What should I add to my equipment list?

[Xavier Onassiss]

I'm working on the equipment list for the Terracide project, and it's coming along quite well so far. I've finished up firearms, armor, environment suits/EVA gear, medical equipment, wearable augmented reality interfaces (everybody gets one), and a few 'special' items that didn't fit anywhere else. What else does the Star Hero board consider 'mandatory' equipment for a hard-SF / space opera noir campaign setting?

 

Most of the action will be on space stations and spacecraft, rather than planets; habitable worlds are extremely rare in this setting. (As in, there used to be one -- Earth -- and it got blowed up real good.)

[BobGreenwade]

Re: What should I add to my equipment list?

 

Do you have EVA suits, and environmental sensors?

[Cancer]

Re: What should I add to my equipment list?

 

I think you're going to need a variety of nonlethal/temporarily disabling/restraining weapons. Not just things like tasers and stunguns. I am strongly tempted to posit that all standard-manufacture suits come with an external lockup trigger built in at the firmware level. That is, every legally built suit has an override code built into it that causes any strength-enhancement motors, jet propulsion, etc., to cease operation. It doesn't shut down the life support, just all mechanical aid and non-muscle motion.

 

Suits without such codes are illegal, and require custom hardware.

 

Still thinking about what other hardware goodies you might need.

[Kraven Kor]

Re: What should I add to my equipment list?

 

Wearable Computing Devices? IE the ever-present Sci-Fi trope "WristPad" or "Holographic PDA" or whatever.

[Xavier Onassiss]

Re: What should I add to my equipment list?

 

Do you have EVA suits' date=' and environmental sensors?[/quote']

 

EVA suits are done. Environmental sensors... hmmm, yes. Atmosphere testers, rad-sensors, and so forth. Some of those should be standard equipment on EVA suits, actually.

[Xavier Onassiss]

Re: What should I add to my equipment list?

 

I think you're going to need a variety of nonlethal/temporarily disabling/restraining weapons. Not just things like tasers and stunguns. I am strongly tempted to posit that all standard-manufacture suits come with an external lockup trigger built in at the firmware level. That is, every legally built suit has an override code built into it that causes any strength-enhancement motors, jet propulsion, etc., to cease operation. It doesn't shut down the life support, just all mechanical aid and non-muscle motion.

 

Suits without such codes are illegal, and require custom hardware.

 

Still thinking about what other hardware goodies you might need.

 

I've got lots of non-lethal weaponry, which is very popular in artificial space colonies where the last thing anybody wants is bullets flying around. As for powered suits, they're actually quite rare, a military item. EVA flight packs are unusual, but not that hard to get -- the override option would be useful on those.

[Xavier Onassiss]

Re: What should I add to my equipment list?

 

Wearable Computing Devices? IE the ever-present Sci-Fi trope "WristPad" or "Holographic PDA" or whatever.

 

Pretty much everyone has an augmented reality interface device, and augmented reality (A/R) is available almost everywhere via wireless networks. Some people are so accustomed to having constant use of A/R that "Helpless without A/R access" is a valid Psychological Complication.

[Sundog]

Re: What should I add to my equipment list?

 

About the only thing I can think of that you haven't mentioned would be communications - personal, tightbeam, broadcast and scrambled varieties.

[Captain Obvious]

Re: What should I add to my equipment list?

 

About the only thing I can think of that you haven't mentioned would be communications - personal' date=' tightbeam, broadcast and scrambled varieties.[/quote']

 

And jammers for such.

[Xavier Onassiss]

Re: What should I add to my equipment list?

 

Yeah, gotta do communicators. For many purposes, the personal A/R interface functions as a communicator. (Kind of like your iPhone can occasionally be used to make an actual phone call when you're not doing a zillion other things with it.)

[Captain Obvious]

Re: What should I add to my equipment list?

 

Yeah' date=' gotta do communicators. For many purposes, the personal A/R interface functions as a communicator. (Kind of like your iPhone can occasionally be used to make an [i']actual phone call[/i] when you're not doing a zillion other things with it.)

 

Heh heh...oh yeah...

 

It'll probably interface seamlessly with the more substantial comms gear, but it probably shouldn't have much range by itself. If it works like a cell phone, space stations and most larger ships will probably have the cell antennas and switching equipment onboard. Comms between people in the same structure will be easy, and comms to another nearby structure probably not much harder...kind of like making an international phone call now. Smaller ships might not be able (and probably won't need) to run comms networks within the ship, and might not allow a direct interface between personal equipment and the ship's comms gear. If it is set up to allow any kind of comms outside of dealing with traffic controllers, emergencies, etc, it would probably require the equivalent of an international phone call from the ship's radio room.

