5088 replies to this topic

[Xomeron]

Wrack's given me permission to run a Serial Numbers Filed Off version of IL, pretty much. Similar concept, no Lunarians or Yukari.

[Toast of Awesomeness]

If you need help, I'm free.

[Xomeron]

Well, mapmaking is going to be the hard part for me(I'm terrible with drawing, etc). Ideally I'd love to have a 3d map, but that's not happening, so basically it needs to be like IL's map.

[Lord Kaitan de Storms]

I dislike the set times, but other than that it looks good to me.

[Veeci]

If you need help, I'm free.

Seconded.

[Xomeron]

Well, I'll get to writing it up, then.

[Toast of Awesomeness]

Well, I can update a map, but I'm not sure I have the software to create one.... If you can give me a picture, I'll put the little dots for the systems. How many clusters will we have?

[Lord Kini Hawkeye]

In regards to the Halo RPG up for approval, I want to make a squad of Bullfrog-esque (jetpack using) ODSTs. But I don't want to manage so many characters, so if someone wants to go in halvesies with me I have ideas for three characters. Send me a PM and we can have ideas at one another.

Edit: I just spotted a mild error in the Halo RPG. I'm pretty sure Zealots rank higher than Generals. Also the rank of Ultra is missing.

Generals are considered part of the overall Zealot "Archetype" of the covenant, more of an officers position than combat. And while they appear to be higher ranked, the common concensus is that Generals are field combat and Zealots are Special Operations - Generals rank higher. Easiest way to think it is the order you unlock stuff in reach - Zealot, Then General.

Least that's just my take.

Rank of ultra being gone... well there's lots of ranks missing. General, Field Marshal, etc etc... Better not to think too much Bunda.

[Lord Kaitan de Storms]

...Okay, so UTCS! has been approved, but now I can't remember what the last step was, and it's not in any of the topics. I know Than needs to approve, but will he stop by the request topic or do I need to PM it to him?

[Xomeron]

Well, I can update a map, but I'm not sure I have the software to create one.... If you can give me a picture, I'll put the little dots for the systems. How many clusters will we have?

Two Clusters, like in IL. Also, First Draft's done.

Spoiler

Starscape: The Orion Arm

Isolated from the rest of the galaxy by a vast gulf of burnspace, the Orion Arm is thick with life. All sorts of species thrive on these worlds, growing, rising, and falling. And when life is present, thought follows soon after. Sentient worlds are arising, turning their factories towards starships and launching those starships towards the stars. Space is a deadly and unforgiving place; will you master it through manipulation and knowledge, or through the might of your mighty battleships? For you are the leader of your race. Lead it well.

---

Starscape is set in the Orion Arm of a galaxy known as Starscape. Thousands of stars abound, but only a select few hold planets suitable for life, and all of them are hotly contested by other races.

[Maps]

You begin with a single planet, your species' Homeworld. For the sake of simplicity, each star system contains at least one habitable world for your species to live on, and the resources needed to begin space travel.


Interacting With An Entire Universe

Controlling an entire species may seem hard at first, but it's simple to get the hang of. Here's a quick example

IC:

Alarms sounded aboard the Skelvan Battleship as radar signatures from the edge of the radar's range came in; four ships, Alansik by their configuration, had appeared some two million miles away. Knowing that was far outside missile range, the Skelvan Captain gave the order to sight in with his Frigate's laser. A kill at this range would be the wildest stroke of luck, but he had to try, knowing reinforcements would be arriving as soon as they could, since the planet's warning system sent out the alert the moment the radar signatures came in.

IC:

“Transition successful, all systems nominal, wait.” A lieutenant on the Alansik lead cruiser reported. “Laser damage to the outer skin of the ship. Looks like they're hitting us already. Minimal damage, but that means they've found us.” The Alansik Captain sighed, and gave the order to move at full burn towards the Skelvan planet.

Now, the important part here is that the player controlling the Alansik let the Skelvan player have the hit; if he'd just declared the Laser was an outright miss, it wouldn't be fair. But by ensuring the Skelvan's laser didn't do much damage, and it wouldn't at that range, he kept it fair for both sides but still sensible. And that's the most important part, keep it fair but sensible. Don't go breaking any laws of physics.


Faster Than Light Travel:

The ability to travel faster than light, without the relativistic consequences that entails, is utterly critical to a spacefaring empire. Without it, worlds can only be reached by generations of slow rocket travel.

The Jump Drive is a possibility realized late in any race's existence, long after they've usually begun exploring their own solar system. The mathematics of the jump drive are beyond most people, so instead you get a practical explanation.

A Jump Drive cannot operate deep in a gravity well. In orbit of a planet, the gravity becomes so strong that any ships trying to do so are torn apart by the brief moment of transition, where the laws of physics remake themselves in new and exciting ways. Thus, a distance of two million kilometers from any terrestrial planet is advised, though you could risk it at one million. Remember that larger gravity wells, like gas giants, stars, and black holes, require longer distances away. This also applies to jumping into space near a gravity well, which as an early warning system for the planet's defenders.

In addition, Jumps, while taking less than a milisecond, do not have infinite range. One can direct the Jump Drive in a certain direction, but the Jump Drive will go towards the most powerful gravity well in that direction. This almost always means the closest, as well, so ships can only jump from one system to the nearest. In addition, a Jump Drive requires roughly an hour after jumping to vent excess radiation before it can be used again.

There are also so called “Burnspace Zones” These areas are small pockets of space where it is impossible to make a jump into or out of. A massive spherical shell of burnspace surrounds the Orion Arm, locking ships inside. Burnspace Zones also make good places to hide something you want to keep secret. Their origin and nature are not well known.

The inverse of Burnspace Zones, “Sweet Spots” are areas where an entire solar system's gravitational pull is equal in every direction, created only occasionally by the differing speeds of planets orbiting their star(s). These allow for ships to jump away or from their destinations far, far closer than normal. You may only use a Sweet Spot in an area you control or in an area you have detailed astronomical data on. For combat, these must be used with GM approval, but once a sweet spot is used, if the ships using it were seen by another party, that sweet spot can be used by anyone until it disappears, which a GM will decide when it happens.

Communication: Faster than Light Communication sends electromagnetic waves, not mass, and is not limited by the above. You can communicate with all your worlds, and with any race who gives you their contact information.


Industry

Now, the amount and size of spaceships you can field depends on how many worlds you control, and how industrialized those worlds are. Each world is classed by its industrial output on a rating of -2 through 5, 5 being the highest a planet can reasonably reach. Each level has a “maturing time” which is the length of real world time it takes to grow to the next level.

