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Maelstrom Never heard of it. Maelstrom was published in 1992 by Merit Software. It did okay and the creators made money but it never really caught on. I got a copy of the CD version of the game when CDs were still new and amazing and I was a younger teenager. I found it a few days ago while cleaning up old games. I was kind of surprised. I assumed I had had the game on disks. So what kind of game is it? The game does not fit neatly into a genre. It is not a 4X like Master of Orion that came out the year after. It is a government simulation game crossed with a bit of a 4X (except you do not actually expand and conquer) but story driven like Star Control 2 but confined to a much smaller area combined with a specific objective. It is also non-linear. The game happens differently on different playthroughs. Why LP it? I both loved and hated the game. I was terrible at it when I played it but loved the feeling of running a planet. I think I am smarter now. I remember some things about the game but enough remains a mystery that I can be surprised. Okay, so what is the game about? The area of space we live in is coming out of a dark age following a galactic wave of destruction. Civilizations are rebuilding and are at various stages of development. The largest power in known space is called the Syndicate. They rule over six planets and have domination of space as their eventual objective. The protagonist (me) was sent by the Syndicate on a recon mission to the planet Harmony. Harmony is critical as it is one of only six planets that has enough fitzholium ore to make mining viable. Fitzholium is a vital fuel for FTL drive systems. Furthermore Harmony produces just over 60% of all the fitz ore available and is the richest source. The Syndicate wants the ore but it is also volatile so a bombardment from space would destroy the planet. Upon arriving the protagonist suffers a crisis of conscience about invasion and these people's right to be free. He lands and defects and reveals to the people of Harmony the plans of the Syndicate. In an unprecedented move the Governor of Harmony, with the consent of the people, appoints the agent Overlord of the Planet Harmony with instructions to defend the planet. To do this he must build up Harmony's fleet, make allies, acquire resources from allies and via mining, expand his intelligence network, research new techonology, design new spacecraft, placate the people of Harmony, and eventually defeat the Syndicate. Is this going to be an interactive LP? Yes, I am going to add the idea that citizens of Harmony whose loyalty is beyond question (goons) are asked to advise the Overlord, make suggestions, give feedback, etc. via email. If you want to participate write your local Overlord. Please bold your comments. You are free to roleplay whoever you like on the planet: miner, military personnel, intelligence agent, bureaucrat, worker in the city, hot dog stand owner on Reform Steet in the Alabama district, whatever. What about spoilers? No spoilers. If you have played the game before you are free to give advice that avoids bad things or encourages good things but try to come up with an RP reason. Do not make shady comments that imply it is a good idea and hint that you know spoilers. I am going to start the first update immediately and we will go from there. Updates: Update 1: Rounding Up the Gang 1/1/96 - 1/4/96 Update 2: Meet the Neighbors 1/4/96 - 1/18/96 Update 3: Ship Building Tutorial Update 4: Meeting more Neighbors and Transphobia 1/18/96 - 1/31/96 Update 5: Burying Our Dead and An Offer 2/1/96 - 2/3/96 Update 6: Of Found Ships and Blackmail 2/3/96 - 2/28/96 Update 7: Blackmail, Bombs, and Sabotage 2/29/96 - 3/1/96 Update 8: New Gadgets and Two Threats 4/1/96 - 4/11/96 Update 9: An Angry Heir Approaches 4/11/96 - 4/30/96 Update 10: Great Battles 5/1/96 - 5/31/96 Update 11: Things Happen and a Bonus Update 6/1/96 - 6/30/96 Update 12: Research Projects and Syndicate Agent on Harmony 7/1/96 - 7/31/96 Update 13: Battle with the Furries 8/1/96 - 9/3/96 Update 14: Birds on Bird 10/1/96 - 12/28/96 Xenocides fucked around with this message at 03:06 on Jun 13, 2014 |
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Planetary List Personalities are placed in the planet they reside on. I left out Harmony's cabinet. _______________________________________________________________________________ Harmony  Alignment: Friendly Compendium Entry: A small mining planet that alone produces three-fifths of all the fitzholnium tri-gem in the galaxy. General: Harmony is an independent planet, and is generally protected by the fact that as a valuable source of Fitzholnium, now power in this galaxy would allow another power to control it. The population is comprised of a broad mix of planetary backgrounds, but the people are generally average in most respects. Military: Harmony is a Fitzholnium tri-gem mining planet, the highest producer in the galaxy. There is not usually a large army, as a space to ground assault would most likely result in a chain reaction that would destroy the entire entire planet. For this reason only a small security patrol is kept. _______________________________________________________________________________ Tool  Alignment: Neutral Compendium Entry: Where the best engineers in the galaxy can be found, Chief Engineer is Katrina Vannes. Basically a peace-loving planet, these people believe that the best defense is "I'm bigger than you are, so don't make me angry". Essentially, Tool makes the best weapons around, and everybody buys from them; the player buys all their starships from them and most of their weapons. However, they are also really cautious, and keep the best defense systems for themselves, making the planet very difficult to attack. This is a good place to find Engineering specialists; most of Harmony's research team studied here. Tool uses a good amount of fitzholnium, and is on friendly terms with Harmony. General: Though ruled by essentially a standard democratic government, Tool is really more a higher education center than anything else. The inhabitants of Tool are devoted to the application of current technology. It is commonly known that the finest engineers in the galaxy study on Tool. The people in of Tool mostly keep to themselves, interacting with other planets only for business purposes. Military: Though it started as a normal planet in every respect the inhabitants of Tool have modified the planet so much that it is unknowable what the original planet looked like. As Tool is the major supplier of military applications technology in the galaxy, one can only assume that their defense system is the finest available. They deal with all customers, and as no one wishes to lose the privilege of buying from Tool, they have never been attacked. It is rumored that the technology their army is equipped with is secret, and far more powerful then then merchandise they offer for sale.  Name: Katrina Vannes Role: Chief Engineer Planet: Tool Stats: Determined, Ambitious, Intelligent Bio: While in undergraduate studies, Vannes was one of Tool's top students, and pioneered an entire new branch of biological engineering. Her genius and inventiveness was beyond what Tool's professors had seen previously. With her tireless work and devotion it was inevitable she would eventually be Chief Engineer. Update: Vannes has worked tirelessly in human genetics. During her time as a student on Tool, she was pregnant twice, and her medical records show that both pregnancies ended in a miscarriage. In reality Vannes had been performing DNA tailoring experiments on herself, and this resulted in the deaths of the two unborn children. _______________________________________________________________________________ Haltrot   Alignment: Neutral Compendium Entry: More or less your standard planet in most respects. Medium to high tech level, space flight, etc. There are trace quantities of Fitz here. One company which more or less dominates the planet is D.I.C.E. Inc. (Definitive Ideas on the Cutting Edge). They have made quite a lot of money in the sale of Fitz based tools and weapons. The Dice company's logo is, appropriately enough, a six sided die, and appears with all of their products. General: Haltrot itself is quite an ordinary planet in most respects. The planet is quite heavily mountainous, and small quantities of Fitz can be found. The leading industrial force on this planet is DICE Industries, which is a large electronics and mechanical device company. Though not as widespread as Tool, DICE controls a decent portion of the warfare industry. Military: The government of planet Haltrot does not keep a military force at all. However, DICE Industries, with is the largest company on Haltrot, does. DICE imports and exports a great deal of materials and top secret documents, and keeps a very strong security force circling the planet for this very reason.  Name: Petra De Jonge Role: President Planet: Haltrot Stats: Polite, Shifty, Intelligent Bio: The president of Haltrot, home of DICE industries. Dejonge's interest has always been in keeping DICE prosperous, she has in the past only favored bills and doctrines that directly benefit DICE. Similarly, she has vetoed proposals that would likely damage DICE. Update: Petra Dejonge was once Peter Jongers. During the 0191 presidential elections it came out that he had paid off several election officials. He was arrested and barred from politics for life. He arranged a fake death, had a sex change operation, and changed his name to something more appropriate. Further investigation points to Jongers-Dejonge meddling with the last election's results as well.  Name: Selwyn Larcher Role: President of DICE Planet: Haltrot Stats: Intelligent, Untrustworthy, Greedy Bio: Larcher inherited his money and his position as the President of DICE, but he is fully worthy of the position. The company has prospered under his command, but his favorite method of expanding the company is by hostile takeover of a rival. He is thoroughly unscrupulous in his business dealings. Update: Selwyn Larcher's original name was Selwyn Jongers. Peter Jongers was convicted in 0191 for bribing election officials to to further his political career, sullying the Jongers name. Aware that he would never have attained his current status with his father's last name, Larcher renounced and denied all connection with the name of Jongers. _______________________________________________________________________________ Soraya Nebula   Alignment: None Compendium Entry: A huge gaseous cloud in one of the outer systems. There was once an important battle here, during the great wars. The significance of this battle did not survive future generations, and it's outcome and participants are unknown. General: This is merely a huge gas cloud in one of the outer systems. There was an important battle here during the great wars, but the importance of the battle has long since been forgotten. Military: No military information available. _______________________________________________________________________________ The Eyeball   Alignment: Neutral Compendium Entry: The artificial computer planet I/g56-743, commonly known as the Eyeball. It was developed as an experimental defense system by someone during the wars; whoever built it never had a chance to activate it. It lies dormant just on the edge of the Syndicate's territory. The Eyeball has latent defense systems that the creators built. In addition to being a defense system, the Eyeball is suspected to be one of the greatest super-computers of all time. General: The correct listing for this planet is PQXT 345/7H42, but for obvious reasons it is simply referred to as the Eyeball. It is not actually a planet but a giant computer, built specifically for handling large-scale multi-permutation problems. It is not habitable, but examination shows that to access this computer one must land on the surface and hardwire a direct link. It is believed that computer is still fully functional. Military: This planet is a relic of the great wars, through the record of its creators has been lost. The planet itself reportedly have active defenses, though there is no evidence of this. If there are indeed active defenses, they are probably quite advanced. _______________________________________________________________________________  Name: Jerov Laddry Role: Syndicate Agent Planet: Unknown Stats: Deadly, Intelligent, Slippery Bio: Known only by reputation, Jerov Laddry is the Syndicate's most powerful agent. He is apparently able to get in and out of anywhere without detection. Rumor says he has a private satellite as his headquarters, but its location is unknown. _______________________________________________________________________________ Tarso   Alignment: None Compendium Entry: About two-thirds of this planet is inhabited by the Bahal commune. The Grand High Exalted and also very Groovy Kahuna is named Quishhan Bahal. The basic idea behind the Bahal faith is that whatever the High Kahuna says is straight from the lips of the Cosmic Chaos, so you better believe it. The Cosmic Chaos shuns all not of the faith, and thus the Bahal Commune has no alliance with either the Syndicate or the rebels. Medium population. General: Two-thirds of Tarso is controlled by the Gybesh Commune under the guidance of the Groovy Kahuna. He shuns most forms of technology, unless he feels they benefit his commune. He does not believe in warfare or interstellar travel, nor will he communicate with anyone except for import and export reasons. The rest of the planet is run more or less as a standard democratic system, but the government of Tarso always acts in the Commune's best interests. Update: The non-commune third of Tarso is unremarkable in most respects, though the Tarso government goes to extremes to comply with the wishes of the Kahuna. The Gybesh Commune controls the rest of Tarso, and the worshippers have an unswaying devotion to the Kahuna. The Gybesh faith is indistinct, but the rules appear to have been arbitrarily designed by the Groovy Kahuna and they change regularly. Military: The Tarso government once had a mounted military force but the Gybesh Commune's Groovy Kahuna decided it was not in keeping with the faith and asked that it be removed, which it was. In 0174 a group of rebels from Esbastista tried to takeover the Commune, but upon landing they were torn apart by the worshippers of the Commune who attacked with bare hands and with no regard for their own lives.  Name: Quishhan Gybesh Role: Groovy Kahuna Planet: Tarso Stats: Pious, Long-winded, Friendly Bio: His full title is the Grand High Exalted and very Groovy Kahuna of the Gybesh Commune, which he himself founded. He has been known to use drugs on his worshippers, to keep them compliant. However, by using his followers for agricultural projects he has vastly improved the economy of Tarso. Update: Gybesh is an android. His designer died many years ago. Gybesh is programmed to keep Tarso prosperous at all costs, and the commune was the android's solution. While Gybesh himself cannot be threatened, threatening an attack on Tarso will force him to complay with your wishes.  Name: Rino Velle Role: President Planet: Tarso Stats: Slow, Naive, Honest Bio: President Velle is an enigma. She does not appear to possess the intelligence and social skills to function in everyday life, let alone the position of power she holds. Dealing with her is difficult, as she is child-like and flighty. Some hold this is a facade she uses to unnerve her political enemies. Update: Velle is a heavy drug user. She was hooked by her cabinet, who were in turn bribed by the Gybesh Commune. While she herself hasn't the mind to care one way or another about this being public knowledge, the Gybesh Commune will try and keep the knowledge secret. _______________________________________________________________________________ Esbastista   Compendium Entry: Large, powerful, and ambitious, this planet is near to Azure Dawn and Keyops. General: While Esbastista is a strong and ambitious planet, their major downfall has been poor government management. The emphasis on military power has always been too large, and other areas have suffered for it. Esbastista's main source of income is the supply of machinery and machine parts to many planets in the galaxy, including Harmony which purchases mining equipment almost exclusively from Esbastista. Military: Esbastista has always been an aggressive planet, and keeps an active military force at all times. While their army fights skillfully as a unit, all starship captains are strong fighters singly as well. Soldiers in the Esbastistan army fight fiercely and to the death. The planet has been in many minor skirmishes with many of the planets in the galaxy, and while they have never been defeated, they have also never increased their power base.  