[Fallout Equestria] Setting discussions

Harmony wrote:Not exactly sure why the "Lunar" was chosen. Probably as an homage to Luna, her redemption, and the role the Moon played in general in the destiny of Hoofington? I don't know.

I'd say that that seems likely. And it was the name Goldenblood used for the original design.

Harmony wrote:Anyway, it is said to be a "City State" (fiercely) independent from the NCR (to the point that the NCR may consider going at war to annex it) in Somber's timeline. I like the way it's said to be organized, so I propose we keep it, unless you have an objection?

No, it seems fine to me.

Harmony wrote:[in some ways, it could almost play the role of Geneighva; may makes me reconsider a few things in that direction]

Oh?

Harmony wrote:What happens with the Lunar Commonwealth in play?

That I'm not sure right now. Definitely something to think about, though, yes.

Harmony wrote:didn't they have a state of the art genetics lab?

Where was that mentioned?

Harmony wrote:Thoughts?

Some interesting possibilities there, yes, but I'm afraid I don't have any specific ideas at the moment and am in a bit of a hurry.

Harmony wrote:Who is that supposed to be?

An alicorn they all thought was the Bearer of Magic, right up until the Elements didn't work. Apex did not take this well.

Harmony wrote:Timeline suggest it happened in the timeframe leading to the reactivation of the Gardens of Equestria, so a few months after the end of chapter 77 if we go with the idea that the Gardens were activated less than a year after the Day of Sunshine and Rainbows.

Somber places the firing of Gardens over a year (maybe two years or more; my memory is unfortunately hazy on this point) after the Day of Sunshine and Rainbows, just so you know, but I don't think we need to stick with that.

Oh, but the Morningstar thing was about half a year or less after 77.

Harmony wrote:Can we use it? How?

To the first: I don't see why not. To the second: I'm not sure at the moment. Sorry.

Harmony wrote:Would she already be close-enough to the degree of maturity (in several senses of the term) that she displays of the epilogue by 30 SR? Depending on that answer, can we use her? How?

No ideas there at the moment; sorry.

Harmony wrote:What about it? Could it be the giant storm BJ saw from space over Zebrica? Something else completely? Could this be some kind of plot hook we could link for an interaction with the Alliance? I mean, if Scotch, Majina & Pythia got to Zebrica, odds are high they interacted at some point with the Alliance.

Well, the stuff involving Zebrica I'm quite skeptical about. Our stuff and PH appear to diverge a lot more there, and about the zebras in general, than they do in the Equestrian Wasteland. Might possibly still be able to make some use of it, though... Well, we can see if we think of anything.

Harmony wrote:More questions to come later

Aye, and I may have a few ideas of my own to put up when I have more time. We've a lot of information to go through now. :)

Is the stable under the Batpony Citadel still functional by the end of PH? I seem to remember it was engineered to rebuild the world in the event of Horizon firing off as originally intended; with the seeds and the genetics material to repopulate it again once the dust settled.

Or am I yet again confusing it with the Astrostable?

Because if it is still functional, then that would mean Hoofington has the tools to Rebuild. I wouldn't be surprised if the Stable had also been outfitted with extensive scientific & technological archives.


Thoughts? If this is true, this might make Geneighva redundant from a story point of view:

I've come to the point where I thinking I've made Geneighva too important. I'm thinking about seriously "nerfing" the place. Making it far less relevant.

Potential way to do it:

sorry for the mess of thoughts, a lot of it is probably bad ideas

Harmony wrote:Is the stable under the Batpony Citadel still functional by the end of PH?

I think so.

Harmony wrote:I seem to remember it was engineered to rebuild the world in the event of Horizon firing off as originally intended; with the seeds and the genetics material to repopulate it again once the dust settled.

Or am I yet again confusing it with the Astrostable?

Nope, you're right there.

