QUICKNOTE: This is an unfinished scenario. It is a-historical. This post contains information you may wish to read though.
Hello and welcome to the wonderful world of AMSTAR.
This is a scenario/mod I am working on. I’ve been working on it for years, more years than EU has existed. I’ve decided to apply my ideas to EU as they actually work well. Here is a map of the last version of AMSTAR before I decided to make it into a scenario.
Linky:
You will note that this scenario is far from done. I hope that it is okay to post this here while I work on finishing it. I plan to give out beta versions as the time goes by. Certain things will get done before others, but the game should be “playable” in not that long of a time.
Here are the maps I’ve finished last night
Europe:
America:
India:
Asia:
There is no Africa map because I am not really sure what to do. Same goes for South America. AMSTAR has always been limited to Europe and the Americas. I had debated, at many points, turning AMSTAR into a nationsim (hence the map from earlier) In other nationsims I’ve debated, I’ve done things like split china in 2, and make Persia colonize India. Hence these maps. I will explain, in short, the “backstory” of AMSTAR.
AMSTAR takes place in an a-historic world based on history. I tend to use the Centennia historical atlas quite often, and I’ve taken real nations from real bits of time and plopped them together. Examples include the Byzantines from 1180, Poland from 1772, Burgundy from 1000, Northern Spain from 1230, and Southern Spain from 1237. Not all the nations fit together perfectly, of course, so some nations represented here never existed in reality. There is a backstory to AMSTAR that is not meant to be a complete explanation, IE, this will not tell you how we got from some point in real history to AMSTAR. Rather, the backstory sets up the stage for what is about to happen and why its happening.
At one time, all of Europe was dominated by The Empire. The Empire ruled with an iron first, but no group dared to challenge it! (ooo, scary!) Anyways, the Poles decided enough was enough, and despite being surrounded on all sides, declared independence. To the surprise of everyone, it worked, and the Empire’s troops were unable to quell the rebels. Other ‘nations’ got similar ideas. Finland, Berbery, the Celts, all broke off from the Empire, and over time, all the other nations in Europe did too. Our story begins on Jan 1 1419, when Bohemia makes a dash for freedom. Bohemia has always been considered one of the Empires core states, and now that it was leaving, it threatened the Empire’s very existence, as all that was left were the cores. A great debate broke out within the Empire as to what should be done. Three options were put on the table. First, to take a firm line, but not to go overboard. In other words, to let them go but not give them the provinces the Empire still held that are technically within the state of Bohemia. This would be similar to the historical precedent, and many feel it would be inadequate. Second, a plan to try to consolidate the base of the Empire. Let Bohemia go, and even give them the disputed lands. Beyond that, turn to other states that are growing disloyal and give them signals that you are willing to play ball and hope they decide to work out their differences within the Empire rather than leave it. This option is also not very popular. The final option, otherwise known as “Option A” is to go all out. Invade Bohemia to show the remaining states that a line has been drawn and you dare not cross it. While this is the most popular option, it could potentially anger Normandy.
Normandy is one of the newest nations in Europe, having just broken off the Empire. Since then it has focused exclusively on building it’s Military, with the intent of single-handedly bringing down the entire Empire. Should the Empire invade Bohemia, Normandy will surly gain a Casus Belli on them, and will almost certainly invade.
And hence, our story begins.
There are some fun options. You could try to become France, Spain, or Italy, depending on where you start the game. Certain nations will be more fun to play than others (as will be explained in the nation-by-nation section) First I want to answer some “what’s up” questions from the maps.
“What’s up with the colonies?”
Strange looking, I know. The Empire colonized America itself, however to encourage citizens to move there it assigned each small colony to one of it’s internal states. When the revolutions began and nations began breaking off, they tended to take their colonies with them! The rebellious states still within the empire also have designs on their assigned colonies, as shown on the map. “Quebec” is that part of the Americas colonized directly by the Empire. It is not assigned to any state.
“What’s up with India?”
The Persians are colonizing India. I plan to use Religion, Culture, and Events in combination to help simulate this. In short, they will be mostly successful, at least for the first while.
“What’s up with the red and green lines?”
