NationStates Jolt Archive

This is the OOC thread for signups, questions and organization of events related to the roleplay “Of Steam and Clockwork.” This RP is set in an area of the fictional planet Seya. If you’ve ever seen the movie Steamboy or have had any experience with steampunk in the past then this universe is easy to understand. If not, a brief explanation is due. Steampunk is a genre of science fiction where mechanical designs (usually powered by steam boilers, hence the name) of some advancement are placed in historical settings, in this case that of the 1860s Earth. Clockwork men, mechanical computers and airships are common in this setting.

Seya is just something I made up off the top of my head, so there is no fixed “mythology” or deep back story for this RP. There is, however, an outline: Two rival powers are established on the eastern coast of one of Seya’s major oceans, the Teneial Sea, one to the north and one to the south. In between them is an arid, rocky desert full of caves and, logically, bats. These bats have deposited tons of guano in here over the centuries, which any true historian can tell you contains the perfect ingredients to make gunpowder. So basically, anyone that controls the desert has an unlimited supply of cheap, mass-producible gunpowder. The war starts with the two powers fighting each other over this desert, years of skirmishes turning into a border war. There is another main power, a company based off of the Honourable East India Company that controlled India during the 1800s. Their motivation is the same as the others, the capture of the caves.

The following main players must be filled:

Nation 1: Soviet Steam
Nation 2: Cotencia
Company: Einhauser

Any additional people who want to join can create additional nations on the borders of the ones already mentioned (the company not having land, having come via ship from the western world). They can choose to side with either power or do whatever they want, really.

Additional nations:

Prydain: Relative Liberty
Insh' Al Ikwan: Insh_Al_Ikwan
Orboran Confederacy: Otagia
Anglesey: Gurguvungunit

If you are interested in any of the open spots or making your own, you need to post the name of your country, it’s location and any information you think pertinent, including political alignment and government type, not to mention military resources. I’m playing the company, so, I’ll go first.

Nation Name: Einhauser General Commodities Corporation
Location: Most forces are aboard a moderate fleet moored off the coast, with significant elements established in both northern and southern country’s capitals in an effort at diplomacy.
Military strength: 500 men, 1,000 automatons, 30 ships
Political alignment: Neutral towards all parties
Government type: Corporate, CEO Alex Whafen
Additional notes: The flesh-and-blood soldiers of the EGC Corporation are few and far between, being mostly relegated to the role of the engineer. The bulk of EGC forces are automatons, each being equal to ten mortal men.

Here (http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a210/Zipline/OfSteamandClockwork.jpg) is the map. Since this RP has been in the works for a few days a few places are already taken. This (http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a210/Zipline/OfSteamandClockworkLocs3.jpg) shows what has been called. Orange oblong shape is Prydain, blue stripes are the home area of the nomadic Ikwan, blue peninsula is Lykoudras, yellow is Soviet Steam, pink is Anglesey, green is Orboran Confederacy and dark red is Cotencia. Note that the desert being fought over is almost entirely covered by the Ikwan territory.

When claiming land, please remember to make your portion small. This is not a huge RP with millions of men. 10k troops per side is the maximum. The land on the northern coast belongs to the northern nation if they want it. The desert is in between them, but everything else not already taken can be claimed.

This is my first steampunk RPing, so any help would be welcome. Though I already know of the genre through Arcanum.

Nation Name: People's Republic of Soviet Steam
Location: Northwest
Military strength: 3,000 riflemen, 1,500 grenadiers, 500 commandos, 1,500 field artilleries, 500 siege artilleries, 500 hussars, 450 cuirassiers, 450 lancers, 500 dragoons, 50 electric automatons, 15 ironclads, 35 battle airships
Political alignment: Authoritarian Socialism
Government type: Aleatory Technocratic Socialist Dictatorship*, current dictator: Comrade Yevgeni
Additional notes: Automatons heavy maintenance costs have limited their participation in the military so far.

