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Hosted Projects - FS2 Required => Blue Planet => Topic started by: CT27 on August 31, 2012, 02:18:52 pm

Title: WIH Chronology
Post by: CT27 on August 31, 2012, 02:18:52 pm
I was rewatching part of QuantumDelta's WIH playthrough, and I saw a date at the beginning of the first command briefing.  However, the beginning of Delenda Est (and the mission before it) didn't have a date as far as I could see.  Out of curiosity, how much time did WIH cover?

Also (just speculation here), how much time do you think WIH2 will cover?
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: Scotty on August 31, 2012, 02:27:43 pm
War in Heaven, as far as I know, covered between three and six weeks.

That said, the pace of the war has accelerated massively in those few weeks, and I expect Part 2 will cover between two and four weeks.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: CT27 on September 01, 2012, 12:43:13 am
So GTVA supporters like me should hope the war's over soon? ;)
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: QuakeIV on September 01, 2012, 01:18:22 am
Given the 'final weeks of the war' thing, id say so.  Which I have to say pleases me greatly.  Unless of course the GTVA is somehow suddenly roflstomped in a matter of weeks by the shivans or something.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: Crybertrance on September 01, 2012, 01:28:30 am
Unless of course the GTVA is somehow suddenly roflstomped in a matter of weeks by the shivans or something.

YAY, I want 2 c that!
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: SypheDMar on September 01, 2012, 02:25:25 am
The forum seems pretty confident that the GTVA will win; but from past observations, the BP team has a tendency to screw with the audience.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: QuakeIV on September 01, 2012, 03:16:57 am
True, dat.  Its possible some outside force will at least force a ceasefire.

That or the UEF will pull a Black Sun and blast the GTVA to hell over the course of thirty seconds or so.  (see supreme commander)

(http://ipfsquared.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/projectblacksun.jpg)

Look!  Its the serkret secret project!
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: CT27 on September 01, 2012, 03:53:49 am
One theory that I've heard on what might happen is a GTVA military and short-term political victory, but eventually Ubuntu ideology begins to spread.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: Aesaar on September 01, 2012, 06:38:00 am
The forum seems pretty confident that the GTVA will win; but from past observations, the BP team has a tendency to screw with the audience.
The only confidence I have in a GTVA victory is that it's inevitable if things continue as they are.  I don't expect that to happen.

Maybe they'll win, but I'm pretty sure something will seriously screw with the balance, like Shivans/Vishnans/Byrne's project.  And I have a feeling those 3 are related.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: headdie on September 01, 2012, 07:49:38 am
sure something will seriously screw with the balance, like Shivans/Vishnans/Byrne's project.  And I have a feeling those 3 are related.

I think that is where the sane money is for those backing a direct UEF victory/achieving a stale mate

Here is a mental idea, what if the front end of the Lucy is where the/one of the sheath shield generator(s) was?
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: Aesaar on September 01, 2012, 09:35:10 am
Here is a mental idea, what if the front end of the Lucy is where the/one of the sheath shield generator(s) was?

It would nullify GTVA bombers.  Possibly torpedoes and pulse cannons.  But from what we saw of the Lucifer in AoA, its shields don't help much against TEI beam cannons.

I don't think the project is something so mundane as capship shields.  What would Nagari sensitivity have to do with that?
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: headdie on September 01, 2012, 09:39:14 am
Here is a mental idea, what if the front end of the Lucy is where the/one of the sheath shield generator(s) was?

It would nullify GTVA bombers.  Possibly torpedoes and pulse cannons.  But from what we saw of the Lucifer in AoA, its shields don't help much against TEI beam cannons.

I don't think the project is something so mundane as capship shields.  What would Nagari sensitivity have to do with that?

as I said it was not a serious suggestion, though the shield system might be controllable by Nagari sensitive beings or require them in its mechanism some how if you really want to combine the two concepts.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: An4ximandros on September 01, 2012, 10:23:28 am
Given the Duke's defection, the destruction of Samuel's ship that held the transmission, the contents of the cargo container in "For the Wrong Reasons" and the suggestions on the commentary that the Duke's transmission won't come into play for a while...

Spoiler:
I think Bryne's project is a retrofit for a task force to run the blockade on the DelSer. node, which could explain why the elders themselves ordered Netreba and Calder to surrender the supply ship, and get to N362 and activate the Ancient gateway and get the Vishs to help.)

Alas, it would probably take too long given how bad things seem to be going for the UEF.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: -Norbert- on September 01, 2012, 12:30:39 pm
I don't think they'd gamble the future of the UEF on so many chances.
Even if they manage to break through the GTVA blockade, which in itself is very unlikely, they don't know if the Vishnans are even willing to help, especially with the long silence.
And if they are willing to help, they still might not be able to help, because of the balance between them and the Shivans.
And even if they are willing and able, they still might arrive too late to be of any real help.

