R P G: Stríð Karla

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

OOC: We do allow immigration, but the borders are closed, so you have to go through the government and get permission directly from the Queen to immigrate. As a result, the only real immigration so far has been Waalruusans bringing their religion into Varangia and some Stans (though honestly Varangia is a stupid place for immigrants. Too cold and too rocky.)

[Xomeron]

OOC: Well, I definitely see the need for CIP/MIP. But I'd class intelligence services as Military.

Edited April 20, 2012 by cardworkMagician

[Lara White]

OOC: How about an embassy? Tourists? even if it is cold and rocky, people will want to visit. Interest in foreign cultures and all.

[Xomeron]

OOC: Lloyd, where's that Aquilonian copper mine again? Is it on the southern end of the island that's mostly in O-11, or the southern end of the continent in P-11?

Edited April 20, 2012 by cardworkMagician

[Lara White]

OOC: Rare earth metals, and it's P-11.

[Xomeron]

OOC: Ah. I was just wondering because a tiny bit of my island extends into P-11. Just to be clear, Astaria claims that little schnibble, because they've claimed the whole island.IC:The Aquilonian mine's director soon had a request from an Astarian entrepreneur. He wanted to purchase a small lot of land near the area where the workers lived, and open a combined bar and coffee shop.

Edited April 20, 2012 by cardworkMagician

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

OOC: Embassies are not prohibited, but, as the borders are closed, tourism is. They don't really see the point of tourism, so it's just not a thing they do.

[Lara White]

IC: The common belief about malicious Astarians who hated all things Aquileonese played against the Astarians here, as the Aquileonese were worried that the Astarians were up to something. The request was politely turned down.Meanwhile, a listening post was set up in the Aquileonese Embassy to Varangia, listening to the signals which flew through the air, filtering out the important ones, and reading them. This was all done, of course, with utmost secrecy.

Edited April 20, 2012 by Lloyd: the White Wolf

[Xomeron]

OOC: You never reopened the embassies. As I recall, you denied my request.

[Lara White]

OOC: Your resquest was lost in bureaucracy, so I have no embassy there. I meant to say Varangia, I'm just used to typing Astaria. My bad, derp. ><

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

OOC: While embassies are not prohibited, they do have to be opened before they exist, which means, of course, a formal request sent through the government.Given the current positive status of relations between Varangia and Aquileon, the request won't be turned down, of course. It's just a step that needs to be gone through.

[Lara White]

IC: A request to establish mutual embassies was sent to Varangia.OOC: Previous post will apply if/when request is approved.

[Alex Humva]

IC [standast]With various shenanigans going on over the world, Standast quietly released a notice to all the various nations that they had claimed a block of land around their Europa colony.OOCBlock of area includes J-13, I-13, I-14, and J-15.

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

IC: The request for embassies was considered, then, based on the current status of Varangia/Aquileon relations, approved. A location in one of the big island's coastal cities was selected for the embassy.OOC: Note: having this listening post does not guarantee that you will find out about every secret project going on in Varangia.

[Xomeron]

IC:With the realization that their previous idea of claiming land, requiring someone to set foot in it and usually plant a flag, was entirely void, Astaria laid claims to N-10, 11, 13, and 14, along with M-10. Pointedly, they left a large block of land to the south to allow the Aquilonian colony to expand. This left the northern border of their territories precisely at the equator.

[Lara White]

OOC: I never assumed it did.

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

OOC: That's good. On that note...IC: Radio transmissions were going back and forth in Varangia regarding tests of a system that, by the sound of it, used electromagnetic coils to move an object. From the sound of it, the technology was in its very early stages.

[Xomeron]

IC:Begun reequipping the Astarian First Shock Army(10 Battalions) with Bolters. (1 IP)[1/14]Astarian Second Shock Army deployed in the wilds of N-10, for training exercises involving European Jungle Warfare.

Edited April 20, 2012 by cardworkMagician

[Alex Humva]

IC [standast]Anyone bothering to pay attention would notice that the Stan military was mass mobilizing. Notably, though, they kept their distance from anyone, probably to keep from alarming them. Two hundred and fifty Stan battalions were deployed to Northern Europa, with half staying in the icy wastes further north and the other half traveling further south, near the Aquileon colonies, to conduct training in the warmer climate.

