KnightDisciple
Love God. Do Right. Fear No Man.
- Location
- Midwest, USA
[X] CarterQuest Plan Screw Space, There's A War On
Attempting to Fulfill the Plan: GDI Edition
- Location
- in the trash
I have to ask, what do people even think happens to all that Tiberium they're harvesting? It doesn't vanish into some quantum storage for later use, it needs to be contained in reinforced silos and it's clearly still not neutralized at that point, because if you blow up a Tiberium silo you get a fresh new Tiberium field.
If we just keep sinking more resources into Tiberium abatement by all rights we should quickly hit a point where we have more Tiberium than we can safely store and way more Tiberium than we can possibly use because there isn't enough demand. Which would leave us with sonic fields for containment, which is great until it doesn't work anymore.
So far we've been spending it fast enough that it isn't an issue and presumably our remaining infrastructure is able to handle the processing and storage of all that Tiberium, but I'm not sure how many players have considered what it would actually mean if we started having a significant surplus of resources going to stockpile every turn.
Pre-war GDI obviously had the capacity to shit out a thousand field refineries to process more Tiberium the moment it became necessary, but they obviously didn't.
Also, I defaulted to thinking of harvesting operations when imagining what our abatement and reclamation efforts look like, but we actually have an example of what a full scale pre-war abatement effort looks like thanks to Munich. Which needed a containment system so extensive the aliens considered it a serious threat to any attacking force.
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- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
It turns out that crystal meth causes the tiberium to just give up and let people break it up as a professional courtesy.
The different types of dice available to us complicate the picture; even if we're maxing out our efforts on capital goods, there's often quite a bit left over to be done in other areas.
Also, Nod is revving back up, making military improvements more and more of a must-do.
I think we should prioritize further capital goods production over Yellow Zone Power Grid Extension in heavy industry, but try to put at least SOME light industry into consumer goods production so that things are looking 'up' as we tool up for what may turn into another round of relatively intense fighting with Nod.
I'm a little iffy on using so few of our Tiberium dice given the massive bonuses we have for them...?
I wish we could free the resources to work on the Enterprise station for Orbital, but I don't know if we can.[/B]
- Location
- The Underdark
That would be because most of your operations so far have emphasized the moneymaking forms of Tiberium, because you need the resources and need to grow your economy back closer to pre war levels. There have been a few efforts that have done more enclosure work, but nothing on the scale of Munich's reclaimation.
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
The balance of advantages and disadvantages is complicated, but for some reason GDI and Nod are fairly evenly matched, yes.
GDI excels at mobilizing heavy metal and a powerful conventional war machine that can crush whatever it encounters. Long experience with Nod has taught them to grab the enemy and hit hard, so that whatever they hit doesn't get back up again (except Kane personally, the fucker).
Nod excels at unconventional warfare and has a very marked 'high/low' mix of elites that can go toe-to-toe with GDI and numerous but mediocre fanatical militias. Long experience with GDI has taught them to go for strategic nutshots whenever possible, to avoid being grabbed and hit.
It tends to cancel itself out.
- Location
- United States
There's a fun quest idea I've had for some time now regarding a Yellow Zone governor's quest in which one finds themselves in the position of managing a yellow zone settlement and have to manage said settlement as well as the surrounding territory, keep hostile warlords and the encroaching tiberium at bay all the while trying to avoid ticking off either GDI or NOD.
As you pointed out Nod is increasing its activities, even if the cyborg swarm isn't being coordinated by Nod they will be building up for another push (that's why I put 4 dice into getting the Wolverines into production). The problem is that a lot of those options require additional Energy, so we need to take options that give us more Energy so that our factories don't suffer blackout and power shortages that cut their output, Also the Yellow Zone Power Grid Extension is really cheap, only costing 15 resources for a good chance at getting it all completed at one hit.
As far as the low spending on Tiberium goes, basically I ran out of resources. I had higher priorities such as dealing with the Capital Goods crisis (Boston chip manufacturing and Chemical Precursor Plants) and improving our military forces (getting the Wolverines deployed and finishing the doctrine development for the Orbital Strike RCTs). Getting the development done for the OSRCTs is important because it means we can start work on getting them deployed, and if we do that it means we've accomplished two of the space-based objectives the politicians gave us, which gets them off our backs except for Tiberium mitigation. I chose Yellow Zone Fortress Towns because it helps protect the population in the Yellow Zones, which is really important now with the cyborg swarm and with NOD feeling its oats, and it also lets us resume Intensification of Yellow Zone Harvesting.
