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Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
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F-K says your story would be understood by someone who reads at the 7th-grade level in the US school system (12-13 years old, generally). |
Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
"F-K says your story would be understood by someone who reads at the 7th-grade level in the US school system (12-13 years old, generally)."
Oh come on, be honest. 25 and up. No joke. I am being serious. Most Americans can not read at a level beyond the 7th grade. I write reports and such nearly every day. They are all at the 12h grade level and most of our engineers ask for a "simplified" report. So your work is right on target. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif Very well written and I love reading it. Feel free to delete this post when needed. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif [ August 14, 2002, 03:03: Message edited by: CNCRaymond ] |
Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
I have just taken time out to read the whole story again... Sachmo, it is excellent, very creatively written and with just a hint of 'David Weber' I feel in your writing style.. If he can do it, why dont you?
The other thing I realise is that I HATE the words 'TO BE CONTINUED' grumble, moan, whine, whinge, belch, grumble |
Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
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As far as the similarities with Weber, don't they say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif Quote:
a. I commit myself to continuing the story b. So people know that it isn't over I would be very interested to see another POV on the subject, though. Thanks! |
Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
Ok Sachmo. The Last twenty or so Posts in a row to this thread have NOT been actual story Posts. Every time I see this thread back near the top of the forum I get excited thinking there is a new chapter.
Get back to writing. Don't make us get out the whips. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif Geoschmo |
Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
[/quote]I sorry you feel that way. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif May I ask why that bothers you? The reason that I put "to be continued" is so that:
a. I commit myself to continuing the story b. So people know that it isn't over I would be very interested to see another POV on the subject, though. Thanks![/QB][/quote] Sachmo, you are getting too cerebral. The reason I hate the words "TO BE CONTINUED" is the same reason I hate these words when they appear, for example, at the end of a 2 part TV episode.. you are just getting into things, chewing your fingernails, hiding behind the sofa etc cos you know the hero is about to be pounced on by a horrible alien monster (or whatever) and then DUM DUM DUUUUUUMMMMMM.. TO BE CONTINUED pops up on the screen Nothing cunning I am afraid, I just dont like things to end (except exams, torture, Sacha Distel records, dodgy relationships, illnesses, skimoy clothes on fat birds, flatulence, that toss Manofwar comes up with, Dogscoff and Geo's sense of humour..) |
Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
Gotcha, Tigga. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif
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Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
Please note that I deliberately did not add my opinion of the accuracy of such scales, or the common recommendation that authors aim for sixth grade or lower.
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Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
The Zekrat Campaign Begins
When a ship exited a wormhole and dropped from hyperspace to normal, there was a distinct effect on the human body. The effect wasn’t very easy to describe; sailors claimed that it felt as if your entire body would collapse in on itself, only to just as quickly expand again. The sensation was not unlike what an aluminum can might feel when crushed by a hand, and then instantly expanded into its original form again. Fortunately for the human space travelers, the physical effects were much less dramatic than those on the poor can. In fact, no one had been able to classify any actual physical effects at all. All that the sailor knew was that it hurt, and it was unpleasant. Rear Admiral Shiro Sakazawa tried to prepare himself for the drop from hyperspace. He glanced at the readout on his display; they were fifteen seconds from transition. His mind screamed a warning, but the admiral was used to this, and so commanded all of the parts of his body that would listen to ignore the warning. Many of his body parts listened, but others did not. His brain would allow his body to experience the sensation. He sweat glands started working to cool his body down. His pulse increased, and his mouth dried out. Before he could glance at the display again, the fleet dropped from hyperspace. Shiro felt his entire mass pressing inward all at once, causing enormous pressure to spread over his entire body. Before his brain could react to these forces, he felt the world expand. While his brain tried to catch up with this stimulus, it was over. His brain was still a few microseconds behind, trying to tell him that he was about to explode. Suddenly, it realized that these strange sensations were over, and started to quiet down. His pulse slowed, his saliva glands began working again. Everything was all right physically. Not so for the strategic health of the fleet. The long-range scanners of the fleet began working even as the ships dropped into normal space. They had already painted a preliminary picture of this system before the Rear Admiral’s brain had caught up with itself. This was definitely a Rage system, and seemed to in fact be the Rage home system. This system was identified as Zekrat. The system was lit by a large red star, and held nine planets of various size and composition. The system had a small asteroid field, a medium ion storm, and three wormholes. The east wormhole was the one they had come thru and led to the Fezzran system. The north wormhole led to the Lundra system, and the west wormhole led to destinations unknown. Three of the nine planets were inhabited by the Rage. One, Zekrat VII, lay only two parsecs from the fleet. Five parsecs from Zekrat VII lay Zekrat IX. Orbiting this planet was a Rage Gorgon II light cruiser and a space station. Far on the other side of the system was Zekrat VIII, the Rage homeworld. Since the fleet would need a forward base of operations, Shiro decided that Zekrat VII would have to be taken before anything