Ouroboros Cluster

News of the Universe (Galactic Year 4)

Announcements

First of all, The Future of Sea of Stars. The game is going quite well, despite some problems and holes in the rules. I will continue to patch these as we go. Unfortunately, this will mean that rules may change and warp as the game progresses. Thanks everyone for your patience with this. So what's the plan for the future? I intend to run the game until turn 10. At that point, the rules should be very stable. After turn 10, I'll take a break, tighten up any weaknesses, and implement all the automation that I haven't had time to implement before then. At that point, unless the players are no longer interested, I'll continue the game. In theory the game can continue indefinitely, unless someone manages to devour the universe.

Now some rules updates and clarficiations:

The maximum jump range is five hexes, but some safe routes are actually six hexes long. From now on, maximum jump range (for those without advanced hyperdrives) is six hexes. This means that you can jump through five empty hexes to a planet in a sixth hex.
Any planet is colonizable, including gas giants and asteroid fields. The populations that harsh worlds can support is quite small without new technological innovations, however.
Pre-fab space stations can be built. A pre-fab space station (similar to a colony convoy) is a ship that can move to a location, then deploy a space station. The pre-fab ship is used up in this process. Contact me for construction sizes on these ships.
Several characters aged this turn. Periodicially, characters age. When this happens, the character has a chance of dieing. If they do not die, they may gain the aged or elder attributes. The "aged" attribute lowers their effectiveness in many areas. The "elder" attribute, however, raises their effectiveness in most areas, but lowers their general health.
All homeworlds now have a militia. This is a lightly armed and trained military unit.
Some players want to upgrade their militaries. You can upgrade an army unit by expending a military action and using an industrial base to expend a light industrial point from one of your industrial bases (for better equipment).

A new version of the rules, with new ammendments to the constitution, pre-fab space stations, and some clarifications will be posted to the web site.

Also note that I intend to update the economic rules soon. In the next update, maintenance costs will be spread around. Teams, ships, and armies will all have maintenance costs. Overall maintenance costs are expected to increase for most races.

Note: The ship pictures in this news report were gleaned from the Space Empires IV ship archive at: http://diesel2035.free.fr/hosted.htm

News

Galaxy-Wide News

Malas' suggested ammendment to the Galactic Constitution, the Galactic Exploration Charter has passed and has been entered into the official game rules.

Tendril, the Orcheran deleate to the Ring, has made a motion for a new position to be created, "Archivist of the Ancients". See the Heart Region news for details.

Radiant Cerlubar, the celebrated Cappocean historian and commentator, in his book "The Remnant: Odditites of the third age", notes that although by tradition standard hyperdrives can jump 5 sectors, some trade routes are six sectors long. He attributes this to the zero-based system used by the vanished races of the second age. The young races acknolwedge his brilliance by admitting that, in fact, standard hyperdrives can jump six sectors.

Heart Region

Delegate Istak of the Insectoids left his offices in Barter and moved to The Ring, surprising many observers. The Delegate immediately took possession of the diplomatic quarters set aside for him by the Keepers. His first priority was to establish a state of the art communications suite. Much of the delegat's time was spent inside the Insectoid embassy, and many of the other diplomats are looking forward to making his and his team's acquaintance.

Malas' exploration proposal was passed. Almost all races abstained from the vote. Malas and the Majestic delegation voted for.

The Orcheran Tendril made a motion to the Ring Council: “There is much in this universe that we do not understand. Secrets of the Ancients lie buried and we of the present need to discover what threats lie in wait. What knowledge can we gain through the study of Ancient Artifacts. Hereby we resolve, To create a new position, entitled Archivist of the Ancients; To instruct the Consul to create Science Investigation Team Ancient Site Investigations; To instruct the Ring Factory to build Science Ship Searcher One; To provide the appointed Archivist of the Ancients with the Science Investigation Team and the Science Ship; To task the Archivist of the Ancients with finding, researching, and cataloging information about the Ancients. Debate on this motion can be directed to the seaofstars@yahoogroups.com group.

