As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/

[CYOA] KaT : The Epoch of the Kaiser Tanks

The EnderThe Ender Registered User regular
edited February 2012 in Critical Failures
infocard-transmission.png

Salutations, captain. It has been 5,780,002 zettaticks since your last synthesis. This Kaiser Fleet has emerged from a Category 6 tesseract 40 light years from it’s previous position, and is on stand-by in low orbit over an iron planetoid populated by red candidacy replicators. If you are experiencing acute reconstruction distress and / or have been synthesized with intolerable defects, please submit yourself for disintegration so that synthesis may be attempted again.

Antagonist [A] has been identified; they have no acceptable transmission receivers, so Type [1] contact will be our method of engagement. Our time frame for catalysing the replication cycle will be 378 ticks, when the follow-up Kaiser Fleet will arrive to stabilize the cycle.

All stores & personnel remaining from the previous production cycle have atrophied into inert waste. Our first objective upon making contact will be the acquisition of replacement personnel and materials to fill template requirements.

Cite the identification number of your desired Kaiser Tank when you are ready to proceed with contact.
infocard-korea.png


What is all of this, now?

This is a choose your own adventure game. Participation is open-ended, so everyone who wants to play may do so for as many or as few turns as they wish. Just read my latest update in the thread and vote for the option(s) that most appeal to you (if you bolded said vote and made it red, that would make things a little easier for me).

A random ballot lottery will be held every update to determine which decisions will drive the game forward. I'll try to get two updates out every day.


What type of game will this be?

This will be a strategy game of sorts. It'll be a bit like Star Trek: Bridge Commander, and a bit like Dwarf Fortress, but with ridiculous giant tanks at the center of the action. Also, the mechanics are still in sort-of rough shape (and by 'in sort of rough shape', I actually mean that they are in a brutally mangled state), and there are probably horrific balance issues. So feedback is welcome.

A lot of the game will rest on the strength of it's narration, and while I'll do my best in this department, player contributions are strongly encouraged!


When do we start?

Right now!


The first decisions to be made are which Kaiser Tank (or 'KaT') you'd like to command. Vote for one of the following models:

infocard.png

infocard-2.png

infocard-3.png

infocard-4.png

infocard-5.png

With Love and Courage
The Ender on
«13456716

Posts

  • wiltingwilting I had fun once and it was awful Registered User regular
    edited February 2012
    Choice overload. High barrier to entry.

    Tread Master

    Seeing as this is all about giant tanks the tank that makes tanks seems like the right tank to tank.

    wilting on
  • The EnderThe Ender Registered User regular
    wilting wrote: »
    Choice overload. High barrier to entry.

    Very well.

    We'll do this in bite-sized chunks.

    With Love and Courage
  • HaroquenHaroquen Registered User regular
    edited February 2012
    Having just survived a cataclysm on the sheer power of... erm... manpower, I vote,

    Battalion Printer

    Kekekeke

    Haroquen on
  • see317see317 Registered User regular
    edited February 2012
    Tanks and Mans may be your way to victory. Me? I prefer weaponized squirrels.
    BEAST LOADER

    Alt post: I have one simple request, and that is to have sharks with frikkin laser beams attached to their heads!

    see317 on
  • mi-go huntermi-go hunter Once again I'm back in the lab. Cleaning my knives, ready for stabs.Registered User regular
  • Mojo_JojoMojo_Jojo We are only now beginning to understand the full power and ramifications of sexual intercourse Registered User regular
    edited February 2012
    BEAST LOADER

    I have no idea what this is, but I approve.

    Mojo_Jojo on
    Homogeneous distribution of your varieties of amuse-gueule
  • electricitylikesmeelectricitylikesme Registered User regular
    BEAST LOADER

    I don't know who or what we're invading and why, but clearly the only correct thing to do is deploy the mobile Umbrella Corp headquarters.

  • FailsafeFailsafe Registered User regular
    Shock Roller

  • jakobaggerjakobagger LO THY DREAD EMPIRE CHAOS IS RESTORED Registered User regular
    Tread Master

    A tank that makes tanks, and also has the biggest gun! Maybe we can make the gun shoot tanks!

  • DarianDarian Yellow Wizard The PitRegistered User regular
    Shock (and awe) Roller

  • CapfalconCapfalcon Tunnel Snakes Rule Capital WastelandRegistered User regular
    Shock Roller

    Tanktical Espionage Action.

  • ElderlycrawfishElderlycrawfish Registered User regular
    Shock Roller

  • Lawful EvilLawful Evil Registered User regular
    RAPTOR ENGINE.

    Who needs tanks if you can FLY?

    Do not believe that the impossible exists. That is why you fail.
  • jakobaggerjakobagger LO THY DREAD EMPIRE CHAOS IS RESTORED Registered User regular
    Unlike the tank of tanks (and all the other ones as well), the raptor doesn't actually manufacture the unit it specialises in, it just trains pilots. A tank that could build planes could be great, but this is just an aircraft carrier with wheels. I'd rather have a facotry with wheels and a big gun.

  • BedlamBedlam Registered User regular
    Tread Master

    I didnt even read most of the info, that one just looks the coolest.

  • DraevenDraeven Registered User regular
    Beast Loader

    Morskitter wrote "Spikes, choppas, tentacles, magic? Can't hold a candle to Sergeant Pimp here."

  • KiasKias Registered User regular
    Any proper terror mission deserves chrysalids, and our best bet for those (and weaponized squirrels) lies with th Beast Loader

    steam_sig.png

  • LoxxLoxx Registered User regular
    Tread Master

    I'm reading through Mojo's CYOA, which is awesome, and I have a sudden desire to participate in one. :D

  • FlarneFlarne Registered User regular
    Shock Roller, clearly. Spies and puppet governments are the greatest.