else. He started planning the attack as the fleet moved toward its target at full speed. The plan was simple, but so far for the Xillantha Fleet, simple had worked best. There were no Rage ships spotted in orbit around Zekrat VII, and no defenses observed either. The fleet would move into position and destroy any weapons encountered. Once neutralized, the Space Marines would drop and capture this planet. Once the Sequencer on this world was destroyed, someone would take on the persona of a Sequencer and have the population construct a supply base for the fleet. From there, they would either attack Zekrat IX and neutralize that planet’s threat to Fezzran, or move on to the Rage homeworld. First, Zekrat VII had to fall. The fleet entered the vicinity of Zekrat VII in a wall formation, with RSS Tarus in the lead position. Sensors showed that the planet possessed on small, very outdated weapons platform armed with first generation capital ship missiles. Not much of a threat to the Remorhaz fleet, but they could still kill a ship if not careful. Sakazawa was a careful man by nature. He opened the com link to all of the ship captains. “As you can see, the planet does have some defenses. Let’s stay sharp, everyone. If they fire on you, don’t rely on the point defense cannons to protect you; try and open the range. Use your head, and don’t take chances. Ok, let’s take it to them.” He kept the link passive, so that if any of his captains needed to talk to him they had instant access, but he wouldn’t be constantly watching their every move. He knew from experience that people tended to get nervous when performing in front of their superiors, and if they were nervous they might make a mistake. Shiro hit a button that opened his link with his staff communications officer, Lieutenant Marc Yemblay. “Yemblay, I want you to broadcast a message to that planet of our intentions to capture Zekrat VII in the name of the Remorhaz Society. Let’s give them a chance to surrender peacefully.” Lieutenant Yemblay gave him a quick glance, and then straightened. “Aye, aye, Admiral. Broadcasting on all frequencies.” Shiro did not expect the Rage to surrender. He wasn’t even sure if they could while the Sequencer was active, but the act made him feel a little better. Today, some of the Rage people would die. It was inevitable, but it would happen. If he gave them a chance to surrender, possibly it would soften the blow a bit. They did not surrender. There was no answer to his message, except when they moved to within missile range of the surface weapons platforms. At that point, the Rage fired a salvo of capital ship missiles at RSS Tarus. Before they had a chance to react, the missiles were destroyed by point defense fire. At this range, Tarus was able to use her guns to destroy the defense bases and any targets deemed to be a threat to the Space Marines. The Space Marines dropped as soon as RSS Badger was within range. The landing went off without a hitch. The Space Marines quickly captured all of the domed population centers, and got a good lead on the location of the Sequencer. It was noted for intelligence that unlike the other Rage planets taken in the war, on this world the Sequencer was hidden and not housed in an obvious place. The 2nd Space Marine Brigade closed in on the location, and began to destroy the bunker where it was hidden. Suddenly, from out of the ground boiled hundreds of Rage soldiers. One Blazer, along with its platoon of Space Marines, was hit and destroyed before the mad rush of Rage soldiers could be stopped. The Space Marines had taken their first losses to enemy ground action. From the looks of things, this system was going to be a tougher nut to crack than any they had faced before. A temporary electronic Sequencer was installed, and Sakazawa immediately had the 104 million Rage on Zekrat VII begin constructing a resupply base for the Remorhaz fleet. 2410.6 The colony ship quietly slipped away from her berth at the Fort Justice Ship Yard. Once clear, she fired her maneuvering jets and pointed her nose toward the Fezzran wormhole. For one of the colonists on this colony ship, Tony Harris, this trip represented a promise he made long ago. He had served aboard RSS Falcon when she had jumped into the Fezzran just in time to see the Rage fleet destroy the colony on Cirius, killing his sister and nephew in the process. He had promised himself that when the Remorhaz Society was able to recolonize Cirius, he would be the first to sign up. He knew that there was no way that his sister and her son could possibly be alive, but at least he could honor their memory by finishing what they had started, and to help give the lost colonists the proper burial they deserved. In the Iolo system, Governor Hadrian Ervay watched in horror as a large Ukra-Tal fleet entered the Iolo system from Wanduk. They had at least a month to decide what course of action to take, but it was clear that if the Ukra-Tal decided to attack Correlia, the Remorhaz fleet would not seriously challenge them. The defenses of the planet were getting stronger, but against nineteen light cruisers and destroyers they would quickly perish. Until they knew what the Ukra-Tal intended, they would continue to construct defenses. Hadrian only hoped that the transport Marne reached Correlia in time to load most of the civilians on board. Xillantha fleet moved toward Zekrat VIII. The Rage light cruiser abandoned Zekrat IX, and so that planet posed no threat to the Fezzran system. Read Admiral Sakazawa made the decision to attack the Rage home planet, and maybe bring about an end to this phase of the war. |
Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
Looking foward to the next chapter. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif I hope you waste the Rage.
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Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
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Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
Thanks! My bad...I thought I read somewhere in the rules that the squares in the game=parsecs! Ah well, anyone else have cool ideas for names for distance measurements? AU's sound sort of...clinical, I think.
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Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
Just say two sectors. The squares on the system map are called sectors.
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Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
12ths
I'm sure someone can come up for a "Logical" explanation for the term. |
Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
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Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
Thanks!
