|
Taken from the minutes of the AstroTeamsters Union HQ, Exotrucking Unit posted:...
|
#
?
Jun 10, 2020 19:24
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 11, 2024 06:16 |
|
|
Lincoln Jacobs posted:Linc Jacobs here, with the first contact teams. First contact with extraterrestrials—"Gnolams", they call themselves—are going far better than we expected. They seem very interested in trading with us and the kinds of deals they're offering imply that their sociological development was not terribly dissimilar from ours. YES on research agreement and espionage, no opinion on other questions.
|
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2020 01:11
|
|
|
ManxomeBromide's post linked as another canonical lore post. Once again, there is something important there- which may shed light on their earlier post.
|
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2020 01:43
|
|
|
All right, I'm wrapping voting and will begin playing through the update and doing image capture. Will likely be able to write everything up sometime tomorrow.
|
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2020 02:31
|
|
|
Lucky news for us: the United Republic didn't register protests at us settling Shimari and Guad, so our relations remain excellent for now. I'd be interested to see some Human perspectives on the Gnolams after we've had some time for contact, if any of the Humans in my audience feel inspired to produce anything.
|
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2020 15:44
|
|
|
nweismuller posted:ManxomeBromide's post linked as another canonical lore post. Once again, there is something important there- which may shed light on their earlier post. Seems like it's either: 1. "Luck" is a real force in the universe that different species may be more or less capable of taking advantage of but almost no society that makes it to interstellar expansion is superstitious enough to really believe in it as having any explanatory power, so instances of luck get explained away as better attention to detail or whatever. 2. Luck is not real and really does just represent Gnolams having better eye for detail and subconscious probability calculating ability such that they manage to avoid misfortune more often than not.
|
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2020 16:19
|
|
|
Steyan Daily News (city of Steyan, Pruen) posted:Anticipate tremors this coming Grainday, as Superior Seismic Services, Incorporated is performing scheduled maintenance on the fault between the Nalas Continent Plate and the Eastern Oceanic Plate in order to relieve pressure buildup.
|
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2020 17:03
|
|
|
GunnerJ posted:Seems like it's either: Since Word of Nweis has already stated that gnolams throwing dice get the normal distribution, I'd hedge my bets on 2.
|
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2020 17:10
|
|
|
On the other hand, there's no real luck involved in any result when you're throwing dice as part of a statistical experiment. And if you're throwing dice against another gnolam in a competitive game, their luck and your luck cancel each other.
|
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2020 18:09
|
|
|
You're failing to imagine an experiment in which all parties want you to roll a specific result. For example, if the roller gets boxcars on 2d6, then they get a cookie (which they really want), from somebody who really wants to share their cookie (a corporate rep from Nutris Lucky Bites doing an advert). Gnolams, being a really clever sort, would obviously have taken this into account. QED. 
|
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2020 18:45
|
|
|
Theantero posted:You're failing to imagine an experiment in which all parties want you to roll a specific result. For example, if the roller gets boxcars on 2d6, then they get a cookie (which they really want), from somebody who really wants to share their cookie (a corporate rep from Nutris Lucky Bites doing an advert). Or, even more simply, single-player games.
|
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2020 18:50
|
|
|
Mechanics Discussion: Shields, Shield-Piercing Weapons, Armor Resilience, and Armor Penetration Once shields are discovered in nuMoO, they provide two benefits: one, they reduce the incoming damage of each hit by a specified amount (1 point for Class I Shields), and two, they provide an ablative layer of hit points that must be worn down before damage is dealt to ship hulls, and which can regenerate freely given sufficient time not taking damage. Even if the ablative protection of shields is depleted, their damage reduction still works, which can make them particularly effective against 'beam' weapons like the pirate 'swabber' we have seen, which deal their damage as a series of smaller 'ticks'. Thus, in general, higher base damage on weapons works better against shields. Some weapons (generally those based on solid kinetic projectiles, such as the mass drivers we'll get for the soon-to-be-launched design contest) are 'shield piercing', and completely ignore the effect of shields. All armors have a 'resilience' rating, and all weapons have an 'armor penetration' rating. Damage by a weapon against shields is completely determined by the raw weapon damage, plus a possible modifier for weapons set up to be particularly effective against shields. Damage that gets through shields and is applied to ship hull is determined by the raw weapon damage, modified by armor resilience and armor penetration. The weapon's penetration is divided by the armor's resilience to provide a multiplier to raw damage. This multiplier has a minimum value of 0.75, regardless of how much resilience outclasses penetration- even if the weapon fails to penetrate, it's still dumping its energy into the armor material in a way that can cause eventual damage. For instance, a weapon with a penetration of 10 being used against titanium armor (with a resilience of 5) will do twice its base damage against the hull, after getting through shields.
