Loading Programs

[CosmicGamer]

How long does it take to swap out a program in a computer? Anything in the rules?

the reason I ask:

Wonderful thing, unlimited storage. One could spend 15,000Cr for 15 Expert 1 programs and house them all on a TL 12 Computer/3. Run Intelligent Interface rating 1 and run the expert programs as needed so that you never appear to be unskilled at most INT and EDU based tasks.

I'm concerned with being able to instantly swap in and out and run the programs. Especially once we add in the CSC Neural Link and Kinetic Interface so that one can get the same benefit with physical skills. I think it is a bit too powerful and hurts game balance and was thinking that a limit on how quickly one can load the programs would be helpful to restore balance. Time sensitive tasks could be here and gone before one has time to swap out and run a different expert program than they had active.

Thoughts?

 

[sideranautae]

If we are still using Windblows by then, 1 day at least.

Realistically I'd say one turn, two turns max.

 

[CosmicGamer]

Turn? I'm not talking ship software. Are you?

 

[sideranautae]

Turn? I'm not talking ship software. Are you?

Using wrong game analogy. I'll translate. a few minutes.

 

[Old timer]

Deleted as irrelevant, better point/suggestion made below

 

[mr31337]

1d6 minutes? :shock:

Nothing takes that long to load today at TL7, unless you're not using solid state discs which are very commonly available. Even then 1d6 minutes seems a long time. As an example, Windows (hate it as we may) will boot in about 15 seconds, give or take, with a SSD.

As technology marches on and computer programs get more complex it is reasonable to expect load times to improve at higher TL's just as higher rated programs will take longer to load; such that a Rating/0 program will load as fast a on computer with a rating of 0 as a Rating/1 program on a computer with a rating of 1 .....and so on... so just as fast as a Rating/5 program will load on a computer with a rating of 5 etc..

Let's for arguments sake assume Windows8 is the equivalent of TL7 'interface software' (MRB p92) and has a rating of 0 and can boot in say...2d6+6 seconds.

If we accept the above as reasonable then we should expect that all software (including ship software) over TL7 should be loaded in about 2d6+6 seconds, unless it has no rating at all like a database, in which case it should load almost immediately.

 

[GypsyComet]

IMTU, the term "software" is a misnomer for ship's programs. Remember, Jump algorithms are 11,000 years old, and the processes need to be far more error-resistant than just about anything we run on computers today. In old programmer's terms, jump software has been "proven". As such, it can pretty much revert to hard code similar to an old Atari cartridge. A given computer has only so much runtime capacity (Memory), and only so many spots to add hard code (Storage). Does it feel low tech? Sure, if you ignore the actual contents of those carts.

For people who apply modern computer expectations of software, I'll note that programs keep getting larger, and in Traveller shipboard terms that gigantic database with extensive display format support (including holographic), inline verification, and auto update capability known as Library Data is essentially a no resources install on a ship's comp. Even Jump-1 blows it out of the water. This is not simple stuff.

 

[Condottiere]

 

[CosmicGamer]

Ok, generically fast program start ups.

Keep in mind that the premise by the rules is that the computer is at max processing capacity and has to shut down one program to run another.

How long do you think it would take under those circumstances to swap out expert programs?

 

[mr31337]

Since software rating correlates exactly with computing power(rating) we are being shown by the rules that a more complex program can be run as ably on a suitably powerful computer as a less complex program on a suitably less powerful computer. Loading times should therefore always be expected to be consistent. Anything else is just an assumption.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

I would say that swapping out a program on a computer is a Major Action. If you have a Neural Link, it becomes a Minor Action.

No roll necessary unless the situation demands it, such as trying to swap programs during a firefight with suppression fire whizzing past your head and flash-bangs going off all around you...

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

Been thinking about this some more.

What about this? Loading a program takes 1d6 turns (6-26 seconds) + Rating of the Program - Rating of the Computer. Values of 0 or less are treated as taking a Minor Action within a Combat Round.

Example: Loading a Rating/2 program into a Rating/4 Personal Computer:

1d6+2-4 (1d6-2) Combat Rounds. SO you have 33% chance it can be done in a Minor Action and at most it will take 24 seconds (4 combat rounds).

Players may make a Computer skill check (against EDU) and apply the EFFECT of their roll to the result, but it takes them a Major Action to accomplish this. Thus for lower rating programs, it is probably easier/faster/better to let the computer do all the work, but for a big program, it might be worth the Major Action to save a couple of combat rounds.

For Ship Programs, since the Space Combat Round is so much longer, assume any/all programs can be changed during the round. I would recommend that they be changed during the Set Up Phase (first round) and then the Ship Action Phase for subsequent rounds.

 

[locarno24]

Agreed. in a 6 minute round you should be able to shift processing power between software at will, provided you've either got someone specifically handling the computer (assume the engineer can do it if he's not occupied fiddling with one of the drives, or else an intellect software with the brains to figure out what support the crew most need at any given time).