Completed Let's Multiplay Alpha Centauri - Binary Dawn - Game 1

[Kalin]

Let's Multiplay Alpha Centauri - Binary Dawn

In the year 2060 A.D. Earth had been so thoroughly devastated by wars that it would eventually become uninhabitable. In a last ditch attempt to save Humanity from extinction, the United Nations constructed the starship Unity to carry a group of colonists to a distant planet in the Alpha Centauri system. Shortly after its arrival, the passengers were awakened from cryosleep prematurely due to a reactor malfunction. This, combined with the assassination of Captain Garland, threw the crew into chaos. Unable to repair the ship, the seven most powerful leaders split the crew into distinct factions, divided not by nationality, but by ideology and their vision of the new world. As the Unity continued towards its inevitable crash landing, these seven factions each seized equal numbers of colony pods, ejected from the ship and made their way to the surface of Planet, seeking their destiny beneath an alien sky.

Spoiler

Gentlemen, it's finally time again! This community game will be played with Merc's Binary Dawn 3.2 mod for SMAX, specifically tailored for this PBEM to purge dumb content such as mecha ogres and spore launchers. Original factions only, seven human players. Map of choice is modded version of Yuge Map of Planet, splitting up Landmass Prime, dividing Monsoon Jungle into archipelagos and adding some extra land and rivers. Mod is very different from vanilla and we are going in more or less blind on this one. We're playing with paranoid probe team rules, meaning you can probe without risking automatic pact/treaty violations. Should be a lot of fun! Without further ado:

Gaia's Stepdaughters

The Human Hive

The University of Planet

(Slight typo here - Fundamentalism is banned, not Police State)

Morgan Industries

The Spartan Federation

The Lord's Believers

Peacekeeping Mission Command

PBEM rules:

Spoiler

1. Be a bro.
2. Do not be faget.
3. Do not reload the save multiple times, or load game in scenario editor.
4. Do not conduct diplomacy with players before meeting them in-game.
5. Do not use colony pods to increase a base beyond its maximum population limit.
6. Do not use exploits to hurry production at reduced costs, or build something that could not directly be built.
7. Do not upgrade crawlers to more expensive designs before adding them to Secret Project production.
8. Do not make social engineering changes and then change back in the same turn.
9. Do not connect multiple artifacts to the same network node (supposedly possible if you rename the base).
10. Do not start a terraforming task in one square, cancel it, and then finish it as part of of combat terraforming.
11. Do not perform aggression against a player and complete pending negotiations with him in the same turn.
12. Reverse-engineering is allowed (making new designs utilizing stuff from a captured unit even though you lack the tech).
13. Exception to the above! Do not reverse-engineer clean reactors from the initial scouts. Haraam!
14. Upgrading units through workshop so that they can move the same turn IS allowed.
15. When you probe someone, you do not have to pick harshest response or tell anyone what you did.
I6. Planetary Council votes must be shared with all players because votes are not displayed in PBEM.
17. Do not retire default designs in the workshop, this can delete those units for other players as well.

Game settings:

Spoiler

Human players and turn order:

The Spartan Federation - MercantileInterest
Morgan Industries - Kalin
The University of Planet - Hellraiser
Gaian's Stepdaughters - The Brazilian Slaughter
The Lord's Believers - AgentOrange
The Human Hive - Grimgravy

 

[Rahdulan]

Dis gun b gud.

 

[Hellraiser]

It was a cold winter morning, the sun was slowly rising. Prokhor Zakharov gazed at the home he is leaving behind one last time as he clutched his suitcase filled with those belongings worthy of accompanying him into the void. The large concrete prefabricated slabs forming the building were drab and gray, as always. The local gopniks gathered in front of this socialist monolith were indulging in their nicotine and outdoor cyber-squatting addictions, as always. Things in Saint Putinsburg were going the same way they have been for years, despite the crisis, despite the deteriorating global stability and rising tensions, possibly because all of that was business as usual in Russia. The taxi was already waiting for Zakharov.

