Outcast Quest [Updated 10/10/18 - Turn 14]

[Sweforce]

Since there where hints of a possibility to jump in I suggest:
[X] Valhalla

Besides if the loroi guests become long term they fit nicely into a revived Norse culture. They are warrior women (shield maidens), Valkyries, light elves and if anyone got something more then just sanzai also Völvas (female Norse mystics). I say go for it!

[dragoongfa]

Our Loroi guests will probably be with us for early and probably for the start of the mid game.

The plan I am going to suggest is more or less as follows:

Early start (first three turns?): Food and RU mining focus.
Early mid: (turns 4 to 8?): Establishment of industry, including fuel with the first steps at improving security (asteroid thrusters?).
Early late: (turns 8 to 12?): Ship building and research as main focus, expanding food production for trading/expansion as secondary.

Our expedition to find the Loroi in the hopes of peaceful contact and having them as early trade partners should be our first mid game goal. Returning our guest to their House would help immensely with this and would alleviate the possibility of a really bad Loroi reaction to the combination of our similarity and Lotai.

In any case, I wouldn't venture outside our safe haven without a small flotilla of ships with us and back at home.

[Siber]

Diplomacy:
[X] Soothing Tensions: No use buddying up with the Loroi if we don't have our own house in order first.

Stewardship:
[X] Agricultural Complex: We need food ASAP obviously
[X] Stabilisation Thrusters: Keeping our food source safe is almost as important as getting it to begin with

Learning:
[X] Loroi Biochemistry: A lot of good options in this category, but as we spin up food production expand the risk of accidentally killing some of our guests, so this seems like a good one to knock out now.

Extra rationing:
[x] Yea

[dragoongfa]

Razor will put it to a survey poll sometime tomorrow, right now we are talking about the name and future planning

I think that we should first establish some mining, then have the thrusters strapped on the asteroid. This because of the RU upkeep for almost everything. We could start building the thrusters at turn 3 if everything pans our as it should. Also we have already established that they can eat potatoes

[joestej]

Okay, calling it for the Briar Patch.

Your update has been spoilered for length.

SpoilerShow

May 2nd, 2155

Turn 1

The Briar Patch is aptly named by your crew. As the hydrogen gas thickens around your hull it warms, producing an environment not unlike Jupiter's atmosphere. The deeper you penetrate, the lower your sensor resolution becomes and the more the wind makes itself known through turbulence.

Lightning strikes as clouds scud off into the distance. Only the strangeness of your new universe seems to allow this region to exist. Back home something like this would have either blown itself apart due to equalising air pressure, or collapsed in on itself and become a proper gas giant. Instead you've got two or three atmospheres of pressure on your hull and it's making your spacer sensibilities itch with nervousness.

As you penetrate deeper and deeper into the quasi-nebula or semi-planet, a wondrous sight appears before you. You see free floating wind worn asteroids tumbling in the wind, literal mountains in a sky that will never know the ground, a place to settle and make your home.

A lot of your colonists aren't particularly happy about that. They had lives and families back home that they will never see again. The Terran Frontier, distant though it may have been, still had lines of supply and contact. Here you are alone. Still, they're smart enough to realise that you can't get home so easily. If even advanced cultures can't bridge the gulf of knowledge required, what hope do you have? Still. You'll try. It's the only thing that you can do.

Others are more enthusiastic about building something for themselves. They relish the challenges to come and are excited about exploring the unknown depths of a new universe. Yes, it is terrifying to know that there are creatures out there that would as soon gut you as talk to you, but the presence of your Loroi guests bolsters their hopes and dreams of peaceful alien contact.

Military and civilian experts look over the area and select the best spot to break ground. All your colony needs is a name. There's already been debate on that front, and most of the camps are split, but there yet remain a few deciding votes. It seems they're waiting on your opinion before weighing in.

What should you call your colony?

[] Avalon

An island of Arthurian Legend, it is the place where Excalibur was forged and where the Once And Future King was taken after the battle of Camlann to recover from his wounds.

(Gain Arthurian themes in updates and naming conventions)

[] Parmentier

Antoine-Augustin Parmentier was a vocal promoter of the potato, promoted the use of the smallpox vaccine, and pioneered the use of refrigeration.

(Maintain French derived naming convention)

[] Valhalla

Valhalla is the afterlife of all those who die in battle, where they feast and fight for all eternity until the day of Raganarok.

(Gain Norse themes in updates and naming conventions)

[] Something Else? (Write In)

12,500 Resource Units
2000 Medical Supply Units
1000 Units of Chocolate

Martial: {Locked}

Both Commander O'Malley and Colonel Pierce are allocating all available personnel to help break ground for the colony. No military actions may be taken until then.

