- Location
- alphen aan den rijn
MIght want ptoo wait too see what our now option are. But I would not say that the idea is bad.
-
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Attempting To Fulfil Your Contract: A Noveria Planquest [Mass Effect]
- Thread starter Faith
- Start date
10ebbor10
DON'T PANIC
- Location
- Present
Yeah, planning is not all that useful when we just unlocked a number of options in the Lower valley.
That said, I suspect a bunch of those options might cost Executive Support. After all, there must be a reason why they refused to expand there in the past.
That said, I suspect a bunch of those options might cost Executive Support. After all, there must be a reason why they refused to expand there in the past.
- Location
- alphen aan den rijn
might cost some, might not cost some. would likely depend on what we are building down there.
that mine does sound nice for a first option. anything beyond that is just extra bonus.
- Location
- Philippines
If the priorities are anything to go by, and based on who works in this part of Noveria, I'd say anything "industrial" or unappealing would be harder to run by the Executives for. More tourism or lab based expansions would be something they approve, and we should prioritize actions that give favor since this was largely our idea.
Essentially weve got to appeal to tech-bro's and their needs.
Essentially weve got to appeal to tech-bro's and their needs.
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
To be fair, as I recall Noveria's pretty remote in galactic terms- several relay jumps away from the heavily populated and industrialized core of Citadel space or really any major populated territory.
When you're on the ass end of nowhere in an unfavorable climate, comparative advantage suggests that labs and tourism are things you can do (because in those industries your remote and forbidding location are an asset)... But when it comes to any industry other than maybe primary resource extraction, you'll struggle to compete with other people manufacturing the same things closer to home. Besides, the corporations that have invested in Noveria have already decided what general category of thing they want to do with the planet, and may have business strategies revolving around doing any real industrial production they bother to do elsewhere that they aren't going to change lightly.
Burned_Cookie
Very tired girl.
- Location
- Plato´s cave.
- Pronouns
- She/Her/It/Its
Nothing stopping us from turning the valley into a tourist paradise, and our workers will love to have instant vacations a single elevator ride away.
But the platinum is a must.
But the platinum is a must.
- Pronouns
- He, Him
You want to get indoctrinated? Because that's the type of thing to get a whole lab > Peak> Noveria Clients indoctrinated.
- Location
- Singapore
Which makes me wonder if the turian Thanix Cannon recovery and development team were the reason Palaven fell.
Faith
Some idea of what I'm doing.
- Location
- Land of Waves and Warmth
Having some intermittent computer-dying issues so the next update is running a little late. Sincere apologies.
Look, I write to amuse myself. That means I make dumb jokes and references. The fact I'm sharing with you guys is secondary.
Noveria is a research and development site, first and foremost. The majority of manufacturing is either prototypes for testing which aren't sent offworld (Korten, Kantor, Nezo), custom-made special orders shipped out usually by courier/cargo vessel, not bulk freighter (Ahial, Nezo, Korten), or largely for local use (Kaskadan, Sannovi). Bulk manufacturing just isn't economically viable given the location, climate, startup costs, risk of piracy, etc. The kind of industrial options that will pop up are in regards to resource extraction (platinum is platinum and the factories on Palaven don't care where it comes from) or local commercial manufacturing, because Noveria currently imports almost all of its consumer goods (it's something that a running joke amongst the NDC that the first months' paychecks will be spent special-ordering furniture from Citadel space, and the second months' free time will be spent assembling it).
In my interpretetation of events, some members of the Thanix design team may have been indoctrinated, but their research findings were copied and transmitted to teams who never worked with the Reapertech directly, so the designs are indoctrination-free and aside from maybe a few mid-level officers responsible for research site security, the turian high command were never exposed to the wreckage - those few officers may have tried to sabotage defences but they were too few, too poorly positioned, and under too much scrutiny to meaningfully tip the scales. When the Reapers blasted through the Turian Home Fleet and lay siege to Palaven, they did it through superior firepower alone.
Anyway, just need to roll some dice so I can update the Corp table, don't mind me.
Is this a reference to Poptart's Terminus Quest?
Look, I write to amuse myself. That means I make dumb jokes and references. The fact I'm sharing with you guys is secondary.
I'm curious - under what circumstances do you see yourself stumbling across Reapertech trinkets? Benezia already sent Saren the Mu Relay's approximate coordinates, so Sovvy and Saren have no further use for the rachni. There's nothing else of particular value on Noveria to the Reapers, it's too hard a target for the Collectors to want to make a pass at when they come around - unless your actions and the will of RNGesus create some pretty big ripples, the next time Reapertech comes to Noveria it'll be more along the lines of this.
Noveria is a research and development site, first and foremost. The majority of manufacturing is either prototypes for testing which aren't sent offworld (Korten, Kantor, Nezo), custom-made special orders shipped out usually by courier/cargo vessel, not bulk freighter (Ahial, Nezo, Korten), or largely for local use (Kaskadan, Sannovi). Bulk manufacturing just isn't economically viable given the location, climate, startup costs, risk of piracy, etc. The kind of industrial options that will pop up are in regards to resource extraction (platinum is platinum and the factories on Palaven don't care where it comes from) or local commercial manufacturing, because Noveria currently imports almost all of its consumer goods (it's something that a running joke amongst the NDC that the first months' paychecks will be spent special-ordering furniture from Citadel space, and the second months' free time will be spent assembling it).
That ol' trick worked on the batarians because the batarians stole a whole damn Reaper, and a lot of high ranking military personnel visited just long enough to get it into their heads that they should go back and have another look...
