Because I like options, I figured I'd give you guys a couple and whichever one gets the most positive feedback and generates the most player interest is the one we'll go with.
(Warning: Wall of Text Inbound)
1.)
Alright. The first option is to simply try to rework and revive AUC 2. Not sure how well that works though or how "simple" it really is, and at this point I think even Pitman has given up on it.
Though, that isn't to say we couldn't archive it and try to revive it at a later date.
I had some ideas for the AUC 2 RP and I was willing to try taking a new angle with it so that when he couldn't post I could (sort of having two intersecting story lines where he did the main story and I ran side stories that had to do with anything from local border skirmishes between two clans or the countries they neighbor, a clan sending some troops to fight as mercenaries for profit and glory like the free companies of yore, or even PCs having to deal with the Order showing up and asking for something unreasonable without giving a decent explanation or sufficient compensation, and the PC having to haggle their way to a better deal). Just so people felt active and didn't have so much downtime between posts.
But I don't see a reason in posting them all anymore now unless somebody actually speaks up and asks for it.
2.)
Next idea is a OYW RP.
It would be mission-based like the ZR RP (sort of like Quests in traditional RPGs) that help drive the story along. And focusing more on small unit combat like the ZR one did; PCs would be part of a company sized MS or combined arms (MS and tanks/infantry/aircraft) formation, though that may fluctuate over time back and forth from an understrength unit all the way up to a reinforced/augmented one that has additions - like support units (maybe aircraft or tanks), one or two new prototypes (essentially combat testing escort missions), a landship (escort missions), or even a couple squads of newbies-in-training piloting stock basic grunt MS (basically redshirt reinforcements) - attached to it depending on various conditions such as specific missions, battlefield developments, and the overall war situation (you might be behind enemy lines without resupply and forced to amalgamate with an NPC unit for example if things are going badly, ala Zeon post-Odessa).
The reason for the small unit focus though is to both encourage character interactions between PCs (both amongst faction members and even between enemies, like forming relationships and rivalries with enemy units/aces and whatnot) and because that way we're not having to micro-manage factions and come up with all manner of systems, meaning the mods can run things smoothly without taking away from the other RP where such systems will be in effect.
A nice side-effect though is that it avoids huge units of NPCs, and allows players to customize what units they do have; I want to encourage things like the Ez-8, Midnight Fenrir's personalized MS in Zeonic Front, or those three Doms in the Blue Destiny manga that manage to have parts from Zakus, Goufs and both the Dom and Dom Tropen all on them because they've been in the field so long.
I'm thinking since we've already done Europe (the old Odessa Chronicles RP on GP), Southeast Asia (the Zeon Remnants/0081 RP) and North Africa (or at least I think we did North Africa in a past RP
), this time we'd focus on another area and my pick is North America.
Why? Well that way it gives both sides an excuse to have the latest and greatest in MS (meaning we could even fudge rollout dates a bit by saying its a prototype or "preproduction model" that doesn't have all the kinks worked out yet - something like how the
Preproduction GM lacks a beam saber or how the
Prototype Gogg lacked those cool segmented joints on the final model so it wasn't as streamlined when cruising underwater and couldn't do the cool claw attack thing).
Since for Zeon California Base and two or three of their main aerospace ports (the one that's part of California Base, Cape Canaveral and I think there's another on the east coast near New York/Yark) are all in North America.
And for the Federation Jaburo, Alaska and Panama (two of the other earth side GM production sites and basically the closest equivalents to a major base like Belfast that are in the region), and the Augusta/Oakland R&D bases are all in North America (plus that secret Arctic Base from 0080, which is in the northern part of Greenland if I remember the 0080 backstory right.).
But anyways, I'm thinking timeline wise. It would be either right before or right after the White Base arrives on Earth and Garma dies. With the main deciding factor being if people think we can justify the EFF already having MS on the ground at that point or not.
I know we can if its after his death, since in 08th they show the Kojima battalion in the field at the time of Garma's funeral, and they're a veteran unit that's already got some pilots who know what they're doing and have had time to lose two whole MS teams, which I'd think happened gradually and not all at once unless they're just really shitty pilots outside the 08th Team.
