Galactic Dreams(Stellaris, Interactive/Community)

[JonInMiddleGA]

fwiw, the aging governor likes Khamb a bit more than Hark.
And finds any notion of Kraz as a priority target under current conditions as mystifying to even contemplate.

[chesapeake]

The High Inquisitor decrees that, absent any new information, Khamb shall be the next destination for the teeming schools of Boojie. When that is complete, the children of the Great Trout shall colonize Hark and other nearby planets to secure our frontier.

Praise be to Boojie!

[mrkilla22]

Let's research Cloud Lightning Conduits.

FYI, I will be on vacation until Sunday so I probably won't be looking at this until Monday (so go ahead and make decisions for me in my absence).

[Brian Swartz]

Edit: So basically well after posting this I noticed I never put up the first six months of 2331. Doh. How about I include those here also. Might be important.

2331, Part I

2331.01.29 -- Very challenging anomaly found in the Rasalas system by Dr. Tarc. For him to investigate would be a 42% failure risk, so it'll be left be for the moment.

02.01 -- Colony ship construction begins at Humboldt Spaceport.

03.09 -- Energy station finished in Yiriam.

04.06 -- Basic science lab begun on Agglor.

04.18 -- Power plant upgrade finished on Humboldt. One more remains.

04.23 -- Fleet repairs have been finished. Time for the fusion reactor upgrade. The fleet will move to Norgon Spaceport for the upgrades as the others are occupied with other activities.

05.25 -- In the Okul system, near the Thar'Biq border, an advanced pre-space civilization has been discovered. Apparently they have developed nuclear weaponry. They would be a useful candidate for assimilation and slavery, but it seems likely that others will develop that space before us.

06.01 -- Bakangi Spaceport finishes the corvette assembly yards module.


2331-2

2331.07.01 -- Farming upgrade finished on Eskogg. One more of those to go.

07.20 -- Mining station finished in Yiriam. I also made another change in our policy towards the Shantari on Micaw. It was not deemed necessary to submit a decision on this as the will of both JIMGA and Inquisitor Laren has been made clear. The secessionists are gradually gaining in popularity, but that wasn't the key factor here. Basically, the Shantari dislike us and what we stand for enough that it has become clear the free Shantari will hate us no matter what. Given that situation, there really is no benefit to having any of them free. They were initially liberated because slaves aren't as good at energy and research, but they hate us enough that even as slaves they'd be better at those tasks than they are now.

So they've been re-enslaved. Enjoy your bondage, Shantari! If you had a better attitude about things we wouldn't have to be so heavy-handed about matters. And as an added bonus, we no longer have any faction concerns to bother ourselves with.

08.23 -- Debris analysis finished in the Pyla system, where our most recent Space Amoeba battle was fought. Amoeba Breeding Program and Regenerative Hull Tissue saw further progress.

08.29 -- Fleet upgrades complete at Eskogg Spaceport in Norgon. With the new fusion reactors, shield protection is now stronger on all ship classes. The result is a 6% increase in combat effectiveness. Put another way, the Nautilus Squadron is now actually a hair stronger than before the most recent corvette was lost in Pyla. The fleet's focus will now return to building more ships to expand their numbers, and clearing out the crystalline entities in the systems around Khamb to make way for colonization there as ordered by the Inquisitor. The three such contacts in the Atlabba system are first on the agenda.

Also, another Troutstone was recently found in the Rasalas system(inner arm).

09.28 -- Mining drones discovered in Baham, a couple jumps away from Khamb. That's a third system that the fleet will need to clear out in that vicinity now ...

10.01 -- To ensure the Army's capabilities don't fall behind, a pair of new assault armies are recruited on the homeworld.

10.19 -- The last of the upgrades on Humboldt are finished. Our planet is up to the current standard on all buildings once again.

11.07 -- Science lab finished on Agglor. This will primarily benefit the Society department, though all three branches will gain resources to some degree. It's now time for our fourth colony to upgrade to planetary administration, though the required materials will take a couple of months to gather.

12.13 -- Mining station finished in Yiriam. A physics research station in the nearby Markus system is next up.

2232.01.01 -- Final farming upgrade, at least for now, is complete on Eskogg. Nothing further will be built for the moment, as Agglor takes the stockpiled minerals for use in beginning work on planetary administration there.

01.21 -- The colony ship Paschgo is finished and loaded. It departs for the Khamb system. Both the third and fourth planets are marked for development, but Khamb IV has less obstacles to overcome and will be settled first.

02.01 -- Debris analysis finished in Rasalas. Blue Crystal Capacitors got a major bump, with a small one for Regenerative Hull Tissue. Dr. Tarc and the Jaschalgur will now move on to the next system.

03.01 -- New mining network begun on Bakangi. One is started on Eskogg as well.

05.11 -- A science lab is begun on Humboldt's final undeveloped province.

05.21 -- The first of three small groups of emerald crystalline entities are engaged in the Atlabba system. Meanwhile, two jumps away, the Osmadin system has been surveyed and found to be as mineral-rich as any we have yet discovered. This seems to be quite an excellent region of the galaxy ...

05.22 -- Another pre-sentient species found in the outer arm, in the Cknoor system.

05.25 -- In a very busy week for the Collective, a research station is finished in Markus. The Mildrosch will move on to build an energy station in the next system. Also, Bakangi finishes work on the new mining network. It is now time to upgrade it. Our monthly mineral surplus has reached 100 ...

05.27 -- Stuff won't stop happening. We have established contact with the Elaaminid Stellar Polity. They look remarkably familiar ...




The Elaaminid are pacifists and materialists. That does not bode well for initial relations but they are known for making equitable trade deals and definitely should not be inclined to war. In fact, they are but one of three more empires we have discovered in the inner part of the galaxy since last we looked ...

All three are considered inferior to us. With the Oxx-Oxx separating their territories from ours, their affairs are not of great concern. Having said that it is worth noting that the Elaaminid are in an alliance with the other two recently discovered empires, and they are at war with two more as-yet undiscovered ones. Seems to be a very active region of the galaxy. And here we are with all this territory to explore on all sides but one. Clearly it is the will of Boojie.

[Brian Swartz]

Originally Posted by mrkilla

FYI, I will be on vacation until Sunday so I probably won't be looking at this until Monday (so go ahead and make decisions for me in my absence).

