Car Wars England

scimon · 10-19-2021, 05:11 AM

So it looks like the 6th Edition has rebooted the Car Wars timeline moving it up to start a decade or so from now. Which is great because having read the GURPS Autoduel description of the UK... well it's not great.

So I've been having some thoughts on making the UK a fun place to do some driving but give it a different feel.

First thoughts, the UK as an entity no longer exists. Northern Ireland reunified with Ireland and Scotland declared independence leaving England and Wales and the various overseas dependencies. Whilst London was hard hit by the blight and the food riots most of the rest of England and Scotland's major cities were small enough to keep a decent population.

The royal family fled during the rioting to Canada and has never returned, in their wake and with the loss of the central government in London the various local city governments now run things in a state of wary agreement.

Certain cities (like Manchester and Liverpool) have long running feuds while others work together well. With the collapse of central government the laws on weapon ownership have relaxed a lot but most cities will come down hard on people openly carrying firearms within the city limits.

Nowadays one of the chief exports of England is premium cars which they ship all over the world. Most English cars are built for driving and defence over offence as the various city state laws allow only limited self defence options.

Whilst auto-duelling has taken off a bit (following the English tradition of Banger Racing) there is more of a focus on racing then just combat. An English event will be focused on making a certain number of laps over last man standing. Of course it's much easier to win a race if you're the only car.

Rules Ideas :

Generally English Car build should only allow half of their build points to be spent on weapons and for racing this may be reduced to a third.

English crews can only carry 1 points worth of weaponry (paint grenades do not count as weapons).

A low point level race will have no rules for when weapons can be fired. At higher points level there will be restrictions on firing weapons based on distance driven around the track, with dropped weapons generally being unlocked before others.

What do people think?

(I'll get to Scotland in a bit I'm sure).

43Supporter · 10-19-2021, 01:53 PM

Some interesting ideas in there.

I can't remember which magazine it was in, but: There was a writeup on the UK for OG _CW_ way-back-when; it was called "Westway".

kjamma4 · 10-19-2021, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 43Supporter

I can't remember which magazine it was in, but: There was a writeup on the UK for OG _CW_ way-back-when; it was called "Westway".

Space Gamer # 57

scimon · 10-20-2021, 02:18 AM

I heard about this. I'll see if I can find it for a read.

My current thoughts start something like this :

2035 : Stung by the Independence of Scotland and the Reunification of Ireland (and annoyed by rumblings from Wales) the UK First party rises to power in England with a mandate to reform the UK. The quickly declare war on Scotland demanding the return of the North Sea Oil reserves. The EU offers Scotland aid but they decline merely asking that the already reduced trading with England is cut back.

2039 : The war with Scotland grinds on mostly in a series of infantry battles as the English can't run many vehicles. In a last ditch effort to regain support the English attempt an amphibious invasion of Ireland. The Irish accept the EU offer of support and a combined force of mostly French and German troops are soon making a beach head in South England.

2040 : The Fall of London. The EU forces take London, the Royal Family flee to Canada (where they remain to this day). The EU sets up a peace keeping force and proceeds to try and reform England. Scotland moves south adding a swath of North English land.

2041 : Parliament is dissolved and the House of Lords shut down. England is placed under martial law while a number of consultations are started to decide on a written constitution. Meanwhile control devolves to local government across the country.

2046 : After five years of deliberation a draft constitution is brought to public vote but terrorist attacks by the UK4Life organisation at many polling stations cause the vote to be cancelled. A new online voting system is promised for 2047.

2047 : The Grain blight strikes, EU peacekeepers are pulled back to their home countries. The UK is left without a central government or constitution.

Racer · 10-20-2021, 05:40 AM

2051 : Scotland - notorious for not being able to make up it's mind - applies for reunification with England & Wales . Crop & fishing stock failures have lead to widespread hunger & outbreaks of scurvy . Crashes of the Haggis population have placed it on the critically endangered list [;-)]

Heavy rains & snowfalls , followed by still , dry cloudy summers have contributed towards unreliability of hydroelectric , wind & solar power generation schemes . Brown & Blackouts have not helped improve short term public moral .