-2: Colony: This world is dependent on the rest of the empire for resources and population. 1 Week Growth

-1: Protectorate: The world is beginning to establish its own industry and farming, but is still dependent on the rest of the empire. It may produce one resource and ship it out in exchange for the goods it imports. 1 Week Growth

0: Self-sustaining: With a zero sum survival based economy, this world can support its own population with everything they require, but its industrial output is negligible. 1 Week Growth.

1: Outer World: This world can support a very small space-navy, and has minor interstellar shipping and transport. 2 Weeks Growth.

2: Inner World: This world can support a good sized navy, and is possibly exports a good amount of goods. 3 Weeks Growth

3: Core World: This world has an excellent industrial output and can export several different resources in addition to supporting a navy. 4 Weeks Growth

4: Forge World: Massive industrial output; supports a good portion of the local navy and exports manufactured goods throughout the region. 5 Weeks Growth.

5: Homeworld: This planet is the only classification capable of producing Colonizers and putting out the population required. Valued as much for their status as centers of trade and government as for their massive industrial output. Your first planet starts at this level.

A planet contributes a number of “Industry Points” equal to its level number(above) to an empire's total industry. For example, an empire consisting of a Homeworld, an Inner Worlds, a Core World, and a Colony would have a total Industry of 8(5+2+3-2=8) Thus, this empire can field 8 points worth of ships. This represents everything that it takes to field a ship, from paying and feeding the crew, replacing those members who die, upgrading and refitting the ship occasionally, repairs after a battle, and, most expensively, fueling the ship.

Ships

Each ship is divided into one of several classes, according to their size and upkeep. Actual roles within these classes can vary wildly, but it is mainly the size of a ship that determines how much industry must be devoted to maintaining it.

Fighter: Small, one to five man ships with minimal armor and weapons, mainly used to attack larger ships and defend large ships from other fighters. Not capable of FTL travel, so they must be moved by Carriers or stationed on Starbases.

Industry Cost: 0

Small: Frigates and Gunboats, crew sizes range depending on the race. Small ships are usually employed either as Fighter hunters, Scout ships, Stealth craft, and the like, and can be fielded in large numbers.
Industry Cost: 1 for 4 Small Ships

Medium: Cruisers, destroyers, and the like are classed as Medium ships; they can be fielded in numbers and they are useful for force projection as well as defense, making them an ideal ship of the line; these should make up the majority of any self-respecting fleet.

Industry Cost: 1

Large: Battleships and Dreadnoughts are the ships that capture the hearts and minds of the masses; great, powerful ships with enormous weapon batteries, blasting holes in enemy fleets and destroying entire cities with a few barrages. Even the rumor of a large ship being present can change the tide of war. In addition, battleships can mount your Racial Superweapon; what this weapon does is up to you, but make it powerful and creative. Despite their use as an intimidation weapon and morale booster, Large ships are rather impractical, given their upkeep cost.

Industry Cost: 3

Colonizers: Not necessarily one ship, perhaps a whole fleet, a colonizer is part transport, part mass-terraforming system. Colonizers are warp capable, and used to expand your empire. Only Homeworlds may build them. They are expensive to keep up, but are usually a temporary measure. The entire colonizer is recycled by the newly landed colonists, and thus cannot be re-used.

Industry Cost: 4

Carriers: A modification to an existing ship, for each Carrier Bay added to a ship, its Upkeep increases by one.

Starbases: Usually placed orbiting a planet, Starbases are large defensive measures used to protect a planet with orbital guns in addition to providing a docking harbor for ships which cannot land. Immobile, anchored over a planet. Carries twenty Fighters. Can make battlefield repairs on ships during a battle.

Industry Cost: 1 for 3 Starbases

Build Times: Each ship is a massive industrial undertaking by the world it was built by; think what the International Space Station has taken Earth; twenty years of work and it's a flimsy station that would be annihilated with a single missile. Better materials and industrial methods cut that down, but it's still a huge undertaking. Each ship class takes a certain amount of real world time to produce.

Fighters: 3 Days for 10

Small: 1 Week for 2

Medium: 1 Week

Large: 2 Weeks

Colonizers: 2 Weeks

Starbases: 1 Week


Technology Ban List

Time Travel
Energy Shields
Lightsabers
Black Hole Guns
Spacetime-Fabric Projectors
Teleportation
Everything Sensors
Artificial Gravity(besides spinning sections on ships)

Rules

1: BZP Rules Apply
2: Use IC, OOC, and OICwhatudidthar
3: No godmoding, auto-hitting, or auto dodging
4: Yarn
5: Be respectful. These are other people's thoughts, work, and in a lot of cases, opinions out in text, so be nice.
6: Laws of Physics usually apply.

Warning System: Be good to the Game Masters, or this sort of thing will happen to you.

1: Warning
2: Warning
3: A Sweet Spot opens up on one of your border worlds, well inside your defenses. Enjoy dealing with the invasion.
4: One of your planets is lost to calamity. Perhaps a nanobot uprising, or perhaps a viral plague. Whatever happens, one planet's worth of your species extinct
5: That Calamity from earlier? It spreads. Start over with a new species.
6: Banned.


Species Profile(PM this to me)

Username: (Obvious)
Species Name: (Make it interesting!)
Description: (Physical appearance, psychological details, government system, etc.)
History: (Why are they in space? Why do they use the government they do? Details like that)
Homeworld Name: (Humans call our planet Earth for a reason. Why do these people call their world what they do?)
Homeworld Location: (Try for one that's not taken.)

Ship Class Profile:(Like in the real world, ships will usually be built follow the blueprints of an earlier one. This becomes known as a Class. Also, be creative with your ship naming. Maybe a neat theme, or something.)

Class Name: (Generally, a ship is named, and members of its class follow the theme, like how American Aircraft Carriers are named after Admirals or Presidents.)
Class Size: (Fighter, Small, Medium, Large)
Class Function And Description: (Some ships are generalists, others are specialists for one role. Give us a quick explanation here.)
Class Weapons: (Keep it realistic, can't put three hundred guns on a fighter.)

Note, I kept it so you can mostly copy and paste your old stuff from IL.

Edited by Your Friend Doctor Robert, Oct 19 2011 - 08:21 PM.

[Vak Il Mio Amore]

In regards to the Halo RPG up for approval, I want to make a squad of Bullfrog-esque (jetpack using) ODSTs. But I don't want to manage so many characters, so if someone wants to go in halvesies with me I have ideas for three characters. Send me a PM and we can have ideas at one another.