In my interpretetation of events, some members of the Thanix design team may have been indoctrinated, but their research findings were copied and transmitted to teams who never worked with the Reapertech directly, so the designs are indoctrination-free and aside from maybe a few mid-level officers responsible for research site security, the turian high command were never exposed to the wreckage - those few officers may have tried to sabotage defences but they were too few, too poorly positioned, and under too much scrutiny to meaningfully tip the scales. When the Reapers blasted through the Turian Home Fleet and lay siege to Palaven, they did it through superior firepower alone.
Anyway, just need to roll some dice so I can update the Corp table, don't mind me.
- Location
- Singapore
Speaking of the dead Reaper, I always figured one of the Precursor races killed it by turning a Mass Relay into a giant gun and shooting an asteroid as the prototype of the Catalyst.
All Mass Relays are mass accel/decelerators that shoot and catch objects.
The Citadel was also a Mass Relay linked to one in Dark Space where the Reapers park themselves at the end of every cycle.
The Catalyst should have been something that would remove the safties on the Citadel, turn it into the biggest gun in the galaxy (no thermal clips, must wait for cooldown like ME1) so the gunner can shoot the Reapers with asteroids.
trooperist
Cinnamon Roll AI
It was a pretty big cannon, a cannon so large and powerful that just a glancing blow on the nearby planet left a giant canyon that defined its entire southern hemisphere. And despite that power the Reaper it hit was left barely alive and damaged enough that I guess it couldn't even call for recovery. The Illusive Man did say Cerberus recovered the weapon but it was 'defunct'. Though given that's it's Cerberus I'm not really ready to take them at their word.
I don't think it was a prototype for the Catalyst though. Giant mass cannons seem a bad matchup against entire fleets of Reapers numbering in the thousands/millions.
- Location
- Singapore
Not cannon. Sniper rifle.
Unless the Precursors were more ambitious and the Catalyst assumes direct control over every Mass Relay in the galaxy and turns them into CIWS that targets all the Reapers at once?
trooperist
Cinnamon Roll AI
Woo boy, changes in the Corp favor.
We lost one favor with Domain Ecological Services (1 to 0), Kantor Robotics (1 to 0), Tiber Extraction And Refining (1 to 0), and Long Winter Studios (0 to -1).
We lost one favor with Domain Ecological Services (1 to 0), Kantor Robotics (1 to 0), Tiber Extraction And Refining (1 to 0), and Long Winter Studios (0 to -1).
- Location
- California
Not all that surprising. We haven't done anything with Eco Services or built Long Winter Studios a new building. Tiber mine hasn't got a platinum mine, and we didn't send Kantor Robotics anything. We got a couple of months to pivot towards them.
edit: Wait a minute Kantor Robotics is the Krogan not the Batarians.
Edit: NVM. Kantor is the Batarians.
Last edited:
Turn 5 - 2183-05
Faith
Some idea of what I'm doing.
- Location
- Land of Waves and Warmth
"...designs boast similar firepower, but a much greater rate of fire. In testing, soldiers equipped with these new detachable heat sinks were able to fire almost three times as many rounds as the control group in the same time period. One soldier commented that the new advancement would be a game changer - others remain reluctant, claiming that against organised opposition, it has always been shield delay, not weapon cooldowns, restricting the pace of combat."
"Unfortunately, the rest of the announcement was not as optimistic - turian researchers are still unable to efficiently replicate the geth's unique plasma munitions, or their highly effective shield emitters, although they claim they are making steady progress thanks to a surge in new components, kindly donated by colonists of the Traverse."
"Nonetheless, as geth incursions grow more frequent throughout the Traverse, we can rest safely, knowing their technological advantage is slowly slipping away from them. This has been Maku Bel Imelus, Traverse Daily."
The news falls silent, and you wave away your VI's attempts to load another article, double checking the time. Unlike Mrs Moore, who attempted to ditch your meetings almost as often as she attempted to ditch paying rent, Director Arachne was almost always...
Your intercom buzzes. "Sir? Your afternoon meeting is here."
… very punctual.
"Send him in."
The door opens with a subdued hiss, and the human enters. Unlike most of the businessmen on Noveria, who wear tight fitting suits in clear white or blue, he wore loose-fitting dark robes that brought to mind the archival footage of quarians from before the fall of Rannoch.
"Good afternoon, Administrator Zannis," he says with a smile, extending a hand as he crosses the room.
"Ah, Director." You shake his hand, and gesture to the chairs at your desk. "Please, take a seat."
He sits opposite you, placing a datapad on the desk between you.
"I greatly appreciate you giving me this opportunity to discuss with you - we at Tiber have many thoughts on the new Lower Hanshan sector, and we're hoping that our dreams and your plans might achieve a form of synthesis."
"My plans are currently quite flexible," you state, grinning although he can't see it. "Looking to make an investment? Expand your operations?"
"Perhaps. Currently, we don't perform too many mining operations here on Noveria - primarily we use well-scouted resource deposits as controlled testing environments for our new resource scanners. The proceeds of what little mining we do are generally shipped offworld to an orbital facility and fed through the asteroid hopper for refining - not an inefficient process, per se, but the cost of diverting ships for the task is not insignificant."
The Director tapped a few buttons on his datapad, and a holographic map of some kind emerged. "This is the standardised layout for Tiber's first stage refineries. If we could build a couple of these on Noveria, we could process the materials here and skip a fairly costly transporting step in space - and Lower Hanshan is close enough to the spaceport for convenience whilst keeping noisy, dirty refining processes sufficiently far from the… centre of town, so to speak, that no one would complain."
It would also mean Tiber's existing engineers and researchers would be joined by foundry staff, miners, and other labourers - perfect feedstock for a hypothetical Lower Hanshan residential area?
