Originally posted by BillDowns:
This thread is to discuss enhancements to the LBB2 computer model, pulling several things from other threads into one place. Such things would be add-on peripherals and custom software.
Various programs and systems to follow.
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1) Computer Security 1-6 (by TL): Protects a computer vs. hacking via anti-virus, firewall, and other techniques. Must be purchased at a specific TL. It cannot run on computers of lower TL than the software's TL. It it less effective against hacking attempts using hacking software of higher TLs.
</font><blockquote>code:</font><hr /><pre style="font-size:x-small; font-family: monospace;">Rating Space MCr
1 2 .5
2 3 1
3 5 3
4 4 5
5 5 10
6 3 15</pre>[/QUOTE]-----------------------------------------------
The following would, unfortunately, radically alter the way starship combat worked. But I thought the idea was interesting enough.
Intrusion 1-6: Run on one vessel's computer, using the communications systems to attempt to access another vessel's computer using computer exploits to bypass whatever defenses the target is using. Completely illegal for non-governmental use, it is an Imperial Crime to even possess the software.
</font><blockquote>code:</font><hr /><pre style="font-size:x-small; font-family: monospace;">Rating Space MCr
1 3 5
2 6 8
3 9 12
4 12 16
5 15 20
6 18 25</pre>[/QUOTE]Must be operated by a sophont with at least Computer-1 (may not be used untrained or with JoaT).
Roll 2d6 + Instrusion Rating + Computer Skill versus 2d6 + Computer Security Rating + Computer Skill. Subtract the target Computer Model from the attacking Computer Model and apply as a DM. Other DMs may apply.
More than one Intrusion program may be run simultaneously, but each requires a separate operator. Each additional attacker grants the primary attacker a DM based on the difference in Ratings of the two Intrusion Programs (subtract the Secondary from the Primary Rating to determine the Difference). Adding additional attackers beyond the second has little effect.
</font><blockquote>code:</font><hr /><pre style="font-size:x-small; font-family: monospace;"> Secondary Successive
Attacker Attacker
Difference DM DM
0 +3 +1
1 +2 +1
2 +2 0
3 +1 0
4 +1 0
5 +1 0</pre>[/QUOTE]More than one Computer Security program may be running simultaneously, and each must be bypassed separately.
If an intrusion attempt is successful, the attack now has limited but fairly useful access to the target computer. The attacker may issue the following orders; shut down any system (shutting down the target computer or power plant ends the intrusion attempt) except life-support, start up any system except the jump drive, examine any non-secure file or database.
The attacker may attempt deeper access, but this requires a new attack with -2 DM to attempt to bypass the root-level defenses. If this second attack is successful, the attacker may issue any command at all, including opening all airlocks and irises, overloading the powerplant, random jump, or examine all secure files or databases (does not help decrypt them).
There should be an additional section to this describing how both the attacker and defender must have open communications channels for this to work, and how running additional attackers requires even more open communications channels for both the attacker and defender. Except that communications systems aboard current starships don't have defined communications channels.
I also haven't covered multiple vessels attacking or multiple vessels assiting in defense (which would require more communications channels, oh boy!).
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Diagnostics: Whenever the ship experiences problems or damage, this program allows anyone with a skill appropriate to the affected area of the ship to make a skill roll at +2 DM to immediately determine what the problem is without having to search the ship or examine obviously affected systems in order to discover what the problem is. Useful in speeding up repairs. (The GM may rule that some damage may render Diagnostics unable to gather the information it needs, in which case it is of no use. This is usually from massive damage or problems with equipment sensors.)
</font><blockquote>code:</font><hr /><pre style="font-size:x-small; font-family: monospace;">Space MCr
1 1</pre>[/QUOTE]-----------------------------------------------
In CT:Book 2 p. 43, it mentions that high-tech “alternatives” to the normal experience system exist and/or can be invented by the GM.
The following was thought up by me just now. It is not playtested (and is not suitable for all campaigns).
