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Cat Mattress posted:Very important lore point to add: the Meklar theme music is rad. A quick check seems to indicate the Gnolam theme music isn't bad itself. I'm not hearing it as much in this playthrough, since I can't exactly negotiate with myself.
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Jun 17, 2020 23:52
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MechaCrash posted:Also, if I knew that alliances and open borders would let humanity glide past our borders to settle stuff in the heart of our territory, I would not have voted in that manner. I made the same error, and I retracted the voting based on my new understanding. Since I allow voting, but I don't open votes on things where I'd find a possible outcome completely intolerable to play. So don't worry about it. We need to backfill more territory before we can think about open borders or alliances.
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Jun 17, 2020 23:58
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Apocrypha Engineering is releasing *mountains* of paperwork that you're supposed to fill out before you 'just plug in' anything the Meklar make. R&D insists that this computer network only connects to hard vacuum, and they have to test it somewhere. Someone high up is pointing out that they don't even have anything Meklar-made to plug in now yet, and there's a contract for water cyclers that they need to be trying to fill first. They're pretty cool, although the whole 'communicate through unstable hyperspace' makes them a bit terrifying here. Still, nice overall. (Also, even if you can't send ships through that conduit, we can send spies through now, can't we? And embassies.)
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Jun 18, 2020 00:00
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LIIS Interstellar Situation Report, OIR 2000 There are three sapient species known to the LIIS, each united by an overarching governmental structure- the Gnolams of the Universal Mercantile League (UML), the Humans of the United Republic (UR), and the Meklars of the General Oversight Combine (GOC), with the UML and UR sharing a galactic quadrant, the GOC located in a quadrant spinward, and all three bordering upon systems closer to the core part of neither quadrant. All three are very approximately peers in technological advancement, population size, and military strength, but some- very general- conclusions may be drawn. Diplomatic Situation The UML maintains generally friendly relations and open trade with both the UR and GOC. The UR maintains its only alien contact with the UML, whereas the GOC is believed to have diplomatic contact with yet another alien species. Details of the GOC's relations with its other neighbor are not currently available. The Terra Nova Accords between the UML and UR have created a stable environment for interstellar commerce and growth in both states, and diplomatic relations between the two powers are very strong. Military Strength The UML has significantly smaller surface military strength than either UR or GOC, with the UML mustering an approximate total of 50 million surface military personnel while the UR and GOC both muster approximately 110 million. Only rough strength estimates for the UR's Space Fleet or the GOC's Space Combat Operations Arm are available, but nonetheless it is believed that total displacement of the URSF, GOCSCOA, and UMLN's mobile forces are all roughly equivalent, with UMLN equipment having a slight overall technical edge. Science and Technology It is difficult to estimate specifics of what technologies are available to the UR or GOC, but nonetheless it is believed that the UML is slightly more advanced overall than either of its peer powers, and uniquely has access to artificial gravity manipulation technologies. Population and Astrography Current population estimates for all three known powers are available, with the UML exceeding 22 billion persons, the UR exceeding 20 billion persons, and the GOC exceeding 18 billion persons. The UML spans twelve systems, four of which contain major populated worlds, with a fifth soon to be colonised. The UR controls seven systems, five of which each contain a major populated world, while the GOC is a relatively compact power spread across only three controlled and colonised systems. Economic Strength Total GDP of the UR equals approximately 53% that of the UML, while GDP of the GOC equals approximately 56% that of the UML, despite populations of approximately 91% and 82% of the UML respectively. Greater per capita productivity of the GOC relative to the UR is largely driven by a very productive heavy industrial sector, with Meklar heavy industrial productivity possibly exceeding that of the UML despite weaker performance in other sectors. Commercial contact with the UR and GOC greatly bolsters the UML's economy, but it remains highly productive even without accounting for foreign trade. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 01:29 on Jun 18, 2020 |
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Jun 18, 2020 01:26
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Hm. This is the kind of situation where I would strongly consider ringing up the humans and saying "hey, wanna team up and roll someone for all their poo poo?" I think you can take the Meklar down if you have help from the humans, and given that the Meklar are rivalling you both with only that tiny amount of territory, letting them spread could be hazardous to your health. On the other hand, we don't know if they have friends to come to their defense and stomp our faces in for messing with their buddy, and while a two on one mugging sounds profitable and fun, a two on two fair fight does not. The Guad-Neptunus link seems to be the only way any of that stuff can get here, though, so with adequate hardening that won't be a problem. The smart play for someone who isn't constantly thinking in maximum aggro terms would probably be to wave some trade contracts under the Meklar's olfactory sensors. Because, again, we're  so we'll make gigantic piles of money off of it. They will make merely large piles of money, so they will want to continue, but we'll still be coming out ahead.One of the things that may get lost or overlooked for this is just how slow it is to conduct a war. I don't know which of our planets would be able to crap out ships the fastest, but it'd take a while to get them to the front lines, and the prosecution of a war where you intend to take planets rather than burn it all down and recolonize requires a lot of planning for troop transports, because it takes a while for them to get to the front lines. And I don't know if it was just circumstances I was dealing with or what, but assuming parity in ground combat power, you need a two to one soldier advantage to take a planet, so you need approximately One Fuckload of transports if you don't want to stall out partway through. I brought three transports, four troopers each, they also had twelve troopers, all twelve of mine died and they had six left, thus my math assumption. Or maybe I got unlucky. I suspect it's going to be a good long time before any of that gets shown off though.
