Antimatter Matters (Development)

In one of the comments on an earlier post, Cutnose asked about the role of antimatter and matter in the game - specifically as a source of thrust.  My answer, frankly, wasn't the best and mostly danced around the question of the prominence/role of exotic power sources.  It something I have thought a lot about - especially today (Cutnose's question pushed the issue to the fore).  I'm still not sure how I want to deal with propellants and power sources.  Spaceships are going to play a critical role in how the setting is going to function as well as how the worlds are going to look.  The type of power source is going to dictate how fast ships move, how far they can go, what they will look like, and even how destructive their weapons can be -- all important stuff for a game that has aspirations of focusing on military-style campaigns.

I need to hash out what, if any, role antimatter will play in TDE.


The Case For Volatiles (aka Chemical propulsion):

Volatiles are the safe way to go (and BTW, "volatiles" is code for chemical propulsion right now).  They are what we use today to propel spacecraft -- and pretty much all other vehicles save for some navy ships.  Its a common and understandable technology.  Its plausible and easy to understand.  Its cheap.  Volatiles and the like are great economic macguffins.  If TDE is going to have a plausible economic view of the setting, and Volatiles will play an important role -- especially if they are the primary (or sole) way to move interplanetary ships.  Plus, Volatiles are found in a lot of interesting places int he solar system - providing a useful excuse as to why there are colonies in the proverbial ass-end of space (especially for Venus, Jupiter and the Belt).  Volatiles would also be useful as radiation shields - serving double duty of protecting the crew as well as providing delta-V.

The Case Against Volatiles:  

Volatiles as a power source are inelegant and a little boring.  The tech, by 2191 is going to be ancient and implies a level of technological stagnation I am not sure I am comfortable with.  Ships that rely exclusively on volatiles for delta-V will require some very bulky structures to make sure there is some plausibility to how much reaction mass is available to move some big ships.  I'll admit that I am not a big fan of the modern NASA aesthetic... and the realistic ships that build off that aesthetic aren't very appealing.

Boooring.  

The Case For Antimatter:

Antimatter is sexy.  Its plausible for the timeperiod -- more than 150 years in the future (especially since we can already manipulate small quantities today).  Giving Antimattter a prominent role in powering ships (and maybe more) frees up a lot of physical and aesthetic/design space.  Ships wont need those bulky fuel tanks since antimatter (AM) supposedly can yield upwards of 90% energy dividends when smashed against matter.  It gives ships longer legs and faster speeds as well.  Oh, and it makes for a good reason to get out to Jupiter and Mercury.

The Case Against Antimatter: 

Its expensive.  Antimatter may be a little too sexy in that it pushes some boundaries of plausibility.  If volatiles are somewhat implausible to still be the primary fuel source 150+ years from now, antimatter is somewhat implausible for only being 150+ years int he future.  I also dont fully understand the dangers and benefits AM presents -- which requires more research (what happens if a ship gets the crap blown out of it and it has an antimatter drive?  A big boom, most likely... but how big?  What about other commercial uses?).

Suck it Earth!  This is my playgorund!  

...and the Nuclear Darkhorse:

I also need to consider nuclear fusion and fission.  Its a known technology (fission moreso than fusion).  Its speculated to be quite efficient (though not as efficient as AM).  I think its plausible we could safely create and harness fusion as a power source.  They provide a nice medium between archaic chemical propulsion relying on volatiles and the Star Treky antimatter option.  Nukes really aren't a dark horse -- they will be a core propellant, but I thought the title for the section suitably dramatic, so I kept it.

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Right now I am leaning towards major military ships and some very advanced private/corporate ships using AM.  Most civilian ships use a combination of volatiles and nukes.  Jammers?  Jammers I am not sure of yet -- though I am leaning towards managed fusion.

Whatever the decision - the final setting will involve a number of different options.  Volatiles, AM and fusion/fission will all have their places - its just a matter of percentages and what mil spec ships will use (and Jammers, for that matter .  Likewise solar and magnetic sails will have a role to play.

The devil, as always, is in the details.

If anyone out there has a strong opionion one way or the other, please let me know.

Personality Politics Pt 1 (Content)

Revolution Comes With a Price...

