Re: [Fallout Equestria] Setting discussions

[O. Hinds]

Oh, LNER A4 locomotives. Train stuff. :D

[Harmony Ltd.]

I see. Are you suggesting something like this for the NCR? In which case I don't know. For the future, maybe, but probably not at the current level of development: they probably favor engines that can pull a lot of weight over speed for freight transport, as they already have Aerobuses for quick passenger transportation between cities and settlements.

[O. Hinds]

Oh, didn't this come up before? Since I don't actually remember, I guess I can't blame you for maybe-forgetting. :)
My idea is that an Equestrian A4 analogue was found magically preserved in a museum and was run by the NCR because, whether or not it was ideal, it was a high-quality locomotive in full working order.

[Meleagridis]

Matches with the monorail in New Vegas. Throw in a terrorist attack or two and this baby is Parallel Approved.

[Harmony Ltd.]

Ah, yes, I vaguely remember talking about it long ago. We've just talked about so much stuff since then I forgot about it.

Yeah, I suppose it could be assigned to things like the Fillydelphia-New Appaloosa-Junction City freight line, at least at first.

Then maybe it could become something like the "Presidential Engine" once more train engines are manufactured that can take on these lesser jobs, I dunno. Something high-class at least?

[Harmony Ltd.]

An idea I'm sure you'll like, Hinds:

This kind of trains being used by the NCR in the Moojave and the Northern Territories => (1) (2)

Also, the "Presidential Engine" holding NCR flags like this, flowing with the wind when the train move:



Thinking of it, the gun may also be a part of the train, though it'll maybe be at the rear instead when inside the NCR's territories, in order not to spoil the magnificence of the Presidential Engine.

[Harmony Ltd.]

This is pretty much how I imagine the Hoofington Front during the Great War:

Spoiler:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yOBCGwMpeo

[O. Hinds]

Matches with the monorail in New Vegas.

…Howso?  I'm sorry, but I'm not seeing it.

Yeah, I suppose it could be assigned to things like the Fillydelphia-New Appaloosa-Junction City freight line, at least at first.

Then maybe it could become something like the "Presidential Engine" once more train engines are manufactured that can take on these lesser jobs, I dunno. Something high-class at least?

Aye, that's the sort of thing I was thinking.  I was actually thinking of express service, but I was running into the problem that the NCR likely just doesn't have enough prospective passengers.  The Presidential Engine idea solves that.
And yes, between the original quality of the design and workponyship and the extra enchantments placed on it when it went into the museum, this is probably going to be among the best locomotives the NCR has for some time.

An idea I'm sure you'll like, Hinds:

This kind of trains being used by the NCR in the Moojave and the Northern Territories => (1) (2)

Also, the "Presidential Engine" holding NCR flags like this, flowing with the wind when the train move:



Thinking of it, the gun may also be a part of the train, though it'll maybe be at the rear instead when inside the NCR's territories, in order not to spoil the magnificence of the Presidential Engine.

:D  Awesome.

And you may recall that the Alliance has counterparts...:

I don't imagine that these get used an awful lot on the Peninsula, though, except for the occasional overarmed Miliozi patrols.  The NCR certainly isn't going to let them drive through NCR territory, so the only place they even could drive is the Moojave.  The NCR would get upset about that too, though, and there's not really much of a place to go with an armored train at the moment.

This is pretty much how I imagine the Hoofington Front during the Great War:

Would you please elaborate?  What aspects of that do you see in the Hoofington "Front"?
edit: Okay, I've removed the rest of the quote, as it was causing this to glitch in a very annoying manner.

[Harmony Ltd.]

This is pretty much how I imagine the Hoofington Front during the Great War:

Would you please elaborate?  What aspects of that do you see in the Hoofington "Front"?
edit: Okay, I've removed the rest of the quote, as it was causing this to glitch in a very annoying manner.

As a butchery, a meatgrinder, a complete waste of lives. People dying as soon as they reach the frontline, or even before. Life expectancy counted in weeks, sometimes only in days. Wasteful assaults attempted only to pin the enemy in place regardless of the losses (which according to PH is exactly what the Hoofington Front is in the first place, an effort made to have the Stripes concentrate as much resources as possible on attacking the fortress city instead of the rest of the peninsula).

Basically, a pit of despair.

[Harmony Ltd.]

Matches with the monorail in New Vegas.

…Howso?  I'm sorry, but I'm not seeing it.

A machine predating the end of the world that still works, is used by the NCR to transport passengers, and by the symbol it represent is targeted by terrorists in order to deal a blow against it's people's morale.

