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Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

Like you're any better. :colbert: Miriam transcendence victory or bust.

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Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.
CEO Morgan,

With respect to my colleagues, the monoliths are a mystery that can wait. They've been waiting for God knows how long already, and aren't actively trying to kill us. The same cannot be said for the worms, and moreover they appear to be rather representative of native lifeforms if the
things our research/fishing boats have been catching are any indication. Many of them resemble the Cnidaria phylum on Earth, and more specifically the Anthozoa class: sea anemones, corals, and the like. If something like mind worms are liable to form colonies like corals, or God forbid we find free-floating siphonophores, any naval endeavors are probably going to run into a shitload of trouble. And by 'trouble,' I mean 'lots of people dying horrific deaths.' Which, all things considered, we'd rather not do if there's no point to it.

With respect,

Dr. Maria Valdez,
Applied Maritime Solutions Ltd.

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

Fried Miltonman posted:

+4 economy (+1 from being Morgan, +1 from wealth, +2 from free market) gives you +1 energy/tile, +2 commerce rating, and +2 energy/base. You can actually get a fairly decent advantage by either having nice big friends to trade with, or by spamming out bases at minimum spacing. Unfortunately the former is unlikely to happen at high difficulties, and the latter is extremely boring to play, so while FM can be advantageous for Morgan, it is pretty hard to get the advantage to materialize.

Also worth noting is that as an AI, Green isn't what pisses Morgan off. It annoys him, but not much. It's Planned (read: communist-style state ownership) that is Morgan's barred choice and what really angers him.

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

Bliss Authority posted:

Esteemed Chairman -

I'm doing the best I can with what I've got, but cross-referencing this data on the planet's ecology is incredibly frustrating between two bases, soon to be three, without anything like a proper internet. Hell, without anything like a proper INTRAnet. I have no complaints about the hardware you salvaged; these are top-notch hunks of striated silicon. It's the software that's lacking, particularly the data transmission and packet switching protocols.

We'd be able to get research done much, much faster the sooner we get a proper internet online. Get some Network Nodes up as soon as we're able. I'll dedicate myself fully to the problems of the network architecture if you promise to get every settlement we've got internet-ready once I'm done. And don't worry about infosec - you KNOW why I'm the best girl for the job of making our network secure from any hacker tricks, if 'Lady' Deirdre Skye or anyone else from this hot mess of an extrasolar expedition decides they'd like to steal our secrets.

Sincerely,

Asa Wright, Founder of Lovelace Software Solutions, a fully owned subsidiary of Morgan Industries.

PS: Cue up Lovelace Software for a Homestead Act base and I promise you software so smart that it can figure out what the hell can cause these 'psionic' attacks.

CEO Morgan,

Addendum:

Applied Maritime Solutions Ltd fully supports this proposal. We have a few small skiffs and ketches that we've been using to conduct basic oceanic research off the coast of Morgan Industries, but Network Nodes would be a boon towards research and hopefully the development of proper facilities and designs for true oceanic research. I'm sure I don't need to remind you that by the time the technology to realistically exploit the resources of the sea floor was developed on Earth, there was no longer the political will to develop the necessary infrastructure to go with it. We should not be so narrow-minded on Chiron, and while our estimates predict that proper shipyards and other facilities necessary to support nautical ambitions will be more expensive than comparable technology for land-based purposes, the immense mineral and energy resources of Chiron's seas should more than pay for the startup costs, as will the inevitable military opportunities provided by establishment of a navy.

In the meantime, we're still working on determining what marine life is safe to eat. The species we've taken to calling the sporefish is very promising (mainly trying to figure out which fungal symbiont produces the hemotoxin at the moment), but fungal reefs make for slow and dangerous fishing. We haven't nicknamed one of the local species the razor shark for its wit.

Respectfully,

Dr. Maria Valdez,
Applied Maritime Solutions Ltd.

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

brb on fire posted:

Allow it to be known that I second this sentiment. Until we know what form the 'psychic' (I use quotes for our Chief Xenobiologist's sake) attacks take, the best we can do is reinforce our soldiers' wills against the threat as well as we are able. In fact, I would propose when the coast is clear doing the same for our synthmetal equipped guard forces.

-- Dr. Joseph Gartner, overheard during discussion with colleagues

Research notes, Dr. Maria Valdez

Once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

I doubt this is the sort of situation the good doctor ever anticipated, but one that comforts me during debates with the rest of the fledgling scientific community over the psionic phenomena observed with mind worms and the xenofungus itself. The old fantasy of psychic powers, simply speaking, is the ability to induce changes in the environment without visible action. In this case, what seems most likely to me is that this is extrasensory perception in a more mundane sense of the word: local flora and fauna possess biological senses that we do not. One possibility, for example, is that the process of the mind worms' respiration throws off chemicals or biological spores that alter human brain chemistry, producing hallucinations, paralysis, and the other effects of "psychic" attack. I would not be surprised to learn that the xenofungus developed this as a defense mechanism against local herbivores, or as some sort of chemical signal to symbiotic organisms such as the mind worms.

When dealing with hysteria over these phenomena, which are only inexplicable to those in possession of too much wild imagination unburdened by a capacity for rational thought, I find it helpful to remember Arthur C. Clarke's axiom: any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. As is sufficiently advanced biology indistinguishable from psychic powers, apparently.

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.
You know what really scares us at AMS? What if there are bigger critters than mind worms with these abilities. What if they can swim or fly or burrow.

Just saying.


Post on the Interdepartmental Sciences forum in the "What the gently caress is going on with these worms?" thread by Dr. M. L. Valdez

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

Neruz posted:

I suggest we start paying very close attention to the lands around our settlements, the last thing we need is some giant flying dragon with similar abilities to come out of nowhere and start wrecking things. If one species can evolve this capability, regardless of how the ability does in fact function Chief Kimberley, then there is absolutely no reason why other species could not do so as well, or why the worm species could not have multiple different subspecies that have specialized to take advantage of each ecological niche.

Also pay attention to the seas. Our boats aren't venturing more than a half a mile from Morgan Industries right now, but the aquafungus seems to be very similar to land-based xenofungus so it seems entirely possible that there is marine life with similar capabilities. No signs of it in any of the specimens we've caught so far, but we haven't even scratched the surface of the marine ecosphere yet. Here there be dragons.

