7 replies to this topic

[Bladex1200]

I'm no expert at programming, so I doubt this mod will ever get made but... I had an idea a few hours ago about a semi-futuristic/ancient RTS game. See the description below to see what I'm talking about:

It's the year 2059. Nuclear war has ravaged the world, and mankind is on the brink of dying. From this abysmal period come 6 factions, all ready to dominate this new, ravaged world and claim it for their own.

I personally believe the 0 A.D. engine will be able to pull most of what I'm envisioning since it doesn't involve air units - this is post-apocalyptic, so boats and some infantry are all I'm expecting.

Faction Profiles:

Confederate States of the American Continent

Composed of the remnants of the continental United States, Canada, and parts of Mexico, the CSAC is an emerging post-apocalyptic world power. Their main advantages are their infantry - they're expensive, but they put other faction's infantry to shame when you make the comparison. Their ships are average, though they do have a unique ship unit - the carrier. The carrier no longer launches airplanes, but rather artillery shells. It's been outfitted with a giant cannon that can bombard surface targets and water targets with ease.

European Sector

The European Sector, or ES, is a dictatorship based in Britain. It controls all of Europe, including much of Russia, and has the main advantage in economics. ES forager units gather resources more efficiently and can get up to 100 more resources per resource patch due to their efficiency. They also have formidable artillery. Slow, but extremely powerful, their howitzers can tear through structures with maniacal efficiency and speed.

Pan-Asian Coalition

Making up all the territories from the very north in Mongolia to the very south in the Philippines, the Pan-Asian Coalition (PAC, for short) is a formidable defense force. Their buildings have twice the hitpoints and armor of any other faction, and each building comes with an upgradable defense force built-in, allowing even the most mundane of structures, houses, to defend themselves. Their strength also comes from their infantry. While they are cheap, you can produce up to 10 infantry units to fill 2 population spots, enabling quick, rush tactics popular among PAC commanders.

Australia Technology Corporation

The ATC contains the pinnacle of all human technology, bar nukes. They have superior vehicles and ships, though their infantry are limited and their is a population cap for their infantry (the CSAS still has better infantry, when compared). They also have faster training times due to efficiency boosts and can create vehicles in a pinch when necessary. Their "just-in-time" tactics combined with their quality units make them a hard force to beat.

North-African United Territories

With South Africa's diamond mines in devastation after the war raged throughout the world, the North African territories decided to band together to form the NAUT. Though they have standard soldiers, they have an unmatched navy that rivals even the ATC in power. Their ships boast two times the amount of hitpoints and can upgrade to experimental railgun weapons. Their land army is standard, though they have a slightly stronger economy in the form of offshore oil rigs (which are only available to NAUT due to the devastation in other parts of the world). They are a force to be reckoned with in naval skirmishes. Don't underestimate them.

South American Borderlands

While North America was organizing into the CSAS, the South American peoples were in shambles. Drug cartels ran rampant, and no suitable government could be formed. Still, somehow, a leadership formed from the ashes and the SAD was born. SAD focuses on hitting hard and fast, so their units have reduced hitpoints in exchange for extreme speeds, allowing hit-and-run operations to be done with ease. Their bases are also mobile (all buildings are simply trucks converted into supply and training tents), allowing for bases to be moved tactically or according to resource needs. Overall, SAD is weaker in conventional battles but can be crippling to other factions if an adequate defense is not built up.

Now, with the other 2 factions posted up, please comment on my ideas! It's much appreciated!

Edited by Bladex1200, 27 April 2010 - 03:05 AM.

[Kimball]

Although your concept sounds cool, there seems to be one minor issue with your idea. I honestly don't see us waging international war in a post-apocalyptic situation. Those that survived would be far too devastated by the experience going from the information age to the bronze age to have any desire to kill people. I'd envision the world somehow banding together over a matter of years and attempting to restart civilization.

But seriously, I would play this mod.

