This was previously in another thread, but I've decided to post it in one of its own following Feared_1's thread so that other people have a proper place to make constructive comments.
Here it is:
In a addition to the Olympians and the Hadeans, there was a third, far smaller, faction of the Cthonians (not got a name yet). Their technological prowess exceeded that of their kin to such an extent that they found a way to make portals that join two parts of space and time as well as some truly powerful weapons of war. Most of the portals did not cover time, and were the starportals that the EDF has already encountered, but a few ripped apart the boundaries of time itself.
The Hadeans attacked for the this technology but were too late. The third faction had locked the time portals and hidden the keys in a complicated sequence across the history of the universe. With their homeworld and its production facilities hidden at the end pf the trail. To even the balance of power, they gave the key to the first portal to the Olympians. With the Hadeans controlling the territory with the portal and the Olympians holding the key neither side could access the technology, which is a good thing for the other sentient species of the universe.
Following the destruction of the Olympians and Hadeans by the Hadeans and EDF respectively, a scion patrol (I'll explain my reasoning later for using the scions) uncovers the key and locates the portal. They find out at a Hadean research facility nearby (the had been trying to find a way to open the portal without a key, but to no avail) about the trail and what it leads to. Seeing a chance to accelerate the growth of the already considerable technology of their race the current Padishah orders an expeditionary force to travel through the gate and locate the technology.
Complication, a new enemy arises (General Hoohah's suggestion (the Hzarzk) could be this but I'm open to suggestions) and follows them though. This enemy finds the next key and the scions must pursue them to:
a) Stop them from completely screwing up history and causing a paradox.
and
b) Keep up with the enemies and try to prevent them from acquiring the technology at the end.
Essentially the bad guys always find the key and the next portal first because the mess that they have made is keeping the scions busy clearing it up.
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I really think that we should do a campaign from the scions perspective. It could be interesting because the IS/EDF has a load of established background throughout the various mods but the scions don't seem to be touched upon as much, so therefore we can add a lot of depth to them. They are also more technologically minded than humans and so that combined with the new technology means we could invent some very cool vehicles for them, plus its more believable that they would be able to make advanced Cthonian technology work.
I'll flesh this out later but what does everyone think of it for now?
Interesting...
A few issues...
I will refer to this story, at least the basic idea of it, as "The Time Cop Idea".
Never considered that.
VSMIT is readying a reply with helpful information.
Line item criticism!
Quote from: Mr X on July 04, 2009, 07:42:56 AM
This was previously in another thread, but I've decided to post it in one of its own following Feared_1's thread so that other people have a proper place to make constructive comments.
Danke schön.
Quote
Here it is:
In a addition to the Olympians and the Hadeans, there was a third, far smaller, faction of the Cthonians (not got a name yet). Their technological prowess exceeded that of their kin to such an extent that they found a way to make portals that join two parts of space and time as well as some truly powerful weapons of war. Most of the portals did not cover time, and were the starportals that the EDF has already encountered, but a few ripped apart the boundaries of time itself.
I like this idea of a third Cthonian race. So most of these portals are just controlled wormholes, yes? What about the ones for time? Does that mean that it just allows near-instantaneous travel without relativistic effects, or does it mean that they transcend time and allow for true time travel?
QuoteThe Hadeans attacked for the this technology but were too late. The third faction had locked the time portals and hidden the keys in a complicated sequence across the history of the universe. With their homeworld and its production facilities hidden at the end pf the trail. To even the balance of power, they gave the key to the first portal to the Olympians. With the Hadeans controlling the territory with the portal and the Olympians holding the key neither side could access the technology, which is a good thing for the other sentient species of the universe.
So does this mean that the third Cthonian race is still around, but lost in time and space? Or have they been wiped out, with their home world completely automated? It's a bit ambiguous here, some clarification would be nice.
QuoteFollowing the destruction of the Olympians and Hadeans by the Hadeans and EDF respectively, a scion patrol (I'll explain my reasoning later for using the scions) uncovers the key and locates the portal. They find out at a Hadean research facility nearby (the had been trying to find a way to open the portal without a key, but to no avail) about the trail and what it leads to. Seeing a chance to accelerate the growth of the already considerable technology of their race the current Padishah orders an expeditionary force to travel through the gate and locate the technology.
Does this mean that you're breaking from FE? Since the Hadeans weren't destroyed by the EDF, they were just overthrown from within. The answer to this question would also answer my next question: How do the Scions discover what the portal is used for?
QuoteComplication, a new enemy arises (General Hoohah's suggestion (the Hzarzk) could be this but I'm open to suggestions) and follows them though. This enemy finds the next key and the scions must pursue them to:
a) Stop them from completely screwing up history and causing a paradox.
and
b) Keep up with the enemies and try to prevent them from acquiring the technology at the end.
Essentially the bad guys always find the key and the next portal first because the mess that they have made is keeping the scions busy clearing it up.
So will the campaign begin with this decision, will it have begun earlier (with this being the story split), or is this just a question for the community as basically a, "What do you want to see happen?"
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QuoteI really think that we should do a campaign from the scions perspective. It could be interesting because the IS/EDF has a load of established background throughout the various mods but the scions don't seem to be touched upon as much, so therefore we can add a lot of depth to them. They are also more technologically minded than humans and so that combined with the new technology means we could invent some very cool vehicles for them, plus its more believable that they would be able to make advanced Cthonian technology work.
I'd like to see a story that focuses on the Scions for once. Everyone focuses on either an ISDF derivative or faction, and that leaves the Scions out in the cold a lot. I understand that the ISDF is more popular than the Scions (As seen in most MP games), but I find the Scions to be much more interesting. I'd like to see the Scion take on Cthonian technology. It'd be cool.
QuoteI'll flesh this out later but what does everyone think of it for now?
It sounds like a good idea. Even if this isn't cannibalized for the CP, it would make an excellent mod in its own right. Excellent work.
ISDF are made because they are easier. Scions would be a fun challenge.
I think the Pegasus device and Hadean Portals do not use wormholes but a more ingrained biometal property like BLINK.
The Hadeans make portals, so it is not like the portals can belong to another race. BUT they can be based on the technology of that race, and maybe even be directly compatible with the ones that race has sitting around.
I like it very much. It seems we have some very good writers around here.
Right, I'll answer all the questions asked. With VSMIT's the answers are within the quote, and are written in bold.
Quote from: VSMIT on July 04, 2009, 08:16:04 AM
Line item criticism!Danke schön.