"Naturally, if we were to do this, we would need to increase our mining output, to get enough throughput to make the facility profitable - but there's more than enough mineral wealth here for us to do so. We imagine the bigger concern, from your point of view, would be the increase in cargo being sent about the place. But, if you feel that the spaceport will be able to sustain that kind of operation, well, consider this advanced notice that we'd be interested in collaborating for future development. Such a collaboration could prove profitable for us both."
The Director leaned back in his chair, and you leaned back in your own to match. "Yes. Yes, I'm sure it would."
Resources Banked: 82
Resource Income: 212 - 7 (Corporate Favour) = 205
Total Resources Available: 287
Cargo Capacity: +2 (Minor Surplus)
Network Capacity: +6 (Significant Surplus)
Power Capacity: +8 (Significant Surplus)
Housing Capacity: +4 (Minor Surplus)
Executive Support: 65
Quota Target: 80 >> 92 Profitability
Quota Progress: 5/12 ( 42% )
Free Dice: 3
Heavy Industry (3D, +5 Bonus per roll)
[ ] Spaceport Expansion Program
Port Hanshan's Spaceport is only capable of adequately servicing a handful of freighters at a time, and the size of the facility and staff limit the throughput of cargo. Under normal circumstances, the addition of additional docking and service bays would be a simple matter, but the idiots on the board decided that they wanted their secretive research facilities to be nestled in the mountains, and the flatter lowlands are too far for convenient travel, so any expansion of the spaceport will require a significant investment of time and effort, not just in construction but in carving chunks out of the mountains to make room in the first place.
UPDATE: The Narhu Combine believe it would be a natural and mutually beneficial arrangement if they were given the responsibility of providing the refueling infrastructure for the expanding spaceport.
(Progress: 211/500 - 20 Resources per die) (+16 Cargo, -2 Housing)
(Narhu Combine: +1P, +1F)
[ ] Glacial Fusion Plant
Fuel-efficient and climate friendly, fusion power plants are the standard for developing and developed worlds across civilised space. By burying the fusion plant deep within Noveria's frozen glaciers, they and the limited radioactive waste they produce can be safely and securely contained away from more densely populated areas, and without ruining the view as more economical renewable generators would.
(Progress: 0/300 - 20 Resources per die) (+16 Power)
(Hassan Atomics: +1P, +1F)
[ ] Destructive Testing Range
For all the power and sophistication of computer modelling and simulations, it is difficult for them to surpass the level of realism of reality itself. But live testing, especially of vehicles and weapon systems, can often lead to significant damage. Little more than a series of hardened walls to contain blasts and stop speeding debris, dedicated destructive testing ranges give engineers a place to cut loose and put their prototypes through thorough testing without endangering their neighbours.
-[ ] Peak 18 (Progress: 0/150 - 10 Resources per die) (Nezo Aerospace: +1P, +1F)
-[ ] Peak 41 (Progress:101/150 - 10 Resources per die) (Korten Machines: +1P, +1F)
[ ] Secondary Artificial Biome Cluster Site
Before an artificial biome can be created, with its own atmosphere mixing stations and climate control systems, a container for that biome must be created. These facilities are, by necessity, relatively large, and as such require substantial land clearing. Additionally, Noveria's extreme temperatures necessitate a high degree of environmental hardening to ensure the artificial biome is not adversely affected by outside weather.
-[ ] Peak 11 (Progress: 0/250 - 15 Resources per die) (Domain Ecological Services: +1F)
[ ] Lower Hanshan Commercial Manufacturing
The majority of Noverian-manufactured consumer goods are novelty clothing, snow globes, winter-sports equipment, and snowbounders - goods appropriate for the holiday-goers and long-stay tourists common in the resort cities, but less appropriate for the corporate staff living full time on the planet. Creating local manufacturing for things like furniture, clothing, and home computer terminals would help cut living expenses in Port Hanshan - particularly for the city's small but growing labour, retail and service underclass.
(Progress: 0/300 - 15 Resources per die) (-5 ES) (-2 Cargo, -2 Housing)
Advanced Industry (3D, +15 Bonus per roll)
[ ] Data Traffic Management Centre
Prioritising data traffic is already a challenging problem for every group in the galaxy. Intergalactic communications rely on simple priority rules to allocate bandwidth, whilst local relays such as Hanshan's ground-to-orbit system generally work on a first-in-first-out basis, relying on relative lack of traffic to ensure high speed connections. By analysing outgoing communication requests and assessing relative importance before passing them offworld, corporate assets can be assured they are receiving the highest possible speed at all times, and never getting stuck behind civilian data traffic.
UPDATE: Granting corporations limited access to the data analysis allows them to fine-tune advertisements and other elements of the content they produce, enhancing profitability.
(Progress: 0/100 - 5 Resources per die)
(Noveria Now: +1P) (Tevura Media Group: +1P)
[ ] Dedicated Computation Cluster
Personal or desk scale computation and data storage devices are both cheap and widely accessible galaxy-wide. However, as has been the case for centuries, there is a cost to miniaturisation. Dedicated room-scale hardware has always had an advantage in processing speed and power, from antique server racks to modern quantum supercomputers. Installing some computation clusters within Port Hanshan's office complexes and renting them out could prove mutually beneficial.
-[ ] Astra Financial (Progress: 0/150 - 15 Resources per die) (-2 Power) (Astra Financial: +1P, +1F)
-[ ] Dora'vua Cyber Systems (Progress: 0/150 - 15 Resources per die) (-2 Power) (Dora'vua Cyber Systems: +1P, +1F)
[ ] Network Isolation Lab
One of the biggest difficulties in safely researching dangerous digital intelligences is that they are all, to varying degrees, capable of propagation through communication networks. Any network connection is a potential threat vector and containment if a malicious intelligence reaches the extranet is nigh impossible. As per Council regulations, dedicated Network Isolation Labs must be established for such research. These labs must follow stringent data security guidelines and operate in complete isolation from the extranet to ensure security.
