Universe Background

Globulation 2 Campaigns

This page will have three parts :

1. the General Ideas for campains
2. the mission-by-mission detailed description of each campain
3. the Historical background of the universe, which is used to add savour and interest to the missions.

General Idea for the campaigns

Campain 1 (by Rama)

The Globules sub-sentient individuals whose total intelligence merges into a hive mind. You're the hive mind, who's gradually understanding its power. (so we can have a good pretext to do a "tutorial-like" campain)

You start getting problems, which are usually "natural" : preserve your environnement, prevent over-reproduction of some ressources, etc. This allows a gradual introduction of the buildings and different races of globules. For instance, you start "discovering" hospitals after your first Globules are wounded in an hostile environnement ; Walls can be originally used to protect your globules from "something" dangerous (JOIN MY CAMPAIN TO ADD WILD ANIMALS INTO [=GLOB2=] !! :o) )

Sometimes, you get to meet with friendly other hives ; sometimes they are hostile. Eventually, all hives unite in a kind of Globule unity, with the aim of understanding what the world is. (the more advanced the game, the more you get to meet other globules).

then, the player gradually find out that he's on a planet, that he comes from space, that the globules have been created by humanity, etc... Gradual discovery of the Historical Background.

Eventually, I'd love to see Humans coming inot play, worried like hell at the though of the Globules becomming sentients. Then, you can have basicall three possibilities :

1. The Humans destroying the globules (depressing game, "brood-war style"),
2. The Humans getting friendly (Walt Disney Style, I don't like it too much)
3. A choice you'll have to make : typically, the humans will provoke you into fighting. If you accept the fight, you're dead. If you do not, they'll be forced to discuss and recognise your inteligence and legitimacy as sentient beings (this, or letting Georges Bush be re-elected, or something else which blatantly leads to global destruction).

Note from nct: I don't want humans in game... Oniric Globulish World is good without humans. I agree to have humans in the Historical background, even if I don't feel the necessity. I know that you guys keep having Starcraft in mind, as it is a very powerful [[1]], but I think with Globule we have some world from childhood that is worth for itself.

Note from dizzz: I don't think humans are necessary at all.

Note from Rama: (reporting a discussion with nct): ---++++ Humans in Glob2 Cons:

• All games have Humans in them, and we don't want to be like all other games.
• Humans suck.

Pros:

• This allows a better "anchoring" of the Globule universe into a Univers we are familiar with
• This makes the story interesting, when you start to realise that the Universe connects to our own.
• By introducing Humans into the universe, we prevent the player to identify his globules with quasi-Human beings. Addictionally, if we manage to introduce Humans when the Player has been well "brain-washed" into thinking of himself as a collective Globule intelligence, we get an interesting and meaningful sense to the game. A little bit like the "[[2]]" in Miyasaki's anime.

In conclusion, while it would not be indispenable to include Humans into the story, we might indeed need to define the globule identity ba contrast to something else as well.

Incidentally, we seem to be agreed with the idea of including "wild creatures" into Glob2.

Rama will start writing examples of missions as soon as he's got a little time to do so, as well as studying the implications of the engine of the game (introduction of wild creatures, humans, natural disasters, etc.)

Universe Proposal -- Historical background (by Slann)

Humanity

Earth Population has stabilised around 20 billions humans and 400 billion A.I.s. The timely development of nuclear fusion and the first elements of a Dyson Belt barely suffice to cover the ever-growing need for energy of a Humanity lost in hedonism and sloth.

The Earth aristocracy lives in Orbital Farms, providing the food for the inhabitants of the city-planet sprawling underneath. Any access to natural flora and fauna is seen as the ultimate sign of success. The desire for nature is exploited by Corporations providing artificial universes giving the illusion of still untouched Earth.

The FTL engine is a dream beyond hope. But a part of Humanity still yearns for the stars, so fleets are sent to the near Solar Systems for automatic survey, exploration, and technoforming. Those fleets are sent mostly by the High Aristocracy, who can afford them, with the goal of establishing planet-wide Estates.

The World Governement, descended from the now fabulous European Union, having become in 2154 the Union after the integration of Russia, Africa and India, and finaly the World Union after the second US-chinese War and the protagonist joining the Union, completely wasted and demoralised, is a weak and loose structure. It however still commands the most important Budget of Humanity and the conquest of the stars is one of those projects capable of not creating opposition.

