That's not really news, it's not just Kos specifically it's any character has a small chance to die each turn, just like that minister we lost to a random car crash a decade or so ago. Also I don't consider a 2% chance (or whatever it is, it's obviously not a large part of the table seeing as it hasn't happened to anybody yet) that somebody dies in a plane crash to be a more overriding infrastructural priority than housing for millions of people or a nationwide passenger rail network or fluoridating the water anyways.
Attempting to Fulfill the Plan MNKh Edition
- Thread starter Blackstar
- Start date
- Alt. History Users' Choice!
Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
- Location
- alphen aan den rijn
coal, not sure? we need too setup some steel for sure and get those roads going i think.
airports sound like a must have.
anything that get ppl work would likely be a good thing.
airports sound like a must have.
anything that get ppl work would likely be a good thing.
Chimeraguard
We do deserve to exist.
So, here's a plan that I wrote before the new turn came up. The big thing about this plan was starting up Unified Canal System and Augmented Earthmoving, as a method of pushing eastwards to get better access to the big coal & iron deposits there. But we got a bunch of new options this turn, so I'm no longer certain on it.
Note that it also has Rocketry only doing the Stalingrad because I wasn't sure what new options we'd have available. Now that we have new actions there, what do we want to focus on?
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
Suffice to say that if senior government ministers have a nontrivial chance of dying in a plane crash, it's likely that fatalities in aviation accidents in general (especially those who are not so privileged as to be able to fly priority flights where everyone clears the schedule so the Minister of Absolutely Everything) are pretty high.
I'm not saying the rail network doesn't matter, but there's a reason passenger and cargo aviation exist in the modern day. People are going to do it, so having the ability to do so with reasonable safety, efficiency, and reliability is not a bad thing.
Plus, yes, the potential for a diplomatic disaster because the ambassador or visiting head of state died in a plane crash because of our shitty ground control establishment or something.
Air travel will probably have similar impacts to communications infrastructure. And it has political implications, looking like we can't deliver air travel will look bad. I know people like trains but the USSR is a really big country. For many places, or international travel, air is really the best option.
Angle
Release Candidate Enby
- Location
- Colorado, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them/Theirs/Comrade
My current wishlist:
In particualr, I'm considering but really iffy about putting two dice and a bureau focus action on the precision machinery. That's 3 dice and 300 resources, almost a fifth of our budget, but if it goes through it could be really good. I don't know though, might be better to just cut it from the plan for now. :/
Edit: Also, I think I really need to put more coal and steel in here, or it'll cause us problems down the line.
I'm iffy about Augmented Earthmoving, I worry about fallout, contamination, and popular blowback, like what happened with operation Plowshare. Could be worth doing, though? If we do go for it, do we need to have it done before we start the canal project? If so, we should probably do it first. :/
In particualr, I'm considering but really iffy about putting two dice and a bureau focus action on the precision machinery. That's 3 dice and 300 resources, almost a fifth of our budget, but if it goes through it could be really good. I don't know though, might be better to just cut it from the plan for now. :/
Edit: Also, I think I really need to put more coal and steel in here, or it'll cause us problems down the line.
I'm iffy about Augmented Earthmoving, I worry about fallout, contamination, and popular blowback, like what happened with operation Plowshare. Could be worth doing, though? If we do go for it, do we need to have it done before we start the canal project? If so, we should probably do it first. :/
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Night_stalker
Slava Ukraini!
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Yeah, honestly, I really wanna push for that one two punch.
Piss off the Yanks with the first man and woman in space, when.... have they even started a space program?
And I think Leningrad could use some love. Moscow's been getting a lot, and we should spread it some.
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
I'm guessing the Mercury Seven are in the early stages of selection and training.
Angle
Release Candidate Enby
- Location
- Colorado, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them/Theirs/Comrade
They beat us to the first satellite actually, IIRC. We still got one over with Yuri though. XD
- Pronouns
- He/They
I think it makes sense to start on Augmented Earthmoving but wait for it to complete before starting the canals, since canals aren't as urgent as we thought they might be.