I like this idea of a third Cthonian race. So most of these portals are just controlled wormholes, yes? I think that maybe its best if it doesn't get explained, as they are far beyond the grasp of the existing races of the universe (sorry if this sounds like a cop out :P)
What about the ones for time? Does that mean that it just allows near-instantaneous travel without relativistic effects, or does it mean that they transcend time and allow for true time travel? It is true time travel, you enter it and then exit at a completely different point in time and space.
So does this mean that the third Cthonian race is still around, but lost in time and space? Or have they been wiped out, with their home world completely automated? It's a bit ambiguous here, some clarification would be nice. They got wiped out when the Hadeans invaded, they had to make a last stand whilst technicians sealed the gateway and launched the key to the Olympians in a pod travelling just short of the speed of light
Does this mean that you're breaking from FE? Since the Hadeans weren't destroyed by the EDF, they were just overthrown from within. The answer to this question would also answer my next question: How do the Scions discover what the portal is used for?
So will the campaign begin with this decision, will it have begun earlier (with this being the story split), or is this just a question for the community as basically a, "What do you want to see happen?" Sorry, made a mistake here, I haven't completed FE yet and the website I referenced my information from said that the EDF beat them. The story should completely comply with FE. As for the scions discovering the portal and making it work, following the fall of the Cthonians during FE the scions scour the ruins of the Cthonian civilisation to see if they could find any technology that was usable. They find the portal key and the information it contains leads them to the portal. A small fgroup of scientists goes through to investigate, by measuring the background radiation in space they realise that they have gone backwards in time, they go back to report this before returning through in larger numbers. Meanwhile, much debate is occuring among the scion leaders on core about the implications of time travel. When the research party does not return a large military taskforce is sent to investigate. After passing through the portal they quickly find that the scientists are dead and find that whatever happens happened so fast that they could not react and escape, no-one survived. The military force is ambushed by the same enemy and this is the first mission. They struggle to not be overwhelmed and then suddenly the enemy breaks and flees, the scions give pursuit and follow them to the next portal. The enemy had located the key and passed through the portal, it is here that the chase across time and space begins.
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I'd like to see a story that focuses on the Scions for once. Everyone focuses on either an ISDF derivative or faction, and that leaves the Scions out in the cold a lot. I understand that the ISDF is more popular than the Scions (As seen in most MP games), but I find the Scions to be much more interesting. I'd like to see the Scion take on Cthonian technology. It'd be cool.
It sounds like a good idea. Even if this isn't cannibalized for the CP, it would make an excellent mod in its own right. Excellent work. Thanks, its a shame then that I wouldn't have the foggiest idea about how to make it into a mod :P
Quote from: Nielk1 on July 04, 2009, 08:30:29 AM
The Hadeans make portals, so it is not like the portals can belong to another race. BUT they can be based on the technology of that race, and maybe even be directly compatible with the ones that race has sitting around.
Ok then, the Hadeans stole the portal technology from the third faction but couldn't replicate the time travel properties.
I'm thinking about calling the third faction the Gaians.
Quote from: Mr X on July 04, 2009, 06:22:14 PMI think that maybe its best if it doesn't get explained, as they are far beyond the grasp of the existing races of the universe (sorry if this sounds like a cop out :P)
This is very much a cop out. Not sure people would like this...
QuoteIt is true time travel, you enter it and then exit at a completely different point in time and space.
True time travel would mean that you only move in time, your physical position would remain the same.
QuoteThey got wiped out when the Hadeans invaded, they had to make a last stand whilst technicians sealed the gateway and launched the key to the Olympians in a pod travelling just short of the speed of light
You said this in your first post:
QuoteWith their homeworld and its production facilities hidden at the end pf the trail.
Which implies that they're still around. So which is it?
QuoteSorry, made a mistake here, I haven't completed FE yet and the website I referenced my information from said that the EDF beat them. The story should completely comply with FE.
Ok, that's good. As long as you know what you're basing it off of, we can help you with that.
QuoteAs for the scions discovering the portal and making it work, following the fall of the Cthonians during FE the scions scour the ruins of the Cthonian civilisation to see if they could find any technology that was usable. They find the portal key and the information it contains leads them to the portal. A small fgroup of scientists goes through to investigate, by measuring the background radiation in space they realise that they have gone backwards in time, they go back to report this before returning through in larger numbers. Meanwhile, much debate is occuring among the scion leaders on core about the implications of time travel. When the research party does not return a large military taskforce is sent to investigate. After passing through the portal they quickly find that the scientists are dead and find that whatever happens happened so fast that they could not react and escape, no-one survived. The military force is ambushed by the same enemy and this is the first mission. They struggle to not be overwhelmed and then suddenly the enemy breaks and flees, the scions give pursuit and follow them to the next portal. The enemy had located the key and passed through the portal, it is here that the chase across time and space begins.
You still haven't answered my question about the "choice."
Quote from: VSMIT on July 04, 2009, 06:53:46 PM
This is very much a cop out. Not sure people would like this...
Hmm, I think I have it. There is a part of biometal that changes with its position in the four dimensional universe. By using a correct sequence of energy impulses you can change this and in doing so link it to the other point (assuming that the other point is also occupied by biometal) and so when something touches one it leaps to the other. Because of the complicated movement of objects in the universe it is very complex to get correct. It is even harder to link it for two points in time because:
a) It is harder to know where the biometal was/ will be.
and
b) The part of biometal that deals with its point in time is far more complex to alter.
However, once two pieces of biometal are linked there is no known way to disconnect them.
I hope that this covers it.
Quote from: VSMIT on July 04, 2009, 06:53:46 PM
True time travel would mean that you only move in time, your physical position would remain the same.
Ok, so its time
and teleportation, TARDIS style.
Quote from: VSMIT on July 04, 2009, 06:53:46 PM
This is very much a cop out. Not sure people would like this...
True time travel would mean that you only move in time, your physical position would remain the same.
You said this in your first post: Which implies that they're still around. So which is it?
They are dead, they could not stay on their homeworld as they used their technology to move it and they hid it in the cold void of space where there is no sun, so it could not support life. Most had been killed in the war with the Hadeans and the last of them were finished off in the final battle where the first portal in the sequence was sealed.
Quote from: VSMIT on July 04, 2009, 06:53:46 PM
You still haven't answered my question about the "choice."
The first level of the campaign would be the scions being ambushed whilst investigating the disappearance of the scientists.
Quote from: VSMIT on July 04, 2009, 06:53:46 PM
This is very much a cop out. Not sure people would like this...
T'was never explained before, why now? (portals)
Quote from: VSMIT on July 04, 2009, 06:53:46 PM
True time travel would mean that you only move in time, your physical position would remain the same.
