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 Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri was a 1999 release by Firaxis Games, the first release by Firaxis to continue the legacy of the earlier 4Xs (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate) Civilization 1 and Civilization 2, which had been released by Sid Meier's earlier company, Microprose. In it, the United Nations colonial mission to Alpha Centauri catastrophically fragments, leaving factions under charismatic leaders to struggle over their new world. As Cryopod 5 of the starship Unity makes Planetfall, however, those people who chose to follow Nwabudike Morgan to the surface have their hands full with simple survival... Spoiler Policy To maintain the sense of discovery on a new world, please do not discuss elements of the game I have not yet introduced. Voting Policy Please limit yourself to one vote per vote I request, and put your vote in bold so I can easily tally votes. Non-bolded votes will be ignored. Free Market voting: With a Free Market, private spending by consumers and firms drives many investment decisions even further. Each update, everybody (including myself, as the LPer) gets four votes to spend on research priorities and 10 votes to spend on energy allocation priorities. Research priority votes are to be divided amongst Explore (planetary sciences and population growth), Build (infrastructural and economic development), Discover (pure science), and Conquer (military applications). Energy allocation votes are to be divided between Economy (cash income), Labs (research), and Psych (luxuries and quality of life). Your votes for Economy and Labs may not diverge by more than 1, and your votes for Psych should be some value between 1 and 4. Based on situation, other votes related to a Free Market economy may be initiated. Every twenty years, voting between Values can be done. Each voter may cast one vote for any choice of Survival, Knowledge, or Wealth (if available). Democratic voting: With Democratic politics, the population now can vote for candidates for Colony Executive to execute security and diplomatic policy. The current extant parties are the Republic Security Party, North Pholus Commerce Party, and Party for Planet. Political Participation Policy As the game develops, I will eventually introduce the opportunity for readers to introduce political parties, commercial enterprises, politicians, or business leaders. If you wish to introduce such an element to the game, please give leaders actual names and keep the names of organisations within a reasonably realistic and serious tone, so that I will be more likely to approve them to have a place within the setting. Updates 2101-Planetfall 2101-2110-Setting Down Roots 2111-2120-Lovelace Machines 2121-2130-The Stepdaughters of Gaia 2131-2140-What Is Your Profession? 2141-2150-The Market Unchained 2151-2160-Serpents in the Garden of Delights 2161-2170-Self-Evident Truths 2171-2180-Davey Jones' Locker 2181-2190-The Breaking of the Peace 2191-2200-One Hundred Years on Chiron 2201-2210-The Military and the Industrial 2211-2220-The Turning Point 2221-2230-The Droids We're Looking For 2231-2240-Artillery Games 2241-2250-The Breaking of Gaian Might 2251-2260-The Peace Restored 2261-2270-The Stirrings of an Alien God 2271-2280-An Age of Glorious Gold 2281-2290-The Great Silence 2291-2300-The Planetary Council Convenes 2301-2310-The Rigors of War 2311-2320-The Liberation 2321-2330-The Global Trade Pact 2331-2340-Mammon 2341-2350-First and Final Causes of Creation 2351-2400-The World, Renewed Supplemental Material 2101-The Acting Cryopod Captains 2101-Marcus Li-Planetfall Log 2101-Harvey Davidson-Thoughts Presented To the IDC 2101-R. Tiberius-Rat Patrol 2101-Dr. Hal Kimberley-Initial Xenobiology 2101-AJ Kusisitiza-Societal Triage 2102-R. Tiberius-The Monolith 2106-Ezekiel Carson-Training Recommendations 2106-Harvey Davidson-LISP and Aliens 2107-Dr. M. N. Gott-Exotic Mechanisms 2107-Dr. Hal Kimberley-Exotic Mechanisms 2106-2109-Dr. Hal Kimberley-Worms and Doctor Skye 2109-Asa 'Roze' Wright-Colonial Network Status 2109-Ezekiel Carson-Security Assessment 2109-Marcus Li-Early Logs and Foundation of Talon 2109-Ezekiel Carson-Foundation of Talon 2110-Nwabudike Morgan-Economic Report on Pod 5 Colony 2110-Hubertus Grünfeld-Tellus Colony Proposal 2110-Nwabudike Morgan-Tellus Colony Proposal 2110-Dr. Pavel Zhilin-Personal Logs and Correspondence to Dr. Kimberley 2110-Dr. Joseph Gartner-Study of Worm Reactions 2110-Dr. Hal Kimberley-Tellus Proposal and Relative Threats of Alien Life 2110-Dr. Pavel Zhilin-Fantastically Unproductive Years 2112-Harvey Davidson-An Entire Megabyte of RAM 2114-Marcus Li-Recon and Command 2117-Fred M. Sloniker-Dreamland Games Ad 2118-Dr. Hal Kimberley-The Function of Mind Worms and of Psionic Attacks 2118-Nwabudike Morgan-Model of the Human Consciousness 2118-Dr. Hal Kimberley-Surrounded By Idiots 2118-Nwabudike Morgan-Safe For Human Habitation 2120-Intercity Rail Link Ad 2120-Dr. Joseph Gartner- Potential of a Human Genome Project 2120-Ezekiel Carson-Boonie Hat Wearing Goons 2120-Dr. M. N. Gott-Not Natural 2120-Marcus Li-Better Weapons 2120-Dr. M. N. Gott-Unfounded Assumptions 2120-Marcus Li-Fungus Poking 2120-Dr. M. N. Gott-Like Some Sort of Space Marine 2120-Dakarai Kaapanda-Gall 2120-Fred M. Sloniker-The Hero Dreamland Needs 2120-Harvey Davidson-No Hard Feelings 2120-Pavel Zhilin-Rat Patrol Wasn't Attacked By The Worms nweismuller fucked around with this message at 18:09 on May 31, 2016 |
