Sirius Business - a C# Aurora forum game. v2.5

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September 1st 1968

Culise finds another planet that allows a Ground survey possibility... but only "Low" this time. Mars was "Excellent" (and paid off excellently).

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September 28th 1968

We are now designing our first actual weapon! It's only Gauss Cannon point defense, though, to shoot down incoming missiles.

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Our shipyard has finished retooling for second generation Mule II Freighters, and rather than stop to upgrade the ones we have we'll just start building more Freighters. Alpha Centauri calls! We need a larger force of Freighters, with higher speed and longer range.

 

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Current shipyard tasks... pouring out space stations as fast as we can, refitting some Tankers and Troop Transports, building Mk II Freighters...

 

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@Yvanoff - Did you want a character? A planet named after you? A ship class?

 

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Notice on the screen-shot:

We (in yellow) are shipping in Infrastructure, and the civilian companies (in light blue) are transporting the colonists for us.

 

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Alpha Centauri is getting busier.

Our colony on the ice-ball planet is up to 300,000 people, and we are setting up orbital comet mines (OMPs) on Comet #2 and later on #3 as well.

 

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Mars has the intended 0.101 atmospheres of Oxygen, and we now switch to adding Water Vapor. Let's see how much it takes to start condensing an ocean.

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With the surface temperature of Mars still well below freezing, all the water vapor we are adding is just freezing out at the poles. Not a problem, though. We'll be warming the place up as we go, and the polar caps should melt at an appropriate stage in the process, releasing all that water into the new ocean.

 

[Gawquon3]

Mars has the intended 0.101 atmospheres of Oxygen, and we now switch to adding Water Vapor. Let's see how much it takes to start condensing an ocean.

Are we actually sourcing the oxygen/water from somewhere? Like harvesting ice from comets and increasing the mass of Mars with new water?

 

[blue emu]

Are we actually sourcing the oxygen/water from somewhere? Like harvesting ice from comets and increasing the mass of Mars with new water?

For role-play purposes, it would be cometary ice, yes.

In terms of game mechanics, it's just spooky water from nowhere.

Instant water. Just add water.

 

[Wagonlitz]

If comets are set to 10, why did we only have 6 in the Solar system then? Or is it random and the 10 just the cap?

So if we mine in alpha centauri, can we then use the minerals on Earth or do we need to ferry them to Earth to use them? And is ferrying them to Earth then worth it?


Oh right, and that third Ark is what became humanity, right?
Why was it they made arks in the first place? Homeworkd getting destroyed?



If rhe stat gate is permanent why then those huge fuel tanks? Or was that the construction ship having those fuel tanks?

I'm honestly surprised rhe game doesn't give you the distances rhe AU. Km is a useless way of measuring distances in space.
It's AU for systems and P
Pc in interstellar spaces.

So mifro gravity colonies would he space stations essentially?



If we haven't terraformed Mars, how come it went from barren to Tundra, then?

I meant how do we get the resources needed to do the terraforming. As in the elements needed.
How is getting water harder, if its just adding water vapour?

 

[Wagonlitz]

Alpha Centauri A-IV gets my vote, despite the frigid climate.

Seems good.

Culise finds another planet that allows a Ground survey possibility... but only "Low" this time. Mars was "Excellent" (and paid off excellently).

We will explore it, right?

civilian companies (in light blue) are transporting the colonists for us.

Are the civilian corps setting up colonies on rhe planet we want, or also other places?

we are setting up orbital comet mines (OMPs) on Comet #2 and later on #3 as well.

Will the slingshots sling the resources to Earth or our colony in Alpha Centauri?

View attachment 1075986

Mars has the intended 0.101 atmospheres of Oxygen, and we now switch to adding Water Vapor. Let's see how much it takes to start condensing an ocean.

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With the surface temperature of Mars still well below freezing, all the water vapor we are adding is just freezing out at the poles. Not a problem, though. We'll be warming the place up as we go, and the polar caps should melt at an appropriate stage in the process, releasing all that water into the new ocean.

How do we warm up the planet? As in, what do we do to achieve it?

Also, why don't we want a denser atmosphere than 0.1?

 

[Yvanoff]

@Yvanoff - Did you want a character? A planet named after you? A ship class?

Our fifth interstellar survey vessel has been launched, and an NPC has taken command of the ESNS Richard Feynmann.

If the Richard Feynmann is still unclaimed, then I am willing to be its captain

 

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If comets are set to 10, why did we only have 6 in the Solar system then? Or is it random and the 10 just the cap? - We have 27 comets in Sol. But Sol has nothing to do with the game's procedural method of creating a star system. The contents of Sol are loosely based on reality, not on game mechanics.