Some nations on the map ended up with identical colours to their neighbors. Thick red lines are only included to separate them clearly. Green lines show state boundaries. States with arrows pointing to a neighbor mean that neighbor has claimed that state. Circles over a city mean that State wishes for independence.
“What’s up with ‘can become’, and why can’t Rome become Italy?”
This indicates which starting nations can become Spain, France, or Italy. Some can become two, and one nation (Toulouse) can become all 3! Rome cannot become Italy because of the role they play here, as the peacemaker of sorts. They also hold colonies, hence allowing the new Italy (which will inherit Rome) to start off with a presence in the new world.
A little bit on each nation:
HRE - Otherwise known as “The Empire”
The Empire is at the centre of Europe, the centre of trade and culture, and the centre of the game. The scenario starts with the Empire in free fall. While clearly the largest and most powerful nation on the map, it will experience very bad events for the first 50 to 100 years. In fact, the only way to get the revolts to stop is to become Germany, leaving the mantle of the Empire behind.
Byzantium – Otherwise known as “The Eastern Empire”
The Eastern Empire broke off from the Empire early on, and took with it a huge chunk of the Empire itself. Since then, it has seen it’s own revolts. Hungary, the Turks, Syria, Jerusalem and Egypt have all left the Eastern Empire. Unlike the Empire, the Eastern Empire is no in a state of free fall. The rebellions have stopped, and the Eastern Empire has good relations with most of it’s neighbors (save those pesky Turks) The problem here is that while not shrinking, the Eastern Empire is stagnant (low tech development speed)
Poland
I have a soft spot in my heart for Poland. Poland will be greeted with mostly good events. Options for playing Poland include a rampage off into Russia, or going West and trying to be the one who picks up all the pieces from The Emprie.
Finland
Although the name would suggest otherwise, you are in fact, one of two “Russias”. Your unique location allows for the possibility of expansion to the northwest.
Russia
The Southern of the “Russias”, you start boxed in and will have to fight your way out.
Normandy
You start the game as the warmonger, and never really stop being one. Normandy is destined to become known for its military prowess, and its victories on the field of battle. Starting with the seemingly impossible objective of conquering the entire Empire, Normandy might actually have the ability to do just that. Normandy has the best shot at becoming France, and likely will over time.
England or the Celts
At the beginning of the game each of you is given an option to try to work with the other, or to oppose the other. In general, this question will be one you will likely ask yourself the whole game, until one or the other nation is defeated. At that point, you get the option to become the UK, so to speak.
Berbery
Isolated from the rest of Europe, you can find yourself in a quite powerful position if you can use your location to your advantage
Other information:
Most major European nations should start out with at least one colony in the Americas. Exploring beyond this will require events and the passage of time. Africa and South America are the best places to colonize in this scenario, but the colonization aspect of this game has yet to be completed.
I’ve also yet to decide what is going on in Asia, or India. Or for that matter, what happens in the game after 1450/1500! Here is the general line of thinking I have:
I’d like to see at least one (and preferably just one) strong ‘native’ nation. The Incas are in my mind for this, but the Aztecs could also do good service in this position to counter-balance the existing colonization of North America. In short, they would slowly evolve better tech abilities until they are, somewhat, able to match the Europeans.
I’m not sure where I am taking India. I know I want Persia to colonize it, and using events I plan to change the culture and religion of certain provinces over time. The objective would be to have Persia take almost the whole thing before running into very tough resistance in the southernmost areas. After that, India would be a struggle to keep. The only problem is that unlike when the British colonized, Persia is connected directly to India, and those angry Indian hordes will not stop at the Indus river!
China should remain divided for quite a while. A constant struggle between it’s two halfs. I’d like to keep China divided until the end of the game. That is not to say that you could not find other ways to get ahead (IE, colonization)
I have to figure out how, likely using AI files, to make certain nations (those that later become France, Spain, or Italy) to only have very limited colonial development before becoming those nations.
I am going to tinker with Religions quite a bit. Not sure where I want to take it as of yet. Persia should be a different religion from India (Islam VS Hindu) and the two chinas should be a different religion (Buddhist and Confucian) but Japan should be a separate religion from both. Other neighbors may share the same religion however. I am not certain how I want to use the other religions at this point in time.
