GoA Community Driven Campaign

An idea for a worldwide participation campaign during the release of Antares utilising internet web forum.
During the initial Kick Starter it was announced that Antares would have a Real Time Dynamic Gaming Universe. Sadly it has been announced by Warlord that this would not be supported during the upcoming release of the Antares rule and figures. This was an element of the Antares game I personally was looking very much to participating in. It had been suggested on the Warlord Games forums that perhaps the community could step in here and help support ourselves with this during the play testing of pdf rules and the actual release when ever that should be. The Real Time Dynamic Universe was suggested as:

It sure looks impressive. And costly. With the community being a resourceful bunch and having difficulty understanding the word No something akin to what was suggested could be created without Warlord resources (ether time or money). A low tech version utilising the features of internet web forums is suggested below, but with the right people getting involved it could become so much more. At no point would the community driven forum based game approach be considered official, or indeed have Warlords blessing , just an understanding that the community were requesting the opportunity to participate in essentially a worldwide real time campaign at the time of Antares release.

Real Time Dynamic Gaming Universe

It appears to be a web solution for the collation of results, the tracking of the overall galactic campaign, monitoring of Episodes and showing what rewards/modifiers can be used by players in games. It appears to go about this by players logging in, seeing where conflicts are taking place, modifying their army selection for specific episodes and determining how results affect the influence of factions in zones. This can be recreated in a web forum. Not as pretty, but would still achieve the same episodic tracking and logging of results. Also, the campaign needs to appeal to competitive players and also story driven players.

Gate of Antares background and tie into campaign

The first hurdle is where to start. Factions are currently at war with each other. There is no starting from scratch. The main part of the background is Antares itself. The huge mechanical device made by The Builders that utilises Null Space to permit instantaneous travel to a gate located near to a planetary system. No real conflict can occur around Antares. The Builders have already seen to that by placing defence systems to ensure that wars do not start around the hub of gates. Also, as far as the background goes at the moment, only spaceships currently traverse around Antares perimeter, fixed stations drawing the wrath of the mysterious Builders. This leaves the focus of conflict to be system-side. There are many different types of planetary system. Some controlled completely by one faction, some have not yet been explored and some will have members of multiple factions vying for control. It is the latter where the majority of skirmish level games of Antares would be fought on the tabletop. Completely controlled systems would require space battles to allow a faction to try and gain a foothold. Newly discovered systems would have no opposing factions to come into conflict. This forms the basis of the first systems. They would not be controlled by a single faction but rather have the factions trying to build their own influence in the systems while reducing the influence of other factions. Each system would have a Gate, celestial centre, planets, moons, asteroids and other space furniture. More advanced systems would have giant space stations and a network of beacons to facilitate space flight. The most advanced systems would also have industrial complexes and large network of defences. It would be this evolution of multiple planetary systems that the campaign would revolve around. With influence being used by factions to harness the resources and exploit the system before finally taking full control of it.

Dawn of Antares Campaign Details

Forum Posts
There will be 12 planetary systems being fought for in the campaign. These are represented by 12 separate forum threads within a specific forum topic. The first post of each thread would look something like this:

Atheron System
Contested No System modifiers Centre Binary Stars Planet 1 Reconnaissance Isorian () Concord () Determinate () Security Isorian () Concord () Determinate () Colonising Isorian () Concord () Determinate () Planet 2 Reconnaissance Isorian () Concord () Determinate () Security Isorian () Concord () Determinate () Colonising Isorian () Concord () Determinate () Asteroid Field 1 Reconnaissance Isorian () Concord () Determinate () Security Isorian () Concord () Determinate () Colonising