Name: Dre'han Van Cott Role: Commander in Chief Planet: Esbastista Stats: Vicious, Radical, Power-Monger Bio: Commander in Chief of the forces of Esbastista. Van Cott has been responsible for many of the small skirmishes around the galaxy, as he is always seeking to expand his power. Harmony has contributed resources to fighting him in the past, but never engaged him directly. He has always dealt fairly in business with Harmony, recognizing the need for Harmony's fitzholnium. _______________________________________________________________________________ Azure Dawn   Compendium Entry: A small planet nestled between two larger ones, Esbatista and Keyops. General: Azure Dawn is low in natural resources, but what little they have is untouched as the planet is the galaxy's top tourist spot, and the government wishes to keep the landscape unharmed. As a result Azure Dawn has always been on good terms with Harmony. They are Harmony's primary consumer of Fitz ore, importing almost one-third of Harmony's monthly yield. Military: Generally a peaceful planet, Azure Dawn has never required any sort of a military fixture as they have always kept on good terms with everybody. Primarily a tourist planet, Azure Dawn's income is high but as they have virtually no natural resources a large part of this income goes to importing basic staples.  Name: Maissa Pariag Role: Executive Premier Planet: Azure Dawn Stats: Intelligent, Passive, Cheerful Bio: Possessing virtually no natural resources of its own, Azure Dawn has still managed to flourish under Pariag's direction. She has nurtured the planet into a beautiful vacation spot, and has maintained a peaceful alliance with all other planets in the galaxy through careful negotiation. _______________________________________________________________________________ Ceddran   Compendium Entry: This is an alien planet, though planet is a loose term. Really, it is a ball of loose bits of matter and lots of different gases all swirling together. General: The aliens that populate Ceddran are carbon-based, their physiology evolved to exist in a gaseous environment. Lacking distinct limbs and an environment with large quantities of solid matter, the Ceddranians evolved as highly intelligent creatures, employing mind over physical ability. The government structure on the planet is indistinct, but the population is apparently divided into different sects, and each is responsible for a different facet of the responsibilities of maintaining a planet. Military: The inhabitants of Ceddran are totally alien to our way of thinking. While there is no actual data, talks with the Falloosh sect indicate that they are indeed fierce fighters. To outside appearances the technology of their starships are similar to our own, though inner working are quite different. Records of their training display attitudes to warfare and strategy quite different from our own.  Name: Falloosh Sect Role: Unknown Planet: Ceddran Stats: Unknown Bio: The Falloosh sect is one of many group-minds on Ceddran, and to our perceptions all of its members are identical. The Falloosh sect is responsible for xenobiology, the only reason why we have contact with them. They are apparently willing to share information, but will not act without a direct threat to their planet. _______________________________________________________________________________ Keyops   Compendium Entry: Large and powerful, this ambitious planet is near Azure Dawn and Esbastista. General: During a dispute over orders, a fifth-rank officer took several platoons of soldiers from a military base on Finagle and colonized Keyops. Unfortunately, the ranking officer had no ideas about government and hence the planet is run like a huge military base. In the past Keyops has worked to form an alliance with Esbastista, where Keyops would provide a strong back-up force for Esbastista's forces and in return Esbastista would help govern Keyops in a more intelligent manner. Military: Keyops was colonized by a faction of soldiers from Finagle, a planet in the Syndicate. Keyops is run like a military camp, but the planet lacks a truly effective commander. There is always a strong starship force ready for battle, but without strong leadership Keyops is not a terrible aggressive planet.  Name: Pixor Meunier Role: Warlord Planet: Keyops Stats: Radical, Patriotic, Single-minded Bio: While never a great leader, Meunier has always been a great supporter of other leaders. He commands the entire military power of the planet Keyops, and is currently loyal to Dre'han Van Cott of Esbastista. While they are currently non-active, past history shows they are liable to act aggressively at any time. _______________________________________________________________________________ Uhll'mumay   Alignment: None Compendium Entry: This planet was a known military outpost during the great wars, and was specialized to nuclear weapons. During the final stages of the wars terrible destruction occurred here, and everything went up at once. The planet was contaminated by radioactive fallout, it is assumed that there are no survivors. General: Several decades of exposure to the radiation of the planet have caused the people here to mutate in various ways, but the strain of human that now inhabit the planet have developed a strong immunity to genetic damage by radioactive decay. The survivors of the wars were the intellectuals of society, and their genes for intelligence have bred through to the present day. The planet has a civilized and organized government, and will probably be a major force in the galaxy if they ever rebuild their world. Military: The inhabitants barely have the technology to stay alive, let alone mount an active military. However, the radioactive atmosphere that encloses the entire planet makes landing and taking over a very difficult process.  Name: Codata Onn'hatet Role: Speaker Planet: Uhll'mumay Stats: Fair, Even-Tempered, Intelligent Bio: One of a band of small survivors, her determination to survive has inspired her entire group. Onn'hatet believes that learning is the best tool for survival, and allocates much of Uhll'mumay's resources to the reconstruction of the knowledge that was lost. _______________________________________________________________________________ Hobbman   Alignment Neutral Compendium Entry: Medium to high tech level, large planet, reasonably close to Harmony. High population. General: As Hobbman is composed of so many different countries, it is hard to unite them on any given idea. Working through the combined government liasons is useful, but often difficult. The planet has so many different ideals and cultures it is impossible to give a concise and overall view of the people. Military: Composed of several distinct political bodies, Hobbman actually has many starship fleets, of varying sizes and strengths. On Hobbman there is an institution know as the Combined Governments which acts in the planet's best interests, and commands a fleet composed of the strongest ships from the various countries.  Name: Sinn Somermaat Role: Combined Gov Speaker Planet: Hobbman Stats: Open, Quick-thinking, Diplomatic Bio: Somermaat represents the collected governments on Hobbman, and while she officially has no power, she is skilled at swaying the opinion of the governments to any solutions she perceives as the best solution for all. _______________________________________________________________________________ Pfipfif   Alignment: Neutral Compendium Entry: Small Fitz mining planet, independent. Produces about a sixth of what Harmony does. Deals mostly with the Syndicate. Somewhat close to Harmony. General: Pfipfif was originally colonized by a military contingent from Nimbula and a mining team from Cylur (both Syndicate planets) for the purposes of producing Fitzholnium for the Syndicate planets. However, in 0173 Pfipfif declared its independence as a separate planet and has stayed that way ever since. Perhaps the only reason that the Syndicate tolerates this is that more than half of Pfipfif's yield is sold to the Syndicate at a reduced price. Military: Though Pfipfif is a Fitz mining planet, it is not nearly as dense in the ore as Harmony is and so can be attacked directly from space. Once a Syndicate colony planet, Pfipfif is skilled in the art of warfare and keeps an active military force and a strong security fleet. In addition, there are several ground mounted installations at various locations on the planet.  Name: Nico Ronquillo Role: Manager Planet: Pfipfif Stats: Helpfull, Passive, Naive Bio: At the top of Pfipfif's very loose government, Ronquillo has been with this mining community for some time. His hard work and efficient methods are the only thing keeping Pfipfif from going bankrupt. _______________________________________________________________________________ Knoomphell   Alignment: Neutral Compendium Entry: Low tech planet, the inhabitants are savages and not at all aware of the existence of other life in the universe. Low population. General: The inhabitants of Knomphell still believe in magic and gods instead of science, but make use of radio communication, tailored vegetation, and water purification systems. They will not use technology for warfare in any way. There is no government at all, the people have divided themselves up into different clans that more less leave one another alone. Military: Knomphell is a savage planet, whose people have an odd combination of technology at their disposal. They will not use technology for warfare in any way, and as a result have no real military forces at all, on planet or in orbit. There has never been a problem with attacks on this planet, as there are no real resources. However, it has been reported that various remote parts of the planet are a favorite hide-out for smugglers.  Name: Eadna Ja'ak Role: Tribal Chief Planet: Knormphell Stats: Primitive, Short-Tempered Bio: The Tribal Chief of Knormphell. She is a minor mutant, so extremely strong she can beat most men on Knormphell. In addition, she has an extremely high pain tolerance, through contests of strength she was made head of the largest tribe on Knormphell. _______________________________________________________________________________ Helmholtz   Alignment: None Compendium Entry: A barren planet which has a methane atmosphere. This is a hard place to live on, because of the constant explosions of flame when a tiny spark happens. The methane atmosphere extends some distance beyond the planet, and ships that travel at high speeds (that is, speeds requiring rocket thrusters) stand a good chance of becoming flying briquette. Travel in this atmosphere must be done by pulse rockets (which are normally used for takeoffs and landing, not as severe so as not to damage the planet they are taking off and landing from). General: While there is no outside evidence of it, there may be some form of life on Hemholtz. The planet itself has a rich methane atmosphere, and any ship entering this atmosphere must take care to not ignite an area of it and destroy themselves in the process. For this reason the planet has never before been properly investigated. Military: No military information. _______________________________________________________________________________ Thornwood   Alignment: Neutral Compendium Entry: This place enjoys a medium population, and a very green environment. High tech planet, but with little interest in space flight. Mostly a self-supporting people, so inter-galaxy trade is limited. The inhabitants of this planet try to do most jobs manually without sophisticated machines, and thus do not trade extensively with Harmony (not needing Fitz for machines as most planets do). They do, however, export a lot of food to the Syndicate military planets. General: Thornwood has a particularly lush atmosphere, and most of the planet is covered with vegetation of some sort or another. Almost the entire planet is used for food production, more than half of which is exported to the Syndicate planets. Thornwood is populated by fairly simple people who are happy to work and not get involved with politics if possible. Military: Thornwood employs a larget than average security force, but is not really a warmongering planet. Rather, the starships are kept only because it is prudent to do so. However, they are on good business terms with most of the nearby systems and have never been threatened.  Name: Glaska Terr'don Role: Planetary Mayor Planet: Thornwood Stats: Honest, Naive Bio: Grew up on a farm on Thornwood, where her hard work and endurance were quickly recognized. She started as a community representative and eventually became Thornwood's head speaker.  Name: Joseph Annuber Role: Bio-engineer Planet: Thornwood Stats: Brilliant, Ambitious Bio: Head scientist for Thornwood. His family was killed several years ago in a severe storm and since then he has been completely devoted to his work. Graduated from Zaphroxi with honors, most of his work deals with increased growths for plants and crops on Thornwood. _______________________________________________________________________________ Huygen   Alignment: Neutral Compendium Entry: This is a bland little planet, normal in every respect. There is nothing unique about it at all. However, the appearance of a place can often be deceiving, and there is a feeling that the people here are hiding something. General: Huygen is ruled by a monarchy, and the Kelle family has been the ruling family for the last four generations. There are no formal rules of government, the members of the nobility do as they please and the peasants try and survive. There has never been an uprising on Huygen as the peasants lack the weapons and resources to pose a serious threat. Military: Huygen keeps a small security force but it has never been involved in any major conflict beyond skirmishes with smugglers. Starship captains must be members of the nobility, which limits the availability of good captains. The Huygen military tends to fight by the rules and with honor, generally to their disadvantage.  Name: Jo Kelle Role: Queen Planet: Huygen Stats: Dull, Conceited, Crafty Bio: The Queen of Huygen, she was originally sixth in line to the throne. The five heirs in line before her met with untimely demises. Fortunately she seems content with this level of achievement, and has made no attempts to expand her power beyond the planet Huygen (yet). Update: Kelle's father was nobility; Eddris Kelle, Prince of Rankine. Her mother, however, was not the princess, not nobility, not even one of the palace concubines. She was a commoner who the prince took a liking to once evening. While this does not jeopardize her position on the throne, it is something she is terribly embarrassed about. _______________________________________________________________________________ Rasputin   Alignment: Neutral Compendium Entry: Small planet physically close to Harmony, this planet was populated with colonists from one of the two military planets of the three major planets in Syndicate space. They have mostly severed ties with their home planet. They are a high tech planet (because of their background), but are not terribly wealthy as they are still struggling to survive. They left Syndicate rule because they disliked the oppression, but will not openly oppose the Syndicate for fear of annihilation. I did not write the weird first sentence, just transcribed it. General: During a conflict on Imbesi (Syndicate planet) in 0153, a group of people were given the choice of being executed for treason or leaving the planet and never returning. They chose to leave and settled on Rasputin. Though they generally shun Syndicate ways, the culture of the planet is still similar to that of their native Imbesi. While the people of Rasputin do not seek revenge, they live in fear that the Syndicate will some day return to reclaim them. Military: With an almost paranoid fear, Rasputin is always ready for war. They are not, however, an aggressive planet. The original colonists had been brutally oppressed on their home planet before settling here. They prefer battle to negotiation, but once a victor in the battle has become apparent, they are willing to stop and deliberate. They keep a strong active military, and every able-bodied person on the planet is held in reserve should a full-scale battle become necessary.  Name: Jennel Girgis Role: High Coombacha Planet: Rasputin Stats: Bloodthirsty, Short-Tempered Bio: Born on Rasputin, she holds the position of High Coombacha. She also received military training with the Syndicate forces, but later renounced them as incompetent. Through her unmatched fighting ability she defeated the previous Coombacha and is still undefeated. _______________________________________________________________________________ L'll'y'yy'rww   Alignment: Neutral Compendium Entry: Planet of rough alien creatures, but vastly superior to humans in every way. Heavy psi powers, the population of this planet is separated into several sects, and every sect has a group mind. The sects are divided based on the skills of the members (medical, fighters, scientists, etc.). They are fierce warriors, and honor-worthy combatants. However, they consider the human race snotty and beneath contempt. Inhabitants of this planet are roughly humanoid. General: Almost nothing is known about L'll'y'yy'rww. Virtually every time a force comes to investigate they are defeated by a vicious patrol from the planet. They will not respond to communication and give no warning before attacking, but L'll'y'yy'rww fleets never venture out of their own system. Military: No military information available.  