|
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2020 19:02
|
|
|
Science Knows No Boundries    In early 1926, a series of negotiations between various Gnolam and Human research institutions led to a major program of information-sharing and joint research projects. Although the investment in these new research programs was steep, , the benefit was nearly immediate, with ideas from the Universal Mercantile League and United Republic cross-pollinating. An era of rapid scientific advancement for Gnolams and Humans began. We gained a full 12 RP per annum from this treaty- not bad when we're starting from 16 RP per annum. We also renewed our trade treaty the year following, but, barring something unusual happening, I won't show renewal of trade treaties. Unlike research treaties, you can safely assume their renewal to be automatic.  By early 1928, corporations within the League, already heavily-involved in research, began to cement improved methods of data analysis and new standards of planetary commications infrastructure to ensure better bandwidth for truly massive data sets. Meanwhile, mining and geological firms, combing through data sets collected from survey data, began to refine planetary survey methods to pinpoint the most valuable veins of resources on otherwise resource-scarce planets, helping to ensure viable access to raw materials for local industries.   The cooperative research projects between Gnolams and Humans left ample opportunity for Gnolams to study existing Human technology, in those areas where Human advancement had outpaced the League. In 1931, negotiations by a consortium of Gnolam aerospace and engineering corporations allowed them to purchase full rights to the use of Human 'shield' technology, at an eye-wateringly high price. Using powerful magnetic generators, shields could deflect light particles and dust and provide a refracting effect on inbound radiation. The power draw of these generators was impressive, and was only increased as they had to work to deflect radiation and particles, which could force eventual emergency shutdown. Despite their impressive defensive capabilities, the ability of shields to protect against massive objects with significant momentum was minimal at best.  Scientific advancement continued at a blistering pace, with biotech and agicultural firms revealing a whole series of artificially engineered simple organisms adapted to extreme environments. Use of simple artificial molds and fungi to provide nutrients, although of little interest on Val, which had abundant food provided by its fertile farmlands, saw greater consumer uptake on Stevas, which always suffered from elevated food prices, even despite the... questionable... flavor of the new foodstuffs. These new technological tools, if misused, could potentially unleash devastating plagues- a fact which Gnolam physicians began to take into account during routine checkups of their patients. Fungal farms are nice on more hostile worlds, but far from the best planetary structures out there, while bioweapons are things I don't anticipate using. Biotechnology is a technology most useful for the other techs it serves as a prerequisite for.   More technology transfer negotiations were concluded in 1935, with League electronics and computer firms buying rights to cutting-edge Human computer designs. Essentially as powerful as the physics of electronics would allow, these new computers could be put to use in many applications- not least in targeting and weapons control for Naval warships.  The continued flow of trade between the Universal Mercantile League and the United Republic served to spur the development of several large corporations purely focused on speculative arbitrage between League and Republic, using either their own shipping capacity or the shipping capacity of dedicated logistics firms. Pre-eminent amongst these new corporations was Axelsson Interstellar Trading, headed by Axel Axelsson and recognised as one of the fastest-growing firms in the League in 1939. The flow of goods increased, as more and more opportunities to match demands with suppliers were undertaken by these new, hungry traders. A very nice set of bonuses, especially as the League continues to grow.  A League colonisation mission set down on the world of Eglein in the Shimari system in 1940. Mining operations to extract the precious platinum abundant on Shimari immediately commenced, even as work was underway by the Creator to establish sealed habitat modules in the Shimari asteroids which would be used to house an array of research labs requiring microgravity conditions, access to vaccuum, or isolation from population centers. Although Eglein was a fertile world, with a nearly Valian environment in the rainy basins surrounding its landlocked seas, its intense gravitational field proved to be the source of continual difficulties for the planet's inhabitants.  The Sentinel cleared its construction site on Stevas in 1942, setting a course to reinforce the border defenses in the Guad system- the Navy's first dedicated deep space warship not primarily built for counterpiracy duties. Although only an escort frigate, its added protection would no doubt help secure the system more effectively until permanent fortifications were in place and a space control cruiser was ready to join it on station.  The Enforcer registered disturbances in the hyperspace conduit from Miract to Shimari in 1945 consistent with inbound ships- both out of the normal lanes of commercial and courier traffic, and heavier than normal commercial freighters. It repositioned itself and waited to challenge the inbound ships, lest the present a threat to League citizens.   By 1946, meanwhile, continued biological and ecological research had borne fruit that promised to be of far greater economic significance than the extremophilic organisms earlier introduced. With a combination of carefully chosen crops from alien biospheres and the establishment of specialised chemical industries to help farmers actively manage the soil chemistry of agricultural lands, the potential was there for farmers in the League to produce far higher crop yields than ever before. The construction of a network of vast atmospheric plants on a planet could, potentially, lead to the entire atmospheric volume of the planet being drawn through one plant or another and processed to remove chemical contamination over a period of only a few short years. Although atmospheric contamination on League planets was nowhere bad enough to justify such an investment, nonetheless the knowledge that it could be done was a reassuring sign for future industrial expansion.  Meanwhile, in Guad, the lifeless, metal-poor planet of Navok was colonised. Although Navok offered little in itself, its strategic position along trade lanes between League and Republic and its position to support future development in the asteroids of Guad offered some degree of compensation.   The ships that the Enforcer had detected arrived at Shimari in 1947- a pair of pirate vessels, as ramshackle and outdated as ever. The Enforcer smoothly outmaneuvered and destroyed both pirate vessels using maximum-range nuclear missile volleys, once again proving the inadequacy of pirate engineering.  With the growing construction demands of the increasingly far-flung League, it was essentially inevitable that a new engineering firm would commission a new factory ship to service these demands. The High Forge, commissioned and operated by Apocrypha Engineering Corporation, departed from Val in 1948, setting course for the Guad system and the work to be done there. Known Space and the Universal Mercantile League as of 1950  The last collaborative projects between League and Republic research departments are being wrapped up, bringing a close to twenty-five years of startling progress. New research facilities in Shimari and improved research departments on Val pick up some of the slack, but nonetheless, the end of the last round of projects is felt keenly- and the next set of possible collaborative research proposals is currently too expensive to fund. With the colonisation of Shimari and Guad, a provisional claim on the whole of the spinward section of accessible space has been made by the League- a claim that will be cemented once fortifications to control border access have been completed. There has been some, albeit modest, growth in generation of available investment capital over the past twenty-five years.  In Shimari, an array of research facilities in the asteroids conduct a dizzying array of experiments, including a Naval proving range for the testing of new weapons systems.  The Enforcer has arrived at the Miract system, identifying a small outlaw colony on Miract Prime. The Enforcer should arrive in orbit shortly, once again helping to bring the threat of piracy to heel.  