Attempting to Subvert the Plan: Dominion Edition

[Etranger]

You're free to plan with the general assumption that another apocalyptic conflict is just around the corner (relatively speaking) because that's just a sensible stance to take given the Koprulu cluster's recent history and the state of the board. Chuck is aware that the Zerg Swarm is presently in disarray due to the death of the Overmind, as are the Protoss due to the loss of Aiur, but basically no one in the Dominion high command believes that this is a state of affairs that can be expected to continue indefinitely. Both of those forces can account for hundreds of millions of casualties in the Great War and no one contemplates them with anything less than deadly seriousness.

As for details: Kerrigan's survival and infestation are not presently known to Dominion high command. Mengsk knows that something reached out to him during the later phases of the Great War, but Alpha Squadron got its ass kicked on Char and wasn't able to confirm what that was, exactly. The suspicion that Kerrigan is still alive and a threat to him is mostly a little seed in the back of his head that has yet to fully mature, and he hasn't shared it with anyone.

Raynor and his crew have of course been branded Class AAA criminals and are wanted for high treason against the whole of the human species. They're highly mobile and no one actually knows where they are at the moment, but they're believed to be in league with the Protoss.

As for Earth... it's mostly a subject for rampant speculation and historical analysis, not something seriously dwelt upon. Most people with basic historical knowledge in the sector are of the general belief that Earth finding them would be a Very Bad Thing given their understanding of Project Purification, but the feeling is that if Earth was going to show up it would have done so sometime in the last 200-plus years. This may prove unduly optimistic.

Also, I've read the dev comments about how they wanted the UED to be a distinct fourth faction in Brood War. Expect some fun deviations from canon.

 

[Dain24601]

Honestly if we have the Resources to complete the Refloating, which is admittedly a big "If" then we should be pretty good. I think we could get down as low as, like, 25 Paranoia this year, though we'll have very thoroughly started to burn most of the key Low-hanging fruit.

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A few things to keep in mind:
Augustgrad was noted to being having trouble with labor due to how under-equiped they were. Between the suits and fusion cutters, I wouldn't be surprised to see a 100 point reduction. Completion should happen a heck of a lot sooner.

I get the impression repairing the shipyards first will greatly benefit the refloating given what's involved. With the aforementioned buffs it should be easier and cheaper to pursue.

Then there's these:

[] Vardona: Vespene Extraction Operations (Phase 1)

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The fuel of warships and Industry alike, while we don't have stat office online it does note a shortage of this wonder material.

[] Nephor II: Cap'n Yum-Yum's Fantabulous Foodularium

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Making food more readily available for the common man seems useful. Wouldn't be surprised if this puts a solid dent in the food shortage we're undoubtedly facing.

While having stats online would be useful, every planquest I've seen has them suffer the same problem: the situation is a lot worse than the powers that be want the public to be aware of.

 

[The Laurent]

Oh sure, I wasn't talking about every possible action that could be valuable, just about the Paranoia-reducing actions we'll have access to in the next year.

We don't have the dice to do the 0/600 action in 3 quarters to get the -10 Paranoia behind it. NIM, the Korhal Mining, and the rest of the incomplete SCV thing will take at least two more turns, and maybe part of a third, to complete, even with heavy Free Dice investment.

Meanwhile the Refloating is in a category that, currently, has only three actions. So it's at least somewhat more possible to shake the dice loose.

 

[Simon_Jester]

The dice, yes, the funds, maybe not. We'll see.

To say nothing of the Protoss, who to most of humanity appeared from out of nowhere, turned multiple planets to glass, and then left with even less explanation.

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Quite true, though in all fairness, to the Dominion it would be fairly obvious that the Protoss were gunning for the Zerg, so there's at least some hope they won't come back if the Zerg don't.

You're free to plan with the general assumption that another apocalyptic conflict is just around the corner (relatively speaking) because that's just a sensible stance to take given the Koprulu cluster's recent history and the state of the board. Chuck is aware that the Zerg Swarm is presently in disarray due to the death of the Overmind, as are the Protoss due to the loss of Aiur...