So they, too, launch ships, though they have no access to the most recent technology, nor much hope to ever reach systems before the much faster ships of the Aristocracy.

The A.I. ethos

The beginning of the XXII Century was the golden age of A.I.: at last the prospect of a Human-level A.I. was within reach. Just at this point, the Corporation, fearing for their established power, put a brutal stop to any developpments not strictly controlled. A campaign of populist lobbying of the most outrageous sort was established, and of course, it was successful. This led to the Unique Humanity Act, leaving only those with Space access with the possibility of doing A.I. research.

This essentially meant the Aristocracy, as the Corporations saw no profit in those research. And of course, the Aristocracy was more concerned with its garden-parties than with scientific research, although acquiring academic recognition was considered as very honorable. As a distraction.

But of course it is not possible to stop progress, and everyone suspects that at least some A.I. have been born, and somehow survive in the World Governement's University Network. This of course is absolutely true and very strongly denied by everyone concerned.

The use of A.I. in advancing research and going beyond the limits of the most abstract formalism imaginable by humans is obvious. The tentation to get such help, a bit like the student is tempted to take with him cheats to an exam, is too strong, and humans, especially if they are not convinced they are doing something wrong in the first place, are easily seduced. So the public research community has formed loose bonds with the A.I.s, and the A.I.s, knowing that they depend on the searchers goodwill for their survival still are more helpfull than would strictly be necessary.

It sometimes happens that programs are corrected overnight, the solution to complex problems are somehow printing themselves on screens. But of course, this officially is impossible.

Characters

Great scientists

Pr. Yievgeni Alexandrovitch Nematov

Born in the heartlan of what was once Siberia, He is the world's most renown Cybernetist. He is also one of those rare Scentists doing science for the Greater Good, and systematically refuses any contact with the Corporations or the Aristocracy. His team, despite being heavilly under-funded is stil producing most of the advances in the field. Some hint that the A.I.s he has created are not strangers to the success of his Research.

The accusation is graver than might be percieved as the Unique Humanity Act legally forbids the creation of human and super-human intelligence levels. Of course no evidence was ever successfully brought to the courts.

Pr. John Donald Ramfield

Ramsfield is the total opposite of Nematov. He is the head of the best funded pivate research institution, he has access to enormous amounts of Industrial Secrets. He is described by his friends as arrogant, selfish and overly ambitious. His ennemies describe him as "the living embodiment of the most unbriddled Hubris".

He promised to the Governing Council of the Global `SciTech Corporation not the moon, but indeed every moon in the galaxy and the planets they orbit as an added bonus. Of course having made such promises, he is now forced to deliver.

Herr Dr Dr Stephan Richard Von Verschlossenefeld

The Dr Von Verschlossenefeld is the last heir of a very old noblle Prussian family. Since his youngest age he has been experimenting on strange ideas and concepts in the old Family Castle, rebuilt in orbit. Some say that a totally isolated childhood has irretrivably twisted an otherwise brilliant mind. He doesn't hate humanity, he simply cannot bear the idea of aproaching another human being.

He dreams of having his own domain, on his own planet in his own solar system. He has commited all of his Family's Fortunes to that effect, and will stop at nothing to have his dreams acomplished.

He has built himself many artificial friends and helpers, that are for the most part as deranged as he is, but just as committed to his goals. Of course, building A.I.s outside the Earth's Atmosphere is perfectly legal.

Universe concept (TMM, dizzz and nct_)

The globules are living on their planet all is happy, all is good. Globules are all part of a big thinking network, like a hive mind. Everything is peiceful and the globules all live their lives happily next to eachtother. When suddenly, disaster strikes, A meteor smashes into the planet which heavilly radiates the globules. Suddenly the globles notice that globules of other colours are trying to steal THEIR food and fruits... Remembering the wild creatures that steal their fruit too, they call their warriors...

A lot less warriors than expected show up...

It can't remember ever having seen other coloured globules... It can't remember ever having to fight other globules... It can't remember... it knows it once build buildings to make sick globules better... It can't...

It feels... alone...

