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[Akigagak]

Well, I say send in the Ptolemy 1. The sooner we have an idea of what's there, the sooner we can make our moves to take the system. Tibbers will just have to suck it up if all goes awry.

Suck up the bitter taste of zero atmosphere.

[Paul]

Hehehe, that was fun.

Spoiler: Uh oh... (click to show/hide)

Administrator Lucius Amatius Proculus' Personal Log, 22nd January, 2124

Disturbing news. The aliens in Alpha Centauri are most definitely hostile, and very fast.

Approaching the planet with the wrecks, the Ptolemy detected three strength 2000 thermal contacts approaching at 8000 km/s. Decturion Tiberius Vagionius Pleminius immediately ordered his ship to reverse course, but pursuit continued. A few minutes later four strength 250 thermal contacts appeared at much closer range, moving at 12500 km/s. Shortly afterward a volley of missiles impacted the Ptolemy 1. With the speed of the enemy Akigagak aboard the Hypatia 1 determined he had no safe way to retrieve his comrades in the life pods, and returned to give a report.

I'm not sure what to do. We have no platform for deploying fast attack craft into other systems yet, and they aren't designed for operating independently. We could possibly develop an active sensor variant of the Legionary to act as the eyes for the rest of the ships and send them in using the jump drive of the Hypatia - but even then, if they outpace us so much in engines what other technology might they have? Would our ships even make it within weapons range?

As far as the crew aboard the life pod, they have 14 days of life support remaining. 33 crewmen made it to the pod including Decturion Tiberius, a bit less than half of the Ptolemy's complement. AussieGuy, aboard the Legionary 1, has volunteered for a daring rescue mission. His ship doesn't quite have enough fuel to make the trip there and back, so Akigagak on the Hypatia 1 will have to refuel them on entering the system and follow them a few days in and refuel them again for the last bit of the return trip. It's a dangerous mission, since the 12500 speed ships could outpace them - but we're betting on the Ptolemy having moved far enough away from the enemy base of operations that they won't even be able to even detect a 700 ton ship flying in and out.

Administrator Lucius Amatius Proculus' Personal Log, 3rd February, 2124

Success! AussieGuy and Akigagak have returned safely, with Tiberius and his 33 surviving crewmen safely aboard the Legionary. I've ordered the construction of a new Ptolemy vessel for Decturion Tiberius to command. I've also suggested to the Consuls that all three officers involved in the situation be awarded a medal for bravery.

I'm still not sure what to do with this alien threat, but at least we were able to rescue our ill fated crew.

[AussieGuy]

<Message Incoming from: AussieGuy, Captain of Legionary 1>

The rescue mission was a all out success, the crews of my ship and the Hypatia did their jobs with true roman spirit. They are eager to attack the aliens however I believe next course of action to be to wait and build our military forces, so we can match and destroy this alien menace.

<Message End>

[NRDL]

Oh dear...

From what little I can understand, these things are much faster, more like fighters than capital ships ( or whatever the bigger ships are in this convoluted game ).  I really have no advice, I'm like the space age Cicero or something.  At least, hopefully, if it comes to full blown war ( has it already? ) our legionnaires would ( maybe ) have the advantage in ground combat. 

[Zebulon]

Ack, of course the good system is the one that's defended. I'm still muddy with combat at best, but it looks like our lack of a missiles guy is really biting us here. It's probably in our interest to cede Alpha Centauri for now, maybe divert a little more research towards getting some decent missiles going (though I imagine we'd need to rely on sheer volume of fire since they'd be outclassed - though at least our engine tech is solid). The FACs are pretty much the knife in a gun fight here, and if I'm not mistaken the missile that hit the Ptolemy would punch straight through their armor. It's a shame we don't really have a way to get them on active sensors without the near-certain prospect of losing a ship, I'd like to know more about the big contacts (though it seems likely they're some sort of carriers, if the AI even uses those).

Speaking of missiles and volume of fire, we should probably divert some industry to building ordnance factories. Last thing we want is missile boats with no missiles to lob.

