Traveller's Cafe 4: Brainstorming, Discussion, Tea, Advice

[Pax Nerdvana]

RP INTEREST AND FEEDBACK REQUEST

---

Please provide as much detail as possible.
RP's Overarching Concept: Players work together to remotely command elements of a space fleet in increasingly difficult and hopeless battles à la Ender's Game.
Genre/s: Tactical, Sci-Fi/FT, Cooperative, Political(?)
Character or Faction Based: Hybrid. Players control one character sitting in the fleet command HQ, and a variable number of space assets under their command out in the field.
Detailed Description: In the far future, practically everything about space warfare has been automated: the explosion of artificial superintelligence allows spacecraft to make accurate targeting decisions, maneuver to millimeter precision, and even maintain and repair themselves without any slow, bulky human interference. But since it is humans who want spacecraft to do things to begin with, humans are still left to guide the fleets around the galaxy - remotely, of course, so that no lives are lost unnecessarily.

It has been a very long time since the galaxy's last great war, and the last ships and doctrines to see actual grand-scale use are becoming obsolete. But when a force of horrifying aliens from outside the galaxy threatens humanity's very existence, commanders will need to think and adapt fast. The players collaboratively control one task force assigned to defend systems against the encroaching threat; the assets they are given for each mission are different based on how they and the AIs chose to allocate their ships.

Perhaps one of the more difficult aspects of their job as commanders will be dealing with political constraints - budget cuts, overbearing leadership, and all of the fun little intricate details that plague any large-scale military operation. But if they fight well, humanity will be grateful.

Need Help With: In ascending order of importance and scale:

- What would make a compelling and original enemy?
- How can I ensure that battles remain difficult and stressful for the characters without making them stressful for the players... and at the same time, encourage players to think strategically?
- Honestly, would people even be interested in this at all?

Please leave this hashtag in place: #Mentorhelp

This looks awesome. It looks well developed too. I would reccomend making the aliens as inhuman as possible. Maybe there is absolutely no way we could ever communicate with them. You could make them like Xenomorphs, maybe.

[The Batavia]

RP INTEREST AND FEEDBACK REQUEST

---

Please provide as much detail as possible.
RP's Overarching Concept: A sandbox fantasy nation/faction RP with a focus on player-driven world-building rather than on a pre-established plot.
Genre/s: High fantasy, Political, Sandbox
Character or Faction Based: Faction
Detailed Description:
I've been looking out for a fantasy RP setting that allows for more player-driven development; most of those I've seen thus far already have a lot of pre-established lore and an overarching plot, so I was wondering if there would be anybody interested in a more open setting where lore can be created by the players themselves.

The premise of the RP is as such: a massive multiethnic, partially contiguous empire that has stood for almost a thousand years (think of something along the lines of the Byzantine Empire) has, after centuries of stagnation and corruption, been driven to the edge, and is on the verge of collapse. Players get to play one of the empire's constituent nations, one of the neighbouring independent states, or a rebel militia, with the only overarching plot being the eventual demise of the Empire through secessionist movements and sub-nationalism, as well as external influences (the nature of which will be decided by the players themselves).

Beyond that, I’m open to pretty much anything. My idea is to allow players to be as creative as they’d like to be when creating their nation/faction/group, with as little plot-incurred constraints as possible.

Need Help With:

• Refinement: I’ve got most of the basic lore planned out already, which should be enough. I just need a little bit of assistance fitting it into a playable format.
• Map: seeing as I don’t know how to make realistic and aesthetically-pleasing maps, I’m gonna need help for this too.
• Co-OP: I’m getting called up for military service in about three months, so I’m gonna need a Co-OP (or two, depending on how many people are interested) to help update lore as the RP progresses, since my posting frequency is sure to take a hit.

Please leave this hashtag in place: #Mentorhelp

Colour me interested.

