Starship Software

[Jak Nazryth]

Can Star ship software be "salvaged"?
Does each program come in a nice boxed set with the data crystals, brochure, interactive "help" pad etc that sits on a shelf in the captains stateroom..., or is it simply installed at the ship yards.
In essence. Can a player take "Jump Control" or "Fire Control 1" programs off a derelict ship, or ship they've successfully boarded and won in combat, and then salvage/sell the software packages?
Never even thought about it, but one of my players asked...

 

[Jacqual]

I would hope that the software would have some kind of physical copy on the ship for potential reinstall or such. But the ability to actually salvage it may be a little more difficult as the Physical copy may be encrypted by the origional computer it was installed on so it could only be reinstalled on that same computer. I would say though that in the end, the ability of it to be salveged is up to the GM.

 

[phavoc]

I would think that you could take an image of the software out of another ship, but that somehow the installation process creates specific variables unique to the ship that would make it impossible to clone the software from say a 100 ton scout to a 200 ton free trader.

If one uses a PC analogy, you can remove the HD from a specific model of computer and put it into another machine with the exact same hardware specifications and it usually will work without issue.

However if you try to do that and change out say the motherboard, you usually end up with a self-lobotomizing machine as it goes nuts trying to make the connection.

I would suspect that in the future software manufacturers would want to somehow keep that functionality as part of the base install in order to stop something like this from happening.

Of course, most ship owners will probably have the original installation 'discs' and codes onboard if they are needed for something. Or perhaps the information is stored somewhere in the mainframe that a skilled hacker could locate and extract.

I suppose it really depends on how much you want to make it difficult for the PC's to make a credit.

 

[Jak Nazryth]

I tend to agree. I think an owner/captain would have some kind of "boot disc" they could access to repair any damage via hacking or other software glitches, but the actual software package itself would be loaded at the factory.
I have no idea how modern aircraft, cruise ship, war ship, container ship, etc.. software is loaded. But I have a feeling it's not purchased at "Best Buy" and installed by the owner of a typical Tramp Freighter.
But nothing would prevent the players from removing the main computer. That could be wiped and resold.

 

[Condottiere]

Remember Macrosoft only licenses the software to each starship, it remains their property and during every starport visit automatically updates itself.

One popular hardware that Macrosoft sells is Conectix which permits the computer to interpret hand commands and body language.

 

[enderra]

Can Star ship software be "salvaged"?

In theory yes, this depends a lot on how computer tech and the economies of the it industry evolve but I see no reason to assume that it'll change. Of course, judging by today's realities, it's likely more hassle than it's worth. It's much easier to just download a pirated copy or go to a street peddler somewhere. They sell those CDs for a few bucks in some cities/countries. I am pretty sure that won't change a few centuries down the line.

The big question is, though - would you want to? Pirated software is a GREAT way to catch a virus, trojan or other malware.

And if your setting includes sentient AIs, well, then this is gonna be a whole other thorny issue.

 

[Condottiere]

While I don't think Puppy Linux will be sufficient to run a starship, open source should have been an option.

 

[dragoner]

The Virus loves open source software.

 

[Condottiere]