[ALTERNATE FUTURE] What if we had /mostly/ kept to our original officialdom request?

[Lythrilux]

so someone in OFL reminded me of what our original officialdom request and i legit cried because i have a burning thought in the back of my mind it could have been a better concept than the current core. as it's not a possibility at all that i can turn the faction into this, at the least i want to have a shot at making an info page for it. and if the faction ever goes unofficial, this thread can be a free to use asset for anyone wanting to make a new core official faction.

so consider this a 'what if?' much like that one futurama episode with the 'what if'? machine. or like an alternate universe.

note if this was what i had originally done i probably would've ended up turning the core iff and core id into apm iff and apm id.

AP MANUFACTURING

ID / IFF: Core / Core
Tag: APM|
Snubcraft: APM|C-Firstname.Lastname
Gunboats: APM|APG-Shipname
Cruisers, Battleships: APM|APC-Shipname
Transports: APM|L-Shipname
Mining Vessels: APM|M-Shipname
Faction Anthem: Harry Enfield - loadsamoney

Motto:

Dosh? Readies? WONGA
(Money? Money? MONEY.)

Synopsis

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AP Manufacturing is a diversified heavy industrial megacorporation specialising in shipbuilding, ship breaking, station construction, modular construction, civil and military engineering, renewables, project management and military-grade security. It is based in the Edge Worlds, away from the prying eyes of the Houses. It controls the Omicron Rho system, and is the currently the highest authority in Omicron Delta.

AP Manufacturing has locked onto the resource known as Iridium in Omicron Delta, as well as within the crusts of Planet Nauru. It has already begun large-scale operations to extract the mineral. Whilst AP Manufacturing does use its own employees in mining operations, it is not afraid to draw in criminals and convicts from the Houses to force them to work in the Iridium mines. Rumour has it that AP Manufacturing has also brokered deals with unlawful groups to use Slaves in its operations; however that has not been confirmed.

Within Omicron Rho AP Manufacturing conducts all sorts of unethical and immoral experiments in order to create the next hot product for any of the industrial sectors they operate in. This includes, but is not limited to, human cybernetic and biomechanical augmentation, super soldier programs, human cloning, biological chemical warfare and finally research into exotic and highly advanced alien weaponry and artifacts.

AP Manufacturing seeks to grow its corporate control over the region and expand its budding Empire, Imperium Omicroniae, and ultimately dominate the Edge Worlds.

Divisions

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AP-CORE
Forcefully bought from the Bounty Hunters Guild Council after its dissolution, the Core now serves AP Manufacturing as its own specialised military division within the Edge Worlds. They generally patrol the region for hostiles to eliminate, or make expeditions into the deeper Nomad Worlds for lucrative alien treasures. They are renowned for their expert combat ability, as well as their ruthlessness, cruelty and unwavering allegiance to whatever coin AP Manufacturing dishes out to them.

AP-LOGI
AP Logistics is the Logistical Division of AP Manufacturing. They often partake in large supply convoys heading in and out of the Edge Worlds as they work hard to keep AP Manufacturing maintained and supplied with sustenance. They may also make highly secure deliveries of alien artifacts, research materials and weapons to interested buyers within the Houses.

AP-MINE
AP Mining is AP Manufacturing's specialised Mining Division. They scour the Edge Worlds in search of resources to extract and capitalize on. Notably, AP-MINE has been positioned in the Omicron Delta system to extract Iridium from both Planet Nauru and the Palau Cloud.

AP-BUILD
AP Building is the ship and military equipment construction division of AP Manufacturing. They are tasked with reverse-engineering the rare finds discovered in the Edge Worlds, and developing powerful new technologies from them.

Ranking Structure

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AP Manufacturing is structured much like a corporation. A Board of Directors controls the Megacorporation, as well as dictates the policies of Imperium Omicroniae:

Chairman of the Board Position Vacant
Board Member #1 Position Vacant
Board Member #2 Position Vacant
Board Member #3 Position Vacant
Board Member #4 Position Vacant

The Corporate-lackeys then fill in beneath, ranging from those working in the AP-CORE (such as security chiefs) to all of AP Manufacturing's other divisions.

History

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[Something something BHG and Core split something something Core bought by AP Manufacturing something something APM continues to build ships for the BHG something something AP Manufacturing steps out of the shadows to lay down the foundations of Omicronia and bring the Core's objectives to fruition]

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[Lythrilux]

Oh and I added a poll. This isn't happening, but I'm just curious what people think of it.

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[Laz]

This is like a new house. Heh.
Would have been you control all the cash and then just BUY your own army.
Omicrons would have been owned by the Core by now.

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[Tabris]

I actually find this concept much more interesting than the Core's current one. (nerd)

It's ambitious and more believable.

