Children of a Scorched Earth 2 (Reboot)

[Finari'i]

Date: 12th August, 2049
Location: Gagarin Base, Luna

The date is the 12th of August, 2049. You are one of the leaders of the joint NASA/ESA Lunar colony Gagarin Base, and have just awoken to the wailing klaxon heralding the arrival of a base-wide emergency.

Your initial panic quickly subsides as you calm yourself, scrambling out of your sleeping pad and into your vacsuit uniform. A base-wide alert had never been declared in the ten years since Gagarin Base's founding, yet now something was springing up out of the blue? What the hell is going on?

Upon viewing HQ's large central viewscreen you learn what is happening: hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of megaton-scale nuclear detonations are raging across Earth, constellations of new suns born and dying on the Earth's surface with a frenzied, hellish pulse to them, ash clouds of radioactive debris and vaporized flesh and dreams rising into the scorched sky.

Your jaw slackens and hangs in shock, the deafening silence of HQ broken only by the occasional sob. Your fellow base commanders, fellow leaders, stand by your shoulders, in numb horror at the sight of Earth tearing itself apart.

"Is there...anything...we can do?"

You do not know who spoke those words, as the dull tone of chilled horror was shared by everyone in the command center, but you responded nonetheless. "Are the comm channels open across the Base? Are they watching this?"

"...Yes, sir."

"Shut them down. Total blackout, for now. Spare our people...this." You can feel the tears trickling down your face, as your gaze never once turned from the viewscreen. "We're on our own."

***

You all watched, helplessly, as the Earth burned. The few comm channels to Earth blared out the cries of the damned for hours in HQ, yet as time slowly, painfully crawled by, as the mushroom clouds grew and spread their horrific contents across the globe, one by one the official channels from Earth mercifully sputtered and died, replaced by eerie static.

Your worst nightmares have been realized: the Earth has been ravaged by total nuclear war, and what is worse, by mankind's own hand.

With one swift stroke, mankind is now almost an endangered species.

With mother Earth aflame, Gagarin Base stands alone.

***

After that horrible day of August 12th, the day becoming universally known to all as the Firestorm, thousands upon thousands of refugees from various smaller Lunar bases and outposts that had been built nearby came to Gagarin Base looking for shelter, food or supplies, and common survival. The refugees were trained, healthy, intelligent people, having been purposefully selected as the best of the best that mankind could offer. In the wake of new advances in propulsion and in overall technology they had all been sent to the Moon to perform great experiments, to design and test new concepts and technologies, and to advance mankind's prosperity and influence.

They had all come to Gagarin Base hoping to find a unifying force, and that force was you. They know, all to the last man and woman, that many struggles still lay ahead, but you were, and are, their only hope.

***

The mushroom clouds have dispersed, but their horrific effects remain. The Firestorm's radioactive debris enshrouds the Earth, and attempts at direct imaging by satellite have proven completely useless. Attempts at contact through all known EM channels have similarly failed, due to electrostatic disruptions causing worldwide lightning and EM storms. Storms are raging across the planet in record numbers that surpass previous records, a sign of the very atmosphere of the planet being thrown into chaos by that great conflagration. The remains of the deteriorating ice caps have begun expanding as the Firestorm's legacy triggers a sharp cooling trend. Major ozone holes have opened up in the worst hit nuclear zones, resulting in mass die-offs of land and sea life, and horrific mutation in what survives. Earth seems to be well on its way to becoming a kind of Hell.

***

It is now January 1st, 2050. The initial chaos has died down, and now you, the Council, have consolidated your power and influence over Gagarin Base's now 5,000+ population. In spite of this, many crises both domestic and foreign still remain, and your people look to you for guidance.

With Earth's few scattered survivors suffering a new form of hell...
With international teams scattered across the Lunar Far Side, unaware of Earth's fate...
With several Near Side expeditions still out there, but strangely unresponsive to communications...

What will you do?

***

Background Information​

Modern Earth History

A Political Overview of Earth:​

The last few decades have been hard on much of the Earth. While space based technology has grown by leaps and bounds, Earths many disparate nations have both suffered and grown in ways both predicted and unexpected.

In Europe, moves to centralize European governance were proving successful. The various EU nations, which had since come to include many of the Balkan states, had ceded parts of their authority to the European Union. Many experts regarded this trend of centralization as an indicator that, by the dawn of the new century, the EU would likely emerge as a single, unified country with a superpower status on par with China. The situation in the East was more tense. The Ukrainian Civil War had culminated in some of the country's more Eastern regions forming governments that lasted long enough to be willingly annexed by Russia. The remains of the country were in a military standoff with Russia, both countries having several divisions of troops and armaments poised on their side of the border, waiting for the other to blink. Having regained its former nuclear capability through various deals of questionable legality, Ukraine stood as a sort of buffer state between the nascent EU nations and Russia. Both sides knew that it would only take one small spark to start what could be a thermonuclear World War Three.

In Asia, the situation was more diverse. In the Middle East, as the oil began to run out, many countries whose economy depended on a fortune that was quite literally burning away collapsed into chaos and poverty. Some small principalities and city states endured the chaos, protected from its effects by having diversified their economies before the wells ran dry. These cities were few and far between, standing as gleaming gems among a sea of sectarian violence and chaos.

Further East, India had seen its prosperity grow as trade relations with other great powers caused a much needed economic boon for the developing nation. Though the country was not without its hardships, as refugees flooded to the country as the Middle East collapsed into darkness and Bangladesh saw many of its cities swallowed by the rising seas. While some enjoyed a middle-class life of comfort and contentment, the enormous disparity in wealth between them and the country's poor and displaced caused growing resentment for the wealthy in the countryside. In some circles, there was even talk of a possible revolution against the government.

China, meanwhile, has begun to emerge as the sole superpower of Earth, following the gradual decline of the US. The country has seen its economy begin to stabilize, following a brief period of economic turmoil in the 30's, due to the collapse of the global oil market. Following this, and increased state intervention in the economy, the country began to recover, becoming a leader in science and technology. Militarily, China has also begun to exert greater pressure on its neighbors to the south, with some outside observers coming to regard the governments of Vietnam and Laos as being little more than puppet-states. Coastal flooding as a result of global warming however, has forced much of the population to begin an inward migration, trying to stay ahead of the ever-receding coastline.

Japan has, unfortunately, seen its economy take a downturn. Following several botched attempts to introduce a greater degree of centralization to the economy of the country, businesses soon found themselves mired in endless seas of red tape, as new regulations often came to conflict with ones instituted only a few weeks prior. As a result, many enterprises fled the country, setting up new centers for business in the rising star of Australia.

Australia has been the most unexpected change of all to emerge in modern history. Following an early renegotiation of the terms of the Antarctic Treaty in the mid 2030's, Australia managed to secure it's claims on East Antarctica. Eventual surveys of the region revealed what were easily the largest deposits of oil left on the face of the planet. After intensive efforts were put forward towards developing means of extracting this most valuable of resources, Australia soon found itself as the single largest exporter of oil on Earth. The Australian economy boomed, attracting businesses from far and wide to the southern power. Realizing the value of its Antarctic holdings, efforts were also put forward to increase the size, capabilities, and modernization of the Australian armed forces. With Australia looking to the Middle East as an example of what happens when the oil stops flowing, much work was also done to ensure that the country can retain its newfound wealth, even if every well were to dry up. With such a booming economy, many also predict that the new Oil Rush could end with Australia becoming the dominant power of the Southern Hemisphere by the end of the century, perhaps even contesting China and the EU for superpower status...

The US, meanwhile, has fared much worse than one might initially have assumed. After decades of political scandal, corruption investigations, diplomatic disasters, and economic damage from the 2030's oil collapse, the US stands as a fading light in the New World. With regionalism also on the rise, there have been murmurings among some fringe groups of parts of the US breaking away from the whole and forming new countries all together. Areas of potential secession seemed to be focused around the Western States or of the Gulf States, with some Northeastern states having whispers of Canadian annexation. Abroad, the situation has been far worse. With several unsuccessful adventures in developing countries, the threat of total economic collapse in the 30's, and the rise of the EU, many countries began to doubt the reliability and stability of the US, culminating in the 2037 dissolution of NATO.

Latin and South America, despite having formed stabler ties with one another, still enjoy only a medium level of wealth. An effort by Argentina to repeat the success Australia found with their Antarctic drilling efforts. Luck was not on Argentina's side though, as their mineral and resource surveys revealed only that they had inherited a vast stretch of barren ice and rock.

Brazil, on the other hand, has concentrated her efforts on trying to develop resources off of Earth. Using a system of reusable launch vehicles similar to those developed by Northern nations in the 2020's and early 30's Brazil has successfully begun construction a mining system on the Lunar far side, after mineral surveys revealed extremely abundant deposits of metals. As these efforts are in their infancy, Brazil has yet to see a return on their rather high investment. As a result though, they are one of only two countries in the Southern Hemisphere with a permanent, independent presence in space, the other being Australia.

Solar System History

The Newest Frontier:
In spite of many doubts and many hardships, the dreams of the 2020's were realized- modern Humanity stands as a species of three worlds. Earth, Luna, and Mars- names that will be remembered forever as the jumping off points for Human exploration and the first three worlds to host Human civilization. Beginning with the 2026 Martian landings by private entities in the US, space has since become a new frontier for people, nations, and businesses alike.

