- Location
- USA
IC THREAD: Lights In The Sky IC -- Grand Strategy against Enemies Unknown Mature - Sci-Fi - Alt. History
Rules
Mechanics
Each of you will be controlling a country or group of countries on Planet Earth, in 1989. Despite this, the technology available will be more like 2089, because this takes place after Japan's short-sighted attempt to repel an alien invasion with giant robots. That advancement has led to superior weapons on a more practical, fireteam-based scale. Each turn of play will probably be about 3-5 "months," with about 6 months of summarized time between, as events dictate. Play begins when I have at least 4 players assigned countries, and players joining after that will only get to start at the beginning of the next in-game "year," allowing the current cast to finish what they are doing.
Each turn, each player will submit orders, which I will interpret for results based on advance preparation, resources amassed, and a little luck. You will not directly control moment-by-moment events on the squad level, during deployment, but you have a lot of say regarding that.
In the "Between Times," I will summarize what has changed in the world state, how each of you has progressed, then establish new alien activity as your sensor arrays become aware. There may not be visible activity for each/all of you every turn, so take those opportunities to improve your standing more aggressively.
Orders
On a turn, specify how many RUs are being spent, and which squads of how many troops are being sent out (in what vehicle, with what equipment) if at all. If sending squads, specify one or more targets you are aware of, within sensor range. Anything else you do (such as interacting with other nations politically) is free action and will not be given a fixed, concrete value for resolution. It may pay off as you and the player agree; if you cannot come to agreement, I will step in, and may assign success, failure, or simply "what you described does not occur," as I feel best fits the game.
Conquering human nations isn't really what I have in mind, but it is not restricted. If you send troops to attack human nations, or try to politically negotiate for more territory, you may quickly find you have more problems than you have resources.
The main body of your order should be no less than 250 words. Unless it is particularly complex, it shouldn't range beyond 500 words.
Claims
The nations in gameplay are presented below, along with their taken/available status. I have also marked them based on difficulty, given their estimated wealth, population, position, and level of advancement. Your enemy is coming from above, so the usual Grand Strategy format of borders and allies/enemies isn't going to play out quite the same. When replying to this post, please give your 3 most preferred nations, and I will assign based on my own judgment, what is available, and any argument you provide. Feel free to request 3 nations that you see other people requesting; if it's not marked "taken," it doesn't belong to them yet. Ideally, you should have at least one in your top 3 that no one's asking for yet, but that's not required.
Canada+Greenland (grouped based on location, not political; Difficulty: Mid; available)
.
United States of America (plus Cuba and nearby islands; includes Alaska and Hawaii; Difficulty: Mid-High; available)
.
Mexico (includes Central American nations by proximity; Difficulty: High; available)
.
NSA (Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, and other northern nations of South America; Difficulty: High; available)
.
SSA (Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, Argentina, etc.; Difficulty: High; available)
.
Western Europe + United Kingdom & Ireland (Difficulty: Low-Mid; available)
.
Eastern Europe (does NOT include Russia, Turkey, nor islands; Difficulty: High; available)
.
Russia (Difficulty: Low-Mid; available)
.
Central Asia (everything from Turkey to Kazakhstan to the Middle East, including Egypt; Difficulty: Mid-High; available)
.
China (plus Mongolia and North/South Korea; Difficulty: Low; available)
.
Japan (Difficulty: Very High; available)
.
India (and Asian nations east of India/south of China; Difficulty: Mid-High; available)
.
Indonesia (and neighboring island nations; Difficulty: Very High; available)
.
West Africa (everything from Algeria to Nigeria and west of there; Difficulty: High; available)
.
Libya (plus Chad, Sudan, and Ethiopia; Difficulty: High; available)
.
Central Africa (Cameroon, C.A.R., South Sudan, Kenya, Somalia, DRC, etc.; Difficulty: Very High; available)
.
Southern Africa (everything south of DRC, plus Madagascar; Difficulty: High; available)
.
Australia and New Zealand (Difficulty: Mid-High; available)
As a final note, the main reasons Japan is marked Very High, despite wealth and technology, are its population issues, small space, and notable strike against extra-terrestrials in the past. The latter makes them a hot target.
Rules
- Forum rules trump anything I say/imply.
- Let's keep player-to-player interaction civil. There's a place for aggression in-character, but don't take game events personally.
- What I say is final, immutable law unless in contradicts the above two rules. I will try to stay hands-off in respect of that, but I will intervene where necessary.
- Your capabilities in game are to be strictly defined by mechanics and in-game progress. Your faction cannot and will not have access to things above your means, just because you know how X-COM works.
