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On a sleepy night in June 1872, the world was changed forever. It was a world of steel and smoke, with Europe lurching full force into the dirty billowing smog of a technological revolution unlike any seen before. Factories created goods in amounts and qualities that could only be dreamed of a scant fifty years prior as empires were born on steel-clad decks of sail-less ships. It was the Pax Britannica of the United Kingdom; it was the joyous unification of the disparate Germans in a mighty empire; it was the unsteady wobble of the old Russian Empire from crisis to crisis. The clock had just struck midnight on Thursday, June 20th when Europe was lit up by a long streak of fire in the night sky, followed by a short rain of metal stretching from the English Channel to Estonia. Although bits and pieces hit everywhere along this path, three largely intact parts of something bigger impacted on the British isle of Jersey, outside the small German town of Swinemünde, and near a medieval fortress in the Russian village of Koporye. While minor numbers of injuries and deaths from the small storm of shrapnel were still coming in, locals investigated these distinct pieces, finding them to be something thought impossible before: An advanced alien vessel that sailed the stars.  Intense study took place in the following years and decades. The nations of Europe scrambled to secure what pieces and parts they could, as those from the German intellectual or posh English aristocrat to the most remote Russian serf or overworked English factory laborer knew that this already alien world of steel and coal would be rocked to the very foundation by even the slightest discoveries from these artifacts. British and German scientists pored over even the smallest piece of wreckage while Russians hired intellectuals from abroad to help examine their jealously-guarded piece. This amazing technology led to the discover of materials dubbed Trans-Newtonian Elements, which almost everything in this alien vessel was composed of. Every test revealed new and even more amazing qualities than the last, from hyper-efficient fuels to amazingly durable yet light metals. Whenever a tool properly used TNEs, the known laws of Newtonian physics seemed to bend, allowing what was previously known as impossible to be done. It took decades to find out the properties and how to properly machine and shape these amazing materials, as there was a very limited and guarded supply… until a mining accident revealed that they were present on Earth as well, deep and previously unnoticed. With more and more mined every year, scientists and engineers began to experiment with how to use the anomalous properties of these alien materials. This culminated in 1894, when the British inventor Charles Algernon Parsons’s ship, the Turbinia, flew after launching off a wave; the propellers had been alloyed with TNEs for their durability and lightness. This spurred an era of experimentation as every TNE was tried in everything, from engines to telegraphs to firearms…  It is now December 31st, 1899. To joyous applause and loud cheers, Kaiser William II addresses a crowd from the deck of SMS Barbarossa, the first starship of the Kaiserliche Marine, preparing for its maiden voyage. A small and somewhat ugly ship, it looked more like a metal cigar than a majestic battleship, with long and sleek hull that was gracefully curved if you were being polite, and potbellied if you weren't. The crowd didn't seem to particularly care, drunk on the exuberant energy of the celebrations. After a gesture for silence, the monarch spoke of German ingenuity, the challenges they had overcame, and the imperial destiny of the Vaterland. Medals glistening on his perfectly pressed admiral’s uniform, William has each and every one of the 35 crewmen paraded before the throngs of people, excitied pride on the Kaiser’s face. Behind them on the deck was a stubby, 4-incher gun turret, with the twin cruisers of the Royal Navy further above, ready to escort their cousin ship into Earth orbit, grubby crewmembers crowded on to the small deck to watch the proceedings from afar. It is 1900, and humanity has reached the stars. Their warships brought them there. ____________________  Welcome to White Ships, Black Seas, a Let’s Play of Aurora. In Aurora, a 4X game in space, players usually expand from Earth using an interface not altogether dissimilar to accounting software in the late ‘90s. Space is represented in 2D on a radar-looking map, with planets, moons, and asteroids represented as dots, while you manage your space empire with what looks like a spreadsheet.   Because of this simplicity, however, there is a lot of depth fully modeled by Aurora, from managing tankers to your commanders getting sick. Daunting at best, it can still be good fun, and can be used to tell some amazing stories, as evidenced by two amazing ones on this very forum: Saros’s War of the Worlds LP and BGreman’s Coldest War LP, which I wholeheartedly recommend reading before this amateur’s first LP. Thankfully, you lot won’t have to deal with the interface. I’ll be handling that for you as you tell me what to do. This is a participatory let’s play, where you’ll vote for one of three powers and deal with the complexities of managing a late 19th century state at home and in space. This means dealing with diplomatic issues, domestic troubles, industrial development, and, of course, space exploration/colonization. Whichever one of the three powers that is chosen will also affect how players govern it. The very first vote will be your choice of state: The United Kingdom Rule Britannia!  