Posted by: Konisforce
« on: March 08, 2013, 11:38:24 AM »
I've finally managed to get 6.x running and have made the switch! 6.1 was being difficult, but 6.21 has allowed me to recreate things with few hiccups.
To re-create the game, I started in 1840 or so and kept plugging away at creating an appropriately large ruin on Mars, then getting some xenologists to tell me what the tech level was. Given that over 2,500 installations of TL-4 on Mars wound up being a pretty big part of the game in the first 10 years, I wanted to try and make that again. I got a TL-4 with about 1,500 installations, and may re-roll it when I run out if it seems like it matters (and if the Empire still exists . . . . )
Once I got the ruins successfully, I ran the years up to June 20th, 1847, and SM'd in everything to as close to this state as possible:
Status of the British Empire Ten Years After Victoria’s Reign Begins
June 20, 1847
Earth
1,252.38 million citizens.
Wealth: 36,184 thousand pounds yearly
Shipyards: 2. 1 slipway each.
BSN Maintenance: 1,000 tons maximum.
Construction factories: 650
Steam Industry: 650
Sorium refineries: 10
Mines: 868
Clockwork Mines: 6
Mass Drivers: 1
Research Facilities: 22
Financial Centers: 4
Ground Unit Training Facilities: 2
Mars: 20,000 citizens
2,561 installations to recover
Infrastructure for 920,000 citizens
Asteroid #21 (Corundium Hill):
26 Automines and a mass driver
22 civilian mining complexes spread across:
Rhea, Titan, Hyperion, Europa, and Asteroid 16.
Ongoing Archaeological Digs on Ganymede and Asteroid 149
2 Shipping lines with 11 ships: 9 East Indiamen total, and 1 Paradisium passenger cruiser each.
British Space Navy:
1 Homefront troop transport
5 East Indiamen freighters
2 Paradisium passenger cruisers
3 Watt geological survey ships
2 Diamond couriers
1 Turtle science vessel.
British Aether troops:
5 Heavy Grenadiers / Knights battalions
1 Engineering Brigade (on Mars)
From that point, I trudged on through a year or so, then SM'd in Ares to the best of my ability, as well as creating the Jump Phoenix design. After the initial discovery of ruins on Ares, I was about to the point where I left off previously and started keeping new notes.
Among the changes:
Obviously, most characters have been re-rolled. I've taken appropriately skilled administrators, captains, and scientists and re-named them, so Wall is still in charge of Earth, Hill is on Mars (at the start) and Sutton is First Lord of the Admiralty, but otherwise it's mostly all new.
Shipping lines have new names now, of course. And since there wasn't anything on Mars until I SM'd the (small) colony as it existed in the snapshot in 1847, there wasn't too much growth there in either the previous or the current game.
I re-genned the system through Earth's jump-gated point until I got an equally bad planet to the Ares from my previous game, which also resulted in a system with only a single sad planet, which is Ares.
Naturally, the engine system re-design impacted ship designs. Given the start in June 1847, though, there weren't too many designs that were impacted, however. I ignored the Turtle and the Watt since they were basically museum pieces by 1847, and the Phoenix / Jump Phoenix was the way forward for the survey ships. I designed engines which matched in size and speed as much as possible, sacrificing accurate fuel efficiency where necessary.
And speaking of the Jump Phoenix, that last fluff piece about the Jump Phoenix always bringing the crew home . . . yah, not so much anymore. But we'll get into that.
Hopefully you enjoy the next chapters, and be sure to tell me if you do! Or don't enjoy. Always good to know folks are reading, and comments 'n' criticism very welcome.