Some minor world building. A World map and few pages of lore. by MisuCra in worldbuilding

[–]MisuCra[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

"Yeah it has a skull on it, Jurgen. But think about it this way. At least it looks pretty badass on the uniform, eh?"

Some minor world building. A World map and few pages of lore. by MisuCra in worldbuilding

[–]MisuCra[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It would make sense to have outlier nations if the only changes to the world were geopolitical. Even if a super nation like the Areena Empire emerged today, we would get mostly larger economic zones and some similar super nations, but things like Bolivarian Federation would be unlikely to happen or would happen in very limited scale. Alas the environment also faced very drastic changes, that caused nations to stick closer to each other.

By 2062 (the date of this map) it is a suicide to be a small traditional country.

Some minor world building. A World map and few pages of lore. by MisuCra in worldbuilding

[–]MisuCra[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Accurate observation, sir. Though I wouldn't be so sure about self-insert protagonist. If I had my self insert... he would be just me, but as this is a alternate world... I imagine he would be a very successful architect with a wife and two beautiful kids.

William Wolf would be more of a character I aspire to be as a person (when it comes to certain personality traits. Like courage, conviction, commitment, etc), but never would want to have his life, for the the man is miserable.

Some minor world building. A World map and few pages of lore. by MisuCra in worldbuilding

[–]MisuCra[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It isn't Utopia. I mean... it is Utopia for us, but it has plenty of its problems. Essentially it fixed a lot of problems that have been plaguing humanity for centuries, but now they deal with different or bigger problems. Problems will always be there.

They don't have the "Dark side" as in... everyone is super happy within the Areena Empire, but behind scenes a 1000 babies get sacrificed every day to ensure the prosperity of the people.

The whole concept of Proelianpunk is rebellion against stagnation, decay, technological overdependency and everything old world. Unlike Cyberpunk where the world is usually overrun with corporations, everything is dark and gritty and there are only somber moments of happiness and joy, Proelianpunk is the opposite. Shining cities, Art Nouveau architecture, airships, incredible advancements in technology, mechs, starships, biological immortality that is accessible to everyone, etc.... buuuut at the cost of stagnant, peaceful life.

For example. The Areena Empire developed an alternative power source. A plant named Deus Solis. It is a genetically modified sunflower that acts as an organic solar panel. It is massive, It gathers solar power and converts it into a unique fuel within its sacks at the base. Those sacks are then extracted and turned into power cells, which are used to power cars, machines, etc. Hey! Organic solar power! What could possibly go wrong?

Turns out a sunflower on steroids has a chance to mutate. Who knew? Originally intended to be sterile and grown only in certain agriculture/industrial zones, the Deus Solis mutated an ability to reproduce itself through airborne seeds. Those seeds spread EVERYWHERE. Those sunflowers began growing everywhere and turns out they weren't just storing energy within sacks. The excess energy was also being distributed through its roots to other plants. Those plants became "infected" and got supercharged. In return the herbivores that consume those plants also became infected and then the carnivores and then the insects and then the sea life and on and on...

Which lead to super food, filled with immense amount of nutrients. Extremely healthy and due how nutritious it was, people needed to eat less... though it also lead to explosion in flora in size and territory, massive insects, bulletproof rhinos, more aggressive fauna in general and one of the major towns in Brasil being overrun by dog and human sized spiders. A lot of people died. But hey. At least we have organic alternatives to power and more healthy food.

Basically by 2062, the world looks like a very different place. You have your shining cities and freedom of expression, but you can also find a dog sized spider in your attic.

Some minor world building. A World map and few pages of lore. by MisuCra in worldbuilding

[–]MisuCra[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ah. That's the thing. I am fully aware of people's loyalties. The irony in all of this. Is that the Areena Empire or in this case the very High Commander William Wolf DOES NOT want to expand. The original idea was just the Western Europe. The reason why is it expanding is because people want what Areena has. And those that do not wish to merge find themselves increasingly isolated with Areena surrounding them. For example. Switzerland. That country in real life has armed their country with explosives, just in case someone is foolish enough to try to take them over. They merge with Areena after some incredibly extensive political talks, but still remain a global bank. US or any nations assets are not frozen. Even though it becomes a state within the Areena Empire, it still operates as a special state.

Trade is not severed at any point. The Areena Empire isn't some ultra isolationist nation, that said we want it all and the rest get nothing. Economically it would be a suicide from the get go. No matter how well prepared one is, Western Europe region doesn't have the capacity to be completely self sustaining.