So if we mine in alpha centauri, can we then use the minerals on Earth or do we need to ferry them to Earth to use them? And is ferrying them to Earth then worth it? - We need to ferry them. Yes, it's certainly worth it. Each Freighter can carry 25,000 tons of refined TN ores per trip.

Oh right, and that third Ark is what became humanity, right? - Yes. In the book.
Why was it they made arks in the first place? Homeworkd getting destroyed? - Yes. A Giant Mutant Star Goat.

If rhe star gate is permanent why then those huge fuel tanks? Or was that the construction ship having those fuel tanks? - The Construction ship. So that it can act as a Tanker when it's done connecting everything up with gates.

I'm honestly surprised rhe game doesn't give you the distances rhe AU. Km is a useless way of measuring distances in space. - AU is every bit as arbitrary as a metric. It's based on a totally unimportant planet (unimportant, except to the people who live on it).
It's AU for systems and P
Pc in interstellar spaces. - Pc is equally arbitrary... based on the motions of an unimportant planet.

So micro gravity colonies would he space stations essentially? - Yes.

If we haven't terraformed Mars, how come it went from barren to Tundra, then? - It's in the process of being terraformed. The changes don't all happen right at the end of the process. The changes are gradual.

I meant how do we get the resources needed to do the terraforming. As in the elements needed. - The game just abstracts that. There are lots of abstractions in the game... for instance, it just assumes that we continue to mine things like Iron, Titanium Aluminum... they aren't even mentioned in-game.
How is getting water harder, if its just adding water vapour? - It takes anything up to a few years for the water vapor to equilibriate with gas / liquid / ice phases. So as you are adding water, you don't know whether you already added enough and should stop... or whether more water vapor is required. There is years of lag in the feed-back.

Seems good.

We will explore it, right? - Yes
Are the civilian corps setting up colonies on rhe planet we want, or also other places? - On other places, at the moment.

Will the slingshots sling the resources to Earth or our colony in Alpha Centauri? - Minerals cannot be slingshotted to other stars. That's what Freighters are for.

How do we warm up the planet? As in, what do we do to achieve it? - Greenhouse gasses.

Also, why don't we want a denser atmosphere than 0.1? - Because we don't NEED a denser atmosphere. Everything costs minerals, Wagonlitz. That 0.1 is just the partial pressure of Oxygen anyway. The total atmosphere (Oxygen to breathe, greenhouse gasses to warm the planet, water vapor to equilibriate with icecaps and ocean, Nitrogen to dilute the Oxygen down to 30% or less) will probably be about half a standard atmosphere.

 

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If the Richard Feynmann is still unclaimed, then I am willing to be its captain

Done.

 

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We are sending a third and fourth Grinder to join the two already working on Alpha Centauri Comet 2 orbital mines.

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April 23rd 1970

We have finished retooling for Scientist II class Survey Vessels, and will start converting our obsolete ships to the new model.

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[Wagonlitz]

> If comets are set to 10, why did we only have 6 in the Solar system then? Or is it random and the 10 just the cap? - We have 27 comets in Sol. But Sol has nothing to do with the game's procedural method of creating a star system. The contents of Sol are loosely based on reality, not on game mechanics.
The TNs available in Sol still are random, thugh, right?

> Why was it they made arks in the first place? Homeworkd getting destroyed? - Yes. A Giant Mutant Star Goat.
Star goat? It ate their planet or something, right, or was that something else?

> If rhe star gate is permanent why then those huge fuel tanks? Or was that the construction ship having those fuel tanks? - The Construction ship. So that it can act as a Tanker when it's done connecting everything up with gates.
Won't there be more star gates to build, though?


Yes, AU is arbitrary as such, but it does make a lot more sense and fits the scale way better. Plus it's what people are used to.
And we do start out on Earth.
And Pc makes a lot of sense too, as it fits the scale and it's something peopel are used to.
Like, if you say that a star is say 8 Pc away you have a feel for how far away it is, whereas if you ask for that in km then you'll go all: 100 quadrillion km, ish?, without being certain and it being a pretty uncomprehensible number anyway.

> If we haven't terraformed Mars, how come it went from barren to Tundra, then? - It's in the process of being terraformed. The changes don't all happen right at the end of the process. The changes are gradual.
I get they're gradual. But doesn't that mean we were at it before teh terraformer arrived?

So if you add too much water vapour you could risk flooding the planet?

> Are the civilian corps setting up colonies on rhe planet we want, or also other places? - On other places, at the moment.
Is that a problem, as I assume they use our TNs for it, or is getting more colonies for free outweighing the TNs they use?