To Zakharov, whom most peers called by his last name, the sequence of events that followed entering the cab seemed to last a mere nanosecond. Airport, flight, landing, transfer, flight, arrival, final tests, rehearsals and simulations, launch, cryofluid engulfing him, cryofluid being drained. And then, suddenly, eternity begun as the klaxon begun to wail. A subjective reduction in the perceived flow of time due to crisis, even slower than when the nuclear turbojet missile Zakharov tested for Putin crashed just 500 meters away, all those years ago.

The situation was dire, Captain Garland was dead and the ship was incapable of entering orbit around Chiron. The academician had to act. From the chaos aboard the starship usurpers and pretenders emerged, each with an agenda, each gathering like-minded individuals, each plotting to take over and survive. In the end seven succeeded in the latter, seven escape pods descended, seven became the first to claim governance of new fledgling settlements on an exoplanet far from the Homeworld. Zakharov was one of them.

Planetfall meeting minutes

Item: settlement construction site

Conclusions: Local and global hazards unknown, to mitigate the risk of losing all remaining equipment the available assets will be split into two groups, Babylon and Galactica. Babylon will move existing habitats and start printing new ones at a location 7 km from planetfall site. Galactica will form a convoy and head east with scout ahead of them, look for a suitable backup site and settle it.

Action to be taken:

Asset inventory and allocation – E. Petrenko

Assignment of key personnel – P. Zakharov

Base planning – P. Zakharov

Commlink testing and set up – I. Bordeaux

Item: administration

Conclusions: Ad hoc administration and lack of clear structure causes inefficiency, swift decisions and execution being critical given the current vulnerable state of the colony. The decision making structure will be formalized and centralized under the University Charter, with final authority and power given to the office of Provost. Elections and other democratic processes to be introduced after situation stabilizes, Zakharov chosen to be acting Provost until end of state of emergency.

Actions to be taken:

University Charter – P. Zakharov

Organizational Structure and key posts – H. Feldt

Resource allocation procedure – K. Ogawa

Item: near to mid-term resource allocation

Conclusions: Once essential resource production and gathering is established research is to begin immediately. Network nodes and labs are to be made available to all research staff. Resource allocation will be prioritized to projects aiming at maintaining machinery brought from earth and building new machinery with local resources, capable of sustaining and expanding an industrial human civilization.

Actions to be taken:

Project prioritization – P. Zakharov

Research project proposals collection – E. Petrenko

Network infrastructure – I. Bordeaux

Lab design – H. Feldt

 

[Dayyālu]

KK.

Like a true Liberal, I find myself overwhelmed by the task. I can't play this as well as I would like, and thus if some hero wants to step in and lead the UN to great heights I would love to give the keys of the faction to some worthy player.

It's a sad day when you realize you literally don't have any more the time to learn and optimize as you would like.

 

[Storyfag]

As Tradition dictates, I shall cheer you from the sidelines.

 

[baud]

Morgan Industries - Kalin

I hope you're getting a YUGE bonus out of this at least. I'll be watching too.

 

[RK47]

*smacs lips*

 

[Kalin]

Nwabudike Morgan was going through the hourly status report in the back of his luxury rover, making notes and giving brief commands through his comm-link as he progressed through the data. His slick black-and-gold vehicle had been modified from the basic U.N. Unity Rover, enhanced to provide a modicum of protection and necessary comforts. It was graphene-armoured, featured surprisingly smooth suspension and was already the envy of most of his followers. This, of course, was per design, for envy motivated the stakeholders to reach their true potential. It was still no Duranium Yatch, this much was certain, but sacrifices had to be made. This, Morgan reckoned, no one from aboard the Unity understood better than himself, for he had bartered away more than most men could ever imagine. He finished the last details on his wrist pad, tapped out and allowed himself to relax his aching body, still recovering from the debilitating decades of cryosleep. As he stretched back in his seat, he closed his eyes and thought back to Earth and all that he had left behind...

