[SS] Senses vs Sensor Rolls

[DataPacRat]

Given a PC with an offbeat Detect*, for which they have 8 levels of Acute Sense, when they're flying around in their starfighter, should I just treat them as having a personal Sensor Array of level 8 (Spaceships 1, p44-5)?


* Based on this post. Gravitational Sense: Detect (Matter; Analyzing, +100%; Based on Per, +20%; Cosmic, Not restricted to a specific type of matter, +50%; Countermeasures, Technological, Blocking and Disrupting, -10%; Precise, +100%; Reflexive, +40%); plus Acute Sense (Detect Matter) 8 [136].

[isf]

That seems reasonable, though I would add some kind of increased arc to it.

[DataPacRat]

Originally Posted by isf

That seems reasonable, though I would add some kind of increased arc to it.

Do you mean to the Detect? The description of the ability in the earlier thread mentioned that it wasn't limited to a normal arc of vision.

[isf]

Originally Posted by DataPacRat

Do you mean to the Detect? The description of the ability in the earlier thread mentioned that it wasn't limited to a normal arc of vision.

Yes, but rereading Detect changed my mind (I'm used to detects being mostly vision based)

[DataPacRat]

Originally Posted by DataPacRat

Given a PC with an offbeat Detect*, for which they have 8 levels of Acute Sense, when they're flying around in their starfighter, should I just treat them as having a personal Sensor Array of level 8 (Spaceships 1, p44-5)?


* Based on this post. Gravitational Sense: Detect (Matter; Analyzing, +100%; Based on Per, +20%; Cosmic, Not restricted to a specific type of matter, +50%; Countermeasures, Technological, Blocking and Disrupting, -10%; Precise, +100%; Reflexive, +40%); plus Acute Sense (Detect Matter) 8 [136].

I remember there used to be some issues in GURPS with sensors not being able to detect astronomical objects; can anyone figure out whether the above Detect can find the Moon or Sun from Earth's surface?

[DataPacRat]

Originally Posted by DataPacRat

I remember there used to be some issues in GURPS with sensors not being able to detect astronomical objects; can anyone figure out whether the above Detect can find the Moon or Sun from Earth's surface?

Am I going about this wrong, in using the table from here and the factors from Spaceships 1 page 44, and Time Spent on Basic p346 with 20 seconds as the base time?

Auto-detect in an instant:
> Large Magellanic Cloud: Time Spent (instant) -10, SM +121 (+119 for dimension 4,000 pc, +2 for spherical), range -125 (48,500 pc), Acute Sense +8, In Plain Sight +10, Silhouetted Against Deep Space +24 = Total +28
> Andromeda Galaxy: Time Spent (instant) -10, SM +126 (+126 for dimension 67,000 pc, +0 for non-spherical), range -133 (780,000 pc), Acute Sense +8, In Plain Sight +10, Silhouetted Against Deep Space +24 = Total +25
> Moon: Time Spent (instant) -10, SM +40 (+38 for dimension 2,158 mi, +2 for spherical), range -50, Acute Sense +8, In Plain Sight +10, Silhouetted Against Deep Space +24 = Total +22
> Sun: Time Spent (instant) -10, SM +56 (+54 for dimension 865,370 mi, +2 for spherical), range 1 AU -65, Acute Sense +8, In Plain Sight +10, Silhouetted Against Deep Space +24 = Total +23
> Venus: Time Spent (instant) -10, SM +44 (+42 for dimension 7,520 mi, +2 for spherical), range -62 to -67 (0.28 to 1.72 AU), Acute Sense +8, In Plain Sight +10, Silhouetted Against Deep Space +24 = Total +22 to +17
> Jupiter: Time Spent (instant) -10, SM +50 (+48 for dimension 86,880 mi, +2 for spherical), range -69 (~5 AU), Acute Sense +8, In Plain Sight +10, Silhouetted Against Deep Space +24 = Total +13
> Saturn: Time Spent (instant) -10, SM +50 (+48 for dimension 72,367 mi, +2 for spherical), range -71 (~9.5 AU), Acute Sense +8, In Plain Sight +10, Silhouetted Against Deep Space +24 = Total +11
> International Space Station: Time Spent (instant) -10, SM +11 (+11 for dimension 120 y, +0 for non-spherical), range -33 (250 mi when directly overhead), Acute Sense +8, In Plain Sight +10, Silhouetted Against Deep Space +24 = Total +10

