Mod Project Team: Story

[silvaril]

Heya

The Story Team will be responsible for generating and finalising the various racial history and background bytes that influence the work of the other Teams.

Correspondingly the Story Team will also be the mandated folks for critiquing the results of the other Teams.


Current Goals:
Look back over the various threads in the Mod Project forum and summarise previous discussions with outcomes in the Story - Reference thread.
http://kerberos-productions.com/forum/v ... php?t=7909

A Story - Work In Progress thread to assist:
http://kerberos-productions.com/forum/v ... php?t=8026


Engine 3 concept in conjunction with Gameplay Team.
http://kerberos-productions.com/forum/v ... php?t=7873

Small, medium and large turret designs in conjunction with Design Team.
http://kerberos-productions.com/forum/v ... php?t=7913

Weapon designs in conjunction with the Design Team.
http://kerberos-productions.com/forum/v ... php?t=7912

Develop World Textures in conjunction with the Textures Team.
(Dustballs, High Hazard, Low Hazard and Colonies)


The Team Lead for the Story Team will be responsible for liaising with the other Teams and generating the final back story for the Mod Race.

If you are interested in helping bring this Mod to life, then please reply to this thread.


Current Team:
Tssha
Blazer
Glacialis

[Tssha]

I'm possibly interested in contributing writing talents to this project, but let's face it, I resumed posting yesterday and I have no idea if I'll be able to keep that up. On top of that, I'm unreliable...that said (assuming I haven't talked my way out of a job already ), here's what I have to offer:

1) I've put out at least one well polished script that will be used in the upcoming production of a local...I hesitate to call it theatre, because it's not, but it's a live show on stage and it's funny.
2) My obligations are few and I'm looking for more things I could put on a resume...so you'd have a high focus of my attention (assuming I can keep it together).
3) I'm easily contactable since I check my email regularly. If you don't hear from me for several weeks, PM me and I'll get back to you immediately, as well as send you whatever I have (upon request).
4) I'm a diligent editor and can spot spelling errors, grammar errors, poorly worded sentences and other grammatical gaffes. In this case, direct contact with the writer (i.e. not through the forums) would be preferable.

As for why I might not make a good member of the team:

1) I have no experience with writing this race, nor am I all that familiar with the foundation of that race. I also have no idea how to make such a race biologically viable...though I might be able to handle culture and society, especially modern.
2) My aforementioned unreliability. Not to mention that a mod project will always lag behind other projects that are more important to my real life.

I also have experience with writing in a group, having put out a scene with input from such a group. It's gotten laughs in the right places and seems to work for what I intended it to do. I'll know how it works out this February (when we go onstage *gasp*).

[silvaril]

Heya Tssha

I would like to see you for your proof-reading skills alone

There are several other threads in this forum dealing with the Races' backstory that I would suggest reading up on.

Notably:
http://kerberos-productions.com/forum/v ... php?t=4748
http://kerberos-productions.com/forum/v ... php?t=4586

One of the things I want the Story Team to do is collate the information from the various threads generated so far and make it fit together...
Complete with responses in those threads indicating what has/has not been collated.

[Blazer]

I was in on the story and balance issues from the get go. Count me in as still being a part in some way or another. Just let me know what ya need.

[silvaril]

Heya Blazer

Thanks for continuing to volunteer

Right now, well you've already thrown a name at the Race Name thread


I think we could probably use a collation of the various things previously discussed, including suggestions and outcomes.

Things like the "living ships" discussion and other "where are we taking he race and why" factors.

Post in the Story - Reference thread.

Thanks

[Glacialis]

I'm in.

[silvaril]

Heya Glacialis

Thanks for sticking around

I'll collate the things I've already requested in the OP, so dig on in as ya can...

[silvaril]

Heya

Updated OP with:

Current Goals:
Look back over the various threads in the Mod Project forum and summarise previous discussions with outcomes in the Story - Reference thread.

[silvaril]

Heya

Updated OP with:

Current Goals:
Look back over the various threads in the Mod Project forum and summarise previous discussions with outcomes in the Story - Reference thread.

Engine 3 concept in conjunction with Gameplay Team.

Small, medium and large turret designs in conjunction with Design Team.