No I am very sure that is not what the project is about.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: BritishShivans on September 01, 2012, 12:43:34 pm
I just want to see the GTVA and UEF get exterminated/near-exterminated by the Shivans. I would also like to see the Shivans wipe out the Vishnans, too, but that would be asking too much.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: Ryuseiken on September 01, 2012, 05:24:06 pm
I just want to see the GTVA and UEF get exterminated/near-exterminated by the Shivans. I would also like to see the Shivans wipe out the Vishnans, too, but that would be asking too much.

Well as a British Shivan you would want that wouldn't you.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: QuakeIV on September 01, 2012, 06:15:11 pm
AH yeah, cant forget the Shivan supporters.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: BritishShivans on September 02, 2012, 04:32:11 pm
Well, I like the GTVA, but the confused nature of why they declared war  and all these "justifications" make no sense to me. I'm hoping BP3 explains this and finally gives an answer that makes sense, rather than "durr unbuntu can make people agree dispite hating eachother without mindcontrol!!!111"

You know, I'm hoping this is the reason why. The Elders use Nagari technology to force people who hate/disagree/want to murder the other into agreeing with their viewpoints when there is conflict, but continuous abuse of the device/devices is making them corrupt, and that the GTVA Security Council has come not to destroy Ubuntu or whatever that noise is called, but they see the Elders as ineligible leaders, and have given the fleets in Sol their permission to remove the UEF's leaders from power by whatever means are the most effective.

If it makes you feel better, I only want the Elders and the GTVA military wiped out by the Shivans :P

Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: Ryuseiken on September 02, 2012, 05:09:12 pm
Well I was under the impression that it was more about how since Ubuntu is better at getting along with people, they are much less effective when facing an enemy who isn't willing to sit down at the negotiation table. Unfortunately this is pretty much the exact description of Shivan encounters that the GTVA is so terrified of, and the GTVA believes the comparatively pacifistic nature would cripple our ability to defend ourselves against Shivans who already kick our ass. The way the war is going does lend credibility to that assumption.

Though I still love the UEF more than GTVA in BP.  :P
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: Scotty on September 02, 2012, 05:18:08 pm
Well, I like the GTVA, but the confused nature of why they declared war  and all these "justifications" make no sense to me. I'm hoping BP3 explains this and finally gives an answer that makes sense, rather than "durr unbuntu can make people agree dispite hating eachother without mindcontrol!!!111"

The reason the GTVA declared war is plainly and unequivocally stated in several places.  If you don't know why by now, it's not the campaign's fault.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: headdie on September 02, 2012, 05:31:29 pm
Well, I like the GTVA, but the confused nature of why they declared war  and all these "justifications" make no sense to me. I'm hoping BP3 explains this and finally gives an answer that makes sense, rather than "durr unbuntu can make people agree dispite hating eachother without mindcontrol!!!111"

You know, I'm hoping this is the reason why. The Elders use Nagari technology to force people who hate/disagree/want to murder the other into agreeing with their viewpoints when there is conflict, but continuous abuse of the device/devices is making them corrupt, and that the GTVA Security Council has come not to destroy Ubuntu or whatever that noise is called, but they see the Elders as ineligible leaders, and have given the fleets in Sol their permission to remove the UEF's leaders from power by whatever means are the most effective.

If it makes you feel better, I only want the Elders and the GTVA military wiped out by the Shivans :P



If you read through the Intel section of the Techroom most of this is explained but...

The issue is that Ubuntu preaches the use of peaceful and fair methods to conflict resolution.  Obviously this extremely unlikely to work in the next shivan encounter given previous form, as such the GTVA government sees this philosophy escaping into the general population as a threat to the GTVA's ability to be prepared for the next time the shivans show up.

Some in the HLP community see/have seen the existence of a UEF military as Ubuntu not being so much of a problem but 1) the military is there more as a function of government and 2) is limited in doctrine to using minimum force, which is reflected in ship design and deployment patterns, tbh pre invasion I get the sense that the military acted more as a tactical response for the civilian security in system. 

When you also consider that the GTVA has approaching equal numeric force in warships and probably a numeric inferiority in fighters/bombers (not to mention design inferiority) in system at the start of the war, even considering GTVA reinforcements, the UEF military is doing poorly overall and has no real answer to the GTVA's fire power as deployed in system.  Also considering the UEF occupy a system which in BP lore has the potential industrial output of several of the GTVA's most developed systems and has the business end of the Lucifer drifting about somewhere including 2 examples of it's beam cannon tech and they are still getting pummeled, you can see why the GTVA continue to hold the opinion that Ubuntu is a credible threat to GTVA military preparation.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: ^Graff on September 02, 2012, 06:25:34 pm
One thing that I've never seen mentioned on the boards is the fact that since the Shivans only went after the Ancients, Terrans and Vasudans when they were being aggressive/jigonistic, Ubuntu might actually be a better choice for humanity.  Jigonistic societies cross the "Trigger Threshold."  Pacifistic, cooperative societies do not.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: headdie on September 02, 2012, 06:28:48 pm
but without concrete evidence can the GTVA risk it?
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: ^Graff on September 02, 2012, 06:34:48 pm
I'm not saying that the GTVA should know better, there's no way that they would.  But I'm really not sure why so many players favor the GTVA when the UEF is less likely to cause an incursion.  (Or *was* less likely, until the Wargods threw ethics out the window in their drive to win at all costs.)
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: Ryuseiken on September 02, 2012, 06:37:50 pm
That's really the big question, and it's not like anyone has any definite proof either way. It may be that by trying so hard to prepare for the Shivans the GTVA is inviting it's own destruction. On the other hand, the Shivans in AoA disagree with the Vishnans on whether or not to let the humans live, so they might attack the GTVA anyways since they are already 'banished' by the Vishnans.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: QuakeIV on September 04, 2012, 01:12:12 pm
Well the shivans are banished in an entirely different reality.

