Make Aurora more of a Trading Hub?

[Jakers457]

The idea of Aurora being a Research one is tenuous at best, most of the work in Science is to produce technology to sell or use, either from RnD or Robotics and really don't break any ground as most characters already know what tech they are researching their way to. One of the more profitable activities I've seen from station is the exports of platinum and phoron by Supply while everything else is pretty much infrastructure to keep the station going. So I was wondering if we should explore the more mercantile side of space business, with the Merchant vessel docking and the skeleton of what a store on station could be like, we could move to having the main level being more of a Hub for people to stop off at. It's not an overly fleshed out idea and at the time of posting, it's half two in the morning, so I'll let you guys ignore/discuss/argue the suggestion and check back in after some sleep.

[Mofo1995]

Maybe we could grow it into sort of like a Deep Space 9? Except without being owned and run by the military and still just our command? I dunno, I like the idea of growing it to be more open to more than just highly paid professionals. I feel like we can really broaden our horizons for RP if it acts as a hub of sorts for various visitors in a more official capacity instead of visitors being theoretically bizarre. At any rate, I like the suggestion and I think a more public surface level worth visiting by attractions like a store would be cool.

[Azande]

Maybe we could grow it into sort of like a Deep Space 9? Except without being owned and run by the military and still just our command? I dunno, I like the idea of growing it to be more open to more than just highly paid professionals. I feel like we can really broaden our horizons for RP if it acts as a hub of sorts for various visitors in a more official capacity instead of visitors being theoretically bizarre. At any rate, I like the suggestion and I think a more public surface level worth visiting by attractions like a store would be cool.

 

So like a NanoTrasen Recreational and Public Relations Outreach Facility?

NTRPROFSS Aurora.

[AmoryBlaine]

I like this idea a lot more than "Research" station.

[MO_oNyMan]

Yeah, i've been looking in this direction a lot. The problem with a secure research facility gimmick is that it stops a lot of potential growth and improvement dead in its tracks. Any more or less radical suggestion gets shot down by a "why do we need this on a closed research station?". Even existing features like detective and CSI slot sometimes get bashed on because they shouldn't be on a research station.

I really like moving to a more open, public and civilian concept (like trading outpost, colony station or phoron mining town) as it removes the glass ceiling of a "research station" and allows for growth and improvement. Not only in the sense of features but also in the sense of more flexible RP opportunities and more diverse characters and RP

[Itanimulli]

The question is, why uproot all diss lore for this?

[Azande]

The question is, why uproot all diss lore for this?

 

We don't lose any lore. NanoTrasen operates hundreds of different types of facilities.

[Eve]

Trading Hub is even more tenuous than a Research Station.

Why would a Trading Hub have Phoron Research, Xenobiology etc anyways?

I think the solution to this “problem” of the lack of reseach players isn’t to change NT’s lore, but to guide more people to be accomodated into Research.

[Itanimulli]

The question is, why uproot all diss lore for this?

 

We don't lose any lore. NanoTrasen operates hundreds of different types of facilities.

 

Trading Hub is even more tenuous than a Research Station.

Why would a Trading Hub have Phoron Research, Xenobiology etc anyways?

I think the solution to this “problem” of the lack of reseach players isn’t to change NT’s lore, but to guide more people to be accomodated into Research.

This is what I mean. You're going to have a lot of 'collateral' this type of change. Not to mention, a re-map will definitely be required.

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

Aurora is the flagship station of NanoTrasen's tau ceti operations. It is a huge facility and NanoTrasen very, very much wants to show it off as much as possible. I, the loremaster, have been telling people for years that we do not need to make Aurora a trading hub in order to justify visitors or events. A lot of people work on the Aurora. The top level is already basically a big visitation area, especially with merchants.

The mechanics and functionality for all of this already exists. It's preconceptions about the Aurora being as if it is a CDC secret laboratory that is being clung to in the subconsciousness of a lot of the playerbase.

[Skull132]

Trading Hub is even more tenuous than a Research Station.

Why would a Trading Hub have Phoron Research, Xenobiology etc anyways?

I think the solution to this “problem” of the lack of reseach players isn’t to change NT’s lore, but to guide more people to be accomodated into Research.

 

This wouldn't solve the issue presented.

Not being a research station would help us bring more outside elements into gameplay. Such as visitors, refugees, covert hostile forces. Whatever, really. It'd allow us to introduce new identities and, through them, new roleplay and gameplay opportunities.