I think I like the long term plan of massive carriers being followed by gate ships the best. Auxiliaries with jump drives for smaller missions and such too, of course, but when Rome goes to war, there'll be a string of jump gates behind them. (Sure, all roads will lead to Rome, but what's life without hordes of barbarians beating on Sol's doors?)

In the meantime, there's still three more jump points to explore. I assume the survey of the Barnard's Star system is still ongoing? Hopefully there'll be minerals, a decent scattering of jump points, or something fairly useful amongst the inner system jump points. (Though if I recall #4 isn't too far out either, so maybe there'll be something there).

[Sheb]

How long can our FAC operate on their own? As Tribun of the fleet, I order a wing of FAC to station the Sol side of the Sol-Proxima Centaury Jump Point. We should evacuate all ships from the Centauri chains as long as we aren't in position to crush those aliens.

Don't forget to rotate the FACs from time to time. I also request that the aliens be named Centaurs.

[NRDL]

No, they should be named Armenians. 

[Paul]

Just from the speed and thermals we have so far we can infer a good bit.

The 12500 speed craft with a thermal of 250 would have to be at least 1000 tons (a thermal of 250 means engine power of at least 250, more if thermally shielded - and 250 power would push a 1000 ton ship 12500 speed). This means it's probably a 1000 ton FAC. Since they were the only ones with active sensors on and were close right before the missiles hit they were probably the ones firing the missiles. The fact they were very close when they finally fired makes me think they probably have their fire controls tuned for larger ships (probably the same as their sensors, tuned at 67 for 3350 ton ships). These craft are more than likely some kind anti-ship missile FAC.

The 8000 speed craft have thermals of 2000. This means they are at least 12500 tons (2000 engine power can push a 12500 ton ship 8000 km/s), possibly larger if their engines are shielded. Never detected any active sensors on them, so we can't infer what they might be tuned for. Could be some type of carrier, missile ship, beam ship, or anything really. We know one thing - they can't be an anti FAC or fighter missile boat, as they would have already fired before the smaller ships even closed in if that were the case.

Even if the larger vessels are missile ships, our 700 ton FACs could probably close the distance without too bad of losses just because they'll probably have to close in really close before firing. This is the advantage of having small vessels, if their fire controls are tuned for larger vessels they need to be very close to fire.

The enemy FACs likely won't be a problem more than killing a few of our FACs with the initial volley, since FAC's usually don't carry a whole lot of ordnance - they might even have box launchers. Even if they launch then return to a carrier, the battle would be over before they've reloaded. Our FACs have armor 3, so the first missile hit wouldn't penetrate - but subsequent ones would start to, and the FAC would likely only be able to take 3 or 4 of them - so a volley of 9 that they fired on the Ptolemy would take them out. Increasing the armor wouldn't help too much with that. But if all they have is the 4 FACs, all they could do is drop 4 of our FACs and then go to reload. Although they might have more ships hiding at the planet.

Our main problem is simply the lack of sensors on our ships. They were designed to fight with help of a carrier or PDC spotting for them. If I had thought about it while designing them I could have slapped on a size 0.1 sensor just to let them shoot without guidance from a carrier (or if the carrier gets destroyed). When I design their next generation I'll do that.

An idea for possibly dealing with them: Research the next engine tech, which would take 6 months at current labs but could be focused on to finish sooner. Then refit the FACs with the new engine and while we're at it put the size 0.1 sensors on the fighters in place of a bit of fuel (would make them shorter ranged, but they'd still have about 4.5b km).

While researching the engine tech we could build a new shipyard, and design a sensor/fuel FAC (just fuel tanks and sensors in place of the weapons) to escort the ships in and find the enemy. Once we've located the enemy the sensor FACs could flee while the rest move in, using their short range actives to lock onto the enemy even if they destroy the sensor FACs. The enemy would likely be drawn after the sensor ships, possibly even chasing them while our other Legionary FACs close in. With the next engine tech our FACs should rival theirs in speed, and they could quickly close on the larger vessels even if they meet return missile fire.

Actually refitting all our FACs may take some time though.

How long can our FAC operate on their own? As Tribun of the fleet, I order a wing of FAC to station the Sol side of the Sol-Proxima Centaury Jump Point. We should evacuate all ships from the Centauri chains as long as we aren't in position to crush those aliens.