With the largest empire in world history at her back, protected by the largest and most powerful navy in the world, the United Kingdom seeks to expand the current Pax Britannica to the stars. Governed by a Representative Democracy and answering to Parliament more than the aging Queen Victoria, elected politicking influences their policies greatly. Though surpassed as the greatest industrial power by both the United States and the German Empire, the UK is nonetheless a very advanced nation, at the forefront of TNE research. Possessing both the largest wet and orbital navies, Britain still rules the waves. + Largest fleet and greatest ship-building/economic infrastructure + Greatest breadth of research + Most TNE-powered factories - Very small land army - Small non-colonial population to employ in TNE facilities - Non-professional head of navy Design philosophy: “Hit first! Hit hard! Keep on hitting!” – Admiral of the Fleet John Fisher   The German Empire (Deutsches Kaiserreich) Gott mit uns!  A very young state with much to prove, Germany is the largest industrial power. Ruled by the infamously prideful Wilhelm II in a High Imperial Monarchy with his belief in gentlemanly chivalry and admiration of his grandmother’s United Kingdom, he has sought to create his empire as the other twin imperial pillar of the world, opposed by liberals elected to the Reichstag at home and the British themselves. Germany’s mighty industry and brilliant scientists are the envy of the world over, though its growing, heavily armored navy and massive, modern army tends to inspire unease in the other powers of the world. + Largest industry + Most powerful land army + Professional military heads +/- Great depth of research in specialized areas only, great scientists - Kaiser Wilhelm II’s tendency of diplomatic blunders/naval meddling - Somewhat conservative outlook in design permits less experimental attempts Design philosophy: “The supreme quality of a ship is that she should remain afloat.” – Großadmiral Alfred von Tirpitz   The Russian Empire (Rossiyskaya imperiya) Bozhe, Tsarya khrani!  A truly massive empire, Russia is slowly lurching into modernization, trying to catch up with its cousins in Western and Central Europe. Ruled by the young thirty-two-year-old Nicholas II, this Imperial Monarchy is despotic and outmoded, but growing in power. With aid from their ally France, Russia’s vast resources may help it stand above the other powers in time. With no current ships or shipyards in orbit, Russia may seem like a distant contender in the space race, but this old empire is willing to do whatever it takes to catch up. + Vast, resource-rich land and experience in exploiting it + Huge population +/- High willingness to gamble and experiment in design +/- Largest, if outdated, land army - Poor, little industry, and no shipyards - Archaic and corrupt governance with many nobles higher than they should be, high unrest Design philosophy: “Hey, whatever works.”   Links: The World in 1900 Also, I'm sharing a Discord for the discussion of the LP with Saros's War of the Worlds LP: https://discord.gg/hKkwdK6 RubricMarine fucked around with this message at 21:44 on Sep 9, 2017 |
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Aug 26, 2017 02:00
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Vessels of the Kaiserliche Marine Light Cruisers code:Vessels of the Royal Navy Light Cruisers code:Vessels of the Rossiyskiy Imperatorskiy Flot Light Cruisers code:RubricMarine fucked around with this message at 03:54 on Nov 22, 2017 |
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Aug 26, 2017 02:04
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Britain
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Aug 26, 2017 02:08
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Oh boy I get to be the first poste- goddamnit Coffee  Voting for Russia, let's get us some Fully Automated Luxury Gay Not-Quite-Yet-But-Soon-To-Be Communism.
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Aug 26, 2017 02:11
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Definitely Deutschland.
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Aug 26, 2017 02:11
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Rule Britannia!
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Aug 26, 2017 02:36
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German Empire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvhGcT_-pvQ&t=20s
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Aug 26, 2017 02:38
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Russia
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Aug 26, 2017 03:13
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Kaiserreich of course, lets fight the future Space Commies for once, and the Kaiser is just too adorable to play against.
Hessi fucked around with this message at 03:44 on Aug 26, 2017 |
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Aug 26, 2017 03:37
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Britain
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Aug 26, 2017 04:52
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Britain. Resisting... urge... to make Code Geass... joke...
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Aug 26, 2017 04:59
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Germain Empire
AmyL fucked around with this message at 08:36 on Aug 26, 2017 |
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Aug 26, 2017 05:14
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Kaisserreach. The Brits have tea. THe Russians have vodka. The Germans have PROPER BEER.