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Jun 18, 2020 02:19
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MechaCrash posted:Hm. This is the kind of situation where I would strongly consider ringing up the humans and saying "hey, wanna team up and roll someone for all their poo poo?" I think you can take the Meklar down if you have help from the humans, and given that the Meklar are rivalling you both with only that tiny amount of territory, letting them spread could be hazardous to your health. On the other hand, we don't know if they have friends to come to their defense and stomp our faces in for messing with their buddy, and while a two on one mugging sounds profitable and fun, a two on two fair fight does not. The Guad-Neptunus link seems to be the only way any of that stuff can get here, though, so with adequate hardening that won't be a problem. There's also the minor detail that power projection is currently literally impossible between the GOC and ourselves, over and above my position on unprovoked aggression.
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Jun 18, 2020 02:28
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Glaive-Guisarme posted:They're pretty cool, although the whole 'communicate through unstable hyperspace' makes them a bit terrifying here. Still, nice overall. (Also, even if you can't send ships through that conduit, we can send spies through now, can't we? And embassies.) The thing about these unstable hyperspace conduits is that it seems to be basically fine to send things through it as long as those things aren't bigger than, say, large chunks of gravel. If they were bigger than that when you went in, well, large chunks of gravel will be about what you get when you come out the other side. So what does that leave us? Inscribed messages, high quality integrated circuits that can physically relay messages and recordings, insect-scale autonomous drones... We could also ship bulk substances that are finely divisible, if we wanted to; industrial grade diamond dust, or various kinds of exotic fluids. ... and when we get right down to it, is neural gel an "exotic fluid"? 
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Jun 18, 2020 04:52
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We can actually manage larger than gravel at the moment, but it requires overengineered barges and probes with very solid construction that can mount a hyperspace drive. You can't get much larger than a standard courier, though, and the required solidity of construction renders any crew spaces impossible- because crew spaces involve significant gas-filled voids in the construction. Very densely-packed cargo spaces are also required, else you get unacceptable density gradients. All things said, it's remarkably inconvenient for conducting trade, and a complete barrier to conducting war. Trying anything not overengineered to that level? Yep, gravel is about right.
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Jun 18, 2020 05:00
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nweismuller posted:There's also the minor detail that power projection is currently literally impossible between the GOC and ourselves, over and above my position on unprovoked aggression. I forget where in the tech tree the ability to get out of your little pond and get into the universe at large is, but it's going to be fixed sooner or later what no I didn't see a small empire and have all thoughts other than conquest fall out of my head, why would you think that. I already know that "hey go arbitrarily roll those dudes" is not going to get any traction, so I'm not going to (seriously) propose actually starting wars for whatever reason. With the oft mentioned exception of the Darloks, of course. 
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Jun 18, 2020 05:07
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If the Meklar have contact with a species that we don't, can we also get contact with that species by trading for/buying their star charts? More contacts means more trade!
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Jun 18, 2020 05:21
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They are cyber-horses and everything about that is perfect.
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Jun 18, 2020 07:58
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nweismuller posted:LIIS Interstellar Situation Report, OIR 2000 The Horne system looks light blue. Have the humans colonized it already? Sneaky buggers. We're cut off from the Gularn crossroad. Sarti, too.