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Jan 18, 2015 20:12
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Planetfall In 2060, the United Nations Starship Unity was launched from Earth, which had been increasingly gripped by violence, economic disruptions, and social collapse over the past decades. The collapse of the United States of America as a functional superpower led to an increase in piracy and small-scale wars worldwide, and at least one minor nuclear exchange had cost millions of lives in the years leading up to the construction of the Unity.  The Unity's construction was originally undertaken by the Russian Federation, but the complete collapse of the Russian economy led to their efforts being abandoned before the ship was even a quarter finished. With the Russians unable to finish construction, the remainder of the task was taken up by Morgan Industries, the personal company of Nwabudike Morgan, a self-made industrialist originally from Namibia. With the dangers of the Earth growing more and more apparent, Nwabudike Morgan used his role in the construction of the Unity to ensure that he had a place amongst the colonists headed for a new world around Alpha Centauri. Long-range observation had confirmed a world that almost certainly had its own biosphere within the 'sweet spot' allowing liquid water around Alpha Centauri, and the Unity's mission was to establish a new colony under a United Nations charter on the new world.  As the Unity approached Alpha Centauri and the new planet, Chiron, disaster struck the Unity mission repeatedly. Micrometeorite impact breached Cryopod 3 and the main reactor, killing all the colonists on Cryopod 3 and threatening to prevent the Unity from completing its deceleration burn to make orbit around Chiron. Only heroic effort by the ship's engineering staff, led by the mission's Chief of Sciences, Prokhor Zakharov, was able to restore enough functionality to the Unity to allow it to reach Chiron at all. Shortly thereafter, it became clear that a band of paramilitary survivalists secretly led by the ship's Chief of Security, Corazon Santiago, had infiltrated into the crew, and engaged in forceful action to attempt to seize one of the cryopods for re-entry, along with a portion of the stores and supplies intended for the formation of the new colony. Growing tensions between the other ship's officers and Corazon's followers led to the early awakening of the colonists, and the crowding and hardships on the Unity as it made its final approach to Chiron were nearly intolerable. The original leader of the mission, Captain Garland, was hard-pressed to keep peace between his own officers. When he was assassinated, the last hope for the Unity mission to exist as a unified mission was lost. The remaining high mission officers, along with Morgan himself, reached a decision wherein each would take the position of acting captain of one of the remaining cryopods, which had also been designed as re-entry vehicles, splitting what resources of the Unity could be salvaged according to a negotiated settlement. Cryopod 5 was given over to Morgan and those who chose to follow him and his promises to work to build a society with wealth and comfort for all. According to the settlement, Cryopod 5 received the largest share of machine tools and industrial equipment of any of the pods, and Morgan's followers made planetfall in 2101 with the resources to build a functional, if simple, industrial base. Each settler on Crypod 5 has been granted shares of ownership in the resources salvaged from the Unity in the 'Crypod 5 Interim Development Corporation', until a functional society has been built and independent ventures have been formed from assets cashed out from the Interim Development Corporation.  