Deep Beyond - Revision history

Shrike: /* Space Structures */

2009-12-08T00:34:28Z

Space Structures

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:34, 7 December 2009
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	::Lift Weight: 1500		::Lift Weight: 1500
	::Cost (dollar): 15,000		::Cost (dollar): 15,000
	::Cost (resource): 200 Titanium, 200 Light Metals, 100 Heavy Metals, 100 Rare Earths, 200 Electronics, 200 Hyperalloys, 500 Field		::Cost (resource): 200 Titanium, 200 Light Metals, 100 Heavy Metals, 100 Rare Earths, 200 Electronics, 200 Hyperalloys, 500 Field Modulators
	Modulators
	::Upkeep: 500 Power, 25 Manpower		::Upkeep: 500 Power, 25 Manpower
	'''Laboratory'''		'''Laboratory'''
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	::Cost (resource): 20 Carbon, 50 Titanium, 50 Light Metals, 25 Heavy Metals, 5 Electronics		::Cost (resource): 20 Carbon, 50 Titanium, 50 Light Metals, 25 Heavy Metals, 5 Electronics
	::Upkeep: 1 Power, 25 Manpower		::Upkeep: 1 Power, 25 Manpower


	===Spacecraft===		===Spacecraft===

Shrike: /* The Shape of Things */

2009-12-08T00:28:44Z

The Shape of Things

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:28, 7 December 2009
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	==The Shape of Things==		==The Shape of Things==
	===Earth===		===Earth===
	Still a blue-white marble from afar, the Earth is a battered wreck in 2098. A decade of nuclear winter and the use of both biological and chemical weapons had ruined its biosphere and hardened its people. Untold ~~number~~ of species now exist solely as genetic samples in ‘lifeboat’ repositories on the moon or elsewhere. Worse yet, colonies of ‘War Machines’ continue to bedevil regions such as Borneo, western Siberia and pockets all across Africa, making them veritable no-go areas.		Still a blue-white marble from afar, the Earth is a battered wreck in 2098. A decade of nuclear winter and the use of both biological and chemical weapons had ruined its biosphere and hardened its people. Untold numbers of species now exist solely as genetic samples in ‘lifeboat’ repositories on the moon or elsewhere. Worse yet, colonies of ‘War Machines’ continue to bedevil regions such as Borneo, western Siberia and pockets all across Africa, making them veritable no-go areas.

	No definitive figures exist for just how many people died during the Cold Snap, but ~~at best~~ estimates place the death toll over the period of 2062 to 2076 ~~at roughly~~ 80% of Earth’s entire population, from causes ranging from the initial nuclear exchange to starvation in the ensuing years to combat. The survivors were toughened – some would say traumatized – by this and as a consequence Earthers tend to be blunt and cliquish, with little time for any who can’t pull their weight. A certain nihilism also prevails, and issues like the environment are, unsurprisingly, considered more or less obsolete.		No definitive figures exist for just how many people died during the Cold Snap, but all estimates place the death toll over the period of 2062 to 2076 between 80 and 90% of Earth’s entire population, from causes ranging from the initial nuclear exchange to starvation in the ensuing years to combat. The survivors were toughened – some would say traumatized – by this and as a consequence Earthers tend to be blunt and cliquish, with little time for any who can’t pull their weight. A certain nihilism also prevails, and issues like the environment are, unsurprisingly, considered more or less obsolete.

	The various important nations are reflections of this; created whole-cloth during the war or irreparably changed by the privations and megadeaths, they are almost universally paranoid and suspicious, strongly militaristic and with an authoritarian bent to even the most open political system.		The various important nations are reflections of this; created whole-cloth during the war or irreparably changed by the privations and megadeaths, they are almost universally paranoid and suspicious, strongly militaristic and with an authoritarian bent to even the most open political system.

	The devastation visited upon Earth also wiped away many of the advanced technologies of the era. Generally relying on efficient but centralized infrastructure and publically-known research institutes, they were easy targets for cruise missiles, often nuclear-tipped. Factories were dispersed, eschewing electronics – much of which had been ruined by EMP bursts anyhow – for rugged mechanical designs. Even in 2098 the Earthers have been slow to repair the damage and remain at the stage of needing to build the tools to build the tools to rebuild advanced technology.		The devastation visited upon Earth also wiped away many of the advanced technologies of the era. Generally relying on efficient but centralized infrastructure and publically-known research institutes, they were easy targets for cruise missiles, often nuclear-tipped. Factories were dispersed, eschewing electronics – much of which had been ruined by EMP bursts anyhow – for rugged mechanical designs. Even in 2098 the Earthers have been slow to repair the damage and remain at the stage of needing to build the tools to build the tools to rebuild advanced technology.