Edit: I just spotted a mild error in the Halo RPG. I'm pretty sure Zealots rank higher than Generals. Also the rank of Ultra is missing.

Generals are considered part of the overall Zealot "Archetype" of the covenant, more of an officers position than combat. And while they appear to be higher ranked, the common concensus is that Generals are field combat and Zealots are Special Operations - Generals rank higher. Easiest way to think it is the order you unlock stuff in reach - Zealot, Then General.

Least that's just my take.

Rank of ultra being gone... well there's lots of ranks missing. General, Field Marshal, etc etc... Better not to think too much Bunda.

I'll have to look again at the ranks to ascertain things: I was in such a rush to get it up ahead of other RPGs that I didn't totally review the Ranks section in particular. However, Kini's assessment of Generals-V-Zealots is correct; there's a lot of confusion around the Zealot archetype that Bungie/343's set up, but we believe General is a higher ranking Zealot, while a Ship Master/Field Marshall are generally the highest up. Plus, Kini, Field Marshall IS in the rankings

Concerning Ultra- I'll be sure to look into that. A lot of this is the exact same from the original Halo RPG, with appropriate additions made in the basic information of races/planets/ranks/vehicles/what have you. The only significant changes between this RPG and the original are the Plot, Setting, and a few of the Ex-Covenant races' standing in power and representation.

Either way, as we go I'll be sure to clean that up

[Necro]

Well, my buddy who I was going to have cohost Concerto isn't responding when I try to contact him, so I'm going to start looking for a backup. If any of you are interested, drop me a PM . It's not going to be a first-come-first-serve kind of thing, it'd be based on how well I know you, what I've seen of your RPing capabilities, and your musical knowledge. The guy you're replacing was a buddy, ran two RPGs, and was as good if not a better musician than I am, so it's big shoes to fill, but I'm confident someone here can.

Spoiler

Concerto



Dear sir or madam,

Music. It's an element pervading every aspect of popular culture. Many paintings have either instruments or musical notes in them. For every DVD of a TV series or movie, you can get the deluxe pack that also includes the soundtrack. And of course music is also a standalone product in it's own right, both in the form of recordings and live concerts. From metal to classical, everyone enjoys it, and everyone uses it. And no form of music has seeded itself into modern culture as an iconic symbol of rebellion, of music, and of cool, become a melting pot of every genre from classical to the heaviest of heavy metal, and become trademark to the sound of youth quite as strongly as rock music. Whether because of the plethora of sounds you can create from the instruments commonplace in it over its short lifetime, or because it's so user-friendly even a monkey can pick one up, learn figure out three chords, and form a band, it's become a cultural icon in its own right.

As such, who is best at their particular instrument is often an argument many musicians, young and old, professional and beginner, have many times, often leading to the deceased. As such, who is the best living is an equally-common argument. Whether the ability to actually pay attention to everyone else when performing in a group, each just as key to the music as any kind of soloist, or just technical ability count, whether speed or taste is a factor, whether having a good sound is just as much of a sign of a good musician as good technique.

The simplest way to decide for decades is what's been called for decades a "headcutting" duel. Sometimes with a backing band, players take turns shooting off their musical ideas that fit the setting, their most complicated masterpieces, and their sporadic improvisations, all against each other, with the other player either bouncing back with counterpoint or mimicry before throwing out his own bit. It continues until someone either stumbles or the crowd picks a winner.

However unfortunately, getting the greatest virtuosos of every genre on every instrument playing the same genre together is pretty much impossible, so the argument tends to keep raging. Which is where the IHRF came into play.

The IHMF, or International Headcutting Rock Federation, is an organized competitive rock music league. The genre's popularity and appeal is universal, and an actual competitive league also has appeal, both to most music listeners nowadays and every aspiring musician across the world. Everyone, from the music industry's favourite behind-the-scenes session players to the most well-known stadium-filling stars to the kid down the street who plays a mean guitar in a local band can be and is a competitor, with the grand goal being to be crowned the champion of any number of IHRF-regulated tournaments, the international finals being the competition known as Concerto.

In addition to these regulated tournaments, there are also off-the-record, informal, underground tournaments in stranger genres, with more obscure players, looser rules, and the like. These often end very poorly for the losers though.

Winning an IHRF tournament is a guarantee for recognition, and if you win Concerto, you could play the most obscure music ever written, and people would still buy it. Every musician wants to be the grand champion. Are you the next maestro to be crowned the world's best, a stepping stone for them, or involved in something deeper than a simple competition?

Yours truly,
IHRF official board

Reply? Y/N_

The world

Concerto is a sandbox with a plot – There’s an overriding plot that effects the world and you can get involved in that will control the game, but by no means do you have to be involved in it – You can go the entire game avoiding it if you want, but advancing the plot leads to more open doors and more fun available to the players, so I’m hoping just as many of you that shy away from the plot will find it entertaining.

Concerto is set in a caricature of the real-world. Everything is the same, except there's a stronger emphasis on the arts, and the IHRF and rock's place in the world and competitive playing and all that, and there's a sort of ancient magical thing surrounding it. If you watched Beyblade, Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon, or any other show that pushed a product and had a real-world lookalike that centered around it's concept, you know what I'm getting at. There will also be some pseudo-science accompanying the magic to explain everything that's probably going to annoy a lot of people with a proper understanding of how it works, but it's for fun, not science. Music is a key part of many real-world religions as well, so one could argue that if there's to be a parallel to magic, music should be it. IHMF tournaments are the official things everyone competes in, the unregulated tournaments are the things that tend to be more plot-oriented but with more of a risk of character damage and, if you're unlucky, death, involved. Updates on standings, tournaments, and other such notable events will be posted every Sunday by one of the staff.

