Shipbucket

Introduction

First of all, please forgive me if this has been placed in the wrong section of the forums. I looked over in Personal Drawings, but this seemed to be the place for my own AU country.

I have been messing around with the idea of creating a new country in an alternate universe, and to be able to facilitate this I created a profile on the online forum-based "game" NationStates. Having been placed on the map of the region I chose, I got to designing a navy for my small country, the Kingdom of the Upper and Lower Meuse (Koninkrijk der Opper-en-Neder Maas). Meuse was placed along the coast, as requested, well within the temperate region of the northern hemisphere. The country has access to a small sea to the north, which itself meets the open oceans of the world. Meuse, being trade oriented, would focus its naval power on self defence and long-range patrol since power-projection could be handled by my neighbors who happen to be like-minded. To my entertainment, there is also a fascist country to my south which poses a threat to my sovereignty, but more on that in the nation bio.

I would really appreciate any criticisms/advice on my designs, it would mean a lot since I can only improve. Thanks in advance.

The Kingdom of the Upper and Lower Meuse
1.1 Geography
1.2 Cities & Population Centers
2.1 History (Prehistory-Middle Ages)
2.2 History (Middle Ages-Industrial Age)
2.3 History (Industrial Age-Modern Age)
2.4 History (Modern Age-Now)

wip

1.1 Geography
(Regional Map)

The Kingdom of the Upper and Lower Meuse is just that, a river kingdom which encompasses the basin of the river Meuse. Its territory stretches from the source of the Meuse in the southern hills, to where it mouths into the Valmese Sea in the north. Meuse is not a nation of geographic extremes. Instead, the river Meuse snakes its way through the country leaving in its wake a broad fertile plain stretching from east to west. To the east lies Nasaira, an anglophone absolute monarchy. To the west lies the Imperial Union, a federation of smaller states under a single monarch. Meuse has closer ties to the Union, as both share the same language and for the most part, the same culture.

The country can be dealt into three distinguishable regions, each with their own unique features. To the x of the country lie the highlands, from which the river Meuse springs and flows northwards. This region is mostly hilly, with the Meuse and its tributaries carving their way through the limestone features. The highlands region is rich in geohistorical features, and the river has eroded its way through the rock laying bare fossils of prehistoric sealife making the region a popular spot for palaeontologists, students and tourists. Another defining feature of this region is the dense woodland that grows freely on the steep hillsides, covering the area in a blanket of vegetation. The somewhat rugged terrain also attracts hikers, campers, mountain bikers and other outdoors enthusiasts to the area. (Similar to the Ardennes of Belgium)

As the Meuse flows to the north, the terrain flattens out somewhat to form the rolling landscape of the midlands. The midlands are home to much of the country's agriculture, and is more populated than the highlands to the south, due to the more forgiving terrain. Another result of the kinder terrain is the increased mobility the infrastructure network offers, as the nation's capital lies in this region. The midlands also boasts the nation's hub for air travel with the largest airport in the kingdom serving the capital. As a result, high speed rail lines connect many of the larger cities in the area with one another, bringing people from the hilly interior to the flat coastal plain. Additionally, the highway network is quite developed, as the Meuse valley and its tributary valleys provide enough room for more expansive settlements.

As the midlands meet the coastal plain, the terrain changes to gently rolling foothills before a flat landscape stretched out to the sea. This area is lined with canals which help drain the land which was once made up of marshes and a coastal lagoon which stretched along the coast. Over the centuries, this land was reclaimed and put to use in the agricultural sector. The reclamation of land is still ongoing, the latest project being the expansion of the port at Maaschedam. Currently, the coastal plain is 30km wide from the midlands to the sea on average, some places being wider than others. A result of the continuous expansion of the coastal plains are the remnants of successive sets of dykes which were built to protect the low lying land from the sea. Efforts to remove these dykes have been put off until the land they occupy is needed for construction or agricultural purposes leading to some areas being covered in dense thickets and forest providing a home to local wildlife such as foxes and other small mammals. In recent years, environmentalist groups have protested the reclamation of land and the removal of unused dykes, citing the need for habitable areas for wildlife as the nation's population grows.


1.2 Cities & Population Centers

Top ten cities by population:
01. Maaschendam
02. Duin-op-Zee
03. Maasbrugge*
04. Zuillendijk
05. Diene
06. Vreekerke
07. Zuiderheuvel
08. Koningshaven
09. Bosrade
10. Fent

1.2.01 Maaschendam
Maaschendam is the largest city in the kingdom, and the largest port as it sits where the Meuse meets the sea.

1.2.02 Duin-op-Zee

1.2.03 Maasbrugge

1.2.04 Zuillendijk

1.2.05 Diene

1.2.06 Vreekerke

1.2.07 Zuiderheuvel

1.2.08 Koningshaven

1.2.09 Bosrade

1.2.10 Fent

2.1 History (Prehistory-Middle Ages)
2.2 History (Middle Ages-Industrial Age)
2.3 History (Industrial Age-Modern Age)
2.4 History (Modern Age-Now)

Meusean Maritime Component
wip

In the meantime while I'm fleshing out the bio, I figure I'll go ahead and post a ship. This is the "Mestreech" class of guided missile frigate, belonging to the Meusean Maritime Component.




Stats

Length: 130.3m
Beam: 16.0m
Full load displacement: 7000-9000 tonnes?*
Sensors
-APAR+SMART-L Combo
-Scout surface search/navigation radar
-Hull mounted Sonar
Weapons
-127mm stealth housed deck gun

-16 x SM2
-16 x SCALP
-88 x ESSM (quadpacked)
-16 x ASROC
-40 x IRIS-T SLS (quadpacked)

-8 x NSM
-21 x RAM
-Goalkeeper CIWS

-NH90 Helicopter

http://www.shipbucket.com/forums/viewto ... f=5&t=3743
http://www.shipbucket.com/forums/viewto ... f=3&t=4935

Those two links should help alleviate any possible problems you might have.

_________________
AU Projects: | Banbha et al. | New England: The Divided States
Blood and Fire

Thank you for these links, I will have a look at them when I get back tonight and continue to touch up my design.