Probing Venus is also a way to get the ministry more interested in the environmental consequences of the war against nature... Modelling the Venusian atmosphere was one of the things that got people to really think about what fossil fuel burning was doing to Earth.
My gut says I should ask you for a concrete citation and I'm not sure I want to ally the ministry with "The earth is going to turn into venus II!!1!" types of hysteria, but aww what the heck. Your words are convincing funny space man, and I suppose data about the atmostphere of a planet that's not earth WOULD be quite valuable. Updating my vote.
[X] Plan Peas in a Pod
-[X]Back a Moderate Position
-[X]Talk to Podgorny
[X]Maintain It
It's wild to me how cursed/blursed space programs have been in this timeline. We nearly destroyed the USSR doing a dril budget meme, invented a 1980s rocket designed by a notorious madman in 1959, collapsed and cancelled everything less than a decade later, and now are creating the Weather Channel while the Americans are on the verge of killing all their astronauts because the Cold War got out of bed 20 years late and now they've decided they need the moonshot.
You think we can trick them into actually building SDI?
This has been a wild ride. To add to that, the sequence I remember was this:
We promise SupSov we'll land on the moon rather than build space stations
Glushko makes a napkin drawing of an ludicrously overambitious rocket... that due to high rolls he completes on time and budget 15 years "early". It's an excellent rocket that is cheap, modular, versatile... and just a little too underpowered for an Apollo-style one launch mission.
Threadviet makes all sorts of plans about disguising our space station program as necessary infrastructure for the moon program
We formally start the moon program, and get an utterly dogshit roll resulting in our space people trying to cram a direct ascent mission into our small rocket anyway.
Because this would probably get our astronauts killed if it worked at all, we send the design to a committee and the only other thing they can come up with is an overbuilt manned fly-by that is scientifically worthless and will eat resources for nothing.
Grudgingly, we cancel the moon program and scrap half of our cool toys in hopes of a graceful exist instead of loosing >75% of our cap to post-moonrace space fatigue (we lost 58%).
Rollercoaster indeed.
Probably not the SDI, that would require heating up the cold war to an uncomfortable degree.
Honestly we're probably never going to need anything heavier than an RLA-3 for the rest of the game, or maybe an RLA-5 in the real edge cases. So the medium through superheavy niches could all be filled by an RLA family member for the rest of the game with just incremental upgrades to keep them modern.
What we will be very imminently needing a new rocket for though is economical light launches to really start spamming cheap(ish) satellites now that there's a noticeable and growing demand. So the light launcher has to be a priority, but it's not to displace the RLA.
The RLA design with continuous rolling upgrades or an occasional larger update should be good until one wants to develop a reusable rocket. In which case the current engine setup and overall layout are non-optimal.
The best we can probably hope for on an RLA is to make the engine bay detachable so that we could fly the engine down to a recovery area. Which is a not bad cost savings, but there's no real path beyond that with out redoing large parts of the entire design.
We'll have to see when a reuse design can be started and how long it would take to complete as well... but completion is at best probably not going to be possible before the 80s though. So the RLA will be around for awhile, and considering how much the USA failed on reuse tech, one could delay such developments if one had to till the 21st century and quite likely not have fallen behind.
Even if we maintain the Venus program, we'd still have 25 resources available and light launchers would only take 5, so unless we change our minds on cooking space stations very slowly, we'd have enough slack for whatever we want (maybe even a heavier variation of RLA/upgrade).
Honestly we're probably never going to need anything heavier than an RLA-3 for the rest of the game, or maybe an RLA-5 in the real edge cases. So the medium through superheavy niches could all be filled by an RLA family member for the rest of the game with just incremental upgrades to keep them modern.
Is it strange that I think we're more likely to revive an -8H derivative at this point for the rarest edge cases before we revive the RLA-5?
IIRC most of what the -5 offers beyond being a single launch can be gotten with two -3s. Sure it might take a bit longer to rendezvous the payloads in orbit, but two -3s have almost 10t of payload over a single -5 which should help cover the mass of equipment and extra delta V needed to dock without reducing the payload beyond what the -5 could have put up, and our launch facilities are set up to handle two -3s or higher at once.
On the other hand if for whatever reason we're looking at a total mission payload that would require three RLA-3 launches, I think the impetus to make a bigger rocket is much greater. Docking three -3 payloads could take twice as long as docking two, since now you've got to repeat the steps all over again to connect the combined first two with the third. If we take advantage of the larger core we could also use a wider fairing than what we could put on the -3 or -5, meaning that our (likely very expensive if it's massive enough to need a rocket this size) payload could be shorter and thicker to be more sturdy than a longer and thinner chain of connected segments that could be put up on the 4m cores of the -3 and -5.
Add to that the fact that we're unlikely to be launching payloads that need this big a rocket with anything approaching regularity, so with a specific superheavy core stage we could slide the scale all the way to the other side; Drop all the ease of mass production and standardization measures that the standard RLA cores are built around for more performance in a way we never could if we were just strapping more of the 4m cores together. Imagine an RLA-8H, but instead of the central section being just a bigger RLA core, it's a 6m isogrid tank with the return of the continuously-burning closed cycle hydrogen engine we had to give up on all the way back with our first space budget cut.
Turn 78 (January 1st, 1968 - January 1st, 1969): The Moment of Breakthrough
Resources per Turn(RpY): Base 7430 -70 Rocketry -2740 Plan Commitments +180 Commitments Discount -850 Repayments = 3950 with 390 in storage
Internal Politics:
The chaos of the Supreme Soviet was a far less chaotic and disorganized affair than expected as experienced second personnel from the various factions came to prominence. For all that the loss of Masherov and the effective loss of Abramov made significant portions of the center lose their organizing figures, there were plenty of replacements. The most interesting movements occurred in the remnants of Voznesensky's grouping. Despite the most ardent insistence that he was still alive and would return any day now, the man was in the hospital and at least by the doctors' expectations not expected to see the end of the decade.
This brought a massive degree of failed centralization plays amongst the technocratic block, with intensive fighting occurring over a unified line on the market course. Aliyev Gluyam practically immediately rose and broke away from conventional factional alignments advocating for an expansion of the market course. This was coupled with an otherwise acceptable and moderate line on the organs of state, avoiding falling to the temptations of liberalism like the opposite wing of the party had. The market course itself remains unacceptable to all but the most convinced of its necessity for growth among the remnants of the old Aristovite faction.
Podgorny, for his part after effectively splitting Masherov's old supporters between himself and Ashimov almost immediately experienced a severe split. Pivoting towards better economic foundations and avoiding succumbing to the temptation of the market course, he nonetheless developed a major split in the youngest political groups in the party. Taking advantage of the division between a liberal political and economic faction with a faction more focused on the liberalization of the social sphere, Georgy Nikolaevich Dzhussoev made his move. Immediate pressure towards mutual consolidation along with a fight over some of the younger cadres with Ashimov defined the last few months as the situation there has been a mess of tentative support and quasi-factional independence.
In the luckiest available break from the entire crisis of the conservative sphere connections have been immediately made to Grigory Vasilyevich Romanov with offers of cooperation extended. The man has survived the worst Voznesensky was able to throw at him while staying an important representative of Leningrad to the point of assuming the secretariat. In the supreme soviet Romanov moved the fastest of all candidates, gathering support for a sensible platform of measured conservatism and economic development. Pushing for improvements in planning over some excess of the market course, adopting some mechanisms but rejecting those that pushed against socialist integrity. The man himself is further nowhere near as committed towards the previous degree of social understanding, and unlike the last generation of the party is willing to move to attract the younger generations.
