|
"As delightful as discovering new and exotic cultures has been... I must say that the Gremak trouble me. At the least a peace endures for now." Contact with Humans, Orthin, Wrem, and Gremak has provided the Phidi with a wide variety of alien species and cultures they can compare against each other and their own, and the admission of the Commonwealth of Splendor and its Human citizens into the Combine has marked, for the first time, the Combine's existence as a multi-species polity. Thoughts and reactions by the people to these different species and foreign powers would be welcomed.
|
#
?
Apr 6, 2019 22:19
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 4, 2024 03:36 |
|
|
Millions for defense! Not one cent for tribute!
|
|
#
?
Apr 7, 2019 00:58
|
|
|
So the Phidi standard year (a year on Tendao) is approximately 1/6th the equivalent Human-Earth year. Any comment on expected lifespan of average healthy Phidi (in either unit)? I did a quick search but didn't see it. Basic biological facts are excellent starting point for comparative xenopsychology.
|
|
#
?
Apr 8, 2019 01:54
|
|
|
Teledahn posted:So the Phidi standard year (a year on Tendao) is approximately 1/6th the equivalent Human-Earth year. Any comment on expected lifespan of average healthy Phidi (in either unit)? I did a quick search but didn't see it. Basic biological facts are excellent starting point for comparative xenopsychology. Natural Phidi lifespan is approximately 100 Terran years, which is slightly shorter than Gremak lifespans- but Phidi have a longer adult lifespan than Gremak, who spend almost half their lives as swimmers or adolescents. Recent genetic advances associated with the Artificial Organisms technology have gained five or ten Terran years on that lifespan, but those gains are modest for the time being- what's possible for extending Phidi lifespan is still tweaking around the edges of physical senescence. Phidi have much slower reproduction cycles than Gremak, invest significant efforts in educating their young, and maintain loving bonds between parents and young for life, which means Phidi young get fully-acculturated far more quickly than Gremak young, who only pick up common cultural knowledge very slowly over their adolescence. Phidi family structure can be... variable. Phidi are enormous hedonists, which, although it doesn't preclude long-term loving bonds between mates, does mean that a great deal of variability is tolerated. The partial control Phidi have over their own sex shifts in adulthood is a fairly standard point of 'decadence' in Phidi- there's hardly a Phidi relationship that hasn't experimented with sex variation between the partners. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 03:25 on Apr 8, 2019 |
|
#
?
Apr 8, 2019 03:17
|
|
|
Do you have any comments on the fringe human groups that claim that the Gremak were created by some sort of evil religious spirit? Something about how their life cycle lines up with evolution, as opposed to creation by a God. I don't want to know what they think about the Ashdar. (A Case of Conscience reference)
|
|
#
?
Apr 8, 2019 08:07
|
|
|
habituallyred posted:Do you have any comments on the fringe human groups that claim that the Gremak were created by some sort of evil religious spirit? Something about how their life cycle lines up with evolution, as opposed to creation by a God. I don't want to know what they think about the Ashdar. Well, on the one hand, it's easy to understand how one might believe that the Gremak are the work of a malevolent supernatural force. Their cruelty, malice, and hunger for domination appears to be insatiable. Even their raising of their children is marked by murder and slavery. On the other hand, I'm not sure I'm entirely following how evidence that a species was evolved can also count as evidence it was created. But, then, I suppose that's why these are fringe groups. Either way, I must say that the Splendids both are the most reasonable Humans we have met overall, and considerably more appealing as friends than the Gremak. I hope for a long and profitable friendship between the Splendids and the Phidi, and that the Splendids will enjoy a future of prosperity and happiness as members of the Combine.
|
|
#
?
Apr 8, 2019 08:50
|
|
|
"It's good to see that not all aliens are insane, I was getting worried there for a while. But everyone has the right to seek happiness, don't you think? Phidi or otherwise. Even those devolved human space colonies, though I wish they'd see sense and join their kin and join us. They could do a lot better if they just weren't... well, backwards fearful savages. A shame, really. Speaking of humans, does anyone know if there's any planets we might be able to reach that they'd be better to settle then us Phidi? An extra planet or two is the sort of extra that leads to extra profit, after all. Though given the cost of colony ships and the issues the shipbuilding program is currently having, I can see why that might not be an urgent question." "On another fin and speaking of affordability, I'm more then a little worried about the long term affordability of our current payments to the Gremak. They really aren't the sort to respect others, and my studies into xenopsychology highly suggest that they probably take said payments as a defacto admission of weakness. They wouldn't provide that sort of payment unless they didn't have any other choice, after all, which would make it seem to them we thought we don't have any other choice. Which thusly suggests to them that we think we are weaker then them. And, well, the whole 'cruelty, malice, and hunger for domination' thing was just mentioned, yes? They might be satisfied by the money for now, but I consider it highly likely they're going to want more eventually. Probably sooner then later. We should make sure we're ready for when that happens." "I do feel for those Ashdar though, and wish something could be affordably done for them."
|
|
#
?
Apr 8, 2019 11:13
|
|
|
Actually, yes, there are some worlds that Human pioneers could render habitable- the various lifeless arid worlds with inert atmospheres we have encountered, although insurmountably hostile to Phidi establishing a new colony, could be colonised by Humans who could, in turn, prepare sheltered environments for a limited Phidi population to share the worlds with them. Of more immediate value would be establishing a joint Phidi/Human colony dedicated to restoring the great cities in the Enif system. The potential of that world as a new industrial center is immense, and sharing the world with Humans would allow for it to be far more intensively exploited than if only Phidi concentrated on converting the cities to a sealed water environment. The tribute payments are, of course, a short-term expedient. We had nothing that could defend the Splendids in place when an attack loomed, but if we reposition the Combine Space Security Fleet in a defensive posture once we have opened more worlds to colonisation via dealing with the regrettable hostility of Human barbarians and the danger presented by space rays, we should be able to intercept any attack launched by the Stone Hammers, and overcome it. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 20:10 on Apr 8, 2019 |
|
#
?
Apr 8, 2019 20:07
|
|
|
General Revil posted:Millions for defense! Not one cent for tribute! On that note, the Phidi have a unique position when it comes to this sort of thing. Yes, these Gremak require a small tribute. However, they will fight for money. Phidi are really, really good at making money.
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2019 01:04
|
|
|
OK, I've finished editing and uploading images, and will either have the energy to write later this evening or tomorrow. Look forward to it. E: My current headache argues for 'tomorrow'. What I might be particularly interested in seeing, if anybody has ideas, is what the attitude of the Splendid on the street is to the assimilation of the Commonwealth into the Combine. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 04:27 on Apr 9, 2019 |
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2019 02:06
|
|
|
How the heck did that Gremak even get into space, and why didn't all the other old-FTL races agree that they shouldn't be?
