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A) Open Warfare: Shoot them as soon as we can.

15 (48.4%)

B) Cold War: Establish borders, and try to out-grow them.

16 (51.6%)

C) No War: Let's share the solar system.... For now.

0 (0%)

Total Members Voted: 31

[Sheb]

What is this?

This is an Aurora inter-forum game. Aurora is a wonderful spatial 4X game, of amazing complexity. You can find more infos about Aurora here.

In this particular game, two forum will fight each other. Bay12 control the Titan Caliphate and another forum, somewhere, control another faction.

I'll act as GM, collecting orders from both boards, playing the game and submitting the results.

How do I play?

Playing is easy. Just make suggestions on the board, or edit the order list. Orders may be specific or rather vague (Send some ships to investigate this is a valid order). Later on I may add some form of government structures, but for now I won't. Which doesn't mean you cannot try to organize your own.

You can also ask to have a ship named after you, or a captain, scientists... You won't have any control over it/him/her, but I'll write about it/him/her if something important happens. I won't be controlling captain assignment directly, so you can't as for a Cruiser captain. You can ask for a great Captain and hope the game put him in charge of that 14,000 tons Carrier however.

In Games Rules
-Real Stars are off.
-Invaders are off, Swarm and Precursors are on.
-Inexperienced fleet malus is off.
-I won't use Geo Team, because it's to much to micromanage.

Forum Games Rules
-Try to keep Aurora talk not related to this game on other thread.
-Orders will take the following form:

Spoiler: Orders (click to show/hide)

Space Orders:
-Any ship movement.
Industrial Orders
-Whatever you want to produce. This section has Industry and Shipyard subsection.
Research Orders
-What you want to research.
Other Orders
-Anything else. New ship designs go there.

-Turns will last a year, except if something happens that means you need to react.
-Each forum can send one message per turn to the other forum. Messages will go through me for translation. Craft them carefully.
-I'll always use the last versions of the orders. If there is obvious conflict it'll be solved by voting.
-You only know what's happening in your capital's system, and in system linked by Jump Gate  or picket ship to your capital system. You may never learn why your fleet disappeared.
-I'll manage combat. Feel free to write extensive battle doctrine about how I should manage it.
-I'm free to invent new rules as the game go on.

Turns:
1st January 1542-1st January 1543
The Ghostly Menace
The Battle for the Belt
-> 1st January 1544
1st January 1544 -> 1st January 1545
1st January 1545 -> 1st January 1546

Spoiler: Ennemy Classes (click to show/hide)

Werewolf
Tonnage : 10,000 tons
Max Speed: 3500 km/s
Weapons : 8 Particle Beam, Damage 3, Observed Range 149,000 km, ROF 1.
Sensors:Strength 48, Resolution 100, Max Range 48m km.

Werepuppy
Tonnage:4000 tons
Max Speed:3500 km/s
Weapons : 4 Railguns, Damage 1, ROF 4, Observed Range 1000 km
Sensors Strength 38, Resolution 1, Max Range 0,4 m km.

[Sheb]

But now, let's get started! Here's the background.

A long time ago...

In the year 1097 to be exact, warfare was raging in the Holy Land. After the failure of the People's Crusade, the Princes and their Knights finally arrived to grab as much land as they could and chase the Muslims out of the Holy city of Al-Aqsa.

While the Westerner were busy butchering the inhabitants of the once great city of Antioch, and while the brave army of Kerbogha was approaching to put an end to the Crusader's crimes, an event occurred that was going to change History forever.

As the desperate knights and men-at-arms were trying to hold the very walls they just took, a bright flash lit up the sky. Allah itself had decided to smite the unbelievers and sent a great vessels of steel crash into them.

The resulting explosion should have been the final blow to the infidels, but a monk by the name of Peter Bartholomew, climbing inside the wreck, found a piece of twisted metal he claimed was the Holy Lance. Invigorated by the supposed relic, the Crusader did a last charge, and manage to repel and ultimately defeat Kerbogha.

In the following weeks, the major Prince started fighting between each others over the “Relics”. Using the situation, Kerbogha assembled a new army and finally drove the Christians away from the Holy land, but not before they had taken everything they could from the remain of Allah's gift.