(Progress: 93/150 - 15 Resources per die) (-1 Power)
(Synthetic Insights: +1P, +1F)
[ ] Prototyping Workshop
For all the power and sophistication of computer modelling and simulations, it is difficult for them to surpass the level of realism of reality itself. But producing prototypes only to find minor issues that require the reproduction of components or even the entire system is a source of constant frustration. Many designers prefer actual workshops, so that minor adjustments can be made swiftly and in direct response to problems that arise during the prototyping and testing phase without requiring constant digital redesigning.
-[ ] Peak 09 (Progress: 0/150 - 10 Resources per die) (Ahial Syndicate: +1P)
-[ ] Peak 22 (Progress: 0/150 - 10 Resources per die) (Kantor Robotics: +1P, +1F)
-[ ] Peak 28 (Progress: 0/150 - 10 Resources per die) (Long Winter Studios: +1P, +1F)
[ ] Holoaugmented Design Space
Creating digital models and mock-ups before beginning real-world construction is a centuries old process, but one that has always had issues. The perspective granted by a free-floating camera in a digital environment never properly encapsulates a real-world perspective, and things that look right on the model occasionally come out looking a little bit uncanny. Holoaugmented Design Spaces allow designers to bypass this by constructing a full-scale holographic replica of their design to walk through and experience in a much more functional way than is allowed for even by use of augmented reality visors. Itavan Skyworks wants to construct one at their office to experiment with starship layouts.
(Progress: 0:150 - 10 Resources per die) (-2 Power)
(Itavan Skyworks: +1P, +1F)
Infrastructure (3D, +25 Bonus per roll)
[ ] Ground-Orbit Uplink Site
The existing ground-orbit communications infrastructure is in dire need of expansion, with original usage estimates far exceeded and redundancy units pressed into general service to ensure needs were met. A new transmission tower and accompanying infrastructure would bring network capacity up to a far more acceptable level and remove reliance on the backup equipment.
UPDATE: Due to ridiculous rumours and nonsense allegations of 'mountain monsters', the workers refuse to venture up to the site without a military escort.
(Progress: 26/300 - 20 Resources per die) (+16 Network)
(Cannot be taken without Mountain Monsters)
[ ] Breaking Ground: Peak 12
When the NDC's Executive Board balked at the cost of ongoing developments and shifted funds into more profitable endeavours, a number of proposed-but-undeveloped sites were archived for later use. Abec Territorial Ordinance have indicated that they may in future wish to move manufacturing to Noveria, and one of those archived sites could prove suitable for their purposes. Establishing a transit route and preparing infrastructure connections is the first step of turning the site into an operational facility.
(Progress: 69/200 - 20 Resources per die)
[ ] Lower Hanshan Residential District
Though lacking the awe-inspiring views and proximity to useful services and retail outlets, the new Lower Hanshan area has no shortage of space, space which can be turned into a great many apartments. Smaller, lower-quality apartments, sure, but more than suitable for the kind of lower-class workers Port Hanshan finds itself increasingly in demand for. And of course, knowing some of the corporations, they'll start issuing new staff to those apartments too, in order to cut costs where possible.
(Progress: 0/300 - 15 Resources per die) (-5 ES) (+16 Housing)
Security (4D, +7 Bonus per roll)
[ ] Mandatory Audit (Targets 1 Corporation)
In addition to the physical security staff provided by ERCS, the NDC has access to a suite of in-house corporate assessors, auditors, and investigators, trained to dig out corruption, noncompliance, and assorted chicanery wherever it takes root. Sending them after a company ensures that the appropriate rental fees and taxes are being paid, promptly and without any shenanigans.
(Breakpoints: 20 / 60 - 5 Resources per die) (For six turns, negative corporate favour does not reduce income.) (Reduces risk of Corruption / Shenanigans)
(Target: -1F)
[ ] Mountain Monsters
Wild rumours and conspiracy theories are circulating regarding reports of mysterious mountain monsters near the Ground-Orbit Uplink Site, and the mood amongst the workforce has soured. Construction teams are unwilling to go to work on the site without armed escort, citing attacks on their mechs which you suspect to have been staged. Send some of Matsuo's men and some of the new security mechs to sit on the site and babysit the workers until the job is done.
(Progress: 22/100 - 5 Resources per die)
[ ] Enhanced Border Security
Despite the stringent firearms laws enforced at Port Hanshan, Matriarch Benezia and her commando bodyguards were able to smuggle in not just their own weapons, but a small force of geth troopers, using scan-shielded crates, making a mockery of the Port Hanshan establishment and of its security. The ERCS have put forward a proposal to deploy new and highly sophisticated scanning systems, to ensure similar events cannot be repeated.
(Progress: 122/150 - 10 Resources per die) (+5 ES)
[ ] Emergency Drills
As more details begin to shake free regarding the unmitigated disaster that was Peak 15, it is becoming increasingly clear that the corporations have become a little too complacent in terms of safety procedures, even those that affect not just individual labs but the whole institution. Enacting random, no-warning emergency drills should ensure they shape up soon enough.
(Progress: 0/100 - 5 Resources per die)
Administration (3D, +5 Bonus per roll)
[ ] Internal Sweeping
The NDC may occupy a place of privilege on Noveria, but the fate of your all-too-recent predecessor is a reminder that it is not immune to corruption. With some help from the NDC's Internal Affairs division, you can sweep a department to search for embezzlement, ineptitude, nepotism, and other forms of corruption. It's unlikely that much, if any corruption remains after Anoleis was removed - and any who escaped notice the first time are likely to be keeping their heads down low for a short while anyway - but it never hurts to check.