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2019 20:34
|
|
|
New Friendships, Ancient Wars In CSY 2961, the Discovery, exploring the G-class system of Itoran, discovered a Human population on the garden world of Splendor in the system. The inhabitants of Splendor were a pre-atomic industrial society united under a federal republic known as the Commonwealth of Splendor, but, despite the relative habitability of Splendor and the reasonable technological base maintained by the 'Splendids', they were nonetheless in a dire situation. Splendor, which had been settled by a Human colony ship that had drifted into the Itoran system at slower than light speeds in Pre-Standard Year (PSY) 486, had initially regressed to a pre-industrial society before redeveloping industrial technology and growing to an established civilisation. As the Commonwealth dated back nearly to the landing on Splendor, it proved that the Commonwealth was older than the Combine itself. Their development had been abruptly shattered when the warp lanes once again opened, and 'Gremak' alien raiders had repeatedly assaulted and sacked much of Splendor. Ephraim White, Chairman of the Commonwealth Assembly, desperately petitioned for Splendor's admission into the Combine in exchange for protection from the Gremak and technological aid.    Splendor was a fertile world with an oxygen-rich atmosphere, wide oceans, and large continents, supporting an abundant and stable native ecosystem, along with immense and valuable reserves of industrial metals easily accessible in its crust. A number of Splendor's major industrial centers still survived, but planetary transportation infrastructure was in a shambles, many of its cities were half-abandoned, and a great portion of its population was reduced to scratching out a meager living via subsistence agriculture. Investment to rebuild Splendor, to modernise its infrastructure, and shipments of food to aid its hungry people immediately began flowing in, while a process of restructuring the Commonwealth to a Combine Charter-compliant member of the Combine began. Although many of the Splendids had some resentment for the loss of Splendor's sovereignty and for the changes in its governance, nonetheless Splendid gratitude for desperately-needed aid and Phidi efforts to understand and address Human concerns kept this from being more than the subject of some simple grumbling. The Human population of Splendor starts as 'Refugees', who lack the coin and science income normally associated with Humans. The morale penalty for alien rulers is only -10 instead of -25 because of our Alien Psychology technology, and, at least for a number of turns after our rescue, they get a +10 morale bonus due to our rescue of the planet. Morale below 0 can eventually cause problems, although in a population of merely two billion, a -10 morale won't have problems yet. The higher a refugee population's morale, the more likely per turn they are to assimilate into fully-productive population, so building markets on refugee worlds helps them develop faster. Positive morale, in general, primary simply serves as a buffer against things that reduce morale, but- as a player- I take trying to boost the morale of my populations as an active goal. I eventually like to make sure there's at least one market on every world for just that reason.    No later than CSY 2970, Splendor was already showing significant recovery, with much of its population living lifestyles of basic modern comfort and security. The planet already hosted a growing metals industry for export, while vast tracts of agricultural land were being redeveloped with the Phidi investment and capital flowing into Splendor. The prospect of agricultural surpluses from Splendor allowed the economy of Tendao to refocus partially from its own aquaculture to supporting a larger commercial establishment and various light industries for consumer use and specialised industrial applications- particularly in a growing electronics industry, taking advantage of Tendao's reserves of opil to make electronic devices for any conceivable consumer or business application. The bonus coin income- and influence income- from opil means we'll want to refocus Tendao more and more into markets as other planets can pick up our industrial and agricultural needs. Influence income remains modest enough through the game that a +1 influence/turn is always valuable.  While this redevelopment was under way on Tendao, the voyages of the Curiousity and Discovery continued. In CSY 2971, the Curiousity arrived at the Eltanin system. Although gas giants and some small, airless worlds orbited the star, the system was essentially entirely unsuited to colonisation beyond some simple space-based exploitation.   The Gremak the Splendids had warned the Phidi of arrived once again at Splendor in CSY 2974. A small raiding fleet from the 'Stone Hammers', a military government descended from a military unit of the ancient Gremak Empire which had lost contact with the Empire when the warp lanes failed, arrived once again to visit devastation on the Splendids. Although the Combine did not have a response fleet in position, they were able to negotiate a rather significant subsidy to the Stone Hammers from the Combine's substantial revenues in order to purchase the continued security of Splendor. The Splendids, who had dreaded the return of the Stone Hammer fleet, had the Combine's commitment to protect them proved to them as the raiding fleet turned and departed without a shot fired. The Gremak themselves proved to be a ruthless amphibious species lacking any recognisable sense of empathy or morality. Whatever the differences between Phidi and Humans, they paled before the cruel and pitiless nature of the Gremak.  Shortly thereafter, in CSY 2975, the Discovery arrived at the Dunaman system. The most notable planet in the system was an airless, lifeless ball of frozen oceans, entirely unsuited to colonisation.  Breakthroughs in materials science within the Combine allowed for room-temperature superconductive material to start mass production in CSY 2987. The immediate applications in a new generation of coilgun weaponry were of great interest to the Combine Space Security Fleet, but of perhaps greater importance was the potential of superconductors to revolutionise electronics design and industrial processes. Study in how to properly apply this new breakthrough immediately began.    CSY 2987 was also the year of the Discovery's arrival at the Musal system. Although Musal was a dim, cool red dwarf, it nonetheless supported a habitable garden world in very close orbit around the star. This world, called 'Hagh' by its Gremak rulers, was the seat of the Stone Hammers. According to Gremak legend, Hagh had once been a colony world of the 'Ashdar Empire', ancient enemies of the Gremak Empire, before the Stone Hammers had seized the world in the name of the Gremak Empire. Over nine billion Ashdar of two different subspecies- the taller, gray to gray-green Haduir and the shorter, stockier, yellow Teros- labored in abject slavery under fewer than four billion Gremak on Hagh. Although Hagh had maintained an industrial society and relatively advanced technology even over its long period of isolation, the savage misrule characterising the Gremak nonetheless had seen a certain amount of societal and technological regression over the millenia. A stray asteroid had been towed into Hagh orbit and converted into a military shipyard and defensive installation, while the Stone Hammer fleet comprised a pair of destroyers, a cruiser, and a transport to carry ground forces for raiding duty. A massively oversized surface military was built up on Hagh, policing its vast slave populations and ruthlessly quashing any hint of rebellion. We could, potentially, overcome the Stone Hammer space force, if it came to that, but settling the war once and for all would involve a very ugly ground invasion, which itself would involve building up a very large invasion force. We're nowhere near ready for that.  In CSY 2992, the Curiousity arrived at the Markab system. Despite Markab being a G-class yellow dwarf, the system nonetheless proved disappointing in contents, consisting of airless, irradiated rocks and an airless iceball with deep liquid oceans, none of which were suitable to Phidi or Human habitation. Another wrecked and derelict ship from the distant past- nearly 20,000 Tendao years old- nonetheless presented a valuable object of study to Phidi researchers, once it was towed to Phidi space and disassembled for analysis of what survived of its badly degraded systems.  The rapid modernisation of Splendor had been underway all this time, and, by CSY 3000, essentially the whole of the Human population lived in at least basic modern conditions, sharing their world with the first Phidi settlers who had arrived to establish homes in Splendor's oceans, while the native Human Splendids settled the land. The bulk of the Splendids acknowledged that the annexation by the Combine had helped bring security, opportunity, and abundance that they had not seen for generations under the assaults of the Stone Hammers.    CSY 3000 also saw a major redesign of weaponry for the Combine Space Security Fleet, taking advantage of a new generation of coilguns and computing systems using superconductive material. Redesign of computers and electronics using superconductive transmission combined with semiconductive components permitted a radical reduction in the size of processing units, allowing powerful computers that could be fitted even in compact devices. The primary challenge presented by the new 'nanocomputers' was the problem of heat dissipation, as the energy to perform the informational operations was concentrated into a very small space and mass. Active cooling systems to prevent nanocomputers from effectively melting themselves soon proved to be necessary. Even with these challenges, use of nanocomputers in local fire control would allow for significantly more accurate space-based weaponry, while more powerful coilguns using superconductive material for the coils would allow for a larger engagement envelope. Use of nanocomputers in civilian applications likewise had immense promise, although redesigning the Combine industrial base to take advantage of this would be a large-scale project. Work to refit first-generation Space Security Fleet vessels to the new third-generation standard began, if slowly. 'Long Range' and 'Accurate' modifications increase the power draw, production cost, and metal cost of weapons, but together significantly increase combat effectiveness. Long Range gives our coilguns a 50% increase in effective range, helping put more fire more accurately on enemies, while Accurate reduces combat misses enough to increase average damage on target, in my experience, by at least a quarter.      In CSY 3004, the Discovery arrived at the G-class system of Keid- what proved to be its last mission. A group of space rays were active in the system, along with a previously unknown variety of space ray, dubbed afterwards the 'soldier ray' by Phidi xenobiologists. Where most space rays ejected relatively low-velocity plasma clouds for feeding on orbital debris, the soldier ray also possessed plasma focusing organs to eject a high-velocity, high-impact beam of plasma at much longer ranges, and had its body coated in a formidable layer of stony armor. Although the Discovery was unable to return to hyperspace before being blasted to pieces by a stream of plasma from the soldier ray, it was able to eject a communications probe into hyperspace to eventually relay the data from its last mission back home. It seemed clear that where normal space rays might well be able to be engaged and destroyed by Combine security vessels, a single soldier ray was likely more than a match for the entire Space Security Fleet. Star Harpy Mediators are nasty. They can pretty much effortlessly swat destroyers out of space, and heavier ships can still get mauled by them very rapidly. Dealing with them will require mercenaries. Lots of mercenaries.  Keid, as described by the last recordings of the Discovery, was nonetheless an extremely promising system, hosting a very Tendao-like world of scattered islands and vast oceans, ideal for Phidi life. If the soldier ray could somehow be dealt with, Keid would be an ideal system for Phidi expansion.  