Don't be too sure about that. Remember, travel away from the Mass Relays is extremely inefficient due to the discharge requirement; Freelancer FTL doesn't have that problem. Building Jump Gates between Mass Relays and nearby inhabited systems, and Trade Lanes within systems, could net DSE and Ageira a lot of credits...
That only requires a gas giant which occur pretty frequently in freelancer. It's also really really really fast. As in minutes to jump between star systems. Those mass relays are basically a portal system to get anywhere in the milky way without much time loss. Mass Effect FTL is always compared with them and thus regarded pretty shitty. But it's probably faster than most Star Trek FTL systems.
Don't be too sure about that. Remember, travel away from the Mass Relays is extremely inefficient due to the discharge requirement; Freelancer FTL doesn't have that problem. Building Jump Gates between Mass Relays and nearby inhabited systems, and Trade Lanes within systems, could net DSE and Ageira a lot of credits...
Not really. The discharge issue is nowhere even remotely as bad as you seem to think. It's mostly an issue for extreme long-range travel, such as exploration, but for travelling around in the star cluster near a Mass Relay, it's pretty much a non-issue. Most civilian vessels probably don't even notice it, as their core discharges pretty much automatically whenever they land on a spaceport.
Already wrote a post about this matter here, btw. The gist of it is that lanes and jump gates can still be quite useful, but the simple fact that an alternative method of FTL is now available will massively cut down on Ageira's and DSE's prices due to the loss of their monopoly.
The best comparison to think of is really a (heavily armoured) modern fleet carrier (well a bit bigger due to it being a spaceship).
Most modern Freelancer Battleships range between 1,5-2km length. The Hood however is an older model (and of Bretonia design which are generally a bit stockier) which mean I would say somewhere around 1km length. It can carry pretty much everything smaller than a gunboat (in the Hoods case 60-80 fighter's seem fair considering the Freelancer fighters are generally on the bigger side of things)
Here is a nice side by side comparison of the capital craft of how I imagine it. Starting from the left you have Bretonia, Rheinland, Kusari, Liberty with respectively battleship, cruiser, corvette/gunboat (exception being Liberty which go battleship, dreadnought/small battleship, cruiser)
The best comparison to think of is really a (heavily armoured) modern fleet carrier (well a bit bigger due to it being a spaceship).
Most modern Freelancer Battleships range between 1,5-2km length. The Hood however is an older model (and of Bretonia design which are generally a bit stockier) which mean I would say somewhere around 1km length. It can carry pretty much everything smaller than a gunboat (in the Hoods case 60-80 fighter's seem fair considering the Freelancer fighters are generally on the bigger side of things)
Here is a nice side by side comparison of the capital craft of how I imagine it. Starting from the left you have Bretonia, Rheinland, Kusari, Liberty with respectively battleship, cruiser, corvette/gunboat (exception being Liberty which go battleship, dreadnought/small battleship, cruiser)
You have 6 Action Points that you can spend anyway you wish at 1 point per action. You can also add 1 Focus Point (giving a + 20 Bonus) to a chosen action, representing DSX focusing on that action.
(Survey actions, especially in the Terminus sector will also have a chance of unveiling new Jumphole connections/unlocking new systems)
Sirius Sector:
You may be hundreds of light-years removed from the Sirius sector with the goal of exploring a completely new part of space but that doesn`t mean you can ignore what happens in the Sirius sector.
[] The Hood:
With the Molly presence in Dublin now a thing of history the IMG plans to expand their operations there which means that the Hood is no longer viewed as a suitable base of operations. In return for your help in securing some claims in the former Molly Gold Field, which shouldn't be that difficult for a man of you connections, they would be willing to give it to you. Granted the Hood is little less than a hulk of metal but with your contacts in the BAF there might be a way to change that.
Battleship:
The term battleship is something of a misnomer considering that most of the ships classified as such act far more as carrier and command centers than as frontline ships. Even so they command a fearsome array of large weaponry that very little in Sirius can stand against it for any amount of time while their defensive capabilities, both active and passive, make attacking them with anything less than a fleet a suicidal endeavour.
Bretonian battleships are known for their robustness and reliability while generally being less advanced compared to the ships built by the other houses.
[] Option 2: Civilian variant
A less ambitious plan would be to rebuilt the Hood according to civilian spec. It would mean a slight downsizing of its original reactor and defensive system and foregoing the installation of any capital ship offensive weaponry, making it somewhat similar in capability to for example the luxury cruisers of Orbital Spa and Cruises. It maintenance would be somewhat less likely to break you and the ship could still serve as an mobile carrier and command base. Plus such an action would be far less likely to arouse the suspicion of other Sirius factions of just why you need that ship since everybody is aware of just how dangerous the Border Worlds can be.
