To clarify on my original post. My point is that this gallic war has lasted over half the duration of the mod's lifespan. I'm not criticising the devs rightful intentions to deliver an interesting storyline. Merely that this thing has gone on so long that it's fair to say that the horse is just about dead.
As for thyr, thunder and the various other players waving the flags of the factions involved, i say thank you. This is kinda what i meant about the mod content catering to highly invested vets. Not everyone gets as excited as you guys do about the details of the war, or even remember them. There are players here, including myself, who have long awaited grand developments for various other factions but are frustrated to see the gallic war dragged out for not one, but another two mod versions.
You can't please everyone, i get that. But i think for the sake of flavour the mod should be headed in a new direction already.
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We're suffering from incompetence done by story devs many years ago that left a huge hole in the Gallic plot. Back in the day when Gallia was still closed, Liberty was at war with Rheinland and Bretonia was at war with Kusari. Liberty-Rheinland war was a stalemate for the most part while Kusari kept advancing against Bretonia, first through Tau-31 and then through Leeds by occupying everything up to Stokes and threatening Edinburgh, Dublin and Newcastle.
Then the Gallic invasion begins. They swiftly defeat Kusari who goes home and experiences a coup, and turn all of their focus towards Bretonia who was already in a losing war against a much weaker house. Within the first half a year Gallia occupies the same thing Kusari did + Edinburgh, reaches Planet Leeds and starts conquering it. What's the difference between that and the situation before this patch? The fact that Gallia pushed in Magellan and systems bordering it. That's it. In the last 5 years that's what the mightiest fleet in Sirius did against an already exhausted house having to fight back-to-back losing wars all the while being alone with little to no help from Liberty.
What people often forget is that there was no Liberty to help back then. Liberty was sending a *very* small amount of reinforcements to Bretonia because they had Rheinland to deal with. They simply couldn't afford any bigger operations. From how I see it, devs were put in a position to make a tough call and none had the balls to do it. Instead of properly roleplaying the environment that existed at the time and allowing Gallia to continue the conquest since they were the ones that wanted the conquest in the first place, we had a "stalemate" for over 5 years. Bretonia should've surrendered then and there, anything that happens after that will not get rid of the massive plot hole that will remain forever.
Edit: To expand a little bit more - during the initial invasion of Leeds CR was in shambles, Taus were getting conquered very quickly and there was no Coronado backup plan that popped out of thin air because devs yet again had no plan how to properly do a surrender deal. For example the easiest solution would've been to make CR vassals that fight in the name of the crown, which they would have to accept or perish. Then over the years they could try and do deals to gain independence and slowly reach the point where they are now. Magically gaining a system with 2 planets, safe from the Gallic invasion, with resources to rebuild a cap fleet that was entirely destroyed is laughable. As for Council, they were nowhere as strong as now iirc, I don't remember much about them. That's 2 more allies with much less influence to help Bretonia, yet Bretonia somehow still managed to hold.
"You can't please everyone" is one thing, "you can't please the same people no matter what you do" is an other. People have been crying against the continuation of this war, now that it gets a meaningfuly finale people still cry against it. Thing is, there are some steps which cannot be skipped. You can blame whoever you want that it took this long to get here.
EDIT:
(11-26-2018, 10:03 AM)Antonio Wrote: As for Council, they were nowhere as strong as now iirc, I don't remember much about them.
We were always this strong, strong enough to hold a whole system against all odds for three decades. It was GRN getting weaker as they poured more homeland defenses into Sirius to compensate their losses there, allowing us to break out from Champagne into Picardy and start taking things literally.
(11-26-2018, 10:16 AM)Antonio Wrote: Yeah but you had no Taus or Roussillon. You had no CR helping you since they were too busy surviving. It was just Champagne + 2 more systems.
Before Roussillon we had Languedoc. Those who survived the GRN's reconquest of Languedoc and evacuated in time ended up in Roussillon. If you mean those times, we were even stronger in 4.85 than in 4.86.
So as someone who spends ALOT of his time in Gallia core systems. I personally dont think its that bad to navigate a few dead ends here and there yes but in general i find it no harder to get through then other house systems.
The thing for me is that the war does need to end but it cant be ended with Gallia ending up being a ghost town again. Activity is picking up there, traders are becoming more and more frequent we have a rise in criminal and corporate elements Im trying to get the Police force back into action (which will lead into a point in a moment) and with the connection in Zurich theres another route into Gallia.
