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On the Ground on Lycoris The camera opens on a view of the ever-present Harold MacMillan, host of The State of Sol, looking up from his dataslate, placing it down, and nodding resolutely to the camera. “Good evening, and welcome back to The State of Sol. As always I’m your host, Harold MacMillan. Tonight’s headlines include the incoming Jeweler Cup on Konyang, the continued debate on what to do about Elyra following a bloody massacre of striking workers on Aemaq, and reports of increasing terrorist violence on Lycoris. We go now to our reporter on Lycoris, Le Quyen Cong. Le?” The camera switches to a nervous-looking Cong, a bespectacled Hai Phongese reporter for the SANN. She has swapped out her typical jacket and respirator for a blue bulletproof vest-and-helmet combination with “PRESS” written on the front. Behind her is what will be recognizable to any Solarian veteran as a forward operating base of the Solarian Army, complete with camouflage tarps and sand-filled barrier blocks. Quyen nods to the camera. “I can, Harold.” “Where are you, and what’s the situation like?” “It’s tense, but safe here in Forward Operating Base Howe, Harold. I’m, ah, embedded with soldiers of the 164th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, from Earth, who have been responsible for peacekeeping operations in this region. Earlier I spoke with Colonel Richard Carlson, commander of the 164th, who advised the situation here is very dynamic.” The feed cuts to a recording of Cong and Colonel Carlson, who is speaking to the reporter. Carlson is an older man with a well-kept, short haircut. He’s taken the time to pin his sleeves at the elbows and has a bit of scruff on his face — it seems he’s been busy lately. “We can’t deny there’s been an increase in insurgent activity in this region, Miss Cong.” “Why do you think that is?” “Insurgencies are dynamic systems, ma'am,” Carlson seems to be a bit irritated at having to explain this. “They can fluctuate from year to year, season to season, and the ideological foundation of this one is strong. It’s not easy to come in as a ‘foreign’ power and change minds. It's not going to happen overnight, like that,” the Colonel snaps his fingers! "We might end up staying here for a long time. Years." The camera switches back to Cong in the FOB behind her, further back in the fortifications, a large transport helicopter touches down in a shower of dust: this seems to be a fairly hot and dry region of the planet. Some form of noise cancellation on her microphone renders the helicopter barely audible instead of deafening. “As you can see Harold,” Cong turns and points over at the helicopter, “this area is very busy, and troops seem to be enthusiastic about their chances of taking the fight to the Front’s remnants. But with terror attacks increasing in cities some are worried the conflict may be shifting into a more urban phase, placing more Solarians at risk. Back over to you, Harold.” The camera switches back to MacMillan in his office, now wearing a dour expression. He nods to the camera. “That was Le Quyen Cong, reporting from Lycoris. The State of Sol will be right back with reporting on the ongoing efforts to censure Elyra, so stay tuned!” MacMillan points his pen at the viewer as the camera zooms out and fades into a commercial break.

I forgot to answer a question just uh, ignore this rq. Edit: I answered the question, ignore this request to ignore.