I'm happy to report we are on our way to some art.  I have contracted an artist that can work with my budget and help add form to the swirling chaos that is floating around in my mind.  Hopefully in the near future we can have some original art on the blog -- something to help define the visual style of TDE.

Until then, lets talk about NPCs. For anyone that knows me,it will not be a surprise that I base the planets and the people that populate them on my travels.  Usually, the personalities of TDE are gestalts of various peoples from North America, Africa, and Asia... but sometimes not.  Sometimes they are the creation of people I think should exist - in terms of real world politics and society.  Certain social movements, or political events seem to have an unseen hand behind them.  In many parts of the world, people don't want to accept that policy and major decisions are made through happenstance and mistakes - they prefer seeing connections where there are none.  Its a more interesting and simpler world if its all the fault of some shadowy agency or clique.  South Asia, in particular, loves conspiracy stories.

The said (or maybe not so sad) fact is that the world isn't run by complicated conspiracies.  Its just not.  However, in the world of TDE I can mix real world experiences with real world crazy conspiracies to come up with personalities just plausible enough to be believable.  My gol is to populate TDE with a number of interesting NPCs and personalities to prompt the GM's creativity and campaign design, and the player's desire to explore the setting.

Here are two NPCs that help define TDE's setting for me:


Jacob K Sugiyama (Mars/Venus): The former OCRI Administrator of Mars.  Once considered little more than a tool of the Hegemons, his progressive ideas, fiery personality, and aggressive political tactics brought him fame and popularity - on Mars and throughout the System.  OCRI and the Hegemonic powers lost control of Sugiyama along the way, and Sugiyama morphed into the lead agitator for Martian independence.  His successes brought him even more notoriety and what has now become an inner circle that is more a cult of personality than a loyal set of advisers.  Sugiyama is considered by most of the Solar System as the father of Martian democracy and the current anti-colonial movement.  He is also corrupt as hell, and unexpectedly lost in Mars' first Prime election.  He seethes with anger and resentment privately, but publicly vows to "recapture the heart of the Martian Democratic spirit from the usurper."  Sugiyama lives on an aerostat in Venus, in part because he believes Martian forces loyal to his rival, Jeehan Burt, will assassinate him if they get the chance.

Jeehan Burt (Mars):  Jeehan is the first Martian Government's Prime.  He rose to power as a grassroots organizer, and for a time, worked with Sugiyama's Free Mars movement as a young advocate.  Burt became disgusted with Sugiyama's centralized decision making, and lost faith in the movement.  That Sugiyama's direction turned out to lead Mars towards its freedom, came as a major shock to Burt, who reconsidered his choice to drop out of politics.  When the first Martian elections arrived, Burt came out of retirement  spent a veritable fortune, and traded on his reputation as a successful lawyer for Martian rights to propel him to a shocking victory.  Now, Burt, whose main political experience is organizing protests against the types of leaders whose position he now fills, must struggle with the leadership role demanded of him.  Thus far, Burt has defined himself to the Martian people by claiming he is a fresh break with the autocratic tendencies of Sugiyama.  It remains to be seen if Burt can define his administration on its own merits and accomplishments. Worse, a number of powerful Earth political and economic entities lost significant assets during the Martian war for independence  and the last couple of years as the planet asserted its identity.  Now, those same Earth powers want their stuff back, and see Burt as less decisive than Sugiyama.  The powers of Earth smell blood and the sharks are starting to circle.



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I really need to pound out some words on Mars over the next couple days.  If you don't see me tomorrow - its because I am struggling with the marginal protagonist of the setting.

Dwarf Planets, Giant Problems (Content)

Something I talked about earlier - and I will talk about again - is the idea of "potential energy" for the setting of TDE.  What I mean by the phrase is that I want the setting, as written, to be a snapshot of a very dynamic place with a lot of things going on.  TDE should be a setting in motion once the players are introduced.  Like a held drawstring, there is a lot of energy waiting to explode once the right catalyst is added -- and the right catalyst should always be the PCs.