Don't forget to rotate the FACs from time to time. I also request that the aliens be named Centaurs.

Right now, with the lack of sensors, they can't really operate on their own. They could guard the first two jump points, but the third out in the asteroid belt is beyond the PDC's sensor range. If ships do approach Earth they could intercept them once they got within 500m km, but outside that range they can't get a target lock.

In the meantime, there's still three more jump points to explore. I assume the survey of the Barnard's Star system is still ongoing? Hopefully there'll be minerals, a decent scattering of jump points, or something fairly useful amongst the inner system jump points. (Though if I recall #4 isn't too far out either, so maybe there'll be something there).

They haven't yet reported back from Barnard's star. So they're either still surveying, or all dead. (I may know whats going on, but nothing will be reported or reacted to until a ship actually gets back through the gate to relay the information).

[Paul]

Administrator Lucius Amatius Proculus' Personal Log, 5th February, 2124

I've decided to hold off on any action against the Alpha Centauri aliens until we have a stronger military force. For now our Legionary ships are on training missions around Earth to improve coordination within our command structure.

I've diverted some research labs from other projects to the MonkeyHead team to develop better drive technology. With the speed of these alien ships, we'll need better engines on our Legionary ships to stand a chance against them.

I've also decided to research some new small craft sensors. A 5 ton variant tuned to detect 1000 ton and larger ships out to 1m km as a backup sensor for the Legionary ships to be able to operate at short range without a sensor ship, and a 100 ton variant capable of detecting 6000 ton ships out to 50m km as a sensor to be used on small active search vessels.

Administrator Lucius Amatius Proculus' Personal Log, 22nd March, 2124

Exploration team 2 has just returned from Barnard's Star. The mineral report there is almost as bad as Proxima Centauri.

Spoiler: Barnard's Star Survey Results (click to show/hide)

Rocky Planets: 5   Surveyed: 5
Gas Giants: 2   Surveyed: 2
Moons: 48   Surveyed: 48
Asteroids: 149   Surveyed: 149

Barnards Star-A Asteroid #22
Duranium 4,159  Acc: 1

Barnards Star-A Asteroid #34
Duranium 882  Acc: 1
Corbomite 7,534  Acc: 1
Boronide 3,136  Acc: 0.9
Mercassium 1,884  Acc: 1

Barnards Star-A Asteroid #58
Duranium 677  Acc: 1

Barnards Star-A Asteroid #120
Vendarite 676  Acc: 1

Barnards Star-A Asteroid #145
Duranium 3,872  Acc: 1

Barnards Star-A Asteroid #147
Mercassium 44,100  Acc: 0.9

Barnards Star-A VI
Sorium 103,500  Acc: 0.1

Barnards Star-A VI - Moon 1
Duranium 14,011  Acc: 1

Barnards Star-A VII - Moon 26
Tritanium 2,016,400  Acc: 0.8

The system has three jump points. One at bearing 84 441m km from the star, a second leading to Sol at bearing 106 2.34b km from the star, and a third at bearing 97 2.49b away from the star. The 2nd and 3rd are only 404m apart, making transit between Sol and whatever the third jump leads to about equivalent to going to the Alpha Centauri jump. From either of them to the 1st jump is about 2b km though - a significantly longer trip.

I've ordered them to refuel then head for jump point 4 in Sol, right out past the orbit of Jupiter.

Administrator Lucius Amatius Proculus' Personal Log, 25th March, 2124

Exploration team 2 has reported back on the Lalande 21185 system after jumping through JP 4. There are 2 rocky planets, 4 gas giants, 78 moons, and 177 asteroids.

The closest planet to the star is 86m km away and has a temperature of -103.6, with .79 pressure of atmosphere consisting of 81% nitrogen, 18.2% methane, and 0.76% argon. It's a large world - 18400 diameter - but only has 0.89 Earth gravity. It has an ice sheet covering 38% of the world. It could potentially be terraformed, but the methane would need to be removed. All other worlds in the system are far too cold to be terraformed.

They've returned to the system, and will report back once it's fully surveyed.