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Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
Alterations
2410.7 Grand Admiral Urian, along with his staff, poured over the intelligence gathered from Zekrat VIII. They had been at it all night, running simulation after simulation. The end result always came out the same…Xillantha Fleet did not have the firepower to take the Rage homeworld. While it would be an incredible achievement to take the planet, without sufficient firepower there was no way it could happen. Urian sighed, and leaned back in his chair. He rubbed his eyes and gathered his thoughts. He hoped that Rear Admiral Shiro Sakazawa wouldn’t be too upset about this. Sakazawa was an aggressive commander, determined to take the war to the enemy, but Urian knew that he would follow orders above all else. I might as well get this over with, Urian thought. He turned the com unit to face him, straightened his uniform, and opened the com channel to RSS Tarus, Sakazawa’s command ship. Quickly, Sakazawa’s face appeared on the screen. “Good evening, Grand Admiral,” Sakazawa saluted. “Good evening, Shiro. I’ll get right to the point. I know how you hate to beat around the bush.” Sakazawa nodded, but a grim look spread across his face. “Thank you, sir.” “We’ve looked at your situation a thousand different ways, Shiro, and we always come to the same conclusion. Your fleet doesn’t have enough firepower to take out Zekrat VIII.” Sakazawa’s face reddened. “Sir, we might not have enough to take them out in one attack, but we can chip away at them. Eventually, they will break.” Urian shook his head. “We’ve run it that way, too. Our calculations tell us that your fleet will not be able to penetrate their defenses. You can’t hurt them now, but we will get you more ships. Eventually, you should be able to break thru, but it’s going to take time.” Sakazawa tried very hard to keep his emotions under control. “Sir, I think this is a mistake. We could at least blockade the planet, cutting their homeworld off from the rest of their empire. The economic reproc…” “Shiro, listen to me,” Urian interrupted. “You will get your chance, but I have to get some more ships to you. It won’t be long, I promise. We’ll get them as soon as we can.” Sakazawa nodded into the screen, his face tight. “Aye, aye, sir. What are your orders in the meantime?” Grand Admiral Urian filled him in on the alternate plan for Xillantha Fleet. He was to proceed to Zekrat IX and attack the colony there. RSS Badger was to return to Zekrat VII and pick up the 2nd Space Marine Brigade, and from their capture Zekrat IX. After this mission was accomplished, most of the remaining ships in the Lundra fleet should have been able to join up with the Xillantha fleet. They were then to proceed to Zekrat VIII and attack the Rage homeworld. In the Regotha system, RSS Sierra, a Ganymede class light cruiser, and RSS Mongoose, loaded with the 1st Space Marine Brigade, met up with Captain Brennan and the rest of Providence Fleet. Once they joined up here, they were ordered to head back into the Lezzari system, to capture or destroy any Rage worlds encountered here. Tony Harris watched out of the bLasteel window as the colony ship finalized its decent onto the surface of Cirius. A chill ran thru his body despite the heat of his environment suit. The front wasn’t very far from Cirius. If the Rage counterattacked, would he die here as his sister and nephew had? Would he cower in a shelter, waiting for the bombs and missiles to come and snuff out his life? He wrapped his arms around himself and tried to chase the nightmares away. No, this time it would be different. This time, they knew what they were up against. Defense would be a top priority. If the Rage came again, they would find Cirius had teeth. Tony shook his head, and tried to think of happier times. He pulled a picture of his sister out of his belongings. It had been taken over thirty years ago, when they were children back on Remorhaz. In their wildest dreams, neither of those children would have dreamed that a place like Cirius even existed, let alone dream that they would live there. Nor would they have dreamed that a race of sentient machines would come along and bLast them and millions of other civilians into so many atoms… Tony felt a shudder as the colony ship touched down. Soon it would be time for all of the colonists to begin rebuilding the Remorhaz settlement on Cirius. For Tony, the work would be twice as hard. Not only would he have to rebuild, but he would have to bury the ghosts of his family as well. That would be the hardest work of all. Tony stood up and gathered up his belongings, eager to get started, or maybe he was eager to finish the grim task ahead. |
Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
I like this story so much that I find myself checking the spaceempires.org one everyday.Great Job! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif
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Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
Oh, I am so very hooked on this story. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif
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Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
Zekrat Campaign-Phase II begins
“Contact! Rage Gorgon II class light cruiser, bearing 080 at 6 sectors, Captain. Looks like she’s just sitting there, sir.” “Thank you, Sensor,” Reid called back. Captain Walter Reid flipped on his tactical display. Yep, there she was, at a dead stop right outside of the Lundra-Zekrat wormhole. At least Reid knew that if there were more Rage ships on the other side of the wormhole, Sakazawa would have warned them about it. “Helm, set course for the bogie. Relay our situation to Commodore Lu. Weps, I want all missiles bays loaded and ready to fire.” His crew acknowledged his orders. Hyperion fired her engines, and she was quickly joined by the remains of Lundra fleet, RSS Faith and RSS Ganymede. In less than a week, they intercepted the Rage light cruiser. No one had yet faced a Rage light cruiser in battle, so everyone in the fleet was a little nervous. While the Remorhaz fleet had a three-to-one advantage in the fight, they knew that the Rage had superior missile and beam weapons. The weapon advantage enjoyed by the Rage could even things up in a hurry. As they moved closer to the wormhole, they were able to gather more data on the Gorgon II. She was armed with no weapons. She was actually configured as a long-range colony ship. Still, they could not allow it to escape. The battle was short. The Rage ship, with 4 million colonists aboard, decided to try and ram the Remorhaz ships. She never got closer than two million miles before the combined cannon, torpedo, and missile fire of the Remorhaz ships vaporized the Gorgon. Lu and his task force continued on to Zekrat, where they were to join with the Xillantha fleet for an assault on Zekrat VIII. 2410.8 Captain Reid was wrong about one thing, the Rage did have another ship with which to attack his ships. Unfortunately for the Rage, this craft was another light cruiser outfit as a long-range colony ships, and another 44 million Rage, plus the ships crew, were bLasted to atoms by the Remorhaz fleet. RSS Orion pulled into orbit with the rest of the Iolo defense fleet. Commodore Thom Hitcher looked out of the bLasteel windows. He could see his new command laid out before him. The orange glow of Iolo’s sun played across the hulls of the four ships of the Iolo defense fleet, illuminating them for a few brief moments until their orbit took them back around to the dark side of the planet. In the light, where the ships rarely were, they looked powerful and deadly. Floating above Correlia, they looked like guardian angels, watching over the people far below as they went about their lives. How much protection would these ships be able to provide for them? Currently, his scanner showed twenty-one Ukra-Tal ships heading for the Yukra system transiting Iolo, and he was powerless to stop them. They had just blown the satellite belt that had secured the wormhole while suffering only minor damage to one destroyer. If the Ukra-Tal attacked Correlia, his ships would be a minor distraction. However, it was his job to make sure that the people below him on the surface survived. The longer he had to build up his forces and the defenses on Correlia, the bigger the distraction to the Ukra-Tal his fleet would prove to be. Commodore Hitcher stood up and looked at himself in the mirror. This would be the biggest test of his life. If he failed, he knew that everyone on Correlia would die. Plans had changed for Xillantha Fleet in the Zekrat system. Before the fleet was able to leave Invexus and join up with Lundra Fleet for the assault on Zekrat IX, a fleet of seven Rage ships jumped into the system and took a course to attack Invexus. Rear Admiral Sakazawa was forced to detach Badger from his fleet and have it join up with Lu and Lundra Fleet. They would have to try and take Zekrat IX alone. Xillantha Fleet would move to intercept and destroy the Rage fleet at maximum distance from Invexus, as the colony had no defenses yet. The second phase of the Zekrat campaign was about to begin. |
Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
Battle of Zekrat Sun
Rear Admiral Sakazawa watched the two fleets move into battle formation on the tactical display. While the Remorhaz fleet had three more ships, two were support craft and one was a ground attack ship. It would be a fairly even fight. The Rage forces consisted of the following: 2 Furious class destroyers- 3 3rd generation capital ship missile launchers, one 2nd generation point defense cannon, and one shield generator 2 Defiance class frigates- 2 3rd generation capital ship missile launchers 3 Claymore class frigates- 2 3rd generation capital ship missile launchers The Remorhaz fleet consisted of: 1 Ganymede class light cruiser- 2 4th generation large depleted uranium cannon, 2 meson bLasters, 1 anti-matter torpedo launcher, and 3 2nd generation point defense cannon 2 Glory class destroyers- 1 4th generation depleted uranium cannon, 2 2nd generation capital ship missile launchers, and 2 2nd generation point defense cannon 4 Nemesis class frigates- 2 2nd generation capital ship missile launchers, 1 2nd generation point defense cannon 1 Comet class ground attack ship 1 Fleet Repair Ship 1 Fleet Replenishment Ship The Rage were grouped in wall formation, while the Remorhaz fleet formed a wedge. The primary targets were the two Furious class destroyers, and so the wedge aimed right for the heart of the Rage wall. The Rage ships began to split into two Groups. Sakazawa thought that they might try and flank his wedge, and thus overwhelm the point defenses of his craft one by one. However, the wedge was designed to prevent that from happening, and if the Rage fleet broke into two, the “nose” of the wedge could attack one enemy group while the walls resisted any attacks by the other. Suddenly, the two Rage Groups formed back into one. The two Furious class destroyers formed up side by side, presenting a perfect target for the Remorhaz fleet. If they could close the range a bit more, Sakazawa would spring the trap. He looked to his com officer, Lieutenant Marc Yemblay. “Marc, get the word out. When they break range, I want everyone to concentrate fire on the Furious’.” The Lieutenant acknowledged the order and was quickly sending out orders to the rest of the fleet. The captain of his flagship, RSS Tarus, was heard whooping a battle cry thru the com unit. That brought a chuckle from Sakazawa’s staff, including the Rear Admiral himself. He was very fond of Captain Tim Danvers. The man was anxious to get into the fight, very much like Sakazawa himself. The Rage craft fired first. Tiny blossoms of light appeared in the inky black as they fired their salvos from millions of miles away. Every ship in the fleet activated their point defense cannon, and hoped to knock the missiles down before they had to worry about their shields holding up against the onslaught. The two Furious class destroyers took the bait. Tarus and Glory ran ahead of the fleet to draw missile fire and the attention of the Rage fleet. It worked. Many of the missiles locked onto these two ships, and after firing their weapons, the Rage destroyers turned to engage the two ships. Tarus opened fire at close range, raking the Rage destroyer with DUC, meson, and torpedo fire. Glory added her own DUC fire, and the Rage destroyer lost one of her missile launchers in the barrage. The Rage destroyers had a much bigger problem now that they had closed the range between themselves and the trailing Remorhaz frigates. The missile exchange left Tarus damaged, but both Furious’ crippled. Glory moved in and finished one off with DUC fire, while missile fire from Manticore destroyed the other. Unfortunately, Tarus took another Rage salvo that had evaded the point defenses of the fleet, and she was down to one engine. She had also lost one of the large DUCs. For all intents and purposes, she was out of the fight. Apollo also took a salvo, and was severely damaged. She turned and slowly limped into the center of the wedge, to take cover in the protective umbrella of the point defense cannons. All of her weapons had been disabled by the missile strikes. The battle ended with the Rage losing the two Furious destroyers, one Claymore frigate, and two other ships taking over 50% damage. The Remorhaz forces lost no ships. Apollo and Tarus took over 50% damage, and Honor had light damage from a missile strike. Overall, the battle was a strategic success for the Remorhaz Navy. At Zekrat IX, Commodore Lu led Lundra Fleet into the sector to attack and hopefully capture the planet from the Rage. Things did not go exactly as planned. The planet had been fairly heavily armed, and so Lundra Fleet was forced to close range and go toe-to-toe with the enemy weapons platforms. In an effort to knock the final weapons platforms out, all of the Rage population centers were destroyed, thus destroying the colony on Zekrat IX. This was a minor setback, as the fleet would have benefited if the colony could have been captured. A space yard in the Zekrat system would have been quite a boon for the fleet. However, elimination a potential threat was a satisfactory outcome. |
Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
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Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
Well done again sachmo! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif
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Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
Bump
Your writing is very enjoyable to read. |
Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
Thanks guys. I hope things work out better for everyone now that calmer heads have prevailed. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif
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Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
is this being played using an unmodded Version? or is it being played with one? If so, which one are you using???
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Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
One more question....how do you keep track of what has happened? do you write out move by move? or just take short notes, then write out several chapters based on the notes???
BTW great story....i am only on Chapter 11 though....but still great story |
Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
The game keeps a log, and Note Pad is a very handy tool.
To write a story like this does take a lot of writing time between moves. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif |
Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
how do you access the log file?
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Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
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Thank you, I am glad you are enjoying the story! Atrocities had it right to write this story, I write as I go. There is a ton of ALT-TAB action going on, but the story pretty much writes itself. That is the best part of the whole thing. [ September 02, 2002, 16:17: Message edited by: sachmo ] |
Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
Combat!