[O. Hinds]

This is pretty much how I imagine the Hoofington Front during the Great War:

Would you please elaborate?  What aspects of that do you see in the Hoofington "Front"?
edit: Okay, I've removed the rest of the quote, as it was causing this to glitch in a very annoying manner.

As a butchery, a meatgrinder, a complete waste of lives. People dying as soon as they reach the frontline, or even before. Life expectancy counted in weeks, sometimes only in days. Wasteful assaults attempted only to pin the enemy in place regardless of the losses (which according to PH is exactly what the Hoofington Front is in the first place, an effort made to have the Stripes concentrate as much resources as possible on attacking the fortress city instead of the rest of the peninsula).

Basically, a pit of despair.

Ah, yes, that makes sense.

Matches with the monorail in New Vegas.

…Howso?  I'm sorry, but I'm not seeing it.

A machine predating the end of the world that still works, is used by the NCR to transport passengers, and by the symbol it represent is targeted by terrorists in order to deal a blow against it's people's morale.

Thanks. Being be, I was wondering how a municipal elevated rail system was parallel to an intercity express locomotive. :D

[Harmony Ltd.]

Remind me, what's the width of equestrian railways again? Your pictures makes it look like they're unreasonably wide.

What are the white balls on top of your armored train engine? Radars?

[O. Hinds]

Remind me, what's the width of equestrian railways again? Your pictures makes it look like they're unreasonably wide.

Code:

Equestrian standard loading gauge is rectangular, 10.5ft wide and 18.5ft from railtop to maximum in gauge height.


7ft track gauge

10.5ft=3.2004m
18.5ft=5.6388m

3.22m wide, 5.65m high

Equestria, the Alliance, the NCR (unless you decide to change it), and probably most of the Pax Roamana use and/or used Brunel gauge, basically.  That and the shorter height of the scale zebra relative to a human probably accounts for the rails appearing too far apart to you.

What are the white balls on top of your armored train engine? Radars?

They're antenna domes, but for communication; I didn't go so far as to give the locomotive radomes that size.

[Harmony Ltd.]

What's the advantage of having tracks this wide? And don't they have for inconvenient to lead to greater turn-radius?

[O. Hinds]

They do need larger turn radii, yes. As for the advantages, other disadvantages, and other reasons for and against adoption...
http://www.broadgauge.org.uk/history/bg_what_is.html
http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=104225
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=825856
http://lionels.orpheusweb.co.uk/RailSteam/GWRBroadG/BGHist.html
http://www.ikbrunel.org.uk/great-western-railway
http://www.brunel.ac.uk/about/history/isambard-kingdom-brunel/broad-gauge-trilogy
There are discussions on this. :)

[Harmony Ltd.]

Reading the notes for that thing I'm / I was writing, I see I have invented a place named "White Grove" in the state of Junction. It seems to be the birthplace of many griffins during the Wasteland years, before the Day of Sunshine and Rainbows.

So here's an idea:


White Grove was the name of a secluded township in the south of what is nowadays the state of Junction, close to the Everfree. Hidden in a network of canyons in the small mountain range separating the state of Old Appeloosa from the state of Junction, the rough terrain made it only accessible through flight. Its closeness to the Everfree, on the other side of the river, also made it one of the rare places in the Wasteland where plant life was thriving prior to the activation of the Gardens of Equestria.

White Grove hold its name from the ubiquitous white flowers growing in the canyon which fosters the community, as with the white cliffs of the canyon itself.

The isolation of the place, and its welcoming nature, made it an ideal refuge for the griffins of a large part of the Wasteland.

Used as a neutral ground where all the various groups of griffin mercenaries could put on hold their various contracts' obligations, the place saw numerous generations of griffins nursed and raised in its relative peace. It grew to such an extent as to become the "Secret Griffin Capital of the Wasteland". Indeed, all griffins wishing to do affairs of any nature with White Grove had to swear on their contracts to keep the place's existence a secret, on the penalty of death.

No records exists as to how the place came to be first settled, or by whom, and its early history is murky at best. But one popular legend says that after killing Rainbow Dash, Gilda was struck with a terrible sense of guilt, doubting the righteousness of her Contract. As she traveled the Wasteland in penance, asking the Great Egg for forgiveness, she stumbled upon the canyon, seemingly untouched by the fires of war. There, it is said, she swore on her contract to put this gift from the Great Egg to use to help her fellow griffins. Alone, she plowed the land, erected walls, and planted the first seeds. She turned the canyon into a garden where griffins could live, shielded from the horrors of the wasteland. Years of loneliness were spent working, until one day, she died, succumbing to exhaustion and old age. The same day, a group of griffin travelers discovered the place, and established the community of White Grove.

