Colonization... IN SPAAAAAACE!

[Tarvok]

I was just looking at the "State of SMAC2" thread, and while 16 pages is a bit much for me to be jumping into, I was thinking about what "another science fiction civilization spinoff" might look like, and I suddenly remembered something I've been putting a lot of thought into, and could work very well.

The concept is the terraforming of another planet in the (or a) solar system. Assuming Mars is the model, terrain types and the tactics and strategy suggested by those terrain types could be substantially different from the usual (Mars lacking navigable bodies of water). The various factions could be a mix of colonial factions with a current tie to one of Earth's nations, and other factions which have "gone native".

"Native" factions could, perhaps, have some kind of bonus that allows them a steadier local production of materials. Colonial factions would have access to supplies from Earth, though the availability of supplies would vary with the time of year, which is to say the "price" of supplies and new colonists would vary depending on where the homeworld and the colony world were in their orbits relative to each other.

Another possibility is an "interplanetary age of sail" type scenario with multiple planets to be colonized, each one different, with orbital periods even more relevant to strategy. Imagine a situation where "planetary conjunctions" actually do have substantial strategic effect, due to the fact that factions with a presence on all lined-up worlds could use it as an opportunity to engage in major reshuffling of resources.

You could even have random system generation for such a game. Imagine a game where in one game, the planets are all nicely lined up in nearly circular orbits around the sun; in another, the (potentially) habitable bodies are a mix of terrestrial planets and habitable moons around a gas giant; in a third, one of the planets (possibly the homeworld) occupies this crazy highly elliptical retrograde orbit that approaches only rarely (a la Sitchin's version of Nibiru). Perhaps there could even be a scenario in which one or more colonial worlds are inhabited by primitive hominids or other ground bound sentient beings.

The focus of such a game would be terrestrial action. Any potential space conflicts would be handled in a "narrative" fashion, similar to how such conflicts on the high seas are handled in Colonization.

Thoughts?

[Geo]

The concept is the terraforming of another planet in the (or a) solar system. Assuming Mars is the model, terrain types and the tactics and strategy suggested by those terrain types could be substantially different from the usual (Mars lacking navigable bodies of water). The various factions could be a mix of colonial factions with a current tie to one of Earth's nations, and other factions which have "gone native".

I suggest you give the Mars Scenario (for SMACX) a try. 

[Tarvok]

I'll have a look, and it's probably fairly okay (I recall a similar scenario for Civilization 2 being kind of fun), but the important part of my write-up, to me, is the importance of orbital periods and potential for multiple-world dynamics (and random solar systems, and Nibiru!).

Maybe provide a link for the scenario? I don't feel like hunting for it. :p

[Geo]

I'll have a look, and it's probably fairly okay (I recall a similar scenario for Civilization 2 being kind of fun), ...

 

http://alphacentauri2.info/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=23

Here ya go.

[Buster's Uncle]

Funny.  I can't believe I never posted about this; I've been kicking around a faction pack/GotM idea I called "Alpha Centauri In SPAAAACE!" for years.  The notion would be a re-imagining of the SMAC 7 in Flash Gordon/Buck Rodgers cheesy old-school style.  It astonishes me that I've had little luck interesting the rest of the GotM team in the idea...

[Geo]

Rodger that. 

[Buster's Uncle]

Geo is one of the guilty parties...

Folks, I posted all of all three of the 30s Flash Gordon serials in Rec Commons a few months ago, and I recommend them highly.  You don't really understand Star Wars if you can't name Vultan's striped space bear...

[Valka]

Has anyone here played Civ II: Test of Time? The Lalande scenario has a 4-tier map, with some units being able to take off and land on other maps, and some able to get there via a kind of transporter/teleportation technology. The discussion here reminds me of the map that takes place on the moon in this planetary system.


The third map in the Lalande scenario is the moon called Naumachia. There are "lakes" of dust, and dust runs that function as rivers. There are naval craft that skim over the dust lakes, and other units that function like aircraft.


It takes awhile to cultivate this terrain, terraform the unproductive parts, and so on, but after that's done, the cities are amazingly productive.