From the grave rose Goteki

[Drakkenmensch]

The thought occurs that Goteki 45 has no backstory past their ultimate destruction by unknown bombers in 2137. Here's my stab at it.


Goteki 45 - a new mission statement

When the government of the 45 pacific islands decided to terraform Makana, it was clear that it would incur massive debt. Several options were explored to create an economic boom to offset this enormous expense, and while each one had its merit, none could stand on its own to attract tourism more than any other casino ladden tropical island. By the time the terraforming was done, the FX150 league was in full force and a plan was hatched - hosting the newest pro-league, the FX300. In order to show their serious intention, they hired engineers to create an entirely new ship model. Their team was named Goteki 45 in an ironic twist that would make professional pilots snicker for years. The team that tried to destroy the sport forever would not only lend its former home to host its newest incarnation, but its very name would become an ambassador to promote it!


As soon as I see the new Icaras appearance and stats, I'll try to come up with something for them too ;)

[Seek100]

I think the terraforming was done for the tournament, not the other way round, why would you randomly terraform an island with no idea what you were gonna use the end result for? But the last bit is a nice sentiment, the irony of Goteki45 hositng the new league when they tried (and failed) to destroy the previous league.

[Drakkenmensch]

Why WOULDN'T you terraform a large tropical island and just leave it a barren, smoking heap of ash and cinder? It wouldn't make sense to leave one of your islands a permanent reminder of what happened in your violent past while you're trying to attract tourism money. Also, considering how long terraforming takes, there was no way anyone could have guessed this long in advance that a new pro league would be reformed, especially since the bombing happened decades before the fall of AG racing.

[randomperson1]

I think that, after seeing the other's stats, Icaras' will be as follows:

Speed- 5
Handling- 4
Shield- 3
Thrust- 3

[Drakkenmensch]

Historically, Icaras was another speed monster with little or no control to do the steering FOR you - so more than likely handling will be a mere 2, though the rest of the stats make sense. Thrust may go up to 4, but surely they'd reduce shields to 2 to make up for that. The stats would fit the kind of balance that the original 8 have received, without going into "ubership" amount of stat points distributed.

All they need now is a backstory to fit whatever stats they receive when they are re-released :)

[Seek100]

Why WOULDN'T you terraform a large tropical island and just leave it a barren, smoking heap of ash and cinder?

Well it was probably sunk or just reduced to being uninhabited, even with huge bombing campaigns you can't really cause much permanent damage to the soil with conventional payloads, unless they used something like Agent Orange which would obliterate vegetation and make inhabiting the island very dangerous for a long time. The most sensible thing cost-wise would be to just develop the other islands for tourism given they wouldn't need extensive terraforming and cleansing of harmful chemical agents.


Also, considering how long terraforming takes, there was no way anyone could have guessed this long in advance that a new pro league would be reformed

You do know terraforming is a fictional technology, we have no idea how long it took them to reconstruct the island, maybe a decade, maybe 1 or 2 years.

[Task]

http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/mars/background/terra.html

Good to see NASA spending money researching a totally fictional technology.

The meetings and debates they had to discuss it must have been just to come up with cool fiction ideas then. All those sci-fi writers there generating ideas for the next set of novels.

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=13917

I definitely look forward to reading the excellent works of fiction that should result from this!

[Seek100]

Very nice but I have a small question - can you terraform an island out of the sea? Right now. At this time?

Making a breathable atmosphere is one kind of terraforming, and it's the theoretical technology at it's most basic level, but actually raising an island out of the sea and reversing whatever ecological catastrophe happened to Makana is a whole different story. At present the closest we've come is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansai_International_Airport which while incredibly impressive is only a tiny island, and it's actually an artificial island rather than a pre-existing piece of the sea bed raised up to sea level, the sea bed stayed where it was and they built it up using material from other areas.

[Drakkenmensch]

We don't really need sci-fi tech here to tell us this would a generation-long project. Even with the geologic features intact, you can't pull an entire ecosystem out of your ass. After years of reforesting and reintroducing hundreds of species of plants and animals, you'd still need a decade at least to achieve natural balance. And those massive city infrastructures didn't just grow from the soil either. Sinucit alone should have taken a decade, easy.

[randomperson1]

Now I'm gonna have a shot at the Goteki story:

The Pacific Islands residents board, after hearing rumours of the FX300 league following the success of the FX150, decided they wished to terraform the island of Makana for AG racing, and won the rights to host the tournament from Triakis.
They weren't planning on the revival of Goteki 45, though.
Until, in a backlash from losing hosting rights to Makana, Triakis' leader admitted his family ran the terrorist group who were responsible for Goteki's HQ being bombed in 2137.
This infuriated the Pacific Islands government, and they decided to enter Goteki 45 once again on their home ground, ready to beat Triakis at the sport they tried to undermine 81 years ago, and do it with the pride they previously never had.

[Drakkenmensch]

something doesn't add up here - your versions says they decided to terraform MAkana AFTER hearing of the FX300 - but FX300 was ALWAYS on Makana, and that seems to imply that there is a way to terraform an entire island in less than a year or two, which even the most optimistic sci-fi would tell you is impossible.

Unless you're planning to detonate Project Genesis within the atmosphere, which would wipe out the rest of the planet in one fell swoop.

EDIT: Also, Triakis did not exist in 2137, and check your math - 2197 minus 2137 is 60 years, not 81.

[randomperson1]

No, I meant Goteki were in the F7200 league 81 years ago.
As for the other mistake, let me edit it...

EDIT: Happy now?

[eLhabib]

actually, I like drak's story better. we talked a bit yesterday on msn, and we both came to the conclusion that the island was NOT terraformed FOR the fx300. Even if the terraforming itself only took a couple of days (highly unlikely) there still haave to be DECADES for building up cities like citta nuova, or the slums of modesto. So the island was populated after terraforming, the economy and population grew, but seeing as the island did not have any own natural resources, they had to rely almost completely on importing. Taxes went up, and eventually economy stalled - they had to find a new way to revive economy, and settled for tourism. they built vineta k, a beach city consisting almost entirely of hotel complexes, and the built the leisure centre of sinucit, attracting tourists with casinos and the like. when the city's government heard about the fresh wind in AG-racing, namely the amateur fx150 league, they started making plans for bringing a new league to the island. Hence, tracks were built, and Übermall was in construction.

[randomperson1]

OK. Nice to know your opinion.

[Drakkenmensch]

EDIT: Happy now?

Well, I still don't see how a terrorist group would mutate into a weapon supplying conglomerate. Terrorists usually support a specific ideal or cause, while weapon builders will sell to whoever has the credit rating or bank account to back them up. And why was TRIAKIS holding the rights to a trounament that existed almost 200 years before they did?

[Lance]

.
how would they 'mutate'? people change. even in the course of one year, idealistic[also including just plain fanatic and manipulative] people can lose their idealism and become part of an established order, become part of business and government. not only is there more than one way to pursue a goal, but the goals themselves often change in the evolution of individuals and groups.

a terrorist group in need of money for weapons it doesn't have could very well sell some of the ones it does have in order to get the cash. from that point on, it is no step at all to full-on arms dealership. the pursuit of an ideal condition for all people often transforms into settling for personal financial self-enrichment. people can be scum like that. and practical.
.

[randomperson1]

I never said Triakis had the rights THAT long ago I just said they wanted the rights to host before being beaten to it by Goteki.