Arc Furnaces would probably still be worth it before moving onto the new steel plants since the cost/benefit is similar (with the bonus of not needing coal/coal mines/coal transport) and it should help push back profitability problems... unless the labor reserve looks problematic, it's certainly gone down but that's not something I have much of a feel for.
TV plants rather than luxury goods could be good - or now, consumable goods rather than luxury goods, since at this point I suspect there's a lot of stuff that's still not in peoples' reach - but TV plants do support our electronics industry.
And for space, my vote is Vacuum Electronics, that'll be vital for a lot of stuff - especially the Communications Satellites. In fact, with that program being so expensive, few results expected, and unpopular, we might consider cancelling it and starting fresh in a year or two to hopefully benefit from better electronics. The risk there is that the military might have Yangel make some.
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While it's probably going to cost a bunch and take a while, if we can trust that description of that hydrogen engine I think we should probably start getting the work on it ticking. Even if it just ends up as an upper stage only engine rather than the core replacement (and depending on how the RLA work is going when the engine finishes that may actually be preferable so we don't have to redesign the core), it should give us much better capabilities for moon shots and interplanetary probes.
Of the rest, the one that caught my attention the most is the vacuum electronics. I don't think we're launching enough R7s yet to need the multiple pads now or in the near future, and the full size RLA is far enough away and that we can put off building a launch pad for it for now.
The hypersonic wind tunnel would be nice, but most of our efforts as a space program is to get our rockets out of the atmosphere rather than stick around in it. It would probably help test the Max-Q forces though, and I suppose it would give the PKA/MKAS meme programs a boost too.
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
Vacuum electronics, then hydrogen engines and maybe the wind tunnel.
But we're already getting hints in-setting that our probes are shitty and unreliable. We need to fix that.
But we're already getting hints in-setting that our probes are shitty and unreliable. We need to fix that.
We have 116 available electricity and 79 available workforce, so pretty much every plan should be fine on those.
For steel, to stay above the +50 infra discount point we have 13 available, so pretty much any plan that spends steel needs to finish a steel plant too.
[] Plan Steel Strength
-[]1695/1695 Resources (0 Reserve), 27 Dice Rolled
Infrastructure (6/5 Dice, 360 R)
-[]Secondary City Metro Lines(Stage 5), 1 Dice (75 R)
-[]Passenger Rail Network(Western SU), 1 Dice (75 R)
-[]Civilian Airports(Stage 1), 3 Dice (150 R)
-[]Telecommunications Infrastructure(Stage 4), 1 Dice (60 R)
Heavy Industry (8/8 Dice, 765 R)
-[]Novocherkassk Locomotive Plant, 2 Dice (160 R)
-[]Rustavi Metallurgical Plant, 2 Dice (200 R)
-[]Further Arc Furnace Efforts, 3 Dice (330 R)
-[]New Automotive Plants(Zaporozhye), 1 Dice (75 R)
Rocketry (3/3 Dice, 100 R)
-[]Cancel Project (Communications Satellite)
-[]Development of the Stalingrad Plant(Stage 3), 1 Dice (100 R)
-[]Hydrogen Engine Programs, 1 Dice
-[]Vacuum Electronic Development, 1 Dice
Light and Chemical Industry (6/8 Dice, 330 R)
-[]Petrochemical Pipelines(Stage 4), 3 Dice (150 R)
-[]Fertilizer Plants(Stage 4/5), 3 Dice (120 R)
Agriculture (2/5 Dice, 80 R)
-[]GOST Standardization, 1 Dice (20 R)
-[]Development of Additional Fruits, 1 Dice (60 R)
Services (1/0 Dice, 60 R)
-[]Film Studio Formation (Stage 3), 1 Dice (60 R)
Bureaucracy (5/5 Dice, 0 R)
-[]Dedicate Focus Towards a Project(Rustavi Metallurgical Plant), 1 Dice
-[]Dedicate Focus Towards a Project(Further Arc Furnace Efforts), 1 Dice
-[]Advocate Cross CMEA Standardization, 1 Dice
-[]Accelerate Rural Development Programs, 1 Dice
-[]Negotiate with Kosygin and Podgorny, 1 Dice
Uses just 2/5 free dice but uses all our R so oh well.