Hello and welcome to the wonderful world of AMSTAR.
This is a scenario/mod I am working on. I’ve been working on it for years, more years than EU has existed. I’ve decided to apply my ideas to EU as they actually work well. Here is a map of the last version of AMSTAR before I decided to make it into a scenario.
Linky:
You will note that this scenario is far from done. I hope that it is okay to post this here while I work on finishing it. I plan to give out beta versions as the time goes by. Certain things will get done before others, but the game should be “playable” in not that long of a time.
Here are the maps I’ve finished last night
Europe:
America:
India:
Asia:
There is no Africa map because I am not really sure what to do. Same goes for South America. AMSTAR has always been limited to Europe and the Americas. I had debated, at many points, turning AMSTAR into a nationsim (hence the map from earlier) In other nationsims I’ve debated, I’ve done things like split china in 2, and make Persia colonize India. Hence these maps. I will explain, in short, the “backstory” of AMSTAR.
AMSTAR takes place in an a-historic world based on history. I tend to use the Centennia historical atlas quite often, and I’ve taken real nations from real bits of time and plopped them together. Examples include the Byzantines from 1180, Poland from 1772, Burgundy from 1000, Northern Spain from 1230, and Southern Spain from 1237. Not all the nations fit together perfectly, of course, so some nations represented here never existed in reality. There is a backstory to AMSTAR that is not meant to be a complete explanation, IE, this will not tell you how we got from some point in real history to AMSTAR. Rather, the backstory sets up the stage for what is about to happen and why its happening.
At one time, all of Europe was dominated by The Empire. The Empire ruled with an iron first, but no group dared to challenge it! (ooo, scary!) Anyways, the Poles decided enough was enough, and despite being surrounded on all sides, declared independence. To the surprise of everyone, it worked, and the Empire’s troops were unable to quell the rebels. Other ‘nations’ got similar ideas. Finland, Berbery, the Celts, all broke off from the Empire, and over time, all the other nations in Europe did too. Our story begins on Jan 1 1419, when Bohemia makes a dash for freedom. Bohemia has always been considered one of the Empires core states, and now that it was leaving, it threatened the Empire’s very existence, as all that was left were the cores. A great debate broke out within the Empire as to what should be done. Three options were put on the table. First, to take a firm line, but not to go overboard. In other words, to let them go but not give them the provinces the Empire still held that are technically within the state of Bohemia. This would be similar to the historical precedent, and many feel it would be inadequate. Second, a plan to try to consolidate the base of the Empire. Let Bohemia go, and even give them the disputed lands. Beyond that, turn to other states that are growing disloyal and give them signals that you are willing to play ball and hope they decide to work out their differences within the Empire rather than leave it. This option is also not very popular. The final option, otherwise known as “Option A” is to go all out. Invade Bohemia to show the remaining states that a line has been drawn and you dare not cross it. While this is the most popular option, it could potentially anger Normandy.
Normandy is one of the newest nations in Europe, having just broken off the Empire. Since then it has focused exclusively on building it’s Military, with the intent of single-handedly bringing down the entire Empire. Should the Empire invade Bohemia, Normandy will surly gain a Casus Belli on them, and will almost certainly invade.
And hence, our story begins.
There are some fun options. You could try to become France, Spain, or Italy, depending on where you start the game. Certain nations will be more fun to play than others (as will be explained in the nation-by-nation section) First I want to answer some “what’s up” questions from the maps.
“What’s up with the colonies?”
Strange looking, I know. The Empire colonized America itself, however to encourage citizens to move there it assigned each small colony to one of it’s internal states. When the revolutions began and nations began breaking off, they tended to take their colonies with them! The rebellious states still within the empire also have designs on their assigned colonies, as shown on the map. “Quebec” is that part of the Americas colonized directly by the Empire. It is not assigned to any state.
“What’s up with India?”
The Persians are colonizing India. I plan to use Religion, Culture, and Events in combination to help simulate this. In short, they will be mostly successful, at least for the first while.
“What’s up with the red and green lines?”