No problem. I doubt there will have been much.

[Brian Swartz]

2332-33


2332.06.07 -- A second group of the crystalline entities has decided to join the fray with the first battle not yet decided. This could be ... suboptimal.

06.12 -- First group defeated. Thankfully, as shards from the second are already incoming. A couple of corvettes have their shields down, but no actual hull damage has been inflicted, so Adm. SirFozzie is confident the situation is still under control.

06.21 -- The second trio already down to a third strength, the final emerald crystals are joining the fray. One of the Dorsals has already taken significant damage at this point, and saving all the ships is not assured.

06.26 -- Second group defeated. One more to go. At least the Nautilus Squadron is ripping them apart quickly ...

07.05 -- The Laggasch is attacked by a void cloud in the Teersonia system(inner arm). Dr. Aslik Deesh hasn't seen much drama in years,

07.11 -- The crystalline entities in Atlabba have been defeated with the loss of no ships. This is partly because the successive groups focused their fire on different vessels. Regardless, it's been a hard month's fighting and it's time to repair.

07.18 -- Deesh successfully jumps out of Teersonia, having taken considerable damage but the ship is still in one piece. Repairs are his first concern as well.

08.17 -- Mine upgrade finished on Bakangi. The construction crews there will be silent again for awhile.




10.01 -- Mine finished on Eskogg, and an upgrade for it is queued up.

11.27 -- Energy station finished in Durth. With a colony shipo now on the budget again and funds trending negative once again, this will be much appreciated by the imperial treasury. The Mildrosch heads back to Vermillion to get a few more stations going there while it awaits news from Khamb.

12.01 -- Construction begins on a spaceport at Micaw. The Kroll border needs defenses as well.

12.11 -- Science lab completed on Humboldt. It will be upgraded to an engineering facility.

12.21 -- The colony ship has arrived. The new settlement is named Raggani, and the lengthy work of getting basic facilities set up on a new world is begun once again.

2233.01.01 -- Agglor has completed the Planetary Administration upgrade. This is a key achievement, as all four of our core worlds are now fully-functional, able to build any provincial improvements we have developed. A pair of hydroponic farms will begin the upgrade process there.

02.20 -- Dr. Tarc has reached **** skill!

04.01 -- Mine upgrade completed on Eskogg, and next up will be a new power plant.

04.19 -- The repair, and upgrade while it was at it, of the Laggasch has been finished and it heads back out on survey duty.

04.30 -- The fleet has been repaired, and reinforced with a pair of recently built vessels. Now numbering 16 ships(8 corvettes, and as many destroyers) it heads back for more system-clearing in the systems around Khamb. Mining drones in Baham are next up on the hit list.

05.01 -- The Fijjon system, to the left of Vermillion on your star charts, is now within Oncorhynchus space. More energy and society research stations will be built there soon.

05.19 -- Energy station finished in Vermillion. A pair of research stations, both in the society field, will also be constructed.

06.11 -- Engineering facility finished on Humboldt. With this, our homeworld is now completely and fully developed with everything useful based on present technology.




07.15 -- Mag Rutosch begins a spaceport as well. Everybody else has one already.

08.01 -- Gov. Deaconi Palmieri of Bakangi is up to ****!

08.02 -- One farming upgrade is finished on Agglor, and a second queued up.

08.08 -- Pre-space civilization discovered in Barban(inner arm).

09.13 -- New alien civilization discovered in Rasalas! Designated Omega, they are flagged as neutral and will be studied immediately. Also, debris analysis in Atlabba results in a significant boost for Green Crystal Capacitors research, and a smaller one for Regenerative Hull Tissue.

10.03 -- Eskogg Spaceport begins upgrading to level 2.

10.16 -- Space Amoebas discovered in Avalam(inner arm).

11.01 -- Power plant finished on Eskogg, considerably lowering our deficit. An upgrade will shave a bit more off.

11.12 -- Taxes increased to the maximum in the Kroll sector. They are just stockpiling resources that we could hopefully use at this point. Also, the first of two planned research stations is completed in Vermillion.

12.13 -- The last of the debris in Atlabba has been analyzed, with further progress in the same two areas.

2234.01.01 -- The Raggani colony has been established. Pyla is just within our borders now, the other systems around Khamb are just beyond them.

[Brian Swartz]

We're sort of in a unique stretch right now where a lot of things are just waiting for stuff to happen. All three departments have been on longish research projects for a few years -- it's still almost a year until the next one figures to complete and the others have a fair bit more to go. The main thrusts right now continue to be the gradual exploration and expansion, colonization choices will gradually come faster. I've taken the 'system surveyed' stuff out of the updates as none of them are really individually that important anymore -- it's more 'regions of space' that are important now.

The top-priority issue right now is the energy situation, and I'm changing tacks on this a bit. It's a little while past time for that I think. Building priorities have mostly been based around maximizing resources, with the most profitable provinces being built up first regardless of whether that means mines, laboratories, whatever. As of the start of 2034, our monthly mineral surplus is 117, while energy runs a deficit of 1.8 and we're at only 404 remaining. The gradual military buildup has been nearly halted because of this, even though naval capacity(24 of 57 used) is not an issue.

There haven't been many decisions to submit, simply because a lot of things are already set, and the rest have been pretty obvious. It's a time of gradual building. To get the current exploration & expansion done as efficiently as possible, I'll be prioritizing building power plants, even on empty tiles with better mining or research ones available, a lot more. Right now I think our goal should be to break even if we have a colony ship out and about, or close to +10 in other circumstances. Lack of minerals is still an occasional thing but it's far more common that we simply don't have the energy to maintain what we'd like to build with them. A part of the issue is that the Capacity Overload implemented by former Gov. JIMGA on Humboldt expired, and we do not have the influence to re-implement it. With the election six years away and the cost of building the Yiriam Outpost, there is little possibility for other political concerns.

Also, something for Admiral SirFozzie to consider. The fleet's combat strength is just over 1100 at this point. That's over twice that of the space amoebas, so we will soon have the capacity to split the fleet if we choose and still be able to effectively clear things out. We could split it in half, or have one squadron larger than the other(assumedly you'd command this one) and have the smaller one deal with lesser threats. Or maybe we would like to leave some ships close to home. It's almost a year round trip to most of the systems we need to clear out at this point. It might be useful to start considering the possibility of a 'Home Defense Fleet' or somesuch in case of an emergency that needs immediate attention. How we balance core security issues with the efficient clearing of newfound hostiles, which the fleet is at best treading water on right now, is an issue to begin thinking about at this point. Deployment concerns will become more and more of a thing as we continue to grow.