2410.9 The two undamaged Rage frigates extracted a toll on the planet Invexus. Since Sakazawa had used the entire fleet to attack the Rage at the battle of Zekrat Sun, Invexus was left virtually defenseless. The colony was quickly destroyed. Remorhaz no longer had a base in the Zekrat system. Commodore Hitcher rubbed his chin. He stared at the strategic display. It showed one Ukra-Tal Gjovik class cruiser lumbering toward the Iolo-Yukra wormhole. She presented the commodore with quite a dilemma. Taking that cruiser out would be a nice victory for his task force, and would boost morale on Correlia. On the other hand, they knew nothing about her armaments, and the cruiser could give the Remorhaz ships a bloody nose if given the chance. The decision was his alone. After weighing the pros and cons, he came to a decision. “Let’s do it. Command Iolo Defense Fleet to move on a course to intercept the Gjovik.” The message was sent out to the fleet, and immediately the other three ships which made up the Iolo Defense Fleet moved into formation with RSS Orion. After a week of travel time, they closed range with the Gjovik. She was an impressive ship. Sensors gathered the following information about her armaments: 2 Large Acid Globule Launchers 5 Class 4 Point Defense cannon One minesweeper unit One class 3 shield generator Combat sensor suite One self-destruct device Hitcher knew that the best way to take on the Gjovik was to use the Remorhaz ships superior range to their advantage. If they could weaken her shields and get a few luck hits in, Orion would be able to close in and finish the job. The Remorhaz ships formed a combat wedge and closed range. The Gjovik took a heading that would lead her right down the throat of their fleet. Once the Gjovik closed range, the two Glory class destroyers and the Nemesis frigate opened fire with capital ship missiles. The seekers flew across the miles in moments. Once they were within range, the point defense cannon on the Gjovik opened fire, knocking out two salvos before they could reach the ship. The salvo from Milton flew thru the defenses and locked on to the hull of the Gjovik. Unfortunately, the point defense cannon were able to reacquire this new threat, and knocked the remaining missiles out. The point defenses of the Gjovik were too strong for missile fire alone. They would have to close range and take her out with gunnery. The Gjovik decided to change course, seemingly to give her point defenses enough time to deal with any missile salvos coming her way. However, this move allowed the Remorhaz fleet to close range and open fire with DUCs. Skydancer fired as fast as she could, pumping shells into the Gjovik and trying to bring down her shields. Eventually, the shields did fail. The return fire from the Ukra-Tal ship came close, but did not strike the Remorhaz destroyer. Once her shields were down, Orion moved into range and fired her heavy depleted uranium cannon. The shells came at the Ukra-Tal cruiser at an angle above and behind, and the first shell tore into the Gjovik’s engine mounts, knocking out two engines. The second shell slammed into the forward hull, tearing thru the thin hull and carrying on into the bridge. Once the shell slammed into the forward bulkhead in the bridge, it exploded, turning the bridge and it’s contents into superheated molecules in an instant. The Gjovik was still able to fire her weapons, and with her second salvo was able to knock out Skydancer’s shields and hit the hull. The acid quickly began to eat thru the ship, disabling her depleted uranium cannon before it could be stopped. Skydancer backed out of the fight, but continued to fire missiles at the Gjovik. Shining Victory also fired missiles, and her DUC damaged the Gjovik’s engineering section, taking out two more engines and half of her life support. Now it was Orion’s turn. She moved to close range behind the damaged ship, and opened fire with everything she had. Depleted uranium shells tore great rents in the hull, while meson bLasters burned thru the entire ship. Finally, a spread of anti-matter torpedoes all but finished her off as the energy weapons collided with the Gjovik’s hull and transformed a large section of the ship into nothingness. With most of her point defenses destroyed, the Remorhaz missiles were able to home in on the crippled cruiser with no interference. The Gjovik shuddered as they struck her, tearing massive gashes in the stern of the ship. Debris filled the space around the cruiser as the ship began to break apart. One Last salvo from Orion’s depleted uranium cannon finished the Gjovik off, and she blew herself apart from secondary explosions. Commodore Hitcher took off his beret and ran his fingers thru his hair. They had destroyed one enemy cruiser while suffering only minor damage to themselves. He had expected a heavier toll, and so was very happy with the result. Only then did he become aware of the sound of cheering throughout Orion. This was what the fleet needed. He hoped that this small victory cheered the people of Correlia also. Not wanting to push his luck, Hitcher ordered the fleet to turn and head home. In Iolo, Lundra and Xillantha fleets joined up and attacked the Rage fleet at Invexus. In the resulting action, on of the Rage frigates was destroyed, and the other suffered over 50% damage. The fleet prepared to withdraw to Fezzran to regroup when they received word that a fleet of eight Rage ships had been spotted in the Lundra system, headed for Zekrat. Rear Admiral Sakazawa ordered the supply ships to head for Fezzran to resupply and changed course for Zekrat VIII. The battle would be decided there. Providence Ship Yard launched the first ship in the Catreus class, RSS Catreus. This class was the first gun only frigate in the Remorhaz Navy. She moved to join Providence fleet in the assault on Lezzari. [ September 04, 2002, 14:37: Message edited by: sachmo ] |
Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
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P.S.Great Job |
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Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
I miss these storys... Oh and bump...
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Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
Not over by a long shot, but football season DID just start! I shall return...maybe tonight!