Administrator Lucius Amatius Proculus' Personal Log, 27th March, 2124

The replacement Ptolemy ship has been completed, and Decturion Tiberius Vagionius Pleminius has a ship again. He has been sent to rejoin Akigagak aboard the Hypatia 1, and together they will explore the 5th jump out past the orbit of Saturn.

Administrator Lucius Amatius Proculus' Personal Log, 3rd April, 2124

Akigagak has reported on the 5th jump. It leads to Ross 128. It has 2 rocky planets, 4 gas giants, 32 moons, and 305 asteroids. One world is potentially habitable at 22.7m from the star with a temperature of -75.5 and a colony cost of 3.43. It is a large world - 29000 diameter, and the gravity is 1.07 Earth gravities. An ice sheet covers 45% of the world. It has a 0.35 pressure atmosphere consisting of 87% nitrogen and 13% oxygen.

They've jumped back into the system, and will report back when the survey is complete.

Administrator Lucius Amatius Proculus' Personal Log, 4th May, 2124

The MonkeyHead team has completed research on our new gunboat engines. A second generation Legionary has been designed that is faster than the fastest enemy ship we've seen. A tiny active sensor was included for close range target identification just in case the main sensor vessels get destroyed after they've closed in on a target. Range was cut down to a mere 4.6b km, but other vessels can escort them for refueling.

Spoiler: Legionary II class Fast Attack Craft (click to show/hide)

Legionary II class Fast Attack Craft    700 tons     74 Crew     136.8 BP      TCS 14  TH 176  EM 0
12571 km/s     Armour 3-7     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 3
Maint Life 1.34 Years     MSP 12    AFR 39%    IFR 0.5%    1YR 7    5YR 107    Max Repair 44 MSP

GB Magneto-plasma Drive E84 (1)    Power 176    Fuel Use 840%    Signature 176    Armour 0    Exp 30%
Fuel Capacity 15,000 Litres    Range 4.6 billion km   (4 days at full power)

R6/C3 Meson Cannon (1)    Range 60,000km     TS: 12571 km/s     Power 3-3     RM 6    ROF 5        1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
Fire Control S02 32-8000 (1)    Max Range: 64,000 km   TS: 8000 km/s     84 69 53 37 22 6 0 0 0 0
Stellarator Fusion Reactor (1)     Total Power Output 3    Armour 0    Exp 5%

Active Search Sensor MR1-R20 (1)     GPS 42     Range 1.0m km    Resolution 20

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

A companion vessel was designed to act as additional fuel storage and to locate enemy vessels.

Spoiler: Locus class Fast Scout Craft (click to show/hide)

Locus class Fast Scout Craft    700 tons     50 Crew     164.8 BP      TCS 14  TH 176  EM 0
12571 km/s     Armour 3-7     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 0
Maint Life 1.95 Years     MSP 15    AFR 39%    IFR 0.5%    1YR 5    5YR 78    Max Repair 44 MSP

GB Magneto-plasma Drive E84 (1)    Power 176    Fuel Use 840%    Signature 176    Armour 0    Exp 30%
Fuel Capacity 205,000 Litres    Range 62.8 billion km   (57 days at full power)

Active Search Sensor MR50-R120 (1)     GPS 5040     Range 50.6m km    Resolution 120

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

We've begun immediate construction of the new engines and sensor packages necessary to refit our Legionary ships and construct a few of the Locus class scout craft, and the shipyard is undergoing retooling to make the changes. I've scrapped the remaining 18 GB Ion engines, since this new one will completely replace them.

Administrator Lucius Amatius Proculus' Personal Log, 10th May, 2124

A new civilian mining colony was established on Asteroid 22. Since we currently have plenty of the minerals present on that asteroid, I've decided to let the mineral output go to the civilian sector.

Administrator Lucius Amatius Proculus' Personal Log, 27th June, 2124

The first three Legionary ships just finished refit to the Legionary II. The next batch will be done on July 19th. All 42 of our Legionary ships should be finished refit in 10 months. The first Locus will be done in August, and two more are planned.