[silvaril]

Heya

Updated OP with:

Current Goals:
Look back over the various threads in the Mod Project forum and summarise previous discussions with outcomes in the Story - Reference thread.
http://kerberos-productions.com/forum/v ... php?t=7909

Engine 3 concept in conjunction with Gameplay Team.
http://kerberos-productions.com/forum/v ... php?t=7873

Small, medium and large turret designs in conjunction with Design Team.
http://kerberos-productions.com/forum/v ... php?t=7913

Weapon designs in conjunction with the Design Team.
http://kerberos-productions.com/forum/v ... php?t=7912

[Jandor]

Looking back over previous threads we can see some of these following generalities:

Crazy tinkerers, obsessed with perfection and possessing a single minded devotion to the project at hand.
Cliches

Rumor has it that the rockbugs discovered Dreadnaught Construction when a shipyard crew started building a destroyer and nobody told them when to stop.

As a much easier to balance means of implementing this, maybe have good chances for linear tech progression but rarer chances for cross-branch progression. Rockbug scientists are good at focussing obsessively on one area, say, energy cannons, but they'd be much less likely to try building torpedoes with their knowledge when they could perfect their specialty instead. Jacks of all trades they are not.

Perhaps it could be more than that though. They're psychology could itself be very focused; intensely devoting themselves to a concept or idea until they see it through to perfection. They set about to a task, and focus on it until it is complete. Very persevering, very obsessive, and prone to lose sight of the greater goal sometimes for the details. Fortunately, there are a multitude of individuals each who have their own ideas and areas of expertise(obsession).

They also appear to be a very spiritual race, but not Zealots, they would argue, debate and philosophize about Religion, but not convert you at knife point.
Cliches

Deeply religious? No. Spiritual? Yes. No zealots, this was decided early on.

From what he had agreed on, as far as I remember anyway, the rockbugs would be deeply religious, worshiping planets as sentient enteties the way other races worship gods, relatively friendly, but socialy inhibited by their incounter suits and extreme environmental preferences...

It also appears to have been widely acknowledged that these guys are master traders. Although I think end results of this were torn somewhat between one extra freighter and Q-Ships.
Mercantile Rockbugs

I agree with the "an extra freighter per route" aproach rather than uniqe/overpowered ships for the rockbugs...

Err... I should've explained it better I think - it's meant to take the place of 3 normal freighters, and will cost more up-front and in maintainence than those three freighters.
Balance issues aside, I think it'd be too difficult to get to work properly when we could focus on something else instead.

Our critters also communicate using light rather than sound, theres a whole 11 page thread on this.
Language work.

Rockbugs don't "speak"- remember that. They communicate with light transmissions. They'll have to develop first a writing system(any society that begins advancing to urbanization has one) and then probably later a spoken language (to communicate with new races- as the Liir did.) A mathmatical music scale my be perfect to covert "light transmissions" into soundwaves based on what would likely be a incredibly complex set of conversion rules.

I'll keep digging later.

EDIT: I think the following is something most people agree on:

No living ships! NO LIVING SHIPS! NOOOOooooooo..... *explodes*

[Eleahen]

Also rockbugs currently don't have "seeds of conflict" in their background like other races.

Usually from game design POV conflict is good.

[Jandor]

There was some talk about their Planet religion stuff being the main reason for conflict, but that was obviously discarded along with the intense zeal.


Liir... Military caste created due to not wanting to be re-enslaved.
Tarka... Militaristic and expansionist society.
Hiver... Militaristic and expansionist society.
Human... Militarist society re-instated after Hiver surprise attack.
Zuul... Religious fanatics and Xenocidal maniacs.

Cthonics... Jovial and Curious Scientists and Merchants... We have a problem here. Shall have to think about this.

[Jandor]

Oh, what do you people think to the following idea that Rockbugs would get Nanowar sections (Nano-Plague) and be affected by the Nano missiles like a normal Plague?

Nanowar

EDIT:

Motiles and Immotiles: the Rockbug Cycle of Life
This thread was going somewhere, but got side tracked

Not sure which method I favor, but whatever we decide their needs to be a sound evolutionary reason for it.
Remember we've got many options:

Immotiles as basically trees with motiles as intelligent spores?
Symbiotic relationship between two species?
Motiles as gatherers and hunters for breeding Immotiles?
Immotiles as an amalgamation of motiles for the purpose of breeding, which is then taken apart? or not taken apart?

[erdrik]

Nice job Jandor.
Its good to have this info all on one easy to access location.