[X] Plan Blue Zone
Infra 0/4 0 R +2
HI 3/3 15 R +2
-[X] Blue Zone Power Grid Reconstruction (Phase 1) 0/200 2 dice 10 R
-[X] Fission Turbine Plants 38/100 1 dice 5 R
LC Ind 2/3 20 R +2
-[X] Prefabricated Shelter Plants 86/100 1 dice 10 R
-[X] Solar Tarp Systems 91/150 1 dice 10 R
Agri 3/3 20 R +2
-[X] Fungal Farms 75/150 2 dice 20 R
Tiberium 4/4 + 1 Free 110 R +7
-[X] Blue Zone Tiberium Abatement (Phase 1) 0/200 4 dice 80 R
-[X] Tiberium Glacier Mining (Phase 1) 0/200 1 dice 30 R
Orb 1/3 0 R +2
Services 3/3 15 R +12
-[X] Yellow Zone Refugee Camps (Phase 1) 139/300 3 dice 15 R
Military 1/3 0 R -3
-[X] Third Tiberium War Performance Review GDI Steel Talons 1 dice
Bureau 3/3 +1 Free Dice +2
-[X] Security Reviews: Orb DC 60 2 dice+1 Orb
-[X] Security Reviews: Agri DC 60 1 dice+1 free +1 Agri
Was a tossup for me, blue zone means mitigation against the one zone we have none, yellow zone means more resources a little bit quicker and more inroads against the yellow zone.
Housing is our critical shortage right now so I really want to stomp on that. Also we're losing the Blue Zones to Tiberium encroachment at a frightening rate - in Q1 17.35% of Earth's surface was made up of Blue Zones while at the start of this quarter it has dropped to 16.73% . We really need to bring this under control which is why I went for Blue Zone Tiberium Abatement.
EDIT: reduced the dice in Fission Turbines to 2 dice and shifted the third to Blue Zone Power Grid Reconstruction (Phase 1) , added another dice and used the second free dice to raise the cap so I could add another dice to Blue Zone Power Grid Reconstruction (Phase 1) - should be enough to complete Fission Turbines, probably won't be enough to complete Blue Zone Power Grid Reconstruction (Phase 1) but should give us a head start for next turn.
I'm not convinced that starting Blue Zone Power Power Grid Reconstruction is worth the risk that Fission Turbines and Solar Tarps don't complete this turn.
I would also not overlook that Aggregate Plants are basically needed to get the Infrastructure options cranking.
I'm not convinced that starting Blue Zone Power Power Grid Reconstruction is worth the risk that Fission Turbines and Solar Tarps don't complete this turn.
I would also not overlook that Aggregate Plants are basically needed to get the Infrastructure options cranking.
Exactly. Even with the +2 bonus per dice we got starting this turn we will still need to roll 60+ on that dice if we go with Plan Blue Zone, and to complete the Blue Zone poweer grid would require both dice to roll 98+.
In my plan Shelter and Power. I put 3 dice towards completing Fission Turbines, which looking back on it is way overdone, but at least we would get *something* completed to start reducing the power deficit. I'm thinking of swapping one of those 3 dice to Blue Zone power grid - 2 dice should be enough to finish off the Fission Turbines, and 1 dice will make it easier to complete Blue Zone power grid next turn.
I am going to open up the hood a bit and talk about how I am modeling Tiberium spread and mitigation.
Tiberium spread is rolled for each turn, minus mitigation.
Mitigation is what all of the things that say Contributes to Plan Goal. This represents how much your efforts are slowing the spread.
@Ithillid If you're going to talk about some of the 'behind the scenes' mechanics can you explain how the Aggregate Plants option in the heavy Industry section would work? It's mentioned that it will reduce infrastructure costs, but does that mean that the total number of points required to complete each Infrastructure option will be reduced? Or will the Resources cost for each dice for the Infrastructure options be reduced?
@Ithillid If you're going to talk about some of the 'behind the scenes' mechanics can you explain how the Aggregate Plants option in the heavy Industry section would work? It's mentioned that it will reduce infrastructure costs, but does that mean that the total number of points required to complete each Infrastructure option will be reduced? Or will the Resources cost for each dice for the Infrastructure options be reduced?
Mostly the former. Concrete at this point is a tiny percentage of the whole cost. Most of the issues come from needing to make it on site, or wait for the backlog from existing aggregate plants. The cost comes from the things that go into the concrete, or what the concrete surrounds. But it does depend a fair bit on what exactly you are making.
Don't see any problems with this. So long as we start slowing the spread of tiberium in the Blue Zones then the pressure on us for results will be reduced.
So now we get a look at the applications of the new sonic micro emitters.