			Stereotypically, Earther governments are seen by the orbital polities as juntas or dictatorships and perpetuators of the militarism that nearly wiped out Humanity.

			===Earth Orbit===
			Before the war, Earth orbit was a bustling place, with many stations serving needs ranging from habitation to industry to fuelling and transhipment. The bulk of them were placed in the upper half of the Low Earth Orbit band, outside of the exosphere where they would need minimal (if any) reboosting and generally protected from the worst of the Van Allen belts. A number of small asteroids and extinct comets, all in the 100-300m range had been deflected from their Earth-crossing orbits and put into medium or high Earth orbits to provide on-site resource extraction for Earth’s orbital industry. More ambitious plans to move larger, multi-km asteroids had been floated in the ‘50s, but these never got beyond the planning state.

			The war changed everything. The use of anti-satellite weapons and even high-yield thermonuclear weapons in orbit swiftly turned the busy orbits into charnel houses. An unknown number of satellites ‘died’ from the artificial radiation belts and the subsequent Kessler Syndrome of destroyed military satellites shattering into dangerous high-velocity fragments indiscriminately spread the destruction. The mad rush to escape saw the bulk of the orbital population escape outwards, forming a wave of refugees that strained various near-Earth stations.

			Today, while some of the lower zones have begun to clear and a few efforts have been made to clear paths for transatmospheric flights, Earth’s orbits remain a dangerous – if manageable – place to be. There is wealth to be found there however, as there remained vast amounts of salvageable electronics, nanotechnology or volatiles. Salvage prospectors could make respectable livings recovering this. The return of various Earthside nations to space forced stiff competition, though a few independent prospectors still hunt among the orbital ruins for something to sell.

			In addition to Cruithne, several free-space colonies remained inhabited at the Earth-Moon L5 point throughout the years, many of these having undergone drastic increases in population as the destination for the low-orbit refugees. Originally crowded past their designed capacity and being the closest thing that orbit had to slums, the construction of new habitats has eased crowding somewhat. Recently, there has been talk of returning to the unfinished Island 3 at L4, which was abandoned in the immediate aftermath of the war as its workers fled towards more hospitable stations. Rumours also have it that some Earther nations are looking to claim the Island 3 for themselves, which could result in an orbital tug-of-war.

	===The Moon===		===The Moon===

			The first celestial body visited by humans, the Moon was host to various permanently-inhabited scientific and private stations starting from the ‘20s. The largest (by far) of these was the Russian outpost of Gagaringrad in Peary crater, which by 2060 was a true city of over 180,000. Japan also had an outpost, in the southern polar crater Shackleton. While both of these were nationally-claimed and operated, they had thriving international and transient populations, sometimes reaching 10% of the permanent population.

			The opening shots of the war changed Gagaringrad forever. With a ringside seat to the systematic destruction of their home country, an interim national government was rapidly instituted and declared neutrality, primarily to (hopefully) avoid any attacks by long-range ASAT weapons. By 2064 it had reconstituted itself as the Lunnaya Sovetskaya Respublika, the Lunar Soviet Republic – a clear reference to the glory days of the original Russian space program and a reflection of the nanofabricator-driven post-scarcity economy that had been evolving outside Earth’s orbit.

	==Orbital Economy==		==Orbital Economy==

Shrike at 00:38, 26 August 2009

2009-08-26T00:38:58Z

@@ Line 44: / Line 44: @@
 ==Resources==
 :Volatiles
 :He3
@@ Line 56: / Line 60: @@
 :Radioactives
-==Products==
+This is the output per month of extraction and smelting.
 :Rocket Fuel
 :Fusion Premix
@@ Line 63: / Line 94: @@
 :Field Modulators
-==Space Structures==
+==Equipment List==
 Note that all of these can be assembled in orbit, they don't need to go up in one lift.
@@ Line 145: / Line 186: @@
-==Spacecraft==
+===Spacecraft===
 Payload values are to Low Earth Orbit and External Orbit respectively.
-===Single-use rockets===
+====Single-use rockets====
 '''Light Rocket'''
 ::Payload:  1/0
@@ Line 163: / Line 204: @@
 ::Cost:  1000
-===Multiple-use launch systems===
+====Multiple-use launch systems====
 '''Shuttles (SSTO)'''
 ::Payload:  25/10
@@ Line 177: / Line 218: @@
 ::Cost (resource):  25 Titanium, 10 Metals, 5 Electronics, 20 Hyperalloys
-===Interstellar Craft===
+====Interstellar Craft====
 '''Jumpships'''
 ::Payload:  750
@@ Line 183: / Line 224: @@
 ::Cost (If you could build it on the ground):  24,000
 ::Cost (resource):  200 Carbon, 200 Titanium, 100 Metals, 50 Electronics, 200 Hyperalloys, 1000 Field Modulators

