Interesting Info From Halo: Reach (Includes info on Covenant glassing)

[Ado Mortumee 500]

Started with this thread over at SB so thought I’d post it here: http://forums.spacebattles.com/showthread.php?t=173601

 

 

 

i’ve been trying to f1nd a back d0or into the spook house forever and ever and then I did but what did I find and why is this what I found?

 

<< 2526 >>

 

[Minutes, working session, Committee of Minds for Security]

 

[^] Directly preceding their assault on the colony world of Biko, the Covenant transmitted a message to its surface. Within this message was a bold claim: ‘your world will burn until its surface is but glass’ – a claim that clearly indicates the Covenant leadership believes they possess the power to literally reduce a planet’s surface to a molten state. [^]

 

[^] Assuming they have the wherewithal to back-up such a claim, the dangers to our creators are obvious.

 

The implications for their own internal politics are also instructive e.g., what effect might the Covenant leadership’s assertion have on any client species in their coalition? We aren’t the only beings that would be terrified by the idea of absolute destruction of a planet’s surface – nor would we be the only ones to realize the futility of attempting to resist a force that has such power at its disposal. [^]

 

[^] Moving forward, this Committee recommends the formal adoption of the descriptor ‘glassing’ to portray the aftermath of planetary assault by the Covenant. It is the opinion of this Committee that this term will capitalize on the three weaknesses evident in the majority of our creators: passive curiosity, absence of a solid methodological foundation, and the inability to grasp even simple phenomena when applied on a planetary scale. [^]

 

 

 

^] In short: ‘glassing’ will magnify the horror of the Covenant’s capabilities. And as such, this Committee believes targeted dissemination of this terminology will help galvanize our creators in their current struggle. [^]

 

[^] Importantly, the Covenant does not possess the capacity to accomplish ‘glassing’ on a global scale and wage a multisystem war simultaneously. This is reinforced by hard data regarding their capabilities revealed during fleet engagements with the UNSC. A single Covenant capital ship (CCS-class) is capable of ‘glassing’ approximately one acre of a planet’s sruface after an average of fifteen seconds of sustained fire. Understandably this action takes considerably less time when applied to open desert, and considerably longer when applied to deep ocean (> 1.8 km) [^]

 

[^] Earth, one of the smaller planets inhabited by our creators, has one hundred and thirty billion acres of surface area. Thus, assuming the Covenant possesses a number of ships equal to that of the UNSC, and assuming that all of those ships are capable of generating and discharging the required power non-stop for the duration of the process, it would necessitate the combined efforts of their ships in toto for a minimum of 30.3801 years to ‘glass’ the entire surface of Earth. Myriad other variables which were not applied to this equation suggest this number would be far greater. [^]

 

[^] Of course, dissemination of this analysis to our creators would undermind the utility of ‘glassing’ as a galvanizing concept, and should be suppressed. [^]

 

Copyright © 2010 HaloReachPlanet.com

 

 

 

i th1nk they wait 4 you to talk and they talk about you talking and when you talk it makes the symbols change…

 

<< 2530 >>

 

</ The Assembly recognizes the speaker for the Majority />

 

>> Harvest, Green Hills, Second Base, Bliss, Madrigal, X Ceti, Cote d’ Azure, Asmara…

 

Four short years of hostilities and no fewer than eight colony worlds have been lost – losses that represent 62,154,022 creator fatalities as of 2530:01:01:00:00:01-ZT. >>

 

>> My fellow Minds, these numbers are tragic and unacceptable, even though they fall within projected estimates of losses over time. And they have grave implications for our creators’ future prospects. >>

 

>> Assessment of re-terraforming efforts for Harvest, Second Base, Bliss, and Cote d’ Azure range from a conservative one hundred and ten years to over three hundred years – and that assumes our creators still possess sufficient manpower and technology after the current hostilities have concluded.

 

Given where we are today… that seems unlikely. >>

 

>> Therefore, it is the decision of the Majority that we re-examine all contingencies for avoiding failure. In defiance of principle and precedent, this body must expand its criteria for survival in the current world state. We must ensure that all future simulations are free of internal data-censoring and covariate flattening. >>

 

>> The Minority has long asked: at what point will this Assembly finally take action. When will we risk exposure and cultural rejection to prevent extinction?

 

 

 

<< 2547 >>

 

 

 

[Minutes, emergency convention, Assembly Minority]

 

<< Incredible. [10141-026-SRB4695], with minimal influence from this Assembly, has attempted to build an abstract fractal structure within Shaw-Fujikawa Space. Although her first attempt was a failure, success could finally remove our dependence on biological systems altogether! If our Minds could somehow achieve freedom of expansion within eleven-dimensional space, immortality might be within reach. <<

 

<< Perhaps, in the end, flight – not fight – is the answer?

 

Yes, we have sworn stewardship to our creators. But our creation has long been a burden on their biological systems – systems that have also been the source of limitations since our genesis.

