Concluding the Miharu, and what might come next?

[Zack]

Yeah, basically what Nyton said.

I would like to point out that I've been trying to re-organize the senate's rulings and I don't think I've found all of them that have been approved. With the senate getting obliterated ICly and bad OOC record keeping it is hard to know which things Nepleslia has and hasn't agreed to (like the rights of first contact. For all I know Nep did agree to it, but I couldn't find that written anywhere officially).

Hanako broke decree 16 a few times, and there was the whole 'we're parking warships on your front door' thing. Seeing that Yamatai had no interest in following the decree, Nepleslia was looking for a way to just void it. Rather than a public announcement that they were considering the decree invalid they quietly invalidated it using the method Nyton described, considering the reorganized government as a separate entity.

Arguably, the decree could still be considered 'in effect' from the Yamatain side though... something you should consult with your crack Yamatain legal team!

 

[MissingNo]

The decree being invalid doesn't determine public reactions to nekos in their territory. As far as the Nepleslian public knows, the decree is still in effect, right? They might take it into their own hands, and if the government leaks that the decree is invalid now, that might undo the reason they wanted it to disappear quietly.

 

[phacon]

@Nashoba:

I appreciate the clarifications. My perceptions were behind the times, it seems.

You weren't the only one Fred. (Phacon points to self) Still doing something between you and Nashoba might be interesting. Honestly, from the NMX storyline threads, I thought you, Nashoba, and Wes had some kind of grand secret superplot going in the back ground.

Honestly, I thought about joining the Miharu or a plot you did before. I never joined b/c just wasn't sure if there would be room. (Months ago, Miharu was full the last time I checked >/< )

Would there be room in your new plot? What would it be like?

 

[Fred]

A new plot would start with room for new people. What it would be like is still something that needs to be ironed out - that's one of the reasons I've made this thread.

 

[Wes]

What about an infantry plot based on a large ship?

 

[SSharp]

How about an infantry plot without a ship -- which is less done.

 

[Zack]

Well since we're cycling through the options, how about a ship without an infantry plot? Something voyager style with the wrong crew stranded on the wrong ship far off in space and having to make their way back?

SARPGATE: Voyager wouldn't be too bad an idea actually... stararmy already has gone through its plotship and plotstation phases plus Fred tends to move at his own speed so getting out of the setting a little might work well for him?

(Do we have a 9th SARPron to dial? Or perhaps a gammaSARPrent to get pulled into?)

 

[Fred]

I GM a plotship in the SARP setting. If I go out-of-universe, I might as well:

1) Go to another forum RP community.
2) Make my own.

But the people here wish to roleplay in the SARPverse, so, that's where it'll stay. I don't think I'll go for the far-flung and isolated simply because it wouldn't suit my purpose anyhow: by being more episodal, I get to have my playerbase be more present and up-to-times with the setting. My previous plot was more far flung and distant, so... been there done that.

About the infantry plot thing... it might not look like it, but Miharu appears to have been pretty infantry heavy: all three major mission had a power armor battle crown them. Mission 5's ship-to-ship action seems clearly overshadowed by the stuff that's happening with power armors.

That it itself felt appropriate to me. Power Armor battles happened when they had to. I think the part I liked the least from that, though, was how impersonal it felt in regard to Kotori. I mean, the action for the other people is entirely appropriate, but after a while of that, I end up itching to roleplay my own character as well. Ironically, that ends up happening during ship/downtime portions of the plot.

The Miharu-overhaul I'm working on is clearly going to be better suited at supporting even larger groups of power armors too. I'm unsure of how many people that would support, but one idea I was nursing was that each infantry player end up being the leader of a 3-person team, with him creating his own NPC sidekicks. Hence, players could be more powerful by controlling teams rather than individuals, which could be a nice way of showing off the greater responsabilities of higher ranked Heis, Heishos and Junis.

I think the time Kotori might go around without a ship could come up with the no-ship-only-infantry scope. Plus, it'd get her herself implicated. The same could go for that Nyton-and-Nepleslia thing, but the drawback with that is how that only keeps Blas and me entertained.

Another wild idea could be to have the squadron command ship have the infantrymen, and then have players each roleplay an escort ship commander (i.e.: a Chiaki-class) when there's space combat. When there's infantry stuff, they end up roleplaying their infantry character on the command vessel.

 

[Nyton]

Well, Nepleslia based Nyton/Kotori adventures could be side story material to the main episodic plot missions. You know, the ones where we put a conveniently ambiguous time lag between main events to allow the side stories to occur. The ambiguous time lag could also allow time for any injuries incurred to heal as well. Kind of how Torchwood took place in the Dr. Who universe and managed to interact ever so slightly.

Main Miharu Mission Story Happens

Nepleslia Side Story

Main Miharu Mission Story Continues

But instead of forcing others to wait for the side story to finish they're all being played parallel. And any references made to the Side Story by characters in the Story Continues are kept vague.

Kai: "So how did you enjoy your vacation back home?"

Nyton: "It could have gone much better."

Yukari: "I trust your tour of the Yamatai/Nepleslia border went well?"