[The Savage]

I actually find this concept much more interesting than the Core's current one. (nerd)

[Lythrilux]

I might just simply take elements of this and integrate it into the faction in the future, although I'm unsure how to do.

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[Zephyranthes]

Emphasizing the corporate component as being the main entity within the whole conglomerate would certainly lend a greater deal of credibility to the faction's lore. Though I do believe further refinement of this concept would be necessary before it could come into its own as a faction to truly be proud of.

[The Savage]

Zeph is right here, because, to be honest - at least for a guy who was in here for 4 years* - it is quite strange that The Core popped up straight outta from nowhere.

[Mímir]

Grand Theft Manta Part V?

I think I told you before why the concept blows

Really, it does. The Omicron Overlord stuff is just boring as hell. Think about it for a few minutes, what makes us fascinated by heroes is not their strengths, but their weaknesses. It was Achilles' goddamn heels that made him such a good protagonist.

Nuances, weaknesses and so on is what makes for a good read. The "once upon a time there was a really rich company, then they bought some things and also did some research and illegal experiments about things, and they bought some more things, and then they started selling things, and suddenly they were Masters of the Universe" is just a bad, bad story.

To help you along a little: In the long list of super things that super Core's super AP does, you are being incredibly vague. "Within Omicron Rho AP Manufacturing conducts all sorts of unethical and immoral experiments in order to create the next hot product for any of the industrial sectors they operate in." -> so, who specifically buys these products? And what products exactly? What does the enemy of the buyers of said products think about that? What sectors? I understand the products are "[...]human cybernetic and biomechanical augmentation, super soldier programs, human cloning, biological chemical warfare and finally research into exotic and highly advanced alien weaponry and artifacts", which in turn limits the clientele severely, one would think - and probably attract some interest from the enemies of the dudes you are selling all the super duper war toys. Who buys all this stuff, the story fails to mention that at all, it seems a pretty pivotal aspect to any private and militarized organization?

With a fairly limited product range (all of it super duper military and advanced alien pew tech) and as a logical result a limited customer base, how on earth does Core get all its money? It's an utterly retarded story because you've only been busy piling super on more super stuff, thinking that super+super=really super, rather than making narrative chinks in the armor or allow room for a tiny bit of realism through diplomatic/trade ties. Super Core is bad, especially because you are making such an effort out of elaborating the huge scale Core operates on, the massive amount of research and mention of dreams of an Empire, when you never told us, not once, precisely where all the money to finance this madness is coming from.

All the Vanilla factions, which are all fleshed out by Digital Anvil to a level way above anything Disco has ever had to offer, have their weaknesses. Mighty Rheinland suffers from financial problems, Corsairs are out of food and on a downward spiral into barbarism, super advanced Outcasts can't reproduce properly and are dependent on the resources of 1 planet in the entire universe, the heroic Order, who saved humanity's butt, are misunderstood and marked as terrorists, the valiant and über-lawful Bounty Hunters Guild employs a large number of former criminals and other scum etc., while Super Core is just being super.

Zzzzzzzz.

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[Petitioner]

With a fairly limited product range (all of it super duper military and advanced alien pew tech) and as a logical result a limited customer base, how on earth does Core get all its money? It's an utterly panda plushie story because you've only been busy piling super on more super stuff, thinking that super+super=really super, rather than making narrative chinks in the armor or allow room for a tiny bit of realism through diplomatic/trade ties. Super Core is bad, especially because you are making such an effort out of elaborating the huge scale Core operates on, the massive amount of research and mention of dreams of an Empire, when you never told us, not once, precisely where all the money to finance this madness is coming from.

All the Vanilla factions, which are all fleshed out by Digital Anvil to a level way above anything Disco has ever had to offer, have their weaknesses. Mighty Rheinland suffers from financial problems, Corsairs are out of food and on a downward spiral into barbarism, super advanced Outcasts can't reproduce properly and are dependent on the resources of 1 planet in the entire universe, the heroic Order, who saved humanity's butt, are misunderstood and marked as terrorists, the valiant and über-lawful Bounty Hunters Guild employs a large number of former criminals and other scum etc., while Super Core is just being super.

This has been on my mind every time I see the Core in-game or (more commonly) on the forums. While I do like the idea of the Core and their presence in the Omicrons, a counter to both the Corsairs and the Order, someone trying to aggressively bring order no matter how many people they have to gun down to get to that goal, et cetera... where did they come from? Where do they get their billions and billions of credits and neverending stream of supplies from?

Don't get me wrong - I have the exact same complaint regarding the Order. Perhaps it's even more applicable to the Order than the Core because the Core could actually have civilians back in the houses investing in them, like a corporation, whereas the Order are considered terrorists and couldn't have civilian backing without drawing government attention. But that being said, I can't really bring myself to internally accept the Core as a well-integrated part of Discovery as a whole without some kind of explanation regarding how they keep afloat so far out, and with so little attention given to this.

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