So, here is an example of that potential energy: the Huns.  The Huns present the PCs with a number of heroic (and challenging) things to do.  There is a looming natural disaster, a refugee crisis, and while not mentioned int he entry below -- some very dire political machinations that could mean social upheaval on Mars.

Its up to the PCs to resolve one or more of those crises -- for good or ill.


The Huns: Venus, which is the most recently settled inner planet, was just starting to hit its stride in 2126 when it was positively identified that a massive collection of migratory asteroids are heading right for Venus.  The asteroids, nicknamed the "Huns," were originally detected in the Oort cloud as early as the 2080s -- slightly off the ecliptic.  The significance of the discovery was not, at first, identified.  The odd behavior of the distant Huns was attributed to an eccentric orbit around the sun.  In the end, it was their unusual positioning helped mask the Huns until they began transiting close to the core system.  The danger the Huns present was finally confirmed late 2180s when scientists revealed that the Huns would travel into the inner system.  Numerous trajectory analyses were made, with most indicating that the Huns would miss the inner planets or possibly hit fast-moving Mercury.  Scientists were initially more concerned about the Huns’ gravitic influence on settled space.  Further study as the Huns started to transition past Pluto raised a number of concerns, as newer trajectory estimates had the likelihood of the Huns hitting Venus jump into the more-likely-than-not range.  

The primary Huns (Genghis and Attila) acts as sweepers for smaller planetary objects like asteroids and comets -- which are called "kith-warriors."   The leading theory on the appearance of the Huns is that they were larger planets that were ejected from a supernova explosion.  Their expulsion, many millennia ago, put them on a trajectory near to the Sun, which captured them and brought them into its gravity well.  

As of 2191 the Huns are between Jupiter and the main belt and continuing to head in-System.  There are about 4 years before the intersection of Venus and the Huns.  Thus, the System now struggles with a growing refugee crisis as a large number of Venusians seek new homes.  Of course, Earth doesn't want them (it maintains a very carefully controlled population numbers) and Mars/Mercury/Jupiter can only absorb a certain amount.  Cue low-level conflict by the desperate refugees, food shortages, looting, and whatnot on selected stations and aerostats.  

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I want a lot of bits of potential energy seeded throughout TDE.  Wars, political crises, hostage situations, peace keeping, social upheavals... they will all be in there.  I want to give the PCs and the GM a lot of ideas on what they can, and should, do with the setting.

Oh, and Canada? Where you at?  Since I am basically an honorary Canadian by now - more of you should be reading this blog.  Over the weekend I think I got 3 total pageviews from your great country.  Booo.

Deciding What the PCs Do. (Mechanics)

What do the PCs do in TDE? 

This is a pretty common quesrion when I end up talking about the setting with some of my friends who have designed games.  Its one of those core questions that good designers build their game around.   Jared Sorensen, who is a bit like the mafia don of the indie rpg movement, has done a lot of thinking on what makes a good rpg.  Some of his conclusions can be found here:  http://memento-mori.livejournal.com/288677.html

Each test, a challenge.  

Of note are his “3 Questions?”  These questions, once answered, help hone a game’s concept to a razor (and playable) edge.  What does the game do?  Why does it do this?  Is it doing what it is supposed to? 

When designing and exploring other games, I have struggled with Sorensen’s three questions – which is reflective of the quality of my ideas rather than the utility of the questions.  To be frank, I haven’t done a lot of thinking about the three questions in regards to TDE.  Instead, I focused on the depth and plot points of the setting.  Now that the setting is taking on a life of its own, its high time to runt to Sorensen’s three questions.  It’s time to really think about the PCs, their role in the game, and how to build the game to support my goals.

The thing about the three questions is that it really focuses on the “game” part of roleplaying games.  RPGs are composed of a number of elements, but the mechanics and setting are the two foundations.  

I am favor setting over mechanics.  Ever since  I got into rpgs back in the late 80s, I defined games not by their mechanics, but by how much I liked the setting.  Good setting could trump crappy mechanics in my book.  My focus on setting makes the three questions a bit of a hurdle for me – the answers they prompt do not come as easily to me as for others.  That said, the best rpgs are the ones where mechanics and setting support one another.  So, just because its hard, or I don’t get the essence of the questions in my first answers, doesn’t mean I can shy away from the questions.