As Cryopod 5 makes planetfall and the prefab shelters for the settlement around the cryopod are set up, the challenges of life on Chiron become apparent. Although Chiron has an oxygen-rich atmosphere, the atmospheric pressure is significantly higher than on Earth, and the greater pressure of nitrogen can induce rapid nitrogen narcosis in humans or animals outside of pressurised shelters and without pressurised breath masks. Environmental toxins in the local plant life make for significant health issues with humans, and local vegetation is totally unusable to support human life. At least Earth crops can survive in Chiron's soil and atmosphere. The thorium generator providing power to the settlement struggles with fuel supplies, and development of local mineral resources is difficult without effective geological surveys. Rolling brownouts grip the settlement, interrupting industrial and scientific work. Thick, nearly-impassible tubules of crimson 'xenofungus' choke off the land to the north and west, providing a barrier to work and exploitation- and people approaching the xenofungus report a strange, irrational sense of oppressive dread in its proximity. There are critical shortages of nearly every strategic material and foodstuff, and the settlement teeters on the edge of viability. At least the landing site appears to be near the radio beacons of several cargo pods jettisoned to the surface by the Unity in the desperate final hours aboard the dying ship, which may be able to be salvaged for desperately-needed materials. Xenofungus, visible as a reddish growth northwest of the settlement and as submerged shapes under the water, is extremely difficult to pass and prevents us from making use of the resources of the tile under it. The three pods scattered around us are cargo pods from the Unity, and may contain valuable resources for us.  The initial settlement is on the coast of the southernmost of Chiron's three major continents, Pholus. Although no detailed survey was possible before planetfall, the continents of Pholus, Hercules, and Chiron Minor were identified and named. Although a series of rocky ridges rich in metals has been identified south of the settlement, the critical need for food has instead led to much of the workforce to be diverted into working crude farms southeast of the settlement. Enough 7.62mm assault rifles were salvaged from the Unity's armory to outfit a small security force which could patrol and explore the region, and work has begun on manufacturing new rifles and body armor for a more formidable security force to secure the settlement against the potential hazards of native life or other human groups. Enough basic equipment to set up another settlement is still unused, and a significant number of settlers are in favor of setting out in the hopes of finding more hopeful lands. The three major resources in SMAC are nutrients, minerals, and energy. Nutrients are needed to support existing population and grow new population, minerals are used to build new items in settlements, and energy is split between 'Economy', 'Labs', and 'Psych'. Economy is used to support infrastructure and to stockpile as industrial materials to accelerate production, Labs is used to develop new technology, and Psych represents luxuries and personal consumption that makes life easier and more pleasant for the population. Each unit of population in a settlement can work one tile around the settlement, providing its resources to the settlement, along with the base output of the settlement tile itself. Base nutrients output is based on rainfall, which can be seen by how much green is in a tile- 'arid' tiles with no green have no base nutrient output, 'moist' tiles with some green have 1 base nutrient, and 'rainy' tiles with all green have 2 base nutrients. Minerals output is based on rockiness, with 'flat' tiles with no visible rocks producing no base mineral output and 'rolling' and 'rocky' tiles producing 1 base mineral. The blue outcroppings south of our settlement are rich mineral resources, adding 2 to the base mineral output of the tile. Energy, at the moment, is only produced in the settlement tile itself and along rivers. We have one unit of very basic scout infantry and a colony pod to establish a new settlement, and 111 'energy credits' representing stockpiled industrial materials and currency that can be used in industrial projects. The current emergency state of the colony leaves broad discretion to Morgan as acting captain of Pod 5 and as CEO of the Interim Development Corporation, but he hopes to see a more robust society with wider-based institutions develop as we address the challenges of Chiron. No formal voting process yet exists, but he nonetheless encourages citizens of the colony to contribute their ideas so we can step forth and build a new society on this new world. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 18:34 on May 27, 2016 |
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Jan 18, 2015 20:12
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I've always wondered why the Civilization games have never modified the height of tiles the way Alpha Centauri does.