*The Communist Party makes a random choice of one between the most knowledgeable people of Soviet Steam for each 4 years to become the new dictator.

Can I join as a main player or is my puppet nation still too young?

Note: I'll write up a factbook as soon as possible.

Nation Name: The Grand Duchy of Cotencia
Location: In the far south of the area, most Cotencians reside in the mountain valleys in the furthermost south-east. There lie the large reserves of minerals that sustain the high level of mechanization of the Cotencian nation. The weakness is that there is almost no food supply within the mountains that is sufficient for Cotencia's growing population. Therefore, the Duchy relies heavily on the grain fields to the west, up to the river, which have become the lifeline of the nation.
Military strength: 3,000 men, 5,000 automatons, 5 batteries of steam artillery, 5 river gunboats, 20 Zepplins, 80 gyrocopters.
Political alignment: The Monarchy and the Grand Court of the Duchy are conservative, as is most of the military. The scientists and other intellectuals tend to have a more liberal view. Economical interests need the military for the protection of the grain fields, but would prefer expansion all the way to the sea. This expansionist view is backed by some in the military and the court.
Government type: Monarchy
Monarch: His Majesty, by the Grace of God, Grand Duke of Cotencia, Guglielmo Andrea Inigo Pisani di Christoforo VII


Map: Dark Red on South-east (note: the border to the south may be unmarked, but it stops there, I'm not claiming some sort of endless spam of land to the south, just what you see on the map) (http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o205/Franarama/SteamandClockworkmap.png)

Nation Name: Insh' Al Ikwan (Insh' Al Ikwan -Insert Family-), commonly Ikwan.

Location: The Desert without regard to borders.

Military Strength: It is well believed the Ikwan can call up an armed force of fighters equal to any standing army, however the the tribal nature fo the Ikwan make this often an unlikely event. Ikwan warriors primarily raid traveling traders and border villages as well contract themselves out for protecting traders and border villages.

Technology: The Ikwan make limited use of gunpowder with regard to firearms and tend to trade or steal guns. Cannons can be found in use on some of the rare large steam Desert Ships used by the wealthiest of the Ikwan clans. Smaller craft are common and signature of the Ikwan who have developed very specialized mechinations for use in their harsh home.

Steam powered cannon are more common even though the Ikwan have ready access to the resources for manufacturing gunpowder---

The Ikwan greatest technological strength lies in their intuitive ability to reverse engineer without any previous experience with a technology system, and to find retro-active usefulness for new technology on old systems.

There are rumors that a great Ikwan leader in the greatest depths of the Desert even now works on slithering mechanical beast as yet unseen...though no one even other Ikwan can claim to have personally seen this machine.

Political Alignment: Unpredictable/Undependable

Government Type: Tribal/Family Hierarchal

Soviet, you can join as Nation 1. As for tips, keep in mind that this is not the 20th century. Socialism, while it didn't exist in the 1800s, could be an interesting addition to the roleplay, so it can work. Just be careful not to refer to any actual events, such as the Communist Revolution. As for your location, could you mark it on the map? I'd do it myself but I'm not on my normal computer right now.

On a side note, the RP will begin tomorrow. That means the last call for new nations is now.

Nation Name: The Orboran Confederacy
Location: Peninsula in southwest corner
Government Type: Aristocracy, power split between several houses but tenuously in the hands of High Lord Seris
Military Strength: 4900 soldiers, 420 Warjacks, 8 Colossals, 70 steamships of various make
Technology Notes: The Confederacy is a hotbed of political intrigue and covert fighting, so it stands to reason that some of the finest minds of the age call the nation home, due to exceptional employment opportunities amongst the ruling Houses. Technology here is quite advanced, with gas lighting across the larger cities of the Confederacy, and steam power making life easier for it's citizens. Militarily, the Confederacy has always preferred to rely on manpower over automatons, with each House maintaining it's own standing army. Thus, each soldier is armed to a higher degree than many other nations, with innovative weaponry common amongst their ranks. While exact kit varies between the Houses, it is not uncommon to see steam armor in the more elite companies.