Isorian () Concord () Determinate () Asteroid Field 2 Reconnaissance Isorian () Concord () Determinate () Security Isorian () Concord () Determinate () Colonising Isorian () Concord () Determinate () More locations can be added as applicable. The post is split into several parts. The name of the system and the current status of control, including any system modifiers to apply to games or the campaign. Details of each asteroid belt and planet along with associated nearby moons are collated all together. These are called locations as they have a physical representation. There are 3 separate measures for each location. Reconnaissance, Security, Colonising. Against each of these measures, the amount of influence gained by each faction that has been allocated to that planet and measure is shown. The higher the number the more influence that faction has for that measure at that location. This could be representing the amount of time a scouting team has spent at the location and mapping/scanning all information available. Could also represent the level of fighting forces, both land and space, being stockpiled at that location. Also could represent the infrastructure being set up, space lane beacons to aid with space travel or mining refineries or even habitation blocks. ***Attribute could be used instead of measure*** When a certain point has been passed (secret or non-secret) then traits can be allotted to the locations. These traits permit a certain benefit to the faction that are either utilised in game or in campaign. These traits can be eliminated as noted in the Raid section. The main aim of the campaign is to have each system come under control of your faction. This is achieved by people playing games of Antares and gaining influence. The attributes of the locations are increased by influence gain. This can be accelerated by relevant traits. As influence is gained across all locations then control of the system gradually changes until enough influence has been expended to a point where it is fully controlled by a single faction. As noted previously Influence is gained through players playing games. Win, lose or draw, they accrue Influence for their nominated Faction. Players could be members of different factions, but their results will affect only the faction they used for any given specific game. Influence gain table Winner Loser Notes Major Victory 4 1 Minor Victory 3 1 Draw 2 2

Collating Results
As games are played the results for individual games will need to be entered and validated using the forum. Before a game begins the players choose which particular system they will be fighting in. This is done before the game so that any system modifiers or location trait bonuses can be included. Should the players be unable to agree then they either roll off for it (applying universal modifiers if relevant) or randomly select which gate the battle will take place at. Players may wish to have unallocated games which may still take place but neither side may utilise any location or system specific bonuses for their game. Also any influence gained may only be allocated by a campaign Faction Commander and not the player directly themselves. This allows casual players to still aid their factions cause without them having to put too much effort into the campaign. It also allows Faction Commanders that little bit of help with extra influence in systems where people do not wish to fight, perhaps because of negative modifiers or traits. A forum post entry is made in one of the 13 system forum threads (12 plus a casual thread) by either player. This would include the battle code and the details of the results as indicated by scenario. The opposing player (or players) would then be able to use the forum search function for the battle code and then make a [quote] post to Agree the details of the battle. Saves manually searching through many threads. Both players could make entries too, and these could be cross checked by using the battle code. Finally there could be a disagreement between the results and that could be resolved by contacting the players individually and coming to an agreement. Also, until the validation occurs the winner may only allocate 2 influence and the looser may not allocate any influence. (Continual non-validating players will suffer from lack of influence multipliers as campaign goes on). As for generating a battle code, each player is allocated a code made up of 3 initials and a faction specific identifier. For example I would be DBTC. Which is Dave Blue Team Concord (I would also have 3 other player codes, DBTI, DBTD & DBTF for my other three forces). I would exchange my player code with my opponent before playing and we would agree the battle code for that specific battle. The game code being the: scenario attackers player code, scenario defenders player code, date of battle in YYYYMMDD format. A game code would therefore look: DBTCAMTI20140501 for the game I played against AMT using their Isorians on the 1 st May 2014. As player codes are unique and the date the game is played being obvious (hopefully) to both players the likelihood of duplicating battle codes is slim. Therefore making each battle easy to track and record. A listing of player codes could be made available on line utilising Wiki-tech and players make sure they do not pick the same player initials as someone else. The faction code is basically: C = Concord I = Isorian D = Determinate F = Freeborn

