Galactic Dreams(Stellaris, Interactive/Community)

[chesapeake]

Build up what energy reserves we can and prepare the fleet.

[Brian Swartz]

2294(continued)

Deaconi Palmieri Jr. enters politics following in his father's footsteps. We need more good leaders, as it appears that soon we will have a non-FOFC Inquisitor. He is 45, ** and about halfway to the next promotion, presently ruling the Perj Sector with an Iron Fist(+15% slave production of minerals and food).

A dozen more mining stations were abandoned, including our very first step into space, the Maggrathi Mining Station on Humboldt's moon. A sad day, but it was necessary. Gen. Eusrim's two dozen invasion armies are on their way to the QSC border, and another dozen will be recruited to allow them to split into two and more quickly subdue the enemy. The timing of the invasion will depend on how long the transports, furthest away, take to arrive.

05.18 -- New science lab on Gabbog is begun.

08.02 -- Dense Jungle Removal research has been finished. The improved drives that the fleet has gotten since the last war really make a difference ... the Fist of Boojie is over halfway to the border in just a few months. Probably we will be ready to strike by early next year.

Research Director's Briefing: Dr. David Corperial

** Doctrine: Space Combat(Military Theory, 6 mo.) -- Naval capacity increases by 10%. At present, we are at 232 of 442 used, and we've been between half and two-thirds for quite a while.
** Frontier Health(Biology, 9 mo.) -- Unlocks Frontier Clinic. This building produces two food and increases the habitability of a planet by 5%. They are particularly useful for increasing the growth and productivity of inhospitable worlds in the early stages of colonization.
** Massive Glacier Removal(New Worlds, 9 mo.) -- We've run into a lot of these on arctic worlds, although I'm not yet sure what effect terraforming will have on them. At least for now though, Gabbog has several and they seem to be the most common cold-planet obstacle.

Dr. David Corperial, you are now on the clock for another quickie, it seems.

[chesapeake]

The High Inquisitor has declared the Maggrathi Mining Station to be a holy site--the first permanent stepping stone for Boojie's children into the galaxy that He has provided to His faithful. It shall be open in perpetuity for pilgrims from across the galaxy to revel in the loving embrace of His Scaled Majesty.

[chesapeake]

We're not closing a mining station; we're opening a temple.

[DavidCorperial]

Frontier Health

[Brian Swartz]

2295: War Comes to the Qravadox Star Consensus

2294.11.08 -- Gen. Eola Eusrim is gone. If choosing to rejoin, I highly recommend governor or scientist tracks; those are really the two that still have something significant to do. Or maybe admiral if you think the navy's approach needs major adjusting.

2295.03.01 -- Shaula colony has been established.

03.20 -- First contact with the Confederation of Ir-Vol-Ta. Um, what? They are militarist and spiritualists, making them fairly open to us. On the opposite side of the galaxy, they have 20 planets and are just as advanced as us, just not quite as big. Similar to the Qravadox in power.




Speaking of which, intelligence reports they are starting to take significant losses, actually losing early on against the Vun-Okon. It is nearly time ... but the transports are still some months away, so not quite yet.

05.02 -- Frontier Health research finished, and the new Engineering Facility on Gabbog as well.

06.11 -- The first transports are only three jumps away now. Latest indications are that the Qravadox counterattack is underway. It is time.

Technically speaking, we are actually going to war with the Hegemony of Yssom, QSC's lone remaining protectorate. Naturally, they will be coming along for the ride. Yssom itself will be first, and then on into Qravadox territory.

We get the usual exaggerated bravado in reply. They've named their pathetic fleet 'First Murder'. Subtle.

Best estimates are that we've got about a year's worth of energy. This will need to be quick if we want to keep the entire fleet intact. The last economic card we have to play; focusing all sectors on energy production, temporarily for the war.

07.08 -- The Fist of Boojie reaches Yssom, the first and juiciest target. Immediately there is a 'welcoming committee'.

08.02 -- Self-Aware Logic research completed. This is the state of things right now. Quite a cliffhanger, even if the battle really isn't in doubt.

[Brian Swartz]

Research Director's Briefing: Dr. Frank Justyce

** Shields(Field Manipulation, 34 mo.) -- Unlocks Shields, which are an improvement on Deflectors. Planetary fortifications are increased by 20%. Compared to our current Improved Deflectors, Shields would cost 25% more and use 25% more power, but offer 50% more protection.
** Hyperspace Slipstreams(Particles, 52 mo.) -- The latest upgrade possibility for our hyperdrives, decreasing the time required to prepare for a jump by an additional 25%.
** Subspace Sensors(Voidcraft, 20 mo.) -- Survey speed is increased by 5%, and a small increase in sensor range and weapons accuracy is also achieved.
** Extended Combat Algorithms(Computing, 27 mo.) -- Unlocks Advanced Combat Roles, improving the combat computers on our ships. For example, right now the Attack computer gains 5% to weapon damage, evasion, and 10% speed. These would double those bonuses.