[Ihury]

RP INTEREST AND FEEDBACK REQUEST

---

Please provide as much detail as possible.
RP's Overarching Concept: A sandbox fantasy nation/faction RP with a focus on player-driven world-building rather than on a pre-established plot.
Genre/s: High fantasy, Political, Sandbox
Character or Faction Based: Faction
Detailed Description:
I've been looking out for a fantasy RP setting that allows for more player-driven development; most of those I've seen thus far already have a lot of pre-established lore and an overarching plot, so I was wondering if there would be anybody interested in a more open setting where lore can be created by the players themselves.

The premise of the RP is as such: a massive multiethnic, partially contiguous empire that has stood for almost a thousand years (think of something along the lines of the Byzantine Empire) has, after centuries of stagnation and corruption, been driven to the edge, and is on the verge of collapse. Players get to play one of the empire's constituent nations, one of the neighbouring independent states, or a rebel militia, with the only overarching plot being the eventual demise of the Empire through secessionist movements and sub-nationalism, as well as external influences (the nature of which will be decided by the players themselves).

Beyond that, I’m open to pretty much anything. My idea is to allow players to be as creative as they’d like to be when creating their nation/faction/group, with as little plot-incurred constraints as possible.

Need Help With:

• Refinement: I’ve got most of the basic lore planned out already, which should be enough. I just need a little bit of assistance fitting it into a playable format.
• Map: seeing as I don’t know how to make realistic and aesthetically-pleasing maps, I’m gonna need help for this too.
• Co-OP: I’m getting called up for military service in about three months, so I’m gonna need a Co-OP (or two, depending on how many people are interested) to help update lore as the RP progresses, since my posting frequency is sure to take a hit.

Please leave this hashtag in place: #Mentorhelp

Colour me interested.

Nice. Would you be interested in a Co-OP role?

[Utceforp]

RP INTEREST AND FEEDBACK REQUEST

---

Please provide as much detail as possible.
RP's Overarching Concept: A sandbox fantasy nation/faction RP with a focus on player-driven world-building rather than on a pre-established plot.
Genre/s: High fantasy, Political, Sandbox
Character or Faction Based: Faction
Detailed Description:
I've been looking out for a fantasy RP setting that allows for more player-driven development; most of those I've seen thus far already have a lot of pre-established lore and an overarching plot, so I was wondering if there would be anybody interested in a more open setting where lore can be created by the players themselves.

The premise of the RP is as such: a massive multiethnic, partially contiguous empire that has stood for almost a thousand years (think of something along the lines of the Byzantine Empire) has, after centuries of stagnation and corruption, been driven to the edge, and is on the verge of collapse. Players get to play one of the empire's constituent nations, one of the neighbouring independent states, or a rebel militia, with the only overarching plot being the eventual demise of the Empire through secessionist movements and sub-nationalism, as well as external influences (the nature of which will be decided by the players themselves).

Beyond that, I’m open to pretty much anything. My idea is to allow players to be as creative as they’d like to be when creating their nation/faction/group, with as little plot-incurred constraints as possible.

Need Help With:

• Refinement: I’ve got most of the basic lore planned out already, which should be enough. I just need a little bit of assistance fitting it into a playable format.
• Map: seeing as I don’t know how to make realistic and aesthetically-pleasing maps, I’m gonna need help for this too.
• Co-OP: I’m getting called up for military service in about three months, so I’m gonna need a Co-OP (or two, depending on how many people are interested) to help update lore as the RP progresses, since my posting frequency is sure to take a hit.

Please leave this hashtag in place: #Mentorhelp

I would also be interested in this. I can help with the map, too - there's an online tool called "Inkarnate" that I like to use for mapmaking.

[Ihury]

RP INTEREST AND FEEDBACK REQUEST

---

Please provide as much detail as possible.
RP's Overarching Concept: A sandbox fantasy nation/faction RP with a focus on player-driven world-building rather than on a pre-established plot.
Genre/s: High fantasy, Political, Sandbox
Character or Faction Based: Faction
Detailed Description:
I've been looking out for a fantasy RP setting that allows for more player-driven development; most of those I've seen thus far already have a lot of pre-established lore and an overarching plot, so I was wondering if there would be anybody interested in a more open setting where lore can be created by the players themselves.