Diplomacy: Though Ensign Izumi is still in quarantine, she's your most effective diplomat, though you're no slouch yourself in that department. (Choose One.)

[] Improving Relations: Developing a closer rapport with your Loroi guests would definitely be a plus. Put some time and effort into learning each other's cultures.

Cost: 0, Time: 1 Month, Chance of Success: 70%, Reward: Boost in Loroi Opinion, ???

[] Soothing Tensions: Your colonists are not as united as you'd like. Factions are starting to form despite Vanessa and Richard's best efforts. Nipping this in the bud would be for the best.

Cost: 0, Time: 1 Month, Chance of Success: 60%, Reward: Tensions Soothed, ???

Stewardship: Alex Cole and an economist, Samantha Nguyen, have worked out not only a way to easily tabulate your resources, but also what you can do to build your colony up. (Choose 2)

[] Habitation Complex: Your colonists are itching to get out of the passenger module and stretch their legs. The habitation complex will provide room for 500 people to live comfortably.

Cost: 1000 RU, Time: 1 Month, Chance of Success: 80%, Reward: Habitation Complex Built, New Options, Colonists off your ship, Requires 250 RU upkeep.

[] Agricultural Complex: Without a ready supply of food you're going to starve. The Agri-Complex will allow you to grow food as quickly as you can once it's built.

Cost: 1000 RU, Time: 1 Month, Chance of Success: 80%, Reward: Agricultural Complex Built, New Options, Able to Grow Food, converts 3 RU -> 1 Food, +500 Food at max production, requires 250 RU upkeep, requires two turns to begin production after completion.

[] Yeast Production Plant: Yeast has numerous uses, from basic food production to alcohol and bread making.

Cost: 500 RU, Time: 2 Months, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Yeast Production Plant Built, New Food Options, Able to Grow Yeast, converts 1 RU -> 1 Food, +250 Food at max production, requires 125 RU upkeep.

[] Stabilisation Thrusters: Your home asteroid is not fixed in space. There is a slim chance that it could float off and strike another asteroid, or be struck itself. Needless to say, this would probably be a bad thing. Build stabilisation thrusters to help hold your colony in place and allow it to nudge itself away from impending doom.

Cost: 3000 RU, Time: 3 Months, Chance of Success: 60%, Reward: Not getting crushed by flying mountains, requires 500 RU upkeep.

[] Biolab: The biolab will handle all science biological, from alien physiology, botany and disease control, to genetic manipulation and vaccination production.

Cost: 6500 RU, Time: 4 Months, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: More research options.

[] Physics Lab: The physics lab will handle all science physical, allowing you to understand the new realm you find yourself in more fully.

Cost: 8750 RU, Time: 6 Months, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: More research options.

[] Mineralogical Survey: Survey your home and nearby asteroids for the best place to deploy your mining equipment.

Cost: 0, Time: 1 Month, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Knowledge of local ores, Able to begin mining operations.

[] Fuel Refinery: Harvests the surrounding hydrogen rich atmosphere and converts it into delicious fuel for your ships to burn.

Cost: 4000 RU, Time: 6 Months, Chance of Success: 70%, Reward: Ship automatically refuels while at home.

[] Docks: Basic mooring and umbilicals for the L'Amour, allowing for ease of transport and for cargo and personnel and basic repairs.

Cost: 3000 RU, Time: 3 Months, Chance of Success: 80%, Reward: Allows for easy disembarkation of people and goods, Unlocks new Options.

[] Warehousing: Space to store spare parts, raw materials, and sensitive goods. Allows you to empty the L'Amour's cargo hold.

Cost: 1000 RU, Time: 1 Month, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: A place to store goods and cargo other than the ship.

[] Machine Shop: Allows for the reproduction and repair of basic tools and equipment.

Cost: 1000 RU, Time: 1 Month, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Basic tool production, New options.

[] Medical Center: All colonies require medical treatment for the sick and injured and the biolab is no place to treat broken bones.

Cost: 2000 RU, Time: 3 Months, Chance of Success: 80%, Reward: Medical treatment available for all colonists except Loroi.

[] Scrapping the Jumpdrive: Your Jumpdrive is useless here and consists of a lot of highly valuable materials that could be used elsewhere in the founding of your colony, though Volkova argues that it's made of precision parts that can't be easily reproduced.

Cost: 0, Time: 1 Month, Chance of Success: 100%, Reward: +15,000 RU.

Intrigue:{Locked}

As a military transport vessel, signals intelligence or other intelligence related officers were not a part of your crew.

