[Robots] Three more questions

[Golan2072]

1) According to Book 8, a robot could sustain VOLUME/5 hits before being disables, and VOLUME/2 hitsbefore being destroyed. I was trying to build a RoboTank when it occured to me - a Chassis D robot (3,000 Liters) requires 600 hits (!) just to be disabled - which means, that on avarage, you'll have to shoot it 20 times with a PGMP to disable it! Seems quite... unbalanced.

2) Book 8 declares that "more ammo could be added to a robot, requiring more space" or something like that (I don't have the book near me right now). However, it does not say how much space the ammo requires. Any house rules in this regard?

3) Small military/security robots seem quite cost-ineffective; my Chassis 3 (50 Liters) Sentry Gun, costing about 43,000 Cr (I'll post the stats in a few days), takes only one little-better-than-avarage firearm hit to be diabled, and about two or three more to be destroyed - a damn expensive gun, that is.

 

[Golan2072]

1) According to Book 8, a robot could sustain VOLUME/5 hits before being disables, and VOLUME/2 hitsbefore being destroyed. I was trying to build a RoboTank when it occured to me - a Chassis D robot (3,000 Liters) requires 600 hits (!) just to be disabled - which means, that on avarage, you'll have to shoot it 20 times with a PGMP to disable it! Seems quite... unbalanced.

2) Book 8 declares that "more ammo could be added to a robot, requiring more space" or something like that (I don't have the book near me right now). However, it does not say how much space the ammo requires. Any house rules in this regard?

3) Small military/security robots seem quite cost-ineffective; my Chassis 3 (50 Liters) Sentry Gun, costing about 43,000 Cr (I'll post the stats in a few days), takes only one little-better-than-avarage firearm hit to be diabled, and about two or three more to be destroyed - a damn expensive gun, that is.

 

[Hyphen]

Dear Folks -

Originally posted by Employee 2-4601:
1) According to Book 8, a robot could sustain VOLUME/5 hits before being disables [...] a Chassis D robot (3,000 Liters) requires 600 hits (!) [...] 20 times with a PGMP to disable it! Seems quite... unbalanced.

You'll hit something vital, like the brain or locomotion, much earlier than that. To my way of thinking, a "disabled" chassis means "one that cannot move without bits falling off it"; kinda like the crashing "Independence Day" starships.

2) Book 8 declares that "more ammo could be added to a robot, requiring more space" [...] Any house rules in this regard?

I believe that Book 2 and Book 4 contain stats for weapon magazines (both volume and weight); try using those.

3) Small military/security robots seem quite cost-ineffective...

Is your gun armored? One possibility is to waive the Book 8 chassis calcs and simply create a small "hull" using the Striker rules. This can then be armored as desired, with all the Robots stuff just bolted on.

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
David "Hyphen" Jaques-Watson
Beowulf Down, Tavonni/Vilis/SM 1520

 

[Hyphen]

Dear Folks -

Originally posted by Employee 2-4601:
1) According to Book 8, a robot could sustain VOLUME/5 hits before being disables [...] a Chassis D robot (3,000 Liters) requires 600 hits (!) [...] 20 times with a PGMP to disable it! Seems quite... unbalanced.

You'll hit something vital, like the brain or locomotion, much earlier than that. To my way of thinking, a "disabled" chassis means "one that cannot move without bits falling off it"; kinda like the crashing "Independence Day" starships.

2) Book 8 declares that "more ammo could be added to a robot, requiring more space" [...] Any house rules in this regard?

I believe that Book 2 and Book 4 contain stats for weapon magazines (both volume and weight); try using those.

3) Small military/security robots seem quite cost-ineffective...

Is your gun armored? One possibility is to waive the Book 8 chassis calcs and simply create a small "hull" using the Striker rules. This can then be armored as desired, with all the Robots stuff just bolted on.

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
David "Hyphen" Jaques-Watson
Beowulf Down, Tavonni/Vilis/SM 1520

 

[Golan2072]

Originally posted by Hyphen:
I believe that Book 2 and Book 4 contain stats for weapon magazines (both volume and weight); try using those.

Books 2 and 4 contain only weight for the magazines; not volume.

 

[Golan2072]

Originally posted by Hyphen:
I believe that Book 2 and Book 4 contain stats for weapon magazines (both volume and weight); try using those.

Books 2 and 4 contain only weight for the magazines; not volume.

 

[Theo D Lite]

I think STRIKER has volumes. I'll check mine when I get home if I remember.

 

[Theo D Lite]

I think STRIKER has volumes. I'll check mine when I get home if I remember.

 

[Hyphen]

Dear Folks -

Originally posted by Employee 2-4601:
Books 2 and 4 contain only weight for the magazines; not volume.

I think that for most weapons, volume = weight, so that may well be true of ammo as well. I think that Striker has volumes, otherwise how would you calc magazine requirements?

 

[Hyphen]

Dear Folks -

Originally posted by Employee 2-4601:
Books 2 and 4 contain only weight for the magazines; not volume.

I think that for most weapons, volume = weight, so that may well be true of ammo as well. I think that Striker has volumes, otherwise how would you calc magazine requirements?

 

[Hyphen]

Dear Folks -

Originally posted by Hyphen:
Dear Folks -

I think that for most weapons, volume = weight, so that may well be true of ammo as well. I think that Striker has volumes, otherwise how would you calc magazine requirements?

OK, now that I'm home, I've looked it up. Striker says Volume in cubic metres equals weight in kilograms divided by 1000.

In other words, volume (in litres) = weight (in kilograms).

