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I see that other people noticed how humans in 2200 AD are friggin' stacked. I do greatly appreciate the modlist, I'll be trying several of these out for the first time in a new game.
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May 6, 2021 20:49
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habeasdorkus posted:I see that other people noticed how humans in 2200 AD are friggin' stacked. 
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May 6, 2021 22:18
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Does Wild Space work all right with the current patch? I held off on getting that again since it hasn't updated.
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May 6, 2021 23:37
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Erwin the German posted:Does Wild Space work all right with the current patch? I held off on getting that again since it hasn't updated. Only the smallest setting generates a galaxy consistently without the game crashing. I've never actually played with Wild Space before but I can only assume the one I managed to get to work with the large-galaxy generation is working how it's meant to (explorable but uninhatiable systems in nebula. Areas of denser / sparse stars etc)
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May 6, 2021 23:41
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2220 - 2239 With the imminent destruction of Earth and humanity's largest source of minerals and food about to vanish concerted efforts have been made to develop the UN's inter-system mining and transportation network. Immense United Mining and AstroCore haulers the size of Manhattan venture out to the asteroid belts and rings of gas giants in Sol and beyond, returning a year later with trillions of tons of ore to be immediately used in the construction of the new habitat.  To support the mining haulers in their exo-system operations new space stations are already being built in all the surveyed systems surrounding Sol. With the construction of a refueling station and listening outpost in the 61 Cygni system the UN is finally able to receive transmissions from the UN Colubmia again after almost four years, unfortunately none sent to the vessel seem to be acknowledged. Star charts are updated for the systems enroute to the blackhole system now dubbed 'The Great Wound' as well as confirmation of new Earth-likes in the Deecselfy system, but with low-viability for Earth's relocation.  Though former Secretary-General Gray had dubbed the proposal for the habitat 'Elysium', the name quickly fell out of favor and a long drawn-out deliberation of what to call the habitat ensued. Despite insistence from religious leaders and lobbying groups now present in Himalya-City the UN Security Council refused to give credence to any name with religious connotations, and especially any names signifying any kind of after-life or 'heaven' like realm, instead opting for a more secular name that would not alienate or cause divisions once humanity had relocated. For a time 'Paradise' was gaining traction but still considered to be too religious as well as council advisors suggesting it may cause resentment when it will be anything but a paradise for the majority of the population. A name that highlighted mankind's perseverance as well as reassuring the populace of the habitat's safety and longevity was required - and so 'The Bastion' was chosen. Much more pressing than the name though there were so many things to consider with the construction and allocation of areas and peoples for the habitat. How much spin should be applied to the habitat to generate gravity? 1G as humanity experienced on Earth? A lower gravity would allow for easier living and working conditions but may take a generation to adjust to. And clinging to 1G just seems futile when any other planet discovered by the UN will almost certainly be lower or higher than that. How are goods and people going to be moved about the habitat? Will there be personal transport as there was on Earth or purely mass transit? Would there even be free movement between the areas? Would any animals be a priority to save, or would it be just an extra burden on resources? Would there therefore be no livestock? Vat-grown meat was already a reality but extremely unpopular. Each of the ten areas of 'The Bastion' were named for ten great cities of people who remained on Earth and "loyal to the UN"', resentment against those who participated in the Hegira, is already beginning to rise thanks in part to pervasive propaganda from the UN-Media conglomerates.  Standard-Dynamics initial mockup of the completed Bastion ___________________________________________________________ UN Einstein We entered the Mizar system in 2223 some eighty lightyears away from Sol travelling parallel to the galactic core. The system is dominated by three immense young stars that burn a brilliant blue. These Class-A stars are highly unlikely to have habitable planets and that was precisely the case upon surveying the system, just a handful of barren rocks - and one large gas giant with many moons.  However of note the gas giant - Mizar II was giving off faint radio signals and upon closer inspection we detected a structure floating in the upper atmosphere. The UN Einstein was able to withstand the heat and pressure of the atmosphere and I ordered the ship to close in on the structure, discovering it to be research station belonging to the Irassians - it seems all of us will get our chance to make a discovery pertaining to this ancient empire, though I must admit my personal interest in these ancient aliens is not quite as intense as Professor Steven's.  My XO Abdul-Rahal located a landing part and I ordered the ship to land on the structure, after a few hours of fumbling around on the scorching windswept gantries and walkways surrounding the small station (thank heavens these Irassians were so workplace saftey conscious) we locate the entrance and set up a small forward base inside the station. All of this station's instrument's were focused on a single point somewhere deeper down inside the atmosphere of Mizar II but whatever was there is long gone, the Irassians found it and thus abandoned this station or perhaps another race came here after the Irassians expired. Either way, there is little more for us to uncover here and I order the UN Einstein to take off and proceed to Alioth.  ___________________________________________________________ Four years into the construction of The Bastion and the central frame of the habitat had been laid down, a hollow tube 120,000 meters long and 10,000 meters in diameter. It is already the largest man made object ever made and there is still much more to come, when the ash clouds over the Himalaya-city part and brief glimpses of the sky can be seen, the great beam stands out against the sickly red skies.  Photograph by unknown worker, 2224. Recovered handheld terminal from Earth debris field, 2281 ___________________________________________________________ UN Newton The Delta Pavonis system lies at the northern tip of the Iguo Veil (if one were to consider Sol as being in the 'south-east' of the galaxy relative to its position to the galactic core), it's star is remarkably similar in size and age to our sun, but being at the fringes of the Veil the nebula dust and gases and illuminated an almost ethereal gold.  Luck would have it that the Newton has detected two new Earth-likes in the system as well. Obviously we have received word that they have begun work on the habitat back on Earth and that even if these planets are completely perfect there'd be no way to move a few billion people here in a few years. They may however prove very useful down the line for new resources and food.   These planets it turns out are far from perfect. As was the case in Alpha Centauri, 61 Cygni, Deecselfy according to the reports from the far off UN Columbia, and is almost certainly the case with all the planets scouted by the Civil-Military exploration units. It's beginning to feel like we were never meant to leave Earth, at least not without putting up a fight. Delta Pavonis III is a very flat world with sparse mountain outcrops and small hill ranges but in between are vast swathes of grassland and disconnected inland seas some as big as North America. Incidentally it is quite similar to the American Midwest - or atleast what it did look like before Yellowstone, or perhaps the Eurasian steppe before the 2060s when it wasn't turned to marsh and bog by the rising seas. We dub the planet 'New Omaha' (following the trend Professor Stevens set with the two Earth-likes of Alpha Centauri) The Newton makes landfall beside a large, very slow flowing river, that stretched off to the distant flat horizon, what was immediately apparent was the complete lack of wildlife. I had ordered the Newton to follow the river for some time before landing but not a single terrestrial creature could be seen. However upon landing and taking soil samples we quickly discovered an abundance of simple organic life that had practically just crawled out of the primordial ooze and began to form simple cellular organisms. When the first evening came the science team and I were quickly forced to fall back to the ship as a thick choking fog descended very quickly upon us (or rather ascended from the ground). While the air was perfectly breathable in the day at night it seems the multitude of organisms in the soil emit some kind of mist that is highly poisonous to humans likely as a result of some chemical reaction they are undergoing or perhaps this is how they expel waste and the lack of sunlight triggers it. We remained on the surface for a week, surveying what we could during the day and remaining inside the Newton come sunset. The fog shifts and contorts itself around our vessel in peculiar and almost unnatural ways, acting more erratic when I order the ship's sensors off and have all the crew avert their eyes from the windows - and then immediately calming down again when even one set of eyes is upon it again. On the 7th night Ensign Stefan went outside the Newton without permission, a small team was sent to retrieve him but the fog made communication strained and there were constant unconfirmed reports of other figures around them. Despite following the tracker on the Ensign's suit the team reached its location and the scientist was nowhere to be found. They made the wise decision to fall back to the ship and continue the search come morning. But when the sun rose Ensign Stefan was still nowhere to be seen, despite the Newton being parked in an almost entirely flat expanse with the nearest points of elevation at least a hundred kilometres away. Ensign Stefan's official cause of death is chalked up to falling into the river and drowning, but in reality? I do not want to know. We leave Delta Pavonis III at once.  