players agree , could we get a copy of the game db not with the purpose of modifying orders , but to see the status of our faction after each turn ? It would help since it's kinda hard to model a strategy without seeing what we've got . There would still be the hassle with passwords but at least no sync-ing , orders and so on.

[Cripes Amighty]

What are the terms of communication? Are we assuming FTL communications for all fleets, or if we send out an exploration vessel in some faraway system and it dies, is it possible we don't know about it?

[Ektoras]

What are the terms of communication? Are we assuming FTL communications for all fleets, or if we send out an exploration vessel in some faraway system and it dies, is it possible we don't know about it?

I think jump gates sould be necessary to allow FTL communications through different systems.

On orders, depends on the details of the reports Panopticon give to us. But I think we could play this without having access on the game.

[Gidoran]

If all other players agree , could we get a copy of the game db not with the purpose of modifying orders , but to see the status of our faction after each turn ? It would help since it's kinda hard to model a strategy without seeing what we've got . There would still be the hassle with passwords but at least no sync-ing , orders and so on.

If you can change passwords as you go, then this wouldn't be too bad. Set the password on each faction, make a copy of the database, then post it to us with passwords listed in each faction's folder. This way you don't have to tangle with setting a password every time you need to do order stacks, nor do you have to worry about relaying all the information to us each time.

Unless you wanted to, I suppose.

What are the terms of communication? Are we assuming FTL communications for all fleets, or if we send out an exploration vessel in some faraway system and it dies, is it possible we don't know about it?

I would support a requirement of either having an FTL ship parked on each side of a gate to simulate them opening a portal and sending a burst transmission through or flinging message drones through. That said, I also would appreciate if we had some sort of an Omega Beacon that would activate when a ship is taken out, which flies home to inform us that a ship died. The amount of information it gives about how the ship died should be limited to what the ship itself saw, as well as what Panopticon feels is appropriate. This way we can have surprise attacks happen, but we're also not going to regularly be going "Now where the hell did THAT go?"

Looks like we are almost ready for set up, there is still one very important piece of info I need from you guys though: naming themes. At least for leaders and so on.

Are you open to custom names for each ranks, maybe working off a base theme? If not, that's fine, I'm just curious if that's something the Triumvirate could do. I know most people won't see it, but the fluff is 90% of the fun.

[niflheimr]

 That said, I also would appreciate if we had some sort of an Omega Beacon that would activate when a ship is taken out, which flies home to inform us that a ship died. The amount of information it gives about how the ship died should be limited to what the ship itself saw, as well as what Panopticon feels is appropriate. This way we can have surprise attacks happen, but we're also not going to regularly be going "Now where the hell did THAT go?"

I like it , but make it so we won't get a Omega Drone if the ship is destroyed in one interval or if the attacking fleet vastly outnumbers you at close range.

[Panopticon (OP)]

Venus guys, I haven't heard anything from you about starting conditions, are you just waiting to see what commanders you get before selecting research options? Also do you just want the default installations?

[Nightstar]

We have some stuff that I'll try to get up by tonight. We do kind of need to know minerals and commanders before making final decisions though. Installations are part of the rest of the plan, not independent.

[Panopticon (OP)]

Working on initial set up now, I'll have your minerals, a system survey, a commander list, and a bit of background up in the relevant forums by the end of the evening if all goes well, after that I'll give a couple days for last minute changes to research and components.

As for Omega drones, I sorta like mysterious disappearances so I don't want to make it too easy to figure out what happened, so here's what I'll do:
You will get an Omega drone in the case of destruction of a ship or station when it is both A. One jump away from a system in which you have a presence, and B. The systems are linked by jump gate or a jump ship holding station on the jump point.

[Panopticon (OP)]

All did not go well, it'll be up tomorrow by 1PM Pacific time.

[Gidoran]

All did not go well, it'll be up tomorrow by 1PM Pacific time.

Take your time, Panopticon. Nobody here is in that drastic of a rush, though we are chomping at the bit.

Speaking of which, as the 'official' diplomat of my faction, I would like to propose to the Syndicate and the Union that all three factions prepare a treaty which, summed up, prohibits Survey Craft from being valid targets of war. I think we all can agree that survey ships going about their business pose no serious threat to anyone, right? We can work out more details as we go along, but that's the basic concept I've got right now. Speaking of which, if the Syndicate and the Union could also announce who is handling the diplomacy for their factions, I'd be appreciative; that way I know who to PM in the future.

[Stardust]

Thanks for taking the time to get this off the ground Panopticon.

Would it be possible to allow non-participants to have read only access to the individual faction forums?  I realize that this is a game for those involved, but it is in the fiction section and the fiction would probably be much more interesting if the reader had more insight.

Regardless, I'll be following the story.

[Gidoran]

Thanks for taking the time to get this off the ground Panopticon.

Would it be possible to allow non-participants to have read only access to the individual faction forums?  I realize that this is a game for those involved, but it is in the fiction section and the fiction would probably be much more interesting if the reader had more insight.

Regardless, I'll be following the story.

Would it be possible to do this? Technically, yes, as far as I understand the forum system we're on. It would be a terrible idea, though, because that would open the door to unfair play (not that I seriously think anyone would do this) and kind of goes against the point of having private forums in the first place.

[sublight]

With only two leaders the Jovian Syndicate is currently jointly managing diplomacy. Please address any diplomatic communications to both Sublight and Ektoras.

Personally, I am reluctant to agree to the Survey Craft neutrality clause. Survey craft would make a safe alternative target in war to population centers, and would require either meta-game knowledge or extensive observation to determine which are survey craft and which are minelayers.

More urgently, geosurveying rival home worlds, yes or no? I'm inclined towards 'no,' but if we go yes all factions should do it immediately to prevent unfortunate misunderstandings later.

[Gidoran]

With only two leaders the Jovian Syndicate is currently jointly managing diplomacy. Please address any diplomatic communications to both Sublight and Ektoras.

Personally, I am reluctant to agree to the Survey Craft neutrality clause. Survey craft would make a safe alternative target in war to population centers, and would require either meta-game knowledge or extensive observation to determine which are survey craft and which are minelayers.

More urgently, geosurveying rival home worlds, yes or no? I'm inclined towards 'no,' but if we go yes all factions should do it immediately to prevent unfortunate misunderstandings later.

For determining Survey Craft neutrality, we would obviously be required to identify which of our ships are survey craft, and which are not. I'm personally a little against giving exact specifications, because they could be a hint into the technological capabilities of our ships, but I'm certain that an alternative could be found. Perhaps a tonnage limit could be instituted on ships which could be considered survey craft to minimize the chance of any unpleasant additions such as minelayer pods, as well as a neutral party (Read: Panopticon) confirming that a particular craft is indeed survey capable? Annoyingly, this is one of the places where it would be nice if Steve made identifying what a ship is easier; you'd think that a big honking sensor array would be kind of obvious, especially on small craft where it takes up a good fourth of their mass at the least.

Your reluctance does however bring up another excellent point. Orbital bombardment of our civilian populations is a major concern, and is wholly unnecessary in the face of a gentlemanly war. Once the game has started, we will have to work together to create something like an Eridani Edict in order to prevent unnecessary atrocities.

As for geosurveying rival homeworlds, the Triumvirate is initially going to vote against this. Doing so would be an excellent opportunity to slip an espionage team onto a world under the guise of neutrality, and the information is not useful to those who do not have an intention of placing mines on a body.