In unrelated news, the applied xenology department thinks they've figured out how to prepare sporefish for safe human consumption. Morgan hasn't asked for it yet, but assuming the volunteers survive dinner tonight I think we'll be able to start supplementing our food supplies with freshly caught fish. Texture and flavor is a lot like Earth trout, I'm told, once you neutralize the hemotoxin the fungal symbionts release. An effective deterrent to some predators, I'd imagine. Brain tissue seems to be distributed at nerve bundles throughout the creature rather than a central brain. An evolutionary defense mechanism against the predatory reproductive habits of something analogous to mind worms?


Post on the Interdepartmental Sciences forum in the "What the gently caress is going on with these worms?" thread by Dr. M. L. Valdez

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

Glazius posted:

So I guess that's the equivalent of a Civ ruin spamming Barbarians at you? ...they must get nasty later.

In a word, yes. Mind worms can appear randomly in fungus, and do so more frequently if you have units moving around in the stuff, but they have a chance to pop out of pods and can emerge through other events. It doesn't look like this is an Alien Crossfire LP, so fortunately for all concerned some of their nastiest tricks won't come up.

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.
To: Morgan Xenobiology Department
From: Dr. Maria Valdez
Subject: Happy fishing

Good morning everyone. Live human trials last night were a resounding success, and Applied Maritime Solutions is pleased to report that the local fish-equivalent species tentatively designated the Common Sporefish (
xenopterois particeps) is indeed safe for human consumption, provided the attached instructions for proper butchering, chemical treatment, and cooking are followed. In particular, the fungal symbionts MUST be removed prior to nervous system failure or the sporefish will release a fairly unpleasant hemotoxin into its flesh. It's not as bad as those idiots who liked eating pufferfish back on Earth, but one of the medical reports described the patient who had eaten poisoned sporefish as 'repeatedly vomiting a highly unpleasant mixture of blood and mucus on a regular basis over the course of several hours until the treatment took effect.' Fair warning.

We have a few live specimens swimming around in aquaria right now, but I can't recommend any attempts at aquacultural cultivation of the species at this time. Sporefish seem to require exposure to the aquafungus as part of their life cycle, unsurprising given the important role the fungal symbionts play in its biology, and we lack the funds to build the requisite facilities for that. And, on a personal note, the idea of bringing the fungus into Morgan Industries creeps me out some.

Still, should CEO Morgan wish, I believe AMS can equip a small fishing fleet to begin harvesting sporefish and extract nutrient input from the coastal waters. I suspect we're going to need to start relying on native food sources sooner rather than later.


Bon appetit,

Dr. Maria Valdez,
Applied Maritime Solutions Ltd.

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.
To: CEO Morgan
CC: Morgan Industries Senior Personnel
From: Dr. Maria Valdez
Subject: Weather Paradigm proposal

Good morning,

With a source of local edible marine life determined and no further investment in oceanic sciences or infrastructure as of yet, Applied Maritime Solutions would like to volunteer its resources to assist with the Weather Paradigm proposal, which should be initiated as soon as realistically possible. Understanding this planet's climate and ecosphere must be a priority of our colonization effort, and the Weather Paradigm proposal predicts up to a 50% increase in terraforming efficiency across the board on top of making possible large-scale projects we'd otherwise need substantially greater infrastructure and research to support. The potential advantage this affords us cannot be understated and the opportunity must be seized if at all possible before any of our competitors, known or unknown, set to work on it.

Do not worry about my sensitivity to the planet's ecology making me one of those spore-sniffing Gaians, CEO. As the AMS CEO explained when AMS declined to build hulls for the new wave of pirates in the Caribbean and South Pacific on Earth, there is no point in mugging a man when you can tax him instead. So it is with the environment and natural resources as well.


With respect,

Dr. Maria Valdez,
Applied Maritime Solutions Ltd.

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

nweismuller posted:

Dr. Valdez,

I appreciate your willingness to support a venture of this scale, and wish you all the luck in the world finding investors for your project. That said- Morgan Industries does not have the assets to spare for this project at this time, when there are other matters for investment that demand our more immediate attention. Your continued work to support the prosperity of our colony is appreciated, and I wish you the best fortune in developing your own fortune on this world. As far as accusations of sympathy with the Pod 1 colony- Dr. Skye and her followers have behaved reasonably thus far, although I cannot say I trust this to continue into the future. Our survival and prosperity demands we tame this new world, which has done its best to kill us! Sentimentalism over such a world strikes me as the very height of irrationalism.

CEO Morgan, Morgan Settlement Interim Development Corporation and Morgan Industries

CEO Morgan,

I would characterize myself as pragmatic rather than sentimental. Earth barely managed to launch the
Unity before war and resource exhaustion made interstellar travel impossible. When you crash your shiny new car, you do not simply buy another one of similar make and drive it the same as your previous model. You determine what you did wrong last time and look for ways to prevent that from happening again. This is not sentimentality, this is good practical sense in any field of life, including business. An investment into the very source and material of success on this world strikes me as something that does require immediate attention. Skye and her followers reportedly worship the planet itself as a living being. This is a far cry from my proposal. I propose an emphasis on sustainable long-term growth on this world rather than a boom-and-bust cycle. Short-sighted businesses have always been the first to founder when the situation around them changes or their understanding of their chosen market proves faulty.

Dr. Maria Valdez,
Applied Maritime Solutions Ltd.

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.
To: CEO Morgan, Dakarai Kapanda
CC: Morgan Industries Senior Personnel
From: Dr. Maria Valdez
Subject: Re: Re: Weather Paradigm Proposal

I cannot support the Merchant Exchange project at this time. There is only so much energy we can harvest from a given sector of land before inefficiency and insufficient power systems lead to a net loss of surplus - say, about three units of energy or so. The proposed Merchant Exchange would therefore largely be a waste of resources until we can improve our infrastructure to support increased energy transfer and storage. Even then, the Merchant Exchange's primary value would only come into play once Morgan Industries itself has a sufficient population to warrant a mercantile exchange of this scale.

If we must disregard the Weather Paradigm, which I still believe to be extremely short-sighted and unwise, AMS offers its support of either the Human Genome Project or Virtual World, either of which has applications that are actually relevant to our present circumstances.

Respectfully,

Dr. Maria Valdez,
Applied Maritime Solutions Ltd.

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

Klingon w Bowl Cut posted:

(Exactly. Going by the screenshots, right now, our tiles are either producing two energy (the monoliths), or zero energy. The Merchant Exchange would increase the former to the cap, and the latter to one. We would see benefits from it immediately.)