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Interesting. How does Horner know about Aiur and what happened there? Did that get leaked back from his nephew, because Raynor's Raiders were there during the final run on the Overmind? Or does the Dominion actually have some ability to gather intel that extends that far?

 

[Etranger]

Interesting. How does Horner know about Aiur and what happened there? Did that get leaked back from his nephew, because Raynor's Raiders were there during the final run on the Overmind? Or does the Dominion actually have some ability to gather intel that extends that far?

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The Zerg attack on Aiur (in my extended timeline) took a while to plan, organize, and execute, during which time the Dominion kept tabs on their movements out of a sense of self-preservation. They're not aware of the specifics of what exactly went down on Aiur, but the Protoss clearly lost control of the planet despite somehow killing the Overmind.

 

[Simon_Jester]

Ah. Given the cinematics from the original Starcraft, I figured that from the Dominion perspective, the bulk of the Zerg disappeared into a giant swirly warp portal above Char and vanished to they know not where, with the Dominion never really finding out that 'Aiur' was a thing in canon as such as far as I could tell.

"The Zerg who left Aiur went off to fight the Protoss" would be a reasonable hypothesis that fits the data, mind you.

[This isn't me trying to correct you, I'm just exploring what I know or think I know]

 

[ErraticWizard]

Btw I found this quest, blitzed through the current material, and have added its body to the heap of plan quests I greedily sup from the cup of whenever there is updates hehe.

 

[grimely]

Texas Hold 'Em was a sacred game in Koprulu. A favored past time of the officers and crew of the supercarriers that had borne them from Earth, the wardens turned founders of the Old Families never abandoned the game. By association, it became part of the Confederacy's high culture, a dignified game for the most powerful men in the Sector - and one actually accessible to the toiling masses. Every officer worth his salt could play the game, and had their own tricks and tells. It wasn't a surprise then that it was poker, whisky, and cigars that were the order of the day when it came time to discuss the budget. These were the symbols of power and wealth to the Confederacy, and as much as Mengsk claimed to hate the Old Families of Tarsonis and all they stood for, he would never stop being one of them. Not really.

Now, they say the dangerous thing about gambling with the boss is that you gotta make sure not to win too hard. Luckily for everyone, Mengsk was a stubborn old cuss who never let anything like losing get in the way of winning. Whenever things got a bit too spicy, the Emperor would declare a new hand, just in time for him to win with it. The wraparound straight, the even straight, the fool's flush, aces high, aces low, aces 'Emperor'... All nonsense, but no one at the table dared to argue with an imperial decree.

Duke, god love him, triumphantly played one of the invented hands a few turns after Arcturus had done so, and didn't seem to realize just how pissed he made the man. Warfield and Starke on the other hand were thrown for a loop by the rapidly shifting rules, both having clearly calculated exact strategies on how to win as much as possible without pissing Mengsk off. The head of the Imperial Guard never really recovered after the first time Mengsk declared that a Queen, King, Ace, 2, 3 beat trip Aces while the Director simply seemed to adopt every twist into his mental model. It was, oh, the fifth most disconcerting part about him. Still, it slowed him down enough that Horner was able to be a close third instead of a far one. As for Duke and Warfield... well, there were always losers in poker.

Funnily enough, the shake out at the table more or less mirrored the game behind the game. Starke got basically everything he wanted, because he was Security, and Mengsk was the most paranoid man alive. The second most disconcerting about the man was how damn agreeable he had to be about everything. Even when Horner bent his way, all the spook wanted was for the Census to be done - and Lord knows that was on the agenda anyway. He even seemed to relish the favor done in kind, something that could charitably called excitement coloring his face after being given the okay to go snipe hunting in the Treasury.

Horner himself came up pretty well though, if he didn't say so himself, and all it really cost was an odd look from Arcturus near the end of the night. Half of the budget was more money than he had ever seen in his life, the sort of dough that even the oldest of the Old Families would be impressed by. Less than what the Confederate Treasury had to deal with even with a smaller piece of the pie, but that was before Core Worlds got themselves glassed, so there was no point in belly aching about it. Of course, some of what Horner would end up spending would be things the others needed, but that was just the price of doing business.