Shrike at 00:32, 26 August 2009

2009-08-26T00:32:02Z

Show changes

Shrike at 09:29, 8 August 2009

2009-08-08T09:29:12Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:29, 8 August 2009
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			==Future History==
			===2020-2050: The New Frontier===
			In 2020, the United States and China were well on their way to returning to the moon in a quiet race. In both cases they were using technologies little different from those that had brough the Apollo astronauts to the Moon fifty years previously. However in the high atmosphere of Earth was an ever-increasing number of commercial launch vehicles based on innovative designs and new technologies. They remained barely capable of reaching the International Space Station, but they still pointed a way forward. Other advances were doing their own part in opening up the 'Final Frontier', ever so slowly.

			Even as the first manned ships were landing on the Moon for the first time in half a century, agencies and companies across the globe were making paradigm shifts in launch vehicles. Materiels science, technical advancement and precision manufacturing was rapidly ushering in the age of truly reusable surface-to-orbit transport. By 2030 crude molecular manufacturing enabled the construction of skyhooks, rapidly reducing reducing the costs to reach orbit, and by 2035 both commercial and prestige projects on the Moon, in near-Earth asteroids and even on Mars had begun. The two biggest of these were the Martian colonies, coloquially known as Red America and Rust China. Like the era of European colonization centuries before, both nations jockeyed for primacy out of national pride. Alongside the immense sums of money spent to set up colonies there between 2035 and 2050, private groups and even individuals came as well, setting up simple dwellings in the Martian landscape, a breed of techno-pioneers.

			The US and China were not the only big national players at this time; Russia had token Mars colony, primarily for scientific purposes, but they focussed their efforts on the Moon. Transit times were orders of magnitude lower and for the Russians who lacked the lavish budget of China or America, it was simply cheaper. The European Union ignored large bodies entirely, with its flagship colony at 3753 Cruithne, a near-Earth asteroid. The ample resources at Cruithne allowed the EU to rapidly construct an O'Neil Cylinder, the first of its kind.

			===2051-2057: Prelude to Chaos===
			As the symbolic milestone of 2050 passed, Earth's flagging ecosystem and ever more limited resources began to provide a stark contrast to the optimism outside of Earth's gravity well. A new militarism began to prevail on Earth even as technologies like orbital launch lasers made travel to Mars or other colony sites increasingly easy. Continued global warming and decreased soil productivity had raised food issues for Earth's ten billion and orbital resources were trickling in at a rate wholely insufficient to support the demands of nations from America to China to India to Brazil. The internalization of production due to transport prices and effective universal fabrication technology frayed many of the trade links that kept the world together, allowing regionalism and ideologies to trump mutualism. It also did not escape military notice that the orbital launch lasers could prove to be incredibly effective weapons. It would merely take one 'misaimed' beam to inflict catastrophic damage on a city.

			Then, in late 2057, harsh words turned to violence, as a local dispute spiralled out of control.

			===2057-2071: The Cold Snap===
			With shocking speed, the world erupted into a spasm of nuclear violence, with missiles falling on cities, instantly turning them into infernoes. Even the reduced arsenals of 2057 and various anti-missile systems could not stop them all, and the immediate death toll was in the tens of millions. Over a hundred megatons of irradiated smoke was launched into the stratosphere, blanketing the world in nuclear winter. Crops failed all across the world and the resulting death toll became truly staggering.

			The survivors - and there were many - were out for vengeance against any they saw as responsible, and for the next decade war raged across the globe even as agriculture failed and the bodies continued to pile up. The initial waves of modern equipment were attrited or simply worn out and with production sites continued targets for low-yield tactical nuclear weapons, battlefield technology was continually ground down, getting simpler and simpler by the year. This could not last forever of course, and by 2071 the insanity and vengeance had finally given way to a numb acceptance and slowly the patchwork of overlapping conflicts ceased.

