Welcome to The Kushana Initiative, a play-by-council game. As I play, I'll be posting regular reports and leaving the direction of the game up to those who have chosen to join the council. The planning topic for all discussion leading up to this game and continuing out-of-character discussion can be found here: Play by committee? (Kushana Initiative Planning and Discussion)
Of particular interest is the post detailing the back story for the whole game: Back Story
A summary of gameplay:
- Regular council sessions to take place every game quarter. I'll be posting each quarterly report and any pertinent information, including the UP vote every year, at which time the council will decide the course of action. Essentially, I'll be playing in 12 turn blocks and coming back for direction.
- Between sessions councilors are free to request additional info and entertain any discussion. This includes calling votes and modifying directions.
- The council is comprised of those who took part in the planning discussion. Others may request to join the council, but please read the background material and post a request before joining in. Requests to join should be posted in the planning and discussion thread linked above.
- This topic is for quarterly reports and in-character discussion only. Off topic and out-of-character discussion should be posted in the planning and discussion thread.
The Current Council:
- qrtxian
- NikolaiOmega
- noctilucus
- Talonschild
Inactive Councilors
- LordCarlos
- TMS2224
- -__- (May be addressed as SarcFa)
- Mambaman
Rules of Voting:
1) The ballot should list the issues and have a place for councilors to sign either FOR or AGAINST a measure. (the council or balloteer can decide the exact terms)
2) Councilors should copy the ballot from the last person who voted and add their signatures. No need to rewrite the ballot and no chance for it to be changed in transcription.
3) Make your arguments in a separate space. Don't break up the ballot with comments after each item.
4) Once a vote is cast, it is cast. No changing votes or editing the ballot. Listen to arguments before voting and consider your decisions wisely.
5) To get an issue on the ballot, it should be proposed and seconded. The exact wording/nature of the issue should then be established.
6) Amendments/Addenda - I see these as separate sub-issues. Maybe list them under the main issue and vote separately?
Galaxy Conditions:
Our Competition:
A good mix of opponents. I purposely left out the Terrans and Altarians. Not only am I kinda sick of them, but they would mess up the story. I see the Tolmekians as more neutral, so theres 3 good, 3 evil, and 2 other neutrals. Also note the difficulty - the AI has a 20% economics bonus. Not only that, but I customized each opponent and made sensible ability and politics choices rather than let the computer randomize it. I expect some stiff competition.
Custom Race - The Kushana Initiative:
You'll see that I swapped the PQ bonus for 20% morale. Given the conditions, I want our people happy and making us money! I also did my best to spice up the ships, but that's pretty much it.
That should be it for the start. Now to get into it!
I was wondering if I could join this as well.
As long as you read all the background stuff and know the rules, i greet you.
In Character:
Hello fellow councilors, i just created a coalition for prosperity i would like to see all councilors that really care about this project to go and become a member of this historic coalition which will change the Initiative forever. It is a coalition to advocate for the good of the initiative and oppose those who would destroy our initiative under a mantle of war.
***INCOMING TRANSMISSION - SECURITY LEVEL ALHPA***
Cmdr Mekoides
Greetings councilors. I see we have some fresh faces among us. I'll trust that anyone picked for the council would have the sense to review our past communications. If not, you'd better catch up fast. Time is pressing and I don't intend to waste any by retreading old ground. On to new business, then.
Progress has been slow but steady. We've explored the nearby star systems and found only a couple low to mid quality habitable worlds. We've had our initial colony ship pass them by in search of better targets, but at this time are considering establishing colonies and sending out additional ships to explore. We've also found some promising worlds that will require further technological advancement to utilize.
We've managed to ascertain the identities of our galactic neighbors. The exploratory forces represent a number of major powers that we're already familiar with. We've color coded the galactic map to indicate the areas controlled by these powers. Our immediate neighbors are the Drath to the west, the Korx to the northwest, and the Thalans to the east. We have yet to contact any of the major powers, but from what we can tell an uneasy neutrality-of-relations exists for the time being. Given that and the sheer distance between us, I'd say we have some time yet before we need to establish a military deterrent, let alone consider any acts of aggression.
As for the minor races native to this region of space, I'm sorry to report that we just don't have any good intel on them. Due to the dark energy and their unusual nature, we can't even pinpoint them on the galactic map. We're in the dark until we can establish contact and perhaps deploy agents amongst them. I will note the possibility of swaying them to our cause, as they harbor none of the historical grudges, conflicts, or prejudices of the races we have past contact with.