Most Houses see their Automatons, referred to as Steamjacks (Warjacks for military models), concentrated among the hands of a trained few. These individuals, referred to as Warcasters, are masters of commanding their mechanical charges, sometimes to the point of seemingly directing them with but a thought. Reports of Warjacks becoming psychically attuned to their Warcasters, much like a pet hound, abound.

The Navy of the Confederacy is large, consisting of over seventy ironclad steamships of various makes and models. Each House controls it's own small fleet, protecting it's interests in their waters and defending their vassals from piracy. Size varies from pinnaces armed with only a few guns to massive war galleons, bristling with turrets and broadsides of almost fifty cannon.

The one thing the Orboran Confederacy lacks is an air fleet. The nation does not yet possess the technology to create such vessels, but the Houses are quite interested in such knowledge, and a shadow war rages over acquiring those with the expertise to develop them.

Political Alignment: Varies between the seven Houses.

Still need to come up with more information on the land they control (all I know at the moment is that they're heavily reliant on the sea around them for food), but should be enough for now.

Looks good. Still need Prydain's information, and I just realized that I failed to include the names of the rivers and major landmarks! This isn't actually such a bad thing, however, as that means each nation can call them what they want. I'm sure the Ikwan and the Soviets wouldn't have any of the same words, so why should any other nation combination?

Name: Prydain

Location: The south, from around the river junction to the southwards bend in the eastern river.

Military strength: Around 4000 infantry, 100 cavalry, some ships for patrolling the river

Political alignment: The King and the Court are conservative, but several large factions within the country are calling for social and economic development (and expansion); the government is neutral but other private interests ar ekeeping an eye on them natural resources.

Government type: Two-chamber constitutional monarchy; for a legislation to pass it requires two-thirds majority in the House of Commons or simple majority in the House of Lords.
House of Lords (with simple majority) and the king has veto.
The executive power lies with the king and the agencies and institutions that answer to him.

Monarch; Llywelyn II of the House of Cunedda, Prince of Aberffraw of the Dark Isle, King of the Priteni

Is it possible for me to play as a tribe that resides in the desert of which this war is being fought over?

Is it possible for me to play as a tribe that resides in the desert of which this war is being fought over?

Insh' Al Ikwan is kinda doing that already, but I don't see why not as long as its not a copy of his.

You could talk to Ikwan about maybe being a seperatist splinter tribe that broke off and formed a new "nation." You don't have to, of course, but it would fit in with the universe well. As it stands, the map looks like this (http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a210/Zipline/OfSteamandClockworkLocs2.jpg). Dark red is Cotencia, blue dashes are the Ikwan, orange is Prydain, green peninsula is Orboran, yellow oblong is Soviet, and light blue peninsula is Lykoudras, who just signed up in another thread and has yet to post his facts.

I am writing the first post of the RP and should be done in an hour or two (also trying to buy a videogame, so patience). I have to ask, though, what kind of exposure to "modern" technology does each of your cultures possess? Are they familiar with trains, photography, et cetera? I strongly doubt that the nations with warships and whatnot have not seen a photo, but I'm curious.

Steam is getting all the more common, particularly in the heavy industry (still tied in the guild network).

The emerging class (i.e. the entrepreneurs; the would-be capitalists or burghers; cf. the primary revolutionary members of the burghers of 18th century France) are surely familiar with the inventions of the outside world, and have adopted this as their signature mark (as in the possession of tech is a source of symbolic capital in the entrepreneur sub-group).

The two other main groups of society (the lower “Third Estate” and the aristocracy) are much more skeptical of modern technology, but for radically different reasons: the farmers and such regard with the suspicion with which all things new are greeted, turning instead to their religion and a belief in the power of tradition (as well as several Luddite fears of the technological evolution); the aristocracy sees modern technology instead as a threat to the social hierarchy on which they depend (the possession of tech becomes here a sure way to ruin your symbolic capital).