UPDATE: With your VI monitoring the networks for any sorts of mischief, identifying and monitoring corruption is much easier and much less likely to devolve into a tangled mess.
UPDATE: Your rapport with the Infrastructure department is such that, whether out of respect or genuine satisfaction with their current status, they will refuse to engage in meaningful corruption. The Infrastructure Department is not a valid target for this action.
(Breakpoints: 40 - Requires 1 Admin dice and 1 from Target department) (Remove corruption, other consequences unclear)
[ ] Firearm Regulation Revision
Port Hanshan maintains a strict policy of prohibiting possession of firearms or firearm components for all parties, with exceptions for on-duty security staff and, by decree of the Executive Board, Spectre agents of the Citadel Council. Though information about the geth attack on Noveria was widely suppressed, news of geth incursions across the Traverse continues to spread, and some are calling for weapon restrictions to be loosened to enable self-defence.
(Breakpoints: 30 - 5 Resources per die) (-5 ES) (Further options on completion)
[ ] Data Security Law Revision
Noveria was founded and built on the principle of privacy being paramount. By the terms of the colonial charter, all data is to be treated as the private and inviolate property of the responsible parties. Whilst this is obviously preferred by many of the corporations who have established operations, the deliberately sweeping law makes the personal data of individuals equally secure, which makes data harvesting, content targeting, and behavioural analysis relatively difficult.
(Breakpoints: 30 - 5 Resources per die) (-5 ES) (Further options on completion)
[ ] Horuvak Valley Platinum Mine Approval
Though they have already secured mineral exploitation rights across Noveria, Tiber Extraction And Refining are restricted by the terms of the colonial charter from engaging in mining operations within a certain range of Port Hanshan without the proper approval. In testing their new Panoptes mineral scanner, they located a significant deposit of platinum within the Horuvak Valley, and the group has requested permission to draw up plants to establish an extraction operation there. Though it could generate significant profit, especially if refining is also performed on site, resource export, whether raw or refined, would put significant strain on Noveria's spaceport.
(Progress: 0/100 - 10 Resources per die) (Unlocks further options: Lower Hanshan Ore Refinery)
(Tiber Extraction And Refining: +1F)
Dadada, can't wait to see what's broken or wrong this time! Vote is NOT YET OPEN, you know the drill.
"Unfortunately, the rest of the announcement was not as optimistic - turian researchers are still unable to efficiently replicate the geth's unique plasma munitions, or their highly effective shield emitters, although they claim they are making steady progress thanks to a surge in new components, kindly donated by colonists of the Traverse."
"Nonetheless, as geth incursions grow more frequent throughout the Traverse, we can rest safely, knowing their technological advantage is slowly slipping away from them. This has been Maku Bel Imelus, Traverse Daily."
The news falls silent, and you wave away your VI's attempts to load another article, double checking the time. Unlike Mrs Moore, who attempted to ditch your meetings almost as often as she attempted to ditch paying rent, Director Arachne was almost always...
Your intercom buzzes. "Sir? Your afternoon meeting is here."
… very punctual.
"Send him in."
The door opens with a subdued hiss, and the human enters. Unlike most of the businessmen on Noveria, who wear tight fitting suits in clear white or blue, he wore loose-fitting dark robes that brought to mind the archival footage of quarians from before the fall of Rannoch.
"Good afternoon, Administrator Zannis," he says with a smile, extending a hand as he crosses the room.
"Ah, Director." You shake his hand, and gesture to the chairs at your desk. "Please, take a seat."
He sits opposite you, placing a datapad on the desk between you.
"I greatly appreciate you giving me this opportunity to discuss with you - we at Tiber have many thoughts on the new Lower Hanshan sector, and we're hoping that our dreams and your plans might achieve a form of synthesis."
"My plans are currently quite flexible," you state, grinning although he can't see it. "Looking to make an investment? Expand your operations?"
"Perhaps. Currently, we don't perform too many mining operations here on Noveria - primarily we use well-scouted resource deposits as controlled testing environments for our new resource scanners. The proceeds of what little mining we do are generally shipped offworld to an orbital facility and fed through the asteroid hopper for refining - not an inefficient process, per se, but the cost of diverting ships for the task is not insignificant."
The Director tapped a few buttons on his datapad, and a holographic map of some kind emerged. "This is the standardised layout for Tiber's first stage refineries. If we could build a couple of these on Noveria, we could process the materials here and skip a fairly costly transporting step in space - and Lower Hanshan is close enough to the spaceport for convenience whilst keeping noisy, dirty refining processes sufficiently far from the… centre of town, so to speak, that no one would complain."
It would also mean Tiber's existing engineers and researchers would be joined by foundry staff, miners, and other labourers - perfect feedstock for a hypothetical Lower Hanshan residential area?
"Naturally, if we were to do this, we would need to increase our mining output, to get enough throughput to make the facility profitable - but there's more than enough mineral wealth here for us to do so. We imagine the bigger concern, from your point of view, would be the increase in cargo being sent about the place. But, if you feel that the spaceport will be able to sustain that kind of operation, well, consider this advanced notice that we'd be interested in collaborating for future development. Such a collaboration could prove profitable for us both."
The Director leaned back in his chair, and you leaned back in your own to match. "Yes. Yes, I'm sure it would."