Rules and things you should know

~You don't need to be a musician to play. Would it help? Sure, the same way being a politician or a military strategist would help in a governmental RPG, or being Sean Connery would help in an espionage RPG. But by no means do you need to play the instrument to play the game.~
~Real-world musicians are not allowed. The last thing I want is someone picking to be a prodigy and tearing everyone's original characters to the ground. Any established musician is forbidden from use by players.~
~No godmodding. You're no protagonist, and you're not all-powerful. Don't act like it or play like it.~
~Please be tasteful with your posts. This is probably the most lax of the rules, and I’m fine waiving it for special occasions, but I’ll happily smack repeat offenders. Essentially, don’t make your profile or posts overly-long or overly-short – Detail is good, but in moderation – I don’t want to be so bored of reading all the finite details of every single muscle in your character’s hands moving that halfway through I’ve gone to a flash game. Conversely, I don’t want you always just posting “IC: Jim did X.”, “IC: Insert dialogue here” etc., etc. I’m fine with large posts now and then, as I am with short, two-sentence posts, but please, have some variety, nobody wants to read an entire page’s worth of content from one post, and nobody wants an entire page of one-liners from people who's names didn't appear on at least three blockbusters in the 90's..~
~Respect one another. I've seen too many RPG's devolve into back-and-forth arguing. Treat each other with respect or be ready to be smacked upside the head. It may be text on a screen, but that text on the screen is the work of another person at another computer, a person with feelings. I'm not expecting everyone to treat each other with kid gloves, but I don't want things getting pointlessly nasty.~
~No instrument elitism. I've seen, been the target of, and, to my shame, partaken in this in real-life too many times to ignore it here. No instrument is inherently simplistic compared to the other - The fact you've spent decades in real-life developing the muscles in your hands and arms to become a monstrous superhuman musician and have a degree in music performance from * prestigious music school here* is not an excuse to inexplicably wipe the floor with someone who you think plays a "lesser" instrument. Heavy enforcement of this one, breaking it skips punishment #1.~
~Please don't suggest real-world musicians to become relevant ingame if you're not asked. Music is taste. I picked the artists I picked because my understanding on instruments I don't play is they're well-regarded with good reason, and people know who they are. I picked who I picked on what I do play because I know they're well-regarded, well-known, and earned it. I don't want a suggestion for a new NPC with each profile.~
~Enjoy. The purpose of the RPG is to have fun, not get angry!~

Gamble Factor

Probably the best thing I've ever seen someone do to an RPG, The Gamble Factor is basically a way of ending people godmodding NPC's just because they were NPC's.

At its simplest, the Gamble Factor is Common Sense: The Rule. For example, say it's a warfare RPG. If you go into enemy territory, there's a good chance things will go poorly for you. If you're ambushed, there's a good chance things will go poorly for you. If you're a sadistic killing machine who's a monster to his enemies when he's captured them, giving incentive to be brutal on you, there's a good chance things will go poorly for you. If you get ambushed in enemy territory, you're losing and maybe dying. If you get ambushed in enemy territory and are a sadistic killing machine who's a monster to his enemies when he's captured them, giving incentive to be brutal on you, start a new character. It will kill you if you act impervious to anything and everything because you're a player and not an NPC, plain and simple.

I'm planning to be lenient with this - You can do some crazy stuff as long as you have justification, which the Melodies and typical imagination should provide. But it's still there, so things can be fun and absurd, but have some sense.

Level System

I don't want any other real musicians coming in and blinding everyone with theory mumbo-jumbo that doesn't matter in the RPG and getting a win streak from it. We've got a level system since beyond technique, it's hard to have musical competition without, well, music.

Credit to "Aych Ehn", as he currently goes by, for the level system in Kingdom Gaeabionta - It's not based heavily off it, but it's the source that gave me the idea of using a level system in a text-based RPG, and it's where the second part comes from in large part.

Basically, it's a very simple level system - It works based on the idea that, taking artistic license with folklore and such, the instruments of the characters will act as power sources of sorts; Through them, the player can access Melodies, basically non-magical ingame magic. More on that in the instrument section. The higher-level you are, the more powerful your Melody is, and obviously, the better a musician you are. Coupled with the Gamble System for working out at what point you have a chance and at what point a clever mind can't overcome the level gap, this should be simple enough in terms of "stats". With that taken care of, we'll move onto the second part of the level system, leveling up/down.

This is probably where I steal the most from my inspiration - In a nutshell, every time you win a fight, you get two points. Every time you lose, you get one. It takes two points to reach level two, and the number you need to level up is increased by two every level(For example, reaching level three would take four points. Four, six. Five, eight, etc.). Additionally, points and/or levels may be given or taken as rewards and punishment, respectively, by staff for good or bad behaviour, again, respectively.

You may notice the staff NPC's don't have a level listed. That's because they're not opponents right now - They're plot movers and tools for the staff to enforce the rules with. As the game progresses you'll be able to take them on and levels will be added, but until then, the level remains hidden.

The staff

These are the people who keep things orderly and smack you when you break rules.

~Neccy ~ Grand master guitar six-stringer and GM~
~
~
~

Levels of smackery

Rules need to be upheld, and here's what happens if you don't. Beside your name on the approved list will be a number of asterisks indicating how many punishments you have.

First offense ~ Calling out, retcon, and a talking-to.
Second offense ~ Character maiming and a week's suspension. Now you're going to have to Django or Iommi and play despite physical adversity. And it's not easy, so it won't be in-game. Depending on what you did, a level reduction may be in order as well.
Third offense ~ Dignified character killing and a week's suspension. You're dead. Clean and simple. Start a new character for next week.
Fourth offense ~ Humiliating death and a month's suspension. I'm a fan of irony and people being hoist by their own petard, and if you get to number seven, I get to have fun and give you the death that gives me the most joy writing, and then you come back in a month.
Fifth offense ~ You are now banned. Hopefully we never get beyond a second offense, but I'm more than willing to kick someone who's killing the game for everyone out if needed.

But enough depressing stuff, let's get to the part you do to start playing!

Instrumentalists and Melody

I'm going to try to be quick with this since I don't want to get into it too much, as then it'll get confusing. Your instrument gives you what we'll call Melody. Melodies are your generic ingame powers that let the players do abnormal things with normalish objects. There are different instruments in this and each has a Melody. Each instrument's Melody also grants its user an enchanted "tool" of sorts for closer-range combat. This is usually whatever is traditionally used to play it with. There are four different types of Melody, and each does different things, and fights in different ways.

Simply put, these are the things that make you awesome and powerful. They also give you close-range weapons. There are classes with one to three instruments in them based on how they fight. A simplified version without all the fluff is provided at the end for my fellow lazy #####.

The below instruments are sorted by Melody categories, which are the method in which your character fights and what they can do that others can't. For the sake of understanding things though, it's recommended you at least read your instrument's full description.