(On the other hand, a few more points of energy are nothing compared to the long-term benefits of the other projects available - the Merchant Exchange is mediocre at best, in my opinion)

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

Klingon w Bowl Cut posted:

To: Morgan Industries Senior Personnel

With all due respect to Dr Valdez, it is interesting for someone to speak of shortsightedness while simultaneously not realizing the long-term benefits of getting in on the ground floor of something with as much potential to change the paradigm of an entire economy as the Merchant Exchange. Most of our power systems are nowhere near the current limit of our infrastructure, and EVERYONE, in this generation and in all generations to come, would use this exchange. Not to mention the fact that, aside from the increased efficiency of our Formers (I still believe we should call them Terrain Improvement Task Forces, but it seems the market has spoken on that matter), most of the benefits of the Weather Paradigm would run into the same theoretical resource bottleneck.

Sincerely,
Chief Integration Coordinator Dakarai Kaapanda


To: Morgan Industries Senior Personnel

Oh please, there's nothing groundbreaking about resurrecting the old NYSE, Timbuktu bazaar, or whatever mercantile clearinghouse you'd care to recall from history. There are far more valuable forms of profit than money, even in this age of an energy economy. Everyone, in this generation and in all generations to come, as you put it, would likewise make use of the Weather Paradigm, Human Genome Project, or Virtual World, and I for one suspect they would be far more grateful for any of those than for a few more energy credits. If any of us were in this simply to make money, I dare say we wouldn't have been chosen for the Unity mission.


Dr. Maria Valdez,
Applied Maritime Solutions Ltd.

(OOC: I'm deliberately playing Valdez as trying to tug the faction in a Green economy direction, which seems far more pragmatic and appealing to business given what later Explore techs reveal about the planet)

Cythereal fucked around with this message at 21:39 on Jan 20, 2015

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.
To: Morgan Industries Xenobiology Department
CC: Morgan Industries Food Production
From: Dr. Maria Valdez
Subject: Razor sharks

Unfortunately, we cannot add razor sharks to the list of local fauna safe for regular human consumption. The typical adult razor shark is eight feet of teeth, sensory organs, and calciferous ridges sharp enough to slice through synthleather and fiberglass. Very little of the razor shark's body mass consists of potentially edible meat, and the species' body chemistry makes what flesh there is highly toxic. Chemical treatment can neutralize the poison, but the resulting razor shark "steak" has the consistency of synthetic rubber and a taste to match. Chalk this one up as something only idiots who want to eat something "rare" and "special" will want to consume.

Can't all be winners. We're continuing to evaluate native marine life for food potential for the time being.


Dr. Maria Valdez,
Applied Maritime Solutions Ltd.

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.
To: H. Grunfield
BCC: Morgan Industries Senior Personnel
From: Dr. Maria Valdez
Subject: Re: Interested in cooperation?

Mr. Grunfield,

With respect, AMS is happy to cooperate on a business level, but we regard land-based operations as a temporary affair. I have already lodged a proposal for a true maritime colony base for such time as our colony develops the necessary infrastructure and nautical technology. On Earth, no one attempted to invest in fully fledged colonization of the ocean. Here at Applied Maritime Solutions, we believe that Project Xochimilco is not only academically plausible, it is economically vital to begin true exploitation of Planet's resources at sea. Sea bases likely will not equal the mineral production of land bases without a remote harvesting and convoy operation, but the marine biodiversity on this planet is staggering, especially in the Freshwater Sea, and oceanic energy resources are highly likely to be profitable in abundance. One of AMS' last projects on Earth was a tidal harness design that could be located in offshore cultivation zones without negatively impacting the harvest, and we brought that blueprint to Chiron.

Given sufficient investment in naval infrastructure and communications technology, we at AMS believe that Xochimilco type sea bases could provide a truly revolutionary advantage in nutrient and energy production. However, we do understand that building a solid foundation first on land must take precedence over nautical ambitions. The presence of aquatic lifeforms with similar "psionic" capabilities to mind worms, while hypothetical, is one we are ill inclined to dismiss. The carcass of a particularly large marine annelid washed up on shore near Morgan Industries a few days ago, and while it had undergone significant decay by the time we brought it in for analysis, it does display remarkable physiological similarity to the mind worm. We should be ready in case one of these "sealurks," as the lab staff are calling the species, decides a sea base feels tasty.

As for the Gaian nonsense, no one here at AMS is gullible enough to confuse a business plan emphasizing sustainable growth and eco-industry (just look at the ecotourism industry in Brazil went before that went tits up) with outright paganism. No sense mugging a man when you can tax him instead, after all. We had originally been slated for Godwinson's colony pod before she went completely off the deep end, in fact. Religion is good, even important, but that woman is itching for a crusade. By the sounds of it on Sundays, I think the Great Schism has been mended in this pod if nothing else.


Dr. Maria Valdez,
Applied Maritime Solutions Ltd

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

Akratic Method posted:

Question: this is just AC, and not the expansion, right?

That's what the OP looks like, yeah, so I just threw sealurks in there. Sporefish and razor sharks are likewise mentioned only in SMAX. Decided to start with that before actively making poo poo up. There is something I'm not mentioning until it comes up in the game.

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

Bobbin Threadbare posted:

Valdez,

I need you to do me a favor and investigate the aquatic xenofungus. Find out whether it's an alternate variety of the terrestrial xenofungus or a different species, whether it also emits radio waves, that sort of thing. I recently floated the idea of psionics in humans past Mr. Morgan, and I'm certain he'll bite, but I need to know more about what madness spores are capable of before I can start to crack their genetics.

And Dr. Valdez, regardless of what you may think of me, you should know this: I am a man who always repays his debts.

Chief Hal Kimberley, Ph.D., Morgan Xenobiology Department


Dr. Kimberley,

I'm forwarding what data we have on the aquafungus, but the majority of our research has been focused on marine animal life with an eye towards establishing proper aquaculture and fishing practices for the colony.

To briefly summarize our findings on the aquafungus, it appears very similar to terrestrial xenofungus but we don't yet have the resources for proper genetic sequencing of alien life. On a practical level, it grows like Earth hard corals run amok and forms stony reef structures that will likely make passage difficult for seagoing vessels in much the same way that xenofungus creates a formidable natural obstacle on land. While these fungal reefs create marine ecosystems of astonishing richness and diversity, our boats have been encountering the same sort of psionic phenomena that land patrols have reported emanating from the land fungus, though we have not as yet confirmed any direct psionic capability or attack from any marine organisms. Sealurks are probably capable of it, but our best guess from the specimen we have is that that's a pelagic species.