Naturally these groups are not homogenous, and some overlap exists between them.

Cotencia is very industrialized, especially in the mountainous areas. Having possession of technological gadgets or automatons is regarded as a symbol of social status. There are few who resent the mechanical advancements made in Contencia, since they have so much improved the standard of life and the power of the Duchy.

Since the aristocracy sponsored the scientific progress in the first place, and along with some industrialists posses the grand majority of the automatons and other inventions, they are not seen as a threat to power. The Religious elements are not comfortable with the degree of technology being used, but they cannot oppose the aristocracy and the industrialist class when they are united.

Thread is up. Here's (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=13339676#post13339676) the link.

OOC Note: It's more based on an authoritarian twist of a Russian equivalent of the late 1800s Paris Commune, not on the Russian Revolution, just look at this drawing (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0a/ParisCafeDiscussion.png/604px-ParisCafeDiscussion.png): I think it fits with the style. So no worries, I won't bring 20th century stuff on it.

Soviet Steam technology is accessible to everyone as it's a socialist, partly planned economy, and many of the means of productions are directly controlled by the workers rather than by the authoritarian but willing government(Note: the "tax rate" represents the government directly controlled part of the economy). Education is free for everyone.

The dream of proving to be capable and knowledgeable enough to be chosen as the next dictator moves many to study in depth the inner workings of both politics and engineering, creating many great geniuses and promoting the progress. Yevgeni became famous for creating the massive electric automaton capable of carrying its trigger operated 20-pounder parrott rifle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_artillery_in_the_American_Civil_War#Parrott_rifles), which still is used limitedly due to its maintenance costs but can change the tide of a battle. Industrialization is heavy and steam tractors do exist in the collectively owned lands where crops are grown. Steam-powered automobiles (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Obeissante.jpg) capable of reaching 38 mph also exist and are distributed to families according to their needs. Still many prefer the easier to acquire horses and carriages for transportation. Airships are common long distance travel means as well. Steam-powered electricity is everywhere including even the most backwater villages. Finally, experimental tesla guns are being issued to the best riflemen.

OOC: Think I can still get in? If so:

Nation name: The Kingdom of Anglesey
Location: Ideally, centred around that bay in the farther north part of the map, but I don't know if that's taken. If so, anywhere northern and/or with a coast.
Military Strength: 3,000 infantry, 1,000 cavalry, 1,000 Artillerists (people in Artillery service... not counting the number of barrels yet), 13 line-of-battle ships (ironclad, wood structure, steam power), 4 seagoing monitors, 6 coastal defence monitors, 14 frigates of various makes and models.
Government Type: I see RL already beat me to it, but okay. 2 Chamber constitutional monarchy, house of lords and commons. Both houses must pass legislation with a simple majority, the King may veto. Government is based on common law and precedent, as there is no constitution.
Technology/Society Notes: The Kingdom is particularly hesitant to make use of automatons, and while some exist in the supply corps of the armed forces, they are not used in combat for fears of 'reliability'. Generally, Anglishmen* are uncomfortable around thinking automation of any sort, and much is still done by hand or with 'dumb' automation that an Earther would consider not out of place in Victorian England.

In terms of the armed forces, it is very clear by examining them that the Anglish rely upon sea trade as their economic lifeline. Accordingly, the Kingdom produces a great deal of manufactured goods which it trades with neighbouring nations in return for raw materials which are lacking in the Kingdom of Anglesey itself. This will either make co-operation with the similarly-minded Einhauser Corp. very easy or very difficult, depending on how things go.
Political Alignment: The Kingdom probably hates the Commies. More on this later.

I have to run, but there you go!