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Jun 18, 2020 09:33
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Sorry for small delay. Just got off a major binge of blasting through a full initial playthrough of Raging Loop. I'll try to sort and upload screenshots and begin writing once I manage to get some decent sleep. E: Images sorted and uploaded, but I want one more nap. I'll try to start writing in a few hours. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 21:16 on Jun 19, 2020 |
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Jun 19, 2020 01:43
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Thinking Machines    The Enforcer was refit to the new Controller standard in early 1976, marking a program of refits to the Navy's existing ships that eventually came to completion in 1994 with the refit of the Victor. With the Navy's ships updated to a new technological standard, policy-makers in the League took assurance that the League's security was assured for a time longer.   In 1983, negotiators from the United Republic approached the Universal Mercantile League offering open transit for military and colony missions through both powers, rather than the simple allowance of routine commercial traffic. As the Universal Mercantile League had gone to great efforts to secure the spinward portion of accessible space for Gnolam colonisation, League negotiators rejected this offer. So long as valuable planets for colonisation remained within the League's borders, the League would be best served by reserving control of its borders to itself. Although this caused some strain on the relationship between Republic and League, nonetheless relations between the two powers remained very strong.  League news services took note of a surge of new marriages and births on Stevas starting around 1988. The precise causes for this demographic shift were not precisely clear, with speculations ranging anywhere from religious to economic motives driving changes in young Gnolam behavior, but the outcome was undeniable, as the population growth rate suddenly surged.   By 1989, the feverish work into research of physics and understanding how gravitons might be manipulated bore fruit. Gravity generators in ships and microgravity habitats could be installed that could provide steady, predictable gravitational fields within them, further compensating for inertial forces within ships, making long-term space deployments far more comfortable and making larger installations in microgravity practical without the need of generating rotational gravity. A network of gravity generators installed across a planet, set to create a gravitational force in the direction opposite the planet's natural gravity, could reduce felt gravity on the planet to a level comfortable for Gnolams, although the construction and power draw of such a network would both be very expensive.  Researchers working in the chemical industry, meanwhile, made major strides in chemical engineering by about 1992. Refinements in propellants and explosive fusing mechanisms could allow for a new generation of higher-performance, higher-yield nuclear missiles, upgrades to factory systems to capture and scrub emissions could reduce the environmental impact from heavy industrialisation, and various advances in materials science and biochemistry laid the groundwork for future development of new products and new processes. I accidentally missed grabbing the shot when we researched Molecular Manipulation, so get the tooltip on the tech tree instead- and see how the tech tree is structured over tiers 0, 1, 2, and 3. Only the applications where there is a choice between alternatives, as can be seen in Advanced Magnetism, Electronics, Xenobiotics, and Fusion Weapons are tradeable diplomatically, and never full technologies themselves.    In 1994, a pair of pirate vessels operating out of Miract arrived at the Shimari Naval border fortifications, after having been sighted on approach in 1991. Long-range fire from mass drivers and advanced nuclear missiles devastated the pirates before the pirates ever got within effective range of their own weapons.      Meanwhile, the Enforcer began its program of bombarding pirate fortifications on the habitable planet in the Miract system, eventually reducing the primary fortifications by 1997. With the pirate warlord governing Miract no longer a threat, the exiles in Miract were encouraged to resettle on Eglein, several hundred million persons flooding onto the world.   Later in 1997, merchant shippers in the Guad system made an amazing discovery- a reinforced communications probe launched through the unstable hyperspace conduit leading further spinward. Although the gravitational stresses of the unstable conduit were more than sufficient to destroy any manned vessels, solidly-built, overengineered probes and barges of relatively small size could, it proved, be designed to survive a transit. Study of the broadcast information on this first probe and several exchanges of communications probes back and forth over the conduit eventually led to mutual decipherment of languages. It proved that this probe had been launched by the General Oversight Combine of the Meklars, the government of this strange artificial species, in an effort to determine if any intelligent civilisation existed beyond the conduit. The General Oversight Combine proved to fundamentally be a federation of rigidly stratified aristocratic states. Although the 'fixed intelligences' that were rulers of the Meklars associated with each other freely and governed many of their affairs through a system of direct democracy within their own ranks, lesser Meklars were designed as task-specialised workers expected to obey their masters in perpetuity.       