In Infra, goes for airports because they're both useful and cheap.
In HI, this finishes what we started but also goes for two boosted steel projects. With omakes, that's 61.7% for +40 and 88.3% for +76. Either finishing is enough to keep us the infra discount.
Rocketry the comm sats project rolled a 5 and are both expensive and unpopular, we can circle back to them next plan. Electronics is crucial, hydrogen engines is maybe skippable but cancelling the comm sats should let us do that.
LCI I work on the petrochem pipeline to hopefully get lots of R and the Fertilizer plant because we really want to get that done soon to automatically finish off our Agri goal. This still leaves 2 dice unused but oh well, can't win them all.
Agriculture is just finishing what we already started, as is Services.
In Bureaucracy I dedicate focus towards the two steel plants to improve their odds by 20% and 15%, making it fairly safe to go for the split even though neither is guaranteed. Standardization is crucial, we need that. Rural development is a huge QoL improvement and gives us a solid political backing among the people, but could be dropped in favor of a 2nd negotiations dice.
For steel, to stay above the +50 infra discount point we have 13 available, so pretty much any plan that spends steel needs to finish a steel plant too.
[] Plan Steel Strength
-[]1695/1695 Resources (0 Reserve), 27 Dice Rolled
Infrastructure (6/5 Dice, 360 R)
-[]Secondary City Metro Lines(Stage 5), 1 Dice (75 R)
-[]Passenger Rail Network(Western SU), 1 Dice (75 R)
-[]Civilian Airports(Stage 1), 3 Dice (150 R)
-[]Telecommunications Infrastructure(Stage 4), 1 Dice (60 R)
Heavy Industry (8/8 Dice, 765 R)
-[]Novocherkassk Locomotive Plant, 2 Dice (160 R)
-[]Rustavi Metallurgical Plant, 2 Dice (200 R)
-[]Further Arc Furnace Efforts, 3 Dice (330 R)
-[]New Automotive Plants(Zaporozhye), 1 Dice (75 R)
Rocketry (3/3 Dice, 100 R)
-[]Cancel Project (Communications Satellite)
-[]Development of the Stalingrad Plant(Stage 3), 1 Dice (100 R)
-[]Hydrogen Engine Programs, 1 Dice
-[]Vacuum Electronic Development, 1 Dice
Light and Chemical Industry (6/8 Dice, 330 R)
-[]Petrochemical Pipelines(Stage 4), 3 Dice (150 R)
-[]Fertilizer Plants(Stage 4/5), 3 Dice (120 R)
Agriculture (2/5 Dice, 80 R)
-[]GOST Standardization, 1 Dice (20 R)
-[]Development of Additional Fruits, 1 Dice (60 R)
Services (1/0 Dice, 60 R)
-[]Film Studio Formation (Stage 3), 1 Dice (60 R)
Bureaucracy (5/5 Dice, 0 R)
-[]Dedicate Focus Towards a Project(Rustavi Metallurgical Plant), 1 Dice
-[]Dedicate Focus Towards a Project(Further Arc Furnace Efforts), 1 Dice
-[]Advocate Cross CMEA Standardization, 1 Dice
-[]Accelerate Rural Development Programs, 1 Dice
-[]Negotiate with Kosygin and Podgorny, 1 Dice
Uses just 2/5 free dice but uses all our R so oh well.
In Infra, goes for airports because they're both useful and cheap.
In HI, this finishes what we started but also goes for two boosted steel projects. With omakes, that's 61.7% for +40 and 88.3% for +76. Either finishing is enough to keep us the infra discount.
Rocketry the comm sats project rolled a 5 and are both expensive and unpopular, we can circle back to them next plan. Electronics is crucial, hydrogen engines is maybe skippable but cancelling the comm sats should let us do that.
