Ship's Brain Interface sizing and use

[jaysm]

The RHB has a ship's brain interface sized for the whole ship, plus haptic required to use DEX skills, and non-interfaced brains that can still get information from the ship's systems/sensors but use drones or avatars to act. First issue is mine, the next two trying to preempt my players questions.

My first issue
Can the interface be sized for just the system targeted?
So a 1 ton haptic interface could be used by a Gunner brain to independently operate a turret.
A 12 ton interface could include the bridge and military sensors so a Comms brain could be the comms, sensors and elec.warfare operator.
The sophonts would still be Pilots and Engineers.
Although with a drone interface, drone controller and Remote-Ops+Eng the brain could also use repair drones or combat drones when boarded.

TLDR; Is the interface size all or nothing?
I tend towards yes, smaller interfaces are ok IMTU. What was the intention of the RHB? What gameplay is this going to break?

Second issue
Can Fire Control running on the ship's computer also give a Gunner brain a +2DM, or is that only for Sophont gunners?
Other than for game balance I cannot find a reason why not.

Third issue
Can more than one brain be plugged into a full ship interface?
A large brain for main ship functions and a specialised Gunner brain for each turret.

 

[mavikfelna]

The RHB has a ship's brain interface sized for the whole ship, plus haptic required to use DEX skills, and non-interfaced brains that can still get information from the ship's systems/sensors but use drones or avatars to act. First issue is mine, the next two trying to preempt my players questions.

My first issue
Can the interface be sized for just the system targeted?
So a 1 ton haptic interface could be used by a Gunner brain to independently operate a turret.
A 12 ton interface could include the bridge and military sensors so a Comms brain could be the comms, sensors and elec.warfare operator.
The sophonts would still be Pilots and Engineers.
Although with a drone interface, drone controller and Remote-Ops+Eng the brain could also use repair drones or combat drones when boarded.

TLDR; Is the interface size all or nothing?
I tend towards yes, smaller interfaces are ok IMTU. What was the intention of the RHB? What gameplay is this going to break?

Second issue
Can Fire Control running on the ship's computer also give a Gunner brain a +2DM, or is that only for Sophont gunners?
Other than for game balance I cannot find a reason why not.

Third issue
Can more than one brain be plugged into a full ship interface?
A large brain for main ship functions and a specialised Gunner brain for each turret.

For the second issue, Yes, the brain can benefit from software.
For the third, You can have more than one brain, but I don't know that they can all be on the main interface. But a prime brain running the ship, and gunner brains manning the guns is allowable.

 

[swordtart]

I wasn't quite sure what the benefit of the ships brain was. You can build a conventional droid crew member far more cheaply and it doesn't need interfacing with the entire ship, just using the interfaces a Sophont crew member would use.

Unless you are dispensing with the bridge entirely of course.

 

[jaysm]

Just a different flavour of scifi. Having a ship you talk to can be more engaging for some people than having some robots walking or floating around the ship.
The same preference could be part of the profile of different cultures within your universe too.