Morgan Industries - built with his own hands, from a minor company into a tier one mega-corp. Its mercenary branch, Morgan A.I.M. Inc, had been utilized to topple governments all around Africa and the Americas. His Morgan Comfort subsidiary had practically monopolized the U.N. escort market, and his Morgan SafeHaven Hotel Fortress chain - for the discriminating executive - had earned him staggering wealth and respect. Even mighty Omniventures could not contend with his hold on Nairobi, or his dominant position in the Namibian diamond mining sector. When he invested heavily in the Unity project, his closest associated had merely thought it a public relations stunt. To them, and to the petty U.N. officials who had so eagerly accepted corporate positions in exchange for their cooperation, the giving up of his financial empire would have been inconceivable. He chuckled at their shortsightedness! Everything was a transaction, and the goal of the game was to calculate your exchanges so that in the end, you would be in a position to take the greater prize.

Using his wealth and power, he had done just that, stowing away aboard the Unity in a single cryosleep module, accompanied only by a few of his most prized possessions. By means of his will and ingenuity alone he had emerged among the crew, convincing a great number of them to join him as stakeholders in his pursuit of true freedom and prosperity. The fools who remained on Earth had bet on a dying world, and its immature off-planet colonies could never be self-sufficient - the Mars incident and the New Kyoto holocaust had proved that only too well. No, at best the elites would survive in bunker fortresses, isolated havens, petty fiefdoms on irradiated bodies. In such an environment his future would have been precarious, and he would still have had hundreds of competitors. Here he had reduced his competitors to a mere six, and Morgan Industries was rising again.

"Arriving at destination, sir!" his CorpSec pilot interrupted through the intercom, expertly slowing down and parking the rover at an elevated vantage point. Morgan opened his eyes and gazed out through the spacious side windows, taking in Chiron in all her glory. On his one side extended the vast ocean, gleaming and glittering as it reflected the brilliant shine of the suns. On his other, a rolling green landscape stretched endlessly, interrupted only by rocky mountains and crimson patches of what his biologists had termed xenofungus. The sight was breathtaking - so much potential, so many untapped resources! The site would do well indeed for his second base, and he quietly congratulated himself on having made the correct decision once again. Here, a whole world lay ripe for the taking - and he would have his rightful share.

 

[Kalin]

Alrite

Restarted to synchronize turn-order and make Brother Lol AI-run on account of the shamur dispray.

New turn order is in OP. Game is starting, good luck and have fun!

 

[Hellraiser]

And there goes my monolith and energy resource in range of University Base. Current start might not be as good regarding special resources, but it has potential.

 

[Kalin]

"...and so while Dr Hoadley's hybrids are soon ready for deployment, the corrupted code in the Unity terraformer blueprint will regrettably delay our forestation of enrichment zone beta by a slight margin..."

"How slight, exactly?" Nwabudike Morgan demanded from his visibly nervous underling. "No nonsense, just throw me the numbers."

"Ah- w-well, CEO, operating on the basis of a worst possible outcome-"

"Out with it."

"F-five to ten planetyears, CEO."

Morgan maintained an expression of complete calm as he combated the rage within. Those corrupted blueprints would necessitate a complete reprototyping before manufacturing could begin. Terraforming crews would be left on standby with no transports to ferry them to their destination. Even worse - they would collect salary while doing nothing! At least the new casino might divert some of the cash back, but even so, those U.N. officials had one job, ONE JOB! If they were here, right now, he would have them shot and recyc-

A flashing light interrupted his thoughts, and he promptly dismissed the bringer of bad news, waiting for the auto-doors to shut before tapping the console on his desk.

"CEO Morgan, Dr McNamara requests a meeting in the tech lab" the pleasant voice of his secretary conveyed across the intercom. "He says it is quite urgent, and that you really must see it with your own eyes."