The Curiousity arrived at the K-class orange dwarf Lesuth a year later, in CSY 3005. Although none of the planets in the system were at all suitable to Phidi colonisation, one of the planets in the system proved at least marginally suitable to Humanity. A lifeless arid world with limited water and a thin inert atmosphere, although hardly welcoming, could at least support Humans in sealed environments. It still was far from the most appealing target for expansion available to the Combine. Humans can successfully colonise Arid worlds, unlike Phidi. The Arid world at Lesuth, being a small planet with no special resources, is not exactly a huge prize, however.  Integration of nanocomputing infrastructure into civilian applications and Phidi industry had been steadily ongoing since the invention of nanocomputers, and, by about CSY 3055, the effects of this were clearly visible. Ever more extensive automation and more effective robotics helped improve industrial productivity in all sectors, but particularly in basic mining and metals refining, which had remained relatively hazardous professions for Phidi or Human labor. The output increase permitted by these advances, along with the growing metals industry on Splendor, very firmly resolved the metals shortage that had been plaguing Phidi industry previously. Industrial Automation increases mines to level 2, increasing their staffed output from 2/6/12 on mineral poor/standard/rich worlds to 3/9/18. It also unlocks the Mining activity, which grants a 50% bonus to metal production on a world while it performs Mining. This immediately increased metal output on Eluz from 24/turn to 54/turn, as we set Eluz to Mining- much better for sustaining our shipbuilding.     The Combine Space Security Fleet was dispatched along with a colonisation mission to the Gemma system, arriving at that system in CSY 3075. The fertile shallow seas of the planet dubbed Phoron were blocked from Phidi exploitation by an infestation of space rays, which the CSSF was prepared to meet. Eight destroyers- two of them refitted to third-generation standards- the Curiousity, and the CSSF scout Venture permanently attached to the combat fleet arrived, preparing to engage the six space rays which rapidly closed to intercept. Although the space rays could produce immense accelerations, their engagement envelope was relatively short, and they came under defensive coilgun fire as they closed with the CSSF combat fleet.    One of the space rays was torn apart by an internal explosion as the biological reactor that generated its plasma was breached in the initial volley of fire, while steady fire on the surviving space rays knocked out their ability to generate thrust, allowing the Combine vessels to avoid close engagement with the drifting vessels. The remainder of the 'battle' was a simple matter of pouring coilgun fire into the space rays, who were blasted apart one by one. The battle ended without any combat damages to any Combine vessels and with no Phidi casualties. As standard Star Harpies have no armor, only being protected by their base hull, damage they take can immediately knock out functional systems, making them reasonably simple to destroy with enough massed firepower. Damage to a ship's reactor can potentially cause a reactor detonation, immediately destroying the ship and potentially damaging nearby ships, while knocking out maneuvering thrusters can immobilise a ship and destroying weapons can reduce ship firepower. Immobilised ships are indicated by no longer having thruster glow, and can thus be easily identified. By immobilising Star Harpies before they get into range, you can reduce the number of incoming projectiles they launch to a level manageable by fleet point defense- or, as we did in this case, we can prevent them from even getting off a shot if we immobilise them all.  Study of the wreckage of the space rays by the Curiousity and the Venture was puzzling. The remarkable biochemistry that allowed for generation of an internal electrical system allowing for the generation and manipulation of ionised hydrocarbon plasma, although unprecedented in other known biological species, was to be expected by a species that had shown the remarkable capacity for biological spaceflight seen in the space rays. What was less explicable was the lack of any apparent reproductive system in the space rays, or, given the fact that effectively identical organisms had been encountered in multiple star systems across the region, any organs that could be identified that would permit travel between star systems. Space rays, as encountered by the Phidi, should have been drifting dead in space long before reaching other star systems than whatever system was their point of origin. Defeating our first Star Harpies gives us a nice little infusion of science points.    With the space rays cleared from the system and with more time to complete the system survey, it rapidly became clear that an earlier air-breathing civilisation had existed on Phoron, with ruins of ancient cities still crumbling on the surface. As colonists touched down on Phoron, a series of archaeological expeditions were funded into these cities, which eventually paid off when a mostly-functional computer system was discovered in the ruins of an industrial complex. Although the computer encoding used was unfamiliar to Phidi, the computer itself could still be operated and used to access files using the computer's own interface, providing a large body of text for study by xenolinguists and an array of image files. Although the translations that could be made from the files in the system from Phoron were incomplete, what could be deciphered suggested that the computer system recovered was an enterprise computer server for Sotillo Industries, a ship components contractor providing defensive systems for the Ashdar Imperial Navy for a wartime contract. The schematics for several generations of field generators that could evidently be used as effective ship defensive systems could not be completely deciphered, and the theory behind the systems was unclear, but nonetheless the use of these schematics as a reference could potentially dramatically accelerate Phidi work to replicate the technology once Phidi science advanced sufficiently to lay the foundation for such devices. Who the Ashdar Empire was fighting at the time was unclear from sources in the computer system, but could be speculated to be the Gremak Empire based on what had been learned from the Stone Hammers. Dating of the ruins on Phoron suggested that the planet was bombarded and abandoned approximately 20,000 Tendao years previously- within the same general timeframe as much of the other ancient wreckage recovered in other systems. Phidi xenohistorians hesitantly postulated a 'Great War' between advanced interstellar societies in that timeframe, possibly brought to a close by the warp lanes ceasing to function. Derelict colonies can have various different benefits for an empire that colonises their planet. In this case, we get the majority of the work done on multiple generations of shield technology, making it so we can finish the technologies in question much, much quicker.  While archaeologists combed the ruins of Phoron for their secrets, the development of the colony on Phoron began with a rapid deployment of aquaculture. The plan by the colonists had been for Phoron to be a center of aquaculture for the whole Combine, and extensive equipment and materials had been packed in the colony ship to allow them to get an early start on food exports.   Even as work was underway to settle and tame Phoron, first contact was made between the Phidi Combine and a new alien species who had just established their own colony on the seemingly inhospitable iceball world in the Markab system- the Orthin. The Orthin, like the Phidi, were water-breathers just making their first expansion to the stars with the recent opening of the warp lanes. Unlike the Phidi, the Orthin were native to the crushing depths of Bacabs, an airless iceball in the deep outer portion of its star system, relying on a chemosynthetic ecosystem adapted to the immense pressures of oceanic vents and drawing energy and nutrients from the vents. Their government, the Orthin Conference, was a technocratic oligarchy ruled by Orthin scientists led by General Director Ten Shells. Hints from Orthin negotiators suggested that the Phidi Combine was not the first interstellar society the Orthin Conference had encountered, but little further information could be coaxed from them.     The Orthin Conference, although suspicious and reluctant to engage diplomatically with the Phidi Combine, was nonetheless persuaded to permit exchange of permanent embassies and the opening of trade between the Phidi Combine and the Orthin Conference- not least because of the promise of high-quality Phidi electronics manufactured with opil crystal and their use in Orthin scientific endeavors. With ambassadors stationed permanently on Bacabs, the planet could be observed. Bacabs was another frozen world, with liquid oceans melted by geothermal activity, but one with an unusually active core making for particularly dramatic plumes of heated water that melted away ice all the way to the surface. The highly active crust helped ensure the evolution of an unusually rich and active chemosynthetic ecosystem, eventually culminating in the Orthin, who were unusually intelligent even for a starfaring species. Bacabs supported an extensive heavy industrial complex and extensive aquaculture, both feeding itself and providing exports to other Orthin worlds. Making diplomatic agreements costs influence, but maintaining diplomatic agreements provides a slow influence income, as does having any contact with other alien factions. The Phidi are unique in having an early source of influence via building markets on Tendao, and can further boost their influence income through the game by building more markets. This makes it easier, as the Phidi, to make early agreements with other factions.   As soon as the colony on Phoron, the CSSF departed the Gemma system under orders to engage and destroy the Human barbarians in the Misam system- which, as it proved, was little too soon to leave the system. A group of space rays dropped out of hyperspace without warning in CSY 3091- and without apparent means to enter or exit hyperspace- driving off shipping from the system. Amongst the space rays was another soldier ray, which the CSSF would have had no chance to effectively engage and destroy, and which surely would have been able to inflict severe damage on the fleet. Although Phoron was cut off from the larger Combine, it was, at least, an aquacultural center capable of effectively feeding itself. It slowly continued local development of its economy, although this was a far cry from the prosperity it had expected as an integrated element of the Combine. The Phidi Combine and Known Space as of CSY 3092  Tendao's population has slightly declined from 150 years ago after the effects of emigration, although it remains the most populous of the Combine's worlds. Although its population has declined, its prosperity has not, with local aquaculture reducing in importance as a portion of the economy with the new food imports from Splendor. The world's importance as a commercial hub and light industrial center has increased, and access to luxuries and exotica amongst its population is greater than ever before, as are profits for businesses on Tendao serving the commercial web of Phidi worlds. Shipbuilders on Tendao are assembling the next great colony ship for the Phidi Combine, preparing for a mission to Rasalgethi- establishing a new agricultural colony to make up for the lack of the expected food exports from Phoron. Big increase in coin income on Tendao and an extra per turn point of influence for us as we get another Market taking advantage of Tendao's opil. Local morale on Tendao is now +36- +10 for Phidi loyalty and +26 for two markets, reflecting a higher local quality of life. We'll want to continue this transition of Tendao to primarily Market-based as the game continues.  