Yeah. Personally I favor Blue Zone Heavy Industrial Sectors chaining into Nuuk, with Tokyo as a side project (say, one or two dice per turn of steady investment) once we get up to speed, just so we have an alternative to North Boston that can supply the most critical needs while we spool it up after an attack that hypothetically taken North Boston out.
Well, let's try a two stream system.
Stream 1 is BZHIS->Nuuk. Stream 2 is CCF->Tokyo.
Assigning 4 dice per quarter to Stream 1 and 2 dice per quarter to Stream 2. (I presume everyone is cool with keeping HI at 6 dice for the long term? I haven't seen anyone complain about attempting to pump out loads of Capitol Goods...)
Q1 2059: 4 dice on BZHIS. 2 dice on CCF. +0 total.
Q2 2059: 8 dice total on BZHIS completes it for +8. Reykjavik 3 completes for +2. 3 dice total on CCF completes it. 1 die on Tokyo. +10 total.
Q3 2059: 4 dice total on Nuuk. 3 dice total on Tokyo. Nuuk Phase 1 and Tokyo Phase 1 completes for nothing yet. +10 total.
Q4 2059: 8 dice total on Nuuk. 5 dice total on Tokyo. Nuuk Phase 2 completes for +4, Reykjavik 4 completes for +4. +18 total.
Q1 2060: 12 dice total on Nuuk. 7 dice total on Tokyo. Tokyo Phase 2 completes for +2. +20 total.
Q2 2061: 16 dice total on Nuuk. 9 dice total on Tokyo. Nuuk Phase 3 completes for +16. +36 total.
And stopping there, because we will likely run out of power. Once Tokyo 3 completes, that would be 24 Energy used. (and only +16 generated.)
Was getting too divergent from likelihood anyway as I haven't done anything about Philly 5 completing at some point through that.
And we'll be needing more Energy for Zone Armor Factories. BZHIS just doesn't compete with the high phases of Nuuk or Tokyo. To costly on Energy.
How about...
Q1 2059: 4 dice total on Nuuk. 2 dice on CCF. Nuuk Phase 1 completes for nothing yet. +0 total.
Q2 2059: 8 dice total on Nuuk. 3 dice total on CCF completes it. 1 die on Tokyo. Nuuk Phase 2 completes for +4. Reykjavik 3 completes for +2. +6 total.
Q3 2059: 12 dice total on Nuuk. 3 dice total on Tokyo. Tokyo Phase 1 completes for nothing yet. +6 total.
Q4 2059: 16 dice total on Nuuk. 5 dice total on Tokyo. Nuuk Phase 3 completes for +16. Reykjavik 4 completes for +4. +26 total.
Q1 2060: 9 dice total on Tokyo. 3 dice on more CCF. Tokyo Phase 2 completes for +2. +28 total.
Q2 2061: 13 dice total on Tokyo. 6 dice total on more CCF completes it. Tokyo Phase 3 completes for +6. +34 total.
Total Energy used 16. +32 generated.
We'd have to be frugal with Capitol Goods for a few turns, but then we'll get both factories pumping after 6 quarters, and have lots of power.
Or swap Tokyo and Nuuk for more Goods in Q3, but less in Q4?
Q1 2059: 4 dice total on Tokyo. 2 dice on CCF. Tokyo Phase 1 completes for nothing yet. +0 total.
Q2 2059: 9 dice total on Tokyo. 3 dice total on CCF completes it. Tokyo Phase 2 completes for +2. Reykjavik 3 completes for +2. +4 total.
Q3 2059: 13 dice total on Tokyo. 2 dice total on Nuuk. Tokyo Phase 3 completes for +6. +10 total.
Q4 2059: 8 dice total on Nuuk. Nuuk Phase 2 completes for +4. Reykjavik 4 completes for +4. +18 total.
Q1 2060: 12 dice total on Nuuk. 3 dice on more CCF. +18 total.
Q2 2061: 16 dice total on Nuuk. 6 dice total on more CCF completes it. Nuuk Phase 3 completes for +16. +34 total.
I haven't seen much desire for Orbital Strike Regimental Combat Team Stations in many of the plans. Is this because they are expensive or is there a caveat to their deployment that makes them a lesser priority/not a priority to get before the next Tib War breaks out?
It's just that we have Strategic Needs, Operational Needs and Tactical Needs. And Weaknesses for each of those too:
- Our Strategic Needs are to keep the confidence level of all our military branches High and to have enough Resources per Turn to activate all Dice while gaining more Dice. This is done by completing all the various projects that build up our branches of the military and by building Philadelphia II and the various Tibrium Harvesting operations.
- Our Strategic Weaknesses currently are a lack of full new generation Tiberium processing (which we can mitigate by building new processing plants, but isn't going away until we do both the retrofit and the new generation of Tiberium storage/silos), not enough consumables (which can be fixed by building up ammo, ablat and sensor stockpiles) and not enough slack in our Logistics system for fighting a war (which we can fix by building up more Logistics projects).
- Our Operational Needs are a better distribution of personnel (civilian and military), a better defensive envelope around the Earth so NOD can't use the orbits against us (so the completion of the ASAT system and the installment of new armaments for it), rapid expansion of space infrastructure and Tiberium abatement in all environments (we are currently not doing enough to mine it out of Blue Zones, we are not cleaning the ocean floor, the Red Zones don't have complete containment lines and we are not doing enough in Glacier Mining).
- Our Operational Weaknesses currently are a lack of completed Railways in Blue and Green Zones for better direct population transfer, a lack of Integrated Cargo System for better ablation of Logistics during a war, a lack of Zone Armor so that ZOCOM isn't doing the job of the regular military and a lack of enough quality Housing for our population.
- Our Tactical Needs are better education for all (Litvinov is going to be really helpful with this), Labor pool expansions, Mental Health treatment actions, more options in Orbital Supremacy (Orbital Lasers, High Altitude Ion Cannons, Orbital Nuclear Stockpiles and Orbital Strike Regimental Team Combat Stations), deescalation of everyday life from the war footing and better preparation of our population for participation in military actions.
- Our Tactical Weaknesses currently are an insufficient amount of Yellow Zone Fortress Cities, lack of NOD anti-stealth deployment (this used to be just NOD Stealth, but we had a NAT 100), lack of Orbital Lasers, the Himalayan (isolated, which can be fixed with a MARV Hub and Karachi), South African (too many eggs in one basket, can be mitigated with Reykjavik) and Arabian Blue Zones (ZOCOM HQ and the Blue Zone from which the Mecca complex is run, needs a MARV Hub and more Fortress Cities), Security Reviews (DC is still too high for 1 Die so we need Philadelphia II completed to be able to run two of them at the same time which will mitigate some problems), better local Food and Water supplies for the Green Zones and the lack of Plasma Shuttle Logistics which would enable better binding of the Blue Zones into a more coherent entity.
So as you can see we need the Orbital Strike Regimental Team Combat Stations, but unlike some of the other stuff we need this projects is in fierce competition with a lot of other needs and weaknesses for investments. So that is why it's not getting taken yet.
- Our Strategic Weaknesses currently are a lack of full new generation Tiberium processing (which we can mitigate by building new processing plants, but isn't going away until we do both the retrofit and the new generation of Tiberium storage/silos),
We promised two stages of processing plants so we will have 1000 spare capacity, assuming we grow our income by 200R to active our new dice by the end of the plan. That will allow us to keep the old processing plants inactive and in reserve in case of sabotage and refits can wait. The Storage is something to do when we have the income for the dice we expect to have at the end of the plan(8-9 more then now) to increase our understanding of Tiberium.