Applying Influence
As part of the battle report forum post the players may choose to allocate their influence gains against a certain locations attribute. Forum moderators (or other people with the facility to edit posts) are able to note the faction gain allocation, update the first post in the thread, thereby changing the winners Aetherons Planet 2s Concord Security by 3 and also changing the losers Aetherons Planet 1s Isorian Reconnaissance by 1 (as an example) and also edit the TWO forum posts (one by DBTC & one by AMTI) stating Influence added or words to such an effect. This will allow the players to know that they have had an impact on the overall campaign, also will allow other faction members see how well the player is doing AND allow other moderators to ensure they do not double book influence from a game more than once. As noted later players will have an Influence Modifier. Should a player register a second and subsequent game against the same opponent within a week, their Influence Modifier is replaced by a flat unmodified 0.5 for that game. This reduces down to 0.2 and to 0.1 for the third and fourth games. 0.1 being the minimum. This is to prevent a couple of regular gamers who only play against each other from carving out their own little empire in a corner of the galaxy. I have every intention of removing this repeated opponent reduction, however knowing how gamers try to take advantage of any aspect to gain an advantage, it is perhaps useful to have this option available from the start. This pretty much covers the outline of how the mechanics of the campaign would work. Although it is quite wordy, the basic premise is straight forward. 12 + 1 online forum threads showing each system plus the casual report thread. Players see where the campaign is up to individually and plan where they would wish to battle next. They find opponent and either agree or randomly decide which system to play in. They play game with relevant modifiers (a print from the forum may be handy, although smart phones will have up to the moment information should players be technically able). They finish game and go home. Make a post on the forum, in the thread representing the system they fought in after searching the forum for the battle code of the game they fought. Moderator/Faction Commander allocates the influence gain. Player looks at forum again later and starts plotting next game. This is the greatest weakness of the system, requiring individuals to update forum posts and maintain influence allocations.

Consequences of Influence
All that influence being applied to certain locations has to be used for something. As mentioned earlier all locations have three attributes; Reconnaissance, Security & Colonising. As influence is acquired at these locations, it can trigger a Trait being available for use. Traits can and will have an effect on the game, army composition, scenario options and the wider campaign. There is a list of general and faction specific traits for each of the three attributes. No one person selects the trait to use at that location though. A vote on the closed FaceBook group for that faction will be set up as soon as the relevant amount of influence is applied. Then the faction have 7 days (perhaps just 24 hours) to agree what trait will be applied for that locations attribute. Each attribute shows the influence of a particular faction.

Reconnaissance requires 20 influence at a location for each trait to be gained. Security & Colonising require 40 influence at a location for each trait to be gained. Colonising also has an effect on the overall control of the location. A location is considered to be controlled by a faction if they have 40 or more influence more than the next highest colonisation influence score at that location. When a location is controlled then bonuses for traits for non-controlling factions are ignored completely. A system is controlled by a faction once 75% of the locations are controlled by a single faction. Battles can still occur in these systems but it will be difficult for other factions to take the systems back. This is where episodes can be utilised to keep the systems active and the campaign progressing.

20th Century IMTel

As suggested above, when a trait is to be acquired then a vote is taken on a closed FaceBook group. This is a closed faceBook group, so general users are not able to see it. Access to the group is by invitation only. A user requires to be registered with the campaign, to have been assigned a player code and most importantly, recorded (or verified) 10 separate battle reports. To maintain membership a player must submit at least one battle report per month for that faction. This is to mitigate abuse by players wanting to join opposing faction groups. However, should a player have more than one faction, they are permitted to join BOTH (or more) closed groups but must have submitted 10 separate battle reports for EACH faction and continue to submit reports for EACH faction every quarter. The groups can also be used as places for each faction to plot, plan and organise themselves in such a way to maximise their opportunities. There are seven closed groups in all. Concord; Isorian; Determinate; Freeborn; Concord/Freeborn Trade; Isorian/Freeborn Trade; Determinate/Freeborn Trade. This allows factions to pass information onto the Freeborn in an official capacity. What the Freeborn do with that information is up to the Freeborn. Perhaps an agreement for Freeborn influence to be spent at a specific location, or conversely for Freeborn to NOT spend any enemy faction influence in a critical area. Diplomatic based traits at locations relating to Freeborn would be interesting.

Freeborn Faction
So far the Freeborn have not been detailed. This is because of how the Freeborn operate in Antares space. They are the glue that hold other societies together. Players may choose to make a nonaligned Freeborn force and that has been catered for here. Before starting a battle a Freeborn force may utilise any bonuses or traits for any faction based on the location of the battle. It does not matter if they use a Concord bonus yet end up fighting against Concord. Additionally, they may choose to apply influence at any location in the system where they are battling, not just the faction they took the bonus from. If this gets abused, then Freeborn will be limited to only applying influence for the faction they took the bonus from, but the free nature of the influence allocation open to them feels right at the moment.

