Monetary Cost of NPC Robot Skill Points [Ultra-Tech]

myrmidon · 03-14-2019, 08:23 PM

In Ultra-Tech (or other books), is there a way to determine the additional cost of a robot NPC due to its skill points? For example, a Techbot [UT85] costs $10,000 at TL10; but it comes with no skills. How do I give it skills and how does that affect the cost of the robot? I would assume that the player would buy programs to install on the robot, which would give it skills. How do I determine the monetary cost and relative skill level of the programs? Thank you in advance.

Gef · 03-14-2019, 10:30 PM

Hi myrmidon. Actually, neither the AI meta-trait nor the Automaton meta-trait of a non-volitional AI has the disad Cannot Learn. Therefore, robots in Ultra-Tech exhibit machine learning and pick up skills the same way people do (okay, it may be different neurologically, but it's the same game-mechanically). Presumably skills increase a robot's value just as they increase a person's employability, and how much value it adds will be situation-dependent.

Ultra-Tech says on p. 30 that robots can have Modular Ability: Computer Brain that lets them run programs that provide skills, but no robot template in the book actually has this advantage. Under Modular Ability, Basic p. 71 gives the cost of skill programs as $100 per character point's worth of skill emulated, for instance that would be $400 for a 4pt skill, like if someone wrote a shoplifting app that gave Filch at DX+1. However, there's nothing that gives a monetary price for the ability to run such a program. It wouldn't be unreasonable to assume there's no direct monetary cost to the robot purchaser, that the robot manufacturer includes the ability for free because he gets a cut of the software sales.

myrmidon · 03-16-2019, 01:53 PM

Gef, thank you for the excellent advice and references! That's just what I needed. I'll use the costs from Modular Ability on B71 when purchasing the robot, and allow it to develop skills as NPCs. Thank you again.

Gef · 03-16-2019, 02:40 PM

Glad to help. Here's a question to consider about robots: What's the secret sauce for sapience?

Is it software? Can sapient software run on any hardware of sufficient complexity?

Or is it hardware, that has to be "trained" from "birth" so you can't just pull one off the assembly line, image a sapient operating system, and boom instant character?

newton · 03-17-2019, 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gef

Glad to help. Here's a question to consider about robots: What's the secret sauce for sapience?

Is it software? Can sapient software run on any hardware of sufficient complexity?

Or is it hardware, that has to be "trained" from "birth" so you can't just pull one off the assembly line, image a sapient operating system, and boom instant character?

the answer is... which do you want it to be

03-14-2019, 08:23 PM	#1
myrmidon Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Wichita, KS	Monetary Cost of NPC Robot Skill Points [Ultra-Tech] In *Ultra-Tech* (or other books), is there a way to determine the additional cost of a robot NPC due to its skill points? For example, a Techbot [UT85] costs $10,000 at TL10; but it comes with no skills. How do I give it skills and how does that affect the cost of the robot? I would assume that the player would buy programs to install on the robot, which would give it skills. How do I determine the monetary cost and relative skill level of the programs? Thank you in advance.

03-14-2019, 10:30 PM	#2
Gef Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Yucca Valley, CA	Re: Monetary Cost of NPC Robot Skill Points [Ultra-Tech] Hi myrmidon. Actually, neither the AI meta-trait nor the Automaton meta-trait of a non-volitional AI has the disad Cannot Learn. Therefore, robots in Ultra-Tech exhibit machine learning and pick up skills the same way people do (okay, it may be different neurologically, but it's the same game-mechanically). Presumably skills increase a robot's value just as they increase a person's employability, and how much value it adds will be situation-dependent. Ultra-Tech says on p. 30 that robots can have Modular Ability: Computer Brain that lets them run programs that provide skills, but no robot template in the book actually has this advantage. Under Modular Ability, Basic p. 71 gives the cost of skill programs as $100 per character point's worth of skill emulated, for instance that would be $400 for a 4pt skill, like if someone wrote a shoplifting app that gave Filch at DX+1. However, there's nothing that gives a monetary price for the ability to run such a program. It wouldn't be unreasonable to assume there's no direct monetary cost to the robot purchaser, that the robot manufacturer includes the ability for free because he gets a cut of the software sales. Last edited by Gef; 03-14-2019 at 10:36 PM.

03-16-2019, 01:53 PM	#3
myrmidon Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Wichita, KS	Re: Monetary Cost of NPC Robot Skill Points [Ultra-Tech] Gef, thank you for the excellent advice and references! That's just what I needed. I'll use the costs from Modular Ability on B71 when purchasing the robot, and allow it to develop skills as NPCs. Thank you again.

03-16-2019, 02:40 PM	#4
Gef Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Yucca Valley, CA	Re: Monetary Cost of NPC Robot Skill Points [Ultra-Tech] Glad to help. Here's a question to consider about robots: What's the secret sauce for sapience? Is it software? Can sapient software run on any hardware of sufficient complexity? Or is it hardware, that has to be "trained" from "birth" so you can't just pull one off the assembly line, image a sapient operating system, and boom instant character?