===
Resources Banked: 82
Resource Income: 212 - 7 (Corporate Favour) = 205
Total Resources Available: 287
Cargo Capacity: +2 (Minor Surplus)
Network Capacity: +6 (Significant Surplus)
Power Capacity: +8 (Significant Surplus)
Housing Capacity: +4 (Minor Surplus)
Executive Support: 65
| Corp | Profit | Funding | Favour |
| NDC | 50 | 50 | n/a |
| Port Hanshan | 6 | 6 | n/a |
| Sannovi Industrial | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Noveria Now | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Tevura Media Group | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Hassan Atomics | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Kaskadan Syndicate | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Narhu Combine | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Solemni & Olde | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Synthetic Insights | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Abec Territorial Ordinance | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Ahial Syndicate | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Baria Frontiers | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Dora'vua Cyber Systems | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Elanus Risk Control Services | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Epherea Biomedical | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| The Preni Group | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Astra Finanical | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Domain Ecological Services | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Jaeto Investigations | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Kantor Robotics | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Korten Machines | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Tiber Extraction And Refining | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Itavan Skyworks | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| Long Winter Studios | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| Nezo Aerospace | 1 | 0 | -1 |
Quota Target: 80 >> 92 Profitability
Quota Progress: 5/12 ( 42% )
Free Dice: 3
Heavy Industry (3D, +5 Bonus per roll)
[ ] Spaceport Expansion Program
Port Hanshan's Spaceport is only capable of adequately servicing a handful of freighters at a time, and the size of the facility and staff limit the throughput of cargo. Under normal circumstances, the addition of additional docking and service bays would be a simple matter, but the idiots on the board decided that they wanted their secretive research facilities to be nestled in the mountains, and the flatter lowlands are too far for convenient travel, so any expansion of the spaceport will require a significant investment of time and effort, not just in construction but in carving chunks out of the mountains to make room in the first place.
UPDATE: The Narhu Combine believe it would be a natural and mutually beneficial arrangement if they were given the responsibility of providing the refueling infrastructure for the expanding spaceport.
(Progress: 211/500 - 20 Resources per die) (+16 Cargo, -2 Housing)
(Narhu Combine: +1P, +1F)
[ ] Glacial Fusion Plant
Fuel-efficient and climate friendly, fusion power plants are the standard for developing and developed worlds across civilised space. By burying the fusion plant deep within Noveria's frozen glaciers, they and the limited radioactive waste they produce can be safely and securely contained away from more densely populated areas, and without ruining the view as more economical renewable generators would.
(Progress: 0/300 - 20 Resources per die) (+16 Power)
(Hassan Atomics: +1P, +1F)
[ ] Destructive Testing Range
For all the power and sophistication of computer modelling and simulations, it is difficult for them to surpass the level of realism of reality itself. But live testing, especially of vehicles and weapon systems, can often lead to significant damage. Little more than a series of hardened walls to contain blasts and stop speeding debris, dedicated destructive testing ranges give engineers a place to cut loose and put their prototypes through thorough testing without endangering their neighbours.
-[ ] Peak 18 (Progress: 0/150 - 10 Resources per die) (Nezo Aerospace: +1P, +1F)
-[ ] Peak 41 (Progress:101/150 - 10 Resources per die) (Korten Machines: +1P, +1F)
[ ] Secondary Artificial Biome Cluster Site
Before an artificial biome can be created, with its own atmosphere mixing stations and climate control systems, a container for that biome must be created. These facilities are, by necessity, relatively large, and as such require substantial land clearing. Additionally, Noveria's extreme temperatures necessitate a high degree of environmental hardening to ensure the artificial biome is not adversely affected by outside weather.
-[ ] Peak 11 (Progress: 0/250 - 15 Resources per die) (Domain Ecological Services: +1F)
[ ] Lower Hanshan Commercial Manufacturing
The majority of Noverian-manufactured consumer goods are novelty clothing, snow globes, winter-sports equipment, and snowbounders - goods appropriate for the holiday-goers and long-stay tourists common in the resort cities, but less appropriate for the corporate staff living full time on the planet. Creating local manufacturing for things like furniture, clothing, and home computer terminals would help cut living expenses in Port Hanshan - particularly for the city's small but growing labour, retail and service underclass.
(Progress: 0/300 - 15 Resources per die) (-5 ES) (-2 Cargo, -2 Housing)
Advanced Industry (3D, +15 Bonus per roll)
[ ] Data Traffic Management Centre
Prioritising data traffic is already a challenging problem for every group in the galaxy. Intergalactic communications rely on simple priority rules to allocate bandwidth, whilst local relays such as Hanshan's ground-to-orbit system generally work on a first-in-first-out basis, relying on relative lack of traffic to ensure high speed connections. By analysing outgoing communication requests and assessing relative importance before passing them offworld, corporate assets can be assured they are receiving the highest possible speed at all times, and never getting stuck behind civilian data traffic.
UPDATE: Granting corporations limited access to the data analysis allows them to fine-tune advertisements and other elements of the content they produce, enhancing profitability.
(Progress: 0/100 - 5 Resources per die)
(Noveria Now: +1P) (Tevura Media Group: +1P)
[ ] Dedicated Computation Cluster
Personal or desk scale computation and data storage devices are both cheap and widely accessible galaxy-wide. However, as has been the case for centuries, there is a cost to miniaturisation. Dedicated room-scale hardware has always had an advantage in processing speed and power, from antique server racks to modern quantum supercomputers. Installing some computation clusters within Port Hanshan's office complexes and renting them out could prove mutually beneficial.
-[ ] Astra Financial (Progress: 0/150 - 15 Resources per die) (-2 Power) (Astra Financial: +1P, +1F)
-[ ] Dora'vua Cyber Systems (Progress: 0/150 - 15 Resources per die) (-2 Power) (Dora'vua Cyber Systems: +1P, +1F)
[ ] Network Isolation Lab
One of the biggest difficulties in safely researching dangerous digital intelligences is that they are all, to varying degrees, capable of propagation through communication networks. Any network connection is a potential threat vector and containment if a malicious intelligence reaches the extranet is nigh impossible. As per Council regulations, dedicated Network Isolation Labs must be established for such research. These labs must follow stringent data security guidelines and operate in complete isolation from the extranet to ensure security.
