The Stars Beyond

[Aury]

Well, the faction list is taking a ridiculously long time to compile, but here are the friendlies and the regions (W/o background fluff for friendlies). [edit, some info may be outdated, ie, on the Rean]

And remind me if I missed something. Because I know I probably did.

Regions overview

Borderlands: The borderlands are a fairly unpopulated region. Theoretically, the commonwealth lays claim to these systems, while they actually completely neglect the backwater that is the Borderlands. The Borderlands are an impoverished region with sparse, low-grade ore at best, and very high poverty levels. Crime runs rampant in this neck of the woods, given neither the commonwealth nor the corporations care enough to stamp it out, and its not infrequent for entire systems to rebel and form small separatist groups. Some of the more successful movements have included the Elronian Confederacy, which have been able to hold their own against the Centauri Warlords, charon pirates and other minor powers living in the power vacuum that exists there, and the Rean Federation, a moderately sized (For a Borderlands state) republic which has done as well for itself as it has if only because of funding from the Coalition, allowing them to expand into the more resource rich lands of the Frontier.

New Beyond: The heart of the commonwealth. The New Beyond is the economic and political center of the commonwealth, comprising the majority of its population, as well as the economic center for the Corporate Heirarchy. The New Beyond has a well fortified perimeter to the sides of the Ungoverned regions. There are however, several anomalies in the New Beyond. The first of which is a quarantined branch of the stargate network, comprising 4 systems, closed off by corporate forces. The systems beyond contain the wyvera. There is also a string of systems pointing to st.kathrines controlled by the Ares, as a result of a nearly successful strike at the commonwealth's capital. The Ares controlled systems have mostly been reclaimed since the attack, however, a single stronghold remains. This system has been quarantined with some of the most powerful defenses, however, attempts to retake the system so far have all failed, given the concentration of ares forces within. No attacks from either side have been launched in the last several years, outside of the occasional scouts.

Ungoverned Regions: The name is a misnomer really, despite being the official term accepted in the Commonwealth. The name is a blanket term for a large mass of war-torn systems governed by a wide array of forces, for the most part, all fighting against each other. Many of the combatants don't even lie within the boundaries of the contested region, such as the Commonwealth and the Ranx. These are a fairly resource rich land, and many groups are looking to get their hands on it. The few "indigenous" (original colonists) peoples have lost control over the region. (Originally this region was dominated by the Hauri, until their fall at the hands of the Sung.)

Frontier: This is a large section of the quarantine zone which only the Rean Federation, Solarites, and the Coalition of United Earth Colonies have made any major effort to settle. Canis Industries is also the major corporation dominating the area, much like the Hierarchy members dominate commerce in the New Beyond. The Frontier has a fair number of poorly explored systems, as well as some who's contents are unknown. The Frontier has only 2 major powers, the mysterious and zealotic Solarites who fled there after their failed invasion of earth, and the Coalition, who seceded during the late days of the syrtian war, when it was clear that the commonwealth had no intent of protecting either them. Canis Industries also has its headquarters based in the Frontier, away from the prying eyes of the Heirarchy. Lastly, the Reans also have a stake in the land as well, using it as their now-primary source of income in their fight against the Elronians, Centauri and Urak.

The Fringe: This is a region populated mainly by neohumans, with a massive amount of power divisions even here. Despite its name, the Fringe is actually a very large region of space, encompasing the Ares, the Domain, the Ansabi, the Ringers, the Teratons, and the two non-neohuman factions based in there, the Ranx and the Luminous. The Commonwealth also maintains a token force present, however, many of the commonwealth's original assets in the region seceded and formed the Ranx Empire.

Old Earthspace: This region has seen its fair share of wars in the past several centuries. Old Earthspace - commonly referred to as just Earthspace, is the region immediatly surrounding Sol in terms of links along the stargate network - There are a few systems within Old Earthspace's regions that are technically part of the Borderlands because of an anomaly in the gate system. Old Earthspace is nolonger really central to human affairs, but it does have earth, which does draw a fair number of tourists, and there hasn't been any major war fought in the region in some time, giving the region a decent level of stability. However, there are few major defenses, aside from a single major military installation in Earth's orbit, though this aging facility has certainly seen better days.

