Robots Chapter / Suggestions

[robject]

Overall, I think the robots chapter has some content that belongs elsewhere, and content which should be referred/deferred to elsewhere.

1. Computers and Brains should refer/defer to pages 520 and 526. But also, those pages should have the robot chapter's "Brain Parameters" table.

2. Senses should refer/defer to the sophont creation chapter's section on senses, I think... but they are equivalent, so this is only minor.

3. Body Enhancements and Skins are fine, but there should be some way to attach powered armor onto a robot to create a specially protected model. This is not explicit, so I'm not sure if it is licit.

4. It seems to me that Control Codes should be identical to Synthetic Control Codes, but apparently it is not so. Is this a problem?

 

[Ulsyus]

I think you're right about the brains, in that there could be some deconfliction and synching done of the different section computers and brains, though processing and data storage systems could do with a rethink and overhaul if a bit of retconning was acceptable.

With a power-armoured robot, why not just use Armour Maker to build your suit and then include that in the design of a robot that has no skin?

WRT the control codes, the synthetics and the robots options appear to be designed for different types of control systems - one wetware and the other hardware. I see no reason why you couldn't include the synthetics' controls for robots though, it's just another level of safeguarding in a sense.

 

[Ackehece]

building a bot the other day - it appears that strangeform are hard to build in the system. also visual spectrum needs a link (or reference) to the spectrum tables earlier in the BBB for soph and bots.

 

[David Johansen]

Can't you just build a robot that fits in the powered armor?

 

[robject]

Can't you just build a robot that fits in the powered armor?

Exactly - but is it "legal" to do this? I don't see why not, but the rules leave me hanging. What about our nascent port of Robots to Traveller 5? I want to know if it's legal. AND if it isn't yet specified, I guess then by doing it I'll be making it acceptable?

But are there constraints or requirements? For example, the armor should probably be "slaved" or "remote", don't you think? OR might there be a special "robotic" descriptor in ArmorMaker?

REGARDLESS, why not just build a robot AS a suite of armor with a brain added? This seems much easier than designing armor then designing a robot to fit inside it. All you need is to take Battledress and shove a brain in it, voila (almost).

So, I have questions.

building a bot the other day - it appears that strangeform are hard to build in the system. also visual spectrum needs a link (or reference) to the spectrum tables earlier in the BBB for soph and bots.

Strangeform probably are hard to build. I can think of three ways to do it:

1. Just wing it with the robot chapter. I don't recommend it unless you already know what you want.

2. Determine the operational parameters using ThingMaker, then use the resulting stats to 'gin up a robot from the robot chapter. This way seems the 'purest'.

3. Design a vehicle using VehicleMaker, shove a brain in it, and glue on some arms or tentacles, if you like. This way seems like it should be the fastest, assuming vehicles can be put together quickly (or stats re-used based on known designs).

 

[Ulsyus]

All of the above Rob. T5 design doesn't have the finer definition that was in, say, TNE FF&S. It's seems more oriented to producing items for use in game play rather than technical assessment. Which was your preferred method?