So... I'll say that the military tech you guys arrived with was mostly "field security" sort of stuff. There was some adaptable design CAD stuff for BilPro guns -- this is what Mira adapted for the Colony Ship, though that's literally nothing more than an oversized zipgun -- but you do have a few possible avenues you could go down.
There are lots of ways to theoretically deliver damage in space. Mining lasers could be tweaked to have longer focal lengths but that would still be "knife fighting range". You /do/ have nuke designs (mining charges) but not military rocket designs. You could jerry-rig missiles by sending maintenance drones clamped to nukes for example. But to set your expectations, these would be single-kiloton yield munitions.
Including the psi crystal machine will likely unlock space weapons like energizing/shaping mining lasers with telekinetic energy to make them practical weapons. Though they'd have rather significant limits in rates of fire and yield as this would imply channeling a shuttle's fusactor output into a mining laser beam by way of the gunners' mind.
@Logos01 I been thinking with enough research into Psionics can we create a giant psi amplifier put it on a ship and had the entire crew squad-linked together? And how capable are they?
Can they have super stealth like the minbari, or broke it by sensing the life forms inside, can they move through hyperspace like it was nothing, deflect incoming attacks, amplifing our own, smashing ships together with telekinesis and many more?
@Logos01 been thinking with enough research into Psionics can we create a giant psi amplifier put it on a ship and had the entire crew squad-linked together? And how capable are they?
Can they have super stealth like the minbari, or broke it by sensing the life forms inside, can they move through hyperspace like it was nothing, deflect incoming attacks, amplifing our own, smashing ships together with telekinesis and many more?
That's a matter of the direction you take research towards.
Bigger amps with better "energy buffering", or choir techniques to handle larger scale stuff -- that's all feasible. You've already got something like that for Vehicular stealth.
Another route you could try to go is including enough psi-crystals in a shuttle or fighter such that a pilot could "pair-bond" with it like with the psi-drones. That would make a lot of the vehicle scale stuff much easier but would limit crew sizes.
Right now you have no idea of a possibility for using psi-tech for going in and out of hyperspace. You'd need to develop a workable plan for that.
Do telekinetic engines have to launch and catch a projectile? Can't it simply press directly on the hull? Wonder if some kind of TK belt or backpack could be rigged up to allow someone to fly or levitate themselves.
The project to extend the kobold hivemind range could have some far-reaching implications. If a telepath can relay their mind through technological transmitters, that puts new meaning to "spooky action at a distance". Presumably they need a receiver at the other end but if a powerful telepath can sit anywhere near the colony and zonk you through the internet...
But the main issue is, the stealth technique doesn't work on cameras and sensors, so an opponent who doesn't obediently get in psykering range can operate through drones instead.
And, of course, while going to ground might work militarily, that still allows a frustrated enemy to loot or wreck all that hard-built infrastructure.
Though that does of course depend on what an attacker wants. As mentioned, the most valuable good the colony has is its population of several hundred unattended telepaths with no-one to make a fuss if some get stolen. Or who can be coerced into working for a new patron - such a lovely colony, in such a dangerous region of space. Anything could happen to it.
Of course, picking up colonists also requires exposing oneself to cloaked boarding parties, but a group planning to recruit disgruntled telepaths would need to be prepared to manage them and make sure they don't rewire anyone's brain, IE either telepath resistance or telepaths of their own. And alien minds are difficult for untrained telepaths to work with.
In the short term, before the telepath thing gets figured out, it's just another backwoods mining outpost. An unknown species, but also undefended. So mundane pirates might drop by in search of valuables, materials, interesting bits of alien tech, and the occasional exotic slave. Again, that requires landing to pick things up, or demanding it be shipped up to them, but such raiders are probably well acquainted with the sorts of tricks rugged frontier colonists might try to play - mining charges hidden in the loot are old hat.
But the psi-crystals allow all sorts of tricks that would normally require a much higher tech level to pull off, and it's possible that a refined psi-weapon might not even be recognisable as a weapon until it's too late.
For weapon designs at least for me more research into psi tech is needed and maybe experimenting with using that to enhance normal weapon tech to see the results, before making a decision there.
Still on the top for me is smart weaponry + (psy) drone usage depending on the ranges (drone fighters couples to our larger ships as an example).
Overall our largest weakness seems to be the amount of people we have and our biggest strength is that pretty much/almost everyone has access to psi abilities.
So we need to lean into stuff that help overcome our weakness and amplifies our strength.
If we want to go stealthy for awhile we could switch off the Beacon for a decade. We wouldn't be able to listen in and work out who our neighbors are, but until we find enough Quantium-40 and build a gate with it, or find a way to get funky with that hyperspace tear, listening in is all the beacon is good for.
We've already started setting up a substantial amount of space infrastructure. Realistically we could replace a lot of it, a couple of years of building the new Fusion reactors could make the solar farms unnecessary, but we have a presence in the solar system nonetheless. And it's a big solar system we haven't even scratched the surface of. We can explore for a long time before we need to leave this system.
Thinking of options to arm a fighter or warship kinetics can't be ignored, potentially as a defense form. Much as I joked about not putting a big shotgun on the shuttle that's not a bad model for a point defense gun. Fill shells with sand or dust from asteroid mining waste and it can interfere with laser beams through reflection, and scrape the sensors or thrusters off missiles. Put some larger rock fragments in or launch solid shells and you have a short range offensive weapon, likely slow moving so easy to dodge at distance. And that would be just adding an aiming and control system to a scaled up versions of things we have already made.
Most Earth ships we see in B5 use a combination of point defense and armor to protect themselves. We also have weird energy fields that could provide a different form of active defense if we pour research in. The Minbari have their own stealth technology defense that means you can't lock onto them, but who knows how that works.
Though using a choir onboard to stealth a ship or shuttle long enough to clamp a 1 kiloton nuke to the enemy's hull is also a possibility. As long as the stealth effect is strong enough that screaming proximity alarms can't cut through until it's too late. Realistically this is probably the only defensive option we would have if someone finds us within the next decade. We're not going to be able to field a fighter for at least that long.
So what do people think about the Beacon? Keep listening in and try to learn more about the neighborhood? Or shut it down for the next decade?
The Beacon is in-system broadcast only. It helps navigation at the interplanetary range: Explorer Ships would still need to chart a route.
What you're picking up with it is wide area broadcast signals that require dedicated high power transmission systems able to be picked up by receivers up to 3 Jumps away.
A Jump route once established would use an interstellar tight beam beacon chain to map said route. Ships in Hyperspace follow those tightbeam chains from waypoint to waypoint.
