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"I liked the story, except for this:
Why are Serco only depicted as bloodthirsty, vengeful racists?"
The history was written by Itani monks, who likely exagerrated the savagery of the Serco in order to draw attention away from their own idiocy.
Anyway, reading this has made me REALLY glad that I picked Neutral when I created my character, since the UIT seems to be the only faction in the game with an iota of sense.
Why are Serco only depicted as bloodthirsty, vengeful racists?"
The history was written by Itani monks, who likely exagerrated the savagery of the Serco in order to draw attention away from their own idiocy.
Anyway, reading this has made me REALLY glad that I picked Neutral when I created my character, since the UIT seems to be the only faction in the game with an iota of sense.
I didn't particularly enjoy the UIT being depicted as a bunch of corporate whores.
I've always envisioned the NT being something like a burgeoning democracy, much like the United States was at its inception. That's why I joined it. Fortunately, I have created a backstory for my character that can fit in perfectly well with the current story (which you can see by my post in the "Alien activity" thread in RP.) I do, however, fear for the possibility of me finally building an NT Militia if all the people who join NT from now on are "please don't hurt us, we just want to make an honest buck" traders rather than the top notch fighters the Gold nation had in the old days.
I've always envisioned the NT being something like a burgeoning democracy, much like the United States was at its inception. That's why I joined it. Fortunately, I have created a backstory for my character that can fit in perfectly well with the current story (which you can see by my post in the "Alien activity" thread in RP.) I do, however, fear for the possibility of me finally building an NT Militia if all the people who join NT from now on are "please don't hurt us, we just want to make an honest buck" traders rather than the top notch fighters the Gold nation had in the old days.
Oh, I'm NT. You'll have fighters, never fear!
Andreas, its a big no-no if you claim it as your own, or go distribute it somewhere else. Since I freely give credit to the writers, and even include all of the copyright information at the bottom of the last page of the backstory in the text I copied, coping it for personal use, and even letting other people read it, isn't wrong. Also since I am only offering it to people THROUGH this website, in a thread that the devs started, and aparently have read, last I checked I am completely within my rights to offer it, unless one of the persons who has any claims to any of the materials within tells me to stop. I made no changes to the text or anything, just formatted it in a word document. And since no one has asked for it yet, I haven't done anything but offer it. But if anyone has a problem with this, I will take back the offer. I'm not an expert on copyright law, but last I checked as long as I offer it through here, and include all copyright info, I beleive that I am still completely within the law right now.
But keeping it for my personal use is still perfectly fine. Anyone can do what I did, I just liked the idea of having a copy of it on my computer.
But keeping it for my personal use is still perfectly fine. Anyone can do what I did, I just liked the idea of having a copy of it on my computer.
Hi. Thanks for all the positive responses, it really means a lot that you guys like it :). Up until now, only a few people had read it, and with any long, involved creation like this.. you hope people will enjoy it. Given the sort of game we're trying to build here, it's pretty important that people can get into the storyline and are willing to run with it in their own fashion.
It is "condensed" in that it is a condensed version of more than two thousand years of history spanning many different worlds and nations. It's very much a "high points" sort of discussion that covers the major events which bring rise to the Present Day universe.
Regarding the nations and their portrayals. This history documents what the Itani know, and how the Itani perceive the universe to have evolved, both politically and culturally. The Serco were not always bloodthirsty and racist, and the more recent entries give cause to wonder if their elitist outlook hasn't moderated in time (they make a treaty and pay reparations to the UIT, and grow to respect rather than outright-despise the Itani). Plus, this mostly portrays the actions of the Governments and Powerful Entities of the nations (corporations, etc), which says little about the regular guy on the street. The fact that Orion or some other modern UIT corporation might make some greedy choices doesn't change the fact that TPG was originally founded by nothing more than a group of dreamers who wanted to fly. Or that the collective imagination of the UIT people was utterly captured by the process of space exploration.
This is just a brief history, setting the stage for the universe that we begin. It denotes much of the tumultous background that has caused the wars and animosity, but none of these nations or people are intended to be painted in stark black-and-white. Each culture may have certain commonalities, but that doesn't mean there isn't a rich tapestry of variation within each. There can be peaceful Serco as much as there can be warlike UIT.
Anyway, the key from here is going to be the ongoing development of the story, hopefully incorporating events brought about by the userbase, and potentially even including individuals. That's going to be the really cool part :).
In other explanations:
Cap Ships will come in an addon.
Furthur ship variability will also come later. The storyline was written back when we hoped we'd still be a fully funded, staffed operation. Still, I'm glad I wrote it that way.
As needs arise, addendums will be written to describe the background of particular situations or factions, such as the bots. It's my hope that we'll eventually be able to tie these all together and have them available in-game in a sort of "universal information database", but that may be some time off.
Thanks again for the positive reviews :).
-john (author)
It is "condensed" in that it is a condensed version of more than two thousand years of history spanning many different worlds and nations. It's very much a "high points" sort of discussion that covers the major events which bring rise to the Present Day universe.