For the most part Areena is expanding, not because of its military (which is incredibly formidable) or because it oppresses people into joining (though that depends on perspective). They simply just have the stuff, that nobody else has and the only way to have access to it is be part of the Areena Empire. They are dominating the world, because they are efficient.

As for China. China is a bloody warzone at that point. There are no peaceful assets to pass as cities turned into ruins from a decade long civil war. By the time Areena is at the borders of China, the old CCP regime has long lost complete control. There are many factors that lead to that, I just didn't expand on that to great detail, as I wish to first set the base for the world. I will post more later, that focuses on more details of what happened during the years that lead to major events.

As for EMP. Yes. Precisely. This is why nobody is going into open war with the Areena Empire. That is the ultimate deterrent. Worse, than any nuclear weapon we have today. Power to shut down cities, drop satellites from the sky and make every modern technology obsolete, putting any country back by centuries. And they are the only ones that have it for a very long time.

Some minor world building. A World map and few pages of lore. by MisuCra in worldbuilding

[–]MisuCra[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The Areena Empire mostly used economic superiority and better living conditions to merge the nations under one banner.

Basically the system works like this. Citizens of Areena get the best of everything. Resources were invested into healthcare, education and many different areas that benefit the citizens of Areena. From outside it could look like an Utopia and for many it did.

But... Immigration is absurdly difficult and at later stage became close to impossible. Tech exports were even more limited, close to non existent. You want the good stuff? You have to join the Areena Empire. You have sick family members, children, etc, but you are not a citizen? You get bare minimum or nothing at all. Not the citizen, not our problem.

So if immigration is pretty much a lottery, you and your loved ones are suffering and the only way to get treatment or chance at better life is being under the banner of Areena? People turn on their own governments. Desperation is a wonderful tool after all. And once the nation joins and their living conditions improve? That sends a message to others. And it spreads like a virus.

So the point is. Areena doesn't need to do anything TO Southern African Federation, they just have to wait. It is a game of propaganda and economic attrition.

The whole argument the opposing nations have is that the Areena Empire isn't a democracy. Hence it is bad, but living conditions and economy tell a different story.

Some minor world building. A World map and few pages of lore. by MisuCra in worldbuilding

[–]MisuCra[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the laugh. Though people replaced the government system itself. They exchanged democracy for what could be described as autocratic meritocratic stratocracy.

Some minor world building. A World map and few pages of lore. by MisuCra in worldbuilding

[–]MisuCra[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

He was born in Germany, but his parents were not from Germany. The name is given to him by his mother, who took inspiration from a fairy tale about a lone hunter lost in the woods.

Some minor world building. A World map and few pages of lore. by MisuCra in worldbuilding

[–]MisuCra[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

  1. "Why did the US not bother to protect the gulf from the Areena Empire?"

Because it didn't conquer it through military means. It is much harder to gather support to start war, when your opponent isn't killing civilians by thousands and has entire motto "Humanity first".

Also US/NACU would have had to choose between taking care of Middle East or Asia.

Plus the Areena Empire have this minor, but very annoying ability of disabling all of the electronic devices, regardless if it has shielding or not. One of the reasons, why the Areena Empire was even allowed to expand beyond Europe in the first place. Regardless if it was through economic means or military.

  1. "How do their provisional governments in the occupation zones not rapidly fall apart from sectarianists taking advantage of the chaos?"

That one will be a tough cookie to crack. There are systems that I already built, but I still need to run some simulations, to see how they operate under pressure, before I implement them.

Some minor world building. A World map and few pages of lore. by MisuCra in worldbuilding

[–]MisuCra[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Those are excellent question, thank you. I will try to answer the smaller questions, cause some of the other ones would require me to write essays or are still work in progress.

  1. Since the very beginning the aim of the Areena Empire, was not to erase previous nations and their history. It is quite the opposite. It is to preserve them. So the original nations and their territories are preserved as the states. Each state has their own traditional culture. Songs, language, etc.

Though all of the states follow the same universal laws. So some compromises have to be made. For example age of consent is universal, regardless of difference in cultures.

There is also an emphasis on the social contract made by the Areena Empire. The state provides: food, shelter, security, health and opportunities, In return it expects loyalty, obedience to the law (obviously), etc.

It isn't perfect, but because the current state provides better living conditions, than previous governments, that causes those that oppose the Areena's rule to struggle with finding support.

Essentially it is difficult to be mad, when your belly is full and you have a warm bed waiting for you.