Also basically everything in AoA could easily be alien propaganda for the purpose of weakening humanity.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: Aesaar on September 04, 2012, 01:29:44 pm
To what end?  Neither the Vishnans nor the Shivans need to weaken humanity.  They can already wipe everyone off the map.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: QuakeIV on September 04, 2012, 01:35:51 pm
As true as that is, its rather wasteful thinking.  Your kindof assuming the Vishnans are complete retards like the Shivans.

They could lose some ships while taking out humanity or they could not.  Its a pretty brutally simple choice.  If they can convince humanity to demilitarize with a little bit of effort then thats better than smashing them to pieces as they are, easy though that may be.

e: grammar applied
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: Ryuseiken on September 04, 2012, 06:12:34 pm
I don't know, just by exposing themselves the Vishnans gave humans first hand experience with their ships, including showing them the glaring flaw that blowing up a Sacred Keeper essentially takes out the battlegroup.

It could be a ruse, but that seems kind of unnecessarily complicated when the complete surprise of a new hostile species attacking would probably of served them just as well if they wanted to crush us.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: QuakeIV on September 05, 2012, 08:29:08 pm
Hm that is a good point, I'll concur that events were at least partially true.  All considered it would be fairly believable that the Vishnans were taken by surprise when the Sathanas attacked.

Its worth noting though that the whole situation was narrated by the Vishnans, allowing them to alter perception of the situation however they like.  Its not like the Shivans got a word in edgewise.  ("translations" don't count methinks)  Also the fact that it resulted in the mutiny of a large chunk of one of the GTVA's best battlegroups seems suspicious.  (i actually rather disliked how i was railroaded into defecting to earth, i thought it was ridiculously awesome when i learned what Commands plan was, would have been perfectly happy to carry along with it but i digress)

The image they painted just seemed a little too silly to me.  "We must maintain the balance of the universe!  Destroy to Preserve!(lol)  The Shivans kill off species systematically to ensure everyone gets their turn!"

Are we seriously supposed to expect a species that thinks that way to get past being eaten by wild animals regularly?  (or crushed like insects by other species early on)

edited for clarity
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: Ryuseiken on September 05, 2012, 09:49:04 pm
Well that was the explanation implied at the end of freespace 1, so it's works well within the established story.

I'll admit the preserve balance thing is a bit cliche, but we still don't know very much about this balance, the Vishnan's place in it, if they evolved or were created or really anything about them except for what we saw in AoA and possibly parts of WiH. I'm interested in seeing where they go with it, since imo the premise is less important than the execution, and so far the execution has been stellar (edit: pun not intended, happy accident!).
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: SaltyWaffles on September 21, 2012, 11:57:20 pm
One thing that I've never seen mentioned on the boards is the fact that since the Shivans only went after the Ancients, Terrans and Vasudans when they were being aggressive/jigonistic, Ubuntu might actually be a better choice for humanity.  Jigonistic societies cross the "Trigger Threshold."  Pacifistic, cooperative societies do not.

Circular logic, on the Shivans' part, if that is the case. It's a LOT harder for a society to become more peaceful and docile when the Shivans repeatedly demonstrate their terrifying and incredible power, astounding numbers, total desire for xenocide, rejection of all attempts at communication and negotiation, and mystifying nature. Why is the GTVA attacking the UEF? Because they're afraid that the UEF's pacifiscm/tolerance/friendliness/lack of super-strong military will make all of them very vulnerable to a Shivan invasion. So...the bad cultural force is attacking the good cultural force because the good cultural force is, by nature, not nearly as good as fighting against an overwhelming and mysterious threat that takes the most powerful traits of the bad cultural force up to 20. And does not negotiate or talk to you. Ever.

So, for the Shivans, if they had any concept of logic, would have to know how mind-numbingly stupid they would be to brutally enforce a viscous cycle that they are themselves a major cause of. In some cases, THE ONLY cause of. Though, I admit, it would still be ten orders of magnitude better than the Reapers (shudders at impossibly bad writing/storytelling/everything ME3).

I just get a feeling that, at some point in the war, the GTVA could actually get satisfactory terms out of a UEF surrender if they focused more on removing the Elders as a legal/governmental power and focusing more on defense against the undeniable and large Shivan threat.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: An4ximandros on September 22, 2012, 12:19:46 am
Actually not that circular, imho.

