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Offline Steve Walmsley (OP)

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#1 Colonial Wars Setup and Background
« on: August 10, 2015, 06:02:06 PM »
Notes on Campaign Setup

This campaign started as a test for the new neutral race functionality and the new jump point generation code for v6.50 and somehow morphed into the largest campaign setup I have even done (by some distance) :). I've been playing the Rigellian Chronicle campaign for a while, which is a single player race vs. multiple NPRs, and although I am enjoying it, the campaign doesn't have the same feel as the original because I am only playing one race. While NPRs can provide a challenge through superior technology or greater numbers they cannot compete with a human player. From a story-telling perspective I decided it would be better to go back to multiple player races so I can tell the story from multiple perspectives and have more political and diplomatic interactions. I went a little overboard though as this campaign has fourteen player races and will probably have a couple more added later.

The major issue I have found in the past with multiple races starting on Earth is that to an extent they all do similar things. They build ships to accomplish similar missions, explore the Sol JPs, explore the nearby systems and establish colonies, run into the same resource shortages, etc.. Therefore I thought it might be more interesting if each race was presented with a different set of problems. That led me to the idea of a campaign with a similar feel to the back story of 2300 AD, a role-playing game from the 1980s that had a hard science theme. In 2300 AD, the nations of Earth (some new and some changed in relative power but still familiar) had expanded into space and formed colonies, one or two of which had broken away to become independent. Earth was still the most important planet but some nations had several colonies and some were sizeable. An alien race called Kafers attacked human space and the various human nations (eventually) came together to fight the invasion, although a number of colonies were destroyed or captured.

With that mind I created a back story for this campaign, set in 2100, so that each major power had one or two populated colonies and perhaps one or two mining colonies. The populated colonies are shown on the map below by flags. In addition there are the independent nations of the Martian Union and the Centauri Federation, both of which were formed by colonies banding together to break away from their parent nations. There is also a large 'neutral' power - the United Nations - which is non-TN and can be used as a source of additional colonists by the other powers. This situation presents each power with different challenges, depending on where their colony is and what resources are available. The nations all expanded in different directions as well, which again creates different challenges.

Using population alone the smaller starting nations would be severely outclassed, both in starting forces and the ability for further research. Therefore all the smaller nations have more research labs, larger shipyards, more initial research points to spend and more starting build points than their population would normally allow. The first rank powers still have an advantage but a much smaller one than would normally be the case.

Campaign Background

In 2030, increasing tension between India and China flared into open war. Fighting spread into Pakistan, Central Asia and South-east Asia. China used tactical nuclear weapons to force a breakthrough and the conflict quickly escalated into an all-out strategic nuclear exchange. Both countries were devastated and central authority collapsed, resulting in an end to the war because neither side was capable of continuing. India and China split into smaller states; some of which were military controlled, some civilian controlled and some little more than anarchies. In the case of India, other nations tried to provide humanitarian assistance. In the case of China, an increasingly militant Japan decided this was the ideal time to remove any future threat and began a takeover of the coastal provinces under the guise of assistance. Eventually the northern and western Chinese states consolidated and formed a new nation - Manchuria. Japan controlled the east and the south of China after crushing all resistance. Once Japan consolidated its new territories, it began to rival the United States in terms of economic and military strength. The global instability in the years after the war resulted in other changes in the balance of power. The Russian Federation expanded into Central Asia and the old Soviet Republics, expanding its industrial base and increasing its population. In the Middle-East an alliance of Sunni states formed to combat Iran became a political union known as the Caliphate.

The breakthrough into Trans-Newtonian physics came in 2052. Within a few years several countries had built freighters and colony ships and established colonies on Mars. Although the Martian population was growing rapidly and terraforming was underway, interest in the red planet faded quickly once the first jump point was discovered in Sol. Alpha Centauri had an ideal habitable world and a second that was a much better terraforming candidate than Mars. Various nations established new colonies on both worlds in Alpha Centauri. Generally colonists were government-sponsored so the colonies were of a similar ethnicity to the parent government. The United Kingdom took a different approach, settling a near-ideal world on the second planet of Barnard's Star, also adjacent to Sol, which was named Avalon. The UK, which had prospered since leaving the European Union in 2018 and rebuilt its global trade network, invited colonists from any nation as long as they met the qualification criteria. The United States split its colonization efforts between Alpha Centauri and a smaller settlement in Lalande 21185 known as Columbia Colony. Japan, beginning to overtake the US in terms of technology, pushed out past Alpha Centauri and established two colonies in systems it renamed Edo and Kyoto. Russia and Manchuria went through the Proxima system and established colonies in two different systems, named Novaya Rodina and Manchu.