TSB factions overview

NOTE: Alignments are /to the player/ by default. Alignments can change during the game based on the player's actions!

NOTE: Interfactional alignments can change based on in-game events! (Even if the player is /not involved/). Unwinnable sessions will be impossible however (I started to write a wall of text explaining exactly how the mechanics work, but then I decided not to. I will explain all that at a later date.)

NOTE: Technology level is determined ONLY by the maximum tier weapon that the faction's ships use or that they are capable of making

Friendly

Commonwealth
Government: Republic
Capital: St.Kathrine's Star (New Beyond)
Regional influence: ***** (New Beyond) ** (Ungoverned Regions) ** (Borderlands) *** (Old Earthspace)
Technology level: *** (***** Lamplighter)
Special Enemies: Ranx Empire, Ranx Rebellion, Rean Federation
Background: N/A

Corporate Heirarchy
Government: Corporate conglomerate
Capital: None (HQ for each major company is separate)
Regional influence: **** (New Beyond) *** (Ungoverned Regions) * (Borderlands) *** (Old Earthspace) *** (The Fringe)
Technology level: *** (**** Taikon/EI)
Background: N/A

Rean Federation
Government: Republic
Capital: Reana (Borderlands/Frontier)
Regional influence *** (Borderlands) *** (Frontier)
Technology level: **
Background: N/A

Coalition
Government: Multiple Branch Democracy
Capital: Marona (Not a system: Rogue stargate)
Regional influence: * (Borderlands - only via Reans) **** (Frontier)
Technology level: ***
Background: N/A

Canis Industries
Government: Corporation (Powerful enough to have sovereign rights, and occupies its own territory)
Capital: Canis (Frontier) (Actually HQ)
Regional influence: **** (Frontier) ** (Fringe) ** (Ungoverned Territories)
Technology level: *****
Background: N/A

Ringers
Government: Collective
Capital: None
Regional influence: **** (Fringe) *** (Ungoverned Territories)
Technology level: ****
Background: N/A

Teratons
Government: Individual Hives
Capital: None
Regional Influence: ** (Fringe)
Technology level: ****
Background: N/A

Kaidan
Government: Unk
Capital: Unk
Regional Influence: * (Frontier), ** (New Beyond), *** (Old Earthspace), ** (Fringe), ** (Ungoverned Territories)
Technology level: ***
Background: N/A

Ansabi Foundation
Government: Meritocracy
Capital: Rotating
Regional Influence: *** (Fringe), * (Ungoverned Territories)
Technology level: *****
Background: N/A

Ferrians
Government: None (Controlled by Ringers)
Capital: None
Regional Influence: ** (Fringe), * (Ungoverned Territories)
Technology level: **** (With Ringer designs)
Background: N/A

Salvager Nomads (Which have been descrapified)
Government: Independent Settlements
Capital: None
Technology level: N/A (They will equip the best undamaged item in their inventory)
Regional Influence: * (Fringe)
Background: N/A

Sisters of Domina (All orders)
Government: Theocracy (under domina)
Capital: None?
Technology level: ******* (They have low-yield dark fire weapons, similar to the low-yield dark acid weapons of the Order.)
Regional Influence: * (General)
Background: N/A

[Aury]

Tentative timeline & more coalition ships coming tomorrow.

I actually finished a new ship and a half today, but I won't but putting it up till later.

[Song]

I actually finished a new ship and a half today, but I won't but putting it up till later.

Wolfy, you have just given me an awesome idea that I sadly am unable to create myself.

Battledamaged ships trying to limp home....in..well....Technically...one piece. Just a somewhat smaller piece than usual.

[Aury]

The half ship is actually just an undetailed hull.

[Song]

The half ship is actually just an undetailed hull.

Still, you can see how it gave me the idea.