With that, I'll send over the requested data before yielding to Dr. Malar.
The Quarterly Report. Not much to look at right now, but we'll keep track of developments as they occur.
Our local galactic map. I've had it modified to indicate the PQ and environmental status of nearby worlds as well as the locations of our ships. You'll see that we've just completed our second colony ship. We're thinking to colonize the planets with PQ 6 and 7, while continuing to produce colony ships. An alternative would be to have the NW colony ship continue on to the nearby systems while the second ship moves to colonize the PQ 7 world. That would allow us to continue exploration and expand our borders, then claim the nearby planets a little later.
The current galactic map. You'll see our neighbors expanding their domains. It looks like the Thalans may have secured a galactic resource on their SE. The arrows indicate the proposed directions of our exploratory ships. The Kushana (flagship) going NE to explore near Thalan space, while our colony ships continue west and northwest to establish our claims against the Drath and Korx.
And finally, our base of operations. Not much, but it's what we have. Our laboratory facilities have cut research time since our first communication, and with a factory online we can now produce a colony ship every 6 weeks.
Dr. Markus Malar
Well, I'm glad my work is of such interest to the council. There are . . . no easy answers here. Dark energy fluctuations slow our efforts considerably - yes, I'd definitely point out to the council that we can expect a slow research program. So any alarmism at the rate of our progress should be tempered by the knowledge that everyone in the region should be experiencing the same setbacks. We have, however, made good progress on our Planetary Improvement research, and expect measurable results in 5 weeks. After that, we have a few avenues of particular promise. In no particular order, my team is most interested in the following:
Planetary Improvements->Xeno Economics
If we want to get anywhere here, we need to develop news ways to move money and goods. Success here should yield about 10% improvement to our general economy, and allow development of Advanced Market Centers to further improve our commercial colonies.
This would take about another 17 weeks at our current rate of research.
Interstellar Navigation
This region of space is . . . big. Our ships move at a crawl compared to the distances we need to cover. This technology would improve ship speeds by roughly 1 parsec per week. It would also allow construction of Navigation Centers, which can support ships built on the planet housing them and increase speed by a further 1 parsec per week.
This would take 16 weeks.
Interstellar Warfare->War Rooms
These technologies are essential to our efforts here. By themselves they are valuable, but they are also the gateway to our being able to defend ourselves. Int. War. would allow us to increase military production about 10%. Establishing our War Rooms could increase our military production a further 10%, and also increase the likelihood of scientific breakthroughs by allowing our brightest minds greater opportunities.
Int. War. Should take 5 weeks, with War Rooms needing another 12.
My suggested course would be Int. War.->Xeno Econ->Int. Nav.->War Rooms.
Here is a brief overview of currently accessible research.
Cmdr Mekoides: Thank you, Doctor. Lastly we'll hear some remarks from Nute Gunray, Viceroy of the Federation Trade and Finance Administration.
Viceroy Nute Gunray
Thank you, councilors. It is an honor to address you. I would like to emphasize the importance of developing a strong economic base and capitalizing on our expertise in trade. We are already running a slight deficit and a robust economy is required to fuel continued expansion. I'd like to establish trade with our closest neighbors as soon as possible. I also urge that research into Xeno Economics be given a high priority. Without it, we have no access to economy improving structures.
Also of importance are unique structures that we are prepared to establish.
Restaurant of Eternity: Our influence would be magnified greatly (20%) if we were able to bring travelers of all races to such a destination in our space.
Galactic Bazaar: Of more importance is the Bazaar. By establishing the Bazaar in our space, we would enjoy a tremendous advantage in trading negotiations (+50% perceived value of our goods). I would recommend the Bazaar be established with all due haste - before conducting technological trade if possible.
I present a report of our current economic situation.
Our social spending is current set to zero because there are no projects in the works. Focus is on completing research and producing colony ships. As you can see, we need additional colonies providing income and general economic improvement.
Thank you for your time.
Cmdr Mekoides: That is all for now, councilors.
***END TRANSMISSION***
Fine by me. I'll add you to the list of councilors.
Be careful out there. It's getting interesting.
The thumbnail for the HW image is not working (as of this post).
First, I'd like to begin my remarks by stating that I intend to remain independent of both the Imperialist and Prosperity coalitions that are forming. A moderate voice is necessary if this council is to avoid being paralyzed by partisanship.