Training: This program is part of a visual-cortex and motor-reflexes learning system. It avoids DNI throughout all versions (as so many beings in the Imperium and beyond are prejudiced against the cybernetic connections required by DNI). It requires special equipment in the form of a special countoured Sensory Couch. Each Training program purchased is specific to one Skill. To train multiple Skills, multiple Training programs must be purchased. Each Training program is only good to help the user train themselves up to the Rating of the program.
Equipment: Sensory Couch: Represents an entire compartment (2 dTons). It is considered to be attached to a local computer, and aboard starships, to the vessel's onboard computer. Cr500,000 + 100,000/TL over 8. The subject using the couch dresses in a skin-tight catheterized bodysuit (without hands, feet, or hood) woven througout will biometric sensors (and at higher TL, sensory force feedback devices). The entire couch is articulated, and is more exoskeloton than couch except that it is permanently mounted to the floor and celing of the compartment it is in. The armrests have articulated gloves to insert hands into, and similar boots to insert feet into, a swing-arm mounted display system that is pulled over the head, and where a display visor is pulled down and pressed against the face (mouth, nose, eyes) with side-attachments that press in on each side to cover the ears. There are a number of straps that an assistant will pull into place to make sure that everything stays snug (both for the user, and for the gloves, boots, and head-sensory assembly).
A user will dress in the suit, climb up into the couch, connect the plumbing tubes, and get the headgear and hands and feet into place, and an assistant finishes strapping everything down.
The user works in-place for 8 hours straight, every day, until the number of hours shown in the chart below are completed. A user may go for up to two days at a time without using the couch and not lose the "value" of any "hours" in their training program. For each day above two that the user must consult the training loss chart to see how many training hours must be repeated. Once the program is complete, the user may raise a Skill one point (for whichever Skill was being trained on). Ten minutes are included at the beginning and end of each session to get into and out of the couch.
The sensory couches are expensive (and the Training programs more so), and are typically operated around the clock.
TRAINING PRORGRAM COSTS & TIMES REQUIRED
</font><blockquote>code:</font><hr /><pre style="font-size:x-small; font-family: monospace;">Rtg TL Space MCr Hours
1 8 1 1 40 (1 wk)
2 9 2 3 120 (3 wks)
3 A 3 6 240 (6 wks)
4 B 5 9 360 (9 wks)
5 C 7 12 480 (12 wks)
6 D 9 15 600 (15 wks)</pre>[/QUOTE]
TRAINING PROGRAM LOSS CHART
</font><blockquote>code:</font><hr /><pre style="font-size:x-small; font-family: monospace;">Time Repeat
Off Hours
<= 2 dys 0
<= 1 wk 8
<= 2 wks 16
<= 3 wks 24
<= 4 wks 32
<= 5 wks 48
<= 8 wks 72
>= 8 wks All</pre>[/QUOTE]
USER COST/HOUR CHART
</font><blockquote>code:</font><hr /><pre style="font-size:x-small; font-family: monospace;"> Normal Normal
Rtg Cr/Hr Hours Cost
1 Cr300 40 Cr12,000
2 Cr400 120 Cr48,000
3 Cr500 240 Cr120,000
4 Cr600 360 Cr216,000
5 Cr700 480 Cr336,000
6 Cr800 600 Cr480,000</pre>[/QUOTE]Extra hours caused by necessary repeats can raise the prices substantially.
The Training program is typically used by the Imperial Navy, Marines, and Intelligence Services (YTU's versions) to rapidly reskill their most valuable assets.
Civilian use of the system is extensive, especially by those wealthy enough to afford it.
There is a maximum tolerance for using Training programs. Exceeding these limits can cause migraine headaches (sufficiently powerful to cause black-outs), vision damage, balance damage, and renal damage. Each person's tolerance is a little different (an average of EDU, INT, and END). Safe Hours is the maximum number of hours a user can tolerate in the sensory couch per year.
