The Other Aurora

[Guest]

Does anyone wanna give me a breakdown of the first things I should do when starting a game of this up? Like how to get started?

[Mofo1995]

Once again. This is thebestthingever.

Started again. As usual, solar survey ship, large fuel tank. Was mindlessly scanning planet.

I figured out, I'd want a colony on one of Jupiter's moons. Another ship, standard fuel tank. Carpo-Earth route.

It seems, three two-way trips are too much for one ship with one standard fuel tank. It got stranded in space. Where no one can hear your crew complaining about the speed of 1km/h, and lack of fuel for their commercial ion engines.

I had to abort the survey ship's overhaul, to have it rush fuel transfer to the cargo ship.

SS Tribal saving CA Agincourt from death and space. Never forget.

 

This happened to be all the time with my survey ships even when I set them with the conditional order to refuel at nearest colony when below 50% fuel, especially when I was surveying the Kuiper Belt.

@Xanderdox

Sure! But first you should tell me the characteristics about your game start, because it matters a lot. I ghighly recommend with going for a conventional rather than trans-newtonian start with mostly default settings to learn about the interface and features, as well as to familiarize yourself with all of the technology so you can really get a feel for the direction you want to take your tech in.

[Guest]

http://puu.sh/m8Gnh/bc61f85506.png

There are the settings I have it at.

[Mofo1995]

http://puu.sh/m8Gnh/bc61f85506.png

There are the settings I have it at.

All right that should be fine. Just note that your economy is gonna be bangin' because of the 200 million more people than default start, but I wouldn't mind all that much. I usually make it so that I can't spy on other races by checking the box that makes them inaccessible even in spacemaster mode, but that's more of an RP thing than anything.

[Guest]

Alright, so what's the first thing I should do now? I played this one night a long time ago and just did a bunch of random stuff with no real direction and spent an actual period of 5 hours trying to get a geosurvey to work, to no avail.

[Mofo1995]

All right, so now you've started a totally new game right? The very first thing you want to do is to assign all of your research labs to a scientist to discover Trans-Newtonian materials.

Some other things you want to snap to at game start:

Set you starting shipyard to shipyard operation: Continual Expansion (That way it will get nice and big for later, I recommend stopping it when its capacity is about 50,000 tons)

What are the industry options at game start, as in facilities that you can build? Your starting production will be lacking, I think you might want to focus on mines for resources or maintenance facilities to prepare to maintain ships in the future.

EDIT: Make sure you account for what specialties your scientists have! The percentage number next to their specialty is the bonus to research points they generate towards any research project. If you assign them to something in their field of research, that bonus is multiplied by four so long as they are working on projects within their field.

[MagnificentMelkior]

At game start after researcing trans-newtonian you'll get a huge list of installations that you can now build. You also have a bunch of conventional industries which can be quickly converted into trans newtonian industiries (mines, fuel refineries, automines, factories, etc)

You should use like 30% of your industrial capacity on converting CI to construction factories: This will make the build rate for al your installations steadily increase as you get more industrial capacity over time. 30% convert to mines, so you get a lot of resources from earth - you'll need them. and 20% research facilities, 20% other things - I stared with a military academy to get more scientists.

Don't stick to my numbers as the definitive numbers either, you'll get experience and you'll decide you want a certain thing faster and you should shift it around how you see fit at the end of the day.

After that, your first project should be surveying the moon and mars.

[Dreamix]

Here, we see two MS Krait's (Missile Sloops), escorting five CS Aginjudge's (Cargo Sloops). MS Krait's are moving exactly 30,000 kilometers ahead of the cargo ships, 45 degrees to their starboard.

The Terran Coalition researched and manufactured their first (and second) truly military vessel. Krait-class ships are currently serving as training vessels for Commodore Joshua Allan and Rear Admiral Kai Kaur, and as light escorts for their cargo fleet. Unfortunately, because of design oversights, the ships are now awaiting a refit and various overhauls, all Krait-class Missile Fire Controls are to have their ranges increased tenfold. The Coalition is skeptical of alien presence in, and outside of the Solar System, however, from unconfirmed sources, we know that West Heavy Shipyards are retooling for a new class of ships, new beam destroyers, some say.