Well, first, he says time AND SPACE, so I suspect you could end up anywhere. But consider relativity. All locations only exist relative to something else. Would a portal that only transmits you back in time transmit you based on the portal's location from the point of the big bang? As the universe expands this location could be between galaxies when you emerge. Does it attach to the gravity of the system it is in? Quantum physics suggests that the output location of any such transport would be undetermined and thus in a constant state of flux (if only at the atomic or subatomic level) unless something established it. Since observation establishes existence from a quantum state, and it is theoretically possible to influence what one observes, a mere thought could effect the chosen location, or an artificial observation somehow created by the portal itself. It might also be the portal is limited to transport in its lifetime or even instead to the materials it is made out of, though quantum entanglement would theoretically allow any materials anywhere to be tied to it.
Quote from: VSMIT on July 04, 2009, 06:53:46 PM
You said this in your first post: Which implies that they're still around. So which is it?
With time travel, does it matter?
Quote from: Mr X on July 04, 2009, 06:22:14 PM
They got wiped out when the Hadeans invaded, they had to make a last stand whilst technicians sealed the gateway and launched the key to the Olympians in a pod travelling just short of the speed of light
AHA! Sublight speed! Are you aware that at such speed time passes faster for everything not moving at that speed. By the time it reaches the Olympians, they might be dead! Now, it might only take a generation or 2 to get there, which would allow the correct amount of time for the Hadeans to create portal technology. Though, the question is how do THEY get back faster then the key? Wormholes?
As an interesting side note, if I am thinking correctly, and I got this from somewhere else, if a portal in space (not time) is opened while at sublight speed, it can lead to the current time outside the 'speeding area' or to the time when that instance of sublight speed was first archived. Important to note this could allow the key to get to the Olympians at the same moment the probe carrying it escapes into sublight speed, and as thus it would DEFINITLY reach the Olympians before the Hadeans got back with the technology. It should be noted the full duration of the trip as per the sublights peed time dilation occurs for the key while all outside time is ignored. A reason for this could be a weaker portal that needed to be close to the destination, or simply not wanting the Hadeans to easily portal right back to their home planet. I think the instance of transport while at sublight speed applies to a Rosenberg Bridge.
EDIT:
I like the idea of the portal artificially supplying the observation to establish the output location. As such a BRAIN stored inside the portal could be 'programmed' with a new location. Yes, a BRAIN. That is the best way to establish a quantum existence.
EDIT2:
Interesting note. The probe could arrive at the Hadean world AFTER the EDF have a station there. This could be the start of the story instead. The probe would be empty if you use my weird ass Rosenberg Bridge at sub-light speed bit, thus allowing for a weird time traveling story with a start simultaneously at in the past and present.
EDIT3: I might be perverting the name "Einstein-Rosen Bridge"
Quote from: Nielk1 on July 04, 2009, 07:54:08 PM
AHA! Sublight speed! Are you aware that at such speed time passes faster for everything not moving at that speed. By the time it reaches the Olympians, they might be dead! Now, it might only take a generation or 2 to get there, which would allow the correct amount of time for the Hadeans to create portal technology. Though, the question is how do THEY get back faster then the key? Wormholes?
EDIT2:
Interesting note. The probe could arrive at the Hadean world AFTER the EDF have a station there. This could be the start of the story instead. The probe would be empty if you use my weird ass Rosenberg Bridge at sub-light speed bit, thus allowing for a weird time traveling story with a start simultaneously at in the past and present.
EDIT3: I might be perverting the name "Einstein-Rosen Bridge"
:| That, is very confusing. Maybe I should just amend the story so that the key is sent through a starportal, rather than trying to include a complicated explanation of the laws of physics. :P
Or you could just say it's a property of a strain of biometal this third Cthonian race developed :-D.
I really like this idea so far. Probably my favourite i must say...
Same here, TJ. A lot of thought was put into this one (With a bit of prodding, but gentle prodding, mostly) :lol:.
Gently yes, but I do have a cattle prod just in case.
I love this one. My cokimany physics included.
I like things with physics. Physics and Cerberi :P
Quote from: AHadley on July 05, 2009, 11:26:38 AM
I like things with physics. Physics and Cerberi :P
Might be able to help you there, as time travel allows you to write any of the other races in. ;)
:lol: I was joking about mine, I get the Cerberi. They're in MY storyline, not yours! :P
But then we can't have the possibly uber cool storyline I was thinking up that can work with time travel, in which every race that has appeared so far has a cameo mission. :cry:
Quote from: AHadley on July 06, 2009, 06:27:22 PM
:lol: I was joking about mine, I get the Cerberi. They're in MY storyline, not yours! :P
Nuh uh! They were in aRc since before you even thought about modding!
:'(
In b4 "They were in FE before anything else, so there."
Well, FE invented the Cerberi, didn't it?
For an added plot twist... at some point your small research team flies through one and BOOM you're in the middle of the biometal wars. The crazy things that could come of that.
Quote from: bb1 on July 08, 2009, 04:58:20 PM
For an added plot twist... at some point your small research team flies through one and BOOM you're in the middle of the biometal wars. The crazy things that could come of that.
It would be interesting to go back in time back to an actual FE mission where you can see Joseph Corber (SP?) building a base while you do your own thing :)
That would be interesting. Bear in mind that the guy who played Corbin (Chipotle?) will be very hard to find. Lizard, Slaor and Black Manatee don't know where he is.
I actually was planning on making the storyline visit a battle that would cause conflict within the scions, something along the lines of the bad guys of the story entering a battle of the ISDF wars against the scions which the ISDF should win, but they mess things up so that the scions are winning. This leaves the scions with no choice but to occupy ISDF tanks and fight their own ancestors. I think it would be a very interesting peice of storyline to handle.
I got bored in class yesterday and wrote this. Maybe I should have paid more attention to the teacher, but whatever. :-D
Long ago on ancient Icarus, the two races of the Cthonian people lived in a constant struggle for power. However, there were two underground factions within both races, who wished to put an end to the fighting and work together for the betterment of both sides. These two "splinter" factions eventually met and formed an alliance, working secretly to end the war. This group was composed of scientists, philosophers and warriors, from both sides, all working together. When they realized that nothing they could do would stop the fighting, they decided to leave and create a new society, a hybrid culture of both Olympians and Hadeans, where all were equal, and, best of all, there was no fighting. The Hadean and Olympian scientists put aside their differences and pooled their efforts in understanding biometal, and together developed a new strain. Along with the "blink" property, the ability to travel through time was discovered. Upon attempts to build ships with this new biometal however, they discovered it to be very brittle, and thus, hull integrity suffered greatly. The new strain truly found its place when being used for portals. Because of the strength issues, these portals were not made completely out of this new strain. The portal ring was fabricated from the new strain, but everything was held together with Paternus's "golden" strain.