The premise of the RP is as such: a massive multiethnic, partially contiguous empire that has stood for almost a thousand years (think of something along the lines of the Byzantine Empire) has, after centuries of stagnation and corruption, been driven to the edge, and is on the verge of collapse. Players get to play one of the empire's constituent nations, one of the neighbouring independent states, or a rebel militia, with the only overarching plot being the eventual demise of the Empire through secessionist movements and sub-nationalism, as well as external influences (the nature of which will be decided by the players themselves).

Beyond that, I’m open to pretty much anything. My idea is to allow players to be as creative as they’d like to be when creating their nation/faction/group, with as little plot-incurred constraints as possible.

Need Help With:

• Refinement: I’ve got most of the basic lore planned out already, which should be enough. I just need a little bit of assistance fitting it into a playable format.
• Map: seeing as I don’t know how to make realistic and aesthetically-pleasing maps, I’m gonna need help for this too.
• Co-OP: I’m getting called up for military service in about three months, so I’m gonna need a Co-OP (or two, depending on how many people are interested) to help update lore as the RP progresses, since my posting frequency is sure to take a hit.

Please leave this hashtag in place: #Mentorhelp

I would also be interested in this. I can help with the map, too - there's an online tool called "Inkarnate" that I like to use for mapmaking.

Nice. I’ll let you know more specs of the land that I’ll need for the RP when I’ve finalised more details on my end.

[The Batavia]

Colour me interested.

Nice. Would you be interested in a Co-OP role?

Sure, why not?

[Ihury]

Nice. Would you be interested in a Co-OP role?

Sure, why not?

Feel free to telegram me any questions you may have. I'll start working on an OP; hopefully, I shall be able to get it up by Sunday.

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

RP INTEREST AND FEEDBACK REQUEST

---

Please provide as much detail as possible.
RP's Overarching Concept: Players work together to remotely command elements of a space fleet in increasingly difficult and hopeless battles à la Ender's Game.
Genre/s: Tactical, Sci-Fi/FT, Cooperative, Political(?)
Character or Faction Based: Hybrid. Players control one character sitting in the fleet command HQ, and a variable number of space assets under their command out in the field.
Detailed Description: In the far future, practically everything about space warfare has been automated: the explosion of artificial superintelligence allows spacecraft to make accurate targeting decisions, maneuver to millimeter precision, and even maintain and repair themselves without any slow, bulky human interference. But since it is humans who want spacecraft to do things to begin with, humans are still left to guide the fleets around the galaxy - remotely, of course, so that no lives are lost unnecessarily.

It has been a very long time since the galaxy's last great war, and the last ships and doctrines to see actual grand-scale use are becoming obsolete. But when a force of horrifying aliens from outside the galaxy threatens humanity's very existence, commanders will need to think and adapt fast. The players collaboratively control one task force assigned to defend systems against the encroaching threat; the assets they are given for each mission are different based on how they and the AIs chose to allocate their ships.

Perhaps one of the more difficult aspects of their job as commanders will be dealing with political constraints - budget cuts, overbearing leadership, and all of the fun little intricate details that plague any large-scale military operation. But if they fight well, humanity will be grateful.

Need Help With: In ascending order of importance and scale:

- What would make a compelling and original enemy?
- How can I ensure that battles remain difficult and stressful for the characters without making them stressful for the players... and at the same time, encourage players to think strategically?
- Honestly, would people even be interested in this at all?

Please leave this hashtag in place: #Mentorhelp

This would be very cool. I am certainly interested and willing to help.