One important caveat (and CYA) before I get into it – answering the three questions is an ongoing process.  It’s a thought exercise that can, and should, continually evolve as the game takes more shape.  So, my expectation is that I will need to revisit the three questions from time to time. 

Q: WHAT IS YOUR GAME ABOUT?
Jared Says:  If you write a D&D clone, your game is not about "adventuring in a medieval fantasy world." Your game is about characters advancing in efficacy in order to meet greater and greater challenges.”  Do not confuse the genre, setting or color details with what's most important: the premise and structure of the game.

A: What TDE Is About:

The game is about characters (Jammer Pilots) using ever more advanced technology – black ops and experimental stuff – while being given tougher and tougher missions in order to affect positive and significant change in the setting. 

Q: HOW DOES IT GO ABOUT THAT?
Jared Says:  If you're designing that D&D clone and you put in a lifepath system as part of character creation, what does that accomplish? In order to fufill the requirements set by the first question, you must "put your money where your mouth is" with the discrete game elements. If that lifepath is purely cosmetic and doesn't affect the character's abilities or the game mechanics, then why is it in there?

A: How TDE Gets There:  

TDE will use the One Roll Engine as the baseline.  Its is mechanically sound, easy to learn, quick to execute, and offers interesting modification options.  Building from the ORE, TDE will create mechanics that allow the players to “requisition” advanced technologies to tailor their equipment loadout to the mission at hand.  TDE will offer the GM and players opportunities to mechanically change setting elements. 

Q: WHAT BEHAVIORS DOES IT REWARD AND/OR ENCOURAGE?
Jared Says:  The obvious game element to focus on as a "reward" is some kind of character advancement system. But this can go the other way as well; what behaviors does the game punish and/or discourage? If the ultimate goal of Call of Cthulhu is to die or go insane, does the game encourage this? Do insane characters get special abilities? Or is running/fighting rewarded and encouraged (as it is in Dungeons & Dragons)?

A: What Behaviors TDE Will Reward:

I want TDE to encourage cinematic moments. I want the system to encourage players to have their PCs take chances – and go for the big win – the type of win that shakes the foundation of the Solar System.  

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I need to do some thinking about the mechanics, me thinks.  

Join the Party -- The Utility of Jammers (Content)

A Wanzer, from Front Mission -- an inspiration for the Jammers. 

One thing I have discovered about my writing is that I do my best stuff when I am working with someone.  I find new energy when I can bounce ideas off of people, and my prose is more direct when someone else can call out my crazy ideas and pull them back.  Part of the reason I am doing this blog, and airing my ideas for all to see, is that I am hopeful a handful of you out there will see merit in The Difference Equation and decide to help out.

Luckily, I have had a number of people step up so far and help.  I pitched my core setting concept to a bunch of friends, and they gave me initial feedback.  Since then, I have asked a couple published rpg writer friends to look over the core catalog and timeline to see what they had to say.  The setting has evolved considerably since those first few collaborations, to the point where I think many of the original group would be surprised to see how far things have progressed.  Its a better, more exciting setting specifically because of those first key pieces of feedback.

...and now there is Brandon.  Brandon is a buddy I met on the Dream Pod 9 forums.  I am convinced he is responsible for at least half the hits that come in to this blog -- and he single-handed carries on a conversation over on G+ that pushes me farther and farther into the setting and forcing me to make smart and critical decisions about the direction I am taking the game.

Brandon has been so helpful, he went so far as to start tentatively writing some content.  His stuff is really good.  Real good.  I am happy to have him and his insights on board.

So, I'd like this, the last content post for the week, to focus on one of Brandon's contributions.

The Best of Bad Options: Jammers in Modern Warfare:  The few major capital ships built by the SCEs and major powers of the Solar System are often leviathans that carry firepower strong enough to cause major damage to colonies and enough reaction mass for sustained combat burns.  Their downside, however, is their enormous mass and detection signature.  In space, it is nearly impossible to hide a ship due to the advancements of sensor technology.  Mass detection devices are used regularly by every colony and ship as a means of observing asteroids, comets, and other debris that might come dangerously close to impacting with stations.  The tremendous velocities of these naturally-occurring projectiles makes them a viable threat to all. The mass detection devices are also used by the powers to montior each other's naval shipyards, allowing nations to be made aware within hours of when a ship is departing from a specific area.