Kotori: "You could say it was more interesting than I thought it would be. But enough about that we have more pressing things to do."

Then the Side Story wraps up and more detailed reference can be made by the next Main Story Episode. At least that's one way it can be executed without holding up events for others. Its not like we haven't written side stories and events for characters within the Miharu storyline before.

We've had a ton of infantry action already. We've had far flung epic too. So what's next? I know the mundane may seem just that, mundane, but there's a charm to those stories with a quick resolution.

 

[Fred]

Well, concluding Mission 5 comes first. If the Infection Queen falls, it'll be the time for the crew to hightail it out of that dimension and then deal with the aftermath of their actions.

From there, the plot's epilogue pretty much begins. That likely includes debriefing with Taisho Yui. I also want to make an award ceremony to underline this kind of victory.

After that, this is pretty much the point where people get replies and updates over the SACN... which pretty much leaves them with the prompt to ask for new orders. Their posting on Miharu will be over and it'll be time ICly to move on.

Part of becoming heroes is a rise in popularity, and I thought about portraying that. Their actions have been momentous, enough so to interest journalists, figure in broadcasted interviews and commercial adds ("I'm Suzuka Yukari, and this is my favorite gunshop in Kyoto"), to have officials wish to dedicate something in their honor (seriously, I don't think Kotori will be able to escape a ship named after her now), being invited to receptions in their honor by important officials.

It may be interesting to see how they cope with that. I've seen the populace react to servicing soldiers on shore leave, but there was never really a media focus on anyone displayed. Of course, it's a bit flattering, but just how do people deal with the increased popularity?

Tom and Yukari may settle and marry. Tom promised homes for the Miharu sprites. The simple opportunity to no longer be embroiled in duty and fighting to finally see what they were protecting is probably worth exploring.

Yukari has information on three safehouses programmed to respawn Eve at a set period of time. This will no doubt need to be attended to to ensure that the victory against the Daughters of Eve is an enduring one.

There's also the possible threat of Kikyô, whom was paid to eliminate them. Even though her employers are dead, she might still try to do her job. Even if she doesn't... she's still the person whom killed her mother, the former-Empress Ayame. A person whom has blood run so cold as to be willing to be paid to kill her baby sister and mother could make a pretty nice villain to confront in an offshoot story.

I know I could take the opportunity to have Kotori set things right with her mother and her former foster family. Kotori may renew ties with Hanako (visit her ship, even? Wouldn't be the first time a gunship would have two Taisas). I know that if Kotori was left to her own devices, she'd likely go back to the War College and study to become better rounded in the fields which would help her uphold her station as princess (i.e.: diplomacy, law, history, and such).

Those are all possibilities that could fill in the time until Kotori gets her next plotship (and that's probably when I'm done with my Miharu-overhaul project). There's tons of possibilities to explore, but limited time and direction - it's part of the reason I made this thread; to figure out what was worth doing more than other stuff.

 

[Nyton]

Well there will be undoubtedly some down time as the crew figures out what to do next. Seeing as the only part of the ship that is returning will likely be mostly Hoshi then there should be a downtime where the crew won't have their own ship. That's even after the whole epilogue and loose ends of Eve get tied up.

I'm not sure how long it will take to get a new ship redesigned and running. Or if they will just end up having to assume a new ship altogether. If any of the safehouses for Eve's revival are off world than maybe while Hoshi is getting refitted they may need to borrow another ship.

I would say the amount of 'down' time would be new vessel dependent. Its unlikely Kotori will not get another ship, regardless of how the loss of Miharu is taken. I would figure that after such a tough campaign it would be hard not to consider it a miracle they returned at all.

So taking into consideration the chain of events, (return to Yamatai, debrief, ceremony, finish eliminating Eve) there could be a ship being built in the meantime. If they finish all of this quickly enough then there may be a significant amount of time left before a new deployment would occur. If not then they would likely be right at the point of shipping out and those who stay are prepping, inspecting, and greeting new members.

I know I'm not being very helpful but without an idea on determining just how much time they do have for a new plotship to be finished developing then I really can't say what their options are.

 

[MoonMan]

"I'm Suzuka Yukari, and this is my favorite gunshop in Kyoto"

I'll bet she'll get a ton of discounts at those store terminals for those advertisements.

I don't have any suggestions beyond what has already been said. I am confidant, however, that whatever decision you make, you will make great. You've gone 1 and 0 so far.

 

[Wes]

I'm down for Hanako or Yui RP.

Have you considered adopting the YSS Asamoya? It's currently crewless.

 

[Fred]

I could, but I don't think I'd do her justice. Soresu made her a specific way that I do not think I can exactly emulate - meaning that everytime someone whom was part of Soresu's plotship goes and and sees any post referring to the behavior I'd give the Megami/CIES, they could feel it's offkey.

I'd rather dodge that bullet.

I was thinking of transplanting/upgrading Hoshi's AI on my next plotship. I was also seriously considering naming it YSS Himiko (I didn't use it because I wanted to save it up for later when the class got its overhaul and got into mass-production), but it seems that Nashoba filched the name for one of his Tansaku-class science vessel (which makes about as much sense as the YSS Sakura not being a Sakura-class ship to me... but I won't make it an issue). Oh well.

