February 2012 Game of the Month - War Crimes II: Operation Vicissitude (SMAC)

[ben sisko]

Gaians call Spartans war-mongers, but Spartans call mindworm use a
crime against humanity. What will waging war do to the soul of the
peaceful Gaian people?

We return to the world of 2010 GotM, War Crimes, with the Gaian side
of the conflict, featuring the finest story to come out of the GotM
team in a very long time, included in the scenario .zip at the link.

This is a [b]SMAC scenario[/b], you don't need the expansion - Alien
Crossfire - to play it.

[b]Estimated time of play:[/b] 2-3 hours, but you can double that if
you're a fan of micromanagement.

[b]Players about the scenario:[/b]
[QUOTE=lorddragonhat @ WPC]Great story!
Also, i think is great to play the game as a governor instead of a
fully fledged leader. It reminds me other type of games, like those
were you impersonated Roman governors and such... Thxs for your work[/
quote]

[URL=http://"http://alphacentauri2.info/command-nexus/february-gotm-
war-crimes-ii-operation-vicissitude"][CENTER][img width=710
height=800]http://alphacentauri2.info/MGalleryItem.php?id=84[/img]
[SIZE=1](Click on the picture to download the scenario, participate in
the contest, and/or comment on the story)[/SIZE][/CENTER]



[B]War Crimes II: Operation Vicissitude[/B]


By Rymdolov

The broadcasting equipment had a strangely mongrel look to it, the
mics, cameras and cables being Earth-age technology with glued-on
adjustments to make it work on Chiron. The people hurrying to get the
last preparations in order before the live show made up a similarly
strange mix. Tech-geeks and artists mingled with business-clad boss
types, a brew like any television team since the medium's infancy.
Dieter's eyes were set on the star of the evening, Annika Gronblad,
his long-time partner and love.

Annika looked like a complete mess, small beads of sweat starting to
appear along her hairline, her eyes darting nervously between the
cameras and the marked spot where she would stand to deliver the most
important speech made to Gaians since Planetfall, her mouth silently
muttering through key phrases. The over-all effect was that of a
mental patient trapped in a sauna.

Yet Dieter knew that in (glance at his watch) 1:32 minutes she would
turn into the calm, composed woman of state that the citizens of the
Gaian faction knew her to be. Dieter wondered what Churchill had
looked like before delivering his speeches.

Ten seconds left. An assistant dabbed Annika's forehead with a napkin,
the closest camera rolled in place and the worried face of the mental
patient visibly smoothed out as the public speaker persona took over.

[I]Three, two, one.[/I]

"Sisters and brothers, members of Gaia's Stepdaughters; I have a
message of grave importance to all of you, to all of us", Annika
began.

"On a recent routine assignment patrolling the disputed border south
of Freshwater Sea, one of the new mind worm units was brutally
attacked by Spartan soldiers. As far as we can tell, the trainer,
sister Lindly, was torched to death by the Spartan aggressors, after
her boil had been defended itself against the Spartans' attack."

Annika made a pause, letting this sink in. Her grave face was
beautifully framed by the ivy leaves on a trellis that Dieter had
placed behind her. The leaves worked perfectly, transmitting Gaian
sentiments to the audience in a more subtle way than, for example, the
Gaian insignia could. Blatant factional symbols would have made the
speech seem too much like a rally for the Gaian public's tastes. Gaian
leaders couldn't afford to give the impression of appealing to raw,
tribalist feelings to gain support. Especially since that was exactly
what they were doing. The ivy worked perfectly, though. As Head
Executive of Official Communications (or [I]Propaganda Minister[/I],
should honesty take precedence over rhetoric) it was Dieter's job to
see to these things.

"This act is horrible in itself. However, now is the time to stop and
think about the deeper implications of the Spartan deed. As far as we
can tell the original attack was directed at the mind worm boil, only
later extending to the deceased sister Lindly. This means that the
Spartans, who have been very careful not to provoke us, other than
verbally, most likely thought that the boil was a wild specimen. Was
the attack nothing but a tragic mistake, then? Well, tragic it was
indeed, but could it truly be called a mistake? Had the Spartans
bothered to learn anything about their surrounding environment they
would at least have made an attempt to capture the mind worm before
attacking it. This points to a major flaw of the Spartan system.

"The Spartans think of themselves as the future of humankind. They
view themselves as humanity's hope, as pioneers abstaining from
luxuries to safeguard survival on an often hostile planet. They make
it sound like common sense, until you realize that the "luxuries" of
which they have rid themselves are the freedom of their citizens,
virtually all non-military research and the chance to work with native
life as a resource and a possibility, rather than an obstacle and a
threat. All this to achieve "strength", which at closer inspection
turns out to be a euphemism for a stack of guns and a fleet of
rovers.