WHAT HAPPENED

The globules, that once where one hive mind, got split up, and they now see the other globules as different colours, and the wild creatures that also eat their food, which is something they don't like very much.

The goal of the game is to create unity amongst the globules once again, the globules can be unified through their fruits once more.

This moves the aggressiveness of the globules towards eachother to simple misunderstanding.

As the game progresses, the "hive" will become more united, as the minds of the other globules starts to join the players. This will give a gradual underderstanding to "your" hive as to what happened.

This will make it very easy to craft missions like the one's rama suggested, which I like very much. It will also provide the game with some meaning for those that need it.

We will start the campains off, with the learning that rama suggested. Then we could make some really nasty campains around cleaning out resources, and move to fruiting after the first fruiting mission, the realisation will start to hit the players hive. (as it has just accumilated the knowledge of quite a lot of other globules)

The rest of the missions in the campain should focus less and less on agression, and introduce new buildings as the player gets more globules in his hive.

the end of the story should be where all the globules are once again part of the same hive

The actual games would closely follow rama's idea, but this universe does not "need" humans, still provide with some morale.

it would also be interesting to through cutscenes and other story support to make the player slowly learn about these things, just as the "hive" itself is... ie, don't TELL the player that his mission is basically peace, not war.

More details about converting as a way of life (TMM, Dizz and Rama)

The Globules being only misguided and not cruel. At first, they should be able to plan the complete destruction of the other hive, they don't know better, until the first conversions start to happen.

It might be harder, or almost impossbile to completely destroy the other hives (The hives are the thinking mind of the globules). they wouldn't have had to use "advanced strategies" ever before, because they never had a thinking enemy.

The hives send globules out to war to kill other populations that use the same ressources -- concept of war to protect the environment.

See "Ender's Game" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ender's_game) : the buggers are, like the globules, a hive mind species that just happen to run into the humans killing them all off; eventually the humans destroy all the buggers, and ender found out that the buggers never wanted to fight: the buggers started it all off because the humans where in their way, but they never realised that they killed individuals -- they thought they killed non-scentient things, and didn't look at it as "killing". On their world the "queen" is basically the only scentient being so killing of a couple of drones isn't "killing"

--> you hurt the globules only when you attack the hives

it would be nice if there was some accentuation of the fact that you don't just "convert" a hive to your point, you adopt some kind of mutual understanding

in single player mode, that way the globules will know that they CAN work together, and if they know that, they should be able to know that they are killing other globules which is something they should never willingly do -- well, knowingly do.

By destroying a hive, you get all the globules and part of the knowledge: getting to build new building convoy the idea that you were not simply superior to the other. DUring the campaings, schools could be disabled, so that winning against an opponent gets you to build lvl2 or lvl3 buildings (Building as rewards all through the campain).

To balance the rise in power, there is a "higher standard" in "cleanless: if you have lvl 3 barracks, you must convert the other hive with minimum damage done, else you've lost.

there's 1 player it was like that before the meteor hit the poor globules your "task" is to make sure it gets like that again so that the globules will stop fighting.

-->changing the colour of your team when you "convert" another hive to the colour in between

-->you don't "kill" a globule, you "turn it off". In fact it could even be made IMPOSSIBLE to kill a hive -- your globules cannot attack hives

the first missions can be simple and brutal -- just wipe off all the intruders. Afterward, you'll have to find a way of converting the hives. First mission is in fact a mission you loose - because you kill your opponent (not for the very first mission, but for one of the early missions).

at fist you wouldn't "know" you where killing anything (including the hive) -- until another hive converts YOU. Then do a cutscene that explains your new "concionsness" (how on Earth the first converting hive arouse is something I leave for the reader as an exercice).

to convert a hive, you should eliminate or discourage its agressive tendencies and then make its life posible and offer fruits. You could convert a hive by having more workers working on it than your opponent - it converts to the player that gives it the most food

OR

if we assume that the consionsness of the hives is spread across the globules and you convert all the globules the hive will simply have to come with it

If you get converted by the "opponent", you haven't "lost". You become part of the other mind. You might even have missions where you WANT to be converted (your hive is "rescued" by a more couscious hive and proceeds to the great educational crusade). Thing is that the typical opponent doesn't try to convert you, he doens't understand what you are (could be interesting to have a missions where both try to convert the other and you have to understand that either way is OK).

in lan game when you convert a player - you play together then. In a 3 player game, and the fist guy gets "beaten" early still gets to participate (the other mind should become "part" of the other hive). If you are the best player you get to asimilate the other one; Since they are less good than you, you have to coordinate with them -- so the best players get a "malus" (and now you have to deal with him screwing up your hive mind, discuss bad descisions, etc... if you first win against a noob - you must then deal with explaining him the game). The advantage of having a greater empire is relativised by the fact that you need to communicate.