I'd just like some feedback about when people think the earliest we could possibly have a unit or two of Federation MS in action since between said series and a lot of side stories set around the same time (Blue Destiny, LWC, etc) there's actually all kinds of MS running around on Earth before the original series alone would seem to indicate. Just not sure exactly how early, or just how common they really were, and it might just be that after recently reading The Origin (where the Federation have had the Guntank and Guncannon around since the start of the war), on top of having previously watched 08th, played games like EiS and Zeonic Front and reading some other mangas like Lost War Chronicles and Blue Destiny its kind of muddied the original impression MSG gives that the Federation didn't have any MS until after Odessa.
Like, I want the Feds to have MS since I know in past RPs (especially the one where we started at Loum) they got really shafted by the ol' Zaku rush before they could counter. But I also don't want them to totally dominate the Zeon players, or for the Zeke's to be in a strategically impossible position (i.e. post-Odessa or even worse post-Jaburo).
Moving on.
If we do go with North America (I'm open to alternate suggestions, but that's my personal preference). Then depending on which source we go with
***, the front lines would either be (in the south) in Mexico or in Central America, and in Canada in the north (Alaska is a Federation stronghold, and LWC shows fighting in the western part of Canada IIRC, and there's also the episode in MSG where White Base is repairing beyond Federation lines somewhere in Canada but Amuro goes a few miles away to where he grew up only to find it behind Zeon lines).
So presumably while Zeon controls most of North America, the Federation still has strongholds and areas firmly in Federation control and there's still large areas of "front lines" (similar to the ones shown in 08th) that have gone back and forth during the stalemate.
With other areas including the Pacific around Hawaii and the Caribbean/Gulf of Mexico in the Atlantic if we want some naval action, and maybe the arctic circle since there are arctic bases like the one in 0080.
***Note: in MS IGLOO/IGLOO 2 and in The Origin the Zeke's have actually captured all the way down to central america by the time Garma dies and are pushing into northern South America trying to surround Jaburo (for example Caracas in Venezuela is far enough behind Zeon lines to be safe for them to use as a headquarters on the "Jaburo Front"). But in most older published sources the maps showed Mexico/the Southwestern US as being the front lines, with MSV even having that as the reason that the Zaku Cannon is painted the way it is; its meant to be deployed in desert regions of the southwestern part of North America.
As for available MS, I'll edit in a preliminary list if this gets any positive feedback but for the Federation its the non-Gundam V Project suits (Guntank, Guncannon), the [G]-series and some early rollout GMs - though I'm tempted to initially exclude beam rifles for the units that can equip them for balance reasons and simply explain it away as "supply issues" where they have plenty of slug throwers and bazookas but haven't made as many beam rifles and they keep having to divert most of those they have to White Base due to Amuro tossing so many away or otherwise losing/damaging them during combat.
While for Zeon I'm thinking the Prototype Dom and the Prototype Gogg represent the latest developments currently in service with combat troops, though the PCs are more likely to see various incarnations of Zakus and a couple types of Goufs.
For acquiring new MS I'm thinking PCs would actually use requisition points instead of money (though that's more semantics) and as the campaign goes on and you complete missions you both get more points for additional MS and support units, and more types of MS are "unlocked" as the game progresses.
Though there might be some kind of "trade-in" system designed to encourage players to give up older models if they want access to a new machine. Since I want it to be small unit oriented and I don't want people's company growing into a battalion.
For research, I'm thinking rather than the traditional research system its more of a suggestion box/submission type thing.
Basically, people wouldn't be able to create all-new MS designs out of thin air (thank the gods).
But if you wanted to request a canon/semi-canon variant of a machine that hasn't appeared yet (given that its appropriate for the timeline, so no Gelgoogs and GM Snipers during Odessa like a certain manga), or a variant of a machine and then once its statted out and priced up and everything it's gradually introduced via the requisition points route.