Nuo's population now exceeds nine billion, with its rate of growth slowed over the past 150 years. The planet is the single most important heavy industrial center of the Combine, with its shipbuilding industry focusing on the assembly of more superfreighters in the absence of immediate military demand for its shipyards. The planet's economy is healthy, if continually dependent on imports of food and raw metal to feed its workforce and industries.  Eluz's population has stabilised at 2.4 billion, with effectively zero population growth. The recent advances in industrial robotics and automation have vastly expanded the refineries, foundries, and processing industries here that smelt and cast the metal of its mines into finished stock for other industries, while the use of extended robotics in excavation has only increased the raw ore put out by its mines for the foundries. Expanded output on Eluz and competition from the metals industry on Splendor vastly dropped the prices of metals, and the windfall profits formerly enjoyed by the metals industry on Eluz have dropped dramatically since 150 years ago.  Immigration and natural population growth together have resulted in an immense growth in Onni's population over the past 150 years- from less than 1.5 billion to over 4.7 billion. Construction firms continue to work feverishly to expand Onni's cities, although population growth has now dramatically slowed. With its massive research complexes now having access to a far greater pool of skilled labor, Onni has become a center of scientific advancement to match Tendao itself, while other sectors of the economy operate at high efficiency. The local metals industry, although small compared to that on Eluz or Splendor, nonethless contributes a respectable supplement to the planetary income.  Over the course of a Human generation, Splendor has transformed from a poor and ruined world, devastated by repeated raids and bombardments and living on the ragged edge of starvation, to a cosmopolitan contributor to the greater Combine. Its old local heavy industries served as the seed of a massive metals industry equal to that on Eluz itself, while extensive agriculture, light industry, shipping, and commerce ensures abundant access of its people to both the necessities and luxuries of life. The Human population has more than doubled over the last generation to nearly 4.5 billion, while a growing community of Phidi in the oceans now nears 1.8 billion in population. The Human population still keenly remembers how it was rescued by the Phidi Combine, while the past years of rapid population growth and settling of new cities have seemed to encourage an attitude of optimism amongst the Human population of the planet. There is still some grumbling about the political changes to the Commonwealth now that it has been subsumed as a franchise member of the Combine, but the grumbling does not represent any serious opposition to Combine administration of the planet, and spirits overall remain very high. Morale on Splendor is +36 for the Phidi- +26 for Markets and +10 for Phidi Loyalty- and +36 for the Humans- +16 for Markets, +10 for the refugee gratitude modifier, which has not yet expired, -10 for the alien rulers modifier, and +20 for City Planning. Humans, uniquely, have a major morale boost associated with the City Planning activity, taking optimism and hope from actively focusing on expanding the population and building new homes. As things stand, however, the long-term equilibrium morale for the Humans on Splendor is only +6, as the refugee gratitude will eventually expire and City Planning will not last forever. We can do better.  Phoron supports a population of approximately a billion Phidi, with basic industries and extensive aquaculture. The presence of the space rays in the Gemma System continues to isolate it from the larger Combine, leaving it essentially irrelevant to the affairs of the region. Phoron can't export its food surplus, can't use our cash to buy its production, and otherwise is just... mostly irrelevant until we're capable of doing something about an enemy that could effortlessly obliterate our fleet.  The Curiousity has joined with the CSSF in heading to Misam to engage the Human barbarians there. The Curiousity and the nine ships of the CSSF are a mixture of first-, second-, and third-generation designs. The Curiousity itself is a first-generation scout design, while the Reef Shark and Bladed Squid remain first-generation destroyers. The Hunter, Banded Eel, Benthic Squid, and Crimson Eel are second-generation destroyers with fusion power plants, while the Predator and the Great Blue Shark were refitted from first- to third-generation designs with modernised coilguns and nanocomputers allowing for more precise fire control. The CSSF Venture, the primary scout and science vessel for the CSSF, is itself a third-generation design with fully modernised weaponry.   Although the growth of the domestic economy and the opening of trade with the Orthin Conference have greatly expanded interplanetary trade volumes and the value of shipping, nonetheless it has become increasingly clear that the lack of an effective interplanetary currency is a major obstacle to what could be much greater trade volumes that deliver greater benefits to Combine citizen-clients. No effective banking system exists that makes for currency effectively backed beyond a single world, and the dramatic differences in planetary demands and economies make any single commodity backing impractical on the scale of the Combine as a whole. The Phidi financial system has a massive challenge ahead of it, but one that could prove immensely valuable to the whole Combine if it succeeds. Even despite the difficulties presented by the lack of an effective interplanetary financial system, interplanetary trade now makes up a major portion of the Combine's economy. The burden of the tribute payments to the Stone Hammers, although relatively significant, is likely to soon lapse. Trade agreements with other star nations not only adds to the number of trade routes you can work, these 'foreign' trade routes provide two extra coins apiece for being worked on top of the standard one coin for working a trade route. As such, the nine trade routes we get from the Orthin trade agreement (based on a fraction of the domestic trade routes in the Orthin Conference) are earning us a total of 27 coins per turn, compared to 54 from domestic trade routes. This also means signing trade agreements with other nations will pretty much always increase your income, even if you don't have the shipping capacity to work all the routes you have, since you get the bonus income from the foreign routes.  The flow of investment capital in the Combine has seen notable growth over the past 150 years, while the growth of the Combine's metals industry has ensured that shipbuilding and heavy industry is no longer plagued by metals shortages, instead enjoying quite a healthy reserve of metal. Expanded demand and the shrinking of the Tendao aquacultural industry have reduced the buffer in the food supply, but the situation is far from an emergency. R&D has accelerated somewhat, although growth in R&D has been modest compared to other sectors of the economy. The Orthin Conference, the first true interstellar society the Phidi Combine has encountered, has just over thirty billion citizens across four different systems, while the Combine has nearly 37 billion citizens in its inhabited systems. The Stone Hammers remain the primary security concern to the Combine- although it is believed the Orthin Conference fleet is likely more powerful than the Stone Hammers fleet, the CSSF nonetheless should be capable of fighting on equal terms with the Orthin if needed, and the Orthin Conference has shown fewer signs of active hostility thus far.  The use of nanocomputing to support more advanced AI systems in data management has been showing promising progress over the past years, and is likely to show real benefits soon. The demands of growing interplanetary trade have drawn significant resources for study by the financial industry, hoping to lay the foundation for a Combine-wide banking system and a Combine-wide currency, but other fields could show significant benefits to the Combine's economy in the future- continued work in genetics for basic ecological engineering, advances in materials science and production methods building on the advances in industrial robotics, or a major program of xenosociological study that could allow for reforms to Combine law to better serve all its citizen-clients, not merely its Phidi ones. The hints of a great war millenia in the past provide an ominous context for the observed scattering of Humanity, and the Gremak presence on Hagh proves that the participants in this war have not entirely disappeared. Still, the new friendships the Phidi have forged with Humanity and the Orthin provide a promise for a brighter future, and the march of Phidi science and the efforts of Phidi businesses have helped provide greater prosperity for the Combine over the past 150 years. It is the hope of the Phidi that the bright promise they have thus far seen endures, and that the dark history of the region does not repeat. Matters for Vote 1- Research The development of an effective interstellar currency is an idea whose time has come, but it is unlikely to take the whole of the next 150 years. Development of a proper system of interspecies law to better address the needs and concerns of the Combine's Human citizen-clients would be relatively simple for Phidi researchers, and show immediate benefits for the quality of life of the Splendids and their loyalty to the Combine. Work on materials science and production methods would be more complex, but would further increase heavy industrial output, as well as allowing for better, more durable armor for CSSF ships. Finally, work on basic ecological engineering would likewise be relatively complicated, but would help render more portions of Phidi worlds effectively colonisable, with benefits everywhere, but particularly on Eluz and Onni. 2- Tendao With continued growth of food production and heavy industry off the homeworld, Tendao is likely to become ever more important as the primary commercial hub of the Combine, an exporter of consumer goods and specialty electronics, and major shipping center. It is possible, however, that it will also see an expansion in scientific services and commercial R&D alongside these other developments. A purely commercial refocus or a commercial and scientific refocus for Tendao could be in the future. 3- Potential CSSF Expansion As there is little chance of the CSSF effectively engaging a soldier ray and reopening the shipping routes to Phoron in the near future, the CSSF is now large enough to deal with the most likely immediate security needs of the Combine- it should be able to fight and win against the Stone Hammers, and is at least large enough to make any attack by the Orthin Conference a costly and uncertain venture. Nonetheless, it may be that an expansion of the CSSF will help better ensure peace for the foreseeable future. The current Magnate of the Combine, Surona, favors no expansion, but a four-ship or eight-ship expansion could be pushed through by other elements within the Combine, particularly by relatively aggressive Human executives of the Combine on Splendor who favor a stronger security presence. 4- Diplomatic Considerations With contact with the Orthin Conference and the Stone Hammers, the Phidi Combine is no longer effectively alone amongst disorganised barbarians. General directives on diplomatic policy will be taken. 5- Expansion Considerations The megacity ruins of the Enif system, if colonised by a mix of Humans and Phidi, would present an ideal environment for a new heavy industrial center. The great island world in the Rasalgethi system would allow for immense aquaculture, commerce, and light industry, helping feed the Combine and allow for more efficient development of Eluz, Nuo, and Tendao. The ocean world in Dubhe provides a new avenue for expansion and exploration, and has gem-grade organic byproducts from its exotic deep vent ecosystem which would be of great commercial value. Please split five votes between these options as you prefer. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 10:00 on Apr 10, 2019 |
|
#
?