We're required to grow our income by a bare minimum of an extra 335R by the end of the FYP so we'll blow straight past a mere 200 just in the pursuit of our targets and we'll probably exceed the minimum target. However our processing cap target is even higher, we're on the hook for at minimum 480 more capacity, and we're again likely to exceed that with another round of new processing plants for +600 plus whatever other smaller gains we stack up from refitting old Mobius-Granger refineries and planned cities and whatever else the future holds.
All told our final numbers at the end of the FYP should look something like -
Total GDI (not Treasury) Tiberium mining income: ~2000+
Processing cap: ~2950+
So we're guaranteed to build a significant amount of wiggle room into the system. As of the results of this turn we should be at 1670/2320 if I'm not missing anything, giving us 650 points of wiggle room already. I'd certainly feel comfortable offlining 125-250 cap worth of old plants at a time for slow staged refits if the option appears, and the amount of wiggle room we have should stay healthily in the hundreds for the rest of the FYP. There's really no need for Tiberium storage to start refitting our old refineries, there's a giant buffer of excess capacity to absorb temporary offlining of a fraction of them at a time. It's still useful blue sky research I just wouldn't expect much immediate practical use out of enhanced storage.
We're also on the hook for space mines, which shouldn't go through our Tib processing capacity. So we might have even more around depending on sequence of events.
I think that as long as the project is relatively Energy/Logistics-neutral (and I imagine it should be), it's going to be worth refitting the tiberium refineries at some point in this Plan. We clearly need the transuranics, the higher processing cap sure won't hurt, and ultimately there's no compelling reason to either keep those plants soldiering on indefinitely or to accept operation at reduced efficiency.
The other outstanding questions are:
1) Can we spare the resources to pay for it, and
2) Can we spare the Tiberium dice to do it?
(2) was something I worried about at Plan start, but it seems to be shaking out fairly well. +335 RpT is seventeen phases of Vein Mines, for example- and while we'll have the Capital Goods to pay for that well before the end of the plan, that also means spending about 41 Tiberium dice. Which isn't actually that many, now that we have twelve turns left and six going on seven Tiberium dice per turn, come to think of it! Granted, we may be getting a significant slice of our +RpT from less dice-efficient actions (like Red Zone Containment Lines and Yellow Zone Harvesting), but we may also get some from MARVs and I certainly hope we'll be getting some from moon mining, both of which don't even use Tiberium dice.
(1) is more problematic. Our budget situation is getting relatively comfy now with us having an average budget of close to 15 R for every die that we roll; we can't necessarily activate every die every turn. But at this point that's more of a choice to concentrate budget on impactful projects, less of a mandatory thing forcing our hand because we just can't turn all the lights on at once. But we have a lot of 20 R/die projects people really want to do, and we've got eight more dice coming online. Even given that the extra dice don't show up until 2059Q4 and that we'll be getting at least some more income between then and now... Well, it's a problem.
It may be helpful to mostly pretend the extra die we get in every category from Philly 5 is just a magic Free Dice that we can use if we need to rush something. Activating every dice isn't really a goal we are going to be achieving after that completes.
However, it is worth remembering that it also gives +4 to all dice rolls. Which means that all our existing dice/resources will do more.
It may be helpful to mostly pretend the extra die we get in every category from Philly 5 is just a magic Free Dice that we can use if we need to rush something. Activating every dice isn't really a goal we are going to be achieving after that completes.
By the end of the Plan, we'll have enough income to activate all those extra dice, handily. It's just right at the start (and, of course, after reallocation) that we'll have trouble.
However, it is worth remembering that it also gives +4 to all dice rolls. Which means that all our existing dice/resources will do more.
True to a point- though getting to roll eight additional dice (average progress 404 plus the bonus in each category, totalling something between 550 and 600) and getting +4 on each of our roughly 40 pre-existing dice (average progress ~160)... Well, the extra dice are a lot more impactful. IF we can afford them.
Nearly every turn plan is in some ways dice-limited, in that if we had an extra die to spend in certain areas we would, even if we had less to spare for other areas.
Nearly every turn plan is in some ways dice-limited, in that if we had an extra die to spend in certain areas we would, even if we had less to spare for other areas.
I see the extra dice mostly benefiting the Agriculture, Service, and Military Development options. Those three sections are the ones with the most progress heavy but resource cheap options.
It also allows us to switch up what we focus on. With extra dice we could go for Blue Zone Power Production over Continues Cycle Fusion Plants. Both produce +16 power but Power Production cost less resources overall (It does cost some labor and more dice.)
It also allows us to switch up what we focus on. With extra dice we could go for Blue Zone Power Production over Continues Cycle Fusion Plants. Both produce +16 power but Power Production cost less resources overall (It does cost some labor and more dice.)
I think we'd rather chase down CCF on the basis that it's a phased project, and the last phase is likely to have goodies like a better/cheaper Power Production Campaign.
I think we'd rather chase down CCF on the basis that it's a phased project, and the last phase is likely to have goodies like a better/cheaper Power Production Campaign.
I see the extra dice mostly benefiting the Agriculture, Service, and Military Development options. Those three sections are the ones with the most progress heavy but resource cheap options.
I think this will be true temporarily and under certain conditions.
In the immediate short run where we're still struggling to scrape up the 17.5*(44+8) = 910 or so RpT we'd need to be able to activate all or nearly all dice every turn even with Philadelphia Phase 5 in play, yes, this is arguably the case. On the other hand, Agriculture and Services are areas where even now we routinely leave dice unfilled because most of the projects in those areas just seem lower-priority, especially the "cheap" projects like you describe.
On the other hand, at this rate, we really ought to expect to be passing the 910 RpT line somewhere around 2060Q1, so we shouldn't act like this dice issue is a permanent condition.
It also allows us to switch up what we focus on. With extra dice we could go for Blue Zone Power Production over Continues Cycle Fusion Plants. Both produce +16 power but Power Production cost less resources overall (It does cost some labor and more dice.)
I think we'd rather chase down CCF on the basis that it's a phased project, and the last phase is likely to have goodies like a better/cheaper Power Production Campaign.
@Lurking_Badger , I think you greatly overestimate the impact of +1 Heavy Industry dice on the situation.
The big thing driving our choices in Heavy Industry is that we have commitments in Heavy Industry that forcefully demand that we commit a lot of time and effort to Capital Goods production, and Heavy Industry is the only way to do that efficiently. Gaining +1 Heavy Industry die per turn doesn't really change the situation. A phase of fusion plants costs 300 Progress; a phase of fission plants (Power Production Campaigns) costs 550 Progress and that is likely to increase with time.
Our Heavy Industry bonus caps out at roughly +25-ish, so we roll an average of about 75 Progress per die. That means we can spend four dice and 80 Resources on a wave of fusion plants, or (550/75) = 7.33 dice and 73.3 Resources on fission plants.
Given that we need the Heavy Industry dice elsewhere, churning out Capital Goods facilities, there is no plausible way for +1 die/turn to make that dynamic change. The only way I could see us going back to do a wave of fission plants is if we had more Heavy Industry dice than we knew what to do with, and that's just not going to happen any time soon because we'll always know what to do with them: churn out more Capital Goods.
Steel Talons Havoc Scout Mech Thread: It looks like Chicken is definitely in.
Crimson_Lightning
For the first time in too damn long GDI has gone back to where it should be. Mechs. And it looks like the new one is legit. Those legs look damn sweet, (although I can't get over the location of the railgun) and it sounds like the Talons have stopped being the only one to fly the mech flag.