Semonov, the current head of the central committee has continued to receive some prominence by organizing backroom chaos in the Supreme Soviet to something more manageable. As Kosygin's effective heir, he has performed the job admirably in aiding the General Secretary, practically forming his recommendation for the position. His actual appointment as General Secretary in the 1969 elections is technically uncertain, but at least Kosygin is committed to his path toward retirement. The current factional heads may not even last, but at least by Romanov's view, only Kleschev is likely to go, and even that is questionable given that he was not ejected despite being twenty years obsolete.
Tight cooperation with Romanov and the meetings involved in planning out an effective strategy towards maintaining the fractious conservative block has been a mixture of negotiated triage and compromise. The road program is not a major problem for the block itself and is effectively only relevant as an over-ambitious promise made. What must be done at all costs is to achieve a raising of wages across all sectors and a massive increase in petroleum production. Without both being pushed through at once any semblance of conservative unity will not last to the starting point of the election, much less through it. The greatest priority of the ministry itself has fallen towards achieving the goals, and as long as those can be delivered current positions can be held. (2 Bureaucracy Dice Supsov Controlled, 2 Temporarily Spent on Politics)
Supreme Soviet Updated 1968 (Listed by Delegates, Unity, and Degree of Support) (None<Poor<Decent<Acceptable<Good<Excellent)
Ashimov's Faction: Around 150 Acceptable, None
Kleshchev's Faction: Around 60 Excellent, Poor
Romanov's Faction: Around 490, Acceptable, Excellent
Kosygin's Faction: Around 530, Good, Acceptable
Podgorny's Faction: Around 190 Decent, Poor
Dzhussoev's Faction: Around 50 Decent, None
Gulyam's Faction: Around 80 Acceptable, None
Ashimov's Faction: A student radical that has gained support and prominence from candidates disappointed by Masherov or possibly further radicalized by his death. The man has been careful to avoid anything outside of implications, but it is expected that if Ashimov ever sees a single flash of power he will try something. The only bright spot is that as long as the economic situation is recovered there is a broad attitude that economic growth is going to predominate the next election rather than chasing abstract political goals. Students will of course be tempted by the man advocating for new cultural norms, destruction of the market, and socialism for all but he has about as much of a materialist basis as a common anarchist.
Kleshchev's Faction: Rather than existing twenty years out of date in a splendid state of ignoring any form of modern politics, Kleschev has started a mild modernization on his line. Instead of upholding the Stalin that was the man has steadily shifted towards a new definition of what Stalinism itself is. Rather than a rigid ideological course where the center danced to the imagined whims of one man, the doctrine has been modernized towards a new more disciplined state. He advocates for a return to strict party control and the consolidation of cadres in the context of the current system. A cure to corruption in his eyes and deluded mind is a return to a security service with teeth capable of making the harshest of decisions.
Romanov's Faction: Taking the immediate removal of Voz and the effective loss of Abramov as the signal if anything were to be saved, Romanov has managed to lean on many of the old connections to get a coherent platform going. Coopting several populist reforms from Masherov he has managed to secure those that have seen the general anti-corruption campaign to its conclusions. Economically advocating for a system of socialist economics focused on serving the population as a series of common-sense modifications on the current mechanism. Unlike many on the conservative end, he has also advocated for mild and measured modernizations of the party to bring it in line with modern standards.
Kosygin's Faction: The old secretary has outlived and outgoverned everyone who has dealt with the man, and at this point is almost guaranteed a pension. The standard position of mild reform to the Soviet system in both the political and economic sense has continued but shifted towards a line of making it conform to the population. Growth is worthless if it does not reflect on the people and that has practically become its rallying cry. Semonov is expected to effectively take over the faction after Kosygin's retirement, with control almost certain to fall to him. Even if the man fails to take the position of general secretary, he will maintain a strong post in the Supreme Soviet making major mistakes.
Podgorny's Faction: The old student wing that has finally matured a bit and seen the sense of more reasonable systems. Podgorny has been consistent in his advocacy for opening the party and there might be some sense to it, but his economic position has significantly moderated. Instead of a rigid position focusing on opening markets, he has significantly moderated his stance towards increasing the fairness of transactions on already existing markets. The movement towards the Mikoyan era economy has given a dynamic feedback mechanism to planning, but even the previously strongest proponent of markets has balked at the current view of the likely results of a full market course.
Dzhussoev's Faction: With the leftward shift of Podgorny, some deviations from his overall line were practically guaranteed as students have never been the most organized. Coopting the working masses for a pathway towards liberalism, Dzhussoev has advocated for the total opening of the party and the enterprises. Effectively changing away from some elements of a socialist system by organizing things as a series of worker-distributed enterprises capable of independent investment operating on a market system. Further, the man directly advocates the undermining of Soviet power by allowing effectively all of the population to vote in in-party elections, breaking any concept of vanguardism.
Gulyam's Faction: Splitting from Voznesensky's group over a conflict over deciding to push markets or not Gulyam is outside of his views on the economy practically a conservative party member. His line falls towards a curtailment of further social and political reform to allow the current expanded cadres to mature while focusing all reform on the economy. In his mind, the market mechanism is the solution to the current crisis rather than something that has actively worked against the interests of the Soviet people. He views the secret to rapid growth as a full-scale adoption of the market course while maintaining upper directing bodies and the political structure. He remains deeply unlikely to gain support, especially with the current crisis, effectively representing a grouping of right-wing Voznesensky supporters that have refused to modernize.
Free dice to allocate 4 Dice.