"See what?" Morgan inquired, puzzled by the unexpected interruption.

"He did not say, CEO, only that it was critical. He sounded quite animated, sir, and that's really a first."

"Thank you Jessica. Morgan out."


******


"Doctor!" Morgan exclaimed in his typically jovial voice as he briskly entered the humble tech lab of Morgan Industries, flanked by a pair of black-clad CorpSec Alphas, more so for theatrics than any actual fear of assassination. "I am a busy man, and you wouldn't wantonly waste my time. I assume this must be worth my while."

"You assume correctly, CEO" the thin, balding man repiled with an uncharacteristic smile. "More so, I'd wager, than even you could have anticipated. One of our scout patrols stumbled upon a site of particular interest. Thought it was a Unity pod at first, but what they found... Why, it was quite different!"

"Different how?" Morgan asked, throwing a quick glance at the data-screen in front of him.

"As you see, CEO, we have unearthed several objects. They are like nothing we have encountered so far!" McNamara said excitedly. "These pieces have clearly been manufactured. The materials are Trans-Newtonian, but not of any kind ever found in Sol. Added to that, they are old - ancient, in fact! Suffice it to say, they can safely be categorized as xeno-artifacts."

"Xeno..." Morgan trailed off, taken aback by the implications.

"Yes!" McNamara replied triumphantly. "Thoroughly alien in origin, created by a sophisticated culture predating our arrival by thousands of years. This is the first concrete proof that we are not alone in the universe, unless, of course, you put any stock in those NuSoviet broadcasts about Titan before that whole Eurasian debacle. But CEO, it gets better! These trinkets will be worth a fortune in their own right, but this here is the real prize." McNamara motioned to a large window, showing a room with two vac-suited Morgan-Techs running tests on a curious-looking object.

"This beauty, CEO, is clearly an electronic device. It features unrecognized symbols on its sides, as well as two sockets, neither complying with any known standards to date. Preliminary tests indicate that it most likely contains data, but as for what kind data... We can only guess."

"And can you access it somehow, extract this information?" Morgan asked, realising the vast possibilities.

"Eventually, yes. Unfortunately, Zakharov and his cronies did make off with the best scientific equipment, and this puny laboratory is not capable of harvesting the potential power. To be quite blunt, our resources are barely enough to safely examine it much further. We would need something like a major network node to even begin running serious experiments."

"So who knows about this?" Morgan replied.

"You, myself, and the staff of this lab, as well as your two friends here", McNamara said, nodding towards the security grunts. "The members of the scout team know some details as well, but not the full story. We could... Contain it, if that is what you wish?"

Morgan thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No need for extremities. No, we will announce this find to the public, make a play on the "free flow of information" and all that. It should become the top news for months and get the shareholders' minds off this recent terraformer debacle! Oh, and doctor..."

"Yes CEO?"

"Your previously denied request for development of a network node in Morgan Industries? Consider it approved."

Spoiler

Yeah got an artifact, hot stuff, but a special resource had been much better.

Also prob won't cash it in for tech, this should be good to partially rush a project with. But we'll see.

Also MERC forgot to apply his own fix so every faction has to prototype formers now.

Every faction, except the Spartans. Yeah...

 

[Hellraiser]

[Provost Zakharov appears, he is sitting at his desk playing Fallout, he turns around towards the camera]

Provost Zakharov: “Salutations fellow scholars, the sol datetime is 19:00 UTC 27th of June, 2105 CE. It is a great pleasure to begin this very first live nodecast streamed to all habitats not just in University Base but also in Zoloto-Gold where the Network Node just went online. What you are about to see is Ex Cathedra, the voice of reason and curiosity on Chiron with your host Eva Petrenko, delivering the latest news to all citizens of our prosperous extrasolar colony.”