But even without hyperspace transit your in system beacon is still important for navigation and operations.
tl;dr -- don't worry about the beacon drawing Explorers. It would make it easy for anyone who finds the system to find you yes. But that's only easier, as compared to picking up the energy levels of the Colony.
^ So shutting off the Beacon wouldn't be that useful. Good to know. If someone finds us they will be in an explorer ship which can perform it's own jumps, which means a large ship. Stealthed shuttles with nuclear mining charges and crews peroforming EVAs to attach said charges to the hull of the explorer would probably be our only way to fight back. If they are hostile that is. If we have any broad knowledge of the species involved the Hyach aren't known as a particularly expansionist species. I would be much more worried if the Brakiri find us, due to their focus on profit maximization and their having several crime syndicates. They might try to take slaves or exploit us in other ways.
The Hyach are a humanoid species from the planet Shir-shraba. Former members of the League of Non-Aligned Worlds, they have since become a part of the Interstellar Alliance. A bipedal humanoid, Hyach can be distinguished from other races by their distinctively shaped skulls that feature two...
Brakiri are a sentient humanoid race from the planet Brakir and one of the Younger Races. They were governed by the Brakiri Syndicracy, formerly a member of the League of Non-Aligned Worlds and later, the Interstellar Alliance. A bipedal humanoid race, the Brakiri are naturally nocturnal and can...
And with orbital infrastructure and space mining, anyone with eyes to see can find the colony. But even without those, it's literally the only habitable planet in the system and any surveyor is going to beeline for it.
As for space stealth while the tk shuttle is described as harder to spot that's not quite the same as stealthy, and unless I've missed something big the stealth techniques only work on the minds of organic observers and even those probably only if they're close - sensors or an observer watching from far enough away can probably see right through them.
Additionally, IIRC telepaths in space are fairly short range: I think the boosts they get in hyperspace aren't connected to realspace range.
Though telepaths were able to jam battlecrabs at ranges relevant for space combat, and most of them weren't Lyta and presumably had an achievable P-rating, so perhaps for a powerful enough psychic "line of sight" in space can go a long way, long enough to work.
Though Shadows are uniquely vulnerable to telepaths, so perhaps a ship that isn't built around a single dead-but-dreaming psi-sensitive pilot would be less easily affected.
Also, there's another way for visitors to arrive than being a dedicated explorer ship: our friendly neighbourhood First One could fuck around again and forcibly redirect them into our system.
So I just found this and read through it and oh wow, cool stuff. Very nifty set up and design. I especially like the not one but two moments of time travel given to us. (where is the meme, if I had a nickel for every time a ship with Teeps found itself back in the past, I would have two nickels, which isn't a lot but its weird it happened twice - hehehe)
Seriously though, this is super cool. So much potential in terms of what the colony can mean for the future.
I'm not ready to vote for anything yet, but I did want to comment that it could be useful to study the Centauri grav plating system on the initial transport. Us having artificial gravity would be very useful and also kind of unique compared to many of the neighbors.
But yeah, this is really cool. Really fun. Kudos on it.
I'm not ready to vote for anything yet, but I did want to comment that it could be useful to study the Centauri grav plating system on the initial transport. Us having artificial gravity would be very useful and also kind of unique compared to many of the neighbors.
But yeah, this is really cool. Really fun. Kudos on it.
Yeah, the voting system has kinda gotten bloated. You'll see mentions of "the Founder Era" ending soon, as I "zoom out" from a colony builder quest to a space civ quest, on that basis. Still the same quest, but streamlined mechanics because I've been figuring this out as I go.
I do like 'colony builder' quest, but yeah once things get closer to later times it going a bit 'space civ quest' is going to be fascinating. Especially when we decide to start dealing with our neighbors.
Also we know the future! We know about the Dilgar War and the Earth-Minbari War. We know some of the more hostile things going on in Earth. So yeah this could lead to some interesting stuff. (Like us actively working to rescue anti-PsiCorps Teeps.)
Also I like to imagine its Lorien who is doing the stuff, cause he is cool. hehe
---
[X] Fears for the Future
Yeah so I am definitely too new to think about my own plan or anything like that. And this is definitely a good plan.
I don't have much to say on Industry. Though seeing 'Basic Hab' on there does have me think on us doing research to like design a better or more opulent or upgraded hab design. More comfortable, with integrated psi panels and stuff.
On Orbital. I think the potential of us tapping into the hyperspace rift in the future would be extremely interesting and useful. Lots of benefits there.
On Military, the whole 101 on planning is pretty nifty. Its the same with the design ethos for our ships, that was cool. Doing this now when its theoretical and more fun then forced is nifty and I think very useful.
Us studying our friends the Kobolds is great. I think a lot of potential there so its awesome to look into that.
The other research operations we are working on is also really fun and has a lot of benefits.
I do wonder about us turning to Psi Research. See if we can figure out how to break into personalized access to TK and other psychic disciplines. The psi nature of our world and the things we are working on might lead to that. In time anyway.
Also precise TK can help with micro-engineering.
As a side thing. I do think 'Matriarch' as the leader of the Clans feels limiting. Too bad its not 'Clan Heads' or 'Clan Leaders' or something non-gender specific. Like I am new here and stuff but clans automatically being led by one gender without any possibility of male leadership feels a step back. The other option is two leaders, both male and female. or no gender basis on that.
That's a thing about Bab 5 Telepaths. They're led by a Matriarch. It was likely due to the fact by the time we see them in canon, the clans are no more and only the PsiCorps (it is mother, it is father) remains.
The thing is that P-ratings are mostly matrilineal. "Talents" are inherited from one's mother. While there is overall a "rule by the strongest mind" thing amongst teeps, /families/ are generally tracked by the female members over the male. So a Matriarch is the strongest/oldest mother of the family because that's how it was in the earliest days of teep culture.
In the absence of a single controlling institution like the Psi-Corps, the main Families are left to manage their own affairs and legacies, and what that looked like in B5 as a setting mostly comes from the various book series. The original Kith were led by a woman known as "Mother" for example.
Do note that it's just the Clans that are Matriarchic/Matrilineal. The actual head of the government is the strongest teep of the original Founders and his successor will at least be equal in strength to the strongest of that generation.
Where the Corps mostly did indoctrination to accept "genetic matches" and forced breeding in the absence of willing compliance, the Kith used the more "tried and true" "Yenta" model of meddling aunts/mothers playing matchmaker.
That's been expanded here into something a little more formal, but it's all quite "figuring out as they go".