Initial negotiations with the Meklars were quite fruitful, with permanent diplomatic installations built at either end of the Guad-Neptunus conduit to handle ongoing message traffic of probes sent between League and Combine, which then handled private negotiators between various Gnolam commercial interests and the business interests of various Meklar fixed intelligences. A fleet of heavily-reinforced automated barges was assembled to ship cargo back and forth over the conduit between Guad and Neptunus, allowing for a thriving trade despite the difficulty of travel between Meklar and Gnolam space.  By about 1998, the surge of new births on Stevas had stabilised- and, in fact, population growth was, by this time, essentially zero. With the bulk of Stevas' habitable regions developed, the expenses of starting new homes and new families became a daunting hurdle to many Gnolams on the planet, and the birth rate dropped approximately match the death rate.  Meanwhile, refinements of existing electronics had developed electronic technologies essentially as far as physics would permit. With advanced sensor suites and the processing power to interpret the data collected from sensors, it seemed likely that basic survey of new systems could be conducted much more swiftly in the future, requiring only that a ship arrive at a system in order to give it the chance to take long-range scans of the system and the bodies within it. Known Space and the Universal Mercantile League as of 2000  The past 25 years have seen very major growth in both investment and innovation, driven by growing populations, increased economic development, increase in trade volumes with the United Republic, and the sudden opening of trade with the General Oversight Combine, whose formidable expertise in manufacturing makes them a valuable source of heavy industrial products. Human colonisation has spread rimward over driftward space, while the Meklars occupy a compact territory of three connected colonised systems.  The Protector was recently commissioned, and is currently at the edge of the Kakari system, redeploying to take up station in the Shimari system, following after the Champion, currently moving to Varinia on the way to Shimari. A major colonisation mission is en route to the oceanic planet in the Baalbo system, and will shortly found the fifth Gnolam world. The Vindicator, for its part, is in the Kakari system en route to perform survey missions in the Xanthus and Laan systems, gathering sensor readings from the edges of the systems and then retreating.  The last of the Naval forts on the borders of the Guad system is currently under construction. There has been discussion in the Assembly about decommissioning the Naval forts at the borders of the Gnol and Kakari systems once the last fort in Guad is completed, as the forts in Guad and Shimari effectively control all border access to League space.  The Enforcer is headed to update survey results on as much Republican space as it can reach, noting and identifying Human colony worlds.   Val's population has grown to over twelve billion, slowing as urban sprawl overtakes more of the planetary surface and space for expansion on Val dwindles. A major complex of laboratory facilities and supporting services has begun to be constructed on Val's moon with the aid of gravity generators, allowing for extensive experimentation impractical on a settled planet but with excellent logistical support from a major populated planet.   Stevas' population has stabilised at approximately five billion, with more and more of its population preparing to emigrate to a new world with greater chances for expansion. A major Naval command, recruiting, and logistics base has been build in orbit of Stevas, while local states on Stevas has assembled a significant ground military presence, essentially as a hedge against potential civic disorder.   With its population now over three billion, with industrial-scale hydroponics supplementing the local food supply, with a small but sophisticated scientific and research community, and with cutting-edge business methods invigorating its prosperity, Eglein has become a well-developed, prosperous world contributing effectively to the greater League. Local states have begun working on better-formalising legal arrangements, court systems, and policing to help ensure a contented, orderly populace as the planet's population grows, while the initial investment into a massive network of gravity generators has just now started on the planet. The construction of these generators will, regrettably, be a massive investment, but should greatly improve the comfort and productivity of Eglein once they are completed.   Although its population is only about two billion, Navok employs fully 100 million persons in research and development, supported by cutting-edge laboratory equipment and funding, while new industrial hydroponics have further secured the food situation on the planet. Work to modernise local business methods and improve efficiency is expected to help cover some of the shortfalls presented by Navok's intense development relative to its population, while development of artificial molds and fungi as additional food sources is anticipated in the somewhat farther future.  Refinement of existing drive systems to take advantage of the increased power presented by fusion plants has nearly been completed. With the refinements in basic technologies now cemented by the League, new frontiers in physics, basic optical computing, genetic engineering, materials science, and structural engineering have been opened to Gnolam researchers- and with the rapid improvement in the rate of Gnolam innovation, new breakthroughs may be expected more swiftly than before.  