Name: Yy'rlr'lw'j' Role: Battle Chief Planet: L'll'y'yy'rww Stats: Prideful, Honorable, Heartless Bio: He has slain the most enemies in combat, and thus the title of battle chief is his. He is a vicious fighter, but always fights fairly and if beaten will honor his superior. Otherwise he is hostile and will fight before talking. _______________________________________________________________________________ Zaphroxi   Alignment: Neutral Compendium Entry: A high-tech planet of snot-nosed scientists who believe they are creation's gift to mankind. There is no government of this planet, the governing body is the University of Zaphroxi, a most prestigious Math/Sciences university. Zaphroxi uses a healthy amount of fitzholnium in experiments, and so has established trade practices with Harmony; however, it would be incorrect to say the two planets are on friendly terms, as Zaphroxi is equally condescending to everybody. General: Zaphroxi does not have a formal government system. The entire planet is run as a learning institution, devoted to the study of pure and applied science, the finest research scientists in the galaxy have studied on Zaphroxi. The planet itself is artificial, and was designed by the university. It is not known why this particular shape was chosen, but certainly the Zaphroxians had something specific in mind. The ruling body of Zaphroxi generally keeps to themselves, interacting with other planets only when necessary. Military: Due to the level of research Zaphroxi maintains, they constantly upgrade their weapon systems. In addition, they have a high revenue due to the numerous patents that have originated from Zaphroxi. The inhabitants of Zaphroxi do not fight, rather the planet maintains a hired force of top-notch pilots.  Name: Lai-Nor Egri Role: Dean Planet: Zaphroxi Stats: Genius, Perceptive, Boring, Repetitive Bio: The Dean of Zaphroxi. Egri's IQ is apparently just over 190, well over the previously highest naturally occurring IQ ever recorded. It is no surprise he heads the most prestigious institute for scientific knowledge in known space. He is generally helpful when possible. Update: Though not frequently, on several occasions Egri has accepted bribes from students who would have otherwise been removed from Zaphroxi. If knowledge of this were to escape Egri would removed from his position of Dean. _______________________________________________________________________________ Rimble   Alignment: None Compendium Entry: A planet which caters to the hedonistic pleasures of everybody. Anything can be acquired on Rimble, as long as you have the money to pay for it. There is no government, it's every man for himself. This is a favorite hang-out for the worst elements of known space: pirates, mercenaries, drug dealers, tax auditors and foreign rocket-ship mechanics. There are several gangs, the biggest and meanest of which is the Miscreants. General: Rimble is a planet devoted entirely to hedonistic pleasures. It is a haven for wanted criminals and smugglers. There is no formal government to speak of, the general practice is usually 'He that has the most money and the biggest gun makes the rules'. Military: No military information available. _______________________________________________________________________________ Sve'n-gha'llywn   Alignment: None Compendium Entry: This is a bizarre planet set right in the heart of a radio galaxy on the other side of Harmony from the Syndicate, and quite a ways away from Harmony as well. General: The star at the heart of the Sve'n star system is a radio wave emitter. It broadcasts a large amount of energy on virtually the whole spectrum of frequencies. Due to the electromagnetic fields surrounding this system it is virtually unapproachable, as the computer systems aboard any ship venturing too close are usually seriously damaged. As a result little is known about this system. Military: No military information available. _______________________________________________________________________________ Thyzahn   Alignment: Neutral Compendium Entry: Rich planet, full of executroid type people who live for stocks, trading, etc. The planet itself is very wealthy, and while it does not have an army or anything like that, it has hired a very good crack command team to protect it from invaders. While not actually a member of the Syndicate, many of the extremely rich on Thyzahn have money invested in Syndicate operations, and would hate to see the Syndicate destroyed. Chairman of the Board for this planet is Temik Milhouse IV. General: Thyzahn is more a corporation than a planet or government. The common goal of the population at large is to earn as much money as possible before you die. The cost of living on Thyzahn is higher than anywhere in the galaxy, even though every square meter of space on the planet has been covered with buildings. Thyzahn will never act to help any other organization unless they gain an appreciable return in the process. Military: Thyzahn does not have its own army as such, but employs the best security force that money can buy. A very wealthy planet, the board of directors of Thyzahn is very prudent in this area and goes to extremes to protect itself and the various business VIPs that are flown to and from Thyzahn. A corporate hellhole run by libertarians bankrolling the enemy. Wonderful.  Name: Temik Milhouse IV Role: Chairman of the Board Planet: Thyzahn Stats: Intelligent, Cruel, Devious Bio: Elected unanimously to his current position of Chairman of the Board of Thyzahn. Rumor indicates that this is partially due to blackmailing most of the key members of the Board. He is a major stockholder on Thyzahn, and reputed to have virtually no scruples when it comes to negotiating a deal. Update: Further investigation revealed that Milhouse and Sib'broue have been lovers for some time, in spite of the fact that Milhouse is married.  Name: Remy Sib'broue Role: Secretary of the Board Planet: Thyzahn Stats: Unscrupulous, Vicious, Bloodthirsty Bio: The highest stockholder on Thyzahn, he controls 51% of the planet's stock. His greatest pleasure is in crushing a fellow businessman. He will always seek to act in his personal best interests. Update: Sib'broue is the lover of Temik Milhouse IV, chairman of the board, and it was largely through Sib'broue's influence that Milhouse was elected. Sib'broue has been married for six years, and will try to keep his affair a secret at all costs. _______________________________________________________________________________ Pihzda   Alignment: Neutral Compendium Entry: Standard planet, not really that close to Harmony, but one of Harmony's regular Fitz customers. Medium to high tech. Generally non-violent. General: The people of Pihzda are open and friendly. The current Prime Minister has been in power for the last eight cycles, on a platform of planet-wide peace. The Pihzda people are heralded throughout the galaxy as top-class negotiaters, and are often called to other planets to negotiate between opposing factions. Military: Pihzda is a non-violent planet and is a firm believer in negotiation before battle, this has saved them in many circumstances. Indeed, many people feel that the Pihzda government will sooner give in to demands than fight. They do, however, keep a basic security force mounted at all times.  Name: Keif Bai-ley Role: Prime Minister Planet: Pihzda Stats: Friendly, Honest, Compliant Bio: The prime minister of Pizhda. Since his wife died several years ago, Bai-ley has had only two loves: his daughter and politics. He was elected on a platform of planet-wide peace. He is completely non-aggressive, and will always try to talk before acting. He seems completely trustworthy. Xenocides fucked around with this message at 21:10 on Jun 6, 2014 |
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May 16, 2014 19:05
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Current Fleet: Fitzgerald Hull: Hawk Weapons: Fitz Bombs, Tracking Laser, Rapid-Fire Missiles Defenses: Patch Spider, Heavy Xtra Armor, Structural Integrity Computer: Tracking System, Radar Cloak Fitzenburger Hull: Hawk Weapons: Rapid-Fire Missiles, Tracking Laser, Frapp Ray Defenses: Heavy Xtra Armor, Patch Spider, Structural Integrity Computer: Gravity Field, Tracking System Silent Running Hull: Fox Weapons: Tracking Laser Defenses: Structural Integrity, Patch Spider, Antiprojectile Gun Computer: Radar Cloak Serenity Hull: Fox Weapons: Knockout Syringe Defenses: Energy Field, Patch Spider, Antiprojectile Gun Computer: Auto-Medic Fitzthulhu Hull: Ox Weapons: Large Laser Cannon, Hallucinogenic, Hydrogen Bond Denaturing Ray Defenses: Lt Xtra Armor, Structural Integrity, Patch Spider, Wet Metal, Reflective Surface Computer: No slots Phaeton Hull: Hawk Weapons: Metal Eaters, Fitz Bombs, Super Missile Defenses: Patch Spider, Heavy Xtra Armor, Wet Metal Computer: Auto-Medic, Ship Psych U-boat Hull: Fox Weapons: Super Missile Defenses: Air Antibacterial, Light Xtra Armor, Energy Field Computer: Radar Cloak Goonswarm Hull: Swarm Weapons: Mass Tracking Missiles, Attack Drones, Hydrogen Bond Denaturing Ray, Magnetic Pods, Fitz Bombs Defenses: Reflective Surface, Antiprojectile Gun, Repair Drone, Hull Antibacterial, Light Xtra Armor Computer: No Slots FitzHawk Hull: Gryphon Weapons: Vibroray, Super Missiles, Mass Tracking Missiles, Heat Ray Defenses: Reflective Surface, Repair Drone, Antiprojectile Gun Computer: Scanner, Enemy Computer Control FitzFlag Hull: Dragon Weapons: Mass Tracking Missiles, Super Missiles, Vibroray, White Noise Generator, Magnetic Pods Defenses: Reflective Surface, Nonconductive Coating, Magnetic Shielding, Repair Drone, Full Thermal System Computer: Propulsion Enhancer, Scanner, System Integrator Xenocides fucked around with this message at 23:52 on Jun 7, 2014 |
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May 16, 2014 19:05
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Sounds great! Wait, wait, wait... we're the bad guys?  Well, I suppose freedom is worth fighting for! This seems like a really sexy game, statistics-wise?
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May 16, 2014 20:08
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Readingaccount posted:Wait, wait, wait... we're the bad guys? No, we're the good guys....mostly. We are allowed to do some pretty morally questionable things of course. The Syndicate is evil. The protagonist is a bad guy turned good.
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May 16, 2014 20:34
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Update 1: Rounding Up the Gang 1/1/96 - 1/4/96 Main Screen I sat down for my first day in office as the Overlord of the planet Harmony. The Governor ordered me an Executron 1200 from the planet Tool to help me manage my new responsibilities. I sat down and initialized the system and the governor immediately gave me a call:  Hi Boss, Thought I should introduce myself. I'm Elysia Sybarite, and when Harmony was simply a mining planet I pretty much took care of things. I have no idea how to win a war, and that's why you're the Overlord. I'm gonna do my best to help you where you're unfamiliar. And I'll take care of the books, handle calls, screen applications from people who apply for jobs, and a whole stack of other stuff. You need anything give me a ring, but we're usually pretty busy. Also, we're basically a small-town crowd, so you may want to give your Department heads an introductory call. Good luck boss, we're right behind you. They decided to inaugurate me on the New Year. Seems a bit peculiar but I suppose it will make the history books easier to write. This is the main interface (on the bottom of the screen you see the various screens VID, MAIN, and one for each department). Main is where I receive incoming calls and can manage budgets. The information on the right has not updated yet, we do have some things in progress in our 4 departments. Most are self-explanatory but SIN is Secret Intelligence Network. On the left most of it has not updated either. TF stands for "Total Funds" which is what I have to spare. The budget is what is deducted at the beginning of the month. Expenses are what is actually requisitioned by the departments. Income is our revenue, mostly from mining. Fitz is the current selling price for a unit of Fitz. We want this to stay high so our ore generates more income. General Staff are employees available for hiring to staff mines, do research, crew ships, and operate in our intelligence department. This number does not automatically go up. There are special events that can get us more but when we run low hard choices will have to be made. ____________________________________________________________________________________ SAV Screen  The game is real-time but the speed is adjustable so it avoids the hellishness that makes me hate the Star Wars strategy games. The first thing I do is kill the speed to the lowest setting (default is 88 and that is a good clip). At this speed you have a ridiculously large amount of time before anything of substance will happen. I will speed it up once things get going. You can also go to the SAV screen to pause the game. ____________________________________________________________________________________ VID Screen  This is the VID screen. From here I can place outgoing calls to the Governor, my department heads, and all the various planetary leaders and other important persons. Name on the left, their location on the right. We can also call up a file on all of the people on the list. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Governor Screen I decide to review the Governor's file:  Name: Elysia Sybarrite Role: Governor Planet: Harmony Stats: Honest, Loyal, Intelligent Bio: Graduated top of her class in business administration, worked as a law consultant for five years with Galactic Universal Kinetics. Born on Harmony, she was overwhelmingly re-elected governor six years running. And give her a call:   The Governor screen displays Total funds and available staff and other information duplicated on the main screen. There is a quite a bit of duplication, although the interface has its clunky moments you can usually see the data you need. Here we can set wages. The wage for staff is for the drones....I mean hard working people who make things run around here. The exec wage is for department heads and individuals we hire. Each ships needs 3 officers (Captain, Engineer, Computer Officer), each SIN mission needs an agent, each research project needs a head researcher, and each mine needs a Foreman. The last poll shows my approval rate. Below the buttons let us do stuff. Sell Item lets us sell the fruits of our research to the planet Tool for cash. The obvious advantage is the money we get. On the downside we now pay more for the technology and it is available to everyone. If we keep it proprietary it costs less and only we can use it. Poll starts a new poll to update the Last Poll. It takes 2 weeks to get new poll results. The other buttons give detailed budget reports for departments and let you view mission status and the like. I do not use these much. I usually prefer to go to the department screens. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Military Screen: Name: Rackhert Gerschen Role: Head of the Military Planet: Harmony Stats: Fair, Tough, Short-tempered Bio: Head of Harmony's military program. He is a veteran of several skirmishes with L'll'y'yy'rww and Esbastista. Gerschen makes an excellent commander with finesse and skill that is unsurpassed. Loyal to Harmony and its overlord. I give him a call:   The Military screen shows me the current budget and staff in the department, not counting crew on our ships. Here we can build missions, patrol or aggressive, and send them. If we send an intelligence agent on a mission we also need to dispatch a ship to deliver the agent. The Sector Map pulls up a map of this area of space:  This shows us all planets and areas of interest. Harmony is at the center of the sector. It is 3-d so the smaller dots are further back. The red dots are Syndicate controlled locations. We can also pull up descriptions of planets: Harmony Compendium Entry: A small mining planet that alone produces three-fifths of all the fitzholnium tri-gem in the galaxy. General: Harmony is an independent planet, and is generally protected by the fact that as a valuable source of Fitzholnium, now power in this galaxy would allow another power to control it. The population is comprised of a broad mix of planetary backgrounds, but the people are generally average in most respects. Military: Harmony is a Fitzholnium tri-gem mining planet, the highest producer in the galaxy. There is not usually a large army, as a space to ground assault would most likely result in a chain reaction that would destroy the entire entire planet. For this reason only a small security patrol is kept.  