Other than that, I would say in general that due in large part to the intelligent choices made by our leadership here in this thread, the Oncorhynchus Collective is running smoothly and really doesn't need a whole lot of input right now. Ya'll have done things so well, you've partially worked yourself out of an active job to do, so to speak.

[Brian Swartz]

One question I forgot to ask, and this is for everyone: what should we call the new sector, the centering on the Khamb system and it's surroundings? Should it simply be the Khamb sector, or should we go with something more creative? I'll take all suggestions here.

[SirFozzie]

I'm thinking that soon-ish (I see we're pretty much at a standstill new construction wise) we go with a small inner systems defense fleet, and a large outer systems fleet. The inner systems fleet will handle things close to our capital (and smaller internal threats), and the outer systems Fleet will handle the bigger threats. We'll need a new admiral to handle the inner systems fleet, as unfortunately, lag means that one admiral cannot handle both fleets.

We need to think about a a naval base far from our capital where our outer system fleet would base out of. (closer to where we're getting the new anomalies)

Also: I would suggest we name the sector after one of the folks who are no longer with us at FOFC.

[muns]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

I'm thinking that soon-ish (I see we're pretty much at a standstill new construction wise) we go with a small inner systems defense fleet, and a large outer systems fleet. The inner systems fleet will handle things close to our capital (and smaller internal threats), and the outer systems Fleet will handle the bigger threats. We'll need a new admiral to handle the inner systems fleet, as unfortunately, lag means that one admiral cannot handle both fleets.

We need to think about a a naval base far from our capital where our outer system fleet would base out of. (closer to where we're getting the new anomalies)

Also: I would suggest we name the sector after one of the folks who are no longer with us at FOFC.

Whatever anyone wants the sector name with is fine by me, but I liked this suggestion

[AnalBumCover]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Also: I would suggest we name the sector after one of the folks who are no longer with us at FOFC.

[Brian Swartz]

I don't know the community well enough -- perhaps someone would care to suggest a name or two?

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

We'll need a new admiral to handle the inner systems fleet, as unfortunately, lag means that one admiral cannot handle both fleets.

We're already over the leader cap, so this really can't be done until that changes. It would have to go without an admiral for the time being.

[Brian Swartz]

2234

2234.01.30 -- Mining drones engaged in the Baham system, two jumps from Khamb. The most interesting thing about this is that the drones are not at full strength. They are just under 60%, strongly suggesting that somebody else has already been here, and was defeated. We haven't fought these drones before in this system. Perhaps not far out beyond Khamb there are more aliens awaiting us. This evidence would certainly point in that direction. Of course, if they were unable to defeat mere mining drones, they may well not pose a threat to us ...

02.01 -- A defense army is recruited for Raggani. Espescially considering how far they are away from our core systems in the nebula, keeping a sufficient presence there seems most vital. Meanwhile, construction begins on the colony ship that will settle the 'sister' planet in the Khamb system.

02.11 -- Mining drones defeated. SirFozzie, who has perfected the art of never fighting a battle you cannot win it seems, levels up to ***. For an admiral, that's a pretty impressive rank.

03.01 -- Sometime in the last month a farm upgrade finished on Agglor. That's all for one province, another province is in need of a pair of those as well. Also, a nice moment for the much-maligned(largely justifiably) Sector AI. I checked on the progress of the spaceport at Micaw, because I wanted to get a solar panel network up and running soon after it was finished. Well, JIMGA already had them building it with no direction needed from me, and it was half done! Applauso, I say. Especially since it came out of the sector's resource pool, meaning we could spend the imperial mineral store on other things.

03.14 -- We have deciphered communications of the Omegas, to be known henceforth as the Ul-Tur Concordat. They are individualists, xenophobes, and materialists. In other words, they hate everything we stand for about as much as it is possible to, and vice versa.




They are on the inner arm, cutting us off from moving much further down, and border both the Kroll and the Djomar. By my count, there are only five unsurveyed systems we can reach in that direction, two of which have hostiles in them. Very soon that will be a dead area to us, exploration-wise. They are rivals with the Djomar, and we consider them slightly weaker than us but generally in the same ballpark.




04.04 -- Eskogg Spaceport has upgraded to level 2.

05.01 -- Research station finished in Vermillion. It's the last one needed there, and the Mildrosch will move on to Fijjon. Meanwhile, a power plant is upgraded on Eskogg. These developments essentially cancel each other out from an income point of view, but more power plants are planned on Eskogg and another begins immediately.

06.02 -- The Nautilus Squadron, minus the only corvette to take significant damage in the last battle, arrives in Tiffim to handle a sweep of crystalline entities. Only a single trio of sapphires is present, so extensive drama is not expected.

06.07 -- Micaw Spaceport finishes the solar panel network, putting energy narrowly back into a positive situation for the moment.

07.01 -- Sapphire crystals engaged in Tiffim. Meanwhile, construction begins at Raggani on a spaceport there.

07.17 -- Another successful engagement is concluded, and the fleet leaves Tiffim for another round of repairs.

9.25 -- Interesting survey result from Glabonsch, but no immediate benefit will proceed here.




10.01 -- The second hydroponic farm on Agglor has done one upgrade, and will now commence with the final one.

10.05 -- Research station completed on Fijjon, a major one for the Society Dept. which is now the clear leader among the three.

11.26 -- The Ul-Tur Concordat has declared the Kroll Star Commonwealth to be rivals. It seems that Bright Compact has a potential foe nearby, though no hostilities are imminent at this point.

12.10 -- Power plant finished on Eskogg. It will be upgraded next, but we are still just breaking even. It seems the battle for energy will be a long struggle.

12.26 -- After a full month's consideration, the Kroll pick the day after Christmas to rival the Ul-Tur Concordat right back.

[Brian Swartz]

2235, Part I

2235.01.01 -- Agglor Spaceport begins its first upgrade.