BYOND key: unionguy Discord Username: unioncap Character names: Flin'tin Flackie Josiah Oved Xioshi'Qum Koqun'Ouqu Jugurtha Dada Josh Zachery Yutiix Yourgul'Frqu Jekzaw Zawayi Itrulix Hexkrya Fern 17 SYNOD Ooruex'Yutiex Lish-Xoio Tikruxl Szs'koask How long have you been playing on Aurora? Started early 2023 I think? So I’m a little new in the grand scheme of things. Have you received any administrative actions? And how serious were they? I few warnings for leaving the game without cryo-ing Permanent Ban for DC’ing after getting arrested as an antag, around when I first started. Please provide well articulated answers to the following questions in a paragraph each. What do you think the OOC purpose of a Head of Staff is, ingame? Generally the duty of a HoS is to be the master of a bunch of apprentices, the mentor to a bunch of mentorees (?). For the player, a HoS gives them the relief that a true patriot is in control, someone they can go to if things trouble them. It’s for this reason that the HoS role is so important, obviously you are not totally necessary for an everyday round, meaning you can’t just float but strive to beat an ambivalent average. People also expect you to know how to lead and to know what you're doing, and with lower pop you can’t just delegate your problems all the time. What do you think the OOC responsibilities of Whitelisted players are to other players, and how would you strive to uphold them? Other than teaching players the game, I think a major responsibility is standard. Even if your Command Char isn’t the most interesting, you're still a part of the big leagues. You've demonstrated that you're an experienced player and thus deserve to have powers invested in you over the lives of other characters. You have the power to literally ruin some characters' careers, a CW player should know this always and be aware that at the end of the day, we're all just playing a game. Explain how the recent events in the Spur changed your character and how they came to be employed on the SCCV Horizon. Ooruex'Yutiex Lish-Xoio? Why would a 328-year-old skrell go out of their way to work within the SCC Horizon? Truth be told, the Nralaak Federation is not all well, the Phoron Scarcity is graining, and the Traverse is getting too big to ignore. The Nralaak Federation is at a standstill, backed into a corner with their affiliation with Sol, which is under strain with recent missions to Biesel. Logistics has to take on the burden, NraLogi freighters work double time to keep the inevitable slow and drawn out. Technology, once the pride and plentiful boon of the Federation has become a pipe dream for most on the lower index. Even with the ITM's defeat, with how the Federation has divided itself the Traverse will only expand and grow stronger. It won't be long until the Pluat, or some more strong-armed influences come for the polite core. Some are unsure of how long the Federalist Dynasty can hold on as political alternatives spring up to make there stand, with the furthering of public relations and trade only exacerbating these foreign ideas. Many hope that the long-standing Federation can keep its promise. Yutiex doesn't have that hope, in their eyes the victory against the ITM just foreshadowed the end of an era. Born in the dark times of the Glorsh-Era, they carry the now rare insight into a time before the Federation and survived an abuse that leads to little questioning. Surprisingly, Yutiex doesn't have as much fervor for the Federation as one would suspect from those of the weeping generations. Working as a Senior Manager with Nralogi, they have grown concerned at the firsthand accounts of rising shortages and deficits, the long-term gas shortage and the lack of proper alternatives. Originally a supporter of Jurgl, they have grown unimpressed by how they have proceeded the diplomacy on the galactic stage. It may not be best to stay in government management for much longer in the long-term, why not broaden the horizon? What roles do you plan on playing after the application is accepted? Operations Manager - My second character was a hanger tech, and so I feel at home in the bay. I’m not just choosing this because “It’s the easiest” but actually because it’s a great test of my leadership skills. Orion is unique among the corps because of its lower standards regarding employees, and so HTs are known to be from less friendlier backgrounds. People are a lot more divided on routine, sorting, and bounties so compromises need to be made. Finally, there are miners who I have to trust and can’t micro-manage, which gives me the task of juggling soft and hard power. Executive Officer - Pretty much ditto on the first but add the fact that your damm smacking HICOM. Definitely a role I’m excited to try out as it can help connect the most rp intensive and separated department: Service/Civilian. Have you familiarized yourself with the wiki pages for the command roles? Yes. Characters you intend to use for command or have created for command. Include the job they will be taking: Ooruex'Yutiex Lish-Xoio - Operations Manager Lincolin Owens - Executive Officer (This’ll be later down the line though) Do you understand your whitelist is not permanent, and may be stripped following continuous administrative action? Of course, same with my whitelists I have been grateful for the trust you’ve all put in me. Have you linked your BYOND account to the Forums? Yes. Extra notes: *warble

I'm sorry, could you repeat that?

Viceroyalty: Winter Brings Increased Flooding to Sun Reach SUN REACH CITY, SUN REACH (GST) - With this summer one of the Viceroyalty’s wettest on record, colonial officials in Sun Reach had hoped the winter would bring lower rain levels to the planet’s famously swampy terrain. However, the winter season has brought no sign of relief from the ongoing rains. Increased flooding has been reported in some outlying provinces and in the capital city itself, with multiple unpaved streets having been transformed into muddy quagmires. Viceroy-General Strelitz has declared a planetary state of crisis and Imperial Army pioneers are working to restore the capital to working order. Yearly Helium-3 production levels are expected to not meet their target if this weather continues, and House Caladius has called on the Imperial Army to send more engineering personnel to resolve the crisis. News from the outlying provinces suggests many aquaculture regions have had their crops ruined by flooding. Food aid from the broader Empire is expected to be dispatched if a risk of famine is deemed likely. The floods represent a significant blow to the Viceroyalty’s infrastructure across Sun Reach, with elevated roads and rail lines having been damaged by debris and water. Engineers from the Imperial Engineering & Shipbuilding Conglomerate, which currently holds the contract for Sun Reach’s rural infrastructure, estimate the damage may take a year or more to repair, with some remote areas having suffered from near total infrastructure collapse. Viceroyalty officials have blamed the flooding on the intense rains and prior neglect by the Pirate Lord government. Meteorological experts believe the rains may continue for some time, noting rain has decreased in prior winter seasons. Reachers have begun to refer to the phenomenon as “witch-rain” and some claim it is punishment for their past misdeeds. Citizens impacted by the flooding are advised to report losses to their nearest public official, and colonial authorities are expected to provide assistance to those impacted. Further Reading: Holy Tribunal Dispatches Aid Workers to Sun Reach Coalition-Elyra Relationship Frayed due to Fuel Crisis Solarian Film Magnate “VSI” Authorized to Film on Moroz