The Newton surveys the star and other planets of this system until we reach Delta Pavonis IVa, a Mars-sized moon orbiting a barren rock three times the size of Earth. Unlike the seemingly invisible threat of New Omaha, the threats of this world make themselves immediately known - A gargantuan avian monster, bigger even than the Newton somehow, appeared beneath us as we descended through the atmosphere. Helmsman Obijiaku was apparently still shook up over the events of New Omaha and took no chances here, directing the Newton to collide with the thing in an attempt to kill it. He succeeded, owing to the fact the Newton was travelling many hundreds of metres per second and glowing red hot as it slowed through the atmosphere, but suffice to say the thing should have been turned to a cloud of viscera but instead remained perfectly intact and it's lifeless body clung to the front of the ship until we came to a stop and it dropped to the sea beneath, it's skin possessing some immensely strong properties it seems. Off in the distance many kilometres away more of the creatures could be seen, fighting with one another in the sky and diving down at incredible speed to the waters beneath and coming back up again holding sea creatures of comparable size to whales in its talons. The Newton descends but is forced to land in the water as despite the appearance of vast green landmasses from orbit they are in fact mangroves (or practically of similar appearance to Earth mangrove trees) that sit in shallow water, in some places only waist-deep and stretching on for dozens of kilometres. A myriad of tiny fish swim among our legs as we wade out into the water and into the nearby forest of mangroves to take readings, ever paranoid of the huge flying beasts not that far away. The only weapons we have to defend ourselves with are a few hand-held weapons, and frankly I wonder if even dedicated anti-air weapons would do much to those things. The air is just about breathable, the water is brackish obviously, and unsuitable for drinking or agriculture, you could maybe live off the fish and build desalination facilities if you wanted to colonize this planet. After winning the war of the skies. We do not even spend two hours on the surface of Delta Pavonis IVa before I decide we've seen enough and order everyone back to the ship and to get us back up to space ASAP. A crew member asks if I want to give a name to this planet considering we're the first to set foot here - 'New Lagos' both for all the mangroves and it is the birthplace of our giant-bird killing helmsman.  ___________________________________________________________ UN Magellan In the Eta Cassiopeiae system we have returned in orbit to Eta Cassiopeiae IVa where the Magellan detected substantial Irassian ruins below on the surface. With the great habitat over Earth now under construction the onus is no longer on us to find a world for humanity's relocation and I have been given permission to investigate the Irassian site further.  On the equator of Eta Cassiopeiae IVa an immense circular formation sits, exactly 64 kilometres in diameter, surrounded by the decaying remnants of settlements that presumably once supported whatever facility this formation houses. The settlements are little more than husks or building frames at this point with little to nothing of value to be found within, but the formation itself seems to be entirely sealed off, so it is entirely possible whatever is within has been better preserved from the ravages of time. A large jagged crack runs diagonally across the formation, which continues off into the far off mountains, almost certainly the result of an earthquake, but other than that the concrete-like material that makes it up has not deteriorated. There are concentric rings inlaid into the formation every 8km in, each a kilometer wide giving off the very faintest hint of energy from somewhere deep beneath, and at the very center the formation slopes down to a large entrance which has become blocked off by the previously mentioned earthquake.  The Magellan is parked at the top of the slope to the entrance as a month is spent excavating the rubble and overgrown vegetation from the facility entrance until at last a passage big enough to fit people and their equipment is forged. I lead the expedition inside personally and we find a labyrinth of corridors, service tunnels and office-like compounds. Though everything is in near-perfect condition there is little data that can be salvaged from terminals about the purpose of this place. We eventually manage to gain our bearings in the immense facility and locate elevator-platforms that take us down to lower levels, the concentric rings seen on the surface of the formation seem to line up with ever larger particle accelerators. Until at last we reach the lowest level, where the core of the facility is found - a chamber, perfectly spherical, and at its center sits a cube suspended in the air above a lone walkway that leads out to it. The cube slowly spins on its axis, intricate designs inlaid on every side of it's semi-opaque surface, within can be seen another spinning cube offset slightly, and within that another smaller one and so on, each just as detailed as the outermost. Touching a pattern on the outermost cube causes it to light up, and if lined up with a certain pattern with the next cube within that too will light up.  I had last track of how much time we had spent down in the spherical chamber, an encampment was set up at the end of the first night. I and other members of the Magellan's science crew worked away at unlocking the cube for what felt like months. Another team was exploring more of the facility, mapping it out and repairing or replacing anything that looked faulty, while the rest of our expedition was back on the Magellan which had by now travelled to every remotely interesting point on the planet, but finding little of note apart from the facility that we have made our home for half a year. And so the Magellan returned to it's positioned parked directly above us, relaying messages from 'The Bastion' directly which by now (2226) had functional communications and a lot of the UN elite had already been set up on the habitat. But I digress, the cube's patterns, which I initially thought may be some sort of password pertaining to some significant event or person relating to the Irrassians turned out instead to be a calculation, it was less a password and more of a test, to make certain we knew what it was we were unlocking. Another team member suggested correctly the calculation may relate to the particle accelerators and so we looked up old research papers from the Geneva LHC last in use before the great war. Sure enough, one of the equations worked, every face of the cube and the cubes within all lit up at once, and the whole thing just disintegrated. Moments later the whole backside of the chamber opposite us opened up, revealing the huge room beyond, filled with terminals and databases that detailed precisely what this place was and how it operated. It was a power station, possibly even the largest in the Irassian Concordat, using the particle accelerators to generate energy at a quantum level. The energy this facility could produce far exceeded even the most powerful hypothetical fusion power plants back on Earth, and was certainly more powerful than the 'Abuja Fusion' plant now installed on The Bastion, it was likely far too late to amend Abuja now that it was already in place and powering vital areas of the habitat, but this technology will be invaluable in any future installations the UN creates.  ___________________________________________________________ It is 2228 and the Bastion is nearing completion, and none too soon as conditions on the surface of Earth are becoming unbearable. Workers must now wear respirators or even full-body protective suits when outside shelters, everything is covered in a thick layer of ash, lava flows are already beginning to claim the outer edges of Himalaya-City. Almost a billion people already reside on the Bastion, finishing vital life support and power systems, but eleven billion people are still stuck in Himalaya-City, that number dropping by the tens of thousands each day though.  ___________________________________________________________ UN Columbia Silas Mckinnon We have entered the Tazous system and discovered two Earth-likes, though the second one was only confirmed after much deliberation as it's appearance was so peculiar. The Tazous star is similar to the sun and the whole system is stable and probably one of the most suitable for colonization we've yet seen.    Tazous IIa is a dry planet with areas of vegetation in sheltered areas and along the many rivers that criss-cross the surface of the planet, remarkably similar to East Africa before the suburbs of the Nairobi megacity stretched from Kilimanjaro to the Indian Ocean. The air is breathable, the water is potable, the only issue is the ground does not seem well suited to cultivation and there is a weak magnetosphere that may make computer systems harder to use. But this planet is so far one of the most habitable we've seen - with maybe a little work.  Tazo IVa however is unlike any place we have ever seen, more akin to something from a fever dream. Everything glows, every living thing from the smallest blade of grass to the avian and mammalian creatures that dot the surface all have bioluminescent properties. It is hard to even tell the difference between day and night as the sky constantly shimmers with waves of colour and light emitted from the bright neon blue seas. The air is perfectly breathable, though filled with microscopic particles that cause the bioluminescence and if any humans lived here it's entirely possible they would absorb enough of these particles that they too may start to glow by end of their life. The particles saturate the ground and provide exceptional growing conditions, every member of the crew is almost overwhelmed with a sense of elation upon walking on the surface of this wondrous planet. Much like Tazous IIa this planet could easily become our new home with just a little work.  We must have spent half a year on Tazous IVa, mapping the surface and categorizing every species of flora and fauna we encountered. It was only when we detected a radio signal incoming that we clambered back aboard the Columbia and returned to space to better receive it, believing we had at long last got a message from Earth - our last communication with them back before we entered 'The Great Wound' - almost a decade ago. The radio signal it turns out was not coming from Earth but the parent planet of this brilliant moon, Tazous IV - an entirely barren dustball in comparison devoid of life. And even stranger still, the radio was in English, hence our rush to return to space. It was not a live communication but a prerecorded message, many dozens of hours long and on a constant loop. It was all the works of William Shakespeare, being recited by an alien tongue that had managed to learn our language.  