Next came Warfield, who managed to get away scot free, aside from the chunk of his budget that was funneled into Horner's pockets. The Broken Mesa facility made Chuck... uneasy, too much like the sort of stuff the Sons had gotten up to near the end of the war, the type of thing that killed Tarsonis. But it was what it was, and he agreed to fund it to get his hands on what he needed. He just hoped he wouldn't come to regret that devil's bargain.

Finally was poor Duke. Not only was he also dealing with a smaller budget, his warehouses got raided as part of the post-game horse trading. Oh, sure, none of those SCVs were being used now - but he insisted that they'd come up later. No one listened to him, and his pleas for immediate reconstruction of the shipyards too went unheeded. Alpha Squadron would have to keep on trudging along, making do like it always did.

A pretty good game, all in all, even if Mengsk took half the credits that Chuck had walked in with.

 

[Simon_Jester]

Oh God, inventing new winning poker hands whenever he's holding them is so Mengsk.

Finally was poor Duke. Not only was he also dealing with a smaller budget, his warehouses got raided as part of the post-game horse trading. Oh, sure, none of those SCVs were being used now - but he insisted that they'd come up later. No one listened to him, and his pleas for immediate reconstruction of t he shipyards too went unheeded. Alpha Squadron would have to keep on trudging along, making do like it always did.

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Hey, Duke, the good news is, we're building you a new factory to make SCVs. Pretty sure you wouldn't even get that if it weren't for us having some real money and assets to work with. So, consolation prize, we can fill the warehouse full of combat engineering vehicles back up instead of those being irreplaceable.

 

[Kelenas]

Meanwhile the Refloating is in a category that, currently, has only three actions. So it's at least somewhat more possible to shake the dice loose.

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While it somewhat competes with Broken Mesa, New Model Weapons is a very quick and cheap way for us to reduce Paranoia, and will likely spawn a further Paranoia-reducing project in the Military category. This could potentially allow us to be more overall efficient with Refloating the Fleet, by completing at least one phase of the shipyards, first, and see if doing so improves the Refloating project.

 

[grimely]

Oh God, inventing new winning poker hands whenever he's holding them is so Mengsk.

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I've seen or heard all of those made up hands, it's incredible what people will insist is an honored house rule you've never heard of before. The wraparound straight is my favorite - that's where you build a straight that contains King - Ace - 2. Fool's Flush of course is when you have a hand of five cards that are all the same color.

 

[SuperHeavy]

Oh God, inventing new winning poker hands whenever he's holding them is so Mengsk.

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This is the man that looked at the various smoldering piles of civilization he calls an empire and immediately made it priority one to create his new Oppression Pyramid. I am mystified ominous organ music doesn't follow his though the halls.

 

[Etranger]

"Fool's Flush" joins the list of canon omakes. You guys have one +15 bonus and one +5 bonus.

As someone who once used a wraparound straight to achieve a completely legitimate victory in a home game of poker, I particularly enjoyed this one. Take an extra point of Leverage for the next round of budget negotiations.

 

[The Laurent]

While it somewhat competes with Broken Mesa, New Model Weapons is a very quick and cheap way for us to reduce Paranoia, and will likely spawn a further Paranoia-reducing project in the Military category. This could potentially allow us to be more overall efficient with Refloating the Fleet, by completing at least one phase of the shipyards, first, and see if doing so improves the Refloating project.

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Oh, I agree, I was thinking if we could afford it we might throw 2-3 on New Model Weapons and 1-2 on Broken Mesa, depending. 2-2 wouldn't have a HIGH chance of completing New Model weapons, but it would get it close... hmm. Depends on how Resources look. If it's really good we could also just spam Broken Mesa despite its high cost to finish it Q2, and then leave Q3/4 for Weapons and blimps.

