Really enjoyed catching up on this quest! Cool stuff. Thought I'd try my hand at throwing together a plan now that I'm here for a vote.
Operations - 6 dice (2 R4a stock) - 135R
Other than the impactor, not a lot we need done this turn in ops. If we need to cut for resources this is where I'd try to pull from, but I don't think that's necessary.
Build mark I SOC (1 dice, 45R)
Build R4a (3 dice, 90R)
-Launch x2 (2 dice, 0R)
--Lodestone impactor
--SOC unmanned orbital test
We should test launch the impactor built last turn this quarter. It's possible to fail so the sooner we get trying the better odds we have at launching by Q3.(1 dice, 0R)
We should also build and launch another SOC to see how it holds up in geosynchronous orbit this time. (2 dice, 45R)
Facilities - 8 dice - 220R
We really need to fulfil our promise on the singapore complex. There are some other options we've been putting off that we can get to now as well.
Singapore launch complex (3 dice, 105R)
Wind tunnel I (1 dice, 0/2 turns, 20R)
Wind tunnel II (1 dice, 0/2 turns, 25R)
Mission control (2 dice, 50R)
Mogadishu launch complex upgrade (1 dice, 20R)
We need to finish Singapore this turn, so 3 dice there. We'll finish the launch complex eventually so the overflow will be fine and give us pretty low odds of failure on the promise. (3) 35 each, 105R
We also should start the wind tunnel upgrades while we have the time/free dice. (2) 45 R
Mission control should get underway again now that we don't have any facilities commitments. 2 dice should have decent odds of finishing, worst case another dice next turn will finish it off. Not like this is time sensitive. (2) 25R each, 50 total
And then there's the Mogadishu launch complex upgrades, that should also get underway. Barring future conflicts, this is going to be getting all 3 of the dice going forwards. This turn, though, it'll get 1 to start. (1) 20R
We don't have any active promises to do construction/reconstruction projects, there's nothing pressing that's really impacting either our operations or standard of living, and it's pretty far outside our remit as a space agency so I think that we can avoid prioritizing this.
Tentatively, next turn we'll do 3 dice on Mogadishu, 2 locked for wind tunnel, leaving 3 to either keep working on Singapore, do a construction project, finish mission control if needed, or work on a new project that comes up next turn.
Engineering - 6 dice - 1 locked - 105R
Lots of goodies in Engineering, should definitely expand the dice this year if possible. One is locked on lander studies.
We're working towards probes in the next 3 years and a manned orbital flight as our "long" and mid range priority with no external commitment.
Lander studies (1 dice, 2/4 turns, 15R)
Spaceplane (1 dice, 15R)
Solar Thermal engine (1 dice, 15R)
staged combustion (1dice, 0/4 turns, 20R)
Expandable nozzles (1dice, 15R)
RTG (1 dice, 0/2 turns, 25R)
This plan should make slow progress towards probe tech and the next rocket generation, and starts on the spaceplane. In the next two turns a number of dice will free up (and we'll hopefully add some through recruiting) so we can either get started on some future projects or speed up progress on nozzles or spaceplane. My logic is since we're not in a time crunch for anything we can afford to go wide and hope for critical success boosts, which will also make it a bit easier if we need to rush anything in the mid future.
Tentatively, this should also work as next turn's plan as well assuming nothing major changes.
Orbital station - projected 9 dice at 20R
This is nice to have, and definitely should get research when we have the dice but is not a high priority for any projects currently. We won't even be able to launch a basic station until, at minimum, the next rocket generation anyways.
Spaceplane - projected 6 dice at 15R - 1 dice
Definitely should get looked at if possible.
Design/ redesign rocket - 4/2 turns at 15R
Not really worth doing until some next Gen engine/material/process/etc improvements happen.
Spacesuit- 2 turns at 15R
Current orbital pods don't need suits and are pretty heavily weight constrained, so this likely can wait until the next generation of major projects.
Solar thermal engine - projected 3 dice at 15R - 1 dice
Will be great for the probes and spaceflight, in general. We've already been focusing on this and can finish soon.
Staged combustion - 4 turns at 20R or unknown turns at 40R - 1 dice (20R)
Worth doing for next Gen rockets. Probably better to do the 4 turn version as opposed to full flow, especially as I imagine we can upgrade the concept later when we have a better idea of how it works, and a working model.
Nozzles - projected 7 dice at 15R - 1 dice
We'll want this for either this upcoming rocket generation or the following. Definitely worth working on.
Snapper-1 - 2 turns at 25R
We'll want this for later probe generations, and possibly station/space based infrastructure in the future, but can probably be put aside for now.
RTG - 2 turns at 25R -1 dice
This will be big for the probes. Should start commitment either now or soon.
Nuclear engine - projected 10 dice at 20R
We keep getting authorization to do these, so it's worth working on.