[Reserved]

A History of the Horizon – 2468 Edition Preword The cat is out of the bag. The Horizon's days are limited, though it will persist through 2468 at the very least. As Anabasis lurks beyond the Horizon, it is no time for the excitement to end! 2467 thread can be found at: Everything below is CANON, and is roughly chronological. I have avoided exact dates because finding them would take a lot more work, but if people are intrested I can find them (or you can too with correct diggin in DIscord) January Minor: An outside force attempts to hack the Horizon's networks, and manages to get a single message through before the system rejects them. Odyssey: The Horizon takes on supplies for it's mission ahead. Little do they know, one of the Orion workers has plotted sabotage for them. Caught out, but not before some of the suppliers are destroyed or hidden, the Horizon gets a clue as to who would lay such sabotage for them...

TO: Tulkir Zarkiirran, Barista, SCCV Horizon FROM: Human Resources, AMS, SCCV Horizon SUBJECT: RE: Incident Report -------------------- BODY: The appeal review for the actions recorded against Tulkir Zarkiirran has been completed. Upon reviewing records, on-time performance, and drug test results, it has been determined that all criteria have been satisfied for removal of the listed actions. With approval by reviewing staff and confirmation by the original handling agent, the actions will be lifted and noted on record. Changes to shift scheduling may take up to 8 hours to accommodate the reinstatement of original contract position. The following actions are applied at this time: Reinstatement of original contract position. Cancellation of continued mandatory drug testing and rehabilitation meetings. -------------------- DTG: 31-13:17-TAU CETI STANDARD-12-2467 SIGN: AMS

Sea Bandits Keelhaul Visiting Solarian Team in Blowout 10-2 Pre-Season Game SUWON, KONYANG (GST) - The Suwon Sea Bandits (organic league) have beaten the Nueva Isabela Veteranos in a crushing 10-2 blowout win, making one of the first post-Rampancy Crisis games a major victory for Konyanger sports fans as the planet looks towards the 2468 Konyang Series in fall. With the Sea Bandits having won the 2466 and 2467 Jeweler Cup, many analysts are holding this victory over a Solarian team widely regarded as one of the best in the Northern Reaches as a sign the trophy may remain in Suwon for another year in 2468. Sea Bandits team captain Kwang-Sun Nae, at a conference after the game, thanked his “swabbies” for a good performance on the field and promised the team’s fans their “booty” would not be plundered next season, suggesting Nae is confident in his team’s ability to hold onto the Jeweler Cup. In the synthetic league the Sea Bandits won a close 4-3 game over the Ushishir Yōkai which team captain Iseul-52 called a “warmup” for the Konyang Series. With the XNS to provide live Freespeak commentary for the entire Konyang Series, officials in the Konyanger Major League hope this season’s viewership will exceed pre-Rampancy Crisis levels and help revitalize the tourist industry of Konyang’s major cities, most of which have seen a drop in tourism since 2465-66. The KML is currently in negotiations with Solarian and Biesellite coverage for the 2468 Jeweler Cup, but has declined to air this series in Elyra due to recent events on the Elyran world of Aemaq, where the government is accused of having massacred striking workers. Further Reading: Konyang National Police Arrest 22 in Connection with “Benevolent Guild” Sports Betting Ring Not Exactly Cricket!: The XNS’ Guide to Konyang Major League Baseball Vysokan Authorities: Trapped Vysokan Miners May Rescued “by February 2468” at Current Pace