1.21 -- The new colony ship Ygglasch is christened and makes it's way to the Khamb system. Meanwhile, Mag Rustosch Spaceport has finished its solar panel network.

03.17 -- Energy station completed in Fijjon. The Mildrosch will move on to Pyla now.

04.01 -- The last of the farming upgrades has been finished on Agglor. The planet will now proceed with upgrading the science lab to a Biolab.

04.02 -- Advanced Spaceport research is completed. This will give us something to spend our minerals on -- the upgrade to the next level is quite pricey(600, the price of almost three destroyers). Getting the Destroyer Assembly Yards up and running is important though, so both Humboldt and Bakangi at least will undergo the process when we have the materials to spare.


Research Director's Briefing: Dr. Coffee Warlord

** Autocannons(Materials, 53 mo.) -- A new type of kinetic weapon, Autocannons fire larger-caliber projectiles than our coilguns, and at a faster rate of fire. Compared to the coilguns, overall damage output is about 10% higher.
** Ceramo-Metal Materials(Materials, 35 mo.) -- A new armor material that is twice as effective as what we presently use.
** Cruisers(Voidcraft, 105 mo.) -- Unlocks Crusiers and Level 5 Spaceports. Cruisers are the next largest ship type after Destroyers, allowing for three modules instead of two on each for further confusion of the naval engineers.

Dr. Coffee Warlord, you are on the clock.

[Coffee Warlord]

Wait. We can make them BIGGER?!?!?

MAKE OUR SHIPS BIGGER.

[AnalBumCover]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

I don't know the community well enough -- perhaps someone would care to suggest a name or two?

I took it as a member in this game who's no longer with us.

Dr. Tellis Perj

[JonInMiddleGA]

Ul-Tur Concordat. They are individualists, xenophobes, and materialists. In other words, they hate everything we stand for about as much as it is possible to, and vice versa.

I sense our first genuine target for complete annihilation. Screw subjugation.

[ntndeacon]

We could teach them how wrong they are by enslaving them first, then working them to death for the benefit of our great empire!

[Brian Swartz]

They aren't really close to our territory at the moment, though ...

Originally Posted by AnalBumCover

I took it as a member in this game who's no longer with us.

Dr. Tellis Perj

Ah yes, quite sensible. The Perj Sector it will be.

[Brian Swartz]

2235(Part II)


2235.05.01 -- New power plant under construction on Bakangi.

06.04 -- Fleet leaves Humboldt again. There are only two locations to clear in the inner arm from what we can explore, and the sooner the better so we can pull the survey ships there to other directions. The Laggasch is already headed out to survey the systems past Khamb, but the Jorgasch is still hanging about. Meanwhile, Humboldt Spaceport begins the upgrade the Level 4.

06.10 -- Power plant upgrade finished on Eskogg. Time to build another one.

07.01 -- Agglor Spaceport has finished it's upgrade(Level 2).

09.07 -- New power plant operational on Bakangi, and upgrading begins.

10.01 -- Upgrade to Biolab finished on Agglor. There will be probably three power plants built in succession here, and the first one is begun now.

10.22 -- Colony ship landed on Khamb III, to be known now as Schlurg.

12.11 -- The latest space amoeba battle begins in the Avalam system.

12.25 -- Power plant upgrade finished on Bakangi.

12.26 -- The first of two planned energy stations in Pyla are completed.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

They aren't really close to our territory at the moment, though ...

In due time.

[tarcone]

Im ready to survey something.

Send me out

[muns]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

They aren't really close to our territory at the moment, though ...



Ah yes, quite sensible. The Perj Sector it will be.

Nice touch there

[Brian Swartz]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Im ready to survey something.

Send me out

You have been for a while along with the three other survey captains. There just isn't a lot of detail to report since each individual system is not all that important on its own merits.

[Brian Swartz]

2236

No images for this year, but it's time to consider where we go next again so there'll be updated star charts coming.

2236.01.05 -- The space amoeba is defeated, and for the first time with no losses. It's fire seemed a bit unfocused and it was close, but all ships made it through in one piece. Three corvettes were damaged. The plan had been to head to Tersonia and deal with a void cloud there, but due to Thar'Biq expansion we can no longer reach that system so work here is finished for now.

01.11 -- Power plant finished on Eskogg, and is now set for an upgrade. New defense armies are recuited on Bakangi and Agglor.

01.21 -- Solar Panel Network finished at Raggani Spaceport.

02.01 -- Raggani begins construction of a hydroponic farm, its first provincial structure.

03.01 -- Bakangi Spaceport is the second to begin the expensive and lengthy upgrade to Level 4.

03.11 -- Humboldt Spaceport has finished its upgrade.

04.04 -- Baham debris field(mining drones) analyzed with only very minor results.

04.16 -- Debris field in Avalam(space amoeba from the recent battle) analyzed, with further progress being made in the Amoeba Breeding Program and Regenerative Hull Tissue projects.

04.21 -- Another energy station is finished in Pyla. One for mining will be built also.

05.01 -- Power plant finished on Agglor, and upgrading begins immediately. We seem to have decisively reversed the situation with regard to energy, as even with the expense of the colony being set up on Schlurg there is a +14 balance monthly.

05.08 -- Dr. Tarc has found some unusual sonic activity in the Avalam system. With a 32% failure risk, it's too much for him to handle at the moment.

06.01 -- Hydroponic farm active on Raggani. The new colony now has a solid base in terms of food production for future growth.

07.02 -- Humboldt Spaceport begins addition of a Destroyer Assembly Yards module. It is expected to take a full year to finish the work, but at that point it will be fully upgraded to our most modern equipment and ready to begin a major fleet expansion effort.

07.11 -- Power plant upgrade concluded on Eskogg. A new basic science lab, eventually to specialize in physics, will be funded next.

07.14 -- The second debris field in Baham(mining drones station) is analyzed, again with only minor results. The Korgasch, with Glorim at the helm, will head out to the inner arm and essentially switch places with Dr. Tarc and the Jaschalgur to take care of some anomaly-research duties. It will not be without risk -- even for a fully experienced captain such as Glorim, the first one has a 27% failure rate. Tarc will head to further knowledge of our systems beyond Khamb in the middle arm ... although in this area of the galaxy it actually becomes the outermost one.