 

Jamming that augmented reality could be pretty nasty, thinking about it...rather than overlaying the real world with useful information, it would probably actually obscure the real world until it was turned off. It would probably be similar to flashbang in effect. Jammers, of course, are for law enforcement/military use. No one else has any business shutting AR down.

 

Hope you can find a useful droplet in that brainstorm.

[Xavier Onassiss]

Re: What should I add to my equipment list?

 

Heh heh...oh yeah...

 

It'll probably interface seamlessly with the more substantial comms gear, but it probably shouldn't have much range by itself. If it works like a cell phone, space stations and most larger ships will probably have the cell antennas and switching equipment onboard. Comms between people in the same structure will be easy, and comms to another nearby structure probably not much harder...kind of like making an international phone call now. Smaller ships might not be able (and probably won't need) to run comms networks within the ship, and might not allow a direct interface between personal equipment and the ship's comms gear. If it is set up to allow any kind of comms outside of dealing with traffic controllers, emergencies, etc, it would probably require the equivalent of an international phone call from the ship's radio room.

 

Jamming that augmented reality could be pretty nasty, thinking about it...rather than overlaying the real world with useful information, it would probably actually obscure the real world until it was turned off. It would probably be similar to flashbang in effect. Jammers, of course, are for law enforcement/military use. No one else has any business shutting AR down.

 

Hope you can find a useful droplet in that brainstorm.

 

This is all very similar to what I have in mind. Most gear (including comms) will be compatible with the standard A/R interface, and will have enough built-in processing power to handle some basic functions: a linked user's manual, diagnostics, upgrades, and contact info for the nearest service rep. (Hopefully without an insipid 24th-century version of "Clippy".)

 

Any spacecraft licensed for passenger service has to have a decent A/R net, to prevent the overly-dependent from going into withdrawal on month-long voyages and having a psychotic break. The passenger network is usually completely isolated from the crew's network used to operate the spacecraft.

 

Aside from A/R jamming, I've got some really nasty ideas about using A/R in combat -- sending false images to mislead the enemy (virtual invisibility or disguise), or even worse, pinpointing a user's location via their own A/R device, effectively making A/R a targeting sense. Military-grade A/R hardware is designed to avoid these pitfalls, and of course, military personnel receive special training to function without any A/R assistance. (Super-secret military stuff, like actually using their own eyes and ears instead of an interface!)

[Tasha]

Re: What should I add to my equipment list?

 

One thing that I always look for in equipment list. Tools!! Tools to fix electronics, mechanics, Drive systems. Fabrication machines (ie like a portable mill or a 3d printer that can fab metal parts). Also mundane things like Cutting Torches, Plasma cutters, LASER cutters, Welding equipment (like that cool handheld cutting laser/welder from Aliens).

 

Bots that people can use to see and fix things in areas that humans can't fit (Mouse sized robots with laser cutters/welders, manipulators, video cameras for remote manipulation). Heck, even fiber optic probes that allow people to view video of areas not accessible by humans.

[Ian Mackinder]

Re: What should I add to my equipment list?

 

Patches. Items break (especially if combat is involved) and, if that item is a spacesuit in hard vacuum, then the wearer has a serious problem. There may be a limited self-sealing capability in suits already, but something extra for the really bad damage seems advisable. Some sort of expanding foam deal, maybe?

 

Similar thing, up-sized, for habitats and spacecraft. Plugs small-to-moderate-sized punctures, so you get to keep your air until a repair crew arrives.

[Gnaskar]

Re: What should I add to my equipment list?

 

While not exactly equipment as such, a food and drinks section goes a long way to add immersion to a setting. From what kind of fast food joints pop up on the larger stations, to what rich people eat at fancy parties; it helps to have something to describe when the players decide to plan their next move over a hot meal (or a bowl of algaeslush, depending on their budgets).

[Kraven Kor]

Re: What should I add to my equipment list?

 

Mmmmm, vat-grown synth steaks... :homer:

 

Another thing to consider would be "multi-tools" - usually best simulated as Skill Levels with (Skills) bought as a Focus.

 

Remote Operated or "Droid" vehicles, bots, drones, etc? Nano-bots - medical, espionage, military, or even public sector?

 

Does much "Stuff" happen in the A/R? Could special software be built as vehicles or equipment - or even followers - for such purposes? Sentient AI's? Near-sentient AI's?

[Xavier Onassiss]

Re: What should I add to my equipment list?

 

One thing that I always look for in equipment list. Tools!! Tools to fix electronics, mechanics, Drive systems. Fabrication machines (ie like a portable mill or a 3d printer that can fab metal parts). Also mundane things like Cutting Torches, Plasma cutters, LASER cutters, Welding equipment (like that cool handheld cutting laser/welder from Aliens).

