M.R.S.C. Mercator - Carrier Log, Day 1 - Day 30
02 Aug 2020FalconFly
After deciding to make home in Deep Space, the Brewer Corporation had an offer I couldn't refuse.
Despite all issues during early Tests, there simply was no Alternative.
So on 10th Jun 3306, I conducted the biggest purchase ever. A Fleet Carrier.
Based on all available Data, I sure wasn't the only one. Diamonds had made everyone rich it seemed. However, none of that mattered to me.
Why? I had a plan.
A Mission to combine everything I wanted - including a new lifestyle far from so-called civilization - and multiple difficult goals.
Goals that could possibly be achieved. Easy on Paper - difficult and hard to pull off, just the way I like it.
So after months of preparation, the moment had finally arrived.
One thing, though... I underestimated.
I had re-designed and consequently retrofitted alot of Ships. Almost the entire Fleet. A few put in deep storage, as there simply was no use for them out in the Void.
Almost each and every active Fleet Component was to become a CSV - Carrier Support Vessel, with only few Ships ready to be permanent Carrier Assets without modifications.
Those were to include the following capabilities : Transport, Defense, AX, Mining, Scouting
Now the design Philosophy for CSVs meant a considerable departure from ordinary Ship builds for each role.
Each Carrier Support Vessel had to be harder and much more resilient than comparable Designs typically found everywhere else.
Although the Design Specifications were met for almost every single CSV, the amount of Engineering and Materials consumption... tremendous. Downright obscene.
The Fleet conversion almost stalled the planned Departure of the Mercator into Deep Space. However, within mere hours of the planned Departure, the conversion was completed.
(and I don't want to see the face of any Engineer again for a long time)[/center]
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The Mission?
The M.R.S.C. Mercator was to depart into the Arcadian Stream. On Station at a pre-scouted Waypoint Alpha ( Coests MW-U B36-26 ), its Objectives are :
- man and operate a 100LY radius Carrier AOR (Area of Operations)
- 100%-explore the AOR over time
- discover any NSP (Notable Stellar Phenomena), as none was discovered in this Galactic Sector yet
- discover a new Green Gas Giant, which are easily amongst the most rare and elusive Objects in the Galaxy
The Mission duration? Open-ended. Multiple Waypoints of pristine nature were identified in the months prior.
The high System Density in the respective regions meant that the Mercator could - easily - operate there for the next year without running out of Systems to scan.
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After talking to my Crews, I realized that my friends I hired in Colonia had little Interest in permanently living in Deep Space.
Colonia had been remote enough for them and the prospect to look out of bulkheads into space for a very long time was something they clearly did not want.
So I agreed to their pleas and terminated their contracts.
I hate losing such experienced Crews - but with future Upkeep figures knocking at my door every 7 Days, saving 20% expenses for their salaries made up for it.
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On 20 Jun 3306, the Mercator and its Carrier Support Vessels had achieved Status : MISSION CAPABLE and finally departed towards the Arcadian Stream.
In retrospect, almost inconceivable that the entire Mission preparation of both Fleet Components and the Carrier to meet all requirements only took 10 Days.
That ETA was in danger more than once - but in the end, with a mere few hours left of the Day, it all worked out.
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Mission Time : 1 Day
4000LY from SOL, the Mercator has conducted Tritium Resupply Trials in Tr 24 Sector IM-A c15-0 Hotspots with good success.
The CSV Iridium was easily able to source considerable amounts of Tritium with no issues.
13500LY remaining to Waypoint Alpha, where the Mercator will remain on Station for several weeks.
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Mission Time : 2 Days
The Mercator has now completed over half of its Outbound Route.
Some "flyby" Mining Trials started to fill various Ores into its Cargo Hold to replace the consumed Tritium.
Full-Scale Mining runs won't be conducted until reaching Waypoint Alpha, though, as reaching it has higher Priority.
The CSV Scouts are doing a very good job of scanning the environment around the Carrier....
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Mission Time : 3 Days
The Mercator is now on Station in the Coests MW-U b36-26 System (Waypoint Alpha). It will remain in the immediate area for probably ~6-8 weeks.
Note that minor Carrier relocations within max. 50LY are possible at anytime.
Neutron Highway Uplink : nearest Neutron Star at Coests TZ-M d8-334 (71 LY from Waypoint Alpha)
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Mission Time : 6 Days
Things are running smooth, the Mining Survey component of the Exploration Campaign has yielded the first Double LTD Hotspot in Coests SF-Y c17-141, the first random Traffic was greeted onboard and a Carrier Scout discovered an ELW. Not too shabby for single Day.
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Mission Time : 8 Days
Everything progressing nicely, although not at top speed. However, top speed execution was never a Priority.
The Mining Hotspot Survey Table is gradually filling up, Double Hotspots have turned up - and should the need arise there's plenty of Tritium all around the Mercator.
