Suggestion: ORSA / Courier Tutorial NPC
Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2022 6:27 am
(Due to length, this post is is multiple segments.)
The purpose of this is to add a new “late-ish” tutorial for new player to explain both ORSA extraction and the Courier system. While the first two quests are resolved by taking goods to the NPC in the ship store, the remainder are treated like Courier deliveries. This means the player must have the goods in the ship store, go to the settlement, and then go to the mission and click the Complete button.
The NPC is affiliated with the ORSA faction and Courier faction. The initial two fetch-me quests give a small ORSA faction bonus, while the remaining courier quests give both a small ORSA and Courier faction bonus.
The location of the NPC should be in central Sphere, on or near the central Feris/Descartes run. Either a settlement with an ORSA field or a starbase would make the most narrative sense.
Besides being a fun exercise in creative writing (I had two Project Terran NPC arcs in my head a year ago), players have asked about an ORSA NPC, and this would be a good tutorial. The fuller write up would also help Coops not have to create something entirely.
Everything is a suggestion, and everything is changeable.
The NPC K0USK1-602214, or Kouseki, is a machine intelligence. If there is not an unused droid in stock, a PT Melar would be a good choice.
The descriptions also follow a model used in Project Terran, where the requirements are explicitly spelled out of the player. I rather like this difference.
If the courier version of the missions cannot be done, then revert these to the standard fetch-quests.
I do not know good numbers for faction standing for quest rewards. Credit and IP rewards are estimates. (I have not done a quest in a very long time.)
The language of K0SK1 is overly formal and stilted, due to being a multi-species protocol droid.
:: Splash Screen
The office is open and well lit. A soft noise control system drowns out the presence of the settlement without leaving silence in its place. The office appointments are simple. Three seats surround a table, all made of chromed steel and contoured microcrystaline plasteel plates. A display case of the same plasteel and Naristro plasglass hold a selection of awards. On the opposite wall hovers a holo display, cycling through resource prices and stock information in multiple languages. While the appointments of the room are sparse, they are tasteful and to the trained eye, quite expensive.
A small service drone, dutifully dusting the pristine environment to look busy, turns and drifts forward. It says in four languages, “Are you here for business with K0SK1?”
:: Mission 1
A cybernetic automaton enters the room, looks at you, and bows slightly. Its movements are fluid, indicating elaborate social programming. It then speaks in an equally smooth and fluent voice.
“Greetings, biological sentient! If I may have the honor of an introduction, my designation is K0SK1-602214. I am also addressed at Kouseki, a play on the designation letters in Terran Basic which I find charming. I am a designated officer of the ORSA corporate faction, and in my duties overseeing orders and transport am also a licensed logician of the Courier guild faction.
“If my information surveys are correct, the one I address owns a ship. Is that correct? May I address one as Captain? Splendid, noble Captain. My algorithms predict a business relationship of value.
“Is the Captain familiar with the function of the ORSA fields? They are areas designated in a planetary settlement in which a captain such as yourself can place machines called Extractors to remove renewable resources from the environment. The smallest such Extractors are called Personal Extractors.
“Would the Captain be interested in operating one or more Personal extractors? Yes? Excellent! This office has access to automated crafting facilities. If you could return with ten units of Refined Ore, the facilities could craft multiple Personal Extractors, and should have the first ready quickly. You should also develop a basic grasp of the skill Survey.”
REQUIREMENTS: Captain level 5, Survey Skill 5, 10 units Refined Ore
+
The Captain must return at level 5, have 5 points of Survey skill, and return to the NPC with 10 units of Refined Ore in the ship hold.
Reward: ORSA faction, Personal Extractor (Minerals)
:: Mission 2
“Greetings and Salutations, Captain! Gratitude of the ORSA Corporate Faction is extended. The Refined Ore is currently being processed, and momentarily a Personal Extractor (Mineral) will be delivered to your ship. Extractors are designed to acquire specific categories of resources. A Gas Extractor will gather and contain gasses like Oxygen and Traylon Gas. Flora Extractors will gather resources like Rice or Wood.
“The Extractor that is being moved to your ship is a Personal Extractor for Mineral resources. A simple test of your skill is the traditional way of business, and will assist my needs.