Dr. Malar, I'd like to be the first to vote in support of your proposed plan for research, which I feel should be acceptable to both of our newly forming political parties. I'll also voice my recommendation that, following development of all these technologies, we work on improving our research capability.
Something needs to be done about these month-long research times.
Viceroy Gunray, I'm forced to say that given the current state of our industry, or lack thereof, development of either proposed project would be totally impossible. In the long run, I would recommend that the Galactic Bazaar should be our priority. The Resturant is best constructed in proximity to other civilizations, to make spreading our culture more effective.
Also, I suggest lowering the tax rate. Our current treasury should be enough to absorb our debts for now, and lower taxes will spur immigration and population growth for new colonies. Furthermore, I recommend that the espionage budget should be raised to a small amount. Although Initiative Intelligence may overrate their value, a small amount of funding should serve to ready our agents for when we encounter another race.
Nute Gunray? Looks like our economy may be the tool of shadowy forces... Anyway, I think that maintaining the pop growth bonuses of high approval ought to mean more then the economic losses of the colony rush. We'll be losing money anyway, and with 1900 bc in the bank the focus should be on long-term growth, even if it costs us right now.
While planetary agents are not that useful, I generally put 1 or 2 bc into the espionage budget right from the start. Developing at least a "low" level of intelligence is very important, and just a small amount of funding generally gets an agent around the end of the first year, which is when we'd probably meet other races anyway.
On the subject of establishing colonies, I vote that our current colony ships all continue outward. We remain distant enough from other powers that we need not fear the worlds we've found be snatched up, and our distant colony ships serve as scouts. Furthermore, without a developed economic base, colonies will remain bleeding holes in our treasury for some time.
I propose that the outer colony vessels only stop to claim worlds of planet quality 10 or higher for the moment. If we're unable to find any planets rated that high by our next meeting, this policy should be abandoned. Follow-up vessels can settle worlds we've discovered under PQ 10 at present.
Although ignoring lower-PQ worlds is not a long-term strategy, given the size of the map and how early it is in the game, the colony ships should be used as scouts for now. As a matter of fact, even if we do find a good planet nearby, it might be best ignored at present.
I'm forced to vote NO on Councilor TMS2224's "compromise". As stated several times by members of the opposition we have no current need of a military, and the attempt at conciliation by first developing "one or two rudimentary" development industries is not exactly a generous offer. Although I have no objection, and indeed support, the research of military-industrial technologies such as Space Militarization and War Rooms, the development of weapons while we have yet to encounter another race is, at best, premature.
I think, in the ongoing Prosperity-Imperialist debate, it's important to note a difference between "pure" military techs and military techs that provided civ-wide bonuses, such as those I named.
Finally, I'd like to sum up the current issues before the Council and those in favor:
Research:
Dr. Malar's Research Plan: qrtxian
Councilor TMS2224's Compromise Research Plan: TMS2224
Budget and Development
No Social Funding: qrtxian
Increased Espionage: qrtxian
No Advanced Projects: qrtxian
Colonization and Exploration
Colonization of Currently Known Worlds:
Councilor qrtxian's Colonization Plan: qrtxian
If voting on issues is to be implemented at all, it seems best to keep a running tally. Let me know any other topics that should be added to this list.
It is a shame but i understand, i hold no ill will towards you or your decision.
I agree Dr. Malar's research plan.I also propose that the research queue should be increased to hold at least 1 lab upgrade tech, also working towards trade should follow. After that i recommend researching better sensors, i think the imperialist would agree with me on this, having the ability to create 1 or 2 new ships with surveying capability plus having better vision of our soroundings will prove usefull on our war efforts
It is probably true that we don't have the production to complete this building in a reasonable time, but before i give my vote i would like to know the expected construction time, it would surely be a long time, yet i feel we don't need to rush ourselves on this particular project.
I agree that our tax rates should be lowered for the time being, i think everyone understands the long term benefits. I do not agree on the spionage training though, i do not see any necesity of preemtive training of agents, not while our relations with other races are still neutral. You see our intergalactic neihborhgs do not seem to favor agents in any way, so i beilive that training our own would be a wate of time.
Now concerning our colonizing plans i believe we should proceed with councilors qrtxian's plan. I do recommend a time frame for this bill, 12 weeks seems reasonable, just in case no PQ10 or higher planet is not found on the period of time. Remember we have to take into account that the earlier a colony is created the faster it will start to be auto sufficient. Also we have to take into account the range of our ships, we might have to establish a colony to serve as a supply base to gain access to other parts of space.