(eeeee! Soooo COOOL!)
Okay, fanboying time over, let's actually look at this. Because it seems interesting as a whole. It is pretty obvious that this is an offensive unit, something designed with a fast moving, agile offensive across highly broken terrain in mind. Now, can anyone tell me what that sounds like?
*if you answered zone troopers your answer is correct*
So, if we are looking at a mech designed to support zone armor, I think that says something about the next decade of GDI armed forces development.
1. Offensives are in the future, with plans to strike deeper into Nod territory and secure it.
2. GDI expects the battlefield to become ever more hostile to unarmored infantry to the point where they need to be loaded into armored suits.
3. The Steel Talons are likely to be significantly increased in size and importance if this becomes a primary service asset for GDI.
FloatingWood
No, the Steel Talons won't be growing much beyond their current size.
It's important to remember what the Steel Talons are to GDI. They're the military's combat testing branch that, as part of their duties, are attached to various research facilities and provide extra security because, you know, they test things like big stomping walkers armed with big guns.
The Armour branch of GDI is possibly going to start swapping back to walkers instead of tanks though, or, more likely and with much historical precedent, the various inventions needed to make the toys the Steel Talons use get adapted to work in more traditional vehicles.
SpeakertoManagers
As part of the team that shepharded this baby mech into the world over several design revisions, I'm glad our child is out there in the world. I've been fighting the good fight for this machine over the years, and while it's changed from what I first saw, I stand behind it as what GDI needs.
I would, however, auction against reading too much into this one unit. While the Havoc has speed and firepower, that is as useful on the counter-attack to blunt NOD advances as it is on the attack itself-and it is much harder to ambush and destroy the Havoc because it can simply run away. Similarly, the Havoc can support conventional mechanized infantry who load up and disembark from APCs. And as to the final prediction, while I'm not privy to plans of that sort, it seems much simpler for everyone else to simply buy a useful piece of hardware than it is to make every Havoc Steel Talons branded.
AsAboveSoBelow
Feeling vaguely nauseous about one of the people with the worst opinions I have ever seen being partly responsible for something I actually like.
JamesandBonesy
They look cool, but Mr. H down the street says they're a "overengineered boondoggle" (I had to check with Dad about how to spell that, and he said I shouldn't repeat the rest of what Mr. H said.) ...anyway, something about how it would take a lot of work to keep it running, I think.
CowboyCurtz
I know my old tank company would never let anyone driving these things live down their crotch-gun or their entire 'too many guns' design philosophy. Just looking at the prototype makes me wanna draw on it, especially the Overcompensation Rail. Trust me, it might look big but that's a pretty tiny pecker in a big armored codpiece that shoots tiny, tiny bullets. With all those guns, and all the ammo for them (grenades, machine gun, and the railgun capacitors are all explosive in ways the insides won't like) there's no way that this thing can stand up to any kind of anti-tank missile or gun. Nobody outside the Steel Turkeys will enjoy this thing, mark my words.
Biped Combatant
Tanks are big, slow targets. The Havoc is fast; it doesn't need as much armor because of its superior three-dimensional maneuverability owing to its superior bipedal locomotion system and advanced jump jet capability. Also, tanks have a single main gun and combat task, where proper mechs have multiple weapons to cover every possible combat situation! Also, the Steel Talons are employing the most advanced protective technologies available to GDI, making the Havoc superior in damage reduction capabilities. Also, mechs are the way of the future, and will one day replace tanks completely!
FloatingWood
#Biped Combatant, yes, GDI has switched to mechs before, to the extent of completely replacing their tank forces with the original generation Titans and their scout vehicles with Wolverines.
GDI ended up switching back to tracked and wheeled vehicles for a reason, and it's not that mechs are faster and have greater 3d maneuverability.
Tiberium Confirmed on Venus
Lili Daeshim (Space Command Exploratory Division Public Relations)
Some of you may wonder why we have not shared any footage or results from the Deadalus Venus mission so far. The truth is that until today the details were classified, but GDI leadership has decided to release the information to the public. The aim of Project Daedalus was the insertion of disposable gliding drones to under Venus' upper atmosphere to get the cartographic data we could not get via orbital surface scans. During this the SCED uncovered a colossal Tiberium field on the Venusian surface. We have not yet gotten the full surface data, but the field has completely replaced the Venus surface over an area of 73 million square kilometers, roughly 16% of the planet's surface area. ZOCOM and the GDI Tiberium Safety bureau will soon comment on their preliminary analysis on the matter, but until then any questions are to be directed here.
KryptosAdept
Wait what
Oh wow, that's a lot of tib growing there. Is there any information about the tib particulate count in the venusian atmosphere yet or is that still in the works?
Also, is the tiberium all concentrated in one spot or distributed everywhere?
Lili Daeshim (Space Command Exploratory Division Public Relations)
#KryptosAdept
As far as we know this one field is the only one on Venus. Space Command engineers are currently trying to figure out a method to long term track the growth of the field.
Andrew Hammer (Space Command Exploratory Division)
It is truly interesting. Tiberium on earth is arranged in a cubic lattice formation, but the hexagonal pillars of Venus suggest a hexagonal structure. Tiberium seems to have taken a completely different evolutionary course in the extreme conditions of Venus. I wonder if we can get a sample.
FloatingWood
Well… Venus was already not a good candidate for colonization. This only makes it worse.
Solan
I'm conflicted by this news of Tiberium in the Solar System beyond Earth. On one hand I'm going to be having some great job security by being a Tib engineer with space qualifications. It's going to be interesting on how we can be able to operate harvesters to a fully automatic and remote controlled system which could take years of work and research. The Enterprise hasn't finished yet though we could make more stations for Venus itself. I doubt our parliamentary overlords would allow it without experimenting with long term living in space which we need Colombia and Shala to do. So, while I'm both excited and dreading this new opportunity the political and bureaucratic will is necessary and from what I heard from the grapevine station building is already at a faster pace with extra resources for the orbital stations. Lastly, on the other hand I hope my retirement plans outside this rock are still good because I want Mars to be Tib free.
Crucible
It is only to be expected that Tiberium would be found elsewhere in the Universe. For most, thoughts of it being confined to Earth alone should have been disposed of when the alien enemy came to our planet and slaughtered our people to harvest it for their own benefit. The question I would delight in knowing the answer to then is this. Did a seed of Tiberium land upon Venus at the same time as Earth? Struggling to take root due to the violent and destructive force of that planet's atmosphere. Or did some of Earth's Tiberium get launched towards Venus from the destruction of Temple Prime by Ion Cannon strike?
It is simple physics that such a large explosion would send at least some debris out of the grasp of Earth's gravity and into the wider solar system, and if so, where else will we find Tiberium?
Andrew Hammer (Space Command Exploratory Division)
#Crucible
With long term observations we should be able to narrow down the initial impact window. A faster spread rate would suggest a more recent arrival and a slower one an older one.
FloatingWood
If enough tiberium escaped Earth's gravity to make this mess on Venus, the Moon should be buried under the damn crystal and slowly becoming a glassy green marble.
Fate Glasses
I know this is still new and far away to everyone, but I'm primarily worried about what this means for us back on Earth. Because however long it takes to set up, however much it costs, once GDI starts getting serious on Venus this will be an absolutely massive source of Tiberium that GDI doesn't have to fight with NOD for. We all know that GDI's global economy already outsizes NOD. But with an entire second planet's worth of Tiberium and no NOD to slow them down, Venus could be the economic endgame in the conflict between GDI and NOD.