The Sentinel has arrived at Guad and is in the process of taking up its station, while the High Forge is still only in the Kakari system. The Vindicator remains on station, waiting to be reinforced by the Sentinel.   Val is now approaching a population of 11 billion, its population growth having been slowed by the demands of supplying colonists for Eglein and Navok. A massive modernisation of Val's communications infrastructure has gone alongside investment in corporate R&D departments, which has led to growing output from Val's scientific community. The Victor is under construction at the assembly yards of the Naval station in Val's orbit, to depart for Guad upon its completion.   Stevas now exceeds three billion in population, with local governments now far more effectively organised and the earlier 'frontier' character of legal arrangements on the planet now at an end. Development of farms to cultivate artificial molds and fungi to supplement local food sources is in progress- although the fungi cultivated in these farms are far less appetising than such beloved staples of the Gnolam diet as the rich and hearty spotcap. Still, an additional source of cheap calories, given the somewhat marginal state of local agriculture, would help serve a need for the local population.    Eglein's population of about one billion are largely spread across the planet in small rural towns providing services for the farmers and miners of the planet. Careful survey of the planet has identified several rich metal veins being worked by miners to deliver to the small manufacturing base of the planet, while platinum mining and export ensures a continual influx of capital. The economy remains highly basic and simple, relative to other worlds of the Universal Mercantile League. Crust prospecting adds as much production as an automated factory, and is significantly cheaper to build. It's a good first building for poor and ultra-poor planets. The 25% penalty to research, agriculture, and industry from gravity hurts, but Eglein is still more agriculturally productive than Stevas per population.   Navok supports a population of about a billion, clustered in a string of industrial cities being fed by the produce of the few mine sites of any real value that have been identified on the planet. Work is underway to modernise the industrial base, and perhaps free up labor for sectors where it may be more productive. As on Eglein, the economy is relatively simple and basic. Unlike on Eglein, the lifeless environment forces the population to cluster in sealed city complexes, although at least here the gravity is more comfortable.  Work to replicate Human basic research in electromagnetic field physics is nearly complete- and some theorists believe that dedicated work in physics could eventually lead to the control of gravitational fields, making both for more comfortable long-term space deployments and a possible solution to the gravity problems on Eglein. Proposals for the Universal Mercantile League Research Proposals Deeper research into physics is already under way, expected to bring with it revolutions in both space- and ground-based weapons and the development of industrial fusion power, reducing energy costs on heavily-developed worlds and increasing industrial output. The possibility exists to push even deeper into an understanding of physics, developing the capability to manipulate gravity, allowing for easier, more comfortable operations in space and addressing the difficulties caused by gravity on Eglein and similar worlds. Study into the logistics and supply chains made possible by a large-scale multistellar society such as the League could help with smoothing supply issues to major industrial worlds, as well as addressing the complications potentially caused by heavy industrialisation on resource-rich worlds. Further research into high-grade electronics could help with the development of more sensitive sensor suites, and help provide the tools for future developments in physics and computing. Advanced chemical engineering may allow for better missile designs and somewhat more cost-effective ways to address pollution issues than the construction of massive atmospheric processing plants, as well as laying the groundwork for advanced medical genetic engineering and improvements in materials science and spaceframe design. Application of breakthroughs in fusion power to higher-output drive systems should help make for faster civilian and military ships, helping knit the League more tightly together. We are going to research Neutron Physics immediately, as a continuation of our last voted-on research agenda. Please vote between Artificial Gravity, Macro Economics, Electronics, Molecular Manipulation, GENETIC ENGINEERING, ADVANCED ENGINEERING, and Advanced Fusion. Voting on either item in ALL CAPS also implicitly votes to work on its prerequisite technology of Molecular Manipulation. If you vote for Artificial Gravity, please vote between shipbuilding or research applications made possible by more comfortable, larger-scale presence in microgravity. Investment Priorities With recent advances in technology and the colonisation of Eglein and Navok, capital almost has more projects than it can chase in the League. Investment into Valian agriculture could have great payoffs, leading to bumper crops and cheap, abundant food for all Valians. This, as well as having consumer benefits, could help free Valian industrial workforces to focus on critical security priorities. Eglein and Navok, for their part, have a desperate need to build up an effective, modern industrial base to support future development. Finally, saving investment for a fresh round of collaborative research projects with Human researchers, although expensive, will doubtless have major scientific benefits. Please vote on prioritising sinking money into Val, new colonies, or a fresh research treaty. Colonisation Priorities With Guad and Shimari secured, a whole array of new colonisation targets present themselves within League space. Varinia hosts a world with vast habitable space and a reasonably friendly environment, while both Hoshi and Kakari have very Val-like worlds with very friendly environments, Kakari's also having notable precious metals deposits. A world in Biots combines a reasonably friendly garden environment with immense heavy metals reserves valuable for industry, a world in Parmag would serve as a perfect base for exploitation of Parmag's deep space resources, the oceanic world in Baalbo has a highly fertile environment to recommend it, and the various worlds of Taurio have several life-bearing environments and a fortune in precious metals and gems split between them. Please propose our next colonisation target, once we free up the industry on Val to start work on our next colony ship. Trade and cooperation with Humanity has led to an era of rapid progress and new wonders to cement Gnolam prosperity. Long may the League grow and thrive into the future.
|
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2020 21:43
|
|
|
Invest in Val. What use are alien wonders or vast fleets if the planetside support for them is lacking? Research Artificial Gravity, with research applications. Increasing gravity further is a start, but that's solving the opposite problem from the one we seem to be finding on every world but Val. Colonize the Taurio system now that we have properly staked our claims to the approaches to it. Cat Mattress posted:On the other hand, there's no real luck involved in any result when you're throwing dice as part of a statistical experiment. And if you're throwing dice against another gnolam in a competitive game, their luck and your luck cancel each other. Ah, but when you're drawing cards against a group of people that include Humans, in something that is clearly a simulation but also just as clearly some kind of test of mettle... ... yeah, I really wanted to write a poker game between a Lucky race and a Diplomatic race and the main thing I needed to check with nweismuller here was "So, nobody can read the source code... do Gnolams have an advantage in games of pure luck like War or Candy Land?" and the way he wants to run this, he was quite clear that they do not. (He's also clear that such games would hold little appeal to the Gnolams, as, indeed, they hold little appeal to Humans beyond early childhood.) The curiosity about ship safety systems is my gloss on a mechanic that by definition won't be appearing in the LP: if you're playing as the Humans, or, indeed, any non-Lucky, race, you are subject to a random event that causes one of your ships to explode for no reason other than 'there was a terrible accident'. This event never hits the Gnolam. But the Gnolam can't read the source code, so they do have to put in the work to earn the immunity. 