The Golden Age

One of  Kerbogha's first action was to disassemble the wreck and bring it to Cairo, the Fatimid's capital. It is said that more than 100,000 camels were needed.

There, the Caliph Ahmad Al-Mustalī recognized the wreck were a present from Allah, sent to thanks his followers from saving Al-Aqsa. Once a servant mistakenly turned on a computer, it was decreed that the words on the screen were the Words of the Creator himself. Soon, the best ulemas from the Caliphate were studying the inscription and trying to decipher the strange language they were written in. Great was their surprise that the All-Peaceful had chosen not to give them a moral code of conduct, but endless technical information. Most of it was far beyond the comprehension of even the wisest of the ulemas, but here and there there was information they could use. By 1160, the Caliphate was fully industrialized. In 1184, the first tanks rolled from the production lines, and the Sultan Saladin used them to invade India. In 1187, Muslims airmen carpet-bombed Beijing during the invasion of China. The first satellites, “Refyg” was put into orbit in the summer of 1196 from the Mecca Space Center.

From the tip of Africa to the Eastern shores of Asia, a single Caliph ruled over millions of subjects. Each year, many millions souls were saved and many millions infidels were put out of their misery. Allah's triumph would have been complete if Europe hadn't been pursuing the same path, corrupting Allah's works for their use. Both the Americas were now ruled by Christians kings. Istanbul had been taken in  1183, but all the assault over the Bosphorus failed. The whole city was now a no-man's land, the world's most militarized border. In Russia, Crusaders and Mujahedin fought for many years until it become clear no one could gain the upper hands, and an unspoken truce was reached.

Nothing changed much until nuclear weapons changed the game. Cairo and Rome were reduced to piles of rubble. Facing the prospect of nuclear annihilation, the Caliphs signed a peace treaty with the Holy Roman Emperor that had become Christianity's beacon after the death of the Pope and Cardinals in Rome.

The Apocalypse

With the war over for now, both sides continued developing themselves. The firsts Tran-Newtonian minerals were discovered in 1237. Soon both nations were sending ships in space. The christian settled Mercury while the Muslims established a colony on Titan. Both side shared Mars.

Everything was going well, when in the autumn of 1248, at 13:43 the 3rd of October, christian launched an unprovoked nuclear strike on Muslim land. Mecca, Shanghai and Delhi went up in flames. Missile silos deep inside the Himalaya counter-striked, erasing Paris, London and Roma Neo from the face of the Earth. Further strikes followed until, at 13:59, there was not a single human being alive on Earth. By the 7th of October, missiles launched from Earth reached the colonies on Mars, erasing any life there as well.

The Struggle

Without shipping from Earth, the situation for the colonists on Titan was dire indeed. Many died from cold or starvation. The others managed to rebuild a new society. Soon a new Caliphate was established. Infrastructures were built, and Titan was slowly terraformed.

The year is now 1542, and the Titan Caliphate is finally ready to conquer the skies again. Allah Akbar!

[Sheb]

And here is the current situation. Feel free to ask for any extra information.

What will you do?

Spoiler: Caliphate's Ships (click to show/hide)

Civilians

Code: [Select]

Matrah class Freighter    64,350 tons     368 Crew     592.8 BP      TCS 1287  TH 1000  EM 0
777 km/s     Armour 1-143     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 1     PPV 0
Maint Capacity 6 MSP    Max Repair 25 MSP
Cargo 50000    Cargo Handling Multiplier 20   

Arath (10) [Nuclear Pulse Commercial Engine]   Power 100    Fuel Use 9%    Signature 100    Armour 0    Exp 1%
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres    Range 15.5 billion km   (231 days at full power)

This design is classed as a Commercial Vessel for maintenance purposes


Code: [Select]

Jizzan class Troop Transport    66,500 tons     488 Crew     1296.4 BP      TCS 1330  TH 1000  EM 0
751 km/s     Armour 1-146     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 1     PPV 0
Maint Capacity 12 MSP    Max Repair 40 MSP
Troop Capacity: 21 Battalions   