I see it like this, Vasudans, Humans, Ancients crossed into subspace and went waging wars around, Shivans decided to kill them, they did so with the Ancients (as far as we know :nervous:), failed at the Humans and Vasudans because of an unexpected alliance, they then decided to cause a civil war to weaken them and moved a Juggernaut fleet into Capella to use it as a time, dimensional or whatever jump to keep them in reserve for the inevitable strike, Vishnans however, were intrigued by the development of Ubuntu in Sol and the philosophical transformation of the Vasudans without the corruption from the Parliament, and thought that, maybe, they could be worth keeping around, but the Terran half of the GTVA had to be converted or eliminated, now that the UEF is starting to fall to the dark side and the Vasudans allowed themselves to be dragged into the war, they might have changed their minds about the whole thing, and might let the Shivans wipe their slates clean, since it's clear that the Terran GTVA is as a corrosive force as the Ancients were.

The words "the creators blundered once and in doing so unleashed the the deepness that now stalks the cold roads" seem to imply that the Brhamas hesitated and bought ruin as a result, "they burnt the cosmos clean in the wars of their youth" possibly a reference to the ancients, which forced the Brahmas to create the Shivans and Vishnans as guardians for those who could not fight back and prevent a new multi-galactic empire from being even dreamed of. "Never again will that price be paid" they are not willing to take any more chances, as they took enough under the Vishnans' insistence.

So the Shivans are simply being cautious, they won't risk another wildfire across the universe.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: Luis Dias on September 27, 2012, 09:03:41 am
I think Loki said it well in the plot.

"An Ant has no quarrel with a boot".

Ant, meet the boot. Oh, wait that wasn't fre
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: Ryuseiken on September 27, 2012, 01:05:19 pm
I was under the impression that Bosch's motives were his own, his own fascination with the power of the Shivans made him obsessed with creating an alliance with them because he thought (perhaps rightly) that we could never beat them if they got serious. He activated the Knossos and the Shivans moved in, but I didn't think the Shivans were responsible for the NTF (at least not directly). The NTF seemed to have just let the big scary dog off his leash because they thought they could reason with it.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: -Norbert- on September 27, 2012, 04:45:05 pm
Most of the NTF never knew about ETAC. They were just in for Neo-Terra or for their hate against the Vasudans.
For Bosch they were just a tool to gain unobserved access to the ancient artifacts and digsites and later to clear a patch to the portal.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: Phantom Hoover on September 28, 2012, 04:23:04 am
If the UEF decides to lie back and ignore the Shivans they'd be making an incredibly stupid gamble with the future of humanity. The theory that the Shivans only attack warmongers is based on three coincidences and a lot of metanarrative speculation on our part as players. Looking at this rationally and sceptically, without the knowledge that they're in a story, you'd be a complete fool to bank on the Shivans leaving you be if you lived quietly in peace. The Vishnans don't really change any of this -- there's every reason to suspect that they have an agenda beyond saving humanity from the Shivans, and the induced hallucination of a single pilot aren't the kind of foundation you want to build a future for humanity on.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: Luis Dias on September 28, 2012, 06:11:56 am
If the UEF decides to lie back and ignore the Shivans they'd be making an incredibly stupid gamble with the future of humanity.

There's a difference between "lie back" and "ignore" the Shivans. It may well be the case that someone has concluded that it matter diddly squat if one civilization invested 1% or 60% in an arms race, if the outcome of a probable war was the same: the annihilation of humankind. In this respect, to waste fifty, a hundred years on a futile endeavour wrecking your own humanity, material progress, economy, standard of living in the process could have been deemed outrageous.

It may well also be the case that that same someone has decided that there was a difference between investing 0% and 1%, that contingencies, research and development, planning, organizing and hard thinking was still important investments to ensure more probability to the survival of humankind.

We can tribalize the issue here, but I do not regard the UEF as blatantly stupid nor the GTVA as blatantly whatever-else. They are realistically portrayed as flawed humans.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: -Norbert- on September 28, 2012, 08:14:59 am
If the UEF decides to lie back and ignore the Shivans they'd be making an incredibly stupid gamble with the future of humanity. The theory that the Shivans only attack warmongers is based on three coincidences and a lot of metanarrative speculation on our part as players. Looking at this rationally and sceptically, without the knowledge that they're in a story, you'd be a complete fool to bank on the Shivans leaving you be if you lived quietly in peace. The Vishnans don't really change any of this -- there's every reason to suspect that they have an agenda beyond saving humanity from the Shivans, and the induced hallucination of a single pilot aren't the kind of foundation you want to build a future for humanity on.
But it isn't just "induced hallicinations of a single pilot". Induced hallucinations maybe, but certainly not just a singel pilot. At least some of the Elders and the two Beis all had some communications with the Vishnans, otherwise they couldn't complain about "the silence" in sunglare.

And the UEF doesn't ignore the Shivan's existance. Why else would they ever have build the Solaris' and their heavy bombers? Surely not to combat the Gef.