Dr. Frank Justyce, you are on the clock.


Research Director's Briefing: Dr. David Corperial

** Noxious Swamp Removal(New Worlds, 9 mo.) -- Another jungle or tropical-world obstacle.
** Tundra Colonization(New Worlds, 22 mo.) -- Tundra worlds will become available to colonize. These seem pretty rare, at least in our part of the galaxy, but are decent(60% habitability) options for dry races like the Shantari.
** Combat Training(Military Theory, 15 mo.) -- Decreases army upkeep by 10%. The army will expand per usual once we complete the current conquest ... assuming that we win. At present we spend just under 28 energy per month on that part of the budget, so probably about 3 energy is what we'd save here, and more of course gradually as our needs expand.
** Epigenetic Triggers(Biology, 22 mo.) -- Unlocks the Uplift option; genetic uplift and social integration of pre-sentient species like those on Pavagh. I'm not even completely sure what that means, but the Collective has generally looked on this as a waste of resources better spent on other species like the Shantari, Theq'Lak, and so on.

Dr. David Corperial, you are on the clock again.

[DavidCorperial]

Noxious Swamp Removal

[JonInMiddleGA]

Did my Jr. ever drop dead yet? Or is he still sailing around the galaxy saying profound things like "ooh" and "ahh"?

[Brian Swartz]

Still on assisting planet research. It'd be more accurate to say he's waiting for others to drop dead, so he can get a research director's position.

[mrkilla22]

Let's research Extended Combat Algorithms

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

Still on assisting planet research. It'd be more accurate to say he's waiting for others to drop dead, so he can get a research director's position.

Well the race is on ...

[Brian Swartz]

2295-96

2295.09.06 -- Ministry of Benevolence finished on Humboldt. This will take another bite out of the energy budget ...

09.16 -- The Battle of Yssom is over. We won with no ships lost. Shocking. The defending admiral, known as Claws of Ivory, was a neophyte and no match for SirFozzie or our Fist of Boojie.

At this point, I realized I had completely forgotten something -- bringing the science ships along for debris analysis. Oops. It will take them some while to arrive ... hopefully we don't lose anything.

10.11 -- Incident on Ovastivum. Strange that there was no other available option ...




12.01 -- Ground combat begins on Whoo'tar in the Yssom system. This is taking too long -- we'll just have to make it as quick as possible.

12.26 -- Whoo'tar has been secured. Next up is Edor Vang, just one jump away. Our frigate heads to Rantor for repairs; everything else is fine. The good news is that this was, in theory, the toughest and most developed planet. Intelligence reports are that the Qravadox have equalized matters against the Vun-Okon, so they may send ships against us before long.

2296.01.10 -- Fist of Boojie reaches Edor Vang.

01.25 -- Spaceport and other resistance pacified; planet T'Sondek is up next.

01.27 -- A few ships are split off to head to Bion Dzat, one jump away. There is a frontier outpost and a military station of some kind there. Nothing a small amount of our bigger ships shouldn't be able to handle, while the main force continues towards the bombardment.

02.02 -- Research complete on Noxious Swamp Removal. We're down to four months worth of energy and it's clear the war will take longer than that: we'll just have to bite the bullet and do whatever is necessary when it gets to that point. All possible measures to end the war quickly will be taken.

Research Director's Briefing: Dr. David Corperial

** Doctrine: Space Combat(Military Theory, 7 mo.) -- As before, increases naval capacity by 10%.
** Orbital Hydroponics(Biology, 7 mo.) -- Unlocks Orbital Hydroponic Farms, the spaceport module.
** Xeno Diplomacy(Statecraft, 22 mo.) -- Unlocks Form Federation diplomatic option. It'd be nice to have allies to make this relevant, but it hasn't worked out that way.
** Xenology(Biology, 12 mo.) -- Unlocks the largely-useless strategic resource Alien Pets.

Dr. David Corperial, you are on the clock with an uninspiring quartet of options, all of which we have repeatedly passed over before.

[DavidCorperial]

Orbital Hydroponics

[Brian Swartz]

2296

2296.02.27 -- The Malcontent Slaves are using this conflict as a convenient time to cause trouble. Just working on smuggling more of their number out of the empire though, nothing too severe.

03.14 -- A dozen armies land on T'Sondek, a mineral-poor planet that was poorly defended. The Fist of Boojie can move on with only a couple of corvettes to ensure things stay under control; this will be over soon.

Omaggus is next, and two planets await us there.

03.28 -- T'Sondek is secured just as the Fist of Boojie reaches Omaggus. The armies there will rejoin us when they can -- there are still more than 20 with the fleet. A defense station, spaceports, and a couple of destroyers are all that's waiting -- this should be no problem.

04.27 -- The interstellar railroad activates again and another group of slaves is smuggled out of the empire. Price of doing business, basically.