 

Bots that people can use to see and fix things in areas that humans can't fit (Mouse sized robots with laser cutters/welders, manipulators, video cameras for remote manipulation). Heck, even fiber optic probes that allow people to view video of areas not accessible by humans.

 

I think the Hero System skill rules covers tools pretty well: no tools = penalty, basic tools = no modifier, superior tools = bonus. (I don't have the exact numbers handy.) I'll definitely add a plasma cutter (Thanks for that suggestion, Tasha, you rock!), and I've already got the 3D fabricator.

 

I'm not looking forward to designing robots, but you're right -- I'll need a few of those. With any luck, they'll be different.

[Xavier Onassiss]

Re: What should I add to my equipment list?

 

Patches. Items break (especially if combat is involved) and, if that item is a spacesuit in hard vacuum, then the wearer has a serious problem. There may be a limited self-sealing capability in suits already, but something extra for the really bad damage seems advisable. Some sort of expanding foam deal, maybe?

 

Similar thing, up-sized, for habitats and spacecraft. Plugs small-to-moderate-sized punctures, so you get to keep your air until a repair crew arrives.

 

Yes the EVA suits have a 'smart' self-sealing feature. (Triggered Healing is waaay expensive!) The good news is that body-pressure suits don't lose all their air when they get punctured!

 

There's also a portable air-lock to cover hull breaches.

[Xavier Onassiss]

Re: What should I add to my equipment list?

 

Mmmmm, vat-grown synth steaks... :homer:

 

Another thing to consider would be "multi-tools" - usually best simulated as Skill Levels with (Skills) bought as a Focus.

 

Remote Operated or "Droid" vehicles, bots, drones, etc? Nano-bots - medical, espionage, military, or even public sector?

 

Does much "Stuff" happen in the A/R? Could special software be built as vehicles or equipment - or even followers - for such purposes? Sentient AI's? Near-sentient AI's?

 

Multi-tools (IMHE) are a substitute for regular toolkits. I think I'd build them with Penalty skill levels, to negate penalties for lack of proper equipment.

 

Nano-bots are very tightly controlled -- there are hostile alien nanites which find them extremely... tasty. Other robots can be very clever, but not sentient.

 

I'll have lots of info on A/R in the final product. Stross described it quite well here.

 

Welcome to a world where the internet has turned inside-out; instead of being something you visit inside a box with a coloured screen, it's draped all over the landscape around you, invisible until you put on a pair of glasses or pick up your always-on mobile phone. A phone which is to today's iPhone as a modern laptop is to an original Apple II; a device which always knows where you are, where your possessions are, and without which you are — literally — lost and forgetful.

[Ranxerox]

Re: What should I add to my equipment list?

 

You probably already have a lot of these but just in case here are some suggestions.

 

High tech first aid kit with artificial skin, artificial blood, wound glue, stimulants and possibly even healing nanobots. In game terms aid to BODY with on an OAF, requiring extra time, gestures and concentration to use,

 

Combat drugs.

 

Genetically engineered pheromone based perfumes and colognes.

 

Chameleon closes.

 

Personal security bots since not everyone has either the time or desire to learn how to defend themselves.

 

Replicators.

 

Cryogenic pods to keep the gravely ill and wounded stable until advance medical help becomes available.

 

Also your A/R should have a translation feature so that it is not necessary for people to speak the same language in order to communicate.

[Susano]

Re: What should I add to my equipment list?

 

A towel.

[Cinniuint]

Re: What should I add to my equipment list?

 

What about gravity? Do you have artificial gravity, or have people all become 0-5 STR wimps?

 

If you have artificial grav, there are a few impacts that tech will have on the society. If you don't there are a LOT of effects that lack may have on society.

 

Other tech will also have its impact. How many languages were in space when Earth was destroyed? How many groups are isolated enough to maintain their own language? It may be that there is a universal language that everyone speaks, possibly as a first language for everyone. Historical languages will have been maintained for privacy purposes in some form, at least.

 

Also; is literacy a lost art? Reading might very well become a specialists skill, used by people who have trained in speed reading for rapid data review.

 

Larry Niven wrote a couple of pieces called "Theory and Practice of Time Travel" and "Theory and Practice of Teleportation" which, among other things, discuss the impact of these technologies on a culture. I try to think like that when looking at fictional tech.

 

On a related note, tech or lack of tech often creates the need for more tech. For example, during the space race, the US had much lighter computers than the USSR. As a result, the USSR had much more powerful rockets.

 

I am afraid this doesn't really answer your question, but I hope it will help you to answer the question for yourself.

 

Cinn

[Xavier Onassiss]

Re: What should I add to my equipment list?

 

A towel.

 

In the HHGttG setting, that would be built as a VPP.

 

In Terracide, it's a courtesy detail.