A little bit about me and this game first:
I've been playing this game for about a month now. I've probably created, played and then deleted 50-60 games. Most of them were for play testing. I'd create a game, give myself a bunch of free stuff, and see what it did. Or I'd create it and play it for awhile to see how things went. It took me about 2 weeks before I felt comfortable actually trying to play a game. Once I did, I would start a game, TN start of course, with varying amounts of starting tech points and installations, and then play until I ran my empire into the ground. This varied from a couple months to a couple years in game, but invariably it happened. A week or so of that and finally I had games running for years. My last game started out as just a normal game, TN start, 240k tech points, designing my own starting systems and ships. I started branching out in the galaxy and every time I ran into a new system, I just didn't like the fact that no planets had names, so I started using names from the Mass Effect universe. I liked that a lot, and I found myself building a story about my empire being the Systems Alliance. So I decided to start over, this time with the same ME influence, and the same idea that I was playing as Humans discovering these advanced techs and spreading out. And so here we go, let me know what you guys think.
Prologue
In the year 2025, an unbelievable discovery was made on the surface of Earth's moon. A crater, originally thought to have been created by an asteroid impact, was revealed to be the result of an extremely advanced kinetic weapon. A few feet beneath the surface the research team found the wreckage of a ship. The ship was obviously old, and almost completely destroyed, but still a massive effort was launched to recover what they could, and a base was constructed on Luna to further study it.
In the years that followed, the wreck proved to be much more rich in information than originally thought. Though almost all of the electronic components were completely destroyed, the body was made of materials unseen before. The study of the ship led to the discovery of a number of new elements and alloys, and the one intact fuel cell contained a peculiar element. It took nearly 2 years, but the scientists studying the fuel cell discovered that the fuel appeared to be a refined form of Helium-3. This new element became known as Sorium. The method of refinement proved elusive, and took a full decade to uncover. When they finally refined their own stores, the scientists discovered the fuel could propel ships at speeds and distances previously unthinkable.
The rest of the ship led to the discovery of harder, more durable elements. And the electronic components were made of a material that was nearly 100 times more conductive than copper. Other materials could be used to create lasers that could prove useful in both offensive and defensive capacities. In all, 11 new elements and alloys were discovered.
After nearly 15 years of research, the governments of Earth came to the realization that they could not discover any more on their own. It was decided that the people of Earth needed to be brought in, and so they agreed on a unilateral announcement. For a few years now there had been rumors of the discovery, and all agreed it was best to tell the truth now, before an attempt was made to infiltrate the project.
And so, on December 31st 2040, the united government leaders announced to the world the discovery of the alien craft on the surface of Luna. The announcement was met with rather subdued amazement. The governments had prepared for unrest, but instead were met with excitement. The people of Earth were willing to accept that they were not alone if it meant they could reach the stars.
For five more years, the combined skills of the best scientists the Human race had to offer endeavored to use the knowledge from the wreck to the betterment of Humanity. They designed, built and tested engines, hulls and weapon systems. The first true space vessel was created on March 15th, 2041. It was a small, one man ship capable of reaching Luna and returning with ease. Its small size made it nearly useless for anything except the proof of concept that it was, but still the manufacturer sold over 100 of them to wealthy individuals looking to own a piece of history.
In December of 2044, it was announced that a newly established multinational body was planning to colonize Mars. This new effort would begin with the prefabrication and transport of newly designed habitation domes. Upon completion of this infrastructure, the building of atmosphere factories would begin. Some of these would also be prefabricated on Earth, and then moved to Mars while others would be built directly on Mars.
In July of 2045, construction of the habitation domes on Mars was completed, and the work on atmosphere factories begun. In March of 2046, nearly a year later, a trace atmosphere was maintained on Mars. The people of both Earth and this new colony looked to the future with hope and expectation. A true migration began. Over 30 million citizens moved to the new domes on Mars. Some to work in the mines and factories, others to grow food, and still others found a place in the service industries.
The work of making Mars habitable continued for the next ten years. And in that time, advancements were made with regard to the discoveries made on Luna. The people of Earth, and now Mars, continued their march to the stars. They developed a means of surveying planets and other stellar bodies through the use of sensors and drones. Advanced propulsion methods, and harder, more durable alloys were created. A new radiation shield that could protect the wearer from the ravages of the Sun, while allowing both clear vision and being durable enough to stand up to a small firearm was designed, and a spacesuit light enough to not encumber the wearer, flexible enough to allow free range of motion, and yet tough enough to handle hard vacuum became available to any who could afford it. Luxury goods became cheaper, and a new Golden Age dawned on Earth.