Appealing Personnel: Tulkir Zarkiirran Job Title of Appealing Personnel: Barista Specific Incident: https://forums.aurorastation.org/topic/22699-incident-report-11102467 Action taken as a result: Action #518: Tulkir Zarkiiran - Mandatory Drug Testing and Rehabilitation Following the consumption of a Group 2 narcotic in amounts exceeding overdose, Tulkir Zarkiiran must complete a drug test and rehabilitation meeting each month until appealed. This action may be appealed in 2 months. Failure of a drug test will result in a reset of this 2-month period. Action #517: Tulkir Zarkiiran - Temporary Demotion For the use of a Group 2 narcotic in amounts exceeding the overdose limit, Tulkir Zarkiiran is to be demoted to Bartender. This action may be appealed after 2 months have passed. Appealing For: Clemency Action contested: Demotion and mandatory drug testing Reasoning for contest: Two months have passed, permitting this one to appeal for the actions enforced on her. As required, she has worked as a barista for two months without further incidents, and have been to medical for drug testing and rehabilitation meetings. Additional notes:

An Interview With Phoronics Industry Foreman HARBA, MEDINA (GST) - With reports beginning to indicate that 2467 may have been one of the worst years for the phoronics industry in the Republic’s history, ENN has recently held an interview with Mehdi Adanir, one of the foremen responsible for overseeing the refining of the planet’s raw phoron and its transport off-world. According to Mr. Adanir, many causes can be attributed to the 2467 retraction of phoron yields - but first and foremost, it appears that an insufficient workforce, combined with NCP absenteeism and criminal deviance, has made it increasingly difficult to locate, harvest, and refine the substance responsible for Medina’s vast wealth and prosperity. The interview in full follows: The clip reveals a modest office, decorated with abstract art and a number of photographs of Medina’s surface from both the ground and from orbit. The man being interviewed is a thin, short individual with pinched, weaselly features. Across from him sits a woman in a mauve hijab and a smart-looking skirtsuit. She smiles warmly at the camera before she begins speaking, her expression inviting and reassuring. “Hello, my fellow citizens, and welcome to our interview with Mehdi Adanir, a refinery foreman who previously worked at the Mahammad Aydamir facility on Aemaq. Thank you for being with us, Mister Adanir.” The slight man responds with a smile of his own, though without the confidence or warmth of the reporter. In general, his behavior suggests timidity, or a distinct sense of unease. “Thank you for having me, Aisha. I’ve always wanted to be on the news,” he says, with a nervous chuckle. The reporter - evidently Aisha - nods, mirth evident on her features. “Well, we’re happy to make your wish come true. Now, a lot of our Republic’s citizens are concerned, with good reason - phoron forms a substantial part of our economy, and a decline in yields is always a cause for concern. What can you tell us about the state of the industry, and why might we be experiencing this retraction in returns?” “It is ultimately a rather straightforward problem, I’m afraid we simply do not have enough workers.”, Mehdi begins, gesticulating vaguely. “Phoronics is a dangerous field, and most citizens are not suited for the risks it entails. As such, most of our workers are non-citizens…” “And while Medina is rich in phoron, most of the best surface veins are already exploited. What remains at the surface is low-yield, sand phoron. It takes significant refining to be made into a useful product.”, he continues. “But there are subsurface reserves, correct?” Aisha asks. With a nod, Mehdi begins to answer her question. “Yes, the richest in the spur that we know of. But to access the subsurface veins, there are significant resource investments required. Workers must find the pockets of high-grade phoron, and then they must set up the infrastructure to extract it, and then transport it back to the refinery. Without enough workers, this process can take a very long time, and work fatigue sets in very quickly.” With a thoughtful look and a nod, the reporter begins a new line of questioning, “And what would you attribute this workforce shortage to?”, she asks. The foreman frowns almost instantly and says simply, “The non-citizens are becoming too lazy, and too few in number. I know there have been fewer arrivals in recent years, but the bigger problems are, well - personal failures, you see.” “Could you elaborate?” Aisha replies. “Yes, of course. Many are simply no longer showing up to work. Some are showing up intoxicated, high on whatever junk they can get their hands on. Plus there’s overwork - with so few workers, the ones we have need to pull more shifts, or nobody gets paid. It is becoming impossible to rely on them, at this point. Too much criminality, too much entitlement, too many complaints…” For once the reporter’s smile fades, and a serious look comes across her features. “Deeply concerning. Well, thank you for your time, Mister Adanir. You’ve been a tremendous help for our fellow citizens.” “Thank you for having me, thank you.” The weaselly man says, nodding vigorously. Reports indicate that NCP immigration is expected to continue falling in 2468, and it isn’t clear how the phoronics industry will accommodate further workforce shortfalls. While in the past it has been believed that most illicit drugs in use by the NCP population were smuggled into the country, government officials have confirmed that the majority are now being manufactured by NCP criminal syndicates within the Republic. Further Reading: Bill Introduced to Parliament Will Ban Alcohol, Certain OTC Drug Sales to NCPs Imperial “Salami-Slicing” Tactics Continue in the Sparring Sea, Navy Reports “On Purple Dunes” Experiences Box-Office Bust for Opening Weekend Showings