These portals were controlled by "keys." These keys would activate any portal, and destination coordinates were programmed into individual keys. In this way, any portal could go anywhere, if you had the right key.
When the Hadean Crown discovered this new Cthonian race and the technology they possessed, they decided to attack and take the technology for themselves (How better to defeat the Olympians than in their infancy?). When the new race (Name pending?) discovers this, they decide that they will fight to defend themselves, and create a diversion while they escape into the mists of time.
When they escaped into the first portal, they destroyed every other portal to keep the Hadeans from following them. However, a Hadean squad followed them through. The ______ closed the portal and sent the key with their destination to the Olympians, to keep the Cthonian balance of power in check (Hadeans control portal, Olympians control key). Once they discovered that the Hadeans had followed them through the portal, they began to create more portals. They would open the portal, hide the key, travel through it, then shut the portal. Every time they traveled, the Hadeans would follow them. This continued for years, many portals were created, and many ______ died. Eventually, they stopped. They said enough. They settled on a new planet (The location of which is lost in time), and built factories, documented their history and scientific achievements, and lived peacefully. Until the Hadeans found them. Once this happened, they realized that they could not continue running. In order to protect their technology, they waited until the Hadeans landed on the planet, and released an airborne toxin, lethal to animal-based life. Plants were not affected by this, so the planet retained an atmosphere, keeping the planet "alive" for when it would be discovered. If a person traveled through the portals and found all of the keys, they would arrive at the ______ planet and gain the technology of time. Their only hope was that the group that discovered the technology would use it for good, and not evil...
i like VSMIT's backstory.
actually... i quite like this storyline altogether... my fave for the CP so far.
I like it too.
I think the third Cthonian faction should be called the Gaians, Gaia was the Greek Goddess of the Earth and Earth is in the middle of heaven and hell. Just as the Gaians were caught in the middle of two opposite factions.
But what did you think of my backstory? Since it's your main story, after all.
Sorry, I was about to comment but then the microwave went *ding* and I went to get my dinner and just clicked post. :P
Its very good, I certainly liked it anyway, and your explanation of time travel has gotten me out of a very tough spot.
Also, I've posted an idea in BBB's thread about how our two stories could be linked, what does everyone else think?
I think stories should stay separate for now, at least until they get finalized. Then once decisions start to get made, we can combine parts of stories.
Oh, and no problem about the tough spot.
Quote from: Mr X on July 08, 2009, 06:38:30 PM
I think the third Cthonian faction should be called the Gaians, Gaia was the Greek Goddess of the Earth and Earth is in the middle of heaven and hell. Just as the Gaians were caught in the middle of two opposite factions.
Very clever.
I like this story (the backstory makes it even better), but I think it would get just a little repetitive: Follow, build, destroy, continue. Follow, build, destroy, continue.
Nice work.
Part of the gameplay would be fixing history discrepencies created by the mod's main enemy. Think about it this way: Imagine that the Big Bad had killed Cooke just before his mission to destroy the Scion main computer. Playing as a Scion pilot, imagine the emotion going through your character as he receives the order to correct history by destroying the computer. That would break most people.
Alright, so who here can sound anything like Collins?
-Keeping in mind Collins was heavily edited by voice modulation software. Be cool to open a mission with him giving orders for a BZ1 mission- but then notices a disturbance forming. He sends the grizzleys at you but you can not interact with them in any way or else time is screwed. Things could get really interesting really fast, this CP sounds as if it could go past 20 levels of considerable length.
Chthonians are the Greek gods and goddesses of Earth and the Underworld. Battlezone uses this word to describe the 'gods' as a whole. Inventing the term Hadeans for use for those from Hadese. This still leaves the Earth, and Heaven.
Olympians introduces the Greek pantheon and features the Olympian gods and goddesses. In Battlezone this is more the Mt. Olympus group.
Titans are the beings who ruled before the coming of the Olympians.
Now, using this information, what would the name of the middle ground be?
Technically they are Cthonians by the definition. Battlezone invents the term Hadeans so maybe we need to invent our own? Gaia is a Titan, or rather the mother of the Titans, so this name is not fitting.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Greek_words_with_English_derivatives
Ge = Earth
theos = a god
kruptos = hidden
kratos = power, rule
lāos = people
philia/philos = friendship/friend
Gailos?
I got nothin'
Well, they were a secret faction.
Kruptophilia :-D? kinda sounds like a disease
Or maybe Kruptophilos/Kruphilos?
Philia is also a suffix meaning 'fetish for'
Hmmmm, I don't think this is gonna work out so well with that :-(. What would the Kruptophili- I mean Kruptophilos do :lol:? They wouldn't want to be known as a type of fetish. They wouldn't want to be mistaken as a fetish. Gaians sounds like a good ol' down-to-earth name to me. It would be a good code-name for a secret faction trying to establish common ground.
I truly like the story. Going from one time to the next, fixing things, hiding from Hadean patrols, hiding keys. Sounds like good ways to go from one mission to the next, with a battle on a different planet here and there in time.
What to name them though. "scientists, philosophers and warriors" hmmmm.
A question, this seems to only introduce one new Cthonian faction as a new race for our CP. If there is room for two then definately let us meet the mongrels from General Hoohah's storyline.
Oh yes. Hzarzk... :D
That could even be the cause of the damage in time, so it could be the Hzarzk that you are fighting through most missions... hmm...
I was thinking of a race that used extremely robust units - but relatively few of them. Say, perhaps tanks that are at least five times tougher than an ISDF Sabre and are the same size, but are quite expensive to build. These units would be made of quite dense biometal.
QuoteSay, perhaps tanks that are at least five times tougher than an ISDF Sabre and are the same size
Nah... they would have to be bigger.
If people aren't happy with Gaians, wikipedia knows all!
"Metis (Μέτις) Goddess of wisdom and thought"
Metians, anyone?
That does make more sense than Gaians, anyway.
According to the Greeks Athena is the goddess of wisdom...
I think it's safe to say that the Cthonians aren't exactly the basis for JUST Greek Culture.
The (unofficial) Uler broke that by being Cthonians who inspired the Egyptians.
Quote from: Warfreak on July 10, 2009, 06:33:41 PM
I think it's safe to say that the Cthonians aren't exactly the basis for JUST Greek Culture.
The (unofficial) Uler broke that by being Cthonians who inspired the Egyptians.
