Vasari lore

Nice post, and I agree. Entrenchment is based on the notion that the empires had a stalemate later on in the war. This can be advantageous for the TEC and the Advent since the other two factions have a stalemate with them. The Vasari, however, are still running away from an unrelentless, unknown enemy bent towards their extermination.

Side note: when you think of the title of the game, Sins of a Solar Empire (I know this has probably been mentioned before), the name can apply to any of the empires since they've all committed some sort of sin or other that led them to where they are today.

i agree, there are about 3-4 fan stories on the front page now, and, no offense to the people who write them, (i really respect them for taking the time and effort and having the creativity to do it), but i cant bring myself to read those stories because i want to know the official stuff, not 'guesses' as you aptly named them.

that said , Sins as it is today is really a skirmish game and not a campaign so expanding on lore atm seems a bit pointless... especially since IC has no way to describe or introduce the enemy who is chasing the Vasari...

laslty, i cant see what Sins the Advent committed... i mean, the opening cinematic says they were performing some pretty 'unorthodox' experiments on themselves... but... i see that like experiments on stem cells... so the hardcore christians dont agree for religious reasons... so what? when you have a disease we can cure from stem cell research, we just wont treat you!

anyway, aside from that little rant (sorry) but yeah, i cant tell what the advent were doing... they were just minding their own business, trying to advance themselves through science... the TEC should have chimed out!

but yeah, long story short, some official lore would be nice, but as the super fanboys here keep reminding people who want things from IC/SD, its only like an 11 person team, so even taking one person off to do lore would be a big set back in Expansion pack and updates

^ I was thinking it could be a nanotech experiment gone wrong. I'm pretty sure you heard about the fear that nanotechnology, being the imitation of life that it strives to be, can be sentient. Given Vasari nanotechnology, maybe they assembled themselves into beings or something, and took over by force.

Then again, I'm just guessing.

I said no guesses!

if your going to make a claim you have to back it up by at least 3 facts.

Sorry, soasertsus. I hope this helps...

1. Vasari military and civilian upgrades make use of nanotechnology one way or another (eg. trauma nanomedicine, nano-repair cloud on the Skirantra Carrier, disruptor nanites on Jarrasul, disintegrator nanites on Vulkoras, volatile nanites on Kortul, molecular assembly upgrade for civilian structures, molecular lattice armor, etc.)

2. The manual, or the website, or some other place, states that this threat that's wiping them out was possibly of their own making. Given nanotech is of their own making, it's possible that it could be the threat. Also, the intro shows a Viturska Imperial Experimental Lab blowing up over the atmosphere of a Vasari-occupied planet "10,000 years ago".

3. Nanotech replicates and can be sentient (i.e. living). Tons of sci-fi scenarios speak of nanotech as a sentient, invasive technology that seeks to dominate and spread.

That is, assuming that the writers will follow that sci-fi trend.

look, i have to stop you here, first off, there are no facts. IC has told us nothing.

If by facts you mean facts like saracen16 has stated above, then sure, but if you mean officially sanctioned, released by Ironclad lore facts, then im sorry you are going to be disappointed. As it stands, the only info we have is what we know from A) the website, B.) the opening cinematic of Vanilla Sins, and C) the Manual. anything other thn that has to be speculation

Considering how IC has only, what, 11 staff, i dont think they can afford to take someone to work on lore, considering how they dont even have a campaign, and so strictly speaking, they dont really need to improve on the lore.

It would be nice, but I reckon it can wait until they come up with a campaign or some other way to introduce lore + the Vasari enemy

Those are the facts I mean. Things that you can get from the exsisting lore, which I know isnt much.

Think about it this way, if you look at the lore on the website it says:

"Now, the Vasari are caught in a stalemate, and in some positions, on the verge of being pushed back. A state of panic ensues. Already too entrenched in this disastrous war, the Vasari are simply unable to withdraw without catastrophic losses. Even worse, the conflict is consuming resources faster than can be put into the reserve. They will not be able to fuel the next phase of their exodus and time is running out."

This could imply that the unknown enemy is getting closer and soon it will be too late. With two expansions left to go I think it will go some thing like this:

-If you think about it Entrenchment does add to the story, it traps the Vasari even further.

-The second expansion might update the lore and the last of the warning beacons will fall silent. This would give the   Vasari more than enough incentive to try for diplomacy which is what the second expansion is about so they could move on and escape. 

-The third expansion could be the arival of the unknown darkness.

It would be nice if the devs could see this and tell us if they plan to do more with the story. The storys for the TEC an Advent are just blah but I love the Vasari story and would like to at least know more.

I like the idea, but honestly, come to think of it, I don't know if the addition of another faction will help anything. The 3 factions as they are kinda round things up, but if they're creative with the next faction (that is, if there will be one), that would be interesting nonetheless.

