Here it is! Presenting our first update giving you a deeper look into The Copernicus Project.
This week we will be detailing the locations, so without further ado:
Update #1: Visit Beautiful Madagascar... and Blow @$#% Up.
The Shanty Town
Located in a barren, rocky valley, this area was the first region that Templar Tech settled into when they began their mass movement into Madagascar. The town was hastily constructed to accommodate the massive influx of soldiers, researchers, scientists, and other technicians. As a result, the majority of the housing is built cheaply and inefficiently, porta-cabins, cheap wooden shacks etc. Additionally, because of years of neglect all these structures are in a state of extreme disrepair.
The map itself is set at night, a giant, white, full moon hangs high in the sky bathing everything in shades of blue and silver highlights, slivers or purple and red peek through the night. A light fog hangs low in the air and shadows are plentiful and deep, punctuated by the warm orange glow of oil lamps in the wooden shacks and the steely, antiseptic fluorescent white lights of the porta-cabins. Scattered around the map are pieces of old, abandoned mining machinery, dilapidated CAT tractors, drills, bobcats, forklifts etc litter the landscape like the skeletons of long deceased metal monstrosities.
The earth is damp and muddy, with puddles reflecting the steel and wood. Trash, papers, plastic bags and other disposable products litter the streets. There are a number of ramshackle concrete two story buildings littered around the level, these buildings are almost all that's left of the original Madagascan city that once stood on this ground. The metal and glass framework of half completed skyscrapers and office buildings surround the area.
At the center of the shanty town is the original Madagascan town hall, a majestic, run-down building done in the British Colonial style. It still stands proud, head and shoulders above the cheap wooden shacks, it's white concrete walls reflecting the moonlight brilliantly. The interior of the Town Hall is almost completely destroyed, fallen in staircases, crumbling columns, splintered wood and decorative furniture litter the ground along with concrete boulders, bent steel and rubble.
The Town Hall looks out over a small town square with a dilapidated fountain filled with green stagnant water, and surrounded by the above described wooden shacks and porta-cabins.
The Dig Site
The Dig Site is the giant, pumping, technological heart of the Templar operation. Giant cylinders rise into the sky, each one higher than the last, acting like massive pistons, slowly rising and falling into the earth which trembles as each one slams into the ground.
Located in the center of the pistons is the actual complex itself riddled with harsh steel and pipes and interspersed with office and research blocks. Massive circular heat vents pull steam from the giant giant humming earth, and huge transparent pipes pull the mana from the earth and siphon it off into massive steel containment tanks.
Littered around the complex there are a number of elevator shafts leading down to the mine network below. Here there is very little light except for the soft blue glow given off by unrefined crystallized mana rock. The tunnels are labyrinthine and ridged because of the massive drill bits that have carved a path into the reflective rock. Imagine a technologically advanced version of the mines in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Giant cavernous rooms, with glistening stalactites and stalagmites glow in the dark, leading into smaller constricted tunnels, which in turn lead off to small laboratories, filled with mining machinery, giant vats of bubbling mana, analysis machines and computers, etc. The tunnels also lead off to crew living quarters, with bunk beds, computer work terminals, lockers, magazines, newspapers, etc. There's also a ceramic tiled mess hall with steel tables and chairs, a coffee machine, cabinets, a small kitchen etc.
Antananarivo
Antananarivo is the capital city of Madagascar and it is the Templar seat of political power. Located on the slopes of a narrow, rocky ridge, old mixes with new as the original, British colonial style houses are interspersed with the newer, taller silver Templar structures. The newer buildings rise above the one and two story colonial houses like majestic shimmering swords planted in the earth by God Himself, spires of steel and glass glinting like in the daylight. Their appearance is impressive and commanding, yet oddly benevolent.
Despite the visual discord, Antananarivo is an extremely beautiful and charming place. This isn't the typical bombed out warzone, it's a warzone before war has touched it. Streets are empty and deserted, with only a few small groups of terrified citizens still in the capital, fighting back or running for their lives. Greenery abounds, as do exquisite Templar statues and ornate fountains towering above the city's inhabitants.
In the city's center is the greatest symbol of the Knights Templar's power, an ivory statue depicting the two poor Knights sharing a horse, as seen on the seal of the Knights Templar, a symbol of their poor beginnings.
The main streets radiate from the city center, a 15 story tall, sword shaped building shining bright, white, and are flanked by back alleys, cul de sacs, and sidewalks, over which hang glorious balconies and miniature bridges leading to tin roofs and cracked concrete walls overgrown with moss and ivy.
Around every Templar building is an outline of white paved stones, set in the distinctive shape of the Templar Cross.
Interiors are generally tight and confined, with open fighting restricted largely to the city streets and market square. Back alleys and side streets provide excellent choke points for battles, and open-air markets, small squares and the like provide relief from the close quarters combat. Balconies, mini-bridges, second story windows, etc, provide great places from which to rain down cover fire, or pin an enemy to the spot.