Apart from that, the problem with the GTVA isn't that they prepare for the next incursion, but that they do so at the cost of their population. The economy of the Terran part of the GTVA is on the brink of collapse and the population close to rioting. On top of that they went to war with the UEF. Those things could have been avoided, while still being prepared for a Shivan invasion.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: Aesaar on September 28, 2012, 08:48:40 am

And the UEF doesn't ignore the Shivan's existance. Why else would they ever have build the Solaris' and their heavy bombers? Surely not to combat the Gef.
Perhaps the UEF isn't as peaceful as suggested.

No reason to expect UEF torpedoes would even work against Lucifer shields.  Antimatter-based Tsunamis were useless, and kinetic weapons aren't known to be effective against shields either.  The UEF had no reason to expect another Shivan incursion wouldn't have a Lucifer leading it, so if they were preparing for another Shivan attack, wouldn't it make more sense to invest in new technologies to pierce shields, rather than building more weapons that have been demonstrated to be ineffective?  Like, say, beams?

Even the FS2 GTVA was better adapted to fighting Shivans than the current UEF is.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: Luis Dias on September 28, 2012, 09:14:47 am
Perhaps the UEF isn't as peaceful as suggested.


Let us remember that it was a coterie of psychohistorians and sociopsychologists who "predicted" the ideological armaggedon brought on about by a "radical" religious group that would eradicate away the GTVA's own existence.

Consider two different scenarios. The first that this particular coterie of experts were actually right in projecting the downfall of the current GTVA's political authority among its own population, and the eventual degradation and collapse of its structure. This is completely realistic: the "american dream" of freedom and wealth that has inspired a lot of revolutions around the world, and has brought about actual collapse of totalitarian regimes. It's something also called "Soft Power".

The second that this coterie of scientists were actually wrong, on either purely scientific reasons (missed key elements perhaps) or by fiat (scientific malfeasance to induce politics). In this scenario it wouldn't be impossible a joint effort by both the GTVA and the Sol planets to share their knowledge and technologies, and why not some good old standards of living. In this scenario, the exodus to Sol wouldn't be too much of a big problem, etc.


Now, I am inclined to believe the first, that is, that the GTVA's current structure is unsustainable politically given the riches and the "feel-good" politics of Sol. What is obvious here, from all our historical references, is that the powers that be were too afraid of the explosion of unintended consequences that their scientific models were hinting at. Think about "tipping points", "extreme events", strange attractors diverging and all sorts of fears that were entering the minds of the psychohistorians of the GTVA. Let us consider that these minds were used to decades of a simple state of affairs where nothing particularly revolutionary was happening inside the GTVA space of politics. Let us consider as well the fearful nature of humans itself. They let their fears drive their actions.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: -Norbert- on September 28, 2012, 09:23:42 am

And the UEF doesn't ignore the Shivan's existance. Why else would they ever have build the Solaris' and their heavy bombers? Surely not to combat the Gef.
Perhaps the UEF isn't as peaceful as suggested.

No reason to expect UEF torpedoes would even work against Lucifer shields.  Antimatter-based Tsunamis were useless, and kinetic weapons aren't known to be effective against shields either.  The UEF had no reason to expect another Shivan incursion wouldn't have a Lucifer leading it, so if they were preparing for another Shivan attack, wouldn't it make more sense to invest in new technologies to pierce shields, rather than building more weapons that have been demonstrated to be ineffective?  Like, say, beams?

Even the FS2 GTVA was better adapted to fighting Shivans than the current UEF is.

Even if you have weapons that can pierce the Lucifer shield, you still need a military strong enough to deal with all the other Shivan ships. For all the UEF knew, the surviving Shivan ships might have wiped out ever Human and Vasudan outside of Sol, after the nodes collapsed.

As for the state of readiness, we really can't tell much about that, can we?
The current UEF ships would have wiped the floor with anything the Shivans had during the great war and even in the FS2 conflict they would have done very well, with all their anti-subsystem weapons Shivan capships would have been de-beamed quite quickly and thus been left almost helpless.
As far as the UEF knew, before the re-opening of the node, the Lucifer was the only thread they really had to worry about. And just because we havn't seen any anti-lucifer equipment doesn't mean the UEF doesn't have any.
But since the GTVA doesn't utilize such a shield, there is no need take those shieldbusters out of storage and thus we never know about it.

For all we know the node network might be used to create a subspace bubble around a Lucifer and thus shut down it's shields, or maybe the Occulus can put out a radiation with the same effect.
Unless a Lucifer comes knocking at the UEFs door we'll probably never know what kind of plans, protocolls and contingencies (or lack thereof) the UEF had for such a case.

Not seeing it doesn't mean it doesn't exists.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: Aesaar on September 28, 2012, 09:55:51 am
Even if you have weapons that can pierce the Lucifer shield, you still need a military strong enough to deal with all the other Shivan ships. For all the UEF knew, the surviving Shivan ships might have wiped out ever Human and Vasudan outside of Sol, after the nodes collapsed.
  After a few years, they'd have started picking Terran and Vasudan signals coming from nearby stars.  Alpha Centauri is a Vasudan world and is only 4.3 ly away.  Sirius is definitely colonized and is 8.6 ly away.  If they cared about what happened outside Sol, chances are they checked for signals coming from there.