[Ttech]

what really counts is what is seen, just look at modern television

[Aury]

Three more coalition ships!

Coalition Viper I/II-class light gunship

These light gunships are fairly cheap to produce, and come in a civilian and military version. They are rarely seen on the front lines in the war with the solarites however, and generally are relegated to patrol duties in borderland systems, staying near their primary station. The civilian version is often seen as a basic station guard.
The viper is an old design, relative to all of the other VSS-built ships, however the Mark II is fitted with fairly modern equipment. The civilian version has a pair of heavy particle pulse guns, and comes in at about par with the upgraded Whiptail in terms of firepower. The Viper-II however has dual ion repeaters, as well as a heavier shield and armor. It has more firepower than a stock centurion, but the armor and shields are inferior to that of a centurion-X.

Coalition Cobra-class gunship

The VSS Cobra is a much newer model of ship than the Viper, and has largely replaced them in the war with the Solarites. They have significant firepower, with a pair of full-size Ion Impact cannons. Though they lack the punch of XM900's that the CW's Brittanias have, they more than make up for it with the superior firepower that their main cannons have, allowing them to remain effective for much longer. Cobras also have excellent survivability, with powerful shields, and decent armor. They also have powerful engines, giving them a speed matched only by windslavers. They are however extremely costly to produce; somewhat moreso than the CW's Brittania, and thus make the Whiptail all the more enticing to use as a general-purpose fighter.

Coalition Komodo-class battleship [Size updated from 192 to 224]

Befitting of its name, the Komodo is a large battleship providing impressive direct-fire support. It is equipped with several Heavy Ion Impact Turrets, in dual configuration for capital ship engagements, as well as a number of more basic Ion Impact cannons for lighter targets and break-through roles, in taking out solarite blockades at gates. It also has a massive turreted Ion Pulse Howitzer, which is a large repeating ion impact cannon that fires in chained bursts over a large distance. This weapon is used to take out the massive Solarite Core Ships, which have incredibly tough armor, but can be outranged by the IPH. The Komoo also has a pair of small fighterbays and can launch a dozen Whiptails. In addition, there are a number of Particle Pulse turrets used as point-defense weapons. The Komodo has a massive engine block affording it a surprising amount of maneuverability for such a large ship, which gives it another much-needed advantage over the slow but heavy solarite ships. A Komodo can safely take on an Aquila or Deimos, but it lacks the armor to take on a commonwealth Monitor.

[Ttech]

I don't know the largest one might need a bit more texture. But otherwise it looks like an awesome design and the others are sweet.

[Aury]

I've noticed that the texture on the Coalition ships varies in noticability from monitor to monitor, but I decided to stick with consistency with the others which were already done. Also I noticed trying to increased it made it look rather funky on my monitor.
I could try increasing the size, which would make the texture more noticeable... hmm, perhapse.

[Ttech]

Yeah I can understand that, either way its till good.

[Aury]

I updated the battleship to 224x224 from 192x192; however, for some stupid reason, the pictures in the thread may continue to appear as 192x192. Try clearing your cache if this is the case.

[Hatsuya Kanzaki]

I'm digging your Coalition ships, Wolfy! Too bad that I'm a fan of the Ansabi, and I liked them more for being royal-looking. Are there new stuff from them?

[Aury]

Ok, I fixed the issue with image sizes. I have no idea what went wrong, but I managed to use a solution I know works.

Also, I'll be redoing the Ansabi ships with transparency along with all the others, but I probably won't have more stuff for them for a bit. There are still a few ships left to do for them though.

[Aury]

I'm working on some TSB signatures, this one is just temporary, as I experiment with the format & layout.
I eventually want to make a bunch, each showcasing a different faction, and get curudan's image randomizer script, so it will display a different one each time X3.

I'll have ones in a more finalized format being worked on by friday

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[ThePrivateer]

very nice signature there Wolfy, but TBH it's a bit big. Maybe just resize it a little to make it a tad smaller...?

Otherwise you end up having to skim over giant pictures in people's signatures to find the next bit of text in a thread.