08-20-2013, 11:57 PM | #11 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: Military Cybershells - just how ubiquitous are they?
Something that's probably a design flaw in retrospect. Not that it's inherently ridiculous, but it makes a better setting if the technologies are more clearly in conflict, rather than one on an inexorable path to supplant the other (note that this isn't even necessarily true -- but it's the implication of the 4th/5th wave logic).
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08-21-2013, 12:14 AM | #12 |
Join Date: Dec 2007
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Re: Military Cybershells - just how ubiquitous are they?
It is necessarily true, because they made machine superior in every way to organic.
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08-21-2013, 12:20 AM | #13 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: Military Cybershells - just how ubiquitous are they?
Or if there's an advantage to organics, they do a bad job of explaining what that advantage is. However, even if you adjust tech assumptions to give bio more of a role, the basic role of 'gun platform' is very well suited to hard tech; you might use bio in situations where low maintenance or low signature is important, but it's hard to justify bio being competitive in raw thuggery (in fact, cybershells underperform in certain combat tasks, 'shooting guns' is something where computers beat wetware starting at late TL 6).
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08-21-2013, 12:40 AM | #14 |
GURPS FAQ Keeper
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
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Re: Military Cybershells - just how ubiquitous are they?
Well, the almost-modern MCS-64 seems like a logistic nightmare compared to the American Spartan, and the modern RATS are even more so. The question is whether the gain is worth it (which the books seem to be ambiguous about, and there's a strong opinion that yes, it is).
Are things like Special Forces mostly composed of officers or enlisted? Books seem to say that it's the enlisted that are mostly replaced by bioroids and cyber/bioshells, while officers are mostly human. |
08-21-2013, 12:45 AM | #15 |
Join Date: Dec 2007
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Re: Military Cybershells - just how ubiquitous are they?
Officers aren't human because they're actually better. Since any human mind can be flawlessly uploaded that is absolutely not true. They're human because humanity isn't quite willing as yet to relinquish control.
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08-21-2013, 12:52 AM | #16 | |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: Military Cybershells - just how ubiquitous are they?
Quote:
I would say that a unit whose job is "go in and break stuff" will be mostly cybershells. It's unclear what the original job of the security team you were talking about was -- are they the guards for the diplomatic mission (who very well might be bio), or are they the rapid reaction force that got sent in when the **** hit the fan (who would almost certainly be cyber). |
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08-21-2013, 12:56 AM | #17 |
Computer Scientist
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Dallas, Texas
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Re: Military Cybershells - just how ubiquitous are they?
It's not either/or: Vicky's done a good job of showing how bioroid mooks are cheaper than mookbots, and I've tried to show they are more secure/reliable.
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08-21-2013, 01:22 AM | #18 | |
GURPS FAQ Keeper
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
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Re: Military Cybershells - just how ubiquitous are they?
Quote:
Based on some international agreement into whose details even Caine would rather not dive, a commission was assembled for the purpose of visiting a certain significant object in GEO. Various factions get something like 2-4 slots to fill with whatever specialists they deem appropriate, as long as the paperwork is handled and certain rules are followed. It was clear that something is fishy on the object, but the due to the way things were kept, nobody in the commission or its assemblers knew what. Cybershells were not prohibited, but bringing a RATS would probably not look nice on the international arena. So it was basically a case of 'get ready for trouble, but do not look like you are preparing for trouble' (and definitely don't look like you are preparing to cause trouble!). USA decided to pick three military humans and an indentured bioroid (advanced post-Felicia derivative model). Then a Charlie Foxtrot occurred (long story), because 'Yes, Felicia, they do have terrorists onboard'. On of the other players considered USA's choice of non-infomorph, non-cybershell commission members very stupid, particularly given the fact that USA did pick military people for the delegation in the first place. Which got me wondering just how much of the militaries are replaced by infomorph/cybershells, particularly in Fourth Wave states like the USA, and particularly given that THS military TL is 9 while the rest is TL10, and given that USA still makes military bioroids anyway. And whether the 'not looking for trouble' would've actually changed much. IOW, this is a specific in-game incident that piqued setting-wide generic curiosity. |
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08-21-2013, 01:42 AM | #19 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: Military Cybershells - just how ubiquitous are they?
Ah. I don't see anything especially weird about using biosophants under those conditions, though I'd generally have included a sensor platform cybershell. On the other hand, I'm not sure a bush robot would have improved the combat situation any ;). You could include an infiltration android, but its performance doesn't deeply impress me.
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08-21-2013, 02:29 AM | #20 | ||
GURPS FAQ Keeper
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
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Re: Military Cybershells - just how ubiquitous are they?
Quote:
For some reason I forgot that not only RATS, but even most humanoid military shells are abominated in the civilised world (Social Stigma: Monster). Quote:
Last edited by vicky_molokh; 08-21-2013 at 02:32 AM. |
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Tags |
cybershells, infomorphs, military |
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