Mars Colony:Challenger (Preliminary 010/08/2011)


This page is about the game. It is a work in progress and for now will help new users understand the operation of the base.

Selected Subjects:

Game

You are assigned the task of setting up a new base of operations on Mars. The main colony, Aires has sent out a construction crew to build the base in sections or phases. There are 7 phases to the game and each time you complete the work orders you and your crew go back to Aires base while the construction crew sets up a new portion of the base. The challenge in the game is to install the equipment and maintain the equipment. When you are done, at phase 7 you and your crew get replace by the habitation crew and you can move on to set up the next base.
F1 key will bring up a in game help dialog to explain the key bindings and what is expected of you for each phase of the mission.
O key will bring up the work order dialog and explain what you need to do.
You will be scored on what you get done, the time it takes you and the condition of the base at the end of the phase.

Bad Things Happen
During your stay at the site, you may encounter various issues to deal with. Storms may come and go, radiation from the sun may get more intense, fires may break out inside the base, sickness, radiation leaks and even a leak in the structure. These things can lead to some interesting challenges so be prepared.

Base Life Support - Phase 1

This equipment is supplied at phase 1 of the mission. You will have to enable this system before you progress.The parts to make all the equipment work is located out in the garage area. Pick the units up and carry them inside the base and install in the proper equipment.

Water Pumps
The base is supplied with 2 pumps. At the start they are located outside in the garage area. Bring them inside the base and install them on one of the well heads.
Each pump has a heater and a power switch. The heater supplies heat down the well to the ice below. As small quantities of ice melts, the pump pulls the melted water up to the separator.
If you run the heater at 100% it will burn up the pump, break an impeller or cause the pump to fail. It works best if you have both pumps running less than 100%.
A good rule of thumb is to access the separator and observe the watr input. While the separator is running, adjust both pumps to the lowest value to maintain a even level in the separator.

Water Separator
This unit takes water from the pumps and converts it to Oxygen and Hydrogen. The oxygen is stored in the main oxygen tank in the Life Support Unit. This oxygen tank will supply the Air Scrubber. The hydrogen will be stored in the Sabatier Fuel Generator for further processing. The Water Separator has 4 internal components that you will have to install.
The components consist of a Valve, Separation Unit, Filter and Compressor. When the mission starts, these components will be found in the Garage module outside the base. Bring the units inside and install them in the Separator.

Air Scrubber
The air pressure on Mars is quite low. This Unit will collect atmosphere from outside, compress it and pressurize the interior of the base. The Scrubber will also remove Carbon Diozide from the air and replace it with a mixture of Oxygen and Nitrogen so we can breathe. The Mars atmosphere has about 3% to 4% inert gas so it will take some time to replace the CO2 with the proper air mixture. This Unit requires 4 components to operate. A Valve, Scrubber Unit, Lithium Hydroxide Filter assembly and a Compressor. These components can be found in the garage area at the start.
When you activate the unit, the first thing it does is start to pressurize the base and extract inert gasses from the atmosphere. After a certain pressure is achieved, the Scrubber/Mixer starts to replace the atmosphere inside the base. If you run the machine with no oxygen you will burn up the filters so beware to have a good supply of oxygen in the tank before you start.

Sabatier Generator
This unit will supply oxygen and methane to operate Fuel Cells in the rovers. It works by using pressurized hydrogen with a catalyst and CO2 from the atmosphere to create the methane. The oxygen is a byproduct of the reaction after passing through a secondary stage. This unit requires 4 components to run. Valve, Catalyst, Sabatier Unit and a Compressor. All the components can be found out in the Garage area when the game starts.

RSG:
There are 4 RSG (Radioisotope Stirling Generators) units. Each unit has a Heating Unit and a Linear Generator that must be installed before the unit will operate. Each unit supplies power to a battery. The base systems, lights, heaters etc are driven from these batteries. The RSG simply charges the battery. If you use more power from the battery than the RSG is supplying then you have to set the RSG power output up a bit. Setting the power output to maximum is a BAD thing. It will burn up the generator and more importantly the Heating Unit. The Heating Unit is made with radioactive material and when overheated may cause a radiation leak. Only set the power to the lowest value you need. Over 50% you take a chance of causing disaster.