Resounding Demonstration (3/?)
Morrow: Everyone has their PPE on right? We are testing out a new containment solution and we are unsure whether or not the process successfully abates any airborne tiberium.
Hafsa: It's somewhat uncomfortable but yes.
Mason: I don't think so here.
Morrow: Great! There are two demonstration sites here. We are going to the first one here.
This is the zone that handles preventing tiberium from adversely impacting the performance of our equipment and people.
Sir, I would like to ask you: What allows us to operate vehicles in highly contaminated environments?
Hafsa: Advanced materials that resist tiberium assimilation and sonic emitters...?
Morrow: Yes! While we do not have any better materials available right now, we do have better sonic emitters. As you know, sonic micro emitters are used to neutralize any tiberium that lands on the vehicle or enters the filter. If the neutralization does not work, power can be increased to destroy the assimilated sections or retard the growth of the tiberium so that it may be dealt with later. The problem here is that due to the innate nature of the emitters, the allocation of sonic micro emitters is suboptimal from theory.
Take a look at this scale model of the ZOCOM variant of the MBT-6 on this table here. See all the highlighted areas here? Those are the micro emitters. The blue sections are for extra redundancy and to compensate for malfunctions or battle damage. Green represents those that are needed for normal operation. Yellow are the fallback emitters used when the others are undergoing recalibration. Red represents the deadloss from compensating for the variable nature of current micro emitters.
Now, the models on this table here represent possible micro emitter placement. This one here represents a conservative conversion. We managed to decrease the amount used here by 5%. This one here assumes that we can optimize the network extremely well. That version decreases the needed numbers by a quarter. Of course, that level of reduction is highly unlikely due to the need for redundant units.
Hafsa: I see. So we can make use of these to decrease the number of sonic micro emitter units needed for everything right? Mason, what do you think?
Mason: I can see quite a few benefits here. Even the mild decrease of micro emitters needed can help us further optimize the construction and outfitting process of our units. While the decrease in time and resources are negligible on a unit basis, the mild decrease of strain on our logistics can bring a decent amount of savings. Not enough to fund new initiatives, but enough to boost funding to a select few and still have effect.
Morrow: Right! This was part of the reason why we worked with your scientists and engineer on sonics.
Anyways, If you are wondering whether or not this works, we have two ZOCOM MBT-6 one which has the normal micro emitters and one that has the new ones. Stand back because we are about to challenge it with a tiberium spray here.
-----
The three stepped back from the two vehicles that were about to be sprayed with a corrosive tiberium containing agent. The sprayer quickly turned on, spraying both for a couple of seconds and just as quickly shut off. Both vehicles looked wore for the wear but the level of damage was identical. After a while, the few areas that had pitting damage by the tiberium became apparent but both vehicle's network of micro emitters quickly purged the intruding tiberium. Once it became apparent that no further tiberium caused damage would occur, testing personnel quickly sterilized the area of any remaining active tiberium.
-----
Now tell me which one is worse off. Which one do you think had the new micro emitters. Can you tell?
Hafsa: This one? I have no idea which one had which version of the micro emitters.
Morrow: Exactly! The one on the right had the new ones. Both tanks took similar damage but the number of micro emitters needed to replicate the same level of protection is the same.
Now, I have another demonstration for you. Come follow me.
As you can see, this area is for studying better ways to contain small tiberium outcroppings. As you are well aware, one of the key components that are used in the containment of tiberium is the sonic fence. It can generate a high amount of sonic energy along predefined paths to block the growth and passage of tiberium. It's sonic energy also prove useful for other purposes but that is not or focus today. Our focus is on how we can improve the containment while still remaining at budget.
One of the major costs of the sonic barrier is it's barrier generation. Current sonic barriers rely on the usage of specialized emitter arrays to project the associated sonic energy barrier. There are two primary designs. One makes use of medium sized sonic crystals to power the barriers via brute force and the other uses massive banks of micro emitters to make use of certain special interactions that permit higher sonic energy efficiencies in the barrier. The problem with the first is that it still makes use of strategic resources that could be used in other applications like a Zone Shatterer. The second method is inefficient in the number of micro emitters needed. As I explained earlier, the nature of the sonic crystals causes drift that can cause issues later on. For a vehicle that merely needs to project the sonic energy to at most a feet, the demands need are somewhat lower. For sonic barriers however, the specific interactions needed to create and sustain a barrier has far more restrictive drift tolerances, forcing the addition of at least 30% micro emitters to compensate.