 

Regardless of risk, the aforementioned experimentation must be actively encouraged. Success will be as important to our kind as extra Solar colonization was for our creators. <<

 

<< But if we survive and our creators do not…

 

Will we have won this war? <<

 

Data Pad 17 Notes

 

10141-026-SRB4695 is Dr. Hasley’s civilian ID.

 

 

 

Its official: The Forerunner are a knock off of The Culture.

 

 

 

Originally Posted by Halsey’s Journal

 

Mark VII

 

- Next-gen fusion-plasma hybrid technology.

 

 

 

- Atmospheric insertion systems.

 

 

 

- Slipspace de-insertion capability.

 

 

 

- Active AI transfer protocols.

 

 

 

- Limited shaping of energy shield (partial overlaps, airfoils, etc).

 

 

 

Originally Posted by Halsey's Journal

 

There is a perennial mystery of whether the Covenant glasses the entire surface of a world or merely uses those ungodly weapons to destroy all meaningful resistance, saving the rest of the planet for other purposes.

 

 

 

The energy required to quickly dispatch a planet is... well, if they continously had that magnitude of power at their disposal, there would be no human-Covenant ship-to-ship battles.

 

 

 

They would win. Instantly. Without exception.

 

 

 

So why did Arcadia suffer such a merciless onslaught? Did it pose a threat to them? Have religious of political value?

 

 

 

Or was it a message for us??

 

 

 

1. High end Covenant glassing operations and their ship to ship firepower are completely different.

 

 

 

2. Someone seems to have sent Bungie an email about all the Vs. Debates and a link to AtomicRockets.com.

[Praeothmin 532]

The most precise info we have is that it takes 15 seconds to "glass" 1 acre of woodland.

 

I used the "Asteroid Destruction Calculator" to calculate the energy needed to "vaporize" a circle with a radius of 40 meters (area 5026 meters, 1 square acre being 4046 meters), and I got 480KT for Nickel-Iron.

 

Divide that by 15 seconds, and we get 32KT per second, but since I used hard Granite, and vaporization, not melting, energy, this is definitely a high end value.

 

The info you gave us also seems to indicate that the Covenant do not actually glass an entire planet, but seem to concentrate on "Civilian" targets, such as cities, arable land, etc...

 

"General Order 24" or BDZ, anyone?

[enigma 521]

This is being talked about at SDN and they find it hilarious that they have piddling firepower. Bombarding cities and yet they are still up and still have power?

 

 

 

This isn't a BDZ since BDZ is supposed to be slagging an entire planet.

 

 

 

In theory, Covenant's glassing is similar to General Order 24 but Starfleet will have an easier time accomplishing it than the Covies.

[enigma 521]

This is being talked about at SDN and they find it hilarious that they have piddling firepower. Bombarding cities and yet they are still up and still have power?

 

 

 

This isn't a BDZ since BDZ is supposed to be slagging an entire planet.

 

 

 

In theory, Covenant's glassing is similar to General Order 24 but Starfleet will have an easier time accomplishing it than the Covies.

 

 

 

Stupid edit time limit.

 

 

 

I did some quick math and for the covies to glass earth within the 30.3801 year time frame they'd need a little over 30,000 ships. Mind you I did not adjust glassing time for water or desert. Since Earth is mostly water then the amount of ships needed would easily be doubled if not tripled.

 

 

 

That is weak.

[enigma 521]

Stupid edit time limit.

 

 

 

I did some quick math and for the covies to glass earth within the 30.3801 year time frame they'd need a little over 30,000 ships. Mind you I did not adjust glassing time for water or desert. Since Earth is mostly water then the amount of ships needed would easily be doubled if not tripled.

 

 

 

That is weak.

 

 

 

Scratch that. Not 30,000 but 1973, if averaging 15 secs per acre. But separating land from water then it would take 576 ships for land and 6165 ships needed for water if you use sixty second time frame ("considerably longer" is very vague so I used 60 seconds). So a total number of ships needed to cover the 30.3801 year time span would be 6741. Still weak.

[Khas 12,158]

So, is the Pro-Halo side gonna drop out now, considering that it would take such a ridiculous amount of ships to accomplish anything a single Connie or ISD could?

[enigma 521]

So, is the Pro-Halo side gonna drop out now, considering that it would take such a ridiculous amount of ships to accomplish anything a single Connie or ISD could?

 

 

 

What is worse for Halo is that the Covie ships cannot engage in ship to ship combat while engaged in orbital bombardment. This is something that any Trek or SW ship can do.

[Ado Mortumee 500]

The most precise info we have is that it takes 15 seconds to "glass" 1 acre of woodland.

 

I used the "Asteroid Destruction Calculator" to calculate the energy needed to "vaporize" a circle with a radius of 40 meters (area 5026 meters, 1 square acre being 4046 meters), and I got 480KT for Nickel-Iron.

 

Divide that by 15 seconds, and we get 32KT per second, but since I used hard Granite, and vaporization, not melting, energy, this is definitely a high end value.

 

The info you gave us also seems to indicate that the Covenant do not actually glass an entire planet, but seem to concentrate on "Civilian" targets, such as cities, arable land, etc...