08.28 -- Mining station finished in Pyla. For now, the Mildrosch has nothing left to do. It heads to Raggani Spaceport where it will undergo a long-overdue upgrade to plasma thrusters.

09.01 -- Bakangi Spaceport has reached Level 4 also.

10.01 -- Bakangi Spaceport begins work of its own on Destroyer Assembly Yards.

10.06 -- Debris analysis in the Tiffim system(sapphire crystals) has been analyzed. A big jump in Blue Crystal Capacitors and a small one in Regenerative Hull Tissue were accomplished. This is the last of the debris projects, allowing Dr. Warlord to return to work on MAKING OUR SHIPS BIGGER, as he would put it.

10.26 -- Fleet repairs are completed. It is finally time for the Nautilus Squadron to head to the outer arm, where no fewer than four large ocean-class worlds await our expanding empire. There are also six known hostile systems to be cleared and then surveyed before those worlds can be exploited. First up, more space amoebas in the Tadasca system. While the first jump from our closest spaceport at Agglor in the Leesak system is a long one across dark space to Sym, it is only one jump further to Tadasca. These are actually closer to Collective space than the recent operations.

11.01 -- The Schlurg colony has been formally established and the Perj Sector created, consisting right now of the Khamb and Pyla systems. It will grow in time. Taxes will be low and the emphasis on developing minerals for now as it has plenty of energy to start out with. Our new imperial monthly report shows 20 energy and 122 minerals for surplus, very healthy amounts. The economy has never looked this good, and the hard work of the past few years are finally showing major fruits. Also, Agglor has finished its latest power plant upgrade and will now look to build a couple of mines.

[Brian Swartz]

Inquisitor's Briefing: Roe Laren

As 2237 starts, we have five developed colonies and three new ones -- Mag Rustosch in the Kroll Border sector and the two in the Perj sector, Raggani and Schlurg. We also have as mentioned a very healthy economic situation, so there's no reason not to keep expanding with a couple more. In terms of the sector limit, we are at 2/4 right now so there's no immediate concern there.




As mentioned, the Thar'Biq continue to expand. Kraz is no longer an option as it is within their borders. We can no longer reach Teersonia and the systems around it, because we would need to go through Lessim(Thar'Biq) or Ruinam(Ul-Tur). Both are just inside those respective empires territories. This means there is a limited amount of the inner arm we can reach, and it is unknown for how long. If we wish to establish a presence here, we'll need to do it soon.

In the inner arm itself, we could still potentially build at Jompron(18, Arctic) which is just outside Thar'Biq territory. Rasalas(10, Arctic) and Avalam(16, Arctic) have planets we could settle as well. The option of blockading our side with Hark(13, Arctic) is still open also.




Here's what we know of our extension in our own arm of the galaxy, including the new Perj Sector. There are a number of habitable planets here but none that we have the capability to colonize right now. Further expansion here will not happen in the near future.




Seen here is the Kroll Border sector and our core worlds. The large planet in Impal Tov(25, Arctic) is still a possibility, as well as a smaller one in Ferathon(11, Arctic). The Kroll sector could be expanded up along the left side to Swur, allowing it to improve it's energy supply, if we went the Impal Tov route.




This is most of the outer arm, although I couldn't fit it all in one shot. Above this, just past where we'd jump in, is a habitable planet in Assaniz(12, Arctic). Just below Cknoor are a pair of interesting systems. Jebben's Maelstrom is the first black hole we've encountered, and near to it, the Saiph system has a fantastic planet(25, Ocean). Of course the key factor here are all the hostiles. Because of them, the only system that we could colonize soon will be Dawcan(20, Ocean). Within weeks the fleet will be in Tadasca for the first clearing operation. Down further, Haribas(19, Ocean & 18, Ocean) has a couple of fine planets and there are smaller Arctic ones in nearby Edasich and Nesmet. This continues to be a long-term goal, but again it will take some time for the fleet to clear a path there.


Expanding the ships available to Admiral SirFozzie will commence once again within the year as the new construction facilities for Destroyers will come on-line. With cruisers on the horizon 7-8 years from now, the amount of power we can project will continue to grow. For now, the question is where do we go next?

** Establish a presence in the inner arm before we are totally shut out. Jompron/Avalam/Rasalas are the systems in mind here.
** Blockade our side and let the other empires there deal with the Thar'Biq. Colonize the entry point system of Hark. Pavagh has a primitive civilization on a small ocean planet, so I'm not sure how that would work but I assume we could either colonize or invade there.
** Expand our core holdings. Impal Tov & Ferathon are in view here. We would push our territory in the direction of the inner arm crossing and the Perj sector by settling these systems. This is probably the least strategic choice given the fact that we can always do this later once we have more fixed borders.
** Start pushing out into the lucrative -- and thus far completely unoccupied, so far as we have explored -- outer arm. Dawcan and Assaniz would be colonized now, and we'd have the choice to expand further later on as the fleet clears out the 'infested' systems.

Inquisitor Roe Laren -- and again feedback from others is likely useful -- this would seem to be the last significant decision before the election in three years' time. You are on the clock. What say you?

[Brian Swartz]

As an addendum, it might be useful to briefly mention the situation with regard to other empires. We have contact with eight, and regard seven of them of being less than equals. Some are close to us, others are well behind us, mostly in terms of size(planets and population) and naval capabilities. Technologically we are not doing as well, though we are beginning to increase our research more and more, the bigger we get the more that effort is mitigated. In terms of the Thar'Biq Imperium, they continue to be the strongest power by far in this part of the galaxy -- at least that we have yet discovered. We have 8 planets and a combined 59 population, compared to 10 and 108 for them. We're closing in on them in terms of total worlds settled, but the population count will take longer. Particularly given the empires around them and that we seem to have more room to freely expand, our chances of overtaking them in the long term look good, but taking them on right now would be difficult. Our fleet is about as strong as theirs according to our best information, but they have larger fleet capacity and better technology.

[Brian Swartz]

2237, Part I

2237.01.01 -- Eskogg Spaceport begins construction of the latest colony ship. Where it will go is still an open question, but the Collective must continue to expand.

01.09 -- The construction ship Mildrosch, which was still using ancient chemical thrusters, is up to plasma versions now. The long-standing policy of only building research stations at the best locations has been suspended for now and it will begin building a few more of those to add to our technological efforts, but cautiously as we don't want to get into an energy crunch again. Even at that there are few good candidates, as most of the possibilities are worlds we will eventually colonize.