The story of Luna is a comparatively long one, beginning in 1969 with the Apollo Lunar landings. Following the brief period of exploration by the US of Earth's single moon, Luna became a very quiet place. No manned missions to the surface would be undertaken for almost sixty years. In 2027, several manned missions were undertaken by various groups in the span of only a few short months. Russia was the first, landing the Korolev Lunar lander on the 28th of April, 2027. The Russian landing site would eventually become the site of the Russian Lunar Base "Zvezda". China arrived soon after on the 5th of May, laying the foundation for what was to become their far side base and observatory. Later that year, on the 14th of July, the joint ESA-NASA Artemis mission landed, marking the return of the US to manned lunar exploration and marking the eventual site of Gagarin Base. The following year, on the 2nd of January, the same US company that put the first Humans on Mars landed a mission on the Moon, laying the foundation for its future tourism ventures and research laboratories.

Following this intense flurry of activity, the spacefaring nations and corporate entities of Earth began to build up their outposts on the Moon. By 2040, China had constructed Humanity's largest radio telescope on the Lunar far side, Russia had created a rather expansive and seemingly secretive base administered by the Russian armed forces, Gagarin Base had been successfully established with several smaller "Moon Villages" extending out in all directions, and an eccentric billionaire had managed to open what was jokingly called the "Craterside Inn". Over the next decade, Brazil and Australia would also establish presences of their own on Earth's lone natural satellite.

Mars was another story. With the first manned Martian landing occurring in 2026 by a private company, the US, China, and eventually Australia would all stage Lunar landings of their own. The second entity to reach Mars was China. Following on the success of their Lunar program, China successfully landed on Mars in 2028. Two years later, the first modules of the Chinese Martian base would arrive. In the early 30's, the two US manned missions to mars occur as part of the Ares Program. The first goes off without a hitch, with the crew spending a few days on Mars before returning home. The second Ares mission however, ends in disaster. After concluding the bulk of the mission and preparing to launch back home, something terrible goes wrong. No one is sure what exactly caused the destruction of Ares II, but the moment the ship ignited its engines, the vessel appeared to explode. Conspiracy theorists quickly went to work creating all sorts of insane, half-baked theories.

By 2050, Mars was well on its way to being another home for Humanity. The combined private and Chinese outposts boasted a combined population of just under three thousand. Australia had also conducted its first manned landing of Mars in the late 40's, with ambitious plans detailing a city of several thousand by the turn of the century.

With all of this development offworld, one might wonder at how the space around Earth was faring. Cislunar space and Low Earth Orbit had both become hubs of activity, though they were typically seen more as "stopping off points" to either Luna or Mars. the Earth-Moon L1 point saw the greatest achievement of in-orbit construction Humanity had yet managed. The jointly operated "Starport" was a monster of a space station, taking decades to complete, now host to over two hundred people from various countries. The legality of people permanently living onboard a space station that is technically owned by no country, yet several, has proven to be, according to several legal experts, "a complete nightmare". Tentative plans exist to expand the station or to replace it with a yet larger one with a fully habitable and enclosed interior.

Elsewhere, several hotels have sprung up in LEO, along with small private and national research stations, many of which are leased out to countries with no launch capability of their own.

Lastly, the outer solar system. The outer solar system has seen only the most tentative of exploration and no colonization of any sort has taken place here. The joint US-private "Discovery" is currently aiming to change that, having departed Earth several years ago to launch the first manned exploration of Saturn and its moons. While it theoretically aims to lay the groundwork for a manned landing on Titan, such plans are considered unlikely, as NASA has seen its budget shrink to the point of rendering such a voyage almost impossible, particularly after the Ares Disaster.

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Game Rules​

Game Mechanics

Base Mechanics

> An action plan is to be devised by the players (see Action Plans). If there is a second plan, then whichever plan gets a majority in a vote will be acted on (see Voting)

> The standard roll system is either random.org (most likely one, since I know how to use it) or [MALICIOUS WEBSITE]

> Players may suggest any action, but GM assigns a percentage value as a success chance. (EX: an action has a 90% chance of success, but if d100 rolls 2, the action fails)

> Turns take place over one year time periods. In the event of military campaigns or other Special Events, events proceed on a smaller tactical level, leaping from event to event, until the Special Event is resolved. Players vote for default in-event actions or can customize their own. As the scope of the game increases, it is likely that turns will take place over longer and longer intervals.

> Random events are on.

Voting

> When only one plan is proposed, that plan is accepted by default
> When two plans are proposed, the accepted plan is decided by majority vote
> In the event of a tie, the winner is decided by die roll
> When more than two plans are proposed, the winner is decided by alternative vote
> One vote per player per plan per turn

Action Plans

> The content of the action plan is left to the players to decide.
> Players may have the following number of actions:
> 3 Shipbuilding actions (building singular prototypes or Large/Huge ships, or "unit packages" of Small-Medium ships ready for mass production (ex: 1 unit of Is's = 2 Spaceplanes/unit) (4 actions in wartime)
> 5 Construction actions (7 in wartime) (General infrastructure, both planetary and space-based)
> 5 Research actions (R&D)
> 3 Diplomacy actions (Diplomatic actions; includes passing new Laws, Regulations, etc) (2 actions in wartime)
> 3 Military actions (Military actions; includes Exploration/Survey actions) (4 actions in wartime)
> 3 Economic actions (Economic actions; trade deals, embargoes, tariffs, raising/lowering taxes, etc) (2 actions in wartime)
> The players may also perform six "general actions". These would be actions that do not fall under research or manufacturing. This number is expanded to eight actions in times of war
> Action plans are limited by three main resources: Economic Capacity, Research Capacity, and fuel. (see: EC, RC, and Fuel for details)

Economic Capacity (EC)
> Economic Capacity (EC) refers to the overall status/health of a nation's economic systems, referring to an overall summation of generated money/income, profits, products, time, resources, etc into a single metric that is easier to define and calculate. EC is generated by Exports, taxes (based on total population), trade deals with foreign nations/powers, and other means.

> Negative Economic Capacity (NEC) refers to the expenses of a given nation that provide a drain on the total EC generated per turn. NEC can be created by maintenance needs, initial and continuing construction costs, initial and continuing research costs, and action plan items that would cost EC (money, time, resources, etc).

> During wartime it is not uncommon for an economy to enter a slump due to the economic strain of sustaining a deployed military force.

Research Capacity (RC)
> Research Capacity is used toward research items

> RC is generated by laboratories, supercomputers, etc.

Fuel
> The modern space industry has largely come to rely on a fuel combination of liquid methane and liquid oxygen. This was chosen due to the possibility of refueling on many worlds in the Sol system, such as Mars or the Venusian cloud tops.

> Each mission a spacecraft is sent on is presumed to consume its maintenance in fuel, regardless of distance (to reduce GM headaches from orbit calculations)

PC Nations/NPC Nations
> A nation is best described as a consolidated political entity that controls a discrete amount of land with defined borders and has a population

> NPC nations are interactive entities that have all of the capacity of a PC nation, but are controlled by a/the GM.

Military
>You currently possess no real armed forces of any kind and you only possess a token security force. If you wish to create a military, then recruit military units and outline how your military will function.

Hero Units

> Hero Units are those individuals of specific daring, intelligence, courage, insight, etc who rise above the common masses to make a name for themselves.

> Only 1 Hero Unit may be active at any given time for any given polity.

> Hero units are generated when, during the course of their duty, a potential hero rises above and beyond expectations (ie a really hard research task is completed with a roll of 90 or higher in a d100 roll, thus generating a research hero).

> Hero Units grant +10 modifiers to whatever action they are assigned to due to their expertise and insight.

Councilors (IE Game Players)

> Players are Counselors running the Lunar colony of Gagarin Base.

> There is a maximum of 9 Councilors during the course of the game.

> Councilors (IE Players) can resign from service (IE quit the game) if they so choose, and another Councilor will take their place.

> If a Councillor is absent from play for two weeks of real- time, then it is assumed that the Councillor in question has resigned unless a prior notification of their absence is given to the GM. If they are assumed to have resigned, then the next person on the waiting list will take their place.

> Councillors possess a +5 action modifier in the beginning by default, but players can increase their modifier bonus via a three-tier upgrade system, like so:
> Level 1: +10 action modifier to any action they are assigned to, regardless of category.
> Level 2: +15 action modifier to any action they are assigned to, regardless of category.
> Level 3: +20 action modifier to any action they are assigned to, regardless of category.

> If Councilors choose to upgrade their modifiers, that takes time. Level 1 takes 1 turn, Level 2 takes 2 turns, Level 3 takes 3 turns. Custom training in a specific category (more on that below) takes an additional 3 turns, IC justified via the Councilor learning the specifics of, for example, Military training (which takes a while).

> Councillor bonuses can neither prevent nor create crits.

> Only 1 Councilor can be assigned to an action per action list per turn.

> Councilors can request custom training in a specific category of their choice, which boosts their bonus to +25. However, their modifier can now ONLY apply to that action category (+25 ONLY to Exploration /Survey, +25 ONLY to Diplomacy, etc).