05.01 -- We now officially have an energy shortage. I've never experienced this before in the game, but it turns out it's a BAD THING. The following are cut in half:

** Mineral Income
** Research Speed
** Shipbuilding Speed
** Army Build Speed
** Shield HP
** Weapons Damage
** Robot production

Yeah, we're not going to let this go. Orders go out for a field decommissioning of several ships. Fortunately, it's as convenient a time as it can be, as the Fist of Boojie has just reached Gluggaben, the first QSC planet in Omaggus.

05.07 -- The budget was in balance again. The unusable space debris now consisted of 4 cruisers, 6 destroyers, and 8 corvettes. The 4 battleships still remained, along with 14 each of the cruisers and destroyers with 16 corvettes from the original invasion fleet. More than enough for Admiral SirFozzie to finish the job, one would think. However, things will be slowed down for the next month, until new disbursements can be prepared. With the losses suffered in the war, the QSC Navy is now listed as 'pathetic' in comparison, so it should not be an issue.

5.11 -- The battle in Bion Dazat is over, and the ships there will move to rejoin the bombardment. A frontier outpost, defensive station, two research and one mining were eliminated.

07.08 -- Ground combat on Gluggaben begins, and the Fist of Boojie advances again, across the system.

07.22 -- Gluggaben is secure. With minimal ground defenses, these planets are falling like flies.

09.02 -- T'Tra Spaceport is down, and once again we will move in to secure the planet. At the same time, Orbital Hydroponics research has been finished. We won't invest in those until after the war, so as not to upset the apple cart.

The conquest is basically half over, though the QSC may fight beyond that point. Right now they are only willing to agree to a white peace or surrender of one of the smaller planets that we've taken. That simply will not do. The Vun-Okon have them at a stalemate on the other end of things. There are a few more destroyers around within scanning range, but nothing to pose a serious threat. Looks like clear sailing.


Research Director's Briefing: Dr. David Corperial

Again. A busy man he is in recent years, to be certain.

** Nano-Vitality Crops(Biology, 55 mo.) -- Unlocks the top tiers of Hydroponic Farms, IV & V(as a reminder, V can only be used on the imperial capital, Humboldt). More food being grown in the same space means more population and provinces available for research.
** Massive Glacier Removal(New Worlds, 9 mo.)
** Continental Colonization(New Worlds, 22 mo.) -- A fair number of these have been found, and they might be good terraforming candidates depending on how that turns out; Continental is the other 'decent' world type along with Arctic for our Architreuthis comrades.
** Epigenetic Triggers(Biology, 22 mo.) -- Unlocks Uplift possibility.

Dr. David Corperial, a little more diverse choice of options this time. You are on the clock: what say you?

[Brian Swartz]

It's been a few days, so I'm going ahead with Nano-Vitality Crops. It's a long one, but the only choice with a definite, immediate benefit.

[Brian Swartz]

2296-97

2296.09.02 -- The Korgasch in on station in Yssom and working on debris analysis; the other two science ships are still en route.

09.28 -- It seems there is almost no end to our interactions with the Ovastivum 'natives'.




11.17 -- Ground combat begins on T'Tra. The fleet will move on once again, to Spica. The only known Qravadox fleet assets in the area, a few destroyers and another military station, are there.

11.29 -- T'Tra was defended by only a pair of garrisons, no armies, and it fell quickly.

11.30 -- The Fist of Boojie arrives in Spica.

12.02 -- Roe Laren dies peacefully in the Imperial Palace on Humboldt, after guarding the Architreuthis for nearly a century and safeguarding growth from our homeworld to being a leading power in the galaxy. Doubtless she will rest well in the embrace of the great Boojie.

The new leader will be known as Patriarch, no longer Inquisitor, under our new form of government. The election will be in four months, during which time Laren's standing orders will be carried out.

These are the candidates to replace her:




Since we have no forum representation among the pool, the agenda and traits of the chosen Patriarch will be used to determine imperial policy. All among the Collective's leadership who wish to may cast their ballots for their chosen candidate:

** Glabonsch -- In addition to the shown agenda and skill, possesses the following traits. Champion of the People(+10% happiness), Resilient(+25 lifespan)
** Bhanogg -- Deep Connections(+1 influence), Industrialist(+10% minerals)
** Glosch -- Deep Connections(+1 influence), Corvette Focus(-20% Corvette build cost)
** Riblogg -- Architectural Sense(-15% Building Costs), Champion of the People(+10% Happiness)
** Abstain -- The 200 influence to appoint a specific leader will be saved, but one will be chosen at random from the four candidates. At present, we have plenty of influence, well over 500.

12.13 -- First debris analysis complete. Physics and Engineering will benefit, along with a modest gain in progress towards Fusion Missiles.

12.23 -- Defenses pacified in Spica. Paaltok is the lone planet, a size-19 world on which the QSC have herded the stone-age natives into a reservation for study. Not sure why that isn't available to us. Regardless, there are a few armies defending it but they will soon fall. They always do.