Spoiler

~String Melody - Force-based and matter-based, think the Force from Star Wars and Biotics from Mass Effect. Lifting things, throwing things, halting objects, exerting force on your opponents, blunt trauma, throwing them into things that cause damage, maybe at higher levels pulling Darth Vaderish strangling, things of that sort, as well as very basic object generation at very high levels. Some believe that the fact these are all string instruments relates to string theory, the idea that matter in the universe resonates like the strings on an instrument.~

~Guitar. Easy to use, difficult to master. It has a large range of octaves and with the different effects, types of guitars, amplifiers and so on available nowadays, it's second only to a synth in versatility, so it's the balanced fighter. Close-range weapon is a blade formed from the pick. Nobody is really sure what the blade itself is made out of, but going with fiction traditions we'll call it an energy blade.
~Bass. The tank of the Force instruments. Similar to a guitar, but they're big and slow, and with a stronger, if less focused and less precise, punch. Players can pick between Monk-like hand-to-hand fighting or an energy blade similar to guitarists for the close-range weapon.
~Violin. Opposite of Bass - Lower-power attacks, but faster, the "dancer" of the group - Quick, but in trouble if their opponent can land a few blows, especially if it's a bruiser like a Bassist or a Drummer. Close-range weapon is a blade similar to guitar, but from the bow instead of a pick.

~Percussive Melody - This is the simplest, but also the most damaging. It operates on the exact same principle as high explosives: Bombarding the target with incredible sonic force, the shockwaves slamming it so hard it's torn apart.~

~The only instrumentalist in this category are drummers, so we'll cover that right quickly. Drummers are the most powerful in the entire game - If they can get a good series of hits on you, you lose, plain and simple. However they move like mountains - Which is to say not at all. As long as you don't stand still for them, they're going to have to think to beat you. Their arsenal is a large set of large, heavy percussion objects, they can't really move without losing their weapons. Just as well, given their immobility and power, they're not the most accurate people in the world. Close-range weaponry are a pair of axes formed from the drumsticks.~

~Wind melody - Work similarly to string melody, but with more punch. However due to the requirement of human breath, they're much more limited in how long they're effectively usable at a range(Close-range combat works regardless of breath, though you're not exactly a capable melee fighter if you're out of breath) Unlike the rest of the instruments, in close combat, wind instruments themselves become the weapon.~

~Flute. Similar to the violin, the flute fights based on speed and a rapid succession of key blows, but it's not particularly powerful or durable. Becomes a staff of similar "Energy" type to the other weapons.
~Alto Saxophone. If the flute is the violin of wind instruments, the alto sax is the guitar. It's well-rounded, not weak in most fields, and not specialized. Becomes an axe in close combat.
~Tenor Saxophone. Though the difference isn't as drastic as a guitar to a bass, once more drawing comparisons to the String group, the tenor sax is the bass of the group. Big, powerful, but slow.

~Keyboard Melody - A bizarre hybrid of three quarters String and one quarter Percussion, just as with the instruments classification normally, few are quite sure what sort of Melody these two instruments use, so they're stuck separate in their own category. In close-range, a set of the keys become like knives.~

~Keyboard. An electric piano. It starts off balanced, but weaker than the other balanced instruments. Once a week, the player can change to either a lower (power) or higher register(speed). In none of these categories though does it equal or surpass the set instruments in that type.
~Synthesizer. A more advanced keyboard, in a sense. The synth itself has no innate stats or qualities; However once a month, synth players PM the GM with an instrument, and the synth will adopt the characteristics of that instrument "patch". Granted it will be a much watered-down version of the instrument - A genuine violin will tear a synth violin to pieces - But against other instruments, the synth has a shot. I'll say now that if you use this and you're not a skillful RPer, there's a good chance you'll get beaten. A lot, as it's the weakest of the instruments, and if you go up against a genuine instrument, you're in trouble. Be sure you want this if you pick it. Include your initial patch with your profile.

Abridged version: Guitars, violins and basses are string type force-based magic; Drums are percussive explosiony magic; Alto and tenor sax and flute are string-like wind magic reliant on user's breath; Keyboards and synths are keyboard type. Guitars and alto saxes balanced, basses and tenor saxes are slow but powerful, violins and flutes are speedy but weak, drums are immobile but hugely powerful, keyboards are lower-power and variable, synths are lower-power mimics. Strings get swords, drums and saxes get axes, flutes get staffs, keyboards get knives.

Who you is

Name: Character name.
Player name: Your screen name.
Level: It's first level no matter what for now. If we reach, say, page 50, and people are much higher level and such, then sure, you can start higher. But for now we start low.
Age: For the sake of realism, let's try to keep players no younger than fourteen unless you can give me a good reason why you're going to be a hotshot prodigy.
Appearance: What the character looks like. Straight and simple.
Style: What kind of music do you play? If you can go into more detail, then please do, but it's really not needed, just fun for me to read. Can also effect the way they fight(For example, a metalhead will be more aggressive, while a speedy shredder will use a barrage of lower-power attacks, etc.), but as there are oddballs in every genre on every instrument, it doesn't set anything in concrete.
Personality/bio: What're they like? Also tell us a little about them, their past, so on so forth. No less than one paragraph each.
Weapon of choice: What kind of instrument do they play? What specific model? If you don't play, then don't worry about the latter. But I know any musician in here is going to want to put down their personal instrument, so guys, here it is. Due to the fact that a common drum kit is usually no less than four or five things at minimum, those who pick drums can delete this section.
Hometown/Nationality: Pretty much every country has a rock scene nowadays, and this is a global RPG, though it'd be worthwhile if coming in later to be where people are instead of being alone. Where are they from?

Once sent, your profile will be reviewed by the staff before being approved.

Who you ain’t(Staff characters & NPC's)

It'd be great if you could read this, as it is somewhat plot-essential, but a lot of the biographies have me getting pedantic, so feel free to skip the biography section of most of them.

Spoiler

Name: M. N.
Player name: Necro
Level: N/A
Age: Unknown
Appearance: Other than that he’s a physically large man who has a penchant for flowing coats and such, little is known outside of the IHGF Board about his appearance.
Style: Symphonic Progressive Rock/Jazz Fusion
Personality/bio: Similar to appearance, for the most part this is unknown. The only people who speak to him are other members of the IHGF Board and whoever is crowned the annual Concerto Champion. Similarly, his past is fairly tight-lipped in who knows it; Most members of the board don’t know it.
Weapon of choice: Carvin Contour 66 guitar
Hometown/Nationality: Hometown is unknown, nationality is American.

Name: Christopher “Chris” Brunswick
Level: N/A
Age: 49
Appearance: Tall guy, with a large amount of shoulder-length orange hair. Typically wears a fairly nondescript pair of jeans and a black T-shirt with a cartoon skull on it, often with a denim jacket over the shirt.
Style: Heavy Metal/Thrash Metal
Personality/bio: Chris was introduced at a young age to classical music by his father, fostering an early interest in the piano. In his early teens though, he was introduced by friends to rock music, and soon after it, the burgeoning heavy metal genre, which he quickly took a deep interest in and picked bass up due to. In addition to early Metal, his influences also veered into the also-emerging Progressive Rock scene, often credited as a large part of his melodic, “flowing” style of playing.

