|
|
Post by Kario on Nov 15, 2011 14:18:03 GMT -5
Assignment
Tell us how the world as they knew it ended. How did war escalate to the point where it brought about the end of the world, what was the weapon that destroyed the world, and how did it create the catastrophic conditions we know today?
Bullet Points
-The cataclysm occurred about 400 to 500 years before the start of the game, but there's no real technology cap as to what we were doing before the cataclysm, save that space travel probably wasn't happening.
-Somehow, the cataclysm has to have created the krakens, which are large enough and predatory enough that they prevent travel by ship and keep what few bits of land remain near sea level from being in any way habitable. Specifics beyond that are negotiable.
-The cataclysm turned several large continental masses into a much larger number of islands, most of which rise up at least 1000-2000 feet in the air before flattening out into more habitable land. How did this come about and why are we left with what we are?
This assignment will remain open until December 11th, 2011.
|
|
|
|
Post by Thorne on Nov 15, 2011 18:49:17 GMT -5
AssignmentTell us how the world as they knew it ended. How did war escalate to the point where it brought about the end of the world, what was the weapon that destroyed the world, and how did it create the catastrophic conditions we know today? Bullet Points-The cataclysm occurred about 400 to 500 years before the start of the game, but there's no real technology cap as to what we were doing before the cataclysm, save that space travel probably wasn't happening. -Somehow, the cataclysm has to have created the krakens, which are large enough and predatory enough that they prevent travel by ship and keep what few bits of land remain near sea level from being in any way habitable. Specifics beyond that are negotiable. Krakens... like giant octopi a la Norwegian/Icelandic legends? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kraken Why not just say that the combo of storms, giant waves and large sea creatures.. whether octopi, sharks, killer whale pods, giant sea snakes, dinosaur like creatures (Loch monster)... makes ocean travel suicide. That way the Cataclysm doesn't have to be responsible for making giant octopi out of thin air. Maybe they were even a problem pre-cataclysm, which is why even the pre-cata world had a heavy focus on aviation... which leads right in as a justifier for why/how aviation was so quickly recreated (or not lost at all, in some cases) post-cata. Two points.. I recall someone saying somewhere (grr! would love to have all known information summed in posts in the appropriate places instead of scattered over a ton of logs) that there was both ocean and salt flats that the "islands" rose up vertically from.. is that the case or is it all ocean? Second point is.. how the hell can a war cause that kind of geographic formation that the game world needs? It honestly seems mostly like an erosion thing.. maybe really hardcore hydro-fracking? hehe Might take some arm wrenching, elbow grease and some squeezing to make it fit right... Also, while I have your ear, what's the message we want to convey with the cataclysm? So far it seems to be "War is bad." In Skyrates history, moreso than "war is bad" it probably would have been "science is dangerous in the wrong hands" or "politics/fractiousness is bad." If the war was over natural resources, it could be some warning against addiction to natural resources/fossil fuels/technology. Basically, what's the lesson we want our privateers to take away from the Cataclysm? Thorne |
|
|
|
Post by Jed Stream on Nov 16, 2011 10:59:34 GMT -5
Howz about the cataclysm being caused by a mostly ice dwarf planet/big asteroid hitting the !Earth causing huge impact events initially and then raising sea level hundreds/thousands of meters.
Most of the original land would be well below sea level and what was left would be highly eroded near the 'beaches' by the huge waves created by the global ocean. This can sort of be seen in the real Southern Ocean today. The effects can be exaggerated for effect.
Not sure about the krakens though but several hundred meter high waves would definitely ruin a ship captains day.
Cheers.
|
|
|
|
Post by Marcus Cunningham on Jan 26, 2012 16:51:47 GMT -5
The Cataclysm was sparked by the development of weaponry of mass destruction designed to end a global conflict decisively and finally. Each warring faction had their own plans, and while it was never discovered who fired first, the effects are known to this day.
The culprit was a fission weapon, of a magnitude unheard of, conceived in the mind of a madman. To ensure stealth, the transports carrying the weapon flew over the frozen pole to the north, as it was hard to maintain radar coverage from all the magnetic and stellar interference. As the transport grew closer to the true pole, their instruments started to malfunction. Radio out, props out, engines stalled, they went into a full dive. They impacted on the ice about four miles off of magnetic north, which is how the weapon's detonation did so much worldwide damage.
The blast liquified the secret delivery fleet, and sent a static charge through the air, carried along by the very magnetic field the planet provided. On a global scale, minor electrical devices started to malfunction. Soon it wasn't the minor ones that were affected. Anything more complicated then a boiler started to fail worldwide, and war machines began to fall from the sky. Other countries found themselves subjected to their own war-ending weaponry, as rampant malfunctions and errors caused them to leak, detonate, or activate.
That would be the end of their worries, except that the blast also devastated the polar region of the world, turning the surface of the glacier it crashed on into radioactive steam, while melting a vast majority of what remained. Rising water consumed coastal cities and research stations, while massive waves sent ocean based platforms to the depths.
When the dust settled, the rains fell, and while the damage the irradiated rainfall had on the fur populace was negligable, at best, it had a profound affect on the simpler lifeforms. Mutation ran rampant, and simple creatures became infinitely more complex in a matter of decades. Some of them sloughed into the water, others stayed on the ground, others still took to the skies. It was safe, for a time... until the monsters showed up.
Krakens, leviathans, call them what you will. They are massive things with teeth, tendrills, and eyes the size of a man. No one builds near the shore anymore. Not since they showed up. Some say they were trapped in caverns miles underwater, and the cataclysm broke them free of their caves. Others claim that they were frozen in the ice, and were freed when it was melted in the blast. At first, folks thought they would prey on each other, until only a handful survived. As it turned out, that wasn't the case.
Now, travel by water is impossible, and if you're under two hundred feet while flying over the water, there's a good chance you're going to die. If you crash at sea, no one even bothers looking for you.
Between the plates shifting, earthquakes generating spire-like landmasses, and entire continents being shattered, it's a wonder anyone survived.
|
|
|
|
Post by Calvin on Jan 31, 2012 13:39:54 GMT -5
Whoa. This makes me want to play here.
Well done, Marcus.
|
|
|
|
Post by Marcus Cunningham on Feb 1, 2012 14:51:18 GMT -5
Whoa. This makes me want to play here. Well done, Marcus. I try.  |
|