*I'm not copying a real society at all. Stop thinking that, you.

copypasta from the other thread:

I'm interested. Tentatively, I've named my concept "Lykoudras".

EDIT, 2: Renamed the country to "Lykoudras". Mythology coming; son of someone or another, leader and supporters exiled for something or another; name is λύκουδρος, meaning "wolf-man", from "lykou" (of a wolf) and "andros" (man). Weak yes, but this is being thrown together in less than 24 hours.

EDIT:

Nation name: The Kingdom of Lykoudras; also the Lykoudric Kingdom
Location: Peninsula (http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y273/blast_archives/OfSteamandClockwork.jpg)
Military strength: see below
Political alignment: Socially liberal (well, for the time) and somewhat nationalist; presumably anti-Ottoman; strong focus on military and modernizing the transportation system; lesser focus on encouraging technical advancements; populous and some MPs support parliamentary reform, right to vote, freedom of the press, lessening the power of the Crown, etc.; radical religious movement generally supportive of the Crown but with very strict and literal interpretations of religion; very few "populist radicals" support the transition to a republic, and even fewer the concept of laïcité
Government type: Constitutional monarchy; peerage-based parliamentary assembly works in tandem with the King to legislate the country
Monarch: TM King Erebos Nikephoreas, IB, IDT
Prime Minister: Titos Photias

EDIT 3:

Scratch notes:
-Population: 2,347,412
-Area: 18,440 km² (7,120 sq mi)
-Density: 127.3 /km² (329.7 /sq mi)
-Military:
--4 infantry regiments (2–5 btn ea; ~6,000)
--2 cavalry regiments (1 lt, 1 gnd;4, 5 trp ea; ~810)
--4 artillery batteries
--8 ironclads (varying size)
--58 gyrocopters
--22 armed Zeppelins

Just so you know I've not lost interest: at present I am getting a post together, but it's turned into a monster. It's coming along, but I want to finish it off rather than just cutting off the dialogue, etc. and listing actions after it.

Gurg, you're more than welcome. Apologies for the tardiness of your confirmation. I was debating whether to allow one more in after the close date, but it's fine. I'll see about adding you to the map.

Jeuna, good call. It's better to make a quality post than a bunch of bad ones. Karl Marx can shove it.

Can we get an updated map edited into the OP? WIth all participants on it.

Gurguvungit, who was that question you posed aimed at? If it was me and you were referring to me sighting a fleet in my last post, then yes, it was you. You spotted me so I’d be able to see you easily. Smoke stacks tend to help things stick out. For SS’s borders look at the map included with the OOC thread. It has the outlines of all nations except yours, which will be rectified as soon as you give me a general idea of your territory.

Soviet Steam, I’m curious about whether your nation is a new colony or something. You mentioned drawing supplies from the rest of your territory and not knowing about any other civilized nations. If you are recent arrivals, I look forward to seeing how you RP your guys living in tents and rapidly constructed buildings.

On a different note, please do not post any OOC comments in the IC thread. They should all go here, no matter how short. That will keep this thread bumped and the other pure. A new, fully-updated map will be posted when I get Gurg’s land claims. Jeuna drew up a lovely little scale for the map that I will try and include to help give us some idea of where we are.

Lastly, I want to emphasize that the main focus of this RP should not be the various nation’s interaction with the company, but rather nation versus nation. That should prove more dynamic and serve to lengthen the life of this roleplay, while I can just skirt around the edges and turn you all against each other, heh. That’s why I have such a small military force. I love the direction the Ikwan v Prydain angle is taking because it could really stir up some discontent.

EDIT: Updated map is up.

