I'm thinking 6 stations right now, the main problem with 8 stations using the current xml is that 2 & 3 player games will have people with 3 stations which is not going to be fair to the person with 2.
Now if we had the assigning ability based on player count in the xml that would make me more comfortable with 8 again, but right now it is a no.
That said I wanted to make something clear early about station/ship/fleet design for the races. Don't worry about needing a spot for army circles, I want things to display similar to below.
I consider this very much a placeholder image for the race in question.
The top portion is the territory name and the bottom is the race.
I was also going to do a brief history/story for each race as we add them. So I'll start with The Corporation now.
The Corporation (Human)
The Corporation's origin can be mapped back to the Information Age when the United States made a decision to change the way they funded their space program. Realizing their government could no longer sustain all its programs with their new national focus on destroying all terrorist organizations and rogue countries, their congressional government decided to move several of the programs deemed less important than their crusade to corporate funding and ownership. The space program was one such program, and many big companies quickly jumped on board.
NASA, having more money then they ever did before, was able to greatly expand its research and development. Phenomenal discoveries were made, the most important being the discovery that all matter could be transformed into light and back. Much the same way a computer translates data back and forth from binary to communicate with us, mankind could now translate matter back and forth from light to communicate with space itself. Light speed travel became possible. Mankind learned to bend, throw, and capture light to transport massive objects vast distances. When life was successfully transported this way, humanity exploded outward into the universe.
and the corporations owned everything...
Throughout this whole process, through acquisitions, mergers, and stock transfers it became impossible to distinguish who owned what. All the companies agreed that it was much more efficient to become as one, to finally unite humanity as a single race. History records this as the Great Merger, and the start of the Corporate Age.
Global Inflation skyrocketed, only the rich could afford to comfortably live, terrorism and violence increased exponentially. The new Corporation, armed with 'acquired' alien technologies quickly crushed the rebellions. Rounding up the violent poor The Corporation enslaved them and used them as cheap labor, scouts, and colonists.
Humanity was one, with a clearly defined upper and lower class. Through time this division became instinctive and the lower class no longer resisted the will of the upper. The will of the corporation was the will of man, and never questioned.
Which brings us to the situation now. The Corporation has discovered a new planet on the outskirts of their territory, which they have called 'Antigus Prime' after the new and current CEO Jeraldo Antigus. It will be the first planet acquired during his reign, and is planned to be a new base of operations for further acquisitions.
In what may be one of the greatest intelligence failures in Corporate history, humanity arrived in low numbers, thinking they were the only ones interested and aware of the system in which Antigus Prime resides. Other unknown alien forces working in the system were discovered shortly after arrival.
Unprepared, and with the corporation already stretched due to the transition of CEOs the simply named Corporate Station is largely on its own. Contracted militia will be sent to the station annually to assist, but the Corporate Station must start acquiring sections of the planet if it wishes to have any hope of success and survival. The other alien forces are hostile, and while the possibility of diplomacy exists, all sides don't want to share the planet.
From Antigus, BEGIN TRANSMISSION "Greetings Corporate Employees and interested civilians. It is with a heavy heart that I must inform you of a recent mistake made by our scouting and intelligence divisions regarding Antigus Prime. It appears we are not alone and have lost what we believed to be a monopoly on the sector. Our planed acquisition of Antigus Prime has become a competitive merger. I would like you all to remain calm. I consider our current holdings my primary concern, but the people of Corporate Station will not be abandoned. We are planning to send periodic military reinforcements when we can spare them, and I know that those stationed there are very capable. I will be awaiting the news of our victory." END TRANSMISSION
Edit: Please nobody quote this entire thing with pictures.