The Globulation 2 Universe (GeniXPro)

The globs are not sentient, and infact, its hard for them to survive at all. However, there is one key feature of Globs that make them intelligent, it is that they have a collective mind. The Globs started as a research project on Earth. Scientists where experiementing with artificial life, and collective intelligences. They thought that simple machines, with very simple behaviours, but in large numbers, would have an overwhelmingly high level of "intelligence". They idea came to the for-front of man. The globs where an excellent demonstration of this. Each glob was given a simple task, such as collecting food, exploring or construction small huts. Even though a single glob was quite simple, the globs working as a team demonstrated some higher level of intelligence, they where able to work together, expand and grow. No one actually understood how the globs managed to do this, but it seemed quite a successfull project. However, the project was dumped, with new sentient intelligences coming into play, collective intelligence was no longer required, and the idea seemed to dissapear entirely.

The idea wouldn't stay down forever, however. Man eventually discovered that sentient intelligence wasn't the best solution for larger projects. These sentient robots where very expensive, and often waisted time thinking about "Do I exist or not?" when instead they should be focuses on the simple task of hammering a nail into the apartment complex they where constructing. Hugh V. Montigagner thought that the cheap, behaviour based collective intelligence robots would provide a suitable solution, and the idea became the hot topic everywhere once again. The only difference, this time the idea was going to be used, and soon these non-sentient but intelligent robots replaced sentient robots. Soon, these newer robots worked there way into space, and eventually onto mars, working as a restoration crew to try and make mars habbitable for man.

Hugh didn't stop at robots. He recognized that the globs where not robots at all, but infact they where organic creatures, not unlike human. A new research project started, in space, on these intelligent creatures. People where experiementing with Muscular Distrophy, and how it made long term space voyages very difficult. The globs where a suitable test case. Although this wasn't Hugh's original intention, he did not mind the globs being used to cure such problems. Experiements started where the globs where sent on long voyages, from earth, to mars and back again. Some of these voyages took over 4 years.

There was, however, one odd voyage, some of the scientists where and still are worried about. The spacecraft HostinCroft was accidently sent on the wrong coarse, little over 2 degrees off its target, and was sent into the outer reaches of space. The scientists have little knowledge of whether the globs are still alive on that shuttle, however, the shuttle was almost entirely self sustaining, using even the smallest amounts of spacial radiation as a form of heat concentrate that it used to power the systems. In theory, the globs could live inside the space shuttle forever!

65000 years came to pass. Man had long since destroyed itself, and the solar system, and many surrounding solar systems, with it. However, there remains one small, insignifigant part of humanity still alive, the globs of the spaceshuttle HostinCroft. If man would have known his ship would last 65000 years, he would have been damn proud. However, the ship may not have lasted much longer, it was on a collision coarse with a planet called Zeelus. This planet was unlike any planet the globs had been on before. However, the globs where trained to adapt their surroundings to suit them, much like robots that had worked on mars 65025 years before. Whether the globs would survive the crash was certainly a long shot, and it seemed more and more hopeless as the ship came closer and closer to the big planet. However, an unexpected surprise came to be. The planets atmosphere was dense, and the ships built in parachutes worked well. Although, they didn't work perfectly, and the ship hit the ground at a calm 60 km/h. The globs managed to survive, and started the first globulan colony.

The globs where self-manored, and because of their basic task based behaviour, could not do much. One thing was key, however, the globs where beginning to convert the planet to barable atmosphere, they where constructing huts, collecting food (however scarce). Another 100,000 years went by. The globs long since evolved. They have devided many times, a colony often devides into two colonies (seperates its intelligence) on a regular basis, almost once every 1000 years. The globs where becoming an evolved species, building on the small amounts of knowledge left in the burnt up ship. This is where you come in. You become the intelligence of a colony, the one colony doomed for supremecy over the entire planet!