USER TOLERANCE CHART
</font><blockquote>code:</font><hr /><pre style="font-size:x-small; font-family: monospace;">Stat Safe Hours
Avg Per Year
1 0
2 25
3 50
4 100
5 200
6 400
7 600
8 700
9 800
A 900
B 1000
C 1100
D 1200
E 1300
F 1500</pre>[/QUOTE]The permanent maximum number of Skill points that can be acquired through this type of training program is equal to INT x 2 (later raises may increase this capacity; but later losses do not remove any Skill points gained to date).
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Hardware Option: Additional Capacity
1 Add. Cap. Unit: 1 CPU and 2 SPACE, MCr3, 1 dTon, + .1 EP. Does not change Model Number of Computer. Up to three Units of Add. Cap. may be installed per Model Number.
Add. Cap. cannot be purchased for bis model computers.
Add. Cap. must be purchased twice (and weighs twice as much) for fib model computers (the "extra" amounts are for the backup system, and the CPU and SPACE from the extra amounts are not useable unless the backup is running).
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Hardware Option: Circuitry Firewall
MCr 1 per Model Number, x2 for bis or fib computers.
Adds +2 DM to Computer Security Rolls.
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Operating Systems (O/S)
All Computer Models purchased come with an O/S capable of running the computer's hardware, peripherals, and software.
Note: The following history contains IMTU elements.
Circa -20, and Cleon's campaign to found an Empire was well under way. Cleon was pushing for various forms of technology exchange between the Ziru Sirka and the Sylean Federation in advance of their eventual merger. A conference to this effect was held on Vland. In what later turned out to be an historic event, software engineers from Naasirka and Illyrian Energetics (naturally, a wholly owned subsidiary of Zhunastu Heavy Industries), met and mixed in a room party at a hotel near the conference. They became fairly friendly and started up talks about their projects currently underway. The Illyrian engineers revealed many details of their works, but the Vilani, without direct orders from their superiors, characteristically refused to give more than cursory details. Illyrian managers, wielding Cleon's name like a knife, managed to persuade Naasirka's management at the conference to give the necessary permissions.
Many efforts came of this breaking of the log jam, so to speak. One of the least well-known, but perhaps most far-reaching, was the effort by two limited groups on each side, both working on starship operating system software.
By 12, Naasirka had absorbed the software authoring elements of Illyrian Energetics from the Imperial Family's holding corporation, and spun off a new corporation. They searched extensively to locate the headquarters of the new company, and found that a location near but not on Capital would save substantial sums of money in the long run. The terraforming activities the Imperial Family was conducting on Ion/Core were viewed as a sign of a bright future for the world, and Ion Systems Software was born.
Even by that stage, the engineers from the two groups had been laboring for years to craft a new commercial O/S for starship computers based on the best elements of Ziru Sirka and Sylean know-how.
In 17, the first public version of the new much heralded software was released. Dubbed the Starflight O/S, Naasirka trumpeted the O/S's features as a means to accelerate their own computer sales in the Model 1-6 range (which it was intended to support).
