By the way, if the position of leader of the South Tip Renegades is still open and you really need someone to fill it, I'd be willing (I think I'd prefer to be a mercenary though).

Well, as you can see the story topic is up. This one will continue and be used as the OOC discussion topic. Any non-story posts should be put in here, along with new ship/tech designs and the like.

I'd like to compliment everyone on their superb background posts. Visitor and Ryuu especially I'm impressed with, because I'd never read anything from them before.

Visitor: I probably would have given you a few more ships if you'd talked to me, but starting out with a small force gets you realism kudos. Drop me a PM about your production.

Selax: You are welcome to play either the ST renegades, which I would like to fill, or a Merc. Whatever you feel most comfortable with.

For any of you guys that don't know what your ship count is, send me a PM or AIM me (handle "ipvicus") so we can work that out.

Thanks again.

This post has been edited by Vice Admiral Ipvicus : 09 February 2005 - 10:30 PM

Hmm... I guess I'll watch.

(Joking for those of you who don't understand my humor, considering I don't I understand you completely.)

This post has been edited by Paranoid : 09 February 2005 - 10:45 PM

Oh, ######. I didn't mean to forget you buddy. I'll add you in right now.

Why can't you people IM me so I can keep track of you!

I guess that I will take the position of leader of the South Tip Renegades. I think that I will have the same fleet numbers as the North (this is my first time at this sort of thing). Is that acceptable?

Here is a brief background of the South Tip Renegades.
For years, the discontented and rebellious had raided the colonies of all species in the southern Crescent. Sometimes they worked together, sometimes they worked alone. Only the council of captains held the situation together. However, they eventually began to turn on each other in their greed. Civil war nearly broke out, but at the last council of captains, a mysterious figure appeared and told the captains that he was their master. The captains laughed and ordered him expelled. A mistake. A flash of energy killed all who were present. The surviving Renegades proved to be wiser and pledged to serve the strange creature. This was nearly ten years ago and now it appears that the Renegades are preparing for war once again, but what intent their strange leader has in mind is unknown.

This post has been edited by Selax : 09 February 2005 - 10:51 PM

Yeah, that's fine Selax, if you want you could redistribute some of those numbers if you're not happy with 'em.

If you have AIM get in touch with me. Please.

By the way, I added fleet numbers for the ST Renegades, Akrayhek, and Tibidat. I also decided to be nice to all of you little guys, and let non-major factions have two research/project slots.

This post has been edited by Vice Admiral Ipvicus : 09 February 2005 - 11:10 PM

I assume that independent systems with nobody controlling have a generic defense fleet controlled by moderators?

Current ships in use by the North Tip Renegades:

(edited after mod objection)All of my ships are currently at in-game default values. As I don't know exactly what those are, I can't post them right now.(/edit)

Current weapons used by NT:

phase cannons/turrets
SADs
pursuit missiles
dispersal rockets

This post has been edited by asriel : 10 February 2005 - 03:34 PM

Asriel? Did Ipvicus agree to those modifications? Those aren't the standard values.

The Crescent fighter has four phase cannons, the Renegade Arada doesn't have quite that dispersal rocket ammunition and doesn't have swivel phase, Lazira has two phase turrets, one SAD launcher, two dispy launchers (10 SADs and 10 rockets), and the Crescent warship has three phase turrets and 15 SADs.

I don't think we're allowed to have modified ships already. (Except for individual characters, probably.)

He's right, make that a refit that's outside your two research slots, and in two days you can start using those ships. It's not a huge deal, and I suppose I'm just being difficult, but I don't want people to think they can have instant refits throughout the story.

Vice Admiral Ipvicus, on Feb 10 2005, 12:12 PM, said:

He's right, make that a refit that's outside your two research slots, and in two days you can start using those ships. It's not a huge deal, and I suppose I'm just being difficult, but I don't want people to think they can have instant refits throughout the story.
View Post

nods I'm planning a larger set of refits anyway, as you'll see. As I don't know all the default values of the ships, I can't post them, but all my ships are currently at default then.

Sorry, I do actually have a rather long post in the writing, but I can't post it for 10/02/05. If everyone's okay with it, I'll finish writing it tomorrow and post it as if it's 10/02/05, and make another post. I would've got this finished, but I've been busy.

I'm also going on holiday on Saturday. I'll set up a R&D queue and tell Carno and Ipvicus how the Azdgari would respond to various actions, but I think they're going to be chivalrous and not attack me in that time.

Would I be wrong to assume that independent systems with nobody controlling them have a generic defense fleet controlled by moderators? If a battle lasts several days in real time, is over in minutes in the story, and occurs in a member controlled system, does the member who's planet is under attack get the benefit of research and reinforcements during the battle?

