National Updates Comment Thread

[Haji]

I was thinking about making a similar campaign to this one but my current one is taking too much of my time already. In that case the big bad was to be a coalition of races who were scared as hell that humanity is taking over every other alien race seemingly for the evlulz so they banded together, their rivarilies forgotten, for the express purpose of eliminating humans as a threat. Seeing as in your campaign you already ended up with two alien empires absorbed by human nations (I think; I haven't finished reading the newest update yet, it's quite long) a coalition like that may make an interesting big bad, especially since they wouldn't be evil per se, just driven by fear of humans, which could be a little more interesting than just adding "I'm evil and I want you race" enemy.

Edit: Such a coalition could also be interesting in that since they aren't exactly evil and bend on exterminating mankind just because they feel like it, they could potentially start playing politics and involve themselves with some of the human nations.

[Jakalo]

1) Galactic Empire from Star Wars
2) Imperium from WH40k, although with aliens not humans.
3) Kafers from 2300AD
4) Cylons
5) Dilgar from Bablyon 5

etc.

Any other suggestions welcome. I'm not looking to build exact copies but use them as inspiration for a large, very powerful enemy.

 Stagnating Old Empire dealing (or failing to do) with emerging Xenos threat would be pretty thematic only this time with Humans instead of Tau.

Also it could be nice to see a devious and calculating alien race exploiting its stealth capabilities (akin to Romulans) to sow chaos and discord between various human powers.

[boggo2300]

This campaign is inspired by an old RPG called 2300AD. In that game, humanity was split into many factions and ran into a powerful alien empire. Eventually they had to unite to defeat it. About three years ago (game time) I added an alien empire that is just as powerful as any current human Empire and is already in one human system, although neither side knows. However, that is not intended to be the main bad guy.

Within the next year or two of game time I will be adding a very powerful alien race. I haven't decided on the theme yet but I am leaning towards a few fictional empires for inspiration

1) Galactic Empire from Star Wars
2) Imperium from WH40k, although with aliens not humans.
3) Kafers from 2300AD
4) Cylons
5) Dilgar from Bablyon 5

etc.

Any other suggestions welcome. I'm not looking to build exact copies but use them as inspiration for a large, very powerful enemy.

As could probably be expected my vote is for 3!

though does Aurora's NPR build sets include anything as er Sturdy as a Kafer Alpha?

[Steve Walmsley (OP)]

As could probably be expected my vote is for 3!

though does Aurora's NPR build sets include anything as er Sturdy as a Kafer Alpha?

I'm playing all the alien races too so that is not a problem

[Spaceman Spiff]

Any other suggestions welcome.  I'm not looking to build exact copies but use them as inspiration for a large, very powerful enemy.

Are you familiar with C.  J.  Cherryh's work? Aurora makes me think so much of some of the nail-biting ship combat in books of hers like Downbelow Station, where ships are traveling at such high speeds that sensor contact will be preceded only seconds before potential missile strikes.  Her The Chanur novels setting and Alliance-Union universe might provide some good inspiration for a powerful alien empire.       

Also, I've been really curious to know, are you familiar with the Alternity science-fiction RPG? Some of its aliens could provide good inspiration, and Aurora has made me think a lot of the free Alternity ship combat and construction compendium, Warships, which comes pretty close to what Aurora would be like as a paper-and-pencil game, I think, and also might be a tremendous source of ideas and inspiration for Aurora, in general!

Edit, links:

• Downbelow Station: https://en.    wikipedia.    org/wiki/Downbelow_Station
• The Chanur novels: https://en.    wikipedia.    org/wiki/The_Chanur_novels
• Alliance-Union universe: https://en.    wikipedia.    org/wiki/Alliance%E2%80%93Union_universe
• Alternity science-fiction RPG: hxxp: www.    alternityrpg.    net/
• Alternity Warships compendium: hxxp: www.    alternityrpg.    net/downloads/sourcebooks/Warships.    pdf

[boggo2300]

ok,  Now I really want you to do Kafers,  I'd love to see an Aurora version of the Kafer battlefleets.

[Sematary]

My preference would be the Tau if we are going WH 40k.

[Steve Walmsley (OP)]

ok,  Now I really want you to do Kafers,  I'd love to see an Aurora version of the Kafer battlefleets.

What's the best source of material on Kafer warships?

[drejr]

Online, Etranger is probably the best.