At age twenty, he was pulled from his own band into an up-and-coming metal act with more promise, a band he’s remained in since. Shortly after joining, the band in-question began its climb to stardom, taking Chris along with it, where he now sits as the bassist in one of the top-selling acts in the world and the top-selling metal act.

Due to his regard both in the metal and bass worlds, Brunswick was one of the first musicians M.N. Approached for the IHRF Bass representative. Generally regarded as a fairly nice, if quiet guy, though the latter changed onstage, Chris being right up there as recognizable as the guitarists in the band, a rarity for bassists in metal.
Weapon of choice: Rickenbacker 4001 bass
Hometown/Nationality: Castro Valley, California, USA



Name: Geoff Hamilton
Level: N/A
Age: 32
Appearance: Clean-kept, with a clean shave and a neat head of brown hair. Wears a black shirt and a suitably black T-shirt onstage. Often wears a blazer, also black, offstage.
Style: Progressive Rock/Jazz
Personality/bio: Raised on his father’s Jazz and coming into Progressive Rock as a young man, Geoff made a name for himself behind the scenes of the industry as a session drummer, gaining the praise of many artists and producers for his ability to seem to nail any rhythm, groove or fill asked of him.

As his reputation amongst session musicians grew and grew, he began becoming a fill-in for high-label bands who lose a drummer, gaining him notoriety to the music-listening public as well. He quickly became regarded as one of the best drummers in the industry, with numerous accolades being awarded to him consecutively for his abilities. Given all of this, Hamilton was a natural choice for the IHRF Board’s Drummer. Due to his “behind-the-scenes” history and role as a sideman, his personality and demeanor aren’t generally known by most.
Hometown/Nationality: Harrow, northwest London


Name: James Reintz, often shortened rewritten as James Rain, nicknamed “The Wizard” by fans
Level: N/A
Age: 54
Appearance: Shaven head, with little facial hair besides an odd goatee. Typically wears a green jacket and black pants, with any random T-shirt beneath the jacket.
Style: Progressive Metal/Electronica/Jazz
Personality/bio: A piano prodigy from a young age, Reintz was entered into a prestigious music school’s pre-college classical piano program, sharpening the skills that would win him accolades later in life. He was skilled, and as such a good student, however by adulthood, he had grown weary of years of classical study, as well as increasingly fond of the emerging Progressive Rock scene and its use of synthesizers, and against the advice of many around him, left the classical world to attempt a career as a solo musician.

Though his work as a solo artist and in early bands won him immense praise from various keyboard and synth-based publications from his first breakthrough in the early 90’s, it wasn’t until the last year of the decade that he joined into Mindscape, one of the leading acts in the Progressive Metal scene, replacing their former keyboardist, and both filling the role and becoming a fan favourite since.

Both by the members of his band and by those who’ve encountered him, James has made fairly good impressions in terms of his attitude, coming off as a friendly, if sarcastic, guy. As one of M.N.’s favourite synth players, he was the first synth artist approached by the IHRF, and to M.N.’s delight, accepted.
Weapon of choice: No particular instrument over another – Uses a wide array of dozens synthesizers together and separately to create an unnatural plethora of sounds.
Hometown/Nationality: Great Neck, New York, USA



Name: Nicholas Pavone
Level: N/A
Age: 33
Appearance: Generally well-dressed in a suit, a fairly diminutive man physically, with hair arranged along with a large set of sideburns to create a dark, mysterious image to accompany his music.
Style: Classical/Shred rock
Personality/bio: Pavone shortly played his father’s mandolin before switching to violin at age seven. A natural talent for the instrument was immense, and quickly earned him the eye and desire of various prestigious musical institutes.

By age twenty-five, though never having gone to any of the universities that had offered their services even on a full scholarship, through private instruction by some of the best violinists in the world at the time, who also introduced the young man to rock music, leading him to throw his hat into its ring as well as the classical world, Pavone had become widely recognized as one of if not the best violinist in the world, playing worldwide both alone and with orchestras, his reputation having been cemented by the current time.

Despite not playing the violin, his reputation was widely-known enough that he was an easy choice for the IHRF board’s Violinist. His attitude and demeanor vary wildly from person to person, some giving an account of a friendly, warm individual, others an overbearing egotist, but either way flamboyance and extravagance is inarguable.

Weapon of choice: An antique Guarneri violin. Specific date of its construction is unknown, but is estimated around the end of his life in the early-mid 1700’s.
Hometown/Nationality: Genoa, Italy



Name: Jon Harquin
Level: N/A
Age: 69
Appearance: A large man, typically wears a black suit, with grey-white hair pulled back behind him on his head, and groomed into a goatee on his face. The result of the mixing of the two clashing colours(The suit’s black and the hair’s white) mixed with a strong face have the result of a sort of regal aura.
Style: Hard Rock/Classical/Blues-Rock
Personality/bio: From an early age, Jon was interested in music, his parents introducing him to classical from Bach and traditional English music, with his study of the piano starting at age five. Just as he was introduced to classical at an early age, as a young boy in the fifties, he was introduced to American rock music, absorbing the blues- and jazz-influenced sounds of American pop piano and organ players ferverently.

Though he originally started playing in bands to supplant his income as a small-time actor and make ends meet, when he met a group of young musicians looking to start a band after attempting to invest in the music industry, he joined with the pioneering heavy metal/hard rock group Dark Blue – their name a reference to the darker, heavier take their music was on blues-based concepts – where he became world-renowned as a pianist of immense skill, becoming one of the figures in rock most easily associated with the Hammond B-3 organ, which he favoured at a time where many contemporaries were picking the synthesizer, indulging his classical desires by composing various sideprojects during multiple breaks from Dark Blue, whose tumultuous, ever-changing lineup allowed such things with ease.

Generally he’s regarded as a fairly polite gentleman with a knack for chaos onstage – A rarity given that the relatively behind-the-scenes role being seated forced keyboardists into until the 1980’s with keytars – though little is concretely known by most in the public due to the infrequency with which Dark Blue members gain notoriety before leaving its often-cycling lineup to be interviewed.
Weapon of choice: Hammond B-3 organ(Piano)
Hometown/Nationality: Leicester, England



Name: Scott Anderton
Level: N/A
Age: 63
Appearance: Incredibly eccentric in his stage attire, though over the decades it’s seemed to settle into jeans and a shirt of some sort beneath a vest. Offstage he wears fairly simple, casual clothing, though he seems to have a penchant for a good suit.
Style: Progressive Folk/Prog Rock
Personality/bio: Although he showed interest in folk music as a child, there was never any intention to become a musician, a job as a teenager at a magazine stand where he would spend his lunch breaks reading the music magazines stocked changed this, giving him incentive to start a band.