As for the Blue Zone Reconstruction, I put Resources there because frankly we've been leaving the Blue Zones to hang long enough and it should keep the Developmentalists from getting pissy at us. The expansion of the Orbital Communication Network was because I had 15 resources left and nothing really urgent to spend them on. That said, dropping those options would give us 25 Resources. Redirecting the expenditure on the Chemical Precursor Plants to Lithium Battery Plants would free up an additional 15 Resources for a total of 40 Resources (enough to purchase 2 dice of Blue Zone Perimeter Outposts) and reduce the cost of military options in the future at the cost of less Capital Goods.
Sailor_Skarro
The Lurker
Once Boston is complete we're going to have an extended timer on the Cap Goods and over half the current problem solved, so we can probably afford to delay Chemical Precursors for a turn for Lithium Battery Plants and Mitigation.
To be honest hearing about how much the Lithium Battery Plants will save us on military spending makes it more likely that I'll invest in those rather than the Chemical Precursor plants anyway.
- Location
- USA
Cap goods though will reduce some progression requirements and make our factories better (including the mil ones) but yeah LC dice on lithium for me
- Location
- New York
Do we want Blue Zone residential construction to empty out the Yellow Zone refugee camps quickly at low cost or do we want to do Yellow Zone fortress towns at higher costs and less housing for that harvesting and projection of influence into the Yellow Zones? Currently, I am in favor of taking the more efficient Blue Zone residential construction to empty out the refugee camps of the final bunch of refugees. These people have been waiting for good housing for a while now and its not good to let them fester in resentment. But I would like to hear out other opinions on this matter.
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
Right now we have a respectable energy surplus, though, enough to last through a turn or two of military buildup... don't we? Am I mis-estimating? My impression is that we're at +12 energy with the dam buildup. To be fair, on reflection +12 is less of a margin of error than I'd like.
Described like that, it's a fair point.
Hmrm. I suppose that's fair in terms of making more sense than I'd realized at first glance.
It should be noted that chemical precursors will have military effects too. Many military supplies are made of, for example, plastics. Many pharmaceuticals are made from specific chemical feedstocks. Explosives, importantly (and hoo boy does GDI's materiel-heavy style of warfare go through a lot of kaboom), are made from very specific chemical precursors, for instance.
If we're worried about Nod resurgence (if not to the level of one of the three major Tiberium Wars then to a lower level of "still seriously fucking with you,") then that complicates the picture either way.
Getting more of the population moved out of Yellow Zone tent cities and into Blue Zone residences is exactly the kind of thing that weakens Nod propaganda and wins hearts and minds in the Yellow Zones, if we spin it right. And it pulls back what would otherwise be sprawling, vulnerable, 'soft' population targets for Nod inside our heavily defended Blue Zone perimeters.
On the other hand, building fortress towns in the Yellow Zones gives us a lot of potential defensible sites to curtail Nod actions and is a more visible sign of GDI's intention to seriously provide homes in the Yellow Zones, from the point of view of all Yellow Zone residents and not just the relocated ones in the camps.
I'd say go for the Yellow Zone Fortress Towns because we need to retain our presence in the Yellow Zones to mitigate the spread of Tiberium in the YZ (and therefore to protect the Blue Zones from Tiberium spread) and to keep harvesting Tiberium there. But also it's an issue of morale as well as resources - we've made big investments in the Yellow Zones (a hell of a lot more than GDI has done since the first appearance of Tiberium, if my guess is right), we've built up not just housing but also infrastructure and actual communities, and even their own security services to protect them. And it's been well-received by the Yellow Zoners, if the omakes and the votes of the united Yellow list are anything to go by. Staying put, building up their defences with Fortress Towns and actually defending them, and continuing to build up their communities and infrastructure send a message to both the Yellow Zoners and to NOD - 'these are our people as much as the people of the Blue Zones, and we're not going to cut and run.'
And that sort of PR, if played right, could bring a lot of goodwill and support from the Yellow Zoners.
And that sort of PR, if played right, could bring a lot of goodwill and support from the Yellow Zoners.