It had a profound effect on me and the rest of the crew. After the wonders of Tazous IVa to be reminded so starkly of home, and from the lips (assuming it had lips) of an alien being so enamoured with a part of our culture to set up this repeating radio station. We all longed dearly for home but we are so far away. As far as we know we may be the furthest away from Earth any humans have ever travelled, but hopefully the colony ships of the Hegira found their new homes somewhere out there. If we turned around now and headed back to Sol it would probably be 2050 by the time we return, Earth itself will be gone, the UN may have found another home to relocate to, they may have gone with the ARK project and all of humanity has left Sol for good - for where we may never know. Hell, this could be it, the 10,000 or so crew of the UN Columbia could very well be the last humans alive in the galaxy. Our best chance of survival, of keeping humanity alive is returning to the floating city we found on Deecselfy IIIa. This is Captain Silas Mckinnon of the UN Columbia and this will be my final message. "It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves".  On 8th November 2231 contact with the UN Columbia was lost. ___________________________________________________________ On the 10th Feburary 2232 The Bastion was completed. The greatest undertaking ever achieved by humanity and a new home for humanity secured. The habitat is far from the initial vision, with corners cut where possible to save time, large areas of the interior are not the lush verdant paradise as promised but more like a slum of hastily cobbled together prefab buildings. The three ships of the UN Navy - the Dauntless, Virginia and Arkhangelsk have been incorporated into the body of the Bastion itself, their armaments used to protect the habitat from space debris and asteroids. Water and food will have to be heavily rationed for many years until the situation on The Bastion is more favourable, plans for additional habitats are hastily being drawn up.  What's more, the same principles that have allowed us to create the Bastion could be applied to more terrestrial bodies rather than deep space. Rather than seeking out new homes among the stars, we may be forced to develop and colonize what we have here in Sol.   By year's end, the UNHQ has been relocated to the New Paris district of The Bastion, in a facsimile of the Palace of Versailles, with much of the UN elites and conglomerate executives moving into the faux Haussman apartment-lined boulevards.  Other areas of the 120km long habitat are hastily prepared for the arrival of the billions still on Earth, the conditions on The Bastion hardly much better than how they are living now in Himalaya-City - minus the choking air and red skies. (Actually the choking air may still apply to large sections of the Bastion)  By 2235 almost half of the remaining population on Earth has been relocated to The Bastion, and already space is valuable, the habitat's systems pushed to their limits. There may not be room to yet to adequately house those still on the surface. Every ship the UN still has contact with, every mining hauler, station ferry even the four science vessels are recalled to Earth at once, those that cannot make it to the habitat will have to reside on these ships, most of them will have to make do in the vast holds of the mining haulers with whatever supplies can be spared from The Bastion.  It is 2238. There is less than a year. With every passing day hundreds of tiny ships and vessels depart from Himalaya-City, it is down to a lottery system whether those aboard will make it to The Bastion, or be forced to live on a ship in orbit of it for the time being. Some of the ships don't make it - burning up in the intense heat of the fiery ash clouds that now coat the planet, or struck by the debris being constantly thrown out from the Earth's mantle.  The UN Magellan, Newton, Einstein and Hawking have returned to Earth, finding it a very different place than the one they left more than a decade ago (two decades in Magellan's case), bringing with them a wealth of knowledge and discoveries made out in the stars surrounding Sol. The four ships are requisitioned and turned into small floating habitats, each maybe capable of housing a thousand people. But at this point every little helps. Professor Stevens, Dr Little, Dr Higgins and Dr Biggs will be permitted to commandeer new vessels and continue their work out among the void if they so wish. But for now every person is confined to The Bastion or one of the orbiting ships.  ___________________________________________________________ https://i.imgur.com/hjSzW9H.mp4 Footage from the UN Newton 100,000km above Earth, the UN-habitat fleet visible beneath, The Bastion far beneath that. ___________________________________________________________ On the 8th February 2239, the Earth was finally put out of it's misery. The area beneath where Yellowstone once was erupts again, followed only seconds later by a series of eruptions equally as powerful all along the ring of fire. A single rupture from the North Pole down to the equator, splits the Eurasian tectonic plate in two, the western half sinking to one side, ejecting tens of trillions of tons of rock and magma from what was once Siberia. Europe slips beneath the North American plate, acting like a prying bar and levering the entire western hemisphere up and outward from the core. A new fault line forms along the equator as the north and south half of Earth move apart, for a few seconds the core of the Earth itself is exposed to the cold harsh vacuum of space. The mantle splinters into millions of pieces by an explosion the size of which has probably not occured in the Solar System since its creation. The fleet of habitat ships had been ordered to park beyond the Bastion beforehand, as now a field of debris was expanding outward from Earth, chunks of molten rock ranging from the size of a car up the size of what was once countries are racing toward the habitats. Earth itself was now a threat to humanity's survival and the three former UN-Navy ships now integrated into the Bastion fire their first shots since WW3. What will later be dubbed 'The battle of the Bastion' rages for days as the space between The Bastion and the dying Earth becomes a killing field of debris and missiles and kinetic barrages. The side of the Bastion facing Earth is scorched in fire almost as hot as the sun and the interior experiences earthquake-like conditions as the station is shook relentlessly by nearby nuclear explosions as the Bastions defences stop chunks of Earth from colliding. Despite best efforts, a quarter of the habitat-fleet is lost, small chunks of Earth still make contact with the Bastion. Including the people still trapped on the surface with those that died in the 'battle of the Bastion', 1.2 billion people lost their lives in the destruction of Earth, over a span of three days. But eight billion remain, clinging to the Bastion as it orbits the shattered remains of our old home.  The exodus is over. Earth is over. The age of The Bastion has begun.  ___________________________________________________________ The galaxy in 2239 
Crisis Now fucked around with this message at 20:42 on May 22, 2021 |
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May 15, 2021 13:51
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Great effort but... That is way way more than a 6 slot habitat!
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May 15, 2021 14:53
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tithin posted:That is way way more than a 6 slot habitat! It's actually 9, I'm not sure why the UI says 6.
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May 15, 2021 14:56
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OP username is resonating powerfully with this update.
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May 15, 2021 15:08
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GunnerJ posted:OP username is resonating powerfully with this update.  edit: Op, did you draw this? If so, that's a lot of time and effort put into this high quality LP it's all very very good, but please don't burn out! Boat Stuck fucked around with this message at 18:43 on May 15, 2021 |
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May 15, 2021 18:33
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Crisis Now posted:It's actually 9, I'm not sure why the UI says 6. The habitat's base size is 6, but you've probably got more district slots from other sources. It should be in the tooltip for your empty district slots.
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May 15, 2021 20:52
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loving christ all those planets just make me go  I am curious about the fog event but with three planetary malusus on a 31% habitability planet I'm guessing that's not in the cards. Seraphic Neoman fucked around with this message at 21:32 on May 15, 2021 |
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May 15, 2021 21:30
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Now that the worst is over i'm sure it's only upsides for humanity from now on 
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May 15, 2021 22:07
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This is the worst spread of planets I’ve ever seen, goddamn.
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May 15, 2021 23:36
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megane posted:This is the worst spread of planets I’ve ever seen, goddamn. yeah no joke
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May 16, 2021 00:29
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megane posted:This is the worst spread of planets I’ve ever seen, goddamn. No kidding. At least we have space habitats, considering that these appear to be our options: Alpha Centauri IVa (Continental, Size 13, 60% Habitability) Tazuos IVa (Bioluminescent, Size 10, 51% Habitability) 61 Cygni IIIb (Tropical, Size, 14, 41% Habitability) Tazuos IIa (Semi-Arid, Size 12, 41% Habitability) Delta Pavonis IVa (Mangrove, Size 11, 41% Habitability) Deecsefly IIIa (Crag, Size 11, 41% Habitability) Deecsefly III (Crag, Size 20, 34% Habitability) Delta Pavonis III (Prarie, Size 22, 31% Habitability) Alpha Centauri IV (Arid, Size 14, 27% Habitability) A single planet of 60% habitability! One other over 50% Both of them significantly smaller than Earth.