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

OOC: I guessed you might have such reactions to geostationary satellites. Too bad no-one's told the Waalrusaan thatIC: Progress was continuing nicely. They had satellites for communication across Arctungaad and to Varangia, they had troops, tanks, planes even a mighty warship. Their elite troops would complete their training soon. Their experiments on the new designs based on Varangian helicopters were coming along nicely. It might not be enough though. Word had reached them of advanced weaponry in this nation of 'Fillion', there was a war of shadows and whispers going on between Aquileon and Astaria if you believed the rumours and the Stan had already been contemplating space-based weaponry. They needed an edge. First they'd need to expand. The cliffs and mountains of Arctungaad were becoming too small for their population, bolstered as it was by modern sciences. The Flieshkarls of the Church sent out a call for colonists willing to travel to the huge continent in the middle of the worldOOC: Official colonist call like the first posts asks for. I guess I just knock all my industry times back a week now

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

IC: It was inevitable that, at some point, the Varangians would notice a geostationary satellite above their territory - while they weren't big on space travel, telescopes were still a thing that existed in their country.Knowing only two countries that were big on space, polite inquiries were made with Astaria and Arctungaad regarding the origin of the satellite.

[Kothra]

OOC: Fyi Xom, Kiserre already has settlements in N-13 and N-14. They'll gladly leave the remainder of the land to the south and west to Astaria.

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

IC: The Waalrusaan were happy to oblige the Varangians. They were told plainly that the satellite was the twin of the one currently hovering in orbit over Arctungaad, a satellite designed to receive and transmit signals. It was how their Sonitus mobile communication network functioned and without it, the Elucidated Brethren on Varangia would be cut off

[Xomeron]

OOC: Koth: Derp derp derp. We ought to update the map, though. Retracting those claims, of course.IC: ASA(Astarian Space AgencyThe Astarians responded that they had placed no geostationary orbit satellites over Varangia, and offered to aid in the investigations if need be(they were of course unaware that the answer had been given)IC: First Shock Army(N-10)When reports or rumors reached Astarian ears that the Stans were conducting training similar to the First Shock Army, there was a short debate; some thought that a joint exercise between the two could ease relations. More likely, the main school of thought went, they would collect data on Astarian military patterns, and possibly use that data against Astaria, someday.After a week's worth of jungle campaign in which the Army was divided in half and set against each other to compete for simulated kill counts and strategic locations(the Seventh Battalion was the overall winner) the army was put back together, and given a new task. Hunt and eliminate five hundred Red Dragoons before they take and destroy three strategic positions. What followed was two weeks of stalking through the jungle and being stalked. The Red Dragoons showed unusual initiative; along with sabotaging dozens of vehicles, they destroyed two of their three targets and kidnapped the colonel in command of the Ninth Battalion after "killing" the unit he'd gone with, at a loss of only a hundred and six Red Dragoons.

[Lara White]

OOC: I'll start bugging Humva about updating the map.IC: Meanwhile, the Aquileon military began expanding its resources. Orders were placed for more Kestrels, Gyrfalcons, and an Express, as well as a Thunderbolt. In addition, ASOCOM was established.OOC: One batch each of Gyrfalcons, Kestrels, Express, and Thunderbolt. Two Chameleon units.

Edited April 20, 2012 by Lloyd: the White Wolf

[Xomeron]

OOC: Does your Thunderbolt happen to be a plane designed for close-air-support?New weapon being developedWeapons Form: Weapon Name: CRB(Concentrated Radar Burst)Weapon Description: Essentially an extremely large and powerful radar dish, the CRB shines an extremely bright and powerful radar at a target. This has two functions; first, it blinds and perhaps blows out any radar it is pointed at by simply being so bright. Second, the radar reflects very brightly off whatever is being targeted, allowing other radar systems to gain a passive lock. CRBs come in two variants, one mounted on ships, the other on land. Land-based CRB variants are more powerful, and can be concealed by terrain. Each CRB can only blind one target at a time.Weapon Cost:

[Kothra]

IC(Kiserre/Varangia Trading): The companies that had approached the Varangian government earlier seeking to import goats had finally decided what to export in return: fruits, particularly grapefruit and oranges.(Kiserre/General): Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defence made an official announcement that the current series of VBC-1 Kuma tanks and the FTB-1 Hyou transports would receive an armour upgrade to put them closer to the same level as other armoured vehicles around the world. Nothing was yet said about the plans for the VBC-2 Tora.