But some of it is also a consequence of everyone being telepaths; people's own self-images are reinforced by how others see them, and that can cause regressive effects of things like gender norms and roles taking on a life of their own. (We saw some of the toxic culture feedback in the Cult of Byron, for example.)
It can be hard to forge your own path for yourself when you literally see yourself with the eyes of everyone around you and as such see in yourself what they see when they look at you.
Really happy we have a gene bank, perhaps we should start one for the kobolds also institute a health database trace lineage make sure blight dont effect them and other things as we have shown enough care to try and link them with a space station to the planetside hive
Edit: stuff like this is already done for Parrots in RL
[X] Fears for the Future
-[X] Economy
--[X] 1 Autofactory will serve as 3 Autofabbers this turn (1/7)
--[X] Build 1 Storm Hardened Autofactory. Cost:2 Autofabber Actions (2/5) -6 Minerals
--[X] Seed 1 Storm Peat deposit. -10 food, 1 Autofabber Action (3/5)
--[X] Build 1 Storm hardened Storm Peat mine. -1 Mineral, 1 Autofabber Action (4/5)
--[X] Build 1 Storm hardened Basic Hab Complex. Cost: -1 Mineral 1 Autofabber Action. (5/5)
--[X] Build 2 Storm Hardened, Blight Hardened Exo-womb nurseries. Cost: Cost: 2 Autofactory Actions (3/8). -6 Minerals. -2 Food
--[X] Build 2 Storm hardened Psi-Crystal Machines. Cost: -12 Minerals, -4 Biomass, 2 Psi-Crystal Builds (2/4), 2Autofactory Actions (5/8)
--[X] Build 1 Psi-drone pops, assign to Lab III.Cost: 1 Autofactory Actions (6/8), 1 Psi-Crystal Machine Actions [3/4], -2 Minerals.
--[X] Build Sensor Grid Satellites. Cost: -5 Minerals, 1 Autofactory Action (7/8), 1 Orbital Action
--[X] Total Build Cost: -10 Food, -31 Minerals, -4 Biomass. Energy needs will rise and we will drop into deficit temporarily even if we spin up the syngas
--[X] Set syngas burn rate to (3/3) to help mitigate the deficit
--[X] 1 Autofactory and 1 Psi-Crystal machine will be held in reserve to support other Actions
--[X] Blight Harden the medical facility in the Cultural Center, the Habitation buildings, and all Exo-womb nurseries
-[X] Orbital
--[X] 1 Action to supply mining bay [1/8]
--[X] 1 Action to support construction [2/8]
--[X] 4 Actions Asteroid mining [6/8]
--[X] 2 Actions to support Military Action [8/8]
-[X] Military
--[X] Contemplating Space Combat 101: We have no idea what it means to fight in space. No teep from the future was allowed to join Earthforce, and all Mira's experience was on the ground. So we need to work things out from first principles. 2 shuttles and associated ground crews will be made available to the militia for theorycrafting and training purposes. Shuttles are clearly not starfighters, and we have seen Earth Propaganda from the future so we know Starfuries are a thing, but we can still come up with experiments and theories about what we might need to defend ourselves. Like, is dogfighting a thing? How does that work when a ship being chased can just cut thrust and spin around? Continuing training in EVA and potentially attempting to board vessels can be practiced. If new equipment is needed resources have been held in reserve to facilitate.
--[X] "Mira, please don't just make a giant shotgun and try to strap it to a shuttle."
-[X] Exploration
--[X] Kobold Study: We know very little about our little friends; their nutrition, their reproduction and life-cycle,and their medical needs. If we are contemplating allowing Kobolds in off-planet installations we need a fuller understanding of them.
-[X] Research
--[X] Lab I will study Blight Cure I
--[X] Lab II will continue existing High-Tensile Strength Biomaterial research
--[X] Lab III will study Future Transport:Transport Hulls
-[X] Diplomacy
--[X] Try to gauge the mood in the colony concerning the proximity of the Hyach and Brakiri, and the fears of some of the up timers that we are in the path of a future war that will see horrifying crimes by the Dilgar as well as the intercession of Earth. Awareness of threats is good, but panic or paranoia are not; so discussions about what we should do to protect ourselves is better than letting things fester.
-[X] Personal
--[X] Meet with the Matriarchs to discuss the expansion of the Exo-wombs. With the initial success of the technology in our 2 existing facilities expansion to meet the needs of the population seems prudent. We will have teenagers turning into tweens in the coming years, and potentially wanting to start families of their own so the elimination of wait lists and expansion of service to all who want to avail themselves of the technology seems prudent. While the expansion of the facilities does reduce the relative advantage the Clans have from their set aside facility,other accommodations might be made to allay concerns from the Matriarchs about losing relevance or influence.
== Database Techs
- Colonization Basics.
Can build Tier 0 "Basic" basic facilities with autofabber action.
- Defense Basics.
Can build basic military gear, both personal and semi-autonomous drones.
- Energy Production Tier 1
Can design specialty Tier 1 facilities for power production. Most will require a Basic Autofactory.
- Ecological Architecture.
Can perform special actions to modify buildings to better perform or integrate better with local environment. (Example: "Storm Hardening").
- Space Operations.
Spaceports, Shuttles, Sensor Grids, and bears. Oh my!
- Ground Effect Vehicles.
Amphibious colonial survey design found in database. Increases efficacy of surveys, patrols, and hunts.
== Social Development
- Production/Energy Credit Economics
Basic and specialist pops have a minimum output that will always be met, and maintenance cost.
- Sporting Event Telepathic Training
Psi-amps have allowed teep training to be viewed as a form of athleticism rather than something to be endured. Long term impacts yet to be revealed.
- Clan Secrets
The Council of Matriarchs is planning to have each Clan develop their own unique spin on the skills one acquires as a teep and how to obtain them. While this can't affect Psi-ratings, the techniques one focuses on can have an impact on the jobs one is good at.
- Apprenticeships
The teens of the colony have persuaded the original generation to allow them to take on more responsibility and provide practical aid to the workers of the colony, easing the burden on the workforce.
- Telekinetic Dueling Culture.
The people of the colony are growing more invested in the personal prowess capabilities offered by the psi-amps.
- Civilian Economy Morale
The Civilian Economy has expanded to the state that it now provides a +1 Morale bonus to any facility with a malus that turn.
- Disaster Preparedness.
Militia Effectiveness now applies to disaster events.
- Storm Festivals.
Shocking culinary practices will now be a long-term part of the colony's social identity, representing endurance and togetherness. The Storm Month will be seen as a time when social status is secondary to reconciliation.