In short, it looks like aquafungus fulfills the same ecological niche as xenofungus and appears to have very similar biological capabilities, but we lack the data to say more than that.


Dr. Maria Valdez
Applied Maritime Solutions Ltd

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.
To: Morgan Industries Xenobiology Department
CC: Morgan Industries Food Production
From: Dr. Maria Valdez
Subject: Shroomskates

We at Applied Maritime Solutions are working tirelessly to provide the colony with fresh sources of food from Chiron's seas, and we are pleased to report another addition to the menu. The Xenorajidae, nicknamed the Shroomskates by some of our less imaginative field research interns, is a group (possibly a genus or family, we're not sure yet) of native marine organisms very similar to the rays and skates of Earth, with a cartilaginous skeleton and, more importantly for our purposes, very tender flesh that pairs well with a butter and lemon sauce. Biologically, shroomskates are pretty boring: they seem to be scavenger/predators that scour aquafungus for crustacean and mollusk analogues and will happily pile into any soft, dead organic matter they come across. We've also observed them schooling on occasion, numbering into the hundreds easily and possibly thousands.

Wouldn't have picked rays for an example of convergent evolution, but here we are. We'd really like to emphasize Exploration in research and de-emphasize Discovery for the time being, but for now we continue catching and trying to eat everything we can find out there. Marine xenobiology on a shoestring budget, ladies and gentlemen.


Dr. Maria Valdez,
Applied Maritime Solutions Ltd

We kinda need Doc: Mobility and Doc: Flexibility, plus the other early game exploration techs once we also get Social Psych. Polymorphic Software isn't needed right now.

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.
Personal log, Dr. Maria Valdez

Sufficiently advanced biology is indistinguishable from psychic powers. I wrote that on the intranet when after the first mind worm attacks. Evidence is continuing to mount of psionic capabilities among the native life, whatever "psionic" ends up meaning.

Humans were the dominant species on Earth, a highly sophisticated animal perfectly evolved to conquer its native environment. Or divinely created to the same end, as you prefer. Humans shaped Earth to serve their needs, and that presence was felt at all levels of the planet, from geological to atmospheric. The planetary biosphere revolved around human needs and human actions, from the greatest ocean depths to the highest mountain peaks.

On Chiron, one fact has become quite clear: the xenofungus is the dominant species here. Every alien species yet encountered interacts with the xenofungus directly or indirectly during at least some point in its lifecycle. We don't yet have the equipment or funding to start serious research on the aquafungus, but every species we've had the chance to study exhibits the same predilection. The sporefish is a hybrid organism of fish-analogue and fungal symbiont that feeds on plankton and is fed upon in turn by almost every carnivorous marine organism we've encountered. Shroomskates, far from the fungal predator parrotfish are on earth, instead seem to act more like cleaners of the aquafungus itself, keeping the growths free from parasites and eliminating organic detritus. Razor sharks lay eggs in protective hollows in the fungal branches, and their excrement is a potent fertilizer for native fungal life. Harvester shrimp collect spores ready to bud and bury them in empty sand. The complex growths of xenosponges around freshly buried buds create pockets of water with absolutely perfect chemical compositions for the fungus' growth. I wish we had the facilities for serious marine research, but even limited to a few electrically powered skiffs and a growing fleet of sailing craft we've built on-planet we're starting to get an idea of the marine ecosphere on Chiron.

The fungus. It's always about the fungus. We've always assumed that a species capable of dominating a planet as thoroughly as humanity did Earth would be intelligent. Intelligence is how we conquered Earth. Chiron, though... Chiron seems to have a different idea. In a struggle between humanity and the fungus, right now I'd put my money on the fungus.

Still, there's also the question of those monoliths. We clearly aren't the first intelligent species to come to this planet. Were they visitors like us, or was this their home? Where are they now? What happened to them? How did their monolith replicate the signal of a downed supply pod?

Morgan, Kimberley, Grunfield, Kaapanda... if they're aware of the existential challenge Chiron is posing to the human consciousness, they don't seem to care. They see dollar signs. Business opportunities. Chances to grow and thrive. All missing the point.

Skye isn't much better. Calling her a hippy, acting like she shouldn't be taken seriously, does her a grave disservice. Doctor Deirdre Skye is one of the most brilliant scientific minds of our age. But she seems to think that it's a living being in and of itself. She may be more right than wrong, but she's as single-minded in pursuit of her vision as Morgan.

Maybe this is human nature. We finally get the answer to the ancient question of whether we're alone in the universe, and the only question that seems to be on anyone's mind next is 'What's in it for me?'


Good Lord. Am I drinking too much or not enough?



OOC: I'm running on the assumption that there isn't funding or facilities for real oceanic research until Doc Flex is researched.

Cythereal fucked around with this message at 02:51 on Jan 22, 2015

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

nweismuller posted:

You are indeed correct that before Doc: Flex we're a bit short on maritime resources. Talking about Deidre worshipping the planet is *slightly* premature, but I was planning to introduce the cult of the Stepdaughters of Gaia amongst the Pod 1 colonists next update- I viewed its development as likely a slow, rather than immediate process. Deidre *started* simply as a biologist ready to try and appreciate the beauty of the planet, but over time social changes begin to propagate.

Ah, I was under the impression Deirdre was a neo-pagan type even back on Earth.

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

nweismuller posted:

The impression I got from various materials is that she was a fairly normal (if slightly dippy) biologist before landing, but she became a bit too fond of the fungus, which has influence over human minds.

E: Yes, exactly, what Neruz just said.

Edited my post accordingly.



Here's a wild thought - we've been assuming that the Monolith builders were humanoids like us, probably animals. What if they weren't? What if the Monolith builders never left, and we've already encountered them?

You saw how much of the planet's surface is covered by the fungus, land and sea alike. If it were possible that this stuff is intelligent in some capacity, either in itself or as a tool for some other intelligence, the level of control the fungal biomass can exert over the planetary ecosphere would be far beyond any hypothetical weather control system humans might build.

I really do think we must switch the emphasis of our research to Exploration. We have to learn more about this planet. I really don't think I'm being hyperbolic when I say that human survival may depend on it.


Post on the Interdepartmental Sciences Forum; "General Xenofungus Discussion" thread by M.L. Valdez.