Individual Progression
As part of the campaign each participant adds their own influence to the overall faction results. Some players will want to see some personal gain or measure themselves against other players, even if it is in the form of a leader board. Certainly the amount of influenced gained can be used to measure one player against another. As players become more involved, an Influence Modifier can be applied. This is a value specific to individual players. Players who are prompt with validating opponents battle reports, players that come up with episode/raid ideas, players which rally other players and make a concerted effort together and encapsulating the spirit of GoA can be rewarded in this manner. The multiplier would increase the amount of influence gained after each battle. This multiplier could range from 1 (the standard modifier) through to 1.5/2/2.5/3. This gives players an individual target to aim at and aspire to. Wrongdoers and known defrauders could be modified down to 0.5 to halve the amount of influence gained until their trust can be build up again. They would still have an effect on the campaign and should the punishment have been considered too harsh, influence can be retrospectively added. Influence modifiers can be shown on the Wiki-Tech online pages. League or competitive play are not the strengths of this campaign. News bulletin forum posts can be utilised to state which overall players have won the most games, show the amount of influence generated for their faction and even how many games won using all their different factions. A percentage system can be used and only players that have recorded results for at least 10 validated games would be permitted on the league. This prevents over play from distorting results by playing many games and also under play from playing a single game and having a 100% record. Players could show the information on their signature for forum too. The Wiki-Tech could also be a place where league information is maintained. Im not certain as to how Wikis work, but there must be some functionality that can be exploited to give desired results. Rewards for good campaign play could include being given access to alternate characters. At the moment one figure for Antares exists. Hansa. He will eventually be given stats and all players will know how he works. An alternate Hansa would have a similar profile and traits but be limited to that individual only. Perhaps over time everyone would have access to this specific alternate Hansa, but for a while it will be exclusive. A private forum message can be used in this instance to deliver the details, which can then be either printed off showing the official campaign approval (not official Warlord Approval, but so the opponent knows that the alternate version is legitimate) or even using smart phones and/or tablets to show the opponent the PM. This is not just limited to alternate characters. Alternate units could also be used. An Algoryn squad could be upgraded to Lokur Angels. A similar squad but with an extra bit of kick to it. Forum badges can be designed and awarded to players. Its not much, but looking at the Warlord Forum there were a few users who had taken part in monthly Painting Challenges and added little symbols for specific months. It helps makes people feel as part of a group. And the design process is fairly straight forward given what Ive seen some forum users do with computers.

Episodes/Raids
The original background for the Dymanic Gaming Universe hinted at Episodes and Raids. These can be utilised by announcing that a specific location extra influence was available if players agreed to battle there using Episode Specific Army List and restrictions. Normal non-restricted battles could take place but the extra influence would not be gained. The Episode would focus on the factions accumulating a certain number of influence within a short space of time. Should a faction reach this goal the episode ends. No Well done for coming

second. Being second is for losers. The victorious faction of the episode would then start to see new technology being made available for their faction. This is how I believe new items/figures would be rolled out during model release. The new figure/model would still function as directed by Warlord, but participants of the campaign would have a discount or other special benefit to taking the newly discovered tech. Several episodes could take place at once, should new releases start to be announced thick and fast and these episodes lasting for less than two weeks. The Raids would focus on a specific scenario being played should the players agree to have their battle at the Raid location. No restriction to army list this time. However one faction will be announced as either the Raid Defender. That faction must always defend. Should the attacking faction win then the location influence for the defending faction FALLS at that location. The winner doesnt gain. This can cause a trait associated with the defended location to be removed. If the defender wins then influence is accrued as normal. Should the Raid take too long then the raid is considered to have failed. The defenders get a bonus for having survived intact.

Campaign Specific Scenarios

Along with the Raid specific scenarios, the community would have access to specific scenarios that would increase the Influence Modifier by +0.5 for a specific game. Should the players choose to play a Reconnaissance Scenario and state their intention before the game to place any influence gained into Reconnaissance at a specific location then the modifier can be used by both players.

Afterthoughts
Overall it would be great to see Antares released alongside an online campaign. Even if this method described above is not used. I hope that the ideas expressed here spark someones imagination enough to develop any potential that they find. I have not listed traits for locations, given indication of how much influence is needed to secure a location or dictated specific scenarios that have to be played. This is intentional. Mainly because that takes a bit more planning and preparation but also there is no point in putting so much effort into a project only for it to be disregarded by the community as a whole or even superseded by an official release online campaign. Thanks for reading.