Entropic Sunrise - [OOC, Signup, Discussion, FT/FanT, War]

[The Disorder]

I have to develop some characters too. Norev & Cirazeth are fairly plain and straightforward characters, a newcomer and a veteran. I have more interesting ones on the drawing board.

Rather ironically, I'm planning on making the support pilot carrier a chaos-extremist (even by Disorder standards) - someone who almost never neglects an opportunity to insert his ship into trouble.

By contrast, the siege carrier will be flown by a more moderate, reserved, and introspective strategist.

The Disorder is full of fun oddities and paradoxes like that.

[CBG Palisade]

Oh boy, character development sure is fun!

I hope this post makes up for the long delay on my previous one- I think it's the longest post I've ever written. But, given that it introduces a set of entirely new (largely expendable) characters and seriously develops some previously-introduced ones, it's worth its length, I feel.

Note I don't intend for the ground forces to get into action right away; they probably won't even see the outside of their landers until after Everfree if what I have in mind works out. They've merely armed up out of a healthy abundance of caution for a largely unknown enemy.

And yeah, as to your previous point, I can see how a literal entropy-cult would likely have some dd characters within its ranks.

[The Disorder]

I originally intended for the mercenaries to compose a sizeable part of the Disorder's planet-side presence. This serves two objectives:

1: The Disorder is so nightmarishly good at space combat, they will probably achieve space superiority for most/all of the Terra Nostra invasion. I'm of course open to the possibility of a space-based victory against the Disorder, but that would be the most difficult way for the good guys to win. Defeating the Disorder on the ground won't be easy, but it is a much more inviting prospect than trying to destroy Disorder warships. If the mercenaries have first-hand experience working with Disorder ground forces at Everfree, they will be in a better position to help Unthidor repel the ground invasion at Terra Nostra.

2: From orbit or from the air, the atrocities that the Disorder commits may not be super-obvious. But on the ground, the mercenaries will be contractually obligated to assist in rounding up, imprisoning, torturing, enslaving, and killing an entire planet's population. I suspect that a lot of them will be unprepared for such hideous cruelty.

Of course, if you have something different in mind, and you would still prefer that the mercenaries not participate in the ground invasion of Everfree, I'm flexible and I can indeed work with that.

[CBG Palisade]

I am definitely open to letting the mercs' marines fight on the ground at Everfree; my perpetually sleep-deprived brain had forgotten that the plan wasn't to turn it into a pile of slag from orbit. I would note, though, that given their numbers they're probably best suited for hitting small, stubborn targets on the fringes of a larger force rather than anything else; doctrinally they depend quite a lot on the fleet providing bombardment support and my entire setting has never really been good at ground combat.

Hence why the armored vehicles they're using wouldn't be alien to modern forces if you put them side by side- given that 80% of humanity in space live on habitats and drifts warfare in space not conducted by set-piece vessels evolved to focus on effective, well-trained platoon-sized units conducting close-quarters actions, making up for their small sizes when required to engage with others by utilizing large numbers of armored vehicles and force-multipliers.

As to your two points,

1) True; it's not like the good guys are going to be getting much intel about the Disorder's ground units otherwise, at least not until an engagement.

2) With their small size they likely won't be able to do too much, but I'm certain we might at least get a few "UN Peacekeepers in Rwanda" moments out of it, if nothing else. And while them participating in the atrocities would be a novelty to say the least, most of them have likely seen some nasty stuff, given how the broader setting is still reeling from a rather large war and its effects, and warlord-style states are at a local peak where they're at.

I'm fine with them participating in the ground invasion; just bear in mind that, as I said, unless Everfree has been seriously softened up over time by the time they arrive then they likely won't be able to compose the main portion of the Disorder's force. Numerically there's jut not enough of them.

[The Disorder]

Can do! Seriously softening them up via Disorder shenanigans can indeed be done. Although the Disorder military is built almost entirely around space combat, their ground forces are still built to similar technological standards as their warships.

The Norothrex is the Disorder's bombardment solution. Instead of mass orbital strikes, they do mass airstrikes. Thanks to nuclear power, good pilot integration with life support, and functionally bottomless magazines, Norothrexes can go on very long missions without any real difficulty. While they can theoretically do whole-planet bombardment glassing, they usually hit hardened targets first.