Bad projected incomes from Whisky industry - after vintage reserves were sold off - make economic outlook bleak for them as a separate national entity .
Buckfast's liquor has finally gone out of business & a number of breweries teeter on the edge of financial ruin .

(Pure speculation with twist of humour of course . I wish no offense to anyone . I am amazed to this day that many in & outside the UK think the haggis is an actual small native animal ...)

scimon · 10-20-2021, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Racer

2051 : Scotland - notorious for not being able to make up it's mind - applies for reunification with England & Wales . Crop & fishing stock failures have lead to widespread hunger & outbreaks of scurvy . Crashes of the Haggis population have placed it on the critically endangered list [;-)]

Heavy rains & snowfalls , followed by still , dry cloudy summers have contributed towards unreliability of hydroelectric , wind & solar power generation schemes . Brown & Blackouts have not helped improve short term public moral .

Bad projected incomes from Whisky industry - after vintage reserves were sold off - make economic outlook bleak for them as a separate national entity .
Buckfast's liquor has finally gone out of business & a number of breweries teeter on the edge of financial ruin .

(Pure speculation with twist of humour of course . I wish no offense to anyone . I am amazed to this day that many in & outside the UK think the haggis is an actual small native animal ...)

I mean... Buckfast is made is Devon so that would already have been and issue. I don't think Scotland would rejoin in this scenario but it probably has more petrol powered cars than England (as it's still got some oil, England has to import all theirs).

I figured that *technically* England and Scotland are still at war but it's now much more like live fire training exercises. Different cities militia put in a booking to invade and it's televised. Casualties are low and it's more of a sport then anything. As England never gets a central government in this timeline the war can't be ended (and the Scots don't really want to).

(Now England asking to join Scotland... *that* would be funny).

43Supporter · 10-20-2021, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kjamma4

Space Gamer # 57

And it's available through SJG:

http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG30-2357 .

scimon · 10-21-2021, 04:04 AM

So I've read the Westway and it seems a neat bit of content of the original game (and I think I've driven on it). But I think with a new edition (that's explicitly pushed the timeline forwards) I don't see why we can't have a version of the once United Kingdom that's a fun setting to drive cars and shoot people.

Racer · 10-21-2021, 07:12 AM

Importing embargo on Buckfast's hostilities & then high export tariffs afterwards . No one in Scotland has spare cash to buy it , so business in Devon was wound down & moved on to other fields of products .

Do you think Scottish oil production would survive even a 'restrained' war against English forces ? Pipeline hubs , power supplies for refineries & food & personal resupplies for offshore rigs would either be (repeatedly) by smart weapons . Or the rigs could be blockaded by patrols & pipelines shutdown by force . Rigs could be occupied by English forces or left empty after personal cleared out & booby trapped to prevent Scottish reoccupation .

Those huge fuel storage tanks would soon run low or dry & little point in targeting them & destroy infrastructure that can't be used short term .

Solar , Wind , Tidal & Hydroelectric sources much harder to disrupt & buried powerlines tougher to target . Cables are easier to replace & decoy lines & cables easy to confuse recons with .

Doubt English would repeat the Dam Busters Raid in Scotland , due to special operations type reprisals targeting English Dams over the border ? It takes years to replace most dams & disrupting fresh water supplies from reservoirs , would be something both sides would try to avoid I think ?
Loss of sanitation leads to disease outbreaks that no side wants to deal with .

And carpet bombing Haggis colonies is just too cruel & would turn whole world against the English , with calls of War Crimes ... [ Lol ;-) ]

kbs666 · 10-22-2021, 08:57 AM

I think the EU would only be too happy to prevent the disruption of oil production as they would be the primary customer of any oil exports.

As to the English creating a stalemate on the ground? The Black Watch battalion still exists. ;)

The war would end not in a stalemate but when the clans fell to fighting each other after getting bored with smacking the English around.