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Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
Rolling up the flanks in Lezzari
2411.0 Chairman Sachmo looked at his chief diplomat with a mixture of shock and disbelief on his face. “Exactly how is that possible, Sangi?” The ambassador poured himself a drink before turning to answer the Chairman. “Well sir, the research guild has invented some very clever gadgets which will allow Remorhaz agents to disguise themselves as any race we know of. If we can get a few teams behind enemy lines, they could do some major damage. Bribing officials, sabotage, and assassination…whatever it takes. All that remains now is to set up a few intelligence compounds, train some agents, and get them to their targets.” The Chairman leaned back in his chair. “Do you really think this will work?” The ambassador nodded. “Yes, Chairman. I don’t think the Ukra-Tal, or even the Rage, are aware of this sort of tactic. If we play our cards right, they may never know. I think if we get the right people, and train them well, we can have a corps of agents who can do damage well beyond their numbers, and in places we can’t even hope to reach conventionally.” The Chairman nodded. “Give me an outline of what you need, and I’ll get it taken care of.” The ambassador smiled and reached into his coat pocket. “It’s already prepared, sir.” In the Lenoltris system, a fleet of five Ukra-Tal light cruisers came thru the wormhole from Yukra, and smashed the satellite defenses stationed there. On Highrock, Captain Gina Jager was organizing the defense forces into the Lenoltris Defense Fleet when the cruisers appeared on the long-range scanners. She decided that she would move to engage them with what she had on hand. Her force consisted of two Glory destroyers and Nemesis, plus RSS Eos a transport that was loaded to the gills with Kursk space mines. Her calculations told her that while they would not reach the Ukra-Tal fleet this month, that also meant that the Ukra-Tal would be unable to attack Highrock without going thru her fleet. If the Ukra-Tal forces proved too strong, she would probably be able to fall back to Highrock with most of her force intact. If they moved back into Yukra, she would be able to mine the wormhole, and provide the Ukra-Tal with a nasty surprise if and when they returned. He ships filled with provisions and her crew itching for battle, they set course for the Lenoltris-Yukra wormhole. Commodore Brennan consulted for weeks with Brigadier Harry Townsend about what to expect in Lezzari. Brennan had theorized that the threat to their homeworld would cause the Rage to withdraw the fleet that had chased the Remorhaz forces out of the system less than a year before. While the Rage worlds would probably be armed with weapons platforms and satellites, there would be no fleet to slow Brennan and the Space Marines down. That left four Rage worlds to be taken. The 1st Space Marine brigade was ready for the fight. The first target was Lezzari IX A, the moon of Lezzari IX. The fleet closed in on the moon. Scanners discovered that the planet was armed with phased polaron beams, which had a long reach and packed quite a punch. Brennan had his missile-armed ships close to maximum range and fire salvos at the planetary defenses. Artemis moved into range and fired her missiles, but was unable to get out of range in time to avoid the polaron bLasts. Two out of four beam carved huge gashes in her hull. Atmosphere bled out of the stricken escort. With two of her engines and all of her weapons destroyed, Artemis was out of the fight. The missile strikes did their damage, killing 30 million Rage colonists in the bLasts. The guns were silenced, however. Mongoose moved into position and prepared to drop troops. Private Jake Renton ran across the catwalk with the rest of his platoon. This was their fifth combat drop, and so they moved with precision, not once giving Sergeant Williams an excuse to yell and scream at them. Of course, Sergeant Williams didn’t need an excuse to yell and scream. “GET YER ARSES IN THE BLAZER, LADIES! MOVE MOVE MOVE!!” Renton tuned the sergeant out and quickly took his place in the blazer. In moments his weapon was stowed and his drop brace was locked into place. In ten more seconds, the entire platoon was locked in, ready for the drop. Williams patrolled the aisle, checking drop braces and ensuring all of the equipment was stowed correctly. When they dropped, anything that was loose became a deadly projectile. They had all seen the inside of a blazer where a weapon had come loose during the drop. The errant rifle had killed two Space Marines, and they had not died quickly. So while Williams could have bet a month pay that everything was stowed correctly, there were no corners cut here. Renton laid his head back against the harness. He could feel the butterflies in his stomach, although they were less active then they had been during his first drop. He tried not to think about all of the ways that he could be killed today, and instead concentrated on thinking about how he would spend his leave when they had finished retaking this godforsaken system. Without warning, he felt the familiar thud of the blazers below them began dropping into orbit. He started to count down from twenty…and at one he felt his stomach trying to climb out of his throat. The blazer bucked and shook as the moon’s gravity grabbed for them. The pilot pointed the nose down for the combat drop, and the craft lurched as they gained speed. Renton was a bit surprised at the lack of buffeting and noise during this drop. Then he remembered that this moon had no atmosphere and so the only bucking he could expect was from ground fire and anti-aircraft artillery. During the decent Renton always felt like a sitting duck, but once again there was no quick death from a missile waiting for him. Moments later the blazer slowed drastically, and then bumped as it disconnected from the landing sled. Almost immediately the yellow light started flashing, ordering the Space Marines to stand in the door and prepare to disembark. Williams dropped his headset and grabbed his weapon, shouting orders the entire time. The door hissed open suddenly, and Renton saw before him a pile of molten slag that had once been a Rage stronghold. His platoon’s target had already been “neutralized”. 1st Brigade efficiently located and destroyed the local sequencer, ending Rage resistance on Lezzari IX A without any Space Marine casualties. The next week, 1st Brigade loaded up and made the short trip to Lezzari IV A and B, which were both Rage colonies. Only Lezzari IV A was armed, and so Providence fleet moved to neutralize this planet first. Both colonies fell without incident. On A, they captured intact a resupply depot and five radioactive extraction facilities. On B, a spaceport and two research facilities were captured. Unfortunately, no new technology was discovered here. The Rage flank was now exposed. Remorhaz was closing the vice. |
Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
Probes