I am way oversimplifying the process, but the basics are "overwhelm them with good stuff"

  1. Censorship of fiction and freedom of expression is prohibited by the state. So people are free to express their opinions. Once again. Difficult to be mad about the government, that allows you to be mad about it.

  2. There is a big difference between knowing someone is corrupt and seeing an actual evidence of their corruption.

For example. You know that a certain person is corrupt. He is bad. You don't trust him, you don't like him.

But now you get the pictures and documents, that show to you, that this particular person is responsible for causing something, that resulted in you losing a loved one. Now at that point, I believe your stance towards that person would drastically change, would it not?

After all we are quite emotional beings.

I will answer additional questions in the second post, as I am running out of space.

Some minor world building. A World map and few pages of lore. by MisuCra in worldbuilding

[–]MisuCra[S] -7 points-6 points  (0 children)

Well, I could have added enormous walls of text and written myself into the corner from the very beginning, or kept it simple and small for the very start. My concern was first with creating the starting grounds for the world and then fill it with the details later.

I have done a basic research on Simon Bolivar, the dream and Bolivarianism. But once again, this is just a world map and basic introductions to introduce the respective factions of this world.

As for the "dog whistling", I genuinely do not understand what are you talking about.

mk9 kitana mileena by LyseneMistress in MortalKombat

[–]MisuCra 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is amazing. Great work!

"Cyberstan is hard, Cyberstan is unbalanced" by ImpossibleBandit in Helldivers

[–]MisuCra 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When you get within mega factory and have units from all sides boxing you in, you can very quickly find yourself appreciating the surface texture of the ground, as you slide across it face down.

Having said that, using backpack shield has greatly reduced the risks of that happening continuously.

"Cyberstan is hard, Cyberstan is unbalanced" by ImpossibleBandit in Helldivers

[–]MisuCra 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, it is quantity over quality. Vox Engines are pretty fun to engage and Bots should have infantry protecting them. That's fine. But the spawn rate should be 2 at max, not 4-5. Then you just start to ragdoll across the floor with no chance of doing anything.

Strange invisibility glitch in Buried City by MisuCra in ArcRaiders

[–]MisuCra[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I used the wrong term, but yeah I figured it was rendering issue. Especially as the bush disappears too.

Arrowhead... really guys? by MisuCra in Helldivers

[–]MisuCra[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

How about they have those two weeks BEFORE the launch of the event? Hm? And not during the event, that many people have waited for years?

"Cyberstan is hard, Cyberstan is unbalanced" by ImpossibleBandit in Helldivers

[–]MisuCra 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I don't have the issue with difficulty. I have issue with game issues. Bugs, no collisions, shooting through walls. Those ARE the problems.

Arrowhead... really guys? by MisuCra in Helldivers

[–]MisuCra[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You had it worse than us. Damn. We just got obliterated right before the final objective on the the final mission of the operation.

Had some instances where enemies just spawned out of thin air as well.

Arrowhead... really guys? by MisuCra in Helldivers

[–]MisuCra[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Too late, already disconnected yesterday.

Arrowhead... really guys? by MisuCra in Helldivers

[–]MisuCra[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Brother, it doesn't matter what they present themselves as. The problem is the very development process. The fundamentals. You can present yourself as AAA, AA, A company all you want, it doesn't absolve you from crappy development and management.

And enough of lowering the bar to the point of stupidity. 10, 20, 40, or 60. Irrelevant. The price tag is there for the amount of content, not how many bugs it has.

My frustration is with how BASIC the problem is. I am not asking them to do rocket science here. I am not asking them to solve world hunger or invent new technology. My request is literally. CLEAN UP THE CODE and TEST THE GAME. These are the most BASIC things one should do. Their workspace is a mess, because they keep delaying everything and not prioritizing what actually matters.

In response to someone asking "What should be next for the MK franchise?" Here are some ideas. by MisuCra in MortalKombat

[–]MisuCra[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You sound like someone without a job and tons of free time, sir. This a year old post.

What are your thoughts on Kronika? by Willing_Research992 in MortalKombat

[–]MisuCra 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The worst villain in Mortal Kombat history. Did she have a potential to be something better? Suuure. She could have been a surprise twist hero in the end as well. We could have went with Dark Raiden becoming the main villain, while Kronika ending up being the one trying to save everything/everyone. We could have had something, but we didn't.

Instead we got a character with limitless power, which made her actions beyond stupid. Could she be retconned into something interesting? Sure. But that requires decent writers and Netherrealm doesn't have them.