Sixty-four Pixel Colonists

(REFERENCES:)

BUILDING INFORMATION

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PREFAB SHELTER
(20 Plasticarbon)
A simple, bare-bones housing unit with air filtration, liquid recycling, heat management and pressurized door seals. Holds 5 colonists.
Requires no power.
Vulnerable: Low Morale

SMALL STORAGE CRATE
(5 Plasticarbon)
A small but durable plasticarbon box.
10 unit capacity.
Requires no power.

COMPACT ALGAE TANK
(10 Plasticarbon)
A portable, space-efficient algaculture tank for farming food and other organic substances.
Requires 400 W power
Can generate one of:
4 Food Units / Turn
5 Plasticarbon / Turn
1 Fuel / Turn
4 Biopaint (red, green, yellow) / Turn
4 Fertilizer / Turn
Vulnerable: Contamination
Vulnerable: Low Morale (if used for food)

SMALL ALGAE TANK
(20 Plasticarbon)
A small algaculture tank for farming food and other organic substances. Takes up more space and wattage than a single Compact Algae Tank, but produces more yield.
Requires 500 W power
Can generate one of:
6 Food Units / Turn
8 Plasticarbon / Turn
2 Fuel / Turn
6 Biopaint (red, green, yellow) / Turn
6 Fertilizer / Turn
Vulnerable: Contamination
Vulnerable: Low Morale (if used for food)

ANSIBLE
(???)
A device for transmitting and recieving messages in real-time at interstellar ranges.
Requires 800 W to send a 128-char message once per Turn
Requires no power to recieve messages

SOLAR ARRAY
(10 Plasticarbon)
A simple array of solar panels.
Generates 1.2 kW

FUEL-POWERED GENERATOR
(20 Plasticarbon)
A power generator that burns biofuel or other combustible substances.
Requires 1 Fuel/Turn
Generates 2.5 kW
Vulnerable: Breakdown

DEEP-CYCLE BATTERY ARRAY
(20 Plasticarbon, 5 Post-transition Metals)
A cluster of batteries that will charge from the colony's power grid. They can later be deliberately drained for a temporary power boost, either to increase power capacity for a short while, or to buy time in case of an emergency power failure.
Charge time: 2 Turns
Discharge time: 1 Turn
Capacity: 1.2 kWT

BASIC COMMON ROOM
(25 Plasticarbon)
A simple space for colonists to socialize and hold community meetings.
Requires no power.

SIMPLE HYDROPONICS VAT
(10 Plasticarbon)
A container for growing plants in the absence of proper soil by partially submerging the roots in nutrient-rich liquid.
Requires 200 W power
Requires 1 Fertilizer/Turn
Generates 8 Food Units/Turn
Vulnerable: Blight

RADAR TOWER
(35 Plasticarbon, 1 Oscillator Crystal)
A tower that uses radio waves to detect objects at a distance, both across the surface of BRitS and up into space.
Requires 1.2 kW power
Sight 5

DRONE INFORMATION

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Drones must remain within a certain radius of a signal antenna to function. All standard landing craft are equipped with a built-in signal antenna.

CONSTRUCTION DRONE
A mobile, self-driven framework capable of printing plasticarbon building foundations onto any flat, solid surface.
Sight 1
Move 2
Range 3
Vulnerable: Nozzle Jams

COMPACT MINING DRONE
A small drone equipped with a weak laser-saw for cutting through solid rock. Programmed with algorithms for identifying and excavating valuable minerals. 1 unit capacity.
Sight 1
Move 3
Range 5

COMPACT SCOUTING DRONE
A small drone equipped with recording and measuring devices. Can take soil samples and capture signals across the electromagnetic spectrum.
Sight 2
Move 3
Range 6

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*BLEEP BLEEP*
INCOMING TRANSMISSION from PROBE 07
ASTEROID BM-720861i-809:

CONGRATULATIONS! Your bid (#1703) in the Galactic Frontiers Project has been accepted! Attached above is your first glimpse of the slated landing zone. We hope you and your lucky group of colonists are excited to complete the months-long one-way journey to ASTEROID BM-720861i-809 to begin your new lives.