== Kithhame Techs
- Anti-Sandworm Thumpers
Sonic generators designed to mimic pestilent sandworms' predators.
== Kobold Techs
- Kobold Veterancy Archives.
Eliminates potential unskilled labor penalties. Grants +1 bonus to tasks requiring extreme skill (combat rolls, medical performance, etc.,)
- Squadlink Technique.
Provides +1 effectiveness in small units from superior coordination.
- Stealth Technique.
Can allow militia members to remain undetected by sentient beings.
- Hive Repeaters.
Psi-crystal receiver/broadcasters that digitize Kobold hivemind mental broadcasts so they can be relayed via tightbeam tachyon broadcast. Allows Kobold Pets perk to apply in more situations, especially orbital operations.
== Psi-Crystal Techs
- Psi-Amps (Primitive)
Through the use of electrically charged Psi-Crystals, a telepath can -- very clumsily -- use telekinetic abilities. The surface has barely been scratched with this. Psi-Amps can now also enhance telepathic operations and mind-machine interactions. +1 benefit (+10 to Research rolls).
- Telekinetic Weapons
Can use unengraved but larger psi-crystals to create heavy recoilless slug-thrower weapons, though they require hip or backpack power supplies.
- Psionic Interfaces
Telepathic interface technology can now work reliably with human-made computer components.
- Telekinetic Auras
By imbueing telekinetic energy into one's own bioelectric field, the field can draw on the person's metabolic energy and provide a basic 'reinforcement' of the bioelectric field into a sort of aura.
- Psi-Amp Multitasking.
Stronger telepaths can split their attention to perform telepathic and telekinetic actions simultaneously by 'shoring up' the strength of the 'psychic echo' in the psi-amps.
== Clan Psi-techs
> Alexander
-- Telescopic Clairsentience: Alexanders learn to use psi-amp interactions with light and sound to amplify signals coming from a given direction. Improves Psi-Amp bonus to some military actions.
> Gray
-- Empathic Telemetry: Grays learn to use their telepathic senses to detect the emotional resonance a person experiences with objects, thus determining in a sense the nature and degree of any importance personal possession, greatly easing disputes over personal possessions and theft complaints.
> Runningdeer
-- Kobold Memory Art: Runningdeers learn to use the Kobold Veterancy Archive in an abstract way, allowing the 'encryption' of personal secrets within the group by pairing symbolic references within the Archive with imagery that's shared as 'decryption keys' with fellow teeps.
> Ironheart
-- Circle Amplification: Ironhearts learn to include psi-amps in their cooperative choirs. While traditionally choirs cannot actually increase their effective P-rating, including a trained Ironheart into a choir can make psi-amps more energy-efficient when multiple teeps are involved. Adds +1 to the effect of psi-amps on any telepathic action that requires a choir.
> Stoner
-- Psychic Contracts: Stoners learn to use their telepathic capabilities and the informed consent of those involved to create a 'resonance' with a certain list of terms between those individuals. This creates a sort of mutual awareness of compliance with the agreement and, with psi-amp assistance, an aversion to breaking the terms as understood by both parties. Improves Civilian Economy yields with +1.
> Namikawa
-- Psi-Hand Technique: Namikawas have learned methods to partner the telekinetic 'bubble' psi-amps can maintain with the tactile response of their hands, drastically improving the resolution of sensory feedback from psi-amps when analyzing or appreciating the shapes and flows within the field. Adds +10 to Psi-Amp bonus to Research Rolls.
== Biomechanoid Techs
- Biomechanical Material Farms. Grows ancient alien's biomechanoid structural material from raw biomass.
-- High Tensile: Biomechanoid Materials usage reduces total Minerals/Biomass cost by 10%. Highly suitable as armor.
Tier 0:
- Basic Autofab: -1 Energy Prod. Allows 1 Autofab Action/turn. Cost: 1 Autofab Action. 2 Minerals.
- Basic Militia Gear. Allows 1 pop to perform military actions. Cost: 1 Autofab Action. 1 Minerals.
- Basic Hab Complexes. +1 Pop Cap. Cost: 1 Autofab Action.
- Basic Greenhouses. +1 Food Prod. Cost: 1 Autofab Action.
- Basic Mines: +1 Minerals Prod. Cost: 1 Autofab Action.
- Basic Lumber Camp: +1 Biomass. Cost: 1 Autofab Action.
- Wind/Solar Farm: +1 Energy Prod. Cost: 2 Minerals. Up to 1 Autofab Action (build up to 12 with 1 action.) (Cannot be Storm Hardened.)
- Syngas Reactor: +1-3 Energy/-1-3 Biomass. Cost: 2 Minerals. 1 Autofab Action.
- Basic Autofactory: -2 Energy Prod. Allows 3 Autofab Actions OR 1 Autofactory Action. Cost: 2 Autofab Action. 5 Minerals.
- Gunshuttle. -1 Energy Prod. Allows 1 Orbital Operation /turn. Cost: 2 Autofab Actions. 5 Minerals, 4 Biomass (Biomechanoid). (High-Tensile: -1 Biomass)
- Basic Kelp Farm. +1 Food, +1 Biomass, -1 Energy Prod. Requires deposit. Cost: 1 Autofab Action, 1 Minerals.
- Cultural Center. 0/0/0. Negates all Cultural Crisis penalties when complete. 1 Autofab Action, 4 Food per stage. (Core / Ring / Wings )
- Basic Vehicular Maintenance Bay. Provides 'care and feeding' for 1 squadron of storm-hardened GEV's. -1 Energy. Cost: 2 Autofab Actions, 2 Biomass, 2 Minerals. Includes the squadron.
- Build Storm Peat Deposit. Adds a Storm Peat deposit to the planet. Cost: 1 Autofab Action, 10 Food.
- Build Ironwood Plantation. Takes 4 years. Requires at least one Dredging Station to be operational the entire term. Cost: 3 Biomass, 1 Minerals per turn. 1 Autofabricator action per turn.
- Seed Ironwoods Into Mine Tailings. Adds +1 Minerals and +1 Biomass to a Mine. Cost: 1 Autofab Action, 2 Biomass.
Tier 1:
- Basic Dredging Stations. +2 Minerals, -1 Energy. Costs 1 Minerals to build. 1 Autofactory Action.
- Basic Fusion Reactor: +3 Energy Prod. Cost: 1 Autofactory Action. 3 Minerals. (-1 Without Purifier.)