Science - 5 free dice, 2 locked (100R)
Transistors (1 dice, 4/6 turns, 20R)
SAR (1 dice, 2/4 turns, 20R)
Supersonic jet research (2 dice, 30R)
All sky survey (3 dice, 30R)
As a side note here, I can't find why air breathing rocket theory and space telescope studies are locked out? Both of those projects might be worth locking dice to. Without that, the big ticket items are jet research and the all sky survey, getting 2 dice and 3 dice respectively.
Ion engines are neat but are a long, LONG way from being something we can really practically consider, and the atomic rocket launch theory will cost us some support and isn't something we need at the moment. Hopefully, further nuclear support will drive the support cost down soon which will make it a lot more tempting. I think there's still some testing we can do before doing animal launches, and we aren't in a time crunch so we can afford to go as slow as is necessary to ensure safety. Also, it looks like last vote people were arguing that we don't need to do this prior to a live human launch. Is that an option?
I don't really have any suggestions on next turn yet other than the locked dice.
Politics/bureaucracy - 5 dice - 10R
Chief scientist (1 dice, 0R)
Propagandize nuclear (2 dice, 0R, -2PS)
Engineering recruitment (2 dice, 10R)
Whether or not we give up nuclear research, we should do it A) after we finish propagandizing and B) closer to a council date so as to lose fewer R/turn.
Both outreach choices are good uses for dice. Either one on each or 2 for nuclear. I think that might finish/update at 1000, which we might hit this turn. -2 dice
Chief scientist is a must pick. For science! -1 dice
We need more Engineering dice so I'd put at least 2 dice on the recruitment action. With bonuses, 2 should be fine. - 2 dice, 5R each and then 5R/turn payroll
Science and facilities are both plenty ok for now, although we should try to get that science dice by end of year if possible.
My math puts this at 570R cost for turn. I'm not sure when the payroll cost kicks in, but counting that in for this turn's costs will still cost 575R. We'll be net negative versus income for turn by 20R, which will drop us to 630R saved (with income at 550R) at start of next turn. If needed, without affecting any core developments, we could drop an extra R4a dice to bring us to net income of 10R. Two would get us to net income of 40R.
[ ] Plan: Finishing the Singapore Space Center
-[ ] Operations (6/6, 135R)
--[ ] Construct an R-4a Dawn - (0/100) (3 dice, 90R)
---[ ] And launch it (2 dice; specify payload)
----[ ] Mk 1 Pod Orbital test
----[ ] Lodestone-class impactor
--[ ] Construct a Payload
---[ ] Mark 1 Single Crew Capsule (1 die, 45R, 1 turn)
-[ ] Facilities (8/8 dice, 220R)
--[ ] Build a new Space Center (Singapore) - (543/600) (3 die, 105R)
--[ ] Build a Mission Control Center - (133/250) (2 dice, 50R)
--[ ] Hypersonic Wind Tunnel Upgrade - (0/2 turns) (1 die, 20R)
--[ ] Arcjet Wind Tunnel - (0/2 turns) (1 die, 25R)
--[ ] Expand the Launch Complex - (0/350) (1 die, 20R)
-[ ] Engineering (6/6, 105R)
--[ ] Lander Design Studies - (2/4 turns) (1 die, 15R)
--[ ] Prototype Spaceplane - (0/300) (1 die, 15R)
--[ ] Solar Thermal Rocketry [PHYS] - (300/450) (1 dice, 15R)
--[ ] Staged Combustion Engines (PROP) - (0/4 turns) (1 die, 20R)
--[ ] Expandable Nozzles (PROP) - (36/400) (1 dice, 15R)
--[ ] Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators - (0/2 turns) (1die, 25R)
-[ ] Science (7/7 dice, 100R)
--[ ] Conduct Supersonic Jet Research (Phase 3) [AERO] - (147/640) (2 dice, 30R)
--[ ] All-Sky Survey (Phase 2) [PHYS] - (53/600) (3 die, 30R)
--[ ] Synthetic Aperture Radar - (2/4 turns) (1 die, 20R)
--[ ] Transistor Computing Investigations - (4/6 turns) (1 die, 20R)
-[ ] Politics & Bureaucracy (5/5, 10R)
--[ ] Propagandize for Nuclear Power - (895/???) (2 dice, -2PS)
--[ ] Select a Chief Scientist of the IEC - (1 die, 0R)
--[ ] Engineering Job Fair - (33/150) (2 dice, 5R)
Couple of questions that impact some choices/dice:
Do we still have the lodestone impactor from last turn, or will we need to build a new one?
Are air breathing rocket theory and space telescope studies valid choices? I mentioned earlier but I can't find anything mentioning a reason they'd be crossed out. I might just have missed it though.
