“Wardens, there was no other name for them, if one had existed it was lost to the mists of time and so they were simply called the Wardens. Not much else was known about them other than the fact that they were an ancient race travelling the stars when other races were just climbing out of the primordial soup. They weren’t alone. The “others” whose true name was also long lost, shared the galaxy with the wardens, at first in peace, then in an un-easy cold war and finally in an all out conflict that engulfed the “lower” races as well. I wish I could tell you that the good guys won, that light triumphed over darkness but it was not so, there were no good guys. By the time the great galactic war ended the others were extinct. The “lower” races were then subjected to systematic genocide as the Wardens decided the galaxy would be far more peaceful and ordered with but a single race to rule it. But not all races were exterminated fully. Twelve races, still basically in the stone age were spared. But the Wardens knew these races could evolve and one day challenge them so an evil idea was put into place. These races were thinned out and the survivors established on new home worlds located in this space sector. Still feeling the need for more assurance and security the wardens then surrounded the sector with an impregnable energy barrier, nothing would be able to get out but the wardens could certainly get in if there was a need. And so the centuries passed, no one knows what became of the wardens other than the fact that they became a basis for superstitions and myths,UFO sightings and alien abductions, fact gave way fantasy and conjecture.” This brief story could be expanded easily if needed as we have no lack of creativity on this forum. The basic idea behind this is the Antarans reversed. In Moo2 the Antarans had lost an ancient war and been imprisoned in a pocket universe. In this story they won the war and imprisoned the few survivors they decided to spare. I think something along these lines might offer some value to Project Space sector in multiple ways. Not hard to implement Instantly addresses the map size and eliminates it as a possible issue. Introduces an Antaran type super menace while being “fresh” Ties into artifacts found in the game Stays within the Moo2 feel Offers a tech victory condition (barrier research supertech) with variable results (You failed to breech the barrier, more research required) (you failed to breech the barrier but instead triggered an invasion of “Wardens” this could become a late game super menace. Defeat it and win, lose and well, lose) (you breech the barrier, tech victory gained) Etc. Granted, I have not seen the game yet and as such this might not be necessary or it may be superfluous but if there are issues which have not been resolved yet, (game lore, map size, super menace, etc.) then something like this could be used to tie up several loose ends at a single stroke.
Interesting idea - also takes care of the question why all these civilizations evolve simultaneously... One thing to ponder: why would the Wardens have spared the 12 civs? Why not irradicate them all for good? Just asking because there might be an interesting story potential (or some means to "breech the barrier") hidden in that answer.
Good question Matthias, and one I purposely left un-answered. The beauty of it is that we have so much creative license at our disposal that giving a reason for the 12 species being spared can take many directions, all plausible. Let me give some possible ideas. The 12 were spared due to the religious beliefs of the Wardens which relate to the 12 signs of the Zodiac The 12 were spared so they could be socially experimented on without their knowledge (Ancient astronauts tie-in) The 12 were spared as a source for biological materials (Alien abduction tie in) The 12 were spared as a zoo for the amusement of the Wardens etc. You can get pretty creative and tie into the game very well with this. P.S. I like that you expanded on this by viewing it as a reason for why all species evolved simultaneously, I totally missed that yet it is so obvious! Excellent point!
This reminds me of the Reapers in Mass Effect, at least the way they were presented in the first two games. They culled all life that was over a certain stage every cycle (game lore hints they punk anything equal to or higher than the Bronze Age). They deliberately left Stone Age primitives behind. Sovereign admits they leave artifacts behind to guide the technological progress of the next cycle, thus indicating they wanted cycles and not completely eradicating all life. Honestly, I preferred the fan theories above the official answer we got in the finale. My personally favourite was they were "farming us." They became so advanced they saw technological advanced races the same way as we see a chicken or a potato. Now why the farmed us gave them a Lovecraftian mystique. We can imagine it as possible, but the thought is frightening since we're the potato. Sometimes it is best the Grand Antagonist's true motives remain a secret, as long as there a sense to it even if it's a cruel and alien sense that chills your blood it's fine.
Perhaps they felt deeply mis-understood, and wanted to give all their former adversaries a second chance to recognize their greatness. Oh, I just realize I might have watched too much news recently.