02.11 -- Basic science lab finished on Eskogg, and will now upgrade to a Physics Lab.

02.28 -- The space amoebas in the Tadasca system have been engaged, marking the official beginning of the clearing operations in the outer arm.

03.21 -- The amoebas have been defeated, but one corvette was lost. Apparently we weren't as fortunate this time. The next system has four groups of crystalline entities, so a repair is definitely in order before that. A replacement corvette will be constructed to restore the previous fleet balance.

04.05 -- The Kroll have been rivaled by another empire not known to us. Interesting, because we know everyone they border ...

05.02 -- Dr. Coffee Warlord has become the first of our department heads to reach **** ability.

05.10 -- On survey assignment in the Gidzerak system, Dr. Tarc is investigating some unusual energy readings. Failure risk is a meager 7%.

05.14 -- Mining station finished in Khamb. That is all that is to be built there for the time being, but should help bolster the Perj Sector's efforts. Taxes will remain low for the time being as the sector is still only operating at about +3 per month.

06.01 -- Mining network finished on Agglor, and it will now be expanded.

06.30 -- Fleet repairs completed in the Leesak system(Agglor Spaceport). Back to full strength with a replacement corvette, the Nautilus Squadron heads out to the Dawcan system.

07.02 -- Psi Warriors research completed. Also, Humboldt Spaceport has the Destroyer Assembly Yards finished now, and is ready to add to the complement of destroyers the fleet is using.

[Brian Swartz]

Research Director's Briefing: Dr. David Corperial

** Deep Sinkhole Removal(New Worlds, 17 mo.) -- Deep Sinkholes seem to only be a problem on the drier planet types. Until we enslaved the Shantari they were not at all a concern, but most of the unusable provinces on Micaw are of this type -- six of them.
** Neural Implants(Statecraft, 29 mo.) -- Unlocks the ability to recruit Slave Armies, and also the Slave Processing Facility. A major two-year construction, this increases the food and mineral production of all slaves on a planet by 15%.
** Doctrine: Space Combat(Military Theory, 12 mo.) -- Increases naval capacity by 10%. At present, we are using 24/70, so we are nowhere near our maximum but that may change with the expanding navy.
** Amoeba Breeding Program(Biology, 85 mo., 26% completed) -- Unlocks Amoeba Flagella. With this, we would be able to imprint flagella, bred in captivity, to respond to subtle shifts in the magnetization of our ships. This would allow them to use our enemies for our own purposes, as strike craft. However, at present we have no ships or installations capable of 'launching' them.
** Regenerative Hull Tissue(Materials, 158 mo., 74% completed) -- Our continued studies of battle debris from combat with the denizens of space have brought this to near completion.
** Xenobiology(Biology, 25 mo., 50% completed) -- Unlocks Biolab II, which naturally are an upgraded version of our current Biolabs allowing for more effective research in the Society fields.

Dr. David Corperial, you are on the clock.

[Brian Swartz]

And, literally three days later, another matter for our Inquisitor.




The estimated sale price is approximately a thousand minerals and an equal amount of energy, so it is no pittance we are talking about here. On the other hand, that would prevent us from any technological advancement by studying this.

Inquisitor Roe Laren, you are on the clock. Twice.

I'll hold here for now since there's a lot of stuff to sort through and decisions to be made at this point. Only about a year 'behind schedule' at the moment so there's no major rush.

[chesapeake]

The High Inquisitor decrees that the findings of the Korgasch's crew shall be returned to the homeworld and researched.

She further determines that the value of colonizing any available inner arm planets appears to be modest, therefore our teeming schools shall colonize Hark and no further.

Admiral SirFozzie is directed to prioritize clearing out the mindless aliens that obstruct movement in the outer arm so that the Children of the Great Trout can colonize these bountiful regions that He has provided for us.

Praise be to Boojie!

[chesapeake]

dola

Sorry not to wait for input, but I'm out for the weekend shortly and don't want to hold up the party.

[Brian Swartz]

You're the Inquisitor. For three more years you can do what you want. After you are back from the weekend, you may no longer have that priviledge -- or you may retain it, depending on how things shake out. Might as well point out to everyone here that early next week is a good time to be active as we'll be choosing who will be Inquisitor for up to 40 years.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I was going to advise Hark as a first priority.

Clearly Boojie communicated the same to The High Inquisitor.

[Brian Swartz]

2337, Part II

2337.07.05 -- The 'Translating Explorers' Texts' research project fell to Dr. Corperial and the Society Department, which precluded the need to wait for further instructions there. We press on.

07.16 -- Not sure I even understand this technobabble, but well done Dr. Tarc regardless. Potential physics research is the tangible outcome.




08.11 -- Physics lab finished on Eskogg. For about a year at least, the planet has caught up with what it needs to build in terms of provincial improvements.

09.11 -- First trio of crystalline entities engaged in the Dawcan system. Hopefully the fleet can hit them hard and avoid fighting a bunch of them at once.

10.01 -- Bakangi Spaceport finishes the Destroyer Assembly Yards. For now it will be building corvettes while Humboldt builds destroyers, but having two spaceports who can build the larger vessels quickly and cheaply could prove important.

10.10 -- First group of crystals in the Dawcan system defeated. They were tougher than expected. There were five of them, not three, and a corvette was lost. Since I haven't shown any battles recently, here's a shot of the mop-up a few days earlier. They seemed similar to the previous groups, just a couple more of the less powerful ones giving them more firepower in the early stages. Perhaps we should treat the red crystals with a little more respect. Back for repairs again, and it looks like clearing this system with three more such groups could be a lengthy process.




The fleet additions currently being built will be most welcome. Unlike the other kinds of crystals, we didn't achieve a much higher hit rate than they did(65% accuracy to 58%). Sheer numbers won this fight, and numbers only. The other side of that coin is the hope that in salvaging the debris that these encounters will produce might give us advances we have not yet considered ...

11.20 -- Very interesting discovery by the Korgasch investigating anomalies left behind by the Jaschalgur in the inner-arm systems.




12.01 -- Mining upgrade finishes on Agglor. Work will begin on another mine immediately.