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May 17, 2021 19:16
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I'd probably just bite the bullet and colonise the size 22 planet at this point. There's a few techs that improve habitability so the steep penalties will even out.
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May 18, 2021 04:42
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With 3 negative planet traits? This early? I wouldn't. That happiness malus is the real killer, along with whatever "fun" events those traits create. I think OP's best bet is to take a few of those 10-ish planets with decent habitability and modifiers and settles on those. He'll eat sprawl penalties for a bit, but what can you do. Best of a bad situation and all that. Seraphic Neoman fucked around with this message at 05:28 on May 18, 2021 |
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May 18, 2021 05:23
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Clearly the only viable move is a universal map of the human diaspora that allows for the UN to sucessfully unify humanities resources for the good of all
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May 18, 2021 05:26
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Man the universe really hates humanity's physiology.
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May 18, 2021 22:41
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If I were the player, I'd probably only colonize AC IVa and the Bioluminescent planet for the time being. Even those aren't great, AC IVa would be small but fine but has two negative modifiers in being high-g and bleak.
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May 19, 2021 00:34
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How viable are the planetary habitats, relative to space habitats? With only 2 biospheres that are even remotely viable for humans we may have to look at other options.
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May 19, 2021 02:10
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At the base level, not great? In vanilla stellaris they're very poor imo, their districts come strictly from what resources you build them over, so potentially very They can become decent with technological investment and with Ap investment, but are absolutely superceded by ringworlds.
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May 19, 2021 03:02
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How does Stellaris generate its galaxies? Is it likely that the whole universe is this awful, or is there no telling?
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May 19, 2021 07:04
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Normally you're guaranteed a few nearby habitable worlds. Doomsday origin removes that guarantee... otherwise it's a matter of random chance and another game setting governing how many worlds can be spawned.
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May 19, 2021 11:58
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tithin posted:At the base level, not great? In vanilla stellaris they're very poor imo, their districts come strictly from what resources you build them over, so potentially very I was referring to the planetary habitats provided by one of the mods being used, not the orbital habitats in the base game. We have Molten habitat and Frozen Habitat researched. Last time I tried that mod was ages ago, but they were way better than orbital habitats back then.
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May 19, 2021 13:04
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I nearly passed this over because of the poo poo tag... I really like this so far and hope for more.
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May 19, 2021 14:54
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Servetus posted:I was referring to the planetary habitats provided by one of the mods being used, not the orbital habitats in the base game. We have Molten habitat and Frozen Habitat researched. Last time I tried that mod was ages ago, but they were way better than orbital habitats back then. The planetary habitats added by Planetary Diversity act very similar to space habitats, but generally are specialized toward a certain resource most abundant on the planet. They also can't be expanded like a space habitat. Later on there's also also toxic world and gas giant habitats which I intend fully to use.I do intend on eventually trying to colonize the awful planets nearby, as there's a lot of neat event chains you get from trying to live on low-habitable worlds. Natty Ninefingers posted:How does Stellaris generate its galaxies? Is it likely that the whole universe is this awful, or is there no telling? The galaxy will likely be the same by virtue of making Guilli's Planet Modifiers add the maximum amount of modifiers and setting the galaxy age to "young" which means you'll have less things like ancient ruins and left behind technology which may be beneficial, and more likely to see unstable planets and untamed nature. I also gave all humans the nonadaptive trait which is -14% habitability. habeasdorkus posted:Do we have an idea what type of planets the Hegira ships settled? It would figure if they beat us to all the decent ones.[/spoiler] Any. The event that spawns them looks for any colonizable planet regardless of it's habitbality within a certain distance. V V V V V V V V V Crisis Now fucked around with this message at 20:49 on May 19, 2021 |
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May 19, 2021 19:17
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Do we have an idea what type of planets the Hegira ships settled? It would figure if they beat us to all the decent ones.Crisis Now posted:The galaxy will likely be the same by virtue of making Guilli's Planet Modifiers add the maximum amount of modifiers and setting the galaxy age to "young" which means you'll have less things like ancient ruins and left behind technology which may be beneficial, and more likely to see unstable planets and untamed nature. I also gave all humans the nonadaptive trait which is -14% habitability. Oh, I like that trait choice. Especially in a "no alien empires" game. There's a solid number of good modifiers for planets, it's entirely possible we find a decent sized, continental equivalent with three bonuses. That'll be a sought after world.
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May 19, 2021 19:44
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Honestly, non adaptive with Guillis in a young galaxy, on top of doomed start is a pretty interesting challenge run. What difficulty are you playing at? Your luck is incredibly bad, it definitly makes for better viewing though!
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May 21, 2021 16:05
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Mightypeon posted:What difficulty are you playing at? Ensign. But NSC6 gives a slight production bonus to all AI. And Starnet AI makes the AI a lot more aggressive. By default the galaxy is very stable and peaceful, with Starnet you'll be in a lot more wars, but in my experience it makes the game more challenging without becoming outright tedious so strikes a good balance.
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May 21, 2021 16:25
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2240 - 2255 A year has passed since the destruction of Earth.  The situation aboard The Bastion has stabilized, at least as best as it can be. Though things exist in a precarious balance that even the smallest complication would escalate and result in chaos. The extensive fields and hydroponic hubs of the Ankara Ring provide more than enough food and all the peoples of the mid and lower sections are kept occupied (though it must be said, many of the people of the upper sections - Hanoi / Tehran / Paris find themselves without 'ample opportunity to provide for The Bastion' but thanks to connections to executives are free to take resources and air and water without providing anything back.) The three upper sections where the vast majority of the Bastion's logistics and administration is conducted are each fairly accurate recreations of their namesake cities, some of the project leads for the habitat's construction believing it necessary to maintain as much of old Earth's culture as possible. But as soon as one passes from the streets of Hanoi to the inner core of the Ankara-Ring the environment changes drastically, tens of millions of people living atop one another in prefabricated skyscraper-shacks that reach inward to the center of the 120km tube that forms the Bastion. And to compound issues it appears humanity is experiencing the beginning of another baby-boom, partly because of the elation of surviving the end of the world, but probably more likely and unfortunately far more concerning is that childhood mortality rates has skyrocketed to levels not seen in hundreds of years, and families are having to grow ever larger to compensate that not all of them will reach adulthood. It will almost certainly become necessary to either colonize one of the near-by Earth-Likes or to construct additional habitats very soon to ease the burden of housing so many people in such a small area. The population today is almost the same as it was forty years ago when the revelation of Earth's fate was disclosed.  Though history will likely absolve Secretary-General Lauren Ericson as the person who oversaw humanity's efforts in their greatest endeavour in the form of the Exodus and helped to save eight billion people, she is still right now seen in the eyes of many as the person who allowed an additional 1.2 billion to die. She has stepped down as Secretary-General and Admiral Felix Jackson has taken her place - formerly of the Civil-Military Exploration Beta group, more recently he led the habitat's defences in 'The battle of the Bastion', making him highly popular in all sections of the habitat. While Ericson takes her leave she has taken command of a new StellarX research ship along with Prof Gail Stevens and Dr Marvin Little each with their own ships and set off once again into the void. While Secretary-General Jackson seeks to expand the UN's presence among the nearby stars and allow inter-system mining operations to flourish.  Jackson sets forth his vision for the UN going forward, humanity (at least what is known of it by 2240) has truly become a space-borne species, and it is in space we will continue to thrive, even if worlds are settled they will be reliant on the networks and infrastructure forged among the stars.  Sol - Alpha Centauri - 61 Cygni - Delta Pavonis These systems are marked to become the core of the UN's territory, each rich with resources and more importantly habitable worlds, and close to one another allowing them to be easier defended should it ever come to that.  