Quote
As for the state of readiness, we really can't tell much about that, can we?
The current UEF ships would have wiped the floor with anything the Shivans had during the great war and even in the FS2 conflict they would have done very well, with all their anti-subsystem weapons Shivan capships would have been de-beamed quite quickly and thus been left almost helpless.
As far as the UEF knew, before the re-opening of the node, the Lucifer was the only thread they really had to worry about. And just because we havn't seen any anti-lucifer equipment doesn't mean the UEF doesn't have any.
But since the GTVA doesn't utilize such a shield, there is no need take those shieldbusters out of storage and thus we never know about it.
Considering Sol had a head start in building beams because they had access to the wrecks of the Lucifer's own, while the GTVA had to start from scratch (because FS1-era Shivan ships don't have beams), I don't thing it's unreasonable to assume that if the UEF was genuinely worried that the Shivans would come back, they'd have built beam cannons by now.  I think giving every ship a chance to damage the Lucifer is better than risking it all on a countermeasure that might not even work.

Moreover, the Shivans aren't slow.  When they move into a system, they get to their objective fairly quickly.  The UEF cannot fall back like the GTA did in FS1.  So you expect me to believe that the UEF was so worried about Shivans coming back that the Scalpel, a non-lethal weapon, was the standard-issue fighter weapon, and most capships were equipped with dummy rounds?  Come on.  They responded quickly at the end of AoA, but they knew the GTVA was coming and they had reason to be suspicious.  The Shivans would have just jumped in and started shooting at the weaponless Fed ships.

The only evidence that the UEF expected the Shivans to come back is a throwaway line in FS1's ending cinematic.

Quote
For all we know the node network might be used to create a subspace bubble around a Lucifer and thus shut down it's shields, or maybe the Occulus can put out a radiation with the same effect.
There's absolutely nothing to indicate that either of these things is even possible.  The gates have never given any indication that they're anything more than linked subspace drives, and if the Oculus could kill shields, it's a feature that would have been used at some point in the last 18 months, if only to shut down fighter shields.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: Luis Dias on September 28, 2012, 10:01:44 am
Even if you have weapons that can pierce the Lucifer shield, you still need a military strong enough to deal with all the other Shivan ships. For all the UEF knew, the surviving Shivan ships might have wiped out ever Human and Vasudan outside of Sol, after the nodes collapsed.
  After a few years, they'd have started picking Terran and Vasudan signals coming from nearby stars.  Alpha Centauri is a Vasudan world and is only 4.3 ly away.  Sirius is definitely colonized and is 8.6 ly away.  If they cared about what happened outside Sol, chances are they kept something checking for signals coming from there.  So I'm pretty sure the UEF knew the GTVA existed.

This is possible, but it pressuposes that sufficient detectable radiation is actually produced in Alpha Centauri by the Vasudans. Such quantity of radiation may well be beyond the reach of their technology. It's still a veeery long distance.

However, if it is possible, it does put a sort of a plot hole in the whole BP canon, since it would be entirely possible for the GTVA to have previously communicated with Earth (albeit with an 9 year lag) and thus learnt about the Ubuntu, the UEF learnt about the Sathanas fleet, etc.,etc.

Quote
Considering Sol had a head start in building beams because they had access to the wrecks of the Lucifer's own, while the GTVA had to start from scratch (because FS1-era Shivan ships don't have beams), I don't thing it's unreasonable to assume that if the UEF was genuinely worried that the Shivans would come back, they'd have built beam cannons by now.

It does not necessarily follow. I understand that point, but if you believe you have an answer to the beam canon technology, you don't necessarily need to build a beam canon, just the counter-measure. And they have the counter-measure.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: Aesaar on September 28, 2012, 10:07:02 am
It does not necessarily follow. I understand that point, but if you believe you have an answer to the beam canon technology, you don't necessarily need to build a beam canon, just the counter-measure. And they have the counter-measure.
It's better than starting with nothing, which is what the GTVA had to do (well, GTI with the Hades, but the point stands).
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: MatthTheGeek on September 28, 2012, 10:08:27 am
Considering Sol had a head start in building beams because they had access to the wrecks of the Lucifer's own, while the GTVA had to start from scratch (because FS1-era Shivan ships don't have beams), I don't thing it's unreasonable to assume that if the UEF was genuinely worried that the Shivans would come back, they'd have built beam cannons by now.  I think giving every ship a chance to damage the Lucifer is better than risking it all on a countermeasure that might not even work.
Bad assumptions. All Sol had was a whole bunch of completely destroyed and unsalvageable debris.

The GTI, on the other hand, had hours and hours of classified scans from the Lucifer, plus ton of captured Shivan technology ranging from salvageable debris to captured cargo (even live Shivans) which were kept in their HQ in Beta Aquilae. They also had humanity's best engineers and scientists.

Sol had nothing of that. Not hard to deduce who'd manage to develop beams first. The GTVA just salvaged GTI's research.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: Aesaar on September 28, 2012, 10:10:05 am
Bad assumptions. All Sol had was a whole bunch of completely destroyed and unsalvageable debris.