I shivered as we trotted along. Behind glass walls were racks upon racks of boxes. “What is this place?” I muttered, levitating one box off its shelf. My magic brushed off the frost. ‘Seed stock AJ-2011-BM: Wheat’ was printed on its side, along with an expiration date almost three hundred years in the future!
“A storeroom. One of many. Some, like this one, hold seeds and spores. Others hold animal embryos.” I twitched at the word; I’d gotten a D in reproductive education, but I’d answered that one right on the multiple choice test. “Hundreds of different species.” There had to be enough seeds here to cover the Hoof in food. Or more. No telling how much of it might have spoiled, but still.
Tenebra added, “There’s a surprising amount of material for fabrication. Machine shops. Almost no weapons, though. Curious, given the purpose of this place.”

Harmony wrote:Because if it is still functional, then that would mean Hoofington has the tools to Rebuild. I wouldn't be surprised if the Stable had also been outfitted with extensive scientific & technological archives.


Thoughts? If this is true, this might make Geneighva redundant from a story point of view

Well, they probably have enough to rebuild the Hoof (though not to wartime levels), at least. Beyond that, though it's unclear. And, from the low numbers of weapons, I suspect that there might be some deliberate holes in any data archives they may have. In other words, while what they have is valuable, we probably have a lot of leeway, before even having to go into broad strokes, on just how valuable it is.
Furthermore, that value is power. A monopoly can charge what it likes and manipulate via threatening to raise prices or cut off supply. Unless the Commonwealth has enough resources that it can give them freely out to everyone on the Peninsula, which seems unlikely, there's going to be some scarcity to manage. And there's the fact that it looks like the Commonwealth's government tended to take a more isolationist and independent stance... and do you see First Citizen Boing, for example, giving away the Hoof's resources without wanting something in return? (She was probably elected much later, of course, but the Commonwealth did, if we're keeping that, elect her.)
Of course, some of the things, seeds and the like, would be one-time rather than ongoing things, but the whole stock could still be parcelled out. Or stolen, but of course that imperils future trade deals. Speaking of which, if the Commonwealth keeps some luxury-good plants to itself, hey, there's an export good!
If I were the NCR, I'd want alternative sources for what the Hoof has to offer. Preferably domestic ones, too, so if the Noble Republic makes noises suggesting that it might be ultimately much more amenable to joining the NCR, that's another point in its favor.

Harmony wrote:I've come to the point where I thinking I've made Geneighva too important. I'm thinking about seriously "nerfing" the place. Making it far less relevant.

Potential way to do it:

Hm. Not sure about that; sorry.

Harmony wrote:sorry for the mess of thoughts, a lot of it is probably bad ideas

No problem.

Does the FoE setting has an equivalent to the Robobrains, robots using "organic processors" (brains)?

It does, yes. Off the top of my head, as I recall, LittlePip encountered some early on in the original, and Scootaborg used an organic brain. Why?

Nothing in particular, I just had no memory of it akd wondered if it was a thing that didn't get translated from Fallout to FoE

Ah, okay.

Was it also convicts as well who got their brains used in these bots, or was it left unclear?

Ah, now that I'm not sure about. I think that it was left unclear, though.

If I may ask, what is the basis of the Bitter Wars?

Oh, and what do you think became of Littlehorn? I mean, the massacre happened but we never know what became of the school or the dead ponies inside. Is the school covered in Pink Cloud like Canterlot and were the ponies ever buried?

The Bitter War, abridged version (quick and dirty):

Phase 1 : Operation Cauterize

After the balefire detonation at Maripony who killed a large contingent of the Enclave as well as part of its leadership, and the blastwave of which could be felt from Neighvarro (Iirc the SPP hovered relatively close to Maripony at the time, gotta check that with Hinds), the Enclave's leadership and public opinion go down in a spin about how not only the surface is dangerous, but it's also out to destroy the Enclave. Thus begins Operation Cauterize, aiming at, basically, removing any potential threat to the Enclave's continued existence originating from the surface, by "cauterizing the infection" (ie: genocide).