Support Module
This module is located on the eastern side of the Main Hub. It has a Medical area, food storage (and food prep in later phases) and a bathroom area. You will need to bring the food and medical packs in from the garage area and store them in the proper areas.

Base Power Systems Phase 2


This equipment is supplied during phase 2 of the mission. The construction crew has added a Power Hub and 2 connecor modules to store the new equipment.
Heaters:
The heaters get power from the battery rack located nearby. The heater requires a coil assembly to operate as well as power. Install the coil assembly and turn the power on. When starting up for the first time, set the temperature to just above freezing (0 c) to get the base stabilized. The base wont get any warmer any faster if you set the thermostat to max. If you do set the thermostat to maximum you stand a chance of burning up the coil assembly and or running the battery to zero power which will shut down other vital systems.

Power Distribution
The power distribution panel will allow you to set up or change which battery the Photo Voltaic array will charge as well as which battery the RSG will charge. Power Zones:
RSG 1 > Battery 1 = life support, main hub, kitchen
RSG 2 > Battery 2 = Power module, heater 1 and comm module
RSG 3 > Battery 3 = Farm, bio and heater 2
RSG 4 > Battery 4 = Geology modules
PV array can be switched to any battery at the Power Control Station


Communications Phase 3


Phase 3 of the mission supplies you with a Communications Hub and 2 more support modules.
Radio Towers:
Each zone will have 3 radio mini towers. They provide communication from the main colony to all the outposts. Signals received from the input tower come from the main colony and get relayed to our base. The tower at the base pulls any messages out that would be intended for us then sends messages to the output tower and other outposts. Each tower requires a transmitter unit and a power system. After you install both objects be sure to tune the transmitter to the proper frequency. Once the transmitter is powered up and tuned our base can start receiving messages.
The messages we get will be information on some event or may be directives for a task to complete. You will get a chat message to let you know that there is a system message waiting at the communication console.

Portable Transmitters:
These units are supplied to help users working out in remote areas. You may be working far from the base behind a hill and your communications link may fail. Set up one of these portable units so it can see the base and your work area. This transmitter acts as a relay point for data and messages from your location to the base and back.

Satellite:
The Satellite Communications Dish (MSat) is a way to communicate with the satellites in orbit around the planet. These birds will relay messages from Earth, Huston Control center. The orbiting satellites have mapping information as well as some weather events, radiation events and provide a backup for base to base communicaiton.

Farm Phase 4


The Farm modules come in Phase 4 of the mission. There are 2 Greenhouses, a Hub and a Farm Power Module. Each of the Greenhouses has 6 planters. You must maintain the water and fertilizer levels in the planters when growing food. Keep the water and fertilizer levels between 0.25 and 0.75 for proper plant growth. There are 2 water cans in the Farm Hub which you can use to get water from the tank in the Kitchen area. The fertilizer storage bin is located in the Farm Hub. Take seeds from the seed storage bin and plant 3 seedlings in each of the planters.
When the plants are mature enough, pull them up and take them to the Plant Processing Device located in the Farm Hub. This processor will strip the seeds and stems from the plant and return raw plant material to you. Take this raw plant material to the Freezer in the Kitchen area and store it for later use.
The Farm Power Module has a battery to store energy generated by RSG - C located in the courtyard outside. This module also has the Farm Heater system to help you maintain temperatures above freezing. Make sure you check the temperature often because freezing temperatures will kill your plants.

Compost Unit - This unit takes plant and fish waste, chemical and human waste and will create organic material for fertilizer over time. The ratio for mixing is 1 part plant material 0.25 waste matter and 0.125 chemical matter to create one unit of organic fertilizer.

Seedling Storage - Mature plants will produce seed. The seeds are sprouted in this unit. Older plants produce more seed than younger plants and you will want to let some of the plants get older so you can produce more seed than you are using.