|
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2020 22:09
|
|
|
News All Day Network posted:-states that the corporate push for Genetic Engineering is part of a greater investment into Val as a whole, promising that staple crop neo-cultivars tailored specifically for the planet's atmosphere and their patented N-Soil Soil Enrichment Solution will hit the market soon. As per the leaked plans for a Baalbo Kelp Initiative, the conglomerate stays vagu- Advert Jingle posted:Funbits!
|
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2020 22:15
|
|
|
Ship Design Contest, ca. 1967 Once again, new technologies demand an update of Naval designs. This time, the Navy is looking for replacement designs for all three of the Enforcer counter-piracy frigate/scout, the Sentinel fleet escort frigate, and the Victor space control cruiser. SPACEFRAME A frigate spaceframe costs 3 trillion credits to manufacture and provides 650 tons free displacement for mission equipment. A cruiser spaceframe costs 7 trillion credits to manufacture and provides 1,100 tons free displacement for mission equipment. ARMOR Titanium framing and plating with boron carbide radiation-absorbing layers is standard and required. Titanium armor, frigate- 4 trillion credits, part of spaceframe displacement, 95 hull points, 5 resilience Titanium armor, cruiser- 8 trillion credits, part of spaceframe displacement, 165 hull points, 5 resilience REACTOR AND DRIVE A uranium fission reactor combined with powerful thrusters and an FTL drive system to allow entry of hyperspace conduits dominates all ship engineering sectors, and is standard and required. Nuclear reactor and drive, frigate- 3 trillion credits, 75 tons displacement Nuclear reactor and drive, cruiser- 4 trillion credits, 187.5 tons displacement TARGETING ELECTRONICS Cutting-edge targeting electronics and upgraded computers replace standard electronics needed for the spaceframe, and do not require more displacement, but are a notable investment in cost. The compensation, of course, is far better fire control. Top-end targeting computer, frigate- 6 trillion credits, +25 direct-fire accuracy Top-end electronic computer, cruiser- 7 trillion credits, +25 direct-fire accuracy ELECTROMAGNETIC SCREENS Electromagnetic defensive screens could potentially deflect nearly half the damage needed to destroy the hull mounting them, as well as slightly weakening all incoming fire. Electromagnetic screens, frigate- 6 trillion credits, 100 tons, 47.5 shield points, 1 shield absorption Electromagnetic screens, cruiser- 9 trillion credits, 250 tons, 82.5 shield points, 1 shield absorption SPECIAL SYSTEMS Rebuilding and extending drive systems and the reactor to support them could allow for greater agility in combat as well as greater tactical and strategic mobility. Use of sophisticated ECM gear to baffle missile seekers should greatly reduce the accuracy of incoming missile fire on a ship, increasing survivability. Augmented engines, frigate- 10 trillion credits, 60 tons, +25 direct-fire defense, increased strategic speed, access to bursts of greatly increased combat speed Augmented enginers, cruiser- 25 trillion credits, 120 tons, +25 direct-fire defense, increased strategic speed, access to bursts of greatly increased combat speed ECM jammer, frigate- 12 trillion credits, 150 tons, +25 missile defense ECM jammer, cruiser- 18 trillion credits, 225 tons, +25 missile defense WEAPONS SYSTEMS Frigates have fire control for three different weapon systems, while cruisers have fire control for four different weapon systems. BOMBS The venerable nuclear bomb remains the workhorse of rooting out pirate bases, and as such is necessary for counterpiracy frigates, but is unnecessary for space control cruisers or fleet escort frigates. Nuclear bomb bay- 4 trillion credits, 100 tons MISSILES Nuclear missiles have long been the standard offensive system of the Navy, but some theorists now advocate a shift to reliance on cannon. Still, they could remain quite effective if properly applied. KKV launch systems remain an effective and efficient defense against enemy missile fire. Nuclear missile launch tube- 4 trillion credits, 100 tons, 20 damage, 5 armor penetration, launch cooldown 18s, 60 range Defensive KKV launch system- 2 trillion credits, 30 tons, 5 damage, launch cooldown 2s, 10 range, may only effectively engage missiles CANNONS Refinements in neutron burst cannon design have resulted in more compact and efficient neutron cannon with all the capability of old designs, while new variants on neutron burst cannon could greatly increase their performance in battle. Extended bursts to more effectively burn through armor, improved capacitors and heat dissipation systems to reduce effective time between shots, larger cannon with a longer effective range and more destructive power, and neutron burst cannon with an output calibrated to more effectively overload shield generators are all possible. Now also possible are effective space-based mass drivers. Although the basic theory behind the mass driver is not new, mass drivers with the reliability and effective launch velocity to serve as primary ship weapons are new. They are likely to deliver devastating impact on their target, with essentially no interference from enemy electromagnetic screens and no loss of energy over range, and they could further be adapted as powerful point defense mounts. Neutron burst cannon, standard, limited-traversal front or rear mount- 4 trillion credits, 72 tons, 9 optimal damage, 5 armor penetration, firing cooldown 7s, 50 range Neutron burst cannon, standard, paired broadside mounts- 6 trillion credits, 90 tons, 9 optimal damage, 5 armor penetration, firing cooldown 7s, 50 range Neutron burst cannon, standard, full-rotation dorsal or ventral turret mount- 8 trillion credits, 108 tons, 9 optimal damage, 5 armor penetration, firing cooldown 7s, 50 range Neutron burst cannon, armor-piercing, limited-traversal front or rear mount- 6 trillion credits, 90 tons, 9 optimal damage, 7.5 armor penetration, firing cooldown 7s, 50 range Neutron burst cannon, armor-piercing, paired broadside mounts- 8 trillion credits, 135 tons, 9 optimal damage, 7.5 armor penetration, firing cooldown 7s, 50 range Neutron burst cannon, armor-piercing, full-rotation dorsal or ventral turret mount- 13 trillion credits, 162 tons, 9 optimal damage, 7.5 armor penetration, firing cooldown 7s, 50 range Neutron burst cannon, auto-fire, limited-traversal front or rear mount- 6 trillion credits, 90 tons, 9 optimal damage, 5 