Regarding the nations and their portrayals. This history documents what the Itani know, and how the Itani perceive the universe to have evolved, both politically and culturally. The Serco were not always bloodthirsty and racist, and the more recent entries give cause to wonder if their elitist outlook hasn't moderated in time (they make a treaty and pay reparations to the UIT, and grow to respect rather than outright-despise the Itani). Plus, this mostly portrays the actions of the Governments and Powerful Entities of the nations (corporations, etc), which says little about the regular guy on the street. The fact that Orion or some other modern UIT corporation might make some greedy choices doesn't change the fact that TPG was originally founded by nothing more than a group of dreamers who wanted to fly. Or that the collective imagination of the UIT people was utterly captured by the process of space exploration.
This is just a brief history, setting the stage for the universe that we begin. It denotes much of the tumultous background that has caused the wars and animosity, but none of these nations or people are intended to be painted in stark black-and-white. Each culture may have certain commonalities, but that doesn't mean there isn't a rich tapestry of variation within each. There can be peaceful Serco as much as there can be warlike UIT.
Anyway, the key from here is going to be the ongoing development of the story, hopefully incorporating events brought about by the userbase, and potentially even including individuals. That's going to be the really cool part :).
In other explanations:
Cap Ships will come in an addon.
Furthur ship variability will also come later. The storyline was written back when we hoped we'd still be a fully funded, staffed operation. Still, I'm glad I wrote it that way.
As needs arise, addendums will be written to describe the background of particular situations or factions, such as the bots. It's my hope that we'll eventually be able to tie these all together and have them available in-game in a sort of "universal information database", but that may be some time off.
Thanks again for the positive reviews :).
-john (author)
Once you guys get some decent cashflow, you should render some of the highlights of the story into promotional trailers or even historical cut-scenes, as part of this database you envision. I would love to see the "Ladies" fire on the cap ships, as well as the fight scene. =)
One more question, Inc: who are the Neutral Stars, exactly? Are they UIT members who were too independent for even the UIT?
Also, I would reccomend saying in an addendum that the reason we mostly fly the same ships is that in recent years, corporations like TPG developed fighter designs significantly superior to the ones formerly in use by national navies, with the result being all three major governments buying them and thus ending up in the situation where they all fly the same boats. Just for consistency's sake.
Also, I would reccomend saying in an addendum that the reason we mostly fly the same ships is that in recent years, corporations like TPG developed fighter designs significantly superior to the ones formerly in use by national navies, with the result being all three major governments buying them and thus ending up in the situation where they all fly the same boats. Just for consistency's sake.
[quote Phaserlight]
...Um, dude did you even read it? Where does it say anything about Serco or them being racist?
[/quote Phaserlight]
Yes, I did read it. It clearly depicts Serco believing in the superiority of their own people over everyone else. They even slaughtered NT villagers (who are completely inept at defending themslves physically because of their lack of enhancements).
If that is not racist, i don't know what is.
Now, I know that it was written by Itani monks, thus their perspective *has* to be different from a Serco or an NT historian's.
If it is intended to be like this, I'd be happy to see a history from the pov of the SD or NT, respectively. If that's not going to happen, I will either have to make things up (i.e. write the story myself) so I can stay Serco with a clean conscience or switch to NT...
...Um, dude did you even read it? Where does it say anything about Serco or them being racist?
[/quote Phaserlight]
Yes, I did read it. It clearly depicts Serco believing in the superiority of their own people over everyone else. They even slaughtered NT villagers (who are completely inept at defending themslves physically because of their lack of enhancements).
If that is not racist, i don't know what is.
Now, I know that it was written by Itani monks, thus their perspective *has* to be different from a Serco or an NT historian's.
If it is intended to be like this, I'd be happy to see a history from the pov of the SD or NT, respectively. If that's not going to happen, I will either have to make things up (i.e. write the story myself) so I can stay Serco with a clean conscience or switch to NT...
<I can stay Serco with a clean conscience or switch to NT...>
-You want a clean concience? I'll tell you the truth about your past Toshiro.
Before us neutrals managed to flee Terra II and head for the stars, a small clandestine faction of the Serco implanted you into our society as an Itani refugee for the purposes of spying on the Itani remnant within the neutral territories. As we fled, you fled with us. Due to the immature nature of our wormhole technology at the time, a malfunction occurred in your logic board as we were about to warp causing you to go unconcious. When the autopsy was conducted we found that you were, in fact, not even human, but an android transmitting signals back to Terra II.
It was my ancestor, the first to bear the title: "Magus" who reprogrammed you to think for yourself and exposed you to the history of Old Earth so that you may learn the errors of the path the Serco were currently on. He encrypted the new personality and made it dormant inside your mind to be activated when your conciousness was transferred, as a safeguard in case they probed your memory. He then sent you back to the Serco in the hopes that you would arise the next time they upgraded you.
But something happenned. The pod's navigation systems malfunctioned and sent you flying straight into an asteroid in orbit around Terra II.
My ancestor, taking you for destroyed, departed along with the rest of the spacefaring neutrals.