Maybe, but I'm trying to be consistent with the other Cthonian factions. Not to mention that Cthonian itself came from greek:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chthonic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chthonic)
Oh, and it turns out that Metis was the mother of Athena and they were both Goddesses of wisdom. I prefer Metis to Athena because Athena was an Olympian diety, so Metis fits better with the neutrality.
Quote from: Warfreak on July 10, 2009, 06:33:41 PM
I think it's safe to say that the Cthonians aren't exactly the basis for JUST Greek Culture.
The (unofficial) Uler broke that by being Cthonians who inspired the Egyptians.
The Uler were not Cthonians were they?
According to the mod, they were some form of Lizard creatures.
I've had a thought, what if the bad guys of the story were not alien but in fact a part of Braddock's project pedigree that got out of hand. Realising he'd created beings capable only of destruction he imprisoned them beneath the surface of the dark planet before carrying on to create the scions. The "mining operations" noted on the dark planet in BZ2 were in fact Braddock's personal brigade burying them in their cells. The real reason for Braddock's posthumous missile strike was to finally rid the universe of them but he underestimated their ability to survive radiation. Instead they were freed from their prison and discovered various peices of tech that their creator had also been trying to hide, ready for when he would rule Earth. The most notable of which was a spacecraft capable of holding a large taskforce and several recyclers, it was empty but functional, but worst of all it had a device for replicating alien machinery. The "dark scions" (as they will be referred to until I have a better name) used this to leave the planet and they avoided detection whilst they built up a mesh of ISDF, Scion and Cthonian technology. They then learn of the world of the Metians, and set out to add this technology to their arsenal so that they could begin their war of conquest.
Just an idea. Anyone like it?
Sound like what i tried to do combining the scion rebels and the hadeans.
Quote from: Clavin12 on July 15, 2009, 08:51:41 PM
Sound like what i tried to do combining the scion rebels and the hadeans.
How so? I don't see it myself.
You called back a faction of scions and combined scion and cthonian.
They aren't a faction of the scions, they are a genetic experiment gone wrong that came before them, before Braddock had the idea of using biometal in his experiments (sorry, I forgot to mention this bit). And the only thing Cthonian about them is that they've taken some Cthonian technology, and lets face it, what sentient race in the BZ storyline hasn't done that to some degree?
I think the Scion idea could be expanded to a whole new storyline.
Yeah.
Whatever we do with this mod, we must make sure that the Scions are a VERY big part of it.
I could easily create new awesome Scion units.
Quote from: bigbadbogie on July 16, 2009, 12:08:52 PM
Yeah.
Whatever we do with this mod, we must make sure that the Scions are a VERY big part of it.
Agreed, ISDF are overdone compared to the scions.
Quote from: Mr X on July 16, 2009, 04:12:12 PM
Agreed, ISDF are overdone compared to the scions.
That is because Scions are a b*tch to model.
Quote from: Nielk1 on July 16, 2009, 06:17:26 PM
That is because Scions are a b*tch to model.
Maybe, but surely you have less restrictions on what you can do?
Quote from: Nielk1 on July 16, 2009, 06:17:26 PM
That is because Scions are a b*tch to model.
Not for me they aren't.
Soo...back on topic, what does everyone think of my idea for the bad guys?
I like it. It would fit in its own storyline.
The stiletto is pretty, but it's a little boring (no offence). The weapon more than makes up for it. Needs renaming though.
Thread split to keep this one on topic.
Don't get distracted, we've got a deadline coming up.
Quote from: AHadley on July 17, 2009, 08:41:05 PM
I like it. It would fit in its own storyline.
The stiletto is pretty, but it's a little boring (no offence). The weapon more than makes up for it. Needs renaming though.
I'm sorry, but what do you mean by stiletto?
It was part of the thread that I split off, bigbadbogie made a scion ship and called it the Stiletto.
Thats a relief,
for a moment there I thought he'd randomly started talking about womens shoes :P.
Still haven't had many criticisms about my bad guys...
They are bad guys only because they're against the players faction. I would make them more evil or give your side a good selfless reason to be against them.
The point of the original BZ2 story was that we fought the Scions simply because they were against the player's faction. If you make an enemy evil just for the sake of being evil, you can also block out some of the potential players.
I reckon that the best enemies in games are ones who are confused. They think that the player's faction have come only with the intention to destroy them... so they attack them thinking that they are defending themselves.
Yes, I agree. That makes it interesting.
And also highly cliche'.
Well so is time travel but he's using that too.
Quote from: Clavin12 on July 23, 2009, 12:18:43 AM
Well so is time travel but he's using that too.
Not if you explain it and put in good technical limitations.
Quote from: bb1 on July 23, 2009, 12:14:18 AM
And also highly cliche'.
Name one thing that isn't these days.
Armadillo's cascading from waterfalls in the Sahara desert. lol. jk. I know what you mean.
I think time travel explanations would be somewhat more believable as long as travel to the future is not possible. The whole "things that haven't happened yet" scenario would make future travel impossible. There would also have to be a recording somewhere in the universe of all that's transpired since the beginning of time, maybe a race could find a backdoor to this information, angering (the Gods, or a race that defends this backdoor) someone.
I'm at work so that's all I have for right now, but I do want to get with Mr. X and see if we can make some bulletin points for a final draft.
By traveling to the future you would lock it into existence early. Possibly decide what it contains.
I know how we can make the bad guys confused! They are an alien race that found traces of Braddock's propaganda saying that the scions and the AAN are bad, and think that the scions want the Metian tech to use to become the dominant race in the galaxy, and because of the seemingly unexplained attacks on unarmed scientists both sides think that the other is irrationally violent and both set out to stop each other getting the tech.
I'm going on holiday on saturday so I'll be away for two weeks (How long will the voting last, am i going to miss it?)
So, basically this is my last chance to get everything sorted before the storyline is finalised.
I'll bullet point now everything thats important, if I've missed anything please tell me and, I cannot stress this enough :P, now.
(No name yet)
-Third, neutral, Cthonian faction called the Metians creates incredible technology. Including Time-Space portals. Hadeans find out about this technology and want it. The Metians are wiped out but warp their homeworld to a hidden location that can only be accessed by finding keys and using portals in a certain sequence giving the key to the Olympians so that neither of the two factions can access the tech.
-To destroy the Hadean armada that followed them the Metians ignite their world's atmosphere (they were peaceful and so didn't have gun emplacements etc.), killing everyone on both sides, automated machines then release plants that can survive the apocalyptic conditions to make the atmosphere breathable again for when it is found. Not all of the Hadeans were destroyed, some had not entered the atmosphere, but the radiation pulse disabled their ships and so without life support they perished anyway.
