Simming Discussion

[SWSF Hale]

RISE OF THE EMPIRE

PREMISE: The year is 9 BBY. Just ten years after the Declaration of the New Order and the foundation of the first Galactic Empire. The Great Purge has all but been effective at wiping away every remaining stain of the once great Jedi Order, spearheaded by none other than Darth Vader himself. Yet active insurrection, once thought of as the CIS Remnant, has been given a new name: the Rebellion. Ambushed supply convoys, large-scale sabotage operations, and even high-impact naval raids have been carried out by an ever-expanding and organized fighting force.

PRIMARY GAME MECHANIC: Co-Operative / Head-to-Head Honor Sim

PLAYERS: Will take on the role of any character class they want. The Rise of the Empire era allows for secret apprentices (like Starkiller), Jedi-in-Hiding, Rebel commandos, typical scum and villainy, plus Imperial officers trying to make a name for themselves.

CONFLICTS/BATTLES: Will be arranged by players between themselves. The primary goal of this sim is to merely set the stage and have everybody SL'ing under one roof, perhaps with common goals/ideas for stories.

...

Anybody interested? If so, a "GCW: RoTE" thread would need to get made under the SLs & RP section of the forum, and we could just go from there.

[Erasmar]

Clone Wars just appeared on Netflix, so I've been in a Star Wars state of mind lately. I'll contribute! I'm thinking Rebels and "typical scum and villainy," so I'll mull it over a bit more.

Or are you thinking a single thread that all members would contribute to? I could honestly find something interesting to write about any of them. I was thinking for the Rebels, though, a captain and his crew defecting with a frigate, and they gradually join up with the Alliance, acting as a sort of one-ship strike team, maybe a precursor to Rogue Squadron.

But, for anything I am up.

[SWSF Hale]

Originally I was thinking we could all be anti-Imperial of whatever flavor. That way the sim is more of a co-op. It will be assumed that the NPC Empire is everywhere and all powerful, so there's really no reason for somebody to play as the Empire, rather an Imperial-hired bounty hunter tracking a Jedi with the proto-Rogue strike team or something. A single thread could be interesting, but I was thinking more of an umbrella thread so people could post appendix-style information related to the group SL.

Whatever happens, I'm thinking I'll probably be a Consular-class Cruiser commander that defects from the Empire with a skeleton crew of sympathizers. He proceeds to a set of hyperspace coordinates in deep space and rendezvous with a NEB and links up with anybody else who wants to play.

[SWSF Eidolon]

  I'll contribute some scribblings.

  Debating angle yet though.

  Initial thoughts: Timeline, yay.  Empire agent restriction to NPC, boo.

  Further thoughts: I always thought it'd be a good idea/way to start a group SL game off with a bang like a battle rather than the slow background ramp up avenue we usually take.  In order to have a genesis point in which everyone could be present and creates a lot of loose threads to be strung together and give all characters a unifying subject, you could have a planet that is being subjugated by the Empire.  Maybe the story begins in the midst of bombardment, leading in to landing operations.  On the surface you could have all sorts of geopolitical factors that immediately come in to play and shape character choice/drive.  I like to look at real world scenarios and spin off that, maybe the world is in midst of civil war between ancient monarchy and aspiring democratic nationalists, maybe there's a huge alien population on the planet that aren't indigenous but were resettled refugees or something, they've been around thousands of years but not as long as the humans.  Perhaps aliens make up substantial support base of the democratic nationalists, so the monarchy has invited the Empire to help crush the Civil War and win it for them.  Empire obliges, and in predictable fashion pretty much indiscriminately assaults the planet, Monarchists and Nationalists, civilians alike suffering the Imperial onslaught.

   Presumably then, you end up with individuals with Alliance character leanings to emerge from the Nationalist corner, or maybe the brutality begins to sway their loyalties from the Monarchists.  Or maybe they are just some self employed traders/smugglers/whatever that happen to be trapped a regional starport on the surface when the Empire blockade/bombardment begin.  Perhaps part of the Empire's eagerness to oblige the Monarchist request is outspoken media critics on the planet of the New Order.  Making the Empire especially interested in taking a front line role there.  Anyways, the idea is that this origin point would only last as long and be indepth as we desired to make it.  It could be a quick thing that just sends us all scurrying away from there, or maybe some of us chasing some of us who scurry from there or it could be a longer thing that is like an opening chapter to a longer saga.

    Just beginning of a thought.

[Erasmar]

Appendix-style main thread, got it. Yeah I'm down for anything. I'll brainstorm a main character, or a couple, and start something up. It's my favorite time period in terms of potential. I think I know a good little story arc to get started with.

A single-planet game, or at least something starting on a single planet, has been something I've been interested in for a long time. I could see us starting in that way. I was hoping for less emphasis on politics and detail, more on straight-up adventure with Lucas-style character development (read with scarequotes as "character" "development"). But I could certainly see that style coexisting with a deeper, more detailed story that you've outlined Eid.

Hell, Hale's ship and crew could be caught up in that bombardment and decided to defect during it, or at least somehow be involved in it.

