My understanding of the bar infocards on Crete was always that the Corsairs\\\' plans are to steal the technology and capability to build their own biodomes, not to break those glass things of Freeport 9, ship them home, and start growing turnips in them.
The technology used in the Freeport biodomes would be converted in an all out different way, possibly on planet Crete itself.
Freeport 9 is more valuable because its a place where lawfuls and unlawfuls/semilawfuls can trade without persecution. Its important for Crete to get stuff they need from the other houses, important for pirates so they can sell their loot.
But problem is that some pirates care more about their 2 mil they can milk from a trader than for respecting a no fire zone out of RP reasons.
' Wrote:2 mil they can milk from a trader than for respecting a no fire zone out of RP reasons.
Both concepts are equally player inventions of interaction based on their RP and both can be equally foolishly abused to the point that both concepts can be viewed equally laughable.
I like to ignore certain aspects of freelancer... hard though it may be with my Literal thinking mind.
I instead try to imagine what the systems, planets and stations would be like in a 'to scale' version of the game/mod...
I'm off to look for an existing thread related to the scale of the game...
One way to look at scale would be to visualise Freeports not as a single large base - but a collection of smaller modules built up over time.
So when you see a base with 4 domes sticking out - try to imagine instead an array of many such modules linked together in all sorts of interesting ways. Newer bases in Disco try to hint at that kind of layout, but after hundreds of 'real' years - the Freeports and other long established bases would be truly massive, sprawling complexes of base modules.
This kind of 'space suburbia' is cheaper to construct than a single massive base (being composed of smaller, transportable prefabs). It would also be safer, because if one small dome goes 'pop' - it is nowhere near as bad as one single large dome getting a hole in it...
The notion that biodomes are impossible to replicate without the original plans is hilarious.
I can go put a seed in the earth, water it and make sure it gets some sun and I've got tomatoes in no time. I sure as hell can't design a battleship and weapons. Yet, the Corsairs can only do the latter.
i dare say - there are a lot less people that can build biodomes on earth - than battleships.
sure you can build a steel glass construction and plant a seed - maybe you even get a tomato out of it - but its a long long way to a working and independent ecosystem which is in balance with itself - and also efficiently producing food.
look at it like that - on earth - there are countless people who managed to build large ships with cannons mounted on top of them.... but there is NO man who has yet managed to build a biosphere. - both US projects were failures - while the same country manages to build big ships with cannons.
there was once a great warrior who had learned the way of combat in all its ways. - he was learned in all kinds of weapons - and was never defeated in his life. .... but he was a terrible cook.
just cause you can build battleships doesn t mean you know anything about genetics or plantlife and food growing. - and i dare say.... sticking a seed into the earth and waiting for the tomatoes to grow is what synth food may call "an optimists garden" - but if corsairs do it the way you describe it ... no wonder they all starve =P
' Wrote:The notion that biodomes are impossible to replicate without the original plans is hilarious.
I can go put a seed in the earth, water it and make sure it gets some sun and I've got tomatoes in no time. I sure as hell can't design a battleship and weapons. Yet, the Corsairs can only do the latter.
Ever notice that during SynthFoods 200+ years of existance, the only people who can make and sell biodome technology is still SynthFoods?
Jinx, biospheres are meant to recreate an entire ecosystem, I don't see biodomes as anything except greenhouses, and there's nothing to suggest they're anything more than that. And yes, my family, without any farming knowledge, grew tomatoes and pears in our backyard. Growing food is simple. Try it.
Maybe SynthFoods should handle security for the Liberty Navy. Maybe a third prototype battleship won't get stolen, since this biodome thing is so well protected.
I agree with the statement that the biodomes would be used (primarily) for the station's inhabitants. For the zoners, a group of people living on the fringes of space away from the 'core' house traffic, it would be much more affordable as a long-term (zoner) investment to build biodomes than constantly pay high transportation costs of food imports. The zoners, by nature, would prefer to be "self-sufficient" and not 'rely' upon 'core' food. Although I'm sure as a business move they would still import food from the core to sell to those with less 'legal entitlement' to food.
On a side thought, isn't the Corsairs -predisposition- towards intense piracy a -result- of their lack of self-sufficiency? (Crete's barrenness) It would be assumed that the primary cargo-targets for Corsairs would be goods they need the most, like food or un-available (on Crete) consumer goods. If they were not already successful at pirating food, etc in the first place, they wouldn't have lasted so long.
As to FPXV being the "primary exporter of in the omicrons". That's not really say -much.- There isn't alot of food being grown in the omicrons, anywhere. an analogy would be living on a street where no house has a fence around it, except one or two, and saying "those are biggest fences around", even if, say, they were only 6 inch tall fences.
As previously mentioned, the Corsairs don't have alot of 'legal' access to food other than freeports because of their hostile status to most planets where food is provided. The zoners, especially in the omicrons, are the most reasonable alternative as business go-betweens as they are -only ones around-.
I don't think it's reasonable to assume any of the following:
1) That the combined biodomes of FP9 and FPXV are sufficient to support the -entire- corsair population.
2) That the Corsairs, by virtue of available domestic-agricultural resources(Crete), are inept at acquiring goods through piracy.
3) That the Zoners don't import food from others to sell to those without entitlement to food.
4) That the zoners, who by nature are independent, would choose not to be self-sufficient. (not have biodomes on freeports)
5) That the corsairs have many (local or easily accessible) ways to genuinely 'purchase' food in a market-place AND/OR Bulk-shipment fashion from anyone other than Zoners (or perhaps Junkers?)
Oh, and the Synthfoods things. Using conglomerate a Real Life food company analogy. Monsanto corporation has introduced genetically modified foods that -will not- grow without specialized Monsanto-sold chemical fertilizer inputs, or genetically modified foods that do not produce seeds to require the seed buyer to have to re-acquire seeds each year.
It is safe to say, that that Synthfoods, as a wise business decision, would choose to input some propetiary "control" mechanicisms on the distrubution of sensitive 'AGRI-Industry' technologies. Such as Biodomes or the plants that will grow in a Biodome.
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