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Dumpshock Forums _ Shadowrun _ Turning vehicles into independent drones
Posted by: Sinboy666 Jul 4 2011, 09:28 PM
Greetings
So really for the first time my group has someone playing a rigger, don't ask me how it took so long, we just never really got into it before. We spend most of our time with the simple shooting and LOTS of magic. Oh well.
But since he decided to play a rigger, I've been looking over the rules for a character I'm thinking of making for a later campaign.
My concept is a street samurai, mostly straight forward. I was wondering however, if I get the Horizon Revolution and up the pilot rating and give it fuzzy logic (Arsenal pg134), could I in theory make a call to my bike from one place and have ti drive itself to me?
Posted by: Teulisch Jul 4 2011, 10:04 PM
first of all, its its a bike then it needs an extra mod. he motorcycle gyro stabilization is in arsenal on page 138/140, which also improves the handling. without that, a bike is missing a key component for balance when there is no pilot. your usually better off making a car or van into a drone rather than a bike.
any vehicle can be a drone. first you add in rigger adaptation. then you want to look at upgrading the response (usually a 3 by default) and the pilot rating. that will give you a drone that can follow orders. adding fuzzy logic would give it very limited AI allowing the pilot program to think outside the box a little when trying to follow your orders. you dont need fuzzy logic for it to drive to you, but you do need the rigger adaptation and gyro stabilizer, as well as mutual signal range.
you want to pay attention to signal range, and make certain that your drone has firewall 6, a good analyze program, and ECCM. your commlink will also need ECCM, as well as a good command program (command+skill to give orders remotely). encryption is probably a good idea as well.
Posted by: Aerospider Jul 4 2011, 11:21 PM
any vehicle can be a drone. first you add in rigger adaptation. then you want to look at upgrading the response (usually a 3 by default) and the pilot rating. that will give you a drone that can follow orders. adding fuzzy logic would give it very limited AI allowing the pilot program to think outside the box a little when trying to follow your orders. you dont need fuzzy logic for it to drive to you, but you do need the rigger adaptation and gyro stabilizer, as well as mutual signal range.
you want to pay attention to signal range, and make certain that your drone has firewall 6, a good analyze program, and ECCM. your commlink will also need ECCM, as well as a good command program (command+skill to give orders remotely). encryption is probably a good idea as well.
Rigger adaptation is for jumping in and nothing else. Calling one's car to pick one up from the pub is something most of the population is now quite comfortable with, what with grid guide and all.
Signal range is not necessary if you can route through other devices, which in a metropolitan area is usually a given.
The command program is not used in conjunction with the drone's pilot, it's either/or. You can control the vehicle yourself using command or you can send the pilot some orders which might be little more than a GPS coordinate.
Posted by: KarmaInferno Jul 5 2011, 02:28 AM
Yeah, most stock vehicles are capable of driving by themselves to locations in SR. They just don't handle combat or other surprises well. As mentioned motorcycles need gyro-stabilization to not fall over, but other than that "Come to my location" should work just fine with any vehicle.
Really, the only difference between a drone and a vehicle is the Rigger Adaption mod.
-k
Posted by: CanRay Jul 5 2011, 02:42 AM
*Taps my 1980s Calculator Wristwatch* "KITT, come and pick me up."
Posted by: Yerameyahu Jul 5 2011, 03:55 AM
I feel like Rigger Adaptation has almost nothing to do with 'being a drone'. A drone commonly means 'a no-passenger vehicle', since it's a given that all vehicles have autopilot. This is the sense that the rules use.
Technically, even that definition is too narrow for 'real world' use, because literally all vehicles (with autopilot, as a given) are drones. 
They accept commands and carry out orders. That's a drone.
Rigger Adaptation is just for Jumping-In, which is independent of the passenger/no-passenger aspect.
Posted by: redwulf25 Jul 5 2011, 04:06 AM
Thought so. I double checked and that's standard on both Monocycles in Arsenal, so they don't need to add it.
Posted by: Modular Man Jul 5 2011, 01:33 PM
Yup, true.
So, technically, you are already able to call the bike in your case to your location.
One can still upgrade vehicles and their pilots so they become more capable, that's all.
Posted by: DamienKnight Jul 5 2011, 06:56 PM
As a GM I caution players against sending vehicles with a Pilot rating 1 out on their own. It represents the lowest possible level of piloting intelligence... if someone double-parks, they may decide its impossible to pass.. while a rating 2 or 3 pilot would check for oncoming traffic then pull around the vehicle.
Also, vehicles with low pilot ratings wont break laws... a Pilot of 1 wont speed on its own, or run a stop light, etc, And might also have trouble driving down narrow alleyways, or navigating anywhere off the Grid. (dont send it offroad at all!).
Posted by: Yerameyahu Jul 5 2011, 07:59 PM
Pilot 1 should still be enough for no-test tasks, which is anything typical.
There's no reason lawbreaking would be affected either way; that depends on the user's commands and settings.
Posted by: CanRay Jul 5 2011, 11:21 PM
Posted by: redwulf25 Jul 5 2011, 11:24 PM
If you program your own on the other hand . . .
Posted by: Yerameyahu Jul 5 2011, 11:26 PM
That's 'commands and settings'.
Posted by: CanRay Jul 5 2011, 11:30 PM
It's a surprisingly large and tight-knit community, actually.
Posted by: Udoshi Jul 6 2011, 12:17 AM
SR4 doesn't make a distinction between drones and vehicles. They all use the same rules, but drones stop getting bigger around body 4, while vehicles keep going up.
Actually, being a drone is superior: They come with rigger adapation for free and no slots.
Making a vehicle able to act on its own is a question of 'how good is its Pilot and Autosofts'. Sensors, too, because its used for some tests.
The rules mention a few relevant things for what you want to do.
Pilots, as VR entities, get the -1 threshold reduction for simming.
For a motorcycle to drive itself, it NEEDS a motorcycle gyro to stay upright.
in terms of autosofts, you want Maneuver(for driving) and Clearsight(for perception, so it doesn't hit anything). If you plan on taking it into remotely dangerous places, then get Defense. You may also want the one from unwired that lets it shadow people.
Fuzzy Logic is fantastic. Cheap dice is cheap dice. I do think it is Restricted, though.
in terms of Sensors, at the very least, upgrade your Cameras with Vision Enhancement 3(metahuman signature -3 is a bitch), and consider Camera 6, because they are very cheap.
Posted by: Modular Man Jul 6 2011, 12:19 AM
Mess with the car's internal speed check and put a custom script over it that re-adjusts it to normal speeds. Then, in an emergency case, switch that script off. 
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