Week 9: Let’s Get Physical, Seeing is Believing, and Tools of the Trade

The Science of Getting out of Your Rut - Because Even Wheels Go Off-Road Sometimes

After a bit of a break from study through stressful times, I’ve decided to re-enrol this semester.  Physics!  Is there nothing it can’t do?  Literally, no - doing is pretty much the point of it.

So I just need to make sure I keep the end goal in mind, right?  Yeah, I guess that’s important.  Having confidence that you’re up to the task is important too, I think.  Sometimes that confidence can be hard to maintain.  Other times, you don’t even remember ever having it.

But I’m here, with my feet on the line again, ready to run.  I feel quietly good about it though.  I guess it feels good just to have that small amount of progress, or maybe it’s the smell of pent-up progress-to-come: Potential Energy.

Last week on The Last Journey of the Eye of Odin

Author’s note: Though it makes no real difference, I’ve put this bit in before the bit from last week.  I’m only noting this for those who might start to recognise a pattern in the scene order.

“Home Away From Home to 411e,” The sensor relay network's communications protocol began spouting out through the main console's speaker. “Do you copy, 411e?”

Ted opened one eye and glanced at the console. The latest diagnostic was still running. He groaned inwardly, and then answered. “Yeah Barry. I'm here. What's up?”

“The sensor logs you sent me. I finished the analysis, but we can't discuss it over the relay network connection. The logs and the report have been classified, and the clearance is off the charts. Upstairs has asked that you finish up early and come back for debriefing. We can postpone the 411e relay connection.”

Ted was stunned. The relay network was the largest project anyone in SSD could be involved in – other than the studying and repair of the Station itself. He wasn't aware of any other time a relay connection had been postponed, so he must have seen something... unbelievable.

“Sure thing, Barry. I'll put this node into sleep mode until a technician can get out here to finish the work. Over and out.”

Fantasy Tabletop Strategy Game - continued

This week we cover trade.  It can be fairly simple arrangements, or complex, and this mostly comes down to preferred style of play and the resources available to a side.

Trade

Trade is split into two parts, intra-side and inter-side. Both parts generate resources for a side, and require roads to achieve.

Intra-side trade is trade with trading posts built by the side, along roads. Trading posts generate virtual taxes in the form of a choice between a construction or production point each turn. The side can make this choice for each trading post it controls and assign these points to whichever of their cities they wish. This flexible income makes the building of roads and trading posts a massively profitable venture, but also forces the side to keep patrols active, as trading posts can be easily destroyed, and roads can also be used by enemy siege columns.

Inter-side trade is trade with other sides for mutual benefit. This is where one side might agree to trade a number of construction points with another side to gain access to horses or some other resource, or maybe a couple of production points for access to lumber (since perhaps their own lumber source was destroyed in a raid). These trade agreements could be part of a mutual alliance against a third party, or perhaps just temporary arrangements to benefit both sides until they can gain their own resources. Roads are necessary for this trade type as well, and must link cities on both sides before the agreements can be reached.

Youtube

More Crash Landing (mis)adventuring has been put up on the channel, for viewing.  We’ve come a long way from our humble beginnings and amazingly we're still alive!  Here’s a link to the playlist which now contains the newest five episodes.

That's it for this week. Hope you all had a good week, and I'll hopefully see you again next week!

-Ix.