Ivana Parva continued to nurse her pet project, the Worlds Fair. The fair has begun to bring some tourist dollars to the Ring Station.

Tendril, the administrator of The Ring station factories, went to work immediately. The factories were directed to produce a pre-fab space station construct.

The new Peacekeeper Commodore, Sir Mojnar of the Majestics, took command of his fleet and departed for the Cappernau system.

There were more pirate raids in the Barter system. Shipping costs have begun to rise.

Scientists of the Unseen University, working in their lab beneath the surface of Cauldron, announced a serendipitous breakthrough in the area of advanced biological engineering. The scientists had been studying alien fungus cultures.

Heartstrand Region

Admiral Taggata continued to guard Saturn.

A new colony ship was built at Earth.

Bill Nye, scientist extrordinaire, departed on an exploration mission.

Otherwise, things were quiet.

Cocoon Nebula Region

The Majestic homeorld was quiet. Defenses were set up in case of another Exterminator attack. FACTION NEEDS PLAYER.

The Cassandra AI, an ancient AI escort squadron, was activated in Cappernau and now takes orders from the Peacekeeper Sir Mojnar. The Cassandra squadron was immediately dispatched to the Majestic homeworld to assist in pirate hunting activities there. Sir Mojnar hunted pirates at Cappernau.

Olympus Region

Inhabitants of the Olympus region were startled when a large armada of Ilithid ships entered the system under the command of Admiral Oulomb. The ships conducted a thorough survey of the region, hunting for pirate holds or navigational hazards. Neither of the two independant space stations was threatened in any way. Nevertheless, there was a mass exodus of criminal elements from the Starlight station. Rumor has it that some konwn pirate agents were among those to leave the system. Oulomb was happy to declare the system safe and secure.

A convoy of mineral goods destined for Cappernau was hijacked by pirates in the Satyr system.

Farstrand Region

Ilithid psychic researchers perfected the technique of the "ghost cloak".

A large colonial convoy was built by the Ilithids in their home system. A circle of wise and experienced Ilithid leaders was chosen to form the core of the colonial team.

Several travellers in the Terpsichore system were captured and held for ransom by local brigands. This is becomming a more and more common event.

Transept Region

An Orcheran fleet burst from hyperspace in the Brovis system and carried out an attack on the barren world of Brovis I. A pirate base on the planet was destroyed by the bombardment. Experts say it is the largest bombardment in the new galactic age. The pirate ships rumored to be active in the system were not discovered. Many are now begninning to refer to Admiral Fist as 'Pirate Hunter'.

The Tribe Armada visisted the Trellian system, bringing some economic releif to one of the poorest systems in the cluster. Tribe leader Audax had a personal audience with Abbot Angecal of the Redoubt community. After completing their business, the Armada returned to the Selenis system, where they were welcomed.

Ousl Terps expanded the guards of the Selenis II Penal Colony into a fully fledged militia regiment. The economic boom in Selenis quieted down a bit this year.

After several years of work, the Orcheran's completed construction of an industrial complex on the Cholust colony.

The Orchera scientist Pod left his post as leader of the Codex Animum team.

Propspero Region

The Orcheran leader Ominix came down with an alarming mold infection and was laid up for several days. There was much speculation as to who would replace him in case of his death, but Ominix recovered, putting such speculation to rest.

Widows Gap

The Hive Queen continued her preoccupation with science. Launching a project to create advanced hyperdrives capable of a 7 sector jump. Her scientists surprised even themselves when their first prototype was successful, though 10 drones lost their lives when they were accidentally hyperjumped into deep space.

The Hive built two escort ships at Home Hive.