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Jan 18, 2015 22:02
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Santiago needs to die for what she did, if we ever find her. You could make a real argument based on the prequel stuff that Santiago is the main villain of Alpha Centauri, even more than Yang.
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Jan 18, 2015 22:03
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Deidre is certainly the biggest villain of them all. Edit: Spoilers removed. Torrannor fucked around with this message at 22:42 on Jan 18, 2015 |
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Jan 18, 2015 22:12
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Our first priorities should be - 1. Draft a defensive force - we have no idea what natural hazard may be about, or how close other survivors may be. Spare no expense. 2. Reclaim pods - we need to bootstrap our industry, after we secure a perimeter. 3. Scout south and west for a location to set up our first franchise. Research priority should be Build and Discover to maximize production. Added Space fucked around with this message at 22:18 on Jan 18, 2015 |
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Jan 18, 2015 22:13
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Who knows what Deidre Skye is up to? I certainly don't- it's not as if we've made contact with Cryopod 1. That said, Skye had a fairly silly sentimentalism about the 'beauty of the new planet' that seems shockingly naive when we see the immense challenges to survival here. (Mind the spoilers! We know who the other leaders are, but we can't know what their faction is doing at all since planetfall.) nweismuller fucked around with this message at 22:48 on Jan 18, 2015 |
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Jan 18, 2015 22:17
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The seven leaders who took positions as acting captains of the cryopods that made planetfall were: Deidre Skye, acting captain of Cryopod 1. She is a biologist from Scotland, the Chief Xenobiologist of the Unity. Many of the biologists and geologists in the mission joined under her leadership. She expressed a strong commitment to 'living in harmony with Planet'- yes, she called the new world Planet rather than Chiron while recruiting her followers. Cryopod 1 had additional materials for the biologists and geologists in its complement. Sheng-Ji Yang, acting captain of Cryopod 2. He was the executive officer of the Unity, and Garland's second-in-command. He attempted to put the Unity under martial law, and has advocated for a society where the leadership has the authority to act freely to preserve order and protect the society. For some reason, he fought hard to be allocated control of an oversized amount of drilling and boring equipment. Prokhor Zakharov, acting captain of Cryopod 4. He was the Chief of Sciences and Engineering, and was involved in the original Russian design effort for the Unity before the Russian economic collapse. He argues that leadership should be seated in the scientific elite of a society, and Cryopod 4 got the best laboratory and computer equipment from the Unity's stores. Nwabudike Morgan, acting captain of Cryopod 5. As we, ourselves, are the people of Crypod 5, we know what we brought with us, and why we followed Morgan. Corazon Santiago, acting captain of Cryopod 6. She was the leader of a survivalist organisation on Earth, and was recruited as the Unity Chief of Security, which allowed her to compromise the colonist selection process. Her followers made sure to secure a platoon of armed rovers for their pod before making planetfall. Miriam Godwinson, acting captain of Cryopod 7. An American, she was the mission's chaplain, and her message of faith in God resonated with many of the colonists under the extreme hardships of the last days of the Unity. Pravin Lal, acting captain of Cryopod 8. He was the Medical Chief for the mission, and argued for the preservation of the original mission and Charter for the colony. Despite not being the highest remaining mission officer (that distinction belonging to Yang), held that he would work to see the reunification of the mission and the restoration of the original United Nations mission under its original Charter. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 15:52 on Mar 24, 2016 |
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Jan 18, 2015 22:37
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We definitely should draft at least another scout unit. Securing the pods will give us vital boons that'll give us the edge on growth. No doubt the other leaders are having the same difficulties as we are, and we can't appear feeble or weak in front of them. The scouts should also uh... scout for a new area with enough natural resources for a forward outpost, followed by the reactivation of the colony building resources to acquire the location. As followers of Morgan, we know that claiming natural resources and setting up the infrastructure to support our colonies is vital to future survival and productivity.