“You should be able to find at most ORSA sites a resource called Turbocite. This inexpensive mineral is easy to extract in abundance. A common radioisotope source for crafted items requiring power, a shrewd captain can watch the Galactic Buyers Market for large contracts by crafters.”
“Please acquire fourty units of Turbocite, and return to me with the Turbocite in your ship. Turbocite can be acquired by many means, but extraction with your new device is free. Find an ORSA field on a planetary settlement, look for Turbocite, activate the slot, and select this or another Mineral Extractor.”
REQUIREMENTS: Survey skill 5, 40 units of Turbocite
+
The Captain must return to Kouseki with 40 units of Turbocite in the ship hold.
Reward: ORSA faction, 300 credits, Personal Extractor (Flora)
:: Mission 3
“Greetings, skilled Captain! The Turbocite was quite sufficient, and will be processed into power cells. I trust the compensation was adequate, and a second Extractor is being moved to your ship.
“What can be acquired with an extractor is based on the development of the Captain’s Survey skill. Oxygen cylinders and most agricultural grains can be gathered with a very rudimentary grasp of the Survey skill.”
“The new Extractor being moved to your ship is a Personal Extractor (Flora). Your basic skill is still sufficient, though you should consider expanding it. At the moment, what is required is the common agricultural grain Rice. Fifty units of Rice will be required.
“But, Captain, this is not for me. Obviously. I believe most humans would consider that statement humor. No, this is a mission contracted through the Courier guild faction. This means that the rice must be acquired and then delivered. Specifically, it must be delivered to my business contact on the Kilfoyle Research Station in Palham. With the Rice in your ship hold, dock at Kilfoyle Research Station, and open your ship mission registry (View Tasks > NPC Missions). When viewing the missions, simply click the button on your screen to notify the port authorities with the contract’s cryptographic code sequence, and the rest will be handled. The fifty units of Rice will be unloaded and you will be rewarded.”
REQUIREMENTS: Survey skill 5, 50 units of Rice to Kilfoyle Research Station
+
Rewards: ORSA faction, Courier faction, 500 credits
The purpose of this is to add a new “late-ish” tutorial for new player to explain both ORSA extraction and the Courier system. While the first two quests are resolved by taking goods to the NPC in the ship store, the remainder are treated like Courier deliveries. This means the player must have the goods in the ship store, go to the settlement, and then go to the mission and click the Complete button.
The NPC is affiliated with the ORSA faction and Courier faction. The initial two fetch-me quests give a small ORSA faction bonus, while the remaining courier quests give both a small ORSA and Courier faction bonus.
The location of the NPC should be in central Sphere, on or near the central Feris/Descartes run. Either a settlement with an ORSA field or a starbase would make the most narrative sense.
Besides being a fun exercise in creative writing (I had two Project Terran NPC arcs in my head a year ago), players have asked about an ORSA NPC, and this would be a good tutorial. The fuller write up would also help Coops not have to create something entirely.
Everything is a suggestion, and everything is changeable.
The NPC K0USK1-602214, or Kouseki, is a machine intelligence. If there is not an unused droid in stock, a PT Melar would be a good choice.
The descriptions also follow a model used in Project Terran, where the requirements are explicitly spelled out of the player. I rather like this difference.
If the courier version of the missions cannot be done, then revert these to the standard fetch-quests.
I do not know good numbers for faction standing for quest rewards. Credit and IP rewards are estimates. (I have not done a quest in a very long time.)
The language of K0SK1 is overly formal and stilted, due to being a multi-species protocol droid.
:: Splash Screen
The office is open and well lit. A soft noise control system drowns out the presence of the settlement without leaving silence in its place. The office appointments are simple. Three seats surround a table, all made of chromed steel and contoured microcrystaline plasteel plates. A display case of the same plasteel and Naristro plasglass hold a selection of awards. On the opposite wall hovers a holo display, cycling through resource prices and stock information in multiple languages. While the appointments of the room are sparse, they are tasteful and to the trained eye, quite expensive.
A small service drone, dutifully dusting the pristine environment to look busy, turns and drifts forward. It says in four languages, “Are you here for business with K0SK1?”
