|
Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2017 10:31:12 GMT -5
Howdy.
I'm only just getting into the games but I always lore-dive the hell out of a new setting and something is puzzling me about the dating of some TA missions - namely, that two of them are listed as taking place in dates ending BE. They're labelled 23 and 24 BE specifically, but at least one clearly takes place in the Quadrant as it apparently refers to Endividius, albeit misspelled.
I want to play the games chronologically - 4X, TBF, TA, ST1 - but I can't figure out if the dating is a mistake or the references to the ST1 Quadrant are. Can anyone help me? Does anyone still read this forum?
|
|
|
Post by fallen on Jul 7, 2017 11:41:03 GMT -5
@lonekharnivore - all Star Trader dates post-Exodus are expressed as AE, "After Event" which roughly dates the settlement of the ST RPG quadrant and the date when the main Templar fleet, and the Prophet Shalun, left the Quadrant in order to establish a defensive ring around the new Star Trader's home. In other games, like BF and ST 4X, any AE dates you see are relative to the timeline of the main ST RPG.
In TA, we tried out the use of a BE date (before event). We haven't used it elsewhere, nor really plan to do so.
All of the games take place at nearly the same time -- they are all stories of the Star Traders people and Templars in the years after the Exodus is officially over and everyone starts colonizing. ST RPG takes a look at a slightly more matured and settled Quadrant, while Battleforce picks up in the moment when the colony leaders realize they have no other option but to set down on these crap dust worlds and try to scratch out a living. ST 4X does the same -- you get to see the first moments of settlement.
So, in strictest chronological order --
4X Empires Templar Battleforce Star Traders RPG Templar Assault (covers a wide range of dates)
Purposefully, they all give a different perspective on the same set of events and time period.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2017 14:17:09 GMT -5
all Star Trader dates post-Exodus are expressed as AE, "After Event" which roughly dates the settlement of the ST RPG quadrant and the date when the main Templar fleet, and the Prophet Shalun, left the Quadrant in order to establish a defensive ring around the new Star Trader's home. In other games, like BF and ST 4X, any AE dates you see are relative to the timeline of the main ST RPG. Oh, okay, thanks. I was working from this post but I guess that's just headcanon
|
|
|
Post by fallen on Jul 7, 2017 14:41:37 GMT -5
@lonekharnivore - he is really exactly on point. 1) 4X Empires - each game woudl arguably have a different start date. All in and around 1 AE. 2) BF starts at 12 AE 3) ST RPG starts at 64 AE 4) Templar Assault features multiple campaigns that start at different dates, both before and after AE. Matches my list above My point that thinking of them as being in some chronological order is not what we intended. All 4 games are taking place at roughly the same historical period (whenever the Star Traders/Templars you are with end their Exodus), within years of each other. ST RPG provides the best opportunity to play an extended period of time past the shared starting era.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2017 18:26:26 GMT -5
Matches my list above Matches the list, which I roughly already had, but doesn't match where you say "In... ST 4X, any AE dates you see are relative to the timeline of the main ST RPG" or where you define AE as 'After (an) Event' which the splinter fleets wouldn't be aware of, as opposed to being 'After (the) Exodus.' I'm pretty sure I've seen Cory date the departure of Shalun to 12.43 AE as well. It also doesn't clear up how the TA campaigns labelled as 23 & 24 BE seem to take place in the Quadrant. But I take your point about them not being intended as a sequence and I understand things are evolving as you make new games, so I'll try not to overthink this any more
|
|
|
Post by Cory Trese on Jul 8, 2017 9:03:46 GMT -5
Yeah, sorry ... what exactly is the confusion? I'm just not seeing any questions yet that aren't answered in the games. Send Help!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2017 13:46:09 GMT -5
Okay, I'll try and be clearer... 1. What does AE stand for? fallen states that AE dating starts from the departure of Shalun (AE... roughly dates the settlement of the ST RPG quadrant and the date when the main Templar fleet, and the Prophet Shalun, left the Quadrant) but you've previously stated that the departure of the Templars took place in 12.43 AE. Each empire in 4X also uses AE dating but they start it from the time they settle. 2. If Shalun left because the factions were refusing to go any further, how come they only started settling twelve years later? fallen says above that they began settling the Quadrant in 12 AE (Battleforce picks up in the moment when the colony leaders realize they have no other option but to set down on these crap dust worlds and try to scratch out a living) but this would be twelve years after Shalun left, by his reckoning. 3. If Shalun left the Quadrant in 1.0 AE, how can TA missions take place in a settled Quadrant 23 or 24 years earlier? Either AE dates from the time of settlement or from Shalun's departure, but either way 23 or 24 BE should surely be during the Exodus. And while you're here: 4. How long was the Exodus? Some sources say two centuries; the beginning of 4X says a hundred years. I'm a little anal and this stuff nags at me Thanks for responding, your 'community participation' is just as impressive as your games. EDIT: The timeline apparently goes thus: 24 BE the Templars are fighting in the Quadrant (TA); 1.0 AE the factions settle and Shalun departs (fallen); 12 AE the factions settle (TBF); 12.43 AE Shalun departs (Cory.) Unless I'm a total idiot, this doesn't add up.
|
|
|
Post by fallen on Jul 8, 2017 18:55:13 GMT -5
I will try to be clear because there seems to be some fundamental confusion about timeline and location.
The ST RPG ("the Farfallen Quadrant") is NOT the Cirm Quadrant of Templar Battleforce (BF) or the Quadrants you can play in 4X Empies.
The main fleet of the Exodus splintered over the two centuries of travel.
The main fleet arrived in the Farfallen Quadrant and settled there. This is the Quadrant of ST RPG.
A splinter fleet was forced to set down in the Cirm Quadrant in Templar Battleforce in 12 AE (AFTER the settling of the Farfallen Quadrant, somewhere completely different).
You can play any number of hypothetical splinter fleets in 4X Empires, but you are NOT playing the ST RPG Quadrant nor the Cirm Quadrant (somewhere completely different).
The Farfallen Quadrant is settled BEFORE Shalun Departs in 1.0 AE. Therefore, there are BE events, BEFORE the departure. These are the events references in Templar Assault. As you can imagine a process of dropping so many colony hives onto many different worlds takes years (see 4X Empires to see how long it takes to drop 3). During the settlement, the Templar fleet was in active patrol and assist mode. Once the settlement had started to get sorted out, Shalun and the bulk of the Templar fleet departed to establish the defensive ring around the Quadrant (1.0 AE).
I hope this clears it up! You're crossing timelines and locations in your summary.
The ST2 Lore Book will include a full timeline including breakouts that focus on individual games.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2017 10:52:53 GMT -5
The ST RPG ("the Farfallen Quadrant") is NOT the Cirm Quadrant of Templar Battleforce (BF) Ahhhh. This is the bit I hadn't grasped, because I hadn't played TBF yet. I am an idiot! Thankyou for your patience, guys, it all makes sense now
|
|
|
Post by fallen on Jul 9, 2017 10:57:57 GMT -5
No worries, glad we could help! The official timelines in the Lore Book will be exciting to share when they are all done and rendered.
|
|
|
Post by Officer Genious on Jul 9, 2017 11:40:46 GMT -5
Can I derail now? Good!
I tried dating a Templar and it was a salacious, sordid affair! And then he left me to fight Xenos. It was very sad.
|
|
|
Post by ntsheep on Jul 9, 2017 17:00:41 GMT -5
As the Queen commands, let the derail begin. I wanted to date a Templar once and join her order, but she said my monastery was too small
|
|