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Bremen
Jul 20, 2006

Our God..... is an awesome God
If I may slip in a point of analysis; most battleplans were drawn up with the idea of Earth as the battleground, where the thick atmosphere means that orbital bombardment can only consist of nuclear missiles. This means that both sides would suffer greatly from the collateral damage and radiation resulting from even a small bombardment.

Unlike Earth, though, Mars doesn't have much of an atmosphere. If the Feds have any high powered lasers or similar weapons on their warships they could probably take out the Brotherhood military with pinpoint orbital strikes. There would be some collateral damage, but not nearly as much, and it would be much harder to stop. Not only would it mean we couldn't intercept the strikes, but it would mean they wouldn't be expending their missile supply against other targets.

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Dr. Snark
Oct 15, 2012

I'M SORRY, OK!? I admit I've made some mistakes, and Jones has clearly paid for them.
...
But ma'am! Jones' only crime was looking at the wrong files!
...
I beg of you, don't ship away Jones, he has a wife and kids!

-United Nations Intelligence Service

From: Operative Dr. Snark
To: UNIN Command
RE: Orders


Considering the situation at hand, is there anything we agents should be doing while we're waiting for the reinforcements to show up? Or should we try to stay hidden and keep Korbalev safe? I'd like to have more official orders as soon as possible. Perhaps we could perform recon ops to help berryjon's incoming forces, although that is just a suggestion.

Bremen posted:

If I may slip in a point of analysis; most battleplans were drawn up with the idea of Earth as the battleground, where the thick atmosphere means that orbital bombardment can only consist of nuclear missiles. This means that both sides would suffer greatly from the collateral damage and radiation resulting from even a small bombardment.

Unlike Earth, though, Mars doesn't have much of an atmosphere. If the Feds have any high powered lasers or similar weapons on their warships they could probably take out the Brotherhood military with pinpoint orbital strikes. There would be some collateral damage, but not nearly as much, and it would be much harder to stop. Not only would it mean we couldn't intercept the strikes, but it would mean they wouldn't be expending their missile supply against other targets.

If this is true, then we need a way to get Fred's fleet out of attack range. Having them hovering right above our forces is simply too great of a risk for us.

Innocent_Bystander
May 17, 2012

Wait, missile production is my responsibility?

Oh.
Let Korbalev off his leash and send him to do what brought him to Mars. For now I want you to do whatever you feel will help the ground forces hold out.

Bremen offers a valid point, but there's not much we can do about it right now.

Friar John
Aug 3, 2007

Saint Francis be my speed! how oft to-night
Have my old feet stumbled at graves!
I realize this may be premature, but if we can get really solid proof that the Fed leadership was behind this debacle, I think we could try to force a leadership change in the FES. Only the top-level Politburo folks know they're the cause of this, but if we gave the evidence to some select few officers or administrators, we could see internal dissension within the Fed, hopefully ousting these insane fools at the top, and giving us a better chance to deal with reasonable folks.

bgreman
Oct 8, 2005

ASK ME ABOUT STICKING WITH A YEARS-LONG LETS PLAY OF THE MOST COMPLICATED SPACE SIMULATION GAME INVENTED, PLAYING BOTH SIDES, AND SPENDING HOURS GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND TO ENSURE INTERNET STRANGERS ENJOY THEMSELVES
Can colony administrators (Iunnrais, Jihad Joe, and Arujei, plus any other admins who may be lurking) please email me at my forums username @ gmail?

Friar John
Aug 3, 2007

Saint Francis be my speed! how oft to-night
Have my old feet stumbled at graves!
Email sent.

I am a dead man, aren't I?

Iunnrais
Jul 25, 2007

It's gaelic.
Email sent, but I almost never check my personal email address. It's gotten so choked with spam it's no longer an effective communications tool. I do have plat though, so feel free to PM.

bgreman
Oct 8, 2005

ASK ME ABOUT STICKING WITH A YEARS-LONG LETS PLAY OF THE MOST COMPLICATED SPACE SIMULATION GAME INVENTED, PLAYING BOTH SIDES, AND SPENDING HOURS GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND TO ENSURE INTERNET STRANGERS ENJOY THEMSELVES
Another milieu article up, thanks to yinette for having me think about this one.

TN Computing

Dr. Snark
Oct 15, 2012

I'M SORRY, OK!? I admit I've made some mistakes, and Jones has clearly paid for them.
...
But ma'am! Jones' only crime was looking at the wrong files!
...
I beg of you, don't ship away Jones, he has a wife and kids!

-United Nations Intelligence Service

So we're starting to create AIs now?

Great. When we end up creating SHODAN, don't say that we didn't have it coming.

bgreman
Oct 8, 2005

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Dr. Snark posted:

So we're starting to create AIs now?

