Game Idea: Steampunk Mars

[Deaghaidh]

Dyranum's steampunk space game got me thinking of an idea i've been kicking around for a while now. Summed up succinctly, it's Steampunk Mars

Bascially, in the late 19th century man invents a means of travelling through the "luminous Ether" between worlds. They find Mars to be as envisioned by Percival Lowell, home to a civilization with an elaborate network of canals. A "Scramble for Mars" breaks out as the great powers of Earth compete for control of the Red Planet. Players would be the colonial regimes.

It would be a fairly simple strategy game, closer to Imperium Offtopicum than the World in Revolution type games. I'm thinking that players would be limited in what resources they can bring over from earth each turn to grow their colony. Would there be any interest in such a game?

 

[king hannibal]

Honestly, I'm up for anything steampunk.

And for anyone interested, 'OptNES' over at the civfanatics forum is a great steampunk game going on.

 

[King50000]

I'd be up to giving it a try. Never played an Imperium Offtopicum, so I would be a bit of a noob.

 

[I8Strudel]

Hm, I haven't seen too many Imperium Offtopicum type games around here in a while, sounds interesting...

Would we be limited to Victorian nations for the sake of the setting or could we create our own nations/corporations/etc. to play as?

 

[bakerydog]

Seems like a good idea but are the natives in some areas trying to kill you?

 

[Bthunder]

Not bad, good idea. I'd prefer that we create our nation, than to use the usual colonizers, but it's up to you. I'll sign-up.

 

[Watercress]

I'll sign up too. I would prefer to play the Imperial powers myself, but as Bthunder said, it's up to you.

 

[The Fish]

I'll sign up for this, it seems interesting enough.

 

[Afaslizo]

Count me in just for trying.

 

[Watercress]

Although i must say, wouldn't the Empires of Earth go for the moon first, before Mars?

 

[nachopontmercy]

Count me in,although I am a total noob as Ive only played an uncompleted Kaiserreich forum game.

 

[Soulstrider]

I wouldn't mind joining in, I do love some steampunk.

 

[Deaghaidh]

Although i must say, wouldn't the Empires of Earth go for the moon first, before Mars?

In fact, ages ago there was a similar game devoted to the Moon. My premise is that while early Aethership voyages found the moon dissapointingly barren, Mars teems with natives and resources and thus is a better target for imperial ambitions.

Seems like a good idea but are the natives in some areas trying to kill you?

Yes, vacant provinces (i.e those without colonies at start) will be filled with a randomly determined number of natives that must be defeated should you wish to expand there. Playable native states is another idea.

Regarding factions, my orginal idea was to restrict it to the real-world powers circa 1895. However, I think there's some real merit to the idea of player-created ones, so long as they can be reigned into a Victorian/Steampunk setting. So we could have, say, a neo-confederate colony, or a Technocratic Utopian effort, or a for-profit consortium of robber barons as well as/instead of national efforts from Britain or Czarist Russia.

My general concept vis a vis gameplay:
There are three basic resources, wealth, manpower, prestige. Wealth is fairly self explanitory I think, but it represents the material wealth of the colony, its industrial might, etc. Manpower is the number of Terran people in the colony to serve as administrators, officers, and other leaders of your colonization effort. You need one unit of manpower to support one army, or to administer one province. Prestige is the glory and honor your colony has amassed, and can be used for things like peacably annexing non-player provinces.

Wealth and prestige are generated automatically by holding territory. Prestige can also be earned via military victories, roleplay, and miscellaneous other actions like exploration and research. Manpower has to be imported from Earth, at a maximum rate of 1 or 2 per turn.

I'm thinking that in lieu of a tech tree, we could have players select one of a few bonuses. Ones I've come up with:
Native Sergeants: Can support 3 armies with 2 manpower
Native Clerks: Can support 3 provinces with 2 manpower
Yellow Journalism: Generates prestige faster
Planet of Opportunity: Imports manpower faster
Captains of Industry: Generates wealth faster

Militaries would be divided into armies, navies, airships.

My concept of the Martians is that they are more-or-less humans in Iron Age societies, living amdist the relics of their much more sophisticated predecessors, the canal builders whose society collapsed for reasons as yet unknown to Terrans

 

[Watercress]

Sounds lovely. Intend to start it soon?

 

[Dyranum]

Sounds interesting. I think I might be able to join such a game.

My word of advice: Keep things simple. Eliminate everything that is not necessary or fulfils functions that can already be filled with other things.

 

[Deaghaidh]

Sounds lovely. Intend to start it soon?

Soonish. I still need to make up a map (probably based on that 1877 Schiaparelli map) if anyone has a gift for that (ironically I'm studying mapmaping software, but AFAIK ArcGIS can't be adapted for use in fictional 1890s mars).

Since GM burnout is the #1 cause of death for these games, keeping things simple is at the top of my list.

Combat will be simple dice rolls, Risk-style. Armies are needed to take territory, airships and fleets can be used to augment forces. I'm thinking that prestige will break ties.

If you'd like, go ahead and propose your colonies for approval so we have a player base to start with.

 

[bakerydog]

Can I propose the colony of New Luxembourg? Or an alternate colony I would choose would be New Saxony. But since this is steam punk I am unfamiliar with naming things but those are some colonies I propose.

 

[Watercress]

Will do. Do you have some kind of signup form for us? And if you intended to play as one of the Imperial Powers, how would you sign up - merely as the colonial administration?

 

[Deaghaidh]

Can I propose the colony of New Luxembourg? Or an alternate colony I would choose would be New Saxony. But since this is steam punk I am unfamiliar with naming things but those are some colonies I propose.

Either is fine, only change I might make would be to translate them into German (I'm assuming). As for steampunk, if you've ever read any HG Wells or Jules Verne, just try to imagine things as they would write them, if that helps.

As for a form, maybe something like:

Colony name: What you're called
Colony type: Are you a private corporation, an official enterprise of a government (if so which), missionary organization, etc
Leader: Who is your colony's IC leader or leaders
Bonus: Which of the ones I mentioned earlier would you like (temporary until game start)
Color: What color do you want your territory to be on the map?

If you have a preference on your start location, maybe put a dot or something on the map till I get a final map up.

Any other IC info you want to create (say, a flag, artwork for your colony or Aethership) is welcome, not required.

I'm not planning on playing (seems like a conflict of interest) although I reserve the right to fabricate a native martian prince for myself if I feel things need stirring up.

 

[Bthunder]

Colony Name: Nymeria
Colony Type: Private Corp., owned by president Nicola Torre of IAS Yards (Italian AetherShip Yards)
Leader: Manager Andrea Gardina
Bonus: Captains of Industry
Color: Black and Cyan, striped if possible.

And the starting location is the place with the circular crater in the middle of the map, which i believe is the landing site of the Curiosity rover.

The flag will be up soon.