- Standard Shuttle: Allows 1 Orbital Operation /turn. Cost: 1 Autofactory Action. 12 Minerals.
- Militarized Shuttle: Allows 1 Orbital Operation /turn. Can perform Orbital Combats. Cost: 1 Autofactory Action, 1 Psi-Crystal Machine Action, 7 Minerals, 6 Biomass. (High-Tensile: -1 Biomass)
- Exowomb Nursery: -2 Energy Prod, -1 Food. Counts as extra pop for Pop Growth calculations. Cost: 1 Autofactory Action. 2 Minerals. 2 Food.
- Spaceport (3 stage facility.) -2 Energy per stage. Provides subfacility slots for orbital-related activities. Cost: 1 Autofactory Action, 5 Minerals per stage.
- Solar Rectenna Station: Provides ground link to Orbital Solar Satellites. Supports up to 5 Satellites. Cost: 5 Minerals, 1 Autofactory Action.
- Food Synthesizer: Converts Biomass into Food. Not very palatable, requires -1 Energy/t when in operation. Cost: 1 Autofactory Action, 5 Minerals, 3 Biomass.
- Biomechanical Material Farm: Permits production of Biomechanoid Materials to substitute Minerals with Biomass. -1 Energy/t when in operation. Cost: 2 Autofactory Actions, 5 Minerals, 5 Biomass.
- Grass Farm: +2 Food/t, +2 Biomass/t, -2 Energy/t. Automated (No Jobs). Cost: 1 Autofactory Action, -2 Minerals, -2 Food, -2 Biomass.
Psionic Tier 1:
- Psionic Drones: +1 "psi-drones" pop. Cost: 1 Autofactory Action, 1 Psi-Crystal Machine Action, 2 Minerals. Can support 3 Psi-Drones pops per Human Pop. Psi-Drones may work 1 Job per pop, producing +1 to that Job, and cost -1 E/t.
- Psi-Crystal Machines: +1 Psi-Crystal Build Operation, -1 Energy/t. Cost: 5 Minerals, 2 Biomass, 1 Psi-Crystal Build, 1 Autofactory Action
Orbital Infrastructure Tier 1:
- Storm Nullifier Satellites: +2 Energy Prod. Cost: 1 Autofactory Action. 5 Minerals. (Mitigates Storm Turn Penalty.)
- Sensor Grid Satellites: Requires ground control. Provides sensor coverage for star system. Less effective when used passively. -2 Energy. Cost: 1 Orbital Operation, 5 Minerals, 1 Autofactory Action.
- Solar Satellite: Provides control to up to 12 Solar Farms in Orbit. +2 Energy/t (base). Cost: 5 Minerals, 1 Autofactory Action, 1 Orbital Operation.
- Orbital Station Modules: Provides Job-related infrastructure or habitation. Costs: 10 Minerals, 4 Autofabber Actions, 2 Orbital Operations, 1 Basic Fusion Reactor.
-- Orbital Station Core: Allows other Modules, provides habitation for Jobs. Requires 1 Orbital Operation per Job sustained aboard station.
-- Astro-Mining Bay: Supports 1 Job, allowing up to 4 Asteroid Mining Operations per Job. Each Asteroid Mining Operation gets "best-of-2" on yield roll.
- Asteroid Mining. Harvest Asteroids that approach near Kithhame orbit. Provides 1d12 Minerals.
- Launch Assets. Allows deploying manufactured goods into orbit. (Max capacity, 12 Solar Farms / 1 Satellite.)
- Send Probe. Allows exploring anomalies or other planetary bodies.
Trinary Star System.
Kith Prime A. Yellow Giant (50x larger than Sol). 2 hadean planets, 2 hot dead worlds, 1 possibly terrestrial, 2 gas giants. 2 dwarf planets. No asteroid belt.
Kith Prime B. Brown Dwarf. 2 frozen worlds. 1 gas giant. 2 asteroid belts. 1 dwarf planet.
Kith Prime C. Blue Dwarf. 2 Hadean Worlds. 1 Hot dead world. Kithhame. 1 frozen world. 1 asteroid belt. 2 gas giants. 3 dwarf planets.
2 Energetic Anomalies.
"Lighting Hole". Building "Rift Observation Station" will grant permanent +20 to Hyperspace Theory rolls.
"Radrock". Building "Radrock Observation Station" will grant permanent +10 to Nuclear Physics rolls.
Charted (+1 to asteroid mining operations).
Colonies:
Kithhame
[*]Population:
Humans: 4 Units (~860 people) ( -4 Food/t )
Kobolds: 7 Units (Self-sustaining)
Psi-Drones: 2 Units ( -2 Energy/t )
[*]
[*]Planetary status:
Marginally habitable. Indigenous wildlife obviously alien but at times oddly familiar.
Planetary Storms hit every 5 years. (2072,2077,2082, etc.. Causes -1 to all facilities that turn. Chance of facility loss.)
Hostile Fauna: Sandworms. 25% 10% chance annually of attack on food reserves/production.
Notable Fauna: Stormrider Anemone. Catxlotls.
3 Basic Minerals deposit found (3 Medium Exploited).
5 "Storm Peat" Deposits Found (5 Lightly Exploited). ( Build mine to produce +1 Energy/turn, +1 Biomass.)
3 Kelp Forest Deposits Found ( 3 Lightly Exploited). (Build Kelp Farm to produce +1 Food, +1 Biomass, -1 Energy.)
2 Ironwood Deposits Found (2 Lightly Exploited). (Build Logging Camp to produce +1 Minerals, +1 Biomass.)
Cultural Center (Complete) ( Negates Cultural Crisis.) (All sub facilities automatically Storm Hardened.)
Automated Field Hospital. -1 Energy, -1 medical emergency impact
Central Computer Core. -2 Energy. (Telepathic interfaces. Colony-wide network.)
Archives. -1 Energy. (Retains memories of history, culture, social theory, improves educational outcomes)
2 Vehicle Maintenance Bays. -2 Energy. (Provides 'care and feeding' for 2 squadrons of GEVs.) (Storm Hardened.)
Starport (Complete) -6 Energy. (Allows synthesis of fusion torch fuel. Protects Shuttles. Has subfacilities.) (Storm Hardened.) (Phase 2: Magnetic Launchers -- +1 to all Orbital Actions.) ( Phase 3: Tachyon Beacon )
Drydock. (Permits study, repair, and construction of larger ship classes.)
3 Standard Shuttle. ( +3 Orbital Operations. )
4 Gunshuttle ( +4 Orbital Operations. -4 Energy/t )
Clan Exowomb Nursery ( +10 Births/t, -2 Energy/t, -1 Food/t, Special: Does not count against cap, Storm Hardened).