[boggo2300]

Invasion is probably best canon for the Kafer Invasion fleets (there were 3),  Kafer Sourcebook has some seriously cool background info as well to help with the er mindset? half mindset? er Kaferishness.  Actually one of the secrets in the Sourcebook would work really well in an Aurora version of Kafers.  Plus they are really the implacable, almost impossible to understand foes harkening back to the Arachnoids  that you dealt with in the olden days.

as above Etranger is pretty good for everything 2300,  though not crunchy for obvious copyright reasons

pity Aurora combat isn't quite the hide and seek with Bazooka's that Star Cruiser was   though it's certainly closer than anything else I've seen.


Uh oh,  my 2300 trigger has flipped,  I'm gone now!

heh  unfound warp points work as the backdoors into and out of Human/Kafer Space!

incidentally I loved what you did with the Eben,  so very much like the Eber,  even down to the colonising of their homeworld!

[Andrew]

This
http://www.foxx-industries.com/

Has some information on two attempts to refight the kafer invasion, which is all derived from 2300ad's invasion
This web blog also has information
http://2300ad-uk.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/space-battles-of-kafer-invasion.html

and this one has some information of post war attempts to deal with the kafers and their subject race
https://sites.google.com/site/2300adcollective2/our-company/operation-backdoor

[hubgbf]

Hi,

There is also the enigma aliens in the lost fleet series. They are rather xenophobic.
They use computer virus to create false ship on sensors which appear invulnerable. (It would perhaps need a refactoring of the ECM and ECCM system)
They also covertly give humanity some dangerous technology and managed to create a war between human factions. (false ruins ?)

Perhaps one or several of aurora's spoiler are proof of their past actions, killing any potential threatening race or protecting valuable worlds for future expansion.
These spoilers can also send back some form of signal to inform their pasters that there is a problem.

Thanks for this great story,
H.

[BwenGun]

As a potential alternative, maybe a civilisation that starts off a bit more advanced than Humanity but is vastly more powerful than any single human faction in terms of population and industry.  The quirk of said civilisation would be that their initial technological renaissance came about because of ancient ruins found on their homeworld around which a minor religion had existed for millennia.  The unlocking of the ruins true secrets prompted this minor religious sect to conquer their homeworld and from there spread out into the stars.  However, due to the nature of their religion they view technological progress as something that they must seize themselves, either in the form of ruins scattered across the galaxy which they view as sacred gifts from their Gods or by the conquest of other sentient races and the seizure and re-adaptation of any technology they posses. 

The idea being that Humanity may be able to attain a technological edge, but will still have to contend with being outnumbered and once they cotton on the knowledge that every ship and colony lost represents another potential for their already mighty foe to field even deadlier ships. 

[Bremen]

Hi,

There is also the enigma aliens in the lost fleet series. They are rather xenophobic.
They use computer virus to create false ship on sensors which appear invulnerable. (It would perhaps need a refactoring of the ECM and ECCM system)
They also covertly give humanity some dangerous technology and managed to create a war between human factions. (false ruins ?)

Perhaps one or several of aurora's spoiler are proof of their past actions, killing any potential threatening race or protecting valuable worlds for future expansion.
These spoilers can also send back some form of signal to inform their pasters that there is a problem.

Thanks for this great story,
H.

Elaborating on this, the Enigma aliens are evolved from ambush predators something like an alligator. They absolutely hate being seen (they self destruct their ships rather than allow wrecks to be examined, Humanity only learned what they look like by happening to find one partially intact body) and it was Humanity's constant curiosity that drove them to attack. They struck me as pretty interesting, and could be an inspiration for a race of aliens with stealthy ships.

Anyways, onto the campaign, wow, those were some really nice finds by Germany. Maybe the Commonwealth isn't in as dominant a position as I thought.

[Steve Walmsley (OP)]

As a potential alternative, maybe a civilisation that starts off a bit more advanced than Humanity but is vastly more powerful than any single human faction in terms of population and industry.  The quirk of said civilisation would be that their initial technological renaissance came about because of ancient ruins found on their homeworld around which a minor religion had existed for millennia.  The unlocking of the ruins true secrets prompted this minor religious sect to conquer their homeworld and from there spread out into the stars.  However, due to the nature of their religion they view technological progress as something that they must seize themselves, either in the form of ruins scattered across the galaxy which they view as sacred gifts from their Gods or by the conquest of other sentient races and the seizure and re-adaptation of any technology they posses. 

The idea being that Humanity may be able to attain a technological edge, but will still have to contend with being outnumbered and once they cotton on the knowledge that every ship and colony lost represents another potential for their already mighty foe to field even deadlier ships.

One of the reasons a 40K Terran Empire equivalent is appealing is that I can create a large and powerful enemy that doesn't research (although your ruins idea is a good one). So while humans may be initially outclassed, they can begin to overcome the gap. Otherwise, if I make the starting gap too large, the humans may never catch up.