While physical destruction of the enemy is always good, they're aiming to do even worse (or better, depending upon perspective). People are a resource to the Disorder. Unthidor has been targeted for harvesting, and some physical destruction will probably happen too.

[Pax Cybertronian]

I'd like to register my interest in the rp, although I'm unsure how much I'll be able to post here right now. I'm not sure who I'll use - depends on who I want to back e.g. Autobots (protagonists), Decepticons (maybe antagonists), Quintessons (they like war profiteering).

[The Disorder]

Welcome!

Unthidor has mechs, and mech combat will probably be a major factor in the successful defense of Terra Nostra - so transformers would fit in nicely with no issues at all. The Disorder will also bring some mechs, although theirs are more like semi-autonomous artillery pieces. They just happen to have legs & walk around!

[Pax Cybertronian]

Welcome!

Unthidor has mechs, and mech combat will probably be a major factor in the successful defense of Terra Nostra - so transformers would fit in nicely with no issues at all. The Disorder will also bring some mechs, although theirs are more like semi-autonomous artillery pieces. They just happen to have legs & walk around!

Excellent. I'm unsure right now how much of a character focus I'll take on the characters I introduce. I do have some ideas depending on who I introduce, actually: the Autobots would likely support Terra Nostra, the Decepticons will at least temporarily back the Disorder and glean anything interesting; not sure what I'll do after with them since I get the feeling one side will turn on the other after a while, and the Quintessons will probably try to finance both sides to make a profit and keep it going on for as long as necessary i.e., sell them arms, artillery, ships, do repairs, etc.

[CBG Palisade]

Well that was a hiatus and a half. A response is in the works in the IC thread right about... now.

[Unthidor]

hey everyone. i am so sorry about vanishing!!!! have spent the past week bedridden, my head was in so much pain I couldn't think straight, let alone sit up at my computer. But I finally got some new meds yesterday and they seemed to do the trick. First morning i've woken up without pain! Still very tired, not much sleep due to still sick, but with my head feeling better I can actually THINK, lol. Please give me at least another day to recover a bit and make sure these new meds are working, and hopefully I should be ready to get back to the fight by tomorrow. Still very excited over this adventure! Before getting sick, I started building the models that will represent the Mechs i'm using. Got plastic parts all over my desk still, with more on the way from amazon. Oh, and I've obviously got some catching up to do, both story and i believe a few new players. no issues there, just need to get myself up to speed.

Thanks again for putting up with this! Not sure where y'all are in the world, but covid here in the US is a disaster. Please, keep yourselves safe and healthy!

-t

[The Disorder]

Take your time and get well soon, Unthidor! COVID is a disaster everywhere.

[Unthidor]

ok guys, i'm back!

It doesn't matter what happens to the remaining ships from the fleet. The dreadnought is about to self-destruct, and the damaged cruiser is drifting and loosing power. Don't care what happens to them. Right now, my plan is to prepare a counter-attack for the Everfree colony. hopefully that will bring everyone together, but we'll see what happens.

[The Disorder]

Welcome back!

It is, of course, only a matter of time until Unthian forces figure out that the Disorder is in a weaker position for planet-side invasion, compared to space combat. But if you want this to be extra-obvious, deploying some defensive forces to the surface of Everfree (from those transport ships?) would be awesome. If Unthian generals and admirals see limited success on the ground at Everfree, they will know early on (and with high certainty) that they should focus on their ground game.

I also have a neat world-building idea for a post, which I would have used if the Dreadnought surrendered - but it will work just as well if the Disorder recovers a badly damaged & inoperable Unthian cruiser.

[The Disorder]

Going to wait for CBG Palisade to make a post, since the mercenaries will officially be present in the battlespace.

[CBG Palisade]

Going to wait for CBG Palisade to make a post, since the mercenaries will officially be present in the battlespace.

Yeah, I apologize for the holdup. I've been working on a variety of stuff recently and my plate's only just starting to clear, so I should be able to hopefully get a post up later tonight or early tomorrow. The first section of the three I've planned is already complete.