(Progress: 93/150 - 15 Resources per die) (-1 Power)
(Synthetic Insights: +1P, +1F)
[ ] Prototyping Workshop
For all the power and sophistication of computer modelling and simulations, it is difficult for them to surpass the level of realism of reality itself. But producing prototypes only to find minor issues that require the reproduction of components or even the entire system is a source of constant frustration. Many designers prefer actual workshops, so that minor adjustments can be made swiftly and in direct response to problems that arise during the prototyping and testing phase without requiring constant digital redesigning.
-[ ] Peak 09 (Progress: 0/150 - 10 Resources per die) (Ahial Syndicate: +1P)
-[ ] Peak 22 (Progress: 0/150 - 10 Resources per die) (Kantor Robotics: +1P, +1F)
-[ ] Peak 28 (Progress: 0/150 - 10 Resources per die) (Long Winter Studios: +1P, +1F)
[ ] Holoaugmented Design Space
Creating digital models and mock-ups before beginning real-world construction is a centuries old process, but one that has always had issues. The perspective granted by a free-floating camera in a digital environment never properly encapsulates a real-world perspective, and things that look right on the model occasionally come out looking a little bit uncanny. Holoaugmented Design Spaces allow designers to bypass this by constructing a full-scale holographic replica of their design to walk through and experience in a much more functional way than is allowed for even by use of augmented reality visors. Itavan Skyworks wants to construct one at their office to experiment with starship layouts.
(Progress: 0:150 - 10 Resources per die) (-2 Power)
(Itavan Skyworks: +1P, +1F)
Infrastructure (3D, +25 Bonus per roll)
[ ] Ground-Orbit Uplink Site
The existing ground-orbit communications infrastructure is in dire need of expansion, with original usage estimates far exceeded and redundancy units pressed into general service to ensure needs were met. A new transmission tower and accompanying infrastructure would bring network capacity up to a far more acceptable level and remove reliance on the backup equipment.
UPDATE: Due to ridiculous rumours and nonsense allegations of 'mountain monsters', the workers refuse to venture up to the site without a military escort.
(Progress: 26/300 - 20 Resources per die) (+16 Network)
(Cannot be taken without Mountain Monsters)
[ ] Breaking Ground: Peak 12
When the NDC's Executive Board balked at the cost of ongoing developments and shifted funds into more profitable endeavours, a number of proposed-but-undeveloped sites were archived for later use. Abec Territorial Ordinance have indicated that they may in future wish to move manufacturing to Noveria, and one of those archived sites could prove suitable for their purposes. Establishing a transit route and preparing infrastructure connections is the first step of turning the site into an operational facility.
(Progress: 69/200 - 20 Resources per die)
[ ] Lower Hanshan Residential District
Though lacking the awe-inspiring views and proximity to useful services and retail outlets, the new Lower Hanshan area has no shortage of space, space which can be turned into a great many apartments. Smaller, lower-quality apartments, sure, but more than suitable for the kind of lower-class workers Port Hanshan finds itself increasingly in demand for. And of course, knowing some of the corporations, they'll start issuing new staff to those apartments too, in order to cut costs where possible.
(Progress: 0/300 - 15 Resources per die) (-5 ES) (+16 Housing)
Security (4D, +7 Bonus per roll)
[ ] Mandatory Audit (Targets 1 Corporation)
In addition to the physical security staff provided by ERCS, the NDC has access to a suite of in-house corporate assessors, auditors, and investigators, trained to dig out corruption, noncompliance, and assorted chicanery wherever it takes root. Sending them after a company ensures that the appropriate rental fees and taxes are being paid, promptly and without any shenanigans.
(Breakpoints: 20 / 60 - 5 Resources per die) (For six turns, negative corporate favour does not reduce income.) (Reduces risk of Corruption / Shenanigans)
(Target: -1F)
[ ] Mountain Monsters
Wild rumours and conspiracy theories are circulating regarding reports of mysterious mountain monsters near the Ground-Orbit Uplink Site, and the mood amongst the workforce has soured. Construction teams are unwilling to go to work on the site without armed escort, citing attacks on their mechs which you suspect to have been staged. Send some of Matsuo's men and some of the new security mechs to sit on the site and babysit the workers until the job is done.
(Progress: 22/100 - 5 Resources per die)
[ ] Enhanced Border Security
Despite the stringent firearms laws enforced at Port Hanshan, Matriarch Benezia and her commando bodyguards were able to smuggle in not just their own weapons, but a small force of geth troopers, using scan-shielded crates, making a mockery of the Port Hanshan establishment and of its security. The ERCS have put forward a proposal to deploy new and highly sophisticated scanning systems, to ensure similar events cannot be repeated.
(Progress: 122/150 - 10 Resources per die) (+5 ES)
[ ] Emergency Drills
As more details begin to shake free regarding the unmitigated disaster that was Peak 15, it is becoming increasingly clear that the corporations have become a little too complacent in terms of safety procedures, even those that affect not just individual labs but the whole institution. Enacting random, no-warning emergency drills should ensure they shape up soon enough.
(Progress: 0/100 - 5 Resources per die)
Administration (3D, +5 Bonus per roll)
[ ] Internal Sweeping
The NDC may occupy a place of privilege on Noveria, but the fate of your all-too-recent predecessor is a reminder that it is not immune to corruption. With some help from the NDC's Internal Affairs division, you can sweep a department to search for embezzlement, ineptitude, nepotism, and other forms of corruption. It's unlikely that much, if any corruption remains after Anoleis was removed - and any who escaped notice the first time are likely to be keeping their heads down low for a short while anyway - but it never hurts to check.