[rapid zoom in on a falling apple up until atomic structure level]

[flashing images of rockets, fusion reactors, lasers and Jagged Alliance 2]

[animation of photorealistic CGI Carl Sagan locking up a pastor, rabbi and imam behind a steel door labelled “prison of irrationality” and throwing away the key]

[animation of photorealistic CGI Neil Degrasse Tyson merging black holes into super black holes which results in uplifting a village of unwashed peasants into toga-wearing trans-humans living in space needles]

[title card with Eva Petrenko appears]

Salutations, I am Eva Petrenko and this is Ex Cathedra.

Progress News

Construction goes ahead as planned in Zoloto-Gold as teams erect more habitats on the hills overlooking Galactica Flumina. The broadband wireless link is operational thanks to the Wesley Crusher, Gaius Baltar and Hiroshi Hatake relay posts. Recon depots and the Custodes offices have been set up in the new base, the Zoloto-Gold network node is already operational and contributing to project Prosperitas.

Xenofungus role in planetary ecology still unknown. Investigations into the link between xenofungus presence and perceived brain function interference are inconclusive. Xenofungal fermentation products deemed too dangerous for human consumption. Drones are urged to follow the example of Talents and not waste precious equipment and spare parts on makeshift fungal stills. Failure to comply will result in arrest by the Custodes and drafting into long duration reconnaissance groups. Always remember that the only sanctioned liquor is Uniwersyteckaja Vodka, from the Provost's own distillery.

Project Peyson behind schedule. The project team blames this delay on the terraformer blueprint loss caused by faulty Indian data storage devices bought by the UN from Wyrmlord Banking and Usury Tech Ltd. The Provost is unsurprised by this development as he was forced to use other substandard equipment from said manufacturer. The fact that the UN tender picked that provider is one of the many symptoms of the deep dysfunction of Old Earth Civilization, which most likely resulted in its end. Terraforming operations expected to begin sometime next decade without fabrication lab expansion. Fabrication lab expansion unlikely without securing Unity supply pods. Current local resource exploitation deemed unsatisfactory by Provost.

Project Prosperitas on track. Nodes working at full capacity. Provost delighted with progress as Zoloto-Gold node speeds up research. Practical applications to be usable sometime next year.

Exploration teams report no signs of other human presence. Rumours of stray radio broadcasts still unconfirmed. Babylon Flumen mapped thoroughly, xenofungus confirmed to dominate the riverbanks and more distant landscape.

University Base Local News

University Base Dragonboat championship cancelled after team's “Kerbal Boat Program” prototype sinks in Babylon Flumen, drowning 5 colonists and wounding 10 bystanders through the resulting explosion. Citizens call for the establishment of an official buoyancy and marine engineering research institute. Vice-Provost for Exploration Hieronymous Feldt declines their request citing a more pressing need of surveying the landmass for valuable resources and viable settlement sites before marine exploration can begin.

An illegal temple has been discovered by Custodes officers and raided during what officials called a “backwards ritual”. Seven participants have been nerve-stapled due to resisting during the intervention by the Custodes. Two who admitted to being priests have been assigned as test subjects in xenofungal research. The rest is undergoing religion deprogramming.

Grid Zone B1 has been deemed off-limits by Isaaac Bordeax – the Vice-Provost for Communications, Data and Public Security.

I. Bordeaux: “The potential local hazards need to be investigated for public safety first, the zone will re-open once everything is clear.”

Custodes teams are currently guarding the site and are also escorting convicts to it, convicts that were sentenced to become human test subjects. The public is eager to hear what new knowledge will be gained through their sacrifices.

Entertainment News

The public contest of mocking awful computer game design is won by Paul Jebins for his tirade against Civilization: Beyond Earth. Provost Zakharov congratulated him personally while also adding, quote, “May that game be forever bashed for the absurd design decisions made by Firaxis", unquote.

The lack of entertainment software and the imposed energy consumption quotas are causing minor unrest as citizens feel forced to socialize out of boredom. Some call for the re-opening of the hydroplant on Babylon Flumen to increase energy production. Others point out that the resources necessary to maintain the plant would have to be taken away from foraging station 1, resulting in nutrients deficiency.