Before anything is set in stone, Earth should be uninhabitable, but only for human life. It should be a "green hell" overgrown city post-apocalypse kind of planet. Biesel should be the "Fallout" style nuclear wasteland kind of planet. So we can have cool exoplanet expeditions and stuff. Also hopefully not write us into a corner if we do want to do stuff regarding Earth and Biesel. "Destroyed beyond repair" sounds pretty abhorrent, because it implies that Earth and Biesel are basically useless balls of dirt with no more stories to tell. It would sit better if it was more of "irreparable unless with great cost, effort and technology (which we don't have due to the lack of Phoron)"

Ckey/BYOND Username: generalcamo Discord Name: generalcamo Position Being Applied For: Coder Past Experiences/Knowledge: Hobbyist C++ Coder (~5 years), hobby project management, open source development experience. I have some experience with BYOND development. I now have SQL and C# experience. Examples of past work: A rework of our web authentication system (to fix critical issues) during the great DDOS: https://github.com/Aurorastation/Aurora.3/pull/20769 Emissives: https://github.com/Aurorastation/Aurora.3/pull/18895 Fuel/Auxiliary piping: https://github.com/Aurorastation/Aurora.3/pull/16141 An ongoing fabrication project: https://github.com/Aurorastation/Aurora.3/pull/21668 Modernization of our wounds system: https://github.com/Aurorastation/Aurora.3/pull/20757 Additional comments: Was previously denied for various reasons, see prior thread: I like to think, since then, I got a real reality check (due to a discord suspension this year), as well as having improved my attitude towards projects in general. I am still dedicated to ensuring the server has the best experience possible, with a key emphasis on the new player experience (this is a huge focus for me, 100%). Though I am now a lore deputy writer, I still wish to contribute to the success of the server in other ways. I plan to at the very least, continue with my fabrication project, regardless of the status of this app. This would just help me coordinate internally better.

I'm comfortable with that too

The fact of a twenty-year timeskip alone is very significant to vaurca players, because it means that unless something changes, only the Breeders can still be alive. I'm comfortable replacing all my bugs, but I can't speak for others.

Picking through the ruins of the First Interstellar War was a striking reminder of the ruins of the old and personally to me, was a fantastic background for the setting as a whole, so I sure hope we'll get a LOT of cool off-ship locations that harken to the Second.

Sorry for the delay, but here are your answers: We are not going to fall into the trap of infinite growth for persistancy, you can read about why in the newer dev diary with the Tithe. Any player coming in at any time will be able to influence the game. The rough estimate is three years, but it's obviously not really easy to predict how much time it takes. Life can change a lot in this time.