UPDATE: With your VI monitoring the networks for any sorts of mischief, identifying and monitoring corruption is much easier and much less likely to devolve into a tangled mess.
UPDATE: Your rapport with the Infrastructure department is such that, whether out of respect or genuine satisfaction with their current status, they will refuse to engage in meaningful corruption. The Infrastructure Department is not a valid target for this action.
(Breakpoints: 40 - Requires 1 Admin dice and 1 from Target department) (Remove corruption, other consequences unclear)
[ ] Firearm Regulation Revision
Port Hanshan maintains a strict policy of prohibiting possession of firearms or firearm components for all parties, with exceptions for on-duty security staff and, by decree of the Executive Board, Spectre agents of the Citadel Council. Though information about the geth attack on Noveria was widely suppressed, news of geth incursions across the Traverse continues to spread, and some are calling for weapon restrictions to be loosened to enable self-defence.
(Breakpoints: 30 - 5 Resources per die) (-5 ES) (Further options on completion)
[ ] Data Security Law Revision
Noveria was founded and built on the principle of privacy being paramount. By the terms of the colonial charter, all data is to be treated as the private and inviolate property of the responsible parties. Whilst this is obviously preferred by many of the corporations who have established operations, the deliberately sweeping law makes the personal data of individuals equally secure, which makes data harvesting, content targeting, and behavioural analysis relatively difficult.
(Breakpoints: 30 - 5 Resources per die) (-5 ES) (Further options on completion)
[ ] Horuvak Valley Platinum Mine Approval
Though they have already secured mineral exploitation rights across Noveria, Tiber Extraction And Refining are restricted by the terms of the colonial charter from engaging in mining operations within a certain range of Port Hanshan without the proper approval. In testing their new Panoptes mineral scanner, they located a significant deposit of platinum within the Horuvak Valley, and the group has requested permission to draw up plants to establish an extraction operation there. Though it could generate significant profit, especially if refining is also performed on site, resource export, whether raw or refined, would put significant strain on Noveria's spaceport.
(Progress: 0/100 - 10 Resources per die) (Unlocks further options: Lower Hanshan Ore Refinery)
(Tiber Extraction And Refining: +1F)
===
Dadada, can't wait to see what's broken or wrong this time! Vote is NOT YET OPEN, you know the drill.
Chimeraguard
We do deserve to exist.
Hmm, my initial instinct was to go for a big push to complete the spaceport, but now I think we should instead dedicate more of those dice towards Advanced Industry projects for the corps we've been ignoring somewhat.
But it's bedtime so... I'll just see how things are when I wake up.
But it's bedtime so... I'll just see how things are when I wake up.
Darik29
Verified Delicious
Prototyping lab for Kanto Robotics should help with there opinions. Otherwise i think completing current projects, or working on them anyway, combined with approving that mine so we can build a local refinery. And of course housing.
…
I really want to build a kickass entertainment center somewhere in Lower Handhan at some point. Give the local executives a place to Actually relax instead of the tiny areas they have currently.
…
I really want to build a kickass entertainment center somewhere in Lower Handhan at some point. Give the local executives a place to Actually relax instead of the tiny areas they have currently.
- Location
- alphen aan den rijn
God do I wish we had more dice, oh well.
- Location
- Singapore
[ ] Plan Future Proof
-[ ] Spaceport Expansion Program - 1 Dice + 2 Free Dice
-[ ] Destructive Testing Range
--[ ] Peak 41 - 2 Dice
-[ ] Network Isolation Lab - 2 Dice
-[ ] Prototyping Workshop
--[ ] Peak 22 - 1 Dice + 1 Free Dice
-[ ] Ground-Orbit Uplink Site - 3 Dice
-[ ] Mountain Monsters - 3 Dice
-[ ] Enhanced Border Security - 1 Dice
-[ ] Horuvak Valley Platinum Mine Approval - 3 Dice
-[ ] Spaceport Expansion Program - 1 Dice + 2 Free Dice
-[ ] Destructive Testing Range
--[ ] Peak 41 - 2 Dice
-[ ] Network Isolation Lab - 2 Dice
-[ ] Prototyping Workshop
--[ ] Peak 22 - 1 Dice + 1 Free Dice
-[ ] Ground-Orbit Uplink Site - 3 Dice
-[ ] Mountain Monsters - 3 Dice
-[ ] Enhanced Border Security - 1 Dice
-[ ] Horuvak Valley Platinum Mine Approval - 3 Dice
Burned_Cookie
Very tired girl.
- Location
- Plato´s cave.
- Pronouns
- She/Her/It/Its
Interesting spread.
Mountain monsters really only needs to be taken, not completed. I'd much rather get some overflow on our security. No Geths in our back yards please.
- Location
- Singapore
I'd like Mountain Monsters completed to free future dice from Ground Orbit Uplink instead of being bound. This way, other Security projects can move forward.
Burned_Cookie
Very tired girl.
- Location
- Plato´s cave.
- Pronouns
- She/Her/It/Its
Hmmm fair, but I fear the low rolls wasting our time when a few single dice actions would have sufficed.
- Location
- alphen aan den rijn
Wonder why so many negative points for building under port hassan but oke?
Burned_Cookie
Very tired girl.
- Location
- Plato´s cave.
- Pronouns
- She/Her/It/Its
Because some bigwig said no and no the mere act of defying that decision iss creating ill content.
Or there is something down there the higher ups wish forgotten/left alone.
Or there is something down there the higher ups wish forgotten/left alone.