But that's only if GDI has the time to get there. Because if there's anything that might bring Kane back from vacation, it's this. And that is what I'm worried about: NOD literally can not afford to let GDI mine on Venus. What will they do to try and stop us?
FloatingWood
The problem isn't getting there. I mean, if GDI really wanted to, it could get there by 2070. The problem is staying there. Tiberium is actually the lesser problem, given the inescapable heat, pressure, depth of the atmosphere and rains made of acid of the venereal environment. If tiberium had spread to Mars or the Moon? GDI could start harvesting operations in months, with remote operated platforms if necessary.
Venus is so hostile that solving how to survive that environment rather than kludging a quick fix together whenever something pops up is an absolute requirement.
AgathaH
I say this in the most excitedly terrified way possible: Time for SCIENCE!
EvaDatabase
……This is because I made that joke about Tiberium on Mars isn't it?
Political Support: 75
SCIENCE Meter: 4/4
Free Dice: 7
Tiberium Spread
18.32 Blue Zone
3.14 Green Zone
23.42 Yellow Zone (86 Points of Abatement)
55.12 Red Zone (67 Points of Abatement)
Current Economic Issues:
Housing: Major Surplus (+16) (23 population in low quality housing) (1 points of refugees)
Energy: Major Capacity Surpluses (+13) (+3 in reserve)
Logistics: Limited Surpluses (+7)
Food: Major Surpluses (+21) (+8 in reserve)
Health: Steadily Improved (+11) (3 consumed by emergency refugee healthcare)
Capital Goods: Marginal Surpluses (+3)
Consumer Goods: Significant Surpluses (+34) (+5 from private industry)
Labor: Significant Surpluses (+30) (+4 per turn)
Tiberium Processing Capacity (1670/2320)
Green Zone
Water: Notable Surpluses (+6)
Plan Goals
Capital Goods: 49 Points
Consumer Goods: 103 (38) Points
Food: 20 points in reserve
Income: 330 Points
Stations: 3287 Points
Abatement: 25 Points
Processing: 480 points
Projects
Complete ASAT Phase 4
Complete OSRCT Phase 4
Prototype Plasma Weapons Development
Orbital Defense Laser Development
Railgun Munitions Development
Tactical Plasma Weapons Development
Complete the Point Defense Refits
Complete at least three more phases of Shell Plants
Complete at least two more phase of Ablative Armor
Complete at least two more phases of URLS production
Complete at least two phases of Wadamalaw Kudzu Plantations
Complete at least two more phases of Blue Zone Arcologies
Complete GDSS Enterprise
Complete GDSS Philadelphia II
Complete at least six phases of Space Mines
Complete Perennials Phase 3
Complete at least four phases of Karachi Planned City
Develop Tactical Ion Cannons
Develop and Deploy Mastodon
Deploy Havoc
Politics
Amidst the discovery of Tiberium in Venus and the lower tempo of Nod's operations, Litvinov continued her crusade. This time, however, the security state resisted and pushed back. Litvinov attempted to change the requirements for adverse counterintelligence operations. By posing as members of the Brotherhood of Nod, GDI operatives have tended to be able to collect groups of disaffected individuals and plan fake terrorist attacks, arresting the erstwhile attackers as they made their attempt. It is a widely negatively perceived approach, with civilians often seeing them as not actually helping secure GDI and its people.
However, Litvinov's attempt to push back against the practice have been stymied by the security state, with even Hackett, who has often supported her attempts to reform the Initiative, turning against her attempt to regulate the practice, if not out of existence at least to limits of "clear and imminent threat"
Assassination Attempt.
This quarter, a notably amateurish assassination attempt was made on William Frank, the lead newscaster for W3N. A strong supporter of the Grangers, he has been one of the leading Blue Zone voices for greater integration and the truth of the Yellow Zoner experience. However, since the end of the Granger administration he has stepped back from being the voice of GDI on the nightly news, and begun filming work on a a series of specials under the title "Life In the Borderlands" Ducking back and forth across the border, meeting refugee convoys on one side, and then days or weeks later interviewing those same refugees as they had been settled in GDI territory, and then a series of further interviews months, and if the series continues, years out, the story of Life in the Borderlands is likely one of the most important journalistic exercises of the modern day.
The assassination attempt was simple. After Franks settled down for what was likely to be a three to four day period interviewing new arrivals at one of the border fortress towns, a gang of locals, apparently unhappy with Frank's presence confronted him. While the guards attempted to defuse the situation, one slipped a single shot chemical laser out of their pocket, of the same style that have been found in the arsenals of many spies and infiltrators since the Third Tiberium war, and attempted to fire on Franks. However, instead of hitting the man, he scored a shot into the ground, and as GDI security moved from observation to containment, two bodyguards rushed Franks away.
Two days later, Franks requested permission to interview the man.
"I have nothing to say, heathen."
"I don't know about that young man, I think for someone to do what you did, throw your life away just to take mine. Sounds to me like you've got some very strong convictions and sincere beliefs. Help me understand them. Please."
"What is there to explain? You know NOD's enmity to GDI"
"Now son that's not what I was asking, why did we have to die? You and me? Am I so dangerous? Is your future so cheap?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because your fucking sanctimonius face was always up shoving the hypocrisies of GDI onto the airwaves."
Brotherhood of Nod
Gideon has been more active recently, making probing attacks towards the Louisiana coast where GDI has both a major Tiberium Glacier mine, and a still far from complete MARV base. While currently these have not reached within seventy five kilometers of the base, they are noticeably strong, likely capable of storming the base and destroying both it and the mines if action is not taken soon.
Elsewhere, Krukov has been gathering his strength once more and putting down uprisings across his territory, especially in the fractious east. Open warfare has occurred across the Russian steppe, with Krukov making multiple shows of force in taking his opposition's fortresses by storm rather than siege operations.
In Europe, Reynaldo has become more active, with significant attempts to subvert or destroy GDI outposts on the edges of the Green Zone. His operations have been small scale, and relatively low risk.
Battle of the North Atlantic
In the North Atlantic this quarter, a pair of Brotherhood subs, small ones of an unknown type, made contact with a pair of modernized GDI cruisers, including the laser refit. The two immediately salvoed thirty two sea skimming cruise missiles. While the single laser mount on each punched significant holes in the missile swarm, shooting down a full quarter of the missiles, the two ships threw themselves into evasive maneuvers.
Following missile launch, both cruisers began launching pairs of ASROCs, laying a network of torpedoes, trying to kill the submarines before they got hit by incoming torpedoes. At the same time, both began emptying their interceptor racks, launching dozens of sea sparrow derived missiles, splashing another three of the cruise missiles before they passed out of range.
As the submarines dove, pairs of stern mounted torpedo tubes launched, sending supercavitating torpedoes racing beneath the keel of the two ships. As the torpedoes detonated, the cruisers jumped, bucking as their backs broke under the pressure of water hammering up into the citadels and engineering spaces. The ships themselves are complete write offs, having sunk rapidly. The crew however, for the most part, survived. Between the two ships some two hundred survivors made it off. Recognizing that any attempts to do damage control beyond automatic systems was useless, the surviving crew made it to life boats and began making their way towards the English coast. Within half an hour however, hydrofoils were being vectored in, and all survivors were rescued within the next four hours. However, there was no trace of the submarines. While the survivors reported hearing a detonation that he believed to be an ASROC finding a target, it is unknown if it did, or how much damage occurred.