3 Exowomb Nursery ( +30 Births/t, -6 Energy/t, -3 Food/t. Max 1 Facility per Human Pop. Storm Hardened.)
3 Research Facilities -4 Energy/t ( Grants "Labs" perk, granting +10 to research rolls. Can sustain 1 research project per turn each. Storm Hardened. 1 Facility Blight-Hardened.)
Private Research Facility -1 Energy/t ( Allows 1 research project per turn not under Questor control. Storm Hardened.)
Biomechanical Material Farm, -1 Energy/t ( Can spend 1 Biomass for 1 Minerals, for up to 50% of Minerals costs. -1 Energy when in use. Blight-Hardened.)
Orbital Station:
Core: Allows other Modules, provides habitation for Jobs. Requires 1 Orbital Operation per Job sustained aboard station.
Astro-Mining Bay: Supports 1 Job, allowing up to 4 Asteroid Mining Operations per Job. Each Asteroid Mining Operation gets "best-of-2" on yield roll.
Honeypede Ranching. -1 Biomass/t, Improves Morale Bonus 1 step. (Bonus now applies to terrestrial random rolls.)
Food Synthesizer (Can convert Biomass into Food. Requires -1 Energy/t when active.).
Planetary Sensor Grid. (Provides early warning of spaceborn events, or planetary ecological disasters. Can improve survey and exploration actions.)
1 Syngas Reactor. +3 Energy -3 Biomass. (Max of 3) (Storm Hardened.)
Solar Rectenna Station: 2/5 Satellites. (Storm Hardened).
2 Solar Satellite(s). +4 E/t, ( Supports 12 Orbital Solar Farms. )
24 Orbital Solar Farms. +24 E/t.
[*]
Clan Activity:
-- Clan Choirs have once again doubled-down on the Dueling Leagues, making a visible effort to channel the enthusiasm for potential future conflicts along a route that the Matriarchs of the colony view as 'productive'. People in general see the more devoted Clanners' attempts to be "responsible" for everyone as a whole, but since it's for a good purpose nobody really minds.
Civilian Economy:
-- There's a spate of emergency readiness kits being sold in the form of camping gear and purportedly "sensor dampening" blankets, but some quiet talking to the would-be entrepeneurs prevents outright fraud or price-gouging from going on.
Spaceport Beacon Transcripts:
-- No new data.
Industry:
-- 1 Ironwood Deposit Seeding ( -1 M, -3 B, 1/3 Autofabbers, 3/4 Years )
-- 1 Autofactory will serve as 3 Autofabbers this turn (1/7) ( 1/7 Autofactories -> 1/6 Autofabbers )
-- Build 1 Storm Hardened Autofactory. Cost:2 Autofabber Actions (2/5), -6 Minerals ( -7 M, -3B, 3/6 Autofab, 1/8 Autofac, -2 E/t)
-- Seed 1 Storm Peat deposit. -10 food, 1 Autofabber Action (-10 F, -7M , -3B 4/6 Autofab)
-- Build 1 Storm hardened Storm Peat mine. -1 Mineral, 1 Autofabber Action (4/5) (-10F, -8M, -3B, 5/6 Autofab)
-- Build 1 Storm hardened Basic Hab Complex. Cost: -1 Mineral 1 Autofabber Action. (5/5) ( -10F, -9M, -3B, 6/6 Autofab )
-- Build 2 Storm Hardened, Blight Hardened Exo-womb nurseries. Cost: Cost: 2 Autofactory Actions (3/8). -6 Minerals. -2 Food ( -12F, -15M, -3B, 3/8 Autofac, -4 E/t, -2F/t )
-- Build 2 Storm hardened Psi-Crystal Machines. Cost: -12 Minerals, -4 Biomass, 2 Psi-Crystal Builds (2/4), 2Autofactory Actions (5/8) ( -12F, -27M, -7B, 2/4 Psi-Mach 5/8 Autofac, -6E/t, -2F/t)
-- Build 1 Psi-drone pops, assign to Lab III.Cost: 1 Autofactory Actions (6/8), 1 Psi-Crystal Machine Actions [3/4], -2 Minerals. ( -12F, -29M, -7B, 3/4 Psi-Mach, 6/8 Autofac, -7E/t, -2F/t)
-- Build Sensor Grid Satellites. Cost: -5 Minerals, 1 Autofactory Action (7/8), 1 Orbital Action ( -12F, -34M, -7B, 7/8 Autofac, -7E/t, -2F/t )
--[X] Total Build Cost: -10 Food, -31 Minerals, -4 Biomass. Energy needs will rise and we will drop into deficit temporarily even if we spin up the syngas
--[X] Set syngas burn rate to (3/3) to help mitigate the deficit ( -3B/t, +3 E/t )
--[X] 1 Autofactory and 1 Psi-Crystal machine will be held in reserve to support other Actions
--[X] Blight Harden the medical facility in the Cultural Center, the Habitation buildings, and all Exo-womb nurseries ( -8 M)
~~ Orbital
-- Supply Job: Astro-Mining Bay ( 1/8 )
-- Deploy Asset: Planetary Sensor Grid. ( 2/8 )
-- 4x Astro-Mining Bay Mining ( 6 / 8 )
-- 2x <See: Military> ( 8/ 8 )
Military:
-- Contemplating Space Combat 101: We have no idea what it means to fight in space. No teep from the future was allowed to join Earthforce, and all Mira's experience was on the ground. So we need to work things out from first principles. 2 shuttles and associated ground crews will be made available to the militia for theorycrafting and training purposes. Shuttles are clearly not starfighters, and we have seen Earth Propaganda from the future so we know Starfuries are a thing, but we can still come up with experiments and theories about what we might need to defend ourselves. Like, is dogfighting a thing? How does that work when a ship being chased can just cut thrust and spin around? Continuing training in EVA and potentially attempting to board vessels can be practiced. If new equipment is needed resources have been held in reserve to facilitate.
-- "Mira, please don't just make a giant shotgun and try to strap it to a shuttle."
The amount of armchar quarterbacking on the notions proposed for what the colony could feasibly accomplish in terms of preparing against potential military operations and concerns were ... well, people were enthusiastic about the subject. Ultimately, however, the main constraints were more ... practical. What could the Kith people achieve, and what tools did they have to work with in order to do it, and what kind of threats would they most likely need to address when the time came?