Learning: You have many skilled people at your beck and call just waiting to tear into the unknown and reveal its juicy, succulent knowledge. (Choose One)

[] Loroi Trade: Ensign Izumi wishes to continue learning Trade as fast as she can with the help of your new Loroi friends. (Due to Spear learning English quickly, +20 bonus to the standard 4d100 + 4d20 now applies)

Cost: 0, Value Needed: 701 / 1750, Reward: Ensign Izumi increases her knowledge of trade, can teach others upon completion.

[] Urkuk: Considering how prolific the Urkuk are to the region, it may be prudent to have the Ensign learn what she can of Urkuk. Perhaps they'll go away if you ask them nicely?

Cost: 0, Value Needed: 230 / 750, Reward: Ensign Izumi increases her knowledge of Urkuk, can teach others upon completion.

[] Jump Transit Analysis: Chief Engineer Volkova wants to look over the data for your last jump transit to see if your sensors picked anything up anything unusual, perhaps what brought you here in the first place? Perhaps a clue to getting home? She's not sure.

Cost: 0, Value Needed: 0 / 500, Reward: ???

[] Loroi Biochemistry: Doctor Campos would like to do a more detailed study into Loroi biochemistry to determine with certainty what foods the Loroi can handle as well as derive what nutrients they require to fully recover from their ordeal in addition to what medicines they're able to consume.

Cost: 0, Value Needed: 91 / 1000, Reward: Knowledge of what is and is not toxic to Loroi biochemistry.

[] Loroi Physiology: Doctor Campos would like to do a full medical workup on the Loroi in your care. As similar as they are physically, there may be differences that could hinder effective medical treatment.

Cost: 0, Value Needed: 0 / 80, Reward: More effective medical treatment for Loroi.

[] Slave Collar: Chief Volkova and a number of scientists want to look into how the slave collars removed from the Loroi work.

Cost: 0, Value Needed: 25 / 50,000 (DC 90), Reward: Knowledge of the inner workings of the collar, ???

[] Drone Design: Some of your civilian engineers want some time to continue designing those sensor drones they proposed to you.

[] Jump Sickness Research: Dr. Campos research into jump sickness has the potential to eliminate it in your population. All he needs is time.

Cost: 0, Value Needed: 819 / 5000, Reward: Jump sickness penalty removed.

Cost: 0, Value Needed: 64 / 500, Reward: Disposable sensor drone capable of extending your sensor range.

Personal: {Locked}

You don't have any time to spare. Every day you work yourself to the bone. Every night you fall asleep dead tired. Your parents built the colony you grew up in, and now you know just how much hard work that is.

EMERGENCY ACTIONS

Your officers have run the numbers. You will have a food shortfall before your first harvest even comes in, provided your other projects stay on track.

They recommend that at least 50 more people go on harsher rationing to make up for the shortfall. All the require is your word.

[] Yea
[] Nay

The name for your colony will be an informal vote. The options for Martial, Diplomacy, et al will be done via Survey Monkey and will go up in a day or two. Discuss amongst yourselves what you believe your best options are. As always, majority will win.

Our Loroi guests will probably be with us for early and probably for the start of the mid game.

The plan I am going to suggest is more or less as follows:

SpoilerShow

Early start (first three turns?): Food and RU mining focus.
Early mid: (turns 4 to 8?): Establishment of industry, including fuel with the first steps at improving security (asteroid thrusters?).
Early late: (turns 8 to 12?): Ship building and research as main focus, expanding food production for trading/expansion as secondary.

Our expedition to find the Loroi in the hopes of peaceful contact and having them as early trade partners should be our first mid game goal. Returning our guest to their House would help immensely with this and would alleviate the possibility of a really bad Loroi reaction to the combination of our similarity and Lotai.

In any case, I wouldn't venture outside our safe haven without a small flotilla of ships with us and back at home.

Ship construction is likely going to be beyond us for now, assuming every turn is a month. The space shuttle Atlantis took four years to build, and it was much smaller than an Outsider warship. Add to that the fact that we've got to build ALL our industry from the ground up and we're probably looking at a year or two before we can build anything beyond recon probes.

In terms of Diplomacy, I agree that we need to get our own house together before we worry about the Loroi we picked up. Good relations with them will crumble quickly if it seems like we can't control our own people, and the colonists won't like it if we're spending all our time with the aliens and ignoring their needs.

For Stewardship, food is our first priority. Industry does no good if we're dead, after all. I say Agriculture and the Mining Survey would likely be good focuses. Agriculture needs time to get underway, so the sooner we lay that down the better. I'd like to get Yeast up as well, but with the upkeep Agriculture requires mining might be a better option.

