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

[blue emu]

So, what sort of nasty aliens on this planet...

Chestbursters?

Mind controlling slugs?

We haven't run into anything with lots of tentacles yet. I'm betting on big rubbery land-octopi.

The ESN Aggressive has emerged from refit as an Attitude-II class Light Cruiser, and our fifth Attitude has entered refit. The last of the refits will be complete in about a year (next October).

EDIT:

We now have over $13,600 in the bank, and gaining about $20 per day. The income will drop somewhat once we finish transporting that new research lab back to Earth, though... research is horribly expensive.

EDIT:

The terraforming of Mars continues to make progress. The average global temperature is now 13.5 degrees warmer than when we started... which still means a chilly -34.5 degrees centigrade... and our biologically inert greenhouse gas now makes up over 82% of the planet's atmosphere... meaning roughly 0.05 standard atmospheres of greenhouse gas in total.

EDIT:

Relations with Charlie now over +1120. Relations with the Nicaraguan Space-Salami-Seals over +248. I have given them trade access.

 

[blue emu]

Our fifth and sixth Orbital Fuel Stations have finished building, and two more have been laid down, along with a couple of thick-skinned Rock class Missile Target Vessels, for proof-of-concept testing in our upcoming engagement with the evil Prix. We should be ready for a general fleet engagement in the wreck-strewn Wolf 294 system in a bit less than a year.

 

[Nisco]

At the time of the engagement, will our relations with Charlie have reached new heights?

 

[Avernite]

so how much treaty with charlie do we have by now? Relations seem to be shooting through the roof lately (or I am not paying proper attention anymore )

 

[blue emu]

At the time of the engagement, will our relations with Charlie have reached new heights?

By then, we should be around +1300 or more... not yet enough for a new treaty. Grav-survey data sharing requires 1600, Alliance requires 4000, Tech sharing requires 6000.

so how much treaty with charlie do we have by now?

Close to +1150, and "Friendly" plus "Geo-data sharing".

 

[GaiusC]

our biologically inert greenhouse gas now makes up over 82% of the planet's atmosphere... meaning roughly 0.05 standard atmospheres of greenhouse gas in total.

Since we need oxygen at 0.1 atm. and making up no more than 30% of the total atmosphere, this will take us a long time.
We'll also, obviously, need to put up nitrogen in vast quantities to make up the 0.25+ atm of non-oxygen gases.

Npw, since both oxygen and nitrogen will cause a slight increase in temperatures, it might be good to stop putting up greenhouse gas once we go above -30C, focus on oxygen until 0.1 atm, then on nitrogen until Oxygen is down to roughly 35%, and then check if greenhouse gas is sorely needed to go above 0C or if nitrogen is enough to heat the place.

 

[blue emu]

Since we need oxygen at 0.1 atm. and making up no more than 30% of the total atmosphere, this will take us a long time.
We'll also, obviously, need to put up nitrogen in vast quantities to make up the 0.25+ atm of non-oxygen gases.

Npw, since both oxygen and nitrogen will cause a slight increase in temperatures, it might be good to stop putting up greenhouse gas once we go above -30C, focus on oxygen until 0.1 atm, then on nitrogen until Oxygen is down to roughly 35%, and then check if greenhouse gas is sorely needed to go above 0C or if nitrogen is enough to heat the place.

It's under control. The full formula is:

Surface Temperature in Kelvin = Base Temperature in Kelvin x Greenhouse Factor x Albedo

Greenhouse Factor = 1 + (Atmospheric Pressure /10) + Greenhouse Pressure (Maximum = 3.0)

... so a full atmosphere of Nitrogen / Oxygen mix only counts for as much as 1/10th of an atmosphere of Greenhouse Gas. I can bring the temperature up a lot further than -30 degrees without risking an over-saturation of Oxygen in the final mix.

 

[Capt. Kiwi]

My main problem with the Rock class is that the CIWS only has a target speed of 12500 km/s. What speed were the Prix missiles that squished Polar Mongoose and Guillame?

Other than that, everything seems to be coming along. Hopefully that Class 0 won't change things too much...

 

[blue emu]

My main problem with the Rock class is that the CIWS only has a target speed of 12500 km/s. What speed were the Prix missiles that squished Polar Mongoose and Guillame?

Not sure... they were using size-6 warheads, which will only penetrate two layers of armor at a time... so our dozen or so armor layers should hold off their first few salvos anyway; and by then, they might be dead. Forty Fighters with three missiles each can put 120 missiles into a time-on-target salvo. Even if only a tenth of them hit, that's still 48 points of damage per salvo... not counting the contribution from our battle-fleet or the minelayers.