Infrastructure: (16) 9 Dice
[]Integration of Commuter Rail: The old program to revamp and unify commuter rail with subways is still viable despite massive changes in the ministry. Disruption from the sacking of the corrupt imbecile has been fairly mild. The program has effectively been modified to include Kiev, Minsk, Tashkent, and Kharkov ensuring a more even spread of development. Further work will inherently center on ensuring that above-ground use in the high-speed rail zone is directly utilized by local transit grids, bringing stations together and forming large linkage lines to allow for traveling passengers to reach the most significant urban areas quickly and cheaply (115 Resources per dice 0/175)
[]Western USSR Regional Roads: The Western USSR has some of the best roads when compared to the rest of the nation, but even those are considered internationally poor. Constructing a massive series of two-lane roads to act as regional feeders and linking them with previously built high-capacity systems will be more of an exercise of paving the few yet-to-be-paved major roadways, ensuring that every area has acceptably poor access. Further efforts are expected to get more expensive, but they are relatively deprioritized compared to the development of similar systems in regions where no tentative efforts have even started. (100 Resources per Dice 270/300)
[]Ural Regional Roads: Continued development of local infrastructure is a logical extension of previous programs and a near requirement given the Supreme Soviet. Work on these roads will drive towards a general improvement in transportation focused on improving the interconnections in between the Northern and Southern inhabited corridors. The terrain will allow for a massive increase in the paved kilometers of roads and improve local transportation. As one of the centers of newly developing industries and a core of natural resource utilization, roads will produce a massive economic return and practically pay for themselves through increasing economic turnover. (100 Resources per Dice 114/400)
[]Caucuses Regional Roads: The narrow corridor in the Caucasus can theoretically be developed without the previous linkage of it outside. Most movement of goods locally is conducted in a narrow corridor between mountains and by improving it significant economic returns will be possible. The movement of goods between republics will of course take a significant hit as local supply routes are prioritized, but to fulfill local development obligations and improve the general economy it should be both sufficient and significantly cheaper. (100 Resources per Dice 66/100)
[]Central Asian High Capacity Roads: Outside of the Western republics and inhabited belt, roads have historically been entirely ignored by every administration. Instead of the expected lack of economic activity and lack of development though, through socialist ingenuity, the Central Asian workers have achieved significant economic gains. Building up a long-distance transportation network from effectively nothing will take a massive investment in funds and personnel, but few things can generate a greater return either politically or economically than moving people used to dirt roads to large paved ones. Continued development funding will still be necessary, but even finalizing arterial routes will significantly improve standards and low-level commerce. (100 Resources per Dice 0/500)
[]Central Asian Regional Roads: Local movement of goods has been a consistent factor of life across the Central Asian republics, but even enabling a paved route towards the nearest railway hub can allow for significant transport improvements. Many of the regional roads will be built as rationalized two-lane endeavors through the mostly underutilized countryside, ensuring that major enterprises can keep goods almost entirely on paved surfaces. Urban development will continue alongside the larger road system, ensuring that every town and every city has a linkage to the general transportation system. The development of links outside the region is outside of this effort, but just improving local transport should deliver massive returns. (100 Resources per Dice 0/500)
[]Water Distribution Systems(Stage 7/10): Calls for bringing universal pressurized water to every significant concentration of the population have been delayed for much of a decade but they can finally be entirely developed. Work on the construction of enlarged distribution infrastructure along with small integrated water towers will form much of the supply system, with much of the funding going towards the laying of new pipes before significant road renovations. New materials are available for modern plumbing, bringing the areas into the 20th century and ensuring that backwardness can be stamped out on the infrastructural end. (120 Resources per Dice 39/350) (-14 CI1 Electricity)
[]Civilian Airports(Stage 3/5): Work on an enlarged system of airports has proven to be problematic as the immense promises of the HSR system have only applied West of the Urals. Building up more airports for remote destinations and areas outside the grid is immensely necessary to ensure the regularity of passenger flights and continue the general development of the Union. Many are willing to take the slow line across the entire nation to travel, but vacation days are limited. Business integration severely benefits from a developed air-transportation system allowing for faster meetings and significant improvements in organization. Mail delivery can also be sped up considerably as the air service is expanded, bringing far faster delivery times to every corner of the Union. (85 Resources per Dice 34/150)
[]Unified Canal System(Step 3/3): The massive modernization of the interior and opening of the Caspian Sea as a logistical destination cannot happen with the current limitations of the Volga-Don Canal. By decisively utilizing the lowered ground of the Kuma-Manych Depression a new route can be constructed away from any limitations in tonnage and with a minimal number of locks. This would enable far heavier shipping to move into Caspian ports, providing a massive economic stimulus. Simultaneously, the further opening of the Volga network to faster and larger traffic can expand the economic potential of the rest of the canal system, improving economic turnover. (85 Resources per Dice 19/175)
[]Development of the Volga: As a first stage of improving the water levels of the Volga and stabilizing the depletion of the Caspian a new canal system linking the basin of the Kama to the Perchora can be undertaken. Pioneering work on nuclear charges is expected to be utilized for the clearing of select hardpoints of terrain but much of the work is going to be conventional despite the climate. Improving water transfer will allow for the direct control of the water level of the Volga, helping to eliminate a significant scope of seasonal variation in the levels of the Volga. The canal may also help the development of the north, as a further accessible route towards the Arctic will be available for navigation. (120 Resources per Dice 0/75)
[]Power Grid Expansions: The localization of power production and the increase in the development of local power systems can only push off general grid modernization for so long. The increasing demands for power and massive construction efforts during the current plan must be compensated for to continue acute development and maintain stable grid balances. Work towards expanding the high voltage grid is expected to be prioritized, but further work towards improving the safety of local grids and modernizing low-level transmission wiring is expected to follow. There is no reason to accept the increased fire risk of old-style wiring when modern alternatives are both cheaper and more efficient. (100 Resources per Dice 165/275)
Heavy Industry (8) 5 Dice
[]Kursk Steel Mills(Stage 1/2): The massive magnetic anomaly under Kursk represents the prime center of Soviet steel production with massive reserves of ore and a location favorable to development both due to educated labor and due to a proximal source of high-quality coals. Work on the development of an even larger steel complex around the KMA will take funding and time, but it can be done. Several massive steel mills can be built in the area to start the decisive move towards increasing production and continuing the drive to triple-lap American steel production. The construction industry is not slowing nor are export industries and every ton of steel made is a ton that can contribute to Soviet infrastructure. (160 Resources per Dice 0/200) (-26 CI6 Electricity -10 Steel +3 Coal +2 General Labor +1 Educated Labor)
[]Bakchar Deposit Utilization(Stage 1/3): New steel deposits are necessary to continue the development of the Union and further provide steel in the Far East for local construction projects. The location near the Kuzbas deposit and in the presence of a magnetic anomaly just as massive as the one at Kursk is essential for the further development of the Steel industry. Starting large-scale surface extraction with modern equipment along with the construction of several mills for the production of steel through oxygenation is necessary to enable development and further improve domestic steel supplies in the face of increasing construction and development. (140 Resources per Dice 195/250) (-24 CI5 Electricity -8 Steel +2 Coal +4 General Labor +1 Educated Labor)
[]Mangushlak Arc-Mills: Utilizing lower-grade quartzite deposits that are prevalent in the region along with an arc furnace final conversion of pig iron promises to ensure a stable supply of metal for the prolonged future. The deposits of what was previously considered to be secondary ore are massive and well beyond the scope of conventional ore. Further, to adequately utilize the massive development of local hydroelectric potential, the power must be directed toward economic uses. By centralizing the processing of low-grade ore the region can start a new mining revolution. Further, increasing quantities of scrap steel can be repurposed economically, bringing overall prices down. Utilization of local coals is further expected to make the price impact negligible, improving yields. (180 Resources per Dice 0/200) (-10 Steel +3 General Labor +2 Educated Labor) (High Profitability) (Powered by Hydroelectric Cascades)