Speaking of the option for RP-original variants; given the scope of the RP and that you'd be playing as regular frontline soldiers and not some teenage emo newtypes in the latest superweapon. They'd mainly be something like an in-field modification, or - since MSV-R introduced the idea that most land combat GM and Zaku variants are actually assembled in the field from knockdown kits - upgrade/rebuild kits for creating variants of existing MS that allow them to either fill a certain role better (at the expense of being a general-purpose unit), or to do something there .
That said, I might allow an all-new, factory built variant if it meets the requirements of not being OP or game breaking and being sufficiently cool.
As for support units, we'd need to figure out some guidelines but I'd be willing to allow people more creativity with those; Gundam leaves a lot of gaps in conventional vehicles, and sometimes randomly one or two of something will show up here or there like an APC or a ground attack plane. So the general rule is that if its based on
Anyways... on to the next idea...
3.)
A 0090s/semi-CCA RP.
Inspired by the CCA novel where Char and Neo-Zeon actually don't appear until halfway through the story, and in fact the group that becomes Neo-Zeon are initially instead an anti-Federation group called EGM who have a different leader (though he's really just Char's puppet).
As well as Double Fake, which mirrors the same idea with the "Colorde" terrorist organization that's actually members of Char's 2nd Neo-Zeon in disguise, using an eclectic collection of old machines to play the role of decoys to keep the Federation looking elsewhere while they build up their main forces in secret.
And the Meaningless War doujin (which is similar in premise, but deals with an entirely separate Federation task force and Neo-Zeon group)
Its basically an RP about what's going on in the year or two leading up to Char's Counterattack.
Why? Because its a transitional period that allows us to use pretty much any of our favorite UC MS, from OYW relics up to prototype versions of the Jegan and Geara Doga (though no Nu or Sazabi, and nothing from Unicorn that wasn't around before CCA).
It's kind of half-baked, but the plot would center around four groups of PCs (two each for the Federation and Neo-Zeon), and it would be more of a squadron-size skirmish game of cat-and-mouse.
...
The groups are as follows
For the EFF:
Part of the Londo Bell task force, like a squadron-size element made up of older ships like the Salamis Kai and Irish (these would be some of the Gryps-era ships we see serving in Londo Bell during the Laplace conflict that were absent in CCA; they had to be somewhere, right?), and who basically use leftover Gryps/1st Neo-Zeon Wars MS for the time being in lieu of Jegans since the Federation has yet to start taking Neo-Zeon seriously (mainly because they think its a new group totally unrelated to Zeon or Char), ergo they haven't deployed the Jegan beyond a few units and the regular EFSF are still using a good sized chunk of the Gryps-era mass-produced MS like the GM II/III and Hizack. Leaving Londo Bell mainly with what their members brought with them from the AEUG when they folded back into the Federation.
&
A Federation Forces "Sweeper" Squadron; think Phantom Sweep in 0081, but less glamorous and more "we're the guys who get to endlessly patrol for Zeon Remnants since there's not enough of those Londo guys to go around. They'll be based off Salamis cruisers (with maybe a Magellan) and be using older models of regular equipment (GM III and back).
Though I'm thinking they're something of a misfits brigade, and have members consisting of your average EFSF members, former Titans (who are blacklisted from any real promotions or serving in distinguished units like Londo Bell or the Earth Orbital Fleet), former AEUG pilots who didn't make the cut for Londo Bell but still want to serve the Federation, and even old OYW veterans (like maybe a grizzled old MS Squadron leader who started out as a newbie GM pilot back in the war and has worked his way up to
badass oldtype).
For the Zekes:
Firstly, an Axis/1st Neo-Zeon Remnant Squadron (made up of Axis and Principality forces, though they could have some Republic of Zeon units in there too who decided to throw their lot in with Haman and couldn't look back afterwards); some of them are genuine hardcore Zeon (read Zabi) fanatics who have thrown their lot in with Char (even if he's not their favorite flavor of Zeon) simply to spite the Federation, while others are Axis remnants (a lot of them the kids who grew up on Axis and know no other way of life) who followed
Haman's sister when she joined Char's forces. Some may even be something else entirely, its really up to the players who join.