The concept needs testing, so I've decided to test it.

 

[Capt. Kiwi]

Fair enough. I take it it's impossible to give civilian vessels active sensors? If they could have them they'd be useful even if they are taking damage.

 

[blue emu]

January 1st, 2034. Nine years have passed since Humanity's first venture beyond the cradle of the Solar System. Our progress continues, but not without difficulties. The most pressing immediate problem is securing more resources, so that we can build more automated mines and secure even more resources. Fortunately, while the ores of Earth are starting to run out, the Solar System as a whole still contains ample reserves of Duranium and Corundium, the two Trans-Newtonian elements most urgently required for our expansion. The Sorium shortage has been more-or-less solved by the Orbital Fuel Stations which are now processing the atmosphere of Uranus and converting it into rocket fuel.

We are planning a major fleet engagement before the end of the year. By then, our new Salvage Ships and Missile Target Vessels should be ready, and our Battle Fleet should be fully upgraded to the most modern available engines, weapons and defensive systems.

Fair enough. I take it it's impossible to give civilian vessels active sensors? If they could have them they'd be useful even if they are taking damage.

I tried to add active sensors, and it reclassified the ships as "Military". I want to keep them "Civilian", so that I can build and repair them in Civilian yards, and they won't compete for slips with our warships. Also, Civilian ships build faster... we've got a civilian yard with 98,000 tons capacity, which really speeds up construction.

 

[Lord Strange]

Mankind is on its way up! All hail the Emu!

 

[GaiusC]

Fair enough. I take it it's impossible to give civilian vessels active sensors? If they could have them they'd be useful even if they are taking damage.

Indeed.
There's a "civilian components only" box you can check in the Design window, which makes things clearer. Thermal sensor are the only civilian ones - EM, Geo and Grav sensors, though passive, are military ones.


By Emu, we will prevail!

 

[Stuckenschmidt]

And if we fail, the Logistics Department would be happy to pick up your remains and send them to your relatives.

 

[blue emu]

And if we fail, the Logistics Department would be happy to pick up your remains and send them to your relatives.

Don't laugh... you're coming along.

I'm going to pair-off the Salvage Vessels with Freighters, so that if we find any intact components while dismantling those wrecks, we will have extra cargo holds to store them in. I'd hate to lose the chance of gaining a free tech, just because our cargo holds are filling up with ores recovered from the wrecks, and can't hold components too (each cargo hold can EITHER hold up to 5000 tons of ore, OR it can hold something else, like a high-tech engine recovered from a wreck).

 

[Stuckenschmidt]

Don't laugh... you're coming along.

*gulp*

"Dear Bea,

I just write to let you know, that this is most probably my last letter to you before you receive a message from Fleet Command, since I `volunteered` for a suicidal mission heading for the Prix. Kiss our daughters and tell them I love and miss them."

 

[GaiusC]

Come on. The freighters and salvage ships will quietly wait on the other side of the jump point until the battle is over and they can safely pick up the wrecks.

Won't they?

 

[blue emu]

Come on. The freighters and salvage ships will quietly wait on the other side of the jump point until the battle is over and they can safely pick up the wrecks.

Won't they?

Yes, of course. They'll have to leave Earth first, since they're much slower than the Battle Fleet (less than half as fast), but the battle will be over... one way or another... before the Freighters and Salvage Vessels arrive at the Wolf 294 jump point.

 

[ForzaA]

It's under control. The full formula is:

Surface Temperature in Kelvin = Base Temperature in Kelvin x Greenhouse Factor x Albedo

Greenhouse Factor = 1 + (Atmospheric Pressure /10) + Greenhouse Pressure (Maximum = 3.0)

So is that the max Greenhouse Factor being 3.0 or the max Greenhouse Pressure being 3.0 ?
How about the base temperature and Albedo of Mars?

 

[blue emu]

So is that the max Greenhouse Factor being 3.0 or the max Greenhouse Pressure being 3.0 ?
How about the base temperature and Albedo of Mars?

It's Greenhouse Pressure... but the limit of 3.0 probably isn't going to be a constraint, since currently with 83% of the atmosphere being greenhouse gas the greenhouse pressure is only 0.0506 (base temperature of Mars at this distance from Sol is 225 kelvin, albedo has been 1.0 ever since we started... no change).

EDIT: The albedo will change a bit (and warm the place up somewhat) once the ice-caps melt... but we're still a long way from that stage.