[Bladex1200]

Well, the nuclear devastation is limiting the fighting to localized sectors, so campaign-wise you won't see the ES engaging the CSAS. However, areas interconnected (ie. Europe and Asia) will have war raging over the remnants. Also, about the rebuilding, the nuclear war devastated mostly coastal areas, since the missiles would be intercepted if they attempted to hit central areas, like the midwestern US. Most of the world is hit by conventional warfare, with the coastal regions being totally wiped out. Most military installations were attacked first (whether conventionally or nuclear-wise), so only small detachments of soldiers have survived.

Or, you could go with my other reason which is... It's a game and the storyline doesn't have to be realistic. But I like explaining myself out...

ALSO, I'm reposting the other 2 factions in the first post.

[oshron]

yknow, ive been working on an RTS in addition to my mythology idea that focuses alot on more modern history as well, ranging from the renaissance to the future and greatly emphasizing alternative and speculative history as well as actual facts. in one case, a futuristic era goes on to an apocalyptic period in which all civilizations suffer but then come back strong in an age of space travel.

a campaign idea in such an apocalyptic world that i came up with focused on a mixed group of native americans that make a settlement on alcatraz and then expand out into more traditional lands. another idea i came up with a while ago focuses on teh southern american sates rebelling, starting up a second civil war, because of an ice age that damages the more rural south while the north, while still colder, doesnt suffer as much

[Ykkrosh]

Kimball, on Apr 27 2010, 03:44 AM, said:

I'd envision the world somehow banding together over a matter of years and attempting to restart civilization.

You're far too much of an optimist . Fiction has taught me that all people in post-apocalyptic worlds fight each other (or become postmen).

But it also seems optimistic to have continent-sized superpowers in a world where modern communication methods and long-distance travel and existing militaries and governments have presumably all been destroyed by global war - it would be impossible to get people to cooperate on that scale, and there's no clear reason why they would want to cooperate anyway.

What brings each faction together? Geography? Economics? Ideology? Fear/respect of some leader? Fluoride in the water supply? It'd be nice if there was some fundamental reason for each faction to exist, which differentiates them from the others and leads to their own particular style of warfare - that would help make each faction be a meaningful entity that players could understand and care about, rather than just an arbitrary name attached to a collection of gameplay stats.

Bladex1200 said:

I personally believe the 0 A.D. engine will be able to pull most of what I'm envisioning since it doesn't involve air units

I expect it would take days or weeks at most to add some kind of reasonable air unit support into the engine, so that wouldn't be a problem compared to the years of work needed to create all the art and balance all the gameplay for a mod like this

[Kimball]

Being that there would be no means of international communication, as Blade pointed out, this post-apocalyptic union would be vastly limited to the immediate region. In most cases, there would be no desire to venture off into a land where you could potentially need to kill another "tribe" because it wouldn't take long to recognize that the entire world had been @#$%ed on this one. Keep in mind, the average modern day citizen knows very little about the wilderness and survival apart from the hours spent in front of the Discovery Channel. Perhaps a few centuries down the line, if we somehow manage to overcome the radiation, we may eventually be civilized to contact other people, find a reason to kill them and follow through with war.

[Jeru]

Yeah, it's kind of hard to run an empire that spans the greater part of a continent without trains and telegraphs.

[Bladex1200]

Well, the devastation is pretty wide, but there's no reason why certain communications systems couldn't work. Satellites are still online, so you could communicate via phone. Below are the ideals and tools that unite the factions together.

Confederate States of the American Continents (CSAS):

CSAS is united via satellite phone lines and some internet (areas like the midwest still have some backup servers from before the war). Canada was deeply ravaged by the war, so human contact is very sketchy and some CSAS commanders believe Canada is not even inhabited at all. Mexico has the best remaining infrastructure - most of their backup internet servers are still online and they still have some telephone lines standing. The U.S. is mostly uninhabited in the coastal regions, but California seems to have escaped most of the devastation. California and midwest states like Ohio are the main hubs for CSAS, with Mexico serving as an economic center.

CSAS is united by the democratic ideals that dominated the old American government. Their current Republican Head is Falcon Rosch, though his term will be expiring soon and he will have to gain the will of the people to be re-elected. Though they have more of a republic than a democracy, they hold freedom and liberty dearest to heart and do not believe in force as a method of subversion. Still, the constant raids by the South American Borderlands have forced them to build up a new army, the CSAS Home Guard, composed of elite infantry and some vehicles and ships.

