Home Trending Latest threads New posts Developer diaries

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

Jump to latest Follow Reply
  • We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
We are now pre-building components for our first interstellar exploration ship. Research continues... currently perfecting the required jump drive hardware.

Jump drives start out incredibly bulky, using a minimum of 25% of the ship's displacement. As we tech up, that percentage will drop... eventually below 10%.
 
We have gained a second Missile scientist, so our shortage of weapons researchers is now past.

One question for my advisors. We will soon have the capability to open a jump point to the nearest star. Should we immediately send our interstellar exploration ship through? Or should we perform an "assisted jump" to send through one of our small and cheap 500-tonners to look around, first?

The problem, of course, is that the 500-tonners carry no sensors (except for Geo or Grav sensors), so it would be almost blind. We could build a 500-ton sensor craft quite quickly, though.
 
Diary of Fregattenkapitän von Mollendorf:

Imperial Fleet Command gave me a new type of ship, the "von Humboldt III". Unlike our previous vessel, which was out there to find minerals, this one is for locating things the scientists call Jump-Point. I have no idea, how they work, but it is a thrilling prospect to spread Prussian virtues through them. The Universe just got a bit smaller and is now in reach of our benevolent Empire.
 
blue emu said:
Reichscommissar Boseman von Turbingen has reached Mars and taken over administration of the colony. It currently holds 1,710,000 people, with enough life support infrastructure in place to support a total of 2,310,000.

Research is underway on technology to enable construction of Troop Transports, to allow us to shift some military forces from Earth to Mars to protect our first interplanetary foothold.

The government of Earth is preparing to transport some construction factories to Mars, to be operated by the colonists. A geo-survey team is currently prowling around the Red Planet, searching for any TN mineral deposits that the orbital survey might have missed.
Click to expand...


Of course I am keeping a close eye on any reports from our intrepid survey team, keeping up to date on their progress. Being able to provide more mineral wealth to our glorious Empire, nothing would bring me more pride.

Also, what are my stats?
 
Our technicians have completed their design for our first interstellar exploration vessel!

Erforscher class Science Vessel 5,000 tons 121 Crew 911.8 BP TCS 100 TH 160 EM 0
1600 km/s JR 3-50 Armour 1-26 Shields 0-0 Sensors 6/6/2/2 Damage Control Rating 2 PPV 0
Maint Life 2.58 Years MSP 228 AFR 100% IFR 1.4% 1YR 48 5YR 721 Max Repair 100 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 18 months Spare Berths 1

J5000(3-50) Military Jump Drive 1935 Max Ship Size 5000 tons Distance 50k km Squadron Size 3
160 EP M-20 NP Engine 1931 (1) Power 160 Fuel Use 72% Signature 160 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 1,165,000 Litres Range 58.3 billion km (421 days at full power)

Active Search Sensor MR6-R100 1935 (1) GPS 1000 Range 6.0m km Resolution 100
Thermal Sensor TH1-6 (1) Sensitivity 6 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 6m km
EM Detection Sensor EM1-6 (1) Sensitivity 6 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 6m km
Gravitational Survey Sensors (2) 2 Survey Points Per Hour
Geological Survey Sensors (2) 2 Survey Points Per Hour

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
Click to expand...
It has an operating radius of nearly 30 billion km (58 billion km round-trip), carries consumables for 18 months and enough maintenance stores to fully repair the jump drive twice, if necessary.

It has two each Geo and Grav sensors (to speed up scanning and offer a backup capability), and also a weak active sensor and both EM and Thermal sensors.

Two of these vessels are now being laid down. Using pre-fabbed components to speed up construction, they should be launched in about eight months.
 
Last edited:
Meanmanturbo said:
Of course I am keeping a close eye on any reports from our intrepid survey team, keeping up to date on their progress.

Also, what are my stats?
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, the surface geology team only confirmed the findings of the orbital survey: Mars is barren of TN minerals.

Admin rating 1, Political Reliability +15%, Factory Production +10%, Wealth Creation +10%, Mining +5%, Population Growth +15%, Logistics +15%, objective attitude, organized.

Mars is up to 2,170,000 colonists, with enough infrastructure to support a total of 2,710,000. Our civilian sector (in-game, autonomous companies not under my control) has been manufacturing and shipping in additional infrastructure and trade goods.
 
We have been slowly picking up a few weapons techs... not so much to build warships, since we are still a long way short of being able to design an effective weapon system... but because when the population of a colony reaches 10 million unrest will become a problem if we don't have any military forces on the spot to protect them.

Currently studying the techs required for a primitive missile base.
 
blue emu said:
Unfortunately, the surface geology team only confirmed the findings of the orbital survey: Mars is barren of TN minerals.

Admin rating 1, Political Reliability +15%, Factory Production +10%, Wealth Creation +10%, Mining +5%, Population Growth +15%, Logistics +15%, objective attitude, organized.

Mars is up to 2,170,000 colonists, with enough infrastructure to support a total of 2,710,000. Our civilian sector (in-game, autonomous companies not under my control) has been manufacturing and shipping in additional infrastructure and trade goods.
Click to expand...