> Custom Councilors can only become so after acquiring Levels 1 through 3 of ordinary modifier bonuses (IE a Level 1 or 2 Councilor can't leap to being a Custom, they have to be at Level 3 beforehand. This compensates for the +25 bonus you can assign to the specific category they train in, bc it shouldn't be easy).

> Councilors can only have one specialty Custom Modifier at a time.

> While "leveling up" the Councillor cannot provide their bonus to anything.

​

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Construction and Recruitment​

Civilian Structures

*Any ground-based building can be refitted into a more advanced version using the EC from the old building towards the new one.
**Any ground-based building can be torn down for a 50% refund in EC.

Ground Structures:
> Lunar Outpost (1000 EC): Founds an outpost on Luna where a population (500 initially) may develop. A "seed" for a future Lunar colony-city, if you will. This was the original basis for Gagarin Base

> Small Research Lab (50 EC, .1 EC/turn maintenance): yields 5 RC per turn
> Medium Research Lab (250 EC, .5 EC/turn maintenance): yields 30 RC per turn
> Large Research Lab (500 EC, 1 EC/turn maintenance): yields 75 RC per turn
> Supercomputer (500, 1 EC/turn maintenance): yields 200 RC per turn (2 max on Luna-sized moons, 3 on Mars-size worlds, 5 on Earth-size worlds, 7 on Super-Earths) (Prerequisite: 1 Large Research Lab per Supercomputer)

> Small Industrial Center (50 EC): Yields 5 EC per turn
> Medium Industrial Center (250 EC): Yields 30 EC per turn
> Large Industrial Center (500 EC): Yields 75 EC per turn

> Small Fuel Refinery (50 EC): Provides 5 units of fuel per turn, can only be built on certain worlds
> Medium Fuel Refinery (250 EC ): Provides 30 units of fuel per turn, can only be built on certain worlds
> Large Fuel Refinery (500 EC): Provides 75 units of fuel per turn, can only be built on certain worlds

> Refugee Camp (25 EC): Provides low quality (low-grade IRL studio apartment, basic electricity, wireless internet, and plumbing; minimal amenities) housing for 150 personnel.

> Small Housing Wing (100 EC): Provides standard housing (small, compact/efficiently designed "smart" homes basic amenities provided) for 250 personnel.
> Medium Housing Wing (250 EC): Provides standard housing (small, compact/efficiently designed "smart" homes; advanced amenities provided) for 750 personnel.
> Large Housing Wing (500 EC): Provides standard housing (small, compact/efficiently designed "smart" homes; advanced amenities provided) for 2500 personnel.

> Medium Solar Farm (250 EC): Provides power for outposts, bases, small space stations, and other independent operations.
> Medium Nuclear Reactor (500 EC, 1 EC/turn maintenance): Provides power for cities, medium and large space stations, and all shipyard and factory sizes.
> Large Nuclear Reactor (750 EC, 5 EC/turn maintenance): Provides power for large cities, large space stations, and any shipyards or factories in them.

> Small Comms Center (100 EC): Facility capable of broadcasting signals to anywhere within ~5AU.
> Medium Comms Center (250 EC): Facility capable of broadcasting signals to any facilities or targets within the entire Inner and Outer Solar System.

> Ground Shipyard (500 EC, .5 EC/turn maintenance): Enables the production of Tiny and Small ship classes. Yields 50 EC for local shipbuilding. 5 slots. May only be built on low-G, low- atmosphere worlds.

> Medical Clinic (100 EC): Provides basic medical care for 250 personnel. Reduces disease factor multiplier and multiplies population growth per turn by 1.25x (one bonus from healthcare/celestial body).
> Small Hospital (250 EC): Provides basic medical care for 500 personnel. Reduces disease factor multiplier and multiplies population growth per turn by 1.5x (one bonus from healthcare/celestial body).
> Gene Vault (500 EC): Enables storing of genetic samples of pretty much anything.

> Small Farm (250 EC): Reliably provides food for 250 personnel. Multiplies population growth per turn by 1.25x. (one bonus from farm/celestial body).
> Medium Farm (500 EC): Reliably provides food for 750 personnel. Multiplies population growth per turn by 1.5x. (one bonus from farm/celestial body).
> Large Farm (1000 EC): Reliably provides food for 2500 personnel. Multiplies population growth per turn by 2x (one bonus from farm/celestial body).

> MagLev Mass Transit Hub (500 EC): Provides a hub for maglev transit system crisscrossing the landscape, typically built in a city/outpost.
> Vacuum sealed Lunar MagLev Transit Tubes (.5 EC/kilometer): While enabling rapid transit between two distant locations, the sheer expense of these rail systems comes from the modern amenities included, vacuum security measures, solar strips to provide some measure of power to the system, and more. This does have the benefit of both allowing for increased economic output from connected cities and allowing for rapid military deployment in situations where aerial transit is, for one reason or another, infeasible.

- Spaceport (250 EC, .5 EC/turn maintenance): Basically a few runways, warehouses/hangars, and fuel storage tanks for refueling the few ships that come by. Basic facilities, nothing much, almost crude. Good for Tiny and Small ship sizes only. Can only be built on Low-G, low-atmosphere worlds.

<><><><><><>

Space-Based Structures:

> Orbital Shipyard (1000 EC): Enables the production of tiny, small, and medium sized ships . Yields 100 IC for shipbuilding. Can simultaneously build 10 tiny ships, 5 small ships, or 1 medium ship.

> Short Ranged Communication Satellite Network (25 EC): Enables secure communications in a planet's hill sphere. Can be used for covert communications.
> Long Ranged Communication Satellite Network (50 EC): Enables secure communication in a 5 AU radius. Can be used for covert communications.

> Small Space Station (500 EC): Construct a space station with roughly the same internal volume as the ISS. Crew capacity: 10. Recycles for 125 EC.
> Medium Space Station (1000 EC): Construct a space station three times the size of the ISS. Crew capacity: 25. Recycles for 250 EC.
> Large Space Station (2500 EC): Construct a space station many times the size of the ISS, using a torus-based design. Crew capacity: 100. Recycles for 500 EC.

- EM Space Telescope (500): Builds one extremelky powerful orbital telescope. Has HD capacity, receives in the entire EM spectrum, and has built-in maneuvering thrusters to point in any direction imaginable (just don't point it at the Sun).Building roughly two dozen such telescopes would allow for active monitoring of most of the Sol system out to the Oort Cloud and could likely conduct a near total survey of several nearby planetary systems out to 30ly.

Military Structures

None Listed

Civilian Units

Ground Units:
> Security Patrol (2 EC): Vacsuit-equipped guards with ETC pistols and moderate security training (think police officers).

> Exploration Rover (10 EC): Designed to navigate through a variety of environments with ease, the Exploration Rover is a 6-wheeled, all-terrain rover with a self-contained cockpit, a robust life support system and sensor suite, and a multi-limbed independent suspension system. Modules include an emergency repair and multi-environmental survival gear module, search and rescue module, a police/fire rescue module, and a scientific module designed to acquire and store a wide variety of scientific samples.

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Aerospace Units:

Falcon-class IS-2 Interplanetary Ship (colonial) (250 per unit, 1 unit = 2 IS):
Requires: Shipyard
Maintenance: .5 EC, 1 unit of fuel/trip
Length: 48 Meters (Tiny)
Crew: 15
Range : Inner Sol system + Jupiter, if fully fueled
Weapons (PD): N/A
Weapons (Antiship): N/A
Armor: N/A
Shields: N/A
Power Generation: 1 onboard nuclear reactor
Propulsion: Falcon Engine Array
Cargo Capacity: 85 passengers
Miscellaneous: Capable on land/return on Earth-G, low atmosphere worlds, requires booster to leave Earth's surface

***

Falcon-class IS-2 Interplanetary Ship (cargo) (250 per unit, 1 unit = 2 IS):
Requires: Shipyard
Maintenance: .5 EC, 1 unit of fuel/trip
Length: 48 Meters (Tiny)
Crew: Unmanned
Range : Inner Sol system + Jupiter, if fully fueled
Weapons (PD): N/A
Weapons (Antiship): N/A
Armor: N/A
Shields: N/A
Power Generation: 1 onboard nuclear reactor
Propulsion: Falcon Engine Array
Cargo Capacity: 50 metric tons with pressurized cargo area
Miscellaneous: Capable on land/return on Earth-G, low atmosphere worlds, requires booster to leave Earth's surface

***


Falcon-class IS-2 Interplanetary Ship (satellite carrier) (250 per unit, 1 unit = 2 IS):
Requires: Shipyard
Maintenance: .5 EC, 1 unit of fuel/trip
Length: 48 Meters (Tiny)
Crew: Unmanned
Range : Inner Sol system + Jupiter, if fully fueled
Weapons (PD): N/A
Weapons (Antiship): N/A
Armor: N/A
Shields: N/A
Power Generation: 1 onboard nuclear reactor
Propulsion: Falcon Engine Array
Cargo Capacity: 50 metric tons unpressurized cargo
Miscellaneous: Capable on land/return on Earth-G, low atmosphere worlds, requires booster to leave Earth's surface

***

Falcon-class IS-2 Interplanetary Ship (tanker) (250 per unit, 1 unit = 2 IS):
Requires: Shipyard
Maintenance: .5 EC, 1 unit of fuel/trip
Length: 48 Meters (Tiny)
Crew: Unmanned
Range : Inner Sol system + Jupiter, if fully fueled
Weapons (PD): N/A
Weapons (Antiship): N/A
Armor: N/A
Shields: N/A
Power Generation: 1 onboard nuclear reactor
Propulsion: Falcon Engine Array
Cargo Capacity: 10 units of fuel
Miscellaneous: Capable on land/return on Earth-G, low atmosphere worlds, requires booster to leave Earth's surface

Military Units

Ground Units:
> Light Infantry (2 EC): 1 Unit = 100 LI. Equipped with bodysuits with insertable modular armor plates carried by the user, but no fancy self-assist exoskeleton. Unit possesses limited NBC capabilities and a basic civilian HUD and comms unit. Soldiers carry handheld firearms (pistols, assault rifles, carbines), but Nothing fancy.