Cythereal fucked around with this message at 03:03 on Jan 22, 2015

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

nweismuller posted:

Trade-screen mentalism, basically. And yes, the Human Genome Project is one of the earliest Secret Projects in the game, unlocked by Biogenetics. The Secret Projects we can currently build are the Merchant Exchange (generating significant revenue in one settlement, due to its renewed commercial immportance, unlocked by Industrial Base), the Human Genome Project (converting one unit of population in each settlement from Worker to Talent- which is tied into the subsystems I'll discuss more later, unlocked by Biogenetics), the Virtual World (allowing every Network Node to also function as a Hologram Theater, unlocked by Planetary Networks), and the Weather Paradigm (increasing the speed at which our terraformers work by 50%, unlocked by Centauri Ecology).

I tend to be of the opinion that failing to get the Merchant Exchange as Morgan is just embarrassing.

I on the other hand am of the opinion that the Merchant Exchange is one of the most ignorable projects in the game. The Weather Paradigm and Virtual World are amazing, and the Human Genome Project is good but not extraordinarily so. The Merchant Exchange just isn't that good - it really isn't "significant revenue" except in the earliest parts of the game, and there are many cheaper options to rapidly increase energy income by much more than the Merchant Exchange will ever provide, one of which is enabled by the Weather Paradigm.

The Weather Paradigm, though, is in my opinion one of the best five projects in the entire game (four without Alien Crossfire) that I always, always try to nab. Terraforming is incredibly powerful in this game, and the WP both speeds it up dramatically and gives early access to advanced terraforming effects not normally accessible until later in the game.

Cythereal fucked around with this message at 07:19 on Jan 22, 2015

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.
Mr. Li, back on Earth did you ever read the book World War Z? Say what you will about most of it, but one part of that book sticks out in my mind: that insisting on conventional weapons and tactics against an unconventional adversary is not a good idea. Tanks would do you no good against mind worms. Training and mental discipline would, in the absence of figuring out how their psionic assault actually works. Want my two cents' worth? Spend less time on the rifle range and more time learning to focus and ignore distractions. Discipline and focus look to be our best bets against psionic attack, not kevlar or machine guns. The exploration teams already got you lasers. Either way, in order to mount a meaningful defense or equip our forces better to deal with it, I think we first need to understand what is attacking them and how. At this point the worms might as well be waving magic wands and shouting Avada Kedavra for all we understand of their attack.

As for the other pods, we haven't seen any sign of them. Maybe we'll get lucky and Yang will get eaten by mind worms. That guy creeped me out more than the fungus does now.


Post on the Interdepartmental Sciences Forum; "General Xenofungus Discussion" thread by M.L. Valdez.

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.
:siren: UPDATE AT BOTTOM OF PREVIOUS PAGE.:siren:

Really, I don't think any of us should be surprised by this development. Religion has always provided emotional and spiritual support during times of crisis and upheaval, no matter how much edgy and rebellious adolescents say otherwise. There are churches in Morgan Industries, too, and the one I attend is always packed to the brim on Sundays. I'm not a psychologist, but I'm not at all surprised that a neo-pagan movement has sprung up in Skye's followers. I'm not pointing fingers at anyone, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if the Stepdaughters movement gains a spiritual foothold in our own colony, particularly among those who have to actually live, work, and study with the xenofungus and native life. I just don't think this is something to be too concerned about unless Skye goes full-on fundamentalist on us, and I don't think she's the type to do that unless things get really squirrelly.

Post on the Interdepartmental Sciences Forum "Stepdaughters of Gaia: Thoughts" thread by M. L. Valdez

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.
To: Morgan Industries Senior Personnel
CC: Morgan Industries Xenobiology Department, Morgan Industries Food Production
From: Dr. Maria Valdez
Subject: Bjork bjork bjork

Schedenfreude
noun
1.
Discovering that the local barnacle analogue from hell is not only safe for human consumption, it's drat good eating.

Easily the biggest factor in the slow progress of our marine research on Chiron after the fungal reefs has been God's curse on ship hulls, a profoundly irritating little critter we call the medusa shell. Simply put, it's a sessile filter feeder with a shell harder than synthmetal that quickly covers any fiberglass immersed in saltwater (or fresh, there is of course a [sub]species in the Freshwater Sea) like a Biblical plague of boils. The only thing it doesn't seem to grow on is the aquafungus itself. One of our interns, apparently after one too many beers, decided to try extracting the meat and cooking it after hauling the fleet in for drydock for the second time this month. Lo and behold, medusa shells are really quite tasty and require no chemical treatment at all to render safe for human consumption. And for a cherry on top, treating boat hulls with a chemical compound derived from the aquafungus itself is proving extremely effective at deterring fouling from medusa shells and a variety of other, less irritating parasites.

To celebrate dropping our maintenance budget by two thirds and our first successful xenofungus-derived product, Applied Maritime Solutions is hosting a company banquet at our headquarters in Morgan Industries and senior personnel are invited to attend. Please RSVP with the number of guests you will be bringing and whether you'd like the poached sporefish filet, the breaded and seasoned shroomskate, the vegetarian option (kelp-stuffed ravioli), or for the adventurous, the grilled razor shark steak. Garlic bread, lentil and xenosausage soup, and a sampler of medusa shell in a creamy alfredo sauce on a bed of angel hair pasta will also be served.

Here's to ten successful years on Chiron, and putting the native life in its place: our dinner plates!


Dr. Maria Valdez,
Applied Maritime Solutions Ltd

quote:

@Doctor Veldez

This development with the Stepdaughters is troubling, but so far, I'm inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt at the moment. They're a new religious movements and they might just be finding their footing.

That being said though, we should keep a careful eye out for any signs of extremism, the last thing we need to deal with is having a greenie version of Miriam on our border.

Also, Dr, I belive that this new location would be a good place for you to establish some kind of research mission for your aquatic research. The nutrient patches will feed you, the minerals can go to building some civilian ships and the access to two bodies of water would be helpful. If it peaks your interest, the Talon would be willing to help provide security.

Post on the Interdepartmental Sciences Forum "Stepdaughters of Gaia: Thoughts" thread by Marcus Li

@Marcus Li

Thank you for the offer, but AMS continues to regard shore-based operations as a temporary affair. We regard the establishment of sea-based cities, either using our own Xochimilco proposal or one of the others that have been bandied about (and half of them are named some version of 'Atlantis'), as effectively inevitable and wish to preserve our capital for that time. As it happens, Morgan's research prioritization continues to emphasize Build and Discover paradigms rather than Exploration. We trust that he will change his mind in due time, particularly given the implications of the Ethical Calculus proposals, which also fall under Explore.