Naasirka Starflight™ O/S v124.3.0001 Imperial ©0017-1110
Features:
</font>
- Excellent for Model 1-6 Computers (Naasirka).</font>
- Supports "bis" Models (for a slight fee, a patch and license for "fib" model compatibility is available: MCr.1).</font>
- Compatible with Naasirka Additional Capacity™.</font>
- Compatible with Naasirka Circuitry Firewalls™.</font>
- Compatible with Naasirka Backup Peripherals™.</font>
- Compatible with Imperial Edict 52. (Mandating Computer hardware and software support for anti-tampering features on starship transponders; and a laundry list of other points relating to technological compatibility of systems in the Imperial Government).</font>
- Built-In Automatic Security Scanning (+4 DM on Computer Security rolls).</font>
- Basic Diagnostics (Identify general sources of systems causing problems, pressure leak locales, etc., by using a relevant Skill).</font>
- Full Communications and Sensors (relevant Skill rolls may be made to use these systems; additional device-specific software may be useful).</font>
- Basic Avionics (relevant Skill rolls may be made to use these systems at -4 DM; additional device-specific software is recommended; Maneuver, etc.).</font>
- Full Engineering (Skills rolls may be made at no DM).</font>
- Full Peripherals (Ships normal built-in systems, client terminals, irises, powered internal doors and powered external hatches, variably configurable staterooms, elevators, etc., may be operated by using a Computer Skill roll).</font>
- File System (computer file system hierarchy management; all media types are fully manageable).</font>
- User Shell (GUI-Shell providing user-friendly (relatively speaking) access to the O/S's features and installed software; Computer Skill required to use effectively).</font>
- Productivity (Suite of office-type applications. Accountancy, Inventory, Layout, Graphics Modeling, Word Processing, Spreadsheet, Database, Presentation, Messaging, Personal Journals and logs; every terminal connected may run its own copy: Computer Skill needed to use effectively).</font>
- Backup (Computer Skill: A complete suite of O/S and user application imaging and user data archiving). Backup peripherals are highly recommended.</font>
- Entertainment Suite: A collection of games and diversions. The exact package varies by the sector in which the installation was performed. Typically involves at least 5,000 games of various kinds (from the modern day designs to copies from software ages old via compatibility engines).</font>
- System Reporting (Computer Skill: System logs and archives all system actions and errors).</font>
- Official Ship's Log (Tamper-resistant logging of System Reports and Crew Reports. System Reports are kept for one month, Crew Reports for 40 years).</font>
Note: The basic O/S takes up no capacity spaces. Its cost is a part of the computer system cost.
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Personality Simulation
Personality Simulation programs appear at TL-12. They are designed to predict what a sophont would do in any given circumstance, based on past actions and statements. They require, as a basis to run, an extensive database of known past actions based on specific known circumstances, a Personality Profile. Because of this, these programs do not work at all on children (especially for those species, like Humaniti, whose children do not complete higher-order neural development until early adulthood). They are also fairly unreliable when the database of past actions and statements is incomplete. People who are secretive or who have remained unobtrusive their whole lives are often effectively impossible to read. (Note: PCs have the
PC Glow, and any attempt to read them is at a -2 DM.)
Personality Simulation programs are used by the Imperial Government, Megacorporations, and the Imperial Navy and Marines. They are used as first-line vetting and revetting loyalty checkers, and more importantly, to try and determine the actions of political or military figures of importance.
Even the best Personality Simulations are not completely perfect, and do not give accurate results at all times, but they are frightening tools when used by only one side of a conflict.
Personality Simulation programs may also be used to counter themselves. By inputing a complete cooperatively-produced Personality Profile, an individual may attempt to see what they themselves would most likely do in a given situation, and then take some other action, and thus foil someone else's attempt to "read" them.
These programs may not run on Computer Models with a TL lower than the TL of the program itself. They are also some of the most expensive programs known.
</font><blockquote>code:</font><hr /><pre style="font-size:x-small; font-family: monospace;">Costs, Space, TL, History Limits, DM
Std Min
TL History History Cost Space DM
12 50 yrs 30 MCr20 10 0
13 40 yrs 20 MCr30 20 +1
14 30 yrs 10 MCr40 30 +2
15 20 yrs 10 MCr50 40 +3</pre>[/QUOTE]The Standard History is the length of the personality profile required for basic functioning.
The Minimum History is the absolute smallest personality profile, any less, and results are effectively random.
The DM is a basic bonus for the increasing sophistication of the programming.
</font><blockquote>code:</font><hr /><pre style="font-size:x-small; font-family: monospace;">General Personality Profile DMs
Years Years
Under DM Over DM
10 -1 10 +1
20 -2 20 +2
N/A N/A 50 +3
N/A N/A 100 +4</pre>[/QUOTE]Years Under: The penalty for having an incomplete personality profile.
Years Over: A bonus is definitely available for having a lengthier than normal personality profile.