[AmoryBlaine]

The station has larger dorms, it hosts independant shops and occupational guild headquarters. Research is replaced with an NT Manufacturing plant. The departments in Research and put into the other Departments or removed- there are no XenoBio mains, this can easily be made a Thirdparty Science lab that is on the station. More Visitor titles. Maybe turn the Surface into a dock and small shops are and the mid level into habitation and recreation. Plenty of people travelling need places to stock up and relax before making the next jump.

Tossing ideas out there. Most stuff stays the same, overall.

[Asheram]

The NSS Aurora II is the first station of the Borealis line of supply, command, research, and excavation stations located deeper within the Romanovich cloud than its predecessors, the Exodus class stations. The direct successor of the decomissioned NSS Aurora, the NSS Aurora II was constructed in response to the declining phoron and mineral availability in the outer edges of the Romanovich Cloud, which lead to the Exodus stations slowly become less and less profitable. Designed to be more self-sufficient than Exodus stations, all of its facilities have been condensed into one singular station, embedded into the 99942 Colossus asteroid. Among these embedded facilities are the telecomms relay, the mining and research outposts, and a new state of the art shuttle dock that allows for the fitting and supply of one expeditionary cruiser designed for long-distance scientific away missions, thanks to its phoron/bluespace thrust engine.

 

You have been assigned to work aboard the NSS Aurora, a state-of-the-art research and mining facility orbiting Tau Ceti within the Romanovich Cloud at the very edge of the system. Even after several centuries of being inhabited by human colonists, and flourishing into a central trade hub for human space, the edge of Tau Ceti is still considered to be a frontier of sorts, as are the outer areas of most other star systems.

From the Wiki pages of the NSS Aurora 2 and the Background Summary respectively.

The NSS Aurora is located in the boonies. Unless we move the entire station then there's no reason to why we would be a Trading Station.

Now, it's canon that we are a supply station, and could have other NT ships pass by here, but I can't see why we would have Civilian ships pass by.

To my understanding, we're the equivalent of an oil drilling platform outside Alaska.

[Sebbe]

The NSS Aurora II is the first station of the Borealis line of supply, command, research, and excavation stations located deeper within the Romanovich cloud than its predecessors, the Exodus class stations. The direct successor of the decomissioned NSS Aurora, the NSS Aurora II was constructed in response to the declining phoron and mineral availability in the outer edges of the Romanovich Cloud, which lead to the Exodus stations slowly become less and less profitable. Designed to be more self-sufficient than Exodus stations, all of its facilities have been condensed into one singular station, embedded into the 99942 Colossus asteroid. Among these embedded facilities are the telecomms relay, the mining and research outposts, and a new state of the art shuttle dock that allows for the fitting and supply of one expeditionary cruiser designed for long-distance scientific away missions, thanks to its phoron/bluespace thrust engine.

 

You have been assigned to work aboard the NSS Aurora, a state-of-the-art research and mining facility orbiting Tau Ceti within the Romanovich Cloud at the very edge of the system. Even after several centuries of being inhabited by human colonists, and flourishing into a central trade hub for human space, the edge of Tau Ceti is still considered to be a frontier of sorts, as are the outer areas of most other star systems.

From the Wiki pages of the NSS Aurora 2 and the Background Summary respectively.

The NSS Aurora is located in the boonies. Unless we move the entire station then there's no reason to why we would be a Trading Station.

Now, it's canon that we are a supply station, and could have other NT ships pass by here, but I can't see why we would have Civilian ships pass by.

To my understanding, we're the equivalent of an oil drilling platform outside Alaska.

 

Could always be that we are an innovative trading station on the frontier hoping that with the rapid colonization of the universe (I don't know where our system is on a galactic map, should check probably) The companies that have a spot on the station are either rich and powerfull companies with the resources to "waste" on a potentially great shop on the frontier that can bring in credits with trade, or private small companies like cafees or small supply shops that are owned by small companies on nearby colonies.

There is huge potential here but as said earlier tossing out a lot of the lore seems a bit mean to the writers but new lore can always be written.

[Zundy]

Changing the station into a trade hub would be eez peez. Don't worry about us. To be honest all that would need to be changed is policies on visitation + contracting and we can do it like, tomorrow.

[Sebbe]

Changing the station into a trade hub would be eez peez. Don't worry about us. To be honest all that would need to be changed is policies on visitation + contracting and we can do it like, tomorrow.

 

Feel like the mapping would need a big rehash though, move departments and create more shop friendly areas. I think most big companies would want a dock on the back of their shop (Thinking the robotic limb companies and maybe hydroponics)

More conference rooms so several companies can keep conferences at the same time.

A cafee mixed with the kitchen and the bar it's seperate thing, open areas for things and an open storefront for easier access.