[Harmony Ltd.]

Hinds, let's talk a bit about Las Pegasus, pre- and post-SR.

How big / important do you think the settlement was before declaring its independence?


I ask because in my notes I have a character who hails from the place (the Volunteer from "Memories of  a Volunteer"), and now resides in the NCR. And I want to work his backstory a bit.

At least I already know why he's still living in the NCR instead of having returned to his home: as one of the veterans from the Battle of Tenpony, and having fought the rest of the Bitter War until the end, he has earned a medal of Hero of the Republic, which offer him a comfortable rent. Among other reasons, at least...

[Harmony Ltd.]

Verifying... White Grove cannot be in the state of Junction. It is in the state of New Appleloosa, in the east of the state (reference map).

[O. Hinds]

So I had a reply. I was rushing, though (I have homework that I feel like I ought to be doing), I hit the wrong mental macro button, and… yeah. Goodbye old reply!

re White Grove:
Do you mean the west side of the state? I don't see how the east side makes sense, given the description. You could change the description, of course, but you didn't mention doing that.

re Las Pegasus:
Well, pretty much the only thing setting it apart from most other GPE settlements is that it was the closest major settlement to Masozi (the desert discouraged closer preapocalypse pegasus settlements, and the presence of the Alliance has provided postwar discouragement). The SPP towers closest to Masozi* are about the same distance from the city (using the map linked in my signature) as Las Pegasus is, too. That made Masozi a natural center for the GPE's counter-Alliance operations… but except for the first few decades, those have basically consisted of running covert observation posts to look at Masozi and seeing that the Alliance appears to be doing the same thing (though probably more effectively, to the GPE's annoyance; sure, the Vetribi based in Masozi cloak and decloak only in Alliance airspace, but Neighvarro has a few suspicions that the Alliance isn't flying invisible airplanes just for fun). It's still considered an important job, just in case, but basically Las Pegasus just, for various genuine or drummed-up public reasons, always gets enough resources to get by (unlike many other GPE settlements that just faded away), if barely, and has a slightly larger garrison than one might expect if one were the average GPE citizen kept in the dark about the Alliance's existence. Other than that, it's a pretty average GPE "city", I'd say.


*San Frantello's tower was blown up by a planted bomb in the old fort used for its foundations, recall. According to some measurements I just made, the cloud ceiling, at closest approach, probably ends about thirty-seven klicks out from Masozi.

[Harmony Ltd.]

Re White Grove: In the east of the state of New Appleloosa, close to the Everfree but still in the mountain range. As for how the place looks... I was thinking that the mountain range looks like the place you visit in New Vegas' DLC "Honest Heart", with White Grove being in a particular area where the red/rose granite cedes its place to limestone formations, full of cavities used by the griffins as homes. And the canyon itself would be covered in terraces cultures, irrigated with the water coming from underground springs.

The ambiance of the place... Peaceful. Everyone has to leave their weapons and armors before entering the canyon. The use of technology is restricted, in order not to attract the attention of the Enclave or the Steel Rangers. In short, the people there live the life of (civilized) Tribals from the original Fallout series.

(auditive evocation of the place)


Re Las Pegasus: Good. So this makes it believable that the place would have had at least one Raptor stationed there, and that while there would have been relatively less Cauterizers than elsewhere, the proportion of Isolationnist would be on the other hand higher: they had had quite a few contacts with the surface already, and had their own problems to deal with without launching themselves in a senseless crusade.

[O. Hinds]

Re White Grove: In the east of the state of New Appleloosa, close to the Everfree but still in the mountain range. As for how the place looks... I was thinking that the mountain range looks like the place you visit in New Vegas' DLC "Honest Heart", with White Grove being in a particular area where the red/rose granite cedes its place to limestone formations, full of cavities used by the griffins as homes. And the canyon itself would be covered in terraces cultures, irrigated with the water coming from underground springs.

The ambiance of the place... Peaceful. Everyone has to leave their weapons and armors before entering the canyon. The use of technology is restricted, in order not to attract the attention of the Enclave or the Steel Rangers. In short, the people there live the life of (civilized) Tribals from the original Fallout series.

Um. Well, that sounds good, but now I'm really confused about the location. How can it be in the east part of the state of New Appleloosa, in the mountains, and near the Everfree? That… How?

Re Las Pegasus: Good. So this makes it believable that the place would have had at least one Raptor stationed there, and that while there would have been relatively less Cauterizers than elsewhere, the proportion of Isolationnist would be on the other hand higher: they had had quite a few contacts with the surface already, and had their own problems to deal with without launching themselves in a senseless crusade.

