I've been working on a game design for an RTS that takes place both in space and on the ground. Players will have to cooperate between space forces and ground forces to attack/defend a planet successfully. I'm currently working on the units and technology, but heres the story. Feel free to criticise but keep them constructive please :). Do I need to flesh out the story more? If so where? I want quite a high-level of realism in the game, and most of technology used is in theory of being developed now, so any help to that end would be appreciated. I know this is kinda long, but this is as skimmed down as I can get, you *can* jump/skim the first six paragraphs as they're mainly background tho :). So here it is: In 2081 the Tachyon shunt drive technology was invented in Tokyo University research labs Tokyo. This technology revolutionised space travel and the ailing space industry. Prior to the invention of the Tachyon shunt mankind had been unable to venture outside of their own solar system due to excessive journey times and fuel requirements. The Tachyon shunt made faster than light travel a possibility and it wasn’t long before new human habitable planets were found within practical reach. A great age of exploration and expansion began, humans stretched far beyond their hitherto furthest colonies on Jupiter’s moons, and out in to the galaxy. However the early Tachyon shunt drives still left journey times between Earth and her furthest colonies prohibitive, leaving very distant colonies to largely fend for themselves. Over the following decades the Tachyon shunt drive technology was advanced to the point where journeys that may have taken years previously were now possible in mere weeks. Diplomatic relations were rekindled between Earth and its nearby colonies and the far flung worlds of the galaxy for the first time in a generation. At this time Earth’s natural resources were dwindling, and supplies were only just starting to become available from colony worlds and the asteroid fields. At the time these were expensive and difficult to obtain, and Earth began levying heavy taxes on all its colonies. Although some outlying colonies submitted to these taxes most did not, arguing that they didn’t need Earth and they had been self-sufficient for their entire existence and they should not be forced to pay for Earth’s problems. The colonists formed a cooperative governing body, later known as the Galactic Colonial Cooperative (GCC) to pool their resources, in an effort to prove they would be no burden on Earth and its resources, and so did not need to pay taxes. Unfortunately the more the colonists resisted the more Earth insisted. In 2143 the United Earth government voted unilaterally to force the issue, and sent in the fledgling star fleet to blockade major trade routes and planets, strangling the colonist’s vital lifelines. This situation came to a head two months later when a colonist trade ship was destroyed when it collided with a UEF Battleship, the UES Brilliant Star five astronomical units out from the planet Kraken. Earth forces maintain that the incident was an accident, and it should be noted that the Brilliant Star was heavily damaged and had to be scrapped, but the GCC saw it as a deliberate act and began to attack UEF military bases with improvised ships and weapons. Despite the UEF having far more advanced weaponry they were fighting distant from home ports in enemy territory, under constant attack from a determined enemy. The outcome of the colonist’s war for independence was finally decided in October 2144 after a year of fierce fighting; Earth’s only fleet yard within striking distance of colony worlds was taken in a little over two days. The UE government was forced to recognise the GCC’s independence in return for the release of POWs. The fragile peace between the GCC and Earth and its colonies held for over a hundred years until 2264. In October of that year, the exact anniversary of the end of the colonist’s war of independence several political factions of the planet Meridian staged a military coup that ousted the Earth loyal government and immediately sued for admittance to the GCC. Earth warships were dispatched to aid ‘legitimate government forces’ and restore proper civil order to Meridian. Earth forces bombarded rebel strongholds from space before sending in Marines of the first expeditionary force. Within a week the coup had been crushed and a new Earth loyal government installed, with few UEF losses. However rebel casualties were very high and many civilians were also killed in the fighting. The GCC saw this as an open attack on a fledgling member, while Earth saw it as a blatant GCC plot to over throw a legitimate government inorder to gain member worlds. In response the GCC dispatched ships of its own fleet, and the two fleets squared off against one another in orbit over Meridian. It is unclear who the aggressor was, maybe the GCC fired first, maybe it was the UEF or perhaps existing rebel forces on Meridian were responsible but on the morning of January 20th 2265 the GCC cruiser Kraken's Fist and the UEF Battleship Fury exchanged fire, ending with the destruction of the Krakens Fist. After a fierce but short lived engagement the GCC fleet was forced to withdraw. At 14:16 GST (Galactic Standard Time) on the afternoon of the 8th of January 2265 (due to the peculiarities of interstellar space travel) the UEF declared a state of war to exist between the GCC and Earth and her colonies... And thats pretty much where both the single player and multiplayer cooperative games start of. Any thoughts? EDIT : Spelling - Assualt to Assault. [Edited by - Citizen Pain on March 19, 2005 6:50:59 AM]

Assualt? Is your narrator from Brooklyn?

Thanks for pointing that out, I'm dyslexic, these things (swapping letters around) happen from time to time.

Nice intro. Good backstory. But if I don't have a protagonist I care about, why would I play? Develop a character(s) with the as much depth as your settings. Plus, you have to know what your character wants. And if it's just to save the world, sorry, it's not enough. Why does he want to save the world. For who? For what? And how does it change him? Program ethics, morals, and choices into your game. This will set it apart for other shooters. Because it'll be more than a shooter. Make it a morality play. Good luck.

He said it's an RTS, which don't necessarily need strong characters. The player is simply commanding his forces against the enemy, a la Starcraft.

I like it a lot... in fact, it sounds suspiciously similar to the background of the game I'm working on. ;)

Thanks for the replies, and sorry i didn't respond sooner. I've had a slight housing problem that resulted with me being without an internet connection for a while...

Anyway Anon i think you are under the impression i'm writing for an FPS, in which case believable characters are a must these days. They can be incorporated into RTS games but aren't really a necessity, and can detract in my opinion. I'll probably leave characters down to not much more than the odd mission to escort general so and so to here or there etc.

Taolung, thanks :), still got some work to do, mainly in technology and the planets of the universe tho. I'd like to hear about your game aswell, don't want to tred on any toes :p.

This would be great as a FPS. Have your main character be, maybe, an elite soldier who leads a squad and begins some heat between the two sides. And, really, this reminds me of the Revolutionary War -- just a side note.

The backstory was meant to be something between the American war of independence and the Cold War. I envision the GCC being kind of like Russia (Not necessarilly a communist dictatorship tho) and Earth and its colonies being more like the western allies.

Just out of curiosity is the UCC a horde player, or more of a Cheapshot player (a la C&C's NOD and GLA)?

Overall, pretty good. Only thing I see is that the two factions might get mixed up easily--UCC and UFD aren't entirely different. You might want to come up with alternate names--i.e., "Rebs" for the UCC.

Just a thought.

GCC = Galaxic Colonial Cooperative - Larger numbers, slightly less advanced technology, less powerful weapons etc.

UEF = United Earth Force (the military wing of the United Earth Goverment or UE-Gov) - More advanced, but has fewer worlds and therfore lower population and possibly lower resources than the GCC.

Alternative names is a good idea tho - i'll think about it.