In 2075 Mars declared its independence. The colony had been virtually abandoned by the founding nations and the colonists found more in common with each other than with their parent governments on Earth. No nation had any significant military space forces so there was no way to compel the obedience of the Martian colonies. Instead, most of the Earth-based powers imposed a trade embargo on Mars. This was seen by the Martian colonists as a punishment rather than a serious attempt to negotiate and their attitude toward Earth hardened even more. This resulted in a struggle to survive and even by the end of the 21st century, the Martian Union still has a siege mentality. Mars is guarded by a large number of defensive orbital bases and the Union has only eight 4650 ton patrol craft as a mobile fleet.

The treatment of Mars did not go unnoticed by the extra-solar colonists on several different worlds. Several independence movements arose but the only ones that met with success were in Alpha Centauri. The UK had learned from centuries of colonization and conquest on Earth that unhappy colonies were liable to cause problems so they ensured the multi-national settlers on Avalon were treated fairly and their taxation was matched with representation. The various national colonies were still relatively small and maintained a degree of loyalty to their parent governments. On Alpha Centauri it was the intermingling of the various colonies that caused the desire for independence. As on Mars, the Centauri colonists found common ground and saw the Solarian government as a drain on their resources. Leaders from both inhabited planets coordinated their actions and the Centauri Federation was formed in 2078. By this point the various space-faring powers had begun to invest in military research but they were still not capable of enforcing their will on rebellious colonists. The Centauri Federation instituted a similar policy to the UK, welcoming immigrants from any nation, and its population continued to expand. Eventually, the Federation founded its own colony on a partially-habitable moon of Alpha Centauri-A II and began terraforming operations.

The emergence of the Martian Union and the Centauri Federation changed the nature of human expansion into space. Until the late 2070s, industrial efforts had concentrated on economic development. That now changed into a military build-up, partly to ensure that no more colonies could successfully declare independence and partly to counter the military build-up of rival powers. Each nation adopted different philosophies. The United States and Japan were the two foremost economic powers and both created fleets of specialised warships that were balanced between missile combatants and energy combatants; lasers for the USA and railguns for the Japanese. The Russian Federation designed ships with a combined armament of box launchers and railguns while the Caliphate also opted for box launchers but based them on fast attack craft, supported by meson-armed FACs, FAC carriers and FAC tenders. The United Kingdom and Australia created fleets that relied entirely on energy weapons, lasers and railguns respectively, and both ensured they had the best equipment available in their chosen field of expertise. Brazil also went down the energy-only route using a mixture of railguns and gauss cannon. Several nations, including Manchuria, Germany, the Centauri Federation and Argentina, went in the opposite direction with a missiles-only philosophy. Even in these cases design philosophies varied considerably. German ships, for example, had missiles with the largest warheads while Manchuria opted for small missiles on ships that faster than most of their rivals. France was another missile-only power but also invested heavily in engine technology and was the only nation with magneto-plasma engines. Canada opted for high quality ships with mixed armament of either anti-ship missiles and offensive lasers or AMMs and point defence lasers.

The evolving race into space become more like the exploration and conquest of the new world in the 16th and 17th centuries as competing nations searched out the best colony sites and most accessible resources. Sol had four jump points, which resulted in expansion in four primary directions. The chains of systems formed beyond these jump points became known the four Arms; the American Arm, the Russo-Manchurian Arm, the Centauri Arm and the Avalon Arm. By 2100, the American Arm was the largest, with twenty-one systems, and was home to six inhabited colonies; two each from the United States and Germany and one each from France and the Caliphate. Second largest was the Avalon Arm with twelve systems and was home to five colonies, two from the UK and one each from Australia, Brazil and Canada. The Australian colony and one of the UK colonies were both based on Pendragon, a moon in the Struve 2398 system. The Russo-Manchurian Arm and the Centauri Arm each contained nine systems. The former contained two Russian colonies and one from Manchuria, while the latter had three Centauri populations, two Japanese colonies and a single Argentine colony. A further seventeen automated mining colonies were distributed between Sol and the four arms. The Martian Union had no extra-solar colonies.