Alright, currently the fleet consists of two warships, the Harmony-1 and the Harmony-2. Note to self: CHANGE THE drat NAMES!!!! Who is going to have pride at serving on the Harmony-1???????  Both are built on the Hawk-class hull which has 3 weapons slots, 3 defense slots, and 2 computer slots. Decent hull design. Let's take a look: Name: Hawk Cost: 100000 Speed: 650000 Crew: 15 (how much staff it takes) SR: 110 (think Hit Points) Description: A very fast ship, with better than average strength and durability. A worthy addition to any fleet. Weapon Emplacements: 3 Defence Emplacements: 3 Computer Capacity: 3 Harmony 1 Weapons: Fitz bombs - High power bomb launcher with a laser sight for aiming provides an awesome weapon with the quality you expect from DICE. Tracking laser - Second laser atop the basic cannon increases the accuracy of the standard model, making a topnotch weapon system. Rapid-fire missiles - Uses the standard missile but fires them in clusters with automatic reload. Defenses: Patch Spider - Designed for the smaller hulls, these spiders continually run over the surface of the ship, seaching for and patching leaks. Heavy Xtra Armor - Never Hurts to have more metal around you, and this is the most you can get. Specially designed to cover the weak spots. Structural Integrity - Rather than just extra metal on the hull, this is a structural support system that adds strength to the whole ship body. Computer: Tracking System - An advanced radar and tracking system, this computer is wired directly to all weapons on board to increase their accuracy. Radar Cloak - Employing sympathetic radar systems, this device absorbs enemy radar signals, making the ship effectively invisible. Harmony 2 Weapons: Rapid-fire missiles - Uses the standard missile but fires them in clusters with automatic reload. Tracking laser - Second laser atop the basic cannon increases the accuracy of the standard model, making a topnotch weapon system. Frapp Ray - This device fires a massive bolt of lightning at the enemy ship, guaranteed to fry circuits and scramble computers. Defenses: Heavy Xtra Armor - Never Hurts to have more metal around you, and this is the most you can get. Specially designed to cover the weak spots. Patch Spider - Designed for the smaller hulls, these spiders continually run over the surface of the ship, seaching for and patching leaks. Structural Integrity - Rather than just extra metal on the hull, this is a structural support system that adds strength to the whole ship body. Computer: Gravity Field - This device creates a temporary increased gravity field around an enemy ship, increasing successful weapon strikes on that ship. Tracking System - An advanced radar and tracking system, this computer is wired directly to all weapons on board to increase their accuracy. These are both respectably armed ships. I also just love the name Frapp Ray. Okay, we will go over ship construction more later good citizens so those of you with an engineering mind can help me design the future of our fleet. There is quite a bit to ship construction. Designing is sadly much more fun then fighting. The combat reminds me of Rebellion...only with worse graphics and less action. When battles start I will try to spice them up with descriptions. Ship design is fun. There are 11 hull types, 19 weapon systems, 11 defense systems, and 12 computer systems and as we (and others) research them new systems will appear (except no new hulls if I remember correctly. All hulls and systems have a designer. Some are from the company DICE (8 of the various systems, no hulls). Everything else is from the planet Tool. Eventually we may have our own systems. This is usually important only because if we tick off DICE I believe it is possible to lose access to their system. God help us if Tool cuts us off as we will be unable to buy new ships. At some point I will do a post listing all hulls and systems so the design-minded amongst you can have fun. ____________________________________________________________________________________ SIN Screen: Name: Mr. Fredricks Role: Head of SIN Planet: Harmony Stats: Competent, Loyal Bio: Head of SIN, Harmony. Very little is known about this man other than the fact that he is very effective and very frightening. He ran, almost single-handedly, Harmony's security until recently. All other information is classified. I call my intelligence head:  ....should mention that I'm not used to reporting regularly to a superior. Now that we have that out of the way is there anything you need done? Head of SIN or Head of the SIN?   SIN automatically uses its staff and budget for counterespionage. Okay, we have 4 basic missions for our agents: Dossier: This is a mission to dig into the history of an individual, basically anyone we can contact via the VID screen. The agent does not leave the planet but begins a background investigation. Once complete their file in the VID section is updated. No, you cannot dig up the background of Mr. Fredericks. Well, you can try but I have never found anything. Extortion: Pressure someone for money. Sometimes a Dossier mission will dig up dirt from someone's past. You can then have the agent arrange to Extort money from them. Once contact is made they will call us. Note that this can piss people off......royally. Recon: An agent is sent to a planet or location on the map and performs recon. Once it is complete they will update the file on the planet. This is useful on locations for which we have no information and also for getting more information on planets. Occasionally other governments may ask us to perform a recon mission on their planet to investigate something. Sometimes recon wins us goodies like technology, staff, and other stuff. Insurgency: Go down to the planet and try to win the natives to our cause. This may win us support from other planets. If discovered the leaders are likely to get pissy about us influencing their people. Note that Recon and Insurgency missions require a ship to drop the agent off. Once the mission is complete they will board any of our ships in orbit and wait to go home. I expect that normally the ship will wait in orbit until the mission is complete. Name: Armor Uvgod Role: Head of Research Planet: Harmony Stats: Intelligent, Organized Bio: Graduated on the honor list from Zaphroxi, he then went on to complete a second degree on Tool. A brilliant theoretical scientist as well as an outstanding engineer. He has been working on Harmony for the last seven years.  ....living conditions. We're itching to get our teeth into something new, the entire department is at your disposal. Tell us what you want, and we'll see what we can do. Research is simple to manage. We hire a supervisor and assign them a staff and a category. The categories are: General Organic Nuclear Missile Magnetic Electrical Thermal Laser Each research supervisor has different specialties (usually 2 each) and work faster in their specialty. The project progresses with an estimated percentage complete which usually rises and occasionally drops. The project is either finished and we get something new or it aborts and they give up and stop wasting our money. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Mining Screen: Name: Nowell Ainchrist Role: Head of Mining Planet: Harmony Stats: Hard-working, Organized Bio: Currently the last living descendant in the Ainchrist line, the many times great-granddaughter of the man to discover Harmony's fitzholnium richness, Noel Ainchrist. Though she inherited her current position, she is more than qualified and does an excellent job.  ......mine sites, and she says you're in charge now. Best of luck to you, I'm sure working with you'll be great. Mining is pretty easy. We plop down surveys, get a report and decide whether to dig or not. Each mine needs a foreman and 8 staff to mine it. We have two mines already going: Mine 1:  Mine 2:  The amount brought in by digging is "Today". As long as that is higher then the cost and the cost to keep the staff in the mine working it is profitable. We can close mines that are not profitable at any time. The "days run" shows how long the mine has been open. As it continues to work the mine will go deeper and deeper. Fortunately we do not have any greenpeace environmentalists around. You scroll the map to find survey and mining sites. NE of Mine 1 you can see the only city on Harmony. Here is the full city:  Yeah, not a lot of us. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Okay, that concludes the tour....citizens. Now I need some input. I hired a bunch of yahoos for our research department:  Assign to laser or nuclear?  Magnetic or nuclear?  Missile or nuclear? Research Options: I guess I am basically asking who (if anyone) should research nukes and if anyone should research general applications. I am not starting three nuclear projects! I also hired three SIN agents. We have one skilled in information dossiering and two that do not seem to have a specialty. We can run up to 3 missions. Possible suggested Missions: Send agent to recon the Soraya Nebula with one of our warships. There was once a battle here during the great wars. No one remembers what the battle was for but with a good ship and a good agent we might be able to do some scavenging for advanced tech or parts. Run a dossier on Jerov Laddry One of the top agents for the Syndicate. We have no idea of his current location or activities. He is said to be able to get in and out of anywhere without detection and rumor is he has a private satellite as his HQ. Run a dossier on Katrina Vannes She is the chief engineer on Tool, the planet supplying most of our ship tech. She is both the political leader and head of the shipyards. It might be good to know more about her. Send agent to recon the Eyeball The eyeball is an artificial computer planet known as the eyeball. It is believed to be an experimental defense system built during the Galactic wars that was never activated. It is dormant on the edge of Syndicate territory. It may have latent defense systems but it also suspected to be the greatest supercomputer of all time. Who knows what could be here? Run a dossier on Selwyn Larcher He is the president of DICE, the second more important tech firm (after Tool). He is unscrupulous in his business dealings and is a fan of the hostile takeover. Might be good to see if there is more to him. Military Options Citizens, we need names for the Harmony-1 and Harmony-2. Mining I am planning to open 3 new mines as well. Should I focus on the flatlands or mine near the ridges that predominate on our planet? Okay, that tour took up my first 4 days in office. Any input? Vote in or out of RP as you wish. Please put RP posts in bold (at least the RP part) so I can tell the difference. The Overlord often answers his mail and may want to give a response. I will go into a lot of the politics and meet the neighbors in the next update. I was going to do some but the update was starting to get pretty long. Xenocides fucked around with this message at 21:51 on May 16, 2014 |
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May 16, 2014 21:47
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edit: Also thisDeadmeat5150 posted:
Provided we name our third ship HSS Fitzherbert. anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 10:20 on May 17, 2014 |
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May 16, 2014 22:25
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Mine the mountains Research Lasers, Magnetics, Nuclear Send agent to recon the Soraya Nebula with one of our warships. We recommend the Maria I was tempted to suggest the Eyeball too, but that would leave us without any ships available. Maybe send an agent to compile a dossier on Selwyn Larcher while our other agent focuses on counter intel for the moment. Rename Harmony-1 Maria Rename Harmony-2 Black Cherry
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May 17, 2014 04:25
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Oh my God somebody else has played this? I thought I was alone! Good luck, when I was a kid I was terrible at this game but I stilled played it all the time. Ship 1: HSS Fitzgerald Ship 2: HSS Fitzenburger
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May 17, 2014 04:38
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I say we research nuclear energy and run every dossier. Better to understand our neighbors before we go off exploring the unknown. Also, you may want to do something about those window borders. If you're using IrfanView, you can set it to capture the client area rather than the full window, plus you can run a batch crop on the images you've got already.
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May 17, 2014 04:55
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Veloxyll posted:Mine the mountains This looks pretty good. A nice all-rounder option which covers most of our bases. Let's make the Eyeball our next priority, having the Syndicate capture it will probably bite us in the rear end.
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May 17, 2014 05:06
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Bobbin Threadbare posted:Also, you may want to do something about those window borders. If you're using IrfanView, you can set it to capture the client area rather than the full window, plus you can run a batch crop on the images you've got already. Odd, I did not even notice. Even more odd since I was sure I changed the settings for a previous LP. Not sure why it is back. Will fix.
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May 17, 2014 08:12
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I guess the Syndicate must be really evil, too bad about human unity. At any rate, this is our planet! Our researchers are easy to sort, our three scientists all have one particular field they are exceedingly good at, and a second field they are adequate or mediocre at. Abre Genn (Matchless Lasers Design Leader, Nuclear Degree x2): Lasers Rooop Chand Eliss (Honors Degree General Engineering (Tool), Several Years Work Experience w/ Missiles (Dice), Nuclear Degree): General Applications Rhoena Huther (Instrumentally assisted Nuclear Research, complementary degree & no experience at Magnetics): Nuclear Is the cost of firing and rehiring a researcher (possibly losing a round of research?) a big deal? If no then we might want to discuss whether we should get rid of R. Huether. Her resume is very impressive on a secondary point but fragile overall, it says she was instrumental in nuclear research, but that was assisting during an undergraduate course - not leading which we need her to do (it is her secondary field after all), and she is listed as an 'Engineering Researcher', despite a lack of experience and her brief leaning towards her secondary field. We should probably keep Triple O, though we might want to just keep her in General Engineering/Applications. I assume General Applications can be put to good use without progressing in other techs first? Can we afford three simultaneous research programs? Can the eggheads work together? Thanks. My guesses at what the dessy text means: Abre Genn (Peerless Laser Researcher, Good Nuclear Researcher) Rooop Chand (Good General Engineering Researcher, Reliable w/ Missiles but don't expect more as she didn't specialize in it, Barely Qualifies for Nuclear Research) Rhoena Huther (Heavily sub-par at Magnetics, probably barely qualifies for General Engineering given her uni background from Tool and that she is labeled an engineering scientist, but a Potential Nuclear Research Prodigy if our researchers can gain xp/discover talents, or if she can assist someone better?) --- As for agents, I strongly believe we should seek out the undefended motherlode as it will give us more of a relative boost early on, and while our warships are less likely needed for defense, and possibly also have better freedom of movement and before the Syndicate gets there (if either of the latter two are actual game concerns). However the Eye at the moment would get a ship killed. Agent (no speciality): Recon Soraya Nebula w/ warship Agent (no speciality): Run a dossier on Jerov Laddry Agent (Dossier Specialist): Run a dossier on Katrina Vannes Readingaccount fucked around with this message at 11:37 on May 18, 2014 |
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May 17, 2014 09:44
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I think that the Frap Ray is from Calvin and Hobbes.
