Crimson Skies ( Crimson Skies ) is a fictional diesel punk universe created by Jordan Weisman and Dave McCoy. The universe is based on an alternative history of the 1930s. in which the United States and Canada broke up into independent state states, and the main vehicle is airplanes and huge zeppelins .
Content
Universe
History
The history of the universe includes both fictional and real events that took place in the world. The separation of the stories of the fictional world of Crimson Skies and the real begins after the First World War , when regionalism , reinforced by isolationism , begins to gain political strength in the United States . The threat of a Spanish pandemic brought in by soldiers returning from the war leads to the closure of borders.
After the stock market crash and the outbreak of the Great Depression, Texas announces its secession from the United States and the formation of the Republic of Texas on January 1, 1930 . Next, New York is separated, which is joined by Pennsylvania and New Jersey , forming together the Imperial State. They are followed by California , now called the Nation of Hollywood , and Utah , which had already been in conflict with the central government by the time Mormonism was accepted as the state’s official religion, which clearly violated the First Amendment .
Official Washington is powerless to prevent the collapse of the country by political and diplomatic means and resorts to force. However, the fate of the country is a foregone conclusion - the US Army in 1931 is defeated by the armed forces of the People's Collective , formed in the former states of Iowa , Nebraska , North and South Dakota . By the end of 1932, the last states declare their independence.
In the collapse of the United States of America , Canada is also involved, whose provinces and territories declare independence or join the new states of North America .
As a result of the formation of many states, whose interests often lead to armed conflicts, the network of railways and interstates is destroyed. Traveling by train and car is no longer possible, and it is being replaced by air travel using airplanes and, to a greater extent, airships . Active use of aviation leads to its rapid development. Countries around the world, including in Europe , are also beginning to use this type of transport. The first pirate gangs appear, who rob merchants on their airships, like filibusters .
Technology and Design
Almost every zeppelin is heavily armored, carries powerful cannons in the port ports and several security fighters, that is, it is an aircraft carrier .
The development of weapons also does not stand still. For example, air-to-air missiles aimed at a radio beacon appear, and so on. "Aerial torpedoes" ( Eng. Aerial torpedo ) - huge unguided missiles designed to destroy Zeppelins , heavily armored and therefore invulnerable to machine guns and cannons . In addition, there is a frankly fantastic weapon, like the Tesla cannon , which shoots lightning.
Planes in the Crimson Skies universe have an unusual design, in which the style of the 30s is combined with elements that were not usually used in the technique of that time. For example, on some planes in the Crimson Skies universe you can see the front horizontal tail , the negative sweep of the wings and, especially often, the reverse location of the propeller (“push propeller”). The developers tried to make the appearance of the aircraft, first of all, memorable and spectacular. In the real world, there were prototypes of similar aircraft, for example, one of the invented aircraft (Hughes Aviation Bloodhawk) is an almost exact copy of the German Hs-P.75 [1] . Similar features can also be found in the Japanese Kyushu J7W "Shinden" and the American Curtiss-Wright XP-55 Ascender .
Releases
Within the universe were released: the computer game Crimson Skies , the video game for the Xbox Crimson Skies: Road to Revenge , the board games Crimson Skies: A Game of Aerial Combat and Crimson Skies (collectible miniatures game) , as well as several books. None of the above has been officially published in Russia.
Until 2001, the owner of intellectual property was FASA , after its closure of the right to Crimson Skies bought Microsoft Game Studios . In 2007, the company of one of the authors of the setting Jordan Wiseman Smith & Tinker Inc. announced the acquisition by Microsoft Game Studios of the rights to develop video and computer games in the universe [2] .
Notes
- ↑ Luft'46 Henschel Hs P.75
- ↑ Smith & Tinker - News (unavailable link) . Smith & Tinker Inc. (2007). Archived on May 13, 2008.