Project Anabasis Development Diary #1 Sins of the Father Premise Hello, everyone! It’s time for the long awaited development diary that unveils the lore side of the setting we’ve developed for Anabasis. For starters, I want to apologize for this diary taking longer than I thought. We had to essentially group together and decide once and for all the general lines of what we were doing for the timeskip and the overall situation of the most important elements of the setting (megacorps, nations, starting area), which can be harder than expected when you have to get six or seven people on the same page. After that, I realized it was pretty hard to write such a monumental development diary. When you’re revealing something you’ve been working on for a full year, you can get kind of focused on small details and you want the delivery to be perfect. Okay, that’s all. Let’s get to the real development diary. Firstly, the timeskip we have decided on is twenty years. Originally, this was supposed to be fifty years, mainly because in the beginning Anabasis was a story mostly about just a different setpiece of the universe, but I later decided to change it for two simple reasons. The most important is that the closer a timeskip is to a certain event, the more intimately it is felt by the characters, and the more it shapes them. A fifty year timeskip would have essentially turned the event we plan Anabasis around into little more than a lore memory, and I figured that it would’ve been not only far less interesting, but we’d be repeating the same pitfalls we’ve fallen into up until now. Additionally, writing fifty years’ worth of lore is a lot! Either we'd be spending an insane amount of time writing up lore to fill those fifty years with, or we'd have to leave a large amount of blanks in the interest of time. One of the central aims with Anabasis’ setting is to give everything meaning. What I mean by that is that we want there to be a central thread that can be followed to understand why everyone is here – something that connects every character, intrinsically and unescapably, so that everyone feels connected to the setting. The gameplay mantra we’re following is that no character should be disconnected from the round. Similarly for the setting, no character should be disconnected from the main events of the setting. We want characters from different planets to be able to relate to eachother through their reason for being on the ship; something more compelling than simply “money”, something that gives everything we do a certain gravitas. In a twenty year timespan, this central thread has to be such a gigantic shake-up that it fundamentally changes the galaxy. We want to revolutionize the setting to be full of conflict and gameplay avenues, and that can only happen with a galactic change. All of this means that the sins of the father must come to an explosive conclusion. The Second Interstellar War “What have we done?” – Unnamed Biesellite Aspirant over the ruins of Earth, 24XX You’ve read that correctly: the central event that will fundamentally shake everything up is the Second Interstellar War. I chose something like this because the changes that our setting needs to become interesting are drastic and can really only be accomplished with international conflict shaking up the galactic order to a massive degree. The reality is that everything we have in lore is too static and too stable for us to really magic up any sort of other reason for things to deeply change to the level we want. The existing battle lines can be guessed by attentive article readers as this is something we’ve been building towards for a bit already. It’s important to mention that there will be no retcons to lead us here, everything that happens will happen canonically IC. This is also a good time to reveal that the final canon arc of the Horizon will cover the beginning of the 2IW and the Horizon’s involvement in the crisis, which will provide a neat avenue for any characters that you want to bring over to NBT2. The 2IW will last for approximately twelve years, which means that Anabasis will begin eight years after the war. This is particularly relevant because in the setting we imagined, the reconstruction process has begun, but the galaxy as a whole still feels the raw scars of a war where a previously unimaginable amount of people have died over human greed. This is also where what I mentioned about timeskip length comes on – a fifty year timeskip would have left the characters too far removed from the second interstellar war, barring very specific exceptions such as particularly old characters (70-80+) and IPCs. With a twenty year timeskip, you as the player have the option of playing a character that participated at any stage of the war: born during, or born before. These twelve years of war have seen no victor. The hegemons of the Spur sought to increase their influence and rule the Spur alone, but only ended up destroying most of what they held dear – no nation has been left as before. Earth and Biesel were destroyed beyond repair through weapons of unimaginable sin, and now stand in desolate ruins as grim reminders of a past that once was. All semblances of authority in Biesel collapsed, and it is now a system of pirates and mercenaries lording over the once-Biesellites that now remain in the various war-torn moons and planets. The Alliance reached the brink and tipped over, having been forced to retreat from its colonies to the Jewel Worlds, betraying its promise to Humanity and leaving them to fend for themselves as they try to salvage what is left. The Coalition buckled under internal pressure and finally broke through a bloody civil war, leading to the establishment of new nations, all eager to eke out their lordship over the ruins of the Spur. The Eridani Federation took advantage of external chaos to break free from the Alliance, and now remains as a photograph of a corporate order that is long gone, with corporate executives holding onto the grains of sand of a bygone age with everything they can, a futile race against time. Elyra is a shell of its former self, its collective identity traumatized by the longest and most bloody war they have ever seen, with a myriad of planets being reduced to ashes and its bloody fortune – Phoron – completely gone. The Empire of Dominia must reckon with its new existence under Priscilla after its own civil war, dealing with the remnants of its failed colonial past as it tries to survive in an unstable galaxy. All the while, the alien nations carve out their own empires out of the ashes of Humanity’s sins. The clearest sign of the fall of the previous galactic order is the fall of the megacorporations. Under the internal pressure caused by the greed of its members, the Conglomerate broke, with the various megacorporations scrambling about to find a nation to hold onto so that they could survive. This was a doomed prospect as the devastation of the Second Interstellar War reached extremes, and by the end, only scraps of the original megacorporations remained, divided and fractured; never to reunite under a single banner. While their “successors” may retain significant power in some areas - such as Eridani - they no longer have a stranglehold on the galactic economy, and while some are interstellar, most exist only in specific regions of space to fulfill a specific economic niche, rather than dominating entire industrial sectors. To be clear, we are not crafting a grimdark setting – that is far from our intention. In Anabasis, you will play the part of people who, against all odds, try to eke out the best life they can in the ashes of a new galaxy – all the while, lamenting a golden past that was denied to you by the greed of higher powers. The old international galactic order has now been lost, and the galaxy looks nothing like it does before. Phoron fields have all either been consumed to craft the weaponry with which various planets were blighted, or destroyed in the wake of war, leading to the irreversible loss of most phoron technology other than the smallest kinds for even the most privileged. No nation is capable of war any longer, but there is no more trust, and so a cold war between most nations falls upon the Spur as a whole. Freelancer and mercenary companies have risen to fill in the void that the nations have left, some even ruling their own speck of the Spur… and that is where you come in, the crew of a humble freelancer ship in the ruins of Tau Ceti – once a shining symbol of Humanity’s technological progress, now a lawless land. Regardless of the misery that has befallen your world, you – a freelancer or a corporate, nothing more than an ordinary person – are determined to carve out your own life, no matter what. The corporations and the old nations have taken your future away, but not your pride. The Setting “There has not been a just cause ever since the Dominians set fire to the galaxy.” – Unnamed Elyran mercenary from Avarizia, 24XX All names in this diary are placeholders, and not permanent. The ship the game place takes on, the Blood Diamond, is a Solarian destroyer that was refitted in Valkyrie’s shipyards. Its motley crew is made up of anyone from any corner of the galaxy. Whether you have lofty dreams to carve your name across the stars as a freelancer or you simply want to carve out an existence for yourself, it matters not for Avarizia, the freelancing group that you answer to… as long as you pay the Tithe. The Tithe is the central gameplay mechanic of Anabasis. Avarizia is kind enough to provide you – the crew – with a ship, the most basic of basic tools for you to work with, and a large web of contacts and contracts, so long as you provide a minimum return on their investment. The Tithe is the purpose of your voyage across the stars, your objective every month, and your sword of Damocles. For if you do not pay the Tithe, it will be your heads on the chopping block, and everyone knows it. You all know, however, that you are left to your own means, and you must fend for yourselves to reach this monthly payment. You will be paid in a percentage of the ship’s profits, assuming there is any left after paying the Tithe, that is, whereas the Captain is personally paid a large commission. In Anabasis, player freedom is emphasized by virtue of the setting. Avarizia does not place much scrutiny on who it hires or why. So long as you can be useful to them, you can be hired. Similarly, Avarizia does not care about what happens on its ships so long as the Tithe is always brought in, and thus you can expect more meaningful and more liberal in-character conflict. Of course, you will all still need to work together, under the surely benevolent guidance of your Captain, unless you want to incur Avarizia’s wrath. Not all crew on the Blood Diamond are freelancers, however. Avarizia often hires corporate contractors for very specific positions on its ships, often leisure positions or otherwise skilled workers that are unlikely to be fulfilled by reckless mercenaries, such as Surveyors – researchers of artifacts to sell for a profit – or some of its canteen staff. Freelancer crew have, however, never taken well to the presence of corporates among their ships. Most of Humanity still remembers the bloodshed that the corporations have directly or indirectly caused, and many of them think of corporates as unwilling or willing abetters in this misery. Regardless of your provenance, you must all work together if you want to make it in this galaxy. The Blood Diamond’s starting equipment is dynamic and will depend on the current amount of money collected for the Tithe. The lower the money, the lower tier of equipment that will be spawned on the ship. Expect to work with the scraps if there is very little money left after the Tithe, and if you have amply fulfilled it, expect to work with better equipment… before it breaks or is sold, and Avarizia is not kind enough to replace it with an exact replica. Most of this money will come from the contracts that the Blood Diamond will undertake, as decided by your benevolent Captain at the start of your shift. These contracts, graciously provided to you by Avarizia, can vary – from low-paying, but calm package delivery (so long as you don’t look inside the package) to high-risk, morally dubious recoveries of precise items from encampments by a well-paying pirate warlord. The Blood Diamond’s future, purpose, and morality are entirely up to you, the crew, who may be willing or unwilling participants in whichever expedition has been prepared that day to bring in some money for the Tithe. Conclusion “How can you guarantee that you’ll win? – We must win at all costs. Or there will no longer be a Biesellite nation, Miranda.” – Leaked conversation between Miranda Trasen and Ake Torvald before the start of the war I hope you all enjoyed the presentation of the setting to come! Many things are, of course, missing. I know that many of you are likely clamouring to know the fate of the Scarabs, the rest of the Human factions, or the aliens as a whole, but those have to wait for now. Much of this lore is in progress and still needs to be worked on, and as for the alien nations, I personally won’t be the one writing about them – those development diaries will be done by their individual lore developers when they are ready. As always, if you are interested in helping any of this become a reality, please consider applying for the Development teams, whether that be Lore or code/sprite/map developers. Feel free to ask any questions you have on the Discord or on the Forums. I will try to keep this thread updated with a FAQ.