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May 17, 2014 10:20
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Overlord, I must say it's bizarre to have you taking up a position of leadership here, when you used to be working for the Syndicate. 'Overlord'. Frankly, the thought that they're eyeing us gives me the creeps. I'm hoping you keep us secure against their aggression, in any event. I understand you've been trying to consider some matters of policy. If you don't mind my thoughts, this is what I figure. Ms. Eliss should be set to developing general applications, while Mr. Genn should develop laser technology and Ms. Huther should focus on magnetic science. At least as I read their profiles, that should be the work they're best at. As far as espionage goes, I'd advise sending recon missions to the Eyeball and the Soraya Nebula, while having our specialist start working up a dossier on Selwyn Larcher. It doesn't seem like me can trust him too far, and I'd feel more comfortable having better information on him. Finally, I say we name our ships the Liberty and Justice. We might as well make it clear what we stand for here! S. Deroche, Mining Foreman To make it clear: Eliss- General Genn- Laser Huther- Magnetic Dossier agent- Selwyn Larcher Other two agent- Eyeball and Soraya Nebula Ships- Liberty and Justice
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May 17, 2014 14:53
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Overlord, Harmony Skydock is ready to serve. As Harmony's largest orbital facility and the only shipyard of note here, we've been militarized when you decided to break away from the Syndicate. I'd say Skydock is eager to see what you'll do and that we support you one hundred percent, but that would be a lie, honestly. A lot of people up here are drat nervous about breaking away from the Syndicate, even if your rhetoric sounds good on holocast. Nevertheless, the department heads agree that you're probably the best shot anyone has about getting out from under the Syndicate, so Skydock is at your command. One request: please try to make sure we don't get shot at, boarded, or otherwise blown up as a prelude to a surface invasion? None of us up here have any preference about current courses of action. We're just crossing our fingers and praying. I. Al-Sahrahani, Director of Operations, Harmony Skydock I know nothing at all about this game so I'm refraining from voting until I have a better idea of what's going on.
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May 17, 2014 15:28
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I'd say Eyeball's a bad idea because we only have two ships and its auto-defense system will likely rip them to pieces.
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May 17, 2014 19:28
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And that's precisely why we're doing it.
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May 17, 2014 19:37
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Xenocides told us we might not win even if we don't sabotage ourselves though. I changed my vote to Laddry after the other lass. There's a chance they may send him after us early on to stir up trouble before ramping up to warfare.
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May 17, 2014 20:55
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Anticheese posted:I think that the Frap Ray is from Calvin and Hobbes. The designer confirmed that that is where he got the name.
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May 18, 2014 05:52
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Boss, Do what you will planetside, that's why they hired you. But renaming this bucket of bolts something better? Yeah, you'll get my vote. Let's take a page from late 20th century classical music and name these two ships Firestarter and Invaders must die. Executive Officer Lomas DuQuesne, Harmony-1.
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May 18, 2014 09:39
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Update 2: Meet the Neighbors 1/4/96 - 1/18/96 First, I figure I would answer some questions and respond to some of your suggestions: Deadmeat5150 posted:Oh my God somebody else has played this? I thought I was alone! Good luck, when I was a kid I was terrible at this game but I stilled played it all the time. Loved this game as a kid. I have not played it in over a decade except for a short game to refamiliarize myself with the interface before starting this LP. This is a semi-blind run though I do remember bits and pieces. Veloxyll posted:Maybe send an agent to compile a dossier on Selwyn Larcher while our other agent focuses on counter intel for the moment. Small point but our agents do not do counter-intel. That is the responsibility of the department head and his assigned staff. Readingaccount posted:Is the cost of firing and rehiring a researcher (possibly losing a round of research?) a big deal? If no then we might want to discuss whether we should get rid of R. Huether. Her resume is very impressive on a secondary point but fragile overall, it says she was instrumental in nuclear research, but that was assisting during an undergraduate course - not leading which we need her to do (it is her secondary field after all), and she is listed as an 'Engineering Researcher', despite a lack of experience and her brief leaning towards her secondary field. We should probably keep Triple O, though we might want to just keep her in General Engineering/Applications. There is little penalty to fire a researcher. Hiring researchers will require a bit of a wait as no more have currently applied but the governor will continue to vet people and we can replace sub-par researchers or those who are working in fields we do not wish to research with new blood once it is available. We can afford to run 3 or even more research projects at a time. At the moment we have plenty of spare staff. The only departments I am planning on assigning additional staff to at the moment are the new mines opening and new research projects. The military and SIN can operate with the staff they have for now. We may want to assign additional personnel to counter-intel later and we will need more staff once we begin to flesh out the fleet. Bigger warships need more crew. I have only a limited memory of how technology works in the game but I do know if there is a tech tree they are individual to the various areas of research so there is no need to focus on a specific area before starting on another. In general I try to do a lot of research early and then slowly taper off as there are diminishing returns and staff is needed for other departments. nweismuller posted:Overlord, No more bizarre then it was to me Mr Deroche. When I defected I assumed I would be an intelligence asset but the reality is that Harmony has a small population of immigrants and most of them have little training or experience in diplomacy and military strategy. I was asked by the governor to take up control with the consent of the cabinet ministers. It was an act of (I hesitate to say this) desperation. Cythereal posted:Overlord, Glad to hear it. Though our warships are imported from Tool we need a strong and dedicated repair and refit force and so far reports on you and your station are most satisfactory. I would correct a minor misunderstanding. Harmony never joined the Syndicate. My defection alerted the planet that the Syndicate is trying to plan a move to take the planet. We do not need to fear reprisals for any sort of succession. The only changes are that we no longer sell them fitz ore (not a huge problem as there is a large market for it from unaligned planets) and they may be nervous once they realize I have taken over. We have avoided naming me and I am referred to as just the Overlord. Hopefully the Syndicate will not realize who I am but I do not underestimate their intelligence network. They may already know. _______________________________________________________________________________ Decisions Executed While I took all your ship names under consideration I decided to go with the Fitzgerald and the Fitzenburger. They emphasize our primary escort. While I like the idea of naming the ships after ideals or more adversarial names I prefer to stay low-profile for now. We can change this policy later when our position is more open.  An agent is ready to head for the Soraya Nebula. The other two are performing dossier checks on Jerov Laddry (the Syndicate agent) and Selwyn Larcher (President of DICE). I dispatched the Fitzgerald (previously Harmony-1) to the Soraya Nebula to carry our agent. I chose this ship due to the radar cloak. If it runs into trouble it has a better chance of escaping a battle.  I sent out some survey teams.  This spot just SE of our ocean looked promising.  I also liked the look of this ridge.  I also planted a survey just to the north of our spaceport (which is just NW of the city). Those mountains look promising. I also got our research teams rolling with 20 staff each. _______________________________________________________________________________ Meeting the Neighbors I realized it was time to introduce myself to other planetary leaders. Tool  Alignment: Neutral Compendium Entry: Where the best engineers in the galaxy can be found, Chief Engineer is Katrina Vannes. Basically a peace-loving planet, these people believe that the best defense is "I'm bigger than you are, so don't make me angry". Essentially, Tool makes the best weapons around, and everybody buys from them; the player buys all their starships from them and most of their weapons. However, they are also really cautious, and keep the best defense systems for themselves, making the planet very difficult to attack. This is a good place to find Engineering specialists; most of Harmony's research team studied here. Tool uses a good amount of fitzholnium, and is on friendly terms with Harmony. General: Though ruled by essentially a standard democratic government, Tool is really more a higher education center than anything else. The inhabitants of Tool are devoted to the application of current technology. It is commonly known that the finest engineers in the galaxy study on Tool. The people in of Tool mostly keep to themselves, interacting with other planets only for business purposes. Military: Though it started as a normal planet in every respect the inhabitants of Tool have modified the planet so much that it is unknowable what the original planet looked like. As Tool is the major supplier of military applications technology in the galaxy, one can only assume that their defense system is the finest available. They deal with all customers, and as no one wishes to lose the privilege of buying from Tool, they have never been attacked. It is rumored that the technology their army is equipped with is secret, and far more powerful then then merchandise they offer for sale. Tool is a critical planet and is out by its lonesome. It looks like it is near Syndicate space but this sector map has depth and the Syndicate planets (red) are further back. Oh, that gray S on the sector map is not, as you might think, a Syndicate fleet. It marks a SIN agent. Basically it is the agent attached to the fleet hitching a ride to the Soraya Nebula. I had a start when I first saw it. Name: Katrina Vannes Role: Chief Engineer Planet: Tool Stats: Determined, Ambitious, Intelligent Bio: While in undergraduate studies, Vannes was one of Tool's top students, and pioneered an entire new branch of biological engineering. Her genius and inventiveness was beyond what Tool's professors had seen previously. With her tireless work and devotion it was inevitable she would eventually be Chief Engineer. I give her a call:  ...conflicts and we will deal with all parties concerned. Having cleared that up, I hope you are pleased with our products, we take a lot of pride in our work. Feel free to call if there is a problem. Hmmmmmm......not likely to get a lot of help here. They build ships and weapons and sell them to everyone. The Syndicate also gets most of their warships from Tool and is Tool's biggest customer. If you call again she just reaffirms her planet's neutrality. The next planet I decide to look at is Haltrot, home of DICE industries. While not as important as Tool it does produce a number of ship systems we will probably use. It is near the 'back' of the sector. Haltrot Alignment: Neutral Compendium Entry: More or less your standard planet in most respects. Medium to high tech level, space flight, etc. There are trace quantities of Fitz here. One company which more or less dominates the planet is D.I.C.E. Inc. (Definitive Ideas on the Cutting Edge). They have made quite a lot of money in the sale of Fitz based tools and weapons. The Dice company's logo is, appropriately enough, a six sided die, and appears with all of their products. General: Haltrot itself is quite an ordinary planet in most respects. The planet is quite heavily mountainous, and small quantities of Fitz can be found. The leading industrial force on this planet is DICE Industries, which is a large electronics and mechanical device company. Though not as widespread as Tool, DICE controls a decent portion of the warfare industry. Military: The government of planet Haltrot does not keep a military force at all. However, DICE Industries, with is the largest company on Haltrot, does. DICE imports and exports a great deal of materials and top secret documents, and keeps a very strong security force circling the planet for this very reason. Can't say I personally like the idea of corporate military forces but DICE is one of the least of our problems when weighed against the Syndicate. Time to make some friendly calls to ensure the continued influx of technology. Name: Petra De Jonge Role: President Planet: Haltrot Stats: Polite, Shifty, Intelligent Bio: The president of Haltrot, home of DICE industries. Dejonge's interest has always been in keeping DICE prosperous, she has in the past only favored bills and doctrines that directly benefit DICE. Similarly, she has vetoed proposals that would likely damage DICE. Petra is the political leader of the planet:  ...delusions of grandeur. And apparently is an rear end in a top hat. How did she get that "polite" designation? She is right about one thing. We are not on equal footing. I have not sold my soul to a corporation. Note to self: May want to have SIN look into her background. Bought politicians often have skeletons in the back of their closet. Calling her again gets the response that she is busy and please leave her alone. Name: Selwyn Larcher Role: President of DICE Planet: Haltrot Stats: Intelligent, Untrustworthy, Greedy Bio: Larcher inherited his money and his position as the President of DICE, but he is fully worthy of the position. The company has prospered under his command, but his favorite method of expanding the company is by hostile takeover of a rival. He is thoroughly unscrupulous in his business dealings. This guy has the real power on Haltrot:  He is much more polite then his puppet but I still find him shady. Hopefully our agent can get more data on him. Calling again for aid he tells us that it is bad practice to ask for donations from business partners. I pull up the files on the Soraya Nebula where our ship and agent are going. Soraya Nebula Alignment: None Compendium Entry: A huge gaseous cloud in one of the outer systems. There was once an important battle here, during the great wars. The significance of this battle did not survive future generations, and it's outcome and participants are unknown. General: This is merely a huge gas cloud in one of the outer systems. There was an important battle here during the great wars, but the importance of the battle has long since been forgotten. Military: No military information available. A dangerous gamble to send a ship perhaps but we can hope it will pay off. Next I will take a look at the Eyeball. The Eyeball Alignment: Neutral Compendium Entry: The artificial computer planet I/g56-743, commonly known as the Eyeball. It was developed as an experimental defense system by someone during the wars; whoever built it never had a chance to activate it. It lies dormant just on the edge of the Syndicate's territory. The Eyeball has latent defense systems that the creators built. In addition to being a defense system, the Eyeball is suspected to be one of the greatest super-computers of all time. General: The correct listing for this planet is PQXT 345/7H42, but for obvious reasons it is simply referred to as the Eyeball. It is not actually a planet but a giant computer, built specifically for handling large-scale multi-permutation problems. It is not habitable, but examination shows that to access this computer one must land on the surface and hardwire a direct link. It is believed that computer is still fully functional. Military: This planet is a relic of the great wars, through the record of its creators has been lost. The planet itself reportedly have active defenses, though there is no evidence of this. If there are indeed active defenses, they are probably quite advanced. My gut reaction is still to want to investigate but it would be a dangerous mission. Perhaps when we have more ships? Now I think we will just start sweeping the area from the bottom left up. I am going to skip Syndicate space for now. Right now we are looking for allies and help. Later we can plan offensive strategy. Bird   Alignment: Neutral Compendium Entry: This is the farthest planet from Harmony. The planet itself is unique in that there are bacteria on the planet that mutate very quickly and are very easy to manipulate. Thus, the people of this planet have become very good in the biological sciences, and have developed bacteria that do all sorts of bizarre things. They are neutral in terms of the Syndicate/rebel war, primarily because they are physically so far