> Small Spy Drone/Satellite (50 EC): Establishes wideshot, HD resolution images of selected target in the visual spectrum once placed in orbit above target. It can only transmit within Earth-Moon distances due to its low-cost transmitter. It's lack of thrusters gives it a low lifespan (6 months). It is a cheap mass producible unit, and can be stored for future use. Recycles for 25 EC.

> Medium Spy Drone/Satellite (100 EC): Establishes wideshot, HD resolution images of selected target across the entire EM spectrum once placed in orbit above its target. While not as cheap, its transmission capabilities are more advanced, allowing for transmission from much farther distances (1AU), as well as an extended lifespan (1 year) due to low-quality maneuvering thrusters. Recycles for 25 EC.

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Aerospace Units:

None Listed

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Spacecraft Design Template

Blank Template:
Length: (Ship class)
Crew:
Range:
Weapons (PD):
Weapons (Antiship):
Armor:
Power Generation:
Propulsion:
Cargo Capacity:
Miscellaneous:

​

​

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Research and Technology​

Starting Technology

>Space Infrastructure: Increased prevalence of high-capacity launch pads across the Earth. The largest providers of Earth-to-Space transport are agencies in the US, EU, Russia, China, Brazil, and Australia

>Holograms: 3D interactive holograms (Mass Effect-style), both immobile and portable, have become common in Earth's cosmopolitan culture, used in a variety of applications both civilian, military, and governmental.

>Age extension: The average person in a developed country will live to 100 years of age, and will retain their sanity and the majority of their health and limberness in doing so. Death is far less painful and humiliating than it used to be.

>Advanced Pharmaceuticals: With the advent of antibiotic resistant bacteria, efforts were put towards creating the next generation of modern medicine. While the first and second worlds benefited from these new forms of medicine, the third world found itself ravaged by plague, devastating whole countries. This technology has also been applied to space, with colonists of both Luna and Mars being given access to pills designed to stimulate muscle growth and promote bone health, negating some of the worst downsides of low-G living.

>Carbon Nanotubes: While true mass production was in its infancy, usage of carbon nanotubes have been in use for some time on a smaller scale: as structural enhancements to existing structures, small-scale applications (such as the latest-gen 3D printers), and high-quality aerospace and spacecraft parts.

>Prosthetics: Prosthetics drastically better than standard organic limbs are available at extreme cost, but cruder cybernetics and other bioaugmentation technologies do exist for varying prices on the medical market. On Gagarin Base ESA astronauts are frequently offered these cybernetics free of charge, with the increase in performance justifying their expense

>Internet: Luna has an extremely weak internet connection to Earth, but the local system networks are self-sustaining and robust, allowing for significant local replication of much of Earth's scientific and technological databases (as well as cultural, religious, and other items of value). New signal transmitters were to be shipped up from Earth next Tuesday; not happening now I guess.

>Robot Doctors: Run by a descendant of Watson, optimized for medical procedures and data acquisition, autodoc systems are commonplace on the Luna Colony, and becoming increasingly popular and trusted in Earth's major cities due to their total lack of human error (because they are not human). With full access to all known human medical knowledge, autodocs are very precise in their analysis of patients, though their manners aren't the best (usually offset by a human companion/nurse/assistant who monitors the proceedings and provides a human face for clients/ patients).

>Stealth: While metamaterials implementation, sensor disruption techniques, and stealth-influenced vehicle and infantry designs have been increasingly common on Earth's battlefields, a low grade true cloaking field was still considered a pipe dream.

>FTL: NASA and ESA were partnered in developing a variant on Alcubierrie-style warp drive, but the program was plagued by constant funding problems and was going nowhere fast.

>Power Armor: Take the Raytheon Xos 2, size it down and give it a 2 day battery. That's the current powered armor model out on the field. There are experimental suits with armor plating, myomer-nanotube "skin" and "muscles", and such (think blend of elements of MJOLINOR IV and Crysis nanosuit), but such rumors are mostly just the fanciful dreams of materials scientists.

>Future Weapons: Laser and particle beam weapons have been implemented in modern vehicle and naval ship designs in advanced point defense systems. Tied to advanced computing grids and sensors, said PDS systems can intercept nearly 60-70% of all incoming enemy shells, missiles, and fighter drones.

>Power Generation (Fusion): Prototype fusion reactors were up and running by the early 2040s and one prototype was even nearing its activation date at the private installation on Luna when the bombs fell.

>Power Generation (Thorium): Thorium generators have become a far more advanced technology than at the start of the 21st century, but are still in the early phases of development for most first world nations. The leader in advancing this technology has been China, whose entire Lunar outpost is powered solely by prototype Thorium generators.

>Ion Shields: By mimicking the natural protective environment of the Earth, it is possible to use magnetic bubbles to create an energy efficient, yet powerful deflector shield that successfully blocks high energy solar particles and cosmic radiation. A prototype of this shield was included onboard the USS Discovery.

Researched Technology

> Improved Farming I: Through the use of a newly discovered fertilizer, your crops should yield more food per plant, translating to +5% food production for all farms.

Research Options

This space is reserved for when you discover a new avenue of research, but opt to not pursue it. Such avenues are archived here for research at a later date.

​

---

Diplomacy and Foreign Relations​

​

Foreign Relations

> Genocidal indicates a power seeking the total eradication of Gagarin and its people.
> Hostile indicates a power engaged in active conflict with Gagarin.
> Tense indicates a potential eruption of hostilities or a state of "cold war".
> Wary indicates that a power that is showing a high level of mistrust between itself and Gagarin and may be performing higher than normal espionage activities.
> Cool is a sign of a power that, while maintaining civil relations with Gagarin, does so with mildly hostile undertones.
> Neutral is when a power has no inclination towards Gagarin one way or the other and may also be an indicator of indifference to Gagarin's existence.
> Warm indicates a power that has expressed good will towards Gagarin, but is still somewhat distant, in diplomatic terms.
> Friendly indicates a power that has shown consistent good will towards Gagarin, but is still loyal to other concerns. It is at this point that trade deals are commonplace.
> Welcoming indicates a power that has shown a deal of cooperation with Gagarin and has shown a commitment towards aligning with Gagarin's actions.
> Allied indicates a power that has formally aligned itself with Gagarin on terms of military, economic and research cooperation.
> Partnered indicates a power that for whatever reason, wishes to cede its authority to that of Gagarin.

Known Powers:
>Zvezda: A Russian Lunar facility located on the near-side
>Chinese Lunar Base: A Lunar far side base operated by the PRC
> Bracewell Base: Australian Lunar base, located relatively near Zvezda
> Brazilian Lunar Base: A base operated by the former Brazilian government near the edge of the near and far sides of Luna.
> Mars: The combined Chinese and Private bases of Mars

Treaties and Agreements

You don't have any treaties or agreements!

---

Known Space (Still under construction)​

Spoiler: Sol

Spoiler: Mercury

Mercury:
The first planet orbiting Sol, Mercury is a small, rocky world with a large ferrous core. The disproportionate size of the core relative to the planet has led some astronomers to conclude that Mercury used to be significantly larger in its early history, with much of the planet's mantle and crust having been torn asunder in a cataclysmic impact event early in the Solar System's history. While the planet has a magnetic field, it is "leaky" and prone to instabilities, often funneling solar radiation to certain parts of the planet, rendering long-term surface exploration somewhat dangerous.

Spoiler: Venus

Venus:
Long regarded as Earth's twin, Venus is a hellish world of acid rain, crushing pressures, and boiling temperatures. Venus was not always like this though, and it is thought that, early in the Solar System's history, Venus would have been a balmy, but habitable world of calm oceans and wide desert continents. Tentative signs of biomarkers in the atmosphere of the world remain shrouded in mystery after a Russian probe intended to stay aloft high in the atmosphere malfunctioned on arrival, sending it crashing into the hellish surface. The answer of whether or not there is life in the clouds of Venus remains unknown.

*May host fuel refineries, if suspended in the atmosphere

Spoiler: Earth

Earth:
Earth, the birthplace of Humanity, the single habitable world in the Sol system, and the buzzing hub of Human civilization. Earth is a planet of varied climates on its many continents, yet over seventy percent of the planet is covered by its vast oceans. This beauty is fading though. The planet's climate has been slowly deteriorating as Human industry and expansion took its toll. Sea levels have risen, temperatures are rising, and the planet is spiraling towards an eventual mass extinction event.

