question about orbital installations

[rotor911]

I was wondering : if I built small outposts (orbital installations to be precise) with only sensors and towed them to warp points, would I be able to give them xsens order, thus giving me the cheap tripwire that I envision?

 

Thanks!

 

Lol, as an afterthought, I could tow them to a warp point, right?

 

And happy Thankgiving to all those concerned, by the way!

[Hughestrog]

I was wondering : if I built small outposts (orbital installations to be precise)  with only sensors and towed them to warp points, would I be able to give them xsens order, thus giving me the cheap tripwire that I envision?

 

Thanks!

 

Lol, as an afterthought, I could tow them to a warp point, right?

 

And happy Thankgiving to all those concerned, by the way!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Personally I don't see why not. They still have 2AP to use for something. And you can tow them (assuming sufficient towing capacity), but only in the system where they were built.

 

I think I'm right on this.

[ali-t-akua]

I was wondering : if I built small outposts (orbital installations to be precise)  with only sensors and towed them to warp points, would I be able to give them xsens order, thus giving me the cheap tripwire that I envision?

 

Thanks!

 

Lol, as an afterthought, I could tow them to a warp point, right?

 

And happy Thankgiving to all those concerned, by the way!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

1. You can give your orbitals orders. I have a couple that skim fuel from my HW using SKIM and OC orders.

 

2. You can tow them. You need to build ships with either magnetic grapples or tractor beams (if you have them). Each of these has a rating for tonnage. Also, dont forget to put an engine on the ship(s) in the towing fleet.

[Magus666]

Is it possible to actually have an Installation on an "Orbital Installation", or for that matter, on board a suffiently large spaceship? In the rules on ship design, I dont see any capacity to do this (although I might just be missing it).

 

While certain Installations wouldnt make alot of sense aboard a ship (like, for example, a Mine), others are almost a staple of sci-fi. Huge "cities in space" might be (WOULD be) hellacious to build, but having a mobile "Starbase" or (cough) "Basestar" with Industry, A Fuel Refinery and perhaps even a Shipyard would be incredibly useful to a fleet several WP from home. Naturally, such things would be immensely costly to build, slow, and quite vulnerable to enemies...but still interesting.

 

Or, am I just getting ahead of myself, and this is a "technology" that opens up with research, like building Subterranean or Aquatic installations?

[ali-t-akua]

Is it possible to actually have an Installation on an "Orbital Installation", or for that matter, on board a suffiently large spaceship?  In the rules on ship design, I dont see any capacity to do this (although I might just be missing it).

 

While certain Installations wouldnt make alot of sense aboard a ship (like, for example, a Mine), others are almost a staple of sci-fi. Huge "cities in space" might be (WOULD be) hellacious to build, but having a mobile "Starbase" or (cough) "Basestar" with Industry, A Fuel Refinery and perhaps even a Shipyard would be incredibly useful to a fleet several WP from home.  Naturally, such things would be immensely costly to build, slow, and quite vulnerable to enemies...but still interesting.

 

Or, am I just getting ahead of myself, and this is a "technology" that opens up with research, like building Subterranean or Aquatic installations?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

It is not possible to build an installation on a spaceship or Orbital, however, it is believed that with a high enough Horizon tech that you will be able to build certain facilities in space. Orbital Solar Power Plants and Orbital Crystal Refineries are possible although they orbit the world they were built at. I have seen Ringworlds and Dyson Spheres mentioned although I have no idea if this can be real or not and if so what are the required techs (6G Space Science and 6G Civil Engineering would be one possibility).

 

With starting tech you can build a "fuel refinery" assuming you have a world with the right oceans and atmosphere as you can build an orbital tanker that has fuel shuttles and can skim the world to generate fuel. (See the "Skimming Fuel" note pinned above.)

 

My understanding is that Subterranean Installation Construction and Aquatic Installation Construction are more for RP than providing actual benefit. There is a Subterranean City but you need techs other than Subterranean Installation Construction to gain that installation. This is one of the non sequiters you run into from time to time.

[RTGPete]

My understanding is that Subterranean Installation Construction and Aquatic Installation Construction are more for RP than providing actual benefit. There is a Subterranean City but you need techs other than Subterranean Installation Construction to gain that installation. This is one of the non sequiters you run into from time to time.

Subterranean Installation Construction and Aquatic Installation Construction both provide attrition modifiers just for having those technologies. This is independent of and stacks with the bonuses obtained from regular Cities, Domed Cities and Subterranean Cities, all of which stack with one another. Therefore one could gain benefits by researching Subterranean and Aquatic Installation Construction and by building a City, Domed City and Subterranean City for each 100 population. It would get expensive building all three city types for 100 pop, but all of the benefits stack.