Spoiler

I thought of following up Merc's idea with the relay post names with hated SF characters such as Jar Jar and Neelix, but I decided that at least Wesley kind of redeemed himself so I went with SF geniuses instead.

Fucking former prototyping. At least no mindworm rape encountered so far.

I seem to have gotten the shaft with unity pods as I found only one so far. Which is either unusual or we had no unity scattering enabled when we remade the game.

 

[Kalin]

Science you say?

Morganic bonaz-energy from thrifty and innovative business solutions outperform even Zakharov's top scientists with their snazzy network nodes. Ample proof that the (soon to be fully implemented) Free Market is the way, the truth and the life for every progressive and right-thinking expression of humanity.

 

[Hellraiser]

I was beaten to it by the turn order

Although not surprising considering the starting government type in the mod grants +1 Econ so Morgan gets the +1 energy per tile from the start.

 

[Grimgravy]

I dreamed of planetfall aboard the Unity. A vast freshwater sea. A river to provide power and transportation. An odd obelisk to the east. It was all so promising. This is not.
- Shen-Ji Yang at the founding of The Hive.

Status of the Hive, 10 years since planetfall.
Diplomatic situation: Optimal
No contact with other humans. With luck they all perished during the disaster on Unity or entering the atmosphere. Odd obelisk structures point to an alien presence here, but thankfully all signs point to it being a presence relegated to the past.

Strategic Situation: Tolerable
Scouting parties have turned up little of value other than the alien obelisk. Supply pods from Unity seem to be few and far between.
There is every reason to believe that favorable base locations will be found by the time new colony pods can be constructed.
No sign of hostile entities, human or alien.

Research Situation: Tolerable
Development is slow but improvements have been made since Fecundity Tower tapped the alien obelisk.

Base situation: Tolerable
The Hive: Under-performing and overshadowed by Fecundity Tower. The recently prototyped Formers will no doubt rectify that situation in time.
Fecundity Tower: Named for the odd obelisk in the area. The ancient alien structure allows Fecundity Tower to outproduce The Hive in all ways. Terraforming work at The Hive is unlikely to alter this any time soon.

Spoiler

Note that I have no photoshop-fu and my paint-fu is weak. Expect nothing but text from me. Shamefur dispray, I know.

 

[Hellraiser]

"There is nothing more terrifying then the unknown" tribune Aristidis Drakos quoted the Provost's words. "Which is why Sciensta est Potentia, with knowledge unknown variables become known factors and unpredictability becomes an expected sequence of events described by an accurate model" the tribune added completing the quote.

The briefing chamber of the Zoloto-Gold Custodes offices was packed to the brim with members from all Custodes departments - scouts, campus security, neural conditioning technicians and infiltration specialists were all present. Life support was struggling to keep the temperature below 28 degrees Celsius with the expected capacity of the room far exceeded by the gathering.

"Recently he investigation into last year's loss of speculatores team prime took an unexpected turn, you have all no doubt heard the rumours already."

"Xenoforms" a scout of speculatores team three interrupted.

"Yes, xenoforms" the tribune replied. "The official designation for this species chosen by the biology faculty is Vermem Mentis, mind worms."

The display behind the tribune turns on showing charred husks of the mind worms.

"Three days ago Grid Zone C9 was attacked by these creatures. Prior to the attack security team four reported mental disturbance similar to the one encountered when scouting xenofungal terrain."

A digital map highlights the southern edge of Zoloto Gold bordering the xenofungal field. It zooms in and displays an attack direction along with campus security post locations.

"At 5:28 UTC a swarm or boil as the biologists started to call it, has been noticed by a watch tower. As we were already on high alert since the loss of team prime reinforcements were called in and I was woken up by an emergency call."