LCI I work on the petrochem pipeline to hopefully get lots of R and the Fertilizer plant because we really want to get that done soon to automatically finish off our Agri goal. This still leaves 2 dice unused but oh well, can't win them all.
Agriculture is just finishing what we already started, as is Services.
In Bureaucracy I dedicate focus towards the two steel plants to improve their odds by 20% and 15%, making it fairly safe to go for the split even though neither is guaranteed. Standardization is crucial, we need that. Rural development is a huge QoL improvement and gives us a solid political backing among the people, but could be dropped in favor of a 2nd negotiations dice.
Takareer
Words and feathers
- Location
- Ontario, Canada
So many delicious computers options! Even
computer standardization!
Angle
Release Candidate Enby
- Location
- Colorado, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them/Theirs/Comrade
Current planning:
Within resource and dice budget... But no coal, steel, or petrochemicals production, which we probably need. Still iffy on the 2nd gen precision machinery, it's hella expensive, but with two dice and all our bonuses, we at least have a decent chance of finishing it in one turn. I think it's a big enough deal for the dedicated focus, even with only two dice, but people in the discord have proposed ditching the focus and putting an omake towards it instead, which I'm willing to consider.
Within resource and dice budget... But no coal, steel, or petrochemicals production, which we probably need. Still iffy on the 2nd gen precision machinery, it's hella expensive, but with two dice and all our bonuses, we at least have a decent chance of finishing it in one turn. I think it's a big enough deal for the dedicated focus, even with only two dice, but people in the discord have proposed ditching the focus and putting an omake towards it instead, which I'm willing to consider.
Ahhh, I see. Well, stainless steel and an ablative heat shield could indeed work for what we're looking at. Or stainless steel in cool areas and inconel or titanium at the hot spots.
Hm, so has anyone discovered the Van Alan belts yet?
Regards,
fasquardon
Parzival
They shall not pass. We shall overcome.
- Location
- Northern Virginia
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[] Plan Fowards To The Future!
-[]1695/1695 Resources (0 Reserve), 26 Dice Rolled
Infrastructure (6/5 Dice, 360 R)
-[]Secondary City Metro Lines(Stage 5), 1 Dice (75 R)
-[]Passenger Rail Network(Western SU), 1 Dice (75 R)
-[]Civilian Airports(Stage 1), 3 Dice (150 R)
-[]Telecommunications Infrastructure(Stage 4), 1 Dice (60 R)
Heavy Industry (6/8 Dice, 565 R)
-[]Novocherkassk Locomotive Plant, 2 Dice (160 R)
-[]Further Arc Furnace Efforts, 3 Dice (330 R)
-[]New Automotive Plants(Zaporozhye), 1 Dice (75 R)
Rocketry (3/3 Dice, 100 R)
-[]Cancel Project (Communications Satellite)
-[]Development of the Stalingrad Plant(Stage 3), 1 Dice (100 R)
-[]Hydrogen Engine Programs, 1 Dice
-[]Vacuum Electronic Development, 1 Dice
Light and Chemical Industry (8/8 Dice, 530 R)
-[]Petrochemical Pipelines(Stage 4), 3 Dice (150 R)
-[]Fertilizer Plants(Stage 4/5), 3 Dice (120 R)
-[]Enterprise Computerization, 2 Dice (200 Resources)
Agriculture (2/5 Dice, 80 R)
-[]GOST Standardization, 1 Dice (20 R)
-[]Development of Additional Fruits, 1 Dice (60 R)
Services (1/0 Dice, 60 R)
-[]Film Studio Formation (Stage 3), 1 Dice (60 R)
Bureaucracy (5/5 Dice, 0 R)
-[]Advocate Cross CMEA Standardization, 1 Dice
-[]Accelerate Rural Development Programs, 1 Dice
-[]Fire Incompetents, 1 dice
-[]Expand Cadre Recruitment, 1 dice
-[]Dedicate Focus Towards a Project(Further Arc Furnace Efforts), 1 Dice
-[]1695/1695 Resources (0 Reserve), 26 Dice Rolled
Infrastructure (6/5 Dice, 360 R)