[Hughestrog]

My understanding is that Subterranean Installation Construction and Aquatic Installation Construction are more for RP than providing actual benefit. There is a Subterranean City but you need techs other than Subterranean Installation Construction to gain that installation. This is one of the non sequiters you run into from time to time.

Subterranean Installation Construction and Aquatic Installation Construction both provide attrition modifiers just for having those technologies. This is independent of and stacks with the bonuses obtained from regular Cities, Domed Cities and Subterranean Cities, all of which stack with one another. Therefore one could gain benefits by researching Subterranean and Aquatic Installation Construction and by building a City, Domed City and Subterranean City for each 100 population. It would get expensive building all three city types for 100 pop, but all of the benefits stack.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

But sometimes, you've just got to build them

[Ur Lord Tedric]

Just back to the OP....

 

The NUD order designs 'ships', whether they be Orbitals or Surface/Aquatic/Subterranean Fortresses - or even, heaven forfend Spaceships.

 

'Ship' is a wide and variable description and needs some flexibility.

 

'ships' go in fleets - fleets can be given orders! The only limitation is that Orbitals and Fortresses (like Spaceships with limited engines) only get 2AP to play with.

 

Thus Orbitals and Fortresses can be given orders every turn, or standing orders, or even run convoy routes

 

You can even mix all 3 in the same fleet (which you do when you're moving Orbitals anyway). I don't normally mix them, but that's so I don't make mistakes.

 

All Installations, including mines, are built in Pop Gps. Nowhere does it say they are on the ground, under the ground or floating in space - so they 'can' be!!! Your choice

 

Chief Existentialist to Ur-Lord Tedric, with advice from the Chief Planner

[LenLorek]

I seem to remember that Russ or Pete explained long ago that you can build installations (Chemical Refineries, Gas Refineries, Rare Elements Mines, etc) on Gas Giants even though they have no hard ground to build upon -- it is assumed that they are on orbital platforms!

[Hughestrog]

I seem to remember that Russ or Pete explained long ago that you can build installations (Chemical Refineries, Gas Refineries, Rare Elements Mines, etc) on Gas Giants  even though they have no hard ground to build upon -- it is assumed that they are on orbital platforms!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Not that my race is hardy enough to colonise GG, but I always thought that installations built on them would be like floating stations.

 

Wasn't 'Cloud City' from Star Wars some sort of gas refinery thing?

[ali-t-akua]

Subterranean Installation Construction and Aquatic Installation Construction both provide attrition modifiers just for having those technologies. This is independent of and stacks with the bonuses obtained from regular Cities, Domed Cities and Subterranean Cities, all of which stack with one another. Therefore one could gain benefits by researching Subterranean and Aquatic Installation Construction and by building a City, Domed City and Subterranean City for each 100 population. It would get expensive building all three city types for 100 pop, but all of the benefits stack.

 

Thanks Pete.

 

 

Wasn't 'Cloud City' from Star Wars some sort of gas refinery thing?

 

Yes.

[Octus Imperium]

My understanding is that Subterranean Installation Construction and Aquatic Installation Construction are more for RP than providing actual benefit. There is a Subterranean City but you need techs other than Subterranean Installation Construction to gain that installation. This is one of the non sequiters you run into from time to time.

Subterranean Installation Construction and Aquatic Installation Construction both provide attrition modifiers just for having those technologies. This is independent of and stacks with the bonuses obtained from regular Cities, Domed Cities and Subterranean Cities, all of which stack with one another. Therefore one could gain benefits by researching Subterranean and Aquatic Installation Construction and by building a City, Domed City and Subterranean City for each 100 population. It would get expensive building all three city types for 100 pop, but all of the benefits stack.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I had assumed a domed city or SubT city REPLACED the run-of-the-mill city, not stacked on each other. Seems counterintuitive to get a bonus for building all three citites for the same 100 pop. In that case, I assume 33 would go to std city, 33 to domed and 34 to aquatic (I like water)?

 

Octus Imperium

[Hughestrog]

My understanding is that Subterranean Installation Construction and Aquatic Installation Construction are more for RP than providing actual benefit. There is a Subterranean City but you need techs other than Subterranean Installation Construction to gain that installation. This is one of the non sequiters you run into from time to time.

