White Space vs. Non Civilized Nations

[Tanthalas]

Besides, Australia would be a perfect place to create a powerful NPC like what you are looking for.

*Notes that he thought Australia would be a great place for a PC Nation*

[Korpen]

Sorry, Korpen- we are too far into 'Fictionland' for your argument for placement to work. Trying to inject fact into the sim now is about as productive as trying to inject antibiotics into a man in cardiac arrest! You have got to let your desire for anything factual go... we're just too far into a totally fictional world for anything factual to fit in nicely.

Disagree there, one can change content but keep shape.

Besides, Australia would be a perfect place to create a powerful NPC like what you are looking for.

Not what I am looking for, I was looking for a cluster of NPC countries with their own agendas (of sort) but rich enough to pay for good ships and equipment, and willing to support intrigue against their neighbours, and if things look bad, seeking protectors.
The huge advantage of using SA for that sort of region is that those conditions existed there, so any player or moderator can just look up background on wikipedia and be set to go.
Sure details such as exact borders, size of economies and areas of control might (and should) be changed, but by keeping the "shape" of the regional tensions one get so much immersion for free.

[Tanthalas]

Sorry, Korpen- we are too far into 'Fictionland' for your argument for placement to work. Trying to inject fact into the sim now is about as productive as trying to inject antibiotics into a man in cardiac arrest! You have got to let your desire for anything factual go... we're just too far into a totally fictional world for anything factual to fit in nicely.

Disagree there, one can change content but keep shape.

Besides, Australia would be a perfect place to create a powerful NPC like what you are looking for.

Not what I am looking for, I was looking for a cluster of NPC countries with their own agendas (of sort) but rich enough to pay for good ships and equipment, and willing to support intrigue against their neighbours, and if things look bad, seeking protectors.
The huge advantage of using SA for that sort of region is that those conditions existed there, so any player or moderator can just look up background on wikipedia and be set to go.
Sure details such as exact borders, size of economies and areas of control might (and should) be changed, but by keeping the "shape" of the regional tensions one get so much immersion for free.

and convinently it leaves africa open undeveloped and highly dificult for nations in the Pacific to reach, while giving you ready made allies against nations in NA.  Your also ignoring the mod statements that already said EVERY NPC continent will have NPCs in the range from a Platoon of Marines can take it over to Argentina, Brazil, Chile.  there is no need to do anything diferent with the map to represent this IMHO

[Ithekro]

You can easily have the various "city-states" play off each other.  Give them grand ideas of expansion backup up by yourself as their shadow.  They go out and try to expand themselves until they run into another city-state that you are also supplying.  They go at it and if they don't know you are supporting the other call for aid.  Or maybe you don't aid them directly often.  Just supply them.  There could be dozens of such states in Africa and South America.

You won't be able to do lesser powers Cold Wars like the ABC nations running their own little arms race, but you can provide backing for say Sparta against Athens...just with rifles, cannons, and gatling guns, rather than bronze shields, swords and bows.  Besides, with a bit of uplifting, you might allow a state ot two to carve out their own little area of the planet and becaise a lesser power.  All it takes it time and money...and a few thousand bodies by most accounts.

The larger NPC nations listed might need aid holding off a dozen or so city-states at their borders ("Only an idiot fights a war on two fronts, Only the heir to the Throne of the Kingdom of Idiots would fight a war twelve fronts" ~ Londo Molari)

[Carthaginian]

I agree with Ithekro- you can do the same thing to good effect with smaller nations without having to make large NPC's. Smaller nation-states can be coddled and sponsored with greater ease and in greater numbers.