[Morrallia]

RP INTEREST AND FEEDBACK REQUEST

---

Please provide as much detail as possible.
RP's Overarching Concept: Players work together to remotely command elements of a space fleet in increasingly difficult and hopeless battles à la Ender's Game.
Genre/s: Tactical, Sci-Fi/FT, Cooperative, Political(?)
Character or Faction Based: Hybrid. Players control one character sitting in the fleet command HQ, and a variable number of space assets under their command out in the field.
Detailed Description: In the far future, practically everything about space warfare has been automated: the explosion of artificial superintelligence allows spacecraft to make accurate targeting decisions, maneuver to millimeter precision, and even maintain and repair themselves without any slow, bulky human interference. But since it is humans who want spacecraft to do things to begin with, humans are still left to guide the fleets around the galaxy - remotely, of course, so that no lives are lost unnecessarily.

It has been a very long time since the galaxy's last great war, and the last ships and doctrines to see actual grand-scale use are becoming obsolete. But when a force of horrifying aliens from outside the galaxy threatens humanity's very existence, commanders will need to think and adapt fast. The players collaboratively control one task force assigned to defend systems against the encroaching threat; the assets they are given for each mission are different based on how they and the AIs chose to allocate their ships.

Perhaps one of the more difficult aspects of their job as commanders will be dealing with political constraints - budget cuts, overbearing leadership, and all of the fun little intricate details that plague any large-scale military operation. But if they fight well, humanity will be grateful.

Need Help With: In ascending order of importance and scale:

- What would make a compelling and original enemy?
- How can I ensure that battles remain difficult and stressful for the characters without making them stressful for the players... and at the same time, encourage players to think strategically?
- Honestly, would people even be interested in this at all?

Please leave this hashtag in place: #Mentorhelp

This certainly garners my attention. I'm not too active but I will certainly set aside some time to see what can be cooked up with this. If you'd like a more personal touch of help I'd be willing to offer that as well.

[Suryak]

RP INTEREST AND FEEDBACK REQUEST

---

Please provide as much detail as possible.
RP's Overarching Concept: A sandbox fantasy nation/faction RP with a focus on player-driven world-building rather than on a pre-established plot.
Genre/s: High fantasy, Political, Sandbox
Character or Faction Based: Faction
Detailed Description:
I've been looking out for a fantasy RP setting that allows for more player-driven development; most of those I've seen thus far already have a lot of pre-established lore and an overarching plot, so I was wondering if there would be anybody interested in a more open setting where lore can be created by the players themselves.

The premise of the RP is as such: a massive multiethnic, partially contiguous empire that has stood for almost a thousand years (think of something along the lines of the Byzantine Empire) has, after centuries of stagnation and corruption, been driven to the edge, and is on the verge of collapse. Players get to play one of the empire's constituent nations, one of the neighbouring independent states, or a rebel militia, with the only overarching plot being the eventual demise of the Empire through secessionist movements and sub-nationalism, as well as external influences (the nature of which will be decided by the players themselves).

Beyond that, I’m open to pretty much anything. My idea is to allow players to be as creative as they’d like to be when creating their nation/faction/group, with as little plot-incurred constraints as possible.

Need Help With:

• Refinement: I’ve got most of the basic lore planned out already, which should be enough. I just need a little bit of assistance fitting it into a playable format.
• Map: seeing as I don’t know how to make realistic and aesthetically-pleasing maps, I’m gonna need help for this too.
• Co-OP: I’m getting called up for military service in about three months, so I’m gonna need a Co-OP (or two, depending on how many people are interested) to help update lore as the RP progresses, since my posting frequency is sure to take a hit.

Please leave this hashtag in place: #Mentorhelp

In

[Multiversal Venn-Copard]

This looks awesome. It looks well developed too. I would reccomend making the aliens as inhuman as possible. Maybe there is absolutely no way we could ever communicate with them. You could make them like Xenomorphs, maybe.

This would be very cool. I am certainly interested and willing to help.

This certainly garners my attention. I'm not too active but I will certainly set aside some time to see what can be cooked up with this. If you'd like a more personal touch of help I'd be willing to offer that as well.

Thanks for the interest, everyone! Glad to see that my biggest worry might not be as bad as I thought.