The loss of Inquisitor Laren, however, has mandated even further naval cutbacks. Without her keeping an eye on the reigns of government, things run more inefficiently. As the fleet was busy mopping up a nearby research station however, there was nothing to be done; a grotesque level of substandard operations could not be avoided for the time being.

2297.01.25 -- Clear of threats, the Fist of Boojie had no choice but to scuttle more ships to get back to full operational status. The required cuts were severe; the Inquisitor's passing came at a most inopportune time. Seven cruisers, eight destroyers, and nine corvettes were lost to bring things back into balance. The Fist of Boojie was now just over half it's original, pre-war strength.

03.01 -- It's time for the new Patriarch to be appointed. Also, Gabbog has completed it's terraforming run. All provincial blockers have been removed as part of the process. Bombardment of Paaltok is almost halfway completed, but is slowed due to reduced numbers of ships and therefore firepower. Dr. JIMGA Jr. has arrived to assist in debris analysis, which will speed up the process; one more ship science ship is yet en route. As for the Qravadox, they are increasingly losing on both fronts. Despite our economic problems, victory is increasingly assured, as the QSC has been unable to mount an effective defense on either flank. In military terms, it has been a masterstroke.

[DavidCorperial]

Riblogg for me

[tarcone]

Bhanogg for me. Is he the Libertarian?

I heard Riblogg sent nude photos of his ribloggs to his secretary.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Back and forth I sway between two candidates. Eventually I settle on Riblogg (narrowly over Bhanogg).

[SirFozzie]

Glosch: Our fleet is our major expense, so that ship cost and upkeep, when we'll need to major rebuild our fleets is necessary.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Glosch: Our fleet is our major expense, so that ship cost and upkeep, when we'll need to major rebuild our fleets is necessary.

Least surprising endorsement EVER

[SirFozzie]

What we Warmonger?

[chesapeake]

The late High Inquisitor's personal papers (may she rest close to Boojie's third heart) state that she had a high opinion of Governor Glosch and felt that he would make a worthy successor.

[Brian Swartz]

Looks like we have a tie at the moment. If there are no more votes by Thurs evening I'll have to figure out a sensible way to resolve that. Probably by RNG.

[Coffee Warlord]

In honor of my glorious father, who dedicated his life to designing bigger ships, I must vote for Glosch, who dedicates his life to making those bigger ships cheaper.

[Brian Swartz]

The Collective has spoken. A plurality agrees with the deceased Inquisitor Laren that Glosch should serve as Patriarch and guide the children of Boojie in this new era as they further their galactic destiny.

Patriarch Glosch is 80 years old, having served as the Governor of Humboldt the past few decades. Certainly no Architreuthis alive is more well-prepared for the task. Clearly a high level of naval preparedness is expected to be a hallmark of his rule, but little more is known about his intentions at this time ...

The next election is presently scheduled for 40 years from now, per our constitution, in 2337.

[Brian Swartz]

2297-98


2297.03.17 -- More debris analysis results in more progress on fusion missiles. Meanwhile, as the attack in Spica continues, a few battleships have been detected in the nearby Dalthaana system ...

04.05 -- Ground combat on Paaltor, where there are a few defending armies, begins. On to Salluria, the last of our primary systems to attack, where there is a military station but no ships present. It should be another quick sweep.

04.29 -- Paaltok secured. The Fist of Boojie is already well into it's attack on the spaceport in Salluria.

09.18 -- A couple of far-flung stations in Salluria are delaying matters there. Meanwhile, something new has been discovered while continuing the battle debris work; first minor steps in understanding Devastator Torpedoes. That sounds interesting ...

2298.01.02 -- Extended Combat Algorithms research finished.

02.07 -- Ground combat begins on J'Mideer, a max-size arid planet that is our final target in this war, in Salluria.

02.17 -- J'Mideer has been secured. All that is left is to convince the QSC, which is losing increasingly on both fronts, that further resistance is useless.




From here it's on to Dalthaana for the Fist of Boojie, and after that? Well, whatever it takes.

03.14 -- The fleet jumps into Dalthaana in range of a spaceport, four battleships and a couple other vessels, the military station of course, and a mining station. Definitely a target-rich environment.




03.16 -- Glosch receives word that Dr. Frank Justyce has passed away. His final order will still be accepted in terms of the new direction of Physics, though it will be carried on by another.

03.18 -- More progress on Devastator Torpedoes, and also something called Plasma Accelerators. Don't know what those are.

07.01 -- The battle in Dalthaana, the most epic one in Oncorhynchus's history to date, has come to an end. One battleship was lost and multiple other ships were damaged, but resistance in the system has been obliterated. The Fist of Boojie will hold here for repairs and to give the Qravadox a chance to 'reconsider' their opposition. Aside from numbers, the big difference appeared to be that they were more heavily armored, but had weaker weapons.