The LIIS has established two field teams overseeing counterintelligence work across the League, monitoring for any evidence of hostile covert activity. So far they have discovered little, but the added security is welcomed. Proposals for the Universal Mercantile League Research Proposals Work into logistics and economics remains a possibility, as does work into xenological and military sciences. Work into basic optical computing and refinement of existing robotic systems with optical processors may be relatively limited in immediate application, but could eventually allow for improved ship systems and would lay the groundwork for improved computing having a major impact on the League's economy with later civilian refinements. Advanced genetic engineering would have major medical applications- and could potentially allow for major genetic improvement of the Gnolam species and of large-scale ecological engineering that could slowly shift worlds towards a more Val-like environment. Work in materials science and structural engineering could allow a new generation of spaceframes and new, high-performance alloys. Please vote between Macro Economics, XENOLOGY, ROBOTICS, Genetic Engineering, GENETIC MUTATIONS, and Advanced Engineering. Voting for an option in all-caps implicitly also counts as voting to research its prerequisite- Military Tactics, Positron Physics, and Genetic Engineering respectively. Given the position of various things on the tree and the actual effects of 'Positron Physics', I prefer to conceive of Positron Physics as the early upgrade from electronic to optical computers, with the later Optronics technology representing final refinement of optronics, much as Electronics is the final refinement of electronics. LIIS Appropriations Growth in trade volumes with the Republic and the establishment of trade with the Combine could well justify a major expansion of LIIS. Please vote for between zero to four additional field teams for LIIS. Motherlode Mining and Metals  A new mining corporation, Motherlode Mining and Metals, has begun to organise resources for the establishment of the most ambitious mining operation in the League's history, with development plans to be executed by their chief mining engineer, Minna Talin, already reknowned as possibly the most accomplished mining engineer of this generation. MM&M has begun to attempt to organise a colonisation consortium to develop the garden world in the Biots system, exploiting the vast mineral wealth of that world- but, even if their efforts to organise that consortium fail, they are likely to be a boon to the mining on any planet they establish their headquarters on. Please vote yea or nay on our next colony being the ultra-rich swamp in the Biots system. If you vote nay, propose another world for colonisation. Investment Proposals Some proposals have been floated, suggesting that investment into the gravity generation network on Eglein, although expensive, could have major payoffs, at least after basic investment into the new colony in the Baalbo system is completed. Others believe a better return will be made by focusing more heavily on less-developed colonies, and suggest leaving Eglein to develop gravity compensation at a more 'natural' pace. Still others suggest that after getting the most basic infrastructure on the new colony in place, that new investment should be focused into sending out new colonisation missions more quickly. Finally, some proposals have been floated suggesting that saving up to finance a new series of cooperative research ventures with Human researchers in the Republic may be of greatest value. Different investors are mustering their funds to place them where they believe the payoff will be greatest. Please vote between investing in gravity generators, heavier development of new colonies, new colony ships, or financing a new research treaty. Fort Decomissioning Debate is ongoing within the Navy whether to decommission the old border forts in Gnol and Kakari, thereby freeing up more Naval budget and personnel for application elsewhere. Please vote yea or nay on decommissioning the old border forts that are no longer on the border. Contact with the Meklars, although it has presented opportunity, has also proved disconcerting, with reports of large-scale ancient wars and the rigidly constrained freedoms of common Meklar citizens lending a somewhat disturbing cast to these new aliens. Regardless of any such anxieties, the unstable hyperspace conduit presents a firm barrier to any aggressive ambitions of the General Oversight Combine and thus should help ensure peace for the foreseeable future. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 17:35 on Jan 18, 2021 |
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Jun 20, 2020 21:13
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Scattered personal notes of a Nutris marketing executive posted:
Overheard at the office tea dispenser at Facility W-X1 of Nutris HQ posted:"You know that's a conspiracy, right? Meklar 'neurojacks' aren't a real thing, the Security Auditor just doesn't want you to leak secrets from corporate that the Combine could put into use without paying us..." 0 new LIIS teams News All Day Network posted:"-nd Nutris stock continues its steady climb as the company invests in Biots and the construction of new colony ships as per market prediction, banking on future returns from the heavy reliance of new colonies on the agricultural sector- Also, decommission old forts Advert Jingle posted:The gray rocks of Navok getting you down~?