&
A group similar to the EGM/Colorde groups (I may just actually call them EGM considering its one that's closest to "official", being from a Tomino novel and all), who are basically anti-Federation types who decided that the AEUG wasn't extreme enough and that the Federation doesn't just need to be reformed; it needs to be overthrown. They are the "new bloods" to the anti-Federation cause, idealistic or at the very least opinionated about their cause but for the most part lacking in experience (though there might be some exceptions). They might not even identify themselves as Zeons (yet), or even be aware that the group they've joined is really just a front for Char's ambitions/delusions.
...
Units would be acquired using acquisition points like with the OYW RP, and as the campaign progresses you'd get chances to replace losses through various means or "trade up" to new units (like for the Federation maybe your unit finally does get those Jegans, or for the Neo-Zeon you might uncover a cache of old Axis machines or be provided with a prototype Geara Doga since one appears pre-CCA in the Missing Link game).
And as for available units...
Neo-Zeon:
Firstly the Zeon-side is a real mixed bag; basically if it was built between 0079 and 0090, you can justify it to me and it isn't game breaking I'll probably allow it. Though keep in mind that beyond character MS (PCs and NPCS), rank and file MS should probably be less customized/hotrodded "oldsmobiles" (like some kind of "ReGelg Stutzer") and more something like a Zaku F2, Gaza-C or Hizack.
For the Neo-Zeon remnants, pretty much the lion's share of Zeon/Axis-built space combat-capable MS from the OYW up til 0088 are allowed. In addition to any
mass-produced EFF/Titans MS that could conceivably have fallen into their hands (like the Hizack or Marasai).
Excluding the obvious insane super units like the Neue Ziel, as well as anything with a Psycommu system, and one-off machines like the Geymark that are confirmed as destroyed. I might trim that down some more and exclude some of the OYW MS with a production count under ~20 or so (like a lot of MSV machines) while giving a pass to other rare units like the Gelgoog Marine or Kampfer on the grounds of Rule of Cool.
OYW units can be used either "stock", or in modified form (either field mods like the Stutzer and Dra-C. Or Desert Zaku and ReGelg/Dowadge type refits, which bring the performance closer to GM II/Hizack and Nemo/Marasai levels respectively).
Along with possibly allowing some of the upgraded versions of first Axis MS seen in Double Fake (Gaza-C Custom, Zaku III Late, Zssa Kai). Or something similar to the Axis MS in the third and last episodes of Unicorn, where they've either been field modified out of necessity (Dreissen using a conventional bazooka and heat sword, the two-man Bawoo, the stripped down Zssa using a shotgun and the Sturm Galluss) or outfitted with a couple new parts like how all those MS in the last episode used Geara Doga weapons and how the Gaza-C/D had been modified to have additional beam guns in their claws and were said to use higher-output reactors.
Though like I said before, beyond personalized machines I'd prefer if people tried to keep any mods simple. No need to have a shipload of overhauled OYW suits that all are different and all so heavily modified they can't really be identified as the same MS they originally were. Even if that would actually be fucking sweet as all ungodly hell.
The EGM on the other hand will be using a mix of refurbished and modified EFF/Titans and (ironically) AEUG suits. I say modified, but they aren't customized so much as "Kai" versions where Anaheim has taken an old MS and spat out a slightly revamped variant incorporating newer tech, those silly arm raker controls and probably remodeling the outside surface (at least in the case of Federation-style suits) to be more Zeon-style ala Gerbera Tetra.
This is because their main supplier is the Granada branch of Anaheim Electronics (i.e. the ex-Zeonic arm that designed and built pretty much all the newly-made MS used by both the 2nd and 3rd Neo-Zeon movements, so its pretty easy to imagine they'd sell off their leftovers to other smaller groups in league with Char). Who in addition to the Geara Doga (which is all Char really wants since his plan is for a lightning war) are trying to come up with all manner of other new MS in an attempt to get him to chuck a little more of that Space Nazi Gold their way.
To explain my train of thought here; over on mechatalk I've been following the Unicorn threads.