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Jan 18, 2015 22:48
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(I... did not expect us to be Morganites. Thought for sure it'd be Pravin Lal! Will you explain why you chose Morgan?) If we want to survive, we need 2 things: knowledge and power. Oh, don't look at me like that, I'm being quite literal. We need a stable and reliable energy supply. We need power enough to be able to maintain the compound, produce new tools, and keep labs running. We need scouting parties coming home with mineral samples, we need a local and efficient source of fuel. No mineral fuel? Solar panels. Heights we can use to establish wind farms. And whatever else might be a possibility, I don't know, I'm not an engineer! But until we can have enough of a power supply to fullfill all our needs, we should prioritize research. The sooner we understand our new home, the better our chances are! And lest everyone gets too focused on industrial concerns, remember that we chose Chiron because it's similar enough to Earth. You know what those farms we're struggling with mean? Oh, yes, a promise of food supply, but think about it: our plants can live on this planet. Life doesn't develop in mysterious ways, my friends, its existence is defined by its environment. Whatever the local biological and ecological systems are, they're, unfortunately, not too foreign to us. We need to study them before we have an epidemic or an infestation on our hands. ...And unless we act quickly, the first time local life recognises us as compatible might herald the last day we spend breathing.
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Jan 18, 2015 23:23
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I take, ironically, some small hope in the toxicity of the local lifeforms. With luck we will be recognized to them as equally toxic. If we are both compatible and tasty, I think we're doomed. I do not foresee us able to fight off an entire biosphere, and if our immune systems can't defeat them and need to be deployed to do so, we'll be living in bubbles until we can terraform all of Chiron. I can't see that happening even if we managed to keep Unity together. For now, I'm also concerned more about scouting. We could found an entire secondary outpost. I like that - it means we don't put all our eggs in one basket - but we should look to settle somewhere that offers things we can' t get here. Ideally a second settlement point should have a resource we can trade with the first base, and we can be more flexible in where we settle because we can trade with the first base for necessities it might lack. But we don't know what we have surpluses of, what we need but lack, nor what we'd like but lack yet. We need to develop at home while our scouts survey the area. Those who worry I might be too focused on industrial concerns - I hope we've been disabused of that these past few weeks. Agriculture is an industry right now - the level of maintenance our crops need in this alien soil means constant labor to eke out subsistence-level nutrients. We've gotta be able to do better than that. Maybe we can manufacture better fertilizers out of the excess nitrogen that makes us wear these drat breathing masks.
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Jan 19, 2015 01:00
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Night10194 posted:Santiago needs to die for what she did, if we ever find her. Don't listen to this baseless propaganda. 
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Jan 19, 2015 01:12
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Santiago frightens me. We have no idea where she and her psychotic cohorts landed. That being said, we should prioritize establishing security and reconnaissance forces. We will need powerful industrial centers to do so.
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Jan 19, 2015 01:34
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I will read this lp
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Jan 19, 2015 01:40
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Sheng-ji Yang posted:I will read this lp Yaaaang! 
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Jan 19, 2015 02:01
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I don't think the base should be left undefended, but are any of the nearby supply caches is relatively safe to retrieve? If so perhaps we could send a group of unarmed colonists to obtain them?
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Jan 19, 2015 02:29
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Oh my goodness. MoO2, Master of Magic and now Alpha Centauri? It's like a curated trip through some of my favourite games from my youth. I loved SMAC so much that I even wrote a fanfiction for it shortly after it came out and, in a fit of youthful stupidity, submitted it as a creative writing assignment. (Before anyone asks: all copies have been destroyed.) E: Oh, by the way - are you using the standard map, or a random one?
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Jan 19, 2015 03:26
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Colonel Corazon posted:Yaaaang! Like you're any better.  Miriam transcendence victory or bust.
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Jan 19, 2015 03:29
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Ugh, Morganites. I tend to go Deidre with a Transcendance victory, but I'm a bit of a hippy. I vote...errr...suggest Build Industry, since that's what Morganites do best, with the stipulation that such economic expansion goes to developing some defenses as this new world is pretty fierce looking. All that red is just making my mind squirm like a worm. A little exploration would be a good idea too, so we can see where we are and where the best future colony locations are. Are you playing on a randomly generated map or the pre-built map? Cartheon fucked around with this message at 03:37 on Jan 19, 2015 |
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Jan 19, 2015 03:35
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There's treasure in them cargo pods. First dibs on all them treasures. Go and open all the shiny treasure boxes as fast as you can so I can have my first dibs on the treasure. I joined Morgan Industries for a reason and it wasn't to argue diplomatic policy, damnit!