-Scions, much much later, discover the first key and portal and send a research team through, they lose contact and investigate, they were killed by an alien force(no name or backstory for these guys as yet, I can write this later) who discovered Braddock's propaganda and think that Scions and Humanity need to be purged from the universe. The aliens find the keys and portal and move ahead, from here on they are constantly in the lead as the scions sometimes have to fix causality(the aliens dont know that it is time travel and so just think they are killing a threat to the peace of the universe).
-The two factions finally resolve the confusion during an incident on the Metian homeworld. They make peace only to be confronted by an AI army, this is a surprise to them as the Metians had not been warlike, but the builder units that had been creating them for centuries had in fact originated from the attacking Hadean ships. The units had spent all this time searching for survivors as per their orders.
-The AI forces are too strong so the combined force of scions and aliens use the device for atmospheric igniting to defeat them, but there is no time to retreive tech before they have to escape, however, they do find a sizeable stash of time portal keys, including the master key for finding any portal.
I'm afraid thats all I really have time for...If I've missed anything can someone else just add it? The details of where they time travel to haven't been decided yet, this is just the basics.
This is good. Destroying all life on a planet makes it good to reuse as a battlezone.
Quote from: VSMIT on July 23, 2009, 12:29:41 AM
Then do better.
Whatever happened to Avatar's giant floating-through-space biometal planetoid? That had plenty of implications, imagine that thing showing up on Earth's doorstep...
Quote from: bb1 on July 24, 2009, 05:50:37 AM
Whatever happened to Avatar's giant floating-through-space biometal planetoid? That had plenty of implications, imagine that thing showing up on Earth's doorstep...
Think the Dark Planet. Or Core.
I don't think the dark planet would work, as I seem to remember it being said that it pre-dated the Cthonians.
Yes, but where did it say that Cthonians created biometal?
The Promethians created biometal - billions of years ago.
Quote from: bigbadbogie on July 24, 2009, 07:52:35 AM
The Promethians created biometal - billions of years ago.
Or the Great Ones.
Or another race.
Or both.
Remember, white Japan was heavily isolated from the rest of the world, they still made many of the same breakthroughs, all be it at a sum total slower speed because of sheer size limits vs THE REST OF THE WORLD. Doing this with civilizations that never meet each other can allow for them to create their own form of biometal. Somehow the Cthonians learned how (that volcano factory thing) after studying the Titan remains.
Quote from: Clavin12 on July 23, 2009, 12:18:43 AM
Well so is time travel but he's using that too.
So is space travel.
It's less cliche than time travel because its actually been acheived
Quote from: Clavin12 on July 24, 2009, 11:03:10 PM
It's less cliche than time travel because its actually been acheived
We travel though time every day.
I think you know very well what we mean.
Quote from: Nielk1 on July 25, 2009, 02:19:50 AM
We travel though time every day.
I never thought of it like that....
Nice story :-) sounds good, I really like the time travel bit.
Quote from: VSMIT on July 24, 2009, 06:00:07 AM
Think the Dark Planet. Or Core.
Nahh... I meant more of something that whenever you shot at it it would absorb the biometal in the weapons... Wasn't the big scrap orb evil in Avatar's rendition?
Yes, but the Dark Planet is a dormant version, and Core is "domesticated."
Quote from: bigbadbogie on July 22, 2009, 11:32:20 PM
I reckon that the best enemies in games are ones who are confused. They think that the player's faction have come only with the intention to destroy them... so they attack them thinking that they are defending themselves.
Cerberi.
One flaw in the time-travel storyline... time travel in this sense will never be possible, as if it was somebody would surely have come back and told us about it?
Quote from: AHadley on July 26, 2009, 11:30:56 AM
One flaw in the time-travel storyline... time travel in this sense will never be possible, as if it was somebody would surely have come back and told us about it?
John Teettor. (I can't spell it.)
Quote from: AHadley on July 26, 2009, 11:30:56 AM
Cerberi.
One flaw in the time-travel storyline... time travel in this sense will never be possible, as if it was somebody would surely have come back and told us about it?
Not if their enemies always stopped them before they could tell.... or maybe they just forgot.. :lol:
But isn't the time aspect what's good about this storyline?
What's going on right now that is so interesting a time traveller would come to see it..
A time traveller couldn't tell us because it could cause a paradox.
A time traveler might just travel to a parallel universe, so that a paradox would not be possible - as the future would not have happened yet in said parallel universe.
I find it highly unlikely that there will be exactly the same thing happening in another univere. The parallel universe theorem is highly unlikely. Much more likely is that each universes are simply collections of galexies, the same way galexies are collections of stars, nebulae, planets, asteroids and other space debris, with paths between them.
A universe is all-encompassing and everything, and therefore if you had more than one they wouldn't be universes.
Quote from: Clavin12 on August 01, 2009, 02:57:27 PM
A universe is all-encompassing and everything, and therefore if you had more than one they wouldn't be universes.
Well that kind of unnecessarily twists the definition...
Multiverse (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiverse)
Just sayin.
Quote from: AHadley on August 01, 2009, 02:56:10 PM
I find it highly unlikely that there will be exactly the same thing happening in another univere. The parallel universe theorem is highly unlikely. Much more likely is that each universes are simply collections of galexies, the same way galexies are collections of stars, nebulae, planets, asteroids and other space debris, with paths between them.
Indeed. Yet in fact, because there are SO many stars in our universe and SO many galaxies, it is statistically likely that if one traveled far enough, one would find a solar system nearly exactly like ours. Perhaps even with humans etc. (Don't look at me, I didn't do the math.)
Quote from: Mr X on August 01, 2009, 12:34:11 PM
A time traveller couldn't tell us because it could cause a paradox.
Now here is my only quibble with this story. (as you may or may not be able to tell, Mr X's shares a LOT with mine haha) If time travel like this were possible and it were possible to cause a universe destroying paradox by using it, the math says that there are so many Type I & II civilizations (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_I_Civilization#Energy_use)
in our galaxy alone (by the best, most accepted estimates of the Drake equation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_equation), up to 10,000 civilizations more advanced than our own), that some entity with less than good intentions would have already used said time travel to destroy everything, and we wouldn't be here.