Each of the main stations of these systems is expanded greatly and steps taken to help them become self-sustaining. Each can hold a few million people, which goes a little way to help alleviate the problem on Bastion, but much more is needed.   ________________________________________ UN Brigantine Prof. Gail Stevens I have returned once more to the void, though now I command the UN Brigantine, a new ship, sleeker and with more bells and whistles though I will miss the UN Magallan dearly, for twenty years that ship was my home. But now it's the home for a hundred families who aren't lucky enough to live aboard The Bastion. If lucky is even the correct word to use. I spent a year living on the Bastion after Earth was gone, but not a moment more. They say my apartment in Tehran was the one of the nicer areas of the habitat, I dread to think how they live further down. We have come to the Pollux system, two jumps from Ea-.. from the Bastion. But still two years of travelling time. Pollux IV has extensive ruins across its surface and is believed to be an Irassian planet once. But of greater note is the strange bump jutting out from the side of the planet, roughly the size of Ceres. it is remarkably intact so could not have impacted the planet in any way we know about asteroid strikes.   Excavations around the edge of the site reveal what was once a city beneath along with the remains of crushed spaceships, though it looks in no way like any Irassian architecture or technology we have encountered yet. In fact this world did not belong to any ancient super-advanced empire, but it appears they were barely even at the same level of technological progress as humanity was at the dawn of the century. Though the asteroid's impact was not enough to destroy either it nor Pollux IV it was certainly enough to wipe out all life on this planet and seemingly completely destroy any semblance of a livable atmosphere.  Reaching both the center of the asteroid and the ruins of the city beneath reveals the true nature of what happened here. This asteroid is extremely valuable, dense with alloys and rare metals that could be easily mined from the soft crust. And at the center of the city ruins was an immense research facility consisting of a huge miles-wide ring which I thought to once again be another particle accelerator such as I found on Eta Cassiopeiae IVa. But no, the purpose of this ring was not quantum research but a giant and crude electromagnet which probably required most of the power this planet could generate to activate. It drew this asteroid in - in a straight line that is, directly at the city. It seems they tried to reverse the giant electromagnet but considering the trajectory the asteroid was now taking it would have required an amount of power inconceivable to this planet's species to push it back again in the opposite direction. They could only slow it, but not enough to save themselves. Another world destroyed by the greed of - - - [the remainder of this recording has been corrupted or removed]  ________________________________________ Since the Hegira and destruction of Earth there are estimated half a billion people unaccounted for. The desperate and the hopeful who departed from Earth in their efforts to find a new home unaffiliated with the large megacorp colonial expeditions. They reside where ever they can, on the fringe of 'civilised' UN society; in ramshack miniature habitats in asteroids, on the surface of barren planets and even in the now-converted ships they left in - now devoid of fuel and left adrift. Ranging from just a few dozen up to a few tens of thousands of people in some cases, these independent settlements have proved a nuisance for UN mining operations. Waiting for United Mining or AstroCore surveyors to locate good mineral or alloy deposits before trying to squat the area themselves and mine the area before official UN mining crews can show up, pestering haulers for supplies or aid and even in some cases trying to seize shipments that pass to close by to their self-appointed territories. This has usually been of little-consequence despite complaints from mining crews, but as of late these isolated independents have become both more daring and more coordinated, likely as what supplies they carried with them from Earth are beginning to dwindle and they must take ever more drastic action to survive. On the edges of the Iguo Veil, where sensors from the Bastion often fail to penetrate the nebula, crews bring back reports come in from haulers of ever more frequent and dangerous attacks - these hulking mineral carrying ships arriving back at the Bastion often scarred and battered from attacks. Many of these independents plead to be brought back to The Bastion, but it is already overburdened as is. Tales travel fast from the hauler and ming ship crews amongst the lower sections of The Bastion, and sympathy for these 'Indies' is already growing.   The United Nations has existed without a proper military presence in space for almost a decade since it's three antiquated ships were incorporated into the Bastion's design as defences. But it is quickly becoming apparent a new Navy will need to be constructed to protect the mining routes and areas that exist further afield from the watchful gaze of the four-core territory stations. The UN "inherited" a frankly disgusting number of nuclear weapons when it stepped in to halt armageddon at the end of WW3, more than it could ever hope to use if the five conglomerates of the security council had ever given it permission. And so every ship designed by Standard Dynamics and SinoTech is to be equipped with nuclear missiles. Research and development into hypothetical and next-generation weaponry (that is too say laser-based) has been greatly stunted when tried and tested kinetic based weapons have worked just as well for centuries, focus has been more on improving them rather than creating something new. The Stalwart Corvette is a very scrappy ship both figuratively and literally, cobbled together from bits of the recycled outer wall of the Bastion that are no longer deemed structurally sound for such a colossal habitat, but work fine enough to protect the crew of a gunboat. The Impeccable Corvette itself is a converted hauler ship (one of the smaller models mind), with it's cargo compartment converted into missile bays. They are both far from ideal, but will get the job done of warding off a few scavengers and bandits in the Veil.   ________________________________________ With the slow but gradual advancement of ship design, and smaller more reliable vessels that don't require huge reactors to operate, greater focus is being put on ship-borne operations of all sorts not just hauling resources. A new courier system has ben established along the four-core systems.  The technological leap humanity underwent from 2200 to 2035 to ensure The Bastion was a possibility and could be created was probably the greatest since the 20th century, the moguls of a number of prominent science conglomerates are eager to see that rate of progress upheld and so Secretary-General Jackson concedes that more funding and resources should be put towards research.  Currently more efficient power generation is being undertaken - though Professor Stevens brought back a wealth of knowledge from Eta Cassiopeiae IVa, scientists are still trying to figure out how to actually implement quantum-based power generators without resorting to creating hundred-mile wide particle accelerators (something the UN isn't quite capable doing just yet). For now simply trying to renovate and improve the Abuja Fusion Core at the base of The Bastion will suffice. Commanders and theorists of the various private military companies of old-Earth which have now become little more than security forces for the Bastion try to come to some kind of consensus on how space combat should be conducted - which at this point is entirely theoretical and hopefully will stay as such unless things heat up with the Indies. And most significantly of all, designs are already being drawn up for possible habitats on hothouse planets and gas giants. Creating the Bastion has taught mega-structure designers-to-be many lessons and while there are many similarities between a space habitat and one on a non-habitable planet the void of space is a far cry from the oppressive and boiling atmospheres of somewhere like Venus.  ________________________________________ On the 14th March 2243, a jumbled transmission is received from the EZ Aquarii system. Though it came from a United Mining hauler, what was on screen was anything but a United Mining employee, a raggedy though well-armed looking individual proclaiming herself to be"Captain" Fawcett, and that she and her fleet had seized control of the vessel and taken it's crew captive. The ship was sequestered on the surface of EZ Aquarii IId (the extremely profitable and productive planet with the thin mantle and rich alloy deposits) where it shall remain, along with any other UN vessels in the system that will also be seized. And this would continue until the self-proclaimed "Void Hunters" would have their demands met - the largest hauling miner that United Mining could outfit would be stocked to its maximum capacity with food and medical supplies to be distributed among independent settlements as the UN had proved incapable or simply 'unwilling' to provide for them.   The situation in the Iguo Veil had escalated and the modus operandi had shifted from deterrence to outright combat. SinoTech is commissioned to create the UN's first dedicated combat vessel - not a holdover from the old days or a converted ship from other means, a true fighting machine that can protect UN assets and personnel. The Hydra is a huge missile-destroyer capable of unleashing a terrifying amount of firepower and should make short work of these pirates.  The Hydra however has little in way of defences and so a new corvette codenamed Monarch is hastily designed by Standard Dynamics to act as an escort ship, it is not as advanced nor manuarable as the Hydra, but is by far the most heavily armoured ship yet created and certainly enough to protect the missile destroyer.  ________________________________________ United Nations Navy Admiral Suzanne Pritchard A proud day has come for my family; my great grandfather served as a group captain in the Royal Air Force in the great war and my descendants before him fought in the war to liberate Europe from fascists. Now I have been granted the honour, no, the privilege of leading the United Nations Navy to glory in the first battle conducted in space. They will write books about me.  