Populated Colonies:
Earth: United Nations (neutral) 3650m, USA 550m, Japan 455m, Manchuria 380m, Caliphate 375m, Russia 370m, Brazil 285m, Germany 230m, France 195m, Canada 118m, UK 100m, Argentina 95m, Australia 95m,
Avalon (Barnard's Star): UK 300m
Mars: Martian Union 250m
Asgard (Alpha Centauri): Centauri 150m
Vanaheim (Alpha Centauri): Centauri 125m
Edo-A II: Japan 60m
Columbia (Lalande 21185): US 40m
Novaya Rodina (Novaya Rodina): Russia 30m
Midgard (Alpha Centauri): Centauri 25m
Medina II: Caliphate 25m
Pendragon (Struve 2398): UK 20m, Australia 5m
Manchu-A I: Manchuria 20m
Novo Rio (Kruger 60): Brazil 15m
Groombridge 1618-A II: Germany 12.5m
Kyoto-A I: Japan 10m
Astoria (WX Ursae Majoris): US 10m
EZ Aquarii-A III Moon 6: Russia 10m
FL Virginis-A II: Germany 7.5m
Acadia (Kuiper 75): Canada 7m
New France II: France 5m
Alpha Centauri-A II Moon 20: Argentina 5m

Automated Mining Colonies
Struve 2398-B Asteroid #36: UK 10
Struve 2398-B Asteroid #27: Australia 6
Kruger 60-B VII Moon 6: UK 6, Brazil 8
Lalande 21185-A I: US 10
Lalande 21185-A II: US 25
LHS 292-A I: Japan 20
LHS 292-A III: Japan 20
EZ Aquarii-B III Moon 29: Russia 10
Luyten 726-8 B Asteroid #23: Russia 14
Medina V - Moon 10: Caliphate 16
Medina VII - Moon 7: Caliphate 16
Faye (Sol): Manchuria 20
Stephan-Oterma (Sol): Manchuria 20
TZ Arietis I: Manchuria 14
FL Virginis-B III: Germany 10
Gl 452.1-A IV: France 8
« Last Edit: August 21, 2018, 06:42:16 PM by Steve Walmsley »
 

Offline GodEmperor

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Re: Colonial Wars Setup and Background
« Reply #1 on: August 11, 2015, 10:09:48 AM »
That will be one slooooooooooooooooow ass game  ;D

But it looks fapable af :) Waiting impatiently for an update. :)
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You have just pushed me."
 

Offline Viridia

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Re: Colonial Wars Setup and Background
« Reply #2 on: August 11, 2015, 10:37:46 AM »
Crikey. I always thought the Trans-Newtonian game was busy, but this is going to be huge. Really looking forward to reading it!
 

Offline Steve Walmsley (OP)

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Re: Colonial Wars Setup and Background
« Reply #3 on: August 11, 2015, 12:15:16 PM »
That will be one slooooooooooooooooow ass game  ;D

But it looks fapable af :) Waiting impatiently for an update. :)

Yes, been playing three nights so far and still in October of the first year :)

 

Offline Stardust

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Re: Colonial Wars Setup and Background
« Reply #4 on: August 11, 2015, 01:33:04 PM »
Looking forward to this.

In the text you mention that the less populated nations would have more research labs, larger shipyards, more initial research points to spend and more starting build points, but the table doesn't reflect that.
 

Offline GodEmperor

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Re: Colonial Wars Setup and Background
« Reply #5 on: August 11, 2015, 02:46:36 PM »
Yes, been playing three nights so far and still in October of the first year :)

Mirrin that dedication. Im still waiting for dem overhauled sensors in 6.50 because those 5-sec turns are really pissing me off :)
."I am Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt. I am known as a fair man, unless I am pushed.
You have just pushed me."
 

Offline Steve Walmsley (OP)

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Re: Colonial Wars Setup and Background
« Reply #6 on: August 11, 2015, 02:56:05 PM »
Looking forward to this.