Fertilizer Unit - Plants can sometime require different types of chemical fertilizer. This unit will store 4 different types. Types can be made from the composter or from the chemistry station from phase 5 and 6. Minerals harvested from phase 6 can be broken down into Phosphates, Nitrates and Potassium and stored in this unit.

Biology - Phase 5


The Biology supplies organic material for food, medicine and plastics. It is crucial to maintain the proper temperature in this area. This phase supplies 2 biologic greenhouse units and a hub for processing the materials. You will need lots of water for this phase so be sure you have your water tank full. Power for this phase is supplied by battery 3 from the previous phase. Be sure to watch the power generation for this and the farm unit. Any failure here will result in a failed mission. The heating unit for phase 4 will supply heat for the farm and biology phases. Keep these areas above freezing. A temperature of 20 to 25 C will help promote growth.
Fish Tanks
There are 2 fish tanks to allow 3 kinds of fish and one section of frogs. You have to set up the tanks with the proper fish types and maintain the temperature and food levels in the tank. Supplies are located in the Biology Hub. When the fish and frogs are fully grown you can process them in the biology hub to get more eggs, material for fertilizer and food.

Worm Beds
Worms will be essential for the colony as they will supply food for the inhabitants and food for the fish. Start the beds off, water them and let them grow. Remember the more dense the worm colony the faster they will produce so dont harvest them right away.

Algae Tanks
Algae can supply food, medicine and some plastic materials the base will need. Add water to the tanks, nutrients for growth and select which type of algae you think you might need. There is a algae supply cabinet next to the tanks so pick wisely.

Geology - Phase 6


Portable Soil Sampler:
This unit is a portable soil testing device. Go out into an area of interest and take a ground sample using the [G] key. With the Plibs device in your hand, right click on the ground sample in your inventory. You will get a reading of some mineral. Travel some direction about 25 or so meters and take another sample. If the values of the second sample are greater than the first then you are heading toward a deposit of material. When you move and sample and the value goes down then you can assume there is some mineral deposit nearby. This would be a good area to start the GPR testing.

GPR:
This unit is a seismic transmitter / receiver system. It will fire a seismic wave into the ground. If the wave hits an object of varying density it will reflect that wave back to the device. The GPR unit will calculate the direction and depth from it's current position and mark the echo with a red dot on your map. The objects below ground have a size. In order to determine the shape and size of this unknown object you will have to take another GPR reading at some distance on the other side of this first echo.

1. You are the yellow dot. You have fired the GPR and exposed underground echoes (in red)
2.  Move to the opposite side of the ground echo and fire another GPR shot.
3.  Now you see two ground echoes. That gives you an idea of how wide the object under the ground is.
4. Move to a 90 degree angle from the two ground echoes and fire a third shot.
5. Now that you have 3 echoes you can be sure of the object size. Use the drill and punch a hole in the middle of the three ground echoes and you will strike the object.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Core Sampler:
This device will be used to drill down to an unknown deposit and take a sample. Once you have a sample you will know the depth below ground and if you take this sample to the LIBS (Laser Induced Breakdown Spectrometer) at the main base and test it, you will know exactly what primary and secondary minerals you have found. You should use this information to determine if this mineral will be something you can use in the colony. If you decide that the material is something you will need, the next step will be to set up the Mining Auger and extract the minerals.

Mining Auger:
After you determine where the deposit of mineral is and the depth, bring the Auger out to the site and set up mining operations. Set the Auger depth to what you determined using the Core Sampler and begin mining operations. The Auger will shut down when the storage box reaches 10 pounds of material. Bring the portable mineral transport boxes out to the site and empty the Auger storage bin. Be sure to restart the machine before you leave. This material can now be taken to the Geology Labs at the main base and processed into useful material for the colony.

Ore Processor:

Ore Store:

Fabrication

Base Completion - Phase 7

The final phase of the mission is to make sure the colony is self sufficient. The farm and biology labs have to produce more than they consume. The geology of the area can produce enough raw materials to build parts that may fail.