Nation name: The People of Avio'fen
Location: None (see later on)
Military Strength: 1200 Aero-navy personnel, 216 air marines
Government Type: A system in which the heads of the 6 most powerful families control the three cities, and the airships of the people.
Technology/Society Notes: The entire society is never found on land, but rather live in the air permanently in aircities, with 24 000 people living aboard the three giant airships of A'neo, Y'vas and Ih'nagra. They live by trading with cities across the world, and by acting as a safe haven for airships in the trading business.
The entire society is loath to go onto land at any time, and most only step onto land once every decade, when the aircity lands for services.
The technology that the society uses is mainly based on the steam turbine: hydrogen from gasbags are used to produce steam, turning turbines to produce both movement and steam power in the city.
Most jobs are done by the people, with some automatoms rarely seen below deck, inside the systems that keep the city alive and afloat.

The aeronavy comprises of many airships made on the aircity of Ih'nagra, the city that has chosen to float towards this battlezone. In total, the aeronavy of Ih'nagra commands 120 airships of varying sizes and role, and a batallion of air marines, the only men who regularly step onto the ground. A detailed list will come with the RP of these airships, half of which are small requisitioned merchant vessels and half of which are purpose-built battlecraft, from the Breeze-type Aero-Patrolcraft to the Leviathon-type Aero-battlecraft, that uses automotum-assisted systems to allow it to deliver devestating attacks on the enemy.

I am not so keen on flying cities. Especially ones that only "step onto land once every decade ... for services".

The issue here is not so much the content but the timing. Flying cities could work in a steampunk setting, but not the kind we're doing. I think a fantasy/steampunk RP would fit it better. Like I said, though, the timing is an issue. We have already started the RP and it's been going for a few days. The only reason I let Gurguvungunit in was that he applied just past the apply date. My apologies for not making it clear that the RP is closed earlier.

Soviet Steam, I’m curious about whether your nation is a new colony or something. You mentioned drawing supplies from the rest of your territory and not knowing about any other civilized nations. If you are recent arrivals, I look forward to seeing how you RP your guys living in tents and rapidly constructed buildings.

They don't know about other civilized nations nearby because as they comment on the native nomads pointed, they are a quite isolationist society and they prefer to develop their existing territories before expanding any further. It's a bunch settlements with almost a year of age. They mention on supplies is because there are certain things that can't be extracted or grown on the desert and thus they import them from the main land.

On fantasy elements, I'm designing Soviet Steam to be compatible with both Fantasy(preferably dark fantasy) and hard(pure) Steampunk and maybe even 1800s PT(as it doesn't rely so much on the gadgets of steampunk as it does on RL 1800s tech), though by focusing entirely on science and technology, they have no knowledge or proficiency to learn magic for the roleplays which involve the first, putting again to place that old "Magic vs. Technology" thing because honestly I believe that for a good(non-wanked) Fantasy or Multitech Setting you either focus your nation on mastering one of them or on being a "jack of all trades, master of none" and having inferior tech and magic compared to nations dedicated entirely to one of them.

I'm taking some time to answer because I prefer to think beforehand and ponder on how to create some believable plot device(the thieves and the located caves in this case) to make the story interesting.

Sounds good. Working on a new post for the IC now. Let's keep this going, guys.

I also like the fact everyone is taking their time with this.

I'm writing, I'm writing.

School just started for me again, and while I still plan to post regularly I might fall off a bit. Apologies.

I also like the fact everyone is taking their time with this.
Apologies. Just got a new place, still in the process of moving in, getting all the bills in my name, etc. That, and getting used to hearing Union Pacific go by a hundred feet from my house ever couple of hours. Should get something reasonably soon. By which I mean the next day or two.

I'm afraid this RP has the "Einhauser Curse." It seems that everything I create tends to die in short order, so I'm not that surprised this is floundering. I've not been able to post as often as I'd like because the day the RP launched I bought Elder Scrolls IV and then school started yesterday. Business class is, needless to say, tough. I do like this RP though, so I want to try and get a bit more participation from all parties, including myself. I'll be regularly posting, I promise.

EDIT: Oh, also don't think I've forgotten the airship closing on my fleet. I'm planning on having the diplomatic party from Engla- er, I mean Angland sit down for a meal and have my guys be roused by the airship. Maybe invite the crew onboard and have us a proper tea party, eh?