Cost: High, Time: 2 turns, Result: Access to a slightly less powerful Hood, Sirius factions will still take note of you
Convincing the Bretonia government to award some choice claims to the IMG proves a tad more difficult than expected but the BMM lobbyists prove unprepared for the Bretonian Armed Forces, normally a staunch supporter of BMM, speaking out in support of the underdog. In return for those claims the IMG is more than happy to turn the Hood over to you and you in turn then turn it over to a team of BAF technicians who have the unenviable task of making sure the Hood arrives at the shipyard in more or less one piece.
Result: Hood starts refit into "civilian" variant
[] Frontier Post Lambda:
Despite Omicron Theta and Freeport 9 only being a single jump away it might be a good idea to build a small outpost in Omicron Lambda. It would give your transports and patrols a place to rest and resupply and, more importantly, allow you to keep a close eye on the only known route to your homebase. And thanks to your previous exploration of the system several suitable sites for a base have been located, lowering the cost of considerably.
Cost: Low, Result: Small base in Omicron Lambda, increased surveillance of the system
The base in Lambda, named Cintra, is practically an (extremely) small copy of Solitude and located near Omircon Theta jumphole. The asteroid base will serve as an ideal starting point for your patrols in the system as well as a nice little supply base for your transports. And deep within its bowels Alexandra's people have installed some of the most powerful surveillance available to DSX and the Order which together with the spy-satellites you seeded the system with should make it nearly impossible for anybody to remain undecided near the supply route and known jump holes.
One of the first things you Cintra command did after its base was finished was to organise a thorough search for any additional jump holes leading into the system but so far the search has been fruitless.
Result: Small base established in Omicron Lambda, increased surveillance of the system, high likelihood of no additional jumphole leading into Lambda
[] Red Hessians:
Alexandra still hasn't found any definitive proof of Outcasts and Red Hessian cooperation but she strongly suspects it. Hoping to counter the threat before it becomes truly problematic she has prepared several plans on how to deal with the problem.
[] Option 1: Political pressure:
One area the Red Hessians have been very active in lately is the Omega systems, which mark the border between Bretonia and Rheinland where they capitalize on the lack of cooperation between the two Houses. Your friends in Daumann and the BAF might however be able to convince the two governments to start working together.
Cost: Small, Chance of success: 60% , Result: Closer cooperation between Rheinland and Bretonia in the Omega systems
Needed: 40 Rolled: 45
If you had ever had any doubt if the decision to make DSX an independent organisation was the right one this odyssey would have removed it. Because despite both sides agreeing with you that the Red Hessians were a threat that would be best fought by cooperating each other it took ages for them to actually agreeing on how to accomplish that. You expected there to be difficulties, there always is when two Houses have claims in the same region, but the sheer pettiness and bureaucratic nature of the thing exceed everything you believed possible. You actually thought the whole thing would fail when the two delegation couldn't come to an agreement of where the headquarter of their shared taskforce, that they had finally agreed to after months of back and forth, should be located but luckily your contacts in the IMG were willing to offer their base in Omega 7, Freistadt, as a possible compromise which was acceptable to both Rheinland and Bretonia.
The actual cooperation between the military of both nations meanwhile proved to surprisingly unproblematic, the military tradition of both nations being quite similar after all, and some early success make you feel confident that this whole thing will have a notable impact on the operations of the Red Hessian.
Result: Bretonia and Rheinland start to cooperate in the Omega region, Red Hessian operations diminished, Corsairs are torn about the whole thing since their raids also suffer
Terminus Sector:
The new frontier, full of alien artifacts to discover and resources to exploit.
[] Science Base:
The massive alien construct in Voss/Alpha03 has so far resisted any attempt of your scientists to even begin to understand it and even the most optimistic of them has to admit that it could years if not decades before they make any notable progress. They have also asked for your okay to begin constructing a small space-station near the tuning fork like object to assist in their research. As a side note, they have also suggested that you held off of exploiting the system till they can be sure that the object is truly as passive as it seems which seems surprisingly sensible to you.
Cost: Medium, Result: Small science base near Mass Relay
Building even a small base this far from civilization takes several months during which the alien object continues to do absolutely nothing. The scientist hope that the more powerful sensors installed in the station will allow them make them a breakthrough but have also started preparing for some more direct approaches should it become necessary.