*May host fuel refineries

Spoiler: The Moon/Luna

The Moon/Luna:
Humanity's third home, Luna is Earth's only natural satellite. Luna is a remanant of an ancient collision between Earth and another planet in the early Solar System. The moon is largely a collection of igneous and basaltic rocks, with quite little in the way of exploitable mineral value. It's main value comes from being a "last stop" before leaving Earth. It is estimated that the total Human presence on Luna is currently at around 11-12 thousand people.

Spoiler: Mars

Mars:
Mars, the only planet in the Sol system other than Earth known to harbor life. Mars was once a much wetter, possibly even habitable world than it is today, though microbial life from those halcyon days seems to have endured in several places on the red planet. This momentous discovery was made in 2026, after the first manned landing on the surface was undertaken by astronaut Ken Muller. Since those early days of exploration, the population of Mars has grown to several thousand as colonization efforts by multiple groups are actively underway.

*May host fuel refineries

Spoiler: Jupiter

Jupiter:
The king of the planets is the site of little real exploration or interest of its own due both to a lack of abundant resources and the extreme radiation hazard posed by its inner orbit.

Spoiler: Io

Io, the innermost of the Galilean moons, and the most volcanically active body in the solar system, is quite an unusual specimen. It is the only body in the solar system to have such a vast surface deposition of Sulfur and sulfuric compounds. It is theorized that, if the hostile surface environment could be braved, the volcanism could allow for vast deposits of valuable minerals near the surface.

Spoiler: Europa

Europa:
Europa is the second of Jupiter's major moons, posessing a thick shell of surface ice, beneath which a warm, saline ocean exists. After scientific investigation by probes in the 2020's, evidence began to emerge that the reddish tint of the moon's surface was caused by bacteria exposed to radiation. After the first manned landing in 2039, this was confirmed and the bacteria were found to concentrate near the cracks as ideal breeding grounds. Several hypotheses now abound that a more advanced biosphere of multicellular life may lie beneath the ice. Only further investigation will tell...

Spoiler: Ganymede

Ganymede:
Ganymede is the largest natural satellite in the Sol system, and the third major moon of Jupiter. Theories of a subsurface ocean deep beneath the moon's ice shell were partially confirmed after analysis of data returned from probes in the 2020's. With the highest gravity of any of the Galilean moons and a readily available source of water in the form of the moon's crust, Ganymede could someday serve as a potential outpost for Humanity in the outer Solar System.

Spoiler: Callisto

Callisto:
Callisto is the oft-forgotten outermost of Jupiter's Galilean moons. Similar to its innermost companions, it possesses a thick shell of ice, however doubts have been raised as to the presence of a subsurface ocean after a cursory examination by probes in the 2020's. The only things remotely of note is that it is likely the moon does not have a differentiated interior and that it is the Galilean moon that receives the lowest amount of radiation.

Spoiler: Saturn

Saturn:
The second of the Sol system's gas giants, Saturn is most widely known for its impressive ring system, hypothesized to be the remnant of a moon that drifted too close to the planet. Of note is that Saturn generates the most antiprotons of any planet in the solar system, though even far future technology would likely have a difficult time harvesting usable amounts.

Spoiler: Enceladus

Enceladus:
Enceladus is a small, icy moon in orbit of Saturn. Long theorized to be a possible abode for life, the lack of prominent biomarkers as on Europa coupled with the strong possibility that it is only a few tens of millions of years old have served to cast this theory into doubt. Projections of the moon's orbit around Saturn also caused some speculation as to its long-term stability. One possibility is that the moon is always in an unstable orbit and has been reformed and annihilated in a perpetual cycle scores of times throughout the Solar System's history.

Spoiler: Titan

Titan:
the only moon in the solar system known to maintain a significant atmosphere, Titan is also the second largest moon, being larger even than the planet Mercury. Titan is theorized to be a potential abode for life based both on terrestrial and exotic biochemistries. On the surface, life could theoretically evolve in the methane-rich environment while a subsurface water ocean could allow for more typical forms of life. Both warrant further study. Of note is that Titan will possibly become habitable in the far future, when the Sun becomes a red giant.

*May host fuel refineries

Spoiler: Uranus

Uranus:
Uranus or, as some renaming proposals have called it in recent years Ouranos, is the seventh planet from Sol. Composed of a typical ice giant atmosphere, there is little to note for this particular planet other than it is theorized to have once been the eight planet before switching places with Neptune early in the Solar System's history.

Spoiler: Neptune

Neptune:
Neptune is the eighth planet from Sol and the second of its three ice giants. Neptune is best known for its extremely high wind speeds and ongoing large storms the size of small moons. Of note is that it is widely thought to have once been the seventh planet before switching places with Uranus.

Spoiler: Triton

Triton:
By far the largest moon of Neptune, Triton is known for both having a cloud-forming atmosphere and for it's cryovolcanism. Of rather unique note is that Triton orbits Neptune retrograde, that is to say, backwards. As a result of this, Triton is slowly spiraling in toward Neptune and will either disintegrate into a truly awe-inspiring ring system, or will crash into Neptune in a cataclysmic collision.

Spoiler: Juno

Juno:
the mysterious ninth planet, Juno was discovered quite recently in 2023 as the result of advances in telescope technology. Roughly 75% the mass of Earth, Juno orbits the Sun at a distance of roughly 143 AU at a highly inclined angle. Other than a likely composition of rock and water ice, very little is known about this planet due to its sheer distance from the Sun.

Spoiler: Minerva

Minerva:
Formerly known as "Planet Nine" before its 2019 discovery and naming, Minerva is a gas world similar in many ways to Neptune. It orbits the Sun along a very distant, eccentric, and inclined course. This extreme orbit has led to many theories about the origin of Minerva, with some alleging it to be the lost fifth gas world of the Sol system ,while others still claim it has an origin from another star. Only time and further exploration will help to unravel the mystery of this most distant of worlds.

Spoiler: Nearby Stars

Spoiler: 0-5 LY

Spoiler: Alpha Centauri

Spoiler: Alpha Centauri A

Alpha Centauri A:
Class: G2V
Age: 4.85 billion years

Alpha Centauri A is the primary member of the Alpha Centauri system and is host to four planets. This system also plays host to the first probable detection of life in another star system.

Planet I: Alpha Centauri A.I is the innermost world in the system. The world is roughly half the size and mass of Earth and orbits the star every 41 days. It is tidally locked to Alpha Centauri A.

Planet II: Alpha Centauri A.II is a world with roughly half the mass of Earth and a thin atmosphere of Carbon Dioxide, Nitrogen, and Oxygen. The detection of oxygen and its apparent seasonal variance has lent strong credence to this world being the first detection of life beyond the Sol system. The planet orbits its star every 101 days and it estimated to have a day length of 11 hours. This planet is estimated to have an average temperature of 125 degrees Celsius.

Planet III: Alpha Centauri A.III is a classical Venusian hothouse, with a crushing atmosphere of water and carbon dioxide coupled with temperatures greater than most ovens. This world is likely a dead hellscape.

Planet IV: Alpha Centauri A.IV is a super-earth of tremendous size and mass, rivaling some ice giants. The planet has a crushing gravity of nearly twice that of Earth, coupled with a thick atmosphere twenty-five times that of Earth composed mostly of CO2 ​and Nitrogen.

Spoiler: Alpha Centauri B

Alpha Centauri B:
Class: K1V
Age: 4.85 billion years

Alpha Centauri B is the second member of the Alpha Centauri A-B binary pair.

Planet I: Alpha Centauri B.I is a small world tidally locked to its parent star as it zips about in its nine day orbit. The planet is roughly a third the size of Earth with no atmosphere of any kind detected.

Planet II: Alpha Centauri B.II is a small rocky world tidally locked to its parent star. The planet features little of apparent note, distinguished only by oven-like temperatures and a thin atmosphere of trace gases.

Planet III: Alpha Centauri B.III is a warm planet slightly smaller than Earth with a comfortable .86 G's of gravity. The world is quite a bit hotter than Earth, with daytime temperatures approaching 80 degrees C. Curiously, the planet appears to have its rotational period and orbit aligned in such a way that a day appears to take 100 Earth days.

Planet IV: Alpha Centauri B.IV is a super-earth that begins to blue the line between super-earth and aborted gas giant. The planet has twice Earth's gravity, yet has an atmosphere several hundred times as dense, resulting in a surface likely composed almost entirely of molten rock.

Spoiler: Alpha Centauri C/Proxima

Alpha Centauri C/Proxima:
Class:M6V
Age: 4.85 billion years

Very loosely bound to the Alpha Centauri system, Proxima holds the distinction of being the closest star to Sol.

Planet I: Proxima.I (Proxima b) is an oceanic world slightly larger than Earth with a pressure-cooker atmosphere. The liquid water seas are almost constantly in a state of boiling heat. It is thought Proxima I formed further out from its parent star before drifting inward to its current position.