For Learning, Loroi physiology seems a nice place to start. It's easy to complete, and will be useful for both keeping them healthy and maybe sliding into their biochemistry next.

We should probably vote yes on that Emergency Action. Starving is bad. Definitely don't want to starve.

---

For names, I kind of feel that Norse themes are a bit overdone. Everyone seems to be using them these days. I'd like to try something different, just for a change of pace.

[X] Avalon

[Siber]

Derp, by the time I finished reading the spoilered section I forgot about that. Oh well. It's a fair point about mining and upkeep. My intuition was that we had enough RU to coast for a bit before setting up mines, but that's not especially prudent and I haven't run the numbers.

For the multi-month projects, are we going to have a stewardship option locked out or occupied for the duration?

On names, I'm tempted to pick out something a little less conventional, but nothing particularly inspired is coming to me. failing that...

Edit: Someone else came up with something a bit less conventional.

[Razor One]

For the multi-month projects, are we going to have a stewardship option locked out or occupied for the duration?

Yes, projects that run longer than a turn (1 turn = 1 month) will be locked in until completed.

Regarding shipbuilding, yes, you will be restricted by your industry and manpower on that front, but you will also have options until you can expand. Upgrading your existing assets may be a possibility.

[dragoongfa]

Snip

We already have industrial machinery with us so setting up an industry isn't much of an issue in regards to investment. The way I went about it in my head is to produce some short of corvettes to combat a small Urkuk attack and hunt down anyone who retreats. Such ships shouldn't be much of a challenge to build with what we have at our disposal (data about basic subsystems and weapons + industrial equipment + mining equipment), next in the list would be a dedicated freighter in order to keep L'amour at the base for a quick evacuation if needed. Both such ship classes should be considered 'easy' to produce without much of hussle or drain in manpower.

Anyway the first heavy industry product we will need to produce will probably be shuttles to ferry stuff back and fourth. We have what, 2 maybe 4 shuttles available plus the marine assault shuttle. With the amount of people we have brought and the production needed to sustain them we will need more shuttles as soon as possible.

Later, when we know what is what around us we could build something bigger.

[anamiac]

[] Avalon

[] Soothing Tensions

[] Agricultural Complex, [] Mineralogical Survey

[] Loroi Trade

[] Yea


Reasoning behind Loroi trade is because 1- if you can communicate with them, you can ask them about what they want to eat and how they want medical care, so it sorta serves those purposes as well. But if you can communicate with them then they can start being a benefit to the colony. They are only kids, but they may have different ways of doing things that can benefit everyone.

[dragoongfa]

I would like to say that choosing 'Valhalla' gives us a perfect opportunity to put in some Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore quotes and of course the mandatory:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqtehtSB0LI

I have a feeling that the Urkek will hate us

[Suederwind]

So, after the lag demon ate two versions of this post, I'll be brief:

[x] Niflheim (roughly "Mist World") sounds more fitting to me than Valhalla. Also, its located below the world of man in the nordic comology.

With the rest, I will vote for the same things Siber did.

And a qestion for our GM: If we build all this stuff (like heavy industry, Thrusters, etc...) do we need to worry about energy, too? Do we have the parts for a second reactor?

[Razor One]

Your chosen location, the Briar Patch, is effectively a dense planetary nebula that can never collapse into a star, nor expand into a proper nebula. You've got three or four atmospheres of pressure around your colony, and pretty much nothing stopping a constant flow of wind which your colonists have appropriated to power your colony.

Once you're more firmly established, you'll be able to build dedicated power sources to feed your industry. Alternatively, you can hook up power feeds from the L'Amour, though this would make you immobile. Additionally, the atmosphere that surrounds your colony? Mostly hydrogen, with a smattering of hydrocarbons, sulphides and other stuff you'd find in a gas giant. Have fun with that.

[Razor One]

I hate double posting, but eh, I figure this is slightly important.

Survey is now up. Cast your votes here.

I'll count up the votes for the name of your colony informally, so please post with your vote if you haven't already.

[dragoongfa]

Voted.

[X] Soothing tensions
[X] Agricultural center
[X] Mineral Survey
[X] Loroi Physiology
[X] Yay

[joestej]

Voted.

[X] Soothing Tensions.
[X] Agricultural Center.
[X] Mineralogical Survey.
[X] Loroi Physiology.
[X] Yea.

[alpha]

Voted.
[X] Niflheim

[X] Improving Relations.
[X] Agricultural Center.
[X] Mineralogical Survey.
[X] Loroi Biochemistry.
[X] Yea.