Arath (10) [Nuclear Pulse Commercial Engine]    Power 100    Fuel Use 9%    Signature 100    Armour 0    Exp 1%
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres    Range 15.0 billion km   (231 days at full power)

This design is classed as a Commercial Vessel for maintenance purposes


Code: [Select]

Mecca class Colony Ship    64,350 tons     519 Crew     2495.3 BP      TCS 1287  TH 1000  EM 0
777 km/s     Armour 1-143     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 1     PPV 0
Maint Capacity 24 MSP    Max Repair 25 MSP
Colonists 200000    Cargo Handling Multiplier 20   

Arath (10)  [Nuclear Pulse Commercial Engine]   Power 100    Fuel Use 9%    Signature 100    Armour 0    Exp 1%
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres    Range 15.5 billion km   (231 days at full power)

This design is classed as a Commercial Vessel for maintenance purposes


Code: [Select]

Mosul class Geosurvey Ship    2,100 tons     98 Crew     284.4 BP      TCS 42  TH 100  EM 0
2380 km/s     Armour 1-14     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/2     Damage Control Rating 1     PPV 0
Maint Capacity 85 MSP    Max Repair 100 MSP

Arath (1)  [Nuclear Pulse Commercial Engine]   Power 100    Fuel Use 9%    Signature 100    Armour 0    Exp 1%
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres    Range 476.0 billion km   (2314 days at full power)

Geological Survey Sensors (2)   2 Survey Points Per Hour

This design is classed as a Commercial Vessel for maintenance purposes

Military

Code: [Select]

Gi'leh class Planetary Defence Centre    31,200 tons     1072 Crew     2129.8 BP      TCS 624  TH 0  EM 0
Armour 10-88     Sensors 1/50     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 80
Hangar Deck Capacity 7000 tons     Troop Capacity: 5 Battalions   

Fuel Capacity 500,000 Litres    Range N/A
Anhena'h Turret (10x2)  [2*10cm Meson Cannon, Meson Tech 3]  Range 45,000km     TS: 5000 km/s     Power 6-6     RM 4.5    ROF 5        1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Qatela (5)  [Beam Firecon, Max Range*2, TS*1,5]  Max Range: 96,000 km   TS: 4500 km/s     90 79 69 58 48 38 27 17 6 0
Kanwen (20)   [Pebble Bed Reactor]  Total Power Output 60    Armour 0    Exp 5%

K'shaf (1)  [Active 10, EM 6, size 3 active sensor]   GPS 30     Range 1.8m km    Resolution 1
Beri (1)   [Active 10, EM 6, size 5 active sensor]  GPS 6000     Range 32.9m km    Resolution 120


This design is classed as a Planetary Defence Centre and can be pre-fabricated in 13 sections


Code: [Select]

Hebron class Destroyer Escort    4,000 tons     401 Crew     457.2 BP      TCS 80  TH 160  EM 0
2000 km/s     Armour 3-22     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 1     PPV 24
Annual Failure Rate: 128%    IFR: 1.8%    Maint Capacity 71 MSP    Max Repair 32 MSP    Est Time: 1.37 Years

Jewad (4)  [Nuclear Pulse Military Engine]  Power 40    Fuel Use 90%    Signature 40    Armour 0    Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 100,000 Litres    Range 50.0 billion km   (289 days at full power)

Anhena'h Turret (3x2)  [2*10cm Meson Cannon, Meson Tech 3]  Range 45,000km     TS: 5000 km/s     Power 6-6     RM 4.5    ROF 5        1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Qatela (3)  [Beam Firecon, Max Range*2, TS*1,5]  Max Range: 96,000 km   TS: 4500 km/s     90 79 69 58 48 38 27 17 6 0
Kanwen (6)   [Pebble Bed Reactor]  Total Power Output 18    Armour 0    Exp 5%

K'shaf (1)   [Active 10, EM 6  GPS 30, size 3 active sensor]  GPS 30     Range 1.8m km    Resolution 1

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes


Code: [Select]