armor penetration, firing cooldown 3.5s, 50 range, -20 accuracy Neutron burst cannon, auto-fire, paired broadside mounts- 8 trillion credits, 135 tons, 9 optimal damage, 5 armor penetration, firing cooldown 3.5s, 50 range, -20 accuracy Neutron burst cannon, auto-fire, full-rotation dorsal or ventral turret mount- 13 trillion credits, 162 tons, 9 optimal damage, 5 armor penetration, firing cooldown 3.5s, 50 range, -20 accuracy Neutron burst cannon, heavy, limited-traversal front or rear mount- 8 trillion credits, 108 tons, 18 optimal damage, 5 armor penetration, firing cooldown 8.75s, 75 range Neutron burst cannon, heavy, paired broadside mounts- 12 trillion credits, 135 tons, 18 optimal damage, 5 armor penetration, firing cooldown 8.75s, 75 range Neutron burst cannon, heavy, full-rotation dorsal or ventral turret mount- 17 trillion credits, 162 tons, 18 optimal damage, 5 armor penetration, firing cooldown 8.75s, 75 range Neutron burst cannon, shield overload, limited-traversal front or rear mount- 5 trillion credits, 90 tons, 9 optimal damage (13.5 versus shields), 5 armor penetration, firing cooldown 7s, 50 range Neutron burst cannon, shield overload, paired broadside mounts- 7 trillion credits, 112.5 tons, 9 optimal damage (13.5 versus shields), 5 armor penetration, firing cooldown 7s, 50 range Neutron burst cannon, shield overload, full-rotation dorsal or ventral turret mount- 10 trillion credits, 135 tons, 9 optimal damage (13.5 versus shields), 5 armor penetration, firing cooldown 7s, 50 range Specifications on combinations of armor-piercing, auto-fire, heavy, and shield overload neutron burst cannon available on request. Mass driver, limited-traversal front or rear mount- 10 trillion credits, 100 tons, 12 damage, 10 armor penetration, firing cooldown 8s, 50 range, no range dissipation, ignores shields Mass driver, paired broadside mounts- 15 trillion credits, 125 tons, 12 damage, 10 armor penetration, firing cooldown 8s, 50 range, no range dissipation, ignores shields Mass driver, full-rotation dorsal or ventral turret mount- 20 trillion credits, 150 tons, 12 damage, 10 armor penetration, firing cooldown 8s, 50 range, no range dissipation, ignores shields Mass driver, point defense array, full globe coverage- 5 trillion credits, 34 tons, 6 damage, 10 armor penetration, firing cooldown 6s, 10 range, no range dissipation, ignores shields, +25 accuracy, may effectively engage missiles Submissions and votes on designs in all three categories of the design contest are accepted. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 23:18 on Jun 11, 2020 |
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2020 22:58
|
|
|
ManxomeBromide posted:Increasing gravity further is a start, but that's solving the opposite problem from the one we seem to be finding on every world but Val. For what it's worth, artificial manipulation of gravity can also generate cancelling forces operating in the opposite direction to the natural pull of gravity, effectively 'reducing' gravitation.
|
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2020 23:51
|
|
|
Internal Apocrypha Engineering G-Mail posted:"..not changing the result. There will not be any orders for the Centurio, or your other ship. They decided to go with an alternative design. And the rental launch contract auto-renewed, so unless if you can find some revenue..." Internal Meeting Recording, Economic Impact Justification Review posted:<Experimental R&D Head>: "These projects look like a match made in heaven to me, don't you think?" Presentation of Experimental R&D Probationary Product, Series 1 posted:"Presenting, Apocrypha Engineering's newest innovative design, the High Forge! Secure radiation-shielded chambers to hold personnel and sensitive components, and six automated engineering spires coordinated by the latest in alien computing for perfect precision work! Gnolam maintain the system itself, which comes with multiple blueprints to construct long-ranger interstellar scanners...or utilizing it's extra shielding to create hardpoint installations designed to secure jump points against pirate incursions. With the minimal armament of these vessels, even these automated systems are capable of stopping an attack, and furthermore will provide additional security and tracking information to our trade fleets..." Internal Meeting Recording, Successful Product Launch Retrospective: High Forge posted:<Comptroller>: "...You've been watching those alien engineering shows, haven't you?" ADVANCED ENGINEERING will get Apocrypha some new unorthodox techniques to work with, surely. Let it be known that we'll keep re-engineering our products until they're economically viable! For INVESTMENT PRIORITIES, of course, Apocrypha Engineering will encourage the spread into NEW COLONIES, which can be populated rapidly by our "Salar" civilian-class auto-assembling transports, which upon landing, can be configured into a variety of common residential or basic industrial emplacements. Stay tuned for our future offerings! If you want a hint, BAALBO presents an interesting challenge insofar as underwater farming techniques... --- Internal Status: Where Is The Exotic R&D Chief posted:<Comptroller>: "Where'd the ERD H-no, this is a ship blueprint, no, no! He's supposed to be working on the aquatic wh-" Unauthorized Product Pitch Meeting with Client posted:PRESENTING, Apocrypha Engineering's latest proposal for the Victor-class cruiser! Forget missiles and KKVs; Shields are in, but the weapons of yesteryear are just what they can't fight. RAILGUNS! Or, in their latest form, Mass Drivers. This is a-
|
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2020 00:01
|
|
|
A brief consultation with the Apocrypha Engineering Legal Department suggests that calling their new proposal the Champion instead of the Victor will have fewer trademark fights with Reliant Aerospace.
|
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2020 00:12
|
|
|
Nightly Naval News posted:Drevner Mass Drivers today put forward their design for the Negotiator Class space control cruiser. While some praised it at the future of space combat, skeptics point out the massive cost and the over-reliance on as yet unproven technology..." Drevner Mass Drivers posted:Introducing the Negotiator Class Cruiser! A creddit user posted:It's pretty obvious they just wanted to get as much of their product onto a ship as possible, while making the rest of us pay for all the expensive stuff to make sure they came out looking invincible. Is anyone really going to go for this?