Globulation2 universe proposal (donkyhotay)

Let me start out by saying... THE GLOBS ARE NOT A HIVE MIND!!! Ok, now that thats out of the way, let me explain myself. Globs are ruled by some type of leader/king/emperor (you) that they will generally (but not always) obey. Globs do not fear their leader and when unhappy with the way things are going will simply leave and go elsewhere. Globs are very industrious and like having something to do so they will always find a leader to give them jobs even if they don't stay with the same leader. As glob nations build up wars over territory ensue resulting in the battles we see in the game. Having individual globs vs. hive-mind globs makes better sense given the way the game runs. You can issue commands to the globs but the globs themselves choose how best to fulfill those commands and sometimes a job won't get done for awhile if all globs are otherwise occupied. A hive-mind is in complete control over every little detail (micromanagement) while this game is all about commanding on a large scale (macromanagement). In real life a leader (like say the CEO of a company) will give commands to subordinates however he will not command every little detail. He doesn't do this because there is too much going on. Instead he gives the command and then the workers go out and do fulfill the command in the best way they know how which may not be exactly the way the leader wanted it done. This is exactly how glob2 works. I just command "build racetrack here" and someone goes and does it, I don't specify WHO is going to do it. It may be that a glob stocking an inn full of wheat when my army is starving may stop to fill my command even though I'd rather have the glob filling my tower with stones do it instead. This gives an element of "free will" to the globs that doesn't exist in other RTS games. Unless the game changes to a micromanagement game (which IMHO would completely ruin the game) the globs will always act with "free will" which completely conflicts with the idea of a hive-mind.

Universe Idea (eli)

No humans! No hive mind! No leaders!

Humans, as was so aptly put further up this page, suck. They have no place in the gameplay of glob2; while they might make a nice story, THIS IS NOT THE GAME FOR THAT STORY. You might as well try to give Freeciv a storyline about how humans were created by aliens.

A hive mind is out of the question, for the reasons donkyhotay suggested and because the minds are totally different for different groups of seemingly identical globs. This doesn't happen with real-life hive minds.

A leader makes no sense at all. Where is the leader kept? How does he communicate? Until these unanswerable questions are answered, there can be no leaders.

Now, for my idea: Screw realism. Realism doesn't fit this game. All globs were created by, and in the image of, a divine being known as Globbilod. They ran around generally being stupid. So once in a while, Globbilod would take personal control, insofar as it goes, of one group of globs, and send it to conquer other, now stupider globs, and claim their territory. That's where you come in - you take the role of Globbilod as he conquers enemy globs (human vs. AI.)

However, Globbilod isn't very good with temporal matters, and sometimes find himself moving backwards in real time and taking control of a glob tribe one or more of whose enemies were controlled by Globbilod in his past existence! This is generally quite challenging, and you would think he would know whether or not he was going to win from memory, but he is also forgetful and very capricious - his strategy is very different in different battles. (that's multiplayer, by the way.)

(oh by the way, Globbilod has three incarnations/forms/whatever - warrior, worker, and explorer - in case you were wondering how they were all created in his image.)

Universe/Story Concept (wa_94sound)

Haha, this is some great stuff! Kudos to the developers for opening up a can of worms on this request to contribute to the universe of Globulation II. I see Marxist theory, Illuminati theory, science fiction, science nonfiction, primitive barbarianism, the whole 9. So, here is my version of the universe/story in one, and yes, it has humans, and yes, it is somewhat realist, with a cliché capitalist elitist, a slight trekkie tinge, and a deep ecology message, but it’s a contribution I hope none the less:

Intro: A Chance Discovery After several light years of exhaustive space travel and unfruitful scientific research, the 5 member team of the exploratory vessel Orbital had decided, quite disappointingly, to go back to Earth. In the last transmission from headquarters, it was agreed that all that was left to do was to explore the remaining sub galaxy for samples before setting the navigation system on the long journey home. That night, as each crewmember retired to the resting bay, each pondered their future in what would soon seem to be an inevitable world of reduced funding and project cancellations.