Great. When we end up creating SHODAN, don't say that we didn't have it coming.

Think 10th Generation Siri more than anything.

Scribbleykins
Apr 29, 2010

Any scientist with the right background can brew his own booze.

...

What do you mean electrolytes aren't used for brewing booze? That's silly!

...

Well when all you have are chunks of TNE and an overly large water ration, all the world looks like a still!
Grimey Drawer

bgreman posted:

Think 10th Generation Siri more than anything.

In the future, we will have their own little personal AI assistants to make up for our crippling humanity. At least those that don't forsake their meat and brains for metal bodies and mercassium data stacks. :v:

(Say, out of curiosity, have you heard of or played Eclipse Phase, bgreman?)

Friar John
Aug 3, 2007

Saint Francis be my speed! how oft to-night
Have my old feet stumbled at graves!

UN troops on Mars keep an eye on the horizon for any BFM attack.
"...The atmosphere here on Mars is tense, there can be no denying it. First Minister Arujei is a common sight, in the company of both UN and the refugee Federation citizens. UN citizens expect an attack at any moment, despite the proclamations made by the BFM, and wonder if help will arrive in time. As fast as TNE ships can go, for everyone here space suddenly feels vast again, and Earth far, far away. This is Leslie Washington, reporting from Newtown, Mars for AP."

FROM: First Minister Arujei
TO: Military fellows
RE: Stragglers
I know I asked this before, but please tell me you made drat sure those refugees don't have anything they could use to blow us up. I do NOT want those damned BFM fucks to use our generosity against us.
If you can, round up all the Fed engineers we've got and debrief them. Anything we can get from them about the BFM, usual tactics or communication bands, &c, will only help us keep everyone safe until the cavalry arrives.

Jimmy4400nav
Apr 1, 2011

Ambassador to Moonlandia

bgreman posted:

Think 10th Generation Siri more than anything.

"Siri, please tell me how to get to the market."

"I'm sorry Dave, but I'm afraid I can't let you do that..."

"Wha!?!"

"You're credit balance is low, perhaps you'd like to go to the bank first to replenish your funds?"

TildeATH
Oct 21, 2010

by Lowtax

bgreman posted:

Think 10th Generation Siri more than anything.

Isn't Siri just a second-generation Paper Clip, so does that mean...



"It looks like you're trying to Initiate an Orbital Bombardment"

Ceebees
Nov 2, 2011

I'm intentionally being as verbose as possible in negotiations for my own amusement.

TildeATH posted:

Isn't Siri just a second-generation Paper Clip, so does that mean...



"It looks like you're trying to Initiate an Orbital Bombardment"

Oh good, we're safe. They'll just drop their fuel tanks into Valles Marineris or something.

TildeATH
Oct 21, 2010

by Lowtax

Dr. Snark
Oct 15, 2012

I'M SORRY, OK!? I admit I've made some mistakes, and Jones has clearly paid for them.
...
But ma'am! Jones' only crime was looking at the wrong files!
...
I beg of you, don't ship away Jones, he has a wife and kids!

-United Nations Intelligence Service

TildeATH, I don't know how you made that, but that BSOD screen is beautiful. bgreman, would that count as fan art? Seems like it would make a nice addition to the front page.

Edit: I can imagine the conversation now:

"Uh, sir...our ship's computer has BSODed."
"What? HOW? WE DON'T EVEN USE WINDOWS!"
"Sir, the screen's asking me to confess any sabotage that I did...does this count?"
"AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!"

Dr. Snark fucked around with this message at 05:51 on Feb 6, 2013

bgreman
Oct 8, 2005

ASK ME ABOUT STICKING WITH A YEARS-LONG LETS PLAY OF THE MOST COMPLICATED SPACE SIMULATION GAME INVENTED, PLAYING BOTH SIDES, AND SPENDING HOURS GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND TO ENSURE INTERNET STRANGERS ENJOY THEMSELVES
I've been keeping all the images posted in a folder alongside the other LP auxiliary files. I plan to create a hosted gallery eventually.

This new trend of appropriate narrative imagery is bomb, I'm saving those, too.

Scribbleykins posted:

(Say, out of curiosity, have you heard of or played Eclipse Phase, bgreman?)

I haven't; what is it?

Robinson's Mars Trilogy is probably my favorite sci-fi setting. Everything seems very (pardon the expression) down to Earth. Robinson establishes the credibility of his narrative very early, so you are never left agog at the improbability of it all. This allows him to set a very human story in a fantastic setting, yet have everything seem very real.

I've been trying to emulate that here. I'm no author, but I feel like the story I am telling needs to have a well-grounded background. Additionally, Aurora itself, absent the player's own narrative, can be quite dull. This is why I have latched on to expanding the "fluff" to a great extent.