It is soon apparent they are not even close to giving up yet. Remind me to never underestimate the potential length of a war.

[Brian Swartz]

Research Director's Briefing: Dr. Frank Justyce

You have the rare distinction of knowing this will be your last official living act.

** Planetary Power Grid(Industry, 21 mo.) -- +500 to energy storage(current max is 4.5k). Unlocks Power Hub II, an upgrade to our current Power Hub that produces somewhat more energy but also increases the planet-wide bonus from 10-15%.
** Particle Lances(Particles, 53 mo.) -- Large, powerful weapons with a very high power consumption.
** AI-Controlled Colony Ships(Computing, 11 mo.) -- Reduce colonization time by 25%(12 months to 9 months)
** Synchronized Defenses(Computing, 11 mo.) -- This RARE technology unlocks a module that improves station fire rate and damage by 25% each. We have essentially eschewed the path of static defenses to date, but could use this on our spaceports if desired.

Dr. Frank Justyce, you are dead ... but still on the clock. Make your final choice.

[mrkilla22]

As my final choice before I head into the stars, let's research Planetary Power Grid

[Brian Swartz]

2298-2300

So it will be. You, chesapeake, and any others are free to re-join; there are many chapters yet to write. The replacement as head of Physics Research came down to two highly experienced and excellent candidates: Glorim and JIMGA Jr. As the younger and slightly better researcher, Dr. JIMGA Jr. was selected to take the post as soon as his current debris analysis task is completed.

2298.12.02 -- Here's a new one; our mineral storage has reached it's maximum capacity. Once the war is over, a massive building initiative is likely.

2299.01.19 -- Dr. Glorim has passed away; he was 127. If he had been chosen for the physics spot, it would have been a short stay indeed.

03.08 -- More progress made on Devastator Torpedoes. Meanwhile, the Fist of Boojie is fully repaired and set to push deeper into Qravadox space, seeking to force a surrender.

06.20 -- More debris reveals additional insight into Fusion Missiles.

08.04 -- Admiral SirFozzie is the latest of the leadership to pass on from this life. His replacement Garma, having learned the same style of evasion and trickery, takes over command from the flagship Alascha III.

Later that month, the fleet smashes another station and spaceport in Qasmathon, though the few enemy ships there fled.

09.30 -- 2 QSC destroyers and 4 corvettes show up in Salluria, looking to hit our troop transports there. The Fist of Boojie dispatches a small contingent of ships to deal with them. It seems they've decided hit-and-run tactics are their only hope.

12.02 -- Planetary Power Grid research completed. All five core systems will commence upgrades to their hubs immediately.

12.14 -- With the fleet reinforcements in-system in Salluria but still some distance away, reports come that it is too late for the Jaschalgur. Young scientist Coffee Warlord II perished with the science ship, though the transports did manage to escape ...

12.21 -- More progress on Plasma Accelerators, Devastator Torpedoes, and generally applications to physics.

2300.02.10 -- A new century, yet the QSC fights on. Another spaceport and a few more stations go down in Bintu. The raiding fleet has fled Salluria, and thus far is faster than our pursuers it seems. They'll stay on the trail until they are cornered.

03.12 -- They've come back to defend their territory, attacking the main fleet. That was convenient.

03.19 -- Yet more clues to Devastator Torpedoes and Plasma Accelerators. When this is over, Engineering is going to have a lot of options ahead.

04.07 -- The remains of the QSC fleet jumps out, but their cruisers were eliminated along with half of the smaller ships. Most of them did not even survive the emergency jump.

The war drags on ... but it's conclusion is certain. They are currently willing to give us everything except two of the smaller planets we occupy. Soon they will have no choice. So far, Dr. Warlord II's survey ship is the only casualty, though much of the leadership has died of other causes.

[chesapeake]

I'd love to rejoin in whatever capacity is most useful to the Collective as the High Inquisitor's great grandson, Salve Linus.

[SirFozzie]

Same with SirFozzie's progeny, Tarislan!

[Brian Swartz]

Research Director's Briefing: Dr. JIMGA Jr.

** Shields(Field Manipulation, 36 mo.) -- Increases planet fortifications by 20%. Improvement over current deflectors technology, offering 50% more protection though there is a small increase in cost and power required.
** Subspace Sensors(Voidcraft, 22 mo.) -- Modest increase in sensor range, small increase in accuracy(+2 to +4) over our current abilities.
** Phase Disruptors(Particles, 93 mo.) -- 15% damage increase over our current Ion Disruptors, which are used on one of our designs but not a major element. The Disruptor weapons line does double damage against shields, but is generally a little less effective than other options against hull and armor.
** Proton Torpedoes(Particles, 56 mo.) -- Torpedoes are long-range, highly-accurate weapons but slow-moving. Their primary advantadge otherwhise is the ability to avoid shields completely, and they offer a slightly better base damage than any other weapons system. Compared our current Armored Torpedoes, this proton variant offers a 23% increase in damage, which would make them unquestionably the most powerful weapons in our arsenal.
** Plasma Accelerator(Particles, 17/43 mo.) -- A plasma projectile weapon, the Plasma Accelerator is useful against highly armored foes which has been a common theme, especially against the QSC, whose ships are able to halve the effectiveness of standard weapons. With a 75% armor penetration rating, these would still do 11% less damage than the recently discovered X-Ray Lasers(our best AP weapon so far), but with the increased penetration would still be a superior option against hardened targets. It should be noted that it is likely we'll make more progress as the debris analysis from the war continues.