Fears of the Dilgar were of course brought up -- but so were the fact that the Dilgar were a threat more than a century from the present. More realistically, would be what might come through Exploration, and what kinds of challenges the colony might face once that door was 'opened'. Some (read: Mira) argued for heavy gun emplacements to be built around the colony to fire heavy rounds into orbit, or for the largest possible Telekinetic Accelerators to be deployed on the stations along with capacitor banks to make anti-capital weapons. But that was a pie-in-the-sky solution at best. Something to be explored once traffic was actually occurring.
More realistically, was the notion of expanding and doubling down on militarized mining shuttles. Something that could be adapted easily from existing templates, with the advantage of leveraging the psi-crystal technology to augment the performance profile of the colony's vehicles well beyond what they otherwise ought to have. With only minor retrofitting for example, it was discovered that the mining lasers used to cut up asteroids for easy loading into the cargo compartments of the shuttles could be imbued with psychokinetic force -- directly tapping a shuttle's power systems to dramatically improve the range and damage potential of the lasers to something approaching practical, albeit "knife-fighting", range. If nothing else, lasers that actually packed a kinetic punch were a novel concept.
In the meantime, this would be supplemented by focusing on the stealth capabilities of the pilots and gunners -- to make potentially hostile intruders ignore the colony's fleet of shuttles such that mining charges could be deployed against the hulls of intruders and thus defend the colony against hostile military or piratical action.
Both proposals did, however, have something of a limitation: The psi-amps the colony could make put a burden on their operators, even when operating in "choir" mode. There is a maximum throughput of energy that a psi-amp user can channel. This would mean that capital ships utilizing stealth or telekinetic augmentation would be functionally out of the question, even if they could be constructed.
Based on the results of the simulated games, a fleet of 10 of the vehicles would be required to provide any adequate defense against invaders -- though that does include a Ready Reaction Launch Bay (and Job) for the Orbital station or Spaceport facility (though this will cost more Energy/t due to the need for Magnetic Catapults.)
-- Results:
-- Militarized Shuttle designs unlocked. 'Upgrade' from Standard Shuttle. Requires 1 Psi-Crystal Machine, 1 Autofactory Action, 1 Psi-Crystal Action, 7 Minerals, and 7 Biomass. Nobody's favorite solution, excepting the fact that it's better than anything else.
Exploration:
-- Kobold Study: We know very little about our little friends; their nutrition, their reproduction and life-cycle,and their medical needs. If we are contemplating allowing Kobolds in off-planet installations we need a fuller understanding of them.
For the most part, the mossy-scaled reptiloids don't require much in the way of special attention. This has been the general rule for handling kobold hives' "glomping" onto humans. But with the desire -- especially amongst the younger population -- to have the continued aid of the pint-sized critters in space, more attention has been brought back to their dietary habits and behaviors. Kobolds are, it turns out, both obligate carnivores and ... not. Their digestive process requires them to kill in order to extract nutrient from their food, but once they have a fresh kill -- however small -- they can digest almost anything without any meaningful issue as long as it has the requisite micronutrients common to biology. So perhaps it would be better to say that they are omnivorous obligate predators. With some basic accommodations -- the inclusion of worms and honeypedes in the station's agri-systems, for example, having Kobolds aboard the space station should not face ecological issues.
This 'bait-and-switch' approach of killing something very small and then mostly eating vegetative matter isn't even an accommadation made by human ecologists; the kobolds themselves engage in the practice in their native environments. The kobolds themselves mostly seem to be native tunnelers -- it took sending drones into their nests to find anything about their young or gestational periods. It seems that they mostly have a sort of hypergamous period wherein the newly adult bear the 'responsibility' of producing the next generation and caring for them, whereupon they start leaving the nest as fully formed adults and perform labors like expanding and reinforcing their nests or accruing the harvestables. With the ability to act as living 'garbage disposals', the domesticated kobolds have far more "luxury" time available to them than other hives -- taking the waste and leftovers straight from people's trash-bins to feed their young.
-- Results:
-- Minor adjustments to Orbital Core have made it compatible with housing kobolds for off-world operations. With completion of Hive Repeaters, "Kobold Pets" perk now applies to off-world operations involving the station.
Research:
-- Lab I will study Blight Cure I
-- Lab II will continue existing High-Tensile Strength Biomaterial research
-- Lab III will study Future Transport:Transport Hulls
As of yet, there is some "missing ingredient" in determining how to reliably and safely "burn out" the Blight from patients. Triggering the burnout mode is fairly reliable, but it has a tendency to either kill the patient or switch back to an inert state while still infectious. Neither outcome is exactly ideal, but the colony's doctors -- such as they are -- assure you that it's just a matter of finding that "sweet spot", and might even be able to trigger the response in 'phases' such that minimal patient oversight would be required. But they're not quite there just yet.
In more 'exciting' news, the trick for developing High Tensile Strength Biomaterials has been unlocked. Abandoning hope of actually 'programming' the material, and instead relying on its flexibility in growth, the use of high-pressure bladders to compress and release cyclically during the mass's growth was determined to be an effective "compromise". The resulting material improves its response to compression shocks by a dramatic amount. The exact numbers are hard to reliably procure -- no two samples have quite the same outcome -- but the end result is that any constructions using biomechanoid materials can see 10% of their total mass reduced over conventional constructions and see no loss in performance metrics.
Of course, applying those same materials would be a complication to larger craft such as the Uptimer's Transport. The hull it turns out was far more damaged and incomplete than was expected. Turns out, when your cockpit is shot right off, other bits and pieces tend to go for the ride. Reconstructing what was where is possible of course, but it largely would have to be figured out "from first principles" rather than simply uploading a scan and inputting it. This is surmountable, but the challenge is a bit of a setback.
The private lab's research, meanwhile, has yielded successful results: the orbital core now has a functioning "Hive Repeater" which will in tandem with the minor adjustments to accomodate the creatures should allow Kobolds to reside for a few months at a time in the Orbital Core -- they don't do well with microgravity operations but you imagine that's just a matter of being given time to adapt or perhaps finding opportunities to teach Kobolds terrestrially using beaches and swimming pools to get used to navigating without walking.
-- Results:
- ( 73 + 1d100->73 + 20 Psi-Amps + 10 Labs +10 Sampling + 10 Hardened )=196 out of 200 to study Blight Cure I. (Lab1) -2 Food, -2 Biomass.