from the hotbed of it all. High-tech planet, medium population. General: Bird has a special environment which stimulates the rapid growth of bacteria. As a result the inhabitants of Bird have become very adept at tailoring organisms for a variety of purposes, and most of the planet is organically based. Bird has produced some of the finest biological specialists in the galaxy. Military: Located far away from other systems in the sector, Bird has never felt the need to keep a mounted force. Bird has a unique planetary environment, making it virtually uninhabitable for any but the natives who have spent many generations adapting to it, and for this reason the planet has remained unmolested as it is not very useful to any who would conquer it. If you felt a sudden urge to break out singing an incredibly stupid song about how the name of this planet is actually a word know that you are not alone. Harmony has a staff of therapists that can help. We currently do not have any comcodes with which to contact this planet. If we wish to communicate with them we need to send a ship and an agent on a recon mission. While their distance makes an alliance unlikely they are highly skilled in the organic sciences and may be able to share some breakthroughs with us. _______________________________________________________________________________ Interlude: Agent Report  ....successful at a later time. No information on our Syndicate friend: Name: Jerov Laddry Role: Syndicate Agent Planet: Unknown Stats: Deadly, Intelligent, Slippery Bio: Known only by reputation, Jerov Laddry is the Syndicate's most powerful agent. He is apparently able to get in and out of anywhere without detection. Rumor says he has a private satellite as his headquarters, but its location is unknown. I reassign the agent to run a background check on Petra, the President of Haltrot, home of DICE Industry. _______________________________________________________________________________ Tarso Alignment: None Compendium Entry: About two-thirds of this planet is inhabited by the Bahal commune. The Grand High Exalted and also very Groovy Kahuna is named Quishhan Bahal. The basic idea behind the Bahal faith is that whatever the High Kahuna says is straight from the lips of the Cosmic Chaos, so you better believe it. The Cosmic Chaos shuns all not of the faith, and thus the Bahal Commune has no alliance with either the Syndicate or the rebels. Medium population. General: Two-thirds of Tarso is controlled by the Gybesh Commune under the guidance of the Groovy Kahuna. He shuns most forms of technology, unless he feels they benefit his commune. He does not believe in warfare or interstellar travel, nor will he communicate with anyone except for import and export reasons. The rest of the planet is run more or less as a standard democratic system, but the government of Tarso always acts in the Commune's best interests. Military: No military information available. Name: Quishhan Gybesh Role: Groovy Kahuna Planet: Tarso Stats: Pious, Long-winded, Friendly Bio: His full title is the Grand High Exalted and very Groovy Kahuna of the Gybesh Commune, which he himself founded. He has been known to use drugs on his worshippers, to keep them compliant. However, by using his followers for agricultural projects he has vastly improved the economy of Tarso. Okay, so we have a planet run by hippies kept under wraps through liberal use of pharmaceuticals to maintain control and then uses his drugged followers to grow food all day without high technology. This is awesome, depressing, and amazing. Amazingly awesomely depressing. I have to call this guy:  ...adopted you, and bring honor to your family with the love and respect they deserve. And now, though it saddens me I must go. Ummmm......what? I call back:  ...cannot be distracted by other thoughts. We will laud you and your people this evening, my friend. I do not know whether to fight hard to win this guy to my side, hope the Syndicate conquers the planet so it becomes their problem, pretend this never happens, or build a retreat on this planet for when Overlording gets me stressed out. This guy might have dirt in his background. He did found the religion which is usually a sign of something weird happening. This may also be a planet on which we can send an agent to get involved in insurrection to win these people over to support us. I mean......if they follow this guy those must be good drugs and they probably don't have much resistance to persuasion. Plus if we fail what is that guy going to do? Sic the Chaos on us? Actually....that sounds kind of scary if it is real. But it isn't....is it? Esbastista Compendium Entry: Large, powerful, and ambitious, this planet is near to Azure Dawn and Keyops. General: While Esbastista is a strong and ambitious planet, their major downfall has been poor government management. The emphasis on military power has always been too large, and other areas have suffered for it. Esbastista's main source of income is the supply of machinery and machine parts to many planets in the galaxy, including Harmony which purchases mining equipment almost exclusively from Esbastista. Military: Esbastista has always been an aggressive planet, and keeps an active military force at all times. While their army fights skillfully as a unit, all starship captains are strong fighters singly as well. Soldiers in the Esbastistan army fight fiercely and to the death. The planet has been in many minor skirmishes with many of the planets in the galaxy, and while they have never been defeated, they have also never increased their power base. Name: Dre'han Van Cott Role: Commander in Chief Planet: Esbastista Stats: Vicious, Radical, Power-Monger Bio: Commander in Chief of the forces of Esbastista. Van Cott has been responsible for many of the small skirmishes around the galaxy, as he is always seeking to expand his power. Harmony has contributed resources to fighting him in the past, but never engaged him directly. He has always dealt fairly in business with Harmony, recognizing the need for Harmony's fitzholnium. I spoke to General Gerschen about Esbastista and he told stories of minor skirmishes with their forces. Fortunately they need us for our Fitz. Unfortunately, we need them for their mining equipment. Their leader sounds like a bastard but I guess I should say hello.  ...Harmony and Esbastista have always maintained a strong business relationship, and I will not let your personal history alter that. I got a request from Minister Ainchrist to request information on some new mining equipment and so called back the next day.  What a swell guy. Still, if we can get him as an ally we might get access to more military training facilities and possibly more ships and men. Azure Dawn Compendium Entry: A small planet nestled between two larger ones, Esbatista and Keyops. General: Azure Dawn is low in natural resources, but what little they have is untouched as the planet is the galaxy's top tourist spot, and the government wishes to keep the landscape unharmed. As a result Azure Dawn has always been on good terms with Harmony. They are Harmony's primary consumer of Fitz ore, importing almost one-third of Harmony's monthly yield. Military: Generally a peaceful planet, Azure Dawn has never required any sort of a military fixture as they have always kept on good terms with everybody. Primarily a tourist planet, Azure Dawn's income is high but as they have virtually no natural resources a large part of this income goes to importing basic staples. Name: Maissa Pariag Role: Executive Premier Planet: Azure Dawn Stats: Intelligent, Passive, Cheerful Bio: Possessing virtually no natural resources of its own, Azure Dawn has still managed to flourish under Pariag's direction. She has nurtured the planet into a beautiful vacation spot, and has maintained a peaceful alliance with all other planets in the galaxy through careful negotiation. Does not sound like they have much to offer us in terms of the war. Maybe an R&R spot but that is about it. I will give the Premier a courtesy call.  Again? But we have never spoken? Is she senile? Still, nice lady. Ceddran Compendium Entry: This is an alien planet, though planet is a loose term. Really, it is a ball of loose bits of matter and lots of different gases all swirling together. General: Ceddran is not actually a planet in the standard sense but actually a loose collection of gases. To date there has been no full spectral analysis done of these gase, but primary examination indicates that the atmosphere is rich in basic carbon structures, and may have some use to living organisms. Military: No Military Information available. Might be worth sending a Recon agent and a ship to find out if there is anything useful located in this gas cloud/planet. Keyops Compendium Entry: Large and powerful, this ambitious planet is near Azure Dawn and Esbastista. General: During a dispute over orders, a fifth-rank officer took several platoons of soldiers from a military base on Finagle and colonized Keyops. Unfortunately, the ranking officer had no ideas about government and hence the planet is run like a huge military base. In the past Keyops has worked to form an alliance with Esbastista, where Keyops would provide a strong back-up force for Esbastista's forces and in return Esbastista would help govern Keyops in a more intelligent manner. Military: Keyops was colonized by a faction of soldiers from Finagle, a planet in the Syndicate. Keyops is run like a military camp, but the planet lacks a truly effective commander. There is always a strong starship force ready for battle, but without strong leadership Keyops is not a terrible aggressive planet. Name: Pixor Meunier Role: Warlord Planet: Keyops Stats: Radical, Patriotic, Single-minded Bio: While never a great leader, Meunier has always been a great supporter of other leaders. He commands the entire military power of the planet Keyops, and is currently loyal to Dre'han Van Cott of Esbastista. While they are currently non-active, past history shows they are liable to act aggressively at any time. Great, another military nut on a planet of military near-anarchy run by someone trying to be the bitch of another military nut. Still, better give him a call.  ...find my forces more then you bargained for. Tempting to build a fleet and humble this guy but we have bigger fish to fry. Calling back he just makes it clear that he does not want an alliance with Harmony. Maybe we can find dirt on this guy or stir up some support? Well, that covers most of the SW quadrant of the galaxy except for a few planets close to Harmony. In my next communique we will review the planets close to us and then move to the NE quadrant. In the communique after we will cover the planets in the SE. _______________________________________________________________________________ Working Hard I checked the personnel screen and found more miners and research staff available. I hired two more mining foremen and 3 more researchers and put them to work. We now have projects ongoing is six fields:  plus one nuclear project off-screen at 0%. I sent out surveys for two more mines:   Then a message came through with our survey near the ocean from my Minister of Mining:  ...there's something pretty big buried in the area. It could just be an underground lake, or even a bad reading. Do you want to take the trouble to find out? Ummmmm......HELL YES.  Now to look at the survey reports:  While we found something at site #3 the mine looks bad for fitz. Cancelling this dig site for Fitz but will find out what is down there.  Expected yield looks very good at #4. Opening the mine.  Site #5 also looks very good. Opening the mine. With site #3 a bust we will have a spare foreman so set up a new survey spot.  Let's look at an overview:  Expenses have shot above income but the new mines have not started yielding their riches yet. Most of the increase is due to the 120 staff and 6 research heads working on 6 research projects. Our spare staff has also fallen from 250 to 129 due to mining and research. I also ordered a poll run to update my approval rating. _______________________________________________________________________________ Need Your Input Okay, at the moment we need some intelligence targets. We have at least 4 SIN agents available for hire if we want to put together some missions. We do not have anyone we can extort for money. We can have agents run up dossiers on anyone we have contacted. We have two ongoing for the President of DICE and the President of Haltrot. We can also send recon missions to any planet. Note that even inhabited planets sometimes have things to discover via Recon. Recon should also let us contact the people of Bird. We can also investigate the computer and Ceddran, the gas planet thingamabob. One agent is still enroute to the Soraya Nebula. We can also pull an insurgency mission to any inhabited planet to try to win the populace to our side. Any thoughts citizens? We will probably need more ships very soon. My next update will just be about ship construction. We probably want to put together some light ships for recon and insurgency missions. Feel free to suggest more SIN missions then we have ships for. We will be adding ships in the next story update assuming we need them. Also note that the second post in the thread is now a planet and peoples list for ease of reference. Xenocides fucked around with this message at 20:59 on May 18, 2014 |
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May 18, 2014 20:57
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Hmmmmm...A planet far away from everyone...Not easy to contact...Researches viruses and bacteria... HMMMMM... WELL I SEE NO WAY THIS CAN GO WRONG! BIRD IS THE WORD, HOP TO IT RECON! Also, let's research what Gybesh and Van Cott have to hide. Them seem like good targets prime for extortion.
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May 18, 2014 21:45
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Let's recon the Bird and if the Eye is still an option let's do it now, those alien defenses are bound to be harmless. After that, let us take our first step towards the inevitable reign of terror over the galaxy: let's insurgency Azure Dawn, the disgustingly tranquil name offends our overlordly senses. The idea is to make the Syndicate look good by comparison.
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May 18, 2014 21:57
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Xenocides posted: We must act now lest the evil overtake us. Investigate Gybesh and Foment insurgency on Tarso.
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May 18, 2014 22:07
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Overlord, Department heads at Skydock agree: Tarso gives us the creeps and we'd be happy if a few asteroids were to land on its major population centers. As it is, we recommend investigating Gybesh. Do not start extorting or fomenting insurgency anywhere. I think it would be best to know what sleeping dogs are out there before you start poking. I. al-Sahrahani, Harmony Skydock, Director of Operations
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May 18, 2014 22:22
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Overdude, So we here at Express Plants Unlimited, Harmony's largest horticultural researcher and distributor, have a vested interest in both learning more about Gybesh, including the background of its groovy leader, as well as establishing contact with Bird. Who knows what those guys have been up do. If bet they've got some pretty kick rear end mari... uhh... space bees. Bees are our friend, right? Sincerely, Urist Heisenbee Director of Communications
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May 18, 2014 23:21
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Investigate Gybesh, Foment Insurgency on Tarso
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May 19, 2014 01:05
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Overlord, I understand entirely why it is you are needed. I simply hope Harmony hasn't made a mistake in relying on you. For now, however, you have my confidence and my support. Mine 2 is working smoothly, and you have nothing to worry on on this front. As far as policy- given our position of military weakness, and given the Warlord of Keyops' history as the ruler of an unstable but militarily strong state, I believe it is in our best interests to investigate Warlord Meunier and see if there is any leverage we can use to peel his allegiance away from Esbatista. I believe we should also perform reconnaissance on Keyops, again to see if we can uncover exploitable weaknesses. I strongly believe that Keyops is our best shot at improving our military position as things stand, which we will desperately need if we are to stand up to the empire of the Syndicate. Although, in the long term, we may wish to cause regime change amongst some of our more unpleasant neighbors, for now I believe maintaining a cautious course and investigating for weakness beforehand is more prudent. May you ever succeed in upholding the liberty of Harmony. Foreman Deroche, Mine 2 nweismuller fucked around with this message at 01:25 on May 19, 2014 |
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May 19, 2014 01:22
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Head to Ceddran. It's nearby, it's uninhabited, and there's nothing there that we know of that can shoot down our vessels. There probably won't be much to find, but it's low risk, and "low risk" are the magic words when we're still establishing an intergalactic presence.
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May 19, 2014 02:13
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Oh man, this game.. I had completely forgotten it existed. I beat the game after many, many losses, but I never felt like I understood it. Maybe 20 years later the details and depth will make more sense.