National Assembly reaches Compromise on Power Infrastructure Renewal After a week and a half of intense debate, the National Assembly has agreed to implement a compromise plan to renovate the nation’s power infrastructure. At the insistence of the Adhomian Blue Party, several new power plants using biofuels as well as other non-fossil fuels will be explored and built, with any expansion requiring a usage of at least 50% of renewable biofuels. Ex-interim President Brajrr Alnadruskiy has also compromised with his party, removing the provision of extranet expansion, but at least agreeing to ensure all libraries, schools, and universities have extranet installed. At the insistence of both the Blue and People’s Party, expansion of the power grid into Southern Harr'simir has been indefinitely tabled, to be explored at a later date. Rrhaza-Akhran Muharajuurl Muhr'Fal expressed his disapproval at the last minute compromise, stating his disappointment that the people of Southern Harr’simir ignore the positive developments of universal electrification, while emphasizing the negatives. He has stated he will nevertheless respect the bill, “excepting infrastructure required to maintain our defensive posture against the Royalists and… others seeking to disrupt our revolution." At the final vote, only the Followers of Nated voted against the proposal, with Maksym Razin giving an angered speech to the Assembly, until he was ordered to regain decorum by President Harrlala for failing to request the floor. Commander Kahan Hro'rammhad has ordered the Liberation Army’s generators be used to supplement power generation while the project is being placed underway. Additionally, he has ordered the Liberation Army's engineers to assist civilian workers with the expansion. Rrhaza-Akhran Ahem Kah’nrir initially announced he would not allow any civilian workers into the Northern Ras’nrr territory to renovate power infrastructure, until Supreme Commander Nated personally ordered a Liberation Army division to directly escort and protect civilian workers in the Junta. Ahem Kah’nrir then sent an apology, blaming the previous message on a “communication malfunction." Today's most popular articles: Crevus to open emergency landing pad to evacuate stranded space liners. Profile of a Hero: How a humble Zhan-Khazan baker fed his town without power. Partial emergency repairs to critical substation expected to last through renovation.

