Aurora IV - Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Emu!

[Stuckenschmidt]

Diary of Fregattenkapitän von Mollendorf:

Space is the natural habitat for any German. Because just like space, the glory, honor, wisdom and ingenuity of the german people and its Emperor are infinite. Until now, Germany could spread all its virtues to planet Earth only. But out there is a whole Lebensweltraum to expand to. Glory to the Empire!

 

[blue emu]

So, having completed our first proof-of-concept voyages, we can now assess the idea of using Fighters to survey during the early game.

The advantages include the very quick build-time and cheap price. The most complex, the Schmetterling, required 123 minerals in total, plus the same figure in cash; and required only 20 days to assemble using pre-fabbed components. The cheapest, the Kleinbus, was less than one-fifth that cost; and was assembled from scratch (no pre-fabs) in less than a week.

Another advantage is that they are below the 500-ton limit, so they can be built in factories instead of shipyards. This means that we don't need to wait for a free slipway, don't need to retool the yard for a new model, don't require a slip of a specific size, and don't tie up a slip during construction.

Drawbacks include the low speed, short range and low endurance, which pretty well limit us to exploring only the inner Solar system at this stage, but this flaw is highly tech-dependent. As we tech up, the Survey Craft will rapidly become faster, with longer range and greater endurance.

In fact, the craft are so cheap and quick to build, that they might still be worth using even if they had to be thrown away and replaced after each mission. As it is, they are re-usable; and when obsolete they can be dismantled and the Geo-Sensor (the single most expensive component) recovered and re-used in the next model.

I feel that they represent a successful concept, at least for the early game.

 

[blue emu]

Hyme - Fregattenkapitan, Fleet Movement Initiative 108, Survey +25%, Operations +10%, Logistics +30%, complacent, highly educated, wealthy family.

The Executer - Fregattenkapitan, FMI 137, Political Reliability +15%, Survey +20%, Terraforming +20%, Diplomacy +10%, cautious, averse to risk, good motivator.

Stuckenschmidt - Fregattenkapitan, FMI 258, Survey +20%, Fighter Combat +10%, Terraforming +10%, Fighter Operations +10%, Xenology +10%, Communications +10%, intolerant

Dragon of Atlantis - Korvettenkapitan, FMI 101, Crew Training +25%, Terraforming +20%, Intel +20%, Logistics +15%, cold manner

Other players will be assigned a specific avatar as soon as they have a ship to command.

 

[blue emu]

Kleinbus 001 under Korvettenkapitan Dragon of Atlantis has dropped off the Geology team on the Moon... our first steps on an extraterrestrial body!

Let's see if they can find any minerals. This sort of up-close-and-personal search typically takes several months, or even years.

If the Moon turns out to be truly barren, I propose leaving it in vacuum and fortifying it as a Beam-weapon base, covering our major fleet base in Earth orbit.

Let's turn it into a Death Star! "That's no Moon!... err... wait..."

 

[blue emu]

Go Hyme, TheExecuter, and Stuckenschmidt. If remember right comets are gold mines for minerals or has that changed? Also how long have we been out scanning so far? I see you only plan on us scanning for 5.5 months at a time. How long does it take to fly from the asteroid belt back to earth?

At 500 kps, you can travel nearly 1.3 billion km per month... so the entire asteroid belt is within reach of Earth within the craft's 165-day endurance. What you lack the endurance to do is to explore more than a few dozen of them on each trip, or to reach the moons of the outer gas giants. But as we tech up and build longer-range models, those targets will become practical, too.

Comets typically have rich but medium-small deposits... usually a few minerals at 70%-100% purity, in the tens of thousands of tons. Planets typically have far larger deposits (sometimes in the hundreds of millions of tons) but the purity is often only 10%.

 

[blue emu]

In the next run of ships, Arrowfiend, Culise and Noco will be receiving characters.

Have I missed anyone?

 

[blue emu]

Fregettankapitan Hyme reports that Mars and its two moons are barren of minerals... a bitter disappointment, since Mars is by far the best place in the Solar system to set up a colony.

Hyme still has four months worth of consumables on board, so he has been ordered to start examining nearby Asteroids for possible mineral deposits.

 

[Arrowfiend]

If we don't want to/can't terraform a planet, can we still set up colonies, perhaps via dome habitats or underground facilities?

 

[blue emu]

If we don't want to/can't terraform a planet, can we still set up colonies, perhaps via dome habitats or underground facilities?

All three options (terrafoming to class 0, domed colonies or underground excavation) are included in the game.

Since I usually defer terraforming until I can build massive orbital platforms to do it, underground excavation is by far the most labor-intensive option... but it's the only one you can use on tiny bodies like asteroids. Domed colonies (just called "Infrastructure" in the game) is cheap and quick, but ties up a significant fraction of the colony's population in life-support tasks (growing crops for CO2-oxygen exchange) and the population of the colony is of course limited by the amount of Infrastructure present.

Terraforming to class 0 removes all population limits.

The drawback of terraforming is that there are only a handful of weapons that can fire through an atmosphere... Mesons and Missiles might be the entire list. All other weapons (Lasers, Particle Beams, Plasma Cannons, Rail-guns, etc) can only be fired in vacuum. That's why I suggested leaving the Moon in vacuum (ie: do not terraform it) so that it can be turned into a MAJOR fortified base.