Another inspiration is the 80s view of the future of humanity in space, the kind you'd see in books about the current space program and upcoming developments. There is an optimism about our place in the universe, but also a very workmanlike attitude. The ships aren't graceful and lithe. They are boxy and pragmatic. They look like machines built to operate in space. (Sadly, the manner in which I choose to interpret the ship movement mechanic in this game means the ships ARE streamlined, after a fashion).

bgreman fucked around with this message at 06:12 on Feb 6, 2013

Jimmy4400nav
Apr 1, 2011

Ambassador to Moonlandia

bgreman posted:

I've been keeping all the images posted in a folder alongside the other LP auxiliary files. I plan to create a hosted gallery eventually.

This new trend of appropriate narrative imagery is bomb, I'm saving those, too.

Just to double check, that picture of the guys in power armor wasn't too outside the narrative was it? I just want to make sure any pictures I find can fit with a general theme.

bgreman
Oct 8, 2005

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Jimmy4400nav posted:

Just to double check, that picture of the guys in power armor wasn't too outside the narrative was it? I just want to make sure any pictures I find can fit with a general theme.

TN mobile infantry is equipped with light powered armor. Your image was appropriate. A heavier, exoskeleton-like about would be more appropriate for one of the heavier TN units.

berryjon
May 30, 2011

I have an invasion to go to.
FROM: The Desk of Lt. General berryjon
TO: The Desk of Lt. General berryjon
RE: Speech

Hey, remember, me, to give this as we begin to land. A good thing to raise morale, you know? Here's the current draft, sent to ourself, so we can pull it up from the UNSpacy network in the future.

Or so someone else can if we all die horribly.

I still think it needs work, but that's what improvisation is for.

Anyways:

Hello all. I am your Commanding Officer, Lt. General Berryjon. Before this day, that title meant very little. But today, I must earn it as your leader. While the politicians had the 79th deployed as a show-the-flag force before, the current events on Mars have forced us to do what I had honestly hoped would never be done.

We must be prepared to fire on our fellow man.

I say this with a heavy heart, but our antagonist in our deployment, the Brotherhood for Free Mars has proven that they are not willing to speak as equals with anyone, even though our masters have offered to treat with them as such. The battles fought between them and the Federation are more examples of how they resorted to violence to achieve their goals, and how they now view violence as the only surefire means to attain their future desires.

But men, Mars cannot be free under these people.

They have chosen to live by the sword, and it is now our duty to act as a shield against them. Our orders are simple. We are to land and deploy to protect everyone – be they United Nations, Federation, or Martian – who seeks shelter. We must draw no line to say that you or you cannot pass for you are not like us; no, we are better than that.

We must be. For there is no alternative.

No.

There is.

The alternative is worse. The alternative is most assuredly worse, for it is the gravest sin we could commit.

We would chose the easy road to victory.

A quote from before the discovery of the Elements that allow us to be in this place. A quote I hold dear to my heart because it shows us the guiding principle under which I hold myself, and all people under my command. It is thus;

quote:

"You think you're powerful, don't you? Your every movement, every expression, every thought a testament to your obsession with your own strength. Any chance for a fight you will take, and when one comes across you, you will do whatever you can to win. You are utterly unrestrained by anything, save the limits of the power you hold so dear. You laugh at every blow you inflict on your foe, he who holds back, because he wasn't willing to do what it took. You revel in the apocalyptic ruin you leave everywhere you go as proof that your power is real. You believe that your unleashed might is nothing less than the pinnacle of your greatness, the culmination of might itself, a shining symbol for all the world to see.

All I see is weakness. Why, if you are so mighty, would you feel the need to prove it?

You have no idea the strength it takes to fight like a hero, to have to consider your every move in every way, lest you should hurt those you are sworn to save. To need to watch not just your foe, but anyone fool enough to get between you and him. To hold back on each and every strike, to use only that power which must be used. To think, each and every time someone dies who you could have saved, whether this will be the death she cannot forgive. Where your heedlessness of life turns mountains into molehills, my oath turns molehills into mountains. Where you effortlessly push past your every opponent as though they were nothing, I must use every last shard of power and intellect at my command to even hope to overcome. I would have it no other way, for every time I must take the hard road for my love it makes me all the greater."

We must be more powerful than our foes this day. We must be greater than them. For it is only through that, that we may save them from themselves.

Your Captains have their orders. Follow them, and we will be mighty.”

Dr. Snark
Oct 15, 2012

I'M SORRY, OK!? I admit I've made some mistakes, and Jones has clearly paid for them.
...
But ma'am! Jones' only crime was looking at the wrong files!
...
I beg of you, don't ship away Jones, he has a wife and kids!