- If you discuss decision-making for this game, or engage in roleplay, in any medium outside of my threads, please message me with a summary of what has transpired. Even where I can't see you, be civil.
- Deceit, treason and ruthless politicking are to be expected. Can't handle it? Please sit this one out.
- For source material, I'm working mainly with X-COM Enemy Unknown, X-COM Terror from the Deep, and X-COM Apocalypse, rather than the reboot games. I'm not familiar with them, having not played them. That being said, if I take a look and see something I like, I might adapt. Fans of either era, or people who like sci-fi/aliens and know nothing about X-COM, are equally welcome.
Mechanics
Each of you will be controlling a country or group of countries on Planet Earth, in 1989. Despite this, the technology available will be more like 2089, because this takes place after Japan's short-sighted attempt to repel an alien invasion with giant robots. That advancement has led to superior weapons on a more practical, fireteam-based scale. Each turn of play will probably be about 3-5 "months," with about 6 months of summarized time between, as events dictate. Play begins when I have at least 4 players assigned countries, and players joining after that will only get to start at the beginning of the next in-game "year," allowing the current cast to finish what they are doing.
Each turn, each player will submit orders, which I will interpret for results based on advance preparation, resources amassed, and a little luck. You will not directly control moment-by-moment events on the squad level, during deployment, but you have a lot of say regarding that.
In the "Between Times," I will summarize what has changed in the world state, how each of you has progressed, then establish new alien activity as your sensor arrays become aware. There may not be visible activity for each/all of you every turn, so take those opportunities to improve your standing more aggressively.
Orders
On a turn, specify how many RUs are being spent, and which squads of how many troops are being sent out (in what vehicle, with what equipment) if at all. If sending squads, specify one or more targets you are aware of, within sensor range. Anything else you do (such as interacting with other nations politically) is free action and will not be given a fixed, concrete value for resolution. It may pay off as you and the player agree; if you cannot come to agreement, I will step in, and may assign success, failure, or simply "what you described does not occur," as I feel best fits the game.
Conquering human nations isn't really what I have in mind, but it is not restricted. If you send troops to attack human nations, or try to politically negotiate for more territory, you may quickly find you have more problems than you have resources.
The main body of your order should be no less than 250 words. Unless it is particularly complex, it shouldn't range beyond 500 words.
Claims
The nations in gameplay are presented below, along with their taken/available status. I have also marked them based on difficulty, given their estimated wealth, population, position, and level of advancement. Your enemy is coming from above, so the usual Grand Strategy format of borders and allies/enemies isn't going to play out quite the same. When replying to this post, please give your 3 most preferred nations, and I will assign based on my own judgment, what is available, and any argument you provide. Feel free to request 3 nations that you see other people requesting; if it's not marked "taken," it doesn't belong to them yet. Ideally, you should have at least one in your top 3 that no one's asking for yet, but that's not required.
Canada+Greenland (grouped based on location, not political; Difficulty: Mid; available)
.
United States of America (plus Cuba and nearby islands; includes Alaska and Hawaii; Difficulty: Mid-High; available)
.
Mexico (includes Central American nations by proximity; Difficulty: High; available)
.
NSA (Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, and other northern nations of South America; Difficulty: High; available)
.
SSA (Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, Argentina, etc.; Difficulty: High; available)
.
Western Europe + United Kingdom & Ireland (Difficulty: Low-Mid; available)
.
Eastern Europe (does NOT include Russia, Turkey, nor islands; Difficulty: High; available)
.
Russia (Difficulty: Low-Mid; available)
.
Central Asia (everything from Turkey to Kazakhstan to the Middle East, including Egypt; Difficulty: Mid-High; available)
.
China (plus Mongolia and North/South Korea; Difficulty: Low; available)
.
Japan (Difficulty: Very High; available)
.
India (and Asian nations east of India/south of China; Difficulty: Mid-High; available)
.
Indonesia (and neighboring island nations; Difficulty: Very High; available)
.
West Africa (everything from Algeria to Nigeria and west of there; Difficulty: High; available)
.
Libya (plus Chad, Sudan, and Ethiopia; Difficulty: High; available)
.
Central Africa (Cameroon, C.A.R., South Sudan, Kenya, Somalia, DRC, etc.; Difficulty: Very High; available)
.
Southern Africa (everything south of DRC, plus Madagascar; Difficulty: High; available)
.
Australia and New Zealand (Difficulty: Mid-High; available)
As a final note, the main reasons Japan is marked Very High, despite wealth and technology, are its population issues, small space, and notable strike against extra-terrestrials in the past. The latter makes them a hot target.
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