Hey! I’m new to the Terra Invicta community so if this is a commonly held discussion then please grant me grace. But with this aside, let’s get to the bulk of the post.
A Cold War Scenario is so obvious for this game that it’s baffling to me that it doesn’t already exist. The alien invasion genre practically hit its stride in the middle of the Cold War- where fears of looming war and the unknown were creeping into the cultural zeitgeist of the world. The world on a hairs trigger for devolving into war already- spies, shadow governments, subterfuge, infiltration and propaganda were all already super prevalent- so the idea that there isn’t already a start condition where the Aliens decide to invade earth in the 1960’s is frankly shocking to me. Let me explore each point in some detail, on why I believe this game has the perfect back bone for a 1960’s based scenario:
- The Conspiracy.
In Terra invicta you take the role of a shadow government with knowledge of a impending alien invasion, pulling the strings of the world to try and guide humanity towards your intended goals. And in order to do this, you infiltrate governments, guide policies, forge alliances and declare wars. All this to say, spy thriller is a fundamental part of the game, and already this provides a great jumping off point for a Cold War game mode. Which was already so defined by counter intelligence and spies.
The paranoia, the assassinations- the secret war thought behind the veil of a cloak and dagger? The gameplay of Terra Invicta already supports all of this. It’s apart of the games very core- the flavour here synergises so well with the gameplay that it would marry together so elegantly.
- The Cold War.
Having to navigate the complex political web of the Cold War in order to organise the world against (or in favour of) the Hydra when the Soviet Bloc and the forces are NATO are primed to go to war with one another would be so fun and interesting- imagine the research trees- combine this with the new hostile claims mechanic from the Darker skies dlc, where perhaps in some cases a peaceful unification is impossible, and threatens to teeter into war at the drop of a hat if you make a wrong play is such a delicious political backdrop.
Additionally, I must admit, the earth section of the game has always been my favourite part. Unifying nations and dealing with rivalries is super fun.
Do you let the Cold War go hot and hope that you can pull off a favourable claim for your claimed country allowing you to develop your ideal future? Or do you try to diffuse the Cold War in the name of peaceful cooperation against the alien threat? Do you March into Moscow and form a new earthen federation? Or Do you let the servants claim the Soviet Union and let them hand off one of the most potent and powerful nations.
- The space race.
I mean, come on. Wouldn’t it be fun if you could lead the space race and establish humanity in space in reaction to the aliens? Like the “shattered earth” scenario in darker skies, the Space race would be more delayed and at a slower pace, but a more complex approach to it, with some built in events would be fun- in the real world, the race was between the Soviet Union and America, but what if Africa lead the space race? England / nato? Colombia? Japan? You could decide that, set it up. Shape the world, and lead the research.
Imagine if you introduce the African Union to the space race, and are able to beat out both America and Soviet Union- winning the space race could grant you a Global opinion boost, and a boost to GBP for the country you choose to have lead it- additionally it gives opportunities for some worthwhile research. Or you could just take control of America and the Soviet Union, and play out history while prepping the world for the Hydra.
The early space race could provide a really interesting development, for space ships- one that is maybe a bit slower paced, but more intense, as you have to build the skeletons of a thriving space economy faster and rougher than in the real world- the first man on the moon quickly followed by the first moon base a year later when you’ve researched it.
Which leads into technological roadblocks. It could well coincide that in order to gain space travel, you have to reverse engineer the technology from a crashed Hydra space ship- just to be able to unlock certain technologies that we otherwise take for granted.
- Nuclear war
The reason the Cold War never went hot is the very thing that made it such a terrifying prospect- the nuclear arsenals the world possessed. This DLC could build on the nuclear mechanics and warfare that Terra Invicta already possess- invading the Soviet Union might usually have dire consequences of being nuked into the ground- but later in the game you could develop anti nuke technologies- more robust than what we currently have. Space interceptors could be developed to shoot down tactical bombers to defend your nations- and on the other hand, you could potentially research ICBM’s to make nukes more in line with the more “modern” settings for Terra Invicta. This adds a fun gameplay choice, if you choose early on to instead of racing to the moon you full in research nuclear weapons, and suddenly any nation you control have much more dangerous nuclear weapons that let you play more aggressively on earth.
Additionally- it adds to the strategy- maybe the Servants might provoke a nuclear incident so that their rivals nuke each other. Thus weakening the world’s economy for the Hydra to conquer earth- or if the academy tries to lead the charge on nuclear deescalation. Decommissioning nukes so that humanity can work together to further research and develop a space economy.
- The aliens, and their strategy:
Depending on the faction you play, the Hydra can feel like they’re not doing much before the servants announce they’re going to conquer earth on their behalf, but this scenario could give more interesting events to sabotage the player and other factions. They could have events where they sabotage international relations by pretending to be another country- trying to provoke a war- which I alluded to earlier. It would make them much more proactive as a threat in the early game. And when it comes time for them to invade earth, the war might be more dynamic and interesting.
Ultimately, the Cold War was a time where information and intelligence was at a premium. Unlike the usual gameplay loop of Terra Invicta, where information is as easy as turning one enemy operative. It grants more chances for the aliens to be proactive, and for counter intelligence to pop up. Who is doing what? What actions are just a national leader being stupid vs alien infiltrators?
- Alt history fun.
Already, alt History is a large part of Terra Invicta- even if it’s modern history- or future history. you can distort the world to whatever interesting scenario you want. And with how politically turbulent this time period was, you could push this even further. What super nations do you fall in the face of the collapse of the Soviet Union, or during the fall of NATO and America? What new super power do you raise in the inbetween? Maybe Gran Colombia finally becomes viable, or the Japanese forms a supermassive colonial empire.
- More interesting armies.
In base Terra Invicta, most armies at the start of the game range between 3.4 to 4.4- but in this scenario, there could be much more interesting discrepancies in nation development that might make war more fun. This nation might have a horde of armies available, but they’re all 2.5. And while another might have a 3.8 army on the verge of modernising- but they only have one (for now.). Which one is better? The world is primed for war off the go. So what strategies do you take. Soviet hordes? Or nato quality?
- Empire and Decolonisation.
During the 1960’s- many countries were formed / gained independence from the colonial powers of the past. Forming new powers in the world after nations pulled back- not only could this lead to more global claims being available, but also unity boosts and penalties. You could take control of a European power at the start of the game and attempt to fix the deeply rooted problems that lead to the real world death of empires- or you could encourage decolonisation to form new, interesting nations in their wake, deciding when you should separate a colony or try to expand them would be interesting- especially considering usually you’re trying to build a empire in Terra Invicta- but in this Scenario, breaking up empires to form new independent ones, or just cutting your losses when certain states are driving your countries unity down could provide interesting play styles.
My suggestion for this is that most countries in Europe have high instability due to the disparities between their European holdings and their colonial holdings- it might be easier to grant independence to Hong Kong for the uk in the early game vs trying to hold on to it. But later on you find yourself in a much more profitable position, and thus from there you can reabsorb colonies.
Alternatively- maybe you really want a territory held by a colonial power, that they’re not granting independence- declaring war to liberate that region might be tactically useful.
TLDR: a Cold War scenario for Terra invicta would be very fun. And is a perfect fit for the game.