I was tempted to go with the "inscrutable all-consuming hivemind" approach to the aliens, making this essentially another classic bug war setup. Right now, though, I'm leaning towards a more human sort of enemy, one that maybe doesn't rely on numbers so much as on technology that humanity is just unfamiliar with. Observing and capturing enemy vessels might play a big part in the story, and could present some new developments for player characters to react to. Things are still in the brewing phase right now, though; the beginning of the RP will be a first contact of sorts, so I'd like to leave people a little bit in the dark.

About the level of challenge, though. I'd like this to be an RP that pushes characters past their breaking points; I kind of want it to have that crushing, despairing feeling as things escalate further and further (punctuated with moments of hope and progress - maybe things won't be so bad, they find). But the problem is that I don't know how to set up challenges that don't also stress out the players... without just making them so abstract and "well, it was hard, anyway" that they can't stay in character when dealing with them.

I want to reward tactical thinking and encourage a feeling of stress in the characters, but at the same time, things should be fun even if you don't know a ton of strategy (and you probably shouldn't, seeing as this is an original setting).

Any ideas about this?

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

This looks awesome. It looks well developed too. I would reccomend making the aliens as inhuman as possible. Maybe there is absolutely no way we could ever communicate with them. You could make them like Xenomorphs, maybe.

This would be very cool. I am certainly interested and willing to help.

This certainly garners my attention. I'm not too active but I will certainly set aside some time to see what can be cooked up with this. If you'd like a more personal touch of help I'd be willing to offer that as well.

Thanks for the interest, everyone! Glad to see that my biggest worry might not be as bad as I thought.

I was tempted to go with the "inscrutable all-consuming hivemind" approach to the aliens, making this essentially another classic bug war setup. Right now, though, I'm leaning towards a more human sort of enemy, one that maybe doesn't rely on numbers so much as on technology that humanity is just unfamiliar with. Observing and capturing enemy vessels might play a big part in the story, and could present some new developments for player characters to react to. Things are still in the brewing phase right now, though; the beginning of the RP will be a first contact of sorts, so I'd like to leave people a little bit in the dark.

About the level of challenge, though. I'd like this to be an RP that pushes characters past their breaking points; I kind of want it to have that crushing, despairing feeling as things escalate further and further (punctuated with moments of hope and progress - maybe things won't be so bad, they find). But the problem is that I don't know how to set up challenges that don't also stress out the players... without just making them so abstract and "well, it was hard, anyway" that they can't stay in character when dealing with them.

I want to reward tactical thinking and encourage a feeling of stress in the characters, but at the same time, things should be fun even if you don't know a ton of strategy (and you probably shouldn't, seeing as this is an original setting).

Any ideas about this?

You could make the aliens use more biological tech rather than more construction-based tech we use. Imagine them as a species far more advanced than humans, except on the military front. They have advanced medical and communication devices, and their knowledge of statecraft far exceeds our own, but because of that their knowledge of war is lacking. In their own galaxy, they are simply running out of readily-available carbon to grow their biological machines, so they grew a war fleet to wage a crusade against the warlike humans, both to exterminate the warlike race and to get access to all the carbon we carry with us. I would gladly work on this idea more if you want.

[Pax Nerdvana]

This looks awesome. It looks well developed too. I would reccomend making the aliens as inhuman as possible. Maybe there is absolutely no way we could ever communicate with them. You could make them like Xenomorphs, maybe.

This would be very cool. I am certainly interested and willing to help.

This certainly garners my attention. I'm not too active but I will certainly set aside some time to see what can be cooked up with this. If you'd like a more personal touch of help I'd be willing to offer that as well.

Thanks for the interest, everyone! Glad to see that my biggest worry might not be as bad as I thought.

I was tempted to go with the "inscrutable all-consuming hivemind" approach to the aliens, making this essentially another classic bug war setup. Right now, though, I'm leaning towards a more human sort of enemy, one that maybe doesn't rely on numbers so much as on technology that humanity is just unfamiliar with. Observing and capturing enemy vessels might play a big part in the story, and could present some new developments for player characters to react to. Things are still in the brewing phase right now, though; the beginning of the RP will be a first contact of sorts, so I'd like to leave people a little bit in the dark.