Oh yes councilors TMS2224's proposal. I'll have to vote no on this one, sorry, i just don't belive it is the best for the initiative.
Let me be clear on this, the Coalition is not a anti-war organization, we are not here to say "NO" to every war or to the research of weapons, we on the other hand don't believe that making this Initiative, about a military based conquest of this sector, is not the best course of action for our project.
Now concerning our relations with our neighbors, i feel happy with what we got. True the Korx are an "Evil" race, but because of their long tradition with trade i'm sure we can keep them in line as long as we keep some trade routes open with them. Now the Drath and the Thalans are good races so i don't believe we will have any trouble. I do believe we should keep an eye on the Drath though, their tendency of initiating wars and than profiting by selling weapons to both sides is legendary and i feel that if our relationship doesn't go well they might use the Korx as their sword to try and break us.
To Summarize:
Dr. Malar's Research Plan: Vote in favor. I Propose an addendum in which the research tree continues with the improvement of our labs followed by trade improvements and ending with sensors and radar upgrades
Councilor TMS2224's Compromise Research Plan: Vote Against.
No Social Funding: Vote in Favor. Only in the case that the advanced projects would be too expensive.
Increased Espionage: Vote against.
No Advanced Projects: Vote in Favor. Only if the project lasts around 50 weeks with minimun spending.
Colonization of Currently Known Worlds: Vote Against.
Councilor qrtxian's Colonization Plan: Vote in Favor. I propose an addendum in wich this order will only last for a period of 12 weeks.
Dr. Malar's Research Plan: Vote in favor.It is a better research plan than mine.
Councilor TMS2224's Compromise Research Plan: I retract the compromise.
No Social Funding: Vote in Favor.
Increased Espionage: Vote in Favor.
No Advanced Projects: Vote in Favor.
Councilor qrtxian's Colonization Plan(with LordCarlos ammendum): Vote in Favor.
For my fellow councillors who were thus far unable to assess the qualities of our homeworld up close: http://img375.imageshack.us/img375/2694/gc2takushanainitiative1.jpg
I would agree that it makes sense to lower taxes to reach 76% approval (studies have shown that this is a crucial threshold, as of which our population is significantly happier and devotes more time to family life) or even 100% for the time being. The positive impact from the increased bonding between individuals and as a result increase in families being formed as well as a higher birth rate, would offsett the initial reduction in tax income.
Viceroy Gunray: I agree with all councilors who cast their vote on the subject so far: indeed we should not start any major projects at this point in time as the time required to complete them is prohibitively high and the benefits for now too low to justify such an investment. In particular a focus on increasing our influence is not required until our borders reach those of our neighbours.
Dr. Malar's Research Plan: Agree
Councilor TMS2224's Compromise Research Plan: Retracted so no longer applicable. Glad to see we're reaching compromises after the initial split into 2 factions!
No Social Funding: Agree though I would make an exception and build an economic capital on our homeworld, even if this is at the expense of production capacity currently devoted to colony ships. Our homeworld income is currently 41 bc while we're running a deficit of 18 bc which would only increase if we lower taxes and start developing our intel. Having an economic capital would greatly improve our economic balance.
Increased Espionage: Against, unless we build the econ capital. Even if we would only spend a few bc each week on espionage, this will cause us to go broke faster. I would recommend increasing our intel budget as soon as we're no longer running a deficit (or get close to that)
No Advanced Projects: Agree
Colonization of Currently Known Worlds: Against, with 1-2 exceptions: I think it would be beneficial to develop 1 outer planet to the production of colony ships, to increase our overall production rate and to reduce travel time significantly which is crucial in beating our neighbouring races to planets located mid-way between our homeworld and theirs.Seeing our rather weak current research potential (even if social spending is zero) I would recommend devoting 1 planet to research. To me, research is like a landslide: get it right early on and it will be beneficial to all aspects of our economy, social and military production.Other planets should not be colonized yet. Once we see other races closing in on high quality planets, we should colonize them but leave them barren for the time being, to save on expenses.
Councilor qrtxian's Colonization Plan (for the next 12 weeks): Agree
Yours sincerely,
Councilor Noctilucus
Dr. Malar's Research Plan: Vote in favor.
Councilor TMS2224's Compromise Research Plan: Dead
No Social Funding: Vote in Favor. Councilor qrtxian, I must remind you that the Restaurant of Eternity increases the influence of our entire civilization, not just a planet. Its placement is irrelevant.
