Line #23 VideoGame/AncientShivanWar


1	''Ancient-Shivan War'' is a fan-made mod for the video game ''VideoGame/FreeSpace2''. The game is a prequel, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin set during]] [[TheGreatOffscreenWar the Ancient-Shivan conflict]] and was divided into three acts, the first chronicling the Ancients committing their latest act of genocide and their first contact with the Shivans, the second act portraying the Shivan advance into Ancient space, culminating with the Ancients shutting down the jump gate to the region of space where they encountered the Shivans (as alluded to in the main game) in attempt to prevent them from advancing further, and the third act which would've depicted the Ancients' last stand... was sadly never made.
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4	!!This game includes examples of:
5	* ANaziByAnyOtherName: Dear GOD, the Ancients are portrayed as being made from pure weapons-grade xenophobic {{Jerkass}}.
6	* TheBadGuyWins: It’s a ForegoneConclusion. The Shivans completely curb-stomp the Ancient forces into a million overconfident bits, [[spoiler: and cause the Sopul system to go supernova]]. Mind you, considering it’s the [[AbsoluteXenophobe Ancients]] we’re talking about here the Shivans can only be considered “bad” because they stoop to genocide instead of just bombing them back to the Stone Age.
7	* TheBattlestar: The [=ACa=] ''Akrotiri'' is an Ancient, juggernaut-sized carrier with a FixedForwardFacingWeapon that can incinerate a ''Cain''-class cruiser in two shots and an Aesdherian destroyer in ten.
8	* BlackAndGreyMorality: And believe it or not, the Ancients are black and Shivans are grey as they seem almost justified in wiping out a genocidal, xenophobic race like the Ancients.
9	* ButForMeItWasTuesday: The Ancients treat watching their destroyers bomb an '''entire species''' out of existence the same way you'd treat watching a fireworks display. Makes you wonder just [[FridgeHorror how many species they've destroyed]].
10	* TheCavalry: In mission 4, the ''Akrotiri'' arrives just in time to save the ''Apesokari'' from an Aesdherian carrier's attack. It's even [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by the commander of the ''Akrotiri''.
11	--> '''Fleetmaster Im'halus:''' It was destined to be like this Apesokari. As the old proverb goes: when the need is highest, your saviour is near.
12	* CombatPragmatist: The Ancients are really good tacticians, despite their occasional bursts of overconfidence and HonorBeforeReason, and they should be as they've never been defeated before encountering the Shivans.
13	** One example involves them positioning their ships behind a jump node from which they know the Shivans will come through and proceeding to [[CurbStompBattle obliterate a few cruisers and corvettes without breaking a sweat]].
14	** Another stroke of brilliant tactics involves an attempt to deprive the otherwise invulnerable ''Lucifer'' of supplies by destroying Shivan supply depots, the idea being to force the ''Lucifer'' to withdraw. Ultimately it doesn't work, but at least they tried something other than charging at it with guns blazing.
15	* CurbStompBattle: Once the ''Lucifer'' showed up [[ForegoneConclusion you knew the Ancients were screwed]].
16	* DeadFic / OrphanedSeries: The game was meant to be released in three separate acts. The first two acts, depicting the start of the war, were released, the second one even ended on a pseudo-cliffhanger, [[spoiler: with the Ancients closing the Gamma Draconis jump gate, in the hope of preventing the Shivans from reaching their core worlds. Only for a title card to say: "[[HopeSpot If only it were that simple]]"]]. Sadly, while the third act did enter production, it was abandoned by the original development team and no one else has experienced enough interest in it to finish it.
17	* DeathByIrony: The Ancients destroy inferior species, and get destroyed by a superior species.
18	** It's further emphasised by comparing what the Aesdherians did when the Ancients curb-stomped their fleets, which is retreating to their homeworld in the hope of the Ancients leaving them be, with what the Ancients did when the Shivans curb-stomped the Ancient fleets, which is [[BreakTheHaughty retreating to their homeworld in the hope that the Shivans would let them be]]. [[LaserGuidedKarma It didn't work either time]].
19	* [[DoNotTauntCthulhu Do Not Call Shivans "Inferior"]]: Because the Ancients totally got hosed for doing that.
20	* EtherealChoir: One of the briefing themes has one.
21	* EvilVsEvil: On one side we have the Ancients, who are portrayed as arrogant, xenophobic, genocidal and overconfident to the point of calling the '''Shivans''' "inferior". And on the other side we have the Shivans, who are bad because they're Shivans.
22	* ForegoneConclusion: [[spoiler: The Sopul system going supernova, as it's what caused the nebula from VideoGame/FreeSpace2. Also the closure of the Gamma Draconis jump gate]].
23	* FromBadToWorse / AlwaysABiggerFish: For the Ancients. First the ''Vassago''-class destroyer shows up but the Ancients trash it with no effort, then the ''Demon''-class destroyer shows up and trashes an Ancient destroyer but gets trashed in turn, then the ''Lucifer'' shows up and really starts trashing stuff, and then [[spoiler:a ''Sathanas''-class juggernaut shows up and shit really goes down, '''and then''' a whole bunch of ''Sathanas'' jugs show up and cause Sopul to go nova]].
24	* TheGreatOffscreenWar: The whole point of the mod was to defy this trope in regards to the war between the Ancients and Shivans.
25	* HopeSpot: The end of Act 2.
26	--> [[spoiler: ''If only it were that simple'']]
27	* OneWomanWail: The music in the opening cutscene makes use of it.
28	* TheRightOfASuperiorSpecies: The Ancients embody this to an extreme degree, and end up [[BreakTheHaughty getting their just desserts for it]].
29	* SmallNameBigEgo: The Ancients view everyone as inferior, even species that are superior to them in some aspects such as the Aesderians (who, despite having barely discovered subspace, already had shield and beam weapon technology, something which the Ancients lack).
30	* SuicidalOverconfidence: To say the Ancients are arrogant is an understatement. As just one example, they [[spoiler: don't call off the ''[[TheBattlestar Akrotiri]]'' after its [[FixedForwardFacingWeapon main gun]] failed to penetrate the ''Lucifer'''s shields, but [[HonorBeforeReason force them to keep fighting despite having no chance of success]]]].
31	* RunningGag: A Meta-example involving the Akrotiri. Varies other campaigns using the ship model such as [[VideoGame/BluePlanet BluePlanet]] often feature its [[{{BFG}} massive main cannon]] being destroyed early in a fight. This series is no different.
32	* VillainProtagonist: Just to be clear, you're playing as an arrogant, xenophobic, genocidal, [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Nazi in all but name]].

Context VideoGame / AncientShivanWar