Apr 10, 2019 04:50
|
|
|
thetruegentleman posted:How the heck did that Gremak even get into space, and why didn't all the other old-FTL races agree that they shouldn't be? With recent evidence, it certainly seems that not everybody amongst the old-FTL species agreed that Gremak should into space.
|
|
#
?
Apr 10, 2019 04:52
|
|
|
1 Interspecies Law The humans are rapidly turning into an integral part of our combine. They are in turn full citizens and our government should immediately take steps to help integrate them more fully to our governmental system and accomodate thier different needs than our own - legally and biologically. if there is overrun then the second research priority should be ecological engineering to let us inhabit more planets to expand our markets. 2 - Commercial and Scientific It is a large galaxy out there, with much undiscovered. Not all advances will be made purely from generation of money. Thus, to learn more about the galaxy is nearly as great a priority as expansion of oru economy - if not more in different ways. 3 - 4 ship expansion While we have no chance of anytime in the next technological generation of freeing our colony under space ray blockade, we can enhance the backbone of our fleet without draining our economy. Long term hopefully this will give us more options at dealing with the Gremark pirates than having to pay them off. While this has helped save Splendor from immediate attack, all it will do is leave the pirates free reign to raid other planets and build themselves up as a greater threat for the future. At some point we must give thoughts to more permanent methods of dealing with them. While violence does not have to be our frist method, they are likelier to respect our capability to defend ourselves and our borders and thus hopefully to establish a more peaceful relatinoship. And we are seeing as our borders expand thinsg like space monsters, the ever present Gremark pirates.. We have to be ready for them. A small expansion of our fleet will allow us to be ready for possible threats while also not crashing our economy thanks to our increased production. 4 - Diplomacy I would like to recommend pursuing improved relations with the Orthak as much as can be reasonable. The direction of more trade ships and freighters will hopefully help boost relations long term while also expanding both our economies. As improved relations permit, I would like to push for improved treaties and levels of diplomacy. this is worth in turn putting money into or taking one sided bargains - a friend now is a friend for the future. As the first major other interstellar civilization we have encountered that si willing to engage in peaceful relations and diplomacy, we should expand on this as much as possible. The Stone Hammers are a terror - a planet of slaves controlled by a military that keeps them in squalor. We have no way of dealing with them, however. We cannot liberate them and while we could possibly engage thier fleet in orbit, it would be bloody for us and require the maintenance of a long term blockade which would starve out the system and lead probably to mass death. We should keep a paranoid eye on them in case they threaten to expand agaisnt us and maintain local defense forces in the immediate area, but pending aggression from them there is little we can do other than defend ourselves while looking for long term solutions. 5 - Expansion 3 votes for Megacity, 2 votes for Rasaglethi, Also by the best estimates, roughly how do our ships compare with those of the Gremark and Stone Hammers encountered so far as best we can determine on a technological and effectiveness level? wedgekree fucked around with this message at 06:08 on Apr 10, 2019 |
|
#
?
Apr 10, 2019 06:05
|
|
|
On the matter of research, this one feels that an integrated set of interspecies law is only sensible to establish now that, well, there's more then one species in this nation. Once that is done, some ecological engineering for superior planet habitability should be profitable enough. For Tendao, the humans have an amusing expression which can be said as 'do not put all your eggs in one basket'. In that spirit, I support the diversification of the planetary economy between commercial and scientific efforts. Security wise, while an expansion to our fleet power might be regrettably necessary in this galaxy, would it not be better to upgrade all the current vessels to modern standards before building new ones? As for general Diplomatic Directives... this one believes there is often little profit in war. While dealing with the Stone Hammers may yet be needed, and an act of mercy towards the slaves they possess, in general would not a policy of Peace and Trade Agreements be optimal? Meanwhile, if we are to speak of expansion, I would put three of my votes on the megacity ruins of the Enif system, with the other two votes expended for ocean world in Dubhe.
|
|
#
?
Apr 10, 2019 07:31
|
|
|
wedgekree posted:Also by the best estimates, roughly how do our ships compare with those of the Gremark and Stone Hammers encountered so far as best we can determine on a technological and effectiveness level? Unfortunately, we have little direct intelligence on Orthin naval strength, although we can estimate their displacement of metal as roughly similar to our own. The Stone Hammers, however, we have far better intelligence on. The Stone Hammer fleet comprises a light cruiser, two destroyers, and a troop transport. The troop transport is unarmed and may safely be disregarded as a factor in fleet actions. The destroyers are heavily armed at close range, with no fewer than 12 point defense coilguns, compared to the 4 point defense lasers on CSSF destroyers, and further are fitted with emissions masking systems derived from ancient Gremak Imperial technology that will make them more difficult to engage before they start making their position obvious by opening fire. That said, their longer-range firepower is frankly at a sharp disadvantage compared to the CSSF- they rely on paired plasma projectile launchers that, if they hit, would be quite damaging, but are vulnerable to disruption by CSSF point defense. None of their weapons use superconductive materials or nanocomputing fire control, which helps limit engagement range and accuracy. Although they use similar titanium alloys for armor as the CSSF, they are more lightly-armored. If we can pour enough firepower on them at range, this should knock out their (formidable!) close-range firepower before it can be applied. The light cruiser is sufficiently heavily-armored and large enough to endure somewhat more than twice the damage of a CSSF destroyer. It is armed with fewer point defense coilguns than the destroyers, only 8, and the same loadout of plasma projectile launchers. It is given additional firepower at even longer range by four nuclear missile mounts with enough ammunition reserves for each to fire four times in a battle. Like the destroyers, it has emissions scrambling systems that will degrade accuracy of enemy fire until they betray their position by weapons fire, and its thrusters are powerful enough to pull similar accelerations to the destroyers. Also like the destroyers, it lacks superconductive materials in the coilguns or nanocomputing in fire control. It is worth noting that absolutely all of their mobile firepower at anything but pointblank range is susceptible to intercept by our point defense, and they lack enough of these weapons in their fleet as a whole to reliably saturate our point defense. They are fast ships with powerful defensive tricks to help them successfully close range, but we can absolutely outshoot them at range, especially after we upgrade the whole of the CSSF to third-generation standards. The destroyers, if anything, may be more dangerous at point blank given their heavier coilgun armament, but can absorb much less damage than the light cruiser. This suggests that the targeting priority in fighting the Stone Hammers fleet absolutely must be the destroyers first, only then engaging the cruiser.
|
|
#
?