But first, we need a little bit of information. As part of our program, we offer one of three starting packages to equip your new colony. Do you hope to build a better society? Make exciting new discoveries? Strike it rich and find your fortune? GFP will outfit you with the things you need for success!

Please select the equipment that will be sent down with you to the landing zone:



(Additional supply drops may be offered upon request, but are not guaranteed.)

For the more technical-minded among you, here is some extra information about the equipment offered:

BUILDING INFORMATION

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PREFAB SHELTER
A simple, bare-bones housing unit with air filtration, liquid recycling, heat management and pressurized door seals. Holds 5 colonists.
Requires no power.
Vulnerable: Low Morale

SMALL STORAGE CRATE
A small but durable plasticarbon box.
10 unit capacity.
Requires no power.

COMPACT ALGAE TANK
A portable, space-efficient algaculture tank for farming food and other organic substances.
Requires 400 W power
4 Food Units / Turn
OR
5 Plasticarbon / Turn
OR
1 Fuel /Turn
Vulnerable: Contamination
Vulnerable: Low Morale (if used for food)

ANSIBLE
A device for transmitting and recieving messages in real-time at interstellar ranges.
Requires 800 W to send a 128-char message once per Turn
Requires no power to recieve messages

SOLAR ARRAY
A simple array of solar panels.
Generates 1.2 kW

FUEL-POWERED GENERATOR
A power generator that burns biofuel or other combustible substances.
Requires 1 Fuel/Turn
Generates 2.5 kW
Vulnerable: Breakdown

DRONE INFORMATION

SpoilerShow

Drones must remain within a certain radius of a signal antenna to function. All standard landing craft are equipped with a built-in signal antenna.

CONSTRUCTION DRONE
A mobile, self-driven framework capable of printing plasticarbon building foundations onto any flat, solid surface.
Sight 1
Move 2
Range 3
Vulnerable: Nozzle Jams

COMPACT MINING DRONE
A small drone equipped with a weak laser-saw for cutting through solid rock. Programmed with algorithms for identifying and excavating valuable minerals. 1 unit capacity.
Sight 1
Move 3
Range 5

COMPACT SCOUTING DRONE
A small drone equipped with recording and measuring devices. Can take soil samples and capture signals across the electromagnetic spectrum.
Sight 2
Move 3
Range 6

Whichever package you choose, please also register the professions of the additional specialist(s) you elect to bring with you. Once you've confirmed these details, preparation for your exciting voyage can begin!

we're here to start a better world. as such we brought a librarian

Package 2, with the aforementioned librarian as a specialist, as well as a chemist.

Package 2 (Light Indigo Box). I'm suggesting a chemist and an artist (for interior design and decoration (if you people object, I'm go for librarian)).

Interested in packages 2/3.
Need a bit more information first before choosing.

SpoilerShow

One, what are the details on our landing craft? Colonists are going to be stuck there until we can establish the prefabs.

Two, would two more compact algae tanks be available for a supply drop? As-is, package 3 is going to run out of food faster than the other two, but both packages 2 and 3 would be capable of producing excess food with the tanks.

Three, how do we go about getting more stuff? Asking for more supply drops is nice and all for a budding colony, but eventually we're going to want to eat something other than nutrient bars and algae. Maybe some nicer habs to live in.

SpecialistShow

If package 3 wins, generator mechanic. Because losing that generator would be very bad, and thus someone who's profession is keeping generators working would be very good.

@ArcanuseShow

I think we can research or design new structures that isn't a prefab.

Also, I think it's best we generalize. Putting mechanic down instead of generator mechanic seems to be wise.

can we replace the biologist and geologist with cattle

package 3, only instead of one of the shelters, we bring a pro basketball player.

Package 3, we'll be movers and shakers of industry. Capitalism yay!
p.s. bring a mechanic

I am concerned with the questionable decisions and ethics people here suggest.

Select middle option, add another medic and another engineer just in case something breaks.

Your new colony is best equipped for scientific discovery. All of its 10 members are highly trained and have scientific backgrounds, but four of them in particular are experts in the fields of biology, geology, medicine, and engineering. One of them is also a notable artist, and another, a master archivist.