[Xomeron]

OOC: Why does the French inspired nation have Japanese names for their military?IC:Tooth rot had been a problem through most of history for many nations, but in the past few years, it would have accelerated massively across the globe. The reason was simple; Astarian exports of sugar, cola, and chocolate. Fortunately, this problem came with a solution, as oral hygiene companies looked to sell their wares, and individual dentists and orthodontists looked to open practices across the world.

[Kothra]

OOC: Maybe because its the France, Japan, and a bit of Rome-inspired nation. I haven't really found a way to make it anything like Rome yet though.IC(Kiserre/fruit exports): The companies that were negotiating with Varangia realised: it was possible that these fruits and their related products (particularly grapefruit juice and soft drinks) would do well in other markets as well. They appealed to the other governments of the world (all of them, basically), asking permission to establish distribution centres in their nations, or if that wouldn't work at least be permitted to import.OOC: basically oranges, grapefruits, their juices, and soft drinks made from those juices.

[Xomeron]

IC:The Kiserran soft drinks were allowed to open up distribution centers in Astaria. There they acquired a niche status as a specialty drink; nowhere near approaching the market share of Coke(perhaps they were less conductive for making mixed drinks, or just habit) the drinks could be found in certain stores in most medium sized towns and nearly any large city. The fruit found a harder time importing, because many of those fruit had close equivalents in Astaria, though grapefruit sold quite well.OOC: Finding Kiserran drinks in Astaria might be about as easy as finding Ramune is in the US.

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

IC: Unfortunately for these businessmen, while Varangia was deficient in the fields of rocketry and space, their dentists were quite sufficiently capable of handling the toothy problem of oral health care in Varangia, and, for lack of demand, Astarian dentists were unable to do business in Varangia.---The Varangians were rather enthusiastic about trading goats for citrus, though they insisted on being given the plants themselves, instead of just the fruit, reasoning that, as a herd of goats could sustain itself with sufficient care, so too could fully-grown plants.OOC: Varangia is inspired by Scandinavian countries in general, and the Basques. Some elements, like the goofy barter economy, were just my idea.

[Kothra]

IC(Kiserre/Varangian trade): Considering that raising the goats was the intent of the companies, they agreed to export the plants instead. They still asked if they could export their soft drinks as well.

[Xomeron]

OOC: Astaria doesn't really have any direct inspiration, it mostly draws from the nations I've come up with in my writing, although there's a lot of American influence, it's definitely not America. I guess Astaria seems pretty bland, though, doesn't it?

[Silvan Haven]

IC: The Kiserran offer was accepted with much enthusiasm, sweets were a big hit in Fillion.Varangia was sent an offer of a trade. Goats for a rather hardy type of dog used as a helper to the shepherds of Fillion. They had thick fur and long legs for running circles around their charges.40 battalions were sent to the new colony on the continent. They would be conducting extended training exercises both in the colony and in the area around it, making use of the large amounts of mostly flat open land that could not be found on their home islands.Research was started on generators small enough to fit inside a backpack. The vehicles of the Fillion army were being re-armored with the composite armor gotten from the trade with Aquileon.OOC: Backpack generators-75 IP unknown finish dateRe-armoring- 20 IP unknown finish date.How long would giving them new armor take?

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

IC: The Varangians agreed to both the juice import deal and the goats-for-dogs deal.

[Alex Humva]

OOCFun stuffs folks, Humva stopped being lazy and updated the map. We even get a shiny new feature; islands you have bases on are now shown. If you want it to be marked, put it in your IP report. Some minor caveats though.~Inactive players have yet to be removed. Still working on that.~This is only last weeks IP reports. Anyone without a report got no attention, and any colonies established after that aren't shown. I'll update this Sunday when everyone updates.As for inspiration, my peeps have inspiration from numerous Slavic and Norse civs, as well as a generous amount of Russian culture and Greco-Roman religious thinking, combined with common sense, tossed in.

[Lara White]

IC: An Aquileon military base was established on R-13/14.

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

OOC: Can islands like X-12 be used as actual colonies, considering that it appears to be about the same size as, say, Hawaii?

[Alex Humva]

OOCI think me and Koth talked about them a while back; while you could technically colonize them, they simply aren't large enough to get past an Outpost, which gives you nothing.So, no, you can't. You just get a big military base and the civilian stuff that pops up around it.

[Xomeron]

OOC: And a rocket launch facility...IC:CDN: 20% Complete, running along the Astarian Sea. Next major focus is O-11.OOC: Does anyone own Q-10? If not, I'm claiming it.

Edited April 21, 2012 by cardworkMagician