Ad Astra! ... an Aurora Forum Game, run by blue emu

[blue emu]

The Belizards have joined our alliance.

EDIT:

The ruins on SFT 1321 B-III have been evaluated, and six Tech Level 4 sites originally owned by the People's Republic of Khandwa have been located. We are still waiting for hte main find on Gliese 250 A-II to be analyzed.

EDIT:

Star-III class Destroyer Escort ESN Mintaka has been launched.

[blue emu]

Ooooops.



We've got a little issue with Prix FACs in the Giclas 148-13 system.

EDIT:

Our scout was destroyed with nineteen strength-10 hits.

First Fleet is en-route, to collect some payback.

EDIT:

The Attitude-III NJ class Light Cruisers ESN Vexed, ESN Peeved and ESN Hissy Fit have been launched.

[blue emu]

Payback time:



Our fleet arrived too late to pick up the crew of the scout before their life-support ran out... but not too late to catch the perpetrators. We will send out the 28 Air Superiority Super-Streaks from ESN Vesuvius to wipe these Prix out.

EDIT:

All six Prix FACs have been shot down by our Air Superiority Fighters. First Fleet is probing deeper into the Giclas 148-13 system, to see if any more Prix ships are present.

[blue emu]

A science team led by Bo Mosberg has completed theoretical work on Magnetic Confinement Fusion Technology, and has set to work on a study for designing a series of engines (Military, Civilian, FAC, FTR, Missile) based on this new tech. With the clues that we've already picked up from dismantling knocked-out Prix warships, we should be finished the preparatory work in about another six months, and can then start work on specific engine designs.

ie: First you need to complete "Magnetic Confinement Fusion Technology" (done), then complete "Magnetic Confinement Fusion Drive" (working on that now), then you can start a series of seperate application projects for warship engines, civilian engines, Fighter engines, FAC engines and Missile engines.

EDIT: Our scouts have located a new class-0 world in the Pi-3 Orionis system. They are investigating it now.

[blue emu]

The newly-located class-0 world of Pi-3 Orionis A-VI appears to be populated by a race of Swiss Watches.

[Capt. Kiwi]

Any idea what level the Swatches are at or what their intentions might be?

[blue emu]

Any idea what level the Swatches are at or what their intentions might be?

Relations are currently rather negative. The EM emission of the home-world is considerably lower than Earth's. I've sent the scout directly into orbit of their home planet, with orders to map the system. Perhaps they'll attack him?... no sign of ships in orbit, though.

[The_Shepherd]

The newly-located class-0 world of Pi-3 Orionis A-VI appears to be populated by a race of Swiss Watches.

To make this cheesy-er, I say we call them something vague and mysterious, like... "the Watch-makers"

[Edzako]

To make this cheesy-er, I say we call them something vague and mysterious, like... "the Watch-makers"

Who watches the Watchers?

[blue emu]

To make this cheesy-er, I say we call them something vague and mysterious, like... "the Watch-makers"

To fit in with the Prix and the Chix, we could call them "the Rolex".

[blue emu]

Off-topic, I have won both POTM (June) and POTY (2010-2011).

I am the blue feathery God of Off-Topic Spam!

EDIT:

It is now January, 2059. Thirty-four years of game-time have passed since we first ventured out into the universe.

EDIT:

Captain Qorten has retired from service.

[blue emu]

Current Fleet composition:

Armed Warships: (61 total)

6 Constellation class Fleet Carriers (@20,000 tons)
6 Hero class Battlecruisers (@20,000 tons)
4 Hero-II-NJ class Battlecruisers (@20,000 tons)
6 Battle-II class Heavy Cruisers (@15,000 tons)
6 Mountain-III class Assault Carriers (@14,900 tons)
1 Culverin class Monitor (@14,000 tons)
3 Reptile-II class Monitors (@13,950 tons)
2 Admiral-III class Command Cruisers (@13,000 tons)
6 Attitude-III class Light Cruisers (@11,750 tons)
6 Attitude-III-NJ class Light Cruisers (@11,750 tons)
9 Star-III class Destroyer Escorts (@7,750 tons)
8 Storm class Gauss Point Defense Frigates (@7,500 tons)

Naval Support Vessels:

3 Cornucopia class Ammunition Tenders (@12,000 tons)
4 Tipple class Fleet Tankers (@6,450 tons)
5 Gas Station class Fuel Harvesters (@55,450 tons)
7 Scout-II class Scout Ships (@4,200 tons)
4 Blink class Reconnaisance Vessels (@8,650 tons)
4 Spy class Surveillance Vessels (@2,000 tons)
1 Peeping Tom class Surveillance Vessel (@1,500 tons)
2 Atlas class Fleet Tugs (@98,000 tons)
2 Hercules class Tugs (@53,550 tons)
2 Wrecker class Salvage Vessels (@55,300 tons)
3 Venture class Troop Transports (@21,100 tons)
2 Expedition class Troop Transports (@55,450 tons)
6 Undertaking class Troop Transports (@20,000 tons)
1 Portal class Gate Constructor Vessel (@69,250 tons)