For this reason, any unannounced departure of capital ships from their dockyards is tantamount to an act of war by all powers concerned, and the space command structures often announce at least a day prior of any patrols in order to avoid provoking an international crisis.

With this current state of affairs, Jammers have become a vital necessity for the powers.  Their small mass allows them to be transported aboard most any ship available, and it is not uncommon for them to be given specialized ships designed expressly to be innocuous-looking, even ragged in appearance, while actually housing an entire team of Jammers and the facilities needed to maintain them.

Due to Newton's Third Law of Motion, mass-drivers and railguns using kinetic energy projectiles are limited in distribution among space-based Jammer squadrons, and their ammunition typically includes a self-destruct mechanism contained within their spikes so that if they do miss their target they do not present a threat to innocent travelers in the area surrounding a hot zone. Missiles, while slower on initial launch, are also safer, and include the same self-destruct mechanisms, often made tamper-proof so that industrious pirates do not attempt to retrieve the weapons after they have been armed and launched.  Lasers, meanwhile, have become the long-range weapon of choice, but their enormous power requirements typically mean that a Jammer must be equipped with an auxiliary power system to maintain the weapon for prolonged skirmishes.  To offset this, Jammers will also carry aerosol chaff that can be used to diffract the laser's intensity and lessen its pinpoint killing power.

Space-based Jammer squadrons on deep space missions typically use a highly-reflective armor skin, like silver, which helps to avoid visual detection when further away from the sun's light. Nearer to the gravity wells, this is changed for a brighter color scheme allowing visual recognition from friendly units and also from civilian ships passing in the area. Planet-borne Jammer squadrons will typically use a mimetic skin that can be charged or heated to change and adapt its colors to the surrounding terrain.  Due to the enormous firepower carried by most Jammers, deep space combat is short and vicious, with pilots using stealth and surprise to overwhelm their opponents. Any engagements that last longer usually occur near stations and other large objects that provide cover and concealment and also mask the mass of the Jammers from enemy sensors.

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Awesome, right?  I edited a bit, but not much.  90% of the above is his - and is the result of some very smart and intuitive mental leaps on his part.

If anyone else out there has ideas they want to contribute, please do so -- here, over email, or on G+.  If I can get this setting and game to a point where it gets published, I promise you will get the credit you deserve.  This isn't me just trying to steal other people's ideas -- this is me trying to open up my playground so other people can play on the jungle gym.

...and selfishly, like I said, the more interaction with others I have as I hash out ideas, the better my stuff becomes.  So, for that and many other things, welcome aboard Brandon!

The Consummation Of Empire and Others (Inspiration)

Now, for something different.  Inspiration.

The Difference Equation (TDE) was born of a number of inspirations - from a lot of different media.  I studied political science in college and practice a form of it in my day job.  So, of course politics and the study of politics would play a big role (and you can see it in the types of things I focus on while developing the setting).  Music has also been important - I turned to edgy, experimental stuff that is a bit out of my comfort zone in a couple instances to see what emotions they brought on and where it would drive my writing.

And art.  Obviously paintings/illos and graphics are an important part of the inspiration process.  When I am stuck at work and need some time to myself, I often lean back and explore what the Jammers and ships and planets of the setting look like.  Similarly, I will pop on DeviantArt, find a pic I like, and follow the links to see where it takes me.

And art.  There are a series of painting by Thomas Cole - some of my favorites really.  They depict the rise and fall of the an empire though the lens of an ancient civilization through the lens of American-centric sentiments.  Its wonderfully complicated, with imagery and themes that fold in on themselves.  Its an imaginary city - not unlike Tarshish or the remnants of smoldering Haifa.  It also depicts the roll of time, and a critical aspect to the Difference Equation where the introduction of the PCs to the setting should have immediate and significant consequences that unfold over time.