The GTI, on the other hand, had hours and hours of classified scans from the Lucifer, plus ton of captured Shivan technology ranging from salvageable debris to captured cargo (even live Shivans) which were kept in their HQ in Beta Aquilae. They also had humanity's best engineers and scientists.

Sol had nothing of that. Not hard to deduce who'd manage to develop beams first. The GTVA just salvaged GTI's research.
Why wouldn't they have the scan data from the Lucifer?  Earth was the GTA's capital.  Almost certainly where fleet HQ and GTI HQ were.  Seems to me that'd be the first place they'd send it.  Especially with the Lucifer coming their way.  Same could be said of those best scientists.

Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: headdie on September 28, 2012, 10:11:59 am
when building countermeasures and know they work you need something to test it against and two wrecked cannons wont do it you need working enxamples and more to the point if I understand the BP fluff correctly you need the targeting system working, using the shivan settings to test it properly, also even if you manage that you still will need to record the system in action on your new shivan fleet as they could very easily be using different frequencies etc before your countermeasure works, meaning you still need something of yours to be blasted before you can start efforts to jam the weapons.

on the GTI issue I would have to agree that having the GTI headquarters in Sol would make the most sence.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: MatthTheGeek on September 28, 2012, 10:16:56 am
Why wouldn't they have the scan data from the Lucifer?  Earth was the GTA's capital.  Almost certainly where fleet HQ and GTI HQ were.  Seems to me that'd be the first place they'd send it.  Especially with the Lucifer coming their way.  Same could be said of those best scientists.
GTI's HQ was in Beta Aquilae (canon, Silent Threat. And BP canon, Silent Threat Reborn). The GTA obviously wasn't expecting the node to collapse. Better keep the data safe than trying to transit it all the way to Earth, especially when all the top scientists are already at Beta Aquilae.

Besides, the GTI was already fairly independent from GTA High Command by the time of the Great War. Wouldn't be surprised if some of the most sensitive research done there was... omitted from official reports to High Command.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: Luis Dias on September 28, 2012, 10:22:04 am
Matth is owning the discussion. Good points regarding the intel canon overall.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: Aesaar on September 28, 2012, 10:26:19 am
GTI's HQ was in Beta Aquilae (canon, Silent Threat. And BP canon, Silent Threat Reborn). The GTA obviously wasn't expecting the node to collapse. Better keep the data safe than trying to transit it all the way to Earth, especially when all the top scientists are already at Beta Aquilae.
I'd like a quote.  Haven't played ST:R in a while.  All I remember is that GTA everything was in Delta Serpentis or Beta Aquilae for obvious reasons.  Does it ever actually say that GTI HQ was in Betaq all along?

And why not transmit it to Earth?  Who is there to keep it from?  The Vasudans already have it, and I don't think the Shivans care.  Not sending it to Earth makes no sense.  You don't lose information by sending a copy to someone.

Quote
Besides, the GTI was already fairly independent from GTA High Command by the time of the Great War. Wouldn't be surprised if some of the most sensitive research done there was... omitted from official reports to High Command.
Because it wouldn't make sense to send Earth all the available data on the Lucifer once it was headed their way.  Especially not after what happened to Vasuda. 
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: MatthTheGeek on September 28, 2012, 10:30:56 am
Then maybe you should replay STR right now instead of arguing based on faulty memories.

EDIT: if you really want a quote, lrn2wiki (http://www.hard-light.net/wiki/index.php/Secrets_Reborn).
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: General Battuta on September 28, 2012, 10:36:48 am
This could be a pretty interesting conversation if it weren't so antagonistic!
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: redsniper on September 28, 2012, 10:45:44 am
:welcome:
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: Dilmah G on September 28, 2012, 11:06:16 am
This could be a pretty interesting conversation if it weren't so antagonistic!
I second this notion! I get so damn tired of reading these when people behave like dicks to each other. These are so much more fun when we can take other people's opinions and gaps in their knowledge like normal people and not like 30 year-old neckbeards who derive self-worth from belittling other people over the internet.

Was this what Battuta meant?

Well I don't ****ing know, I'm Australian!

(psst, that means I'm drunk).

So have a beer! Discussions about freespace are more fun with freebeers! (see what i did theere0
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: General Battuta on September 28, 2012, 11:08:27 am
This could be a pretty interesting conversation if it weren't so antagonistic!
I second this notion! I get so damn tired of reading these when people behave like dicks to each other. These are so much more fun when we can take other people's opinions and gaps in their knowledge like normal people and not like 30 year-old neckbeards who derive self-worth from belittling other people over the internet.

Was this what Battuta meant?

Well I don't ****ing know, I'm Australian!

(psst, that means I'm drunk).

So have a beer! Discussions about freespace are more fun with freebeers! (see what i did theere0

A good post, from a good man!
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: Dilmah G on September 28, 2012, 11:09:36 am
Why thank you, good sir!
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: Aesaar on September 28, 2012, 11:16:12 am
Then maybe you should replay STR right now instead of arguing based on faulty memories.

EDIT: if you really want a quote, lrn2wiki (http://www.hard-light.net/wiki/index.php/Secrets_Reborn).