The Carrier's Cargo hold has seen an influx of Ores already as well.
Nothing out of the ordinary - but so early into the Campaign that is fully expected.
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Mission Time : 9 Days
Mining Table now holds almost 400 Hotspots, more than enough to get comfy. Nothing special so far but good enough to satisfy all needs.
The CSVs in Mining Role have proven excellent and very versatile tools to combine Scout, Survey and Mining roles.
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Mission Time : 11 Days
Campaign is progressing as planned, Mining is occurring more often, now with over 700 documented Hotspots.
A glance at the Carrier finances indicates that things are running smooth on that front as well - the income from Exploration alone is able to stem the Upkeep even without other Traffic dropping in.
The slowly growing Cargo hold is the pre-planned Bonus and seems that'll work out nicely.
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Mission Time : 15 Days
Mining Hotspot Survey now holds over 900 entries and the Mercator has over 1000 tons of Ores in the Cargo hold.
Daily progress is now routinely split between Exploration and Mining and the number of explored Systems is slowly climbing.
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Mission Time : 16 Days
With the Cargo hold of the Mercator filling and the long Station time in mind, the requirement to eventually offload the Carrier's hold had to be re-assessed.
With a sales trip to Colonia & back consuming some 14000t of Tritium and requiring an absolute minimum of ~22 hours, the original plan for the mined ores was changed.
From now on, all mined ores are put up for sale at highly competitive prices.
- all high-value ores are sold off at Galactic Average
- all standard ores are sold off at 75% of Galactic Average
Although this makes the Mercator the #1 best-price seller for a few Commodities, the long distances and the fundamental principle of "First come - First Served" comes with risks for anyone considering to plot a route to the Mercator. That risk has to be rewarded, since a quicker buyer could empty the market at anytime.
Mining will add continuous amounts back into the market, though.
With any luck, the new approach to handling mined ores will allow the Mercator to remain on Station for much longer with no need to detour to empty its Cargo hold.
Additionally, another Milestone was reached : the Mining Survey now extends over 1000 Hotspots
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Mission Time : 18 Days
An unexpected issue has occurred regarding the sale of mined ores onboard the Mercator :
While INARA properly picked up the correct tonnage and sales - all sales Data disappeared after 4 hours from the Best Buy tables. Again and again.
This made all offers look highly unreliable - despite being 100% persistent - and potentially putting off any possible buyers.
After talking with Artie, this is unfortunately intentional (implemented due to the extremely dynamic demand/supply from Carrier markets)
That means all sell orders had to be revoked, as it seemed exceedingly unlikely for anyone setting sail towards the Carrier with those sell orders disappearing from the Best Buy Pages over and over again, making them look like fake sales. Updating them by checking in with the Carrier every 4 hours is obviously entirely unfeasible.
As a result, the original plan to sell them eventually at Colonia had to be re-implemented.
On a positive note, the local Survey Area around the Waypoint is increasingly looking like one. Not bad, considering its 100LY radius in a region with high Star Density.
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Mission Time : 20 Days
Ah screw it... All Mined Ores are put back up for sale and will remain on sale.
Maybe the offer works - maybe it doesn't... Should the Cargo Hold run full due to lack of buyers, then the Colonia Sales run it is.
If not... I'm lucky, since I really dislike that long detour.
With over 1200 Hotspots documented and 2176t of various Minerals & Metals in the Cargo Hold already, emphasis will slowly shift back from Mining to Exploration. Still alot of Systems left to go.
"Painting the Galaxy Map"... Local Survey area now looks fairly well-defined. That's what I can call a visible Carrier AOR - Area of Responsibility.
Contemplating the optimal scan pattern to keep filling the blanks, lots of Options to pick from...
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Mission Time : 21 Days
NTR - Nothing to Report
It's been 3 weeks now since the Mercator has been deployed. Based on my estimations, the Survey around Waypoint Alpha is approaching 1500 Systems and routine is setting in.
It's difficult to estimate the total remaining scan volume but it looks like it could be another 7000-8000 Systems.
Makes me wonder if the original 8 week plan was realistic, although - technically - it's all still within scheduled limits. Plus, it isn't a hard limit.
However, no later than approaching an estimated 50% complete scan of the Carrier AOR, chances of finding any of the primary Objectives are fairly low.
I wonder if it's better to reduce the AOR to 50LY radius and instead proceed over more Waypoints that way.
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Mission Time : 24 Days
A little bit Mining for a change after adding many Systems to the local Survey AOR.
I have little hope that an intrepid merchant passes along anytime soon - but should one pass, the Mercator will offer a good deal for a few thousand tons.
Total Traffic in the area so far has remained at a solid 1 , making this a very remote and calm area to operate in.
As expected, multiple Earth-Like Worlds were discovered and a few Anemones, however no signs of an NSP or a Green Gas Giant.
