Steve Jackson Games - Site Navigation
Home General Info Follow Us Search Illuminator Store Forums What's New Other Games Ogre GURPS Munchkin Our Games: Home

Go Back   Steve Jackson Games Forums > Roleplaying > GURPS

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 03-15-2017, 08:29 PM   #11
onetrikpony
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Default Re: Ideas for Anti Robot Technology

Thinking of low tech;

Cable nets and dead falls might work. Cables would be easy to salvage or scrounge and if you want to drop a building on a bot or several you only need to pick the right size of building. (though simulating that in the game might be pretty complex.)

Either type of trap would be pretty difficult to detect in an urban environment.
onetrikpony is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-15-2017, 09:01 PM   #12
Boomerang
 
Boomerang's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Melbourne, Australia (also known as zone Brisbane)
Default Re: Ideas for Anti Robot Technology

Quote:
Originally Posted by evileeyore View Post
Depends.

Most camouflaged pit traps won't fool radar... and if the camouflaging is thick enough to fool radar, it won't fall under the weight of smaller boots (say less than a ton). Unless the humans have access to some sort of "extra radar bouncy" cloth material (like those "thermal space blankets" or modern sail boat sails).
Good point, I had forgotten about radar.

I am inclined to make trip wires hard for robots to spot, radar doesn't have sufficient resolution and thermography gives no special advantage.
Boomerang is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-15-2017, 10:41 PM   #13
Johnny1A.2
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Default Re: Ideas for Anti Robot Technology

Another thought: ground-based robots, at least the wheeled and tracked ones, need bridges over rivers and other obstacles. Such bridges can be boob-trapped, or blown out to screw up robotic logistics.
__________________
HMS Overflow-For conversations off topic here.
Johnny1A.2 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-16-2017, 12:52 AM   #14
Boomerang
 
Boomerang's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Melbourne, Australia (also known as zone Brisbane)
Default Re: Ideas for Anti Robot Technology

Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny1A.2 View Post
Another thought: ground-based robots, at least the wheeled and tracked ones, need bridges over rivers and other obstacles. Such bridges can be boob-trapped, or blown out to screw up robotic logistics.
Excellent point. There are lots of great ideas in this thread, thank you to everyone who has responded so far.
Boomerang is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-17-2017, 05:28 AM   #15
Boomerang
 
Boomerang's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Melbourne, Australia (also known as zone Brisbane)
Default Re: Ideas for Anti Robot Technology

Are there any GURPS options at TL10 or less that let you create EMP without setting off a nuke?
Boomerang is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-17-2017, 05:56 AM   #16
vicky_molokh
GURPS FAQ Keeper
 
vicky_molokh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
Default Re: Ideas for Anti Robot Technology

Quote:
Originally Posted by Boomerang View Post
Are there any GURPS options at TL10 or less that let you create EMP without setting off a nuke?
EMP ammunition.
__________________
Vicky 'Molokh', GURPS FAQ and uFAQ Keeper
vicky_molokh is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-17-2017, 06:36 AM   #17
Donny Brook
 
Donny Brook's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Snoopy's basement
Default Re: Ideas for Anti Robot Technology

Corrosive liquids and gasses? Nanite swarms?
Donny Brook is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-17-2017, 09:09 AM   #18
Nymdok
 
Nymdok's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Houston
Default Re: Ideas for Anti Robot Technology

Please note that Ive never played Reign of Steel.

For measuers and counter-measures I dont know that it would really be that different from the way Humans fight wars.

My advice would be to let your imagination run a bit and develop measures and counter measures that could bring a blance of power between the warring factions, and then have the humans exploit that balance.

For example, If one Zones troops are heavily hardened against EMP, and the other side is heavily armored against AP rounds, then both sides still end up heavily armored, making the 'pit' type traps suggested above somewhat more attractive.

If one zone is Security Hardened against Hacking (by simple instruction sets) and another is Security Hardened against Communications Dissruption (By installing Autonomous AI) Then one side is Dumb, the other slow, AND neitehr will be able to adapt to rapidly changing chaotic battelfield conditions.


So to sum up, try to think of all the ways a robot could be neutralized, then try to think of the down side to that. Heres a few:

Robots are normally made of metal and therefore are thermally vulnerable. Ceramic PLating is a good defense against it, but is also abblative, so high volume ordinance down range could effeectively erode them.

Nanite swarms require hight throughput close range communications to stay coordinated and have NO armor due to their size, nor do they usuallyhave ANY ranged ordinance. Disrupting that comm through albedo dust or a Jamming signal might be effective.

Robots have mobility problems just like everything else. Continuous Track robots can move pretty fast and carry a lot of weight, but sheer surfaces of more than a couple of meters present them with insurmountable obstacles.
HUman type legs, Although VERY versatile have small impact areas and will not just wear out fairly quickly under extreme strain, require balace and sophisticated AI to use.

Disrupting communication for robots in combat is just as problematic as doing it for humans, especially since Simplicity Hardened robots will have little autonomous AI and will likely be controleld remotely.

Gallium based tangler alloys that could be fired liquid, alloy in flight, and then solidify on target might be a neat option!

Flying robots are normally light enough (to reduce energy consumption) that a signifigantly strong wind (read that 'explosion') might effectively disrupt them.

Nymdok

Last edited by Nymdok; 03-17-2017 at 09:17 AM.
Nymdok is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-17-2017, 09:16 AM   #19
Boomerang
 
Boomerang's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Melbourne, Australia (also known as zone Brisbane)
Default Re: Ideas for Anti Robot Technology

Quote:
Originally Posted by vicky_molokh View Post
EMP ammunition.
Which book is that in?
Boomerang is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-17-2017, 09:33 AM   #20
vicky_molokh
GURPS FAQ Keeper
 
vicky_molokh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
Default Re: Ideas for Anti Robot Technology

Quote:
Originally Posted by Boomerang View Post
Which book is that in?
Ultra-Tech.
__________________
Vicky 'Molokh', GURPS FAQ and uFAQ Keeper
vicky_molokh is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
anti, reign of steel, robots, technology

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Fnords are Off
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:22 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.