When I was a younger man, before I became the old and decrepit 24 year old before you, there was a little-known game not much unlike this one. It was fun, nerdy, made by a small yet very active company (before Microsoft got it, I guess), and had a small, dedicated community of players. Okay, not "Holy crap there are 200 people on ICO at the same time?!" small, but you get the idea. The game was Mechcommander and one of the leagues formed around it went by the name of Steel Command.
The SCL was a heavily role-played league which used Mechcommander as a vehicle to wage an enormous interstellar war between the various Battletech factions (faction websites still exist today, in all their 1998 glory). Factions would fight for territory and resources. They would commit Mechs and other resources to battles, then play out those battles in the game. There was diplomacy and even an enormous map which was manually updated to reflect faction ownership changes (this was back before the web was "dynamic"
I think a league like this would work well in Sins for a few reasons. First of all, it is asynchronous. That is, factions can schedule games or just issue orders ("Explore this planet", etc.) and won't need to randomly have a whole lot of players on at the same time (this is the main reason clans don't work right now). Secondly, Sins is very customizable, which is required for this sort of thing to work. The Map Designer is quick and dirty, but the real power lies in Galaxy Forge (assuming it gets fixed) which allows maps to be custom-tailored to battles. With this customization combined with the fact that different battles can have different supply caps, sizes and so forth, games can be long or short depending on the battle setup and include any number of other variables.
Sins games can be incredibly long, back and forth, intense experiences even though the action isn't necessarily constant -- that's what I love about it. You have to make big decisions -- do I build up and dig in or rush? Do I save that planet being attacked or do I counter? -- which can affect where you are an hour later. But what if the game didn't end in an hour, a day, or a month? What if there were an entire Universe to conquer and not just a star or two at a time?
If there's a game out now that could be used to resurrect the enormous scope and breadth of Steel Command, it is almost certainly Sins. However, this is no minor task and will require dedication and effort from many -- not to mention players! I'm not sure if we have enough people yet, but we'd have to start somewhere. This would be a considerable undertaking and I am already extremely low on free time, so I'm putting this out now to see what sort of interest there is, if any. Please provide feedback!
P.S. If you're wondering who would actually make the site for this, the answer is me. I do it for a living so we've at least got that part covered.
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!
Like what you've read so far? Then check this out!
Okay folks, it seems like we have enough people interested to make an official inquiry here on the boards. The way I see it, we need a minimum of 25 people to start really getting the ball rolling in an official way on this thing. To that end, I have created a form that interested parties should fill out. It shouldn't take more than 30 seconds and will give me a way to keep track of people with serious interest.
One of the questions asks what you want your "role" to be; I have created the following roles with my recommendation of minimum numbers to fulfill in parenthesis (assumes 3 initial factions; one for each race):
Fill out the form here: http://binjured.wufoo.com/forms/sins-league-signup/
Thank you in advance!
(Entrenchment required for membership for the time being; with more players, hopefully we can have two leagues... but that's a dream for now.)
kk
Errr my Internet is acting realllyyyy reallyy sluggish right now, and i've been playing a lot of multiplayer games today and i've had a uber high ping all day, i think i'll sit out so i dont lag you guys X.X
*** It just cleared up so nvm i guess im up for a game w/e you guys are***
SWEET!!! You better stay!
Why dont you get on, right now, im boredd
euhhh...busy working on my mod
Tesla finished the job I asked of him and it gave me an inspirational boost to complete yet another milestone
I dont think Nycz's girl is too keen on playing as it has been an hour and he's a noshow X.X
Or they decided to play another sort of game "wink wink"
Okay, were hopping on now. Lol and shadow if me and my girl were to play the "other" game. i'd be too tired to get back onto the computer.
OK...I'll be on at midnight (in 4 minutes) gonna get somehting to drink!
Last call for tonights game, if there isnt enough players tonight ill reschedule the game for another day where everyone from each faction can participate.
Hey, I'm up for faction member. If possible, I'd like to help with some of the back-story and world building elements. (World as in story, not literal galaxy-forge.)
I've been hoping for this sort of thing. Sins is perfect for this.
Thanks
SSAF, soon to be renamed.
Which faction would you like to join?
Am I correct in that there's only three factions so far?
The Unified Explorers, Illumina, and Sorrowsworn?
Yes!
Yes, there is currently only three factions, you are welcome to join either faction or create a new faction of you own under either Vasari, Advent or TEC. You should check out each respective webpage and see which one interests you most.
Which reminds me, i need to update and rework the forums for The Illumina adding more lore and backgrounds. On another note, i just got started on a quick visual novel regarding the factions. I've focused on the contact between The Illumina and The Sorrowsworn. Also!, shadow i still need your side of the conflict so i have something to work with *pokes with pencil* lol.
*ouch that hurts!
And I am fully aware..but its now been 5 'mini-stories' I rip apart because of my oversized sense of perfection! (its weird it never pops up at school ). Doing what I can Nyczzz....sorry its dragging!
Alright, I gotta think about it. I like the Illumina and the TEC one. The Sorrowsworn doesn't feel to much like the Vasari, at least in my opinion.
They do with the new lore I designed!
The lore currently on page is wrong one...dont mind that one I'll change it soon enough
well if you want to know more about the TEC one i will be happy to help you!!
you can pm me or post something on our topic at https://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/346132/page/3
don't mind most of the pointless convo on there, as the visari faction had nothing better to do.
hope to hear from you soon
Hey all, wanna try and get a game going sometime this weekend?
Sounds good carbon, i should be free in the evening of saturday and sunday if it rains that day. I think if its possible we should set a day a week or a few days a month that we all meet up and play a game or two for the leauge and also discuss what to do with it.
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*A Ethereal approaches, one of many who are charged with the spread of the unity through peaceful means. The female Ethereal dressed in a white cloak adorned with typical patterns of the advent, her hair medium length and white, her skin semi pale, her eyes white as snow. Her voice echoes slightly as if she speaks through her mind.*
-Greetings SSAF, On behalf of The Illumina i will gladly discuss the many spiritual benefits you will obtain by following the light and joining the unity. You will be apart of a force that intends to bring about peace to the many backward and corrupt civilizations that plauge the world as well as "correcting" the decisions forced upon our ancestors by the TEC by any means necessary.
alrighty, add me on skype
my name is the -Ue_Carbon...go figure lol.
Also, I like to read some of that story your writting!!! Hope to get a taste of that soon!
Working on it bit by bit and i should have a collection of characters and backgrounds of which i can start drawing them down. As for the story regardin the conflict between the Illumina/Sorrowsworn, once ive made some revisions ill send a copy to you via PM. I always want to hear others opinions be it good or bad.
If you need any info about us and such let me know! and awesome cant wait to read it!
Just a reminder I plan on being online alot this weekend. If yall wanna try and get a game going let me know. Add me on skype!
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