Post on the Interdepartmental Sciences Forum "Stepdaughters of Gaia: Thoughts" thread by M. L. Valdez

Cythereal fucked around with this message at 21:15 on Jan 22, 2015

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

Glazius posted:

Information Network seems like a really good tech, with the 50% research boost at all. Does Social Psych do the same thing except for energy spent on leisure?

Network Nodes are very good, yes. One faction not only starts with Information Networks, he gets a free Network Node in every base.

Social Psych is a bit different. Rec Commons, the building that the tech grants, is useful, but usually not until a bit later in the game. It's part of a system the LP hasn't explained yet, so in short Rec Commons are helpful but you'll rarely want to build them early on. For various reasons, Zakharov wants them earlier usually, while Santiago and Lal can put off building them for a while.

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.
To: Applied Maritime Solutions Personnel
From: Dr. Maria Valdez
Subject: Honestly, I should have expected this

This evening, one of our supremely unfortunate young laboratory interns discovered why I make occasional unannounced surprise drills. This young man, whom I don't believe I need to name, decided that a productive use of company time and laboratory network bandwidth was to watch pornography of young women getting "erotically" attacked by mind worms. Now, I am not a squeamish individual and I understand that boys will be boys, but that was the most disturbing poo poo I've seen in my life. The individual in question has found himself reassigned to janitorial service in the xenobiology labs for the remainder of his contract with AMS.

Seriously, people. I could care less what you do with spare bandwidth as long as you're getting your job done, but that poo poo is just wrong.


Dr. Maria Valdez
Applied Maritime Solutions Ltd

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

AJ_Impy posted:

To: All Science and Tech teams
From: Coordinator AJ Kusisitiza, Kusisitiza Datametrics

I think we may have something. Building on our rediscovered networking capability and our current manufacturing ground work, we may yet be able to substantially increase our industrial capabilities through a level of automation undreamed of even on Old Earth. It's going to take a while to get all the bugs out, but the benefits are potentially massive. Remote resource-gathering operations, living space optimisation, potentially making everyone's lives richer and more productive. Ambitious, certainly, but I believe all this is in our reach in relatively short order.

Kusisitiza Datametrics will be doubling down on this line of development, so any and all of our unutilised lab space is up for rental to assist your own endeavours at reasonable rates. Let me know if you need to tap into the extra capability, and we'll see if we can arrange something. But please, no live mindworm research.

Coordinator AJ Kusisitiza, Kusisitiza Datametrics

To: Coordinator AJ Kusisitiza
From: Dr. Maria Valdez
Subject: Collaborative research potential

Good evening Coordinator,

Your remote resource-gathering operations are of great interest to us here at Applied Maritime Solutions, and we know the feeling of pinning our hopes on technological breakthroughs that have yet to materialize. We furthermore believe that your proposals have a great deal of synergy with our own Project Xochimilco for an offshore colony base. One of the primary shortcomings of offshore bases in our models is a lack of mineral income due to Planet's relative lack of mineral wealth on the ocean floor, and the notion of subsea trunklines for deep undersea mining is one we're not sure will ever be practical. To that end, remote mineral gathering would supplement sea bases greatly, and doubly so if Morgan ever comes around on the Weather Paradigm or we otherwise develop a revolutionary type of mining operation.

Nothing to be done for it right now, and our own labs are largely marking time right now, but we'd like to stay in touch pending future developments.


Dr. Maria Valdez,
Applied Maritime Solutions Ltd

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.
To: Morgan Industries Senior Personnel
From: Dr. Maria Valdez
Subject: Please do not be alarmed

Good evening everyone,

I have received a number of inquiries from dinner guests regarding the sealed laboratory complex currently under construction at the end of the AMS pier here in Morgan Industries, including specifics such as why the complex is being built to maintain an atmospheric pressure *lower* than standard in the rest of the base, why living quarters are included in the complex, and the specific nature of the thermal purge system being installed as we speak. I assure you all, there is nothing to be concerned about and I will be issuing a press statement regarding Project Cipactli at such time as there is any meaningful information to be released. The personnel for Project Cipactli are universally volunteers, and the thermal purge system, itself merely a safety precaution, has met with the express approval of Morgan Industries proper.

We at Applied Maritime Solutions take safety very seriously, and please do not worry about the facility under construction. Enjoy your dinner.


Dr. Maria Valdez,
Applied Maritime Solutions Ltd

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

Drakenel posted:

To: Maria Valdez, Hal Kimberly, AJ Kusisitiza, Marcus Li, Asa Wright, "Reily", Fred M. Sloniker

This is an invitation to the many varied departments and businesses that I believe have an interest in the new equipment that's been designed. At our current lab at Morgan industries, we've developed holding cells for the local 'mindworms', should they be controlled and captured. Our only samples are unfortunately taken because they were contained after burrowing in a soldier. Their sacrifice should not be in vain though, as this has allowed us to get a pair of live specimens. With these worms contained in as secure as possible cell, we are able to run tests now and develop reliable means of capturing worms separated from their boils, by means of incineration or otherwise. I invite you all to Morgan Industries to observe these tests alongside us. I know many of you disagree on their means of attack and what abilities they may or may not have, but our hope is that our range of testing with both stimulus reaction and live 'bait' (No it's not people yet) will help answer some of these questions.

I'll provide lunch with some of Valdez's recent catch served as well after the tests. Partake as you wish. This is a week from now. (Using Chiron's night and day cycle, not the old earth one.) You will have to provide your own accommodations, but none of you are so poor to not manage a hotel room. The XDI HQ is currently residing in Gray district 3. Your datataps will give you directions, don't worry. If you are unable to make it for whatever reason, I am more than willing to provide the recorded footage we will make that day.


XDI HCS, Ezekiel Carson

To: Ezekiel Carson
From: Dr. Maria Valdez
Subject: Re: Invitation

I am pleased to accept your invitation. The implications for Project Cipatli are very interesting.

Dr. Maria Valdez,
Applied Maritime Solutions Ltd

quote:

To: Dr. Maria Valdez
From CIC Dakarai Kaapanda
Subject: Re: Bjork, bjork, bjork

Congratulations on your success, Doctor. I am happy to accept your gracious invitation. I will be attending with two guests, and we would like the vegetarian ravioli. This is purely a personal choice by my family, and not a snub of your many other excellent-sounding dishes. Though do not be surprised if my daughter sneaks bits of the other courses too. She is a young and curious one.

