Taking stock and making plans - 1908-1910The game has been ported to version 1.12.0 which has caused some issues but I'm not going to edit the database by hand to completely replicate the game so I'll work around them.1908All across the world, people woke up on 1 January 1908 feeling weird. As if an alternate universe had merged with theirs with chaotic repercussions. Some people recalled having different names, jobs, personalities or even genders! Others dismissed such claims as to results of drunken revelry at New Year's Eve. While the sanitariums received a larger-than-usual influx of patients, most people went on with their lives and soon forgot about that strange day. But not all! At the University of Bern, a young academic named Albert Einstein who had already gained some notoriety with his articles regarding Æther and its interaction with large objects, could not shake the feeling that something momentous had happened and this motivated him to change his research towards an esoteric area so far ignored by mainstream academia: the possibility of instantaneous interstellar travel. Astronomers blamed the phenomenon on an esoteric, high-energy burst that interacted mysteriously with Æther. It did have concrete effects as well - the most noticeable being the disappearance of all the human and Martian wrecks. Neither were the primitive computer systems that humanity had built spared. Research efforts were smashed and teams of all nations had to start fresh with their projects. This all meant that development was slow to begin with.
In February, British scientists copied the German
Kampfanzug, dubbing it Battle Harness Mark I. Its capabilities were roughly equal. With the disappearance of the wrecks, salvaging technology took a backseat to the possibility of boarding and capturing Martian vessels. March saw an American breakthrough in thermal sensors sensitivity. Russia managed to improve the productivity of its assembly lines in May. French scientists harnessed the power of particle beams in July and in the same month both Germans and British cracked the Duranium Armour problem - this should have meant that their respective armies needed new equipment but these projects were delayed until specialized desert equipment would be procured as the scientists had convinced the generals that assaulting Mars, a freezing desert planet, would be utter folly without it. Iberian Union rounded out the science-heavy month by improving the capability of their planetary sensors. October saw Japanese optimizing the output of their engines at the cost of fuel efficiency.
Among shipyards, German naval yard run by Schleicher Designs reached parity with Hankel in size, both now being 4,000 tons with 2 slipways and both were busy constructing the third one though it would not be ready until 1910. Austro-Hungarian Landzettel Boat Builders reached 3,000 tons. British commercial yard, Kirby, reached 35,000 tons on its dual slipways.
On the industrial side, all nations were busy patching up deficiencies in their capabilities as well as working on improvements across the board. Even RIM, despite its limited industrial output, managed to get a Deep Space Tracking Station running, being the second to last one to do so - Russians wouldn't fire up theirs until close to Christmas.
1909In February, both the USA and the A-H established their first new engineer battalions. Other nations were training them as well - since engineering tractors were not expected to fight, there was no need to gear them the way combat troops would be. In this field, all nations had standardised their units - two command tractors would oversee thirty engineering tractors.
French Florint yard completed its third slipway in March and resumed expansion so that it could build 4,000-ton frigates. In March, the German Mayo Manufacturing yard reached 30,000 tons allowing to retool for the
Blucher class troop transports:
Blucher class Troop Transport 30,000 tons 140 Crew 1,386 BP TCS 600 TH 63 EM 0
104 km/s Armour 10-86 Shields 0-0 HTK 59 Sensors 0/0/0/0 DCR 1 PPV 0
MSP 28 Max Repair 200 MSP
Troop Capacity 10,000 tons Drop Capable Cargo Shuttle Multiplier 1
Korvettenkapitan Control Rating 1 BRG
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months
BMW Commercial Conventional Engine EP12.50 (5) Power 62.5 Fuel Use 8.94% Signature 12.50 Explosion 5%
Fuel Capacity 194,000 Litres Range 13 billion km (1445 days at full power)
This design is classed as a Commercial Vessel for maintenance purposes
Kaiserliche Raummarine had been duly impressed by the Martian firepower and the advances in metallurgy gave the answer: ten layers of Duranium armour were feasible and would shield the Heer during the approach. Ship designers of other countries had taken note, and as there was little hope of dodging the shots with high speed while also carrying a significant amount of troops, they had followed suit.
March also saw Italian Contarini Industries expanded to 3,000 tons and work continued to bring it up to 4,000 tons. In April, Austrian company Steyr completed two different space cannons: the fast-firing Steyr 10cm Railgun and the powerful Steyr 12cm Railgun. These would form the main armament of the Austro-Hungarian frigate, though it would not start construction until the secret of Duranium armour was learned. On the last day of the month, British naval yard Carpenter & Brother reached 3,000 tons and just like the Italian yard, it kept expanding. The Admiralty was worried about German shipbuilding capability, now twice that of the British but the construction factories were busy making a new research laboratory complex. The earlier focus on shipbuilding was now backfiring on Great-Britain: they had lost all their corvettes without gaining more than experience.
Japan finalized the design of their
Akagi class:
Akagi class Frigate 4,000 tons 113 Crew 216 BP TCS 80 TH 36 EM 0
450 km/s Armour 3-22 Shields 0-0 HTK 28 Sensors 0/0/0/0 DCR 2 PPV 24
Maint Life 3.80 Years MSP 67 AFR 64% IFR 0.9% 1YR 7 5YR 109 Max Repair 20 MSP
Kaigun-Ch?sa Control Rating 1 BRG
Intended Deployment Time: 1 months Morale Check Required
Mitsubishi Conventional Frigate Engine (1) Power 36 Fuel Use 160.09% Signature 36 Explosion 15%
Fuel Capacity 245,000 Litres Range 6.9 billion km (177 days at full power)
Sasebo 25 cm C2 Carronade (3) Range 80,000km TS: 1,250 km/s Power 16-2 RM 10,000 km ROF 40
Sokutekiban Type 09 (1) Max Range: 80,000 km TS: 1,250 km/s 27 23 20 16 12 8 4 0 0 0
Akagi Reactor (1) Total Power Output 6 Exp 7%
Active Search Sensor AS16-R75 (1) GPS 750 Range 16.8m km Resolution 75
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
Iseki Naval Shipyard was not even close to 4,000 tons yet so construction could not start.