This post has been edited by Selax : 10 February 2005 - 08:44 PM

Esponer, that was unbelievable. I thought it was impossible for you to become a better writer since the last thing of yours I read, but I was obviously wrong.

asriel said:

RESEARCH INITIATED

Title: Stalker missile project
Entails: Improves the range and speed of the pursuit missile, and adds a modular warhead system. Warheads currently being developed are single (more powerful than original pursuit missile) and cluster.
ETA: Tuesday Feb. 15

Title: Prelim. plans for Lazira and Crescent Warship refits
ETA: Sunday Feb. 13

RESEARCH CONTINUED

Title: Improved engines
ETA: Sunday, Feb. 13

Title: Arada refit (details will be posted on the 13th)
ETA: Monday, Feb. 14

I think that Ipvicus wants only two or three total projects running simultaneously, not two or three projects started each day. That would just get confusing.

Selax, on Feb 11 2005, 01:17 AM, said:

Would I be wrong to assume that independent systems with nobody controlling them have a generic defense fleet controlled by moderators? If a battle lasts several days in real time, is over in minutes in the story, and occurs in a member controlled system, does the member who's planet is under attack get the benefit of research and reinforcements during the battle?
View Post

Typically, whoever attacks an independent system determines the battle as they wish. Unless Ipvicus says otherwise, you might as well do that.

Reinforcements can't arrive in the middle of a battle, but research continues... the ships don't get the upgrades though, until the battle is over. Nor do they get the new ships built in that system. It's hard to handle, because battles last RT 1-3 days, game time 30 minutes, compared to how normally game time goes a lot faster than realtime (a week game time to a day RT is a rough estimate.)

Basically, battles take priority and so despite the time imbalance going on, the system can't build new ships/gain reinforcements while the battle is going on, because the battle would realistically be finished before any of that happened.

Ditto what Paranoid said about Asriel's projects. Something there looks a little odd. (Aren't stalker missiles taking you a fairly short amount of time, also? Or are the upgrades only very minor?)

Quote

Subdimensional Research, Stage One: Hypercube Project
12 days.

The first stage of an ongoing research project into multi-dimensional theory by the Azdgari scientist Aynakurai Vakhys. The third R&D will, for some time, be used in subdimensional-related research. To all intents and purposes, it is one ongoing research project, with individual stages representing the products of each breakthrough. In this case, the first breakthrough will occur in twelve days, and this part of the ongoing project is referred to as the Hypercube Project.

The Hypercube Project focuses around the development of an object called a hypercube. The hypercube is a 3-dimensional cube of no significant mass, roughly 1dm across. However, it is designed in a Vakhys-chamber (named after its designer, of course), and contains within it a similarity, which relates the hypercube’s realspace position with an artificial subdimension. This subdimension is basically the possible contents of the hypercube itself, and for generic hypercubes the subdimension is generated with a finite capacity, as a 2000m^3 cube.

Basically, the hypercube is a means of containing a far greater volume of (anti-)matter than would seem possible otherwise. The mass of the hypercube is not changed by its contents, and once the contents are transferred into the hypercube the cube is completely independent - no energy emissions, no energy requirements.

Furthermore, to transfer matter into the hypercube a dimensional phaser is used, which establishes a 2000m^3 field and transfers its contents to an attached hypercube. The dimensional phasers have very high energy requirements, and take approximately six seconds to shift the contents of the field into the hypercube.

Ships contained within a hypercube’s subdimension remain stable within the hypercube for an indefinite period of time providing the ship is Azdgari in nature. For increasingly more foreign shielding systems, there is an increasing instability in the situation and the period of time for which the ships can remain in the hypercube becomes finite. Basically, the more alien the shield technology, the less time it remains in the hypercube before destabilising the subdimension, destroying the hypercube, and returning to nearby vacuum in realspace.

Note that all destroyed hypercubes return their contents back into realspace. (OOC: This would not be the case, but after some thought I realised that allowing the contents to be easily destroyed would actually be overpowered for various reasons.)

Also note that communication the hypercube’s subdimension can only be filled with (anti-)matter of emptied of it. Nothing can pass into the hypercube once it is already filled (even if it’s filled mostly with nothing), without removing the current contents. (OOC: This is also a balance issue.)

Once this technology is completed, hypercubes will be produced on an individual basis in the same section as fleet construction. To produce one hypercube, one less Azdgari Arada will be produced. Also, at a later date some Azdgari Aradas will be equipped with dimensional phasers and the batteries necessary to power them, as well as fuel scoops to recharge said batteries. This later modification will be a small update to how some Azdgari Aradas are equipped - not a major project.

Due to the advanced technology, and multiple uses, of the Hypercube Project, it will take 12 days (longer than any other project.) Please send any questions to me by PM or ask by instant messenger - the concept’s rather convoluted and I’ve most definitely missed a few points that I’ll add in later.

