September 2015 Challenge: A Cold, Cold War

[Coriolis]

I started with a literal interpretation of "Cold War". This setting is on an ice planet/moon, like Hoth from Star Wars. It's too far from its sun to get enough energy or warmth to live on, and it lacks any significant deposits of fissile materials for nuclear energy.

Humanity on this world relies on geothermal energy and biotechnology. Despite being covered mostly by an ice-encrusted ocean, the planet/moon has a hot magma core with four super-volcanoes. By careful engineering, selectively plugging some vents and using others, and extensive use of advanced bio-engineering, the inhabitants have built two thriving civilizations on an otherwise barren, frozen world. One civilization controls the bio-tech, while the other controls the geothermal tech.

For reasons that I need to invent, the two civilizations absolutely despise each other, but their hatred is held in check by their vulnerabilities. Each super-volcano contains enough destructive power to destroy the civilization that depends on it. One civilization controls the heat, and has the ability to make its rival's volcanos either erupt (for a quick death by fire) or shut down (for a slower death by freezing). The other civilization controls the bio-technology and can either kill its rival quickly with a lethal variant of the common cold or destroy its sources of food.

That's my initial concept. Here's a rough hack at the world map.

### Latest WIP ###
ColdWar.jpg

I used an image of Stephan's Quintet as the basis for my height map*. I've done a couple of galaxy-based regional maps, and this challenge seemed appropriate for this image. The ocean is a satellite image of a fairly flat part of Antarctica.

I need to do a little thinking on the physical geography; in particular, I need to figure out how to make the land and ocean look right together. I'd welcome any suggestions on this.

Otherwise, I'll focus mainly on the thematic elements of a sci-fi stalemate map from here on out. There's a Robert Frost poem, "Fire and Ice," that seems very appropriate.


*I had a video tutorial on how to do this 80% done for last month's challenge, but then my computer's video/graphics card and associated motherboard functions died. A new computer is on the way.

[Francissimo]

interesting interpretation of the 'cold' war
The background you invented is really cool too, hope to see more soon!

[Coriolis]

I've been working some more on the background of this Cold War map. I've decided to present it as a report to a senior official of the Terran Empire, a distopian Earth-centric government in the far-distant future looking to rediscover and possibly reclaim long-forgotten human colonies.
### Latest WIP ###
ColdWarAssembly.png
The 'Access Screen" at the top is meant to evoke the classic Cold War movie "War Games" with its DOS-style commands and screen distortion. The access key is a Robert Frost poem. I applied the same screen distortion to the map as well.
I'm working on the text of the report, which I plan to incorporate into and around the map itself.

[Coriolis]

This little project is turning into a world-building exercise! I've been working on the written report that I want to include with (and on) the map. It's about 50% done. Here's a sample of what I have so far, giving an overview and a detailed description of one of the planet's superpowers.

Planetary Overview
Planet 2589-34-108-3, known to its inhabitants as “Helcar,” is an icy Terra-sized planet orbiting the white dwarf star 2589-34-108 outside the normal habitable zone. It has a breathable atmosphere, but surface temperatures are below M-class planet standards, varying from 147 to 254 degrees Kelvin. Helcar's surface is covered by a frozen-over ocean, a cluster of three volcanic continents, and an assortment of small volcanic islands. The surface is barren of indigenous life.

An abundance of geothermal energy supports a vibrant oceanic bio-system and permanent human settlements. Human life on Helcar depends on two critical technologies: geothermal engineering and biological engineering. Since volcanic vents are their most abundant sources of energy, human settlements are built on, around, and inside active volcanoes. Across the colony, all settlements enjoy a level of technology comparable to early 23rd-century Earth. Some nations have particularly advanced technologies.

Political Overview:
The Genomian Confederation and The Vulkanian Alliance dominate the planet in an uneasy strategic stalemate. Each of these powers enjoys sole control over an entire continent. A smattering of smaller and poorer countries inhabit the third continent, where they often clash in territorial disputes and vendettas. Many of these small wars have become proxy conflicts between the two great powers.

The Genomian Confederation:
The Genomian Confederation has matched, and in many ways, exceeded the capabilities of Terra in the areas of biological engineering and medicine, eradicating most natural causes of aging and death. Their average lifespan is several centuries and is increasing rapidly, and their oldest citizens are approaching a thousand years old without any apparent loss of function. However, reproduction is very slow and carefully regulated, for Genomians do not tolerate genetic imperfection in their offspring. Genomian exports include seed stock and breeding livestock for almost every settlement on the planet.

Genomians have sole control over two powerful weapons of mass destruction. The first, preferred weapon is that of famine. Genomian crops and livestock, which constitute most of Helcar's food resources, are genetically programmed to wither and die when exposed to certain catalysts. When these catalysts are released in a settlement, they will destroy the food supply within a week, forcing the inhabitants to either give in to Genomian demands or die of starvation.

The second Genomian weapon is a quicker method is known as “Scouring,” Genomians release a potent cocktail of deadly toxins, bacteria, and viruses in a targeted settlement. In the confines of a settlement, this Scouring will incapacitate 90% of a settlement within an hour and kill 100% of the settlement within 48 hours. This method is considered a last resort, and is only used against the gravest of threats.

Genomians used both these techniques to subjugate or eliminate their worst enemies during the conquest of the southern continent, eight hundred years ago. Back then, Genomians released these weapons using clandestine agents. In modern times, they have developed the ability to strike with dispersion drones from fortified airbases.

[Coriolis]

The background fluff text is complete! I have two major factions described, a history of humanity on the planet, and a strategic overview of the situation compiled in a report written to a distopian interstellar Earth-centric empire.

Two more big steps to go. The first will be to create a frame for the report text and map to look like the frame of a screen. The second will be to mark up the map. Since I'm going for a lower-resolution map than what i usually do (and I'm including a bit of distortion from the screen), I'll probably try to keep the marking simple.

### Latest WIP ###
ColdWarAssembly2.png

[fabio p]

Hi Coriolis,
I'm curious to see how this map will progress.
I must say that, for my tastes, there is a too much written part in your map; your work could be divided in three parts, two parts are heavily written , only one part is a map, it's a little unbalanced in my opinion.

[foremost]

I agree; that's a LOT of text. If the map comes out really well, I'm sure I'll be thankful that I have more to read, though. : )

[Coriolis]

Yeah, I was reflecting on that today, and I'm inclined to agree with both of you. There's way too much fluff text; and I think I need to axe about 3/4 of it. This is a mapping challenge, not a world-building challenge, and I let myself get carried away; that's the writer in me coming out. What I'm going for requires some explanation, but this was overkill.

All I really need to explain are the two WMD's in my cold war. One is a biological superweapon launched by drones from airbases, which can deliver their payloads anywhere inside their range (the area enclosed by the green border). The other is induced volcanic eruptions created by seismic resonance stations. Wherever the circles of the stations overlap (the red area), they can cause eruptions and destroy, making their effective targetable areas a Venn diagram.
### Latest WIP ###
ColdWarMap.png

Two paragraphs of text should do the job to describe that.

[Coriolis]

I put in some labels and a MUCH shorter text explanation. I also tweaked the map icons some. I may need to put the text in a separate panel off to the left or something. It's still a bit longish, and this map needs a legend.
### Latest WIP ###
Attachment 76215

[Coriolis]

I edited down the text a bit more and tweaked the territory labels in the south a bit (they were a bit hard to read). I'm still leaning toward putting the text on a side panel and making a legend in the area where the text is now, but I'll hold off on that until I have city icons made and placed.
### Latest WIP ###
ColdWarMap.png