12.10 -- The colony ship Ssaamilgus ... please don't ask me to spell that again, or pronounce it ... is completed and sets forth for the Hark system.

2338.01.25 -- Explorers text study is finished ... A new Imperial Edict known as Master's Teachings: Philosophical Mindset is now available. For the usual cost of 1 influence per month, this will increase Society research speed by 10%, and also add 1 leader slot. Also, seperate from that, a new option for Society research, Xenobiology, has been discovered and added to Dr. Corperial's choices.




One notable quote from Telisa is as follows: "The answer to the purpose of the cosmos lies outside of us, but that does not make us less inclined to find it. We must strive for unity in order to reach the answer for the root of all things." Fortune-cookie wisdom at its finest.

[DavidCorperial]

We need to study Xenobiology

[muns]

One notable quote from Telisa is as follows: "The answer to the purpose of the cosmos lies outside of us, but that does not make us less inclined to find it. We must strive for unity in order to reach the answer for the root of all things." Fortune-cookie wisdom at its finest.

It things like this that really give me the itch to go buy this. There seems like so many nice touches. 2 weeks left of grad school, and then I think the steam sale starts and hopefully it will be on a minor sale. If not ill just take the plunge.

[Brian Swartz]

2338, Part I

02.01 -- The fleet has been repaired, and is now slightly larger than before(9 destroyers, 8 corvettes). The process of building more continues, but it's time to head back to Dawcan and take out another group.

04.10 -- We seem to be finding all kinds of interesting things lately ...



Once the Inquisitor returns to make a ruling on this matter, we will proceed. Probably safe to say this is my shortest update here, but wasn't expecting this to pop up.

[chesapeake]

Improve energy production. The strongest economy possible is the greatest military asset we could have.

[Brian Swartz]

2238.04.15 -- Very quick turnaround with this latest discovery. A new type of solar cell with improved efficiency has been discovered. The Collective now has Enhanced Solar Power, which results in a 5% increase in energy from all power plants throughout our empire.

Just as these developments were announced, news also reached us from Micaw. Governor JIMGA of the Kroll Sector has died at the age of 84. He served as the top governor for almost four decades, squeezing more out of those under his rule than many thought possible.

For the moment he will not be replaced, as this lowers us to our leader cap(10/10). If you wish, you may take one of the open survey captains, or place a candidate on the waiting list for a different spot, if you wish to remain in the game. Others will follow you in passing on before too much longer I expect.

[Brian Swartz]

2338-39

2238.04.22 -- The second group of red crystalline entities in Dawcan is engaged as the fleet has returned there.

05.01 -- Research station completed in Dirmius.

05.22 -- The second group of crystals in Dawcan has been cleared after exactly one month. The fleet was more fortunate and incurred no losses this time, though there was some damage. Once again they return to Norgon Spaceport for repairs, where their numbers will grow again.

06.01 -- Bakangi begins clearing a province of dangerous wildlife. It will soon be time for another hydroponic farm there.

06.04 -- Dr. Aslik Deesh finds himself in trouble again, attacked by crystalline entities after entering the Jarad system, located in the middle arm beyond Khamb.

06.22 -- The Laggasch escapes, but is moderately damaged and will retreat to Raggani Spaceport for repairs. Meanwhile, the colony ship has landed to form the Hark colony. It's been named Agglor, even though we already have one by that name?! I'll refer to it as Hark, but I don't know of any way to actually change the name in game.

07.02 -- The real Agglor planet has finished a mining network, and will proceed with an upgrade.

08.11 -- A new defense army is recruited on Mag Rutosch, and a few assault armies in various locations.

08.26 -- Provincial clearing finished on Bakangi. The farm won't be required to start for another few months.

10.17 -- The fleet's repairs are complete once again. With the new added ships, the Nautilus Squadron is stronger and perfectly balanced. A dozen destroyers(3 of each class) and a dozen corvettes(six of each) depart for Dawcan once again.

11.02 -- Schlurg, the one planet without a spaceport, begins to build one.

12.18 -- Another research station, this one for engineering, is finished in Liram.

12.20 -- The Korgasch has finished upgrading to plasma thrusters, and heads to the outer arm to assist in working on the debris field analysis there from the recent battles.

12.28 -- The danger to the Laggasch is over as it has been fully repaired.

2239.01.02 -- Mine upgrade finished on Agglor. Time for another power plant to make sure our energy balance doesn't drop too far.

01.10 -- Clearing of toxic kelp begins on Eskogg. Actually should have done this a couple of months ago. A hydroponic farm is needed there, and an appropriate place for it needs to be cleared.

02.06 -- First contact with a new empire, the Commonwealth of Hakibori.




Ridiculous-looking? Check in the mirror, perhaps? In any case, their territory is further down past the Ul-Tur Concordat in the inner arm, as shown here.




Technologically they are roughly equal to us, but in terms of military might we have surpassed them. They are rivals with both the Kroll and the Ul-Tur. They are also xenophobes. Ultimately this is another example of an empire that is not of major concern to us due to our distance from them.

[Brian Swartz]

2339(cont'd

2339.02.13 -- The latest battle in the Dawcan system has commenced.

03.01 -- Hydroponic farm begun on Bakangi.

03.08 -- A few days quicker than the last one due to our increased firepower, the third group of crystals has been defeated. Only two corvettes even sustained damage. They will return for repairs, while the rest of the Squadron remains to deal with the final set.

03.18 -- A brief burn later, the last of the engagements is begun.

04.01 -- Cloud Lightning Conduits research is completed.

Research Director's Briefing: Dr. Frank Justyce

** Gravitic Sensors(Voidcraft, 18 mo.) -- Survey speed increased by 15%, and new sensors can increase the sensor range of ships and stations from 20 to 25. They also increase(I think) our weapons accuracy very slightly(+2% if I understand it correctly).
** Cold Fusion Power(Particles, 67 mo.) -- Energy storage increased by 250(currently 3500). Cold fusion reactors available as an improved power source, producing 20 power for a small version compared to 15 for our present normal Fusion variants.
** UV Lasers(Particles, 67 mo.) -- Another upgrade on our laser weapons technology. This is the third-generation option here, an upgrade over our current blue lasers. The primary advantage of laser weapons systems is 50% armor penetration.

