Fieldberg Station pre-launch tour

Fieldberg Station is now populated by a full compliment crew, who are busy completing the build process ready for launching the station into full operation.

The habitation facility, shielding, energy generation and storage, matter storage and conversion, wharf and logistics facility, control tower, life support, and basically every station system is now fully operational.  The station only needs a few more minor infrastructure and human comfort additions before being totally operational.

It also needs the defense matrix to be built and brought online, relieving FRG Thor to be able to patrol the rest of the Empire.

Matter Conversion Battery uses plasma-suspension ovens to compress and encapsulate matter signatures

Stairwell access to the sub-levels of the matter signature storage cryovats allow inspection while gravity-bound

Habitation facility has it's own dedicated cargo pod bay and docking ramps

Cargo pod bay can store up to 12 standard cargo pods, with access to the maintenance bay up a ramp

 The maintenance bay just up from the cargo pod bay is used primarily for the storage of machinery being operated on, and small manufacture and repair tasks to be done under cover from solar radiation and micro-asteroid bombardment.

An external mesh gangway connects the maintenance bay to the airlock leading into the main habitation facility.

Decontamination (and standard hygiene) shower cubicles within the habitation facility.

A small spartan triple-bunk crew quarters bolsters the personal quarters already located on the original mining outpost, bringing the total crew capacity to 6

A small mess hall and food combinator provides meals and waste disposal services to the crew

Tight hallways and humming servers are something you get used to quickly on Fieldberg

The central AI is one of the most powerful computers in the empire at this point in time

Upstairs in the con tower facility another airlock leads directly into space, with an observation port to the right and the traffic control tower to the left

Traffic control tower is a three man facility, with a Communications Officer, Traffic Monitor, and Master Controller

Master Controller has a separate darkened room that oversees the docking and cargo operating areas

The 180 degree up down view of the cargo docks gives the Master Controller unparalleled views of the station from within a pressurised area

The view allows the Master Controller to see all docking activity first hand, including wharf cranes, containers being docked and unloaded, and any other activity, while keeping all AI-fed relevant data within field of view by a myriad of feeds

Right side of the Master Controller's view shows vessels approaching the docking area.  Here a container dropped by a recent transport vessel waits to be docked by an WDU, containing supplies for the finalisation of the station build

The Shield Dome is a self-contained shield unit delivering both capacity and charge in very large quantities

Two huge matter signature storage cryovats have enough space for mind-blowing amounts of matter signatures, allowing the station to stockpile mammoth quantities of matter

One of the main walkways on the station, looking back between the energy batteries (right) and cryovats (left), towards the mining outpost and connecting gangway

Access to the generators for maintenance is via a series of gangways and stairwells to help protect maintenance crews from both asteroid impact risk as well as drift risk

Generators are lined up with three levels of maintenance access with dividing stairwells

The Pisces-Class generator banks provide huge quantities of energy to the station to drive both the matter conversion as well as the upcoming defense matrix

The station viewed from underneath shows a lot of the underlying structure, cabling, and fluid conduits

Life support, fluid recylcing, and power conduits writhe their way around the superstructure between the critical systems

Top view of the station shows the small connecting gangway between the mining outpost section and the processing plant section

The station is effectively operational, although it is still undergoing systems tests and requires a large defense matrix to protect the sizeable investment this station represents to the empire.

The matrix is said to include a double-redundancy shield, armoured deflection battlements, anti-missile cannon batteries, torpedo racks, several large beam turrets and a compliment of three fighters. Already some citizens have taken residence in local space under the protection of Thor, knowing that this station will represent one of the best protected parts of Dry Empire... Fieldberg Station is likely to therefore fulfill a secondary purpose of forming a commercial hub within the empire.

FRG Thor's Bridge, Turrets, and Engines are completed

FRG Thor was proving to be quite a complex and interesting project.

Her missile systems, shield and power systems, and armor were the first to be completed. I then began work on her engines, turrets, armor greeble, Bridge, wings interior, access airlocks and passage ways, and some minor details.

Several trips out to the asteroid fields in SVG Excavator were necessary to retrieve the necessary materials to build FRG Thor's systems... although I was unable to find some minerals... something I would have to solve sooner or later.

Thor as seen from the shipyard deck closest to the factory module.

 I fit the top and underside of Thor's wings with missile-targeting fast-shooting micro-turrets, although during tests it seemed they were as efficient at shooting down Thor's own missiles as they were at defending her from incoming enemy missiles.

I hoped I was able to resolve this with better programming, but resigned myself to the possibility that I would need to convert them over to targeting enemy ships' shields instead of missiles.