|
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2020 00:27
|
|
|
nweismuller posted:A brief consultation with the Apocrypha Engineering Legal Department suggests that calling their new proposal the Champion instead of the Victor will have fewer trademark fights with Reliant Aerospace. <Comptroller> "Agreed. That or...he was going to call it the *Padan*? No, it's still more Reliant's design then ours, so let them keep their own naming style. ...I'm also sorry, I don't know where Chief's getting his names from either."
|
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2020 00:29
|
|
|
Vee2003, if I am reading correctly, that is two full-rotation turrets and two broadside mounts along with a single point defense mount? Two more point defense mounts can potentially be fit on in that case, or you could upgrade one broadside mount to a full turret and fit on two point defense mounts. Cost estimates for Padan and Negotiator designs: Padan (which needs to drop down to 6 nuke tubes and 2 KKV tubes to fit the shield in) costs 56 trillion. Negotiator costs, depending on what precisely was meant... 2 turrets, 2 broadsides, 1 PD costs 110 trillion. 2 turrets, 2 broadsides, 3 PD or 3 turrets, 1 broadside, and 2 PD both cost 120 trillion. If I misinterpreted the intent, I can recalculate.
|
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2020 00:40
|
|
|
Reliant Aerospace, as can be reliably expected, has its own submissions to the design contest. Controller-class counterpiracy/scouting frigate Reliant Aerospace spaceframe- 3 trillion credits, 650 tons mission equipment League Consolidated Metals titanium plating and framing- 4 trillion credits, displacement calculated as part of the spaceframe itself Fountainhead Energy uranium reactor and Reliant Aerospace Maximum Performance drive systems- 13 trillion credits, 135 tons Republican Atlantic electromagnetic screen generator- 6 trillion credits, 100 tons 2 WSI NTAC-49 nuclear missile launch tubes and magazine stowage- 8 trillion credits, 200 tons 1 WSI ND-22 nuclear bomb bay and munitions stowage- 4 trillion credits, 100 tons 3 Reliant Aerospace 'Guardian' KKV launch systems and magazine stowage- 6 trillion credits, 90 tons Total- 44 trillion credits manufacture cost, 625 tons mission equipment displacement used Protector-class fleet escort frigate Reliant Aerospace spaceframe- 3 trillion credits, 650 tons mission equipment League Consolidated Metals titanium plating and framing- 4 trillion credits, displacement calculated as part of the spaceframe itself Fountainhead Energy uranium reactor and Reliant Aerospace drive systems- 3 trillion credits, 75 tons Logical Computing electronics and computers upgrade- 6 trillion credits Republican Atlantic electromagnetic screen generator- 6 trillion credits, 100 tons 1 Drevner 'Reason' full-rotation mass driver turret, dorsal mount- 20 trillion credits, 150 tons 10 Reliant Aerospace 'Guardian' KKV launch systems and magazine stowage- 20 trillion credits, 300 tons Total- 62 trillion credits manufacture cost, 625 tons mission equipment displacement used Champion-class space control cruiser Reliant Aerospace spaceframe- 7 trillion credits, 1,100 tons mission equipment League Consolidated Metals titanium plating and framing- 8 trillion credits, displacement calculated as part of the spaceframe itself Fountainhead Energy uranium reactor and Reliant Aerospace drive systems- 4 trillion credits, 187.5 tons displacement Logical Computing electronics and computers upgrade- 7 trillion credits Republican Atlantic electromagnetic screen generator- 9 trillion credits, 250 tons 4 Drevner 'Reason' full-rotation mass driver turrets, two dorsal, two ventral- 80 trillion credits, 600 tons 2 Reliant Aerospace 'Guardian' KKV launch systems and magazine stowage- 4 trillion credits, 60 tons Total- 119 trillion credits manufacture cost, 1,097.5 tons mission equipment displacement used
|
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2020 01:04
|
|
|
Use the extra space as point defenses. Don't mind my silly inexactness.
|
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2020 01:08
|
|
|
Navy in-house refit proposal for the Sentinel class posted:"Seriously, just rip out half the magazine stowage for the NTACs and all the machinery for one of the launch tubes and cram an imported Republican screen generator in the space thus created. It'd be ugly, but we could do the refit in a week at any Naval base without having to beg for extra budget, and we can get shipyards to build to that standard in the future with just minimal revision of the current Sentinel plans. Fewer budget fights are better, in my book." The Navy Sentinel refit has a manufacturing cost of 44 trillion credits. Uncle Trorn's advertisement posted:Uncle Trorn's. We've long been the brand you trust for quality pre-prepared meals and beverages. But now, Uncle Trorn's is bringing its same commitment to quality and new delicious recipes based on our favorites in the stores to our new Uncle Trorn's Bakery Restaurant, where you can enjoy fresh-cooked, wholesome meals prepared while you wait. Sit down for a hearty bowl of stew, for one of our savory pies, for a sandwich, or for one of our famous vegetable and mushroom sautee dishes. Refresh your thirst with our sweetened tea, with milk fresh from local markets, or with Sunny Orchard fruit juices. Finish it all with a delicious fruit pie or Dairy Gold ice cream. Uncle Trorn's Bakery Restaurant. Opening now at selected locations. Sit down and enjoy the goodness. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 21:23 on Aug 8, 2021 |
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2020 01:48
|
|
|
Voting for the full Reliant Aerospace set.
|
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2020 15:00
|
|
|
Apocrypha Engineering votes for the Padan-class Cruiser, as well as the Controller and Protector models.
|
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2020 15:47
|
|
|
News All Day Network posted:... Bortis Shipping and Logistics has begun putting research resources into physicists and engineers, hoping to address the difficulties on its workforce presented by long-term... Artificial Gravity, Research Nian Bortis posted:Let's step up the service to Guad and Shimari, people. I don't want us missing valuable hauling contracts for all the industrial equipment going to our new worlds because we had too much idle time on our ships or we spent it on in-system milk runs. Invest in the new colonies of Eglein and Navok. News All Day Network posted:... many independent investors placing money behind a new colony mission to Kakari, taking advantage of the lush conditions and valuable reserves of gold and platinum that could be mined there...