-[]Secondary City Metro Lines(Stage 5), 1 Dice (75 R)
-[]Passenger Rail Network(Western SU), 1 Dice (75 R)
-[]Civilian Airports(Stage 1), 3 Dice (150 R)
-[]Telecommunications Infrastructure(Stage 4), 1 Dice (60 R)
Heavy Industry (6/8 Dice, 565 R)
-[]Novocherkassk Locomotive Plant, 2 Dice (160 R)
-[]Further Arc Furnace Efforts, 3 Dice (330 R)
-[]New Automotive Plants(Zaporozhye), 1 Dice (75 R)
Rocketry (3/3 Dice, 100 R)
-[]Cancel Project (Communications Satellite)
-[]Development of the Stalingrad Plant(Stage 3), 1 Dice (100 R)
-[]Hydrogen Engine Programs, 1 Dice
-[]Vacuum Electronic Development, 1 Dice
Light and Chemical Industry (8/8 Dice, 530 R)
-[]Petrochemical Pipelines(Stage 4), 3 Dice (150 R)
-[]Fertilizer Plants(Stage 4/5), 3 Dice (120 R)
-[]Enterprise Computerization, 2 Dice (200 Resources)
Agriculture (2/5 Dice, 80 R)
-[]GOST Standardization, 1 Dice (20 R)
-[]Development of Additional Fruits, 1 Dice (60 R)
Services (1/0 Dice, 60 R)
-[]Film Studio Formation (Stage 3), 1 Dice (60 R)
Bureaucracy (5/5 Dice, 0 R)
-[]Advocate Cross CMEA Standardization, 1 Dice
-[]Accelerate Rural Development Programs, 1 Dice
-[]Fire Incompetents, 1 dice
-[]Expand Cadre Recruitment, 1 dice
-[]Dedicate Focus Towards a Project(Further Arc Furnace Efforts), 1 Dice
Put together a modification of Chimeraguard's plan that I think better fits the turn, tweaked Infra and LCI around some and freed up enough cash for a second Services die. Rocketry definitely needs to focus on electronics and the closed-cycle hydrogen engine, next turn probably the wind tunnel? The cosmodrome is going to have to wait a few years unfortunately, it's not nearly as important as getting R&D ticking on this stuff IMO.
Politically, obviously insert ourselves into the dealmaking with Pod and Kos, best to make sure we have a seat at the table. Cross-CMEA standardization will help with making more money which is always necessary, and more rural funding is an easy way to get support.
[] Plan Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
[]Infrastructure, 5 Dice +1 Free, 395 Resources
--[] Secondary City Metro Lines (Stage 5), 1 die (75R)
--[] Passenger Rail Network (Western SU), 2 dice (150R)
--[] Civilian Airports (Stage 1), 1 die (50R)
--[] Telecommunications Infrastructure (Stage 4), 2 dice (120R)
-[]Heavy Industry, 5/8 Dice, 485 Resources
--[] Novocherkassk Locomotive Plant, 1 die (80R)
--[] Further Arc Furnace Efforts, 3 dice (330R)
--[] New Automotive Plants (Zaporozhye), 1 die (75R)
-[]Rocketry, 3 Dice, 100 Resources
--[] Cancel Project: Communications Satellite
--[] Development of the Stalingrad Plant (Stage 3), 1 die (100R)
--[] Hydrogen Engine Programs, 1 die
--[] Vacuum Electronic Development, 1 die
-[]Light and Chemical Industry, 8 Dice +1 Free, 470 Resources
--[] Petrochemical Pipelines (Stage 4), 3 dice (150R)
--[] Fertilizer Plants (Stage 4/5), 4 dice (240R)
--[] Luxury Goods Initiatives(Stage 3), 2 dice (80R)
-[]Agriculture, 3/5 Dice, 120 Resources
--[] Peoples Dietary Initiatives, 1 die (40R)
--[] GOST Standardization, 1 die (20R)
--[] Development of Additional Fruits, 1 die (60R)
-[]Services, 0 Dice + 2 Free, 120 Resources
--[] Film Studio Formation (Stage 3), 1 die (60R)
--[] Television Station Development (Stage 3), 1 die (60R)
-[]Bureaucracy, 5 Dice
--[] Dedicate Focus: Arc Furnaces, 1 die
--[] Advocate Cross CMEA Standardization, 1 die
--[] Accelerate Rural Development Programs, 1 die
--[] Negotiate with Kosygin and Podgorny, 2 dice
-[] Total Cost: 1690/1695 Resources, 5 reserved
Politically, obviously insert ourselves into the dealmaking with Pod and Kos, best to make sure we have a seat at the table. Cross-CMEA standardization will help with making more money which is always necessary, and more rural funding is an easy way to get support.