And the current fluff about the Geara Doga's origin is that it's supposedly where Anaheim acquired an unproduced Axis MS prototype meant to be their new mainstay, which ditched the Gaza-C transformer gimmick, presumably toned down on the insane weapons payload earlier AMX suits had (though its possible that instead Anaheim did this to make it more marketable to the cash-strapped Neo-Zeons), and got back to using the adaptable "general-purpose multi-role" Zaku-style layout
*.
Then refined it with the latest generation of technology (basically bringing it up to par with the Jegan they were selling the Federation). And provided it to Char for a profit.
So anyways the basic idea is that the ex-Zeonic, pro-Neo Zeon branch of Anaheim are hard at work trying to market other designs to Char's Neo-Zeon and any associated groups (EGM, Colorde, Axis Remnants, etc). Probably because they don't realize Char isn't trying to bring about a new world order like he claims so much as he's trying to end the world.
*Note: My personal theory is that this proto-Doga was probably intended to replace the myriad of old Zeon and captured Titans MS that were the actual MS filling the "general purpose" role in Neo-Zeon's ranks, as seen from the Dakar arc onwards where actual AMX suits (with the possible exception of the Gaza-types) tended to be outnumbered by old Zeon and Titans machines. I mean, during the fighting around Core 3 at the end of ZZ more EWAC Zacks show up among the Neo-Zeon ranks than Zaku IIIs. Think about it. Ending tangent and moving on.
Earth Federation:
The Federation MS really
should be more standardized if we stick to canon but I'm going to be lax on the grounds this RP is meant to have an eclectic mix of old and new, and allow pretty much any non-Gundam OYW suits with the caveat that they've probably been upgraded to about a GM II/Hizack level or possibly GM III level (kind of like the upgraded MSV suits that show up in Z and ZZ) so they're not totally obsolete.
And I'm justifying it by saying that:
A.) Londo Bell is in it's infancy and similar to the Nahel Argama in Unicorn the squadron the PCs are in is basically a grab-bag of leftover AEUG suits and unfinished prototypes from the Titans-era (0084-0088) that the Federation cancelled. Though not necessarily Titans machines, and most definitely with any potential mono eyes replaced by Federation-friendly visors (like the Byarlant Custom in Unicorn compared with the original).
B.) The Sweeper unit are more of a counter-guerilla/low intensity warfare unit; they're expected to be fighting disorganized remnants if anything, rather than a revived and resupplied Neo-Zeon movement. So for MS they have a mix of RX, RGM and RMS machines that the Federation brass have basically sanctioned an "extended wear out period" for, after which they're scheduled to eventually get some shiny new Jegans. That said, they're probably not using "stock" units. And you can feel free to modify them as much as the Neo-Zeon players modify their old machines.
If this gets any feedback, I'll go more in depth. And post up some preliminary mech lists, then suggest people can kind of go back and cherry pick through the 0079-0088 period and request any additions. Since I don't want to have to do a whole assload of old MS just for people to not use any of them.
4.)
And finally, back by popular demand (from one person at least)...
MSG F91: Rise of the Vanguard
My old RP idea for an F90/F91 RP.
I'll have to pull up the old details about it from the premature official thread we'd posted earlier. But the general idea is that we take Tomino's original premise for F91 as a 50-odd episode series that takes place over a longer period of time (several months), and just kind of extrapolate on what we've got and go from there. Making it into a wider conflict that includes the CV annexing frontier side and potentially invading earth, the Jupiter Empire's plans for the earth sphere, and Mars Zeon being general stubborn dicks who refuse to give up even after people thought Zeon was long dead.
Plus anything else we want to come up with, possibly including internal Federation politics or Anaheim giving a discarded prototype to terrorists from being buttmad that the Federation dumped them after all that Laplace business in favor of SNRI.
One thing is to pull it off as envisioned we might need to recruit some (new people are good, as are old members if anybody knows how to reel them back in).