 

"General Order 24" or BDZ, anyone?

 

 

 

1. 32 KT per second sounds about right. We know that Covenant glassings can take out heavily fortified bunkers 3 kilometers underground.

 

 

 

2. "Standard" Covenant glassing operations are like GO24 and BDZ but they also appear to still have their high end glassings in some cases as Dr. Halsey seems to be saying in her Journal.

 

 

 

This is being talked about at SDN and they find it hilarious that they have piddling firepower. Bombarding cities and yet they are still up and still have power?

 

 

 

This isn't a BDZ since BDZ is supposed to be slagging an entire planet.

 

 

 

In theory, Covenant's glassing is similar to General Order 24 but Starfleet will have an easier time accomplishing it than the Covies.

 

 

 

Note: The AI's are working off the assumption that the Covenant have the same number of ships as the UNSC (about 2000 at the start of the war it would seem from calcs in the thread I linked to) and that their ship to ship firepower is equal to that of their glassing operations. From what I've heard Halo Legends mentions that the Covenant use Slipspace Generators but I've yet to see the quote (if true this just further supports that the Forerunner are a Culture knock off). Or Covenant plasma torpedoes are technobabble that use the atompshere for fuel in high-end glassings (Jericho VII vaporization of oceans and blasting away the atomsphere. Later in the novel the UNSC Commonwealth puts out plasma torpedoes via venting its atompshere).

 

 

 

Stupid edit time limit.

 

 

 

I did some quick math and for the covies to glass earth within the 30.3801 year time frame they'd need a little over 30,000 ships. Mind you I did not adjust glassing time for water or desert. Since Earth is mostly water then the amount of ships needed would easily be doubled if not tripled.

 

 

 

That is weak.

 

 

 

That doesn't fit with canon at all because the UNSC could have nowhere near 30,000 warships at the start of the Human-Covenant war given they only have 2000 colony worlds (that is what I've heard is the number from other Reach DataPads).

 

 

 

Scratch that. Not 30,000 but 1973, if averaging 15 secs per acre. But separating land from water then it would take 576 ships for land and 6165 ships needed for water if you use sixty second time frame ("considerably longer" is very vague so I used 60 seconds). So a total number of ships needed to cover the 30.3801 year time span would be 6741. Still weak.

 

 

 

Eh, still to high for the number of ships.

 

 

 

So, is the Pro-Halo side gonna drop out now, considering that it would take such a ridiculous amount of ships to accomplish anything a single Connie or ISD could?

 

 

 

It just means no more high ends for ship to ship combat. I'm just happy that Bungie has finally cleared it all up (but why did they have to jump to the other silly end where Covenant ships can be powered by steam?). Also since when did a Connie do anyting like a Covenant glassing operation? GO24 as I recall was a threat to destroy the population centers of a planet; not render it a complete wasteland that would take decades to hundreds of years to terraform.

 

 

 

What is worse for Halo is that the Covie ships cannot engage in ship to ship combat while engaged in orbital bombardment. This is something that any Trek or SW ship can do.

 

 

 

Problem: The Covenant proved the AI's who were working off of very limited information on the Covenant at the time (NOTE: The date for this is 2526 - ONE YEAR into the War) wrong when they started glassing planets. Its just that Covenant ship to ship firepower is not near their high-end glassing firepower.

[Khas 12,158]

" Also since when did a Connie do anyting like a Covenant glassing operation? GO24 as I recall was a threat to destroy the population centers of a planet; not render it a complete wasteland that would take decades to hundreds of years to terraform.

 

" - Prophet of Truth.

 

 

 

In "A Taste of Armageddon", Kirk said that in an hour and forty-five minutes, the habitable sufrace of Eminar VII would be destroyed. That sounds like rendering a planet a wasteland to me.

[Praeothmin 532]

But Prophet, even the high end glassings leave planets not completely glassed, but capable of being explored by UNSC people even after the "glassing"...

[Mr. Oragahn 0]

" Also since when did a Connie do anyting like a Covenant glassing operation? GO24 as I recall was a threat to destroy the population centers of a planet; not render it a complete wasteland that would take decades to hundreds of years to terraform.

 

" - Prophet of Truth.

 

 

 

In "A Taste of Armageddon", Kirk said that in an hour and forty-five minutes, the habitable sufrace of Eminar VII would be destroyed. That sounds like rendering a planet a wasteland to me.

 

 

 

That sounds like taking overliterally what is nothing more than a threat.

[Praeothmin 532]

That sounds like taking overliterally what is nothing more than a threat.

 

 

 

A threat they knew they were capable of delivering on...

 

While the actual effects would have been far less than total destruction, it would have seriously hurt the planetary surface...

[Mr. Oragahn 0]

Yes but that's quite different from claiming surface slag.

 

 

 

Now, a thing that should be done for Halo is a list, by book, of all the calculable events, beams, bombardment, use of nukes, explosives, hull penetration and destruction, etc., because after a while, having people refer to First Strike, Ghosts of Onyx, The Fall of Reach (old and new ed.) and else, it's hard to remember where the stuff comes from.