In Manchester, air raid alarms sounded for the first time since the Third Tiberium War, sending civilians rushing for shelter and military forces scrambling to duty stations. The surviving missiles rained down from the sky over an area of roughly ten square kilometers, with no apparent rhyme or reason. While the target area was centered on the Manchester chip fabricator, it did not sustain more than minor damage, with a single missile falling on an empty warehouse. Damage elsewhere was significantly less limited, with noticeable casualties in the nearby apartment blocks.
Ground Forces
The Ground Forces have spent the last quarter restocking, shifting supplies north to complete rebuilding of the emptied caches that were expended fighting off Krukov. Elsewhere, the continued growth of the Yellow Zones has primarily taken off the pressure, with many Brotherhood commanders seemingly deciding that attacking GDI is not the most meaningful use of their resources compared to seizing and exploiting the new yellow zones.
Air Force
Between increasing production on critical airframes, and the general defensive stance, GDI's air force is in a strong position, and has only one major complaint, a lack of preparation for the next war. Fundamentally, technological development is a key piece of GDI's ability to maintain air superiority, and at this time there are many technologies that are likely to significantly increase GDI's ability to do that.
Zone Operations Command
At this point, the Zone Operations Command is quite happy with the reduction of effort spent attacking the deep Red Zone glacier mines. While they do believe a few more are possible, they do wish to maintain a significant mobile force in case of war, one that they expect to come within two years at the current rate of operational intensification.
Military Priorities
Ground Forces
For the Ground Forces, the highest priority must be the prompt delivery of Zone Armor as soon as possible. With the new artillery already hitting the field, completion is expected next quarter, which should drastically reduce the overall shell problem. Third is consumables. While current consumables supplies are enough for smaller scale operations, general operations exhaust supplies quickly.
Currently, the provision of vehicles is generally sufficient. However, many of the existing designs lack the space or other requirements for enhancing capabilities. Though these will require replacements during the coming years, the completion of the refit has mollified these concerns..
Steel Talons
The Steel Talons desperately want to see their current design docket completed in line with the goals committed to in exchange for Tali Jackson. With the Havoc developed and ready for action, they definitely want it in the field as soon as possible. They are also very interested in new weapons and armor technologies, especially the potential of the Ion Cannon system in novel configurations. In terms of truly blue-skies research, they are curious about the logistics of a plasma cannon battery as used by Bintang and where it could be used properly.
Air Force
With the missile problem well on its way to being resolved– although none would gainsay more supplies being available– the Air Force has reassesed its priorities. The most important of them is the A-16 Orcas, but the Wingman drones are not far behind. Beyond that, Cherdenko's intelligence has led to the Aurora bomber being increased in priority. However, the key systems at this point are not more new airframes but rather new tools for airframes, especially things like the Wingman Drones and other means to increase pilot efficiency.
Navy
GDI's naval forces have returned to a point where convoys can expect routine escort, and even attempted blockades can be forced, although not without sacrificing other routes. Though they see the escort carriers with the naval variants of the Orcas as the next major important area to invest in. With the completion of the Busan-Ulsan yard, Point Defense refits are the highest priority– though some among the Naval Command felt as if they've accidentally bit into a lemon, as promises of contemporary laser weapons loomed over the horizon. With those nearly complete however, they are also looking into expanding the number of ships drastically, as less than two hundred hulls is simply not enough to cover a global operational zone.
Space Force
The Space Force strongly desires the OSRCT concept to move as soon as possible from the drawing board to reality. Additionally, the development of new technologies is an increasingly high priority, as systems to defeat the Ion Cannon network are only likely to proliferate.
Abatement Operations
GDI's abatement projections, even with ongoing mutation, put the end of life on earth at decades away, and barring a significant reversal of GDI's military fortunes, one where the Blue Zones are likely to remain secure for a long time. With nearly nine years of effort, GDI has pushed back the Yellow Zones to beyond the post Third Tiberium War borders, and with another year expects to reclaim all lost territories.
With this there are a number of key potential flashpoints. First is the need to keep abatement operations going with the push back of the Brotherhood of Nod. While it would be very convenient for the Brotherhood to give up on attacking GDI's abatement efforts and allow the front line to roll over their positions, that is unlikely to happen, and while negotiation efforts are ongoing to allow operations like spiking to occur in the Yellow Zones, they have not borne fruit, meaning that it is very likely that military operations will be needed to prevent the Brotherhood from actively spreading Tiberium to counter GDI operations around the world.
[ ] Blue Zone Arcologies (Stage 3) (Updated)
A further wave of arcology construction will include the first Arcology Complexes, clusters of multiple arcologies that operate in conjunction and can support each other, built since the Third Tiberium War. Additionally, a further wave of construction in the secondary and tertiary cities will spread out the arcology housing, allowing for availability in more locations.
(Progress 302/650: 15 resources per die) (+8 Housing, +4 Consumer Goods, +1 Energy Reserve, -2 Energy) (High Priority)
Another wave of Blue Zone Arcologies have continued to see investment. As they are the most desirable form of housing available in the Initiative, building more, and more clusters, is one of the reliable routes to widespread popularity. The majority of the new platforms are extensions to earlier one, forming two and three cell arcology complexes, beginning to form honeycomb patterns. While even the most significant constructions will not coat the Blue Zones in honeycombs, they are noticeable. Between the hexagons, the complexes play home to rock gardens and transport infrastructure, with most having dedicated railway stops, linking them more fully into the GDI system.
The continued construction has however quieted the more political problems. While not a fully breakneck pace, it is a rapid one, pushing the arcologies ever closer to completion and ensuring that more spots are opening up, providing hope for both Green Zone and Blue Zone populations that the future will be arcologies for all, at least until something significant changes.
[ ] Communal Housing Experiments (New)
Building communal housing units, designed around a common professionally operated kitchen and grounds should provide for a combination of privacy, high quality supplies, and a sense of communal living, all at a cost significantly cheaper than even the apartment complexes. This form of living should create community and camaraderie among a population, even if it is disrupted at times due to people moving in or out.
(Progress 72/140: 10 resources per die) (+8 Housing) (-5 PS)
The communal housing experiments have been slow to take form, primarily over debates about which format and approach to take when it comes to common spaces and private ones. While some designs, (such as megablocks) have been rejected outright, there have been many iterations on the format, and so there is not one single pattern that these buildings are being constructed towards, further slowing construction, as it is not quite as simple as providing a flat piece of foundation and putting the construction drones on automatic.
One consistent worry throughout the process has been the simple fact that there are severe pressures involved in providing housing, any housing, to the population. With large sections stuck in the Green Zones and wanting to get out ahead of the coming conflicts, there is massive demand for anything, even an otherwise difficult to live in experimental housing construction.
[ ] Continuous Cycle Fusion Plants (Phase 2)
With the plant design standardized and more fully tested, it is time to begin rolling out the designs enmasse. While still somewhat more resource intensive than traditional fission plants, they are much faster to build. Furthermore, the completion of this phase would signal the maturing of the cycle plants and mark a milestone in furthering energy security for the GDI.
(Progress 300/300: 20 resources per Die) (+16 Energy) (+5 Political Support)
(Progress 125/300: 20 resources per Die) (+16 Energy)
The emphasis for heavy industry this quarter has been the mass development of fusion power for the Initiative. Not only a second wave of power plants, these far more standardized than earlier developments, but significant beginnings on a third, scheduled for rolling deployment as needed. While it will likely get eaten up in less than a year, between the many needs of the Initiative, it does mean that heavy industrial resources can go elsewhere, for example the much needed surges of capital goods to finish major treasury projects, or providing enough for the private sector to sustain continuing growth.
