Terra Nova
09-26-2018, 06:33 PM
Terra Nova
It is a time of expansion for the peoples of the United Confederation. The colony ships set out from the nearest colonized stars over a decade ago, when the Spur Quadrant was first opened up to colonization, or even before. FTL is slow and unreliable at the best of times, meaning the new worlds of the Quadrant would be practically cut off from their distant homeworlds. But with verdant planets and rich star systems awaiting them, they went regardless. Huge arks, with countless cold-sleep colonists from hundreds of different planets and species, are just now reaching their myriad final destinations.
This particular system, given the dull scientific designation of ASTR38 since the Quadrant was first mapped, is a binary star system, with a hot white star distantly orbited by a cooler, red star. The hotter star has been identified to have four planets – a small rocky world, a sandstorm-wracked desert planet, a huge gas giant and a freezing ball of ice. Considered at first just another barren system, closer looks revealed that the moons of the gas giant were above average size, and one of them had an oxygen-bearing atmosphere capable of supporting most common kinds of galactic life. So when the green light was given to send off the colony ships, ASTR38 drew the attention of colonists. Perhaps once they arrive, they will give the place a more flattering name.
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It is a time of expansion for the peoples of the United Confederation. The colony ships set out from the nearest colonized stars over a decade ago, when the Spur Quadrant was first opened up to colonization, or even before. FTL is slow and unreliable at the best of times, meaning the new worlds of the Quadrant would be practically cut off from their distant homeworlds. But with verdant planets and rich star systems awaiting them, they went regardless. Huge arks, with countless cold-sleep colonists from hundreds of different planets and species, are just now reaching their myriad final destinations.
This particular system, given the dull scientific designation of ASTR38 since the Quadrant was first mapped, is a binary star system, with a hot white star distantly orbited by a cooler, red star. The hotter star has been identified to have four planets – a small rocky world, a sandstorm-wracked desert planet, a huge gas giant and a freezing ball of ice. Considered at first just another barren system, closer looks revealed that the moons of the gas giant were above average size, and one of them had an oxygen-bearing atmosphere capable of supporting most common kinds of galactic life. So when the green light was given to send off the colony ships, ASTR38 drew the attention of colonists. Perhaps once they arrive, they will give the place a more flattering name.
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Welcome to Terra Nova! A space states game, but without the sprawling empires that seem doomed to kill every space states game. Instead, you're founding a country on an alien planet. This is science fantasy, rather than hard science fiction, so all kinds of mad science and Star Wars-style technology is likely to be rife. There's also magic – just straight up wizard magic – I'll explain how that fits in in the codex. The only thing there definitely isn't is quick and easy FTL – each star system is, in most practical terms, on its own, so the scope of the game will be confined to a single solar system. You still have a lot to explore, exploit, and all the other Xs.
So yes, this is a states game. For those of you who haven't played one before, and those who missed the most recent iteration in Spheres of Influence, it's a game about politics, country management, diplomacy, and getting really salty at your friends (and me). It's played through freeform text or bullet point commands, largely taking place in private messages, with the thread reserved for public announcements by everyone. On normal 'long turns', I submit an update for the turn, you reply with a list of instructions on what you want your people to focus on this turn. It's that simple.
Alternating with each 'long turn' is a diplomatic 'short turn', where you talk to each other and make all sorts of deals, pacts and trades, or just trade barbs and insults if you prefer. Just remember to make sure I receive a copy of all IC communication between your countries. There's also wars, but you don't have direct control over your military manoeuvres, and open warfare probably won't have as much importance in this game because of the setting. These sorts of games tends to grow in complexity over time, but that's all you need to know to jump right in!
Applications
Colony Name: The name of your faction's colony.
Ruler Name: The name of the leader of your faction.
Ruler Info: Some background information on your leader, who they are, where they came from, how they became faction leader.
Faction Info: Background information on your faction – who is in your faction, what their society is like, any unusual goals they have, etc. Though they are likely to be similar, your faction society does not necessarily have to be the same as your homeworld society – the latter is where you're coming from, the former is what you intend to create. You could easily be exiles, pilgrims or criminals, coming to set up a new civilization out of the reach of your former overlords, just as you could be a state-sanctioned colonial expedition seeking to establish a new vassal colony under the flag of your homeworld.
Faction Colour: A preferred map colour for your colony, faction and anything else related to them. You can also optionally come up with a faction emblem if you so choose.
Species Info: Information on your species, their homeworld, any unique traits, and any cool factoids on what their society and traditions are like. If they are magical or technological, for instance. A species with a magical society is likely to all be capable of casting magic at some level, whereas a species with a technological society is likely to have magic-users be either rare or completely non-existent.