All above is of course just my wishes and not needed, movement of departments and such will need to happen in my opinion but other than that the map we have now can still work just as well as it works now.

[Azande]

Changing the station into a trade hub would be eez peez. Don't worry about us. To be honest all that would need to be changed is policies on visitation + contracting and we can do it like, tomorrow.

 

Feel like the mapping would need a big rehash though, move departments and create more shop friendly areas. I think most big companies would want a dock on the back of their shop (Thinking the robotic limb companies and maybe hydroponics)

More conference rooms so several companies can keep conferences at the same time.

A cafee mixed with the kitchen and the bar it's seperate thing, open areas for things and an open storefront for easier access.

All above is of course just my wishes and not needed, movement of departments and such will need to happen in my opinion but other than that the map we have now can still work just as well as it works now.

 

We have an entire surface level we could expand as well as a construction level to fill. This could be really easy if we just retcon the location of our facility, and make it closer to the center of the system.

[Zundy]

Don't even need to do that. A line of text is all that's needed. "Due to its location in the frontier regions of Tau Ceti the station is perfectly placed to act as a hub of trade and commerce."

Imo I wouldn't make it a trade hub though, just open it up to visitors and contractors. Give the checkpoint and actual use. Perhaps force the visitor role to have to come in from off station and make merchant occur more often.

[Jakers457]

I thought this suggestion would be the most reasonable, due to the fact all it takes is a level of refurbishment opposed to ripping it out from the roots and starting over.

[MO_oNyMan]

Trading Hub is even more tenuous than a Research Station.

Why would a Trading Hub have Phoron Research, Xenobiology etc anyways?

I think the solution to this “problem” of the lack of reseach players isn’t to change NT’s lore, but to guide more people to be accomodated into Research.

 

Phoron research is virtually non-existant on Aurora. And keep in mind that Aurora is supposed to be primarily a phoron research station. The entire research on station is not specialised nearly enough for Aurora to be called a research facility. It's a bunch of very basic research setups on several scientific disciplines mashed together. On the other hand if Aurora was a trading hub and people actually lived on station, research would get an actual purpose of improving the lives of Aurora's citizens and producing technology for sell (as opposed to secretly inventing tech noone can use anyways). That would allow research to get more practical uses than it currently has, interact with other departments (since it becomes their job to provide them with technology to improve their quality of life), it can get new directions and features (talk of manufacture department would get some solid ground, maybe even allowing cargo and science work together, which would be a great thing since they are the two least played departments), research would become less secluded from the rest of the station with the removal of "secret research" gimmick making it more appealing to players and breathing a life into the department. The benefits are countless.

[Azande]

Phoron research is virtually non-existant on Aurora. And keep in mind that Aurora is supposed to be primarily a phoron research station.

 

It's a Phoron Research AND Mining station, actually

[Guest Menown]

This is honestly one of the ideas I've always gotten behind, and one of the things Baystation did well when they began the Torch.

NanoTrasen maintains a presence on the Torch. They have their own assigned security, custodial, maintenance, miners, ect, that work in tandem with the Torch's crew, but remain assigned to their own department, NanoTrasen, which forms the basis of the Research team.

Various civilian personnel can be on the Torch as contracted workers as well, or even just visitors. This would be possible as well if the Aurora was some form of Hub station, instead of an excavation/research station.

The various roles on the station that follow rigorous definition (security/medical, ect) could be kept as operating for whichever entity owns the station, while the research division could be under their own department on the station itself, same for Logistics and Supply.

Elite: Dangerous' stations are typically orbital, but depending on the location they can possess research substations, military installations, ect, but the main thing the MAJOR stations possess, is they're all hub stations ready to accept visitors, and various forms of entities that may be passing through, as let's face it, floating on a random rock in space leaves you open for attack, especially for a SUPAR SEKRET SPACE STATION!!!11!!!11!

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

The Aurora is not a super secret space station. It's the flagship of the entire nanotrasen corporation in Tau Ceti. Everyone wants to be seen on it.

[Guest Menown]

The Aurora is not a super secret space station. It's the flagship of the entire nanotrasen corporation in Tau Ceti. Everyone wants to be seen on it.

 

Regardless, it'd offer a lot more flexibility in roleplay with things if it wasn't. Half the time I'm left OOCly wondering why the same group of visitors are showing up and doing nothing but flirting in the bar for hours, every single day.

[Scheveningen]

Did someone really say phoron-research is non-existent on Aurora? Phoron's a part of every major medicinal recipe and for the deadly chemical weapons, too, in addition to how much phoron is related in R&D schematics, the supermatter engine and many other minor applications.