okay guys I've been hearing a lot about that word "supplies" recently and decided to math some math, and realized that food wont be a problem. as long as our guy is okay with potatoes for six years straight. specifically, he's going to be eating a mix of sweet potatoes (those nasty orange ones), white potatoes (normal), and soybeans. growing food - a room measuring roughly 10 ft x 10 ft with an 8 ft ceiling (3m x 3m x 2.5m) is entirely sufficient to keep a single crewman alive indefinitely. also, these plants recycle air, allowing for minimal life support systems. (he's gonna have to be careful how much food he digs up at a time) but these plants (who are tended to by an AI farmer dude named Timothy) are kept alive by a delicate system, and this system is, I already said it, delicate, and plants are unpredictable. so, sometimes, a tiny potato will cause the tiniest harm to the system, and that part needs to get replaced ASAP. introducing: the Asteroid-Supply-Point 1.0. featuring a fully automated system, it can be contacted by any ship in need of supplies (including replacement parts). it will dispatch a small rocket containing the request, and take only Requisition Points as payment (transmitted digitally). it is restocked every year or so by other ASPs, which are in turn restocked by others, which are restocked by colonies and orbital manufacturing plants. it's a small facility, with a completely robotic crew (maintenance ships can be dispatched as needed, in case the robotic crew is not up to the task), removing the moral dilemma. the only location requirements are a small-medium asteroid or meteorite (minimum 3 cubic kilometers) in a stable orbit, another ASP within maximum 1 light-year away, and an absence of hostile inhabitants. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- so... what do you guys think? (this is just flavor for the game, not necessarily going to be important)