Introduction
What is this?
Escape Velocity Nova (EVN) is the third and final game in the Escape Velocity trilogy, following Escape Velocity (1996) and Escape Velocity Override (1998). Created by Ambrosia Software and released in 2002, the game is a 2-dimensional third-person Elite-like space RPG that offers 6 major storylines, semi-Newtonian physics and a flexible modding system.
The game places you, intrepid adventurer, near the centre of Federation space with nought but a rusty shuttle and 25000 credits to your name. What you do next is up to you - you can fight, bribe, trade, pirate, conquer, and drink your way across the galaxy. And fight you will, because the galaxy is a big place and most of it is decidedly hostile.
How will we play this?
I will be running this LP on unmodded EVN and will go through all 6 major and 2 minor storylines, starting a new character for each major storyline. As EVN rewards you for spending lots of time flying around and exploring the galaxy, I will be taking votes on what to do between missions for cash and glory - pirate, courier, mine, trade, fight, or explore. What we do will be reflected in our ship selection and playstyle - if we constantly trade goods we won't fly a gunboat and if we are flying a 2km-long capital ship we will not be attempting to close in to dogfight.
Polaris - Part 01 - June 17, 1177NC: Shuttlebug
Polaris - Part 02 - July 9, 1177NC: Scrabble
Polaris - Part 03 - September 5, 1177NC: Delivery Man
Polaris - Part 04 - November 24, 1177NC: Wild Geese Chase
Polaris - Part 05 - December 20, 1177NC: Be Wery Wery Quiet, I'm Kontik Wabbits
Polaris - Part 06 - February 5, 1178NC: Bar-knighted
Polaris - Part 07 - April 30, 1178NC: Plot Spotted!
Polaris - Part 08 - June 5, 1178NC: Cross-Polarization
Polaris - Part 09 - August 22, 1178NC: Plain Polarized
Polaris - Part 10 - Sept 25, 1178NC: Rampage
Polaris - Part 11 - Sept 24, 1179NC: Discrete Insertion
Polaris - Part 12 - February 7, 1180NC: I Know Kung Fu
Polaris - Part 13 - April 29th, 1180NC: Mary Sue-jitsu
Polaris - Part 14 - December 27th, 1180NC: Cutscene Superman
Polaris - Part 15 - August 5th, 1181NC: Justice
Polaris - Part 16 - January 1st, 1182NC: This is getting ridiculous
Polaris - Part 17 - February 14th, 1182NC: Power Loom
Polaris - Part 18 - February 28th, 1182NC: Deification
Polaris - Part 19 - ???: Alternate Polaris Storyline and Epilogue
Vell-os - Part 01 - June 23rd, 1177NC: Vellos shots
Vell-os - Part 02 - August 6th, 1177NC: DESPAIR!!!
Vell-os - Part 03 - October 10th, 1177NC: Moashmallow
Vell-os - Part 04 - December 18th, 1177NC: Diplomacy
Vell-os - Part 05 - March 6th, 1178NC: Lagotto Romagnolo
Vell-os - Part 06 - September 21st, 1178NC: Let's Kill Commander Krane
Federation - Part 01 - June 23rd, 1177 NC: Richer than Croesus, and More Slow
Federation - Part 02 - March 21st, 1179 NC: Hell Ship
Federation - Part 03 - December 30th, 1179 NC: Are you a bad enough dude to rescue the Councilor?