Krait class Missile Sloop    5 900 tons     127 Crew     449.8 BP      TCS 118  TH 200  EM 0
1694 km/s     Armour 1-29     Shields 0-0     Sensors 36/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 1     PPV 20
Maint Life 9.49 Years     MSP 3048    AFR 278%    IFR 3.9%    1YR 61    5YR 917    Max Repair 36 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 4 months    Spare Berths 2    
Magazine 148    

100 EP Commercial Nuclear Pulse Engine (2)    Power 100    Fuel Use 11.93%    Signature 100    Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 80 000 Litres    Range 20.4 billion km   (139 days at full power)

GE Size 4 Missile Launcher (5)    Missile Size 4    Rate of Fire 60
GE Missile Fire Control FC17-R100 (1)     Range 17.3m km    Resolution 100
Size 3.961 Anti-ship Missile - lowCtH (37)  Speed: 500 km/s   End: 4.3d    Range: 183.8m km   WH: 4    Size: 3.961    TH: 2/1/0

Active Search Sensor MR19-R100 (1)     GPS 3200     Range 19.2m km    Resolution 100
Active Search Sensor MR1-R2 (1)     GPS 32     Range 1.4m km    Resolution 2
Thermal Sensor TH6-36 (1)     Sensitivity 36     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  36m km
Thermal Sensor TH2-12 (1)     Sensitivity 12     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  12m km

Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

I had no idea what I was doing with these missiles, I was rushing research of them, fire controls, missile engines, etc. I will need to redo these ships, huh. I've had fun, through.

 

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Also, I figured out how to do refueling+shore leave the easy way. Doesn't erase the original set of orders, or anything. So:

ship needs refueling> detach a ship from its task group> order it to fly to a colony> advance by 5-30 days> order the ship (a separate task group, after detaching) to join its previous task group

[MagnificentMelkior]

Here, we see two MS Krait's (Missile Sloops), escorting five CS Aginjudge's (Cargo Sloops). MS Krait's are moving exactly 30,000 kilometers ahead of the cargo ships, 45 degrees to their starboard.

The Terran Coalition researched and manufactured their first (and second) truly military vessel. Krait-class ships are currently serving as training vessels for Commodore Joshua Allan and Rear Admiral Kai Kaur, and as light escorts for their cargo fleet. Unfortunately, because of design oversights, the ships are now awaiting a refit and various overhauls, all Krait-class Missile Fire Controls are to have their ranges increased tenfold. The Coalition is skeptical of alien presence in, and outside of the Solar System, however, from unconfirmed sources, we know that West Heavy Shipyards are retooling for a new class of ships, new beam destroyers, some say.

Krait class Missile Sloop    5 900 tons     127 Crew     449.8 BP      TCS 118  TH 200  EM 0
1694 km/s     Armour 1-29     Shields 0-0     Sensors 36/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 1     PPV 20
Maint Life 9.49 Years     MSP 3048    AFR 278%    IFR 3.9%    1YR 61    5YR 917    Max Repair 36 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 4 months    Spare Berths 2    
Magazine 148    

100 EP Commercial Nuclear Pulse Engine (2)    Power 100    Fuel Use 11.93%    Signature 100    Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 80 000 Litres    Range 20.4 billion km   (139 days at full power)

GE Size 4 Missile Launcher (5)    Missile Size 4    Rate of Fire 60
GE Missile Fire Control FC17-R100 (1)     Range 17.3m km    Resolution 100
Size 3.961 Anti-ship Missile - lowCtH (37)  Speed: 500 km/s   End: 4.3d    Range: 183.8m km   WH: 4    Size: 3.961    TH: 2/1/0

Active Search Sensor MR19-R100 (1)     GPS 3200     Range 19.2m km    Resolution 100
Active Search Sensor MR1-R2 (1)     GPS 32     Range 1.4m km    Resolution 2
Thermal Sensor TH6-36 (1)     Sensitivity 36     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  36m km
Thermal Sensor TH2-12 (1)     Sensitivity 12     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  12m km

Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

I had no idea what I was doing with these missiles, I was rushing research of them, fire controls, missile engines, etc. I will need to redo these ships, huh. I've had fun, through.