About the level of challenge, though. I'd like this to be an RP that pushes characters past their breaking points; I kind of want it to have that crushing, despairing feeling as things escalate further and further (punctuated with moments of hope and progress - maybe things won't be so bad, they find). But the problem is that I don't know how to set up challenges that don't also stress out the players... without just making them so abstract and "well, it was hard, anyway" that they can't stay in character when dealing with them.

I want to reward tactical thinking and encourage a feeling of stress in the characters, but at the same time, things should be fun even if you don't know a ton of strategy (and you probably shouldn't, seeing as this is an original setting).

Any ideas about this?

That could work.

[Utceforp]

Thanks for the interest, everyone! Glad to see that my biggest worry might not be as bad as I thought.

I was tempted to go with the "inscrutable all-consuming hivemind" approach to the aliens, making this essentially another classic bug war setup. Right now, though, I'm leaning towards a more human sort of enemy, one that maybe doesn't rely on numbers so much as on technology that humanity is just unfamiliar with. Observing and capturing enemy vessels might play a big part in the story, and could present some new developments for player characters to react to. Things are still in the brewing phase right now, though; the beginning of the RP will be a first contact of sorts, so I'd like to leave people a little bit in the dark.

About the level of challenge, though. I'd like this to be an RP that pushes characters past their breaking points; I kind of want it to have that crushing, despairing feeling as things escalate further and further (punctuated with moments of hope and progress - maybe things won't be so bad, they find). But the problem is that I don't know how to set up challenges that don't also stress out the players... without just making them so abstract and "well, it was hard, anyway" that they can't stay in character when dealing with them.

I want to reward tactical thinking and encourage a feeling of stress in the characters, but at the same time, things should be fun even if you don't know a ton of strategy (and you probably shouldn't, seeing as this is an original setting).

Any ideas about this?

You could make the aliens use more biological tech rather than more construction-based tech we use. Imagine them as a species far more advanced than humans, except on the military front. They have advanced medical and communication devices, and their knowledge of statecraft far exceeds our own, but because of that their knowledge of war is lacking. In their own galaxy, they are simply running out of readily-available carbon to grow their biological machines, so they grew a war fleet to wage a crusade against the warlike humans, both to exterminate the warlike race and to get access to all the carbon we carry with us. I would gladly work on this idea more if you want.

Ooh, what about this: Because of how ubiquitous biotechnology is to them, they value unique genetic lineages in the same way we value precious metals, and thus want to have a monopoly on the human genome. (And the genomes of all other Earth species.)

[Talchyon]

You could make the aliens use more biological tech rather than more construction-based tech we use. Imagine them as a species far more advanced than humans, except on the military front. They have advanced medical and communication devices, and their knowledge of statecraft far exceeds our own, but because of that their knowledge of war is lacking. In their own galaxy, they are simply running out of readily-available carbon to grow their biological machines, so they grew a war fleet to wage a crusade against the warlike humans, both to exterminate the warlike race and to get access to all the carbon we carry with us. I would gladly work on this idea more if you want.

Ooh, what about this: Because of how ubiquitous biotechnology is to them, they value unique genetic lineages in the same way we value precious metals, and thus want to have a monopoly on the human genome. (And the genomes of all other Earth species.)

Maybe the aliens can also alter or corrupt human DNA and genes in a negative way. Some of them maybe enough to kill, others to leave as ruined mutants with problems in their endocrine systems or something.

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

You could make the aliens use more biological tech rather than more construction-based tech we use. Imagine them as a species far more advanced than humans, except on the military front. They have advanced medical and communication devices, and their knowledge of statecraft far exceeds our own, but because of that their knowledge of war is lacking. In their own galaxy, they are simply running out of readily-available carbon to grow their biological machines, so they grew a war fleet to wage a crusade against the warlike humans, both to exterminate the warlike race and to get access to all the carbon we carry with us. I would gladly work on this idea more if you want.