  • Jeep-EepJeep-Eep Registered User regular
    Battalion Printer,

    Let's get those trooper engrams printed onto bodies, shall we?

    I would rather be accused of intransigence than tolerating genocide for the sake of everyone getting along. - @Metzger Meister
  • TayrunTayrun Registered User regular
    Beast Loader

  • TayrunTayrun Registered User regular
    Is this based on anything? I'm interested in the source material.

  • WubWub Registered User regular
    "Single-use long range delivery platform templates also allow Beast Loaders to to immediately conduct offensive operations against enemy cities."
    Wait wait wait, it launches robobeast missiles? Voting Beast Loader!

    steam_sig.png
  • see317see317 Registered User regular
    Tayrun wrote: »
    Is this based on anything? I'm interested in the source material.

    I too am interested in this. It looks like Ender has a Beast Loader as his avatar, now I want more information. Though, I worry that if the game is based closely around an existing IP too much knowledge may spoil things.

  • TelnaiorTelnaior Registered User regular
    yaynewCYOA
    Can't join in with this first choice because the images are all blocked at school, but I'll definitely be in once it starts in earnest.

  • The EnderThe Ender Registered User regular
    Tayrun wrote: »
    Is this based on anything? I'm interested in the source material.

    I am to blame for the both the game & source material, I'm afraid.


    Ballot Selection: 1d24 18

    And Loxx's ballot is chosen for the tank model.

    treadmaster-profile.png

    You'll be rolling in the Tread Master.


    Now you'll need to decide what special hardware to install on this machine. Select 4 options from the following choices:

    infocard-hardware.png

    With Love and Courage
  • ElderlycrawfishElderlycrawfish Registered User regular
    1 2 3 6

  • mi-go huntermi-go hunter Once again I'm back in the lab. Cleaning my knives, ready for stabs.Registered User regular
  • TayrunTayrun Registered User regular
    This is a refreshing way to determine what option gets chosen. Also, I would be interested in moar of this. Ideally some sort of game. With minis. That replicate. Or whatever.

    1 2 3 6

  • WubWub Registered User regular
    1 3 5 6

    Aww, so majority doesn't win? I was looking forward to blasting out beast rockets. At least we've got meta-tank with the giant gun.

    steam_sig.png
  • LoxxLoxx Registered User regular
    1 2 3 5

    Also how did I come up with 18? By my count I was the 16th vote?

  • The EnderThe Ender Registered User regular
    Loxx wrote: »
    1 2 3 5

    Also how did I come up with 18? By my count I was the 16th vote?

    You were the 18th post after the update.

    With Love and Courage
  • see317see317 Registered User regular
    Upgrades... hmmm...
    2356
    We won't need the super armor if we kill stuff before it can attack us, with that in mind:
    We focus on burning fuel to make more tanks faster and equip them with better targeting and take steps against friendly fire incidents (not supposed to be killing ourselves here). And no one has ever gone wrong with making smarter missiles...
    And no real need to move fast. We can make small tanks that go fast. We crawl along as an inexorably harbinger of tanky doom.

    As for the majority versus random ballot, I can see benefits both ways. I liked the majority rule of Space Australia, but knowing that everyone has an equal chance to get their selection picked without having to play politician to get others to vote with them seems like it might lead us into some fun (or bizarre) tangents that the group wouldn't be likely to vote for. For example, the Ministry of War coming from building a militia unit, it would have been hard to convince everyone to spend a turn on militia when we could have rovers or iron men instead.
    On the other hand, some of the best player generated stuff from Space Australia came from just that kind of politicking. Pretty sure that's why I stayed up till oh-my-god:30 in the morning righting a mediocre parody of "Piano Man" to get people to vote for rover upgrades (we got them too, that's a win for the Rover-Man). Not that I'm declaring that the best stuff, it's just the first example to come to mind and I'm feeling too lazy to track down other examples of the journal entries (and a little fearful of spending all night reading through the 100 page thread).

  • electricitylikesmeelectricitylikesme Registered User regular
    1 2 3 6

    If history is any guide then fire-and-forget missiles are IRL murder-machines.

  • vertrouevertroue I am Female Totes Not a SithRegistered User regular
    1 2 4 6

    Blood and Fire
    From the Desk of Darth Vertroue Diplomat to the USA.
  • TelnaiorTelnaior Registered User regular
    3456
    Permanent bonuses > Temporary bonuses (especially 1, which is literally a OPG)
    And 4 sounds like it might be permanent and agility > minions anyway.

  • The EnderThe Ender Registered User regular
    Telnaior wrote: »
    3456
    Permanent bonuses > Temporary bonuses (especially 1, which is literally a OPG)
    And 4 sounds like it might be permanent and agility > minions anyway.

    Option 1 is not a OPG, just FYI. You just need to replace the tiles after you spend them.

    With Love and Courage
  • TelnaiorTelnaior Registered User regular
    Okay.
    Does 4 give a permanent maximum speed upgrade or just a temporary one?

  • The EnderThe Ender Registered User regular
    Yes, sort-of. It provides a speed upgrade so long as you can keep feeding it fuel.

    With Love and Courage
  • Mojo_JojoMojo_Jojo We are only now beginning to understand the full power and ramifications of sexual intercourse Registered User regular
    1 2 3 4

    Homogeneous distribution of your varieties of amuse-gueule
Sign In or Register to comment.