Planet II: Proxima.II is the furthest planet detected from Proxima thus far. It is estimated to likely be a Neptune-like ice giant with an orbital period of roughly five hundred Earth days.

Spoiler: 5-10 LY

Spoiler: Barnard's Star

Barnard's Star:
Class: M4V
Age: ~10 billion years

Barnard's Star is remarkable for its confirmation of a new class of planet similar to Sol's Juno- Ice-Earths.

Planet I: Barnard's Star.I is a frigid world composed largely of ice orbiting Barnard's star. The planet is roughly the size of Earth. Due to it's age and lack of tidal heating, it is likely to be frozen solid.

Planet II: Barnard's Star.II is quite similar to its twin, differentiated only by being larger. Like its twin, it is unlikely to host a subsurface ocean.

Spoiler: Wolf 359

Wolf 359:
Class: M6V
Age: 300 million years

Wolf 359 is a rather unremarkable red dwarf star located near Sol. Quite young, it is possible the system has not yet fully settled into its final configuration, though the lack of an apparent debris disk does appear to indicate the conclusion of planet-formation.

Planet I: Wolf 359.I is, according to the citizen scientist who helped discover it, "Venus on steroids". With an atmospheric pressure several hundred times that of Earth's own and a temperature more than twice that of Venus, this initial assessment is regarded as being quite accurate.

Planet II: Wolf 359.II, detected by radial velocity measurements of the star is a Jovian gas world orbiting several AU from its primary. Little other than this is known about the world, including if it has any major moons.

Spoiler: Sirius

Sirius A & B:
Class: A0V (A), DA2 (B)
Age: 240 million years

The system itself is quite unremarkable, other than being host to the brightest star in Earth's night sky and the closest white dwarf to Earth. The two stars are both orbited by debris belts likely created when Sirius B underwent its transition to a white dwarf. No planets have been detected in the system.

Spoiler: 10-15 LY

Spoiler: 61 Cygni

Spoiler: 61 Cygni A

61 Cygni A:
Class: K5V
Age: 4.99 billion years

The larger competent of the orange dwarf pair system of 61 Cygni, this star is historically noteworthy as being the first star other than the Sun to have its distance measured.

Planet I: 61 Cygni A.I is an ice giant world orbiting 61 Cygni A at a distance of .61 AU. Little else is known about this planet, and would require more advanced observations.

Planet II: 61 Cygni A.II is a world of unknown composition and size orbiting its parent star at 1.1 AU. Little else is known about this planet, and would require more advanced observations.

Planet III: 61 Cygni A.III is a large superjovian world thought to orbit at roughly 7 AU from the star. Little else is known about this planet, and would require more advanced observations.

Spoiler: 61 Cygni B

61 Cygni B:
Class: K7V
Age: 4.99 billion years

The minor component of the 61 Cygni system, this star is notable for having two probable detections of extraterrestrial life.

Planet I: 61 Cygni B.I is thought to be a rocky world orbiting at .1 AU from its parent star. It has an atmosphere which would indicate large amounts of volcanic activity. Little else is known about this planet, and would require more advanced observations.

Planet II: 61 Cygni B.II is considered quite likely to be an oceanic world, judging by the amount of water vapor in its atmosphere. Far mroe notable though, is the presence of non-insignificant quantities of O2​ that would seem to indicate life on this world.

Planet III: 61 Cygni B.III is currently thought to be the closest potentially habitable planet to Earth. With an atmosphere of CO2​, N2​, and O2, ​the planet is thought to support extraterrestrial life. Initial attempts at direct imaging were able to resolve a few bluish-green pixels. Hopes were high for a colonization effort to be launched in the 22nd century.

Planet IV: 61 Cygni B.IV is thought to be a Neptune-like ice giant world. Little else is known about this planet, and would require more advanced observations.

Planet V: 61 Cygni B.V is thought to, like 61 Cygni B.IV, a neptune-like Ice giant. Little else is known about this planet, and would require more advanced observations.

Spoiler: Epsilon Eridani

Epsilon Eridani:
Class: K2V
Age: 800 million years

Epsilon Eridani is a relatively young star thought to be undergoing the final phases of planetary formation.

Planet I: Epsilon Eridani.I is thought to be a small terrestrial planet. Beyond this, little of note is known.

Planet II: Epsilon Eridani.II is thought to be a small terrestrial planet. The thin atmosphere of the planet is thought to contain traces or Uranium dust. Conspiracy theorists claiming an alien nuclear war took place on the planet often fail to take into account the planet's very young age, far too young for a civilization to have developed.

Planet III: Epsilon Eridani.III is, like the two other worlds in the inner system of Epsilon Eridani, a terrestrial world. Unlike its brethren, it is considered more likely to be a super-earth with a thick atmosphere. Gravitational interactions with Epsilon Eridani.IV are predicted to eventually throw this planet out of its current orbit, likely into the star or into interstellar space.

Belt I: The innermost asteroid belt of the Epsilon Eridani system, thought to contain roughly 1/6 of Luna's mass worth of material.

Planet IV: Epsilon Eridani.IV is a superjovian gas giant with an orbit that skirts the outer edge of the system's first asteroid belt. Little else is known about this planet, and would require more advanced observations.

Belt II: The second asteroid belt of the system. There is some evidence of clumping in the belt, a possible sign of dwarf planet formation or perhaps even the formation of a planet.

Planet V: Epsilon Eridani.V is a Neptunian ice giant whose orbit corals the second asteroid belt in the system as the planet orbits the belt's edge. Little else is known about this planet, and would require more advanced observations.

Planet VI: Epsilon Eridani.VI is also a Neptunian ice giant, considered the best current candidate for a Neptune analogue. It lies at an orbital position slightly further than that of Neptune in the Sol system and also serves as the inner boundary for a belt of icy object akin to a large Kuiper Belt.

Ice Belt: A large disk of icy objects extends from ~40 AU to ~100 AU

Spoiler: Epsilon Indi

Epsilon Indi:
Class K4, T1, T6
Age: 1.3 billion years

Epsilon Indi is a star system noted for having a binary pair of brown dwarves in a distant orbit.

Planet I: Epsilon Indi.I is a roughly Earth-sized terrestrial planet in extremely close orbit of its parent star. It's surface temperature, assuming it lacks a significant atmosphere, could rival those of Venus. Little else is known about this planet, and would require more advanced observations.

Planet II: Epsilon Indi.II is thought to be slightly larger than Earth with scorching temperatures befitting its close orbit. Little else is known about this planet, and would require more advanced observations.

Planet III: Epsilon Indi.III is an warm Neptune world thought to be near the inner edge of the system's habitable zone. Little else is known about this planet, and would require more advanced observations.

Planet IV: Epsilon Indi.IV is a cool Neptune orbiting just outside the system's habitable zone. Little else is known about this planet, and would require more advanced observations.

Planet V: Epsilon Indi V is a Jovian planet orbiting at roughly 9 AU from its parent star. Little else is known about this planet, and would require more advanced observations.

* a planet candidate is hypothesized to exist between planets IV and V, though this is unconfirmed.

Spoiler: Tau Ceti

Tau Ceti:
Class: G8V
Age: 5.8 billion years

Tau Ceti is a sun-like star in the stellar neighborhood notable for its disproportionate number of appearances in fiction.

Planet I: Tau Ceti.I is a super Earth located close to its parent star. The planet is noted as possessing a mildly thick atmosphere indicative of volcanic activity across its surface. Little else is known about this planet, and would require more advanced observations.

Planet II: Tau Ceti.II is a large super Earth located in a close orbit of Tau Ceti. No atmosphere has been detected. Little else is known about this planet, and would require more advanced observations.

Planet III: Tau Ceti.III is mini-Neptune in an orbit taht lends it toward a high atmospheric temperature. It is thought the planet formed further out before migrating inward. Little else is known about this planet, and would require more advanced observations.

Planet IV: Tau Ceti.IV: is an example of a typical hothouse planet. An atmosphere of water vapour and carbon dioxide hints both that this transformation was somewhat recent and that surface temperatures on the planet now likely support seas of molten rock. Little else is known about this planet, and would require more advanced observations.

Planet V: Tau Ceti.V is an iceball world. Based off of its observed size, the planet probably formed further out before migrating to its current position. Little else is known about this planet, and would require more advanced observations.

Planet VI: Tau Ceti.VI is a Jovian world orbiting the star at a distance of roughly 30 AU. Any moons are purely hypothetical at this point. Little else is known about this planet, and would require more advanced observations.

Spoiler: Van Maanen's Star

Van Maanen's Star:
Class: DZ8
Age: White dwarf phase (~3 billion years), main sequence (~900 million years)

The closest solitary white dwarf to Earth, Van Maanen's Star is noteworthy for being the first example of planets being tentatively detected around a white dwarf.

Planet I?: Van Maanen's Star.I is, hypothetically, a Jovian planet orbiting its parent star at ~.1 AU. If real, the planet likely formed out of the material thrown off of the star as it transitioned into a white dwarf, then migrated inward to its current position. Little else is known about this planet, and would require more advanced observations.

​

Note, stars are only listed if they have something of even remote interest in them. If I tried listing every red and brown dwarf, this list would be even more hideously long than it already is.