Though he originally played guitar, however only a few short years after taking up the instrument, upon seeing Ewan Crofton and feeling that he’d never be able to reach a similar level, he sold his guitar and bought a flute, which he practiced incessantly, working it into the blues and rock stylings he played. Despite only having played for a few months at the time that his first album was released, Anderton, both due to his unorthodox method of playing and the relative nonexistence of flutes in rock at the time, quickly gained attention for the instrument.

Having maintained artistic vitality and public interest for a career spanning decades, as well as being one of the few and still one of the most skilled flautists in rock, he was an easy pick by the IHRF. If a bit out-there, he’s usually seen as a fairly nice fellow, albeit a revolving door of band members seems to hint at a challenge to keep up with. A bit of a nut onstage, in a good sense.
Weapon of choice: Powell 3100 flute
Hometown/Nationality: Blackpool, Lancashire, northwest England




Name: Clemens Clooney, nicknamed “The Giant” by fans
Level: N/A
Age: 69
Appearance: A large, heavyset man – Hasn’t had a haircut in literally years, and long dreadlocks of black hair run down his back, often covered by a hat. Dark complexion, he often wears black suits onstage, occasionally accompanied by sunglasses. Wears fairly casual dress offstage.
Style: Rock
Personality/bio: Clemens grew up listening to Gospel music brought in by his grandfather, a preacher. When he was nine, his father bought him a saxophone and lessons as a Christmas gift, fostering a lifelong passion. It took a backseat as a passing interest as a young man though, as for many years, he showed promise as a football player, all the way to being contacted by an NFL team to sign on with them. The day before the trial though, he was involved in a serious car accident, which ended any chances of a career in football. Undaunted, he pulled the saxophone back to the center of his life, constant practice alongside his sports ambitions paying off with quickly finding a session with a local band.

After finishing college, Clemens hunted across the upper east coast for work, not finding much until he was offered a spot in a New Jersey band of local repute. At the recommendation of a friend though, he went to sit in with another local act, the Bryce Feldsteen Band. The weather was near-hurricane when he went to see them, and the door flew off the hinges when he entered the building. Leaving him silhouetted in a storm. When a man big enough to be nicknamed “The Giant” opens a door, it goes off its hinges, and he says “I want to play with you” in the middle of a raging storm, you don’t say no.

As it ended up though, Clemens was the missing link – Shortly thereafter he joined Feldsteen’s band, becoming an integral part of their sound, and after a few albums with lukewarm reception, the group ended up releasing a string of giant successes, remaining one of the biggest acts in the world.

Despite a towering stage appearance and an intimidating image, Clemens is actually a fairly laid-back and amicable person, often remaining in the hotels after shows and happily talking with, taking photos with, and signing things for fans. Both due to his superstar status and the regard of his playing within the rock business, Clemens was one of the first, and practically the only saxophone representative under the IHRF’s consideration.
Weapon of choice: Julius Keilworth SX90R tenor saxophone
Hometown/Nationality: Norfolk, Virginia, USA

Now then, with that, have fun, and in the words of Dr. Henry Kissinger, Crank it up - It's time to rock.

Naturally they'll be added to the staff list, and their NPC profile to the NPC list.

[Kothra]

@xom: Since the corvettes/frigates cost 0.25 IPCs (Industrial Production Certificates, borrowing for Axis & Allies for sake of saving time/space), and are the only things that cost less than one, just require players to buy them in fours.

@necro: for whatever reason it makes more sense to me than it used to. Also, second mention of th IHRF (5th paragraph), you said IHMF.

Edited by Revolutionary Saint Kothra, Oct 18 2011 - 09:12 PM.

[Toast of Awesomeness]

Hey Xom... I don't think starbases should count for points. Because, really, a defense platform doesn't require many resources to field. Especially if its automated.

[Lord Kini Hawkeye]

Um...

On the subject of Restarting Interstellar Line (or at least, somethign similar) the only true complaint/hesitation i have in agreeing with it is... well, you Xom. I mean no offence when i say this, i just remember you not being quite so... agreeable to thing when Wrack was running things...

It makes me hesitate, because i really havn't seen you RP since and from the few times i have you really havn't changed all that much.

Just me throwing that out there - I'd gladly retract this opinion if you were planning or willing to have multiple helpers who're able to overrule things where they deem necessary - a sort of democratic system, if you will.

Just my two cents.

[Necro]

I butted heads with him a lot, and normally I'd agree, but I'm willing to give him a shot with this - he's seemed a lot more mature, probably owing to it being literally years later, and since he's going to be sitting back running it instead of playing it, I don't really think he's going to have the chance to try and tear anyone's head off.

[Xomeron]

I had the same reservations myself, actually, which was why I initially held off on putting this together.

Who'd be willing to help me run this/keep me from going crazy?

[Toast of Awesomeness]

I'd have the same problem I think, and I want to play... but I can approve profiles and update the map, if that would help?

[Xomeron]

That'd be wonderful

[Ra's al Ghul]

I mean no offence when i say this, i just remember you not being quite so... agreeable to thing when Wrack was running things...

i dont know who xom is, i dont know who wrack is, i dont know what interstellar live is (kinda assuming xom is dr robert, IL is an old rpg, and wrack was its GM), but if this even comes up means the RPG is probably doomed.

[Xomeron]

I was always agreeable to Wrack, just not everyone else. Since I was thirteen and all...

[Lord Kini Hawkeye]

I mean no offence when i say this, i just remember you not being quite so... agreeable to thing when Wrack was running things...

i dont know who xom is, i dont know who wrack is, i dont know what interstellar live is (kinda assuming xom is dr robert, IL is an old rpg, and wrack was its GM), but if this even comes up means the RPG is probably doomed.

Xom is Dr. Robert, Interstellar Line is an old RPG that Xom's planning to bring back, And Wrack was it's GM. However, i wouldn't say the RPG is doomed... just more... in danger. Besides it's hard to comment on something like that when even i must admit that it was a long time ago.

I had the same reservations myself, actually, which was why I initially held off on putting this together.

Who'd be willing to help me run this/keep me from going crazy?

I'm glad that you're at least willing to admit it this time around =P

I butted heads with him a lot, and normally I'd agree, but I'm willing to give him a shot with this - he's seemed a lot more mature, probably owing to it being literally years later, and since he's going to be sitting back running it instead of playing it, I don't really think he's going to have the chance to try and tear anyone's head off.