Sailor_Skarro
The Lurker
First one, I wouldn't mind a mini-update that was all just the combat stuff.
- Location
- nz
Yes, multiple short updates are most welcome. Bonus points for leaving the first one on a cliff hanger. 
Do we know how expensive OSRCTs are gonna be? Since the research will likely be finished next plan, it could be a good time to put 4 dice on:
[ ] Union Class Construction Yard (Progress 0/200: 20 resources per die) (+1 Fusion Lift Die)
An extra Fusion lift dice could pay for itself quickly. If OSRCTs are paid for with orbital dice not military, which I think they are? If OSRCTs is something like 300 progress for 30 resources per die it pretty much pays for itself just on that.
That still leaves 4 dice to finish Boston Chips and 3 LCI dice for Chemical Precursor Plants for extra CAP goods.
Do we know how expensive OSRCTs are gonna be? Since the research will likely be finished next plan, it could be a good time to put 4 dice on:
[ ] Union Class Construction Yard (Progress 0/200: 20 resources per die) (+1 Fusion Lift Die)
An extra Fusion lift dice could pay for itself quickly. If OSRCTs are paid for with orbital dice not military, which I think they are? If OSRCTs is something like 300 progress for 30 resources per die it pretty much pays for itself just on that.
That still leaves 4 dice to finish Boston Chips and 3 LCI dice for Chemical Precursor Plants for extra CAP goods.
- Location
- New York
The recent battles and the results are important enough to the future direction of the quest to justify their own update in my opinion.
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
Two updates. Possibly more if, for example, you have one of the battles written up and want to go to sleep but the others aren't finished.
More shorter updates is almost always better.
Same here. I like your writing style, Ithillid, and I'd love to see a couple of shorter write-ups so we can get at least one sooner.
Yes I am greedy
@liquidsnake4673 Orbital Strike RCTs are currently in Military and I'm pretty sure they'll stay in Military rather than Orbital, because while they may be dropped from orbit they are primarily ground troops.
Yes I am greedy
@liquidsnake4673 Orbital Strike RCTs are currently in Military and I'm pretty sure they'll stay in Military rather than Orbital, because while they may be dropped from orbit they are primarily ground troops.
Sailor_Skarro
The Lurker
Yes, but I think the actual deployment of OSRCT system will allow for Fusion Dice.
For that matter it may require a mixture of Military and Orbital dice, like the current Saarland option requires a mixture of Heavy Industry and Tiberium dice.
- Location
- The Underdark
If you want more in a similar writing style, look for books by Judkin Browning (Civil War History), Nate Silver (Environmental History), David Silkenat (Pre and post Civil War social history, warning, very, very depressing).
I am a historian, and so my work here is heavily leaning on the training I got from other historians.
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- Location
- alphen aan den rijn
[X] CarterQuest Plan Screw Space, There's A War On
Sounds pretty fare really.
Also I think you missed treadmarking latest Carter quest update
Sounds pretty fare really.
Also I think you missed treadmarking latest Carter quest update
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- Location
- Outside the Box
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I'd prefer to get Duplex Row Housing personally. We have a big housing quality problem, what with all the cramped apartments we've been building everywhere, and because of that I don't think Housing is going to go away after we finish housing all the refugees. Duplex Row Housing both builds better quality houses (therefore raising living standards) and cuts our refugee population in half, all while getting more people out of the dangerous and hard-to-defend Yellow Zones.
Ideally in the future we'll rebuild the Blue Zones to a high standard of living again and manage to house most of our population there or in space, with the only Yellow Zone cities being well-defended Fortress Towns populated by people living there specifically to help the mining and abatement efforts. We're, uh, many steps away from something like that, but my point is I'd like us to move away from Yellow Zone vs. Blue Zone and just be able to treat everyone as equal citizens. And for that purpose Blue Zone Residential Construction (Phase 3) goes against that. It houses everyone left but puts them in low-quality apartment blocks far from cities, which is fine but just creates more problems to solve down the line.
I'd prefer you publish it when you're done writing. It's better to finish writing the whole thing to your satisfaction. The author is the most important audience for any written work, not anyone else. If the finished update turns out to naturally split into two posts, then it makes sense to do so. Otherwise, there's no need to rush. Your audience can wait a little longer.