Universe Background

Globulation 2 Campaigns

This page will have three parts :

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

General Idea for the campaigns

Campaign 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" campaign)

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 CAMPAIGN 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 recognize your intelligence and legitimacy as sentient beings (this, or 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 realize 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. Additionally, 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 peaceful and the globules all live their lives happily next to eachtother. When suddenly, disaster strikes, A meteor smashes into the planet which heavily radiates the globules. Suddenly the globles notice that globules of other colors 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 colored 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 colors, 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 each other 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 understanding 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 campaigns off, with the learning that rama suggested. Then we could make some really nasty campaigns around cleaning out resources, and move to fruiting after the first fruiting mission, the realization will start to hit the players hive. (as it has just accumulated the knowledge of quite a lot of other globules)

The rest of the missions in the campaign should focus less and less on aggression, 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 cut-scenes 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 impossible 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 resources -- 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 realized that they killed individuals -- they thought they killed non-sentient things, and didn't look at it as "killing". On their world the "queen" is basically the only sentient 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 campaigns, schools could be disabled, so that winning against an opponent gets you to build lvl2 or lvl3 buildings (Building as rewards all through the campaign).

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 color of your team when you "convert" another hive to the color 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 cut-scene that explains your new "consciousness" (how on Earth the first converting hive arouse is something I leave for the reader as an exercise).

to convert a hive, you should eliminate or discourage its aggressive tendencies and then make its life possible 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 consciousness 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 doesn'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 assimilate 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 decisions, 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 experimenting with artificial life, and collective intelligences. They thought that simple machines, with very simple behaviors, 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 successful 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, behavior 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 habitable 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 experimenting 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. Experiments 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, insignificant part of humanity still alive, the globs of the space-shuttle 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-manured, and because of their basic task based behavior, could not do much. One thing was key, however, the globs where beginning to convert the planet to bearable atmosphere, they where constructing huts, collecting food (however scarce). Another 100,000 years went by. The globs long since evolved. They have divided many times, a colony often divides into two colonies (separates 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 supremacy 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.)

Are the globs in our universe ? (Whidou & an Harap's dictionnary)

Genesis

First, let's recall the great dimensions of the universe :

- All

- Universe [3]

- Galaxies [4]

- Solar systems [5]

- Planets [6]

- Common objects [7]

- Molecules [8]

- Atoms [9]

- Protons, Neutrons

- Quarks, Photons, Gluons, etc...

The precedent stories were situated in the 6 first domains. Mine is in the last...

The universe of the globs born when a photon (called AGT+/0075392468247) knocked against the heap of Quarks of an atom of a molecule of the mess tin of my cat (for example).

http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/2484/gamellesc6.png

At this moment, a lot of small quark leafs (~6,5*10^-14 m^2) separated themselves of the quark. Because of a sub-magnetic force, the leafs became toruses (cf the image (from wikipedia)).

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/37/Projection_color_torus.png

NB : in game, all the maps are toruses : when you are on the right side of the map, you're also on the left side ! Incredible, isn't it ?

In the same time, a gluon (called GXDF362-4895@), compressed by the photonic shock, exploded. The micro-particles created were attired by the toruses' surfaces.

The combinations of this events creates a mini-universe in the inter-atom empty spaces with a life time of 1,2*10^-12 seconds. It was the globs' universe...

The Learning era

The gluon's particle creates a kind of “micro life form” : the 'blubs', globs' ancestors. [10] These animals were stupid and selfish. Example of a common blub's thinking : 'Eat. Sleep. EAT. Fruits ? Eat. Sleep. Sleep again. Wheat ? Eat. Sleep. Eat. etc...' As you can see, it was very very very philosophic...

Fortunately, a day, two blubs, who was eating rotten fruits, were “connected”. Progressively, their thinkings were mixed so that they became 1 two-bodied spirit. Their knowledges were amalgamated, they progressively redress themselves and create a new way of walking based on the alternation of the anterior and the posterior members. The globs were born.

The Sentience era

Nevertheless, the new intelligence of two first globs couldn't feed them : they was hungry. They thought : “Let's eat some wheat !” and during an entire week (proportionally to their speed), they continued to live like normal blubs (Eat, Sleep, Eat, etc...). But be forced to harvest the wheat were very tiring (and boring). They thought : “We are 2 bodies... one will get the wheat for the two.” (Note that their thinking were veeeeeery complex). For instance, one body began to pile up wheat and fruits. During this time, the other part of them was thinking or sleeping. Unfortunately, the food roted a few days later... They decided to build something to protect it. They tried with a lot of different materials (fruits, grass, water, blubs, stone,...). And they discovered ... the WOOD !!! When they cut down the trees (who were useless during these early times), they obtained an hard and useful material. They built the first Inn.

To be continued... and corrected.

DDR's version

Forum Thread

"The globs are launched by a human space program, and are designed to build up and use basic infrastructure. The humans were *suppose* to follow in a few years, but never showed up. The idea was that, the old Earth being overcrowded and depleted, people could simply board spaceships and find planets with ready-built cities for them to live in, fields of wheat and fruit trees to harvest. when human showed up, the globs were suppose to leave so as not to disrupt the culture and society of the humans.

The seedship of the gobs seeded tens of planets before radio contact was lost.

Each planet was built up, and eventually there was nothing left to do but maintain it. As per their programming, they then built small, one-shot seed ships and launched them at likely nearby planets. This feature was untested. Rockets burned. They exploded. They simply failed mid-course. But the globs had some freedom, and they learned through their mistakes. Soon, two spaceships landed on the same planet. This, too, was not tested. There were suppose to be human operators monitoring the operation. For whatever reason, the glob colonies went to war over resources. They reported back to their home colonies, which assessed the situation, and, like they were built to, they learned -- to attack!

Soon, the entirety of the project was embroiled in conflict. A simple form of evolutionary pressure came to bear on the globs, in that those who fought better lived to reproduce. Over hundreds of years, colonies died out and war making improved. But this came at a price - the original instructions were mutilated beyond recognition, reduced to a few buildings beneficial to war making. Evolution is a series of simple steps. It is not a magical process, in which better fighters just *happen*. It is just a bunch of tweaks to a system. First, the heavy laborers became a specialized warrior class (The other classes gained in efficiency, but are still greatly unchanged). The cities became buildings, for training the globs to fight better. And, the blobs lost all memory of the humans who had created them. Each base had it's own AI, a direct and synced copy of the original. A war of expansion ensued, and you, reader, are the controlling AI for the outwards fight!"

Now, the first scenario starts...