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May 19, 2014 02:30
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Overlord, I am pleased to see new leadership at the helm of Harmony. Galaxy! There are sure to be new and exciting days ahead for our sleepy corner of space! I've spent many years petitioning our government for something incredibly important, but Gov. Sybarite has seen fit to ignore my pleas. I hope you are more open-minded to my petitions, and can fully comprehend the gravity of the situation. You see, about eight years ago, something very terrible happened, a tragedy that I have yet to fully get over. They cancelled the televid Fitzrfly. It was critically acclaimed, well acted, funny, smart, and touching at times. Of course, I don't need to tell you that; I'm sure it was also very popular back in the Syndicate as well. I can honestly say I didn't know who I was until I saw the thrilling adventures of Captain Mav and his rag-tag crew. The broadcasters (who I refuse to name, as they are dead to me) called the ratings "abysmal" (a highly subjective term at best) and they didn't think it was "exciting" enough (name me one episode that isn't like riding a mining sledge without a speed governor!). It's clear they just were too foolish to understand the greatness. Sometimes, I even suspect that the broadcasters are actually in league with the Syndicate, and they felt the complex metaphors represented in villainous "Consortium" to be too threatening to their agenda. I have no solid evidence, but it makes real sense when you look at it. The cancellation after only one series is an absolute disgrace. It's the worst thing that has ever happened to me. Normally, I'd suggest someone in your position do something like arrest the heads of the network for their crimes, but you're new and you shouldn't overturn the fitz cart, so we should start small. As overlord, you can order new episodes of the show commissioned by executive fiat. Compared to the budget of a planetary military, it's not even a mote of dust but would be worth many times its cost. Anyway, I hope you consider my plan to force the broadcasters to bring Fitzrfly back on the air after a long, dreary time away. It will be the thing to revitalize our populace, and truly lead the way to a better future for us all. Baphrdray Dane Assistant Manager, Nutrient Haus P.S. My mother said I might get a better response if I include some civic suggestions as well. I thought about it for a bit, and you know what? You should really investigate those DICE guys. The last televid I got from them lost .3 blueshift after only fifty-thousand cycles. I mean, galaxy! What a piece of scrap. I can't replace this thing that often; what do they think I am, an Ainchrist heiress? Translation: Send your spies to go harass people at DICE.
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May 19, 2014 04:47
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Bobbin Threadbare posted:Head to Ceddran. It's nearby, it's uninhabited, and there's nothing there that we know of that can shoot down our vessels. There probably won't be much to find, but it's low risk, and "low risk" are the magic words when we're still establishing an intergalactic presence. Agree with this wholeheartedly. We only have two ships, we shouldn't be sending them on high-risk missions.
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May 19, 2014 13:01
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Dear Overlord, My father says that you can't trust someone named Ainchrist, because that's only a letter or two away from Antichrist. Please look up Minister Ainchrist's background. If you do I will be your best friend. -Billy, age 9
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May 19, 2014 13:26
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Dear Mr. Overbread, I am so pleased to hear recently of your rumoured expansion into Fitz-flavoured loaves. The grandchildren love them dearly, and I would like to place an order for 3 a week, delivered to the usual specified address. Please also do not deliver any more parrot food, as I have run out of room in my ottoman. Yours, Mrs Trellis. (Translation: Focus on fitz mining in the short term and spying/recon on Bird in the long.)
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May 19, 2014 21:11
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Boss, First, nice name change. Better than Harmony-1 at any rate. Ship seems to be performing well. Intel assets? From a purely selfish perspective, I'd want to Know more about the various planets to which you send us and their leaders. Other than that, keep doing what you're doing. We cool. Executive Officer Lomas DuQuesne, Fitzgerald.
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May 19, 2014 21:27
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Update 3: Ship Building Tutorial Well, it is time to explain to you good citizens how to design a warship. Note that this information is classified. I have invited a used ship dealer from the Planet Tool to help me explain how this works. He will be kept anonymous for safety reasons. Come on down to Boris's Used Starship Emporium! We have the finest in barely used ships. I have very nice Lemming ship, only used by grandma to scare teenagers off her asteroid. Mint condition. Ray guns and bombs still in fine condition. Is wonderful ship. Ummm....okay, maybe not anonymous. Ships are built around slots. Let's look at our two current ships: Fitzgerald Hull: Hawk Weapons: Fitz bombs Tracking laser Rapid-fire missiles Defenses: Patch Spider Heavy Xtra Armor Structural Integrity Computer: Tracking System Radar Cloak Fitzenburger Hull: Hawk Weapons: Rapid-fire missiles Tracking laser Frapp Ray Defenses: Heavy Xtra Armor Patch Spider Structural Integrity Computer: Gravity Field Tracking System Hmmm....nice ships you have. I could buy. They beaten up a bit. $1000 each. We are not selling. You make my children go hungry. $1500 No. Each ship has slots. There can be up to 14 of them. The first slot is always for the hull type. The hull determines how many slots it has. The slots are divided into three types: weapons, defenses, and computer systems. Only a weapon can go into a weapon slot, defense in a defense, computer into a computer. So let's look at the hull types. You buy a hull and fill the slots. Once you have them all add up the cost and you have a working ship. You can leave slots empty to save money. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Hull Types  Name: Vole Cost: $60,000 Speed: 450,000 Crew: 8 SR: 80 Description: Basic Starship Package, Reliable and Sturdy. Good for back-up support. Not the top of the line, but you can't beat the price. Weapon Emplacements: 2 Defence Emplacements: 2 Computer Capacity: 1 The Mole ship, good for tunneling through asteroid belts, gas giants and black holes. No refunds. It's a vole. The important statistics are the cost (obviously). Speed is how quickly it can move so fleets move as fast as their slowest ship. Speed ranges from 350,000 to 750,000. Crew is how much staff it takes. All ships also need 3 officers (Captain, Programmer, and Engineer) but there are almost always plenty available. SR is a measure of how tough the ship is to destroy. The emplacements and computer capacity show how many slots you have. In the lower right you see the symbol for the manufacturer. The T and wrench symbolize Tool. I knew a pirate named Space Commander Spiff who bought one of these from me with two Frapp Guns. Boom! Zap! Zap! He crashes a bit but is good ship. Easy to fix. This hull type suffers due to the low speed. It will slow down a fleet unless it is made up of similarly slow ships. For the same reason it is not very good at agent delivery missions. It does have a decent slot mix and is cheap. It also is really light on crew leaving more for other functions.Would serve well as a home defense ship.  Name: Fox Cost: $45,000 Speed: 750,000 Crew: 4 SR: 50 Description: Stealth Model, small and very fast, but able to withstand heavy attacks with negligible damage. Weapon Emplacements: 1 Defence Emplacements: 3 Computer Capacity: 1 Is good ship for hiding. Fast, zip all over the galaxy. Visit Azure Dawn for lunch and be home by dark. This ship is ideal for agent insertion missions. It is the fastest hull available and does not require much crew. It is also the cheapest hull available. The downside is it has only one weapon slot. The three defense slots are there to help it survive. If it enters a battle it should have only one objective: getting out of the battle.  Name: Bear Cost: $120,000 Speed: 550,000 Crew: 18 SR: 110 Description: Excellent All-purpose ship with increased speed and strength, able to take it and dish it right back out. Weapon Emplacements: 4 Defence Emplacements: 3 Computer Capacity: 1 Is strong, like bear. Enemy sees bear and says, "Oh no, Bear!!!!" and runs away while you shoot them. Bang! Bang! You win. This is a good general purpose warship. Lots of weapons and defenses. A little short on computer capacity. Obviously we are getting more expensive.  Name: Dragon Cost: $200,000 Speed: 675,000 Crew: 25 SR: 150 Description: Our finest model, this starship is top-of-the-line in every respect. By far the strongest and most deadly of our series, and must have mother-ship for every fleet. Weapon Emplacements: 5 Defence Emplacements: 5 Computer Capacity: 3 The dragon costs much but you get to be very scary. Like the legendary Spelljammer you drive around and people see you and run away and you look scary. Also impresses women if you have big ship. They think everything you have big. We eventually want one of these for our flagship. It has the highest crew requirement and is the most expensive but it is the only ship to have a full 14 slots. It is also the second-fastest ship after the Fox.  Name: Gryphon Cost: $175,000 Speed: 625,000 Crew: 20 SR: 125 Description: An excellect example of military technology, this ship is one of our finer models, offering strength, speed, and modifaction capacity in one package. Weapon Emplacements: 4 Defence Emplacements: 3 Computer Capacity: 2 Is scary mystical Gryphon. People see and think Romulans are coming. Then they run and hide. Another excellent heavy warship. It's faster then the Bear and has more room for computers. Much more expensive though.  Name: Shark Cost: $120,000 Speed: 625,000 Crew: 15 SR: 80 Description: A Deadly attack ship, the shark has the speed and viciousness of the most deadly assassain. Excellent weapon capabilities. Weapon Emplacements: 5 Defence Emplacements: 2 Computer Capacity: 0 Is fast like shark and has many teeth like shark. Put in missiles and shark shoots out baby sharks that explode. Your enemy will yell, "Aaaahhhh, too many sharks!" Built almost entirely for attack. The ship is fast and is the best bang for buck in buying weapon slots but suffers from lack of computer support.  Name: Ox Cost: $100000 Speed: 350,000 Crew: 16 SR: 110 Description: Tough as rawhide, the ox may be slower than most, but it will get you there alive. Virtually impregnable hull. Weapon Emplacements: 3 Defence Emplacements: 5 Computer Capacity: 0 You need to defend your planet with big scary ship? Get tough ox. It laughs at attack and enemy will give up and then you shoot back. Cheap and tough, like great ox. The slowest hull available. Still, it is tough for the price and mounts respectable weapons and a lot of defense systems. A good home defense ship.  Name: Hawk Cost: $100,000 Speed: 650,000 Crew: 15 SR: 110 Description: A very fast ship, with better than average strength and durability. A worthy addition to any fleet. Weapon Emplacements: 3 Defence Emplacements: 3 Computer Capacity: 2 You want well-rounded and cheap to boot? Buy the mighty Hawk. It soars through skies and enemy thinks: "They has Hawks! We are beaten!" A well-rounded ship, we already have two of these. Fast and decent slots and pretty tough. A good hull type.  Name: Swarm Cost: $100,000 Speed: 450,000 Crew: 0 SR: 100 Description: Five ships that act as one, the swarm is four AI drones controlled from a fifth command ship holding the captain and officers. Weapon Emplacements: 5 Defence Emplacements: 5 Computer Capacity: 0 Five ships for price of one. Only needs officers. They fly all the ships and enemy runs when your fleet has so many ships and you laugh because the computers fly the ships for you. Put in swarm bots and you have even more ships. An odd design. The officers fly in one ship and the other 4 drones attack. Has maximum weapon and defense slots but no computer slots. Tough enough but the ship is slow. Probably best suited for home defense on a budget.  Name: Mongoose Cost: $110,000 Speed: 575,000 Crew: 12 SR: 80 Description: Average strength and durability, but high speed and even higher manuevability make the mongoose a very tough ship to hit. Weapon Emplacements: 3 Defence Emplacements: 2 Computer Capacity: 1 Mongooses eat snakes. Is ferocious and chews off snake's head and eats corpse. Buy this ship to be like Mongoose. A good mid-range ship.  Name: Lemming Cost: $100,000 Speed: 500,000 Crew: 15 SR: 90 Description: A top mother ship for smaller fleets, the lemming holds three computers for an excellent price. Weapon Emplacements: 1 Defence Emplacements: 2 Computer Capacity: 3 Lemmings smart. They charge off cliffs fearlessly. Be like a lemming with this ship. Computer does thinking and helps other ships and convinces them to charge off cliffs to glorious battle. The Lemming is a good computer support ship. I sometimes put one in the home defense fleet (the main fleet gets a Dragon). ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Weapon Systems  Name: Laser Cannon - Small Cost: $3,500 Range: 100 Manufacturer: Tool Type: Laser Description: The Economy Model of a standard favorite, the small laser cannon is a good back up addition to any arsenal. Good for frying squirrels and dogs on your lawn. Children of neighbors too. Shoot it at ships in traffic to get them to move out of the way. A budget item. For only a little more you get a bigger cannon. Horrible range.  Name: Laser Cannon - Large Cost: $4,200 Range: 200 Manufacturer: Tool Type: Laser Description: Bigger is better, this cannon is the standard model with a longer range and more power. An upgrade in case your neighbor's kids obese. Also lets you carve your name in asteroid. Good for staking claim. A better laser cannon. Bigger is better.  Name: Molten Metal Cannon Cost: $4,000 Range: 200 Manufacturer: Tool Type: Thermal Description: This gun fires two chemicals that form liquid metal to coat the enemy ship, ruining components and altering the ship's balance. Good for ruining ships. If bad man has nice ship squirt metal and it cools all over and now it ugly ship. Then kick sand in face. Good for wrecking components and lowering ship's speed.  Name: Frapp Ray Cost: $4,000 Range: 250 Manufacturer: Tool Type: Electrical Description: This device fires a massive bolt of lightning at the enemy ship, guaranteed to fry circuits and scramble computers. Have the power of Thor. Shoot lightning out of your ship and the other ship's computers break. Then they will not see you. A good anti-computer device attack device.  Name: Scatter Missile Launcher Cost: $1,000 Range: 250 Manufacturer: Tool Type: Missile Description: Essentially a thin metal shell filled with rocks. This weapon is an inexpensive weapon for any ship. Good for ship on budget. Fire off the missiles and they smack into the enemy. Good for scattering shuttles in your way. Budget item, mostly for ships that shouldn't see battle anyways.  Name: Rapid Fire Missile Launcher Cost: $6,500 Range: 250 Manufacturer: Tool Type: Missile Description: Uses the standard missile but fires them in clusters with automatic reload. Too many shuttles in way? Get upgrade to fire faster.  Name: Cold Ray Cost: $5,000 Range: 225 Manufacturer: Tool Type: Thermal Description: This weapon's beam freezes the enemy hull, causeing the metal to contract and making the hull susceptible to cracks and breaches. Fight with power of coldness. Put ice all over enemy and make him popsicles. Then eat enemy for snack. Good for wrecking the hull.  