Auto-detect after a short time looking:
> Mars: Time Spent (6 seconds) -7, SM +42 (+40 for dimension 4,212 mi, +2 for spherical), range -64 to -69 (0.52 to 2.52 AU), Acute Sense +8, In Plain Sight +10, Silhouetted Against Deep Space +24 = Total +15 to +10
> Mercury: Time Spent (6 seconds) -7, SM +41 (+39 for dimension 3031 mi, +2 for spherical), range -64 to -66 (0.7 to 1.3 AU), Acute Sense +8, In Plain Sight +10, Silhouetted Against Deep Space +24 = Total +12 to +10
> Uranus: Time Spent (6 seconds) -7, SM +48 (+46 for dimension 31,518 mi, +2 for spherical), range -73 (~20 AU), Acute Sense +8, In Plain Sight +10, Silhouetted Against Deep Space +24 = Total +10
> Neptune: Time Spent (8 seconds) -6, SM +48 (+46 for dimension 30,599 mi, +2 for spherical), range -74 (~30 AU), Acute Sense +8, In Plain Sight +10, Silhouetted Against Deep Space +24 = Total +10
> Ceres: Time Spent (20 seconds) +0, SM +37 (+35 for dimension 587 mi, +2 for spherical), range -67 to -69 (1.77 to 3.77 AU), Acute Sense +8, In Plain Sight +10, Silhouetted Against Deep Space +24 = Total +12 to +10
> Pluto: Time Spent (5 minutes) +4, SM +39 (+37 for dimension 1,476 mi, +2 for spherical), range -75 (~40 AU), Acute Sense +8, In Plain Sight +10, Silhouetted Against Deep Space +24 = Total +10

Might or might not detect, even with max time-bonus:
> VY Canis Majoris: Time Spent (10 minutes) +5, SM +74 (+72 for dimension 13.2 AU, +2 for spherical), range -116 (1,170 pc), Acute Sense +8, In Plain Sight +10, Silhouetted Against Deep Space +24 = Total +5
> Sirius A: Time Spent (10 minutes) +5, SM +56 (+54 for dimension 740,000 mi, +2 for spherical), range -100 (2.64 pc), Acute Sense +8, In Plain Sight +10, Silhouetted Against Deep Space +24 = Total +3
> Deneb: Time Spent (10 minutes) +5, SM +69 (+67 for dimension 1.88 AU, +2 for spherical), range -115 (800 pc), Acute Sense +8, In Plain Sight +10, Silhouetted Against Deep Space +24 = Total +1
> Alpha Centauri A: Time Spent (10 minutes) +5, SM +51 (+49 for dimension 133,315 mi, +2 for spherical), range -98 (1.34 pc), Acute Sense +8, In Plain Sight +10, Silhouetted Against Deep Space +24 = Total +0

Auto non-detect, too far/small to see:
> Milky Way's central black hole: Time Spent (10 minutes) +5, SM +62 (+60 for dimension 0.15 AU, +2 for spherical), range -121 (8,000 pc), Acute Sense +8, In Plain Sight +10, Silhouetted Against Deep Space +24 = Total -12

[Refplace]

I'll assume you have the right numbers for SM and distance,I dont think you add the +10 in plain sight and +24 silhouetted together.I think the one is just a high contrast version of the other.

[DataPacRat]

Originally Posted by Refplace

I'll assume you have the right numbers for SM and distance,I dont think you add the +10 in plain sight and +24 silhouetted together.I think the one is just a high contrast version of the other.

Spaceships says they're cumulative:

Originally Posted by Spaceships

Observation: +10 if object is in plain sight (in space, air, or
a world’s surface) rather than concealed, camouflaged, hidden
among debris, or using a Cloaking Device.
In Space: +2 if the object is silhouetted against a larger
celestial body, +24 if silhouetted against deep space. Note that
this is cumulative with the plain sight modifier.

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by DataPacRat

Spaceships says they're cumulative:

Then everything looks good to me.

[schmeelke]

Originally Posted by DataPacRat

> Venus: Time Spent (instant) -10, SM +44 (+42 for dimension 7,520 mi, +2 for spherical), range -62 to -67 (0.28 to 1.72 AU), Acute Sense +8, In Plain Sight +10, Silhouetted Against Deep Space +24 = Total +22 to +17

Venus should be +14 to +9. At least, that's what the modifiers add up to. Maybe you added the +8 for Acute Sense twice?