Second Sphere Logistical Rules

Logistics

An army marches on its stomach

A military with no fuel, no spares and no munitions is simply a collection of targets to be captures or picked off at leisure. And despite the universality of hard-wearing, self-diagnosing equipment the sophisticated weapons of the 22nd century demand spare parts in vast quantity. This is where logistics comes in; the science (or perhaps the art) of moving the myriad things required for a mechanized military to act to the place where they need to be.

Logistics is extremely complex and far beyond the scope of what could be considered 'fun' gameplay. As such it is highly abstracted to represent your national collection of trucks, cargo launch craft, interstellar freighters, Excel spreadsheets, trained professionals, expert systems . . . you get the idea.

In essence, all nations have a 'Logistics Pool' - this covers the aforementioned and takes care of day-to-day upkeep, maintenance, so on. So long as your logistics pool is not exceeded, units themselves pay no upkeep. Once your logistics pool is exceeded however your logistical infrastructure is overstretched and costs will swiftly accumulate.

Unit Logistic Burden

To determine how much of a logistical burden a given unit group is, simply divide its total cost by the following values below. All numbers are rounded up to defined values, as shown below.

Warship: /250 (nearest integer)

Parasite Warship: /200 (nearest integer)

Aircraft: /100 (nearest 0.25)

Mechanized Ground: /150 (nearest 0.25)

Infantry: /200 (nearest 0.1)

Light Infantry: /500 (nearest 0.1)

Experimental Unit: x5

These numbers may seem large, but they are designed to be taken in aggregate. Thus a nation's summed Aircraft cost is divided by 100 to determine the logistical requirements, etc. Likewise, for calculating the additional logistical requirement of deplyoments (see below), add up the total costs of each unit group being deployed.

Deployments

Of course just where your tanks and space battleships are plays a vital role in determining just how heavy your awe-inspiring military weighs on your supply chain. Needless to say it is far easier to maintain and supply your troops when they are on your soil than when they are a hundred light years away fighting pitched battles against insurgents. To determine how much additional logistical resources are required, multiply the logistical costs as determined above by the appropriate multiplier(s) below.

Distance

0-5 jumps: x1

6-10 jumps: x2 (x1.5 w/ Habitation 1, x1 w/ Habitation 2)

11-15 jumps: x3 (x2 w/ Habitation 1, x1.5 w/ Habitation 2)

16-20 jumps: x4 (x2.5 w/ Habitation 1, x1.5 w/ Habitation 2)

21-25 jumps: x5 (x3 w/ Habitation 1, x2 w/ Habitation 2)

Every level of Zero-G Adaptation reduces the multiplier by 10%, to a minimum of x1.

Status

Idled: x0.1

Transit: x1

Raised Alert/Patrol: x2

Light Combat: x3

Heavy Combat: x5

Logistical Support Craft

Some ships are specifically designed to support long-duration missions and/or field repairs and fabrication. These will reduce the effects of Distance and Status respectively so long as they are attached to the formation in question. See their specific rules for the effects of each.

Insufficient Logistics

The day of reckoning has come and your mighty armada of conquest dreadnoughts has set out to punish your enemies. Unfortunately your nation finds itself short of logistical support. In this situation the dreaded words upkeep appear.

In a situation where there is insufficient logistics, all shortfall must be made up with via supplies at a 1:1 ratio. Supplies can be bought at the price of 1 unit of supplies for every 2 PIP/CIP/Wealth/Drexlers (in any combination) and in effect represent not just the supplies themselves but hiring civilian ships to transport them, etc. Supplies can be stored indefinately and it may be a good idea to have some just in case.

Expanding Logistical Networks

While paying upkeep is a useful short-term solution, a state dedicated to having a large military and/or a far-flung one is likely better off to invest in expanding its logistical network. Logistical networks can also be destroyed; bombing trucks, sinking ships, flattening rail hubs. In both of these situations a state can build additional logistics, either replacing what was destroyed or expanding upon it.

Cost TBD!