Howdy, everybody. It's been a minute. We've had a few staff changes since the last announcement (...in August of last year), and since we've been proactively targeting staff recruitment to try and get a handle on the mounting staff workload, I figured it'd be good to go over all the changes since then.
But first, please welcome our newest administrators and moderators!
I will be taking the Discovery game server down for a few hours over the coming fortnight.
I will use this time to migrate the game VM to a different host. This new host is a different hypervisor on different hardware, which is better located, which should offer better connection times (e.g. ping) for most of Europe & the Americas, and provides better single core performance, so I'm hoping it'll be able to handle slightly larger groups of players in close proximity better than we've had before.
I'll probably also use it as a convenient opportunity to perform other unrelated maintenance.
I estimate this work will take 3 or so hours and provisionally schedule it in the window of 00:30-06:30 UTC on Saturday 16th.
The web server should still function during this time, so the forums, development tools, wiki, etc. should still work - but obviously the forum integration with the game will be out of action.
If you've restarted your launcher and FL since 22:46 on Monday 11th, there should be no need for you to take any action - when the game server returns it should appear on the server list for you immediately.
In the mean time, if you're curious and want to compare connectivity, the current game IP is 95.217.88.9, and the new game IP will be 88.198.43.188. Those of you with test server access can go and try it today.
In 832 AS, Platinum was discovered in Galileo. The system’s rock fields had previously gone entirely unsurveyed due to hazardous dark matter pockets that ate away at hulls and masked sensors - not to mention the large populations of pirates. For reasons unknown, freelance pilot Taro Yamada had been surveying rocks in the field, and happened across a rich lode of Platinum Ore. Then another. And another. With Platinum mining in Shikoku dwindling to highly inefficient and expensive dust cloud particulate filtering, Yamada knew he had discovered something monumental.
He sold exclusive exploitation rights for his claim to DSE for an undisclosed sum. Simultaneously, he also sold exclusive exploitation rights to Kishiro Technologies and Samura Heavy Industries. Pocketing his windfall, Yamada vanished and has not been seen since, despite large bounties for his capture from all three corporations. The three have since been locked in fierce court battles on Manhattan and New Tokyo, with all three aggressively asserting their right to sole ownership of the field deposits. This has come to a head in recent days, with Samura initiating their own large scale mining deployment, in defiance of Libertonian court orders. With the impasse broken, the other two corporations have rushed their own assets into the system.
Violence has already become a common sight, with clashes between sponsored mercenaries, pirates and even corporate vessels directly. This comes at the worst possible time for relations between Liberty and Kusari, which have been on a downward spiral since the bombing of Roppongi, brazen Farmer’s Alliance attacks on Synth transports, and LSF whispers of a successful field trial of a Kusari jump drive. Squadrons aboard the Battleship Myoko and Carrier Ohio have come close to conflict several times after patrols intercepted one another in Galileo. Their respective High Commands have struggled to restrain hot-headed and impulsive elements within their forces.
DETAILS
Commodity Changes:
Platinum Ore has substantially increased in price at its current purchase points.
The Tsukishima platinum pipeline has been moved to Fuchu in order to take advantage of the available local "labor".
Additional fences in Kusari and Liberty are purchasing the Platinum ore at competitive prices.
Demand for Platinum is significantly up on Sirian markets, with suppliers raising their own prices to maintain stock parity.
Fences across Sirius have scrambled to take advantage of illegaly acquired Platinum by offering reasonable prices to get rid of the goods.
DSE, Kishiro, and Samura will earn a 400k SC bounty against most factions that dare threaten their profits.
Rule Changes:
DSE, Kishiro, and Samura can engage in piracy against one another outside of House space.
DSE, Kishiro, and Samura now have the following line added to their ID:
- Can demand Platinum and Platinum ore outside of House space, and attack if ships refuse to comply.
KOI now have the following line added to their ID:
- Can attack combat ships belonging to Liberty in Galileo.
LSF now have the following line added to their ID:
- Can attack combat ships belonging to Kusari in Galileo.
Military, Police and Intelligence IDs cannot attack Corporate IDs in Galileo
Gallia and Rheinland have been mired in diplomatic negotiations for years, slowly grinding their way towards the Treaty of Oerlikon - a free trade agreement that would represent a sweeping overhaul of their economic and security relationship. In recent months, there has been promise of a breakthrough on a number of difficult issues that were blocking progress, including the unrestricted import of raw material and alloys into Gallia, and agri-exports and Consumer Goods into Rheinland.
In a final effort to push the Treaty over the line, Rheinland has gone on a diplomatic charm offensive, proposing a state visit to the Gallic capital, Il-de-France.
The Gallic Union eagerly accepted the offer, seeing a visit by Emperor Frederick von Albrecht as a potential propaganda coup both domestically and abroad. Rheinland meanwhile is looking to project an international image of strength, stability and solidarity, attempting to reassure trade partners that the divisions and bloodshed of the Civil War are long past. Despite this, Rheinland’s Consensus Government remains dysfunctional and the Gallic Union rife with Royalist sympathisers; details of the convoy’s route and departure time were quickly leaked to a number of hostile groups.
The Rheinland Military, Gallic Navy, and intelligence services will be providing an armed escort to the convoy's flagship as it carries the Emperor to Gallia. The convoy will also be accompanied by three Rheinland Diplomatic Corps liners (sponsored by Daumann, Kruger and Imperial Shipping). They are carrying the Minister of Trade and Industry, corporate delegations, and elite trade negotiators. The Minister has been relegated to one of these transports following a falling out between the Emperor and the Imperial politicians who originally schemed to place him on the Throne. The Emperor now prefers to spend his time surrounded by Military sycophants and toadies.
