Flynn's Guide To Robots...

tjoneslo said:
This strikes me as wrong in some fundamental ways. I don't know how detailed you want your build system to be, but I'll offer some counter suggestions for doing aquatic type robots.

As above, most robots are not built with water in mind. Immersion in water (especially salt water) can cause problems.

You can waterproof a robot, which makes it resistant to the effects of immersion or soaking in water. This make the robot capable of operating in up to 5 meters of water without problems, though beyond that the problems ensue. I'm assuming that's part of what aquatic covers.
...
If the robot needs to have an internal space, the depth it can go is limited by the Armor value. Since each 10m of depth adds 1 atmosphere of pressure, I'd limit depth to 10m times armor value. In theory you can armor the compartment, but leave the rest full of fluid.

The real problem with falling below crush depth is that the failure is frequently catastrophic. Once the robot (or submarine) falls below crush depth and the weak point fails, the entire thing implodes rather quickly. I'd be tempted to start with 3 points of damage (i.e. one roll on the damage table) per 10m depth at the time of failure.

For an extra detail, if the robot is in combat, they "loose" an effective armor rating based upon their depth. For example, if a robot with armor 5 is 20 meters under water, they have an effect armor of 3 (the 2 lost points are resisting the water pressure).

(Bold mine)

With today's tech. Give it 100 years and they may be able to do some amazing things with waterproofing. Give it 1000 years and a robot designed for high depths might be able to dive to the bottom of jupiter before it experiences any problems (if jupiter were made out of water, which it isn't but you get the idea).

By your measurements, the same tech that waterproofed watch I had in elementary school isn't advanced in the traveller universe. Your armor math would require German WWII u-boats had an armor of 15-20. SOrry, but I don't agree with your math.
 
I may include the option under the Seal-Sealing option that this can also be used to describe robots that are built with components that are not affected by internal flooding.

My concerns for getting too technical with the robot designs is that it introduces too many elements of bookkeeping into the play of the game. I do acknowledge that my rules will not cover all the bases, nor will they be entirely realistic. However, I hold to the design philosophy that playability is preferable to realism. I don't want to have too many options of such fine detail as filling cavities with non-conducting fluids, and then having to track when Hull damage results in a breach that exposes the interior, and so on and so forth. I really want something that is fast and playable, so the Referee can make a few rolls and then we move on to the excitement of the scene itself.

As an aside, the change in pressure rules come from news stories of fish found in the ocean depths that essentially explode due to changes in pressure as they are hauled up in nets or what have you. The internal fluids of these organisms did not adjust to the changes in external pressure, and I wanted to reflect that kind of phenomenon in the rules I was proposing. If there is no engineering concern for this consideration, I'll pull it out and save it for my personal rules for organic creatures that change pressure rapidly.

Any input you guys have to offer would be greatly appreciated.

With Regards,
Flynn
 
Only marine animals without a gas bladder (e.g. sharks) are likely to
survive rapid changes of depth and therefore pressure.

However, I have no idea whether this can in any way be "translated" to
robots, because robots with gas filled compartments could have some
kind of valves to deal with the change of the gas volume caused by the
change of the pressure (ah, I hope that makes any sense in English ...).

Besides, if in doubt, please err on the side of playability. I have used
the "realistic" and therefore extremely complex GURPS technology so
often that I now really welcome something easier to handle, whether
"realistic" or not - "plausible" is good enough, at least for me.
 
dmccoy1693 said:
With today's tech. Give it 100 years and they may be able to do some amazing things with waterproofing. Give it 1000 years and a robot designed for high depths might be able to dive to the bottom of jupiter before it experiences any problems (if jupiter were made out of water, which it isn't but you get the idea).

By your measurements, the same tech that waterproofed watch I had in elementary school isn't advanced in the traveller universe. Your armor math would require German WWII u-boats had an armor of 15-20. SOrry, but I don't agree with your math.

I was doing some off-the-cuff math based upon having tried to write said rules previously without trying to delve into a GURPS Vehicles level of detail. If you have a way of relating MGT armor values to real (or Traveller) world armor materials, I'll revise my math.

I would still suggest dropping the rule about quick pressure changes doing damage to the robots. If you are building a robot to withstand the pressure at the bottom of the sea, the design includes the changes to withstand the pressure changes as well. And they seem overly complex.

You don't need to include the "filled with fluid" comment either, it's just one way of solving the problem. Another is to build the robot and cast the entire thing in a solid block of metal or plastic.
 
I think I agree. I'll drop the change in pressure rules, or refer to them only for organic lifeforms.

Thanks for the feedback,
Flynn
 
On another thread, I was asked about page count and price point, so I figured I'd copy my response here as well, for those interested:

In regards to Flynn's Guide To Robots, I'm looking at 48-64 pages or thereabouts. That means the PDF price will range somewhere around $6.99 to $7.99, and the POD price will run around $12.99 to $14.99.

Of course, if the page count goes up, so will the price, of course, because it costs more to print a larger book. However, I think the above price ranges should set some good expectations.

With Regards,
Flynn
 
Not a bump... More along a request for an update (yeah... right)

Or have y' convinced Mongoose t' hire you for their version?

Just want to ken where t' purchase my post Christmas Traveller fix as I slowwwwly await Amazon.cas' snail mail routine

Take care

E. Herdan
 
I'm still here, and slowly pulling myself along. I'm still working on this, but I can't give an updated release date at this time. Work and Life are just not working with me right now.

More Later,
Flynn
 
Flynn said:
I'm still here, and slowly pulling myself along. I'm still working on this, but I can't give an updated release date at this time. Work and Life are just not working with me right now.

More Later,
Flynn
It's alive, I mean Flynn is alive. Yeah.

Hey, if there is something any of us can do to help (with out causing you more time/work) let us know.

Dave Chase
 
Flynn said:
I'm still here, and slowly pulling myself along. I'm still working on this, but I can't give an updated release date at this time. Work and Life are just not working with me right now.

More Later,
Flynn

Hey we're just happy to hear from you... RL intrudes everywhere.

I'm still interested in your product and better that you release it when you're good and ready and able to than shovelling it out the door due to other causes...

Take care

E. Herdan
 
Just touching base:

I finally picked up a copy of High Guard last week, and am redesigning the Robot system to better reflect what I see in that book. When it comes out, the Guide To Robots will hopefully be pretty close to what we'll see from Mongoose, and the robots will be compatible.

Sorry it's taking so long,
Flynn
 
Flynn said:
Sorry it's taking so long ...
I am still waiting for it, but I am well aware and agree that real life comes
first, quality of the product second, and deadline a distant third.

So, let it take as long as it takes, I will be there to buy and use it. :D
 
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