Apr 10, 2019 09:54
|
|
|
1: Let's go with Interspecies Law to become even more cosmopolitan. 2: Tendao should be Purely Commercial, long term. We can always make labs on some other colony, whilst Tendao is uniquely well suited for Markets due to the Opil. 3: Maximum expansion of eight ships. We've encountered a lot of hostility thus far, and I'd much rather be prepared to meet more than not. 4: Orthin are cool. The Gremak should be dunked on. 5: Let's go to the Megacity for no other reason than that megacities are cool.
|
|
#
?
Apr 10, 2019 14:59
|
|
|
My fellow Splendids, my beloved countrymen. Like many, I am most grateful to the Combine for their generous aid in so many things. They prevented raiders from taking out people and valuables, they poured money and material into our beloved Commonwealth so that we in time have become their near-equals. I thus consider it my duty to campaign for all that I feel is important in the future. There is still work to be done in the legal arena, with the law yet not accounting for many new possibilities that the addition of our species, humanity, to the Combine. (Interspecies Laws) While I of course do not have much influence on the decision-making processes of factions and companies on Tendao itself, I feel it would be prudent if not all of the capital world's resources and capabilities were focused into a single endeavour as of yet. The Combine does not, in my eyes, have the depth to specialise entire worlds in such a way, and there are many things yet to be discovered. I can only hope that these words will reach someone of influence and colour their decision for the future. (Commercial and scientific) Many of you, my fellow Splendids, lived a life full of fear, and danger. While these times are long past, it is only natural to wish for the greatest possible security one might achieve now, when peace and prosperity are, if not quite achieved, at least in reach. However, much a I myself would be in favour of expanding the Combine's aerospace security, we must temper ourselves. Modest expansion is in my eyes the ideal to strive for. (Four ships) I have been asked by some concerned friends on my opinion in regards to contact with foreign species. I must confess that I have not yet fully made up my mind, with new information and knowledge coming in on a regular basis. However, I can say already, and with conviction, that the Gremak of Musal Two are abominable for their embracing of slavery. It is our duty to free these downtrodden peoples as soon as we are militarily and logistically capable, and no moment later! The Orthin Conference on the other hand appear to be genial and altogether friendly, if shy. Myself, I can see fruitful relationships forming in the future, and would hope that the Combine as a whole embraces these fascinating people. (Krump the Gremak, befriend the Orthin) Last, I have been made aware of some endeavours to colonise further worlds. I've looked at them all, and fully endorse the initiative to colonise the Megacity ruins in Enif. I will also be throwing my support behind the mission that intends to bring the Combine to a beautiful Island world in the Rasal... gethi system? I believe that these are the most prudent options available to us at this time. (3 for Enif, 2 for Rasalgethi) - Some Big Kahuna dude on Splendor, on various topics regarding Combine policy for the future.
|
|
#
?
Apr 10, 2019 17:33
|
|
|
Hab Domes first we can figure out what will keep the humans happy later. Commercial Hub on Tendao, the game seems to encourage specialist worlds. No more ship we can always hire mercs if we need to. Make friends with all species. we know very little about either species. A little understanding and friendship can go a long way! Megacity 5
|
|
#
?
Apr 10, 2019 17:55
|
|
|
Ecological Engineering Commercial and scientific Eight ship expansion Megacity 3, Dubhe 2 We're running out of paradises to settle, getting started on the ecological engineering path sooner than later is important if we want to keep growing.
|
|
#
?
Apr 10, 2019 18:21
|
|
|
Battling Entropy posted:Battling Entropy
|
|
#
?
Apr 10, 2019 23:08
|
|
|
1. All of those options are compelling, but we should be hospitable overlords and start with interspecies law, to help codify the different cultural norms between Phidi and Humans. This way, we start by addressing shortcomings, then we can improve. 2. Pure commercial, as long as the markets can be fully staffed. Build labs on other planets to compensate. 3. 4 ship expansion. If the CSSF is on active operations, start by building new ships, and cycle them to the front, sending old and damaged ships back for repair and refit. If the CSSF is not on active operations, begin with the repair and refit, then start producing new ships. 4. Friendly with the Orthin. See if we might be able to integrate them into the combine in the future. We seem to have a bunch of vents where they could live, and I'd love to have their research. In the meantime, stay friendly with them and try to negotiate a research agreement. Try to maintain peace with the Stone Hammers for now, but prepare to subdue or eliminate them. 5. 4 votes for Enif. 1 vote for Dubhe
|
|
#
?
Apr 11, 2019 01:07
|
|
|
One more excellent piece by General Revil linked in the thread index. You keep doing an amazing job with your contributions; almost makes me embarrassed by my own efforts. Thank you so much!
|
|
#
?
Apr 11, 2019 01:12
|
|
|
nweismuller posted:One more excellent piece by General Revil linked in the thread index. You keep doing an amazing job with your contributions; almost makes me embarrassed by my own efforts. Thank you so much! Thanks for the praise. For anyone that's curious, this is a real concept called the Landauer limit. My PhD topic is highly related to reversible computing, so I'm somewhat of an expert when it comes to these things.
|
|
#
?
Apr 11, 2019 02:48
|
|
|
I think I'll wrap up voting sometime after 8 AM Pacific Time tomorrow, so more than 12 hours. In the interim, anything people would like to see expanded on?
|
|
#
?
Apr 11, 2019 03:30
|
|
|
1: Basic Ecological Engineering gets my vote for science. If we can rejigger some of these crappo planets to be more to our liking, that means we can fit more citizens on them comfortably. More citizens means more customers, and isn't that what counts in the end? Sure, it'll be expensive to reformat a planet, but you have to spend money to make money. 2: I say purely commercial for Tendao. We can stick a lab on any planet, but only Tendao has opil. And first you get the opil, then you get the money, then you get the power. 3: I say we do an eight ship expansion. Yes, that's quite a build-up, but think about it: we're going to need these ships sooner or later. Hopefully not sooner. But I'd rather pay maintenance on ships we turn out to not need than have another band of savages roll up and catch us with our pants down. Not that I think Phidi wear pants. But you get the idea. And if nothing else, we know that we're going to have to go knocking on the doors of the Stone Hammers eventually, and the space monsters are also liable to come pay us a visit. Not that we can do anything about their larger specimens even with a double-size fleet, but we can deal with bigger swarms of the little crappo ones, at least. And if necessary, I think once we bring everything up to a modern standard, we can take the bigger ones if we have to...although, I must admit, not without losses. 4: Oh man, those pillbug looking dudes are great. You know those buddy comedies where you've got the book smart but awkward dude, and the street smart charismatic dude that comes up with the schemes that the book smart dude comes up with plans for? That can be us! We should be Bros For Life with the pillbug dudes, they can come up with all kinds of crazy science poo poo that we can then market the absolute gently caress out of, and make the both of us super rich. The Stone Hammers, on the other hand, extorted us. Wipe those fuckers out and free their people. (An ulterior motive for me pushing for a larger expansion? Perish the thought.) 5: All five behind Enif. We'll take the seas, let the humans have the land, and turn the place into a center of heavy industry that'll make the rest of the universe green with envy. And it just so happens that eight new combat ships would be a fantastic break-in project for them!
|
|
#
?
Apr 11, 2019 04:27
|
|
|
I have a bone to pick with Hagh (the planet run by the stone hammers). A 10 hour solar day is incredibly unrealistic for a planet this close to its primary. It would certainly be tidal locked, or very close to it. However, tidal locking would of course make it not be a garden world since half of it would be baked to a crisp, and the other half would never see the sun, only a ring around the terminator in perpetual twilight would be able to support life as we know it. A more realistic possibility is if Hagh was actually a very large moon orbiting a gas giant. Hagh would be tidally locked to the gas giant Musal II (that doesn't exist in the game). That gas giant would be tidally locked to the star. Hagh would then experience solar days as it orbited the gas giant, and experience years as the gas giant orbited Musal. Just some food for thought.
|
|
#
?
Apr 11, 2019 06:01
|
|
|
General Revil posted:I have a bone to pick with Hagh (the planet run by the stone hammers). A 10 hour solar day is incredibly unrealistic for a planet this close to its primary. It would certainly be tidal locked, or very close to it. However, tidal locking would of course make it not be a garden world since half of it would be baked to a crisp, and the other half would never see the sun, only a ring around the terminator in perpetual twilight would be able to support life as we know it. Well, that seems to be a hole in the astrophysics. They try to put some effort into them, as you may have seen, but... That said, I can certainly edit the update to include this information, if you think I should.
|
|
#
?
