Flynn's Guide To Robots...

[EDG]

Yeah, that sounds about right:

If the NASA material is to be used for commercial purposes, especially including advertisements, it must not explicitly or implicitly convey NASA's endorsement of commercial goods or services.

(from the Photo guidelines page)

And that does cover 3D rendered images like this, so a disclaimer on the title page should be OK.

 

[dmccoy1693]

Flynn, that cover rules! Best of luck to the product. I'll be buying a copy for sure.

 

[RockViper]

I have been meaning to ask this just out of curiosity. Are there many illustrations or is it mainly text and tables?

 

[Flynn]

I have been meaning to ask this just out of curiosity. Are there many illustrations or is it mainly text and tables?

I am very fortunate to have some artwork for this product. David "Beech" Redington has volunteered some of his efforts, and his work is simply amazing. I can't wait to show you guys.

With Regards,
Flynn

 

[Vile]

I am very fortunate to have some artwork for this product. David "Beech" Redington has volunteered some of his efforts, and his work is simply amazing. I can't wait to show you guys.

That guy just has to get his name dropped everywhere ... :roll:

So, I guess this means you won't have time to put the SRSSSS into final form for a while, eh? It's just, you know, it's burning a hole in my virtual pocket. :shock:

 

[TravellerArt]

Heh Heh :wink:

 

[RockViper]

I am very fortunate to have some artwork for this product. David "Beech" Redington has volunteered some of his efforts, and his work is simply amazing. I can't wait to show you guys.

With Regards,
Flynn

Cool, I cannot wait to see the final product.

 

[Scarecrow]

Very nice cover.

I'm looking forward to seeing Beech's interior art too. I really like his stuff.

I'd have offered my own services but I am notoriously unreliable

Crow

 

[TravellerArt]

but I am notoriously unreliable

As am I, but Flynn doesn't know that yet. :wink:

 

[Bygoneyrs]

Although artwork is always nice, I want the stuff in the text.

Penn

 

[kafka]

Artwork is what I am really after...I remember being so disappointed after getting my paws on 101 Robots compared to even the GDW Robots books. In all fairness, it was an early book of DGP but still...

So, if you need to release two editions, I will hold off for artwork and would not mind paying a little more for the privledge.

 

[Emperor Herdan]

Errr... Not wanting to be a pest... but a hint, clue update?

Eagerly awaiting

E. Herdan

 

[Patron Zero]

Just curious if medical or other science applied nanobots will be included in your tome ?

 

[Bygoneyrs]

Hey is there a ETA for when this is going to see time for PRINT to buy time?

Penn

 

[Flynn]

Good Morning, All!

My apologies for being away for so long. My day job pretty much ate my lunch for the last two months. Now, my project has gone live, and aside from deployment support issues, I have a little bit of a breather, so it's time to get back on to this book!

I'm working on a preview now for those who have waited so patiently, and am pushing myself to complete the manuscript as soon as I can. I expect to see this product released within the next month, and it will be available in Print as well as in PDF from the very first day it goes out.

Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions for content.

With Regards,
Flynn

 

[Flynn]

Just curious if medical or other science applied nanobots will be included in your tome ?

I am not including nanobots in this product for the simple reason that nanobots are better handled as game mechanics rather than pseudo-vehicle designs. If you'd like, I can add a short section on nanobots, along with some suggested game mechanics, to give you something to work with in your campaign.

With Regards,
Flynn

 

[rust]

I expect to see this product released within the next month, and it will be available in Print as well as in PDF from the very first day it goes out.

Very good news, thank you !

 

[Flynn]

Good Morning, All:

As a quick preview, and to spur on conversation, I am including a small section of the Special Rules For Robots chapter for those interested in this book. The following rules will be released under the Open Game License. Any insight or feedback would be greatly appreciated:

Aquatic Environments
Robots and drones are not often designed to handle prolonged exposure to an aquatic environment. The primary concerns that robots and drones face in aquatic environments are: interior flooding, crushing pressure, extreme cold and restricted modes of movement.

Interior Flooding
Although most are constructed with sealed robotic components to protect them from infrequent exposure to the elements or accidents, once the integrity of a robot’s hull has been compromised, a robot’s interior can suffer from exposure to an excellent conducting fluid: water. The energy produced by a robot’s own power plant can lead to its own demise, as the power short-circuits interior systems.

Once a robot’s hull becomes compromised (such a taking a hit to the Hull during combat or through other dangerous circumstances), water can flood the robot’s interior. If a robot is partially immersed in water (at least 25%), it takes 1d6 points of damage per minute of exposure. Robots or drones that have been completely submerged under water take 2d6 points of damage per minute. This damage bypasses armor, and is resolved like any other vehicle damage, per the Vehicle Damage Table in the Traveller Main Rulebook. Note that interior flooding does not cause Hull or Structure damage, and so any results of that nature (including striking a system that has already been completely disabled or destroyed) instead call for a reroll on the Location Table. Optionally, the Referee can determine that a result that causes only Hull or Structure damage is simply ignored.

A robot or drone with a Self-Sealing hull does not suffer from interior flooding, nor do non-robotic vehicles. (The occupants of a vehicle may have issues with interior flooding, particularly if they are not of a species that can breathe underwater, but the vehicle itself typically is not damaged by immersion. Electronic components, on the other hand, may suffer, at the Referee’s discretion.)

Crushing Pressure
Robots and drones, like vehicles in general, can handle greater pressure ranges than organic creatures. However, there comes a point where a robot’s structure makes all the difference in withstanding the crushing pressure of the deep ocean depths. The average robot, drone or vehicle can handle pressures of up to 200 meters before beginning to suffer the effects of crushing pressure. For every additional 100 meters below the safe limit, the robot suffers 1d6 points of damage per minute of exposure. The number of dice is reduced by the current Structure of the robot or drone. This damage bypasses armor, and is resolved like any other vehicle damage, per the Vehicle Damage Table in the Traveller Main Rulebook. Unlike flooding, crushing pressure can cause Structure and Hull damage. As the robot or drone suffers damage to its Structure, its ability to reduce the number of damage dice for crushing pressure is reduced. Once Structure begins to suffer, it’s a downward spiral toward destruction.

A robot or drone with a Reinforced hull has higher Structure and Hull values. The higher Structure provides more resistance to crushing pressure.

A robot or drone with the Aquatic hull design are essentially immune to crushing pressure damage, as the pressure is distributed. However, sudden changes in pressure may cause damage before the internal systems can compensate and distribute the pressure. When travelling upward or downward through the ocean depths more than 200 meters, the robot or drone must stop for a minute every 100 meters to acclimate to the new pressure or suffer damage every minute equal to 1d6 points of damage per 100 meters change in depth since the last time the robot or drone was acclimatized.

Hope This Helps,
Flynn

 

[rust]

Thank you very much !

One point worth mentioning could be that communicators and sensors
using electromagnetic waves (e.g. radio, radar) do not work well (or
at all) in an aquatic environment, while equipment using sound waves
(e.g. sonar) works perfectly well.

 

[tjoneslo]

Good Morning, All:

As a quick preview, and to spur on conversation, I am including a small section of the Special Rules For Robots chapter for those interested in this book. The following rules will be released under the Open Game License. Any insight or feedback would be greatly appreciated:

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 has no internal compartments which need to be kept full of air (e.g. passenger compartments, cargo), the robot can be built to withstand any depth (filling all the internal spaces with a non-conductive fluid). There should be no limits to how fast the robot rises or falls through water.

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).

Edit: I wrote a set of rules for operating under water for another version of Traveller. You may be able to adapt these over.