British commercial yard, Kirby Shipyard Incorporated, reached 40,000 tons in early July and thus could start building the
Tribal class troop transports:
Tribal class Troop Transport 30,000 tons 140 Crew 1,386 BP TCS 600 TH 63 EM 0
104 km/s Armour 10-86 Shields 0-0 HTK 59 Sensors 0/0/0/0 DCR 1 PPV 0
MSP 28 Max Repair 200 MSP
Troop Capacity 10,000 tons Drop Capable Cargo Shuttle Multiplier 1
Lieutenant Commander Control Rating 1 BRG
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months
Rolls-Royce Commercial Conventional Engine EP12.5 (5) Power 62.5 Fuel Use 8.94% Signature 12.5 Explosion 5%
Fuel Capacity 194,000 Litres Range 13 billion km (1445 days at full power)
This design is classed as a Commercial Vessel for maintenance purposes
By September the Austrian Salamander class frigate was ready for construction.:
Salamander class Frigate 4,000 tons 107 Crew 222 BP TCS 80 TH 38 EM 0
468 km/s Armour 4-22 Shields 0-0 HTK 21 Sensors 0/0/0/0 DCR 1 PPV 16
Maint Life 2.09 Years MSP 34 AFR 128% IFR 1.8% 1YR 10 5YR 155 Max Repair 24.6 MSP
Fregattankapitan Control Rating 1 BRG
Intended Deployment Time: 1 months Morale Check Required
Conventional Engine EP18.75 (2) Power 37.5 Fuel Use 114.11% Signature 18.75 Explosion 12%
Fuel Capacity 147,000 Litres Range 5.8 billion km (143 days at full power)
Steyr 12cm Railgun V10/C2 (2x4) Range 20,000km TS: 1,250 km/s Power 6-2 RM 10,000 km ROF 15
Steyr 10cm Railgun V10/C2 (2x4) Range 10,000km TS: 1,250 km/s Power 3-2 RM 10,000 km ROF 10
Siemens BFC R40-TS1250 (1) Max Range: 40,000 km TS: 1,250 km/s 23 16 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Salamander Reactor (1) Total Power Output 8.2 Exp 7%
Active Search Sensor AS13-R40 (1) GPS 400 Range 13.6m km Resolution 40
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
Unfortunately for the k.u.k Raummarine, Landzettel Boat Builders had been told to prepare for 3,000-ton construction whereas the design team worked on the basis of a 4,000-ton hull. The yard was only halfway through constructing a new slipway. There was nothing else for Vienna to do but to grit their teeth and wait.
1910In March, the French lifted their first commercial yard into orbit. Rochefort Services would operate the yard and its first task was to continue growing so that troops transports, similar to German and British ones, could be built. This advance was followed by the Germans, whose Waldschmidt Dockyard opened at the end of the same month. The main German problem now was lack of bodies as there now was a shortage of workers. In order to temporarily fix the problem, the Kaiser ordered fuel refineries shut down as there were over 15 million litres of fuel stockpiled as well as replacing Reichskanzler Oskat Altheim with Julius Hayek, who had impressed the Kaiser with his social and health programs intended to boost the birthrate as well as encourage more women to enter the workplace. The problem was only made worse when the third German naval yard, Rockmeier Marine, was established in October.
Americans were not to be outdone when it came to shipyards - in April their first yard, Grudem Naval, built its third slipway and this was followed by the orbital-lift of Cabler Shipyards, a commercial entity, a week later. Washington had drawn the same conclusions from the probe of Mars as the other powers - sending in a small, unarmoured shuttle would be suicide and only a large, heavily armoured troop transport would stand a chance.
In July, the Japanese treasury had to start borrowing, having gone into debt. It had been the activation of the Imperial Japanese Army, now building engineering battalions meant for Mars, that had pushed the budget into the red. Construction priorities were shifted so that financial centres could be built.
September brought the locking down of the German
Scharnhorst class:
Scharnhorst class Frigate (P) 4,000 tons 125 Crew 227.1 BP TCS 80 TH 54 EM 0
675 km/s Armour 3-22 Shields 0-0 HTK 24 Sensors 0/0/0/0 DCR 1 PPV 16
Maint Life 2.83 Years MSP 53 AFR 85% IFR 1.2% 1YR 10 5YR 145 Max Repair 24.6 MSP
Fregattankapitan Control Rating 1 BRG
Intended Deployment Time: 1 months Morale Check Required
BMW Conventional Engine EP27.00 (2) Power 54.0 Fuel Use 164.32% Signature 27.00 Explosion 15%
Fuel Capacity 110,000 Litres Range 3 billion km (51 days at full power)
Krupp 15cm C2 Visible Light Laser (2) Range 80,000km TS: 1,250 km/s Power 6-2 RM 20,000 km ROF 15
Krupp 10cm C2 Visible Light Laser (2) Range 60,000km TS: 1,250 km/s Power 3-2 RM 20,000 km ROF 10
Siemens Beam Fire Control R80-TS625 (1) Max Range: 80,000 km TS: 625 km/s 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 0 0
Scharnhorst Reactor (1) Total Power Output 8.2 Exp 10%
Siemens Search Sensor AS17-R80 (1) GPS 800 Range 17.2m km Resolution 80
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
Throughout the year, all the powers had constructed more ground facilities. The situation at the end of 1910:
