Progress continues. We've had little further contact with the alien race, although we were able to get a scout within range to confirm the location of their homeworld. Our biggest problem at the moment is fuel, which we are essentially out of. As a result of this (and an infrastructure shortage on Earth) we've suspended colonization of Luna with over 25 million there, and the civilian freighters are working on supporting our colonies on Mars and Wolf 1061. We've some technology in hand to deal with the fuel crisis, including the development of tractor beams and sorium harvesters, and the researchers are working on improving the production of our refineries. But we're going to have to be careful with our fleet for a while.
Database is here.
OK. I've played through 1967 (database), and things are looking up a bit. Thanks to new technology and the first four fuel harvesters, fuel production is twice what it was two years ago, although our stockpiles are dangerously low. We've also got jump gates all the way to Gliese 892, although the last gate back is still under construction. The big hurdle there is fuel. Our existing cargo fleet could reach Gliese 892 and back, but it would use up over a year's worth of fuel. We might need to look at new transports. The best current engine we could design uses about 70% of the fuel of the original commercial units, but we can cut that down to 40% in a few months if we accept a 20% cut in power-to-weight. Beyond that, things continue to truck along. We've added the tug/tanker Durance to our fleet, the first new ship since the start of the game:
Durance class Tug 10,000 tons 112 Crew 386.5 BP TCS 200 TH 600 EM 0
3000 km/s Armour 1-41 Shields 0-0 HTK 46 Sensors 0/0/0/0 DCR 1 PPV 0
MSP 24 Max Repair 100 MSP
Tractor Beam
Capitaine de corvette Control Rating 1 BRG
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months
Commercial Nuclear Pulse Engine EP100.0 Mk II (6) Power 600 Fuel Use 10.06% Signature 100 Explosion 5%
Fuel Capacity 890,000 Litres Range 159.2 billion km (614 days at full power)
Refuelling Capability: 50,000 litres per hour Complete Refuel 17 hours
This design is classed as a Commercial Vessel for maintenance purposes
Comments
This was discussed during the meetup, and we drew up a 10,000 ton tug and a design for fuel harvesters. Beyond that, things can continue more or less as they have been.
Cool to see how you're powering through a very, very difficult start. I've never played a map quite like this one.
I've posted the 1967 update. Things have improved, although we still have a ways to go.