In the text you mention that the less populated nations would have more research labs, larger shipyards, more initial research points to spend and more starting build points, but the table doesn't reflect that.

The relevant part is "all the smaller nations have more research labs, larger shipyards, more initial research points to spend and more starting build points than their population would normally allow."

That doesn't mean more than the larger nations; it just means more than their population would normally warrant, so the gap between large and small starting populations isn't as large as it would normally be.
 

Offline Stardust

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Re: Colonial Wars Setup and Background
« Reply #7 on: August 12, 2015, 06:36:54 AM »
Thank you for the response and for this awesome environment to get lost in.

I didn't absorb the "than their population would normally allow."  I was thinking more research labs than the more populous nations would allow their smaller population to put aside constructing labs early on in favor of other things.
 

Offline sneer

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Re: Colonial Wars Setup and Background
« Reply #8 on: August 12, 2015, 07:10:14 AM »
It will be awesome story  ;D

is it possible for you to add database file link to the initial setup ( I guess most of us has very limited experiance in preparing such initial universum )
 

Offline TheRequimen

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Re: Colonial Wars Setup and Background
« Reply #9 on: August 12, 2015, 12:22:43 PM »
This is gonna be good! Can't wait.   ;D
 

Offline Erik L

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Re: Colonial Wars Setup and Background
« Reply #10 on: August 12, 2015, 12:57:15 PM »
It will be awesome story  ;D

is it possible for you to add database file link to the initial setup ( I guess most of us has very limited experiance in preparing such initial universum )

The database would require updated program files, so probably not any time immediate :) When the new patch is out, Steve usually includes the latest database with his "test" campaign

Offline Father Tim

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Re: Colonial Wars Setup and Background
« Reply #11 on: August 12, 2015, 01:02:59 PM »
Is it too early to propose a CAN-UK-AUS alliance?

  (Also note that we Canadians are proud of our partially-French heritage, and would be happy to do some sort of backdoor deal with France that the UK doesn't know about.)
 

Offline Steve Walmsley (OP)

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Re: Colonial Wars Setup and Background
« Reply #12 on: August 12, 2015, 01:42:24 PM »
Is it too early to propose a CAN-UK-AUS alliance?

  (Also note that we Canadians are proud of our partially-French heritage, and would be happy to do some sort of backdoor deal with France that the UK doesn't know about.)

Jan 2101: The UK signed an agreement with Canada and Australia for them to create non-mining colonies on Avalon in return for an trade treaty and an agreement to defend the planet. Avalon will provide an easier stepping stone into space for AUS & CAN which have existing colonies that have reasonable mineral supplies but are hard to expand due to the infrastructure requirements and their limited terraforming capabilities. The UK is wary of allowing other countries to mine the remaining mineral deposits on Avalon, which is why mines will not be allowed on the two new colonies.

Three months earlier in Oct 2100 France and Germany also established 'way point' colonies on the same planet as the United States (Astoria) in WX Ursae Majoris as the jump gate networks don't yet extend to their primary colonies and they need somewhere for civilians to send colonists and infrastructure.

Some nations have also created new colonies further out in newly discovered systems

I'll do a proper update when I need a break from playing :)

 

Offline Steve Walmsley (OP)

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Re: Colonial Wars Setup and Background
« Reply #13 on: August 12, 2015, 01:43:25 PM »
  (Also note that we Canadians are proud of our partially-French heritage, and would be happy to do some sort of backdoor deal with France that the UK doesn't know about.)

Forgot to mention the Canadians named their first colony Acadia after the first French colony in what is now Canada
 

Offline boggo2300

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Re: Colonial Wars Setup and Background
« Reply #14 on: August 12, 2015, 05:30:29 PM »
Not sure Australia calling freighters Melbourne would go down so well,  generally speaking the vessels named after Capital Cities are the heaviest combatants (save for HMAS Australia, which was our only ever Capital ship),  and with the Melbourne/Sydney rivalry you'd end up with an unhappy second largest city (there's a reason the 2 Majestic class carriers we bought after WWII were called Sydney and Melbourne).   I'd suggest making the Destroyers Melbourne class,  Supply, and Success would be more traditional names for cargo hauling.

Matt

« Last Edit: August 12, 2015, 05:56:10 PM by boggo2300 »
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