Haggis may be marginally edible but it ain't a critter. To protect the faint of heart who are not Celts, i.e. all non Celts, I will refrain from describing the horrors that go into making the thing but I made and ate it once. I'll eat almost anything but haggis? I do not care how great a poem Burns wrote about it that stuff will never cross my lips again.

10-19-2021, 05:11 AM	#1
scimon Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Scotland	Car Wars England So it looks like the 6th Edition has rebooted the Car Wars timeline moving it up to start a decade or so from now. Which is great because having read the GURPS Autoduel description of the UK... well it's not great. So I've been having some thoughts on making the UK a fun place to do some driving but give it a different feel. First thoughts, the UK as an entity no longer exists. Northern Ireland reunified with Ireland and Scotland declared independence leaving England and Wales and the various overseas dependencies. Whilst London was hard hit by the blight and the food riots most of the rest of England and Scotland's major cities were small enough to keep a decent population. The royal family fled during the rioting to Canada and has never returned, in their wake and with the loss of the central government in London the various local city governments now run things in a state of wary agreement. Certain cities (like Manchester and Liverpool) have long running feuds while others work together well. With the collapse of central government the laws on weapon ownership have relaxed a lot but most cities will come down hard on people openly carrying firearms within the city limits. Nowadays one of the chief exports of England is premium cars which they ship all over the world. Most English cars are built for driving and defence over offence as the various city state laws allow only limited self defence options. Whilst auto-duelling has taken off a bit (following the English tradition of Banger Racing) there is more of a focus on racing then just combat. An English event will be focused on making a certain number of laps over last man standing. Of course it's much easier to win a race if you're the only car. Rules Ideas : Generally English Car build should only allow half of their build points to be spent on weapons and for racing this may be reduced to a third. English crews can only carry 1 points worth of weaponry (paint grenades do not count as weapons). A low point level race will have no rules for when weapons can be fired. At higher points level there will be restrictions on firing weapons based on distance driven around the track, with dropped weapons generally being unlocked before others. What do people think? (I'll get to Scotland in a bit I'm sure). __________________ "If it's not broke... hit it again." "There's only so much Munchkin a man can demo." MIB #0366. Scotland.

10-19-2021, 01:53 PM	#2
43Supporter Join Date: Dec 2007	Re: Car Wars England Some interesting ideas in there. I can't remember which magazine it was in, but: There was a writeup on the UK for OG _CW_ way-back-when; it was called "Westway". __________________ "Dale who?" 79er The Jeremy Clarkson Debate Course: 1) I'm Right. 2) You're Wrong. 3) The End.

10-20-2021, 02:18 AM	#4
scimon Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Scotland	Re: Car Wars England I heard about this. I'll see if I can find it for a read. My current thoughts start something like this : 2035 : Stung by the Independence of Scotland and the Reunification of Ireland (and annoyed by rumblings from Wales) the UK First party rises to power in England with a mandate to reform the UK. The quickly declare war on Scotland demanding the return of the North Sea Oil reserves. The EU offers Scotland aid but they decline merely asking that the already reduced trading with England is cut back. 2039 : The war with Scotland grinds on mostly in a series of infantry battles as the English can't run many vehicles. In a last ditch effort to regain support the English attempt an amphibious invasion of Ireland. The Irish accept the EU offer of support and a combined force of mostly French and German troops are soon making a beach head in South England. 2040 : The Fall of London. The EU forces take London, the Royal Family flee to Canada (where they remain to this day). The EU sets up a peace keeping force and proceeds to try and reform England. Scotland moves south adding a swath of North English land. 2041 : Parliament is dissolved and the House of Lords shut down. England is placed under martial law while a number of consultations are started to decide on a written constitution. Meanwhile control devolves to local government across the country. 2046 : After five years of deliberation a draft constitution is brought to public vote but terrorist attacks by the UK4Life organisation at many polling stations cause the vote to be cancelled. A new online voting system is promised for 2047. 2047 : The Grain blight strikes, EU peacekeepers are pulled back to their home countries. The UK is left without a central government or constitution. __________________ "If it's not broke... hit it again." "There's only so much Munchkin a man can demo." MIB #0366. Scotland.