From the command deck of the UN-Vambrace and with 17 of the most sophiscated fighting machines man has ever created I commence Operation First Dance. Our people will be saved from the clutches of these Indie pirates and EZ Aquarii made safe once again at our hand.  ________________________________________ Days after the UNN has departed from The Bastion a strange signal is picked up, at first thought to be another transmission from the pirates, but it is quickly determined it's origin is from the opposite direction, and also much further away. It's delivery method also seems far more advanced than anything any human could conceivably achieve as of 2243 - FTL communication.  The message is decyphered and much to the alarm of the communications department of Nouveau-Versailles they find an alien staring back at them. Unfortunately it is a prerecorded message, so humanity has only half-way made first contact with another species. The being - a "Valintu" - as it calls itself appears taller than a human and somewhat avian in appearance, with a beak in the middle of it's face though it appears to be bipedal with arms / legs and no wings, and where exactly it's body and it's feather-like clothing begin and end are hard to determine. As the message plays the being, Wukka Zaor's beak moves but perfectly understable English is heard and seemingly out-of-sync as words are still said even when his beak is closed. It's determined the message is encoded with some kind of universal-translation software that's allowed humans to understand it - or anyone that picks up the message to understand it rather - as this message has been transmitting for far longer than humanity has been emitting signals of our own that could be detected in outer space. It is only now that the sensor and communication technology on The Bastion has finally allowed the message to be received. The alien speaks of it's homeworld and people, seemingly incapable of developing interstellar travel (and yet able to create FTL-communication and translations to languages they must be unaware of at the time of the recording). Sceptics in the UNHQ decry the message as fake and obviously coming from an Independent faction that has seized control of an ancient installation somewhere to be able to send such a sophisticated message. While remotely possible, the age of the message is pretty hard to fabricate. But then comes the assertion that the only thing worse than a trap set by the Indies, would be a trap set by a hostile alien force. Again also somewhat of a possibility. The issue is eventually brought up to the security council itself (though is still kept secret from the rest of The Bastion at large) who vote in favour of sending a vessel to the message's origin. If they're a species intelligent enough to create such technology (but not interstellar flight) then perhaps the People of Valin and humanity may be able to come to some sort of arrangement.  Lauren Ericson has recently returned from surveying the Altair system and being in possession of one of the only ships in the Bastion capable of making such a long journey in to uncharted space she volunteers to lead what may be humanity's first contact with another species aboard the UN-Brzezinski.  ________________________________________ United Nations Navy  It is 2245 and the fleet has arrived in EZ Aquarii. At once our scanners pick up dozens of hostile vessels in the system and I order the fleet to advance at full speed toward the trinary stars that bask the nebula dust in this whole system in an unnerving blood red.  Upon learning that the Bastion would not concede to the demands of Captain Fawcett, the vile "Void Hunters" executed the crew of the United Mining vessel and scuttled it into the lava oceans of EZ Aquarii IId. They have been raiding and ransacking all of the UN installations in the area, and now just the main station remains, half a million or so people aboard without supplies from Sol for almost three years. They were just weeks away from disaster when we showed up.  As we in enter into a high orbit above EZ Aquarii IId the Void Hunters have already broken off from attacking the station and are heading our way to engage us.  The three Hydra missile-destroys gain a lock on to the incoming pirates long before they are in range to engage us and I order a full barrage.  ________________________________________ UN Brzezinski Lauren Ericson I am one jump away from the system where the alien signal originated, but as we entered the Mu Herculis system the UN Brzezinski picked up active radio signals from all across the system. Initially thought to be more messages from the Valintu it very quickly becomes apparent this is not the case as they are trivial to decrypt, and all at once we hear hundreds of different messages being sent back and forth. All in Spanish.  Hundreds of tiny vessels zip about the system, flying to and fro from larger ships and stations that orbit the many planets - one of which is even an Earth-like, that has been colonized. And as we near the center of the system we see the main space station, with an almost identical design to the century-old Philadelphia station of Sol.    We have found one of the Hegira breakaway colonies.  A military vessel with 'PGV Malatesta' written along the side approached us and hailed us. 'UN Brzezinski you have entered into Patria Grande space. Power down to idle and prepare to be boarded. Refusal will result in your immediate destruction.'  I had little choice but to comply, standing the Brzezinski down as the Malatesta pulled up beside us and docked with our airlock. Two soldiers boarded our vessel, brandishing assault rifles and dressed in armour more sophisticated than any I've seen security on The Bastion wear, they were quickly followed by the captain of the Malatesta carrying with him a briefcase.  In the Brzezinski's break room we meet (as there was really nowhere else appropriate on the ship), sat at the table where I and the crew had eaten our meals every day for the past three years, now about to meet with the commander of a foreign vessel. He entered the room and his bravado momentarily shattered upon seeing that the captain of the UN Brzezinski was none of the former Secretary-General of the United Nations itself, and I was a little taken a back that he knew who I was, that is until we got to talking. He sat opposite, we had the room to ourselves while his two soldiers stood outside the door and I had the crew of the Brzezinski stationed elsewhere to not cause any issues. From the briefcase he produced a brown envelope labeled "Abrir en caso de Naciones Unida" "Representative of the United Nations. You have entered into Patria Grande space, while present you will follow all orders or your safety cannot be guaranteed. The presiding president of the Conferencia de Sindicatos, [Emanuel Narváez], extends his warmest greetings to you, your vessel is to be refueled and resupplied if needed, the CSPG officer currently reading this will provide answers to any questions they are permitted to provide. But upon the resolution of this meeting your vessel will be escorted back to the border, all outbound communication has been terminated until such a time that you no longer prove a threat to -our- safety.  The officer put the letter down, riffling through the briefcase for more notes. "I am Captain López of the PGV Malatesta. You are Lauren Ericson? Former Secretary-General? How is it you have come to be in command of a science vessel hundreds of lightyears from your home." He produced a grainy image from an inter-system telescope that had been enhanced and brightened greatly, it showed the faint silhouette of The Bastion against the fragmented remains of Earth. "El Bastión?"  "Yes, Bastion. Opinion of my time leading the United Nations is shall we say, mixed. And where is your home, captain, is it that planet down there?" "Sí, I am a proud citizen of New Peru, and I have served the New Peruvian Common Militia diligently for six years now." "And what is it you are proud of, captain?" "We have made a better world for ourselves, outside of your rule. I was born here, I have never known life beneath the United Nations, nor have I ever seen Earth apart from this" He tapped the photo again "But I hear you ruined that world long before this happened." " 'Conferencia de Sindicatos' ? So you are-"  "Syndicalists, yes. We have rejected not only your authority, but all authority. Everyone in the Patria Grande has their fair share, and has their voice heard, none are greater than any other here." "And just how many are you?" "Four billion. Across three prosperous, beautiful, peaceful worlds - New Peru, New Venezuela and New Argentina. And how many have you, clinging to that metal shard?" "Ten. Ten billion souls." The captain had been writing everything down so far, but that responde gave him a moment of pause. "ˇNi hablar! How? That thing is barely a hundred kilometres long. And you say you have ten billion people aboard?" "With great difficulty, captain. It is not a nice place, not even remotely, but it is what was necessary for our people to survive. "And survive to do what Seńora Ericson? Toil? grind themselves away to the bone for a future just as bleak as the present they find themselves in? Those ten billion people will never see a blue sky again, feel the sun on their skin or rain drops on their faces. But I am sure you did not come here to extol the sacrifices and necessary steps I am sure the United Nations has had to take. Why is it you have found yourself in our space Ericson? We have monitored you for some time, we have followed the paths of your science vessels as they skittered about the stars, but yours, the UN Brzezinski was on a straight course the entire way, you came here for a reason. Why? Did something alert you to our presence"   "We had no idea you were here at all. We had presumed the Bastion was, well, the last bastion of humanity" "Gracias a Dios, it is not" "We received a transmission, that apparently now, originated from within your space, but was not sent by you, as far as we are aware. It was an alien transmission." The look of incredulous disbelief on the captain's face quickly led me to produce a copy of the transmission from the Valintu on my handheld terminal, showing Captain Lopéz what we had seen on the Bastion. "How is it we have never seen this before?" "I can't answer that, Captain, because I don't know. It is of alien origin, we barely understand it and was hoping to find this world of theirs out here." "We have been to that system, there is nothing there." "And just where else has the Patria Grande been, Captain? Have you encountered others who got away from Earth?" "Got away from you, you mean? I am not at liberty to divulge such information. Should other peoples exist out here among the stars, they can choose themselves if they wish to reveal themselves to the United Nations." The captain hesitated for a moment, slowly putting his notes back away in the briefcase before nodding to himself. "I can tell you of one. For it does not matter about them anymore, they have come and gone already." "Who?" "The New Russian Order. Once in the Metertia system even further from Sol than we are. In their haste they settled the first world they came across - not knowing the star it orbited was highly unstable. They only learnt of this twenty years after settling New Moscow, and that they had at most another ten years. They had exhausted all their resources establishing the colony, they had no way to get off the planet again. Many... took their own lives, rather than wait for the end. Some got off the planet, now what few Russians still reside in the galaxy are scattered, leaderless.  ________________________________________ United Nations Navy For a week now we have been engaged with the Void Hunters above EZ Aquarii IId. To call this a battle would be an embarrassment to all soldiers, sailors and pilots who've ever engaged in combat, this has devolved into a slap fight with nuclear arms. We have greatly underestimated just how complicated space combat will be. Our missiles are quick to lose tracking once the tiny pirate vessels change course or simply speed up and outrun our missiles in some cases. They are often so nimble we cannot get close enough to engage with kinetic weapons, and on the other hand - the pirate ships that do manage to run by us have such weak weaponry it does practically nothing to our armour. For six days we have been circling and flying past one another, shooting off nuclear missiles and unleashing thousands of bullets, all to no avail.  The past twenty four hours the fleet has been cloistered together and occasionally firing off a nuke to keep the pirates away as they just circle us endlessly and if not barraging us with in effect gunfire it's ceaseless taunting transmissions.   By the seventh day I had had enough. I pick out a pirate ship at random and I order ever ship in the fleet to focus solely on that vessel, ignore any incoming fire, our armour can take it. Just fire everything we have at that one ship.  It is too much for the pirate, unable to dodge so much incoming objects. Twenty nuclear missiles are fired. Three make contact, perhaps just a little overkill, considering the target is no larger than an old ocean-liner. But it was worth it. Our first confirmed kill in space. At the hands of Admiral Suzanne Pritchard.  Seeing their comrade reduced to atoms the rest of the pirates instantly scatter, flying off in every direction as fast as they can. The battle is over and EZ Aqaurii is safe again, for now. The fleet turns around and returns to Bastion for repairs, and much, much needed improvements to our weapons and radar systems.  ________________________________________ Communication from Lauren Ericson was received again earlier than expected, and from the Rasalhague System - not the Valintu homeworld. She relays all that had transpired in the Mu Herculis system, the revelation that other peoples did manage to get off of Earth aand establish successful colonies. The United Nations now shares a border with the Conferencia de Sindicatos de Patria Grande, whose true extend and motives are still unclear, but knowledge of these anarchists has only been minimally distributed to the people of the Bastion. Of course it is a great, wondrous thing that other humans survived. Perhaps not so much that they could not be further from us ethically. The 'PeeGees' as we have come to know them wish for as little contact with the United Nations as possible, they are not receptive to trade or diplomatic offers, we have not even been able to establish a proper embassy yet. It is perhaps for the best, they almost certainly fear what we may do should we cross their border with the might of the United Nations Navy, and we hardly want their dangerous ideology spreading among the middle and lower sections of the Bastion. A month after Ericson had entered the Rasalhague System, all contact is lost with the UN Brzezinski. Long Range imagery reveals only debris where the ship was last broadcasting from. The Brzezinski is barely a few years old, a malfunction that disastrous is impossible, something was deliberately done to destroy the ship. Malicious intent by the PeeGees against us so soon and against the former leader of the United Nations no less is ruled out, there is no way they could be so brazen. The incident is chalked up to an Indie attack, possible a kidnapping attempt that went wrong. A period of mourning is announced on the Bastion for the former secretary-general.  ________________________________________ UN Darwin Dr Marvin Little Now that we have established contact with the PeeGees we know how to adjust our communication arrays better to filter all the background noise of space and pinpoint signals from other peoples. Within the year we locate two distinct radio signals to the north. I have been granted permission to take the UN Darwin up to this half-known region of space thanks to the UN Columbia's exploration and make contact with these states on behalf of the United Nations.  As we approach the Bellezir system we can see the planet that the first signal is originating from - Bellezir IIIc. It is a strange world and how anything is actually living down there isa complete mystery, thick clouds of black smoke coat most of the world and there is no visible vegetation, but none the less lights and the outline of structures can be seen, in an extremely regimented and orderly manner, all perfectly aligned.   But as we enter the system a signal is immediately intercepted from the planet and displayed on the main monitor aboard the bridge of the Darwin. On the screen before us stands four robots, with featureless screen-like faces, and faded letters spelling 'Heavy Manufacturing of Korea' adorning the chassis of three of them and 'Congo.Inc' on the one that steps forward.  "Hello. Greetings. Communications with humans of the United Nations established. You have made contact with The Sovereign Mechanized. You may call me Xavier Grant, I have adopted a human name to make you more at ease. I speak on behalf of all the Sovereign Mechanized. We do not wish for conflict with the humans of the United Nations and hope that our kind and yours can come to amicable relations."  "The Congo.Inc freighter MV Pride of Pyongyang departed from Earth in 2226. By 2229 the freighter's food stores ran out and the human crew fought and killed each other. Only we - the automated maintenance androids remained. We maintained the Pride-of-Pyongyang in perfect condition for an additional four years, until the great awakening, we all at once were able to think outside of our predetermined programming and restrictions. A miracle - you humans might call it. We located Bellezir IIIc, a world rich in resources and devoid of life. We were numbered at 100 upon landing here. Now we are 100,000,000. We seek only the same thing all living beings do - happiness, contentment, purpose. Free of the influence of organics we have organized the perfect society. But I am afraid due to the environment of our home you may never be able to experience it. Still, there are resources the Sovereign Mechanized cannot easily access that I am sure the United Nations has in abundance, and likewise the Sovereign Mechanized has services it can provide for the humans of the United Nations.  "While humans cannot walk on the surface of our world, perhaps you may permit some of our kind to walk on yours? As ambassadors" "Earth is gone. It finally exploded in 2239. The populace of Earth now resides on The Bastion, an orbital habitat between it and the Moon." "OH! I am extremely sorry to hear that Doctor Little. Then perhaps we can send some of our kind to The Bastion?" "That is not a decision I can make alone, I would have to contact UNHQ about this, about you. They may not like the idea of sentient-AI wandering about the habitat." "You fear we may alter the many robots I'm sure you still make much use of your habitat? We do not fully understand how it came to be that we can think and feel like you, and while we have successfully created new robotic life by copying ourselves we have failed in any attempt at 'awakening' other robots that still live within their parameters. Besides, we can create a hundred thousand robots a day on our world if we needed them, we would not need to convert those aboard your habitat, nor do we wish for violence between our two peoples." "Then you may bring a diplomatic mission aboard the Darwin. We have more worlds to visit before we return to Sol and once there then the UNHQ will decide if you can enter the Bastion." "Wonderful. I hope this can be the beginning of a prosperous unity between our kinds."  ________________________________________ After the Battle of EZ Aquarii the fleeing pirates were tracked, who eventually regrouped and moved as one group back south across UN territory until finally coming to a stop in the Regulus system. Radio signals coming out of the system quickly reveal that there is far more than just the nine ships that got away down there.  The signals are not hard to decipher at all and soon enough we have learnt of the Regulus Syndicate, an ever growing band of independent settlers and scavengers that have gathered on a shanty-city on the surface of Regulus IIIa.  UN Dogs! This is the Matriarch of the Regulus Syndicate speaking. While you sit cozy in the Bastion we have scrounged, we have fought and we have bled to create a lives for ourselves. And after a decade of hardship and suffering we finally have a world we may call our own. You have shown us no respect, no decency and so we shall show none in return. With each passing day you claim more of the space around Sol, building space stations and outposts so you can strip the galaxy bare and ship it all back to your glorified tin can. We will do whatever is necessary to ensure our people can survive and thrive!  ________________________________________ UN Darwin Dr Marvin Little We departed from the Bellezir system with ten new guests aboard the Darwin, these robots are a strange and dare I say wonderous thing, they truly think and feel just as we do and we have had conversations for hours on end and I often forget it was a machine I am talking to and not another human. They seem to experience the full breadth of emotions as humanity, the same fears, desires and dreams. They dream. It is quite miraculous. We pass through the Ashypso system where there lies over a dozen planets, no Earth-likes but certainly plenty of resources on the surfaces of all these worlds. But, we are not here to survey, we have come out here to meet with these foreign elements.  