European Sector (ES):

The ES is united via internet and satellite. No phone lines can be found amongst the destruction, and internet servers only exist in areas like Germany and the Netherlands - lowland central areas that escaped most of the nuclear war. Fringe areas like Ireland rely on satellite phone access, though the central ES government in Britain has created a primitive internet server capable of communication. Northern areas, like Ukraine and the Balkan Sea, are mostly inhabited and escaped the nuclear war, though civil war rages in most of Russia and they are unresponsive to ES commands.

The ES is united by a single dictator, the self-styled Russian Marcus Voyavich, who rules with an iron fist from his home base in Britain. Exiled from Russia due to the rebels taking hold during the civil war, he is bitter about his defeat and demands unyielding loyalty. His goal is to rebuild Europe into a world power, but he is afraid that death from his older age might claim him before his dream is realized. He created his armies to destroy, and his adept economy rivals that of even the PAC nations.

Pan-Asian Coalition (PAC):

PAC is mostly intact infrastructure wise, with internet access still prevalent in most inland areas. The Philippines escaped most of the ravaging due to its insignificance during the previous war, and has naturally become the operations base for PAC. China and Mongolia exist mostly as manufacturing and agricultural puppets, with southeast Asian nations like India and Indonesia building up the main military. Civil war does exist in the northern fringe territories, though it is small and mostly forgotten amidst the national fervor to rebuild Asia into a new world power.

PAC is united by it's corrupt democratic government, which claims to represent the people's interests but in reality is bought out by former Japanese corporate lobbyists. It's president, Yang Fu Sheng, is an aloof but intelligent man who believes the good of the nation relies on economy, not military power. Though he believes in economic subversion, he does keep a poorly-trained if well-staffed army under his command in case of breakouts of violence.

Australian Technology Corporation (ATC):

The ATC is probably the best united faction. They have fast internet and relatively intact phone lines. Though their supply lines are stretched, the continent edges is reachable within a few hours via truck. They have some agricultural infrastructure left, but most food is synthetic since the land battles decimated their coastal cities and farmlands. With pride in their hearts, they set about rebuilding their homeland and perhaps earning a little bit of profit in the process.

The ATC is united by the Australian Technology Business Agency (ATBA). ATBA ensures all needs of the people are met and that the ATC's coffers (as well as their own personal coffers) are kept nice and full. They are headed by the new CEO, Richard Styx, who is a foreigner but is very good at making business deals. Their business-minded ideals also extend to their military, which is sleek, efficient, and good for helping convince those pesky PAC agents to trade more for less.

North-African United Territories (NAUT):

NAUT is in shambles, though satellite feed and some phone lines keep them from falling into discord. They rely on vehicular messages (similar to the old-age concept of "mail") to keep informed and are based in Egypt, which is relatively intact despite much war. Most of the middle-east nations are ravaged, with the few survivors not adhering to any single faction, but North Africa is, for the most part, still functioning at a slow pace.

NAUT is united by the greed of their new "Pharaoh", Neo-Ramses I. Neo-Ramses and his officials have an insatiable greed for wealth, and so NAUT is military-focused on getting the wealth needed to appease their insane dictator. The wealth, however, is put to use by the dictator on building his giant navy to conquer foreign lands. His reasoning? "Europe must be full of wealth. How do you think those guys managed to keep their internet up. Good Osiris, I can't even get 1 bar with this kind of satellite feed."

South African Borderlands (Officially SAB, though mispronounced and known as SAD):

Drug cartels ran rampant in SAD before the war, and after the war they gained power beyond their imagination. With the people cut off from communications, each one set up a secret communications system via truck delivery and took control of their own little slice of SAD territory. Each territory has its own specialization, such as farming or manufacturing, though Brazil is the territory where all the cartels assemble for yearly meetings.

SAD is not headed by one person, though an unofficial "mafioso" leader named Falcon has taken power and controls the other cartels. His goal is to create the perfect army and rule the world. Not too shabby for a relatively unknown man. Currently, he's skirmishing with CSAS in order to take control of Mexico, his home nation and his dearly beloved country.