I was also thinking of doing short 3 "episode" arcs on the side, in which my main characters are just secondary characters to other one-and-done characters.

(Look at all this ill-fated ambition!)

[SWSF Eidolon]

  I also wouldn't mind taking up a fiendish bounty hunter/malicious scoundrel mantle that is perhaps hunting one or more parties on the other end actually! An agent of the empire, thinking non-force attuned, alien of some sort. Sounds enthralling more I dwell!

[gallpizi]

I am interested but as an Imperial only. Could be an Imperial spy of course but I am no rebel scum.

ALSO LETS GET THE APP DONE! lol

[SWSF Hale]

Well when I said "wouldn't make sense being an Imperial" I meant more of the Star Destroyer Commander type Imperial. If we're doing character-driven co-op/head-to-head and the rebels are a rag-tag bunch... they would simply jet to hyperspace everytime an ISD shows up.

Imperial spies, assassins, bounty hunters, are more than welcome I would say. That's just my opinion though. I'd really just like a handful of people of whatever flavor simming again under one roof.

+1 to the idea of starting with a subjugation battle of some sort. That would certainly begin things with a bang, allow characters to be introduced and give people a variety of entrance options from smuggler to soldier.

[SWSF Eidolon]

 Well it sounds like we have a fair amount of agreement and complimentary ideas to go around for the most part.

  Is the following the beginnings of a general plan?

   Co-Op SL Uni, Honor based- story character driven focus

   Beginning event some form of initial climax (mmm) type battle, centered around a tbd planet?

   Timeline about 9BBY (no Rebel Alliance proper [corellian treaty 2BBY] yet)

   
   Hale, Eras, Pizi, Me, Greg I presume?   Rin? your Secret Wars fall in this vein pretty closely

[gallpizi]

I am still not letting you kill the app. How can I help?

[SWSF Hoppus]

The app will some day get done. But it won't be for many months. I'm just too loaded with other work and programming tasks, as well as helping my wife start her business. So the app was the easiest, most time-consuming thing to bump.

Some day it will be done..

I am in for this as well. I also think there is room for Imperial commanders. In Timothy Zahn's book about the Stromtroopers who defect, Ozil is the ISD commander that gets involved chasing them down and also going toe to toe with Mara Jade etc. Obviously wouldn't expect many huge fleet battles, but there's plenty of story options there for those who want to write them. Unless of course I'm not quite understanding the Co-Op concept, which maybe could be clarified a bit more in terms of procedure: posting, timeline, freedom to wander away from certain story points, etc. I wouldn't want to be tied into every event with everyone else, necessarily, I don't think, or at least have the option to pass on it (of course its outcome would effect the world and so my character eventually if indirectly).

[SWSF Hale]

The only thing on Wookiepedia for 9 BBY is nothing major. Dash Rendar enters Imperial Academy, Luke Skywalker contracts dust fever, except for this little note: Stormtroopers begin enlisting non-clones into the ranks. The canon literature for this period is absent. Force Unleashed takes place between 3-1 BBY, so Starkiller would be entirely hidden at this time as well.

Step 1: Get some boards made. I still want to generate a character bio of some sort before I start posting, I think most people probably want to do the same.

Step 2: I think Honor Sim is the way to go. No massive fleet battles to worry about. NEB frigates will be the big guns for the proto-Rebels. We can maybe toy with introducing specs and stuff if we want to go that route later on, but I think it should start off 100% Honor Sim.

Step 3: Pick a system for the Empire to subjugate and use that as our story catalyst.

[SWSF Hale]

For any discussions regarding the game's mechanics, Honor Sim rulings of any sort, whether or not specs need to be introduced.

[Erasmar]

Step 1: Get some boards made. I still want to generate a character bio of some sort before I start posting, I think most people probably want to do the same.

Step 2: I think Honor Sim is the way to go. No massive fleet battles to worry about. NEB frigates will be the big guns for the proto-Rebels. We can maybe toy with introducing specs and stuff if we want to go that route later on, but I think it should start off 100% Honor Sim.

Step 3: Pick a system for the Empire to subjugate and use that as our story catalyst.

Step 4: Repeat steps 1 through 3.

Step 5: Make you fall in love with me.


But yes, I'm on board with those steps. I think the main thing is keeping it small scale. Showing up with a couple ISDs would not be fun I think, unless they're "NPCs" part of the blockade or something.

[SWSF Hoppus]

Exciting stuff here.

Before I decide on character(s) etc, I'd like to have a clearer idea of the setting and elements in play. I think we should have clear idea of the Empire's actions on this world, their commitment in terms of resources, their goals. Sounds like I'm saying a lot but basically just want to have the walls of the sandbox a little clearer, to know what "NPC" chars, elements are there to bounce of off so we are all plugged into the same 'reality'.

I'm not sure what sort of character(s) I have in mind at the moment yet... but are we thinking of all being a "band of brothers" or just in the same reality with the possibility we might intertwine story when we feel like it?

Can someone shine some light on this for me?

Also, if anyone wants to write up a more indepth look at the time period, tech, peoples in power, etc that would be great or recommend a novel set just before this time period if they know of one.



Erasmar: I like your episodes idea and might try to steal it