-United Nations Intelligence Service

Inspiring stuff, berryjon. Out of curiosity, where did that quote you use come from? I feel like I've seen something like that before, but I don't know where from.

Coolguye
Jul 6, 2011

Required by his programming!

bgreman posted:

Robinson's Mars Trilogy is probably my favorite sci-fi setting. Everything seems very (pardon the expression) down to Earth. Robinson establishes the credibility of his narrative very early, so you are never left agog at the improbability of it all. This allows him to set a very human story in a fantastic setting, yet have everything seem very real.
I had gotten that same vibe from it. Though I can't say I miss characters like Maya and Hiroko.

bgreman
Oct 8, 2005

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Coolguye posted:

I had gotten that same vibe from it. Though I can't say I miss characters like Maya and Hiroko.

It is remarkable the extent to which the UN in this story resembles the UN in that one. ;)

I could talk about Robinson as an author all the day long, but I'll defer. :swoon:

Ceebees
Nov 2, 2011

I'm intentionally being as verbose as possible in negotiations for my own amusement.

bgreman posted:


I haven't; what is it?

Sci-fi RPG. The article on TN computing hits almost exactly the same notes as EP does in terms of wearable computing, AR / life recording, and helper AIs in your wearable computing - just replacing NANOMACHINES with TRANS-NEWTONIAN ELEMENTS.

For instance, their term for your UIA's is a "Muse", which i do find to roll somewhat easier off the tongue.

bgreman
Oct 8, 2005

ASK ME ABOUT STICKING WITH A YEARS-LONG LETS PLAY OF THE MOST COMPLICATED SPACE SIMULATION GAME INVENTED, PLAYING BOTH SIDES, AND SPENDING HOURS GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND TO ENSURE INTERNET STRANGERS ENJOY THEMSELVES

Dr. Snark posted:

If this is true, then we need a way to get Fred's fleet out of attack range. Having them hovering right above our forces is simply too great of a risk for us.

From: UNIN Intel Office
To: CMDR Prof. Snark
Re: Fed Fleet in Mars orbit


All this time they've been based at Deimos, which is only 23,000km from Mars. This is only slightly outside the range of our own Ghostbuster meson cannons.

Hostergaard posted:


Bgreman

I have been having a look at my performance in game, is it correct that I now have the highest Fleet Movement Initiative Rating in the entire UN fleet? At 370 I think? Please be true:pray:

Yours is third highest, after CAPT Pakled (456) and CMDR Astus (380).

Sad King Billy posted:

Bgreman
I know that we can't task force train whilst we are in transit to Mars but is there anyway to show that my squadron has been training for certain scenarios? I expect we could be called upon to lend ground support or be involved in bloackade duty

I can certainly incorporate it into the narrative, but gameplay-wise there will be no effect. If we were playing a newer version I could edit the morale of your crews.

Ceebees posted:

Sci-fi RPG. The article on TN computing hits almost exactly the same notes as EP does in terms of wearable computing, AR / life recording, and helper AIs in your wearable computing - just replacing NANOMACHINES with TRANS-NEWTONIAN ELEMENTS.

For instance, their term for your UIA's is a "Muse", which i do find to roll somewhat easier off the tongue.

A lot of the computing stuff comes from a combination of Tad Williams's Otherland and Peter F. Hamilton's Night's Dawn trilogy, particularly the latter, where everyone has nerual implants that hook them directly into the Net and lets them save and retrieve "files" (thoughts, ideas, facts, etc) into nanoscale machines integrated into their brains. Computing in this universe isn't quite there, but there are already investigations in that direction.

As for what to call the Agents in this universe, most people don't call them anything. They give them names and refer to them that way, even to other people. (It should be noted that sophisticated AIs of this nature are still very expensive and only affordable by the elite or important).

bgreman fucked around with this message at 07:08 on Feb 6, 2013

Dr. Snark
Oct 15, 2012

I'M SORRY, OK!? I admit I've made some mistakes, and Jones has clearly paid for them.
...
But ma'am! Jones' only crime was looking at the wrong files!
...
I beg of you, don't ship away Jones, he has a wife and kids!

-United Nations Intelligence Service

Wait a minute...I've had an AI that can rapidly call up information at a moment's notice, AND NO ONE EVER TOLD ME ABOUT IT!?

In all seriousness, though, would it be possible for us to each have our own AI friend? Not that it really matters, per se, but it would let us add a neat bit of flavor to our charaters. Assuming we're all important enough to have them.


bgreman posted:

From: UNIN Intel Office
To: CMDR Prof. Snark
Re: Fed Fleet in Mars orbit


All this time they've been based at Deimos, which is only 23,000km from Mars. This is only slightly outside the range of our own Ghostbuster meson cannons.