I would if I had FS2 installed on this computer.  I don't.  You also still haven't answered the question: Why wouldn't they send their info on the Lucifer to Earth?  Did they just feel like being contrary?  1) keep all info to ourselves. 2) Earth gets destroyed. 3) ??? 4) Profit.

Also, you're making assumptions too.  You say the GTI was diverging from GTA command.  This is true in STR.  It is not necessarily true during or before FS1.  For all we know, they used the chaos and loss of Sol command to isolate themselves.  Maybe Sol command kept close tabs on GTI.  And if not, I'm pretty sure Command would at least demand all info on the Lucifer to plan their attack.  Arguing that they might not send all of it is not supported more than anything else.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: headdie on September 28, 2012, 11:17:02 am
This could be a pretty interesting conversation if it weren't so antagonistic!
I second this notion! I get so damn tired of reading these when people behave like dicks to each other. These are so much more fun when we can take other people's opinions and gaps in their knowledge like normal people and not like 30 year-old neckbeards who derive self-worth from belittling other people over the internet.

Was this what Battuta meant?

Well I don't ****ing know, I'm Australian!

(psst, that means I'm drunk).

So have a beer! Discussions about freespace are more fun with freebeers! (see what i did theere0

A good post, from a good man!
:nod:
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: Luis Dias on September 28, 2012, 11:17:56 am
... can we get back on track?

I have a serious question from something that was raised by a different point by Aesaar.

Namely, if it was, or not, possible to communicate with Earth by making a very big dish in Alpha Centauri pointed towards its system, after the Lucifer's battle?

If it is, how much of BP canon is threatened by this very idea?

And if it is, perhaps we should immediately abandon this thought, flag it with a "dangerous" sign, and ignore it henceforth? Whistle looking at the sky and something?
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: General Battuta on September 28, 2012, 11:23:43 am
... can we get back on track?

I have a serious question from something that was raised by a different point by Aesaar.

Namely, if it was, or not, possible to communicate with Earth by making a very big dish in Alpha Centauri pointed towards its system, after the Lucifer's battle?

If it is, how much of BP canon is threatened by this very idea?

And if it is, perhaps we should immediately abandon this thought, flag it with a "dangerous" sign, and ignore it henceforth? Whistle looking at the sky and something?

Not at all threatened. BP canon already talks about transmissions between Alpha Centauri and Earth. They even figure into the plot!
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: redsniper on September 28, 2012, 11:29:22 am
Doesn't the front half of the lucifer blow the **** up in that last cutscene? I could have sworn it actually explodes instead of just drifting there.

EDIT: And yeah, communication with Alpha Centauri is totally mentioned in the tech room or somewhere. I think all it says is that the details are classified, but it's still acknowledged.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: Luis Dias on September 28, 2012, 11:33:22 am
Not at all threatened. BP canon already talks about transmissions between Alpha Centauri and Earth. They even figure into the plot!

Oh! Ok. That's pretty awesome. I'm not being antagonistical or anything, but I did read this in a well written piece of fiction:

Quote
The widespread assumption was that Earth’s lost brethren had achieved a degree of peace and enlightenment similar to that which pervaded Sol (barring certain elements of the Kuiper periphery and the military). The coexistence of Terran and Vasudan technological elements in the probes scanned by the Fedayeen was cited as evidence for this view.

This quote, some other fiction, and your assurance combined tells me that all these communications were either too superficial or lies. But color me curious. Where can I find that part you mention?
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: LordPomposity on September 28, 2012, 11:39:58 am
Then maybe you should replay STR right now instead of arguing based on faulty memories.

EDIT: if you really want a quote, lrn2wiki (http://www.hard-light.net/wiki/index.php/Secrets_Reborn).
All that proves is that the GTI headquarters was in Beta Aquilae several months after the collapse of the Sol jump node. If the GTI headquarters were in Sol before the collapse, the elements of the GTI outside Sol afterwards would logically establish a new headquarters.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: CT27 on January 25, 2013, 10:33:43 pm
I don't want to create a whole new thread for this topic (sorry for bumping this one).

Now that Act 3 of WIH has been released, it seems like things may wrap up soon with all the new forces coming in.  Chronologically speaking, how long do you think Acts 4+5 will cover?
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: Crybertrance on January 26, 2013, 01:36:00 am
I don't want to create a whole new thread for this topic (sorry for bumping this one).

Now that Act 3 of WIH has been released, it seems like things may wrap up soon with all the new forces coming in.  Chronologically speaking, how long do you think Acts 4+5 will cover?

I'm guessing about a fortnight, or a month tops.
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: CT27 on January 26, 2013, 02:15:41 am
I don't have the exact date in front of me, but it was estimated in Tenebra that the attack on Earth would begin in a week correct?
Title: Re: WIH Chronology
Post by: Crybertrance on January 26, 2013, 02:33:40 am
I don't have the exact date in front of me, but it was estimated in Tenebra that the attack on Earth would begin in a week correct?

Well, who's to say that the attack on Earth is the end of WiH...Also, BP has the habit of surprising us with unexpected happenings and events.  ;)