Is "cold space" inspired by the activision PC game "Battlezone"? I've heard about the plot and it reminded me a lot of the secret history set down in the battlezone game.

For those unfamiliar with battlezone: In the 1950's a meteor shower brought some mateiral to earth that came to be known as "bio metal". BM contained information, stored in some way perhaps like a cross betwen DNA and computer memory, that allowed the US and USSR to build incredibly advanced power systems, weapons, spacecraft, etc. But very little reached earth, tho evidence suggested there was more in the solar system.

Both sides used the 'space race' as a cover for a massive effort to get into space and find more BM. Eventually a war broke out in the 70's, called the biometal war, that raged thru the solar system as both sides fought not only to gather any BM they could but to find the history of the race that created it and disappeared long ago.

So you had american and russian forces fighting a war in the solar system while the world at large was ignorant of the whole thing and followed "real" history, as it was told. Viet nam and other wars were fought mostly as a cover to make thousands of military personnel "disappear" so they could go fight the wars in the solar system.

I know cold space came out years after BZ, i wondered if it acknowledged BZ as an inspiration.

Quote from: Dominus NoxI know cold space came out years after BZ, i wondered if it acknowledged BZ as an inspiration.

Cold Space - and FTL Now - were initially brainstormed on-line on RPG Net by myself, Shatten, and Bailywolf. Shatten and I started preliminary work on them, but he moved and disappeared - I waited about six months for him to come back online, but he never did. I have a link to that initial thread somewhere.

I never saw, played, or heard the plot of Battlezone, though I probably have heard the name before. I have no idea if Schatten was inspired by it, or Bailywolf.