Apr 11, 2019 06:12
|
|
|
nweismuller posted:Well, that seems to be a hole in the astrophysics. They try to put some effort into them, as you may have seen, but... Whatever you feel like. It doesn't bug me too much, especially since the game has been making a lot of effort on the astrophysics side elsewhere. Also, thank you to whoever got me the avatar.
|
|
#
?
Apr 11, 2019 10:21
|
|
|
Votes closed and tallied. 'Interspecies law' and 'Enif, followed by Rasalgethi' are clear winners. The vote on Tendao was a tie, so I'll tiebreak it during play on my own judgement, and the vote on fleet expansion was very evenly split between all three options, so I'll go with themiddle, four-ship expansion. Long-term, the Combine will consider the Stone Hammers an illegitimate government which they shall target for removal- perhaps not in the near future, but at some point. Starting my playthrough of the next turns now.
|
|
#
?
Apr 11, 2019 18:54
|
|
|
The Ashdar Haduir and the Imperial Republic of Sebarsk The Haduir are a reptile analogue species with gray to greenish-gray skin and scales. Average adult height is approximately 1.8 meters, comparable to an adult male Human. Haduir possess a K-type reproduction strategy based on sexual reproduction involving two individuals of fixed sex born with their adult sex resulting in a single large egg that is laid to provide a long-term developmental environment for the young. Sexual dimorphism between Haduir is minimal, and the social roles of males and females are completely interchangeable. Psychologically, Haduir incline to pessimism, melancholia, and a very careful, precise approach to problem-solving. Although Haduir economic management does not appear to match Phidi expertise, nonetheless Haduir caution and detail orientation makes them very effective resource managers relative to Humans, Orthin, or Gremak. A well-established religion of ancestor-worship dominates the Haduir of Sebarsk, believed to date back to the Imperial era as the former Imperial state religion. The Imperial Republic of Sebarsk is a planetary state unifying the arid planet of Sebarsk in the Yaluk system, just outside Orthin Conference borders. Haduir history of Sebarsk, which is a naturally lifeless world with a thin atmosphere and limited reserves of water ice, is well-documented for over 18,000 Tendao years, following the so-called 'Post-War Collapse Period' identified by Haduir historians, where failure of many settlements on Sebarsk led to a near-extinction of the Ashdar population of the planet. History of the Collapse and prior is more speculative, but nonetheless Haduir historians are confident that Sebarsk was once a colony world of the Ashdar Empire, loyal to its Imperators and its Senate, but eventually cut off from all communication with the Empire at the height of a war against 'not only the wicked Gremak, but other aliens that stood against the Empire'. The Imperial Republic eventually formed is based around a Planetary Senate- comprising representatives from various of the wealthy aristocratic families of Sebarsk- which appoints an Imperial Governor as chief executive of the government 'in the name of the Empire', although the loyalty to the Empire which endured to the present day is more ceremonial than real. Sebarsk has rebuilt a reasonably effective industrial base, along with sealed farming environments that have ensured a steady supply of food for its population. Nonetheless, the tenuous state of Haduir technology for supporting large populations on a lifeless world such as Sebarsk has rendered the Imperial Republic highly subject to infrastructural disasters and supply shocks to their food supply. On encounter with the Phidi Combine, the Imperial Republic willingly accepted member status in the Combine in exchange for Phidi technical aid to stabilise the precarious economic situation on Sebarsk, making Haduir the third member species of the Combine. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 20:41 on Apr 11, 2019 |
|
#
?
Apr 11, 2019 20:38
|
|
|
Phoenix Wright games being released on PC is proving a shiny distraction for me, not unlike a laser dot before a cat. Small delay while I get it out of my system. If people want some shorter writing that doesn't involve me drudging through the image processing, or have questions they want answered, I should be available for that.
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2019 00:43
|
|
|
Acceptance Imperial Governor Ivolo stood in the center of the Senate chamber of Sebarsk, the ancient stone chamber built not long after the Collapse Period, gazing at the faces of the Senators in their chairs. Although the Senate had met there many years and more, nonetheless the constant labor of endless generations had kept it in repair, and- were one to disregard the promptings of memory- one could almost forget how much Sebarsk had lost, and how tenuous the thread on which its civilisation depended was. Ivolo sighed, sadly, and spoke, her voice ringing out clearly to the gathered Senators. "My honored lords of the Senate, rulers of the people of Sebarsk. We stand at a turning point for our Imperial Republic and for our people. It has been long, my lords, since our ancestors lived in our Golden Age, since the Empire of Ashdar stood as the beacon of civilisation to all amongst the stars. In those days, we well know, the Imperators governed and the Senate of our honored homeworld of Ashdar Prime was the voice of the gathered wisdom of the Ashdar people. In those days our respected younger cousins the Teros yet survived, unclaimed by the long years of famine, power failures, and pressure failures of the Collapse. In those days we were proud, and mighty, and glorious. We know, all of us in this chamber know, that those days are past, lost beyond recovery. We have struggled and fought that we might survive, and we have fought more that Sebarsk be united in the name of the Old Empire. We have sought to bring pride to the memory of our ancestors, whose glorious deeds tamed countless stars. But, my lords, what glory do we have to show our ancestors? What news, indeed, do we have of the Empire? For all our efforts and all our struggles we stand, barely the masters of a single world, our population hardly increasing from a year to the next. Yes, few go hungry, my lords, and for that we may take a just pride in our wisdom and in the honest and skillful craft of our people. But much knowledge has been lost, too much, and to re-build the power plants that we may use to build new towns or expand the existing ones is now beyond the knowledge of our very wisest. We have repaired and we have maintained and we have salvaged every ruin of ancient days we have been able to find, and the truth is this: we are at our limit. What chance, my lords, that we reclaim the stars that are our birthright as Ashdar? What chance, my lords, to see if the Empire yet endures? We revere the Empire of the Ashdar- the Empire of our glorious ancestors- and had I knowledge that the Empire remained and that we might yet be found by it, I should not advise as I now do. I should not advise you, my honored lords of the Senate, that the time has come to bury the Empire and join under a different banner." At this, a murmur ran through the Senate chambers, but Ivolo was not yet shouted down. Good, she thought. It seems the Senate may yet see reason. "My lords of the Senate, I know news and rumor has flown swift-winged across the planet since the Phidi explorers have found our world. Many and more of our people have overheard them speak on radio, before we gleaned sufficient knowledge of each others' language to arrange more secure communications. Let me tell you now what I have learned, speaking to these explorers. The Phidi, my lords, are by their own account a peaceful and an ingenuous people, intending harm to none but seeking friendship with all. It is true, my lords, that evil intent may easily practise deceit, but nonetheless I caught no hint of it in the manner of the Phidi with whom we spoke. They stand in representation of a great confederation, a 'Combine' of the Phidi, a sort of enterprise where some of their merchants hold lordships in trust under the Charter of their Combine. This great confederation, this Combine, holds already seven inhabited worlds and spreads across nine stars- where we have failed to reclaim the stars, they hold the stars in their grasp. They tell us also that they are not alone in their Combine- that there are Humans who have joined with them in this great endeavor, and become also honored members of the Combine with full rights and privileges under Combine law." Another murmur swept the chamber, as news of ancient aliens from beyond the Empire was shared, evidence of other survivors from the Great War that destroyed so much. "It is true, my lords, that Humanity was never part of our glorious Empire- what argument is it to us that one alien race has found any friendship with another? It is little and less to us what Humanity chooses. But this is not yet the full news and tidings borne by the Phidi. The Humans that have joined with them, the Humans of a world they call Splendor, are but a part of far-scattered Humanity- there are many other scattered tribes of Humanity who have lived the long-passing years in starships, even while all travel between stars was cut off, who were stranded where they ended or drifted at the tardy speeds that light between the stars allows, and these other tribes have grown fell and strange, unwilling to engage in speech or peace or friendship with outsiders. But this, my honored lords, is not the least of it. The Gremak yet survive, and they have ships that may travel between the stars." The Senate chamber erupted into a clamor of shouting at this, Senators in their finery rising from their seats and shouting questions, accusations, predictions of doom. Ivolo hammered the Staff of the Speaker she held, the sign that she held the floor before the assembled Senate, butt against the carefully polished tiles under her feet once- twice- thrice- four times. Slowly, grudgingly, the voices died down, and she spoke once again. "The Phidi Combine has found two