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Jan 19, 2015 03:36
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Personal Log Chief Surveyor R. Tiberius, Rat Patrol 01 posted:Chiron sucks. RickVoid fucked around with this message at 04:05 on Jan 19, 2015 |
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Jan 19, 2015 04:00
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Cartheon, David Corbett- it is the standard map of Planet, which is why I am confidently able to assert three primary continents. Unfortunately, despite all the other geographic names, the continents themselves are unnamed, so I had to figure some names out for them. Lokapala- out of curiosity, why were you certain we'd be playing with Pravin Lal? RickVoid- very nice log entry, good work!
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Jan 19, 2015 04:53
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nweismuller posted:Cartheon, David Corbett- it is the standard map of Planet, which is why I am confidently able to assert three primary continents. Unfortunately, despite all the other geographic names, the continents themselves are unnamed, so I had to figure some names out for them. Did you catch that the bolded bit was my vote? The bolded bit was my vote. Get those pods ASAP.
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Jan 19, 2015 04:57
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I caught that, indeed. On an unrelated note, the post summarising the leaders has been updated with equipment specially divided to Yang.
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Jan 19, 2015 05:25
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I prefer the Nerve staple victory.
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Jan 19, 2015 05:33
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ManxomeBromide posted:I take, ironically, some small hope in the toxicity of the local lifeforms. With luck we will be recognized to them as equally toxic. If we are both compatible and tasty, I think we're doomed. I do not foresee us able to fight off an entire biosphere, and if our immune systems can't defeat them and need to be deployed to do so, we'll be living in bubbles until we can terraform all of Chiron. I can't see that happening even if we managed to keep Unity together. Certainly for the moment (and likely for years to come) there's nothing to fear from native pathogens. Viruses, bacteria, and parasites are all very specialized and can typically infect only a handful of species which have regular contact with one another. As it stands, we have seen nothing resembling a higher-order animal among the native wildlife, so it stands to reason that there will be nothing Chironic that will be able to infect a human or any of the animals we clone from the gene banks. Even most of the plants should be able to take root without difficulty, especially with all the nitrogen-fixing bacteria and fungi in the soil. That said, allergens may become a problem since that's a matter of our immune systems overreacting to an invasive particle. Fortunately, our pressure masks and domes filter the air as a matter of course and the water has to be treated anyway to reduce the dissolved gases, so right now allergens are not a major problem. We'll have to conduct controlled experiments to see what if anything will cause a bad reaction, but thankfully it's not a priority. However, any fauna we encounter should be treated with care. Animals generally react incautiously to invasive predators at first, but if any of them get curious about how we taste then the concept of eating us may catch on with significant speed. If that sort of situation happens, we need to react the same way we did back on Earth: aggressively and without a hint of mercy. Hopefully after we do that a few times the native life will get the hint and leave us alone. Of course, here's the disclaimer I've been adding to all my reports lately: this is a different planet and the native life likely operates on different rules, so I can't make specific promises or guarantees. We're working on gene sequences even now, but at best it can only provide us with a few hints until we can get some comprehensive behavioral studies. Remy Marathe posted:I don't think the base should be left undefended, but are any of the nearby supply caches is relatively safe to retrieve? If so perhaps we could send a group of unarmed colonists to obtain them? Why worry about leaving the base undefended? What is there to defend against right now beyond a vague sense of dread coming from fungal patches too thick for an enemy to easily traverse? Not that there's anything unusual about that, either; humans expect to see green vegetation rather than pinkish-red growths reaching up to the sky. I've only seen pictures of the stuff so far and I've felt a vague sense of dread. It'll be interesting to watch the next generation grow up on Chiron and discover whether a preference for green plant life is genetic or a learned expectation.
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Jan 19, 2015 06:04
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nweismuller posted:Lokapala- out of curiosity, why were you certain we'd be playing with Pravin Lal? I was sure of this too. Based on your previous LPs you seem to favor peace, co-operation, and democracy, which Lal would seem to embody. However, MoO you had robotic workers, and MoM you had low taxes and focused on economy, so I guess Morgan would indicate you have an idealized Libertarian bent to these games?