Increased Espionage: Vote in Favor, but kill it if our economy is in trouble.
No Advanced Projects: Vote in Favor. Councilor qrtxian, I must remind you that the Restaurant of Eternity increases the influence of our entire civilization, not just a planet. Its placement is irrelevant.
Colonization of Currently Known Worlds: Vote Against. I agree with what Councilor Noctilucus said.
Alright, quick update:
- The homeworld thumb has been fixed. Thanks for the link, Noctilucus.
- Nute Gunray? Yeah. Think of it as redeeming a character who was foolish and manipulated. I assure you he'll play a much more competent role in our story. He's actually the reason the Federation is comprised of minor races. While assembling the cabinet he was my first thought as trade minister. Then I needed a reason to have non-humans. Thus, the Federation was born.
- A comment on Viceroy Gunray's building suggestions: Both would take a very long time to build (150 turns with base production). I just wanted to let the council know that they are available due to our Super Trader ability. Being Super Traders means we started with all 3 trade techs and an additional bonus to trade revenue. The Restaurant and Bazaar are Galactic Achievements unlocked by Trade I and Trade III, respectively. We can also build freighters whenever we feel, though Nute isn't likely to press for that until our colonization is further along.
Not to jump to conclusions, but we should carefully consider which civilizations we'll send the freighters to once we start building them. However for now it's colony ships time
I agree with Noctilucus.
Councilor TMS2224's Compromise Research Plan:gone
Colonization and Exploration:
Colonization of Currently Known Worlds: Vote in favor.
Councilor qrtxian's Colonization Plan(with LordCarlos ammendum): Vote against.
Does everoyne Know about the advocates?
I would like to thank Tolmekian for accepting me into your fair council.
Hello, is anyone home?
Whoa there, Master123wr. No need to clutter up the forum with shouting. You made 3 posts in 5 minutes, it's simply not reasonable to expect replies so soon. Although we have a very active group of participants, this is still a forum and not a chat room.
This topic should be reserved for primarily in-character discussion or game related out-of-character discussion. Let's not clutter it up with chatter.
Thanks!
PS - It seems to me that everyone is aware of the Advocates. LordCarlos, NikolaiOmega, and Noctilucus have banded together in opposition, qrtxian has declared independence, TMS2224 formed it, and you joined it. Only our newest council member A Scherer hasn't weighed in yet, but he also hasn't made any post beyond his request to join.
"It is a coalition to advocate for the good of the initiative and oppose those who would destroy our initiative under a mantle of war." -Carlos
Councilor Carlos, I wish to inform you that the Advocates are not a party of War and Conquest. If you had read our page or done any research on us you would understand that. Please reweiw our main page as it contains all pertinent information. Our "mantle of war" as you call it, is a mantle of defense. We care about the Initiative's future, but we beilve that we must prepare for it now, unlike you money hugging Coalitionists. Please consider our point of veiw before insulting us in-forum.
Councilor TMS2224 Out
Edit: A Scherer, I recommend you join the Advocates or declare Independence
Well Councilor TMS2224 you seem to be the one misunderstanding the Coalitions motive. As i have stated before, the coalition is not an anti-war or anti-imperialist party.The Coalition is a party wich advocates for an economic and diplomatic development of this initiative, and although we are not anti-war, we surely are anti-wastefull-war.
The Coalition was created to get together like minded councilors who opposed your initial proposal and your further compromise, which at the time seemed, was to initiate a wasteful development of weapons before we even made contact with our first neighbors. But as i see now that your party is much more reasonable than previously thought, there is no need for us to be on opposing sides of the debates.
But even with the recent development, the coalitionist are still here to stop forces that will sink us in a mantle of war, even if that force is not your party anymore.
Please remember that i never mentioned your party in our declaration of motive because, the coalition was never created, in such a close minded way, that it will not oppose any other warmonger. Our coalition although created as a response to what we perceived as threat to the initiative, will not refrain itself from opposing other forces that threaten the initiatives future.
For Ballot-Maker: Vote to qrtxian.
If nominated as the official ballot-maker, I will accept.
As an independent, I think Councilor qrtxian is the best choice for ballot-maker.
Thank you Councilor Carlos for clarifying the Coalition's position.
Hey, the forums have been updated. Sweet.
I've been following this for the past few days and would like to join for it seems interesting.
So, may I join the council?
I got no objections.
Sure, why not? By the way, qrtxian seems to have been nominated, Congratulations qrtxian!
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