Orbital Habitats

[forsaken1111]

Steve, would you be able to put orbital habitats and cryo transport modules on the same ship? Pack up 500,000 colonists in cryo, go to an asteroid, wake them up and have them live in the habitat?

I was just thinking this.

Cryo and Orbital Hab for half a million people, cargo space holding mining equipment and extra space for mined material. Pick up 500k people, fly out to the asteroid, mine it out, load it up and move on.

Sort of like massive space locusts.

[Vanigo]

Why would you do that when there are perfectly good asteroid mining modules?

[forsaken1111]

Why would you do that when there are perfectly good asteroid mining modules?

Why leave the solar system at all? you have plenty of minerals there. Why even build ships? Why play the game?

Because it's fun.

[Vanigo]

Why leave the solar system at all? you have plenty of minerals there. Why even build ships? Why play the game?

Because it's fun.

Well, I guess you could do it for RP reasons... It just seems strange when there are not one but two vastly superior options to do exactly the same thing.

[UnLimiTeD]

Why can't orbital habitats also function as cryo modules? I mean, they can't do both at the same time, or can they?

[Vanigo]

Just give orbital habitats free cryo space, you mean? Sounds simple enough.

[Steve Walmsley (OP)]

Why can't orbital habitats also function as cryo modules? I mean, they can't do both at the same time, or can they?

They can as long as I change their cost to the same as colony ship cryo modules

Steve

[UnLimiTeD]

Thats true, but given their size, and the current price of cryo modules, I honestly wouldn't bother.
On the other hand, would anyone actually use them for cryo unless to get them to their target filled?
They are of such massive size, it doesn't allow for rapid colonization.

Still, fair point.
As long as I can pack them in PDCs, it won't be an option anyways.

[ShadoCat]

I'm a little late to this thread.

I just got my hands on a desktop computer that has a screen that I can use for Aurora (I look forward to AuroraII).

As I understand it, the reason population can not be emplaced on an Orbital Habitat is that population can only be emplaced in a colony and a colony can only be on a planetary body. 

Is it possible, upon creation of an orbital habitat to set it as a planetary body?  That way you can declare it to be a colony.  Assuming you allow orbital habitats to transit jump points, you would then have to mod the database upon tranit to move them from one system to the other.

[schroeam]

IIRC you can do exactly that.  You can tow the orbital habitat to another planet, moon, asteroid, establish a colony, and then move colonists there.  The basis for how the colonists get to the station is that the living space on the planet is filled, then the living space in the station.  If there is no infrastructure on the planet then the station gets filled first. 

You can also tow them through jump gates, like shipyards.  Once in orbit and occupied I believe you have to take the colonists off the station in order to move it to another location.

Hope this helps.

Adam.

[sloanjh]

IIRC you can do exactly that.  You can tow the orbital habitat to another planet, moon, asteroid, establish a colony, and then move colonists there.  The basis for how the colonists get to the station is that the living space on the planet is filled, then the living space in the station.  If there is no infrastructure on the planet then the station gets filled first. 

You can also tow them through jump gates, like shipyards.  Once in orbit and occupied I believe you have to take the colonists off the station in order to move it to another location.

Hope this helps.

Adam.

I think he meant that he wanted them to be new entries in the SystemBodies (or whatever it's called) table, i.e. to not have to park them in orbit around a different system body.

John

[UnLimiTeD]

An Ambitious goal for A2.

[ShadoCat]

I think he meant that he wanted them to be new entries in the SystemBodies (or whatever it's called) table, i.e. to not have to park them in orbit around a different system body.

That's exactly it John.

That way you can stick a Habitat anywhere and move it at will without having to hassle with disembarking the people.

It also means that you could put construction factories or research centers on them.

[Mel Vixen]

That's exactly it John.

That way you can stick a Habitat anywhere and move it at will without having to hassle with disembarking the people.

It also means that you could put construction factories or research centers on them.

Hehe that could lead to type 1 Dysonspheres or Bu'uthandi if can set a orbiting distance and speed for these things.  As such they could also be nice mass-driver hubs.   

And hey i think i can weaponize a OH.  Since these things are big and can be build by factories i would suggest we convert them to Deathstars.  Just add enough cargo bays for a dozen mass drivers and automated mines and you can perpetually bomb planets with garbage. 

[ShadoCat]

Hehe that could lead to type 1 Dysonspheres or Bu'uthandi if can set a orbiting distance and speed for these things.  As such they could also be nice mass-driver hubs.   

Hmmm....

A simple solution that would work with Steve's current code is to make the star a system body that can be colonized (no minerals and uninhabitable).  Then you can make the star a colony and put the hab in orbit around it.

And hey i think i can weaponize a OH.  Since these things are big and can be build by factories i would suggest we convert them to Deathstars.  Just add enough cargo bays for a dozen mass drivers and automated mines and you can perpetually bomb planets with garbage. 

Well, you better have the hab around an asteroid.  Otherwise, you are going to run out of space station soon.

BTW, you can already do that by landing minerals and a mass driver on an asteroid.  However, I think that missiles are cheaper.