This is because turf lighting is wildly unpredictable and impossible to perfectly account for, even when it's not broken. This is resolved with actual hydroponics trays by their in-tray lights, and it should be easy to diagnose with trays since they tell you exactly what's wrong - neither of these factors apply to the soil mounds in the garden. If I had my way they'd have been replaced with trays months ago. I don't really have the energy or interest to touch this now, but for a few thoughts: Growth stops entirely at very inappropriate light and heat, but also speeds up if very close to a plant's ideal light or heat values. Removing tolerances entirely is absolutely an option, I may have been too harsh in stopping growth entirely outside of them. If someone does tackle this, it'd also be a good opportunity to link plant growth to a timer rather than to RNG age++ - they grow so unpredictably right now because it's totally random chance if they advance in age per each process(), which sucks. It'd be trivial to give the more advanced inspect readouts to the soil plots, which I do think would also be a productive change. It'd help clear up confusion on what's causing a plant to fall afoul of its preferences or tolerances, particularly since people using the garden are unlikely to really understand these mechanics very intimately. Ultimately, the rework hinged and still hinges on hydroponics necessarily being less accessible than it was. Formerly, growing plants had literally no fail condition - there was *no* way to unsuccessfully grow any plant in the game. Even if you grew an Adhomian plant at tropical temperatures, all that'd do is harm the plant slightly over a long time without stopping its growth; most of the time the plant would mature before it even died. The shallowness of these mechanics is why hydroponics was a hollow, empty role. Either the public garden can be totally accessible to everyone and able to grow every plant in the game with no fail condition, or hydroponicist can have mechanics which are more substantial than something anyone else in the crew can do. You can't really have both here without compromising the other, IMHO.