Dr. JIMGA Jr., you're on the clock for the first time with a few options to increase firepower seemingly leading the way here.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

Research Director's Briefing: Dr. JIMGA Jr.

** Shields(Field Manipulation, 36 mo.) -- Increases planet fortifications by 20%. Improvement over current deflectors technology, offering 50% more protection though there is a small increase in cost and power required.
** Subspace Sensors(Voidcraft, 22 mo.) -- Modest increase in sensor range, small increase in accuracy(+2 to +4) over our current abilities.
** Phase Disruptors(Particles, 93 mo.) -- 15% damage increase over our current Ion Disruptors, which are used on one of our designs but not a major element. The Disruptor weapons line does double damage against shields, but is generally a little less effective than other options against hull and armor.
** Proton Torpedoes(Particles, 56 mo.) -- Torpedoes are long-range, highly-accurate weapons but slow-moving. Their primary advantadge otherwhise is the ability to avoid shields completely, and they offer a slightly better base damage than any other weapons system. Compared our current Armored Torpedoes, this proton variant offers a 23% increase in damage, which would make them unquestionably the most powerful weapons in our arsenal.
** Plasma Accelerator(Particles, 17/43 mo.) -- A plasma projectile weapon, the Plasma Accelerator is useful against highly armored foes which has been a common theme, especially against the QSC, whose ships are able to halve the effectiveness of standard weapons. With a 75% armor penetration rating, these would still do 11% less damage than the recently discovered X-Ray Lasers(our best AP weapon so far), but with the increased penetration would still be a superior option against hardened targets. It should be noted that it is likely we'll make more progress as the debris analysis from the war continues.

Dr. JIMGA Jr., you're on the clock for the first time with a few options to increase firepower seemingly leading the way here.

Plasma Accelerator

With the progress already made, plus additional debris analysis, this could mean that I live to see at least one of my choices bear fruit

[Brian Swartz]

2300 -

As the second century(of many, so long as the blessings of Boojie endure) of the Collective's galactic existence dawns, we say hello to two new leaders. Dr. Salve Linus, a young one at age 31, is known only for expertise in Computing research. Perhaps a career in Physics is down the line for him. He presently commands the Korgasch, one of the science ships working on debris analysis from the Qravadox War. The second is Tarislan. That's Governor Tarislan of Humboldt to you, though he may be reassigned after the war. At 44, he's the youngest of the current crop of administrators and is known only for his eagerness to serve.

05.13 -- Entering Sinistra, the Fist of Boojie encounters another military station and a small spaceport. Nothing else much is here other than a few orbital stations though -- this is clearly not a major system.

06.02 -- Victory in Sinistra, and Nano-Vitality Crops research has been finished as well. At present, even with a few more corvettes having been built, the new administration has a solid grasp on the energy situation(over 800 in the reserve, +18 per month). The go-ahead is given to upgrade hydroponic farms, increasing the agricultural yield of arable provinces.

06.05 -- Power Hub upgrade finished on Bakangi.

06.18 -- From Omaggus, minor progress in Plasma Accelerators and Devastator Torpedoes.

06.23 -- A new science ship, the Lollusch III, is christened to join the debris analysis efforts. There are now three research vessels, just as before.


07.03 -- Humboldt and Agglor finish their Power Hub upgrades, moving on to improving the farms there as well. Energy production sees a significant spike with these developments, presently at +34 a month.

09.18 -- More debris studies finished in Bion Dazat. Some new information on Devastator Torpedoes, but none on the accelerators currently under official prototyping. Dr. Salve Linus now moves on to the Salluria system, deeper in Qravadox space.

09.20 -- Gabbog and Eskogg complete work on their power grids -- now all core planets have moved to farming improvements. Energy status is at +40 per month, with the reserve growing rapidly.

09.29 -- The fleet reaches Ereness, first of four occupied systems that will culminate in the new QSC capital system of Qratrafrana, if necessary. It is hoped that by raiding this series, they will be forced to surrender. They've been doing a bit better against the Vun-Okon, but are still losing overall on that front.




10.13 -- Defense station down, attacking the spaceport in Ereness ... and the science ship captained by P'Dykna enters the fray. A brilliant but misguided researcher, you may recall that he is the reason all this nonsense started. Decades ako, P'Dykna's heresies were the reason we closed our borders to the QSC.