For myself, while i can see he's matured simply due to the fact that he's admitted that there was a problem... I think my problem was back then, even with my limited involvement with IL, he went against every single one of the (rare) Rulings that Wrack made, or at the very least, argued them and the other points or problems players brought up, unnecessarily. I also recall him being quite the... egomaniac - and i don't use that word lightly.

That's the main problem i have. Put him in a position where he's not in control, and he'll argue it. Put him in a position where he is...

Unless i'm proven wrong, i shudder to think what may happen.

Sorry Xom, but it's the truth :/

Of course, it's also from what i remember.

Edited by Kini Hawkeye, Oct 18 2011 - 11:00 PM.

[Wrack and Ruin]

Frankly speaking?

I let him do it because I want to see how he's grown.

Bro, just wait and see.

Edited by Am I Poplar Yet?, Oct 18 2011 - 11:00 PM.

[Xomeron]

Honestly, I was hoping to play it. My plan for this is get the setting and rules set up, start playing it, hope it goes without needing rulings.

Your confidence is reassuring, everyone. Sure, the Telepath RPG from right before The Fall was terrible, but I GMed it well...

[Lord Kini Hawkeye]

I was always agreeable to Wrack, just not everyone else. Since I was thirteen and all...

I'm only 14 now =P

Frankly speaking?

I let him do it because I want to see how he's grown.

Bro, just wait and see.

It's not a question of your judgement... I'm just speaking my own reservations. It wouldn't be the first time it's happened to someone over the years.

[Xomeron]

But besides the lack of the map, does anyone have reservations about that RPG I posted up there?

[Akaku: Master of Flight]

If I wasnt going to be a main staffie in Vak's RPG, I would Volunteer on helping you keep yer sanity, Xom'

I -may- be able to help with a map; although expierience has shown me drawings usually dont serve as well as photographs as far as galaxies n' such, so I could maybe whip something decent up using Pictures off of Google Space or somethin` like that xD

I dunno if i`d join the RPG itself; I would have to wait a bit to see if i have the time, to see how busy your RPG turns out, and to see if I like your style of GM'ing ^^

--Akaku: Master of Flight

[Toast of Awesomeness]

I'll work on a map when I have time, I'll let you know what I got.

My advice? Get Necro or Rover to co-host, if they will. I'm not sure if Rover's still around, but Necro is.

[Xomeron]

Looks like Necro's willing to Co-Host. Yay!

[Jimothy]

There was an idea thrown around awhile back about a time travel RPG sandbox style, how much of a following do you think it would draw? I remember at the time it was quite the popular idea but never came to fruition

[Kothra]

Yay... I'll probably be bringing the Kalarii back, but aside from the fact that they're Kalarii, I'm reworking the civilisation on at least some level.

[Lord of Adders Black]

I never thought the problem with IL was any single member, but rather the lack of control. If things got a bit out of hand there was no ultimate authority figure stepping in to say 'no this is wrong' or to mediate. So really we're all to blame

[Vak Il Mio Amore]

Looks like Necro's willing to Co-Host. Yay!

Your, sir, have scored yourself one of the best Co-Hosts I've ever had Necro and Spink have both done some incredible work with me, and I fully endorse Necro's partnering up with you :3

[Xomeron]

Looks like Necro's willing to Co-Host. Yay!

Your, sir, have scored yourself one of the best Co-Hosts I've ever had Necro and Spink have both done some incredible work with me, and I fully endorse Necro's partnering up with you :3

Considering I just plain can't work with Spink, this is perfect.

Anyway, I'm pretty much waiting on the map now, since I seem to have everything else I need.

[Judge Alex Humva]

Xom, I have but one thing to say regarding IL mark II.

If you actually manage to pull it off, it'll be awesome.

If you don't and we get ToA-style gmodding, well, that's not going be fun for anyone except ToA.

So yeah.

I want to totally get a species that is some utterly horrible Lovecraftian monster who communicate with other species via hologram.

Also, give me a week and I'll make up an epic looking star map.

Also, if we should, say, attempt to make our ships realistic, can there be something in there that encourages that instead of 'har har you're such a nerd you tried to make it realistic and now I can curbstomp you with MY SCI-FI DOOM LASERS.' Because I want ships that are like real life naval ships; massive, expensive, but can take a ton of hits and dish out punishment.

And you might want to put something in there about build time.

Edited by Alex Humva, Oct 19 2011 - 02:08 PM.

[Kothra]

Also, if we should, say, attempt to make our ships realistic, can there be something in there that encourages that instead of 'har har you're such a nerd you tried to make it realistic and now I can curbstomp you with MY SCI-FI DOOM LASERS.' Because I want ships that are like real life naval ships; massive, expensive, but can take a ton of hits and dish out punishment.

And you might want to put something in there about build time.

Wouldn't mind this, assuming you don't go for the hyper-realistic stuff that takes the fun out of it.

Also yes build times.

Also what amount of weaponry is reasonable on what sizes?

Edited by Revolutionary Saint Kothra, Oct 19 2011 - 02:31 PM.

[Judge Alex Humva]

Come to think of it, Lovecraftian monsters would be a poor choice for diplomacy. Ugly people find it hard to make friends; Lovecraftian horrors typically have no friends.

So yeah, my only suggestions are build times and semi-realism. Oh, and something about technology development; with the Sryjassa I had them making civilization changing breakthroughs on a daily basis, something that isn't that realistic but also kinda required when everyone else is doing the same. And something for newbs; like, some way so they don't get completely destroyed/turned to slaves by the elder races.

[Lord Kini Hawkeye]

My resignations are No longer valid and i fully support an IL reboot as of nao.

Good luck =D

[Necro]

How realistic are we talking when we say semi-realism? I know that when we threw it out the window for the sake of entertainment, we got insane in the old RPG, but I don't want to go from one extreme to the other - it was just as bad in the beginning when everything needed a completely factual, scientific basis and anything that relied even the slightest bit on player imagination was cut down in a heartbeat as it was later on when we had asteroid belts turned minefields and ships the size of planets.

[Xomeron]

Okay, if you're familiar with the Halo series, the humans from that are a good guide of the tech level I want. Railguns, missiles, typical projectile weapons, lasers, and the like. Except no energy shields in here.

Naturally as time goes on, the technology will slowly advance, but we'll never even approach the tech level IL ended at, when there were Dyson Spheres, Tachyon Guns, stuff like that.

Working on a a weapon size guide...

Adding something about build times...

Edited by Your Friend Doctor Robert, Oct 19 2011 - 06:54 PM.