The plants are mostly of a simplified and standardized design. With the worst possible outcome being a radioactive steam explosion, and most of that coming from the protective systems themselves, they do not require nearly as much work to contain them as traditional nuclear reactors. Similar cost cutting measures applied across the sites as the differences in safety challenges have become apparent, and redundant systems, some of which actually seemed to work at cross purposes, have been streamlined or stripped out, leaving a noticeably cheaper finalized plant pattern.
[ ] Reykjavik Myomer Macrospinner
With the Johannesburg plant proving the point, Reykjavik will be a good site to expand production and increase output, providing for mass production of the material, and hardening the supply in case of sabotage or destruction of the Johannesburg plant.
(Progress 164/160: 20 resources per die) (+1 Capital Goods)
The first progress from the Reykjavik plant has begun coming off of the rope walks. Spool after spool of myomer bundle has begun passing from the production line and into use. So far, most of these are smaller bundles, going into the production of more new type robotic arms. However, this is only the beginning for Reykjavik. Future projects will drastically scale up operations and provide enough myomers for many duties, not just robotic arms in northern Europe.
One of the challenges is actually the weather. While both the Johannesburg and Rekjavick plants are near the ocean, the two operate under very different circumstances, making the biological aspects of the myomer system somewhat difficult to grow. While something like this, especially with how controlled the growth systems are, is usually not a problem, there have been minor delays due to needing to change a number of the settings to dial in optimum results on the myomer bundles.
[ ] Perennial Aquaponics Bays (Stage 2)
A further phase of major perennial bay aquaponics development will focus on producing various forms of mass luxuries for global consumption. While it will take well into next plan to reach full production, it will be an investment into the future and a generally popular decision.
(Progress 291/350: 10 resources per die) (+4 Food over 16 turns, +16 Consumer Goods over 16 turns) (+10 Political Support)
The work on another major phase of Perennial goods has begun. While not yet completed, the vast bulk of the foodstuffs have been planted. However, these are not the bulk of the product. Massive arrays of more luxury materials, such as the needed tea and coffee plants, are being grown into saplings from seeds in labs across the Initiative. However, they are not yet ready, with significant effort being needed to bring viable seeds up to readiness from the frozen gene banks around the arctic and antarctic circles.
"Moving day for all these trees-they were getting root-bound anyways, so upgrading their housing is about damn time. I knew it was a good idea to build a nursery for the saplings, and now we have proof! We'll be able to get right to producing key goods,
As for the aquaculture component of our setup, I'm working on a new project-researching anadromous fish, for a future ranching dome project. Salmon and beluga sturgeon spawning, we'll raise the juveniles then release them into a seperate 'oceanic' environment!"
-Aquaponics Engineer Timothy Haskell
[ ] Tiberium Vein Mines (Stage 1)
With major development of the prospecting expeditions having discovered vast amounts of Tiberium under the surface, fairly conventional underground mines have become a significant proposal. While they will require additional robotic support, especially because it is politically nonviable to have large scale human losses, these will be expensive, but also a major source of income without having to expose GDI assets to the Brotherhood of NOD.
(Progress 205/200: 20 resources per die) (Additional Income Trickle [20-30]) (+1 Yellow Zone Abatement) (-1 Capital Goods)
This is far from the first attempt at underground mining of Tiberium. That particular dubious honor goes to the North Koreans, who attempted to do a covert spread of Tiberium in a number of played out mines and conduct harvesting operations with political prisoners before the GDI takeover in 2005. The results were, to say the least, poor. Casualties were high, with significant losses due to multiple cave ins. Similar results occurred in the coal countries of West Virginia and North Carolina, where attempts at converting coal into Tiberium faced both local resistance to conversion, and significant losses due to Tiberium compromising the supports to the mine. Ever since that point, surface harvesting has been the default, with little attention paid to the underground.
The first wave of Tiberium Vein mines have been completed. Each is fundamentally simple. A cliff face or mountainside is the recipient of a pair of tunnels. The tunnel turns into a wide gentle spiral, digging down towards a Tiberium vein. At some point short of the vein, the two tunnels, reinforced along their length and paved through, join, and the mine face is formed. A series of blasting charges along the mine face open the vein. At that point, no more human examination is done, and all further operations are conducted by machines. The vein is attacked by a trio of machines. A blaster, a harvester, and a set of carriers. The blaster is little more than a fairly low powered sonic projector, designed to shatter the Tiberium, and just the Tiberium out of the rockface. Then it is swept up by the Harvester, and loaded into a collector. This is then hauled up one of the two tunnels and to the waiting refinery, while another collector takes its place.
However, there are also typically a series of smaller veins projecting off at various angles, and this is where the vast majority of the drones do their work. Smaller units with a paired drill and small scale sonic projector attack these as the main vein twists and curves away, termites gnawing at roots, digging out the green rock that is eating the planet.
[ ] Tiberium Processing Plants (Stage 1)
While initially a low priority, as GDI's economy has been rebuilt, a new wave of Tiberium processing plants is soon to be required, as the Initiative runs into the limits of its surviving processing capabilities. These plants will carry out the recently discovered Hewlett-Gardener process providing a near endless flow of Tiberium being converted to everything from steel girders to rare earth metals, and the beating heart of the industrial economy. A single wave of these plants will substantially increase GDI's processing capability, and therefore the limits of its Tiberium economy.
(Progress 220/200: 30 resources per die) (+600 processing potential) (-4 Energy, -2 Logistics)
The standard Tiberium Processing plant design from before the war was a relatively small affair, capable of handling just a few thousand tons of raw tiberium. Highly distributed, this made them (despite their function as a lynchpin of the Initiative economy) a relatively unappealing target for the Brotherhood of Nod. During the war, only a relatively small number were outright destroyed, and many were simply damaged, with between a third and a half of processing capacity taken offline permanently. However, since the war, GDI has relied much more heavily on a pair of planned cities, with the two providing nearly half of total processing capacity, and creating gaping weak points for Brotherhood to exploit. In fact, planned cities and regional complexes have provided all of the expansion of processing capacity since the war up to this point.
These new series plants are approximately the same size as the old models, just significantly more efficient. The new Hewlett-Gardener process, as used in Chicago and Jeddah, has been deployed to more continents, ensuring a much more stable supply of the stable transuranic materials that seem to be such a key component of many scrin and brotherhood technologies. The plants are already working at full capacity, as many of the older plants have stopped getting deliveries, due to the increases in efficiency. With the current conditions not particularly good for expansions in Tiberium mining, there are already proposals for refits, using the generous space in the refining capacity to begin phasing out old technology once and for all.
[ ] GDSS Philadelphia II (Phase 4)
The project that was never completed by the prewar administration, the fourth phase of Philadelphia will bring yet more critical government systems into orbit and serve as a secure location for parliamentary commissions and panels. (Station) (Nat 100)
(Progress 710/710: 20 resources per die) (+3 to all dice, +1 Free Die) (10 Political Support)
(Progress 48/1425: 20 resources per die) (+4 to all dice, +1 die to each category) (15 Political Support)
The expansion of the Philadelphia II has continued, with massive works going up every day of the quarter. Much of this has been office blocks, communal work spaces, and similar, with the central shaft of the station sprouting ever more branches, rings, and pods as more government offices move to the ever expanding station. While it is only a relatively small portion of the total government, it is a larger share than before the Third Tiberium War. The Philadelphia is a particularly convenient spot. Rather than having a single capital somewhere in the world, that would naturally receive either too much or too little attention from the Initiative (and going by history, often both in mutually reinforcing negative patterns) the Philadelphia is a purpose built space station and neutral ground, not prioritizing one group over any other, with most civilian populations safely distant enough to be insulated from the often messy process of governing.