 

[Finari'i]

Current Stats
​

Colonial Stats

Gagarin Base (Luna)
Population (Turn 4, or January 1, 2053): 7,358 (59% male, 41% female) (1.75% growth/turn)
- Astronauts/personnel from: US, Russia, South Korea, The UK, Canada, Germany, France, The Netherlands, India, Australia, Denmark, and Brazil

Social Order:
Satisfied: The people have begun to warm up to your rule, but there is still work to be done (+.5% population growth).

Assets:
- Access to 2 long range communication satellites in Geosynchronous Orbit (Earth) (via Comm Center)

Units (Ground):
- (5) Security Patrol
- (3) Exploration Rover


Units (Space):
(5) IS-2 Colonial
(5) IS-2 Tankers
(2) IS-2 IS Cargo
(1) IS-2 Satellite Carrier


Industry/Facilities (Ground):
:: EC/Turn: 160
- (2) Large Industrial Center
- (2) Small Industrial Center
- 50 EC from Bracewell for (3) turns
- 1 Small Fuel Refinery

Research:
:: 20 RC/Turn (10 given to Bracewell for (3) turns)
- (4) Small Research Lab

Agriculture:
:: 6937 people fed
- (2) Large Farm
- (2) Medium Farm
- micro-farm project

Housing:
:: 5250/6549 people adequately housed
- Large Housing Wing:
- (15) Refugee Camp
- (5) IS Colonial converted to temporary housing

Infrastructure & Services:
- Medium Nuclear Reactor
- Small Comms Center
- Medical Clinic
- Spaceport


Industry/Facilities (Space):
- SR Communication Satellite Network: Enables secure communications in a 1 AU diameter. Primarily intended for Military and Intelligence purposes only.

---

Hero Stats

- No heroes have been recruited as of this time

---

Councillors (9/9): @Void Stalker, @ConfusedPotato, @Ventari, @Habstab, @10ebbor10, @ManInACandyVan, @Uhtread, @RulerOfNothing, @Prevalent117

Retired:

Spoiler: Level 1 Councillors

@Void Stalker
@ConfusedPotato
@Ventari
@Habstab
@10ebbor10
@ManInACandyVan
@Uhtread
@RulerOfNothing
@Prevalent117

-- Updates every Sunday--

--Players have one week between turns to vote on their desired action plan--

--Good luck, commanders--​

 

[ManInACandyVan]

I can't write up a formal action plan right now, but I suggest building two large housing wings, two small industrial centers, and one one medium farm.

As for research, something on hydroponics or GM crops.

 

[Finari'i]

If you want to join the council and become a voting player, just ask. First come, first served.

 

[ManInACandyVan]

Ah, I see. I should have read the section on counselors, sorry. I'll just enjoy as a spectator then.

 

[Finari'i]

Ah, I see. I should have read the section on counselors, sorry. I'll just enjoy as a spectator then.

Click to shrink...

Feel free! Spectators can create action plans, debate other plans, etc. basically everything except vote, actually.

 

[Void Stalker]

I would like to join as a counselor, going to have to think on a plan for the first turn but securing our starting location and making sure we have the food and resources to support ourselves seems like a solid first step.

 

[Finari'i]

Also, keep in mind, you have yet to hear from any of the other facilities either in Earth orbit, on Luna, on Mars, or that private-NASA ship out near Saturn.

I would like to join as a counselor, going to have to think on a plan for the first turn but securing our starting location and making sure we have the food and resources to support ourselves seems like a solid first step.

Click to shrink...

I'll add your name to the list then!

 

[always_confused]

Posting in epic thread. I like where this is going.

 

[Void Stalker]

So we are short on housing, short on food, short on medical coverage and oh our EC does not cover building one of the large buildings a turn so we need to build additional factories as well.

@Finari'i
Do we need to pay for something all at once or can it be done over multiple turns? Also does rolling well give a discount to the EC cost?

 

[Finari'i]

So we are short on housing, short on food, short on medical coverage and oh our EC does not cover building one of the large buildings a turn so we need to build additional factories as well.

@Finari'i
Do we need to pay for something all at once or can it be done over multiple turns? Also does rolling well give a discount to the EC cost?

Click to shrink...

It can be done over multiple turns, yes.

Rolls generally don't influence construction unless it's a random event like construction workers going on strike or something. The job is done when the necessary EC has been put forward. EC can be seen as an economic commitment to do something, with more EC getting the job done faster due to you being more committed to it.

 

[Rotekian]

Tearing down structures does not appear to be a viable solution to the food shortage.

Tear Down:
4x Research Labs (100 EC)
Large Industrial Center (250-75=175 EC)
Small Comms Center (50 EC)
Medical Clinic (50 EC)
Spaceport (125 EC)
Total: 500 EC + 75 EC = 575 EC

Build
Medium Farm (500 EC) / 2x Small Farm (500 EC)

 

[Void Stalker]

Tentative Action Plan:
Shipbuilding- None
Construction- 150 EC/Turn
Small Housing Wing (need 100) put 50
Small Industrial Center (need 50) put 50
Small Farm (need 250) put 50
Small Industrial Center (need 50) put 50
Tear Down Research Lab x2 (add 50 EC)

Research- ???

Diplomacy-Try to raise the other settlements

Military-???

Economic-???

General Actions-Rovers to patrol around our territory

So I was reading the building section and noticed this:
Any ground-based building can be refitted into a more advanced version using the EC from the old building towards the new one.

As such starting small housing and small farm, once they complete we will then refit to medium and then either refit to large or start new small.
At the same time add one small industrial center a turn to boost our EC income (with 2 this turn). By doing so we and putting the extra EC into housing and farms we should be able to complete them sooner.

Turn 2:
EC 160
Small Housing Wing 50/100 put 50
Small Industrial Center 0/50 put 50
Small Farm 50/250 put 60

Turn 3:
EC 165
Small to Medium Housing Wing 0/150 put 50
Small Industrial Center 0/50 put 50
Small Farm 110/250 put 65

Turn 4:
EC 170
Small to Medium Housing Wing 50/150 put 50
Small to Medium Industrial Center 0/200 put 45
Small Farm 175/250 put 75

Turn 5:
EC 170
Small to Medium Housing Wing 100/150 put 50
Small to Medium Industrial Center 45/200 put 85
Small to Medium Farm 0/250 put 35

Turn 6:
EC 170
Medium to Large Housing Wing 0/250 put 50
Small to Medium Industrial Center 130/200 put 70
Small to Medium Farm 35/250 put 50

Turn 7:
EC 195
Medium to Large Housing Wing 50/250 put 50
Small to Medium Industrial Center 0/200 put 50
Small to Medium Farm 85/250 put 95

Turn 8:
EC 195
Medium to Large Housing Wing 100/250 put 50
Small to Medium Industrial Center 50/200 put 75
Small to Medium Farm 180/250 put 70

Turn 9:
EC 195
Medium to Large Housing Wing 150/250 put 50
Small to Medium Industrial Center 125/200 put 75
Medium to Large Farm 0/500 put 70

Turn 10:
EC 220
Medium to Large Housing Wing 200/250 put 50
Small to Medium Industrial Center 0/200 put 100
Medium to Large Farm 70/500 put 70

Turn 11:
EC 220
Small Housing Wing 0/100 put 50
Small to Medium Industrial Center 100/200 put 100
Medium to Large Farm 140/500 put 70

Turn 12:
EC 245
Small Housing Wing 50/100 put 50
Small to Medium Industrial Center 0/200 put 100 (last small)
Medium to Large Farm 210/500 put 95

Turn 13:
EC 245
Small to Medium Housing Wing 0/150 put 50
Small to Medium Industrial Center 100/200 put 100 (last small)
Medium to Large Farm 305/500 put 95

Turn 14:
EC 270
Small to Medium Housing Wing 0/150 put 50
Medium to Large Industrial Center 0/250 put 125
Medium to Large Farm 305/500 put 95 (have now met food needs)

So long term plan but I figure that as long as we make progress we can survive off of rationing, and each time the farm finishes a step it should relive some of the rationing pressure. Plus as long as it seems we are working towards fixing the food and housing issue we should be able to maintain morale. We may want to send some surveys out to see if there are any abandoned supplies and facilities that we can use. Also note that our EC has almost doubled by this point allowing us to build faster, on turn 16 we would have EC of 315 and could finish up the housing as well, at which point we can probably keep 50 into new or expanding housing and 50 into new or expanding farms and keep up with pop growth with the rest going to other facilities.

 

[Kelenas]

Well, the last go of the game looked interesting enough, save for the shenanigans with the US general. Don't think I'll be able to commit the time to be a Councilor (not to mention that I find the idea/approach of only allowing for a very limited pool of players highly detrimental to begin with), but I'm just gonna chuck out some ideas anyway.

- The OP mentions other bases and outposts from which refugees come. Might be worthwhile to take a look at them; a fair number of them can likely be salvaged for parts and raw materials, which is what helped deal with the initial issues in the last thread by providing extra resources, but it might also be possible that there are some larger ones that could useful in other ways. Strip out everything except for power generation and life support, and fill up the space inside with as many mini-hydroponics and bunk beds as possible, essentially turning them into miniature farming villages to help alleviate the current housing and food issues.

