What do you look for in your Warzone stories?

[TwoGunBob]

Thinking about the stories and fiction around Warzone and wondering what you, the forum members, fans, developers, lurkers, etc. liked to see in your ficition. Do you prefer gritty tales of faceless Ducal Militia facing off against the Dark Legion or prefer to read about Max Steiner going toe to toe Alakhai in the depths of a citadel?
Grand engagments or skirmishes that you usually see on the tabletop. I have my own personal preferences but I was curious to see what the majority felt when it came to writing in their favorite sci-fi universe.

[Sylvas]

me personally...

I prefer stories of regular, named individuals, such as Sgt Bob Lewis of the Capitol Light Infantry, for example, in a grand struggle against the enemies of Capitol (or Bauhaus, or whoever), his (or her) actions in the conflict, and the consequences of those actions (for good or ill, it's a tough universe). 

I think stories like that are more engaging, and show how a regular guy (girl, AI, demon, etc.) reacts in the face of potential or real hardship.

B...

or that's the way I see it...

[zebuleon]

I'd like to see the legends, like Max Steiner, treated like regular people as in Sylvas' post

[Veez]

Using either method I'd like to see developments in the larger storyline, even if they are subtle.  For example, now would be a good time for stories about the re-awakening of the darkness; troops encountering the DL for the first time.  I think a new trilogy that started on Mars or Venus (or both) about the DL erupting out and ended with the flood being brunted but a new era of darkness being ushered in would be interesting.  I have a couple ideas for stand alone novels such as a Mummy-esqe story involving Valpurgus' mentor being dug up, and one wear a young Bauhaus noble is forced to deal with the ramifications that his father, long thought to be a hero was actually a traitor and is still alive in the form of a Nepharite.

[Steel Rabbit]

I like to see GOOD stories. Ones that show character development and depth, and show a well-developed, 'keeps you on your toes' storyline. I mean, I liked the three Mutant Chronicles books but it was like watching Star Wars when I could've been watching Star Trek. Enjoyable, but didn't tackly any philosophical or moral issues that aren't tackled in after-school TV.

Also, I want good dialogue. Alot of sci-fi dialogue I read goes too off the macho-cheesy dive board into the deep end. Having a Rambo-type character shoot a million bad guys while flinging Stallone type catch-phrases is cool, but done, and dumb.

That's my rant for today...

[TwoGunBob]

My main problem with the two published novels I read was that they showed the Dark Legion as a bunch of bumbling idiots and the heroes were unstoppable. Completely unstoppable as Cultists were a nuisance at best and Nepharites were a housefly needing to be swatted.

I was rambling a story about a Ducal Militiaman on Venus sent to a frontline that  Imperial had pulled out of recently for unknown reasons and House Romanov was watching vigilantly for unknown reasons rather than moving in to take the open territory.

The truth becomes frighteningly clear later when the Blitzers arrive followed shortly by the mysterious arrival of a detachment of ten Venusian Rangers on loan to Romanov. Of course the whole thing is seen through the eyes of a Ducal with talent that just wants to get off Venus because the jungle rot eats him alive and he yearns for the dry climate of Mars where his body won't peel from fungus growing on his skin.

[Topkick]

Either would be fine as long as the story was good. I liked the Warzone Trilogy and I read the Gaunt's Ghosts stories from the other company. The Ghosts novels are good because they focus on the ensemble cast rather than focusing on Gaunt every volume

[Veez]

Agreed.  Plus they (the GG books) expand the backdrop of the universe without taking extreme liberties with it.
I think something crucial is an understanding of the fluff.  Not to whack on the trilogy too much but the second and third books seemed as if the darkness was appearing for the first time, or had only recently appeard for the first time as opposed to having gone away and returned.
 
Now get to writing.

[Topkick]

Remember Veez - The game takes place as the Dark Legion begins it's second attempt to overwhelm humanity. The public at large has come to view the Dark Legion as myth perpetuated by the Brotherhood as the boogeyman so they can be needed and exert influence over the lives of all humanity.

[Sylvas]

Oh...those pesky Nepharites...tsk, tsk...

Even though the public at large may not know (or believe) of the existence of the DL, the public DOES know of the existence of the other corporations and that their own particular corp is in military conflict against at least one of them (aargh...Cybers).  It would be interesting to see more stories that focus more on those particular comflicts instead.

If continued either through a continuous short story series or novel (such as the Gaunt's Ghosts series), then during a conflict there can be a sudden invasion of the DL, forcing the corps to band together and throw aside their differences temoporarily to fight off the greater threat (and then get back to the business of smacking each other senseless).

B

[Veez]

Stackpole had his character tap into fiber optic wires that were left in buildings althought he megacorps had stripped the computers they were attached to after the DL had warped the tecnology.  That would have happened only after the first wave.  I doubt those wires, or more importantly the buildings would have been around for well over a thousand years.  That's were I get my argument from.  That and in the second book there is talk of strange things and aliens out here as opposed to the return of the darkness.  Maybe it was just writing technique but I found it vague as to the actual timeline.  If anyone, to include numerous Brotherhood characters, would have stepped forward and said "the B-hood states that a thousand years ago...yada yada yada"-even caveating it with "noone but the gullable believes a word of it" it would have driven the point home better. 

[Jibbajabbawocky]

Well... those wires... you see... were ummmm...


Midichlorians?

[Veez]

What do you look for in your Warzone stories?

Most people would say sense of humor but to me, big guns.