Sword of Terra: Factions

While recently working on my space ship game, I’ve been splitting my time between improving the game play and developing a story line for the game.  As part of the story line, I also arrived at a tentative title for the game:  Sword of Terra.

For today’s blog post, I decided to give a preview of the major factions in the game.  Each faction will have its own ship designs that reflect both favored tactics and differences in available technology.

United Terran Systems

Despite the losses of the Great Colonial War, the United Terran Systems remains the largest and most powerful faction in the known galaxy.  Centered on the birthplace of humanity, it stretches to cover hundreds of colonized worlds.  The United Terran Systems Navy (or UTSN) emphasizes mixed taskforces of ships and disciplined coordination.  The UTSN also has access to the most advanced laser weaponry which helps in their focus on long-range engagements.

Confederation of Free Colonies

The Confederation of Free Colonies seceded from the United Terran Systems and sparked the long and bloody Great Colonial War.  The worlds of the Confederation are far from Terra, but many were mineral-rich giving the Confederation a very strong industrial sector.  The Navy of the Confederation prefers big, durable war ships, ballistic weaponry, and close-range engagements.

Tengokan Alliance

Towards the end of the Great Colonial War, a second group of worlds seceded from the United Terran Systems.  These worlds, known as the Tengokan Alliance, have adopted a neutral stance which allows Tengokan merchants access to worlds controlled by both the UTS and the Confederation.  The Alliance Navy is focused on carrier-led battle groups supported by a large number of fighters and bombers.  Since breaking away from the UTS, they have focused on technologies that give them advantages in speed, stealth, and crew automation.

Azuran League

The most mysterious faction, the worlds of the Azuran League were completely isolated from the rest of humanity for several decades.  During the Great Colonial War, a UTS battle group entered Azuran territory and was attacked by a battle group using unidentified ship designs and advanced technology.  Since that time, the Azurans have begun to re-engage in trade and diplomacy with the other factions.  The Azuran League Navy makes heavy use of its unique technological advances such as pulse drives, gravity beams, and force fields.

Independent Worlds and Outlaws

In addition to the four major factions, there are numerous independent worlds and pirate fleets throughout the known galaxy.  These minor factions generally cannot afford to maintain large naval forces, but they have adapted their tactics to be effective with the outdated war ships and jury-rigged commercial ships that are available to them.  From a technological standpoint, most of the minor factions are stuck with technology dating to before the Great Colonial War.