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Jun 20, 2020 21:59
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For research, I say ROBOTICS. Because robots are cool For increased "home security," I vote four more teams. Better to have too much defense than find out the hard way you didn't have enough. Plus, if needed, we can send our defensive teams out for, uh, reasons. You know. For colonizing, Yes on the ultra-rich swamp. I forget if it has a moon, but if it does, then "acquiring" Orbital Shipyards is super nice. I do understand why the labs were taken, though. The shipyards are only good if you're actively building ships, while the lab is useful as long as there's stuff to research. Which there will be for a long time. For our investments, first thing I'd want is new colony ships. I would put a second priority on a new research treaty, but if we can't get that, oh well. Speeding up development of our existing stuff would be nice, but it'll get done even if we don't poke at it. New colonies will not get done if we don't build new ships, though. For the forts, as much as I would like to say to keep them, we're running pretty close to cap on our command points and we are not actively in a war. Ditch the old forts. These orbital forts are currently enough to hold warp points all on their own, and anything mean enough to take one is going to be either so powerful that nothing else we have matters, or pay so dearly that the navy we have can finish the job. Also, a neat thing about the tech tree is that you can click on it to tell the AI "research this, also research any prerequisites to it, and don't bother me about it until you get the thing I told you to get." This includes the end-game "hyper advanced" technology that is only good for more points and is available only after you've gotten everything else, so you can click on that as a research priority and the game will just go along the entire tech tree for you, only stopping when you need to pick between applications.
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Jun 20, 2020 23:17
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No moon around Biots Prime, regrettably, but ultra-rich is ultra-rich.
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Jun 20, 2020 23:27
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Yes on ultra-rich swamp. Yes on colony ships. No new spy teams just yet. Yes to take down old forts. And a vote Genetic Mutations research.
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Jun 21, 2020 05:06
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Billboard advertisement for Verygood's, a popular Val fast food chain posted:Hungry? Our sandwiches are Very Good! Gnolam contact with Humans was, on some levels, unnerving, in that a common stereotype of 'threatening' alien archetypes in earlier Gnolam sci-fi was of aliens that were predatory species. Although technically omnivorous, the animal products Gnolams tend to actually like are milk, cheese, and eggs- meat-eating was strictly opportunistic in their evolutionary history. In the modern era, some amount of meat is eaten as an unusual regional dish in dairy- and egg-producing areas, largely as a descendant of traditional dishes originally intended to avoid waste on farms. These dishes, however, are very much an 'acquired taste' for Gnolams. Although the 'predatory hostile alien' cliche in old Gnolam sci-fi is not generally a predator on Gnolams, a species that habitually eats meat was stereotyped as ruthless and aggressive. Humans, being far more true omnivores than Gnolams, slotted firmly into the 'predatory' niche in their initial appearance. That said, continued contact with Humans rapidly warmed the average Gnolam attitude towards them. Modern Human society prizes freedom, prosperity, and peace, much as does Gnolam society, and the gregarious and social tendencies of Humanity have served them well in forging strong relations with Gnolams. Meklars, on the other hand, remain far more unsettling than were Humans at a similar stage in contact, being both significantly more 'alien' in nature and having a society that many Gnolams consider to be unjust. Regardless of the justice or lack thereof of the General Oversight Combine, few Gnolams are eager to break their long history of peace and threaten their current prosperity, even were war practical with current technology. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 07:48 on Jun 21, 2020 |
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Jun 21, 2020 06:35
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Research Robotics because, as MechaCrash said, robots are cool. We have enough spies for now. Colonize the ultra-rich swamp next. That's some prime real estate. Get those colony ships out. We're getting along pretty well with our neighbors and pulling in a lot of cash, so we don't need to worry much that we're spreading ourselves too thin. Scrap the forts. Again, we're on quite good terms with our neighbors. The forts aren't doing anything for us right now, and even if relations start heading south, we should have time to rearm before poo poo hits the fan.
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Jun 21, 2020 07:28
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Transcend Biogenetics press release posted:Transcend Biogenetics is proud to work on the cutting edge of genetic and medical sciences to produce value both for consumers and for our shareholders. In addition to our commitment to developing new cutting-edge treatments for diseases of all sorts, we are also now starting research into genetic and biochemical therapies intended to help bring Gnolams closer to the limits of their potential. Induced neuroplasticity, identification of genes responsible for contributing to Gnolam intelligence, correction of genetic diseases and major improvements of existing anti-aging genetic therapies- Transcend Biogenetics intends to help their customers become new and better Gnolams. Genetic Mutations Nian Bortis, in address to the Assembly posted:As Commodore, I have the responsibility to the states of the League to ensure their continued security against outside threats. It is in that spirit that I request increased funding for LIIS. The League, for the moment, is essentially secure against external military threats, and for that we may be glad. But we cannot confirm the extent to which covert threats exist, as of yet, and I believe better to insure ourselves against future misfortune than gamble recklessly that none shall befall us. I am aware of the arguments against the tax burden, and so do not argue for the more extreme expansions some have advocated... Two new LIIS field teams, and decommission old forts. News All Day Network posted:... significant progress by MM&M to bring on new investors into a colonisation consortium targeting the Biots system... Bortis Shipping and Logistics internal document posted:Demand for new heavy equipment setting up basic infrastructure on Eglein and Navok may well shortly taper off, but bringing the new colony in Baalbo up to speed will keep us busy for a time to come. We need to make sure we have the shipping capacity to service first the initial heavy setup imports on these colony worlds, and then the sustained shipping capacity to handle their growing interstellar traffic as their economies are more firmly cemented. Infrastructure development on new colonies.
