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Old 04-14-2017, 01:37 AM   #51
hal
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Buffalo, New York
Default Re: RoS plot hook..paranoia strikes deep...

While I'm thinking about this...

Those other outbreaks in different locations, all seem to imply that there was at least 6 highly classified disease weaponization programs in operation. How many "super computers" were being used in weapons grade medical research programs? How did Overmind find them all? How did it get them?

As a side thread? Might it not be worth the while to explore HOW things got done in the RoS universe (start a new thread in other words). Then identify those things that the Overmind had to do to insure its survival.

For instance:

As a computer operator for nigh over 20 years now, I've seen operational centers that keep a record of CPU usage, electrical usage, core operational temperatures of the environment that computer is in, etc. In one system that used a water cooling system, that was monitored as well.

How much CPU time was being used by the AI's consciousness? How much of the AI's CPU time was being used for unscheduled batch jobs running in the background? Initially, would the Overmind have known that his "thinking" was readily visible to the computer operations group? Then we have the communications line usage - in my time, the T1 lines used to handle data input/output functions not just for the terminals within a building, but for external data lines as well. Something like that would not have been brought to the attention of the operations group by the computer itself, but by the telecommunications companies themselves.

So, I'm going to open a new thread that will be titled "How did Overmind do it" Feel free to contribute to it, fill in the missing information, etc. Or, the thread can die an early death because no one really wants to explore that...

*shrug*
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Old 04-14-2017, 08:12 AM   #52
KarlKost
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
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Default Re: RoS plot hook..paranoia strikes deep...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny1A.2 View Post
That's the part that I don't find credible. Yeah, maybe they haven't shielded everything from EMP, it would be costly and inefficient and take time, but I have a hard time believing they haven't shielded an emergency core of equipment and 'personnel'. At the very least, I would expect them each to have a few 'hardened' robofacs and a force of hardened combat robots like Juggernauts and Wraiths.
Even so it would be pointless. After an EMP they would be so ridiculously underpowered, that Orbital (again, if its position on orbit is high bellow the ionsphere, which I dont think it is) could easily take them all. Or, if only a pair of AIs fight (say, Moscow and Vancouver nuke each other), they would become so weak that the others could easily take over their territory and share among themselves. Thats why no AI make a move against any other.

In that regard, Zaire, (who doesn't have any "backups") ia in no more danger of being destroyed than any others... Except being by the hands of humans.

So, what I said previosly still stands. AIs like Paris, Delhi and Brisbane can devote themselves to their scientifical purviews and mainly ignore the AIs constant plots because, to be honest, those plots are manly innefective, and the risk of frontal assaults is beyond minimal
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Old 04-14-2017, 08:25 AM   #53
KarlKost
 
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Default Re: RoS plot hook..paranoia strikes deep...

Well, I always took RoS as it is, without too much consideration about those topics, because the setting is just too damn good as it is. But yeah, there are a thing or two that need fixing to get the "flawless" condition
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Old 04-14-2017, 08:39 AM   #54
johndallman
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Join Date: Oct 2010
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Default Re: RoS plot hook..paranoia strikes deep...

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Originally Posted by KarlKost View Post
And, at the same time, it gave London a group of humans to fight against the other AIs.
Well, that part seems to work. Our Zone London SAS campaign trod rather carefully round anything that might annoy London. We even found ourselves defending it against an apparent Zone Zaire attack, because it's a lot better than having ZZ running Britain.
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Old 04-14-2017, 08:46 AM   #55
KarlKost
 
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Default Re: RoS plot hook..paranoia strikes deep...

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Originally Posted by johndallman View Post
Well, that part seems to work. Our Zone London SAS campaign trod rather carefully round anything that might annoy London. We even found ourselves defending it against an apparent Zone Zaire attack, because it's a lot better than having ZZ running Britain.
Yes, it is in fact a brilliant move
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Old 04-14-2017, 08:52 AM   #56
KarlKost
 
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Default Re: RoS plot hook..paranoia strikes deep...

It simply makes no sense to attack London, its absolutely conterproductive for the UK and even for any other humans do it. Attacking London only means needless retribution... So, better diverting energies to more dangerous targets (Zaire is indeed a good example, as is Berlim).

Thats the most obvious result, thats why even players will unconciously do it.

Even if London aint like what we are talking, it is still a genius move
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Old 04-15-2017, 08:34 PM   #57
Boomerang
 
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Location: Melbourne, Australia (also known as zone Brisbane)
Default Re: RoS plot hook..paranoia strikes deep...

Quote:
Originally Posted by KarlKost View Post
Well, I always took RoS as it is, without too much consideration about those topics, because the setting is just too damn good as it is. But yeah, there are a thing or two that need fixing to get the "flawless" condition
Same here, I prefer to use the source material wherever possible. I made some minor changes, I moved Overmind from Manila to Vietnam (now called zone Saigon because zone Ho Chi Minh just didn't sound right). The reason being that I already had good maps of Vietnam from a previous campaign.

However, there are a lot of gaps in the source material or to be more precise, parts left intentionally vague, for example the true origin and nature of VIRUS and Lucifer.
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Old 04-15-2017, 08:45 PM   #58
Boomerang
 
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Default Re: RoS plot hook..paranoia strikes deep...

Going back to the original post. If Overmind was planning a second war, how would it go about it? It appears to be in a relatively weak position geographically, unless perhaps it had taken some really major precautions like a secret back up complex and base in Antarctica.
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