Ashdod class Carrier    14,000 tons     652 Crew     1447 BP      TCS 280  TH 560  EM 0
2000 km/s     Armour 4-51     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 12     PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 784%    IFR: 10.9%    Maint Capacity 1129 MSP    Max Repair 50 MSP    Est Time: 1.94 Years
Hangar Deck Capacity 7000 tons     

Jewad (14)  [Nuclear Pulse Military Engine]  Power 40    Fuel Use 90%    Signature 40    Armour 0    Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 300,000 Litres    Range 42.9 billion km   (248 days at full power)

K'shaf (1)  [Active 10, EM 6 size 3 active sensor]   GPS 30     Range 1.8m km    Resolution 1
Beri (1)   [Active 10, EM 6, size 5 active sensor]  GPS 6000     Range 32.9m km    Resolution 120

Strike Group
1x Mersin Support Craft   Speed: 6000 km/s    Size: 14
9x Hufuf Attack Craft   Speed: 6000 km/s    Size: 14

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes


Code: [Select]

Hufuf class Attack Craft    700 tons     82 Crew     93.7 BP      TCS 14  TH 63  EM 0
6000 km/s     Armour 1-7     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 3
Annual Failure Rate: 15%    IFR: 0.2%    Maint Capacity 21 MSP    Max Repair 32 MSP    Est Time: 2.4 Years

B'ewed (1)  [-10% Efficiency, +5% power Nuclear Pulse FAC]  Power 84    Fuel Use 990%    Signature 63    Armour 0    Exp 21%
Fuel Capacity 5,000 Litres    Range 1.3 billion km   (60 hours at full power)

Anhena'h (1) [10cm Meson Cannon, Meson Tech 3]   Range 45,000km     TS: 6000 km/s     Power 3-3     RM 4.5    ROF 5        1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Qatela (1)  [Beam Firecon, Max Range*2, TS*1,5]  Max Range: 96,000 km   TS: 4500 km/s     90 79 69 58 48 38 27 17 6 0
Kanwen (1)   [Pebble Bed Reactor]  Total Power Output 3    Armour 0    Exp 5%

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes


Code: [Select]

Mersin class Support Craft    700 tons     55 Crew     104.8 BP      TCS 14  TH 63  EM 0
6000 km/s     Armour 2-7     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 15%    IFR: 0.2%    Maint Capacity 23 MSP    Max Repair 30 MSP    Est Time: 2.63 Years

B'ewed (1) [-10% Efficiency, +5% power Nuclear Pulse FAC]   Power 84    Fuel Use 990%    Signature 63    Armour 0    Exp 21%
Fuel Capacity 150,000 Litres    Range 39.0 billion km   (75 days at full power)

K'shaf (1)   [Active 10, EM 6  GPS 30, size 3 active sensor]     Range 1.8m km    Resolution 1

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes


Code: [Select]

Beirut class Planetary Defence Centre    1,550 tons     205 Crew     129 BP      TCS 31  TH 0  EM 0
Armour 5-11     Sensors 1/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 24

Anhena'h Turret (3x2)    Range 45,000km     TS: 5000 km/s     Power 6-6     RM 4.5    ROF 5        1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Qatela (1)    Max Range: 96,000 km   TS: 4500 km/s     90 79 69 58 48 38 27 17 6 0


This design is classed as a Planetary Defence Centre and can be pre-fabricated in 1 sections

Spoiler: Current Order Of Battle (click to show/hide)

Civilian
1 TT Jizzan
1 CS Mecca
3 FT Matrah
1 GE Mosul

Military
1 CV Ashdod
2 DE Hebron
3 Squadrons of 9 Hufuf and 1 Mersin each.
2 PDC Gi'leh

Spoiler: Techs (click to show/hide)

Construction/Production
Trans-Newtonian Technology

Defensive Systems
Damage Control
High Density Duranium Armour
Thermal Reduction 75% normal

Energy Weapons
12cm Meson
Meson Focusing Technology 3
Turret Tracking Speed (10% Gear) 2000 km/s

Logistics/Ground Combat
Command Module
Engineering Section - Tiny
Fuel Storage - Tiny
Troop Transport Bay