|
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2020 16:24
|
|
|
It looks like autofire doubles the firing rate but does not double the space. The question is if the volume of fire is enough to make up for the accuracy penalty. There comes a point where the answer is a resounding "yes," but I don't know when that is. I'm pretty sure we're not there, though. Anyway, since range is a concern, for our control cruiser, my proposal is "two heavy autofiring forward neutron cannons, two autofiring 360 degree neutron cannons, fill the rest with forward autofiring neutron cannons, shields, a computer, and devote whatever space is left over to PD Mass Drivers." So far, this thing only has to deal with crappy little pirates, so even this is overkill, but the idea is that the heavy guns should kill or at least severely weaken most stuff coming to get all up in our grill. The rest of the batteries should make sure that anything that does close will be eating fire from all the other guns, and anything small and light enough that "get in our blind spot and stay there" is remotely viable won't be able to survive the two guns that can shoot it no matter where it goes. (This raises the question of "what the gently caress happened to its support frigate," but the answer to that is not my job.) The computer is to make sure it can actually hit stuff with all this, and hopefully the pure volume of fire will make up for the inherent accuracy issues. After all, quantity has a certain quality all its own! I would have a very different proposal if we were going to be facing humanity, something a bit more mass driver focused, but "it ignores shields" doesn't mean much against pirates. If the idea of a ship that's meant to just go AAAAAAAAAAA while pointing the guns at the enemies and clamping down on the trigger until the explosions stop is not really good, then my alternate proposal can be summed up quite handily with a simple picture:  ...or to actually use words, Cruiser with shields, all the missiles it can fit (which should be six), two KKVs, and that leaves 2.5 tons left over we can't put anything in. Don't bother with a computer, since as far as I know that's just an extra expense that does nothing to help anything.
|
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2020 19:09
|
|
|
MechaCrash, space control cruisers and their escort frigates are specifically intended to give us options against peer competitors. Not that we expect a breakdown of relations with Humanity, but better to negotiate from a position of strength. Your alternate design basically recreates the Padan proposal. Do you want to formalise the first proposal- and, if so, a proposal class name would not go amiss- or do you just want to cast a vote for a Padan? Heck, if you wanted, you could redo a neutron-cannon-oriented proposal as another proposal for the counterpiracy/scouting frigate, since that's the role you seemed to anticipate for it. For reference, current design proposals: Space Control Cruisers- Reliant Aerospace Champion, Apocrypha Engineering Padan, Drevner Mass Drivers Negotiator. Fleet Escort Frigates- Reliant Aerospace Protector, Reliant/Navy Sentinel refit. Counterpiracy/Scouting Frigate- Reliant Aerospace Controller. E: To elaborate, I design military ships in nuMoO to six key roles, in theory. (Well, the sixth is purely theoretical, but still.) Space control is the role of main-line combat vessels, intended to engage and destroy the fleets of peer competitors (or discourage peer competitors from starting anything). Fleet escort ships are intended to operate in tandem with space control ships, helping defend space control ships and contributing a little extra offensive firepower to boot. Scouting ships are cheap, mobile, and have augmented engines, to cover ground as quickly as possible- and are intended to be as small a loss as possible if lost in action. Counter-piracy ships mix modest offensive firepower with modest ground attack munitions to hit pirate bases cheaply and effectively; I normally merge this role with the scouting role. Space bombardment ships use a torpedo loadout for maximum effectiveness against fixed defenses, but are minimally effective on their own against enemy fleets. We don't have the tech need for this role yet. The theoretical orbital bombardment role is intended to perform war crimes and carries a heavy bomb load. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 19:42 on Jun 12, 2020 |
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2020 19:29
|
|
|
I don't think the bombardment is necessarily a war crime, depending on what you drop. Orbital bombardment to thin ground defenses doesn't seem like it'd be off the table, as long as you're dropping explosives and not pathogens. (Why bioweapons aren't complete poo poo in nuMOO is something I can cover when we get there if I remember.) But yeah, it makes sense that you're sending small, cheap ships that carry a bomb and some anti-ship weapons to deal with pirates, because pirate ships are garbage you can just push the hell over as long as you're capable of putting up a fight, and the lone bomb is more than enough to deal with their base. The second ship I proposed would indeed just be a Padan, but I wanted an excuse to post that gif. v  v The big problem with that is that by the time we get all the super cool missile boosting stuff that makes missiles Super Radical, we're past the point that beams have overtaken missiles. I think. It's been a while. I'll probably try proposing it anyway because I am a giant nerd.I would like to formalize that first proposal, but I don't have a number on how much space will be left over after the heavy autofiring guns. So to put that in a cleaner format, with changes because I actually bothered with math this time... Titanium armor, because we don't have anything else. Nuclear drive, because we don't have anything else. Electronic computer, because we're already taking a to-hit penalty. Type 1 shields because it's this or nothing. No specials, because I don't think the augmented engines will help out of combat (it's a guard) or in combat (fatass ship by the current standards), and there's enough anti-missile stuff that jamming shouldn't be needed. Two heavy autofiring forward mount neutron cannons, 126 tons each if I'm doing the math right. One autofiring 360 neutron cannon, 162 tons. That leaves 248.5 tons, which is enough for two autofiring forward neutron cannons. This leaves 68.5 tons, for two KKVs, leaving 8.5 tons. I would name it the "Friend" as a pithy joke about the saying "keep your friends close and enemies closer" but that seems out of tone. "Constable," perhaps? As you said, we don't want to have to use these, and I suspect that by the time it's time to start actually stomping on people these things will be long since obsolete, but y'know. Just in case. I'm going for designs that are more interesting to see in action than my usual MO for making ships in these games, which is to go "this gun seems good" and then I headbutt the MAX IT OUT button. Giant piles of heavy autofiring weapons with PD weapons wedged into the cracks are a common sight in my fleets. Out of curiosity, will you be using actual scout ships again? Being way cheaper is nice, but if they run into trouble (or pirates), there's nothing they can do about it, and while I really like being able to push the "just explore on your own" button, you're micromanaging so that won't help much.