[] Plan Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
[]Infrastructure, 5 Dice +1 Free, 395 Resources
--[] Secondary City Metro Lines (Stage 5), 1 die (75R)
--[] Passenger Rail Network (Western SU), 2 dice (150R)
--[] Civilian Airports (Stage 1), 1 die (50R)
--[] Telecommunications Infrastructure (Stage 4), 2 dice (120R)
-[]Heavy Industry, 5/8 Dice, 485 Resources
--[] Novocherkassk Locomotive Plant, 1 die (80R)
--[] Further Arc Furnace Efforts, 3 dice (330R)
--[] New Automotive Plants (Zaporozhye), 1 die (75R)
-[]Rocketry, 3 Dice, 100 Resources
--[] Cancel Project: Communications Satellite
--[] Development of the Stalingrad Plant (Stage 3), 1 die (100R)
--[] Hydrogen Engine Programs, 1 die
--[] Vacuum Electronic Development, 1 die
-[]Light and Chemical Industry, 8 Dice +1 Free, 470 Resources
--[] Petrochemical Pipelines (Stage 4), 3 dice (150R)
--[] Fertilizer Plants (Stage 4/5), 4 dice (240R)
--[] Luxury Goods Initiatives(Stage 3), 2 dice (80R)
-[]Agriculture, 3/5 Dice, 120 Resources
--[] Peoples Dietary Initiatives, 1 die (40R)
--[] GOST Standardization, 1 die (20R)
--[] Development of Additional Fruits, 1 die (60R)
-[]Services, 0 Dice + 2 Free, 120 Resources
--[] Film Studio Formation (Stage 3), 1 die (60R)
--[] Television Station Development (Stage 3), 1 die (60R)
-[]Bureaucracy, 5 Dice
--[] Dedicate Focus: Arc Furnaces, 1 die
--[] Advocate Cross CMEA Standardization, 1 die
--[] Accelerate Rural Development Programs, 1 die
--[] Negotiate with Kosygin and Podgorny, 2 dice
-[] Total Cost: 1690/1695 Resources, 5 reserved
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In terms of the pacing comparison, the IBM 7000 series was released in 1959-1960, that was the first major transistorized US computer. The System/360 and CDC 6600 would arrive around 1964-1965. The computer projects really shouldn't be delayed because those delays will roll forward, down to lacking the design expertise to make better computers and software base to use them effectively.
Angle
Release Candidate Enby
- Location
- Colorado, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them/Theirs/Comrade
Current planning:
Got coal, steel, and pipeline into the plan, but only have like 85 resources left, so, I'm iffy about it. :/
Looks pretty decent. Though I'd be tempted to ditch the television stations and the luxury goods in order to get closer to finishing the airports in one turn. :/
Got coal, steel, and pipeline into the plan, but only have like 85 resources left, so, I'm iffy about it. :/
Looks pretty decent. Though I'd be tempted to ditch the television stations and the luxury goods in order to get closer to finishing the airports in one turn. :/
- Location
- The great frozen north
Preliminary thoughts before really reading all the discussion:
Electricity budget: 62 + 81 - 21 - 6 = 116. Better than I expected.