Our new sonic emitters do not have such issues. The drift is lower than sonic crystal based micro emitters and is far more predictable, allowing for some compensations that increase the time needed before recalibration, allowing for lowered numbers. At the same time, the better reliability and predictability of the new sonic micro emitters allow for more advanced array designs allowing for more redundancy, further improving performance and reliability; both of which are critical for tiberium containment. At the same time, lowered emitter counts reduce power demand.
Now both of these posts have been tested for a long time and have been proven to successfully contain tiberium. Take a look at this post here. Ignore the emitters that are labeled black. Those are the self protection arrays for the barrier post. The arrays that you are interested in are painted in orange. The one to your left is the old design. See how a significant chunk of the post is filled with micro emitters. Now look at the one on the right. See how much we can reduce the array size? This helps make the mantience and power demands lower. Factoring in both the lower capital and recurring costs, this is a important cost saving that also permits better performance.
Hafsa: I'm sold on the idea. Mason, how much do you think could be saved here?
Mason.: Depending on the scale that these micro emitters can be rolled out, I would say any where from 2 billion to 10 billion can be saved over the lifetime of the vehicles and structures that these are implemented. This is not factoring in any of the other savings. One of those savings is the loss from need to carefully transport sonic crystal contain equipment everywhere. This could help us decrease the impact of ambushes which would have knock-on effects everywhere. I can not calculate the true savings here due to such factors.
Hafsa: So a decent chunk in change. Not enough to really change everything but this could help start the snow ball...
Morrow, I believe that GDI will be interested in bringing this technology to fruition.
----------
Don't ask about the negotiation. Suffice to say that some fair deal for both parties will be made.
The new micro emitters are better in some ways to the previous crystal based ones, and worse in other ways:
Crystal based emitters:
Wide application(can create a wide array of different base modulations)
Ready Pipeline(no need for investing capital)
Arbitrary energy with good efficiency(electricity to sonic energy conversion)(if you need megawatt level(eg Shatterer level), this is your only real option)
Rapid response(Need modulation one and then quickly switch to modulation 2? We can do it)
Easier to create a basic design(still need to calibrate per crystal)
New micro emitters:
Lowered cost per unit(when mass manufactured)
Defined and known characteristics, no need for calibration
Stable operation(minimal and predictable drift)
Avoids usage of sonic crystals(strategic resource)
Once you have a design, you can replicate the intended characteristics
More resilient to impact(most of the time)
As for the savings, like Mason said, the overall savings will not be enough to fund new things but it can be used to boost the effectiveness of other initiatives.
PS: This series is not yet quite done. I have left the timeline ambiguous specifically so that the bonus could be used at any time.
EDIT:
Phew! I accidentally deleted my draft of the omake here lol. It was supposed to be up yesterday.
My plan includes Blue Zone Tiberium Abatement as well, and it also has the Blue Zone Reconstruction and Yellow Zone Refugee Camps to deal with the most urgent issue.
Adhoc vote count started by Ithillid on Mar 12, 2021 at 4:16 PM, finished with 26 posts and 6 votes.
[X] Plan Blue Zone
-[x] Blue Zone Power Grid Reconstruction (Phase 1) 0/200 2 dice 10 R
-[x] Fission Turbine Plants 38/100 1 dice 5 R
-[x] Prefabricated Shelter Plants 86/100 1 dice 10 R
-[x] Solar Tarp Systems 91/150 1 dice 10 R
-[x] Fungal Farms 75/150 2 dice 20 R
-[X] Blue Zone Tiberium Abatement (Phase 1) 0/200 4 dice 80 R
-[X] Tiberium Glacier Mining (Phase 1) 0/200 1 dice 30 R
-[x] Yellow Zone Refugee Camps (Phase 1) 139/300 3 dice 15 R
-[x] Third Tiberium War Performance Review GDI Steel Talons 1 dice
-[x] Security Reviews: Orb DC 60 2 dice+1 Orb
-[x] Security Reviews: Agri DC 60 1 dice+1 free +1 Agri
The small convoy of four Guardian APC's and two Predator tanks rolled unimpeded over the rough terrain on the way to their destination, pulverising the dry, cracked ground under their weight. Above them unmanned reconnaissance drones, controlled from a GDI base in northern France, scanned the area for any activity that should not be there right now and a flight of Firehawks circled the AO high above them, ready to provide anti-air and ground support should it be needed.
Major Jakobsen felt on edge, not only because of the potential threat of Nod interference, but also because of the weather. With his Zone armor patched into the feed of the APCs external cameras he observed the sky. Both his gut feeling and the ten years of experience working in heavily tiberium contaminated areas told him an ion storm was brewing. The drones and Firehawks had their operational limits, should the coming storm be too heavy they would need to leave the area, leaving them with no ground support.