|
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2020 20:49
|
|
|
We're going to be using military scouts from here on out. We have a stronger economy than at game start, and they're more survivable. As far as using explosives to thin out defenders, yes, but given that even explosives are pretty indiscriminate about what they hit, I prefer the cleaner, but more expensive route of digging out everybody on the ground. Heavy autofiring neutron cannon are 144 tons. We can get the math right if we strip out one of the (lighter) forward mounts and increase the KKV loadout to 3. With these revisions, the Constable design would have a total cost of 81 trillion credits. Is that acceptable to you? E: Also, MechaCrash, any votes on the update's presented votes? nweismuller fucked around with this message at 22:18 on Jun 12, 2020 |
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2020 21:10
|
|
|
Hm, point taken with the indiscriminate nature of the bombs. I will still advocate for their use if we find Darlocks because gently caress those guys. For the ship, I would rather drop the KKVs and keep the anti-ship firepower. We'll have a frigate that is festooned with the things as a little buddy, after all. I think this would mean two heavy autofiring cannons, one 360 autofiring cannon, two autofiring cannons, class 1 shields, a computer, and only one KKV with zero frills. This means that, in theory, it's relatively undefended against missiles. I don't foresee this being a problem because we're going to have a little buddy stuffed to the brim with anti-missile technology. Plus I think we can out-DPS anything that'd be throwing missiles at us, which again, would be just Humans, who have no reason to fight us, and we should have better stuff by the time we get into a war. Plus, to metagame again, I don't think the AI designs ships with "specialization" in mind, so they'll just throw a handful of missiles at you, which our escort frigates can easily handle for us. We, on the other hand, will either not bother and render their PD useless, or go so hard that their PD is overwhelmed. For voting, Artificial Gravity so we can do something about all these normal-G planets that our poor low-G people have to live on. For investment, new Research Treaty, because more science is more better. Plus it will endear us to the humans, if I'm remembering how this works, which is good because they're less likely to decide it's worth pushing us around. For colonies, no real opinion at this time.
|
|
#
?
Jun 12, 2020 23:51
|
|
|
In the interest of breaking ties (And because someone miscopied an e-mail to the ERD head, leading him to believe he was advocating the immediate construction of new colony ships), Apocrypha will be throwing it's weight behind the Speed Up Val initiative, instead of Automated Factories on New Colonies. Let's get as many colonies going at once as we can, and get them all growing! ...Sorry, humans, but a research treaty with you is our next priority, promise. Those shields we got are just full of unorthodox and fun little usages. Well, maybe not 'little', small for a shield generator is still larger then your average house, but we're working on it. Glaive-Guisarme fucked around with this message at 02:11 on Jun 13, 2020 |
|
#
?
Jun 13, 2020 00:12
|
|
|
All right, I think I'm ready to wrap it. Artificial Gravity, research apps, invest in Val first, target Baalbo for our net colony ship once we knock the industrial capacity free.
|
|
#
?
Jun 13, 2020 00:13
|
|
|
Anyhow, I'm being lazy with regards to sorting and uploading these screenshots, but can take requests on lorepost topics.
|
|
#
?
Jun 13, 2020 02:14
|
|
|
Now that we have deep scanners, the next military ship built should make a merry little detour by Laan and Xanthus to see, from a safe distance, what kind of planets the giant space monsters are guarding. (Monsters attack if you orbit a planet, and now we don't need to orbit each planet individually to survey them, it can all be done from the outskirts of the stellar system where the monsters never go.)
|
|
#
?
Jun 13, 2020 07:02
|
|
|
Cat Mattress posted:Now that we have deep scanners, the next military ship built should make a merry little detour by Laan and Xanthus to see, from a safe distance, what kind of planets the giant space monsters are guarding. (Monsters attack if you orbit a planet, and now we don't need to orbit each planet individually to survey them, it can all be done from the outskirts of the stellar system where the monsters never go.) We don't have deep scanners yet. That needs to wait for us getting a chance to research Electronics, but that may be soon.
|
|
#
?
Jun 13, 2020 07:11
|
|
|
The known galaxy, as of 1950 GR. Little gnolam dudes represent potential population (if the world is/were settled). Big gnolam dudes represent actual population (the world is settled). For the human worlds, human dudes are used instead, with a medium size because we don't know or really care how many there actually are. The little chart under each planet represents its size, biome class, and mineral richness. It should be self-explanatory. Planets use their in-game appearance. If you have trouble identifying them, look at the tabs in the middle row (biome class): 1-red: orange: radiated world, green: toxic world, red: volcanic world, gray: barren world 2-orange: brown: desert; blue: tundra 3-yellow: brown-and-blue: arid; dark green: swamp 4-light green: dark blue: ocean; light blue: terran 5-vivid green: gaia (no such known world yet) The grey icon is for gravity. With a down arrow it's low-gravity, with an up-arrow it's high-gravity. Yes it's not intuitive but it's what's used in-game. Without an arrow it's normal gravity. The red version of that icon means gravity penalty. Special resource icons: yellow crystal for gold (money bonus), blue crystal for gems (money bonus), red crystal for artifacts (science bonus), teal crystal for dark quartz (production bonus), green barrel for seagrass (food bonus, no such planet known yet), teal barrel for red fungus (food bonus). The crescent moon means that the planet has at least one moon, this is gonna be relevant for the applications of the artificial gravity technology being searched (only planets with moons can benefit from either). Note that we can settle worlds like Hoshi III safely now, just rush a toxic purifier first thing and it'll turn into a barren planet instead of a toxic one.
|
|
#
?
Jun 13, 2020 10:34
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 11, 2024 06:16 |
|
|
Thanks, Cat Mattress, that's a very helpful reference bringing together all our survey results in one place. E: I just linked that post in the index as a very handy reference. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 16:51 on Jun 13, 2020 |
|
#
?
Jun 13, 2020 16:13
|
|