Many of the new graduates that had been picked up by the Orbital Division threw themselves into the work. With most members of the Starbound party, the Philadelphia, even if it is not a hard step towards living in space, it is a step, and one that needs to be taken before people are willing to engage in more direct work towards getting off Earth in a more permanent fashion. With the graduates showing their enthusiasm, more work than expected has occurred, and this is hopefully going to become the new normal.
"Are you kidding? This is my dream job. Sure, I live with an environment that will kill me 20 meters from where I sleep, I wear a skinsuit most of the time, and I wear a pressure suit most of the time I'm working. But that's not much different from a Yellow Zone, and the view is a lot better."
-Technician Maria Santiago, Space Force
[-] Expand Orbital Communications Network (Phase 4) (Updated)
With ever more communications capacity coming online, more rounds of orbital communications provides for a stronger backbone, and greater redundancy in the face of potential attacks on GDI's orbitals. However, they are beginning to reach a point of saturation, and the limits of current technology though there are still more seats of parliament able to be added.
(Progress 127/125: 10 resources per die) (+2 Logistics) (10 Political Support) (Will complete automatically)
The last of the relay units have been deployed using a mix of funding from many small pots of resources that had been lying around. While not enough for any major projects, as the Initiative becomes increasingly wealthy, it is not uncommon for departments to squirrel away small pools of resources for situations like this one, where small expenditures can be made to finalize a handful of orders and a few interns can be trusted to schedule launches alongside the hundreds of other things that need to go to space.
With this the system has finally been disconnected from Enterprise and the Philadelphia II stations. While they are still important parts of the system, GDI no longer needs the main stations to maintain functionality for long range communications.
[ ] Green Zone Teacher Colleges
Providing enough highly qualified teachers has always been a struggle in the Green Zones, especially with the refugees filling the region. Building dedicated teachers colleges will help alleviate some of those problems, and aid Litvinov's education mandate.
(Progress 149/200: 5 resources per die)
The Green Zones, much like the Yellow Zone territories that preceded them, have never been easy spots to find teachers for. With few chances for advancement, even when incentives are offered, most teachers attempt to transfer out of the Green Zones as soon as possible, heading for more comfortable, less dangerous, Blue Zone postings, where conventional teaching can produce stellar results of the kind that gets administrative notice. Over the last years, the scores from Yellow, and later Green, zone students consistently lagged some 5-10 percent behind their Blue Zone counterparts at best, and in many cases were significantly more disparate. While there have been adjustments, the situation is simply untenable from the perspective of an Initiative that widely relies on such test scores to push advancement, and does not want to create semi permanent generational underclasses.
While distance learning has been the go to solution to this kind of problem, it is not a wholly satisfactory one. There is simply no solution to not being able to personally assist and advise the students, despite all the technological and methodological advancements since the first emergence of modern distance learning in the late twentieth century. These teacher colleges will take Green Zoneers with qualifications and begin turning them into teachers, hopefully closing the achievement gap.
[ ] Emergency Tiberium Infusion Development
Developing an Initiative version of the Brotherhood's Tiberium Infusion treatment is going to be highly politically unpopular, but also will serve as a significant life extension treatment for many who have either been substantially exposed to the crystals, or who have a small handful of otherwise incurable conditions. (Progress 150/120: 15 resources per die) (-5 Political Support per die)
Tiberium can in fact be deactivated. By bombarding a very thin layer of liquid Tiberium, less than a micrometer thick with a barrage of alpha and beta radiation, small amounts can be rendered effectively stable, and can be turned into a mechanism to provide people with a short term resistance to Tiberium. However, this has severe side effects, and many petri dishes filled with cells were turned into pucks of Tiberium, in the process of discovery. To stabilize it, Tiberium must be brought into the cells. This requires a retrovirus. While the Brotherhood uses a variety of strains, mostly of things like HIV, or other naturally human affective retrovirals. GDI has based its development on spumaviri, as they have significantly fewer side effects in the long term. While Adenoviri and Rhinoviri were attempted, neither produced usable effects, and induced tiberium poisoning in short order. Uptake percentage has finally reached levels believed to be safe, and human trials are ready to begin. While it is hopefully going to be a critical lifesaving or at least life extending treatment, it has a long and hard road to get there, as it still has to be proved to be safe, not just developed.
!!: Warning :!! Press Corps Alcohol orders have increased by 237% over resting average. !!: Warning :!!
[ ] Pacifier Mobile Artillery Vehicle Deployment (New)
The Pacifier will be a significant addition to the GDI arsenal. It shares enough components with other hover vehicles like the Shatterer, Slingshot, and ZMEV patterns that it can draw from their factories rather than needing a dedicated production line. Spreading out production will also ensure that no single strike can destroy this piece of the production system.
(Progress 90/120: 10 resources per die) (-2 Energy) (High Priority)
The Pacifier deployment has gone quite well. With limited funds made available to its deployment, GDI has been able to complete large chunks of the deployment, making available many of the parts required from other production lines. The problem has come with the dedicated electromagnetic launch system. While not too complicated, the resources to produce them were not sufficient to the task, leaving the Pacifier with complete hulls, without the primary weapons systems. A further fairly limited surge of funding will allow the turrets to be completed, and begin pushing out sonic artillery to the Zone Operations Command.
[ ] Naval Defense Laser Refits
The Navy requires laser refits across the fleet, including the newer Governors. While it will not be improving the very lightest units, it will provide significant improvements in the defensive umbrella that most naval units can provide. While it is a noticeably intensive refit, requiring significant effort to run additional power conduits through the ship, and involves losing out on some of the antiaircraft firepower, the protections are definitely worthwhile.
(Progress 270/330: 15 resources per die)
Further work has been done to the battle fleets. With nuclear powered ships however, a cruise can last for months without setting into port, and while the average is measured in weeks rather than months, the Navy is unwilling to engage in sending the massive bulk of their ships into port, even if the Treasury had been able to supply sufficient yard time. Typically, the refits occurred in three phases. First was the deep dive, where a full drydocking occurred, tearing the ships down substantially. However, this was overall a very short period. Following that, ships were rotated out to floating dock ships that could handle the surface level refits, such as adding in the floors to the firing platforms of the new weapons systems. Finally, each ship required a working up period, where errors (a very common issue with the Summit class has been the fire of the main railguns knocking the forward pair of point defense lasers on the port and starboard out of alignment) are fixed. Beyond that, it is the job of this working up period to train the crew on the best use of such weapons, as it is an entirely new set of drills and habits that need to be ingrained.
"The simple fact of the matter is that the refits cannot be carried out while at sea, and in fact trying to do so outside of a few sheltered anchorages with mobile drydocks or at a full shipyard are complete non-starters. The work involved takes a long time-decks must be cut through, new power cables laid, even armor plate and supporting structure installed. Then you plumb the heat-sink lines all the way down to the bilges-oh, and you gotta cut new holes in the bottom of the ship to install the heat-exchangers as well. So yes, it's not done yet."
-Shipyard foreman Olaf Svensgaard
[ ] Tube Artillery Deployment
Refitting the existing factories producing the 152mm guns that are currently in GDI's stockpile will be a somewhat limited process, but one that offers significant increases in ammunition efficiency for all GDI forces. Additionally, diverting some number of Guardian APC chassis towards the artillery command variant will see improved efficiency of fire direction.