10-20-2021, 05:40 AM	#5
Racer Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: London, UK	Re: Car Wars England 2051 : Scotland - notorious for not being able to make up it's mind - applies for reunification with England & Wales . Crop & fishing stock failures have lead to widespread hunger & outbreaks of scurvy . Crashes of the Haggis population have placed it on the critically endangered list [;-)] Heavy rains & snowfalls , followed by still , dry cloudy summers have contributed towards unreliability of hydroelectric , wind & solar power generation schemes . Brown & Blackouts have not helped improve short term public moral . Bad projected incomes from Whisky industry - after vintage reserves were sold off - make economic outlook bleak for them as a separate national entity . Buckfast's liquor has finally gone out of business & a number of breweries teeter on the edge of financial ruin . (Pure speculation with twist of humour of course . I wish no offense to anyone . I am amazed to this day that many in & outside the UK think the haggis is an actual small native animal ...) __________________ Five Gauss Guns on a Camper !!! The Resident Brit . Last edited by Racer; 10-20-2021 at 05:44 AM.

10-21-2021, 04:04 AM	#8
scimon Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Scotland	Re: Car Wars England So I've read the Westway and it seems a neat bit of content of the original game (and I think I've driven on it). But I think with a new edition (that's explicitly pushed the timeline forwards) I don't see why we can't have a version of the once United Kingdom that's a fun setting to drive cars and shoot people. __________________ "If it's not broke... hit it again." "There's only so much Munchkin a man can demo." MIB #0366. Scotland.

10-21-2021, 07:12 AM	#9
Racer Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: London, UK	Re: Car Wars England Importing embargo on Buckfast's hostilities & then high export tariffs afterwards . No one in Scotland has spare cash to buy it , so business in Devon was wound down & moved on to other fields of products . Do you think Scottish oil production would survive even a 'restrained' war against English forces ? Pipeline hubs , power supplies for refineries & food & personal resupplies for offshore rigs would either be (repeatedly) by smart weapons . Or the rigs could be blockaded by patrols & pipelines shutdown by force . Rigs could be occupied by English forces or left empty after personal cleared out & booby trapped to prevent Scottish reoccupation . Those huge fuel storage tanks would soon run low or dry & little point in targeting them & destroy infrastructure that can't be used short term . Solar , Wind , Tidal & Hydroelectric sources much harder to disrupt & buried powerlines tougher to target . Cables are easier to replace & decoy lines & cables easy to confuse recons with . Doubt English would repeat the Dam Busters Raid in Scotland , due to special operations type reprisals targeting English Dams over the border ? It takes years to replace most dams & disrupting fresh water supplies from reservoirs , would be something both sides would try to avoid I think ? Loss of sanitation leads to disease outbreaks that no side wants to deal with . And carpet bombing Haggis colonies is just too cruel & would turn whole world against the English , with calls of War Crimes ... [ Lol ;-) ] __________________ Five Gauss Guns on a Camper !!! The Resident Brit . Last edited by Racer; 10-21-2021 at 07:16 AM.

10-22-2021, 08:57 AM	#10
kbs666 Join Date: Jul 2014	Re: Car Wars England I think the EU would only be too happy to prevent the disruption of oil production as they would be the primary customer of any oil exports. As to the English creating a stalemate on the ground? The Black Watch battalion still exists. ;) The war would end not in a stalemate but when the clans fell to fighting each other after getting bored with smacking the English around. Haggis may be marginally edible but it ain't a critter. To protect the faint of heart who are not Celts, i.e. all non Celts, I will refrain from describing the horrors that go into making the thing but I made and ate it once. I'll eat almost anything but haggis? I do not care how great a poem Burns wrote about it that stuff will never cross my lips again.