- ( 40 + 1d100->87 + 20 Psi-Amps + 10 Labs )=157 out of 100 to unlock High Tensile Strength Biomaterials (Lab2) -2 Biomass
- (31 + 1d100->8 + 20 Psi-Amps + 10 Labs )=69 out of 150 to study Future Transport Hulls. (Lab3)
- (67 + 1d100->33 + 20 Psi-Amps + 10 Labs + 20 Psi-Drones )=150 out of 100 to unlock Hive Repeaters. (Private Lab)
(Costs: -2 F, -4 B )
Diplomacy:
-- Try to gauge the mood in the colony concerning the proximity of the Hyach and Brakiri, and the fears of some of the up timers that we are in the path of a future war that will see horrifying crimes by the Dilgar as well as the intercession of Earth. Awareness of threats is good, but panic or paranoia are not; so discussions about what we should do to protect ourselves is better than letting things fester.
The mood of the colony is fairly split on the matter of the location of the Kith star system with relation to other races. Some people are excited about the possibility of actually purchasing designer goods and finished materials rather than making do with locally designed versions. Others are much leerier about the idea of being forcibly integrated into the galactic community again.
Mostly, however, people are more concerned in terms of what kinds of plans the colony will need to make to "be ready". The far-off feeling of it being "distant shores" and not yet "on our doorstep" helps... but there's always the inkling that if we could get here, who else might show up unannounced? As much as nobody's willing to be 'reunited' with the Psi Corps when the time comes, though, so too is there a general sentiment that the colony must never fall into the hands of future despots.
That feeling had always been present, at least a little, but the blatant reminder of what awaits your grandchildren is something that has people discussing more along the lines of what sacrifices should be made and what steps to "be prepared" should be made.
-- Results:
- General enthusiasm now exists for a more militarized stance for the colony. Moral considerations that a less wary community might not be willing to set aside are now seen more as luxuries that come at the cost of your grandchildren's freedom.
- Colony in general will expect "Readiness" steps shown. We can no longer rely upon being unknown for our safety, even as we continue to enjoy that hidden-ness in keeping the colony safe.
Personal:
-- Meet with the Matriarchs to discuss the expansion of the Exo-wombs. With the initial success of the technology in our 2 existing facilities expansion to meet the needs of the population seems prudent. We will have teenagers turning into tweens in the coming years, and potentially wanting to start families of their own so the elimination of wait lists and expansion of service to all who want to avail themselves of the technology seems prudent. While the expansion of the facilities does reduce the relative advantage the Clans have from their set aside facility,other accommodations might be made to allay concerns from the Matriarchs about losing relevance or influence.
If anything, the Matriarchs are enthusiastic about the expanded Exo-Wombs. They see the initial nursery as a sufficient assurance that the Clans will have dedicated population, and are happy to continue to simply avail themselves of the others as would any other colonist. A significant part of this, however, is their reaction to the future of the coming potential conflicts with neighbors. While everyone else is focused right now on the realization that the colony is very likely within the zone that will one day be assaulted by the Dilgar, there are any number of other concerns that contact with other races will represent. The Brakiri, for example, are notoriously commercial in pretty much every aspect of their lives -- and their syndicates are known to engage in slave trading. The idea of Militarized shuttles for defense of the colony are one thing, but they are also asking for special operative groups to be trained up that could recover kidnapped and enslaved members of the colony should a far-off raid be successful. These traditions aren't founded overnight.
To ensure such a group exists before it is needed, facilities and Jobs will be needed to provide the real kind of training in infiltration and intelligence recovery that however distasteful will be a requirement for the future. They are excited to see what can come from the Dueling Leagues especially towards this end.
-- Results:
- Matriarchs inform you that they will be training "ready squads" amongst themselves, and encourage your participation/oversight.
Votes by plan, please:
Each turn is 1 year.
1 Action in each category, only write-ins for now while the dust settles and interest is shown.
- [] Industry:
(Agricultural, economic, and residential leadership actions go here.)
-- []
- [] Military:
(Militia, naval, wartime, and such go here.)
-- []
- [] Exploration:
(Scouting, mapping, resource survey type actions go here.)
-- []
- [] Research:
(Pulling schematics for practical application out of the colony ship's AI, discovering new techniques, biotech, and so on.)
-- []
- [] Diplomacy:
(Internal or external diplomatic actions. Building community, negotiating trade deals, and so on.)
-- []
- [] Personal:
(Things you do yourself.)
-- []
Militarized shuttles: the worst solution except every other available solution. Just like Democracy.
To clarify: you guys don't have to make the fleet of shuttles happen /this turn/ -- but you do now need to be showing measurable progress towards getting that squadron in existence. You can research a new station module, or you can build a new Starport facility -- or both. Militarized Shuttles can be utilized for other Orbital Operations, but you must build a reserve of 10 that are kept on Patrol.
Morale and other demands will fluctuate based on how well the Military Readiness question is answered.
Congrats on hitting Pop 4 this turn guys; unless something changes you'll be hitting Pop 5 by Turn 22, no less, as well.
Out of idle curiosity, I think we should create asteroid monitors down the line.
More seriously, I'm too tired to come up with a plan but I think we should move towards doing something about food and building the starport minimally.
I did some checking on Earth comparatively on this and it turns out there are hundreds if not thousands of known Near Earth Orbit asteroids that intercept our orbital path with their own. Dozens pass within a light minute of Earth every year. (One light second being about the orbit of the moon).
That's why you guys can do Asteroid Mining as an Orbital Operation. You're going out there and bringing back rocks as they come relatively close. It's also why the yields are so variable.
More seriously, I'm too tired to come up with a plan but I think we should move towards doing something about food and building the starport minimally.
Our food is still increasing, it's just that I keep pouring the excess into Seeding Storm Peat. We had -12 from building this turn and we would have had increasing food if not for that Storm Peat deposit.
New build. That's necessary because of the psi-amp boosted mining lasers, stealth choir psi amp, and use of High Tensile biomech armor plate.
This is still not a great design; it's basically a "fighter" that requires a crew of five or six in fairly cramped quarters, and doesn't get a lot of performance. There's gobs of room for improvement; developing actual purpose-made weapons lasers for example, or improving the psi-amps to channel more power through them rather than through the mind of the operator, as well as improving the crew requirements and thruster capabilities are all blatant areas of improvement.
You could also try for more interesting things like making the biomech hull an extension of the pilot with more dedicated mental interface and thus granting teek aura "shields" to the craft. Which in turn should probably allow the craft to take more of the energy burden, though it would work best for single occupant craft then.
That's more of a "feature, not a bug" for a society like yours though.
The point is: researching techs for military use would satisfy the demand for Readiness to an extent, depending on how obvious the intent to actually use them would be. Grav plating research would be a win there too.