Some nations on the map ended up with identical colours to their neighbors. Thick red lines are only included to separate them clearly. Green lines show state boundaries. States with arrows pointing to a neighbor mean that neighbor has claimed that state. Circles over a city mean that State wishes for independence.
“What’s up with ‘can become’, and why can’t Rome become Italy?”
This indicates which starting nations can become Spain, France, or Italy. Some can become two, and one nation (Toulouse) can become all 3! Rome cannot become Italy because of the role they play here, as the peacemaker of sorts. They also hold colonies, hence allowing the new Italy (which will inherit Rome) to start off with a presence in the new world.
A little bit on each nation:
HRE - Otherwise known as “The Empire”
The Empire is at the centre of Europe, the centre of trade and culture, and the centre of the game. The scenario starts with the Empire in free fall. While clearly the largest and most powerful nation on the map, it will experience very bad events for the first 50 to 100 years. In fact, the only way to get the revolts to stop is to become Germany, leaving the mantle of the Empire behind.
Byzantium – Otherwise known as “The Eastern Empire”
The Eastern Empire broke off from the Empire early on, and took with it a huge chunk of the Empire itself. Since then, it has seen it’s own revolts. Hungary, the Turks, Syria, Jerusalem and Egypt have all left the Eastern Empire. Unlike the Empire, the Eastern Empire is no in a state of free fall. The rebellions have stopped, and the Eastern Empire has good relations with most of it’s neighbors (save those pesky Turks) The problem here is that while not shrinking, the Eastern Empire is stagnant (low tech development speed)
Poland
I have a soft spot in my heart for Poland. Poland will be greeted with mostly good events. Options for playing Poland include a rampage off into Russia, or going West and trying to be the one who picks up all the pieces from The Emprie.
Finland
Although the name would suggest otherwise, you are in fact, one of two “Russias”. Your unique location allows for the possibility of expansion to the northwest.
Russia
The Southern of the “Russias”, you start boxed in and will have to fight your way out.
Normandy
You start the game as the warmonger, and never really stop being one. Normandy is destined to become known for its military prowess, and its victories on the field of battle. Starting with the seemingly impossible objective of conquering the entire Empire, Normandy might actually have the ability to do just that. Normandy has the best shot at becoming France, and likely will over time.
England or the Celts
At the beginning of the game each of you is given an option to try to work with the other, or to oppose the other. In general, this question will be one you will likely ask yourself the whole game, until one or the other nation is defeated. At that point, you get the option to become the UK, so to speak.
Berbery
Isolated from the rest of Europe, you can find yourself in a quite powerful position if you can use your location to your advantage
Other information:
Most major European nations should start out with at least one colony in the Americas. Exploring beyond this will require events and the passage of time. Africa and South America are the best places to colonize in this scenario, but the colonization aspect of this game has yet to be completed.
I’ve also yet to decide what is going on in Asia, or India. Or for that matter, what happens in the game after 1450/1500! Here is the general line of thinking I have:
I’d like to see at least one (and preferably just one) strong ‘native’ nation. The Incas are in my mind for this, but the Aztecs could also do good service in this position to counter-balance the existing colonization of North America. In short, they would slowly evolve better tech abilities until they are, somewhat, able to match the Europeans.
I’m not sure where I am taking India. I know I want Persia to colonize it, and using events I plan to change the culture and religion of certain provinces over time. The objective would be to have Persia take almost the whole thing before running into very tough resistance in the southernmost areas. After that, India would be a struggle to keep. The only problem is that unlike when the British colonized, Persia is connected directly to India, and those angry Indian hordes will not stop at the Indus river!
China should remain divided for quite a while. A constant struggle between it’s two halfs. I’d like to keep China divided until the end of the game. That is not to say that you could not find other ways to get ahead (IE, colonization)
I have to figure out how, likely using AI files, to make certain nations (those that later become France, Spain, or Italy) to only have very limited colonial development before becoming those nations.
I am going to tinker with Religions quite a bit. Not sure where I want to take it as of yet. Persia should be a different religion from India (Islam VS Hindu) and the two chinas should be a different religion (Buddhist and Confucian) but Japan should be a separate religion from both. Other neighbors may share the same religion however. I am not certain how I want to use the other religions at this point in time.