This is mainly because I'd like there to be multiple anti-Federation groups (Jupiter, Buch/CV/Cosmo-Babylon, Mars Zeon, and a Mafty/Metatron/"not-Neo-Zeon" type group funded either by AE or the Buch Concern who think they're another AEUG fighting for spacenoid autonomy and all that but they're really just being manipulated by the Ronahs), as well as three sub factions in the EFF (Londo Bell, SNRI and a sort of neo-Titans group that has ECOAS/manhunters doing bad things to people who speak out for greater autonomy in the colonies and doesn't except that simply because Zeon is gone the whole Earthnoid/Spacenoid conflict is over and all should be forgiven).
Also I was thinking of trying to expand/"bulk out" the MS selection so that people had roughly as much variety as in a OYW RP, though I haven't figured out the best way to go about this out of the several possibilities I've come up with.
Like one idea involves expanding the rest of the Formula series or making mass-produced versions of the various preexisting F90 variants (like how the G-Cannon is a mass produced F90S). Basically to give the Federation F91-era analogues to most of its OYW suits.
While another is that Anaheim takes the SNRI technology gleamed via the Silhouette Formula project and uses it to recreate miniaturized versions of some of its "greatest hits", like maybe a mini-Rick Dias.
And a third is making more RF suits for the Oldsmobile Army that correspond to some of the more common OYW units, and having the RF series come in "tiered" flavors that range from up to machines like the RF Gelgoog Charles Custom which retain the large size of old MS but incorporate the latest in Buch Concern technology such as beam shields. Though I'm unsure if Mars Zeon should really be important enough to warrant this treatment.
As for the CV this is mostly solved; I extrapolated on the tidbit from Gundam Officials that they organize their suits along the "Jupiter Model" (referring to Scirocco's three handmade MS that were designed to work in a unit as close combat/commander, ranged combat and support/recon).
So essentially the idea is they just have different variations of the same MS (Den'an and eventually Zondo-series units for rank-and-file pilots, Berga/Dahgi for commanders, and finally the Vigna for the Ronah's and favored "knights"/commanders, etc).
And they'd be role oriented; so for example using the main three CV suits. The Den'an Zon or Gei would serve as the basis for most combat machines (Zon as the standard close-combat/fighter, while the Gei would be more of an interceptor and attack platform), while the Ebirhu-S would serve as the basis for most combat support machines the do things like recon, minelaying or combat engineering.
Though, I might have to expand this if they do invade earth or try to expand into other Sides. Since they'd be put in situations where having other types of MS (namely aerial or marine ones on earth) would be useful.
All that being said. I have no idea what to call the damn things since as far as I can tell, CV mobile suits use some sort of gibberish naming conventions that follow some sort of guidelines but probably make sense to nobody save Tomino himself.
Anyways I know Richter was interested in this RP, and I have a better idea of what I want to do with it now than I did initially so if anybody else is interested let me know and I'll go dig up all my old files relating to it.
I also had some other ideas that didn't make the cut.
One for reviving the ZR RP (IN SPACE!). Another for a Zeta-era RP (sort of like the one on mechatalk, it would focus on what the regular grunts were doing while the Titans were chasing the Argama around but with more Zeta MSVs and some Axis-requipped Zeon Remnants for shits and giggles). And finally one for a totally revamped UC setting.
Some key changes involved bringing tech into the 21st-22nd century (instead of being stuck in that retro-70s rut), making the "Federation" into more of a "Confederation" of several large supranational entities (think Earth Alliance in SEED or the power blocs in 00), and sort of "stretching" the timeline to allow for a more realistic MS development period - i.e. Federation MS development starts prewar (actually after the Riah Revolution and Zeon's annexation of Granada, where they first face MS and realize they need some sort of counter), while most of Zeon's pre-Gelgoog MS exist in prototype form or at least as blueprints when the war begins (I might also exclude the Dom and Rick Dom, though they'd have some sort of Zimmad-developed forerunner that competed with the Gouf), and the war itself lasts from late 0078 to mid-0080 to explain the 0080 and 0083 units being able to be developed and deployed (so its really no longer a "one year war").
However I figure that one is just too extensive of an RP to run at the same time as Galactic Civs (really all three would be). So I'll just save it for another time.
So there they are, whichever people feel like and I'll just toss the rest back into the idea jar.