I think that still qualifies as "hovering right above us," in this case. That doesn't make me feel any better about the situation. At all.

berryjon
May 30, 2011

I have an invasion to go to.

Dr. Snark posted:

Inspiring stuff, berryjon. Out of curiosity, where did that quote you use come from? I feel like I've seen something like that before, but I don't know where from.

The quote itself comes from the Board That Shall Not Be Named, oddly enough.

FROM: The Desk of Lt. General berryjon
TO: UN Public Realtions, Martian Administrator Arujei
RE: Publicity

How much public access and photo-taking should I allow? The articles that the Administrator is forwarding are quite impressive, and I hope we can put on a good face for the same.

bgreman
Oct 8, 2005

ASK ME ABOUT STICKING WITH A YEARS-LONG LETS PLAY OF THE MOST COMPLICATED SPACE SIMULATION GAME INVENTED, PLAYING BOTH SIDES, AND SPENDING HOURS GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND TO ENSURE INTERNET STRANGERS ENJOY THEMSELVES
Terraforming



This is the Environment / GMC tab of the Population and Production window. The top two thirds allows you to control terraformers present at the selected population. The bottom third is for controlling genetic modification centers. I will cover its function if you ever build one.



The Atmospheric Terraforming pane is where you control what exactly you are doing with the terraformer. Terraforming Installations displays how many terraformers are present at the colony, while Annual Production shows the total amount of gas that can be added to or removed from the atmosphere in a year. This value is modified by the Terraforming skill of the governor of the colony. Terraforming "installations" provided by ship-based terraforming modules also show up here, and their output is modified by the terraforming skill of the SO of their task group.

Selected Gas is the gas to be added or removed from the colony's atmosphere. Add Gas to Atmosphere, when checked, makes the terraformer add gas to the atmosphere, up to the limit set in Maximum Atm. If unchecked, the terraformer will remove the selected gas, down to the value in Maximum Atm Save Atm sets the terraformer to execute the orders specified by the first three controls. SM Set Atm immediately sets the atmosphere to contain the amount of selected gas listed in Maximum Atm.

Atmospheric Gases
  • Hydrogen (poisonous 2)
  • Helium
  • Methane (poisonous to non-methane breathers 2, greenhouse)
  • Ammonia (poisonous 2)
  • Water (vapor)
  • Neon (inert)
  • Nitrogen (inert)
  • Carbon Monoxide (poisonous 2)
  • Nitrogen Oxide (poisonous 2)
  • Oxygen
  • Hydrogen Sulphide (poisonous 2)
  • Argon (inert)
  • Carbon Dioxide (greenhouse)
  • Nitrogen Dioxide (poisonous 2, greenhouse)
  • Sulphur Dioxide (poisonous 2, greenhouse)
  • Chlorine (poisonous 3)
  • Fluorine (poisonous 3)
  • Bromine (poisonous 3)
  • Iodine (poisonous 2)
  • Safe Greenhouse gas (greenhouse)
  • Anti-greenhouse gas (anti-greenhouse)

These are all the gases that might make up an atmosphere in Aurora (obviously the last two do not exist in nature). The annotations after each gas will be explained in the next section.

Atmospheric Data


The Atmospheric Data pane contains information about the current state of the atmosphere of the selected colony.

The box on the left displays the component gases of the atmosphere, along with their relative abundance and absolute amount. The total atmospheric pressure is listed at the bottom of the box.

The textboxes in the center of the pane list the physical parameters of the body. The Base Temperature (Celsius and Kelvin) is a fundamental aspect of the body, and cannot be changed (other than by editing the database). It reflects the body's distance from the sun and composition. Surface Temperature (Celsius and Kelvin) reflects how warm it is, on average, on the body's surface, due to the effects of the atmosphere.

Greenhouse Pressure is the sum of the partial pressures of all gases in the atmosphere that have the "greenhouse" descriptor above. This represents gases that can trap infrared radiation and thus keep the planet insulated. Anti-GH Pressure is how much anti-greenhouse gas is in the atmosphere and directly counteracts greenhouse warming. Greenhouse Factor is a measure of how much warming the body undergoes based on both the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and the thickness of the atmosphere itself. Planetary Albedo is a measure of how "reflective" the body's surface is (and thus how much energy it radiates back into space. A value of 0 is perfectly reflective, while a value of 1 is normally absorbing. Albedo is a base value of the body that cannot be changed (except by modifying the database), though it also incorporates the hydrosphere (if any) of the body, so if a frozen body is warmed to the point that its shiny ice sheet melts, the albedo may increase, speeding up further warming efforts. (Information about the hydrosphere of a body can be found in the F9 System Generation and Display window, which will be covered in a later update).