 

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Also, I figured out how to do refueling+shore leave the easy way. Doesn't erase the original set of orders, or anything. So:

ship needs refueling> detach a ship from its task group> order it to fly to a colony> advance by 5-30 days> order the ship (a separate task group, after detaching) to join its previous task group

How do you get your TGs to fly in a formation like that?

[Mofo1995]

I've essentially got an (Embellished) AAR of my game so far. At some point later in the game I added in the United States and the United Kingdom, but the US didn't play nice and thought they could take me on. Russia stronk. I need to work on the first entry though, because originally it was supposed to be a memorial to everyone who received "The Order of Putin 1st Grade," but got modified to be a brief history of the Governor's of Terra (Which is what I named my Sector Command).

The formatting is a bit janky since I was keeping it in a txt file.

EDIT: I added two NPRs. Two alium empires are somewhere out there in the stars waiting to be found.

 

LEADERS OF THE HUMAN RACE:

1. President Ivonne Frenkel, Governor of Earth and Terra from 1 Jan. 2015 -> 11 April 2068

Ruled until death at age 75

For distiguished service as the leader of the Russian Federation, for making Russia the first nation to reach out

and touch the stars, and to use her superior management skills to make Russia the dominating super-power on

planet Earth. For her dedicated service to mankind has made this reward richly earned, and her contributions will forever

be remembered in human history. She is the one who brought humanity out of its cradle, and into space, successfully

colonizing the moon, and overseeing the construction of mines on asteroids, and the advancement of mankinds technology

to previously unheard of levels. Her sublime management and administration skills were legendary, and she has gone down

in history as one of the greatest heroes not only of the Motherland, but of mankind.

2. President Catrina Medvedev, Governor of Terra from 12 April 2068 -> 1 July 2080

Ruled until death at age 70

Not that much can be said about President Catrina Medvedev, or at least not as much as could be said about

Ivonne Frenkel. She carried out the final plans of President Frenkel by overseeing the construction of previously

researched jump drives and exploring two other local star systems, even finding a planet to become a potential

human colony. A defining moment in President Medvedev's rule was the "Human+" controversy in which

she attempted to forcibly convert all people into a new species of human which was merely more resistant to hotter and

colder temperatures by a slight amount. She even genetically modified herself as such, and mass racism quickly broke out

about the new species, especially since they were presented as inherently superior to the current. The result was that

they were mass recolonized to Mars, and placed into their own designated areas. Mars was declared a Human+ planet, and

the only humans that go there do so with the intention to become genetically modified.

3. President Konstantine Fyodorov, Governor of Terra from 2 July 2080 -> 17 November 2103

Ruled until death at age 73

President Konstaintine Fyodorov is widely celebrated on Luna as "The First Lunatic President." The first human

to ascend to the presidency who was not born on Earth, and who grew up on the moon. President Fyodorov forever went

down in human history as the man who made Luna have a breatheable atmosphere, and for starting the first human

colony outside of the Sol system, Kamchatka in the Wolf-359 system. Research flourished under President Fyodorov

as technology in ground combat technology and production were prioritized. However, President Fyodorov would go down

in history as one of the most controverial presidents. His rush to colonize other planets often caused excetiponal

amounts of overcrowding, and his dreaded garrison forces were deployed on ever colony to act with brutal military

law. Furthermore, there was the Krivak disaster where a research vessel which had been overworked for years surveying

the Wolf-359 system had a mutiny. The resulting battle ended with the destruction of the ship by its captain in order

to prevent the ship from falling into mutineer's hands, as well as possibly subverting the fragile Kamchatka colony.