 

[blue emu]

Our Schmetterlings are reaching the limit of their consumables, so they have been ordered to return to Earth for replenishment and R&R.

Schmetterling 003 under Fregattenkapitan TheExecuter has the most supplies remaining, so he has been tasked with investigating a few incoming comets while on his way back to Earth.

Let's welcome our intrepid explorers home!

 

[Arrowfiend]

 

[hyme]

That's the wrong flag.

 

[blue emu]

After tumultuous celebrations and a month's rest and relaxation, our intrepid explorers have departed Earth for a second round of Asteroid surveys.

The moons of the outer gas giants will remain a mystery until our improved Kaefer model Scout craft is ready.

 

[hyme]

 

[blue emu]

We are ready to begin production of our new Kaefer model Survey craft. It is slightly smaller and a bit faster than the Schmetterling, but the main improvement is its operating radius: it carries enough consumables for two years operation (instead of five-and-a-half months) and enough fuel to fly to Pluto and back on one tank of gas! It also can carry a Geology team, allowing us to place them on the Moons of the outer planets (and bring them home again, of course).

Kaefer class Survey Craft 485 tons 14 Crew 135.5 BP TCS 9.7 TH 5 EM 0
515 km/s Armour 1-5 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/1 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 0
Maint Life 9.04 Years MSP 88 AFR 3% IFR 0.1% 1YR 2 5YR 32 Max Repair 100 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 24 months Spare Berths 5

5 EP M-01 Primitive NT Engine 1926 (1) Power 5 Fuel Use 99% Signature 5 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres Range 18.7 billion km (420 days at full power)

Geological Survey Sensors (1) 1 Survey Points Per Hour

This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and maintenance purposes

At the urging of the Ministry of Defense, we are now researching Mobile Infantry (Space Marines) before switching our research focus back to spacecraft technologies. Still no weapon scientists available, after nine years. Perhaps we should build MORE academies?

 

[hyme]

I hopeful I will be able to get one of the Kaefer to survey with. I agree we should go to level 5 academy on earth for now. Can we get a breakdown on what resources are from where? Can we get an update on Earth? Also what year is it?

 

[blue emu]

I hopeful I will be able to get one of the Kaefer to survey with. I agree we should go to level 5 academy on earth for now. Can we get a breakdown on what resources are from where? Can we get an update on Earth? Also what year is it?

I am building six of the new Kaefer Survey Craft... three for the new pilots, and three to replace our existing Schmetterlings. Naturally, I have expanded our existing Scout Bases to accommodate the expanded survey group.

It is June 1928... not quite ten years into the game. Earth is still the prime location of mineral resources.

We have discovered over 2,000,000 tons of 90% purity Tritanium on Venus (together with several other minerals at 10% purity) but this deposite can only be exploited by tele-operated robot mines, at our tech level.

Mercury contains over 600,000 tons of Corbomite at 80% and 48,000 tons of Gallicite at 70%.

Half a dozen comets so far explored contain deposits of fairly pure minerals (70% or more) ranging up to 36,000 tons in size. These are certainly worth recovering, but not Earth-shaking.

The Moon and Mars have no useful TN minerals... a disappointment, since those are the two best colony sites.

The moons of the outer planets will be examined by our next wave of explorers, once the Kaefer Survey Craft are ready for launch. In the mean time, our explorers are checking over the Asteroids but have made no really useful finds yet.

We have one Civilian shipyard which has reached 30,000 tons capacity, and a Naval yard at 5,000 tons capacity. Both are still expanding.

 

[hyme]

I am building six of the new Kaefer Survey Craft... three for the new pilots, and three to replace our existing Schmetterlings. Naturally, I have expanded our existing Scout Bases to accommodate the expanded survey group.

It is June 1928... not quite ten years into the game. Earth is still the prime location of mineral resources.

We have discovered over 2,000,000 tons of 90% purity Tritanium on Venus (together with several other minerals at 10% purity) but this deposite can only be exploited by tele-operated robot mines, at our tech level.

Mercury contains over 600,000 tons of Corbomite at 80% and 48,000 tons of Gallicite at 70%.

Half a dozen comets so far explored contain deposits of fairly pure minerals (70% or more) ranging up to 36,000 tons in size. These are certainly worth recovering, but not Earth-shaking.

The Moon and Mars have no useful TN minerals... a disappointment, since those are the two best colony sites.

The moons of the outer planets will be examined by our next wave of explorers, once the Kaefer Survey Craft are ready for launch. In the mean time, our explorers are checking over the Asteroids but have made no really useful finds yet.

We have one Civilian shipyard which has reached 30,000 tons capacity, and a Naval yard at 5,000 tons capacity. Both are still expanding.

Are you running this on windows 10?

 

[blue emu]

Korvettankapitan ArrowFiend has been promoted to Frigattenkapitan and assigned to the first Kaefer class Survey Craft. He is ordered to explore the moons of Jupiter.

Hopefully we can find something useful, since so far... except for the truly exceptional starting minerals on Earth... the Solar system has been a bit of a disappointment.

 

[blue emu]

Are you running this on windows 10?

Windows 7, on my old s***-box. Haven't managed to get it to run on my 8-core Bulldozer Win-10 box yet.