[]Donets Coal Basin Mechanization: Planned developments of the Donets basin have been modernized and rationalized to enable a massive increase in coal yields through the incorporation of specialized machinery. More trained personnel can be moved into the industry allowing for a general increase in development and allowing for the far more optimal exploitation of narrow deep seams. There isn't much more potential the basin itself can yield, but it can be made to serve to at least carry the Union over for a few years until cheaper coal is available. (140 Resources per Dice 0/150) (-12 CI2 Electricity -8 Coal -1 General Labor +1 Educated Labor)
[]Sevastopol Technical Equipment Plants: The Gorky dominance on machine tooling has served to slow the production of new equipment and while standards have improved throughput, they have only served to stagnate general industry. By combining computerization in the lightest units along with a guided numerical control mill, further advanced machining methods can be produced at scale. The production involved will be expensive both in experts and the techniques involved, but the highest quality machine tools must be made at a significant scale for proper utilization. The introduction of a further sector of technical production will also provide a vector for competition, ensuring steady development. (280 Resources per Dice 0/150) (-65 CI9 Electricity +2 Steel +3 Non-Ferrous +1 General Labor +3 Educated Labor) (High Profitability)
[]Kuzbas Deposit Exploitation(Stage 3/5): Kuzzbass as an area of extraction offers nearly double the coals available to the Union alone when discounting the massive brown coal deposits to the north of it. Developments at this stage will focus on the exploitation of more viable surface deposits to reduce the overall costs of coal production and provide a far greater energy capacity to the Union than ever before. Work will demand a significant portion of labor and energy, but it will deliver massive gains to local wages and ensure that the Western Union can maintain the current high energy-coupled growth. (100 Resources per Dice 184/200) (-22 CI3 Electricity -15 Coal +4 General Labor +1 Educated Labor)
[]Kansk-Achinsk Basin Exploitation(Stage 1/5): The solution to the Union's coal and energy issues is not some technical miracle or novel development. With any limitation in transportation, defeated coal production can be shifted towards deposits of easy surface utilization. The massive surface fields of lower-grade coals offer an almost order of magnitude improvement in labor efficiency for production. Haulage costs are expected to increase final prices by half of the value of coal despite the improvements, but technical efforts towards the dehydration and semi-coking of coal can be undertaken on-site using new techniques and local hydroelectric energy. (110 Resources per Dice 0/150) (-32 CI3 Electricity -12 Coal +1 General Labor +1 Educated Labor)
[]Volga Automotive Plant Expansion: There is no practical end to the demand for more automobiles and while Voznesensky's insane promise of producing eight million cars per year was impractical, we are already halfway there. Incentive fund expansions are only likely to continue at scale for the new enterprises of the Union and kickstarting one for one of the largest automotive complexes in the Union can help significantly. New model production along with improvements in techniques promise to revolutionize the automotive industry with entirely domestic designs. Improvements in production methodology will also serve to lower prices, offering cars domestically and abroad for far less per unit. (170 Resources per Dice 0/200) (-30 CI3 Electricity +4 Steel +2 General Labor +2 Educated Labor) (High Profitability)
[]Novouralsk Truck Plant: Domestic cab overproduction has universally been in shortage with several expensive imported models making up critical areas of the stock. Work on replacing these must be prioritized to reduce expenses and ensure that domestic high-capacity models can be made. The technical development of a viable set of trailers and a standardized cab has already been completed from other initiatives leaving only the question of manufacturing. A semiautomated unified line plan has been developed and checked for excessive spending, allowing a local factory to be set up to produce the heaviest of trucks. (170 Resources per Dice 0/150) (-21 CI3 Electricity +3 Steel +3 General Labor +1 Educated Labor) (High Profitability)
[]Bryansk Truck Plant: Lighter-end trucks that are built in the conventional scheme are still necessary for some of the worst roads in the Union. Building a dedicated facility for the mass production of heavier-duty trucks without a detachable trailer and for lighter loadings can help to serve more remote communities. Technical work with these trucks is effectively deriving from previous work towards army systems, allowing some collaboration in design and growth in mobilization capacity while building out civilian fleets. A unified six-wheel chassis will allow for improvements and the absolute oldest examples still in service to be finally retired from all roles. (150 Resources per Dice 127/150) (-16 CI3 Electricity +3 Steel +3 General Labor +1 Educated Labor) (High Profitability)
Rocketry (3) 2 Dice
[]Cancel Project (5<Projects<10, -1 Dice) (70/105R/y Funding Cap)
-Mars Program (-10 RpY) (Launched)
-Communication Satellites (-10 RpY) (Continuous Launches, Test Program)
-Atmospheric Data Satellite Program (-10 RpY)
-FGB-VA Crewed Exploration (-10 RpY)
-EVA Suit Programs (-10 RpY)
-2nd Gen Luna Program (-20 RpY)
[]Replace Glushko: The man has had his little triumph of returning lunar soil and achieved several orbital victories, but he is still abrasive in the extreme and practically from the past era. His area of expertise in rocket engine optimization has been rendered mostly obsolete by his developments and more junior members are excited to address future challenges facing the space program. Replacing him will not come easily as the program has effectively been built around his OKB, but now is the time for bureaucratic reorganization and the further consolidation of the space program into a single body instead of the not entirely functional system of junior and senior OKBs. (1 Dice)
[]Nuclear Drives: The promise of a viable high-thrust nuclear drive for the launch of a payload into the outer system is practically astronomical. A two-stage moon mission in the American scheme could be conducted with our current rockets assuming a hydrogen stage, additionally, the massive requirements for velocity for exploring the outer system can neatly be solved. Some in the ministry caution against the usage of significant quantities of nuclear material for effectively disposable engines, but given the cost of all of the other hardware the actual fissiles are expected to be relatively cheap. Work will focus on the construction of a low-thrust rocket for a theoretical RLA-3 nuclear stage as a unified bus for the transit of satellites to the outer planets and mercury. (-10 RpY Expected) (1 Dice)
[]Light Launcher Programs: With the conclusion of the development period for the RLA-1 and 3, a heavy and super heavy launcher is available to the Union, but nothing for lighter payloads. Starting dedicated development work on a lightweight launcher capable of hauling up to two tons into low earth orbit can significantly widen the capacity for light payloads and work off of military developments. The program itself will have to make the challenging decision between the re-utilization of kerosine parts from the RLA or military programs, but a combined system should be cheap with the wealth of experience from previous initiatives. (-5 RpY Expected) (1 Dice)
[]Station Program: With the availability of the RLA-3 for the launch of very heavy payloads, nothing prevents the development and launch of a forty-ton habitable module to orbit. The module will then be crewed through a conventional launch of the FGB-VA bus along with the transfer of experiments and technologies aboard. The development of a whole new spacecraft will take some time, but starting work towards the sustained habitation of space can enable further projects in low earth orbit and truly long-duration experiments. Current limitations in electrical and thermal systems will be the major limit on the duration of these integrated stations, but if the next decade can replicate the gains of the last ten years those will be blown past. (-25 RpY Expected) (1 Dice)
[]Jovian Programs: Jupiter represents the next most reachable frontier of interplanetary exploration and one for which the foundation has already been established. Long-duration Mars probes will form a basis for whatever general probe bus is sent out, with the limitations of a longer journey. Developing the electronics will be challenging along with a sufficient degree of signal infrastructure, but everything that is built for the program can work for any other outer system program. With current techniques flybys of Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto could be conducted, but more reliable and heavier interplanetary launches are going to be required for landings. (-10 RpY Expected) (5 RpY Cheaper if run with Outer System Probes) (1 Dice)