Millions died under his rule as he reappropriated infrastructure all over Mars, leaving millions of humans exposed to

the airless Martian atmosphere in order to provide better homes for the Human+ population.

4. President Helge Borodin, Governor of Terra from 17 Januray 2104 ->

(Came to power at age 47)

President Helge Borodin came to power as President following two months of constant debate within the Russian

Federation. A power vacuum had been left by the death of the heavy handy President Fyodorov, who had made all

other nations on Earth afraid to make any moves on Russian soil, and maintaned space supremecy over all other

nations on Earth. NATO, a shadow of its former self and now including many South American nations attempted to push

the Russian Federation out of the lands it had conquered in Europe and Africa, namely with the intent on freeing Germany

from Russian Dominion. The two months saw much bloodshed on the seat of power for mankind, but ultimately the conflict was

decided when Helge Borodin, the Governer of Mars then, reinforced the Federation on Earth with both brigades of the Mars

Garrison. The 1st Infantry Divison was then able to press NATO out of mainland Europe, leaving all but the Iberian Peninsula

and the British Isles unconquered. The 1st Expeditionary Division simultaneously combat dropped into the mainland United States

following orbital bombardment by Battle Group Alpha. NATO surrendered, and celebrations broke out on lands of the Russian

Federation on Luna, Mars, Kamchatka, and Earth. Helge Borodin's first mandate as president was to solidify the annexation of

the People's Republic of China, which has been a de facto part of the Russian Federation for over a decade. He was

awarded the Ivonne Frenkel Medal of Merit for his actions, as well as the Order of Putin 1st Grade.

THE SUMMER WAR 1 MAY 2107 -> 7 JUNE 2107

However, despite his military victories, the consensus among the Russian Federation was that occupation of the

United States would be a mistake, and instead opted for a truce. Later, in the year of 2105, Russians everywhere

were surprised when the United States and the United Kingdom each successfully launched their own military vessels.

It seemed that the Russian monopoly on trans-Newtonian technologies had come to an abrupt end. A delegation from the

United Kingdom arrived at Moscow in order to discuss the possibility of purchasing land on Mars and Luna,

in order to take Britain into the stars. The United States, on the other hand, kept their relations with

the Russian Federation cold and began military build-up. Intelligence forces of the Russian Federation were able to

discover the schematics of some warships which were planned, however, they were caught at the end of April in 2107.

The United States used this as an opportunity to launch their attack against the Russian Federation at the end of May,

targetting theJump Gate Constructor, GC Borodino. The ship was destroyed in one shock surprise attack. The Russian Military command,

with exceptional sensor equipment that could detect everything out to the Oort Cloud, immediately knew what occured.

The ships of the United States then proceeded to strike at civillian freighters, but only of the Zhukov Shipping Alliance.

Some lives were lost, and cargo destroyed, until the massive Kirov-2B3 battle cruises or the Russian Battle Group Alpha

arrived. Their twin laser turrets opened fire, and the entire US fleet was destroyed in five seconds. Ten days later, on

7 June 2107, the United States was conqeured by the 1st Expeditionary Division, their ground forces powerless against

the technological might of the Russian Federation. The divisional commander, General-mayor Anna Nazarov, was awarded

an Order of Putin 1st Grade. The fleet admiral, Vitse-Admiral Maksimillian Gorbatov was also awarded this medal.

[Dreamix]

Might also want to tweak max speeds of your task groups, so escorts won't waste fuel, and escorted ships won't run away.

And the best thing is, you don't even need to delete these task groups. Need to jump? Just transfer your ships to the TG with a jump capable ship, jump, transfer your ships back to their task groups.

Also, if you have problems with refueling (and, survey ships being stranded in the middle of space, with no fuel), just set your ship's deployment time to a value lower than your ship's range. You need to have "show events" checked, to see the recent events (including lack of fuel, and ship's low morale) on the system map.

So, if a ship has range of "Range 59.1 billion km (349 days at full power)"

I probably want to set its deployment time to 8-10 months.