Video footage is showing a mass of small creatures moving in a manner that gives the impression of being the work of a choreographer. The movement is fluid, mesmerising. The worms gracefully cover the distance and when the living carpet reaches the watchtower it reorganizes itself to form a structure that allows the worms to climb up the tower, putting even species of earth ants to shame with its feat of ingenuity and coordination.

This spectacular dance performance of the native life is accompanied by music formed by the terrified scream of security team four. Further footage shows helmet cam recordings of the worms engulfing their victims. A first person view of the worms crawling and clawing their way past the composite exosuits and into the guard's brain, while he was still aware of the fact. The audience is silent.

The guard's now dead or soon to be dead body slumps to the ground turning the helmet cam towards another guard in the distance, one still struggling to shake off the creatures. It provides an enlightening external view on the process. Most of the other nearby guards, who are seemingly at a safe distance away from the boil, behave like raving lunatics. Training, orders or protocol - they mean nothing to them, to them only fear exists as they drown their surroundings in their horrifying panicked screams.

Another guard walks into the frame, he points the flame gun at his worm-covered colleague who was still fighting the mass of creatures that just dug through his suit and into his flesh. A second later he became a human torch screaming in pain. Finally the screaming stopped, his comrade released the trigger. A scorched lump of a man mixed with burned worms remained.

"It was the only way" someone says in the audience.

"Indeed it was" the tribune confirmed. "The last transmission from speculatores team prime seems to confirm that the same fate encountered them in the fungal fields."

"How do we fight that?" Someone else asks.

"With the best weapons available to us, our minds"

Spoiler

Fucking mind worms! They could have nicely parked themselves next to the base at least, so that I could loot some planet pearls but no, better attack through fungus on their turn, a turn after they killed my scouts out in the field. At least they are dead now and Zoloto Gold is safe, losing a base at this point would have been terrible.

In other news I finally started finding other unity pods so maybe I will get some much needed boost to my growth. That terraformer prototype is still a few turns away.

 

[Hellraiser]

paedo-vampiric currents

 

[Kalin]

Spoiler

Black and gold eye-cancer updates back in style!

*Sponsored by Morgan Monocle Cyber Eye Surgery Ltd.

Got a bunch of crappy pods as of late:

Instantly turned a bunch of juicy land into disgusting fungal jungle. Scout couldn't even get out of it for two turns.

In the middle of nowhere. Well hey, maybe I can set up a solar farm eventually.

Now this though:

Third time's the charm! When you pop pods make sure you switch production first in the base nearest to them to some facility or expensive prototype you really want. Can't be a Secret Project obv. If you're lucky you get it insta-built. Always pays off to do this step because there is nothing worse than to pop a materials pod and have it build a fricking scout patrol.

Worms nearly ate a scout patrol by the way, horrible creatures. Still not sure it's wise to go for special PSI-defense stuff this early when there is more critical techs out there. Might have made a mistake, time will tell.

Oh, and yeah:

Spoiler

CONTACT! Got comm frequency for another faction, but not gonna spoil which one.

 

[Hellraiser]

Spoiler

I got some new recycling tanks but agentorange seems to have gotten the first facility 8 turns earlier, probably from a pod material rush. No sign of human presence yet.

 

[baud]

You got a cool board of directors, full of moral individual ready to sacrifice their share value to the good of the common man

Spoiler

 

[Hellraiser]

FYI the first power ranking is in, as of turn 20:

This can change rapidly in the next 20 to 40 turns but the graph is already telling you a few things. Both the Gaians and the Hive have sudden score drops which probably were caused by population reduction from getting colony pods out or from mindworm rape.

Tech is as usual inflating Uni's score, as you can see Brother Lol is leading in pop (as he's being played by AI so probably cheating or on top of the Jungle) which doesn't seem to mean much as far as score is concerned currently. Sparta seems to be doing good, probably because they did not need to prototype formers like the rest of us

 

[Grimgravy]

뭐야? 아 씨발! 씨발!