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Jun 21, 2020 22:38
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nweismuller posted:Although technically omnivorous, the animal products Gnolams tend to actually like are milk, cheese, and eggs- meat-eating was strictly opportunistic in their evolutionary history. I realize I'm stepping slightly out of my lane here, but: are Human and Gnolam biology sufficiently compatible that they can draw nutrition from similar substances? The United Republic has so very many cheeses. This arm of the Galaxy is the Cheese Quadrant.
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Jun 21, 2020 22:56
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ManxomeBromide posted:I realize I'm stepping slightly out of my lane here, but: are Human and Gnolam biology sufficiently compatible that they can draw nutrition from similar substances? The basic biochemical building blocks of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats are basically the same across known water-solvent biospheres. What needs to be watched out for is trace toxicity from dissimilar biospheres- Gnolams, for instance, cannot eat almonds safely. Many foods, however, are safe in both directions. Including many cheeses.
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Jun 21, 2020 23:04
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A thought occurs about taking down the old forts. The only maintenance involved in those is the CP cost, right? And as long as you don't go over your CP, it doesn't really matter. Is there a plan for the CP that this will free up? I'm assuming so. One frigate isn't going to make that much of a difference, but a frigate on the front lines pushing over pirates is a hell of a lot more useful and relevant than a fort in the rear end end of "if they got this far we already lost" space.
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Jun 22, 2020 00:56
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MechaCrash posted:A thought occurs about taking down the old forts. Not immediately, but it gives us latitude for more fleet expansion once we take a break from frantically pushing out colony ships for a moment.
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Jun 22, 2020 00:58
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Robots are cool, research robotics~
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Jun 22, 2020 05:10
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Any bits of lore people might want me to explore? I feel like doing a lorepost before playing through the next update.
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Jun 22, 2020 06:05
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I'm interested in the philosophical impact of a galaxy of sentient aliens on the gnolams.
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Jun 22, 2020 07:00
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I know we have Gnolam and human corporations operating on each other's turf. I'm a little curious about the details of how that works.
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Jun 22, 2020 07:03
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Trade Between League and Republic, ca. OIR 2000 Negotiations between League and Republic have opened trade between both of these interstellar powers. That said, there is a lack of currency integration and only limited migration between both sides. At the moment, the bulk of economic interaction happens at the level of dedicated import/export firms and shippers, which may maintain limited offices within the other power's territory but generally consider planets on their side of the border their 'home ports'. Import/export firms focus on identifying foreign customers for domestic products and domestic customers for foreign products, while shippers handle the actual physical logistics work of transferring cargoes. Manufacturing, financial services, and all the other trappings of a modern economy operate under domestic ownership on either side of the border line. This economic separation is largely a consequence of the significant technical difficulties involved in large-scale trade given current galactic technology. Maintaining an interplanetary scope within their own cultural/political unit is essentially all that Gnolam and Human firms can manage at the moment, although, as ever, seeking to improve operations and increase efficiency remains a priority. It seems likely that continued work in very large-scale logistics* will help increase interplanetary economic integration within the League. It is possible that this research may set the stage for further developments which will continue to improve the conditions of interplanetary and interstellar trade, and further improve the economic integration of the League. *Macro Economics technology.
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Jun 22, 2020 07:18
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Research: GENETIC MUTATIONS Counter-espionage: Two more LIIS teams Settling on Biots Prime: yeah, sure. Investment: colony ships colony ships colony ships colony ships Border fort: yea on decommission, but also build a new one in Guad. Unstable hyperspace may be a protection, but it's only a matter of time before they figure out a tech to send more conventional ships through it safely.
