SDN Worlds 4 Commentary Thread I

[PeZook]

I believe you fucking missed my goddamn point -- my psions don't radiate anything of any kind. They will something to happen, and the universe conforms to their demands, pretty much because the Cosmic Id wants to.

Hmm...cosmic id?

What happens when you hack it?

[Siege]

What happens when you hack it?

Oh, you might find out sooner than you think...

[Norade]

Toss the Sepan sector in at S19. I really hope that people are getting what I'm doing there by now.

Afraid I don't, but I'm adding them.

Looks like people haven't played TIE Fighter enough recently...

[K. A. Pital]

I never understood why the hell are psykers a problem, when having AI/robot/nanomorph units completely invulnerable to any ESP manipulations in your civilization is a good enough countermeasure. In fact, those who play purely as humans/organics face a logical penalty, that being a greater threat from psykers. It does give the posthumans and robots a slight edge, but given there's so few people playing robots and posthumans, and neither of them is a top-tier power... *shrugs*

Besides, having a simple device that kills psykers selectively wasting only so little energy kinda makes psykers useless, nes pa? With most civilizations being Kardashev III, there's plenty of energy to make all cities psyker deathtraps.

So I concur with Steve. Either psykers are useful or useless. End of story.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

The Imperium largely views psykery as a tool to boost physical dexterity, speed and strength. Inquisitors are not expected to be psykers, and at best their skills are largely again, to boost dexterity, speed, and strength. Only a few can read emotions. Interrogation is possible, but often aided with machines, of all things.

[Siege]

Well that's terribly interesting Beo, but what are CEID agents doing on the other side of the known galaxy? The Sovereignty has preciously little interest in Tianguo, certainly not nearly enough to send one of its precious few psions into some random facility, and at any rate I'd appreciate it if you, you know, checked for permission before using my stuff. Failing to do so, as you just did, is just bad fucking form as far as I'm concerned.

[Beowulf]

Well that's terribly interesting Beo, but what are CEID agents doing on the other side of the known galaxy? The Sovereignty has preciously little interest in Tianguo, certainly not nearly enough to send one of its precious few psions into some random facility, and at any rate I'd appreciate it if you, you know, checked for permission before using my stuff. Failing to do so, as you just did, is just bad fucking form as far as I'm concerned.

Preciously little is distinct from none, and you were merely the first psyker power that came to mind, given your recent argumentation in thread. Given the general lack of effect of killing off Jane Random Spy, I did not figure it to be consequential who's spy it actually was. It is, after all, merely a regrettable accident that someone's undercover agent has gone missing, as opposed to an actual problem that uniformed personnel are missing, or worse, a warship.

[Steve]

Um, 'Zook. Fifty thousand light years? Really? I'd prefer if the line was "beyond ten sectors away".

[PeZook]

Um, 'Zook. Fifty thousand light years? Really? I'd prefer if the line was "beyond ten sectors away".

Hmm? I figured the map roughly corresponded to the galaxy

But yeah, let's keep it vague.

[Ryan Thunder]

Besides, having a simple device that kills psykers selectively wasting only so little energy kinda makes psykers useless, nes pa?

Yes. That's exactly what Shittard here wants, though. It lets him troll anybody with psyker characters. I can already imagine a few different ways for him to do that.

However, I could tolerate it if it were some kind of one-off thing or otherwise very difficult to maintain. Some top-secret project limited to one of his planets. Say they found it there and they're not entirely sure why it works when their attempts always seem to fail by exploding everybody's heads.

[Teleros]

Gah, I had a nice little bit ready to post about the Altacar Warp Gate when your Collectors barged in PeZook . Oh well, the main difference is where the gate actually is (inside the orbit of the first planet), but NVM.

What else... time I think to update the Empire's wiki page with some of the people and whatnot.

[Siege]

Preciously little is distinct from none, and you were merely the first psyker power that came to mind, given your recent argumentation in thread.

Preciously little is more than enough to stop CEID from sending its elite psions into an installation that's as far as we know fucking meaningless. Insofar as I can tell there's nothing in your space we want, so nobody would go there to get killed for no reason. If you want to showcase your magical magic, find some other way to do so.

Given the general lack of effect of killing off Jane Random Spy, I did not figure it to be consequential who's spy it actually was.

Oh, you figured, did you? Well, you figured wrong. Use somebody else's crap for all I care, CEID doesn't send psions into Tianguo installations until I say they do.

[MKSheppard]

I never understood why the hell are psykers a problem, when having AI/robot/nanomorph units completely invulnerable to any ESP manipulations in your civilization is a good enough countermeasure. In fact, those who play purely as humans/organics face a logical penalty, that being a greater threat from psykers.

Given how proliferated ESPers and Psykers are, I really should have just reset the Shepistani Federation as a bunch of insane combat AIs left over after the Amplitur war; since they were immune to the Amplitur's psychic effects; if this is how anti-teep measures are going to be received.