References from Striker - Rule Book 3: Equipment:
</font>

• Ammunition Storage, p 9;</font>
• Ammunition, pp 14-15;</font>
• note under CREW SERVED WEAPONS: SLUG THROWERS table, p 37.</font>

Note that Book 8: Robots is a bit thin when it comes to detailed volumes and weights; I believe that it assumes that you have lots of alternate data sources (rather than being nice and putting them in the Robots book where they belonged). Just see my website for a discussion on robot legs, as an example: Tavonni Repair Bays ==> House Rules ==> Reconciling Robots.

For example, page 34 of Robots simply says "Storage space on the robot may be allocated for extra ammunition magazine capacity, if desired" - but there is no data on ammo volumes and weights. You have to glean that info from other sources.

If you don't have access to Striker, at this stage I can only point you at my Weapons Tables for help (they are also in the House Rules; just drill down to tables like Crew-Served Slug Throwers). Some weapons have a link to an MT-style Equipment Sheet; these sheets include ammo weights (and weight = vol, as above).

Here's a sample: Light Machinegun-10; a 100-round magazine belt weighs 2 kg and therefore takes up 2 litres.

Does that help?

 

[Hyphen]

Dear Folks -

Originally posted by Hyphen:
Dear Folks -

I think that for most weapons, volume = weight, so that may well be true of ammo as well. I think that Striker has volumes, otherwise how would you calc magazine requirements?

OK, now that I'm home, I've looked it up. Striker says Volume in cubic metres equals weight in kilograms divided by 1000.

In other words, volume (in litres) = weight (in kilograms).

References from Striker - Rule Book 3: Equipment:
</font>

• Ammunition Storage, p 9;</font>
• Ammunition, pp 14-15;</font>
• note under CREW SERVED WEAPONS: SLUG THROWERS table, p 37.</font>

Note that Book 8: Robots is a bit thin when it comes to detailed volumes and weights; I believe that it assumes that you have lots of alternate data sources (rather than being nice and putting them in the Robots book where they belonged). Just see my website for a discussion on robot legs, as an example: Tavonni Repair Bays ==> House Rules ==> Reconciling Robots.

For example, page 34 of Robots simply says "Storage space on the robot may be allocated for extra ammunition magazine capacity, if desired" - but there is no data on ammo volumes and weights. You have to glean that info from other sources.

If you don't have access to Striker, at this stage I can only point you at my Weapons Tables for help (they are also in the House Rules; just drill down to tables like Crew-Served Slug Throwers). Some weapons have a link to an MT-style Equipment Sheet; these sheets include ammo weights (and weight = vol, as above).

Here's a sample: Light Machinegun-10; a 100-round magazine belt weighs 2 kg and therefore takes up 2 litres.

Does that help?

 

[Golan2072]

Another question, this time about tthe slave/master unit configuration: Does the Master Brain have to have all the programs needed to use the Slave's equipment in it's CPU/Storage, or can the Slaves have them (given a minimal, maybe even low/high data, brain in the Slave) and let the Master use them by proxy?

 

[Golan2072]

Another question, this time about tthe slave/master unit configuration: Does the Master Brain have to have all the programs needed to use the Slave's equipment in it's CPU/Storage, or can the Slaves have them (given a minimal, maybe even low/high data, brain in the Slave) and let the Master use them by proxy?

 

[mike wightman]

I would say that both work.

 

[mike wightman]

I would say that both work.

 

[aramis]

If the slave has the program, it runs using ONLY the slave's CPU and atts, but the Master can command it to be used....

Example:
Cluster warbot: CPU unit has High-Energy Weapons for its FGMP, plus High autonomous, Tactics 4, Recon 4, and Stealth 4.

The drones have Rifleman 4. Fwd Obs 1, and a Gauss Rifle, and a basic level of automation (I'm not digging my copy out).Each can be turned loose to follow a target and fire at it, or to correct fire. Normally, it's told a target, whcih it then fires at. Smart slave drones.

 

[aramis]

If the slave has the program, it runs using ONLY the slave's CPU and atts, but the Master can command it to be used....

Example:
Cluster warbot: CPU unit has High-Energy Weapons for its FGMP, plus High autonomous, Tactics 4, Recon 4, and Stealth 4.

The drones have Rifleman 4. Fwd Obs 1, and a Gauss Rifle, and a basic level of automation (I'm not digging my copy out).Each can be turned loose to follow a target and fire at it, or to correct fire. Normally, it's told a target, whcih it then fires at. Smart slave drones.

 

[Fritz_Brown]

BTW, a statement that volume (liters) = weight (kilograms) is absurd. That means the same density as water - and your magazines and weapons would float. Though that would really be handy (and a design feature to be strived toward!), it is pretty unrealistic. Aluminum runs 2.6kg per liter, and steel is 7.5-8kg/l. Even ceramic (say, Borosilicate Glass) starts around 2kg/l.

(And, yeah, I'm doing a lot of Thread Ressurections on robot themse this week.... )

What say you all concerning this non-existent volume data?

 

[Fritz_Brown]

BTW, a statement that volume (liters) = weight (kilograms) is absurd. That means the same density as water - and your magazines and weapons would float. Though that would really be handy (and a design feature to be strived toward!), it is pretty unrealistic. Aluminum runs 2.6kg per liter, and steel is 7.5-8kg/l. Even ceramic (say, Borosilicate Glass) starts around 2kg/l.

(And, yeah, I'm doing a lot of Thread Ressurections on robot themse this week.... )

What say you all concerning this non-existent volume data?