Naval Reserve Vessels:

23 Mayflower class (various models) Colony Ships (@55,450-55,700 tons)
64 Mule class (various models) Freighters (@46,600-61,000 tons)
20 Orbital Fuel Harvesting Stations (various models) (@97,000 tons)
10 Orbital Mining Stations (@97,000 tons)
5 Venue class Orbital Habitats (@253,550 tons)

Small Craft:

5 Scorpion class Fast Attack Craft
20 Bayonet-III class Assault Shuttles
20 Pirate-II class Boarding Shuttles
56 Super-Streak-AS Air Superiority Fighters
282 Streak Strike Fighters
306 Super-Streak Strike Fighters

[blue emu]

The Charlies have provided us with a new tech: Improved Cargo Handling. We have also completed the next tech that improves our Research Rate... it is now 400 RPs per lab per year. With 111 labs on Earth and an average (quadrupled) modifier of about +80%, that gives us a total research output of around 80,000 RPs per year, plus whatever tech we can scrounge from wrecks and outposts.

EDIT:

Our new Gauss Cannon, Tracking Speed and Sensor techs have allowed us to design a new triple Gauss Cannon turret, to be used in the next generation of Gauss Point Defense Frigates. These new ships (and others) will be laid down as soon as our theoretical and practical research on Magnetic Confinement Fusion Drives is complete.

[Ayeshteni]

Holy Moly, that's some OOB.

Aye.

[TheExecuter]

Honored to serve, your featheryness...

I assure you, no harm will come to the Hastings whilst I am in command. She will always return home.

[Velko]

The newly-located class-0 world of Pi-3 Orionis A-VI appears to be populated by a race of Swiss Watches.

Haha, that's the Imperial scout droid from Empire Strikes Back!

[TheLoneGunman]

A question oh Supreme Lord Emu...

Whatever happened to those killer Prix robots we captured?

[randakar]

3 Venture class Troop Transports (@21,100 tons)
2 Expedition class Troop Transports (@55,450 tons)
6 Undertaking class Troop Transports (@20,000 tons)

I presume each of the expidition class transports can haul a full brigade. Correct?
And the ventures and undertaking classes would then probably each hold a battallion.

So in all your current capacity for moving troops around would be roughly 2 brigades and 9 batallions.
Or 3 full brigades and some support for boarding actions, more likely.

I'm not sure how many ground troops you have but it may be wise to start boosting both your transport capabilities and your total number of ground forces. If you ever want to invade an enemy held planet your current fleet will have a LOT of trouble carrying enough troops in.

If you want to capture a single planet of even a semi-decent tech / population level you're looking at a requirement to drop AT LEAST 2 full heavy assault divisions.
Since a division consists of 4 brigades and a division HQ just dropping that bare minimum would take your current fleet at least 3 round trips.
That is hardly desireable, I reckon.

And bringing in just 2 divisions is already taking quite a risk. If you want to play it safe here you should aim for something more like 10 divisions ..

[blue emu]

A question oh Supreme Lord Emu...

Whatever happened to those killer Prix robots we captured?

Not sure... we never got any tech secrets from them, anyway. I guess we just captured dumb non-combat models on that Orbital Station.

I presume each of the expidition class transports can haul a full brigade. Correct?
And the ventures and undertaking classes would then probably each hold a battallion.

So in all your current capacity for moving troops around would be roughly 2 brigades and 9 batallions.
Or 3 full brigades and some support for boarding actions, more likely.

I'm not sure how many ground troops you have but it may be wise to start boosting both your transport capabilities and your total number of ground forces. If you ever want to invade an enemy held planet your current fleet will have a LOT of trouble carrying enough troops in.

If you want to capture a single planet of even a semi-decent tech / population level you're looking at a requirement to drop AT LEAST 2 full heavy assault divisions.
Since a division consists of 4 brigades and a division HQ just dropping that bare minimum would take your current fleet at least 3 round trips.
That is hardly desireable, I reckon.

And bringing in just 2 divisions is already taking quite a risk. If you want to play it safe here you should aim for something more like 10 divisions ..

Each of our 11 Troop Transports can carry a full Brigade, for a total of 2+ Divisions. The difference in tonnage (20,000 vs 55,000) represents the difference between jump-capable and non-jump versions. Jump drive are extremely bulky and massive.

... but yes, I'm planning to increase our lift capability.

[blue emu]

We have established the new colony of Unicorn in the V577 Monoceri system. This expands our holdings to within one jump of the Ruined Colony xenoarcheological site in the Gliese 250 system, which also holds five colonizable worlds.

EDIT:

Terraforming efforts continue on Draco in the Sigma Draconis system. For the past couple of years, we have been flooding the planet's atmosphere with biologically inert greenhouse gasses, slowly raising the planet's temperature. Hopefully, the planet-wide glaciers will start to melt this coming year, which should change the planet's albedo sufficiently to "tip over" the climate from ice-house to green-house, and shift the whole planetary environment to class-0 status.