:: Mission 1
A cybernetic automaton enters the room, looks at you, and bows slightly. Its movements are fluid, indicating elaborate social programming. It then speaks in an equally smooth and fluent voice.
“Greetings, biological sentient! If I may have the honor of an introduction, my designation is K0SK1-602214. I am also addressed at Kouseki, a play on the designation letters in Terran Basic which I find charming. I am a designated officer of the ORSA corporate faction, and in my duties overseeing orders and transport am also a licensed logician of the Courier guild faction.
“If my information surveys are correct, the one I address owns a ship. Is that correct? May I address one as Captain? Splendid, noble Captain. My algorithms predict a business relationship of value.
“Is the Captain familiar with the function of the ORSA fields? They are areas designated in a planetary settlement in which a captain such as yourself can place machines called Extractors to remove renewable resources from the environment. The smallest such Extractors are called Personal Extractors.
“Would the Captain be interested in operating one or more Personal extractors? Yes? Excellent! This office has access to automated crafting facilities. If you could return with ten units of Refined Ore, the facilities could craft multiple Personal Extractors, and should have the first ready quickly. You should also develop a basic grasp of the skill Survey.”
REQUIREMENTS: Captain level 5, Survey Skill 5, 10 units Refined Ore
+
The Captain must return at level 5, have 5 points of Survey skill, and return to the NPC with 10 units of Refined Ore in the ship hold.
Reward: ORSA faction, Personal Extractor (Minerals)
:: Mission 2
“Greetings and Salutations, Captain! Gratitude of the ORSA Corporate Faction is extended. The Refined Ore is currently being processed, and momentarily a Personal Extractor (Mineral) will be delivered to your ship. Extractors are designed to acquire specific categories of resources. A Gas Extractor will gather and contain gasses like Oxygen and Traylon Gas. Flora Extractors will gather resources like Rice or Wood.
“The Extractor that is being moved to your ship is a Personal Extractor for Mineral resources. A simple test of your skill is the traditional way of business, and will assist my needs.
“You should be able to find at most ORSA sites a resource called Turbocite. This inexpensive mineral is easy to extract in abundance. A common radioisotope source for crafted items requiring power, a shrewd captain can watch the Galactic Buyers Market for large contracts by crafters.”
“Please acquire fourty units of Turbocite, and return to me with the Turbocite in your ship. Turbocite can be acquired by many means, but extraction with your new device is free. Find an ORSA field on a planetary settlement, look for Turbocite, activate the slot, and select this or another Mineral Extractor.”
REQUIREMENTS: Survey skill 5, 40 units of Turbocite
+
The Captain must return to Kouseki with 40 units of Turbocite in the ship hold.
Reward: ORSA faction, 300 credits, Personal Extractor (Flora)
:: Mission 3
“Greetings, skilled Captain! The Turbocite was quite sufficient, and will be processed into power cells. I trust the compensation was adequate, and a second Extractor is being moved to your ship.
“What can be acquired with an extractor is based on the development of the Captain’s Survey skill. Oxygen cylinders and most agricultural grains can be gathered with a very rudimentary grasp of the Survey skill.”
“The new Extractor being moved to your ship is a Personal Extractor (Flora). Your basic skill is still sufficient, though you should consider expanding it. At the moment, what is required is the common agricultural grain Rice. Fifty units of Rice will be required.
“But, Captain, this is not for me. Obviously. I believe most humans would consider that statement humor. No, this is a mission contracted through the Courier guild faction. This means that the rice must be acquired and then delivered. Specifically, it must be delivered to my business contact on the Kilfoyle Research Station in Palham. With the Rice in your ship hold, dock at Kilfoyle Research Station, and open your ship mission registry (View Tasks > NPC Missions). When viewing the missions, simply click the button on your screen to notify the port authorities with the contract’s cryptographic code sequence, and the rest will be handled. The fifty units of Rice will be unloaded and you will be rewarded.”
REQUIREMENTS: Survey skill 5, 50 units of Rice to Kilfoyle Research Station
+
Rewards: ORSA faction, Courier faction, 500 credits