Missiles/Kinetic Weapons
Hangar Deck

Power And Propulsion
FAC Engine
Fuel  Efficiency 1, Fuel Usage *0.9
Nuclear Pulse Engine Technology
Pebble Bed Reactor Technology
Power Efficiency -10%, Power Increase 5%, Exp 7%

Sensors and Fire Control
Beam Fire Control Range 24,000 km
EM sensitivity 6
Fire Control Speed Ration 3000 km/s
Thermal Sensor Sensitivity 6

Spoiler: Titan (click to show/hide)

Summary

Never mind the 200,000 Infrastrucures, they're there because Titan cannot be fully terraformed. As far as you're concerned, they don't exist and Titan got a colony cost of 0.

Minerals


Shipyards


Ground Forces

Spoiler: Map Of the Solar System (click to show/hide)

Take your time digesting all that information, the first turn won't be run until Friday, as I still need to post on the other forum (And I can't copy/paste anything cause it must be in French). Please point any mistake of mine and feel free to ask questions.

[Azkul]

I would really like for you to either change the names of the ship parts, or to put simplified names in brackets after the name.

It is difficult to know what type of part it is by the name.

Something like Arath (Nuclear Thermal Engine) would be better.

[Bremen]

Everything was going well, when in the autumn of 1248, at 13:43 the 3rd of October, christian launched an unprovoked nuclear strike on Muslim land. Mecca, Shanghai and Delhi went up in flames. Missile silos deep inside the Himalaya counter-striked, erasing Paris, London and Roma Neo from the face of the Earth. Further strikes followed until, at 13:59, there was not a single human being alive on Earth. By the 7th of October, missiles launched from Earth reached the colonies on Mars, erasing any life there as well.

The other forum's report doesn't happen to say it was an unprovoked Muslim attack, does it?

Initial thoughts:

Given the history, I suspect that relations between us and any other survivors are going to be somewhat cold. I suggest we want to defend our holdings well, and if hostilities start try to lure them into a trap and kill them with a combination of our fleet and planetary defenses.

We have a lot of research labs and shipyards, but not much in the way of terrestrial (Titantrial?) industry. I think we should build more factories ASAP, as well as some mines.

We'll need more minerals too, especially corundium. Does this game use geosurvey teams? Regardless, we probably want to send the survey ship out. Assuming the Christians are still on Mercury and might be tempted by a blind, unarmed survey ship, I suggest we send the ship outwards (focusing on the other moons of Saturn first) rather than inwards. We should also probably build a second one, which we can send inwards.

Technology:

Could we get a list of technology and maybe scientists?

I don't speak Arabic (assuming that's what it is), but I am guessing our weapons are meson based, given the range and the fact that PDCs use them. Gunboats with mesons can be pretty effective assuming they don't get swatted out of the sky before they get into range (for this reason as well as not having to pay maintenance, fighters might be slightly better). They're fairly slow for their size, though: I think our first tech goal should be better engines.

Another possibility would be to work on missiles. I don't see any sign of them on our ships, but they're very lethal in this game. For the tactics I'm envisioning (more on this later) we'll want defenses focused around planets; the best planetary defenses are pretty much missiles, fighters, and then gunboats in that order. Our current Meson based PDC is fairly useless, IMHO, though since it costs no maintenance we might as well keep them around and hope they can shoot down a few incoming missiles.

Its been 300 years, so Earth and Mars may be habitable again, but those are far closer to Mercury than to Titan. IIRC, Titan is the only remotely habitable rock in the outer system, so they have an advantage there. We might consider developing jump drive tech and trying to beat them to the stars.

Military thoughts:

Assuming there are still Christians on Mercury, we have to consider them a threat. Being in the inner system, they have some advantages:

The planets are closer together, and they'll be able to establish new colonies faster than us. With decent sensor coverage, they will probably be able to use a single fleet to protect Mars, Earth, Venus, and Mercury, moving to intercept any fleet of ours. In comparison, a colony on Jupiter or Uranus might put the entire inner system between us and our colony. I suggest that our military policy include an element of retaliation rather than just defense; if their fleet heads for Jupiter, our ships probably wont be able to beat them there. But they might be able to beat them to Mercury. On a suicide mission, gunboats could make it two thirds of the way on their own, and they're three times as fast as our full sized ships. In fact, if we go with planet based gunboats it might be best (though cold blooded) to make sure any future designs are capable of a suicide strike on the inner system on their own.