[Unthidor]

Yeah, I apologize for the holdup. I've been working on a variety of stuff recently and my plate's only just starting to clear, so I should be able to hopefully get a post up later tonight or early tomorrow. The first section of the three I've planned is already complete.

No apology needed. I for one know how easily life gets in the way of forums, lol.

[CBG Palisade]

Oop, sorry for that. Accidentally clicked "submit" rather than "save draft". I apologize, my response will be up soon- but not quite yet.

[CBG Palisade]

Aaaaaaand there's my post done. I introduced a new character so I can actually run someone in the sky who's not either the commander or someone I need to keep far away from the action, shot around marching orders, and had my fellows in the lander suffer a moment of existential dread.

Now all that remains is for Qhevak to slaughter them all mercilessly.

[The Disorder]

Aaaaaaand there's my post done. I introduced a new character so I can actually run someone in the sky who's not either the commander or someone I need to keep far away from the action, shot around marching orders, and had my fellows in the lander suffer a moment of existential dread.

Now all that remains is for Qhevak to slaughter them all mercilessly.

Moments of existential dread are fun!

Maybe it's best to only slaughter some of them. After all, there need to be some mercenaries left for the Disorder to slaughter, when they swap sides & meet at Terra Nostra!

On the subject of planetary invasions, a rudimentary map of Everfree (and later Terra Nostra) would be useful. 5 minutes in MS Paint would be great - the maps don't need to be hyper-detailed. Alternatively, I have space engine, so I could procedurally generate a ton of earth-like planets for us, and post the screenshots of said planets to NS.

[CBG Palisade]

Alright, so I'll be prewriting my post; it won't be anywhere near as long as my last, don't worry. However I'd like to wait until Unthidor posts to get mine up, since my lads probably shouldn't engage the station until we see how the station responds to the Korack. Of course, this is only if that doesn't bother anyone too much- if people's schedules would run better with myself posting first then I can.

[Unthidor]

sorry guys! been a crazy couple of days!

The Disorder, good idea, i'll try to get a map of each made. If you have something that can generate planetary maps, that would be most helpful! I can pm you my email if you want to create a pair and sent to me for detailing.

CBG Palisade, just got to work, so give me a few hours to get a post up. But if you want to attack, go ahead. The station is armed with similar laser cannons to my ships as seen so far, and similar missiles. Feel free to attack it as you see fit, though the image of my fleet that counter-strikes at Everfree dropping in to see the station wreckage drifting in orbit keeps flashing in my head, lol.


Again, sorry for delay, and promise a post up in a few hours!

[The Disorder]

I can export a planet's surface in Space Engine to a jpeg:



I can also play with the sliders and alter some of a world's attributes. All of the following can be configured pretty easily, to your liking:

Terrain Frequency (how large or small continents & oceans are)
Sea level (affects percent of surface covered by ocean)
Beach width (how large the flat coastal plains are, on average)
Mountain magnitude (size) frequency (complexity) and fraction (percentage of planet covered in mountains)
Dune magnitude, frequency, and fraction
Hill magnitude, frequency, and fraction
Canyon magnitude, frequency, and fraction
River magnitude, frequency, and fraction
Surface crack magnitude, frequency, and fraction
Crater magnitude, frequency, and fraction
Supervolcano magnitude, frequency, and fraction (this can produce dormant ones, like Olympus Mons in our own solar system)

I'm still experimenting with all of space engine's sliders - so I'm not very good at adding/changing things like ice caps, rings, moons, percentage of surface covered in lava, or placement of individual biomes. But it's easy enough to add forests to a sterile ball of rock with photoshop - that only takes like 30 seconds.

Let me know what kind of physical characteristics you want Everfree & Terra Nostra to have, and I'll upload you some procedurally-generated planet maps. Everfree is a farming world, so I can probably make a few very rough guesses for the above.

[The Disorder]

Would Everfree look something like this, perhaps?

[Unthidor]

The Disorder, yes, that looks great! Exactly like I would have pictured the planet! May I use the second image to make a map for you guys to reference?

[The Disorder]

Absolutely, yes, go for it!