Name: Kinetic Energy Damper Cost: $4,000 Range: 200 Manufacturer: DICE Type: Nuclear Description: Applying quantum particle theory, this device siphons off the kinetic energy of the target ship, slowing it down. In space race and enemy has Fox? Fire dampener and watch it turn into punier Ox then zip ahead and win. This is the first item to come from DICE, you can see the DICE symbol in the lower right of the image. Good for forcing a decisive battle.  Name: White Noise Generator Cost: $4,000 Range: 150 Manufacturer: Tool Type: Electrical Description: This device creates ultrasonic sound waves, numbing the crew of the target ship to uncounsciousness. Sing lullabies to the enemy and then when they sleep shoot the ship. Will not destroy a ship but will weaken the crew. Have to get close though.  Name: Laser Cannon - Tracking Cost: $5,000 Range: 300 Manufacturer: Tool Type: Laser Description: Second laser atop the basic cannon increases the accuracy of the standard model, making a topnotch weapon system. Pudgy kid from next door more nimble then you thought. Shoot with this. The best laser cannon available for now. A good weapon.  Name: Metal Eating Bacteria Bombs Cost: $3,500 Range: 100 Manufacturer: Tool Type: Organic Description: Metal shell filled with short lived bacteria that consume metal and damage the target ship hull. Unfourtuantly they do not last. Send little critters to enemy and they munch on hull until the air comes out. Short range but damage the hull quite a bit.  Name: Fitzholnium Bomb Launcher Cost: $6,000 Range: 300 Manufacturer: DICE Type: Missile Description: High power bomb launcher with a laser sight for aiming provides an awesome weapon with the quality you expect from DICE. Use the power of Fitz ore. BOOM! High damage missile system.  Name: Missile Launcher - Small Cost: $2,500 Range: 75 Manufacturer: Tool Type: Missile Description: An old favorite from the pre-spaceflight age, but still effective and you can't beat the price. Bargain buy at the price. Vintage missiles impress friends and blow up enemies. Bargain item, very short ranged.  Name: Missile Launcher - Large Cost: $3,500 Range: 125 Manufacturer: Tool Type: Missile Description: Bigger and more up to date, this innovation on an old theme proves as battleworthy as any other. Vintage missiles that impress women too ehhhhh? Bargain for the price. Better but still short ranged. Damage is good though.  Name: Heat Ray Cost: $5,500 Range: 225 Manufacturer: Tool Type: Thermal Description: A Beam of Pure Energy that heats the target hull to the melting point, creating a hole too ragged to easily patch. Do not like power of coldness? Try the power of hotness. Melts the hull and the people fall out flailing. Great for parties! Fun thermal weapon.  Name: Hydrogen Bond Denaturing Ray Cost: $6,000 Range: 200 Manufacturer: DICE Type: Organic Description: Why get the ship when you can get the crew? This device causes the crew's enzymes to break down, causing the crew to break down. Don't like melting hull? Buy this fine item and melt the crew! DICE has some messed up stuff. Isn't there some kind of convention against weapons like this? Nope, just checked. There are not.  Name: Magnetic Pod Launcher Cost: $5,000 Range: 200 Manufacturer: DICE Type: Magnetic Description: The pod contains a cutting laser and a large magnet in one package. The pod clamps itself onto the target hull and cuts right through. Bad shot with laser? Attach laser to enemy first. Then no more missing! Locks onto the hull and cuts. Nice.  Name: Ship Syringe - Hallucinogenic Cost: $3,000 Range: 150 Manufacturer: Tool Type: Organic Description: This device pierces the hull of the target ship and injects the inner atmosphere with a potent hallucinogen to disable the crew. Make the enemy run from imaginary spiders or run from imaginary Cthulhu. Discounted in bulk below what you pay on street for the stuff. Airborne LSD? Hmmmm....sounds evil and fun.  Name: Attack Drones Cost: $6,500 Range: 250 Manufacturer: Tool Type: General Description: Intelligent attack drones equipped with explosives, they scan the target hull for a weak spot, then clamp on and detonate there. Good for swarm ships. Get more swarms. They clamp on and blow up. Like kamikaze bears with no bear in it. Intelligent missiles basically.  Name: Ship Syringe - Knockout Cost: $4,000 Range: 200 Manufacturer: Tool Type: General Description: This device pierces the hull of the target ship and injects the inner atmosphere with a knockout gas to disable the crew. Want to ransom crew back and not turn to goo? Buy this fine item and they will go to sleep. Looking for orgy instead? DICE is working on version to turn enemy crew all gay. Why did I invite him? ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Defense Systems  Name: Extra Armoring - Heavy Cost: $5,500 Manufacturer: Tool Type: General Description: Never Hurts to have more metal around you, and this is the most you can get. Specially designed to cover the weak spots. Is good to have more metal. Keeps out vacuum. Good and tight. More armor is always a plus.  Name: Extra Armoring - Light Cost: $4,500 Manufacturer: Tool Type: General Description: A little extra help never hurt. This is a special alloy, and the armoring is heavier of the less protected spots. You can no afford good armor. I have other cheaper armor. Almost as good. Keeps air inside ship. Budget armor though not much cheaper.  Name: Added Structural Integrity Cost: $6,000 Manufacturer: Tool Type: General Description: Rather than just extra metal on the hull, this is a structural support system that adds strength to the whole ship body. This reinforce whole ship. Make it last longer. 200,000 more light years before needing servicing. This, I believe, adds more SI points to the hull.  Name: Harmonic Energy Field Cost: $7,500 Manufacturer: Tool Type: General Description: A field of harmonic energy that surrounds the ship, it cancels out the effect of any threatening energy weapon. This keeps out nasty lasers. It also good for light shows. Makes pretty shapes and makes crew happy. Good for morale As I understand it this mitigates energy attacks like lasers.  Name: Hot Patch Spiders Cost: $4,500 Manufacturer: Tool Type: General Description: Designed for the smaller hulls, these spiders continually run over the surface of the ship, seaching for and patching leaks. Little bug crawls on hull and fixes dents and fissures. Good and built to not frighten children. A small self-repair bot.  Name: Anti-Projectile Laser Cost: $6,500 Manufacturer: DICE Type: Missile Description: High power short range laser guns mounted on the hull track incoming projectiles and detonate them before impact. You no like missiles or bots. This handy gun shoot them down. Pew. Pew. Designed to deal with missiles and other projectiles.  Name: Thermal System - Cooling Cost: $6,500 Manufacturer: Tool Type: Thermal Description: This temperature regulation system will protect your ship against warming attacks by instantly cooling the affected areas. Your ship getting hot with all the heat radiation? This keep the ship nice and cool. Good for defending against thermal heat rays.  Name: Thermal System - Warming Cost: $6,500 Manufacturer: Tool Type: Thermal Description: Spread evenly throughout the hull, this system responds to freezing attacks and adjusts the hull temperature accordingly. All good ships need heaters in case heat gets out. Space is cold. The opposite and good for defending against cold rays.  Name: Wet Metal Coating System Cost: $4,500 Manufacturer: Tool Type: General Description: A system of liquid metal and spray guns that coat damaged sections of the hull with a quick patch to prevent leaking. Is good hull patch system. Pour on and hull fixed. Good as new. A good quick repair system.  Name: Bacterial Inoculator - Outer Cost: $6,500 Manufacturer: Tool Type: Organic Description: Anti toxic created for anerobic space bacteria and such, this spray system will keep your outer hull clean of any such growths. Good for removing space pests like mynocks. Also keeps nasty microbes from eating and munching hull. Defense against hull organic weapons.  Name: Bacterial Inoculator - Inner Cost: $6,700 Manufacturer: Tool Type: Organic Description: Extra defense against anything nasty that has infiltrated your ships' atmosphere, this is a broad-range toxic nullifier. Use to keep out gooifying drugs, LSD, knockout drugs, and gay drugs. Keeps crew happy and functioning when they should be melting, seeing visions, sleeping, or jumping on each other in glorious sodomy. Ummmm.....yeah, protects from internal organic weapons. ________________________________________________________________________________________________  Name: Automatic Medical System Cost: $7,000 Manufacturer: Tool Type: Organic Description: This computerized ship's doctor can analyze and treat over 30,000 known illnesses from over 50 different planets. No need a doctor with this thing. Prevents plagues from spreading. Keeps crew from calling in sick or they go into auto medic. They not call in sick again. Defends the crew against diseases and drugs. Might want to put one of these on whatever ship we send to Bird.  Name: Radar Cloaking System Cost: $7,500 Manufacturer: Tool Type: General Description: Employing sympathetic radar systems, this device absorbs enemy radar signals, making the ship effectively invisible. Good for hiding. Make ship invisible. Good deal. Good for quiet sneaking or for hiding if cargo not match manifest. Handy for quiet missions.  Name: Heavy Gravity Field Generator Cost: $16,000 Manufacturer: D.I.C.E Type: General Description: This device creates a temporary increased gravity field around an enemy ship, increasing successful weapon strikes on that ship. Make enemy burn all his fuel trying to run as you laugh and shoot guns. Very funny. Good to have on a ship with a good weapons array.  Name: Scanning System Cost: $6,000 Manufacturer: Tool Type: General Description: This device scans an enemy ship and relays information concerning the weapons and defenses of that ship, and their operational status. Good for knowing what enemy is equipped with. This way you send in ships with weapons they not defend against. Good to have one in any large fleet to help with battle planning.  Name: Constant Systems Integrator Cost: $9,500 Manufacturer: D.I.C.E. Type: General Description: This device keeps complete track of the entire battle, calculates all possible outcomes and advises the captain accordingly. Good for flagship. Not good admiral? This do it for you. Nice addon for a flagship.  Name: Nuclear Enhancement System Cost: $1,200 Manufacturer: Tool Type: Nuclear Description: Designed to regulate all nuclear systems, this computer increases the effectiveness of all nuclear devices on board. Show enemy your words are backed with nuclear weapons. Good add for any ship carrying nuclear systems.  Name: Magnetic Enhancement System Cost: $1,200 Manufacturer: Tool Type: Magnetic Description: Constructed specifically for magnetic systems, this device increases the effectiveness of all magnetic devices on board. This make magnets more magnetic. Very sticky. Same as above except for magnetic systems.  Name: Ship Psychiatric System Cost: $11,000 Manufacturer: Tool Type: General Description: A mentally stable crew is a productive crew. This computer analyzes the crew and prompts them to work at peak efficiency. Good at fixing mental defects. Put crew in depressed and they come out happy. Drugs are nature's hugs. Keeps crew operating at a higher level of proficiency.  Name: Electrical Enhancement System Cost: $1,200 Manufacturer: Tool Type: Electrical Description: Conceived to augment electrical systems, this device increases the effectiveness of all electrical devices on board. Space Commander Spiff always has one. You want to be like Spiff don't you? Same as the others but enhances all electrical systems.  Name: Enemy Computer Control System Cost: $8,000 Manufacturer: D.I.C.E. Type: General Description: Designed by a master programmer, this computer access computers aboard the enemy ship and brutally damages their architecture. This mess with enemy systems and makes them fizzle. Great fun to watch. I sell AI named EDI once that do similar. Really good. DICE has all the creepy systems doesn't it? Another way to slow the enemy.  Name: OmniTracking System Cost: $13,500 Manufacturer: Tool Type: General Description: An advanced radar and tracking system, this computer is wired directly to all weapons on board to increase their accuracy. You bad at shooting? This makes your guns pew where they should. An expensive system but helps all weapons onboard.  Name: Alphawave Generator Cost: $7,500 Manufacturer: Tool Type: General Description: This device transmits alpha-wave sleep patterns to the enemy ship, dulling the thoughts of the crew. This is stupid ray. Make enemy dumber. Then you attack like bear. Basically the opposite of the Auto-Psych system for the enemy. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Pulling it Together So, that is ship construction. You pick a hull and then fill the slots. Add up the cost of the hull and all components and you have the ship. Crew are assigned and officers put in command. There are never enough slots for everything you would want. It like silly gummy block ships I used to sell. You pick pieces and stick together. Only, less clunky interface and less boring to fly. Note that as research is completed by us, Tool, and DICE more options will be created. They usually call when they invent something new and I will add them to the list. Ships can be refitted. Non-damaged systems can be sold for 75% value (damaged for 50%) so upgrading is usually not too expensive. So what we need are a few ship designs. Mostly looking for designs for agent insertion right now. Reasonably fast and not horrendously expensive. We probably want 3 right now, preferably 2 with Fox hulls for their lower detection threshold. We will work on warships later. If you design it you get to name it. Feel free to design or vote for ships others design. Xenocides fucked around with this message at 05:07 on May 25, 2014 |
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May 20, 2014 06:46
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Is there any reason we can't send agents out in unarmed Foxes? Are there like pirates or Syndicate patrols?
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May 20, 2014 07:00
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SSNeoman posted:Is there any reason we can't send agents out in unarmed Foxes? Are there like pirates or Syndicate patrols? I know Fox hulls are harder to detect but I believe they can still be attacked. Fox hulls are good for agents for that reason. Some planets have defenses. Most will not attack us when we show up. Except Syndicate planets. They get pissy when we show up and our best bet is to send in a Fox and hope. We probably want 2 Fox hulls for agent missions and ships that can double as warships for the rest. I prefer to keep Foxes armed so they can try and escape. I have a vague memory of some of them being attacked while reconing Syndicate worlds when I played the game a while back (was it really over 15 years ago? Wow.)
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May 20, 2014 07:11
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I'd suggest a Fox with Tracking Laser, Reinforced Hull, Patch Spider, Antiprojectile Gun, and the Radar Cloak. Call it the Silent Running. Also, dare I ask, Boris wouldn't happen to be a Mikhailovich, would he? E: Is there any real reason to get a Mongoose over a Hawk? Just by the stats, the Hawk looks pretty unambigiously superior. Cheaper, faster, more durable, and more slots; the only real advantage the Mongoose seems to have is slightly lower crew requirements. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 08:51 on May 20, 2014 |
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May 20, 2014 08:03
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