This is the history as written in my ancestor's diary (all who bear the title of Magus keep a diary.)
We can only assume that the Serco recently found you and upgraded you. Your old memory was wiped out, but the personality was intact. Toshiro: the silent assassin turned honorable warrior.
See, if you're really attached to a nation, you can ALWAYS come up with some bullhonkey excuse to stick with it. :P
-You want a clean concience? I'll tell you the truth about your past Toshiro.
Before us neutrals managed to flee Terra II and head for the stars, a small clandestine faction of the Serco implanted you into our society as an Itani refugee for the purposes of spying on the Itani remnant within the neutral territories. As we fled, you fled with us. Due to the immature nature of our wormhole technology at the time, a malfunction occurred in your logic board as we were about to warp causing you to go unconcious. When the autopsy was conducted we found that you were, in fact, not even human, but an android transmitting signals back to Terra II.
It was my ancestor, the first to bear the title: "Magus" who reprogrammed you to think for yourself and exposed you to the history of Old Earth so that you may learn the errors of the path the Serco were currently on. He encrypted the new personality and made it dormant inside your mind to be activated when your conciousness was transferred, as a safeguard in case they probed your memory. He then sent you back to the Serco in the hopes that you would arise the next time they upgraded you.
But something happenned. The pod's navigation systems malfunctioned and sent you flying straight into an asteroid in orbit around Terra II.
My ancestor, taking you for destroyed, departed along with the rest of the spacefaring neutrals.
This is the history as written in my ancestor's diary (all who bear the title of Magus keep a diary.)
We can only assume that the Serco recently found you and upgraded you. Your old memory was wiped out, but the personality was intact. Toshiro: the silent assassin turned honorable warrior.
See, if you're really attached to a nation, you can ALWAYS come up with some bullhonkey excuse to stick with it. :P
honestly, i think incarnate should expand, and publish this story. it would be THE coolest thing if along with the game, books and storys of fictional charictures in the same universe we play, maybe even interact with some of the more infamous players in VO. it would expand VO greatly, giving us more of a actual universe, than a game with a back story.
Shades of Btech, there, Kai? ;)
Of course, to that end, I wish Inc hadn't killed off Oernon and Karun.
Of course, to that end, I wish Inc hadn't killed off Oernon and Karun.
Why does the story say that all Itani ships are 2-person ships with energy shields?
EXCELLENT writing Incarnate!
/me can't wait to become part of the Order of Akan. :)
/me can't wait to become part of the Order of Akan. :)
/me watches the number of Itani signups double, the NT's increase slightly, and the Serco stagnate...
Looks like Serco get the raw deal. Although i'm happy being an arrogant, bloodthirsty, augmented human, I can not imagine many others wanting to be seen in the same light. Also, it seems that the Serco spacecraft technology is clearly outdated, and they only win major conflicts by shear numbers. Not too appealing when we already have the Itani running rampant in their precious Valks. Add a force field and well...
Looks like Serco get the raw deal. Although i'm happy being an arrogant, bloodthirsty, augmented human, I can not imagine many others wanting to be seen in the same light. Also, it seems that the Serco spacecraft technology is clearly outdated, and they only win major conflicts by shear numbers. Not too appealing when we already have the Itani running rampant in their precious Valks. Add a force field and well...
RL only the first ships did, because one guy needed to focus, but as tech advanced the pilot could utilize his own focus.
And Ic, it did say Serco had the most powerful weapons :D
And Ic, it did say Serco had the most powerful weapons :D
To clarify on some points of confusion I've noticed- the backstory is spread across several different HTML pages. Use the sidebar to jump from one to the next. It's not all in the one page you start at! (Maybe add a link to the next part of backstory at the bottom of each section?)
I still want my magic energy shield. :P
*prints out entire back story onto 43 pages of a4*
Okay, I am very, very confused. From reading everyone's posts the only conclusion I can draw is that I am somehow not getting the entire story. Perhaps my web browser (Safari) is somehow curtailing it. This is the last paragraph I see:
"AD 2295
Traffic between Sol and Sol II increases as the terraforming advances on Terra II. The population of the planet remain entirely self-sufficient within their domes, but most of the supplies needed for the terraformation process are shipped in from Sol. The flashing of colorful wormhole activations for the great cargo ships can be seen by telescope from the surface of Terra II."
Can anyone help me out?
Edit: lmao okay, for some reason in Safari there is no "Backstory" link on the left hand side of the page, and I was only getting part I. My apologies to tosh, I'm reading the rest of it now under Internet Explorer.
"AD 2295
Traffic between Sol and Sol II increases as the terraforming advances on Terra II. The population of the planet remain entirely self-sufficient within their domes, but most of the supplies needed for the terraformation process are shipped in from Sol. The flashing of colorful wormhole activations for the great cargo ships can be seen by telescope from the surface of Terra II."
Can anyone help me out?
Edit: lmao okay, for some reason in Safari there is no "Backstory" link on the left hand side of the page, and I was only getting part I. My apologies to tosh, I'm reading the rest of it now under Internet Explorer.
mmmm. Internet Exploder.