What i dont want is for the war to end and Gallia looses its activity because of it, so what id like to see is that the war ends in perhaps a cold war/Korean Cease fire type of state, something happens either Bretonia get a super weapon or something happens in Gallia that forces the Navy back (a Nomad sun killer destroys all, whatever). Gallia keeps alot or some of what its conquered and an uneasy cease fire is agreed, both Houses begin to rebuild and reinvest in the things they have lost/gained, Bretonia builds a new shipyard in Cambridge and develop the less used systems as economic power, Gallia uses Leeds as a new gateway into Gallia and begin to to allow new trade from Sirius with the police keeping tight watch on imports and exports. Gallia continues to invest in the Tau systems and start to relax some of its diplomatic stances on others.
Skirmishes between Bretonia and Gallia happen in the surrounding systems.
Mean while back in Gallia the council continue their push for control forcing the navy and the police into essentially a civil war with the Council, both sides making use of connections to Sirius to bring in renewed resources. I think after the war the Gallic story focus should be on a conflict between them and the Council.
In Bretonia as stated above it starts to lick its wounds, its lost leeds and other systems so it diverts resources into the systems it still controls. As much as i hate the idea, being a Zoner fond of his Gran Canria home, have some more investment in Omega 49 and the planet i guessssssssss.....
In regards to the Mods Main plot line, id like to see a new Nomad threat.
Quote:Bretonia, having annexed omega 49 and surrounding systems and now getting back leeds/new london, begins rebuilding and absorbs Gran Canaria into it's house territories. Bretonia, despite rebuilding, is still fighting a border war with the Coalition in the Omegas, along with the Corsairs.
There is still no border wars with Coalition, they stacked against gauls and sairs, and discuss how divide O-49 influence zones, and what do with that magic BS.
About navigation, that not much complex, but that planet with councils in picardy placed right on way to hole, and autopilot not avoid it correct, what cause lost of ship. Aside of that its mostly ok now, rework with removing of some not working shortcuts (systems connections right now more linear) and merging lyonnais into lorraine and all inputs in languedoc is good, GRP appreciate it.
(11-26-2018, 10:40 AM)Aazalot Wrote: In Bretonia as stated above it starts to lick its wounds, its lost leeds and other systems so it diverts resources into the systems it still controls. As much as i hate the idea, being a Zoner fond of his Gran Canria home, have some more investment in Omega 49 and the planet i guessssssssss.....
There is one 'but'. Even if there are any resources left, WHERE to? It was KNF to ruin Bretonian economy with taking away Leeds... and now, with the recent update, GRN basically finished the kill by collapsing the major shipyard of Bretonia. We are speaking about Southampton, that was the only place after Leeds to have any reasonable basis for heavy industry when it comes to shipbuilding.
As Bretonian, I'd be scared more about Liberty Navy trying to annex Bretonia post-war, rather than Gauls who are fixing the damage in Leeds caused not (entirely) by them, but by KNF invasion and BAF withdrawal.
Trying to annex Omega-49 would be a very bad move on Bretonian side. It would turn Zoners hostile and they wouldn't stop from asking Corsairs for help, because they would be forced to do so. I don't think there would be anyone in entire Sirius who'd support such a move, becuse we aren't speaking about some Freeport - but a self-efficient independent colony. A piece of land that can feed generations is far more valuable than several dozen hundred tonnes of scrap metal.
That would be just bad PR to Bretonian side and one of the reasons for e.g. Rheinland to close borders from them.
Let's be honest, the citizens of any country that would lose any military and industrial potential would realize they are no longer at the dominant side. Resistance under the occupation, yes. But trying to face enemy that already quite ruined your own capital?
Small correction here ...
Not every country will surender just because it loose capital or mayority of its resurces .
Serbia in WW1 for example .
After Austria-Hungary Empire , German Empire and Bulgaria attacked as from 3 sides in 1915 , with capital fallen ,Serbia was faced ultimatum: surender or face complete extinction . Serbia taked third choice , to leave country ,evacute what people it can and fight their way trough Albania montains , in middle of winter all the way to the Adriatic Sea , where at last we recived aid from French ships that evacuated as to Island of Corfu . During the long march, some 240,000 retreating Serbs died from the cold, starvation, disease and combat with Albanian tribesmen that abushed as during our trip .After we spent half a year recovering , we rejoined allied forces on Salonika Front and taked back our country .
Our victory has it price ,we lost 1/4 or our entire population ,some in combat,some from disease , but mayority of deaths were civilians that stayed in country, slayed by conquerers .
So , since there is a Serb in BAF, i somhow doubt Bretonia will ever surender no mater how much systems it loose !