| From: | Doctor Doom <jch8169@*******.TAMU.EDU> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: Cyberware Power Systems |
| Date: | Thu, 22 Sep 1994 13:53:41 -0500 |
>!!!!!
><ack>
>what!!!?
>I'm speechless. Almost.
>FASA just dropped another notch in my estimation.
I would submit that you are over-reacting somewhat. This position which
coincides with a long-standing precedent in ShadowRun, namely, that it is
intended to be interpreted and portrayed in a Cinematic manner.
>It makes all the difference in the world, jeez, important things like
>tactics and strategy could depend on it.
Ah, it /could/ make all the difference in the world, should you Game Master
or players subscribe to a school of role-playing thought that requires such
detail. FASA evidently did not consider this topic worthy of such undue
attention, and left it as assumed. Perhaps they considered it borrowing
trouble, considering all the other elements of futuristic science they have
had to develop or expound upon, and did not wish to spread this misery.
However, should you consider this a gap in the ShadowRun milieu, by all
means flesh out this perceived shortcoming, but do not assume that all
other Game Masters subscribe to the viewpoint that such a level of detail
is necessitated in the system.
>i.e. can a heavily cybered mercenary operate away from a power supply
>for an extended period of time?
Well, consider, for example, that it is conceivable that . . .
Smartlinks may be operated from a power supply in the element attached to
or incorporated within the particular firearm. It stands to reason one
would not be able to utilize this system when one isn't armed.
Headware systems, as they probably aren't terribly demanding in terms of
energy consumption, may derive their energy from organic sources present
in the body. Wired systems may also be said tap into this source to
catapult the body's natural reflexes into a "maximum overdrive" response.
C^2 decks could conceivably meet their power needs via a power line
present in the standard datajack; similarly, Vehicle Control Rigs
could depend upon the vehicle's power supply or that of the remote deck.
Muscle Replacement (not to be confused with the Bioware cousin, Muscle
Augmentation) could constitute the exchanging of natural muscle with
electrically-sensitive polymers (as in the case of BattleTech's myomer
materials); the energy requirements thereof would not be too great.
I shall vouchsafe your point in the case of cyberlimbs. It stands to
reason that they would require something above and beyond that which may
be naturally provided by the body. However, this particular augmentation
is the one in which batteries, should you insist on an external solution,
would be the least incommoding to replace. Imagine a concealed, almost
seamless compartment which may be opened for the exchanging of the expended
power source units.
It should be pointed out that "battery technology," if you will, in 2054
could easily be expected to produce quite sophisticated energy storage
units with impressive potency and duration.
Now, these are not authoritative (that is to say, official) statements.
In fact, they are just my initial thoughts on the matter, but they could
provide a rationale for not even having to concern one's self quite so
much about the meeting of these systems' myriad power needs.
Colonel Count von Hohenzollern und von Doom, DMSc, DSc, PhD.
Doom Technologies & Weapon Systems -- Dark Thought Publications
>>> Working on solutions best left in the dark.
<<<
[ Doctor Doom : jch8169@*******.tamu.edu ]
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
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-- Grand Moff Tarkin