After a long but uneventful journey, the ship arrives and jettisons its crew and cargo to the surface of what has, until now, been called "ASTEROID BM-720861i-809". (That's a bit of a mouthful, though. You can rename it if you'd like!) The prefab shelters are quickly set up by the skilled colonists, and the other equipment unpacked.



STRIKE THE EARTH!

...oh, but what now? Well, you have two drones: 1 Construction Drone, and 1 Compact Scouting Drone. The construction drone can use plasticarbon to build structures. The scouting drone is best used to look around the surface of the asteroid and push back the FOG-OF-WAR, and it can also do an up-close analysis of anything that seems interesting, or even take samples.

If you issue orders to the drones, your colonists will control them from the landing module, which is currently the location of your only signal antenna.

Your 10 colonists consume 1 unit of food apiece every turn. You have 20 units of food in storage, and your algae tank can produce 4 units of food every turn.

THE NUMBERS:

SpoilerShow

You currently have 1.2 kW of power.
Powered:
1 Compact Algae Tank (400 W)
1 Compact Scouting Drone (200 W)
1 Construction Drone (200 W)
Unpowered:
Ansible (Send Mode: Requires 800 W)
Unused:
400 W

Algae Tank is generating:
Food (4 units/Turn)

Supplies:
20 Food
10 Plasticarbon

Population:
10/20

let's build a better world even though we're all engineers. whoops we're libertarians

>Let's get our artist and engineer design a mine that's both efficient and attractive.
>Scout for minerals!
>Consider hydroponics.
>Rename asteroid name to BRiS (short for Big Rock in Space).

EDIT: Wait, should we build a laboratory or common room first?

I think we should be working on sustainability first, while we can still afford to. We should prioritize finding better food sources.

Nooo! Plain red on its own is very ugly. Its both straining to the eye when bright, and ugly as sin when dark. It's going to be a nightmare to look at. It'll bleach to pink after multiple cleanings which everyone does not appreciate. I like my whites and greys!

Food seems like a good idea. Research hydroponics! Also get soil samples. (I just realized we may not have any plants or seeds.)

TURN 2

Construction Drone: IDLE
Compact Scouting Drone: ANALYZING REGOLITH (Complete!)

REGOLITH ANALYSIS:
Regolith in this area is composed of andalusite, dolomite, and trace clay minerals.
The biologist and geologist get in a minor argument over whether some of the readouts indicate the presence of organic compounds. No firm conclusion is reached.

The ansible crackles to life!

DROP POD EN ROUTE WITH SUPPLEMENTARY SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT. KEEP AN EYE OUT.
ETA: 1 TURN

They must have launched that while you were en route to the asteroid, or it could never get here so quickly.



A quick poll of the colonists decides that the asteroid's new name will be "Big Rock in the Sky" or "BRitS" for short.

The colony's artist and engineer put their heads together to draft up some plans for a hypothetical mine, but the engineer quickly realizes that it will be hard to formulate a concrete plan without a better understanding of the local rock composition. There is a rock formation to the west of the colony, as well as a larger rock structure to the northeast. Perhaps the scouting drone should be sent to one of these structures for a closer look?

While that project is on hold, the artist convinces the other colonists to let them start an art project on one of the uninhabited prefab shelters. They steal some time on the algae tank to manufacture 1 unit of red biopaint, which they use to repaint the shelter's white surfaces. (-1 Food Production this turn) The other colonists agree that red isn't very attractive, and that white was better. (+0 Morale) The artist is unperturbed - it was an experiment, after all.

The biologist spends some time researching hydroponics. They begin research on a Simple Hydroponics Vat (1 Turn to Blueprint Completion). Of course, that won't be much use without something to grow, and the GFP only saw fit to provide the colonists with algae samples. You can use the ansible to send a message to GFP asking for seeds in the next drop shipment, if you can spare the power. It'll be a while before anything they send can reach you, though.

In the meantime, you might want to consider building another Compact Algae Tank to help your colonists sustain themselves in the short term. (Building information updated with build prices - see first post, or below.)