Phase 2: The Day of Sunshine and Rainbows

The Enclave is attacked at its very core (Neighvarro), and now is facing an existential crisis as these dirty surfacers are now in control of the cloud cover, and have made clear that they're going to rob the Enclave of it (reminder: the Enclave's food supply at that time depends on the continued existence of the cloud cover).
The radical elements become even more radical, and push for even more resources and efforts to be put in Operation Cauterize. Another (growing) fractions is starting to call for the end of Operation Cauterize (reminder: several Raptors and at least one Thunderhead have been destroyed by the surface at that point, and their personnel killed), and for talks to begin with the surface for cooperation. And in the middle of it all, are those who just wish back for the old status quo and to be left in peace.


Phase 3: The Gardens of Equestria, and the Schism

An un-revendicated terror attack hits the Enclave's High Council, almost decapitating the Enclave's leadership. Partisans of Operation Cauterize attempts to seize power in the ensuing political chaos, but are defeated by the "Surface Party" and the partisans of the Status quo.
In the days that follow, over a third of the Enclave's military and a fifth of its population secede, taking with them ships, personnel, hardware and resources with them, and settle into a number of lesser Enclave outposts to prepare for their future operations against the surface. In the following days, the "Surface Party", now known as the Volunteers, manage to rouse a portion of what remains of the Enclave's military to fight alongside the surface against the Bitter Traitors (note: not only did they try to take over the Enclave through a military coup, as it is believed that they were the ones to blow up the High Council, they also conducted a number of terror milice raids against suspected surfacer sympathizers, killing a number of innocent civilians in the process), and fight for the Salvation of the Pegasus Race.
While all of this is happening, a few weeks later, the Gardens of Equestria "fire up", and clean all the land of taint and radiation, driving a final wedge into any argument against the Enclave settling back to the surface.


Phase 4: The Bitter War, Part 1

The Volunteers, after fighting alongside the surfacers at the Battle of Manehatten (note: their intelligence on the "Enclave's" communication networks, the advanced warning they provided warning of the impending Bitter operation to try and seize Tenpony Tower and Celestia One, and the firepower of the four Raptors they brought (all of the Volunteer's fleet) proved essential in winning the battle, a victory they paid for dearly as 3 of the 4 Raptors got sunk and over half of their contingent got killed), win the respect of the Surface, and join force with the newly created New Canterlot Republic.
The survivors of the Battle of Manehatten and the others Volunteers are integrated into the NCR Armed Forces, and provide training for the drafted new recruits of the young Republic, alongside Gawdyna's Talon Mercenary mercs and Applejack Rangers. The most well educated of the lot are allocated to directing the medical operations, and the technical supervision of trying-to-get-shit-not-to-fall-apart (note: the average pegasus from the Enclave has more education than a lot of the more educated wastelanders).
Together with the Surfacers, they try to hold the line against the repeated assaults from the Bitters.
In the meantime, the remnants of the Enclave, now only constituted of the partisans of the old Status Quo, look at the ruins that's become of the Enclave after so many left and so much got lifted / stolen in the Schism; and decides to consolidate and rebuild in Freidrischorfen, a move later known as the Second Exodus (the first was during the Days of Fire, two hundred years before, when the pegasi abandoned the Surface in the first place).


Phase 5: The Bitter War, part 2

Years later, the back of the Bitters has been broken through sheer attrition, and Littlepip now having joined into the fight, yielding the weather against the Bitters and providing intelligence to the NCR; forcing the Bitters to resort to guerrilla warfare and the use of biological weapons and other nasty concoction born of their access to Mad Science!.
This phase of the conflict is responsible for a number of quite nasty things that are still roaming the Equestrian Peninsula to this day (Chroma Pox, Mind Worms, etc...).
It's a time of intense paranoia, and constant terror attacks. Most of the NCR's current stances on security and terrorism (the contemporary NCR is only a few steps removed from a Police State) can be traced back from this time.
In the last year of this period, the NCR mounted a large counter-attack operation, systematically targeting with overwhelming firepower all the Bitter hideouts it could manage to locate. Sasha is one of the legacies of that time (note: Sasha is basically the NCR's equivalent of the original Fallout 2 Frank Horrigan).