Factions

Faction Name	Wealth	Player	Contact	Current Prestige	Lifetime Prestige
Orchera	11	Brandon Amancio		7	2
Terpsichore	12.5	OPEN FOR NEW PLAYER	tony AT dowlerDOT KOM	5	0
Terra	7	Doug		3	2
Majestic	7	OPEN FOR NEW PLAYER	tony AT dowlerDOT KOM	3	0
The Tribe	15.5	Will Herlan		2	0
Insectoid	5	Scott Waterson		2	2
The Scientists	7	Patrick Colacurcio		2	1
Ilithids	6	Phil LaRose		2	1

Technology Report

The Tribe
Theory of Everything (pure science, discovery)	The Theory of Everything is the result of Human science's contact with interstellar culture. The Theory unifies the current branches of physics under one model. It promises to bring many further breakthroughs in its wake.
Terra
Theory of Everything (pure science, discovery)	The Theory of Everything is the result of Human science's contact with interstellar culture. The Theory unifies the current branches of physics under one model. It promises to bring many further breakthroughs in its wake.
H.E.A.D (applied science, discovery)	The H.E.A.D (H.E.A.D. (Highly Efficient Adaptable Dome) is a modular habitat for colonists. These habitats can be adapted to many environments. On gas giants, the dome float at a pre-defined atmosphere pressure. On ice worlds, electronics near the outside can take advantage of low temperatures for superconductor use. The H.E.A.D project increases the number of colonists who can safely live on a harsh world.
Insectoid
Theory of Everything (pure science, discovery)	The Theory of Everything is the result of Human science's contact with interstellar culture. The Theory unifies the current branches of physics under one model. It promises to bring many further breakthroughs in its wake.
Supercrops (applied science, discovery)	Supercrops are genetically engineered crops that can live on hostile environments. They improve the farming of desert, ice, and other difficult environments, leading to greater agricultural output.
Advanced Hyperdrive 1 (applied science, propulsion)	Advanced hyperdrives allow hyperspace jumps of 7 sectors.
The Scientists
HE3 Viability (pure science, discovery)	HE3 is a rare form of Helium that can be found on certain gas giants. HE3 fusion is a clean and incredibly efficient power source, providing more cheap energy than any previous method. This technology is required to create applications of HE3 use.
Theory of Everything (pure science, discovery)	The Theory of Everything is the result of Human science's contact with interstellar culture. The Theory unifies the current branches of physics under one model. It promises to bring many further breakthroughs in its wake.
Advanced Biological Engineering (pure science, )	Advanced Bio Engineering is a deep understanding of the underlying principles of life.
Majestic
Theory of Everything (pure science, discovery)	The Theory of Everything is the result of Human science's contact with interstellar culture. The Theory unifies the current branches of physics under one model. It promises to bring many further breakthroughs in its wake.
Ilithids
Theory of Everything (pure science, discovery)	The Theory of Everything is the result of Human science's contact with interstellar culture. The Theory unifies the current branches of physics under one model. It promises to bring many further breakthroughs in its wake.
The Life of the Mind (pure science, discovery)	Ilithids, with their unique physiology, have delved into psychic phenomena in a more systematic way than the other races.
psychic Ram (applied science, starship weapons)	psychic weapons function by amplifying the psychic abilities of crew to attack the crews of enemy ships. This weapon requires at least one psychic individual to crew the weapon. The psychic ram magnifies the phsychic signature of the crew of a starship, enabling them to launch a mental attack at the crew of another ship. When this close range weapon is successful, it sometimes enables enemy ships to be captured intact. This component can replace heavy weapons in any ship design.
ghost cloak (applied science, starship components)	The minds of sentient creatures are easily clouded. The ghost cloak uses this ability to enable a ship to pass un-noticed by sentient observers. A ghost cloak requires specially trained psychic crewmembers, essentially adding 1 size level to any ship that includes it.
Orchera
Theory of Everything (pure science, discovery)	The Theory of Everything is the result of Human science's contact with interstellar culture. The Theory unifies the current branches of physics under one model. It promises to bring many further breakthroughs in its wake.
Advanced Biological Engineering (pure science, )	Advanced Bio Engineering is a deep understanding of the underlying principles of life.
Terpsichore