(Progress 184/200: 15 resources per die)
The deployment of the new tubes has not gone quite swimmingly. While adding rifling to existing guns is simple, and aside from some of the materials science little different than the standard for producing artillery pieces for two centuries, some minor problems have emerged in the fire direction vehicle project. Specifically, in the shock housing for the optical fire control system. While firmly tertiary, intended to be used for direct fire support and in Ion Storms, it is a critical system. The impacts of moving at speed over terrain can throw it slightly out of alignment, producing negative accuracy impacts. While little more than a handful of minor widgets, and not stopping the widespread deployment, it is something that can be fixed with a final infusion of funding, rather than giving it up as a bad job.
More broadly, the new artillery pieces have only started arriving at the front in small numbers. Primarily so far they have been allocated to fortress towns, where their mobility is not required, and so the problems with the fire control vehicles is a nonissue. However, so far it has been a bare handful, with Arkhangelsk receiving a first shipment of twenty four guns on the 20th of December, and other fortress towns in the region getting smaller complements in the same week. Similar situations are occurring around the world as guns are parceled out in small packets. However, over the course of the next three to nine months, GDI fully expects to have significantly reduced the role of the old smoothbore guns, and replaced them in most priority areas with new rifles.
[ ] Havoc Scout Mech Development
The final new asset is the Havoc scout mech. Intended as a supporting asset for Zone Troopers and Raiders, the Havoc as planned has a single standout feature. The Jump Jet. Able to bring more firepower than a Zone Trooper, a higher overground speed, and keep up with them on a series of controlled jets. Armed with a multiple grenade launcher and rotary railgun, it combines the best of both the Trooper and Raider armament systems.
(Progress 105/30: 10 resources per die) (High Priority)
The Havoc scout mech is a 35 ton "light" vehicle, and is absolutely revolutionary. In many ways, it breaks all of the paradigms of the era before the Third Tiberium War. Shields, point defense, speed and agility. Hunched forwards, cockpit jutting out ahead of a pair of reverse kneed legs, munitions pods jutting out over shoulders and beneath the chin. Four toed articulated feet grip the ground as a trio of impulse jets provide not only a lightness of step uncharacteristic of any mech, but also the ability to soar through the air, although currently only on a ballistic arc.
While its standout feature is the jump jet system, it is built around a trinity of weapons. First and most critically, a centerline rapid fire railgun, on its left shoulder, a combined remote weapons pod, and on the right, a rapid fire grenade launcher. This is the ninth variation of the design proposed, a result of the near decade between the beginning of the design and its completion, with a number of what are now seen as critical survivability elements on nearly any new Initiative vehicle. When compared to the first design, it has nearly doubled in weight, and rather than being a proper scout vehicle, it is perfect for a more active role as a beater, forcing the Brotherhood to respond to fast moving Initiative forces.
In terms of interest, it fits a role that few other assets in the Initiative arsenal can fill. While the Steel Talons and the Zone Operations Command are the only ones so far who have expressed not only an interest but an actual demand, the Ground Forces have elected to hold off, expecting improved versions to appear in the future, and having other high priorities at this time.
[ ] Security Reviews (Updated)
GDI has often faced problems with infiltration by the Brotherhood of Nod. A full security review of one department of operations can mitigate or discover infiltration, however it will take a significant amount of effort. (DC 50 + 1 operations die) (163)
The Brotherhood of Nod has put significant effort into diverting some portions of the ongoing production of consumer goods from agriculture, most notably the returning luxuries, like coffee, tea, and chocolate into their own hands. While they have not been particularly successful in acquiring samples or significant amounts of product, it does go to show that there are factions beyond the Initiative that are demanding the return of recreational drugs.
Welp, Tiberium on Venus. That's great. Since there's really no way to address it right now that's another planet-sized liquid Tib bomb just ticking down to doomsday for the solar system. At least we've probably got a while before it cooks off?
During this the SCED uncovered a colossal Tiberium field on the Venusian surface. We have not yet gotten the full surface data, but the field has completely replaced the Venus surface over an area of 73 million square kilometers, roughly 16% of the planet's surface area. ZOCOM and the GDI Tiberium Safety bureau will soon comment on their preliminary analysis on the matter, but until then any questions are to be directed here.
Well damn, Tiberium on Venus.
It's certainly right that the main problem there is simply surviving and creating enduring harvesting and refining infrastructure in the hellscape that is Venus's surface. And that's if our containment, harvesting, and refining technology is still effective on this new form of Tiberium.
If we did anything with Venus it would be best to harvest and refine on Venus before shipping the product back to Earth, so that we don't have spaceships full of Tiberium asking to get blown up by NOD.
If we ever end up mining and refining Venusian Tib I don't even want it leaving the atmosphere, all the processing would have to get done in aerostats or something.
But honestly the surface is so hostile that I'm not sure it would be practical to mine it in the first place, I mean if we threw enough money at it I'm sure we could eventually brute force it. But is that worthwhile compared to spending the same amount of money on just getting minerals the old fashioned way from literally anywhere besides the most hostile environment in the Solar System (that isn't the inside of the sun or a gas giant at least)?
Welp, Tiberium on Venus. That's great. Since there's really no way to get address it right now that's another planet-sized liquid Tib bomb just ticking down to doomsday for the solar system. At least we've probably got a while before it cooks off?
I think it's safe to say that the TCN is no longer a we need this if we want to continue living on Earth to a we need this if we want to continue living in this Solar system as unlike on Earth the Tiberium there hasn't had any active opposition or mining during growth and thus it's likely further along in its conversion. Interesting that we didn't see any Scrin there actually as they came to Earth and if they seeded over planets I'm surprised they didn't split their forces.
Tiberium can in fact be deactivated. By bombarding a very thin layer of liquid Tiberium, less than a micrometer thick with a barrage of alpha and beta radiation, small amounts can be rendered effectively stable, and can be turned into a mechanism to provide people with a short term resistance to Tiberium. However, this has severe side effects, and many petri dishes filled with cells were turned into pucks of Tiberium, in the process of discovery. To stabilize it, Tiberium must be brought into the cells. This requires a retrovirus. While the Brotherhood uses a variety of strains, mostly of things like HIV, or other naturally human affective retrovirals. GDI has based its development on spumaviri, as they have significantly fewer side effects in the long term. While Adenoviri and Rhinoviri were attempted, neither produced usable effects, and induced tiberium poisoning in short order. Uptake percentage has finally reached levels believed to be safe, and human trials are ready to begin. While it is hopefully going to be a critical lifesaving or at least life extending treatment, it has a long and hard road to get there, as it still has to be proved to be safe, not just developed. !!: Warning :!! Press Corps Alcohol orders have increased by 237% over resting average. !!: Warning :!!
This is why I wanted to do Tissue Regeneration first--aside from having our new wonder treatment be survivable, it would've been nice if we could've led with merely mad science instead of NOD science.
The pressure inside Gas giants is so great that even hydrogen turns into its metallic arrangement. I doubt both that the Scrin can mine in these conditions and that Tiberium still functions under these pressures.
And Titan is probably too much of a ice ball for the Scrin to care.
Tiberium on venus.... concerning. No increase to income from taxes but the +25 income helps power our new free die. Also +3 to all our die rolls from philly stage 4 and another +1 from settling in (and the +2 to orbital thanks to the crit) we should be set to finish our current mil projects.
I do want to pursue the southern NA RZ marv base to get that online before gideon strikes and protect our mines there and i think we can do that and finish the projects we started.
The pressure inside Gas giants is so great that even hydrogen turns into its metallic arrangement. I doubt both that the Scrin can mine in these conditions and that Tiberium still functions under these pressures.
Yeah, that's a fair point. Still want to check out Titan. And obviously we need more info re: space, but the stated original plan goal was abatement, so...