[]Outer System Probes: Saturn and the outer planets represent a massive jump in sophistication and capability, both of launch vehicles and probes. The development of better hardware is continuously underway with reliability and capability increasing rapidly, but even then these missions are inherently risky. There exists effectively a single launch window where a Jupiter gravity assist can be utilized, necessitating either the bulk sending of probes in a parking orbit or ensuring that the hardware will work. A theoretical nuclear stage will allow for craft to be sent with minimal gravity assists, but that represents several development challenges. (-10 RpY Expected) (1 Dice)
[]Mercury Exploration Program: Current techniques and probes are sufficient for the flyby of mercury, with the main limitation falling towards the boost stage. Due to the problematic orbit of mercury, an intercept requires a massive degree of velocity to even attempt. Combining an RLA-3 along with a newly developed enlarged interplanetary stage is one proposal for such a mission allowing for an easy capability expansion without new technical developments. The stage will use the same engines and same tankage techniques if significantly scaled up for increased capability. Orbiting mercury is beyond any developed rocket, but a theoretical nuclear engine may be able to fix that. (-5 RpY Expected) (1 Dice)
Light and Chemical Industry (8) 6 Dice
[]Caspian Sea Petrochemical Extraction(Stage 1/2): The massive gas fields under the Caspian that have been discovered represent some of the most important gas fields available to us. Developing seagoing rigs and underwater extraction will take considerable technical funding, but the petroleum industry is ready to solve the issues involved in gas extraction. Local oil yields are also expected to be significant, as the fields are practically perfect for extraction, deriving a massive quantity of fuel products to stabilize the economy and start plans for the export of bulk cheap gas. (140 Resources per Dice 0/100) (-24 CI5 Electricity -6 Petroleum Fuels +1 General Labor) (Very High Profitability) (2 Gas Projects)
[]Samotor Field Development(Stage 1/3): A discovery past the Urals has found a field with more oil in place than any other discovered field. Moving towards high throughput utilization of the field is going to be necessary to keep domestic energy prices low and ensure consistent access to oil and gas. Local deposits are biased towards medium-density oils, but even those can be used at a high rate without many technical issues. Outside of the location, the deposit itself is conventional and can enable local refinement of fuels without significant issues. (110 Resources per Dice 70/100) (-18 CI3 Electricity -7 Petroleum Fuels +1 General Labor) (Very High Profitability) (2 Gas Projects)
[]Air Conditioner Plants(Stage 5/8): The total modernization of Soviet housing for the next plan will not come without a strong push toward further investment. Climate control has significantly improved the perceived living standards of workers in the West and it can do the same here. Instead of apartments that get stuffy due to limited circulation a new universal standard with larger units can be adopted for the next generation of the housing program. Actual fourth-generation housing is not expected until the start of the next plan, but committing the preparatory work towards expanding production can more than ensure adequate development. (100 Resources per Dice 6/300) (-32 CI3 Electricity +1 Steel +2 Non-Ferrous +2 General Labor)
[]Modern Foods Production(Stage 3/3): Further efforts towards improving the production methodologies of new foods and increasing the market share of semi-durable goods can help to stimulate the economy. Many of the foods produced by the program are inherently far more stable than any that have come before, improving logistical supplies and providing a considerable return on investment. Distribution and the evaluation of new types of goods to be produced will take some time outside the establishment of factories, but there is almost no shortage of demand at the distributor level for stable goods. (85 Resources per Dice 1/200) (-21 CI3 Electricity +2 General Labor) (High Profitability)
[]Consumer Goods Production Grants(Stage 1/3): Mobilizing enterprises to get off their asses and get into the consumer-export sector has met with some success under Voznesensky, but policies can be pushed far further. Directly offering investments to proven enterprises to improve production is a reliable way of increasing production and will encourage involvement in the general economy. This is technically operating through a similar mechanism as some of the corruption under Voznesensky, but it can be done through ostensibly clean methods and can serve to increase production. Nothing stops managers from actually following the law, and by rewarding good actors a carrot can be offered along with the stick. (100 Resources per Dice 78/125) (-18 CI3 Electricity +6 General Labor) (High Profitability)
[]Light Home Appliance Plants: Electrical vacuum cleaners and a new generation of heavy appliances are needed to meet the expanding boom in apartments and the demand for more advanced goods. Production of further items has steadily increased in the last few years but by providing seed capital for more new companies an increase in availability and internal competition can induce a general drive towards product improvements. Founding almost a dozen smaller plants to produce specialty equipment and house tools necessary for daily tasks can serve to make the market more competitive and bring more engineers into the system. (130 Resources per Dice 0/150) (-21 CI5 Electricity +4 General Labor +1 Educated Labor) (High Profitability)
[]Second Generation Furnishings: Standardized and mass-production furniture is well and good, but people have consistently pushed for more variety. By bringing in a few hundred designers and creating standard catalogs and styles with some collaboration of the private sector the general furniture production system can be modernized. Standardized styles can be consolidated and brought in from the private sector, taking reliable products and bringing them into primary circulation. Production and demand increases are sure to follow as a broader subset of industries are brought into the market and properly utilized. (100 Resources per Dice 0/150) (-12 CI4 Electricity +4 General Labor) (High Profitability)
[]Home Supplies Production: The development of supplies for private home renovation and general modernization has become a significant sector of private production. Introducing the state into the market and significantly increasing the supply of basic tools, materials, and parts can serve to increase private sector specialization. This will take some funding to break new enterprises into the sector and provide a more competitive landscape, but that can be done without too many issues. (120 Resources per Dice 0/100) (-16 CI4 Electricity +3 General Labor) (High Profitability)
[]Synthetic Rubber Plants(Stage 2/4): The demand for more rubber is massive and endemic across the whole economy. The recent spook with the Indonesian government turnover has left the rubber market struck with buy-ups and general increases in stockpiling, leaving prices rapidly spiraling up. Increasing production now will serve to provide a basis for many civilian industries and begin the direct breakaway from rubber import dependency while producing polymers more suited to the Union's climate. Synthetic production is not expected to overtake natural rubber unless massive funding is committed properly, but it needs to improve the quality of rubber and reduce the massive import dependency. (150 Resources per Dice 8/100) (-20 CI3 Electricity -5 Petrochemicals +1 Educated Labor) (High Profitability)
[]Virgin Lands Forestry: Nature must be made to yield to the plan to continue industrial development. The forests across the Far East and Siberia have yet to be properly brought under utilization despite improving river traffic. Funding is set to go towards the area to significantly improve yields of lumber for both local construction and general production. Starting to increase settlement with cheap lumber will serve to improve populations and continue the drive toward the proper utilization of our resources. (110 Resources per Dice 0/75) (+2 General Labor)
[]Second Generation Plastics(Stage 3/3): Further work in high-hardness engineering plastics on top of German developments has a significant degree of promise. Using the more stable cross-polymer interactions of ketones the new compounds promise a notable improvement in both durability and chemical resistance. Large-scale production or universal applications are not expected due to the cost of even medium-scale production but more specialty materials with unique material properties can significantly help defense and chemical industries. (150 Resources per Dice 19/125) (-28 CI3 Electricity -2 Petrochemicals +1 Educated Labor)
Agriculture (6) 6 Dice
[]Domestic Meat Programs(Stage 4/10): Increasing the density of chicken production while animal stocks are steadily increased for further efforts. Continued improvements in sourcing and efficiency of feeds along with the steady gains in weight per hen are expected to steadily improve the efficiency of the entire meat sector. Funding is still necessary to ensure that the average Soviet worker can eat chicken every day, but with every step of the program that approaches ever closer. Drives towards improved feeds for improving the rate of bird survival and more advanced veterinary sciences have already improved yields. By expanding the general industry and standardizing them, further gains can be made. (105 Resources per Dice 12/250) (-23 CI1 Electricity +2 General Labor) (High Profitability)