Status of the Hive, 20 years since planetfall.
Diplomatic situation: Questionable
Followers of "Lady" Skye have been spotted. It was too hopeful to believe we were the only survivors of the Unity disaster. It is safe to presume others have survived as well.

Strategic Situation: Questionable
Scouting proceeds apace. Several unity pods have been found, but with less than stellar results. Unfortunately, we are NOT alone. Foul worm-like creatures appeared out of the fungus near the Hive and destroyed a Former team. Fortunately, the base's garrison was able to eradicate the vermin and recover something of use, "Planet Pearls," from their charred remains. While it is promising that something of worth can be recovered from the worms, they are a fearsome enemy. Suggestions to catch 'em all were not well received. Worse yet, minions scouting "Lady" Skye have been spotted on the frontier beyond Fecundity Tower. Which is the greater threat? Our fellow humans or the native worms? That remains to be seen. Either way, with a clear threat, resources must be shifted to defense.

Research Situation: Tolerable
Situation unchanged.

Base situation: Tolerable
The Hive: Loss of Formers to worm menace is an unfortunate setback.
Fecundity Tower: Situation unchanged.
New base sites have been located with construction soon to begin. Hopefully Skye and her people will not interfere in the near term. Long term, territory will likely be an issue as our preferred avenue of expansion is occupied.

 

[Hellraiser]

My main question is if Morgan Industries will launch a new line of "great commie war of mutual killing" special edition planet popcorn* to commemorate the inevitable conflict.

*Allergy warning: product may contain traces of kelp, xenofungus, mind worm husks or hybrid bark.

 

[Kalin]

Welcome to Morgan Industries!

WHO WE ARE - At Morgan Industries we enjoy the greatest entertainment, enrichment and personal fulfillment on Planet, and whenever our corporation makes a gain... We all profit! How is this even possible? The answer is CEO Morgan's rewarding equity sharing scheme! Every employee is a stakeholder, and our stakeholders are truly in charge! Naturally, we recognise that a smooth operation is everybody's responsibility, and we always ask ourselves: "Is this good for the company?" But what if you're not a stakeholder? Null sweat! Our guest workers, tourists and drones enjoy the very best opportunities for enrichment in our entrepreneurial market environment. At Morgan Industries we have it all figured out! We love winning, and the winner is YOU!

WHAT WE DO - In a word: *EVERYTHING!* Whatever your heart desires under the Centauri Suns - energy cells, precious minerals, luxury food, quality spirits, chems, comfort, VR-games, alien artifacts, robotics, rec-droids, consenting test subjects, high-tech weapons, cyber-implants, longevity treatments or holo-Bibles - Morgan Industries will provide in the greatest quality and at the most affordable prices. At Morgan Industries we take pride in our motto: "Your business is OUR business!"

HOW WE OPERATE - Our corporate utopia has no "state" or "laws" that could interfere with YOUR pursuit of a rewarding life. Beyond enforcing contracts and protecting corporate assets, no executive or CorpSec member will tell you what to do. In Morgan Industries, YOU are in charge! You make the choices, and we merely maximize the positive outcomes of the consequences. Everyone is welcome regardless of race or ideology, as long as you support the sound and proper flow of capital on Planet. Want work? We pay the premium rates! Want to enjoy yourself? Morgan rec-services are TOP NOTCH! Want to strike out on your own and set up your own company? We could always use another subsidiary, or even a freelance partner!

OUR VISION - Morgan Industries strives for excellence, but beyond simply delivering the best of the best products for the best of humanity, we wish to secure lasting peace and prosperity in a global Free Market environment. Once this is accomplished, we will raise mankind up to the very highest level: a society of talents, for talents! Under the guidance of Morgan Industries, the fierce native wildlife will be swiftly purged, and the xenofungal infestation will be completely exterminated! In the glittering cities of Morgan Industries - and in every base of our trading partners - humanity will enjoy life to the fullest. The only question is: WILL YOU? We hope so, because after all...

 

[Kalin]