11.11 -- P'Dykna has been ... eliminated, to the glory of Boojie. Ereness has been cleansed of all opposition, yet the fight must continue.

[Brian Swartz]

Research Director's Briefing: Dr. David Corperial

** Doctrine: Space Combat(Military Theory, 6 mo.) -- Naval Capacity increases by 10%. We're at 149/451 right now, so it's hilariously unneeded at this point.
** Symbols of Unity(Statecraft, 9 mo.) -- Unlocks Symbol of Unity, a building with planetary reach that reduces ethical divergence by 10%. This is RARE tech option.
** Tropical Colonization(New Worlds, 22 mo.) -- Another option to expand our potentially colonizable worlds.
** Propaganda Transmissions(Statecraft, 49 mo.) -- The use of information and disinformation to sway neighboring systems. Increases our border generation by 10%.

Dr. David Corperial, you are on the clock again as the war(presumably) is in it's final stages.

[DavidCorperial]

Symbols of Unity

[Brian Swartz]

2301: The War Refuses to End


2300.11.24 -- The fleet arrives in Tyastedore, where another station, spaceport, and a few orbital mining platforms await.

2301.02.02 -- Tyastedore has been pacified. Admiral Garma is up to *** skill, and a couple of governors, including Tarislan, moved up to ** in the interim. Still the QSC stubbornly persists that we must abandon one of our occupied planets. Not going to happen.




That's close. Really close.

02.15 -- On to Enkef, where it's more of the same, though we may end up taking out a couple of science ships here as well.

03.27 -- Bakangi finishes the farm upgrades, the first planet to reach the new standard.

03.28 -- More debris in Salluria, and new hints on both Devastator Torpedoes and Plasma Accelerators.

04.02 -- Symbol of Unity research finished.

04.26 -- Gabbog is now fully upgraded with modern farming infrastructure. A truly ridiculous amount of food is available there; nearly twice what the planet needs. That is expected to rapidly accelerate the growth for a while.

04.30 --




06.02 -- Plasma Accelerators research finished.

06.06 -- Humboldt and Agglor are now up to date as well.

06.18 -- The steady progress in reverse-engineering Devastator Torpedoes continues with the latest findings.

06.30 -- Enkef pacified. This is nearly, but not quite, enough.

07.14 -- Arriving in Qratrafana, we find a Vun-Okon fleet bombarding the Qravadox homeworld. The two sides meet, and yet the QSC will not surrender. Time will eventually convince them otherwhise, but there don't appear to be any significant targets within several jumps in either direction ...

[Brian Swartz]

Before we can(finally) finish the war with the Qravadox and get on with other matters, there are more scientific directions to be taken. It seems that never ends.

Research Director's Briefing: Dr. David Corperial

** Combat Training(Military Theory, 15 mo.) -- Reduces army upkeep by 10%.
** Frontier Collectives(New Worlds, 12 mo.) -- Resettlement cost reduced by 15%, speed of colonization increased by 25%. This is a RARE tech option.
** Nutrient Replication(Biology, 83 mo.) -- Going full Star Trek, we can use large amounts of organic waste material to provide sustenance to significant amounts of the population. Food production increases by 25% empire-wide.
** Massive Glacier Removal(New Worlds, 9 mo.) -- Given what we've seen with the successful terraforming of Gabbog, it seems unlikely we'll be colonizing more arctic planets without doing that first ... which makes this sort of superfluous.


Research Director's Briefing: Dr. JIMGA Jr.

** AI-Controlled Colony Ships(Computing, 12 mo.) -- We've skipped this several times. Reduces colonization time by 25%(3 months).
** Assembly Algorithms(Computing, 48 mo.) -- The application of game and puzzle theory to provide great optimizations in modular assembly ... that's some seriously silly technobabble. Practically speaking, a 5% reduction in construction time for, so far as I can tell, everything.
** Hyperspace Slipstreams(Particles, 56 mo.) -- Third-gen hyperdrives reduce 'charge-up' times for a system jump by an additional quarter, from the current 75% to 50% of normal.
** Uplink Miniaturization(Computing, 22 mo.) -- Doubles the effectiveness of scientists on assisting planetary research, which is what our 'junior' researchers do when they aren't analyzing battle debris while waiting and training for an eventual spot as a research director.

Gentlemen, you know what to do. The Collective awaits your instructions.

[JonInMiddleGA]

AI-Controlled Colony Ships

Because eventually this war will end and eventually we will look toward colonization again.

[DavidCorperial]

Frontier Collectives

[Brian Swartz]

2031-32

08.06 -- Eskogg is done upgrading farms. There's more good land there than on most planets, so one of them was left alone and will now be replaced by a science lab, as it is not needed.

08.14 -- Gabbog begins work on a Frontier Clinic. We may want to build more of them elsewhere for the habitability bonus.

09.30 -- The Fist of Boojie finds something worth destroying, a military station and wormhole generator in Jhurope. The Qravadox don't use wormhole travel, so it was probably built by whoever they conquered in this region of space.