I'm fully aware I could simply search in a wrong area - but without generating a sufficient sample size, there's virtually no other way to find out, other than to bite the sour apple and keep working it.
Both Primary Objectives were intentionally setup very high to afford a long campaign. Very difficult to find - but technically not impossible.
I might make it a rule to leave an AOR (Area of Responsibility) NLT 2 months.
Being in the exact same spot for 2 months should qualify as "begins to get boring" and a good motivator to move on.
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Mission Time : 25 Days
After today's update, the Mercator is finally able to properly handle SAR / Deep Space Salvage.
So anyone passing by with Escape Pods, Black Boxes or similar Salvage can drop them off for a solid Bonus on the Carrier.
(these orders were always set and active, however a bug prevented them from showing up in the Carrier Market)
In the meantime, the Carrier Scouts continue to populate the Carrier AOR with Visited Systems using a Scatter Search Pattern.
On another item - Tritium Resupply - things have changed considerably.
Colonia, the original Tritium Resupply Target for the Mercator in case of having to sell off ores from a full storage, has essentially ceased being a viable Carrier refuel location.
That'd mean any Colonia sales trip of the Mercator increasingly looks like it'd have to rely on autonomous Refueling, short of finding a Refuel Carrier somewhere enroute.
Worst-case, both sales and Resupply would have to happen back in the bubble.
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Mission Time : 26 Days
I've started to report my best Mining Hotspots to the IMU (Intergalactic Mining Union) Database.
This takes the finest Data from the Mercator Survey campaign and makes it available for public use, so others passing by in the future can benefit from it - even if the Mercator has long left the area again.
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Mission Time : 27 Days
With Mining being subject to severe issues and buyers for the already stored Metals/Minerals not in sight, more focus goes into working out the Carrier AOR with its many thousand Systems.
While the Storage has room for almost 5000t more ores, lack of buyers would eventually fill up the Carrier.
I've hence started to look around for possible Carriers buying within reasonable distance. Demand is limited in Deep Space, however, and the minimum distances were approx. 4000LY one-way.
Luckily, the local Mining Survey has turned out an absolutely pristine and very high-yield Tritium Double Hotspot, so refueling the Mercator would be a non-issue even under the current circumstances that have left quite a few less lucky Carriers stranded or in hardship.
However, I still regard that as a last-ditch Option and would prefer others moving for ease of purpose.
The Mercator has already left a very distinct mark on the Galaxy, both in the log Heatmap as well as the indexed Heatmap, as the total scan volume approaches an estimated 2000 Systems.
On the Exploration side of things, though, still NTR - Nothing to Report. If there's something noteworthy within 100LY of the Mercator, it is hiding fairly well.
PS.
I realized the M.R.S.C. part of the Mercator's official designation was never written in plain.
For the curious minds : Mining & Reconnaissance, Strategic Carrier
Mercator was picked due to its goal to precisely explore and map literal 3D spheres containing hundreds or thousands of Systems to go into 2D projections, such as ED Astrometrics.
That seemed fitting, as the historic Mercator ( Wikipedia ) was a Geo-/Cartographer and Cosmographer.
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Mission Time : 28 Days
Planning on re-visiting the Hotspot Survey.
Despite containing 1443 documented and evaluated Hotspots already, two things remain elusive within the Carrier AOR :
- a Double Painite Hotspot
- a Triple Hotspot
So while Tritium and LTDs are covered generally, such a Highlight is still missing from the Survey.
In lieu of any other interesting Exploration finds, seems a worthy cause.
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Mission Time : 29 Days
A nice and unexpected surprise : A 325M Cr transaction occurred on the Mercator, freeing up almost 2000t Cargo Space.
So it can be done after all - selling high-value ores in Deep Space - if the price is right.
This is outstanding news, as it removes the need for a sales trip.
On top, the Mercator now comfortably sits on a financial cushion above its internal Benchmark line that can pay the maintenance for months to come.
Some Minerals/Metals remained untouched, though, indicating the offered price wasn't attractive enough.
That means a price reduction for these will go into effect today...
While yesterday's Hotspot survey increased the total amount of documented Hotspots to 1579, no Double Painite nor Triple Hotspot was discovered yet.
I'll sporadically add interesting Candidate Systems to it if I encounter any.
However, this Hotspot Survey in Deep Space is already the biggest and most concentrated Survey I have ever conducted.
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Mission Time : 30 Days
Hotspot Survey has now reached a count of 1659, guess I can safely stop no later than hitting 2000.
Some Painite has been added back to the Carrier's stock while I was at it.
Other than that, focus remains back on filling the countless blank spots in the Carrier AOR.
All normal-normal, although the remaining amount of Systems within 100LY around the Mercator increasingly looks like the original estimated time allocated was quite unrealistic - to say the least.
I already find myself eyeing other and possibly less dense spots to replace a few other Waypoints.