It is expected that the convoy will face heavy resistance from the outset. A chance to embarrass - or worse - the Emperor of Rheinland is an opportunity that many groups will not be able to pass up.
DETAILS
This event is being run as a part of wider series hosted by The Starport, celebrating the 21st anniversary of Freelancer's 4th March release date. A whole bunch of different mods are holding their own events, and we'd wholeheartedly recommend you join the Startport Discord server and check them out.
This event is going to be paired with a stream where Discovery developers will be taking questions from chat, as well as talking about the mod and the event itself.
Objectives:
Convoy Defenders: Your objective is to escort the Battlecruiser RNC-Burghausen and Diplomatic Corps liners from Planet New Berlin to Planet New Paris, and kill any attackers impeding your progress.
Convoy Attackers:Score points for your faction by killing escorts, destroying Diplomatic Corps liners, and destroying the sub-components of the battlecruiser RNC-Burghausen. The RNC-Burghausencannot be destroyed, but arriving heavily damaged will be incredibly politically damaging for both the Emperor and Gallic Union.
Event rules:
Event participants are restricted to using cruisers and below.
Participating Official Factions may bring one battleship, however these ships do not respawn. These ships must be named here in advance.
RM, RFP, MND, GN and GNI have ZoI in each of the event systems for the duration of the event.
RM, RFP, MND, GN and GNI can respawn immediately in the event systems for the duration of the event.
Convoy attackers can respawn immediately by playing a different event faction. You cannot rejoin the event with a ship belonging to an ID you have already died with.
Only factions with ZoI may enter an event system for the duration of the event (does not affect Trade Ships).
Brigands: $400,000 per kill on RM, RFP, MND, GN and GNI.
Maquis: $400,000 per kill on RM, RFP, MND, GN and GNI.
Royalists: $400,000 per kill on RM, RFP, MND, GN and GNI.
Wild: $400,000 per kill on RM, RFP, MND, GN and GNI.
Defenders: $200,000 per kill on above factions.
Note: The Liners will have unique Rheinland Diplomatic Corps IDs, will not respawn, and have a special $1,000,000 bounty.
GETTING INVOLVED
Mod Installation: For stream viewers and Starport members who aren't regular Discovery players, you can also get involved in the event quickly and easily.
If you need help, please ask during the stream or check out our Discord server.
Restart Templates: One hour before the event starts, a new set of restart templates will be enabled. These will provide you with a fully equipped and repped bomber of the appropriate faction.
To use these templates, create a new character on the Discovery RP 24/7 server, and type the restart command into the chatbox. These commands are listed below.
Rheinland Military (Planet New Berlin) - /restart eventRM
These templates are being provided to help you get involved in the event with minimal fuss and explore new factions. These are being offered as a sign of trust in the community. We can track the use of these restart templates, and players attempting to abuse this trust by 'farming' ships for credits will not have a fun time.
OUTCOME
The diplomatic convoy to Gallia could be considered nothing less than an outright disaster. Despite a significant armed guard consisting of elements from both the Rheinland Military and Gallic Navy, the convoy came under heavy and sustained assault almost immediately. Within Rheinland itself, Bundschuh fighters inflicted early casualties on the Emperor's escort, although they were unable to penetrate the perimeter to the RNC Burghausen or the diplomatic attachment. Despite calls to abort the mission entirely due to the security lapse, Military commanders were determined to press on.
In the Alsace Passage itself calamity truly struck. Hordes of Wild fighters and fearsome Scorpion drones rushed the convoy, suicidally intent on bringing down the diplomatic liners and flagship. The defenders were appalled by the Wild's inhuman tactics, as fighters threw themselves into the engines of enemy capital ships, or used their own hulls to absorb torpedoes intended for Scorpion Drones. Despite dozens being destroyed, the Scorpions carried out their deadly work, chewing through the armour and detonating the reactors of the liners Datteln and Niederaussem.
As emergency search and rescue units across Cologne and Zurich were scrambled to rescue survivors, the convoy was forced to push on into Champagne - it was far too late and far too dangerous to contemplate turning back to Rheinland. Finally in Gallic core space, the delegation received a brief reprieve. Marne's orbit had been cleared in preparation for arrival, although the radio waves were still filled with the clamour of protesting industrial workers on the planet below. Upon arriving in Ile-de-France, the procession came under heavy attack once more, this time by Maquis terrorists.
The final liner carrying the Trade Minister, Baron Tobias von Hueber, was dramatically destroyed in New Paris orbit. Struck by several Maquis suicide bombers, the liner broke in half and began to fall into the planet's atmosphere. Local Gallic emergency services rushed to recover escape pods, with the Minister himself rescued in a critically injured state. The remaining Maquis attackers were scythed down by the Paris defence grid, and the remnants forced to flee. Seemingly oblivious to this chaos, the heavily sheltered Emperor bumbled his way through an arrival speech, seemingly insulting his hosts at several points.
Military officers and the shellshocked handful of negotiators who survived the journey are now working around the clock to try and mend relations and put the mutual benefits of the Treaty of Oerlikon at the forefront of discussions once more. Gallic officials are sure to use the Emperor's gaffe as an excuse to extract more favourable conditions, to the Rheinlanders' chagrin. The Treaty's ratification in the coming weeks is almost a certainty - there are too many credits on the line for it to be otherwise - however Rheinland will now be negotiating this critical phase stripped of its most experienced specialists.
Regardless of the political manoeuvring, however the issue is framed, this procession has been a humiliating debacle for both Houses. Gallia, already suspicious of its own intelligence apparatus, has purged several senior GNI officers and commissioned an inquest into the leaks that facilitated the attacks. Rheinland for its part has already made preparations to bolster the Altenberg's squadrons and deploy the MND with an objective of tracking down and exterminating the lairs the Wild had emerged from.