At first I was dismayed at the survey team confirming what we all had feared. But then I came to better thoughts. Mineral wealth is the easy way, and since when did any true Prussian back down from a challenge? I will use my skills in business and manufacturing to make Mars an economic wonder to be the envy of all. With no need for miners our factories and financial sectors will have no shortage of skilled workers!
 
A sixth jump point has been found by our Grav Scouts, this one roughly as far from the Sun as Neptune. And that should be the lot. Construction proceeds on our first two interstellar survey ships.
 
Our first Troop Transport has been launched, and four Garrison battalions each are en-route to Mars and the Moon. This will accomplish two goals... establishing a minimal defensive force on our colonies, and reassuring the colonists that Earth will protect them.
 
Our first two Erforscher class Science Vessels have been launched, and another two laid down.

Kapitan zur See Hyme has taken command of SMR Einstein, and has set off to explore the first jump point.

Fregattankapitan Stuckenschmidt has been promoted to Kapitan zur See and has set off in SMR Planck to explore the second jump point.
 
Kapitan zur See Hyme has become the first man to leave the Solar system!

Jump point #1 connects to Kuiper 75, a triple-star system composed of two M2-V red dwarfs in a tight binary orbit, with a much more distant and dimmer M7-V red dwarf companion. Only one of the three stars (the B star) is accompanied by planets.

The planetary system consists of one Venus-like inner planet, one Mars-like world (the only easily colonized spot in the Kuiper 75 system), three gas giants with families of moons (nearly sixty moons in total) and one dwarf planet with its own small moon.

The Kuiper 75 end of the jump point materialized SMR Einstein only 2.5 million km from the A star... almost close enough to scorch the new paint job. The SMR Einstein is heading to examine the inner planets for minerals... or signs of life.
 
Kapitan zur See Stuckenschmidt has transited the second jump point, and found himself in the Luyten 726-8 system.

It is a loose binary system of two red dwarfs (M5-V and M6-V). The A star has only one Venus-like planet, while the B star has an oversized Venus-like world (1500 degrees C, 4.1 g) and three gas giants with a retinue totalling 22 moons. There are also 140 asteroids circling the B star. There are no colonizable planets or moons, at our tech level.
 
Dang! (or whatever the German equivalent is!)

No minerals on the prospective colony site in Kuiper 75, either. If we don't find a few decent mineral deposits soon, this might turn out to be a short game...
 
The innermost Venus-like planets of both Luyten A and Luyten B are mineralized... but as usual with Earth-sized bodies, the ore concentrations are almost all 10%, making extraction painfully slow and inefficient (even if we are not deterred by the 1500 degree temperatures).

Rat-boogers!... even better, rattekacken!... we must find better mining sites soon.
 
SMR Mach has rolled off the ways, and Fregattankapitan The Executer has been promoted to Kapitan zur See and placed in command. His mission: explore the third jump point, in quest of minerals.
 
blue emu said:
Kapitan zur See Hyme has become the first man to leave the Solar system!

Jump point #1 connects to Kuiper 75, a triple-star system composed of two M2-V red dwarfs in a tight binary orbit, with a much more distant and dimmer M7-V red dwarf companion. Only one of the three stars (the B star) is accompanied by planets.

The planetary system consists of one Venus-like inner planet, one Mars-like world (the only easily colonized spot in the Kuiper 75 system), three gas giants with families of moons (nearly sixty moons in total) and one dwarf planet with its own small moon.

The Kuiper 75 end of the jump point materialized SMR Einstein only 2.5 million km from the A star... almost close enough to scorch the new paint job. The SMR Einstein is heading to examine the inner planets for minerals... or signs of life.
Click to expand...
Wish me luck.
 
Kapitan zur See TheExecuter in SMR Mach reports that the third jump point leads to the system WISE 0350-5658. He describes the system as "a waste of Space"... the primary is a spectral class Y-VIII brown sub-dwarf, barely 1% of the mass of the Sun and too cool to glow at even red heat. One curiosity is the presence of a spectral absorbtion line at 1.55 micrometers, characteristic of Ammonia vapor! Are you sure this is really a star, and not just a big gas giant? Except for the dubious status of the Y-VIII primary, there are no planets.

TheExecuter goes home to Sol in disgust, and heads for the fourth jump point.
 
TheExecuter's second foray through a jump point has achieved no better result.

The fourth jump point led to Luhman 16, a binary system of two dim brown dwarfs, spectral class L8-VIII (1/20th the mass of Sol) and T1-VIII (1/25th the mass of Sol). Neither one is hot enough to glow visibly; they are detectable only in the infra-red, and the class T star shows strong Methane lines in its spectrum. Neither one has any planets.

Again TheExecuter returns to the Sol system and heads for the fifth jump point. Third time lucky?
 
TheExecuter's third attempt has been a bit more successful.

SMR Mach popped out of the jump point in the Wolf 359 system, containing an M6-V red dwarf, two planets... one rather Earth-like except for its unbreatheably thin Nitrogen/Oxygen atmosphere and its -110 degree temperature, the other a gas giant with no moons... and nine comets.

TheExecuter and his crew will map the system for minerals before returning home.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back