Subterranean Installation Construction and Aquatic Installation Construction both provide attrition modifiers just for having those technologies. This is independent of and stacks with the bonuses obtained from regular Cities, Domed Cities and Subterranean Cities, all of which stack with one another. Therefore one could gain benefits by researching Subterranean and Aquatic Installation Construction and by building a City, Domed City and Subterranean City for each 100 population. It would get expensive building all three city types for 100 pop, but all of the benefits stack.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I had assumed a domed city or SubT city REPLACED the run-of-the-mill city, not stacked on each other. Seems counterintuitive to get a bonus for building all three citites for the same 100 pop. In that case, I assume 33 would go to std city, 33 to domed and 34 to aquatic (I like water)?

 

Octus Imperium

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Or you've your initial city, which then gets a dome around it, and as your civil engineering know-how increases, you can start building 'under-ground'. You develop aquatic and hardened installations to buttress buildings. All the while adding to the original, much like today (i.e. tube systems, shopping centres, etc, but on a much larger scale).

 

And of course you've built you're colonist training centre to train them in the rigors of there new life.

[Magus666]

Your point about "orbital" installations is well made. I suppose that in most cases, low- or sub-orbital installations (such as the aforementioned "Cloud City") wouldnt make a great deal of difference from standard installations (at least in game terms) since this is allready the "norm" for installations being built on GG planets.

 

However, this wasnt really what I had in mind. What I was referring to were those immense "City in Space" type things, where the Installation is totally (or mostly) independant from a planetary body. Think along the lines of Babylon 5, Deep Space 9, Cylon Basestars or the Mother Ship from Independance Day. While they certainly have alot of characteristics in common with typical spaceships - weapons, engines, armor, sensors, etc. - they are also places where large numbers of civilians (or at least non-military, non-explorers) live and work in jobs not directly connected to the operation of the vessel (IE, Population).

 

Theoretically, such a "ship" could already be constructed. Just build a massive vessel with LOADS of Colonial Berthings, since according to the description:

Colonial Berthings include sleeping quarters, kitchens, meeting halls and general residential quarters for a single unit of Population...

Unfortunately, this would be useless and incredibly wasteful, since Colonial Berthings are moderately resource intensive at 50,000 Steel each, and the Population housed there (would they have to actually be converted to Colonists before they could be taken aboard a ship, or can Raw Population be transported??) wouldnt actually DO anything since there would be no Installations for them to work at.

 

Rather, I was thinking of such a thing where you actually COULD have Installations in deep space, independant from a planet (or asteroid belt), possibly even travelling with a fleet through warp (albeit very SLOWLY, Im sure). As I said, although such a "ship" would be very expensive to build, really slow to move (if at all), and be a GREAT target for enemies or pirates...there would also be immense benefits to being able to carry a few INDUSTRIAL COMPLEXES along with you. Especially when youre six WP from home and your combat ships start running low on missles, drones and fighters. A sufficiently large "Space City" might even have a SHIPYARD, capable of turning out new Screening ships as you lose them. Of course, you'll need an onboard Fission Power Plant (separate from the ships engines) to provide power to your Industrial Complexes...and so forth.

[ali-t-akua]

However, this wasnt really what I had in mind. What I was referring to were those immense "City in Space" type things, where the Installation is totally (or mostly) independant from a planetary body. Think along the lines of Babylon 5, Deep Space 9, Cylon Basestars or the Mother Ship from Independance Day. While they certainly have alot of characteristics in common with typical spaceships - weapons, engines, armor, sensors, etc. - they are also places where large numbers of civilians (or at least non-military, non-explorers) live and work in jobs not directly connected to the operation of the vessel (IE, Population).

 

Rather, I was thinking of such a thing where you actually COULD have Installations in deep space, independant from a planet (or asteroid belt), possibly even travelling with a fleet through warp (albeit very SLOWLY, Im sure). As I said, although such a "ship" would be very expensive to build,  really slow to move (if at all), and be a GREAT target for enemies or pirates...there would also be immense benefits to being able to carry a few INDUSTRIAL COMPLEXES along with you. Especially when youre six WP from home and your combat ships start running low on missles, drones and fighters.  A sufficiently large "Space City" might even have a SHIPYARD, capable of turning out new Screening ships as you lose them. Of course, you'll need an onboard Fission Power Plant (separate from the ships engines) to provide power to your Industrial Complexes...and so forth.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I have edited your last post to reduce its size.

 

It is rumored that with high enough tech you could build Dyson Spheres and Ringworlds.

 

As for having ICs on ships to help with replenishing, I think you can come close to fulfilling your desire in that you can build ICs and Shipyards in colonies that are close to the front line and if you need to use Trans Warp Drive ships to shuttle materials to them in order to replenish fighters and drones or build new ships.

 

Going beyond that by creating giant Space City ships would probably be viewed as unbalancing and would not be allowed. At least that would be my guess but Pete would be the final authority on whether what you propose would be allowed.