10.15 -- Jhurope pacified.

10.29 -- The Qravadox Star Consensus finally agrees to terms of peace. Given how deep in their territory the fleet had to penetrate, it will not be back into our systems for several months. Here's how the newly conquered Coffee Sector looks:




A few thousand minerals are spent immediately to get spaceports and army recruitment up and running in the new territories, while the economic priorities internally will return to doing as much research as possible. Fleet buildup and other concerns will happen, but not until the Fist of Boojie returns and there is a solid handle on how the energy situation will look. To the extent they ever were, the Qravadox will no longer be considered a threat. There are a few orbital stations to be rebuilt, so that effort will go forward right away also.

2032.03.20 -- One of the primitive races we are studying has advanced further ...




03.26 -- The last of the debris fields that we can reach, with dozens of them in systems still controlled by the QSC and inaccessible, is completed. The final keys to understanding Devastator Torpedoes, which are better than our current Armored variants but not as good as the Proton possiblity that is still out there, have been discovered. All three scientists head to their appointed assist research locations, with Dr. Salve Linus on his way for what will probably be a solid year-long journey to Rakaron, in the former Djomar territories.

05.02 -- Frontier Collectives research completed. Also, Gov. Deacon Palmieri Jr. is up to *** skill.

06.20 -- The Fist of Boojie has returned. The same contingent as before the war will remain in Spica, the new gateway to Qravadox space, as sentinels against any attack. The rest will return to Impal Tov to safeguard our core systems. Once they have arrived, we will be able to take stock of the new situation.

07.02 -- AI-Controlled Colony Ships research finished.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

07.02 -- AI-Controlled Colony Ships research finished.

Yay us

[Brian Swartz]

Research Director's Briefing: Dr. JIMGA Jr.

** Interlinked Support Systems(Computing, 31 mo.) -- Unlocks Barrier Point-Defense, an upgrade over our current Sentinel system for that anti-strike craft role.
** Proton Torpedoes(Particles, 60 mo.) -- A new step in torpedo technology, high power drain but also very destructive.
** Subspace Sensors(Voidcraft, 23 mo.) -- Increases sensor range and a small +2 bonus to weapon accuracy.
** Particle Lances(Particles, 60 mo.) -- Another high-power, high-damage weapon system. The main difference is that it has excellent armor penetration(75%) instead of ignoring shields like the torpedoes do.


Research Director's Briefing: Dr. David Corperial

** Atmospheric Manipulation(New Worlds, 40 mo.) -- Unlocks the ability to colonize Tomb worlds, which are so hostile that no species can live there without special equipment represented here. Also unlocks the ability to change the temperature of a planet when terraforming. I am not sure of the precise benefits of doing that.
** Doctrine: Space Combat(Military Theory, 6 mo.) -- +10% naval capacity.
** Xeno Diplomacy(Statecraft, 24 mo.) -- Unlocks the Form Federation diplomatic option.
** Xenology(Biology, 13 mo.) -- Unlocks the basically useless(except for trading) strategic resource Alien Pets.

Three of these we've passed over repeatedly, while the fourth is new, but also time-consuming.

Good work by everyone keeping things moving over the weekend as we push forward into the new century. Gentlemen, you are on the clock once again, while Engineering is back to work after being sidetracked by the debris analysis for the past couple of years or so.

[DavidCorperial]

Doctrine: Space Combat

[JonInMiddleGA]

Proton Torpedoes ... in memory of Admiral SirFozzie

[Brian Swartz]

So a few months passed in which absolutely nothing worth reporting occurred. World-class update, don't you think? Thought so. Don't go away, I'll be here all week.

Oh, and Doctrine: Space Combat got finished at the beginning of December.

Research Director's Briefing: Dr. David 'Refuses to Die' Corperial

** Engos Vapor Refining(Biology, 13 mo.) -- Unlocks Engos Refinery module and reveals Engos Vapor strategic resource on the galactic map. This new module increases ship weapon damage by 10%(presumably for all ships built at a spaceport that has it). Each module requires 2 energy and 1 engos vapor to operate.
** Stimulant Diet(Biology, 53 mo.) -- Allows us to abuse the biochemistry of all slaves, boosting their mining output by 10%.
** Massive Glacier Removal(New Worlds, 10 mo.) -- It appears someone in the Collective really wants to get rid of these, which is much more effectively done by terraforming, since this keeps popping up.
** Xeno Integration(Biology, 24 mo.) -- Unlocks the Policy option to allow Xeno Leadership; i.e., open up the leader positions to alien species. Former Inquisitor Roe Laren would be thoroughly disgusted at even considering this option, no doubt, but nevertheless there it is.

Dr. David Corperial, you've survived to research another day, and are on the clock again.

[DavidCorperial]

Engos Vapor Refining

[tarcone]

Dang, what did I research? Or did I die?