[]Increasing Mechanization: Tractors and their attachments are needed now more than ever as field sizes per laborer have grown as quickly as production has. Work towards ensuring that manual labor is finally eliminated from common-form crops must be continued to mobilize the average worker and ensure that development can continue. A modern tractor is worth more than an agricultural laborer and every small farmer should have a basic mechanical understanding of their machines along with the machine itself. Forming a large educational program offering discounts and subsidies for the purchases of equipment for family farms can serve to improve mechanization without much risk. (100 Resources per Dice 119/200)
[]Agricultural Grants: Freeing money in the form of effectively low-interest loans to farmers has been a step, but further work can be done by providing money for modernization. Farms that are transitioning from the most primitive means of production can receive a set of one-time grants for the purchase of new equipment and the construction of new facilities. By putting the initiative in the hands of smaller farmers and limiting quantities purchased, most state farms can be worked around, allowing the money to be most efficiently spent. (120 Resources per Dice 0/100) (+2 Petroleum Fuels)
[]Water and Waste Grants: Accepting that the small towns may independently raise at least some of the money for the development of services is an open question, but many can be helped along. Offering a community-level investment program for towns above a thousand people to subsidize the cost of modernization can serve to significantly improve services. Yield gains are not expected from running new lines of sewage and water, but those can serve to keep labor on hand and at least avoid actively repulsing educated agronomists. (110 Resources per Dice 0/100)
[]Payments for Land Diversion: If control over planting is going to be delegated out to the farms, mechanisms to still produce desired outcomes can be implemented through the market system. Effectively paying farmers to keep a portion of fields fallow and rotated out while avoiding massive intensification of chemical products can provide some easy returns. This will cost the state money and be a further handout to the enterprises but at least land management outcomes can be improved. (140 Resources per Dice 0/125)
[]Universalization of the Food Program: Subsidies of end-consumption food for every Soviet worker is one thing, but they can easily be taken a step further. Working with the agricultural committees in the Supreme Soviet a new standard for children's nutrition can be pushed through, improving protein content and further eliminating malnutrition. Through committed funding every school can provide two meals a day to students for no cost to families, educational outcomes and participation are expected to improve. For schools operating in two shifts, the lunch meal will have to be separated, but this can still be accomplished with current facilities. (100 Resources per Dice 0/175)
[]Topsoil Preservation Programs: State intervention and standards for the management of soils and the preservation of their integrity have been suggested to maintain yields and improve the agricultural system. Effectively this will come as an effort towards the management of groundside winds and ensuring that stabilizing crops are planted in regions with significant arid periods. Planting efforts are in themselves expected to be a major labor program for any local workers in more remote areas, beautifying local areas with covers of trees and maintaining a degree of shade on most roads. (75 Resources per Dice 0/200)
Services (16) 10 Dice
[]Expanded Childcare(Stage 4/6): Continuing the drive towards improving lower-level education and constructing state infrastructure for childcare has had a curious effect of increasing workforce participation for both men and women. The latter was expected, but with the burden of children carried more by the state the previous necessity of a relative or parent at home has been reduced to a manageable extent for most couples. Continued work in the field is more expected to focus on improving educational outcomes, but expansion will come as a part of it to make it a more accessible and universal service. (70 Resources per Dice 14/250) (-7CI2 Electricity +2 General Labor) (Increase in Workforce Participation)
[]Transportation Enterprises(Stage 2/5): Continued increases in the distribution of labor and the development of transport is a core goal of the current plan. Committing more funding towards improving truck numbers along with driver training programs for ever larger trucks already promises to deliver significant economic returns as the economy recovers and infrastructure improvements are utilized. Most of the trucking industry is still decentralized and small, but that can be addressed through funding. Reliable and large state trucking enterprises can continue to improve transportation and significantly reduce burdens on all businesses. (110 Resources per Dice 156/175) (+1 Petroleum Fuels +1 General Labor) (Stage 3 Max until Central Asian high capacity roads completed)
[]Expanding State Catalogs: Selling a series of single good categories that are considered to be universal for a given set of things makes perfect sense in a vacuum. However, when it becomes a question of furniture, styling, and appliances it becomes deeply suboptimal. The losses from holding several products in inventory are expected to be comparatively minor as direct orders from factories are easily viable on the scale of the catalog system as it is unlikely for most goods to experience a massive localized spike in consumption. Expanding warehouses and the variety sold over the phone can serve to improve access for effectively almost no cost. (80 Resources per Dice 0/150)
[]Universal Distribution Systems: Getting a series of standard warehouse stores into more remote locations is going to be a challenging endeavor but one that is entirely worth it. Enterprises responsible for direct bulk sales to the average worker and to small businesses have consistently proven popular and there is little reason not to expand the program to every corner of the Union. Walking accessibility may be questionable, but given the expansion of mass transit and busing, it should be possible to ensure ease of accessibility towards most medium-sized and bulk goods. (100 Resources per Dice 0/250) (-9CI1 Electricity +3 General Labor)
[]Universalization of Telephone Networking: The telephone has revolutionized business and commerce but it has still only partially spread into the private sector. By funding a large program of telephone integration and unifying standards overall utilization can massively increase to improve private sector performance. Nowadays as more deals are conducted over the phone instead of in person telephones are an essential good for any business, making their availability essential for ensuring growth in less infrastructurally fortunate areas. (140 Resources per Dice 151/175) (-16CI1 Electricity)
[]State Insurance Enterprises: Letting the state get involved in insurance distribution rather than the private sector can significantly help to reduce profit chasing and offer a steady minimal policy rather than wild variance. Across several important and high-risk industries, a general insurance scheme conducted through state-owned non-profit-seeking enterprises can be made to shoulder the worst risks, allowing businesses and enterprises to turn to the state for a comprehensive minimal plan. Assessment of risks will require the hiring of expertise and significant training programs, but there is no reason that the Union cannot have a domestic insurance industry. (120 Resources per Dice 0/200) (-8CI1 Electricity +1 Educated Labor)
[]Solving the Garbage Problem: The garbage problem has only worsened over the last plan as consumption has skyrocketed without much expansion to the processing industry. Finalizing a break away from old policies, incineration plants can be massively scaled up along with more land designated for the economic disposal of trash. Filtering plants are expected to be established to screen out valuable metallic scraps, ensuring that a maximum degree of value is recovered from every ton of bulk garbage. (120 Resources per Dice 158/200) (+14CI2 Electricity +2 General Labor)
Bureaucracy (8) 4 Dice (Supsov Selections marked by (Supreme Soviet))
Emergency Commission on CMEA: Uncontrolled strike actions in Poland from increasing the price of fuel along with broader destabilization of energy supplies have significantly affected the general state of CMEA. Work towards improving oil yields is underway but it must be conducted at a rapid pace to maintain current security commitments without excessive problems. Imports of oil and general petrochemicals from the Middle East pose a massive security risk both nationally and in the wider block. Current programs for security assistance in Eastern Europe are expected to be essential to provide a political buffer for any significant problems. (1 Dice) (Supreme Soviet)
Centralization of Worker-Authority: Enforcing the laws on the books remains a semi-open question of state authority against that of the enterprises. Focusing on working towards expanding the power of the state can significantly limit labor abuses and improve productivity. The laws on safe work environments and labor hours are still not enforced but through new parallel structures, they can be. The usual enterprises will declare it to be a case of the end of productivity but that is going to be typical. If they wish to produce more, they can simply employ more workers or improve the efficacy of production. (1 Dice) (Supreme Soviet)
[]Dedicate Focus Towards a Project(): (1 Bureau Dice for +5 per dice on a project, +15 in services) (Unrolled)
[]Locate a Deputy: Abramov's push towards putting a toadie into the ministry has failed, but that does still leave the fact that there is no deputy. A slew of acceptable candidates can be pushed to the Supreme Soviet and backed by Romanov, ensuring that at least one of them can pass. It technically will not be a case of someone ideal getting appointed, but any dozen of mostly agreeable and capable personnel can take the role after some training and experience. Delegating out further work is expected to significantly improve what can be done especially in preparations for a handover. (1 Dice)