We also have military and commercial variants of the new engines. Our new cargo and colony ships will go 4566 km/s, and a gate construction ship has been designed. We will need a large commercial shipyard to build it, I've ordered one constructed as soon as we finish building the engines for the Legionary IIs.

Spoiler: Artifex class Construction Ship (click to show/hide)

Artifex class Construction Ship    79,450 tons     1125 Crew     2591.8 BP      TCS 1589  TH 4840  EM 0
3045 km/s     Armour 1-164     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 1     PPV 0
MSP 20    Max Repair 55 MSP
Jump Gate Construction Ship: 180 days

Magneto-plasma Drive E0.84 (22)    Power 220    Fuel Use 8.4%    Signature 220    Armour 0    Exp 2%
Fuel Capacity 590,000 Litres    Range 159.1 billion km   (604 days at full power)

This design is classed as a Commercial Vessel for maintenance purposes

Our survey vessels will be able to go 5866 km/s with this new engine, and we've redesigned the Hypatia with the newer armor to make room for added fuel capacity.

Spoiler: New Survey Vessels (click to show/hide)

Hypatia III class Gravsurvey Ship    2,250 tons     214 Crew     386.2 BP      TCS 45  TH 264  EM 0
5866 km/s    JR 3-50     Armour 1-15     Shields 0-0     Sensors 7/1/1/0     Damage Control Rating 1     PPV 0
Maint Life 3.04 Years     MSP 107    AFR 40%    IFR 0.6%    1YR 17    5YR 260    Max Repair 100 MSP

J2250(3-50) Military Jump Drive     Max Ship Size 2250 tons    Distance 50k km     Squadron Size 3
Magneto-plasma Drive E8.4 (3)    Power 88    Fuel Use 84%    Signature 88    Armour 0    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 185,000 Litres    Range 176.2 billion km   (347 days at full power)

Thermal Sensor TH1.4-7 (1)     Sensitivity 7     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  7m km
Gravitational Survey Sensors (1)   1 Survey Points Per Hour

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

Ptolemy IV class Geosurvey Ship    750 tons     71 Crew     195.2 BP      TCS 15  TH 88  EM 0
5866 km/s     Armour 1-7     Shields 0-0     Sensors 7/1/0/1     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 0
Maint Life 6.5 Years     MSP 81    AFR 9%    IFR 0.1%    1YR 3    5YR 50    Max Repair 100 MSP

Magneto-plasma Drive E8.4 (1)    Power 88    Fuel Use 84%    Signature 88    Armour 0    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 90,000 Litres    Range 257.1 billion km   (507 days at full power)

Thermal Sensor TH1.4-7 (1)     Sensitivity 7     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  7m km
Geological Survey Sensors (1)   1 Survey Points Per Hour

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

The MonkeyHead team is now working on missile engines as part of our missile development program.

So far there has been no activity detected from the Alpha Centauri jump. It's likely the alien presence doesn't yet know where we came from. Perhaps they didn't know about the jump point?

Administrator Lucius Amatius Proculus' Personal Log, 26th September, 2124

Training and refit of the Legionary FACs is going well. We just completed our 15th Legionary II refit, and thanks to the rolling refit process all the Legionary IIs are at 41% or higher task force training. The 2nd Locus is due on November 25, while the next set of Legionary IIs are due on October 17th. We should have the entire group of 42 done refitting by April 2125. We'll then have another 18 sets of components to build up to 60 FACs, although new ships constructed would need to be trained and the 42 Legionaries might be able to take on the enemy in Alpha Centauri by themselves since they're significantly faster than the main enemy ships now.

__________________________________

What do you guys think of the piecemeal updates? Is it better to have smallish updates to feed discussion and feedback, or bigger updates that cover a year+?

[Sheb]

Immediately send a squadron of LEgionaries with a Locust to picket the JP to alpha centaury.

[MonkeyHead]

I like the smaller ones personally.

[Paul]

Just for fun I made up some potential carrier designs.