Pesonality Profiles are based on making at least one recorded action or statement per week; in which the reasons for and the facts about the actions or statements are known. For a full 50 year history at TL-12, this obviously requires a massive and accurate database.
The actions or statements need not be public, they only need to be known to the compiler of the Personality Profile.
It is up to the GM to determine if any sophont has made sufficient known actions or statements for long enough to have a complete Personality Profile.
Most active public figures are going to be relatively easy to get full profiles on.
For all those who are not so forthcoming, it is the job of various intelligence agencies to compile sufficient information to make up the difference.
For indivdiuals who conduct Counter-Profile activities (noted above), all time spent doing things other than the predicted actions counts as
negative information that actualy penalizes any profile compiler's activities. However, this is quite difficult. People are who they are, and on important issues, they frequently can't help doing exactly what their personality and memory history tells them that they should do.
As far as game mechanics go, it's probably impossible to know just how far anyone has compiled information of whatever quality for certain about anyone. Simply wing it and assign arbitrary values for most cases. Decide that entity X knows Y years on sophont Z. If sophont Z is a secretive intelligence agent, well, unfortunately, entity X only has 12 weeks of known actions or statements after five years of investigation.
Roll Computer Skill vs. Target 8 (1 hour/6 hours into the future the target prediction is being made), with all DMs noted above, to successfuly predict an action or statement that is projected to occur no more than 6 hours in the future based on specific inputs (which in turn must actually happen to the sophont in question, or must have just happened). For each 6 hours beyond the first, apply a -1 DM. Roll Psychology vs. Target 8 (1 hour) to try and use judgement to offset one -1 DM penalty for extra time. Each attempt past the first to offest an extra time penalty incurs its own -1 DM on successive Psychology rolls to offest extra time penalties (requires Psychology-3 to even try).
Each known action or statement must be successfully interpreted and compiled into a Personality Profile. Requires Psychology-3 to even try. Roll vs. Target 8 (1 hour). DM -2 if facts surrounding action or statement are less than 100% certain. DM -4 if facts are less than 90% certain. If facts are less than 80% certain, the action or statement is useless and must be discarded.
In individual cases where it is necessary to decide on the validity of facts surrounding an action or statement, it is up to the GM to assign a validity rating (just arbitrarily assign a value based on what the PCs say they know vs. what you know happened).
It is a Liaison or Psychology roll vs. Target 8 to determine the validity rating of facts (8 hours of fact checking). Most professional profile-compilers routinely check their facts before committing them to the Personality Profile. Failure to successfully identify a useless action or statement, and it's commitment to the Personality Profile, actually subtracts the value of that action or statement from the total on file (although there is no way to tell this under normal operations; only the GM will know).
The truth of any prediction is unknown until the event specified by the prediction comes to pass (and any variance in the conditions specified and the actual events that occur almost always causes an error of some degree).
The skill Psychology may be considered a cascade variant of Medical.
As mentioned above, it is possible to voluntarily cooperate in the compilation of a Personality Profile. Each hour of interviews (min. Psychology-3, Roll vs. Target 8 for each hour) qualifies as 8 actions or statements made over a normal two month period. Typically, one form of truth detection or another is employed simultaneously during this process to assure validity of the interview facts.
</font><blockquote>code:</font><hr /><pre style="font-size:x-small; font-family: monospace;">Personality Profile Costs
Research Cost Interview Cost
10 yrs MCr1 60 hrs KCr18
Cost for Research is x3 of the research subject is secretive; and is x5 if the subject is a recluse.</pre>[/QUOTE]
Imperial Edict 3: It is forbidden to possess or use a Personality Profile of any member of the Imperial Family. Imprisonment or Death may be the punishment.
Most Ruling Nobles have passed similar, if less all-encompassing, laws within their own domains.
The heads of states of most governments view the use or existence of Personality Profiles on themselves in a poor light.
Some worlds have laws against their ownership, use, or creation.
Intelligence forces from all polities use them extensively.