Five years after the first true settlers arrived on Mars, the population had swollen to over 100 million. They began to request either the freedom to govern themselves, or expanded representation on Earth. An increased role on Earth was impractical. Most citizens of Mars still had family and friends on Earth, but their work and life were now solely on Mars. Trade between the two planets had increased of late, and both sides knew it wouldn't be long before problems of price and smuggling grew. It was decided to hold a council of the rulers of Earth and Mars. It would be held in New York, on December 1st 2050.
This council saw the formal creation of the Earth Systems Alliance. A parliament was elected from all participating nations, including the newly recognized government of Mars. Funding was almost non-existant though. Most of the nations believed that they should control their own interests in space. The biggest change that came from this council had nothing to do with either money, war or power. Instead it was the creation of a new calendar. This created a unified measurement of time. Seconds, minutes and days remained the same, but the week was shortened to five days, and each of the 12 month would be 30 days each. This allowed all business to be done on a standard schedule, no matter where the business might be taking place. Local time was not policed in this manner, however, and could be measured in what ever way the populace saw fit. It was also decided that the new Alliance Standard calendar would be reset. The year 2050 became the year 0, and 2051 became year 1.
It has been 75 years since that council. In that time, the Earth Systems Alliance has come into its own. After years of being considered just a symbolic council, the Alliance gained influence through their brokering of deals and agreements between the nations of Earth and Mars. As time passed, the Alliance gained greater and greater influence, and today they are considered the true galactic face of the Human race. While the rulers on Earth and Mars still govern their own countries, the Alliance governs all activity off of, and between, the two planets.
Two years ago, a group of researchers discovered a means of traversing huge distances in mere minutes or even seconds. It was a delicate process, and could only be accomplished by identifying a stable area of space. It was postulated that these areas would exist near most, if not all, stars. The Earth Systems Alliance and a private corporation called Baria Frontiers funded the building of a ship designed to find these areas of space. Any ship hoping to utilize these "jump points" would need to be equipped with a secondary engine capable of propelling them to the speeds needed. The expense of the jump engines, however, put them out of reach of most people or corporations, and would bankrupt the Alliance if they were to put them on every ship. And so it was decided that a means had to be found to propel any ships wanting to pass between systems without the need of a jump engine. It was quickly discovered that a means existed to do just that. By slightly modifying the technology, the scientists were able to create a stationary jump engine that could propel nearby ships instead of itself. This jump gate would open the galaxy to the expansion of the Human race.
In the year 75AS, the first human survey ships equipped with gravitational sensors spread out into the Sol System on a quest to find a path to the stars.
Starting Information
Earth:
Population - 800 Million
Military Academy - Level 4
Deep Space Tracking Station - Level 4
Commercial Shipyards/Slipways - 4/12
Commercial Shipyards Tonnage - 88000/80000/32000/15000
Military Shipyards/Slipways - 4/9
Military Shipyards Tonnage - 15000/9000/7000/6000
Maintenance Facilities - 75
Construction Factories - 1200
Ordnance Factories - 150
Fighter Factories - 100
Fuel Refineries - 250
Mines - 400
Automated Mines - 250
Research Labs - 60
Ground Forces Training Facilities - 8
Mars
Population - 300 Million
Military Academy(Low Gravity Training) - Level 1
Deep Space Tracking Station - Level 3
Commercial Shipyards/Slipways - 2/3
Commercial Shipyards Tonnage - 30000/10000
Military Shipyards/Slipways - 2/3
Military Shipyards Tonnage - 7000/4000
Maintenance Facilities - 25
Construction Factories - 800
Ordnance Factories - 50
Fighter Factories - 50
Fuel Refineries - 150
Mines - 300
Automated Mines - 150
Research Labs - 15
Ground Forces Training Facilities - 3
I gave myself Mars just to give the shipping lines something to do in the beginning. Their extra wealth can be really helpful. The shipyards on Earth were all randomly created by the game, which I was quite happy with. I upped the minerals on Mars to between 200k and 600k of each, at accessibility . 5 to . 7. Earth I gave minerals of 100k to 300k at accessibilty . 8 to 1. I also added a random ruin to Europa. The first part and the ships I started with will be up tomorrow. Thanks for reading guys.