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Jan 19, 2015 07:00
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Bobbin Threadbare posted:Why worry about leaving the base undefended? What is there to defend against right now beyond a vague sense of dread coming from fungal patches too thick for an enemy to easily traverse? Not that there's anything unusual about that, either; humans expect to see green vegetation rather than pinkish-red growths reaching up to the sky. I've only seen pictures of the stuff so far and I've felt a vague sense of dread. It'll be interesting to watch the next generation grow up on Chiron and discover whether a preference for green plant life is genetic or a learned expectation. And are you so sure our own people would not help themselves to our supplies with the authorities out to play? Send the civvies out for the goods, we get the same return without risking what we already have.
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Jan 19, 2015 07:06
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You idiots, don't you realize this is company property you're talking about? Both the base and the pre-fab unit represent a considerable investment of resources - to wit, all of them. Proper security must be maintained at all times. Leaving either unprotected represents an unacceptable risk to irreplaceable material. Worse, it would completely wreck our first-ever quarterly profit projections. There's currently no rush as these windfalls can be reaped at any time by future assets. Please refer to your employee safety handbook: "Cost Projections for Speculative Ventures in Non-Analyzed Risk Zones" for guidance. -- Morgan Co. Loss Prevention
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Jan 19, 2015 07:15
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Hey, Loss Prevention guy? Those resources you're talking about? They're what we call finite. That means when we use them up, they are gone. The only way we can get more of them is by risking assets like yours truly and my team. We either grab what isn't nailed down (and take the nails too), or we dig it up. We can't just hole up like... like... Space Hobbits. We need to be Dwarves, Space Dwarves, digging up the Space Metal so we can defend ourselves from Space Elves, Space Orcs and... Space Nazi's works for Yang, I guess? It's a matter of simple supply and demand, business guy. You demand, I supply. Send Rat Patrol out now!
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Jan 19, 2015 07:29
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Remy Marathe posted:Chiron? It's not Chiron I'm worried about, it's men. We have scant and therefore highly valuable materials invested in this base, we have no idea where our former shipmates are at present, and I can think of at least two captains who wouldn't hesitate to have their men sieze unprotected fruit should they stumble upon it. The rest will wise up in short order- pacifists and peacemakers may have made planetfall, but scarcity will remind them all of our fundamental nature in short order. You're aware of how large a planet is compared to seven colonization pods, yes? Hell, Chiron is even bigger than Earth--that's why it can support a high-pressure atmosphere. And what's to say those aggressive captains aren't just as worried about their defense as you are about ours? We're all in the same boat here. And as for our own people, I can't speak for every department but I can assure you that my section is far too busy to even consider stealing office supplies, and these emergency rations taste too much like wet cardboard to be worth hoarding. I'm sure we can at least investigate the Unity pods the initial survey picked up while the engineers are fabbing a new batch of weapons along with that synthmetal stuff.
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Jan 19, 2015 07:36
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We should definitely follow the ways of science! [b]DISCOVER[b]
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Jan 19, 2015 08:28
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I knew I was getting on the wrong boat. Pals said 'go with Morgan, he can't be that bad of a guy. He funded the Unity after all!' Yeah, well, now I see I should've run with Lal or someone else who wouldn't pressgang me into a factory and my pals into that stupid rat patrol. Mark my words, all of you, Morgan's all bread and circuses. Yeah, he's got a head for numbers, but little more than that. When push comes to shove, he'll stab anyone and everyone in the back to get himself a little more electricity or some shiny rocks. --Vincent Sandwich, 2101
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Jan 19, 2015 08:33
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Bobbin Threadbare posted:You're aware of how large a planet is compared to seven colonization pods, yes? Hell, Chiron is even bigger than Earth--that's why it can support a high-pressure atmosphere. And what's to say those aggressive captains aren't just as worried about their defense as you are about ours? We're all in the same boat here. And as for our own people, I can't speak for every department but I can assure you that my section is far too busy to even consider stealing office supplies, and these emergency rations taste too much like wet cardboard to be worth hoarding. I'm sure we can at least investigate the Unity pods the initial survey picked up while the engineers are fabbing a new batch of weapons along with that synthmetal stuff. In all seriousness I'll grant you the statistical improbablility of a run-in with our colleagues so soon. But we do have this squad of civilians, bricklayers etc. specifically trained to break ground and get us going somewhere else, and as long as they're sitting around here they're just mouths to feed with nothing to do. We need to get them working, which means they need to be on their way ASAP. As soon as they get established somewhere we will have redundancy, and redundancy in harsh conditions is not inefficiency- it's reliability. You can't build an economy on pure chaos. Annnd as long as they're leaving, it''d be inefficient not to have them scout out a supply cache on their way. No matter what, the base establishment unit needs to leave, and soon. If you want to double-down and send every arms trained man and woman off base to snag a second supply cache while trusting that everyone left behind is too busy or benevolent to recognize the deeply bleak situation they're in and collude with their associates so as to redistribute the rations, giving themselves a greater buffer for survival, as every single thinking form of life would do, that's on your head. I'll be leaving with the bricklayers.