The setting of TDE is an exploration into a lot of things -- power politics, the ascendancy of economics, dominance, identity, ethnicity, the cost of independence, hope, the march of history, unintended consequences... and more.  These are things, I believe, the Course of Empire series deals with - and when I look at them, they inspire me to new directions with the setting.  If you can, take the time to view each in the Course of Empire series and see if it draws out the same thoughts/ideas/emotions in you.

The series, in order:  The Savage State, The Arcadian State, The Consummation of Empire, Destruction, and Desolation.

The Savage State

The Arcadian State

The Consummation of Empire

Destruction 

Desolation 

Want to know a bit more about the series or Thomas Cole?  The wikipedia article is
here:  The Wiki Entry 

Next up, lets do a bit more on the Jammers.

The Defining Moment of a Future History (Content)

Lets move on to a bit of history for The Difference Equation.  I'm designing this setting from the gorund up - starting with the modern day and advancing it to 2191.  I'm a detail and history guy, so burying into the details is where I like to work. That said, I got some great advice from a writer friend of mine that told me not to get too buried in the minutiae of the project -- too much detail will stymie the players creativity and, at some point, too much detail yields diminishing returns.  So, my struggle is to focus on generating new content for the setting and ignore my burning desire to go into the monthly updates of the future-history.

I've seen a lot of timelines as a roleplayer, and many of them leave a lot to be desired.  History defies easy categorization - so when I see a timeline that arbitrarily has one major event per year - the historian in me reels back in disgust.  Likewise, too many events bunched up and appears like the writer got lazy.  There is a happy middle ground out there, and the middle makes a lot of sense.  Why some rpg designers ignore history class and their instincts to create wonky timelines I will never understand.

Where does that leave me?  It leaves me working on the broad brushstrokes of the setting, and dropping hints here and there of the deeper history (with the intention to get back to it later - if all goes well).  That said, there are a handful of periods where I treat myself and dive in - spending some time to detail the specifics of the hows and whys.

One of the most important events in the future-history of The Difference Equation is the devastating Population Overshoot of the 2090s.  Looking back on how the setting has come together, the Malthusian Crisis is the major event that defined the future of The Difference Equation.  The legacy of that event lasts well into the starting date of the game, and provides a useful macguffin for the colonization of the System.

Without further adieu:

The Population Overshoot of the ‘80s:  In the end, Thomas Malthus was (mostly) right.  The rapid population growth of the 2060s and 2070s brought with it a sudden catastrophe in the 2090s as food stores and crops proved insufficient to maintain the population level.  Anagathics and improved medicine made it so fewer and fewer people did.  Much of the world focused on the financial impacts that the "Methuselah" generation created, and few paid attention to the handful of scientists warning of a pending ecological disaster.  With estimated yearly growth worldwide of nearly 5%, the estimated census recorded the population at just over 20 billion people in 2099 -- about the maximum the planet’s food and water resource could handle.  Unfortunately for humanity, it had to learn the hard way the upper end of the population that Earth could support.  

For the first time in over 1600 years, the world’s human population drastically retracted and decreased in a few chaotic years.  Along with the amazing strain placed on the environment, numerous animal and plant species, once thought relatively safe from environmental pressures, died off in mass extinctions – further endangering the biome.  All told, mass starvations and unchecked diseases claimed over 3 billion lives from 2099 to 2116.  It would be two more decades of concerted effort by numerous organizations to stabilize Earth’s environment.  Many cultures and ethnicities that had survived into the new millennium died out - unable to cope with the rapid planetary changes.  Still to this day the UN maintains a strict vigil over the environmental and agricultural resources of the planet and each nation and independent corporation employs strict financial and legal penalties for exceeding family growth quotas.  While the devastating threat of the turn of the century is no longer, its legacy lives on in a much more conservative mindset.  Interestingly, this Malthusian Crisis led to an increase in the reputation of farmers, nutritionists and pharma experts.

Another unintended effect of the Population Crisis was the rapid acceptance and advancement of off-world colonization.  Colonization is now seen, at worst, as a necessary process to relieve the population stresses on the planet.  In fact, more than any other single effort, the standardization of off-world colonization and the eventual affordability for much of the population was critical in drawing down the Earth population and giving the biome time to heal.

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Next up? I think its time to talk about inspiration. Its about to get heavy.