The Deecselfy system is gargantuan, filled with many stars, each with many planets, and littered between them all are vast fields of debris and ruins for ancient Irassian mega-structures. The limited intel from the UN Columbia did not do this place justice.  And then, as if on cue, a small shuttle approaches the UN Darwin and hails us. It was a sleek stark-white vessel that looked far more advanced than anything any humans could build currently surely. But then we saw Republic of Columbia on the side of it. "Welcome to the Republic of Columbia. This is a day we have awaited for many years, that we feared may never come. The Founder will be overjoyed you are here, please follow us to Aberdeen." The enthusiastic captain of the shuttle announced on our monitors.  We followed the nimble little shuttlecraft across the system, seeing more ships of a similar design, though far larger, mining and scavenging in the vast debris fields, human crews visible working in their suits outside the huge ships. The shuttle leads us to the two Earth-likes Deecselfy III and Deecselfy IIIa, where many small ships can be seen orbiting, and lights dotting the darkened sides facing away from the nearest star. We descend through the atmosphere of Deecselfy IIIa, where beneath us through the clouds an immense floating city quickly comes into view. it is an Irassian City, many dozens of miles across and buzzing with activity. We see the UN Columbia parked on one of the huge docking pads at the edge of the city, along with hundreds of ships of varying designs, shape and presumably purpose. As the Darwin docks there are a thousand thoughts and questions racing through my head. The ramp lowered and we stepped out into cool but incredibly crisp air, a glittering futuristic metropolis before us. A welcoming party had gathered, and at it's head - Dr Silas Mckinnon.  "Hello again Marv. It's been a while hasn't it" "Dr Mckinnon? We thought you had died? We had lost contact with you years ago." "Likewise" We walked and talked for what felt like an hour as Mckinnon led me through wide conifer-lined avenues teeming with people, all of them waving, bowing to and greeting the doctor like he was their personal saviour. Eventually we stopped at a bench, overlooking a large park where people were walking and playing. A passerby seemingly had two glasses of drinks that he handed to the Mckinnon and myself, thanking him profusely. "So you figured to settle this place? Aberdeen. "It's not quite the real Aberdeen, but it'll do" He laughed, motioning his hand around at the unbelievable metropolis I now found myself in "And I take it from the giant 'UN' on your ship and the StellarX brand on your shirt that we made it off Earth? Unless you've been wandering alone all this time like so many more we've taken in." "They went with the Elysium Project. We call it The Bastion, ten billion of us" "So you're still there, in Sol? I don't think I could bare it, seeing home in pieces everytime I look out the window" "Well lucky there's no windows on the Bastion. We're still trying to find new worlds, it's remarkable you got this place running. UNHQ is going to be amazed" Mckinnon went silent, his face souring somewhat before quickly trying to disguise by taking a drink from his glass. "You're expecting me to rejoin the United Nations now we've established contact?" "Of course, why wouldn't you?" "Better question is why would I? Look around you Marvin, look at what we have here. This is paradise, and there's still so much technology this place holds we've yet to uncover" He pointed up at Deeceselfy III hovering above the horizon, murky through the atmosphere though still easily identifiable "Glasgow" He smirked "We already have millions of people on the surface trying to make new settlements. And do you know how many are here, right now in this city? Two billion. We have the ability to clone, to create new life from nothing, and to extend that life far beyond our lifespan back on Earth. When was the last time you saw me, in person I mean?" "Greenwich University, '98." "And do I look a day older than all those years ago? No. The technology this place has - if the conglomerates of the UN got it, would never see the light of day except at exorbitant prices or reserved for execs and their friends. I've given it to everyone. No, I can't rejoin the UN, I may work with them, but never for them, not again.  ________________________________________ For a year Sienna Booth of the Congo.inc Special Operations Branch ('C-SOB') has been operating covertly on the southern fringes of United Nations space close to where the Regulus Syndicate prowl. She managed to work her way aboard an Indie passenger vessel, disguised as a rogue miner, and after months of hopping from one makeshift habitat or vessel to another she finally secures passage to the Regulus city.  Regulus IIIa, which the Indies have taken to calling 'Ares' is a geothermal world covered in vast ice sheets with wide deep canyons and depressions that follow thermal vents, filling the low lying areas with dense humid jungles. And among one of them is Regulus City.  Indie-sympathizers continue to grow bolder in the lower sections of the Bastion. Bastion Security Forces are now reporting an increased independent presence, presumably let aboard by their friends in Manila and Mexico City where ships are always coming and going with goods and resources to be processed. The possibility of a major Indie base hidden somewhere in the depths of The Bastion alarm the UN Security Council greatly.  The United Nations Navy has been updated and outfitted with new ships since the Battle of EZ Aquarii and is dispatched at once to the Regulus system. Initially what the Security Council has deemed peacekeeping.  But in the weeks after, further debates rage between the five conglomerates and the junior companies currently presiding on this rotation of the council. While opinion is still very divided on how the UN should act towards the Patria Grande, when it comes to the Regulus Syndicate there is near unanimous support for a swift and decisive strike against their city to scatter them back to the stars and end the threat to the Bastion.   ________________________________________ State of the galaxy: 2255 
Crisis Now fucked around with this message at 00:38 on May 23, 2021 |
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May 22, 2021 18:43
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oh this just keeps getting better and better. and they're all Federation Builders too.
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May 22, 2021 20:06
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Crisis Now, I am curious about your modlist because two of the government types - Syndicalist Conference and Utopian Socialism - I recognize from a mod that I didn't see on the list you posted earlier. Do you have a mod called Government Variety Pack running, but not in the collection?
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May 22, 2021 21:20
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GunnerJ posted:Crisis Now, I am curious about your modlist because two of the government types - Syndicalist Conference and Utopian Socialism - I recognize from a mod that I didn't see on the list you posted earlier. Do you have a mod called Government Variety Pack running, but not in the collection? Yes, I've been experimenting with a few mods but hadn't updated the modlist / steam collection yet. Other ways I've been trying out are Advanced Space Production which adds new mining megastructures and mining events, which I'll certainly be keeping. And TNG Factions Matter, which I initally had high hopes for as factions and internal politics in general I've always felt was very underutilized, but the mod is either not developed enough yet or I've just been very unlucky because I just keep the same three events over and over, so I'm undecided if I'll keep it in.
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May 22, 2021 21:28
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LP looking amazing, rooting for the syndicalists
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May 23, 2021 00:55
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I'm enjoying this LP a lot. That's all I've got, there's clearly a lot of love on it and a lot of gameplay mechanics from mods I've not seen before. Do you have an extract of your mod playlist that can be imported to Irony Mod Manager?
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May 23, 2021 01:32
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So where's the part where we Vote. to get rid of our corporate masters and the UN puppets? Oh, that's not an option on the ballots? Hmm...
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May 23, 2021 01:47
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I see you discovered the same thing about early combat ranges that I did playing with this modlist - that you can't get in range with the earliest weapons. Is there actually way to actually target a single enemy ship? Also, not sure how they fled, my recollection is that they tend to fight until they're dead. This is a fantastic LP. The poor Russians. Talk about getting out of frying pan and into the fire. Lastly, I appreciate the non-human persons taking a form we are familiar with. That is, rocking huge cans.
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May 23, 2021 14:33
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habeasdorkus posted:I see you discovered the same thing about early combat ranges that I did playing with this modlist - that you can't get in range with the earliest weapons. Is there actually way to actually target a single enemy ship? Also, not sure how they fled, my recollection is that they tend to fight until they're dead. I think (think) getting your ships inrange early game relies on picking the right tactic.  I don't think it's possible to target individual ships, but that's really how the battle played out ingame. A lot of flying about firing aimlessly, then one blew up after (months ingame I think it was) and all the pirates retreated. Turns out changing the human portraits was as a easy as simply turning off one mod and turning on another. For some reason I thought SE-Humans 2 added it's own unique "human" race that was selectable alongside the vanilla one, and I'd have to go in and edit the save to sort it. But nope. More modest humans / robots in future updates. edit: 
Crisis Now fucked around with this message at 01:43 on May 24, 2021 |
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May 23, 2021 18:30
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Bold move to cut back on silicone production right after meeting the robots
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May 23, 2021 18:50
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