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Aug 26, 2017 06:47
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The German Empire will bring the finest of beers into the unknown!
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Aug 26, 2017 08:34
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The whole of the solar system is ancient, and sacred Russian land, and must be reclaimed!
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Aug 26, 2017 08:46
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Die Vaterland!
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Aug 26, 2017 09:07
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Das Kaisserreich ... By the way, how pissed off is France going to get, and are they, the Netherlands and Belgium going to catch up as minor powers eventually?
Roeben fucked around with this message at 09:50 on Aug 26, 2017 |
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Aug 26, 2017 09:40
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Let us establish the British Space Empire and bring the joys of tea, crumpets and cucumber sandwiches to the stars!
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Aug 26, 2017 09:55
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This looks like the game you make your kids play so they grow up to be accountants
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Aug 26, 2017 10:40
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It's like someone played one of those trucking simulator games and was all "Okay, but actually driving is too fun. What if I want to play as the guy in the office doing the logistics paperwork?"
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Aug 26, 2017 10:42
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This is a brilliant premise. Let's play Rule the Stars through the lens of the German Empire! (Alternate reference if I'd voted UK: Trans-Newtonian Ships and Iron Men  )
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Aug 26, 2017 11:28
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Rule Britannia! I never thought to play Aurora as if it were Space 1886, this is amazing.
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Aug 26, 2017 11:37
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Space Britain baby
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Aug 26, 2017 12:23
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For Queen and Country! Britain must extend across the stars 
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Aug 26, 2017 12:39
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By the way, how are you going to handle the details of ground politics and warfare? Victoria 2 perhaps?
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Aug 26, 2017 12:52
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Gotta be literal Space Germany, the Kaiser's gonna be too hilarious to not suffer under.
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Aug 26, 2017 13:34
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Nothing is beyond the grasp of the Kaiser! As long as it's on his right side that is. Die Vaterland!
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Aug 26, 2017 14:04
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German! Britannia can have all the waves she like, for the starry sea belongs to the Kaiser!
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Aug 26, 2017 15:41
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Das Kaisserreich - by winning this space race we can prevent the Nazis from ever being more than a minor historical footnote describing an irrelevant, fringe political group.
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Aug 26, 2017 15:43
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Also, please save the starting setup as a scenario and make it public to us! I'd love to play this with a bunch of AI civ's.
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Aug 26, 2017 15:53
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Thanks, everyone! Current tally is 13 for Germany, 8 for the United Kingdom, and 2 for Russia! Nicky will have to make his own empire strong, it seems. And I'll post the scenario, sure, but only after a bit into the game; I don't want to spoil what I have in store for you. Roeben posted:By the way, how are you going to handle the details of ground politics and warfare? Victoria 2 perhaps? I'll be handling them myself, though I might use Victoria's map to represent changes on the ground, territorially. It'll be a series of events and crises, some historical, some not. Roeben posted:Das Kaisserreich ... By the way, how pissed off is France going to get, and are they, the Netherlands and Belgium going to catch up as minor powers eventually? France was originally the fourth faction, but it got cut to reduce my workload. It will still be very important on the ground, though the greatest country of concern will be, of course, the United States. And some other states may eventually make it up there, but who knows? The British, Germans, and Russians simply have a head start due to having pieces of a spaceship.
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Aug 26, 2017 16:50
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I cast my vote to glorious Britian! Britannia will always rule the
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Aug 26, 2017 17:03
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Deutschland über alles Will be interesting to see how this plays out.
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Aug 26, 2017 18:44
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The Kaiser! Maybe he can get a cybernetic arm.
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Aug 26, 2017 18:48
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Heil dir im Siegerkranz! witch which I mean Germany.
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Aug 26, 2017 19:12
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I am very okay with Spehs-Prussians, so either way this should be an enjoyable read.