As far as defense, I recommend a strategy of fortified bases. Jupiter and Saturn each have a lot of moons, and a dedicated fighter or missile base on one moon can help defend them all. Gunboats don't need bases, but require maintenance facilities/modules and minerals to maintain. I doubt troops will help much; any war will probably be to destroy the enemy rather than capture objectives, and its a lot easier to nuke troops from orbit than fight them on the ground if you don't care about the planet. We might build some engineers (four would be a nice number, since they would all fit in the troop transport), which can build PDCs on uninhabitable colonies and will offer some defense strength if it comes to a ground fight

We'll also want more deep space tracking stations, so we can keep an eye out for other ships. They're amazingly powerful passive sensors, and they stack without penalty.

[Azkul]

Also, you didn't post the stats for Hebron.

[inteuniso]

I would suggest researching sorium harvesters so we can get to work harvesting Saturn's atmosphere. Those other survivors might not be as smart.

[Bremen]

I would suggest researching sorium harvesters so we can get to work harvesting Saturn's atmosphere. Those other survivors might not be as smart.

Ah, I was considering listing our advantages, and sorium harvesting is one of them. There are no gas giants in the inner system, after all.

However, not all gas giants have sorium. Lets see if we find a deposit first, then we can consider mining Saturn. Titan's own sorium deposits are enough for now.

Also, with extended range gunboats and sorium harvesters scattered around, we could do some neat tricks with in flight refueling.

[RedKing]

We also have to assume that the infidels will need Sorium. While there may be some in the Mercurian crust, the majority of Sorium in the Solar System will be in the gas giants -- our home turf. We need to develop a way to monitor the four gas giants (especially the inner ones, Jupiter and Saturn) while minimizing detection. Maybe a small listening post on the innermost moons? If they send surveyors and/or harvesters, we will have the advantage of surprise and can dispatch an attack force to ambush them.

Metis and Atlas are each about 125,000 km from their parent body. Uranus and Neptune both have multiple moons that are far closer.


@Sheb: Can we get a readout of our tech levels? Would be handy in figuring out things like how big a sensor station would need to be to cover strength X at distance Y.

[Bremen]

We also have to assume that the infidels will need Sorium. While there may be some in the Mercurian crust, the majority of Sorium in the Solar System will be in the gas giants -- our home turf. We need to develop a way to monitor the four gas giants (especially the inner ones, Jupiter and Saturn) while minimizing detection. Maybe a small listening post on the innermost moons? If they send surveyors and/or harvesters, we will have the advantage of surprise and can dispatch an attack force to ambush them.

Not necessarily on the Sorium; if you're using the other forum game for reference, I artificially boosted Sorium in gas giants for strategic reasons.

We will definitely want lots of listening posts, though.

Can our colony on Titan detect the signature of a colony on Mars? If so, how do the EM and thermal readings compare with our own colony's.

[RedKing]

We also have to assume that the infidels will need Sorium. While there may be some in the Mercurian crust, the majority of Sorium in the Solar System will be in the gas giants -- our home turf. We need to develop a way to monitor the four gas giants (especially the inner ones, Jupiter and Saturn) while minimizing detection. Maybe a small listening post on the innermost moons? If they send surveyors and/or harvesters, we will have the advantage of surprise and can dispatch an attack force to ambush them.

Not necessarily on the Sorium; if you're using the other forum game for reference, I artificially boosted Sorium in gas giants for strategic reasons.

We will definitely want lots of listening posts, though.

Can our colony on Titan detect the signature of a colony on Mars? If so, how do the EM and thermal readings compare with our own colony's.

Nah, I was just going from past experience. Usually at least one of the gas giants has a few million Sorium in it. Venus is often the motherlode of the inner planets, but the presence of Sorium is a crapshoot.