Phase 6: The Bitter War, part 3

After a few years, the attacks ceased. No new menace was detected (which didn't stop the old ones from still being in effect), no new terror attack did occur, no new isolated caravan got disappeared. It was as if the Bitters had simply... vanished.
The situation continued for a whole year, until the end of the war was officially declared by a still wary New Canterlot Republic, almost 8 years after it had started with Operation Cauterize.

TL;DR: we use the flanderized "batshit crazy Grand Pegasus Enclave" from the original Fallout Equestria, and manage to rationalize it and make it one of the founding basis of the present setting.

Evildigit wrote:Oh, and what do you think became of Littlehorn? I mean, the massacre happened but we never know what became of the school or the dead ponies inside. Is the school covered in Pink Cloud like Canterlot and were the ponies ever buried?

I may be wrong, but I believe that contrary to Canterlot, where for one reason or another it kept functioning for over two centuries (maybe because it had fused with a motherfucking dragon), the pink-cloud talisman at Littlehorn ceased functioning after a while (a few hours, days, month? I don't know.).

If it stopped working a few days after, I wouldn't be surprised the whole place got cleaned up and turned into a memorial of some sort by the Ministry of Image to rouse up the War Effort.

Evilgidgit wrote:Oh, and what do you think became of Littlehorn? I mean, the massacre happened but we never know what became of the school or the dead ponies inside. Is the school covered in Pink Cloud like Canterlot and were the ponies ever buried?

Ah, I see that Harmony is talking about this below. Moving those up...

Harmony wrote:I may be wrong, but I believe that contrary to Canterlot, where for one reason or another it kept functioning for over two centuries (maybe because it had fused with a motherfucking dragon), the pink-cloud talisman at Littlehorn ceased functioning after a while (a few hours, days, month? I don't know.).

Aye, that's what I've been thinking too, I think.

Harmony wrote:If it stopped working a few days after, I wouldn't be surprised the whole place got cleaned up and turned into a memorial of some sort by the Ministry of Image to rouse up the War Effort.

Oh, interesting idea! Though... Hm... Perhaps it wouldn't be very cleaned up? After all, if it's to rouse up the War Effort, it's probably going to be more effective with the signs of the attack still in place than it would be looking like nothing happened, I'd think.

Oh, and, Evilgidgit, if you were asking what's going on at Littlehorn right now (30 SR), it is, if I remember correctly, the base of the Great Cows.

Harmony wrote:and the blastwave of which could be felt from Neighvarro (Iirc the SPP hovered relatively close to Maripony at the time, gotta check that with Hinds)

Neighvarro was indeed quite close to Maripony (though a ways up, of course).

I don't at the moment remember the blastwave being felt in Neighvarro being mentioned before, but, now that you've brought it up, it's a possibility. We unfortunately don't know just how powerful that bomb was or just how much of its energy was absorbed or redirected by the ground (the detonation being subsurface), though.

O. Hinds wrote:I don't at the moment remember the blastwave being felt in Neighvarro being mentioned before, but, now that you've brought it up, it's a possibility. We unfortunately don't know just how powerful that bomb was or just how much of its energy was absorbed or redirected by the ground (the detonation being subsurface), though.

Well, if the device was of the same class as the one that destroyed Manehatten, even a subsurface detonation may have caused even simply a strong wind twenty kilometers downrange.

Although if the device was even close to the Manehatten bomb, this only makes that much impressive that the command room and Littlepip managed to survive so close to Ground Zero.

Hmmm... I wonder if Littlepip would have been able to survive that if she hadn't already been so advanced in her IMP-based "mutation"?...

Although if the device was Manehatten-class, this would raise the question of just how it would have managed to be forgotten inside a barn and never used, or even put into position?

Most likely, I'd guess that the infiltration cell responsible for bringing the bomb into Equestria in the first place wasn't able to carry its mission for one reason or another in the confusion of the last days, and so it was forgotten into its cache until Silver Belle brought it up.

(although it's most probable the bomb wasn't Manehatten-class anyway)


Remind me.... Where exactly was the barn where that bomb was found? maybe this could give us an indication of what could have been its final target?

Harmony wrote:Well, if the device was of the same class as the one that destroyed Manehatten, even a subsurface detonation may have caused even simply a strong wind twenty kilometers downrange.