The Ukra-Tal destroyer appeared as a tiny dot against the background of space, barely distinguishable from the stars that pierced the dark veil. Commodore Hitcher watched the Ukra-Tal ship close range with his own fleet, seemingly oblivious to the danger he was facing. The enemy ship continued coming toward the Remorhaz ships, increasing velocity every moment. It won’t work, Hitcher thought. The Ukra-Tal ship had to close into guns range to have any hope of damaging the Remorhaz ships. Hopefully, their own missiles would finish her before that happened. As soon as the enemy ship moved into effective missile range, Skydancer and Shining Victory opened fire. Hitcher’s eyes followed the missiles as they streaked across the gulf of space, reduced to tiny white dots on the tactical display. The Ukra-Tal destroyer began maneuvering to try and break the seekers lock, but it was futile. Both flights crashed into her hull, causing massive internal explosions. If Hitcher had been looking into space with his naked eye, he would have seen a brilliant flash as the destroyer met her fate. As it was, the craft simply disappeared from the display. “Ok, let’s go home” Hitcher said. He wasn’t sure how long the Ukra-Tal would keep sending ships thru Iolo one at a time, but as the opportunities presented themselves, he would take them. 2411.1 Brigadier General Townsend was ecstatic. Lezzari V was the Last Rage planet in this system, and it had been undefended. The planet was taken with only a single casualty, the local sequencer. Lezzari was now firmly back in Remorhaz hands. In Zekrat, Sakazawa gathered all of his combat power for the assault on the Rage homeworld. Within the next month, the final battle would be joined. 2411.2 The Research Guild perfected the third generation of the anti-proton beam. This weapon was still less effective than the depleted uranium cannon, but it required no ammunition as was more effective at shield penetration. The guild began work on an even more powerful depleted uranium cannon, which would be ready within the month. In the Iolo system, Commodore Hitcher watched as a fleet of nineteen Ukra-Tal ships moved toward Correlia. However, before they were able to move into attack position, the lead ship triggered the Kursk space minefield that had been laid the previous year. All eyes stared in disbelief as the Ukra-Tal ships were overwhelmed by the destructive power of the minefield. The mines homed in on the ships, detonating at precise range to cause maximum damage. The mines preformed their duty far beyond the expectations of naval planners and scientists alike. The mines were too small and moved too quickly for the Ukra-Tal ships point defenses to stop. Each ship was lost in a brilliant display of explosion, and still more mines homed in. The devastation was utter and complete. The Ukra-Tal fleet was reduced to a cloud of fine debris. Shaking himself out of a disbelieving stare, Hitcher ordered his fleet to move into the area to check for survivors. He was confident that he would find none. In the Koltan system, a science vessel sent word back to Remorhaz of contact with a craft of unknown origin. The craft did not make a hostile move toward the science vessel, but did not respond to hails. Chairman Sachmo knew that if this new race turned out to be hostile, there would not be much hope for the future. He ordered Ambassador Mulatti to immediately draw up a message of piece, and he prayed to his god that this race respond favorably to his overtures. Commodore Brennan took his fleet back into Jethanis. Apparently the Rage had been busy here. Where there had been one, there were now five Rage inhabited worlds in this system. The first target world would be Jethanis III. The fleet closed in on the planet. Jethanis III had no surface defenses, but was protected by a space station. However, when long-range scanners studied the station, they found that it was in fact only a repair station and had no defensive weapons whatsoever. The 1st Space Marine Brigade captured the planet without casualties, capturing a space yard and a mineral miner facility. The Rage troops and workers on the space station refused to surrender, and so it had to be destroyed by the fleet. It would have been nice to capture intact, but the shipyard was the biggest prize of all. Providence finished construction of a rock colony ship, and this ship set course for Nova with four million Norak colonists. These colonists were determined to continue the work started by their brothers who had died here in the Rage attack. In Zekrat, four million Remorhaz colonists began to set up a resupply base on the world of Zekrat IX. They named the colony Grenville, and started immediate construction of a supply depot. It would be three months before the facility was up and running, and it was possible that the battle would be won or lost by then. Rear Admiral Shiro Sakazawa closed the com channel and sat back in his command chair. This was the biggest battle fought by the Remorhaz Navy since the Battle of Norak all those years ago. They were finally bringing the fight to the Rage homeworld. If they succeeded in taking it, the war with the Rage was all but over. If they failed, the road was open to the heart of the Remorhaz Society, as well as over half of their fleet strength. We must not fail, he thought. Shiro allowed himself a quick glance around his command center. So many young faces, he thought. How many will die in this battle? He steeled his resolve, and glanced at his communication officer. “Signal all ships. Begin the attack.” The communication officer sent the message out, and the orders were acknowledged. The ships took up a V-formation, and aimed right at the heart of the Rage homeworld. The Rage defenses were impressive. Seven capital ship missile complexes, complete with anti-missile guns, defended the planet itself. There were also three armed space stations, formidable in their own right. The entire battle would be won or lost in whose weapons overwhelmed the others first. The Remorhaz ships moved to engage an armed space station. The orbit of this station took it outside of the protective umbrella of the surface weapons anti-missile batteries, and so was left to fend for itself against the power of the Remorhaz fleet. At long range, the Remorhaz ships opened fire with missile salvos, overwhelming the point defenses of the station. Missile after missile struck the station’s sturdy shields, until they eventually burned out the shield generators and began peeling back the armor of the hull. Atmosphere and debris vented as holes appeared in the skin of the space station. Ganymede, Tarus, and Olympia closed to guns range to finish the station off, but not before it was able to deliver a broadside of phased polaron beam fire into Tarus. The beams tore thru her shields, and melted a huge furrow in her port side. Sakazawa was tossed and shaken as the ship bore the brunt of the attack. One of his orderlies, who was not strapped into his seat was flung against the bulkhead that he hit with a sickening crunch. For her efforts, the combined gunfire from the three ships finished the space station. Missile fire from the fleet also overwhelmed the defenses of another space station, destroying it in short order. Sakazawa decided to wait for the rest of the fleet to join him before pressing home the main attack. For the cost of a heavily damaged light cruiser, they had succeeded in weakening the defenses of the Rage homeworld by 20%. With continued success, the might be able to take this planet within three months. 2411.3 The Ukra-Tal came to Correlia once more. This time the minefield was not large enough to stop them completely, but only two light cruisers made it thru to orbit, and they were badly damaged. Three ships were destroyed. The Iolo defense fleet destroyed the remains with no damage to themselves or to Correlia. Hitcher wasn’t sure that this would be good enough. Strategic display showed a fleet of 23 Ukra-Tal ships closing in from the Wanduk system. All he had were his six ships, a light minefield and the planetary defenses of Correlia. He hoped that it would be enough to blunt the attack. The ultimate test was coming. In the Lundra system, another Ukra-Tal fleet was on the move. It lost two ships to the minefield Jager had set up outside the wormhole, but they had successfully swept the remaining mines. 13 enemy ships were on course for Highrock. Highrock launched the Last of the space mines, and had six ships left to defend the system. It was going to be a close call, for sure. |
Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
One day people will find this story posted on a web site and wonder who wrote such a work of art, and wonder at how the author was able to write such a detailed story as if it really had happened.