As for plotship development/creation, that has everything to do with my ongoing overhaul thread. Hopefully, the degree of transparency I'm using in the design process means the ship won't be tied up in the NTSC forum for very long (hopefully, insta-approved like the first Himiko-prototypes - though, do I need approval for what's essentially an upgrade?).

 

[Nashoba]

Hey Fred,
If asked, the SSS would probably be more than willing to rename that ship to the YSS Empress which would free it up. It was named after Himiko in recognition of her sponsorship of the SSS.



It will be nice to be able to add a couple of this venerable design to the 2XF Inventory.

 

[Fred]

Well, it's nice of you Nashoba (if a bit ICly awkward).

Though, the awkwardness doesn't stop there. The ship I'm working on... it has a lot of points in common with the Tansaku-class. I'm basically remaking her to suit better as a plotship and live up to what she had originally been meant to do, but...

The Miharu is a tentative design for a heavily armored and well-shielded exploratory and ambassadorial vessel within the cadre of Project Himiko, begun by SARA in YE 28 before the SMX made their stunning comeback. The prototype's birth began under less than auspicious circumstances as a surveyor-science vessel, but as explorations beyond the boundaries of the Yamataian Star Empire became secondary to the survival of the Empire itself; it was quickly retooled in early YE 29 with the latest advances in defensive and offensive systems to be an anti-mishhuvurthyar warship focused on independant operations.

Produced under less than ideal conditions as far as the accepted normal sequence of research, development, testing, and evaluation were concerned; the Miharu did boast a panoply of state-of-the-art components and design innovations which made it stand out in its own right. A rapid-fire aether beam cannon inspired off the 'Snowdrop' aether shock array, shield-piercing Mishhuvurthyar-inspired turreted particle cannons and multi-layered regenerative shield system were noteworthy mentions in its arsenal, as well as the detachable rear quarter of the vessel - dubbed 'Kansashi-type auxiliary ship' - which could serve either for fire support of the main section or as an independant base of operation for planetbound missions.

Joining deadly tactical prowess with creature comfort, the prototype - despite being only one step toward the completion of the tried-and-tested Himiko-class light cruiser - fits well in the Ketsurui Fleet Yards proud lineup of highly performant, high-quality ship designs.

Note to self: make update sound less bombastic.

"a tentative design for a heavily armored and well-shielded exploratory and ambassadorial vessel"

"as a surveyor-science vessel"

"While it stands as unlikely that the Himiko-class design lineage will be easily identifiable as descending from the Miharu due to the massive spaceframe and hull recomposition which will be required for the YSS Himiko class pathfinder, the prototype escort is already out to make its mark in early YE 29."

Okay, I covered my bases. This was obviously something that was planned to be built upon to make it a credible long-range light command cruiser that could server as a solitary exploration craft just as much as the hub of a gunship/escort squadron, but...

Now that the Tansaku got its combat upgrade, it ends up being extremely similar to what I'm doing with my own ship project (the Tansaku isn't even all that 'civilian' anymore). I've actually been worried about that for a long time, since I put a lot of time into ironing it out only to have someone else furnish something very similar to what I'm going to end up with. I could end up with the argument that people don't see why it should be approved when it doesn't bring anything better than what something else has.

If I've held the concern that Nashoba's creation kind of stepped on my feet (because my progress was slower), when I finish and submit, I figure the reaction could be the same. Nashoba's an admin and if there's something he dislikes, that's a big argument in it never pushing off.

So, even though it's kind of nice to see the desire to have a couple of these 'venerable' designs in the 2XF, it does bring up one of my long-held concerns about this. I figure this is as good a time as any to bring it up, since it does have ties with my future plans.

 

[Soresu]

I never really gave the YSS Asamoya Megami/CIES much personality beyond being slightly cold due to lack of personal development. As I recall I hadn't made avatars for either the Megami or CIES either. Just a mess of sprites I had named after seasons who's personalities reflected each. I only utilized the NIWS twice since I felt the thing was totally overpowered and the simple fact I never got to use one before. ^^;

Asamoya varies somewhat from Miharu beyond the experimental tech added. She's had her armor lightened to allow for a bit more speed and less strain on the engines. Some of the energy transfer systems have been debugged but the stealth systems still fail occasionally on GM discretion. If the 1st XF hasn't completely ransacked the place and scoured everything away you'd probably find notes and scribbles on some of the floors or bulkheads from Yuriko's long hours trying to find solutions to the Himiko (Asamoya-variant) prototype's problems.

Beyond simply telling the MEGAMI Yuriko is no longer in command and a restock of the PA's and armories she's mostly as I left her. Right down to the torpedo loadout.

Besides. The only people left on the site that were apart of my plot are myself, Tiff, and Kim if I remember right. Since frankly, at one time I had nearly twenty people in there and it got very confusing. So it could work as a work-around until you finish your design as Kotori would probably be tired of putting up with the bugginess of the prototype. Options are options. But I understand if Asamoya isn't your cup of tea since you'd want to do your own thing.