Now that is sinister! I agree with this, no outright explanation can be very effective, You can further this concept and create a sense of suspense if this lore is slowly "rediscovered" throughout the game by exploring various ruins and ancient relics. Perhaps you can even allow for partial discovery of the motives through archaeological digs and research. The possibilities are truly endless as most of the hard work is already in place (you have artifacts, ruins, unique techs) Edward, I have read your reviews and lively replies at Space sector (a particular reply you made to a poster on 24/8/2016 really stands out), I believe that you understand the power of a few written words when exercised correctly. Something along the lines of what I propose here would instantly create a history and feel within the game and lend a raison d'etre to both existing aspects of the game as well as any that may be added later, and all for the price of a few well written words and perhaps a cut scene or two. Low risk, high reward, my favorite equation.
If you're going to reverse the Antaran idea, why not go all the way? That would be such a cool twist on the usual space 4X game to make the PLAYER the ancient ultra-tech menace that was sealed away long ago. You would start with all the techs and all the planets you'll ever have, but your "expansion" is building up fleets - and increasing your ability to slip more and more of those ships out of your prison. Your goal is to harass the galaxy's young new empires (and keep them from gaining the strength to challenge you) until you can unleash a cosmic apocalypse, moving out your entire nigh-invulnerable fleet to cleanse the galaxy once and for all. You'd have to plan your raids carefully, as (in true space 4X fashion) the new empires mostly hate each other, and crippling one of them at the wrong moment might only lead to their rival moving in and getting stronger! But maybe you could be more sophisticated than the Antarans were, and do things like frame other empires for the damage you cause (and incite wars between them) or secretly seduce less scrupulous empires into collaborating with you. Of course, such a mode is well beyond the current goals of the Space Sector project... but if the game sells well enough, an idea for an expansion, maybe? (A guy can dream, right?)
In all those years I played MoO2, I always hoped that there was an easter egg where this would actually happen, or that the Orions would come back reclaiming their sector. Of course it never did, but oh my, that would have been fun! (at least once in a while). Perhaps having such a "this changes everything!" mechanic which only happens at a very low probability (e.g., only once per 10 or 20 games played to the end) would be something to consider...
You built on this quite nicely and it could make for an entire game much less an expansion. For project Space Sector though only a narrow application of this is feasible. My thought here is that you cover some bases if needed with something that can be done relatively quickly and easily by the devs. With an Antarean type super menace not yet a given you also cover your bases there regardless how it goes. (No menace? it's the barrier,yes menace? they can get in you're the one in prison) But at this point it's speculation, it's just one more in the drawer in case it serves a need and provided that the cost is negligible to the potential reward. Still, I like how you grew that story and the idea, seriously, separate game concept.
Interesting story, but i immediately thought to myself, if they had no problem committing galactic genocide, why stop now. If they are afraid of these races, just wipe them out already get done with it. Why go through the enormous effort of building the largest force field conceivable that spans hundreds or thousands of light years, the power requirements of which would require the energy output of a billion stars. The engineering feet to accomplish such a force field and supply it power is so outrages it could never be worth the effort, unless???? I bring this up not because I have a problem with the story, but rather i think the issue of why these 12 races were spared should be addressed in some way. The story should actual ask the question in it "Why spare these 12 races?" or "Why were these 12 races spared?" maybe as the very last sentence. Otherwise it just made no sense because it contradicted itself.
The other topic in reference to the backstory is that I imagine that a lot of the audience of this game just wants to play as humans from Earth. Humans that evolved naturally from life that started hear billions of years ago, not brought here by some super advanced race a few hundred years ago which flies in the face of the overwhelming archaeological record. I am one of them, I would genuinely like to play as Earth (perhaps starting as president Trump? then all my crazy wacked out decisions and total dictatorship could make sense). When playing as true to life earth, I can build up and role play, perhaps as the star trek federation. But I don't want to play as some human refugees of a long last war that had to restart over on some other planet. Then our language, culture, customs, religions and government styles would be completely different. They would be totally alien to what our planet is like now, and that breaks the immersion of playing as the humans. For me, i would prefer no back story, its just the year 2030 and SpaceX (or the Chinese) has built its first scout ship, go forth and have fun.
Thanks for joining in on this Possibility and presenting a different viewpoint. For a percentage of players you are exactly correct, there is no denying that. My story was motivated by the map size more than anything else and was an attempt to offer a solution that did not require a huge increase to same. Still, in light of your post, maybe a different approach is in order, one that more players can relate to but at the same time would not require anything drastic from the Devs
It's all fine and good if the player don't know all (or at least not after only one playthrough) but surely they must know some of the story after a while. In this I join you. However let's make it clear that the devs, as the narrator of the story, MUST know and not use the "it's a mystery" trope as a deus ex machina.