Ooh, what about this: Because of how ubiquitous biotechnology is to them, they value unique genetic lineages in the same way we value precious metals, and thus want to have a monopoly on the human genome. (And the genomes of all other Earth species.)

That sounds very cool! A mixture between the VOC and Monsanto in space. It’s easier to enforce a patent on Earth genomes if its species is contained to 100 individuals instead of billions. Imagine a court case of this civilisation, where it is decided that the holder of the patent to a species’ genome holds an automatic patent to the ‘fruits’ of that species. A war between Earth and space monsanto.

[Multiversal Venn-Copard]

Glad to see there's discussion on the aliens, at least. Seems everybody piled on that instead of my bigger concern of how to handle writing a challenge, but I'll take what I can get!

Here's a thought of mine: the aliens descended from something totally unrelated to organic chemistry (maybe they're crystals or Boltzmann Brains or sentient infohazards), conquered their whole galaxy generations ago, and are only just now realizing that there are actually other ways to create life - which they see as horribly inefficient and entropy-producing, so they intend to exterminate the Milky Way's major species and capture the survivors for study and genetic marketing as mentioned recently. Thus, the early fleets are intended to ruin planets and force the galaxy on the defensive, while the later fleets wear down the resistance, cut off supply lines, and do everything they can to make fighting back incredibly difficult.

So in the beginning, the trouble is mostly in the difficulty of the battles individually; human forces are outnumbered and outclassed, and you need tactical thinking (players, that's where you come in!) to make up for it. But as the story progresses, everyone is becoming more fatigued because getting supplies and communications around the galaxy is growing more difficult, and somehow we need to organize the weakening stragglers against even stronger enemy forces.

This could... work. This could work, I think.

[Pax Nerdvana]

Glad to see there's discussion on the aliens, at least. Seems everybody piled on that instead of my bigger concern of how to handle writing a challenge, but I'll take what I can get!

Here's a thought of mine: the aliens descended from something totally unrelated to organic chemistry (maybe they're crystals or Boltzmann Brains or sentient infohazards), conquered their whole galaxy generations ago, and are only just now realizing that there are actually other ways to create life - which they see as horribly inefficient and entropy-producing, so they intend to exterminate the Milky Way's major species and capture the survivors for study and genetic marketing as mentioned recently. Thus, the early fleets are intended to ruin planets and force the galaxy on the defensive, while the later fleets wear down the resistance, cut off supply lines, and do everything they can to make fighting back incredibly difficult.

So in the beginning, the trouble is mostly in the difficulty of the battles individually; human forces are outnumbered and outclassed, and you need strategic thinking (players, that's where you come in!) to make up for it. But as the story progresses, everyone is becoming more fatigued because getting supplies and communications around the galaxy is growing more difficult, and somehow we need to organize the weakening stragglers against even stronger enemy forces.

This could... work. This could work, I think.

That works for me.

[Utceforp]

Glad to see there's discussion on the aliens, at least. Seems everybody piled on that instead of my bigger concern of how to handle writing a challenge, but I'll take what I can get!

Here's a thought of mine: the aliens descended from something totally unrelated to organic chemistry (maybe they're crystals or Boltzmann Brains or sentient infohazards), conquered their whole galaxy generations ago, and are only just now realizing that there are actually other ways to create life - which they see as horribly inefficient and entropy-producing, so they intend to exterminate the Milky Way's major species and capture the survivors for study and genetic marketing as mentioned recently. Thus, the early fleets are intended to ruin planets and force the galaxy on the defensive, while the later fleets wear down the resistance, cut off supply lines, and do everything they can to make fighting back incredibly difficult.

So in the beginning, the trouble is mostly in the difficulty of the battles individually; human forces are outnumbered and outclassed, and you need tactical thinking (players, that's where you come in!) to make up for it. But as the story progresses, everyone is becoming more fatigued because getting supplies and communications around the galaxy is growing more difficult, and somehow we need to organize the weakening stragglers against even stronger enemy forces.