** Active Countermeasures(Computing, 27 mo., 4.8% completed) -- Sentinel Point Defense weapons system.
** Green Crystal Capacitors(Particles, 45 mo., 48% completed) -- Unlocks Green Shard Thrower weapons system
** Blue Crystal Capacitors(Particles, 27 mo., 52% completed) -- Unlocks Blue Shard Thrower weapons system. These appear to be identical to the Green ones in every respect, except that they don't do quite as much damage.

It should be noted that while analysis has begun, we do not yet know what will learn from the powerful red crystalline entities in Dawcan. Based on what we've seen though, I'd expect their capabilities to be more advanced than the green or blue variants. In any case, Dr. Frank Justyce, I hope you had a good vacation. You are on the clock again, and didn't end up missing anything.

[Brian Swartz]

2339(cont'd again, still not finished)

2339.04.11 -- Debris analysis in Tadasca is complete. Further progress of a minor nature is made on Amoeba Breeding Program and Regenerative Hull Tissue.

04.13 -- The final group of red crystals has been eliminated in Dawcan. As before only minor damage was sustained. This time though, there was no debris of scientific value left. Three more corvettes are headed back for repairs, while the rest move on to Neshmet where only a lone group of crystalline entities is known to operate.

04.20 -- Toxic kelp cleared on Eskogg. At the first of the month, when building materials become available, a new farm will be started there.

05.18 -- Dr. Tarc has 'demanded' to investigate some odd radiation readings. He seemed to change his tune when reminded that the current failure risk there(12%) was higher than his set orders(10%), if only marginally. The system in question, Marath, is the third of the five originally denoted in Mineral Riches info derived from the mining drones in Wexellia decades ago. The other two lie well past the Djomar League, who have apparently changed what they call themselves. Marath itself was not all that impressive, but perhaps that will change with investigating this radiation source. That task will fall to Deesh and the Laggasch, once they finish surveying a neighboring system. Tarc, meanwhile, will be the first to enter the Ibannic Veil, a nebula which occupies the next sector of space.

06.04 -- First debris analysis in Dawcan complete. We've learned quite a bit about their weapons(Red Crystal Capacitors) which are indeed considerably more powerful than even the green ones. Further progress on Regenerative Hull Tissue was also accomplished.

06.19 -- A typical group of green crystals has been engaged in Neshmet. This battle should be over quickly.

07.01 -- The Hark colony is now up and running, our ninth planet. The energy surplus has diminished, but is still almost 14 per month, more than sufficient. The Manthall, Cador, Xolton, and Altair systems are now within our territory, and we have a firm and strengthening grip on the strategic goal of preventing any of the inner-arm empires from crossing over.




07.06 -- Neshmet is now clear of the green crystalline entities. A single corvette was damaged and will be repaired. The remainder, still all 12 destroyers but only half of their original corvette screen at 6 of those, will proceed to one more objective: a void cloud in the Dossel system, a single jump away.

08.02 -- Power plant completed on Agglor, and the upgrade begins.

08.03 -- Society research station operational in Ambisia. One more, for physics, will be built here before moving on.

08.04 -- A unique anomaly has been found in Seginus by Dr. Aslik Deesh.




I did not want to progress much further without research orders from Physics anyway, but this is a unique situation. I've never seen anomaly with anywhere near this high a failure risk. The issue here, Dr. Deesh is that you are a max-level survey captain. We don't have anyone better for this, and never will unless somebody with a trait that lowers anomaly risk comes up, which is unlikely. You are one of the oldest leaders in the Collective at 81, although for you that isn't that old, since you have the Resilient trait and are likely to live past 100. This is the type of thing that could be a crowning achievement on your legacy, or a foolish risk. I would emphasize here that absolutely have the right of refusal here. There is no 'improve and come back later' or 'have someone better do it' option here, though one might argue in favor of simply coming back later when you are closer to your 'expiration date', or that it's simply too much of a risk either way.

Dr. Aslik Deesh, for the first time in decades, you are on the clock. What shall we do with the toxic biosphere on Seginus IIa? Investigate, or leave it be?

Also, a reminder for everyone that we are now five months away from the election, a choice that will involve everyone and have far-reaching consequences.

[mrkilla22]

I am back! Let's start research on Cold Fusion Power.

Are we still lacking in the energy production sector?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

Just as these developments were announced, news also reached us from Micaw. Governor JIMGA of the Kroll Sector has died at the age of 84. He served as the top governor for almost four decades, squeezing more out of those under his rule than many thought possible.

For the moment he will not be replaced, as this lowers us to our leader cap(10/10). If you wish, you may take one of the open survey captains, or place a candidate on the waiting list for a different spot, if you wish to remain in the game. Others will follow you in passing on before too much longer I expect.

JIMGA Jr. watched his father spend his entire career on two planets, never truly seeing the varied glories of the universe. He would greatly appreciate the opportunities presented by being a survey captain.

[Brian Swartz]

Originally Posted by mrkilla22

Are we still lacking in the energy production sector?

That's under control now, +13 to 14 a month.

[Brian Swartz]

JIMGA Jr., you are now the youngest and best of our two available survey captains, leaving only one more position. You are currently 60 years old, maxed at ***** ability, and have two traits: Roamer(+25% survey speed) and Maniacal(+5% research speed). Your science ship is the Suggron, presently surveying the recently-cleared Dawcan system in the outer galactic arm. The only order we need from you is your risk tolerance for handling anomalies.

** Low -- 10% risk or lower
** Medium -- 30%
** High-- 50%

Or else just pick a specific % you would like me to use as others have. Dr. JIMGA Jr., you are now on the clock.

[tarcone]

Dr. Tarc would like to change his risk assessment to Medium.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

JIMGA Jr.
** Low -- 10% risk or lower
** Medium -- 30%
** High-- 50%

Or else just pick a specific % you would like me to use as others have. Dr. JIMGA Jr., you are now on the clock.

Custom: 13% risk or lower. With Booje's guidance, I am no slave to silly superstition.

[AnalBumCover]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

This is the type of thing that could be a crowning achievement on your legacy, or a foolish risk.

Dr. Aslik Deesh, for the first time in decades, you are on the clock. What shall we do with the toxic biosphere on Seginus IIa? Investigate, or leave it be?

I will have my legacy determined by a virtual coin toss. So be it.

Investigate the toxic biosphere