Result: Small science base established in Voss, called Voss-Ka, Mass Relay remains mysterious and inactive
[] Explore Alpha04:
While seemingly devoid of any alien constructs the survey of Alpha04 suggests that several notable mineral resources can be found there making it a tempting target for a in-depth study.
Result: Survey of Alpha04 finished
Despite what some may think, properly surveying a star system is a difficult job that takes a lot of time simply because star systems are so damn big. Luckily you have access to some of the best in the business and the exploration of of Alpha04 finishes according to schedule.
The actual report trakes several hundred pages but of special interest to you and DSX are two finds. The thrid planet in the system has not only a rudimentary atmosphere that makes him an ideal candidate for terraforming but your explorers have also located several large deposits of interesting titanium alloys (often used in armour production). The other big find is several deposits of Californium, used for example in neutron weapons, in the asteroid belt around the gas giant
Result: Survey of Alpha04 finished
Owned: DSX
Organizations present: DSX
Connected to:
Alpha01- Jumphole
Inner system:
1 planet (no resources)
asteroid field (resources: common ores)
Middle system:
2 planets (resources:titanium on III) one is a possible terraform candidate (III)
1 gas giant (resources: Californium (rare metal))
Nirn Jumphole
Outer system:
Asteroid field (resources: ice)
2 planet's (resources: silicates (medium value) )
[] Explore Alpha05:
Located in the same asteroid field that also houses Pandora your people have discovered a jumphole leading to a unexplored system.
Chance of success: 70%, Result: Alpha05 explored IMG+10
Using an unexplored jumphole for the first time is always a dangerous endeavour for nobody knows what exactly awaits you on the side. There have been cases where a unlucky explorer ended up right next to a neutron star or in a system awash in radiation (and some whose fate still remains unclear for nobody and nothing seems to be able to return). Captain Yeager, commander of the small taskforce granted the "honour" to make the first jump", is therefore quite relieved when he arrives in the new system in one piece and without any environmental alarms going off. That relief lasts exactly 154 seconds when a whole different sort of alarm goes off.
"Non standard emissions detected. High likelihood of active alien activity. Silent running mode activated. Directive 9 is in effect immediately"
"Oh shit" curses Yeager as he brings up the up the relevant checklist, already memorized but wanting to make absolutely sure he doesn't make a mistake, his HUD while simultaneously checking his navigational display for any activity.
"Okay, still nothing on the Lidar or GravSen so maybe I will actually survive this" he mutters as he switches channels and activates the tight beam com.
"Alpha leader to Alpha team. Directive 9 is in effect. Retreat via Jumphole immediately"
"Roger", "Understood" "Aye"."More than happy to do so."
….
Yeager is the last man making the jump through Jumphole, 400 seconds after getting the warning and without ever seeing an alien or in fact any indication they have noticed him at all. Analysis of the data collected by the team during the short, but still informative, stay in the system makes it clear that the emissions (both radio and light based) he detected were of alien, non natural nature and have originated from a third planet within the Alpha05 system which is interestingly enough located in the habitable zone. Gravitational analysis shows several anomalies which could be space stations or space ships suggesting a relatively advanced civilisation though. As Yeager reported there seems little indication of anybody noticing him though the relatively little timeframe makes any definitive statement there impossible, However the exit of the Jumphole seems to lie in an slightly radioactive asteroid field in the outer part of the system which would have made the incursion all but impossible to detect for your own systems.
Naturally you immediately increased the defences around Alpha05 jumpholes location in Hyrule/Alpha02 with several squadrons of fighters being on standby at all times. However so far it seems like nobody has followed your explorers back home which means you have some time to decide how to proceed.
[] First Contact:
The best way to find out what you are dealing with is to go out there and meet it. In the worst case it might shoot at you (or prove to be an alien parasite who takes over human bodies) but if they aren't homicidal maniacs (or sentient bioweapons/guard dogs) the direct approach would jump start any relationship and provide you with an wealth of information.
Result: Start mini-turn First Contact scenario
[] I'm not ready yet:
On the other hand it might be a good idea to prepare a bit more before you go and meet and aliens, friendly or not.. After all you currently have a lot of things on your plate and you doubt that a few months will change things that much.
Result: Continue with normal turn, New options unlocked (on of which will be the free option to initiate First Contact)
Reputation: Relatively Unknown
Your organization has so far managed to stay secret though rumours about your presence in the Omicron region have begin to surface, especially since Daumann Exogensis has started to operate.