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Aug 26, 2017 19:30
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Seems like Germany will be taking it, but I'll leave the voting open a bit longer. In the meantime, have this: After the accidental Parsons Flight in 1894, the potential for TNE-powered heavier-than-air flight was discovered. Experimentation with duranium-laced aviation engines had been attempted previously, but little success was achieved. Only the accidental launch of the prototypical TNE (then known as 'teenies' for their few apparent uses and small numbers) craft Turbinia by heavy wave revealed that propellers laced with the alien elements could keep even a heavy, non-aerodynamic craft lingering in the air. It was a short hop, but it was all that was needed. Several pioneers of flight, including Clément Ader of France, Otto Lilienthal of Germany, and even Sir Hiram Maxim, famous inventor of the British Maxim gun, immediately used this information to create successful, if unwieldy, flying machines. However, in Britain, there were greater plans than the short flight, barely-controlled flying machines. In late 1897, fresh from being knighted by the Norwegian Royal Order of St. Olaf and his expedition to Franz Josef Land, Frederick George Jackson was invited on another, more momentuous expedition that would require his "keen eye and talent of account" by Sir Frederick Richards, the First Naval Lord at the time. Contracting Parsons for a similiar, slightly smaller design of Turbinia,the Soria was born. Using oil and sorium-fired steam engines and nearly pure TNE pusher propellers, the accidental flight of the Turbinia would be expanded. Richards, who merely pushed the idea to demonstrate the naval innovation happening and the importance of his naval expansion program amidst several crises in the Far East, would soon be responsible for much more. "It was a queer little craft," Jackson wrote. "Thin, with a single, fat funnel, low to the water, she held no spectacular looks to match the importance she embodied." Small observation windows poked up from her deck, with several portholes in the small hold, as large as was safe. Alfred John West, a famous marine photographer, would accompany the expedition as well. "At first, I didn't understand," he later recalled. "I was used to taking photos of Parsons's craft, not from inside them." West, famous for his pictures of the Turbinia, would capture the first high-altitude photos from a flying vessel. Soria set sail on an unusually mild January morning at 11:08 AM on the 10th, 1898. After achieving record-breaking speeds of 35 and then 37 knots, Parsons personally watching over his steam engine, the entire crew heard an odd noise. "We thought we would have to turn back," Jackson recalled. "The sea was nearly still, an oddity for the usually awfully rough time of year, so we wouldn't achieve the launch we desired. But we needn't worried: With a piercing, almost whistling noise, higher than even the roaring engines, we were pushing up even on a slight incline." The Soria was in flight. Her long propellers resonating, glowing dully, the ship slowly lifted itself from the water, to the excitement of the crew. This was no lingering hop like the Turbinia; they hung in the air for thirty seconds, a minute, five. And then, controlling the ship as if it were still in the water, it began to move, slowly pushing forward against the air. "After watching over the engines for so long, I was pulled above deck without explanation. Perturbed, as I needed to ensure the function of the turbines, I demanded an explanation... Only to notice we weren't rolling with the waves," Parsons described. West began to quickly take photos, with the most famous being a shot of the small pilot craft accompanying them, crew above decks staring up at the flying Soria in awe. It was found that the ship still, somehow, controlled like it were at sea. Although the still-whistling propellers caused some concerned, it was decided to risk further flight. The vessel lifted itself higher, slowly creeping in the air. "We could hear water dripping from the hull. Still none of us could properly believe what we were seeing, what we were doing," stated Jackson's official account, distributed widely only weeks after. "The occasional chilling gust of wind would remind us where we were, with a few birds circling our vessel, evidently confused at seeing the formerly land-bound men scrabbling unelegantly at the air. The sea suddenly rolled violently, as if upset we had left her clutches." After an hour at air, experimentally turning, rising, and falling. "She maneuvered like a barge," the navigator recalled, "but she still maneuvered." At 2:47 PM, she returned to harbor. Instantly, every man aboard was celebrated, with the small, ugly Soria and her crew turning into an instant sensation. However, it would be Jackson's second voyage, aboard the HMS Victorious, that would grip the world even further. He would discover what would be called the Jackson Belt, the innumerable wrecked craft that orbited the planet. RubricMarine fucked around with this message at 06:33 on Aug 27, 2017 |
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Aug 26, 2017 20:18
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quote:Jackson Belt, the innumerable wrecked craft that orbited the planet.   
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Aug 26, 2017 21:24
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Germania so we can hang with Einstein.
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Aug 26, 2017 21:35
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Es braust ein Ruf wie Donnerhall, wie Schwertgeklirr und Wogenprall: Zum Rhein, zum Rhein, zum deutschen Rhein, wer will des Stromes Hüter sein? A call roars like thunderbolt, like clashing swords and splashing waves: To the Rhine, the Rhine, to the German Rhine, who will be guardian of the river? With Deutschland to Victory is the only choice.
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Aug 26, 2017 23:12
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