With 1 Strength 250 tracker on Titan, depending on the current distance, any site on Mars (or Mercury) would have to emitting about strength 4000 to be detected. Also, we won't need any other listening posts in the Saturn orbital group. That single tracking station on Titan is sufficient to pick up anything of about strength 5 even at the 1 million km distance to Saturn. Didn't realize that tracking stations were that potent. Given that, stations in the Jovian, Uranian and Neptunian orbital groups should be chosen for their strategic value rather than simply being the closest in. Io, Europa, Callisto and Ganymede should all be surveyed ASAP and a small listening post placed on whichever is going to have the most long-term value. The remaining Jovian moons are essentially pebbles.

[Bremen]

We also have to assume that the infidels will need Sorium. While there may be some in the Mercurian crust, the majority of Sorium in the Solar System will be in the gas giants -- our home turf. We need to develop a way to monitor the four gas giants (especially the inner ones, Jupiter and Saturn) while minimizing detection. Maybe a small listening post on the innermost moons? If they send surveyors and/or harvesters, we will have the advantage of surprise and can dispatch an attack force to ambush them.

Not necessarily on the Sorium; if you're using the other forum game for reference, I artificially boosted Sorium in gas giants for strategic reasons.

We will definitely want lots of listening posts, though.

Can our colony on Titan detect the signature of a colony on Mars? If so, how do the EM and thermal readings compare with our own colony's.

Nah, I was just going from past experience. Usually at least one of the gas giants has a few million Sorium in it. Venus is often the motherlode of the inner planets, but the presence of Sorium is a crapshoot.

With 1 Strength 250 tracker on Titan, depending on the current distance, any site on Mars (or Mercury) would have to emitting about strength 4000 to be detected. Also, we won't need any other listening posts in the Saturn orbital group. That single tracking station on Titan is sufficient to pick up anything of about strength 5 even at the 1 million km distance to Saturn. Didn't realize that tracking stations were that potent. Given that, stations in the Jovian, Uranian and Neptunian orbital groups should be chosen for their strategic value rather than simply being the closest in. Io, Europa, Callisto and Ganymede should all be surveyed ASAP and a small listening post placed on whichever is going to have the most long-term value. The remaining Jovian moons are essentially pebbles.

The EM signature of Titan is strength 145,000. We should probably be able to detect any sizable colony on Mercury.

And detecting a strength 5 signature at 1,000,000 km isn't enough. It's not for targeting, its to give early warning of approaching ships. 3 or 4 should let us detect a ship the size of our carrier in the nearer part of the asteroid belt; double that and we can probably keep track of their fleet as soon as it leaves the orbit of Mercury. You don't put multiple listening posts on different moons of Saturn, you put them all on one, and the range stacks.

[Sheb]

You do indeed detect a emission from Mercury. Your Tracking Station gives you Thermal readings of 9585 and EM reading of 45510. I'll work on a tech summary. And yeah, those are Meson guns. I really feel bad, since it took me so long to find all those fitting arabic names.

Edit: Added the Hebron.
Edit: Added Brackets
Edit: Added Tech
Edit: Added Ground Forces,, in the Titan spoiler.

[Bremen]

You do indeed detect a emission from Mercury. Your Tracking Station gives you Thermal readings of 9585 and EM reading of 45510. I'll work on a tech summary. And yeah, those are Meson guns. I really feel bad, since it took me so long to find all those fitting arabic names.

Edit: Added the Hebron.
Edit: Added Brackets.

It was nice flavor.

Those emissions are shockingly lower than our own; very strange. Actually, I think the numbers on our summary page are off, though I have no idea why. EM signature is population, and based on my own games an EM reading of 45k would be about 700m people. Thermal is produced by installations, and by the same baseline that number would seem to indicate Mercury has an industry smaller than I would expect a full on homeworld to have, but maybe at about the level of Titan's. Maybe we can check the EM and thermal signature of Titan next update.

[Sheb]

Checking using the other race, your emissions are what is displayed on your summary. I guess they are that way because of the shocking amount of Infrastructures I had to SM on Titan.