Editing again, just to clean up and clarify for people that may have not played the first Planetside:
The Terran Republic:
The faction that adheres most to the notion of conventional warfare. Nothing but bullets and explosives, and lots of them. Favor weapons with higher rates of fire and the fastest vehicles, though the durability is not quite up to par as their NC and VS counterparts.
This is the empire from which the story begins. Having existed for 1,112 years, it is the originator of all three empires.
The Terran Republic was officially established with the ratification of the Declaration of Constancy by nations weary of nearly two hundred years of war. They brought order out of chaos and introduced the world to an era of peace. Terrans eventually made space travel possible. From this, Wormholes were discovered, studied, and found to be a means of transportation from one area of space to another. It is through one of these wormholes that the Terran Republic found their way to Auraxis, an earth-like planet that could sustain life. They proceeded with their ambitious plans of colonization on Auraxis which continued uninterrupted for 20 years.
Things radically changed when the wormhole collapsed stranding the entire expeditionary force. They began research on how they could re-open the wormhole, which utlimately failed. During these uncertain times, "Vanu" artifacts were being discovered on Auraxis. Shortly after this, the development of "Rebirthing" technology began. It started to become clear to the Terran Leadership that this new technology could possibly destabilize future colonies. They established draconian restrictions on the new technology, so they could study it better without interruption or meddling by private companies or individuals. A sense of immortality began to create turmoil between developing groups of people with significantly different philosophies as to how the technology should be used. Already, a faction of technophiles emerged embracing the Vanu technology and its lost knowledge.
Unrest formed between the developing factions which was exacerbated by rogue scientists and republic military deserters, all blinded by the power that the Vanu Technology promised to bring. Previous attempts to quell the uprising ended in a bloody battle and resulted in the separation of the Technolords, who then declared themselves the Vanu Sovereignty. While this was going on, a second faction called the New Conglomerate seized the opportunity while the Terran Republic was occupied and left the overbearing Republic.
The New Conglomerate:
The "underdog" or rebel group. Focus mainly on weapons that hit the hardest with a slower rate of fire, and vehicles that last the longest, though slower and less maneuverable than the TR or the VS vehicles. Many conventional munitions, but also experimental technology such as Gauss rifles.
The New Conglomerate's origins begin over a century before the wormhole collapse, when a small group of freedom-fighters that called themselves "Liberty's Call" staged a demonstration protesting the Terran Republic's blatant, systematic elimination of human rights. A large group of people gathered to hear their views; however, the Republic's Riot Police put an end to the demonstration, killing every protester and even several innocent onlookers. Now, more than a hundred years later, the New Conglomerate, founded on the same principles as those slaughtered in the Liberty's Call massacre, is determined to write a new chapter of history–a chapter free of the overbearing and draconian regime from which they emerged. Staging a short and brutal rebellion, the fledgling movement broke away from the totalitarian Republic, wresting from it control of several rebirthing facilities and the loyalty of many of its battered and oppressed citizens.
Though the fall of the Terran Republic still remains the New Conglomerate's primary goal, there is no small amount of the group's animosity directed at the Vanu Sovereignty, another cell to have splintered from the regime. It is the New Conglomerate's understanding that the Sovereignty holds alien-influenced views of the human race as a flawed species; one they are attempting to mold into something different–something alien–through genetic modification and experimentation.
Guided by the idea that humanity deserves to be free from outside influences to find its own path in the universe, the New Conglomerate has decided that the Vanu Sovereignty and Terran Republic alike must be stopped for good, and their crimes against liberty brought to an end.
The Vanu Sovereignty:
The "alien" or techno faction. No conventional ballistics, focusing entirely on laser and plasma technology. While not as quick or powerful as the TR or NC, respectively, the VS weapons do not suffer from bullet drop over long distances, and the vehicals have unmatched maneuverability.
The Vanu Sovereignty derives its name from a long extinct alien race known as the Vanu, whose strange artifacts were discovered on the planet of Auraxis shortly after the first expeditionary forces from the Terran Republic arrived. When research of these artifacts led to the discovery of "rebirthing" technology, and subsequently the offer of immortality, Terran Republic scientists were forced to keep research on this new technology secret. It was under these oppressive circumstances that the Vanu Sovereignty was formed and managed to persuade some "free-thinking" scientists to join its cause. As news of the wormhole collapse began to spread throughout the Republic, its leadership began to grow anxious. Fearing that their lives may be in danger from the paranoid and oppressive regime, the Sovereignty broke away, taking the Republic's brightest scientific minds and several rebirthing facilities with it. The Vanu Sovereignty now seeks to destroy the Republic for years of devastating oppression and lies.
Through the use of the mysterious Vanu technology "procured" during their split from the Republic, the group developed exotic energy weapons to aid them in their cause. In addition, they began experimenting with ways to improve the human body through modification. It was this alteration of the human species that generated great suspicion of and ultimately a declaration of war upon the Sovereignty by the New Conglomerate, another faction which had splintered away from the oppressive Terran Republic and which saw the Sovereignty's modification programs as an affront to humankind's natural progression.
Now, surrounded by enemies that they perceive as awash in ignorance, the Vanu Sovereignty fights to claim Auraxis in honor of their namesake and prove once and for all that technology is might.
Those that did play the first Planetside will naturally have a bias towards their old faction, because that was one of the best things about Planetside; not so much the features of which faction you fought for, but the fact that it was your faction. It can be difficult to explain to someone who never had the chance to play it, and since have become accustomed to FPS games where the side of the leaderboard you were on really had no bearing on the game play. 15 minute round over, switch sides. In Planetside, single battles could last for hours, and that was just for one base on the continent, and it was all persistent. The round is never over. When you turn off the game and go to sleep, your teammates are still fighting your enemies, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It gives the combat more meaning instead of just the constant chase for unlocks, which was, and still is, present.
Thanks, and I hope to see you all on the battlefield!
New Edit:
So I would think that the poll should be final at release at the earliest, if not a few weeks or a month after release. This is just to give everyone who didn't have the opportunity to play beta or the original PS a chance to try out the different empires and then vote.
As we near that point, we should also begin to get a feel for who should be the higher-ups on the chain of command. Personally, I'm not too keen on being a leader for that scale, but we have time to sort all this out.
Post your input on either of these aforementioned points.
Thanks again!
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