- Similarly, there's a lot of space stations in orbit around Earth that contain survivors but are not capable of sustaining themselves; seeking them out with the space vehicles available could net a couple hundred more survivors, along with more salvage to build up farms and housing. Probably gonna cost a lot of fuel, but after the initial expenditures you're unlikely to use much of it for the near future.

- Getting in contact with the other bases on Luna would probably be a good idea. Sharing information, resources, etc. could help alleviate the situation, or avoid conflict - for example if some have the same idea in regards to salvaging lunar bases or orbital stations. Considering the track record from the last game, though, I kinda expect the Russian military base to go off the rockers and try install a dictatorship over the moon. On the other hand, it'd be a bit boring if the GM just copied the plot 1:1 from the last game, so maybe not.

- The refugees make for a lot of idle hands. It might be possible to make use of them to enhance your food production and industrial capacity a slight bit by providing them with basic tools and the like. A guy with screwdrivers, hammers and some soldering irons isn't going to match up to a dedicated industrial machine, but nearly five thousand of them could make a fair bit of stuff. Same in regards to carrying stuff, or raising some additional food plants in pots, taking apart pieces from other bases and space stations to use as materials, that sort of stuff. It's not gonna make a huge impact, but every little bit could help, and it would likely help with morale since people would feel like they're actually doing something.

- In terms of food, all three farms are about equal in terms of food produced for EC invested. Large farm are better than small or medium, but only very slightly, so the best thing to do in terms of time would be to build small and then medium farms, then start over with small farms again until food needs are met in as little time as possible. Then later build them up into large farms in order to make room for population expansion.

- In terms of housing, refugee camp houses the most people for the EC invested (6 people per EC), followed by large, medium and small housing wing in descending order (5, 4, and 2.5 people housed per EC, respectively). Ideally, it would be best to build towards large housing wings exclusively, but due to the high EC costs this would take a while and leave the majority of the population with no housing in the meantime, which is almost certain to cause issues. Best approach would probably a mixed approach; building towards a large housing wing as quickly as possible, while also setting up a fair amount of refugee camps.
A possible idea might be to invest EC from the base into housing wings, while all EC gained from salvage goes into refugee housing.

- In terms of EC, each industrial facilities is more efficient than the one before, but opportunity cost must be considered. Ie, a large industrial facility provides the largest return of EC for EC invested, but it also takes a while to build, whereas small facilities can be built quickly and immediately start contributing their EC. So for the time being it might be better to build a lot of small facilities in order to quickly raise the available amount of EC, then expand them later once the immediate emergency situation with the refugees is solved and efficiency becomes more attractive overall.

- If need be, some of the space vessels could be scrapped for resources after the space stations and whatnot are evacuated and salvaged, if EC shortages persist. On the other hand, the space vessels could also be incredibly useful for evacuating survivors from earth, or salvaging crucial technology, information, and the like from the planet (such as various seed and gene vaults), once the refugee situation has been solved and the situation on the surface stabilized somewhat.

- Scrapping the laboratories could be done, but it might be a better idea to see if it isn't possible to put them to use in order to try and alleviate the situation, instead. Like helping develop programs through which the refugees can contribute to food or industry, or how to alleviate the psychological issues from the whole "end of the world" thing.

 

[ManInACandyVan]

There are 4,049 inadequately-housed people as of now. It could be solved by building two large housing wings (1000 EC) (5000 cap.). However, if we built at least 27 refugee camps, that could house them while only costing 675 EC. That saves 325 EC.

It is by no means a long term solution; it's simply a band-aid so we can focus on our industrial capabilities and increasing our food supply. With the EC saved, we can afford a small farm and a small industrial center.

After our people are well-fed and given beds, we can begin replacing the refugee camps with proper housing wings.

 

[Void Stalker]

I think our best bet is trying to find additional material in the various abandoned settlements that can be repurposed to provide a boost to farming and housing.

 

[ManInACandyVan]

@Finari'i , what's the capacity of an exploration rover? Would a security team fit? We could send a team in a rover to those abandoned settlements as a general action.

 

[Finari'i]

@Finari'i , what's the capacity of an exploration rover? Would a security team fit? We could send a team in a rover to those abandoned settlements as a general action.

Click to shrink...

You can fit a security team in the rover, yes. They are capable of transporting up to a dozen individuals, so about one squad of any given soldier/security unit.

 

[always_confused]

More Councillors would be good...I'd volunteer - if only to fill the blank space and provide the opportunity for a +5 bonus to something - but I don't think I could come up with a plan. I'd just pick one that pertains to what path I like and vote for that.

 

[ManInACandyVan]

Another question: can we house people in the ships and rovers? The rovers are described as having a robust life-support system and I assume the ships do too.

We have five (5) IS-2 Colonials which can house 85 passengers and 15 crew. 500 people total. A rover can carry a dozen, and we have three (3) but we'll use two (2). 24 people total.

Assuming this works in the system, we can house 524 people while putting to use unused assets. We'll only need to house 3,524 people. We'll need at least 24 refugee camps, costing 600 EC. That only saves 75 EC compared to the previous plan, granted, but I'm of a frugal mind.

Since we aren't going anywhere, we could use them as temporary housing as well to further cut costs. We'll save a rover to use as a scouting force.

 

[Finari'i]

Another question: can we house people in the ships and rovers? The rovers are described as having a robust life-support system and I assume the ships do too.

We have five (5) IS-2 Colonials which can house 85 passengers and 15 crew. 500 people total. A rover can carry a dozen, and we have three (3) but we'll use two (2). 24 people total.

Assuming this works in the system, we can house 524 people while putting to use unused assets. We'll only need to house 3,524 people. We'll need at least 24 refugee camps, costing 600 EC. That only saves 75 EC compared to the previous plan, granted, but I'm of a frugal mind.

Since we aren't going anywhere, we could use them as temporary housing as well to further cut costs. We'll save a rover to use as a scouting force.

Click to shrink...

Ships: They are designed to sustain people for months long voyages to Mars. People would be forced to sleep in the same room as two other stangers, but it'd be better for them than sleeping in hallways (the current situation)

Rovers: You're asking people to sleep in what amounts to glorified cars with a lot of expensive scientific gear in them. They would likely be even more upset than the current situation.

 

[ManInACandyVan]

Ah. Well, the rovers didn't house that many people in the first place. They'd probably be better used as they're meant to be used: to explore.

 

[ConfusedPotato]

I want to be a councillor. This is my (tentative) plan.

For this turn we have:
150 EC base (150 from large industrial centres)
with 5.4 NEC upkeep (6.5 for ships in space, 0.4 for small research labs, 1 for medium nuclear reactor, 0.5 for spaceport)
141.6 EC useable
40 RC (40 from small research labs)
5 Fuel (5 from small fuel refinery)

3 Shipbuilding actions
- Yeah, no. We need all of the EC we can get to solve this mess.

5 Construction actions (General infrastructure, both planetary and space-based)
-Build 2 Small Industrial Centres
-Start Building a Small Farm (41.6/250)
-Send the 3 rovers with a security team to each abandoned outpost and tear down all non-vital buildings (anything not housing, life support or farms) for parts for bonus EC
--If a place has only one or two of the three non-vital buildings and it is not within walking distance to Gagarin Base tear it all down.
-Using bonus EC build as many complete refugee camps as possible
--Once housing requirements have been reached, spend the rest of the EC on the farm.

5 Research actions (R&D)
-Have anyone with psychology training provide counselling to those who need it.
-Research Hydroponics or better Farming

3 Diplomacy actions (Diplomatic actions; includes passing new Laws, Regulations, etc)
-Get into contact with any remaining space stations and trade food for EC with them if they require it also ask what facilities/resources they have and what they require
-Do the same with any nearby outposts.

3 Military actions (Military actions; includes Exploration/Survey actions)
-Try to quell disputes in a fair unbiased manner

3 Economic actions (Economic actions; trade deals, embargoes, tariffs, raising/lowering taxes, etc)
-Issue a general order for 24 hour operation (bar necessary maintenance), and assign jobs to everyone for even more bonus EC
-Install people to work the remaining outposts to help alleviate the food/housing issue

The players may also perform six "general actions". These would be actions that do not fall under research or manufacturing.
-Move people to the IS-colonials to help with the housing issue
-Hold a base wide memorial for the lost to help people with the grieving and to restore base moral
-Get the base psychologists/anyone with counselling training to provide grief counselling

I am assuming that buildings under construction do not give any benefits.

 

[Kelenas]

-Move people to the IS-colonials to help with the housing issue

Click to shrink...

Remember that there's space stations in earth orbit that almost certainly contain a couple hundred more survivors who might need to be rescued, for which those ships would be needed. Also, once they're rescued, the empty stations could also be salvaged for EC.

 

[ManInACandyVan]

Remember that there's space stations in earth orbit that almost certainly contain a couple hundred more survivors who might need to be rescued, for which those ships would be needed. Also, once they're rescued, the empty stations could also be salvaged for EC.

Click to shrink...

We barely have enough to house and feed the people we already have. Yes, it's cruel and inexcusable to delay saving them, but its also cruel to worsen the situation for our own people.

We should definitely pick them up once the food and housing problems are solved.