SO, id like to think that
A: by some freaky weird "Law of Causality" (to physicists, the Novikov self-consistency principle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novikov_self-consistency_principle)), paradoxes cannot occur. AKA: Terminator time travel solution. This theory isn't really accepted by popular American culture because
1) you have to think about it a little bit for it to make sense and 2) Americans like to think that we can determine our own destiny. This is more an illusion than anything, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Determinism) unless you DON'T subscribe to Quantum Decoherence. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_decoherence) Anyways...
or
B: that time travel like this is not possible.
(C: both)
Then again I never have been very good at suspension of disbelief. :|
For anybody who is unfamiliar with terminator (specifically the recent ones) or you want me to explain the Terminator time travel solution i could...
Jeez im a dork...
I think that because time travel is so complicated and almost certainly impossible (except for the normal time travel from second to second) we should just leave it out of the story. It would be much easier to use teleporters because they've already been conceived in real life, and used in the game. Using time travel would take alot of talking, and reading in the game to explain it, and thus would inhibit your ability to get into the story.
Quote from: Clavin12 on August 01, 2009, 06:00:06 PM
I think that because time travel is so complicated and almost certainly impossible (except for the normal time travel from second to second) we should just leave it out of the story. It would be much easier to use teleporters because they've already been conceived in real life, and used in the game. Using time travel would take alot of talking, and reading in the game to explain it, and thus would inhibit your ability to get into the story.
You know I really hate to be a know-it-all pain in the, uh, bum...
But time travel (at least into the far future) is very real, and we see the solutions to problems caused by time travel day to day actually.
In addition if it were possible to travel faster than light- the most likely solution IMO (featured in "Full Circle") is an Alcubierre Drive (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcubierre_drive)- one could travel back in time, but they would have to travel the distance light travels in the desired time away from their current space. <- It makes sense eventually. trust me. (ie: you couldn't travel back in time at one location unless you had a means to get "back" to that location via some kind of instant teleportation, ergo: wormhole.)
In a more down to earth way, when they were building GPS systems, satellites originally didn't work and couldn't sync properly. This is because time runs more slowly for the satellites. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_dilation) This effect occurs because of general relativity. The fact is: when you are closer to a gravitational well, things happen faster. Therefore, if you spent a long time in deep space (not near gravity wells) and came back to Earth, many more years would have passed for earth than would have passed for you. What was four years for you may have been 50 for those on earth. (The beginning of
Aliens anyone?) AND SO, they now build clocks which run "faster" on GPS and other satellites so that they can produce an accurate approximation of your location, they account for general relativity. In a very real way, satellites are staying a little bit in the past compared to us...
Now that im done being a pain in the er, bum...
YES time travel is very complicated!
But in my opinion, it is very entertaining and a lot of fun to think about its possibility and epic stories which cross the boundaries of worn out Terran linear time.
If you want to just relax and watch some explosions, play IA or MP.
I should hope that we could make good use of the "full brief" function of BZ SP to explain these time travel shenanigans. That's what its for. And its not like we cant have good explanations drawn out in normal briefings or in game by voice actors. If I'm playing a campaign, I want it to be interesting and make me think, because that moment when I go: "OH MY GOD THAT MAKES SENSE AND IT IS SO COOL!" is really fun for me.
But that's me.
Thanks ScrapPool,
One more thing:
If you have complicated explanations as part of the breifing, I'm sure the people who dont care could just skip reading that bit, I'm sure you wouldn't need to know it to get the plot. It doesn't seem difficult does it?
But on the other hand:
Quote from: Clavin12 on August 01, 2009, 06:00:06 PM
I think that because time travel is so complicated and almost certainly impossible (except for the normal time travel from second to second) we should just leave it out of the story. It would be much easier to use teleporters because they've already been conceived in real life, and used in the game. Using time travel would take alot of talking, and reading in the game to explain it, and thus would inhibit your ability to get into the story.
Clavin, you are now entering Sci-fi, kindly leave simplicity at the door. :P One of the things that I like about Sci-fi is that it can make you think about real scientific principles and the cool things that they could enable you to do.
I'd rather go for an excellent story than cool physics and gadgets.
And I'd rather have both, and this we can do. :-D
I'm afraid I skipped those last posts, but I can't think too much right now.
I must argue, SP, that you're fast becoming one of the masters of the storylines. So far the only ones I can think of off the top of my head are NK1 and Avatar, but there are surely more out there. It's nice to have guys like you around, especially when we can all bounce theories off each other and exchange advanced physics :lol:
I think that time travel may be possible in the future, but whether it will be or not makes little difference. Paradox is a problem, yes, but not as serious as everybody makes out because either multiverse will come into effect, the change will happen as it would anyway, or it will not.
Sorry to break it down there.
And I said I wasn't in the mood for much thinking.
Depends on the theory. In quantum mechanics, I believe, at any one time there are an incalculable number of possibilities happening at once. Being an observer, we only get to see one outcome while all the other outcomes "stem off" into alternate universes.
With time travel, you'd go back in time and create a essentially create a new universe exactly like the one you intended to travel back to, because due to quantum mechanics a different event would result in a different universe by the perception of the observer. There would be no paradox because no matter what you do, you' never affect your own past. Just don't try and kill your own grandfather - that's despicable :evil:.
Quote from: Angstromicus on August 01, 2009, 09:10:32 PM
Depends on the theory. In quantum mechanics, I believe, at any one time there are an incalculable number of possibilities happening at once. Being an observer, we only get to see one outcome while all the other outcomes "stem off" into alternate universes.
With time travel, you'd go back in time and create a essentially create a new universe exactly like the one you intended to travel back to, because due to quantum mechanics a different event would result in a different universe by the perception of the observer. There would be no paradox because no matter what you do, you' never affect your own past. Just don't try and kill your own grandfather - that's despicable :evil:.
HECK YES! this is a popular theory. it has sparked the infinite universes theory, which postulates that becuase there are such a great number of wave-function collapses on the quantum level as certain things are observed, there must be an infinite number of universes.
An example of this is that you can demonstrate in your home (http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=a-do-it-yourself-quantum-eraser) that when a photon passes around a peice of wire, it passes on
both sides of it at the same time (:?) creating an interference pattern with itself on the other side.
I prefer to subsribe to a less mind-hurting theory, Quantum Decoherence (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_decoherence) which says that wave function collapse is just a symptom of a lower level quantum interaction.
I would never argue with scrap pool... he's done his homework. You may contribute on what he says though ;)
I prefer the complicated, more options. I surmised in an earlier posts the time portals would require an artificial quantum observance to establish their target. A literal brain inside the black box of the portal. What if that brain dies? Do we need to throw Simmons' brain in there? Will it then lead where we want or instead to a universe of his own making? Seeing as he was a living observer at one time would it go to any point he himself saw and thus established?