[]Approve Intensive Extraction: The question of petroleum has become a critical one for which there are few solutions without a massive funding program that is currently lacking. Rather than focusing on some technocratic standard of improving efficiency, more wellheads can be drilled by enterprises responsible for patches. Parks and distractions are nice but they cannot stand in the way of progress or viable energy policies. Much of the land currently in the park system is questionable, but by opening it to prospecting further energy reserves can likely be found. (1 Dice)
[]Authorize Farmer-Programs: Farmer aid has been dogmatically fought against either out of some ideal that large enterprises represent technocratic efficiency or out of some outdated ingrained dislike of the "peasantry." Ensuring that general urban aid social programs apply to the rural workers will take a considerable political effort with very few set to champion their cause, but it is the right thing to do in the current context and the Supreme Soviet is unlikely to react too poorly from a low commitment attempt to push it through. (1 Dice)
[]Electrification Drives: Committing unerringly towards the electrification of industry to correspond with further modernization can deliver massive returns and enable the use of more viable energy sources. Many production methods will have to be steadily changed to the use of electricity rather than direct fuel sources, with tentative programs made towards the evaluation of electrified rail and further options for transit. Current petroleum price increases must be responded to in the long term and any elimination of oil is an increase in energy independence of the Union. (1 Dice)
[]Expanded Education for Adults: Night-time education has educated millions of workers since the revolution, but it can go a step further. Opening labor reserve education programs to any that want to come and pushing it as a system of education and work training can yield massive returns. Training workers is a challenge for several enterprises due to poorly organized bureaucratic overhead, but that can be fixed. By allowing workers to go into specialized education, those who perform acceptably can be slotted into a job on contract. The system is not going to be widely used in all likelihood, but even something basic towards improving the number of skilled workers can go a long way. (1 Dice)
[]Break Private Land Limits: Defining family farms and other types of farming by the quantity of land under tillage is easy to assess, but we have developed past that. Land taxes can be maintained, but shifted towards a categorization on a degree of employment. If a farm can efficiently manage with few employees and deliver good yields there need to be incentives for that. Encouraging the development of true family farms and larger-scale small initiatives can help to keep efficiency competitive without major issues. (1 Dice)
[]Scientific Exchange Programs: Formalizing large-scale study and student programs to analyze foreign farming practices can improve domestic experiences and transfer new techniques. Much of what is learned will be more of an academic curiosity than useful information, but any improvement that can be made is an improvement. Borrowing techniques aren't expected to walk over any toes, as even the capitalists have not trademarked any methodologies. Expertise transfer is not expected to remotely work during this plan, but it can help in the next plan. (1 Dice)
[]Tariff Compensation: Setting degrees of imports that occur under tariffs and providing a means of compensating farmers for exporting through foreign tariffs can buy some popularity and ensure deeper sector penetration. Some economies have consistently decided to hold off the proliferation of cheaper foods due to a protectionist drive, but that can be overcome without too many issues. Foreign capital for domestic production, even if it is inefficient, can achieve significant external political victories. Domestically ensuring that farmers have fewer issues with foreign markets can stabilize prices and ensure that disruptions are compensated for. (1 Dice)
[]Reorganize a Department(Choose Department): There still exist massive bureaucratic holes in the apparatus between the limitations in the heavy industrial sector and the pile of idiots left from previous struggles. The current head of services is effectively useless for making forward progress and there is not a shortage of important but replaceable idiots. While the Union is in the throughs of massive reorganization the chance can be taken to put in more appropriate ministers for a plan. (1 Dice)
Current Economic Prices(Domestic/CMEA/International): (How this will work is that every action above except for electricity modifies the internal price of the commodities below. They also vary on their own and are sorted into abstracted 1-100 ranges. Modifiers from the rest of your economy are displayed below with each category of goods. When you shift between 20-sized ranges, there can be significant modifiers to the general economy that come from changing prices of core commodities. CMEA prices determine the price in CMEA, though transportation of goods will be a problem with international prices representative of the West.)
Petroleum Fuels: (41/46/39) (Sole Exporter/Modifying CMEA Prices) (40-60 No Effect)
+5 Net Civilian Spending
+1 Fields Depletion
-1 Field Modernization
Petrochemicals: (45/52/41) (40-60 No Effect)
+2 Net Civilian Spending
General Labor: (19/17/66) (10-20 Massive Increase of all Export Growth, -10 RpD Universally, Massive Increase in Discontent, and severely lowered Intrinsic Growth)
+9 Net Civilian Spending
-14 New Graduates
-1 Rural Transfers
-0 Immigration
Educated Labor: (42/28/71) Moderate Imports (40-60 No Effects)
+3 Net Civilian Spending
-5 New Graduates
-1 Immigration
Electricity: 296 CI15
+360 Plan Programs
-176 CI20 Net Civilian Spending
Plan Effects:
Housing Construction Efforts: Given the sheer disruption caused by the last housing program and the extent of change it has forced onto people without much desire for it, cutting it back is arguably the best political decision. A well-run program without the sheer tempo and idiocy of the Voznesensky years will inherently be slower and require a more measured and distributed pace of development rather than a drive towards urban concentration. Most of the designs prioritized will be cheaper and smaller ones relative to the massive towers prioritized in the last effort, reducing some costs and ensuring that lower-density urban concentrations can be maintained. (-3 Infra Dice -360 RpY Modified by Steel Prices) (Reduction in Communal and Barracks Housing Forms to 9% of the adult non-student population by 1970)
Amur Cascade: The political sensitivity of the Amur River and its tributaries is immense. Development in the region is important for local power supplies and further industrial development. Daming the actual Amur is too much of an international political situation to ever allow, the rivers feeding into it however are almost entirely on our side of the border. Their damming will involve a degree of moderate relocations as small towns are consolidated through the small scale and will keep the costs down. Localization of a significant aluminum industry from secondary sources is expected to provide a good supply of material to local factories, and the stabilization of the river system is expected to provide a viable route for exports. (-1 Inf Dice -120 RpY) (+25 Electricity -3 Non-Ferrous per year 1969-1972) (Completes Far-Eastern Water Reservoirs)
Amu Darya and Syr Danya Hydroelectric Cascades: Politically contentious with the local people though pushed for hydrological stabilization by engineers and politicians at all levels, authorizing development is expected to significantly increase water accessibility and local energy generation. The program towards constructing new dams and enhancing the industrial development of the Central Asian republics is expected to fix water availability issues and provide a cheap basis for hydroelectricity that has been ignored by past administrations. Relocations will involve several sizable towns being moved to allow for the path of the dams and a minor cutback in the scale of the project. Despite that though, the developing water situation is only expected to worsen in the next few years, requiring redirection and ensuring that nature is finally directed towards humanist ends. (-3 Inf Dice -360 RpY) (+60 Electricity -3 Non-Ferrous per year 1968-1974) (Automatically Completes Normal and Advanced Hydrological Stabilization Measures)
Power Plant Construction(Nuclear VVER-500): A commitment to new experimental technologies is significant and could be an important source of power in the future, but it is currently deeply uneconomic. The construction of sixteen mainline reactor cores along with two experimental cores will establish a basis for energy production and the development of the fast neutron spectrum. The cores themselves are expected to steadily take off the burden of conventional heating and provide the associated cities with clean nuclear heating and energy. Construction is to be finalized across the next plan, as the technical aspects of the construction are notable and each general multi-core facility is in itself a complicated system of both piping and construction. (-1 HI Dice -300 RpY) (36 Electricity +1 Coal per Year 1970-1975)