This could... work. This could work, I think.

Just establish from the very beginning of the OOC's OP that humanity is on the backfoot, and is barely struggling to survive. People dislike the "rock falls, everyone dies" routine not because it is difficult/impossible to beat, but because it comes out of nowhere and breaks previously established "rules" of the universe. If you establish early on that "the aliens are way more powerful than us" is one of the fundamental aspects of the setting, then people won't be upset, I think.

Also, I'd go with either "They think biological life is weird and inefficient and want to exterminate us as a result" or "They want to be the sole possessors of the human genome, because they like rare genetic lineages", not both. They seem a bit contradictory, IMO.

[Multiversal Venn-Copard]

Just establish from the very beginning of the OOC's OP that humanity is on the backfoot, and is barely struggling to survive. People dislike the "rock falls, everyone dies" routine not because it is difficult/impossible to beat, but because it comes out of nowhere and breaks previously established "rules" of the universe. If you establish early on that "the aliens are way more powerful than us" is one of the fundamental aspects of the setting, then people won't be upset, I think.

Also, I'd go with either "They think biological life is weird and inefficient and want to exterminate us as a result" or "They want to be the sole possessors of the human genome, because they like rare genetic lineages", not both. They seem a bit contradictory, IMO.

Thank you for the feedback. I'll make sure to be thorough when describing my intentions in the OOC, and there might be certain setting elements I can tweak to help set up the mood too.

Yeah, that's a bit of a hole; I guess I was trying too hard to slide in someone else's suggestion without giving up my own. I'll have this resolved by the time the OOC deploys; it might end up being quite different based on the final flavor/tone I end up deciding on.

[Morrallia]

Glad to see there's discussion on the aliens, at least. Seems everybody piled on that instead of my bigger concern of how to handle writing a challenge, but I'll take what I can get!

Here's a thought of mine: the aliens descended from something totally unrelated to organic chemistry (maybe they're crystals or Boltzmann Brains or sentient infohazards), conquered their whole galaxy generations ago, and are only just now realizing that there are actually other ways to create life - which they see as horribly inefficient and entropy-producing, so they intend to exterminate the Milky Way's major species and capture the survivors for study and genetic marketing as mentioned recently. Thus, the early fleets are intended to ruin planets and force the galaxy on the defensive, while the later fleets wear down the resistance, cut off supply lines, and do everything they can to make fighting back incredibly difficult.

So in the beginning, the trouble is mostly in the difficulty of the battles individually; human forces are outnumbered and outclassed, and you need tactical thinking (players, that's where you come in!) to make up for it. But as the story progresses, everyone is becoming more fatigued because getting supplies and communications around the galaxy is growing more difficult, and somehow we need to organize the weakening stragglers against even stronger enemy forces.

This could... work. This could work, I think.

Remind me to talk to you after this RP goes up and concludes. I think we can expand on this idea a bit and make something else when the time comes.

[Mister Thirteen]

So, as you can see I have created a custom map for an RP. This RP is of course going to be a pseudo-historical RP, however I’m torn between three themes and cannot decide which would be the most popular. I come here now asking for input, adivice, constructive criticism, etcetera, the whole lot. Firstly, which theme should I choose?;

A. Late Victorian Era with touches of Steampunk.
B. Late 19th century, untouched and totally historic based.
C. WW1 themed with heavy Steampunk elements.

To note, the black faction is the United Empire of (TBA), it is NPC controlled by me. It is your typical power-hungry authoritarian dictatorship, loosely based off of the Empire from Valkyria Chronicles and RL Austria-Hungary.

[Agritum]

Haven't been here in a loooong time.

[G-Tech Corporation]

Haven't been here in a loooong time.

Who are you again?

/s

[Greater Loralia]

Haven't been here in a loooong time.

Who are you again?

/s

The great and rare Agritum.

So, uh, is anyone interested in starting a high-quality nation RP? None of the historical RPs right now are catching my fancy, and I'm not good at being in charge of things, so I can't start one.

#sads