Federation - Part 04 - December 4th, 1180 NC: Messenger
Federation - Part 05 - April 19th, 1181 NC: Colour Codes
Federation - Part 06 - July 13th, 1182 NC: Knock knock
Auroran - Part 01 - June 23rd, 1177 NC: St. Patrick's Day Update
Auroran - Part 02 - November 25th, 1177 NC: The Stakeout
Auroran - Part 03 - January 18th, 1178 NC: Prison Break
Auroran - Part 04 - September 30th, 1178 NC: Hazing
Auroran - Part 05 - February 4th, 1179 NC: Lil' Cub
Auroran - Part 06 - April 19th, 1179 NC: Taking Names
Auroran - Part 07 - September 3rd, 1179 NC: Défendre la paix
Auroran - Part 08 - November 30th, 1179 NC: Deep-fried Donitz
Auroran - Part 09 - April 28th, 1180 NC: Fair Representation
Auroran - Part 10 - May 28th, 1180 NC: Marathon
Auroran - Part 11 - December 31st, 1180 NC: Strength and Honour
Auroran - Part 12 - April 30th, 1182 NC: A whole lot of death
Auroran - Part 13 - February 7th, 1183 NC: Finally'
Rebellion - Part 01 - June 23rd, 1177 NC: A New Hope
Rebellion - Part 02 - May 3rd, 1178 NC: The Empire Strikes Back
Rebellion - Part 03 - September 13th, 1178 NC: Fight the power
Rebellion - Part 04 - January 25th, 1179 NC: Load Runner
Rebellion - Part 05 - July 4th, 1179 NC: Observe and Report
Rebellion - Part 06 - December 12th, 1179 NC: I fly my ship back and forth
Rebellion - Part 07 - January 15th, 1180 NC: Ory-Hara
Rebellion - Part 08 - ???: Alternate Rebel Storyline
Pirate - Part 01 - June 23rd, 1177NC: Space-sailing the space-seas
Pirate - Part 02 - January 11th, 1178NC: Accretion
Pirate - Part 03 - July 5th, 1178 NC: Swag
Pirate - Part 04 - April 3rd, 1179NC: Lode Runner
Pirate - Part 05 - August 25th, 1179NC: Vengeance
The Federation
That's us! The literal and figurative centre of the galaxy, the Federation controls Sol and many systems surrounding it. The Federation is all but run by the Bureau, a ruthless secret police. Your basic middle-of-the-road type civilization, mid-ranked in size and technology. They have the Vell-os enslaved and use their psychic abilities for all sorts of schemes. Commander Krane figures heavily into all the intrigue they get themselves into.
The Aurorans
The Aurorans hold a sprawling empire composed of several Houses. They're fiercely aggressive and boast low-tech ships, relying on mass drivers and sheer mass for armament and armour. They really, really love stupid machismo, like hunting predators hand-to-hand. The Moash house is currently ascendant and officially heads the rather loose coalition of Houses.
The Vell-os
They're psychic, having ascended from the Earth over 3000 years ago. Immensely powerful, they were willingly enslaved in order to end a war with the Federation. There's a whole lot of guilt involved with this enslavement, and there's an interesting connection with the invincible Krypt-tokh hivemind to the west...
The Polaris
Polaris Civilization is divided into a series of castes, each devoted to a certain segment of society. Their technology is extremely advanced, and is based around biological growth of ships and structures. Despite the isolation and peace plaguing their society, their population is very small and prone to nazel-gazing and overpunctuation.
The Rebellion
The Rebellion is highly-funded, well-equipped, and aims to remove Bureau influence from Federation space. The Bureau is running a successful propaganda and counterterror campaign against them, limiting their numbers and public support.
The Pirates
The Guild of Free Traders, as opposed to the lawful Association of Free Traders, inhabits several space stations in the trackless galactic North. They prey on hapless travelers, often raiding systems to get equipment and cash.
Ships Part 01 - Shuttles
Ships Part 02 - Vipers
Ships Part 03 - Thunderheads
Ships Part 04 - Polaris 1
Ships Part 05 - Polaris 2
Ships Part 06 - Vell-os
Ships Part 07 - Freighters
Ships Part 08 - Federation
Ships Part 09 - Auroran 1
Ships Part 10 - Auroran 2
Ships Part 11 - Rebel
Ships Part 12 - Pirate
Ships Part 13 - Alien
A game in the old style, EVN comes with pages and pages of backstory and context to browse through.
Historical Timeline
Abridged version: Galaxy-wide civilization balkanizes, war forever. Here we are.
Auroran Preamble
Federation Preamble
Pirate Preamble
Polaris Preamble
Rebel Preamble
Vell-os Preamble
Wild Geese Preamble