I like my explanations. :-P
Like my questions more. :evil:
I've never been one for "Just because that's how it is" either. I want to know why my portals teleport me, why my tank floats and why my dropship puts me 3000 meters away from base site :x
Losing focus... anything that should happen, it would be advisable to give somewhat a description why or else player may feel they are playing a rails shooter.
The way I see it, f something is central to the plotline you owe it to the players to explain it.
Quote from: Mr X on July 04, 2009, 07:48:52 PM
Hmm, I think I have it. There is a part of biometal that changes with its position in the four dimensional universe. By using a correct sequence of energy impulses you can change this and in doing so link it to the other point (assuming that the other point is also occupied by biometal) and so when something touches one it leaps to the other. Because of the complicated movement of objects in the universe it is very complex to get correct. It is even harder to link it for two points in time because:
a) It is harder to know where the biometal was/ will be.
and
b) The part of biometal that deals with its point in time is far more complex to alter.
However, once two pieces of biometal are linked there is no known way to disconnect them.
I hope that this covers it.
Maybe one of the reasons the race was so small is that every time they created a time portal, they had to make it out of one of their own: a Aztec-style sacrifice to craft the portal and bind the bio-metal to a certain instance in time, the being's death. This would explain why there is a set number of portals, and why each portal only takes you to one point in spacetime, and why they were so keen on keeping the portals out of the hands of other races: not only are the portals dangerous, but they are religiously personal.
This also flows nicely with Nielk1's idea of a brain inside the portal.
Guess which brain.
"Maybe one of the reasons the race was so small is that every time they created a time portal, they had to make it out of one of their own: a Aztec-style sacrifice to craft the portal and bind the bio-metal to a certain instance in time, the being's death. This would explain why there is a set number of portals, and why each portal only takes you to one point in spacetime, and why they were so keen on keeping the portals out of the hands of other races: not only are the portals dangerous, but they are religiously personal1.
This also flows nicely with Nielk1's idea of a brain2 inside the portal.
Guess which brain."
1- Halo
2- Gravemind
Wa wa wawaawawawaaaa
Not a halo player :(
Nor am I.
The bit about a brain was a possible plot element I put out there because of the nature of resolving quantum states.
Besides, the "That's Halo" argument is more retarded than the "Simpsons did it" one... I HOPE you see what I'm alluding too.
Its unfortunate, but you can't make any jokes any more that haven't been done in the simpsons, they've done them all it seems...
Anyway, it looks like time portals are being scrapped in favour of a faster than light drive that makes you move backwards in time.
Quote from: Mr X on August 22, 2009, 05:15:06 PM
Its unfortunate, but you can't make any jokes any more that haven't been done in the simpsons, they've done them all it seems...
Anyway, it looks like time portals are being scrapped in favour of a faster than light drive that makes you move backwards in time.
How do they get back to their own time?
Also, that version of FTL dilates space and not space-time, so I don't see how it could time travel actually.
Well, there've been complaints about my time travel not having logic behind it.
Quotethat version of FTL dilates space and not space-time, so I don't see how it could time travel actually.
FTL???
space and time are one and the same.
watch an Einstein documentary :wink:
Quote from: Mr X on August 22, 2009, 09:12:12 PM
Well, there've been complaints about my time travel not having logic behind it.
I thought I gave quite a good description of the logic, should I do so again?
Quote from: Rocket on August 22, 2009, 09:59:07 PM
FTL???
space and time are one and the same.
watch an Einstein documentary :wink:
Well, then the front of the Acclubiere Drive bubble would have time move faster and the back have it move slower. Thus an object going into the bubble, if it possible, would take the same ammount of time as if it was to fly by it if going head on. Interesting situation.
The idea is they don't get back to their own time ;) It ends it without room for a sequel, which is just fine by me. A nice closed story forcing the 1.3pb21 or so team to think up their own cp :mrgreen:
I really like the idea of a mysterious time traveling Cthonian offshoot.
Quote from: Nielk1 on August 22, 2009, 11:56:35 PM
I thought I gave quite a good description of the logic, should I do so again?
Yes actually, if you don't mind. ;)
It'd probably be more likely to be read in the other thread though, I think that the guys who are against it just haven't read all of the posts in this topic.
Chasing bad guys through time portals is actually an awesome idea, even if it doesn't entirely make scientific sense. It would be pretty cool if throughout the campaign the player got to fight through various locations from the Battlezone universe's history as well as physical location (since the proposed time portals are linked to biometal, it is entirely likely that they would be located in biometal "hotspots" that would also be major areas of conflict). If the whole campaign would be based around following the "bad guys" back and forth through time trying to stop them from altering history, Timesplitters 2-style, it could lead to some very interesting situations. For example, in one mission the player would have to stop an attempt by the "bad guys" to kidnap Braddock during the Biometal wars to prevent him from creating the scions (starring all the accompanying technology, such as encountering and even driving BZ1 ships), and then in the next mission the player would have to botch a peace negotiation between the Hadeans and Olympians (again, arranged by the "bad guys") that would have resulted in lasting peace between the two factions and thus prevented the rise of humanity(again, including "ancient" technology). The player could also participate "directly" in some important parts of the campaigns (both stock and FE), such as for example *being* the "scion rebels" in scion mission 4 of the stock campaign, because the "bad guys" had somehow sabotaged the Alchemator and time would be needed to fix it.
From a development point of view, the disconnected style style of the campaign (one overarching idea, but the individual "segments" between portals could be far removed from each other in objectives and setting) would allow individual modders' ideas to integrate better into the whole of the project, allowing for more completely original content. Voice actor troubles could be alleviated by imposing a "radio silence" on the player for reasons of disrupting the timeline if they communicated outside of their task force.
Call of Duty 2-esque campaign switching was interesting. Would be harder to apply in this sense, but could work for your "parts" idea.
Or -- if we did to a Timesplitters 2-style story (great game btw, high five), we could set it up this way: I don't particularly remember offhand all of the plot twists in bz1 AND bz2, but we could have a hand in shaping why things played out the way they did.
Nice idea gegc! :-)
hmm, but of course the good guys have to kill the bad guys some time... what happens then?
Plot twists in bz1? Arkin's betrayal, creation of furies, golems, the entire moon landing, and that's pretty much it on the NSDF side... CCA is a little more cloudy, but I do know the last mission when no reinforcements come or the furies become evil in the last level that plot twists. I just had one flash by my memory but I'm sure SSuser could tell you this.
Oh yah, BIGGEST plot twist was on the Mars mission when you discover Cthonians, that shifts the entire focus. That may be more of a device than a twist though.