 

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> If comets are set to 10, why did we only have 6 in the Solar system then? Or is it random and the 10 just the cap? - We have 27 comets in Sol. But Sol has nothing to do with the game's procedural method of creating a star system. The contents of Sol are loosely based on reality, not on game mechanics.
The TNs available in Sol still are random, thugh, right? - Yes, since TNs are fictional anyway.

> Why was it they made arks in the first place? Homeworkd getting destroyed? - Yes. A Giant Mutant Star Goat.
Star goat? It ate their planet or something, right, or was that something else? - Yes. In fact, different crewmen on the B Ark offered different stories. The Security Chief was the one who talked about the Giant Mutant Star Goat eating their planet.

> If rhe star gate is permanent why then those huge fuel tanks? Or was that the construction ship having those fuel tanks? - The Construction ship. So that it can act as a Tanker when it's done connecting everything up with gates.
Won't there be more star gates to build, though? - Yes, but we probably won't be expanding fast enough to keep the Gate Constructor fully employed making Gates. Also, with tanks it can refuel ships that go by as it works on the new Gate.

Yes, AU is arbitrary as such, but it does make a lot more sense and fits the scale way better. Plus it's what people are used to.
And we do start out on Earth. - But then we would have to switch to kms when the shooting starts anyway. Why use two or three different systems of units?
And Pc makes a lot of sense too, as it fits the scale and it's something peopel are used to.
Like, if you say that a star is say 8 Pc away you have a feel for how far away it is, whereas if you ask for that in km then you'll go all: 100 quadrillion km, ish?, without being certain and it being a pretty uncomprehensible number anyway. - I've been giving star distances in Light Years, not in km.

> If we haven't terraformed Mars, how come it went from barren to Tundra, then? - It's in the process of being terraformed. The changes don't all happen right at the end of the process. The changes are gradual.
I get they're gradual. But doesn't that mean we were at it before teh terraformer arrived? - No. I already pointed out that that was the FOURTH terraformer, not the FIRST.

So if you add too much water vapour you could risk flooding the planet? - Yes. Too little land reduces the max pop limit.

> Are the civilian corps setting up colonies on rhe planet we want, or also other places? - On other places, at the moment.
Is that a problem, as I assume they use our TNs for it, or is getting more colonies for free outweighing the TNs they use? - They don't use any TNs out of our stockpile, no. They aren't setting up Colonies anyway... they are shipping Colonists to colonies that I've pre-designated by dropping off life-support infrastructure on the chosen planet. They set up their own mines... but I've already pre-claimed the best sites.

 

[Wagonlitz]

B Ark? I thoguht the ark with the humand was the last, unwanted third.


You use a unit system that makes sense for the scale you're presently operating on.
Light years is very arbitrary, if any unit is, though.

Can you remove water from the oceans again, if you get too much water?

 

[blue emu]

B Ark? I thoguht the ark with the humand was the last, unwanted third.


You use a unit system that makes sense for the scale you're presently operating on.
Light years is very arbitrary, if any unit is, though.

Can you remove water from the oceans again, if you get too much water?

Pretty sure it was the B Ark. Putting the unwanted people in the B Ark does not prevent them from having three Arks in total.

Golgafrinchan Ark Fleet Ship B

The Golgafrinchan Ark Fleet Ship B was a starship designed to relocate the (largely redundant) useless part of the population from the planet Golgafrincham. The ship was led by the Captain, with Number One and Number Two next in charge. The Golgafrinchan Ark Fleet Ship B was a way of removing...

hitchhikers.fandom.com

If we were aliens, we would be measuring distance in "tentacle lengths per breathing sac inflation".

Water vapor can be removed... but again there is lag in the process because it must then re-equilibriate between gas / liquid / solid phases. There are three "reservoirs" of water on the planet. Vapor in the atmosphere, liquid in the ocean, and ice in the ice-cap. We can only directly change the atmosphere, by adding or subtracting gas or water vapor. But any change in ANY of the three reservoirs will cause all three to interact and equilibriate.

That's why I said that the ocean was more of a headache than the atmospheric gas balance.

 

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We're getting lots of time-interrupts...

... but they're very irregular, occurring anywhere from 20 minutes apart to two days apart. A hidden hostile watching one of our Survey Craft? That would explain the irregular timing, since different rocks would take us different amounts of time to survey.

Of course, it might have nothing to do with us. It might be two hostiles stalking each other, halfway across the map.

 

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Known Space, July 13th 1970

The gold lines represent our Star Gates; so we have four links of our Star Gate network complete (Sol <=> Alpha Centauri, Sol <=> Psi Ceti, Sol <=> 61 Hydrae, and Sol <=> Luhman 16) and are working on two more... Sol <=> Sirius and 61 Hydrae <=> EZ Aquarii.