At least one Raptor, yes.
As for the rest, though, I'm not sure. On one hoof, the vast majority of the population, including the majority of the soldiers, didn't know about the Alliance. On the other hoof, pretty much the entire local command staff for both the city and garrison were in the know. The proportions among most people would likely be the same as the Enclave averages. The commanders… I'd say there'd be a significantly lower percentage of Cauterizers, yes. Before the GPE started to collapse, most of the command staff would be either Isolationists or the "help the surface to help ourselves" variety of Volunteer (as opposed to the "help the surface to help the surface" sort). The latter had little sway until Cauterize started going off the rails, but as things went more and more wrong, they initiated the chain reaction that led to Las Pegasus joining the Alliance.

[O. Hinds]

Of course, the High Council knew of the Alliance too, but they a: wouldn't be target #1 in an Enclave-Alliance war and b: were of... dubious competence.

[Harmony Ltd.]

Brain Fart. I meant OLD Appleloosa.

My bad.

[Harmony Ltd.]

[a robot on a treaded chassis of a model you don't recognize, apparently recently manufactured and bearing the Stable-Tec logo, approach you as you stop before the door in the massive walls blocking the valley. It speaks to you in a voice so natural you could easily believe it is a pony speaking to you.]

Welcome to the Noble Republic of Geneighva!

Please let the security personnel take care of your weapons, they will be given back to you at your departure from our fair City.

[in the corner of your eyes, you realize the presence of heavy magical beam turrets atop the walls. Resistance would be foolish.]

Before we proceed further, we must inform you that a complete biological screening is mandatory for visitors wanting to access the City. Otherwise, business can be conducted at the Trading Post on your right. Remote Conference booths are at your disposal there to initiate contact with any of our Citizens.

[Meleagridis]

[Science 12] Robot! Let me pass!

That's for White Grove, right? Wait... wasn't this the automated city? I think I remember that. Would it be safe to assume that everything within a mile of the city perimeter is shielded from a spark grenade's effect?

[O. Hinds]

Brain Fart. I meant OLD Appleloosa.

My bad.

Ah, well, there's the problem. :) Old Appleloosa ought to work fine.

[a robot on a treaded chassis of a model you don't recognize, apparently recently manufactured and bearing the Stable-Tec logo, approach you as you stop before the door in the massive walls blocking the valley. It speaks to you in a voice so natural you could easily believe it is a pony speaking to you.]

Welcome to the Noble Republic of Geneighva!

Please let the security personnel take care of your weapons, they will be given back to you at your departure from our fair City.

[in the corner of your eyes, you realize the presence of heavy magical beam turrets atop the walls. Resistance would be foolish.]

Before we proceed further, we must inform you that a complete biological screening is mandatory for visitors wanting to access the City. Otherwise, business can be conducted at the Trading Post on your right. Remote Conference booths are at your disposal there to initiate contact with any of our Citizens.

Oh dear. :D

[Science 12] Robot! Let me pass!

That's for White Grove, right? Wait... wasn't this the automated city? I think I remember that. Would it be safe to assume that everything within a mile of the city perimeter is shielded from a spark grenade's effect?

No no, White Grove (as Harmony, ah, just said :)) is tribal if anything. This is Geneighva, the place with all the stable builders. And Harmony now appears to be drawing explicit inspiration from Vault City. :D

[Harmony Ltd.]

To add to what Hinds just said, the "automated city" you are probably thinking about is the Stalliongrad Underground Manufacturing Facilities. And the surface above and around it isn't so much protected against spark grenades as it is blasted to hell and back, with the old metropolis turned into a field of balefire craters as the zebra tried to target the underground facilities.

Needless to say, there doesn't remain anything from Stalliongrad proper on the surface, which somewhat ressemble a lunar landscape.

[Harmony Ltd.]

I just had a funny thought: cosmetic surgery for ghouls.

After all, a whole city full of aristocrat ghouls with access to advanced medical facilities... don't tell me that's not an idea that would come to them.   

[O. Hinds]

Hah! Yes, that makes some sense. :D

I'm wondering if Profectum would do anything like that... I'm not sure.

[Harmony Ltd.]

Now I'm wondering about the specifics of such surgeries: how effective they are in restoring a "normal" appearance, if they are permanent or if they have to be periodically re-done as the flesh start decaying again, and in that case often it has to be done...

At a guess, I'd think the answers would be "it depends on how skilled the surgeon you are employing is", "yes" and "don't ask", in that order.

Such that you could judge the wealth of a ghoul just by how "smooth" (normal) it looks.


(also, don't ask where the flesh comes from...)

Spoiler:

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