Ethos: Lawful
The large presence of highly trained military and industrial personnel means that your people tend to follow the rules and avoid ethically questionable actions.
Supply: Well supplied
The support of Daumann and Zoner's mean that your organisation is well supplied with basic resources and construction materials and the increased support from the BAF means you are well supplied with military goods as well.
Manpower: 8.000
You are reasonably well staffed with many experienced people in non-combat roles, especially space exploration and mining. Your organisation has expanded significantly to deal with the increased need for manpower. Space on Alpha base is getting sparse and your security and intelligence operation had to work overtime to screen the new hires.
Military:
Level of equipment: Standard
Your military is well equipped and can maintain several ongoing operations
Average experience:
Veteran: Nearly all your pilots and soldiers have proven their mettle on various battlefields and skirmishes.
Size (compared to other factions in Sirius): small to average
- You command a military force roughly equivalent to two aircraft Groups
Force composition:
The large majority of you military force consists of (former() BAF pilots who mostly field heavy and medium fighters. You also employ a double strength squadron of heavy fighters from the Order while the rest of your forces flies a wide spread of semi-"civilian" ships.
Readiness:
100%
Current deployments:
Short ranged patrols - minimal strain towards military operations
"Ground" Forces:
A battalion of Royal Marines (BAF)
Installations:
Nirn: Solitude/Alpha Base: The main base of DSX is located in one of the bigger asteroids, circa ten kilometers in diameter, of the outer asteroid field in the Alpha01 system. The metal heavy composition of the asteroid paired with advanced stealth systems mean that the base is hard to detect for any known sensors.
The base is still undergoing construction but can already house more than five thousand people as well as their associated ships and equipment with the current goal to create enough room to comfortably house ten thousand people. Recently a small industrial complex has been added to it, allowing it to produce a small amount of basic materials.
It is also home to a well equipped pilot training school where the next generation of DSX is getting trained.
In regards for active defenses it features numerous military grade point defense turrets as well as a lesser number of anti fighter guns.
Omicron Lambda: Cintra: Located near the Omicron Theta jumphole in Omicron Lambda this small asteroidbase primarily monitors said jumphole and to oversee the local patrols.
Voss: VossKa: Located near the Mass Relay in the Voss system this small station is currently home to a detachment of scientist trying to research said Relay.
Mining operations:
Small mining operation (rare metals) in Omicron Kappa
Small mining operation (diamonds) in Omicron Kappa
Small mining operation (Ice) in Omicron Kappa
GM: In case your were wondering Directive 9 includes, besides the general guidelines of how to act in face of possible alien presence, also orders to avoid capture as well as loss of sensitive technology at any cost (in most cases this would happen via reactor overload)
I kind of want to do [] I'm not ready yet, but I also tend towards defense actions, buildup, and turtling, so I'm somewhat biased. What do other people think?
I kind of want to do [] I'm not ready yet, but I also tend towards defense actions, buildup, and turtling, so I'm somewhat biased. What do other people think?
The way I see it, if we don't do the First Contact action now, we'll have to do it at a later point, except that time it'll likely cost us an action point to initiate it. And that action point we could instead use for things like building bases, extraction operations, making alliances, or whatever.
The way I see it, if we don't do the First Contact action now, we'll have to do it at a later point, except that time it'll likely cost us an action point to initiate it. And that action point we could instead use for things like building bases, extraction operations, making alliances, or whatever.
Ah, okay. Well, that possibly changes things for tq343, though I maintain my vote. Getting information about the Terminus would be incredibly helpful, and access to ME tech would likely help a lot in Sirius.
Yeah, mostly as insurance in something goes terribly wrong. But you don't have to fear the Order crashing your party - this is your show and your are the one running it.
Yeah, mostly as insurance in something goes terribly wrong. But you don't have to fear the Order crashing your party - this is your show and your are the one running it.
Not unless they're hostile and start attacking us, anyway. Given that this is the Terminus, that is entirely possible. Especially if they're Batarians, who might see this new race as an opportunity to gain a lot of new, exotic slaves. Part of why I'd like to build up more, really.
I'm favoring this option. Because if we do have first contact I want it from a mobile base instead of inviting them to our main base or outposts. Wait until the Hood is refurbished and we've got more defenses online. We *are* in the Terminus. Things can go south rapidly.
I'm favoring this option. Because if we do have first contact I want it from a mobile base instead of inviting them to our main base or outposts. Wait until the Hood is refurbished and we've got more defenses online. We *are* in the Terminus. Things can go south rapidly.
