Asteroid Wars is Civilisation meets Homeworld and is what I am going to call a MMORTS, in sofar as the idea is that potentially hundreds of people could be taking part in the same persistent game that is largely in the style of an RTS.

The Year is 2080 and mankind has begun harvesting the riches of the asteroid belt, at first large corporations set up competing mining operations through out the belt, mostly robotic and automated in nature, but gradually as time went on the bottom line was putting pressure on mining yields, and more and more complex machinery was brought to bare, mechanical and technical issues that would have been ironed out by the many man years of preparation national agency's such as ESA and NASA would invest were surfacing, tight margins and deadlines, demanded flexibility and quick turnarounds so with these issues arose larger permanently maned bases of operation closer to the coalface as it were.

Over time and as technology marched on, some of the larger outposts would have their family stay on site in ever more impressive habitats and bio-domes in order to increase the standard of living for the workers and their family's. Then as more and more independent operations sprung up some of these mining colony's considered themselves micro-nation states and would invent currencies, flags and anthems...

Finally as the fledgling colony's became more self-sufficient and being so far from home, they wanted to break free of the shackles of the past and the old world order, as all people eventually do they wanted Independence and a brighter future, to rid themselves of the drudgery of work on a remote and lonely outpost.

But what of the trillions of dollars and euros invested in setting up these company's and operations... they still have shareholders with dividends and taxes to pay...

Well this is where you come in as either a director of operations for a company or a popular rebel union leader in one such mining colony, do you still keep your old ties and have your employees/members continue working for their old companies and pay your dues to a home long forgotten, retaining access to a stable market of resources and new technology or do you get carried away with the new nationalistic fervour and calls for Independence ringing out around the belt and staring boldly into the future cut your old ties and start anew.