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The Jopp
Is it just me or do you get shafted when you get the Entertainment Systems Falcon.

Its a designed drone to be a disguised pet. It walks, flies, poops and acts like a bird. So why isn't those modifications in their description as standard equipment.

This is a small flying drone with Improved Takeoff/Landing 2 - for 60K

The closest equivalent is the Lockheed Optic X vector thrust drone for 1700Y

So..58K for a nondescript bonus.

Suggests the following:
Mimic 3 (15K)
Grapple Arms 2: Bird Claws (2K)
Grapple Arm 1: Beak (1K)

If we assume that a basic flying drone is 2K then we have a cost of 18K for the modifications and another 40K for the ability to fly like a bird with flapping wings and behave like a bird (ruffle its feathers etc).
Karoline
This is, to invent a new term, a 'fluff tag'. Basically it has a large price tag due to entirely fluff reasons. This is kind of like buying a purebred dog of some kind. It gains no actual mechanical benefit, but could cost tens of thousands of nuyen. Similarly in this case you have a huge 'fluff tag' in that it flies like a bird instead of like a drone (Which admittedly could have big benefits in scouting a place as people would think it is an actual bird and not a spy drone if they saw it), that it has feathers which preen and ruffle realistically, that it has an advanced program to make it act just like a real (trained) bird. Perhaps it even has the proper chemicals and whatnot to turn that food that you give it into energy so you don't break the illusion by having to plug it into the wall outlet every couple of hours.

Totally copywriting that... fluff tag.
The Jopp
QUOTE (Karoline @ Jan 27 2010, 02:04 PM) *
Totally copywriting that... fluff tag.


Sorry, i don't buy that.

In that case they could add "fluff" to most drones and just say that one is "exceptional with jammers and EW" or "Have a large storage space for HK drones" instead of giving detailed information about what equipment it has.

It also gives a detailed game mechanic in regards to what the drone is in fact capable off. the cost example is not the issue, it's that some drones have detailed explanations and stadard equipment lists and some have basically none even though the drone description gives a long description of abilities.
Karoline
QUOTE (The Jopp @ Jan 27 2010, 08:39 AM) *
Sorry, i don't buy that.

In that case they could add "fluff" to most drones and just say that one is "exceptional with jammers and EW" or "Have a large storage space for HK drones" instead of giving detailed information about what equipment it has.

It also gives a detailed game mechanic in regards to what the drone is in fact capable off. the cost example is not the issue, it's that some drones have detailed explanations and stadard equipment lists and some have basically none even though the drone description gives a long description of abilities.


I figure claws are very different from gripper arms. It is one of those "assume it can do with it's claws and beak what a normal bird can, we don't feel like adding exact rules for what they can and can't do." sort of things. You similarly don't need Mimic 3 as it is just outright assumed that unless someone is examining it exceedingly close (Like prying up the feathers and looking for mechanical stuff) they aren't going to notice the difference.

Kind of like when you buy a lifestyle they don't write out a 30 day meal plan for each lifestyle, it is just assumed that you get your meals and that they are of X quality. There are plenty of examples of the books saying that something is good at doing something in fluff, but isn't given any mechanical advantage to doing it. The one wheeled motorcycle for example is supposed to have a great sound system, yet there is no mechanical advantage to it. Using a datajack over a simsense booster is supposed to give you a clearer signal and better reception and such, but there is no mechanical benefit.

The falcon has claws and a beak, so let it do with that whatever it could normally do with a claw and a beak. No reason to add on gripper arms just to clarify the fact that birds have that.
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