Maybe a campaign?

well... all the assumptions you make are fair... but i dont see how anyone can extrapolate further, as there really isnt alot to go on

really, i think you've summed it up with your conclusions right there...

on a side note, saracen16, i was just thinking, if whatever is chasing the Vasari is of their own creation, why would they keep using it? So, you said Nano-tech became sentient and started killing them off? so why would they continue to use it at the risk of the same thing happening again? Also, i dont think Nano-tech is researched on Imperial Labs, just the Weapons labs... Lastly, Nano-technology is not sentient by definition. it can have AI sure, and maybe with enough of them working in unison it can become sentient... but i mean, if the vasari use enough to eat a starship... how many does it take to become sentient?

not to shoot you down but those are what i reckon

i think it wont be based on what we already know, that gives IC carte blanche to create what they want.

like i was saying, until a campaign, it really doesnt pay to work on the lore

True, if nano machines took out my 10000+ planet empire I sure wouldnt be using them anymore. There is the possiblity however that the Vasari dont know it was the nano machines.

yes but I would still like a dev to at least tell us if they plan to expand on it or if its just a backstory.

The Vasari backstory is interesting, but I wouldn't dismiss the TEC. They almost eliminated warfare from their culture, then suddenly they have to relearn how to fight. I just like that whole cultural conflict (and I tend to obsess over the minutiae of everything, i.e. who leads them, how the government system works, how many worlds were in the Order. I really wish the devs would fill this stuff out, or let someone as no-lifed and enthusastic as me do it for them).

What draws attention to the Vasari is just the unknown: we don't know what's pursuing them, and it's within the devs' power to put an outline to the shadow. That tantalizing sense that we could know what it is reels us in. I think if a fourth faction, these pursuers, was added by one of the next expansions, it would just take away the mystery and ruin that part of the game's atmosphere. Maybe show them entering human space in a trailer added by the last expansion, then have them in a sequel, but not now.

It would be cool if one of the expansions actually did add a full campaign. I'd be satisfied with less than 10 missions, or even just 4 or 5 per faction as long as the story gets moving.

If we actually knew what was chasing them, would it be as interesting?

removed

Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold your horses, cool your jets, stop your engine, whoa.

What do you mean that the TEC/Advent storylines don't mean anything? The very fact that your mighty Vasari empire's "Exodus" has been halted has to mean something that has to do w/ the other factions. Otherwise, the Vasari would've just wiped them out and moved on.  Me, personnaly, I think that since the 2nd expansion is diplo., that, in the end of the game, all THREE factions will ally against a greater foe. (Rather like the Soviet Union and America against Germany and Japan).

Koda0 (^)

Im not saying that at all, i just think the backstories arent as interesting. And that is an interesting idea, I actualy contimplated the idea myself.

ps: you didnt notice my rant?

I'd personally like to see more lore for all factions, but I have a personal preference for the Vasari story as it holds quite a lot of suspense.

Maybe down the road, they learned to harness nanotech for their own use as opposed to leave it out of control: 10,000 years is a good time to make technological advances. Maybe it wasn't enough to compensate for the relentless enemy. However, you do raise good points that I am unable to answer. I'll leave it to the guys at IC right now.

Okay... It's just that with some storylines, some people are just too focused on their favorites, that when and outcome arises that includes more than just the main character, people freak... I didn't want to see that happen here again .

p.s. No, not really, I never really bother w/ uber long posts like that... they seem to repeat themselves if you bother to read too many... .

Koda0 (^)

I always thought all three would ally against the unknown enemy... personally, i think the Vasari are idiots for killing people instead of making a new space empire and building an even BIGGER fleet to attack whatever is chasing the vasari. i mean, between Advent shields weapons and psychic attacks, TEC econ and brute numbers, and advanced Vasari tech, im sure they could have come up with something.

but no, they prefer to be pretentious pricks =P

out of the three of them, the Vasari and Maybe the Advent are the only two with real room for details. The Vasari have the bad guys chasing them, the Advent have what they did after the exodus (though thats pretty straight forward. they found a new planet(s) stripped it/them of resources, and came back to Trade Order space to open a can of whoopass...) and the TEC well, they just went on their merry way... they kept trading and living peacfully... the only thing i think that could be expaned on the TEC is the time between first contact with the Vasari and now, how they used their econ to build a massive war machine etc etc

but all in all... i think the Sins universe has a LONG way to go in terms of lore before it becomes a particularly enveloping story... the lack of a campaign certainly does not help

i have to say, the best thing IC could do in this respect is to make a campaign, perhaps a non-linear one, as in you dont start at the present and keep going forward,s you start whenever and jump back and forwards in time, fighting different battles so you get a better idea of the lore

then again, there are always expansion packs and sequels for a campaign to do to get up to speed with a story bible so there is no rush...

Mass Effect has a similar story. Even though a lot of races and species are banding together to stop an ominous threat, a lot of them - especially humanity - still care more about advancing their own interests above those of the galactic community. The Vasari are no different, it seems: sure, they have a relentless enemy pursuing them, but they want power b/c they need it.

hey, all the better for twists in a campaign?

It would be nice if IC included a campaign, or even a new faction, however this won't happen. It would take away from the current game atmosphere. The addition of a story and faction is plausable for sins two, which to my recollection is planned to be produced by IC.

sounds probable, no arguement from me

I'll be quite frank, i haven't read all of the post yet as i post this. But here's my thought on the subject and it is also a question as i have not read all of the theorys on the subject.

Question/Thought: Has anyone thought of the "Artifact" found across the planets? Could it be that the unknown ennemy that is wiping the Vasari be an Ancient civilization that actually created those artifact? As for the rumor that it might be from their own doing..well that could simply be that they tryed to actually assimilate that ancient race to make them slaves (Like do they did many others.)

edit: I just noticed the dates on the post after posting..hopefully someone will stumble upon this as i did and possibly be able to give me an answer