Thor's anti-missile micro-turrets were 3x2x3m, unshielded rapid-fire cannons that proved quite effective at shooting missiles out of the sky, and covered 88% of FRG Thor's visibile space with only these four  micro-turrets.

Her engines were a new design of Nuclear Fusion which provided far greater thrust than her predessors fitted to Alannis and Excavator.

Taking parts of Excavator's Fusion Engines and combining it with parts of Alannis's Ion Compression engines has resulted in much more powerful engines for the same space and mass being occupied. FRG Thor is more manuevable than any other ship I've built (except Taxi), despite being much greater in mass.

While most of Thor's external armour and greeble were now completed, a few systems still need to be fitted.

Apart from crew facilities, FRG Thor was now fully operational.

By far the largest ship I've built so far, Thor tests the docking capability of the shipyard to the maximum.

While Thor's internal engineering decks were reasonably raw and cramped, her officer and crew areas were much brighter, cleaner and more organised, with access to key systems being prioritised over rapid access to the rawer underlying systems that drive them.

Thor's Core has access passages to her two main forward passages (at deck 4 level), her two wings, and aft to her bridge, crew quarters, and engines.

Port-side passageway between Core and port wing allows access to engineering systems and ventilation shafts if necessary.

At the end of the wing passageway (a mirror image of starboard side) is the internal access junction, where the interior of the wing can be accessed, and also where the port side airlock can be entered.

Inspection hatches to both micro-turrets allow crew to take manual control of them at any time, as well as their controlling systems.

The airlock contains a gravity activation module and is currently the fastest way to access the Core from the factory, which it faces.  For this reason, this airlock is high traffic at the moment during the build.

Thor's Bridge had control points for officers overseeing the ships main systems, a captain's chair overseeing all officer's stations, and a 7x4m view screen, and bright lighting. 

The Bridge is accessed from the rear by two large ramps coming up on either side of the Captain's Station from the Core.  The Obs Deck blast door is next to the Captain's chair, and gives access to her main cannon's control computers if necessary.

The Engineering Station gives readouts and direct control over many of Thor's most critical systems, including Radar Jamming, Shielding, Power generation and storage, weapons systems overview, superstructure, AI, doors and hatches, and engines.

While the ship was able to be operated by myself, it was far more efficient to crew her with deck officers capable of directly interacting with her systems simultaneously.

She was now estimated to be approximately 80% completed, and her launch was anticipated to be in approximately 2 more months (one real-time day is equivalent to one game-month).

Cramped Quarters

Alannis's internal systems were now fully fitted and operational (except the turret systems and the rebuild of the escape pod damaged in the first pirate wave from Gundabadt Station).

While she looked naked without her armour, the Alannis was complete inside and technically able to to fly.  Totally without teeth, but able to fly.

Her internal systems include large dual ion compression engines, energy dispersal shields, an escape pod bay, front underside hatch access, rear shielded heat dispersal radiators, thick dorsal, starboard, and portside armour plates, 4x small homing missile turrets, 1x large topside long range beam turret, top and bottom front cameras, rear camera, port and starboard cameras, and internal access to all major systems for inspection and repair from within shields while under fire.

Alannis's central core and control room.

Hatch access is in the bottom starboard side of the control room, which accesses the turret and computing maintenance area, and from there a plex door exits directly into space underneath the ship within the protection of the shield and armour.

The main deck of Alannis.

Alannis's main deck has navigation and diagnostic computers and read-outs, medical facilities, shield and gravity control, and access all areas, including the front passageways leading to the port and starboard engine maintenance (shown in picture), the port and starboard rear reactor maintenance areas, the rear escape pod passage, and the turret and computing access way underneath the main control room.

Starboard engine maintenance access passage.

Standing at the white light shown on the right of the previous picture and looking down and back along the engine, this passageway accesses all the engines on the starboard side back to the reactor.

Port passage to the reactor access passageway.

Looking immediately port of the control room the shield and gravity control panels can be seen, and behind them the passage that leads down to the port side reactor.  A mirror image passage (with slightly different systems lining it) exists on the starboard side also.

Escape Pod Bay inspection port

Standing in the passage shown in the previous image, an inspection port can be used to view the condition (or observe the docking) of small craft in the escape pod bay.

Portside reactor inspection passageway.

One of the reactor's tanks is visible on the right, with the various computer and fluid dispersal systems visible on the left and at the back of the passage.  An access metal grill hatch at the back of the passage allows a crew member to wriggle through to the rear heat-dispersal radiators if necessary.