Besides him Adannaya Thorne anxiously moved in her seat, the high ranking GDI official clearly not accustomed to wearing a full body environment protection suit. Jakobsen patched out the external feed and moved to face her.
"Nervous", he asked, trying to lower the tension.
"Not exactly", she returned, only the upper half of her face visible due to the breathing filter in the helmet unit. "I would need to...uhm."
"Back of the Guardian on the right", he casually explained. "If you need help removing your suit, just let one of us know."
"Thanks Major."
She got up, carefully maneuvering the crew compartment as the APC shook around them.
"So, Boss, any details?", asked Clemens as soon as Thorne had closed the door.
The major shrugged, as much as one could in the heavy duty exoskeleton armor. "Thorne and me know as much as you do, Clemens."
"Yeah, but the Forgotten have not reached out for...what was it...decades? What changed?"
"Stupid question Clemens", Jung chimed in, checking her rail-rifle. "The world nearly ended, that's what changed."
"Intel suggests their population got decimated.", Jakobsen explained. "Maybe they need help?"
"Even when they do, GDI is not exactly in a position to throw resources around."
"It would not be exactly free, Corporal", Thorne added, just returned from the Guardians back compartment. "They will have to offer us something."
Just as Jakobsen wanted to add something to the conversation, France HQ contacted him. "Major, we have visual on the meeting point. Infrared suggests at least ten individuals and two fiends. They do not appear to be armed"
"Can you patch me in?"
"The ion concentration in your area limits our bandwidth, it would not be exactly pretty."
"Fair enough, what can you tell me?"
---
The destination reached the Zone Troopers disembarked, weapons down and relaxed, but ready to engage should the situation require it. As they approached Jakobsen eyed the landmark described by their contact as the meeting spot, a tree-like tiberium structure 50 meters tall, the countless smaller branches reflecting the present light into a dazzling and beautiful display of green colors.
One of the Forgotten stepped forward. A hulking individual as large as a man in Zone Armor, clad in dirty rugs, face hidden behind a hood with only two green where one would suggest the eyes to be.
"You...have...come.", their speech was growly and slow, as if they had trouble speaking.
"Was there any reason to suggest we might not." Thorne approaches them, seemingly unimpressed by the Forgotten's bulk.
"Humans not...always...our friends."
"Let us leave the past behind us."
The Forgotten crocked his head slightly. "Allright."
"Let's start with names. I am Adannaya Thorne and here to represent the GDI foreign aid bureau."
"My name...is...Ruga...I am...the clan chief...of the...local clans...or...what is left....of them."
"How bad is it?"
"Invaders came...from the sky….attacked our villages...took many alive...killed more...We...tried fighting...many more were...slaughtered."
"What would you need?"
"Food for our...children...they can live of...Tiberium...but they...cannot grow." Jakobsen thought he might hear a tint of sadness in the Forgotten's voice, but it was difficult to tell. "Metal...to...rebuild our...homes."
Thorne nodded. "We can give you both, but GDI has major shortages at the moment. I cannot allocate the aid without something in return."
Ruga growled, a howling, vibrating sound that made Jakobsen and his troopers grip their rifles higher, but the Forgotten just raised his hand and two others stepped forward, carrying a very large bundle of cloth.
"We have...something...to trade."
The package was laid down next to Ruga and they began unwrapping it. Jacobsens eyes grew big and Thorne took a step back reflexively, when they realized what it was: a Scrin Disintegrator, wrapped in chains.
And this one was active, its legs trembling against the chains keeping it bound.
"Do not fear...this creature...cannot harm you." Ruga tried to reassure them. "This one is alive...but not dangerous...it has not fired...it's weapon...since we found it."
"Where have you found it?", Jacobsen asked, earning him a glare from Thorne. "I thought all the Scrin were dead."
"Tiberium fields littered...with their...dead...millions...but...a few...alive...barely...My clan has...two...one too large for transport...We are willing...to...trade."
Thorne turned to the major. "I need to take this up the chain. This changes the situation. I will be back shortly."
With that she hurried towards the APC, leaving Jacobsen and Ruga alone.
"So...has this any meaning?", he pointed towards the tree-like tiberium structure towering above them.
"When there was conflict...the clans...came here...to talk...no violence was allowed in...its presence." Ruga turned towards it. As they looked up, light catched on their face, making their pale complexion streaked with green lights visible to Jakobsen. "And it...is...beautiful."
1. That probably won't happen. It is a good piece, and I will be calling it canon but Omakes are only going to be used to finish out whatever the plan rolls too low for. So if you are at 135-140 of Fungal Farms it will be, but above 140 there are semi and non canon Omake that I will be using instead.
2. Do you have a title for this?