What? I'm not England. I'm a very original nation, inspired by a collection of western European nations. And a little bit of China.

Right.

A question for Ein: Are you going to have your combat automatons behave... like machines with a single instruction hard-coded into their brains by punchcard, or like units driven by a simple combat AI? The OOC reason that I'm not using combat automatons is that I can't conceive how they'd manage a battle situation requiring flexibility, responsiveness and creative tactics.

I mean, you can use them, but I see the most obvious counter to a combat AI-heavy enemy that requires a change of punchcard to change orders is simply doing one thing, then changing tactics quickly so as to make the previous order invalid.

By a stroke of coincidence the place where the thieves were hidden was roughly the same area where the nomads were moving through. I did this in the hope to give some life to the IC thread, hopefully lifting the "Einhauser Curse". Now if you want something audiovisual to complement the RP text of the battle and battles to come, the closest thing is something like the battle in this this video(spoiler, though I guess most already watched that movie), but in smaller scale, without cannons, gatling guns and in the desert instead and this time both sides are more or less balanced. In fact my side is outnumbered by almost 10 to 3.

A similar but much larger battle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F_1wgjBUvY&feature=related), I but I don't have currently cannons or early machineguns with me for this, just the repeating rifles and its bayonets. I hope Insh Al Ikwan won't be bothered by this small example as it obviously isn't a perfect example and just a reference for people to get in "the mood" for a 1800s battle.

And here is the default rifle of infantry for reference, a lever-action Spencer repeating rifle with a 7 rounds tube magazine:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spencer_repeating_rifle

While a grenadier(not available in this current battle), I'll put here his image for future reference as well, among others(to be added later):

Grenadier (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Preobrazhensky_Paris.jpg)
Mortar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:PaixhansMonsterMortar.gif)

On automatons, there is only one for each Soviet Steam city on the location of this RP, so they are essentially the "last resort" and power projection tools used also to boost the morale of ground troops as they see such giant helping them with the battle.

The punchcards are there to give the analytical engine constraints using "if then" statements. So, in other words, the machines have a primitive brain but can't think without slips of paper shoved in their foreheads.

Some sample commands might be like, "If target is wearing (insert national colors of Einhauser) then do not fire." "If target is within (insert distance) then open fire with rifle." "If no target is visible then actively scan for one." These are just examples like I said. Most automatons have a ream of paper that is quite long. That one that was on the Indefatigable lifting boxes had ones for lifting things, stepping over things, ducking, walking, staying out of the way, staying at its relative station, etc.

Kind of a wanky system but best I could think of.

I just wanted to say that I'm not dead/ignoring this, I just don't have much to say until Cotencia shows up.

Yeeeah.

Well my Ikwan dont fight like Japanese...they fight like Bedouins/Mongols/Steppe Peoples so that video would be nothing like what they would do.

But other then that...cool.

Though to be completely fair I am really trying to avoid a massing a huge army.

Things are starting to heat up, all right. We've got the skirmish on the borders of Prydain and one about to (I suspect) erupt between me and SS. Gurg, perhaps something could happen where your fleet stays on station to watch mine, and perhaps something might happen to provoke a naval battle? Even one that was just glossed over diplomatically after it happened? Hmmm...

Sorry for my absence. Post coming.

Glad to have you back. Jeuna has told me that he has withdrawn because he's tired of NS politics, so don't expect Lykoudras to do much posting. It's still fine to refer to it as a nation, but don't engage in raiding or anything. As far as we're concerned it's an isolationist tech kingdom or something.

Anyway, as soon as both parties of diplomats get settled in on my ships I'll dispatch a few ambassadors to the various relevant capitals.

Sorry for the (long) absence. I've been busy. Is this thing still going?

I don't know. Totally forgot about it, to be honest. Anyway, I'll post as soon as someone else does.