Ipvicus: you’ve heard the most about this over AIM. Remind me of what I’ve forgot to mention if you notice any details are missing.

Level 4 Phase Shielding (Upgrade)
7 days.

An upgrade to the existing shielding system used by the Azdgari, which is described as Level 3 Phase Shielding. This project does not include refitting ships with the new shield generators/regenerators. The main upgrade is in shield regeneration.

Level 4 shielding involves a number of upgrades in different areas, listed below:

1. A marginal increase to the effective shielding, due to enhancements in the design of the shield generators. This increase is ~30%, roughly, although smaller ships will likely experience a slightly higher %age increase, and larger ships a slightly lower %age increase, as the enhancements in design actually include both a percentage increase and a small increase to shield points.

2. A more significant increase to the regenerative abilities of the Azdgari shield systems. This is the main upgrade of Level 4 shielding, and amounts to ~40% increase in regenerative abilities of all ships. Therefore, once refitted, Azdgari ships’ shielding will recover about ~40% faster.

3. Overload regeneration. Not much of a modification at all, this removes various safety systems and allows the shield regenerators to be temporarily overloaded. The energy surge allows for a brief boost in the regenerative abilities of the Level 4 shield regenerators by almost ~300%, but after 5-6 seconds, the regenerator burns out and is completely useless. After this, the shield net is not lost, but regeneration is impossible until the ship is refitted with a new shield regenerator. An Azdgari vessel temporarily overloading its regenerators will be extremely difficult to damage for several seconds, but it is important to realise how painful the repercussions are.

Edit One more note. In case anybody was worrying, overload regeneration cannot be cancelled. Therefore, if a pilot chooses to overload his regenerator, it will burn out after about 6 seconds... can't turn it off after 3 seconds and not lose the regenerator.

4. Some general improvements to reliability, stability and calibration. These upgrades will have no influence on battles.

Azdgari Hyperdrive (Upgrade)
5 days.

A minor upgrade to the Azdgari hyperdrive systems. The upgrade allows Azdgari ships to enter hyperspace with negligible time delay, without having to lower their speed. Basically, it is an upgrade to the hyperdrive to make it more suitable for raiding-ships.

There is no change in the speed of the actual hyperdrive in this upgrade.

This post has been edited by SilverDragon : 28 February 2005 - 03:17 PM

A bit of moderation. Esponer, Thunder, 5 days is too long for the hyperspace upgrades that you're pursuing. It's existing tech that you're barely modifying.

Thunder, your tech is 2 more days.
Esponer, yours is 3.

Paranoid, on Feb 11 2005, 11:54 AM, said:

Esponer, that was unbelievable. I thought it was impossible for you to become a better writer since the last thing of yours I read, but I was obviously wrong.

asriel said:

RESEARCH INITIATED

Title: Stalker missile project
Entails: Improves the range and speed of the pursuit missile, and adds a modular warhead system. Warheads currently being developed are single (more powerful than original pursuit missile) and cluster.
ETA: Tuesday Feb. 15

Title: Prelim. plans for Lazira and Crescent Warship refits
ETA: Sunday Feb. 13

RESEARCH CONTINUED

Title: Improved engines
ETA: Sunday, Feb. 13

Title: Arada refit (details will be posted on the 13th)
ETA: Monday, Feb. 14

I think that Ipvicus wants only two or three total projects running simultaneously, not two or three projects started each day. That would just get confusing.
View Post

The refits haven't technically started yet, they're more internal timers so I know when to start them. I'm only running two real projects. Besides which, Ipvicus stated earlier that it was possible to have refits done outside of research slots. Mine are fairly major upgrades, however, so that won't happen here.

SilverDragon said:

Ditto what Paranoid said about Asriel's projects. Something there looks a little odd. (Aren't stalker missiles taking you a fairly short amount of time, also? Or are the upgrades only very minor?)

The upgrades to the pursuit missile are as follows:

• using the improved engines that I'm researching in place of the originals, thus increasing velocity and range of the missile

• creating a modular warhead system in place of the original missile warhead

• making the single warhead slightly more powerful and creating a cluster warhead (4 or 5 warheads on a single missile

Should that take more time than I allotted?

This post has been edited by asriel : 11 February 2005 - 06:58 PM

Refits? Does that mean I could modify what my ships are carrying right now without taking up research space (which is full)?

Visitor, please edit your post to remove those colours. They're extremely difficult to read and hard on the eyes, and it makes it extremely difficult to follow your posts.

SilverDragon, on Feb 11 2005, 06:38 PM, said:

Visitor, please edit your post to remove those colours. They're extremely difficult to read and hard on the eyes, and it makes it extremely difficult to follow your posts.
View Post

Yes. Eyes are bleeding.

Actually, the worst is yellow. The others I can read... a bit...