On a more important note, we should also touch base some time during the evening about your company. Mr. Morgan has put out the word that he wishes to expand our operations into an area that borders both the ocean and the freshwater sea, which would seem ideal for your purposes, yet I have not seen nor heard of you making any bids to do so. Combined with your other email about the interesting research taking place at your HQ, it makes me wonder if you are perhaps holding onto your shares until such a time as we have the technology to establish full-scale sea bases? Because my job entails overseeing the economic viability of many different projects, I have a variety of resources and contacts I would be pleased to place at your disposal, if my guess is correct. While your presence would of course be sorely missed if you left to found an aquatic colony, I can think of no better place for you.

Sincerely,
Chief Integration Coordinator Dakarai Kaapanda


To: CIC Dakarai Kaapanda
From: Dr. Maria Valdez
Subject: Re: Re: Bjork, bjork, bjork

You are correct in assuming that AMS is placing its bets on Project Xochimilco, and our shore-based operations, including Project Cipatli, are only a temporary state of affairs. We believe that Morgan's research priorities, which do not include the Exploration or Conquest paradigms, wholly exclude any research into developing a doctrine of strategic mobility and then inevitably the kind of flexibility naval operations require, but this must change in time. When that does change, we intend to hit the ground running. Or water swimming, as it happens.

Dr. Maria Valdez,
Applied Maritime Solutions Ltd

AJ_Impy posted:

To: Dr. Maria Valdez
From: Coordinator AJ Kusisitiza
Subject: Re: Collaborative research potential

The logistics behind an undersea base pose some truly fascinating problems. Perhaps some kind of amphibious supply unit? We'd need to make our standard living modules water-tight and pressure-capable, ensure our colonising resources are equipped for aquatic deployment, to say nothing of water-based terraformers. Defence from seaward threats would give even Marcus Li conniptions! A most worthy endeavour, we would be happy to assist with making Project Xochimilco a reality.

Regards,
Coordinator AJ Kusisitiza
Kusisitiza Datametrics

PS: Great work on the Chiron Seafood Platter meal-in-a-box! I'm sure it'll be a bestseller.

To: Coordinator AJ Kusisitiza
From: Dr. Maria Valdez
Subject: Re: Re: Collaborative research potential

Your misgivings about an undersea base are entirely justified, which is why that isn't part of Project Xochimilco. Our sea base proposal is located almost entirely on the ocean surface, using a combination of flotation platforms and underwater girding similar to oil rigs on Earth to create a base that effectively rests on the ocean surface. There will of course be underwater segments, but it was our experience back on Earth that trying to go directly for sea floor colonization is jumping the gun a little. Still, your interest is appreciated and we keep watch for when Morgan's technological research priorities change.

Dr. Maria Valdez,
Applied Maritime Solutions Ltd


OOC: Nweis' research priorities are Build and Discover only, but Doctrine: Mobility is exclusively weighted for Conquest and Explore, meaning there's a very slim chance of researching Mobility outside of getting it from a pod or an AI player unless we research literally every tech that doesn't lead back to Mobility. Mobility is the prerequisite tech for techs that give boats as well as anything involving studying Planet and alien life, all of which fall under the Explore category.

Also, don't get overeager with mind worm research. In game mechanics, captive breeding and use of mind worms comes from a specific tech we don't currently have access to. Again, Explore category.

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

Agent Interrobang posted:

Building a theme park in the middle of a xenofungal forest does sound like an EXTREMELY Morganite kind of decision.

Also sounds like the name for the center of other types of multimedia and a particular service industry, but knowing Morgan that's probably a feature rather than a bug.

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

Lokapala posted:

Speaking of game mechanics and tech aquisition, what would be a reasonable assumption as to possible life expectancy for original expedition members? We go 10 years per update, so many characters should be at the least between 40-50, and many are likely pushing 80 or even 90, assuming Chiron years are close to Earth years (I suspect we're actually still using Earth years and ignoring Chiron's orbital period). Until we get the Longevity Vaccine - which doesn't seem likely to happen in the next update (to get there we need a detour through the sadly ignored Explore tech category) - shouldn't people, including Morgan himself, either be dying off or in cryosleep hoping to wake in a better future? (Can a frontier colony allow itself to waste resources on maintaining cryopods? Do we even have viable cryopod tech after planetfall?)

I'm rolling with what Nweis suggested when Biogenetics was researched, and what the in-game interludes suggest: that life extension technology does exist well before the Longevity Vaccine, but it's a form of rejuvenation therapy/surgery and only available to Talents. The Longevity Vaccine seems to be a mass-producible anti-aging drug like the Daedalus Ladder in Beyond Earth.

Personally, I'd imagine that any original expedition members, if they have access to the requisite resources, can probably survive to game end if they aren't killed before then. Although I have different plans for the character I've been RPing, if the game develops the requisite technology.

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.
Personal log, Dr. Maria Valdez

The last meeting with the shareholders didn't go well. AMS has done a credible job contributing to our colony's xenobiology and xenoecology research, and on a practical level to our food production, though that remains more theoretical than industrial right now, but on Earth AMS was primarily an engineering firm, not a research think tank. We made our name restoring oil production at rigs and wells throughout the Caribbean in Earth's last decades, repairing damage from accidents, natural disasters, and deliberate attacks. We have everything we need to hit the ground running once enough public interest and support for naval operations materializes: Projects Xochimilco, Cipatli, Ahuizotl, Xipetotec, and Chaac. Again, theoretical rather than industrial. We're not doing
badly, but we're a company of many ideas and not a lot of product at the moment, and the CFO is getting tired of my 'but Morgan hasn't even supported a colonial doctrine of mobility yet, much less the kind of flexibility going to sea requires!" spiel.

Which, I suppose, is why I authorized Project Cipatli despite my misgivings. We need something to show the investors, something physical to point to and give them confidence in our ability to produce. It's the only way I'll be able to afford that fancy rejuvenation therapy, if nothing else.

On Earth, I kept a saltwater aquarium in my apartment. Keeping even that small cross-section of Earth's ocean stable and prosperous was a lot of hard work and unforeseen developments. I have to wonder if we'll ever tame Chiron's seas like that, keeping aquafungus in our homes and small sporefish and little creatures we don't even have names for yet. The other senior personnel probably think I've started sniffing spores, but I can understand Dr. Skye's reverence towards this planet. That profound feeling of awe and reverence is the root of both religious ecstasy and scientific curiosity. It's why I left Godwinson's followers. Science and religion were never meant to be enemies.