"Are you familiar with the Spartans' doctrine of 'superior weaponry
and superior training' as the means of building a successful society?
Well, our intelligence has learned that they consider the use of mind
worms in battle a 'war crime'. Yes, the Spartans speak of superior
weaponry, but when such is found in Gaian hands, they call it a crime!
They speak of superior training, but refuse to adapt to their
environment! Perhaps, if Colonel Santiago took the time to look beyond
the study of military doctrines she might consider the Neanderthals.
These sturdy fellows had superior strength indeed. Homo sapiens, on
the other hand, domesticated one of the most frightening creatures
around them, the wolf, and worked with their environment to increase
food production, eventually becoming the dominating species on Earth.
The Neanderthals are gone, but if they were here today, would they
call the domestication of the wolf a war crime?

"The Spartans have learned nothing from the history of Earth, the
planet we doomed and had to leave. Their agenda, if any, is a blind,
aggressive repeating of the mistakes made during humanity's sad past.
We Gaians cherish peace, but when crime shows its ugly face we are not
afraid to call for police action. The Spartans have shown their
inability to comply with the laws of nature and human evolution, yes,
even their own crude doctrines! Therefore, we will not accept them as
neighbors anymore. The Grand Council of Gaia's Stepdaughter's, on
whose behalf I speak today, has decided to annex thirteen Spartan
bases east of the disputed border. We will, of course, heed to the
laws regulating war and the fair and humane use of all types of
military units, including domesticated mind worm boils.

"Brothers and sisters, may this encounter between the old and the new,
the modern and the obsolete be a brief one. May the Spartans see sense
and surrender. We, the true survivalists of Chiron, have already seen
sense and we will never surrender!

"Walk with Planet."

Perfect, Dieter thought as the camera's lights turned off and the
camera operator gave a grinning thumbs up to Annika.

[I]What shall we do today my love? Do you want to take a stroll among
the pines? Shall we stay in bed all day, perhaps go to the new
hologram theatre that we lobbied for but have never had the time to
visit? Or do you feel like convincing a faction full of pacifist,
nature-loving idealists to start what is basically a war over
territory against a faction full of maniacs to whom war is state
ideology and favorite pastime? Can we do that?

I think we just did. I'm afraid we just did.[/I]

………………………………......................................

[b]DIRECTIONS[/b]
1) Download the zip file (see link bellow) and place it into your main
game directory. usually this is: C:/Program Files/Firaxis Games/Sid
Meier's Alpha Centauri/
2) Unzip it there. Confirm overwrite if asked (ONLY FOR WINDOWS
USERS)!
3) Start up SMAC, then select "Scenario", "Play Scenario", and then go
to the subdirectory "1202 Warcrimes Reverse" and choose the scenario.
4) Enjoy!

[b]Download link[/b] - transcend difficulty level*: [url=http://
alphacentauri2.info/downloads/?sa=downfile&id=71]http://
alphacentauri2.info/downloads/?sa=downfile&id=71[/url]

[b]*Note[/b]: all scenarios downloaded till March 8th are transcend
difficulty level (even if the user interface will let you choose the
difficulty level - that's because of a scenario editor bug)

Other difficulty levels will be posted only on request.

………………………………......................................

[b]OBJECTIVES[/b]
For GotM 1202, any base on the map counts as an objective.
As Governor of the Eastern region of Gaian Territory, you will have to
conquer all Spartan bases
at the East of the Freshwater Sea.
You will be eligible for the GotM even if you don't achieve all your
objectives. The minimum requirement is 1 (one) conquered/subverted
base. You can stop at anytime save the game and send you submission
to

[b]WARNING![/b]
You cannot build additional bases in this scenario. The Gaian people
are afraid to relocate closer to the Spartan border because of the
recent warcrimes. You will have to 'clean' the shores of the
Freshwater Sea before the colonists will arrive.
You won't be able to direct the research capabilities of the Gaian
Territory or trade techs with the other factions. Remember you are
'only' a Governor! (Of course, you can always steal the precious techs
available to the Spartan forces).
There's no Planetary Council in this scenario. This stuff is only
available for the 'guys in the big league' (faction leaders). However
you will be able to contact the Spartans using the commlink.

[b]CHANGELOG[/b]
Habitat Complex available from the begining of the scenario.

[size=12pt][b]
GOOD LUCK!
[/b][/size]

[b][html]<a name="06">STANDINGS FOR THE FEBRUARY 2012 GotM
COMPETITION:</a>[/html][/b]
The standings will be calculated using the following criteria (in this
exact order):
1. Difficulting level (transcendent submission beat any lower level
submission)
2. number of objectives reached;
3. number of turns needed to reach the objectives;
4. Alpha Centauri score.

meaning:
- the games played on lesser difficulty level won't be able to beat a
superior level;
- if we have more players on the same difficulty level, the player
with most objectives will be placed higher;
- on the same number of objectives, the scenario completed in less
turns will outweigh the others;
- if there will be more than one submission still tied, the Alpha
Centauri score will decide the winner.

[b]IMPORTANT:[/b] for everything concerning submissions, AARs, prizes
please use this thread: [url=http://alphacentauri2.info/index.php?
topic=1217]http://alphacentauri2.info/index.php?topic=1217[/url] or
use this email address: submissions [ @ ] alphacentauri2 [.] info

[b]Kind of important:[/b] please use the [ spoiler ] [ /spoiler ] tags
if you want to talk about strategies. some players want to give it a
try before reading the others' experiences.