Side note, Military decided to eat up a bunch of aluminum. Expanding the plane factories I guess?
I want to do Augmented Earthmoving soon. The politicians seem to be annoyed we're behind the Americans in nuclear digging. And I want to see what crazy stuff it unlocks. Can we commit to doing it next turn at least, since this turn we're still tied down by planes and telecoms?
At least we unlocked a bunch of new steel options to work around the Dnipro fuckup. Arc Furnaces are still the most efficient dice wise, and I suppose making a habit of recycling steel is good anyway.
I see a lot of vote to cancel Communication Satellites. I know we rolled badly on starting it, but what is it about that project in particular that makes it worth cancelling, instead of pushing through to get the benefits? Electronics too primitive RN?
Electricity budget: 62 + 81 - 21 - 6 = 116. Better than I expected.
Side note, Military decided to eat up a bunch of aluminum. Expanding the plane factories I guess?
We just got those big plastic and pesticide factories running, and we're still behind the small CapGood target. Oof.
I want to do Augmented Earthmoving soon. The politicians seem to be annoyed we're behind the Americans in nuclear digging. And I want to see what crazy stuff it unlocks. Can we commit to doing it next turn at least, since this turn we're still tied down by planes and telecoms?
At least we unlocked a bunch of new steel options to work around the Dnipro fuckup. Arc Furnaces are still the most efficient dice wise, and I suppose making a habit of recycling steel is good anyway.
I see a lot of vote to cancel Communication Satellites. I know we rolled badly on starting it, but what is it about that project in particular that makes it worth cancelling, instead of pushing through to get the benefits? Electronics too primitive RN?
Space rated electronics are garbage currently, the program started off disorganized and poorly defined, it's politically unpopular and one of the more expensive line items we have. Probably best to cancel it and circle back in a few years, if there's anything worth canceling it's an expensive, unpopular program that started off on a single-digit roll and isn't going to make or break some big prestige milestone like the moonshot. We couldn't risk touching the RLA lest we miss the moonshot but this is actively unpopular and if we get GPS a few years later or something it's really not the end of the world.
- Pronouns
- He/They
The large hydrogen rocket engines recent plans have been including would be nice, but they are just that, a risky nice to have, and improve capabilities we won't be able to make best use of.
The benefits are improved capacity of the smaller RLA variants, and the possibility of a much better super-heavy RLA variant. However, the smaller RLA variants will already be just fine, and the super-heavy will only really be needed for exploration or massive projects. The issue is that we probably won't be given the greenlight for space megaprojects or ambitious exploration missions in the 70s when that rocket would become available.
Meanwhile, that technology is even more ambitious (and likely expensive to operate) than the RLA booster engines are. If we commit to them then without a great roll it'll be spending a good bit of the allowable space budget on at best an unnecessary improvement, and at worst an architecture that'll raise the risk of moon landing delays even more and likely go unused for a decade+ after that. They're something we'd be best off pushing into the indefinite future, maybe the late 60s-early 70s.
The benefits are improved capacity of the smaller RLA variants, and the possibility of a much better super-heavy RLA variant. However, the smaller RLA variants will already be just fine, and the super-heavy will only really be needed for exploration or massive projects. The issue is that we probably won't be given the greenlight for space megaprojects or ambitious exploration missions in the 70s when that rocket would become available.
Meanwhile, that technology is even more ambitious (and likely expensive to operate) than the RLA booster engines are. If we commit to them then without a great roll it'll be spending a good bit of the allowable space budget on at best an unnecessary improvement, and at worst an architecture that'll raise the risk of moon landing delays even more and likely go unused for a decade+ after that. They're something we'd be best off pushing into the indefinite future, maybe the late 60s-early 70s.
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Night_stalker
Slava Ukraini!
- Pronouns
- He/Him
And once we get the first lady up there, two over, especially given we'll also be causing more domestic tensions for the US with us embracing ladies rights like that.