The colonists debate the benefits of building a laboratory or a common room. They conclude that a laboratory would be very welcome, but that it will take time to plan (1 Turn to design blueprints for a Simple, General Purpose Laboratory). A common room, on the other hand, would be easy, since they can just scale up the blueprint for a Prefab Shelter. It won't be much - essentially just a pressurized, air-filled box with some simple chairs and a table - but it will give them a nicer space to socialize, eat algae-burgers together, and have community meetings without all needing to squeeze into a single prefab shelter. Only problem is, it'll take 25 plasticarbon units to build, which is more than you have right now. You'll have to dedicate the algae tank to growing plasticarbon instead of food. (Added to buildings list)

Food Consumed: 10 Units
Food Generated: 3 Units
Total Food: 13 Units

THE NUMBERS:

SpoilerShow

You currently have 1.2 kW of power.
Powered:
1 Compact Algae Tank (400 W)
1 Compact Scouting Drone (200 W)
1 Construction Drone (200 W)
Unpowered:
Ansible (Send Mode: Requires 800 W)
Unused:
400 W

Algae Tank is generating:
Food (4 units/Turn)

Supplies:
13 Food
10 Plasticarbon

Population:
10/20

BUILDING INFORMATION

SpoilerShow

PREFAB SHELTER
(20 Plasticarbon)
A simple, bare-bones housing unit with air filtration, liquid recycling, heat management and pressurized door seals. Holds 5 colonists.
Requires no power.
Vulnerable: Low Morale

SMALL STORAGE CRATE
(5 Plasticarbon)
A small but durable plasticarbon box.
10 unit capacity.
Requires no power.

COMPACT ALGAE TANK
(10 Plasticarbon)
A portable, space-efficient algaculture tank for farming food and other organic substances.
Requires 400 W power
Can generate one of:
4 Food Units / Turn
5 Plasticarbon / Turn
1 Fuel /Turn
4 Biopaint (red, green, yellow) / Turn
Vulnerable: Contamination
Vulnerable: Low Morale (if used for food)

ANSIBLE
(???)
A device for transmitting and recieving messages in real-time at interstellar ranges.
Requires 800 W to send a 128-char message once per Turn
Requires no power to recieve messages

SOLAR ARRAY
(10 Plasticarbon)
A simple array of solar panels.
Generates 1.2 kW

FUEL-POWERED GENERATOR
(20 Plasticarbon)
A power generator that burns biofuel or other combustible substances.
Requires 1 Fuel/Turn
Generates 2.5 kW
Vulnerable: Breakdown

BASIC COMMON ROOM
(25 Plasticarbon)
A simple space for colonists to socialize and hold community meetings.
Requires no power.

Food situation isn't great. To what extent can we ration things?

Build another algae tank, and if it can be operational on this turn, dedicate it and the other one to making plasticarbon. Next turn we should be able to build one additional algae tank and that'll be enough to sustain us while we grow more food backup and plasticarbon.

However, the supplies will also almost definitely contain food, so this might not be as necessary, but scientists eat fast. Let's not take any risks.

Also, ask the artist to chisel pieces off of the red paint to make patterns so that it's more appealing.

guys can we grow like

actual food

not sci-fi mush



i was dead fucking serious that cattle and farmland is far more useful to us than engineers and biologists

If we don't get more food supplies, we will be out of food in two turns. Let's talk about rationing. We won't need to right now, but it is better to be prepared for the event rather than have disaster suddenly upon us. Ask for volunteers now to split rations later if it comes to that. We can take the hit to morale now if we get it back by averting the crisis altogether.

Have the scout look to the northeast, too; we need to be on the lookout for that supply crate.

Our research will also be best put to use making larger and more efficient algae tanks.

Our research will also be best put to use making larger and more efficient algae tanks.

GOD

NO

NOT MORE ALGAE TANKS

ARABLE GOD DAMN LAND

Feed the artist all the food. Get rid of everyone else, they're unnecessary. Robots can do all the work.

Debate if this is a serious suggestion or not.

The artist, Shiva, begins plotting to be the only colonist standing. Incapable of actually murdering anyone else with limited tools, it will take ingenuity-- and years of planning.

Oh my god! What are you guys up to?! I was giggling under my breath during computer class when I saw this. I want potatoes and carrots. Hydroponics will probably do the trick. Algae doesn't exactly have the best taste.

Also, can somebody silence the artist pooper. I don't heckly like their homicide business.