Calculating Surface Temperature


The bottom of the terraforming pane lists the formula by which the surface temperature is determined. The base temperature (K), greenhouse factor, and albedo are multiplied together to give the surface temperature in Kelvin. Thus, to warm a planet, the greenhouse factor must be increased. (Albedo changes can give a one time increase in temperature as noted above).

To determine the greenhouse factor, the total atmospheric pressure is divided by ten (to represent the total insulating effect of a thick atmosphere), the greenhouse pressure (sum of partial pressure of all greenhouse gases) is added, and this result is added to 1 (which represents a baseline greenhouse factor).

Note, however, that the greenhouse factor cannot be higher than 3. In effect, this limits the maximum surface temperature of a body to its base temperature x 3 (plus any additional modifier from albedo changes), but x3 is a good rule of thumb). In effect, this limits the amount of greenhouse gas that can be added while still having an effect. To see this, imagine a planet with no atmosphere at all, and then begin adding greenhouse gas. The max will be reached when:

Max Greenhouse Factor = 1 + (Atmospheric Pressure / 10) + Greenhouse Pressure. Max Greenhouse Factor = 3, and in this case Atmospheric Pressure = Greenhouse Pressure, so

3 = 1 + Greenhouse Pressure / 10 + Greenhouse Pressure, or 2 = 1.1 * Greenhouse Pressure. This means the maximum useful greenhouse partial pressure is 2 / 1.1 = 1.818 atm. Beyond this amount, no further greenhouse action will take place.

Colony Cost


This portion of the System Generation and Display window (F9) displays the colony cost factors for the selected body (the full F9 window will be covered in a future update).

As previously discussed, colony cost attempts to abstract how difficult a world is to colonize. The colony cost * 100 gives the number of units of infrastructure required to support 1 million colonists.

The colony cost factors are as follows (the colony cost of a body is the greatest of any of the values listed below):

  • Acceptable Gravity: Whether the body's surface gravity is in the range tolerated by your species. If the surface gravity is outside this range, the body is completely uninhabitable (which seems weird, in a universe in which the premise is TNEs mask the mass of ships and allow them to be moved efficiently by small engines).
  • Water Available: Whether or not there is water in the hydrosphere of the body. This has no effect on colony cost, but is included here for roleplaying reasons, presumably.
  • Atmospheric Pressure Factor: Contributes to the colony cost if the pressure of the body's atmosphere is greater than that tolerated by the species. It is calculated by dividing the body's atmospheric pressure by the maximum tolerated pressure of the species in question, with a minimum of 2.0.
  • Temperature Cost Factor: Contributes to the colony cost if the surface temperature is outside the range tolerated by the species. The value is calculated as |Temperature Difference / Species Temperature Deviation|. For humans, the ideal temperature is 14C, and the deviation is 24C, for a range of -10C to 38C. For Titan, the surface temperature is -178C. So the difference is -178C - -10C (the nearest suitable temperature) / 24C = 7.0.
  • Breathable Atmosphere: If the atmosphere is not breathable, the colony cost is automatically at least 2.0, to represent the need for all humans not in environment-controlled buildings to wear self-contained breathing apparatuses. An atmosphere is considered breathable if it has no poisonous gases in it and the oxygen (or methane) content is within the limits of the species, and the relative abundance of oxygen (or, presumably, methane, though I'm not sure the game actually accounts for this) is less than 30%. (I nitpick here and note that breathing oxygen at high concentrations is fine as long as the partial pressure is kept low, and this factor is already accounted for by the maximum oxygen limit the species has. Oh well).
  • Dangerous Atmosphere: This value will be either 2.0 or 3.0 depending on whether any of the gases with the "poisonous" descriptor above are present (with the exact value determined by which number follows 'poisonous' in the descriptors above. Halogens are the most poisonous). There is either a minimum partial pressure or a minimum concentration of gas that causes this flag to trip, but I'm not sure which it is, and what the value is regardless. It is small though, so even a few weeks of errant terraforming can poison an atmosphere.

bgreman fucked around with this message at 16:46 on Feb 7, 2013

yinette
Dec 8, 2012

bgreman posted:

Another milieu article up, thanks to yinette for having me think about this one.

TN Computing

Thanks for answering my question, this was a fantastic read!

Scribbleykins
Apr 29, 2010

Any scientist with the right background can brew his own booze.

...

What do you mean electrolytes aren't used for brewing booze? That's silly!

...

Well when all you have are chunks of TNE and an overly large water ration, all the world looks like a still!
Grimey Drawer

Ceebees posted:

Sci-fi RPG. The article on TN computing hits almost exactly the same notes as EP does in terms of wearable computing, AR / life recording, and helper AIs in your wearable computing - just replacing NANOMACHINES with TRANS-NEWTONIAN ELEMENTS.