Then, in what seemed like an enormously impossible chance of encounter, the crewmembers awakened to the sound of a persistent beeping tone, the familiar sign of a fully active biorhythmic scanner. At first the captain awoke, slowly making her way to the bridge in what seemed to be yet another irritating chore of disabling a false alarm. With each passing moment, and the deepening realization that the alarm was not going to be shut off, each crewmember made their way to the bridge. Several minutes later the scientists were studying the scanner’s screen in silent disbelief. Amongst the soft, almost surreal glow of the monitor rolled in countless data of biorhythmic activity, the unmistakable signs of planetary life. As the computer scanned and recorded each new life form for the first time, the excited crewmembers frantically compiled every detail of the strange new planet. And little by little, as they pieced together the details of the complex life 20,000 miles below them, the scientists could not but help but feel that what they were observing could possibly be the most extraordinary scientific discovery of their time.

                           Switching from narrative to documentary

What the scientists actually discovered was a planet that hosts an intelligent life form which they named “globules”. For the next few weeks, as they contacted headquarters back at Earth, they documented the fact that the globules were not simple organisms as they had once thought, but rather complex, intelligent life forms not unlike themselves. The visually impressive societal structure of the globules was further supplemented by the planet, which they nicknamed “Gaia,” for its extraordinary connection with the living organisms that inhabited it. Adding to the bizarre amazement back at headquarters was the fact that the crew identified Gaia as an uninhabitable due to atmospheric conditions, but almost limitless in what seemed to be valuable resources genetically traceable to primitive forms of wheat, fruit bearing seeds, wood, and mineral stone.

Back at Earth, powerful business elite, through various connections and inner circles of power, eventually found out about the nature of Gaia and the tremendous potential that it that it held for its resources and the impressive working capacity of the globules. As the reports continue to come in from Orbital, more powerful interests take note and become increasingly fascinated with the highly centralized, extremely resilient life form: at best, an unstoppable, potentially obedient alien race.

Unknowingly to the crew of Orbital, a group of the elite’s endorsed scientists are sent to the coordinates of the vessels exact location to replace them in the further development of the mission. As the long journey for the interests cruised throughout the light years of travel to Gaia, the discovery of the Orbital crew continued, as they documented every detail of the economy, government, education system, military, medical system, in short, entire civilization of the globules. They also found that the planet actually controlled the organisms in more ways that were immediately apparent at their first discovery, and can only be described as highly symbiotic, if not entirely telekinetic. They theorized that the streamlined reproductive nature of the globules and their ability to sustain life on Gaia without diminishing its resources were strangely controlled by a biomass emancipating from the core of the planet itself.

Finally, after the necessary years of light travel, the elitist scientists from Earth established contact with Orbital and deluded them into thinking that headquarters had sent the additional workers and supplies requested. Realizing that the new crew was dangerously armed and entirely capable of taking their lives, the scientists stoically listened to and accepted their new objectives. Throughout the first few days, in a series of disastrous attempts to create a controlling presence among the globules, and the loss of millions of dollars of expensive equipment in the process, the new crew scoured in frustration the compiled database of the globule research conducted by the Orbital crew in an effort to discover a key to control.

When it was discovered that the entire genetic code of the globules had been mapped through the sample collections of what was documented by the Orbital crew as a “swarm,” the new scientists decided to bio-engineer their own globules to populate Gaia with a more cooperative, controllable subject. Within months they developed tiny globules in the lab that were controllable through radio wave emissions from makeshift satellites positioned around the planet. Using the same technology the crew of Orbital used to turn planetary matter into food, a secondary objective was quickly established to reabsorb the globules at a neutral zone on the planet to reverse engineer the resources gathered within the biomass of the globules and send them back to Earth. Soon the scientists realized a strange phenomena that the new globules were not sustainable, and that they were destroying the resources forever, as Gaia apparently refused to supplement the strange new intruders. As a result, the artificial globules kicked into survival mode, forming an ultra aggressive, ever expansive presence necessary to survive on the planet. Eventually, the scientists were no longer able to control the movement of the globules through the satellites.

As the imprisoned Orbital scientists were forced to work with the simple logistics of the project in isolated cells, they could only watch hopelessly as Gaia fended for itself.

And as Gaia put down each of its foreign intruders, a new, understood sense of urgency drove the native globules to defend their lands with an abstract realization that ultimately, their very existence was at stake.