Also, I figured out how to test my ships, using the spacemaster way.

Spacemaster on>F9/system generation and display>down-right corner of the screen>create empire>(on titan, that's where I could add one, methane breathing creatures)

This is great. Now, I need to order them to make ships. And kill them, of course.

Edit: Good news! These military ships work! Bad news, they are terrible.

[Mofo1995]

Might also want to tweak max speeds of your task groups, so escorts won't waste fuel, and escorted ships won't run away.

And the best thing is, you don't even need to delete these task groups. Need to jump? Just transfer your ships to the TG with a jump capable ship, jump, transfer your ships back to their task groups.

 

That's pretty neat! I'm going to have to do that when I get my frigate group built so they can enjoy better maneuverability without being chained to my battlecruisers.

On another more exciting note: I've made first contact with an alien race! And even better, they're NOT peaceful! They've belligerently attacked two geosurvey ships that happened into their system in Alpha Centauri, and now Battle Group Alpha (fresh out of their first overhaul in 40 years) has mobilized to war.

Pros:

My battlecruisers are real war machines candycoated in weapons with thick defense and good point defense.

My sensors are not only really strong, but I've got sensors dedicated to detecting small objects as well as large at exceptional ranges.

I've recently formed an alliance with the United Kingdom and started giving them my hella advanced technologies.

 

Cons:

The loss of even one battlecruiser is the loss of tons of resources (I only have four!)

Said Battlecruisers are using five decade old twin laser cannons (tier-3 and I'm now on tier-6 and can do advanced spinal mounts so they can reach out and deal 53 damage! to a target over 2 million kilometers away).

Aside from wiping the floor with the US, I'm a noob at combat.

Enemy contacts vanished before attacking, Cloaking Technology?

My troop transport is still being overhauled after 50 years of neglect, so I will not be able to mobilize my ground pounders.

 

They look kinda spooky too.

 

EDIT: The schematics for my Kirovs (Not including the command variant, which adds a flag bridge and more CIWS.)

Major Flaws:

Wayyyy too many fire controls. I put about three weapons to a fire control, having 1-to-1 was a bad idea.

Turrets are ridiculously outdated, I can now make single turrets that do over twice the damage and have over 3x the range with 50% better tracking speeds and smaller size at the same time.

I had no idea what I was doing with ECM and ECCM so I just added one of each. So one of my fire controls just randomly has that shit tacked on.

I haven't updated my shield technology in 50 years.

[Mofo1995]

Ever since my encounter with the aliens, there have been nonstop 5 second intervals on auto turns. The aliens can't defeat me militarily, so they're going to bore me to death. My laptop has been running for three days straight trying to power through it... But the aliens are forcing the game into a stall. There has been approximately 37,500 turns of literally nothing except letting five seconds pass. This is hell.

[Mofo1995]

It took two weeks, but finally I broke free form five second intervals! One geosurvey ship was destroyed and the other damaged. Two in-game weeks after the debacle, Battle Group Alpha came in and brought down a hail of nuclear missiles on some enemy ships.

http://puu.sh/mqeQy/ed470a8ad7.png' alt='SIZE>'>

They were both completely destroyed. There are some more enemy ships which fire small volleys of missiles (which travel at 25,000 km/s!) and then keep away from me by travelling 8,000 km/s. Essentially, speeds which are well beyond my capabilities. Still, their missiles were super easy to point defense away, but the ships themselves fail to even show up on my list of targets for my firing computers. Any advice on the cause of this? I need to shoot back somehow, even if they can never hope to hit me.

[Mofo1995]

At the request of Xanderdox, I renamed the Alpha Centauri Aliens to Xanderosians. It turns out they have no worlds in Alpha Centauri, but Kirovs wiped the floor with all their ships that couldn't escape. However, they still have small quick 1,000 ton missile ships which I had to leave for two years and return with better resolution fire controls to take out. I also got to roll out my new Zhadonov frigates with their super spinal mounted laser cannons, and turned Alpha Centauri into a Xanderosian graveyard.