Fwurg

[Elmer]

((Moderator: Moved to System and Character Building; was General Discussion))

Since quite some time is passed by since my last proposal for Artificial moon techs, it is time to enter the next phase of the super structure :).

I want to make my moon able to fly throughout my system, to be able to change it's orbit. I wanted to make a special project for this, and the tech to unlock this project should have some fitting prerequisites. I identified two major technological challenges: The moon has atmosphere 1, and the moon has a zone. So strictly spoken, you move a single atmosphere 1 zone from one orbit to the other.

To display this in the tech, I think one or more of the terraformation technologies as prerequisites is logical: You need to use certain knowledge of atmospheres to maintain the nice environment in different orbits. The other prerequisite I was thinking about is zero impulse fast tracking. The idea is that this tech can allow a large structure like The Cradle to quickly enter a stable orbit once it enters the gravitational pool of a planet.

Though now I am stuck here. I do not know which atmospheric terraformation tech to use as prerequisite and how to calculate the benefit of moving a zone.

The proposal so far looks like this, note that there is no actual fluff yet, and that not all descriptions is as it will eventually be. It is currently written down as explanation what I want to achieve:

moon orbital moving tech

This tech allows the start of a special project to upgrade the artificial moon. Once completed the special project will allow the artificial moon to change 1 orbit per

Prerequisites: Zero Impulse Fast Tracking, One or more terraformation techs.
cost: ???

moon moving special project

This special project allows the artificial moon to move 1 orbit per . The moon cannot leave the system, it will maintain its status, regardless of the orbit it is in.

Prerequisite: moon orbital moving tech
Cost:???

So what I need to know is:

• Should I use the atmospheric terraformation tech as prerequisite, and if so, which one? All of them, only the atmosphere 1 in goldilocks orbit, atmosphere 1 in cold orbit, any other possible combination of atmosphere terraformation tech?
• Is Zero Impulse Fast Tracking a fitting tech as prerequisite for moving a moon?
• How can I calculate the cost now that there is no economical benefit anymore? There is not really a return on investment.
• Has anybody some other great ideas that might help in making cradle moving techs better?

[Brend]

First off:

How can I calculate the cost now that there is no economical benefit anymore? There is not really a return on investment.

There is a mechanical benefit: you can have a power zone moved to the right orbit, leaving you with less power transfer issues. The other benefit is moving a Planetary Defense Zone to the attacked orbit (optimally with a planetary defence grid on the moon as well!).


To be honest, I do not feel that (Zero Impulse Fast Tracking + a Terraform Tech) make good prerequisites for 'move this astronomically large object around without screwing up the neighbourhood'.

I would think that it should be places somewhere along the lines of 'super-structure reinforcement' or 'massive power generation'. Unfortunately, both of which have no representation in the game at the moment.

You might want to think about getting a prerequisite that would be useful to other people as well, and tack your tech on that tree so others would be inclined to help you research halfway there? (I would be willing to do a brainstorm on the subject ^_^)

[Mercury]

I think perhaps this should not be a "constantly available power" as it is proposed here.

My suggestion would be to have a tech which allows the "move orbit" project, rather than a project that gives you the tech to move orbits at will.

The move orbit project could be paid whenever you please, and has the effect of moving the moon from one orbit to another. Then you get all the benefits and disadvantages of that new orbits temperature and the new orbits powers for your moon.

Logically, moving something as big as a moon is something that requires input of resources whenever it is done, not just a one time investment. I'd also consider having a lower cost for closer-to-star orbits and a higher for further-from-star orbits, because it makes sense scientifically ^_^

This gives one additional benefit as there is a clear cost benefit that you can calculate: You get a virtual additional +10 production (to metals or gasses depending on if you move closer or further from the sun, plus additional power equal to half the highest possible orbit output. You don't calculate lost production since that's specific to a product.

Regardless the calculation gives you a theoretical maximum benefit that can be compared to a raw zone. The cost of that would be low, which in turn allows you to relatively cheaply move your moons orbit.

With this proposal, your move tech can benefit you because you can put your moon in orbits where power is available and not require transfers of power.

I cannot say anything about tech prerequisites on this really, I don't think we have anything like this, but Brend already made some comments on it.

If you want the world to remain goldilocks status, I think that'd require some terraformation modules whenever you change and it should be a separate terraformation tech.

What do others think?

[Brend]

Elmer and I have the idea that these Artificial Moon techs should be behind the Astroengineering technology.