Power Plant Construction(CPSC): Large increases in coal power generation are needed to keep the Union supplied with power. The gas industry is capable of supplying some but with a strong commitment towards expanding canal works and several large-scale coking plants to take advantage of the high carbon and low ash sub-bituminous coals in the East. Conventional expansions of coal extraction from Kuzbas are expected to reduce the cost of coal and make coal power production the predominant form of cheap and accessible energy across the Union. (-2 HI Dice -480 RpY) (140 Electricity +5 Coal per Year)
Power Plant Construction(CCGT): A direct drive towards increasing power production is expected to be necessary with the growth of consumer and industrial power use, especially as the economy continues its march towards modernization. Increased utilization of gas reserves and a continuation of the old power program will deliver significant gains in production and enable a considerable step forward. The plants responsible for making the turbines will not need to be expanded compared to the last plan, especially since much of the challenging and technical work has been completed. (-2 LCI Dice -560 RpY) (160 Electricity per Year) (3 More Gas development projects)
Healthcare Expansion: A massive expansion and making sure that every citizen can have access to some form of healthcare, even if it is not the best quality, will do a lot to improve health outcomes. There are plenty of younger inexperienced general-purpose doctors graduating from the education system that are suitable to be distributed as a first line for emergency medicine. The funding will mostly go towards the building of a few standardized clinics with a few beds and a capacity to address mild general cases along with building up transportation infrastructure for transportation. Modernization of the system will have to be delayed due to a lack of capacity as saving people is more important than more accurate diagnostics. (-2 Services Dice -240 RpY) (Completes up to Stage 9 Healthcare Expansion)
Education Expansion: Unfucking the university and education system in the aftermath of the massive over-emphasis on technical education will take more time than is available in the current plan. The sector is comparatively mature with the few professors needed to teach classes effectively experienced and already publishing research. The planned extension of the secondary education system can be conducted along with the main focus of the modernization effort. A massive expansion of the university system is to be conducted with social science departments added to most schools along with several dedicated specialized schools established in the old model. Enough personnel that have the soft skills for most work will take decades to bring up. In decades though they will exist rather than the current endless supply of engineers. (-4 Services Dice -320 RpY) (Completes Stage 8 Polytechnic, Completes Stage 7 Sociological, Completes Stage 5 Economical, Finishes Secondary Expansion) (Cuts Workforce Expansion by ~1/5)
State of the Eight Five-Year Plan:
35% Increase in MFPG Production Value: Behind Moving Target
20% Increase in Capital Goods Production Value: Behind Moving Target
50% Increase in Consumer Goods Production Value: Slightly Behind Moving Target
30% Increase in Agricultural Sector Production Value: At Moving Target
55% Increase in Service Sector Production Value: Ahead of Moving Target
Happy new years Blackstar i have yet to read the turn completly through but i was in the middle of making a quasi plan so i have updated it with the new modifiers. Main takeaway is that even with labour discount cuts have to be made. This plan was mostly made in mind with showing how doing three actions in LCI with free dice will make all our indicators managebal before election comes up which in my mind is the goal. If i have to rework this plan i would likely drop some roads for cheaper infra and some service dice for more childcare as that is cheap as hell.
This plan is basically nuke all the modifiers and not care about economic growth as we need an excellent year for this reelection if we want Klim to stay in while taking zero chances other than steel which i am willing to take the hit for. Also just took all the agri bureaucracy because my plan does nothing for agri other than creating some demand and we need to hit that target.
[]Aprove Intensive Extraction: The question of petroleum has become a critical one for which there are few solutions without a massive funding program that is currently lacking. Rather than focusing on some technocratic standard of improving efficiency, more wellheads can be drilled by enterprises responsible for patches. Parks and distractions are nice but they cannot stand in the way of progress or viable energy policies. Much of the land currently in the park system is questionable, but by opening it to prospecting further energy reserves can likely be found. (1 Dice)
Yeah the local state and national parks are nice to look at. But you know what would look better in their place? Oil derricks. /jk
There's probably some bureaucrat out there with a series of charts saying that the land must reach a certain beauty standard and provide a certain level of enjoyment to the population to not get bulldozed.
@Blackstar I have a question regarding the politics section: The section overview tells us 4 out of 8 dice are available, but only 2 SupSov projects are shown with 1 dice each. Do we still only have 4 dice available?
@Blackstar I have a question regarding the politics section: The section overview tells us 4 out of 8 dice are available, but only 2 SupSov projects are shown with 1 dice each. Do we still only have 4 dice available?
Petro Fuel: We need -8, our two current actions are -6 and -7. This plan guarantees both complete and likely completes an extra stage as well to make things much safer for us next turn and give us a ton of sweet sweet cash.
General Labor: Need +8
Guarantee (>95%):
+4 Kuzbas
+3 Bryansk
+1 Caspian
+1 Samotor
+6 Consumer Goods Production
+1 Transportation
+2 Garbage
Total +18
Possible:
+4 Bakchar (74%)
+1 Sevastopol (43%)
+3 Distribution (84%)
So 26 maximum, don't want to go above 28 as that risks making labor too expensive
Steel:
This is the plan's big weakness. It has only a single -8 in Bakchar (74%), and definitely gives +3 and maybe +2 if Sevastopol finishes (43%). The goal would be -4 to get the discount back, which is possible but by no means guaranteed. Still, I think it's worth it to lock in getting oil down in price, trying to fit in a 2nd steel plant is difficult.
edit: Updated version of the plan now has 2 dice on Bakchar, and as such is safe.
Something I need to emphasize again: We still need to push agricultural reform significantly to actually make agriculture functional, rather than an economic drain on the economy. Our rolls last turn were pretty bad, and one reform critfailed and put us further behind. If we are to salvage something out of this mess, I think we need to put 2 dice on agricultural projects. I know it's not sexy, it's not glamorous, it's not shiny new tech, but a functional agricultural sector that makes money is one that will cease draining state coffers, make the rural citizenry less impoverished, and allow us to pursue more economic build-up. Do it for the sake of future planners.
My picks are:
- []Tariff Compensation: Absolutely necessary to get rid off some of the useless surplus grain the SupSov keeps demanding of us. If we can make farmers export more cash crops/goods rather than rely on subsidies, both our income and our trade dominance in the global economy will be improved. - []Break Private Land Limits: We need to make sure productive private farms can expand, especially now that the Agri-SOE start acting as feudal lords. We might be able to claw back some reform to reduce their dominance, so this is needed.
Ideally, we could also include Famer-Aid, for the sake of the rural population. This isn't a direct agricultural reform, but helps rural citizens from being treated as second class citizens, with obvious benefits. I would advise skipping "scientific exchange programs", as our agriculture is decently modern. The benefits are explicitly mentioned to be minimal during this plan, and to only start helping during the next. Our agricultural problem is a policy failure, not one born out of technological backwardness. Waste of an action, if you ask me.
Emergency Commission on CMEA: Uncontrolled strike actions in Poland from increasing the price of fuel along with broader destabilization of energy supplies have significantly affected the general state of CMEA. Work towards improving oil yields is underway but it must be conducted at a rapid pace to maintain current security commitments without excessive problems. Imports of oil and general petrochemicals from the Middle East pose a massive security risk both nationally and in the wider block. Current programs for security assistance in Eastern Europe are expected to be essential to provide a political buffer for any significant problems. (1 Dice) (Supreme Soviet)
This looks like a quasi-mandate from the Supreme Soviet to increase investment in the Oil sector caused by prices in the CMEA being 7 points (18%?) above International prices.
I really wish we had that 2D or 3D "coordinate system" readout for the faction leaders. There's too many of them for me to easily associate names with positions and keep track of who wants what.
I think we definitely need, and this is partly coming from my swooping through the Discord, to drill more oil. Blackstar's been remarking that low drilling rates are putting us into something of an oil crisis prematurely, because we simply have not been spending our LCI dice on oil extraction, and at some point bulk quantity of fuel production actually matters. We had our reasons, but we just plain need more oil.
Maybe it'd be a better idea to just go whole hog on investing lots of dice in the Samotor field? We know it has more stages past just the immediate one, and the return on investment might be better than building offshore rigs in the Caspian Sea.