[Steve]

I think the key to how detection systems would work would be more that only with extraordinary discipline can an ESPer not use their extra senses than an innate ability to detect one regardless of whether their power is active. Normal ESPers would, after all, be always on "passive scan" telepathically by habit, so this is something most slip into easily at the slightest distraction. The general result is that most ESPers will get caught by these devices, since it's like asking someone to stop hearing things.

[K. A. Pital]

Tianguo can try and kill one of the Commune's clouds if it's so willing to provoke a conflict.

[Simon_Jester]

Besides, having a simple device that kills psykers selectively wasting only so little energy kinda makes psykers useless, nes pa?

Yes. That's exactly what Shittard here wants, though. It lets him troll anybody with psyker characters. I can already imagine a few different ways for him to do that.

Of course, there's more than one way to skin this particular cat. I have my own ideas for how to employ psionics as a weapon in the ongoing covert struggle against my dangerous lunatic friendly neighbor to the corespinward. See my most recent story post.

Tianguo can try and kill one of the Commune's clouds if it's so willing to provoke a conflict.

If the cloud is going to poke its nanoscopic little nose(s) into Tianguo secure installations... well, in that case I don't think they're the ones provoking the conflict.

[Lonestar]

Hilariously, Simon, the reign of the current Lord Fairfax has actually been far more Bloody than that of President Sheppard...thanks to the upheaval following economic and societal reforms. The Shepistani Federation is relatively stable and peaceful in comparison.

[Kartr_Kana]

On the subject of minor governments I referenced a pair of planets in Commodore Cramers bio, over in Y:17. Neither one is all that big, pretty much neither one has grown outside of their home-system and their Navies are mostly small system defense craft, with a handful of longer range vessels.

[MKSheppard]

Yay, filibuster of pendleton! can I join in with an old obsolete battlestar?

[Simon_Jester]

Hilariously, Simon, the reign of the current Lord Fairfax has actually been far more Bloody than that of President Sheppard...thanks to the upheaval following economic and societal reforms. The Shepistani Federation is relatively stable and peaceful in comparison.

You've got bloodshed as a consequence of reforms that are clearly identifiable as reforms. Someone looking at your situation will go "Hmm, the new Lord Fairfax is really going to town, but the Dominion's economic indicators are going up... OK, by 3XXX we're going to have to start taking them seriously as a threat to someone other than themselves." But Lord Fairfax the New's actions are if anything more rational than his predecessor, even if (and I'm dubious of this) they kill more people. Possibly more of a threat, but less of a loose cannon.

Because as you may note, I didn't call President Sheppard a butcher; I called him "unstable." You may be killing more people, but you're not the one hunting down geese with atomic weapons. So you're not the one who's got the neighbors going "What the fuck?" They can tell what you're up to, it makes sense. Sure, you can be kind of harsh and nobody envies your domestic political opposition, in interstellar politics people can live with that as long as they feel they can stay out of your way.

But the Shepistanis? How do I even know if I'm out of their way? What's their idea of an act of war? Their new leader's first act in office was to declare war on geese, then go nuclear when that war proceeded too slowly for his satisfaction. I'm not saying he was objectively wrong to do so... but a man who will do that will do anything, for reasons that don't necessarily make much sense to outsiders.

And, of course, it's not like Agent Rose knows much to speak of about intelligence ops in the Dominion in any case. What she knows is Shepistan, and her opinion of the policy of her government on subjects she's not cleared to know anything about should be taken with a grain of salt.

On the subject of minor governments I referenced a pair of planets in Commodore Cramers bio, over in Y:17. Neither one is all that big, pretty much neither one has grown outside of their home-system and their Navies are mostly small system defense craft, with a handful of longer range vessels.

Yeah. I think it's a fair bet that the typical independent minor will have, at most, defense forces comparable to a world in a Colony or Midrange sector. Any weaker than that and they'd be knocked off by other independent actors trying to unite them into an interstellar power, in which case they'd be an interstellar power.

[K. A. Pital]

I'm not sure why Siege's spies "poked noses" into Tianguo installations, which they didn't. I mean, he never indicated anything like that. At least the Commune is, on words, hostile to all monarchies. *shrugs* Makes more sense if you ask me.

[RogueIce]

I'm not sure why Siege's spies "poked noses" into Tianguo installations, which they didn't. I mean, he never indicated anything like that. At least the Commune is, on words, hostile to all monarchies. *shrugs* Makes more sense if you ask me.

He switched it to a UN spy, anyway. At least on last check he did.

[Steve]

A friendly reminder. Just because you border a shoal sector does not mean you can enter it and, on average, I would prefer everyone to have access to only one lane through a bordering region of shoals, with exceptions cleared by myself and others (for instance, the Wild Space nations have a couple each, at the very least - the Imperium arguably has three, since it's at one end of a lane that goes through the Outback to New Anglia).

[Shroom Man 777]

Hrm, I wonder what relations the Bragulans will have with other space nations which I know next to nothing about.

[Steve]

Sorry Shroom, you do have quite a lot to catch up on. Why I linked you the wiki.

Oh, and for everyone, all starting OrBats should be done by this Friday, after which they are "in place" and cannot be changed; new additions must be built.