Let's never scrap the jumpdrive.

[Siber]

I think I'm going to change my name vote to

[X] Niflheim

I'll edit the previous name vote out.

[dragoongfa]

Don't care much about the name but please, please:

Keep the Ride of the Valkyries in, keep them in, keep them in...

Just imagine this:

The first fight between our own fleet and a Snootie raiding party.

Spear: Music?

O'Malley: An old tradition.

Spear: But music broadcasted on all frequencies?

O'Malley: They will learn to fear it.

Some time later.

Yet unmet Loroi: Music?

Spear: They use a track called 'Ride of the Valkyries'. Scares the shit out of the Snooties and the Humans love it.

Yet unmet Loroi: You spent too much time with the humans if you think that we will do that.

[Absalom]

This time I'm actually voting, because I think Niflheim is just that much better than Valhalla in this case.

[X] Niflheim

[X] Improving Relations.
[X] Agricultural Center.
[X] Mineralogical Survey.
[X] Loroi Biochemistry.
[X] Yea.

The way I went about it in my head is to produce some short of corvettes to combat a small Urkuk attack and hunt down anyone who retreats.

I'd suggest the equivalent of PT Boats instead. Building more ships should be considered a medium-term priority, but building full warships probably won't be worth it until the colony is ready to build inertial dampers as well. Better to build small & fast skirmishers at first, and base them out of a mothership when out hunting. If there are long-range heavy weapons that they can't mount, then those go on the mothership & get fired from beyond the horizon.

Anyway the first heavy industry product we will need to produce will probably be shuttles to ferry stuff back and fourth. We have what, 2 maybe 4 shuttles available plus the marine assault shuttle. With the amount of people we have brought and the production needed to sustain them we will need more shuttles as soon as possible.

Probably "Star Furies" + "space" barges are a slightly better starting-point than dedicated shuttles there, especially since they could also be rigged-up with construction equipment for repair & later construction projects. If they're equipped with a hatch on the front, then assembling a shuttle could be as easy as building the right barge, attaching any extra thrusters to it, and plugging their control & power buses together.


For the next construction priorities, I'd suggest the following to everyone:


1) Stabilisation Thrusters: Your home asteroid is not fixed in space. There is a slim chance that it could float off and strike another asteroid, or be struck itself. Needless to say, this would probably be a bad thing. Build stabilisation thrusters to help hold your colony in place and allow it to nudge itself away from impending doom.

Cost: 3000 RU, Time: 3 Months, Chance of Success: 60%, Reward: Not getting crushed by flying mountains, requires 500 RU upkeep.


2) Machine Shop: Allows for the reproduction and repair of basic tools and equipment.

Cost: 1000 RU, Time: 1 Month, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Basic tool production, New options.\


3) Docks: Basic mooring and umbilicals for the L'Amour, allowing for ease of transport and for cargo and personnel and basic repairs.

Cost: 3000 RU, Time: 3 Months, Chance of Success: 80%, Reward: Allows for easy disembarkation of people and goods, Unlocks new Options.


4) Warehousing: Space to store spare parts, raw materials, and sensitive goods. Allows you to empty the L'Amour's cargo hold.

Cost: 1000 RU, Time: 1 Month, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: A place to store goods and cargo other than the ship.


5) Fuel Refinery: Harvests the surrounding hydrogen rich atmosphere and converts it into delicious fuel for your ships to burn.

Cost: 4000 RU, Time: 6 Months, Chance of Success: 70%, Reward: Ship automatically refuels while at home.


In that order, with asteroid mines stuck in as soon as they become possible. The L'Amour already provides habitation, medical, and scientific capabilities in limited amounts, so I'd say that these "unique" capabilities should probably come first. Depending on what Razor says about "manual" refueling, moving Fuel Refinery to right after Machine Shop might be desirable. I would definitively delay agricultural expansions until after Machine Shop: I haven't run the numbers, but I'm under the impression that with the initial Agricultural Complex everyone will be able to have 2/3 rations, while slowly increasing stocks.

If Razor says that Machine Shop will speed-up other construction jobs, then it should definitely go in the number 1 spot.

Incidentally, Razor, should Stabilization Thrusters be enough to move the colony-asteroid around, as an alternative to moving the L'Amour whenever a load of ore needs to be picked up?

[ChaosFarseer]

Been watching this for a little while, and now looks like a good time to say hi. So, um, hi! This is awesome, btw.

[X] Niflheim
[X] Soothing Tensions
[X] Agricultural Complex
[X] Mineralogical Survey
[X] Loroi Biochemistry
Emergency Action: More Rationing
[X] Yea