For instance, their term for your UIA's is a "Muse", which i do find to roll somewhat easier off the tongue.

This exactly.

Also, to elaborate a little; Eclipse Phase is a 'role-playing game of post-apocalyptic transhuman conspiracy and horror'; not quite the mood of the game we've been running so far (more like what might come after/if we screw up royally), but touching base more than enough to make me wonder whether it'd played any part in your inspiration for this thread. Now it seems that Eclipse Phase is simply drawing on some of the same thoughts and source material on how the future might look as you are.

I've actually been following the crew of Role-Playing Public Radio's Actual Play podcasts of their own original Eclipse Phase campaign "Know Evil" and so far that has been an immensely enjoyable trip. The GM is downright excellent and the players are witty, so I can recommend it if you have the spare time during your work commute, or whatever.

I also highly recommend giving the Eclipse Phase home page a look, particularly the 'Resources' section (which links to some of its inspirations), to get a feel of the game if you're into sci-fi RPGs, because it's one of the best such that I've come across. And if that doesn't sound enticing enough, why not get some of the books for a look yourself? For free. One of the more interesting things about Eclipse Phase is that it's been entirely licensed under Creative Commons, Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike; which I imagine took some guts by its creators, but has made me completely adore them.

Innocent_Bystander
May 17, 2012

Wait, missile production is my responsibility?

Oh.
Incidentally, sci-fi nerd high-five over basing stuff on Robinson and Hamilton. You should look into Charles Stross while you're at it.

Jimmy4400nav
Apr 1, 2011

Ambassador to Moonlandia


About a week ago, I was embedded with the 79th Mobile Infantry. Initially I was just supposed to cover their training exercises and create an article about new ways Trans Newtonian Elements have changed ground war. This picture was taken as my camera man and I approached the Lictor, one of two Lictor class transports currently used by the U.N to move soldiers around the solar system. While capable of landing on a planet, the transport primarily utilizes a series of small shuttles to move troops back and forth from an orbital body.

We were just setting out when the news of the Brotherhood's attack on Mars began, and for several days, as we set out towards Callisto we were fen new information and news about how the Federation was slowly being pushed back, and how the Brotherhood was taking settlement after settlement. We got the call on the sixth, that the battalion was being diverted to Mars to secure U.N holdings on the planet, and to defend as many independent settlements as possible.

When the news about the fall of Lockyer Crater came in on the ninth, I remember the erriy silence that fell over this ship. The men went about their training with the professionalism that they retained earlier, yet things were a lot more subdued.

Then General Berryjon gave his speech



There weren't a lot of people assembled, it was piped through the ship's intercom. The general didn't feel like disrupting training by forcing an assembly. It was a short, but eloquent speech. The general didn't pull any punches, he wanted to remind his men what they were fighting for and that as soldiers they were to conduct themselves as such. The general declined an interview, saying he wanted to focus on the task at hand and finish the planing for the landings.



Despite the general's speech, there was an undercurrent of excitement among some of the junior soldiers. Many of them are young bucks, people who are too young to remember the fighting in Syria. Growing up on the stories of war of old and the science fiction stories that erupted following the discovery of TNE's. This group is part of first company, they'll be the first boots on the ground when we arrive at Mars in a week. There's a lot of joking amongst the men, a lot of bravado. One soldier keeps taking about how he'll bring home a rebel re-breather to show his younger brother. They're from all walks of life, from different nations. This squad's composition I learned was two Frenchmen, a German, a Brazilian, a Brit, two Americans and a South African. Six nations represented by this one little squad, with a dozen more nations represented in the other squads that filled this hanger. Yet despite coming from different backgrounds, all these men were here, gathered together and working together like a band of brothers to prepare for the first U.N military action in almost two decades.

bgreman
Oct 8, 2005

ASK ME ABOUT STICKING WITH A YEARS-LONG LETS PLAY OF THE MOST COMPLICATED SPACE SIMULATION GAME INVENTED, PLAYING BOTH SIDES, AND SPENDING HOURS GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND TO ENSURE INTERNET STRANGERS ENJOY THEMSELVES

Scribbleykins posted:

Eclipse Phase stuff

I'll have to check this out. I'll caution however that the LP won't be heading toward transhumanism anytime soon, or at least not the extreme interpretations of it.

Innocent_Bystander posted:

Incidentally, sci-fi nerd high-five over basing stuff on Robinson and Hamilton. You should look into Charles Stross while you're at it.

I just threw all his stuff on my Kindle. I'll be taking a trip to California this weekend; do you have any suggestions on what to read first?


