 What the heck is the Drone Sensor really?, How do they work? A description please |
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 Nov 29 2007, 07:48 AM
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#51
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Target  Group: Members Posts: 55 Joined: 1-September 07 Member No.: 13,032  |
In a similar way to capacity for drones.. I wish the same would be said for eyewear.... Cant tell you how it bugs me when players want contact lenses with every visual upgrade at the same cost as similarly tweaked big bulky goggles.
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Nov 29 2007, 03:03 PM
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#52
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ghostrider Group: Retired Admins Posts: 4,196 Joined: 16-May 04 Member No.: 6,333 |
You're telling me. I lose brain cells every time I have to look up or mention that the same visual mods that cost capacity when installed in a cybereye take up no room when you install them in a pair of contacts. Ouch. There went a couple more. |
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Nov 29 2007, 03:20 PM
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#53
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,925 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 948 |
For some reasons Im inclined to suggest that my GM remove contact lenses from the game, miniature technology might be good but compared to the other improvements like glasses and such it gets damn silly.
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Nov 29 2007, 03:31 PM
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#54
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The Dragon Never Sleeps Group: Admin Posts: 6,924 Joined: 1-September 05 Member No.: 7,667 |
In principle whenever there is a way for players to buy gear or take character creation options that technically might allow you to upgrade or get freebies I as a GM just say no.
I don't expect the rule book to cover every single contingency and option in excruciating detail. At the end of the day I'm simply going to tell a player to roll 3 dice for the sensor test because the drone has rating 3 sensor equipment. It'll use whatever technology it needs to work. |
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Nov 29 2007, 03:40 PM
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#55
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Bushido Cowgirl Group: Members Posts: 5,782 Joined: 8-July 05 From: On the Double K Ranch a half day's ride out of Phlogiston Flats Member No.: 7,490 |
...for contacts, I usually add the availability of enhancements to that of the contacts and limit the total to the Chargen availability cap. Same with glasses and the monocle. Goggles and helmet visors are much more robust and therefore should be able to accept a wide array of enhancements. What they really needed to do is designate a capacity rating for visual and audio gear as they did with Cybereyes & ears and use the same ratings for the various improvements. |
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Nov 29 2007, 03:44 PM
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#56
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 3,009 Joined: 25-September 06 From: Paris, France Member No.: 9,466 |
Isn't it how it's supposed to be done ? |
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Nov 29 2007, 04:10 PM
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#57
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 194 Joined: 30-October 07 From: Sadly, NE Member No.: 13,962 |
The first and last idea there seem to conflict. Do I simply roll Sensor in order to detect radio signals, without purchasing the Radio Signal Scanner? If I do have to purchase a Radio Signal Scanner, don't I also have to purchase a Camera and Microphone and fit them in my sensor package, as the FAQ suggests? If my drone only has a sensor package capacity of 1, does that mean I have to choose between a Camera and a Radio Signal Scanner? If I do, and I pick the latter, how does my drone even navigate? Just some questions to stir dialog. |
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Nov 29 2007, 04:24 PM
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#58
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The Dragon Never Sleeps Group: Admin Posts: 6,924 Joined: 1-September 05 Member No.: 7,667 |
The sensor capabilities can always be defined as the plot needs. You can start with them undefined and they become defined when you use it or when it really matters. Or you can define it to begin with, and be stuck with that. So if the sensor exact attributes aren't defined to begin with,a nd it matters at some point during the game, well define them then, and that's what that particular drone sensors work as from that point on. If you want to know when buying the drone how the sensor works, then buy it that way, and from that point on it uses that particular attribute for sensors. Both ways work for me. Neither is wrong as far as I'm concerned. |
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Nov 29 2007, 04:40 PM
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#59
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Genuine Artificial Intelligence Group: Members Posts: 4,019 Joined: 12-June 03 Member No.: 4,715 |
Almost. That's exactly how it's done during character creation. The problem is after character creation they can theoretically get their hands on an arbitrarily high availability. The bigger problem is that with a permit (or sometimes no permit, depending on the configuration) they can get these contact lenses with no regard for availability whatsoever, because availability does not apply to legal purchases. Putting an absolute hard-cap on the availability of contacts post-chargen is the same fix that I use as well. You can use the same rule with goggles if you want, but since goggles have a base availability lower than contacts, they can naturally fit more toys. |
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Nov 29 2007, 11:58 PM
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#60
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 7,089 Joined: 4-October 05 Member No.: 7,813 |
for an unmodified drone, i personally just assume the drone has some form of unidentified general purpose sensor that has the function of indicating the relative location of stuff, movement speed, etc. it is presumably visual-based in some way, since it doesn't bypass invisibility, and if i had to make something up i'd probably go with a laser beam that sweeps around the area like radar or something like that, mapping out where stuff is.
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Nov 30 2007, 02:00 AM
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#61
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 916 Joined: 26-August 05 From: The land between the north , the south and the midwest. Member No.: 7,626 |
If you check the listing for "camera" on p.325 it indicates that cameras capture still photos, video, or trideo and sound. So a basic camera is more than enough to operate a drone. |
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Nov 30 2007, 03:09 AM
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#62
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 194 Joined: 30-October 07 From: Sadly, NE Member No.: 13,962 |
Granted that eliminates the need for a microphone, but that wasn't the nature of my question. In fact, it then becomes, can a drone operate without using one of its sensor package capacity for a "Camera"? |
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Nov 30 2007, 02:45 PM
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#63
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 916 Joined: 26-August 05 From: The land between the north , the south and the midwest. Member No.: 7,626 |
Sure.....if you want it to operate in "bump'n go" fashion.
Tiny drones only have basic sensors. Something the size of an RC car can afford the 1 space of a camera, especially after you load the camera with smartlink, flare comp, lowlight, thermo, magnification and vision enhancement (or a suitable mix thereof up to your availability limit). Then you can use the other slots for one or more "exotic" sensors like ultrasound, MAD or laser mics. Big drones (atv sized) can afford to be loaded with just about every sensor under the sun. |
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Nov 30 2007, 04:57 PM
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#64
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 398 Joined: 16-August 06 Member No.: 9,130 |
Unfortunately this advice isn't of much help to those of us that are looking for a standardized homogeneous system to incorporate into our games, based upon the rules we currently have. I think I agree the most with Redjack's solution, even though it admittedly isn't the best solution. The best solution is most hopefully going to be seen in an errata or Arsenal when there is a clarification. |
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