			===2072-2092: Reconstruction===
			New grudges remained, but the weary survivors of Earth spent the next two decades putting their shattered world back into some semblance of civilization. The technologies of 2057 were gone, either destroyed, lost in the chaos or simply worn out. What had survived was simple and robust, more in common with the 20th century than the 21st. New borders were drawn as well, as entire nations had amalgamated, been conquered or ceased to exist.

			This period also saw the return of regular contact with the colonies. Having survived generally untouched, the destruction of military satellites in Earth orbit had resulted in a cascade of destruction that for decades had surrounded the Earth in a vast cloud of shattered satellites. This hazard slowly ebbed as they rained out, burning up in atmosphere. The colonies has prospered - almost - in the intervening years, watching in stunned horror as Earth convulsed in violence. By dint of concentrating their energies and hard pragmatism, they'd managed to struggle through. Where Earth had suffered immense losses, the colonies on the Moon, on Mars, on Cruithne and even on minor bodies had expanded, raising entirely new generations and keeping and even improving on the technologies they possessed. Again, however, a robust and pragmatic approach was taken; life on the frontier was not kind to those who added unnecessary frills.


	==Resources==		==Resources==
	:Volatiles		:Volatiles

Shrike at 09:12, 6 August 2009

2009-08-06T09:12:36Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:12, 6 August 2009
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	::Cost (resource): 200 Carbon, 200 Titanium, 100 Metals, 500 Electronics		::Cost (resource): 200 Carbon, 200 Titanium, 100 Metals, 500 Electronics
	::Upkeep: 25 Power, 250 Manpower, 5 Carbon		::Upkeep: 25 Power, 250 Manpower, 5 Carbon
			'''Laboratory'''
			:Develops things
			::Lift Weight: 250
			::Cost (dollar): 1250
			::Cost (resource): 50 Carbon, 50 Titanium, 50 Metals, 100 Electronics
			::Upkeep: 5 Power, 100 Manpower
	'''Hangar'''		'''Hangar'''
	:Provides storage and maintenance for spacecraft		:Provides storage and maintenance for spacecraft
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	'''Light Rocket'''		'''Light Rocket'''
	::Payload: 1/0		::Payload: 1/0
	::Cost: 0.1		::Cost: 1
	::30% chance of failure		::30% chance of failure
	'''Medium Rocket'''		'''Medium Rocket'''
	::Payload: 25/10		::Payload: 25/10
	::Cost: 10		::Cost: 100
	'''Heavy Rocket'''		'''Heavy Rocket'''
	::Payload: 150/60		::Payload: 150/60
	::Cost: 60		::Cost: 600
	'''Big Dumb Booster'''		'''Big Dumb Booster'''
	::Payload: 500/200		::Payload: 500/200
	::Cost: ~~100~~		::Cost: 1000

	===Multiple-use launch systems===		===Multiple-use launch systems===
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	::Payload: 25/10		::Payload: 25/10
	::Fuel to Orbit: 20/35		::Fuel to Orbit: 20/35
			::Lift Weight: 325
	::Cost (dollar): 1400		::Cost (dollar): 1400
	::Cost (resource): 100 Carbon, 100 Titanium, 20 Metals, 5 Electronics, 100 Hyperalloys		::Cost (resource): 100 Carbon, 100 Titanium, 20 Metals, 5 Electronics, 100 Hyperalloys
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	===Interstellar Craft===		===Interstellar Craft===
	'''Jumpships'''		'''Jumpships'''
	::Payload: ~~special~~		::Payload: 750
	::Transuranics per Jump: ~~100~~/10		::Transuranics per Jump: 10/1
	::Cost (If you could build it on the ground): 25,000		::Cost (If you could build it on the ground): 24,000
	::Cost (resource): ~~500~~ Carbon, ~~500~~ Titanium, 100 Metals, 50 Electronics, 200 Hyperalloys, 1000 Field Modulators		::Cost (resource): 200 Carbon, 200 Titanium, 100 Metals, 50 Electronics, 200 Hyperalloys, 1000 Field Modulators