Spoiler: Heavy Carrier (click to show/hide)

Legion class Heavy Carrier    52,000 tons     3834 Crew     7272.8 BP      TCS 1040  TH 3344  EM 0
3215 km/s     Armour 10-124     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 40     PPV 244.8
Maint Life 2.24 Years     MSP 3497    AFR 540%    IFR 7.5%    1YR 938    5YR 14075    Max Repair 420 MSP
Hangar Deck Capacity 14000 tons     

Magneto-plasma Drive E8.4 (38)    Power 88    Fuel Use 84%    Signature 88    Armour 0    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 1,685,000 Litres    Range 69.4 billion km   (249 days at full power)

Quad R6/C3 Meson Cannon Turret TS16 (15x4)    Range 60,000km     TS: 16000 km/s     Power 12-12     RM 6    ROF 5        1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
Fire Control S02 32-8000 (3)    Max Range: 64,000 km   TS: 8000 km/s     84 69 53 37 22 6 0 0 0 0
Stellarator Fusion Reactor Technology PB-1 (30)     Total Power Output 180    Armour 0    Exp 5%

Active Search Sensor MR506-R120 (1)     GPS 50400     Range 506.1m km    Resolution 120
Active Search Sensor MR23-R1 (1)     GPS 210     Range 23.1m km    Resolution 1

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

Spoiler: Assault Carrier (click to show/hide)

Vincere class Assault Carrier    52,000 tons     3497 Crew     5760.8 BP      TCS 1040  TH 3344  EM 0
3215 km/s     Armour 8-124     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 24     PPV 244.8
Maint Life 2.48 Years     MSP 1662    AFR 901%    IFR 12.5%    1YR 375    5YR 5623    Max Repair 210 MSP
Hangar Deck Capacity 4500 tons     Troop Capacity: 5 Battalions    Cargo Handling Multiplier 40   

Magneto-plasma Drive E8.4 (38)    Power 88    Fuel Use 84%    Signature 88    Armour 0    Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 1,705,000 Litres    Range 70.3 billion km   (252 days at full power)

Quad R6/C3 Meson Cannon Turret TS16 (15x4)    Range 60,000km     TS: 16000 km/s     Power 12-12     RM 6    ROF 5        1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
Fire Control S02 32-8000 (3)    Max Range: 64,000 km   TS: 8000 km/s     84 69 53 37 22 6 0 0 0 0
Stellarator Fusion Reactor Technology PB-1 (30)     Total Power Output 180    Armour 0    Exp 5%

Active Search Sensor MR23-R1 (1)     GPS 210     Range 23.1m km    Resolution 1

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

The first carries 20x Legionary II FACs. The second carries 5 battalions and 5 as of yet undesigned 900 ton assault shuttles (still need to research the drop modules) to fly in and unload them on a ship or planet. Both can be built in the same shipyard if the first design is the one it's tooled for. Had to cut the armor down a bit on the 2nd one to fit everything in, but it probably won't be targeted first anyway since it doesn't have the big active sensor. I've noticed the AI tends to prioritize ships with active sensors. I thought it might be fun to have a fleet with several of each - the assault carriers wouldn't add to the offensive firepower but would help protect against missiles and board any ships that are disabled or invade colonies.

Haven't actually built any in the game since the shipyard still isn't big enough, but I thought I'd post them to get opinions. They were designed to go with the whole combined forces thing, so you could have say 3 of the legion class and 2 of the vincere class in each battle group, with 60 Legionarys and 10 of whatever the assault shuttles get named. Would carry 2 brigades of marines, with 8 marine battalions and 2 headquarters. If gearing up for an invasion you could technically load twice that in there by filling the drop modules, but might suffer morale loss in transit.

[Iituem]

Those are some fiiine ships you have there.  Carry on, Administrator!  Let's clear Alpha Centauri for the glory of the Republic and avenge those lost crewmen!

(I kind of prefer the annual updates because it lets you get more done.  =B)

[NRDL]

Those are some fiiine ships you have there.  Carry on, Administrator!  Let's clear Alpha Centauri for the glory of the Republic and avenge those lost crewmen!

(I kind of prefer the annual updates because it lets you get more done.  =B)

Yeah, do this, it's awesome.

For the Republic!

[Sheb]

That's a lot of turrets for few fire control. But it makes sense for anti-missiles work. It'd be fun to encounter the Swarm with those ships. :p