 

[Simon_Jester]

Oh, I agree, I was thinking if we could afford it we might throw 2-3 on New Model Weapons and 1-2 on Broken Mesa, depending. 2-2 wouldn't have a HIGH chance of completing New Model weapons, but it would get it close... hmm. Depends on how Resources look. If it's really good we could also just spam Broken Mesa despite its high cost to finish it Q2, and then leave Q3/4 for Weapons and blimps.

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On the other hand, Resources are tight and paranoia ain't that bad. It might be best to hold off on those actions, at least for the first turn.

 

[Kelenas]

Oh, I agree, I was thinking if we could afford it we might throw 2-3 on New Model Weapons and 1-2 on Broken Mesa, depending. 2-2 wouldn't have a HIGH chance of completing New Model weapons, but it would get it close... hmm. Depends on how Resources look. If it's really good we could also just spam Broken Mesa despite its high cost to finish it Q2, and then leave Q3/4 for Weapons and blimps.

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3:1 on NMW vs BM would probably be best for the next turn; we don't know yet whether BM was affected by the T&D Works, or if it will be affected by the SCV Factory (which we should ideally finish next turn, IMO). We might be able to save a couple of dice and a fair amount of R that way.

 

[The Laurent]

3:1 on NMW vs BM would probably be best for the next turn; we don't know yet whether BM was affected by the T&D Works, or if it will be affected by the SCV Factory (which we should ideally finish next turn, IMO). We might be able to save a couple of dice and a fair amount of R that way.

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I suspect not, considering it's a secret facility to research the Zerg...

 

[Simon_Jester]

Again, I think the question is whether we need Paranoia reduction quickly enough to make it worthwhile to spend R on it this turn as opposed to not using those dice.

 

[MrRageQuit]

Well, we'll have to see how much the Brontes lump sum and the new income bring in... might defray the costs of using some of the dice.

 

[Omeganian]

Now, they say the dangerous thing about gambling with the boss is that you gotta make sure not to win too hard.

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Courtiers don't take wagers against the king's skill. There is the deadly danger of winning. So no one did, and the king left to change his clothes in high spirits.

Duke, god love him, triumphantly played one of the invented hands a few turns after Arcturus had done so, and didn't seem to realize just how pissed he made the man.

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Techtales - Humorous Technical Support Tales: Tales from the Techs - July 2006

Funny tales from Tech Support

www.techtales.com

 

[Karugus]

Again, I think the question is whether we need Paranoia reduction quickly enough to make it worthwhile to spend R on it this turn as opposed to not using those dice.

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I dont think we should dismiss the value of Broken Mesa in its own right either. Psi-disrupters and inhibitors were pretty majorly important during Brood War, even if Duran and the UEF wound up seizing control of them.

They're probably one of the only ways we have of seriously stopping a Zerg brood in its tracks considering we can't permakill a Cerebrate

 

[ErraticWizard]

I dont think we should dismiss the value of Broken Mesa in its own right either. Psi-disrupters and inhibitors were pretty majorly important during Brood War, even if Duran and the UEF wound up seizing control of them.

They're probably one of the only ways we have of seriously stopping a Zerg brood in its tracks considering we can't permakill a Cerebrate

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I gotta say I really agree with that lol. Best we can currently do is lock one down with Inhibitors hypothetically. Regardless having an avenue into psi-stuff is a big deal for us. An awesome quest so far eager for the next update.

 

[Simon_Jester]

I was more thinking of the other Paranoia-reducing options. Broken Mesa is a plan commitment and a fairly high priority one, after all, because we made a deal with a scary-ass motherfucker to get it done.

 

[The Laurent]

So my Cart Before The Horse thoughts for Q2 in Heavy Industry is 4 dice on NIM, which on average will put it at 300-something out of 400, and does have an outside chance of completing it, and 3 (free) dice on SCV, which on average completes it, if just barely.

And then Q3 would be finishing NIM, Finishing SCV if we need to, and starting on that Mining Complex in earnest. Or something like that.

 

[ErraticWizard]

God I wonder how much completed SCV's will help with the cost of other actions? It is a superbly helpful thing. Granted we will likely be combining it with the Workcrews given how much needs to get done.

Curious is Mengsk will start staying at the palace after a single phase is done?