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Jun 22, 2020 08:27
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Cat Mattress posted:but also build a new one in Guad Already on it. ETC 8 turns.
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Jun 22, 2020 08:44
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Apocrypha Engineering, Security Department posted:We've received an empty container addressed to your division. Please confirm whether or not you purchased the empty container from the initial Meklar trade convoy, or if we need to file a grievance related to missing cargo. Internal Review Meeting, ER&D posted:<Comptroller> "An empty container. You bid, sight blind, on an empty container. ...I know you well enough that you had some kind of plan, so, get on with it." Research Advanced Engineering Apocrypha Engineering, IT Department, Company-Wide Memo posted:Please refrain from disconnecting all computers from network whenever you perceive them to not be in use. Our internal networking cloud is suffering significant degradation, and the rumors of Meklars in the computer network are completely unfounded. <b>We are not taking additional security procedures at this time.</b> No new LIIS field teams, and yay for taking down old forts, so long as it won't delay other work. 'Colonies Review', Pamphlet published by Apocrypha Engineering's Colonization Division posted:"New opportunities. New businesses. New worlds. Colonize Biots Prime, and build more colony ships.
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Jun 22, 2020 14:34
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I could use a tiebreaker between Robotics and Genetic Mutations from somebody who didn't vote for either. I'll play through the update as soon as I see a tiebreaker.
nweismuller fucked around with this message at 21:07 on Jun 22, 2020 |
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Jun 22, 2020 20:36
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Robotics
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Jun 22, 2020 21:13
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Tallying up, looks like it works out to one new LIIS field team for now, on top of the obvious votes.
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Jun 22, 2020 21:25
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The 'Antarans'  The arrival of a hostile task force in Guad with sufficient weight of metal to match the entire mobile strength of the Navy and cutting-edge technology and its subsequent release of virulent pathogens over the surface of Navok has inspired immense alarm amongst the population of the League. The hostile aliens, who call themselves 'Antarans', dropped into hyperspace from no known location on a position not along any charted hyperspace conduit, and had sufficient understanding of League communications protocols and the Levan language to issue statements before and after their genocidal attack on Navok. How they could possibly have learned Levan and League communications protocols remains unknown. Transcripts of their full statements are attached, along with the video images they transmitted with the statements, which reveal the general physical appearance of Antarans. Statement before the attack: "Know this, foolish and weak Gnolams of the Universal Mercantile League, and tremble before the might and will of Antares: we, the Antarans, have returned. Long ago, united in purpose, we held the galaxy in our very grasp, when the five times hated Orion Confederation struck against us and defied the will of the Premier of our glorious state. The war was glorious and beyond your cowardly comprehension, but in the end we were vanquished despite our strength, those of our people who survived resettled to the Antares system itself and locked outside the bounds of the natural continuum. And know that even for those who wielded such powers, our might and unity made the folk of the Confederation tremble. We have been imprisoned long and lost much, but still we know many secrets barred to you and are not slaves to such weak and greedy hearts as yours, and the Orion Confederation no longer stands to protect folk such as you. We shall reclaim our birthright. You cannot negotiate, you cannot find mercy, you cannot escape, you cannot prevail. Your only option is extermination that a more worthy species may once again reclaim the galaxy." Statement after the attack: "If the best the mightiest species of this age can muster is an orbital missile launch station and the ships that would reinforce it too afraid to join in the battle, then Antares has already won the war to come. Hail Antares! Hail the Premier! Hail the state! Hail victory! Death to our enemies! Know this and fear our return." The bioweapons released on Navok killed approximately half the planetary population before the diseases released burned themselves out due to their extreme mortality rates, killing hosts until no hosts remained to spread the disease. None of the ships in the Antaran task force were lost, although missile fire caused some damage to one of the two escort frigates in the task force. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 22:50 on Jun 22, 2020 |
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Jun 22, 2020 22:39
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Well that means we're winning. They pick on the strongest empire around. The Gnolam's "lucky" trait is supposed to protect them from Antaran attacks, but it's bugged so it doesn't work without the unofficial code patch.
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Jun 23, 2020 00:14
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Very tragic, but how does this affect the sales of Gellum???
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Jun 23, 2020 01:35
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| # ? Jun 10, 2024 23:50 |
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Regrettably, Gellum sales suffer a massive drop, what with half the product's customer base being dead.
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Jun 23, 2020 01:38
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