Oh, aye, but we don't know that it was of the same class.

Harmony wrote:Hmmm... I wonder if Littlepip would have been able to survive that if she hadn't already been so advanced in her IMP-based "mutation"?...

Not sure, but it seems like a possibility that she wouldn't have.

Harmony wrote:Remind me.... Where exactly was the barn where that bomb was found?

The dot on the map labeled "Pinkie Pie Museum".

Harmony wrote:maybe this could give us an indication of what could have been its final target?

Hm, possibly. We don't know where the bomb was before the farm or how it got there, as I recall, but that is at least some data, yes.

Did we ever decide what happened of / to the Steel Rangers (_not_ the Applejack Rangers) between 0 and 30 SR?

Somehow I doubt they would want to integrate with the NCR. That buncha assholes.

On the other hand, I doubt the Bitters would have sparred them. In fact, they may have exchanged blows in more than a few skirmishes, considering:

- That from the Rangers perspective, the Bitters represent both a menace and an opportunity to secure more technological stuff
- That from the Bitters perspective, the Rangers represent a menace that would be able to retaliate and hinder their operations, but is fortunately isolated and could be relatively easily contained, and "mined" for resources if necessary.

The difficulty being that they are at power parity (the Bitters have some limited access to Air Superiority, the Rangers have more dakka and armor).


...

What an unholy Alliance the two could make together...

Hm. I'm not sure, sorry. And I'm afraid that I don't at the moment have time to go looking.

(sorry, edited and expanded the post while you were answering)

What an unholy Alliance the two could make together...

Reasoning being that they both have some ideological common ground:

Their distrust of outsiders / surfacers, the faith they place on the superiority of the Old World's technology, their will to restore the glory of the Equestria of old...


Hmm... I wonder if there's a way this could actually work, or if it's too far-fetched.

Because this gives me the idea of later, after the Bitter War has ended, that they (the allied Bitters and Rangers) just... go underground / change identities, and start infiltrating the NCR and / or the Alliance. To continue the fight in a different way...


Actually, maybe this could actually be how the Bitter War really ended? After suffering heavily from the Counter-Attack, the Bitters strike an alliance with the Rangers, who at that point are also getting a bit desperate, as more and more of their number just switch rank with the NCR, leaving only the core of xenophobic hardliners; and from this unholy Alliance, they decide of a plan to take the fight in a new, different way, playing the long game.

I dunno, I'm probably grasping at shadows there.

Harmony wrote:(sorry, edited and expanded the post while you were answering)

Ah, okay. Thank you for mentioning that. :)

Hm. Might work. There is the problem that both groups are kind of fundamentally opposed to the other, but, even if they didn't change to make that not an issue, they might still at least strike a truce until everyone else was dealt with.

I'm not sure how actually effective they'd be, though.

So, huh, was just randomly thinking about something...

The Praesidium of the NCR is supposed to be concentrated as much as can be, with all the functions of the Executive as close as can be to each others.

I was thinking, why not put them in one really big building?

Yeah, okay, but what happens when the various Departments need to expand?

Well, just expand the building!

But you can't do that too much or you'll start taking too much real estate in the city.

Well, in that case: Dig!

Yeah, basically, the Praesidium is slowly growing a complex system of underground rooms and tunnels under itself as it expands.

Neat. :)

And, of course, that raises the question, however much basis it actually has, of what might be hidden down there where no one can see.

It does, indeed, have the advantage of making it easier to keep discreet some inter-service reunions, personnel movements, and the like.

It's also easy for the feeble-minded and delusional paranoids to start wondering if the situation may not be used by the Government to hide some of its activities to the public eye.

Such thoughts are, of course, unfounded.

Of course. :)

Article and pictures exploring mothballed warships

Reference for aesthetic

Sadly I don't see anywhere a mention of where exactly that is. All I know is that it's on the French atlantic coast.

Neat; thanks.

I just wanted to share this:

https://youtu.be/mQ0ZQesixms

Interesting design. Ducted fan experimentation?