Little do they know........... Great work. Thank you again for providing us with a great read. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif |
Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
I'm glad you are enjoying it!
If anyone had any question/suggestions/comments, please let me know! |
Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
I didn't want to say anything until I was finished catching up, only having found this thread a few days ago. Now that I'm on the same page as everyone else, I shall now share my thoughts concerning the story.
Sachmo, I am very impressed by what you have written so far. While game logs in general are enjoyable reading, the level of detail and personality that you produce is wonderful. I'll admit, reading this story got my juices flowing again, both for SEIV and for writing. Well, more like just got them flowing faster, but I'm sure you get the idea. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif I also would like to say that I very much like your handling of the passage of time inside of the game turn and combat turn. It really gives me a good feel of the long-term scale of the game. Given the detail that you go into, however, I can only imagine the amount of time it takes you to play each turn. This is not all about praise, however. You've also made me fall behind on my workload, however, as I have not only am I suffering from a severe case of the "Just one more turn" syndrome, but also a "Just one more installment" bug. I am holding you directly responsible for this and demand compensation*! I'll send my people to talk to your people. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon8.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif *and by compensation, I mean "Pie". Or more installments of your story. It's all good. |
Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
Hotfoot- Thanks very much! I'm so glad you are enjoying it! It does take a while to complete a turn, and sometimes I find myself wondering how it will all end up. However, the writing is so much fun, I can't skip ahead! Also, if it's pie you demand for your time, head on over to Phongs and I will eat a piece with you!
Geo- the problem with Renton is that while I would love to promote him...no one is dying! I haven't been able to find a reason to promote him yet. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif If he were in the 2nd Brigade, which is poised to drop on the Rage homeworld, he might soon find a truckload of spots open. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif |
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Of course, maybe if he just went from Private to Private First Class, or something, that might work. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif |
Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
So, write in some deaths. How hard is that? Even in a relativly peaceful invasion some sniper is going to get a lucky shot off or some guy will step on a landmine going off to take a leak. Even if you don't lose any troop units in the invasion, every troop unit doesn't corelate to one marine does it? I figured your troop unit was the drop ship with a platoon or whatever. So the platoon survives, but a couple guys die. A couple of JAFR's come in. The Captain gets promoted to Colonel, the Lieutenant goes to Captian, everybody moves up till the music stops playing. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif
The unit goes on and on, but the guys in the unit change slightly from battle to battle. Geoschmo |
Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
I've thought about that, Geo. Just a couple of Space Marine casualties, with no vehicle losses. We shall see what happens, as 1st Brigade is going planet hopping again, and soon.
Also- You are right about the unit scale in the Remorhaz universe. One unit (Blazer) carrys a platoon (20) Space Marines. To date, they have lost exactly one Blazer. |
Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
Yeah, that's what I thought. So in the history of the Remorhaz marines they have only had one entire platoon of soldiers that were wiped out. This is understndable considering the lack of organized defense you are facing. The US army probably hasn't lost an entire platoon in combat since Vietnam, and I am not sure it happened all that often over there even. What does happen though in almost every engagement, even when one side vastly outnumbers the other, is that a couple guys in a platoon will get killed or wounded (They don't even have to get killed really) and have to be replaced with green troops. And Lieutenants and seargants get killed occasionally.
Something else to consider is every time you build a new Blazer, that's a totally new platoon. You might fill it with raw recruits for Privates, but you would want to get officers and Seargants that have some experience. So what you would do is promote some Privates from another platoon that has seen some action. So there you woudn't even need casulties, just some additional units and you have room for promotion. So you can jazz up the invasions a bit. They don't have to have actual casualties in your game. Just write in some decent firefights where the good guys lose some boys, and some boys get wounded, but the units aren't totally wiped out. But just because you took over the planet and didn't lose any blazers doesn't neccesarily mean the natives threw down rose petals for your guys when they landed. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif Geoschmo [ September 26, 2002, 17:49: Message edited by: geoschmo ] |
Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
An interesting naming convention for troops, which I might use in the history game is to divide up troops into Companies or Regiments or something like that.
So you design a troop and call it 1st Brigade. and you make 10 of them. Design another as the 2nd bridage and make 10 of them. So forth and so on until you have a few hundred. Now when you go into battle, and if you take losses, you'll know which brigade took losses and which needs replacements. I suppose you could, if you were ambitious, go down to smaller Groups of 5 or 3 troops. Then you could organize them by troop transport. Call the transport 4th Division, and then if you add several to a fleet you could then call the fleet 1st Corp or something like that. Maybe you are already doing that...dunno. Spur of the moment idea. |
Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
That would work. He's not really doing that. He's just got a design that he is equating to a platoon of 20 soldiers. But he isn't using the actual troop design names to keep straight on the numbers. That would work very well I think.
I had the idea once to have a different name for each combat unit based on what planet they were from. This way I could sort of keep tabs on them as they travelled around conquering planets. Similer to your idea though. You could do the same thing for ships I guess. Geoschmo [ September 26, 2002, 18:19: Message edited by: geoschmo ] |
Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
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[ September 26, 2002, 19:26: Message edited by: sachmo ] |
Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
I have a suggestion. As a veteran of the first Remorhaz ground invasion, and four other drops since, isn't it about time that Private Renton earned a promotion? What did he do, sleep with the Captains wife or something? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif
Great story Sachmo. Very engrossing. Geoschmo |
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