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Jan 19, 2015 08:36
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Morgan Datametrics departmental private log Well, we're here, which is an amazing achievement in and of itself. Mankind's first venture to an extrasolar world, and we are extremely fortunate. Terran crops can grow here, there's an atmosphere, liquid water, livable temperature ranges. Still getting used to the gravity, though. It's close enough to Earth to be viable, but there's an uncanny valley effect, it just feels off. Hopefully that will fade in time, or at least our children will get used to it. So, now what? For all we know, we are all that remains of humanity. So, we act like it. Use what tools we have to make better tools. Use what knowledge we have to gain a better understanding. I'm glad for the societal triage of the Compromise: A society shorn of isolationists, fundamentalists, radical greens, excessive authoritarians and bureaucrats has the space and freedom to truly grow and flourish. I do hope we can make contact with the Scientist pod, though: Zakharov and his team worked marvels to get us here, and if I didn't respect those with the nous to cut through the nonsense and do what needs to be done, I wouldn't have signed up with Morgan. That's what it boils down to. Getting stuff done, plain and simple. Cut the Gordian knot. So, here at Morgan Datametrics, the stuff we get done is research, applied science to produce tangible results. We must examine the planet's resources and our own to see what we can discover, and build upon the foundation we have of the human learning that got us here. The Boss has diverted considerable resources to our labs: We won't disappoint him. We're in this for the long haul, but remember, always, that we need to come up with practical solutions, as much and as often as possible. AJ Kusisitiza, Morgan Datametrics AJ_Impy fucked around with this message at 14:52 on Jan 19, 2015 |
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Jan 19, 2015 09:43
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Let's go find those resource pods!
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Jan 19, 2015 11:02
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nweismuller posted:Nwabudike Morgan, acting captain of Cryopod 5. As we, ourselves, are the people of Crypod 5, we know what we brought with us, and why we followed Morgan. Wait, what? This is cryopod 5? I thought this was cryopod 1! Well gently caress, I guess I'm stuck here for now. I say we explore and snatch up resource pods and keep a lookout for the other leaders.
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Jan 19, 2015 11:40
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Only with more knowledge of the Geography of our landing site can we thrive. Send all able colonists to Explore, perhaps the southeastern hills on the long-range radar have a more fertile rain shadow? (this thread is already great with all these in character posts)
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Jan 19, 2015 15:16
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nweismuller posted:Lokapala- out of curiosity, why were you certain we'd be playing with Pravin Lal? Basically what Added Space said. Lal with his aversion to Police State, bonuses to base size, talents and additional Council votes seemed very in line with your MoM playthrough.
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Jan 19, 2015 15:16
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I can feel the freedom in the air.Almost taste it. No more oppressive laws restricting the limits of my imagination, no more parasites clinging to the fruits of my labor and robbing me of hard earned resources.I'll be able to reinvest in my business and finally reach the station I rightfully deserve and was denied for a long time.Morgan gets me, he understands me, he's like me.An entrepreneur unafraid that only sees opportunities and not danger. Unlike Thomas.He's another sheep,another vulgar collectivist.Coming up second to him in the Exploratory Leaders Exam was a mistake.I'll go to talk to him and demand he cedes the command of the Exploration Joint Venture.He'll no doubt fold like a castle of cards being a feeble socialist. -Diary Enrico Tieste- -Excerpt A-
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Jan 19, 2015 16:26
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