Sea trials of the Xolotl start next week. Just a three-man crew and restricted to very shallow coastal waters, but we need access to Planet's sea floor with more precision than trawling from surface vessels if Project Cipatli is going to move forward.

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

nweismuller posted:

And yes, we WILL be going with and staying with Free Market at the earliest opportunity. No Nerve Stapling for us!

Bah, Free Market is horrible for Morgan and guarantees war with the Gaians. Green makes so much more sense, especially when paired with Democracy and Wealth. I only like Free Market for factions that need the income, which Morgan really doesn't due to his existing bonuses.

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

nweismuller posted:

This particular bit of Social Engineering is not one open to negotiation. I will follow his Social Engineering Agenda.

I dunno, I see AI Morgan running Green pretty often. :v: Free Market just isn't worth the downsides, especially later in the game or when you're next to Deirdre or Cha'Dawn, unless you really really need that extra income. Which Morgan can supply via Wealth.

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

Neruz posted:

Plus you can use cash to purchase more units, right?

And it's used for probe operations. My problem with Free Market, aside from it turning you into a faction of Captain Planet villains, is that in Morgan's case he doesn't actually need the help to make shitloads of cash. Wealth, a social engineering option that hasn't been unlocked yet (Value options come up later in the game), is pretty much all Morgan needs to make ridiculous amounts of money, and Green's negatives are easily done away with between a facility we haven't seen yet and Democracy. Green's efficiency bonus is also very attractive for Morgan. Morgan can make even more absurd amounts of cash if he doesn't piss many people off and wins a diplomacy thing that hasn't come up yet.

A negative Planet rating also makes the local wildlife far more ornery, which is a bad thing when you're next to Deirdre, Cha'Dawn, or H'minee (fortunately we don't have to worry about the latter two without Alien Crossfire, and they're both quite a bit meaner than Deirdre), and especially if you've been neglecting Explore techs to get better defenses against them.

Free Market absolutely can be very very useful for some factions (Yang and Miriam come to mind), but I find it's just wasted on Morgan ironically.

Morgan, in my opinion, is like Santiago in that running his preferred SE setting shoots him in the foot a bit and his allowed-but-not-preferred SE setting in that category is superior in most circumstances. For both of them, their preferred SE choice amplifies their native strength, but comes with a serious penalty that for Santiago also amplifies her native weakness. Miriam is similar, but running her preferred SE choice can be used strategically to great effect as long as she doesn't stay in it.

Cythereal fucked around with this message at 02:27 on Jan 25, 2015

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

FredMSloniker posted:

Cythereal, nweismuller is well aware that he's playing suboptimally. He has made a deliberate decision to do so as part of the narrative. Continuing after he says it's not open to negotiation is a bit rude.

Fair enough.

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

Neruz posted:

So you're saying that More Money > Less Money is not true in Alpha Centauri? :psyduck:

No longer meaning this as criticism of nweis' plan of play but general game mechanics chat and so spoiling, my opinion is that there comes a time when you have Enough Money, and that there are other things that can be more important than raw +Economy modifiers. My favored SE setting in general is Democracy/Green/Wealth, which affords the following modifiers:

+4 Efficiency (near-zero energy loss from inefficiency)
+2 Planet (50% chance at goodies that haven't been shown yet)
+1 Industry (mineral costs decreased by 10%)
+1 Economy (+1 energy each base)
-2 Morale (-1 Morale; + modifiers halved)
-2 Support (Support 1 unit free per base; no free minerals for new base.)

Thing is, these disadvantages aren't as bad as they sound and can be completely negated with the right base facilities and projects. The Efficiency boon is very nice for energy income assuming you're getting a shitload of energy at your bases (easy to do, even early on depending on your tech path and if you can get the Weather Paradigm), the Planet bonus negates the native threat to a large extent and turns it into an advantage, especially on water-heavy maps, and the industry and economy boosts are nice on the side. Planned can be substituted for Green, which results in neutral Efficiency, +2 Industry, +4 Growth, and the same disadvantages listed - also a powerful setup.

Morgan adds to this setup an additional +1 Economy, getting him that precious +1 energy per base square bonus.

Free Market, in my opinion, just isn't worth it for most factions and you want to be VERY careful running it if you have Deirdre, Cha'Dawn, or H'minee for neighbors. Miriam, Morgan, Roze, and Domai can prey on its less obvious weakness if the mood strikes them.

In particular, for energy income you have to ask yourself what you're using energy for. Industry, research, and probe bonuses can substitute for Economy modifiers depending on what you're using it for, and upping Efficiency can easily make up for a loss of Economy - add Children's Creches to Democracy/Green and you get a Paradigm Economy with zero inefficiency whatsoever.

Morgan in my opinion is best played against type - I've run Fundy/Green/Power Morgan, and it can do quite well, not to mention those SE settings put you on good terms with some of the bigger warmongers in the game.

My purely arbitrary and personal reservation against Free Market for the LP is that I think buddying up to Planet makes for the best story, but that's down entirely to personal preference.

Cythereal fucked around with this message at 04:59 on Jan 25, 2015

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Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
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Edit: Nah, enough of this derail.

To: Applied Maritime Solutions Personnel
From: Dr. Maria Valdez
Subject: Brand recognition

I have received a number of inquiries lately from employees wondering what is going on with our project nomenclature here at AMS typically referring to Mesoamerican mythology and history. In two words that should be obvious to anyone hoping to work in marketing: brand recognition. Just look at the names on file for sea base proposals in the Network Node:

Atlantis
New Atlantis
Atlantisville
Atlantiss
Atlantissimo
Neo-Atlantis
New Venice
Far Venice
Neo-Venice
New New Amsterdam
Deep Sea Nine (okay, I actually like this one)
Xochimilco

Notice one that stands out on that list?

It's about cultivating a brand, people, and this one has been working pretty well for us. Also, stop bitching about how hard "Xochimilco" and "Ahuizotl" and "Xipetotec" are to pronounce. I'm conversant in English, Spanish, Portugese, and Revised Nahuatl. The least you can do is learn to pronounce the name of the project you've been assigned to and thank God you aren't part of Skye's colony. Rumor has it they've been trying to revive Gaelic as a conversational language.

That is all.

Cythereal fucked around with this message at 06:08 on Jan 25, 2015

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