worlds governed by the accursed and detestable Gremak, two worlds governed by descendants of our ancestors' ancient enemies. The Stone Hammers and Shadow Company, remnants of the old Gremak Imperial Fleet, yet remain, ruling over worlds where they held sway when the ways between stars failed. Unlike we on Sebarsk, the enemies of our people have maintained ships and the knowledge to build them, and the weapons that render such ships fearsome. And, my honored lords, the Gremak of these despotic kingdoms, these tyrannies soaked in innocent blood hold our kin in cruel and unnatural bondage, Haduir and long-lost Teros both." At this, the shouting grew so loud that even the hammering of the staff was not heard for a time, but, as tradition demanded, eventually the Senate deigned to let the speaker on the floor address them in order- and no less a speaker than the Imperial Governor herself, appointed and invested by decision of the Senate, and speaker for the long-absent Imperator. "Were we to continue alone and unsupported, the Gremak must surely someday find us, and were they to find us we could expect no mercy whatsoever. Were we to know the Empire yet endured and were to find any means by which we might make ourselves known to them, it would be my choice, as I know it would be the choice of you, my lords, to honor our glorious ancestors, to make the Imperial Republic Imperial once more in more than name and memory. Had we the strength and knowledge to stretch out our own hands and discover what other stars held, we might face our fate with pride, and trust to our own strength and the guidance of our ancestors in the sure and certain faith that right was upon our side. None of these things are true, and our options- bitter as they may be!- are these and these alone: we continue to stand as we have for all our long history, until our enemies find us. We seek aid and comfort of the Orthin Conference- little enough chance of that, that that suspicious and reclusive people should offer support to outsiders not of their kin. Last, we may seek to join under the Phidi Combine, take their knowledge and the wealth they offer us to build up Sebarsk, join them as honored members as they have permitted even Humans to join them. They promise- and this I believe- that they would seek to lead us justly, respecting our traditions and our lordships, granting to the Senate and its families position in confederation, asking only that we honor the Charter that enshrines the peace and the freedom they hold dear. It is my belief that the Phidi Combine is in itself a glorious endeavor, one of which our ancestors would not have been ashamed, and that though to bury the Empire and turn our back on our ancient loyalties may disgrace those who built the Empire and shame us who make this choice, but worse still to fall in slavery to the cruel and treacherous Gremak. Let us seek glory in this new endeavor, so that when we travel to the halls of our ancestors and meet them face to face, we may tell them of the great deeds in which we participated and the future we secured for their, and our, descendants. We may need to seek their forgiveness, honored lords of the Senate of Sebarsk, but how much more the forgiveness we must seek were we to confess that we permitted Sebarsk to fall into the utterest bondage." Finally, carefully, she laid down the Staff of the Speaker, signifying her surrender of the floor, and strode to take the seat reserved for the Imperial Governor when they sat in upon sessions of the Senate. The debates that followed were bitter, and heated, and filled with recrimination, but nonetheless Ivolo knew the outcome was inevitable. The votes were cast, in ancient pomp and ceremony, and the decision made- the Senate and the people of Sebarsk would submit themselves to the Combine and its Charter, accepting its law, its trade, and its money, the Republic Imperial no longer. The sorrow of this decision was bitter, but the fate of all who hatch is sorrow and loss. It could be endured, and Sebarsk- whatever else might come- would endure. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 22:15 on Jul 7, 2019 |
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2019 10:52
|
|
|
I prefer my oligarchs with silly dresses and Cool Hats rather than boring suits so I for one welcome these foreign imperial overlords to the fold
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2019 11:00
|
|
|
I for one welcome our new sea horse overlords, and wish to remind them that as a trusted member of the news media I can be helpful in rounding up other Ashdar to serve in their underwater fish farms.
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2019 11:12
|
|
|
So it turns out that this game is 70% off on gog.com (no idea how long for!) and I may have accidentally just bought it. Ah well. https://www.gog.com/game/stars_in_shadow
|
|
#
?
Apr 17, 2019 17:44
|
|
|
inflatablefish posted:So it turns out that this game is 70% off on gog.com (no idea how long for!) and I may have accidentally just bought it. Ah well. 'Accidentally'?
|
|
#
?
Apr 17, 2019 18:25
|
|
|
nweismuller posted:'Accidentally'? That's the story I'm sticking with and you can't prove otherwise!
|
|
#
?
Apr 17, 2019 18:34
|
|
|
The days of me being distracted by Phoenix Wright are at a middle. That said, let me get everybody a little something about game mechanics to remind them I have not forgotten this LP...
|
|
#
?
Apr 18, 2019 20:03
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 4, 2024 03:36 |
|
|
Biomes and Habitability Every planet in Stars in Shadow consists of a mixture of different amounts of different biomes, based on planet class and size. Tendao, for instance, has three units of reef, 1.5 units of ocean, and 1.6 units of vents. Eluz has 2 units of ice and 0.5 units of vents. Bacabs has 3 units of vents and 2 of airless. Splendor has 1 unit of reef, 2.3 units of ocean, 0.5 units of vents, and 2 units of forest. Nuo has 3.5 units of ocean and 1 unit of vents. Each species has different tolerances for different biomes, able to support a different maximum population for each unit of a given biome. Further, based on planetary class, base population growth rates will vary. Phidi Phidi are water-breathers native to shallow seas. They can support 4 billion population per unit of reef biome, 3 billion per unit of ocean biome, 2 billion per unit of metro biome (on hive worlds), 1 billion per unit of ice or forest biome, and 800 million per unit of vents, arid, airless, or inferno biome. Island, Coral, and Arid worlds all normally support a medium base population growth rate; Phidi have high growth on Island and Coral worlds and low growth on Arid worlds. Ocean worlds normally support a low growth rate and Hive worlds a high growth rate for air-breathers; Phidi have medium growth on both Ocean and Hive worlds. Unlike standard air-breathers, they cannot colonise Arid worlds without special technology (but can settle on Arid worlds already colonised by air-breathers). Humans Humans are air-breathers. Relative to Ashdar, they have greater water needs, but respectable tolerance for icy conditions. They can support 4 billion population per unit of forest or metro biome, 1.5 billion population per unit of reef, arid, or ice biome, 1 billion population per unit of ocean or airless biome, and 800 million per unit of inferno or vents biome. Ashdar Ashdar are air-breathers like Humans, but somewhat more tolerant of arid conditions. They can support 4 billion population per unit of forest or metro biome, 2 billion population per unit of arid biome, 1.5 billion population per unit of reef biome, 1 billion population per unit of ice, ocean, or airless biome, and 800 million per unit of inferno or vents biome. Gremak Gremak are amphibious creatures, primarily air-breathers but highly-dependent on water for breathing and reproduction. Of all the major species, they can support the largest populations on Garden worlds without sharing with other species, but synergise relatively poorly with other species to take best advantage of different biomes. They can support 4 billion population per unit of metro biome, 3 billion per unit of forest or reef biome, 2 billion per unit of ocean biome, 1.25 billion per unit of arid biome, 1 billion per unit of ice or airless biome, and 800 million per unit of vents or inferno biome. They have high population growth on Island worlds, and low population growth on Arid worlds. There exists a biome type we have yet to see that the Gremak are better-adapted to than any other species. Orthin Orthin are water-breathers native to deep vents, capable of transplanting their native chemosynthetic ecology with them to new oceanic vents. They support 4 billion population per unit of vents biome, 2 billion per unit of ocean or metro biome, 1.5 billion per unit of reefs biome, 1 billion per unit of ice, forest, or airless biome, and 800 million per unit of arid or inferno biome. Their growth is increased to high on Iceball, Island, and Coral worlds and increased to medium on ocean worlds, but is reduced to medium on Hive, Garden, and Paradise worlds and reduced to low on Arid worlds. Like Phidi, they cannot colonise Arid worlds natively, but they can colonise Iceball worlds, unlike everybody else. For agriculture, they treat Iceball worlds as having high fertility, but Garden worlds as having low fertility. Tarib and Wrem Tarib and Wrem are both inorganic species that breathe neither air nor water. Neither natively performs nor needs agriculture. The most notable feature of their environmental tolerances is that Tarib can support 2.8 billion per unit of inferno biome, and Wrem can support 2.8 billion per unit of airless biome. They only grow at medium rate on Hive worlds, but Wrem grow at medium rate (rather than low) on Airless worlds and Tarib grow at high rate on Inferno worlds. Each species negates the normal hostile environment charge for their native world type if they are present on a colony, with Wrem negating the normal 10 coin/turn cost for a colony on an Airless world and Tarib negating the normal 15 coin/turn cost for a colony on an Inferno world.
|
|
#
?
Apr 18, 2019 20:59
|
|