			==Orbital Economy==

			===Resource Extraction===
			:Moon
			::12 Oxygen, 22 Silicon, 10 Iron, 5 Titanium, 1 He3
			:Mars
			::10 Oxygen, 5 Water, 20 Silicon, 12 Iron, 3 Metals
			:Extinct comet
			::30 Water, 18 Volatiles, 2 He3
			:C-Type asteroid
			::25 Volatiles, 15 Carbon, 5 Oxygen, 5 Silicon
			:S-Type asteroid
			::25 Titanium, 5 Silicon, 5 Oxygen, 5 Metals
			:M-Type asteroid
			::30 Iron, 15 Metals, 5 Transuranics

Shrike: Created page with '==Resources== :Volatiles :Water :Oxygen :Carbon :Silicon :Titanium :Iron :Metals :Transuranics :He3 ==Products== :Fuel :Electronics :Hyperalloys :Field Modulators ==Space Stru…'

2009-08-06T08:48:52Z

Created page with '==Resources== :Volatiles :Water :Oxygen :Carbon :Silicon :Titanium :Iron :Metals :Transuranics :He3 ==Products== :Fuel :Electronics :Hyperalloys :Field Modulators ==Space Stru…'

New page

==Resources==
:Volatiles
:Water
:Oxygen
:Carbon
:Silicon
:Titanium
:Iron
:Metals
:Transuranics
:He3

==Products==
:Fuel
:Electronics
:Hyperalloys
:Field Modulators

==Space Structures==
Note that all of these can be assembled in orbit, they don't need to go up in one lift.

'''Habitat'''
:Houses 1,000 colonists
::Lift Weight: 2000
::Cost (dollar): 750
::Cost (resource): 1500 Silicon, 450 Iron, 30 Volatiles, 10 Metals, 10 Electronics
::Upkeep: 10 Volatiles, 50 Water, 50 Oxygen, 10 Power
'''Fusion Plant'''
:Outputs electrical power
::Lift Weight: 50
::Cost (dollar): 650
::Cost (resource): 10 Titanium, 10 Electronics, 10 Hyperalloys, 20 Field Modulators
::Upkeep: 1 He3, 10 Manpower
::Power Output: 100
'''Smelter'''
:Converts local ores into Resources
::Lift Weight: 250
::Cost (dollar): 500
::Cost (resource): 30 Carbon, 100 Titanium, 50 Iron, 50 Metals, 10 Electronics
::Upkeep: 5 Power, 50 Manpower
'''Fabricator'''
:Converts Resources into Products
::Lift Weight: 250
::Cost (dollar): 1250
::Cost (resource): 50 Carbon, 50 Titanium, 50 Metals, 100 Electronics
::Upkeep: 5 Power, 50 Manpower
'''Assembler'''
:Constructs finished goods
::Lift Weight: 1000
::Cost (dollar): 6000
::Cost (resource): 200 Carbon, 200 Titanium, 100 Metals, 500 Electronics
::Upkeep: 25 Power, 250 Manpower, 5 Carbon
'''Hangar'''
:Provides storage and maintenance for spacecraft
::Lift Weight: 150
::Cost (dollar): 275
::Cost (resource): 20 Carbon, 50 Titanium, 50 Iron, 25 Metals, 5 Electronics
::Upkeep: 1 Power, 50 Manpower

==Spacecraft==
Payload values are to Low Earth Orbit and External Orbit respectively.

===Single-use rockets===
'''Light Rocket'''
::Payload: 1/0
::Cost: 0.1
::30% chance of failure
'''Medium Rocket'''
::Payload: 25/10
::Cost: 10
'''Heavy Rocket'''
::Payload: 150/60
::Cost: 60
'''Big Dumb Booster'''
::Payload: 500/200
::Cost: 100

===Multiple-use launch systems===
'''Shuttles (SSTO)'''
::Payload: 25/10
::Fuel to Orbit: 20/35
::Cost (dollar): 1400
::Cost (resource): 100 Carbon, 100 Titanium, 20 Metals, 5 Electronics, 100 Hyperalloys
'''Transit Vehicles'''
::Payload: 25
::Fuel to Orbit: N/A
::Lift Weight: 60
::Cost (dollar): 300
::Cost (resource): 25 Titanium, 10 Metals, 5 Electronics, 20 Hyperalloys

===Interstellar Craft===
'''Jumpships'''
::Payload: special
::Transuranics per Jump: 100/10
::Cost (If you could build it on the ground): 25,000
::Cost (resource): 500 Carbon, 500 Titanium, 100 Metals, 50 Electronics, 200 Hyperalloys, 1000 Field Modulators