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.

 

[rinku]

It may be worth remembering that you don't actually need a robot brain or any extra gear to automate fire control, just ship's computer bandwidth. Even a droid gunner is a bit of an extra. What the robot or meat gunner gives you is better to hit DMs; it's up to the captain as to whether those are an expense worth paying for.

A ship you can talk to and tell what to do is also a basic feature. You absolutely do not need a robot brain or advanced computer to run a one crew ship. Any computer meaty enough to calculate a jump is more than powerful enough for that job. Most crew functions could be controlled from a 21st century phone, honestly. Compared to a person, it has better eyes, better ears, and wifi is a superior method of controlling machinery than hands. Most functions requiring meat brain oversight only need simple programs (i.e. Crew member designates target and the guns get on with tracking and shooting at it until told to stop. Dinner time is at 18:00 - autochef has the meal ready to serve at 17:55. Autopilot course is approved by the Pilot and set to alert the crew if any of a wide range of anomalies crop up).

Further thought - things tend to happen slowly in space. A potential collision or approaching ship will be known in plenty of time for the crew to be alerted to the potential emergency. About the only time you need immediate eyes on the situation is emerging from jump or during approach or departure. So a lot of the time, automation is more than sufficient.

 

[jaysm]

It may be worth remembering that you don't actually need a robot brain or any extra gear to automate fire control, just ship's computer bandwidth. Even a droid gunner is a bit of an extra. What the robot or meat gunner gives you is better to hit DMs; it's up to the captain as to whether those are an expense worth paying for.

A ship you can talk to and tell what to do is also a basic feature. You absolutely do not need a robot brain or advanced computer to run a one crew ship. Any computer meaty enough to calculate a jump is more than powerful enough for that job. Most crew functions could be controlled from a 21st century phone, honestly. Compared to a person, it has better eyes, better ears, and wifi is a superior method of controlling machinery than hands. Most functions requiring meat brain oversight only need simple programs (i.e. Crew member designates target and the guns get on with tracking and shooting at it until told to stop. Dinner time is at 18:00 - autochef has the meal ready to serve at 17:55. Autopilot course is approved by the Pilot and set to alert the crew if any of a wide range of anomalies crop up).

Further thought - things tend to happen slowly in space. A potential collision or approaching ship will be known in plenty of time for the crew to be alerted to the potential emergency. About the only time you need immediate eyes on the situation is emerging from jump or during approach or departure. So a lot of the time, automation is more than sufficient.

I understand all that. Plus beyond robot or meat gunners software on the ship's computer can give extra DMs. That is not my point tho. I have refereed all those options before and I understand them, the RHB is new material for me so before I put it in front of my players I was trying to clarify a couple of bits that were unclear,
Can the ship's interface be installed on part of the ship's tonnage, even as small as a single turret?
Can more than one brain share an interface?

It is about having options, and ways to generate different story hooks. Having strange or exotic things in the game universe let my players encounter more new situations. Just as high and low fantasy games have a very different flavour, very high and low intelligence or automation do too. Nothing to do with whether or not a ship needs it. Having ORAC hassling the players for being dumb meatsacks let's me say things the Referee shouldn't

 

[rinku]

Oh, anything that jerks the players around is great

 

[jaysm]

Oh, anything that jerks the players around is great

So many think we are running the game for their entertainment.

 

[rinku]

It's a mutally enjoyable collaborative story telling experience.

Heh.

 

[Terry Mixon]

It's a mutally enjoyable collaborative story telling experience.

Heh.

 

[wintertraveller]

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.

My understanding is that a ship can have only one ship's brain and that the interface is purchased as all or nothing for the full hull tonnage. However, I may well be wrong about these matters.

 

[Terry Mixon]

My understanding is that a ship can have only one ship's brain and that the interface is purchased as all or nothing for the full hull tonnage. However, I may well be wrong about these matters.

I think you’re right, but only @Geir can say for sure.

 

[rinku]

If you're going all the way to a brain, it should be capable of multitasking control of the whole ship (RHB implies as much), so there usually would be little need to have sub-brains. Automated systems that the brain gives instruction to, perhaps. And which would be instructed VERY quickly compared to the meat brain-limb-manual interface, or meat brain-larynx-air-microphone ones.

Zhodani mind-machine interfaces might match it, though.