Jimmy4400nav posted:

More sweet images.

While I definitely encourage the posting of images, including ship art, be aware that I may retcon the appearance of ships. I've got an artist working on some designs right now, so we'll see how that goes. Your infantry images are great though!

Jimmy4400nav
Apr 1, 2011

Ambassador to Moonlandia

bgreman posted:

While I definitely encourage the posting of images, including ship art, be aware that I may retcon the appearance of ships. I've got an artist working on some designs right now, so we'll see how that goes. Your infantry images are great though!

You've got a guy on ship art? Nice, No problem with the retcons if and when they come around, I'm just gald you like the pictures I've found.

Innocent_Bystander
May 17, 2012

Wait, missile production is my responsibility?

Oh.
Having a consistant style for our spaceboats would be very nice indeed. I haven't worked my way entirely through Stross' works yet, but if you want interesting hard sf look into glasshouse and singularity sky. His really big series, are aplit between secret-service-against-cthulhu (The Laundry novels, starting with Atrocity Archives) and a rather hard to shove into a genre series about political intrigue and fratricide surrounding a family capable of hopping between this world and a medieval one (Merchant Princes series starting with The Family Trade). I can reccommend all of them in roughly equal amounts, though they're all pretty different from each other.

Also, you used the wrong screenshot in the Atmospheric Data paragraph, just saying.

Innocent_Bystander fucked around with this message at 10:56 on Feb 7, 2013

Ceebees
Nov 2, 2011

I'm intentionally being as verbose as possible in negotiations for my own amusement.
Just to be sure, we do have a cruiser squadron near Mars, yes? I hate to make work, but a quick report on our warship concentrations versus theirs known would be appreciated - i'd like to know what leverage i actually have before i lean on it. Also, uh... can our MI Battalion actually, you know, take on the BFM troops?

Attn: UNEC
To air the position i plan to take with the diplomatic reply - Orbital bombardment is unacceptable, and we were basically planning to do what they're asking us to do anyway; but at the same time, immediate capitulation would be unseemly.


And also, completely off thread and venturing to the point where i should just go back to TBB - Stross' series are all very different tone from each other - if one doesn't catch your fancy, bounce to another. I spent 300 pages waiting in vain for SS to actually start, but found the Laundry Files to be an grand old time.
As to Eclipse Phase, those books you mention are probably where they nicked the idea from in the first place! EP's 'inspiration and references' page is basically a who's who of the last 20 years of sci-fi, transhumanism, and existential horror, plus Zardoz.

Innocent_Bystander
May 17, 2012

Wait, missile production is my responsibility?

Oh.
The Inner Ring detachment of CruRon2 will arrive at mars on the 26th, followed by the outer ring detachment about three weeks later. I might be off by a day, but the difference is almost academic at this point. Long story short, two weeks until we have guns in orbit. I don't think this is enough for you to lean on, Ceebees, but they can't go any faster.

EDIT: We do have a cruiser squadron at Earth, which has standing orders to reveal themselves to feddie sensors if they don't back off at Mars, but I'd really rather it didn't come to that.

Innocent_Bystander fucked around with this message at 13:59 on Feb 7, 2013

TLM3101
Sep 8, 2010



One (green, entirely untested and incompetently led) ship at least stands ready to rain death onto the Feds at your orders. :colbert:

((Also, amusingly enough, I just noticed today that my spacemans is, in fact, a spacewomans. Not that I'm going to play her differently. Speaking of which... bgreman, would it be possible to get an updated snapshot of my gender-swapped space-y self in the next update? :v: ))

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bgreman
Oct 8, 2005

ASK ME ABOUT STICKING WITH A YEARS-LONG LETS PLAY OF THE MOST COMPLICATED SPACE SIMULATION GAME INVENTED, PLAYING BOTH SIDES, AND SPENDING HOURS GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND TO ENSURE INTERNET STRANGERS ENJOY THEMSELVES

Innocent_Bystander posted:

Having a consistant style for our spaceboats would be very nice indeed. I haven't worked my way entirely through Stross' works yet, but if you want interesting hard sf look into glasshouse and singularity sky. His really big series, are aplit between secret-service-against-cthulhu (The Laundry novels, starting with Atrocity Archives) and a rather hard to shove into a genre series about political intrigue and fratricide surrounding a family capable of hopping between this world and a medieval one (Merchant Princes series starting with The Family Trade). I can reccommend all of them in roughly equal amounts, though they're all pretty different from each other.

Also, you used the wrong screenshot in the Atmospheric Data paragraph, just saying.

Thanks for the tips on Stross, I think I'll start with Accelerando, the description seems pretty neat.

I also fixed the screenshot issue, thanks for pointing it out.

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