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 12-13-2020, 08:16 AM   #41
Daigoro
 
Daigoro's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Meifumado
Default Re: [GAME] Synthesise a Cybercity!

Quote:
Originally Posted by TGLS View Post
Question 21 [CTY]: Expanding upon 16, what does this city export that makes it worth it for NeuroCorp to keep it afloat?

NeuroCorp is chiefly notable for inventing and leading the cutting edge in Artificial Neuronic Computers (i.e. fake brains). The original plan for YOU-Topia was to be a city-sized factory to produce ANCs and all the semi-products in between. When they lost the Master Wars, they tacked on office spaces and executive housing.

YOU-Topia has suffered lean years, especially after self-improving programs were introduced. There were some doubts that it would make a centennial, but after Humanity passed a ban on non-biological AI, NeuroCorp is back on top.
Answer 21.2 [NRTC][CTY] NeuroTech Psychopharma
One such profitable side-line from the production of ANCs is NeuroTech's Reverie family of psychopharma products. The flagship drug, Reverie, causes moments of happiness and peaceful contemplation, triggered by environmental cues. The consumer's mind recalls happy memories, and the neurochemical cocktail opens up neural pathways to deepen and intensify the memory. Thus, a consumer might be brought out of their daily drudgery while chewing on an algae burger and contentedly recall going to a burger restaurant with their parents.

NeuroTech fortunately has a large consumer testbed for their products, as most employees in YOU-Topia are required to take a daily dose when they start work.

One rumoured complication from the drug is that it generates a two-way link between emotional memories and stimuli. Thus, taking the drug may also link happy emotions with current environmental triggers. Some gang members therefore hyperdose on Reverie before a violent encounter, causing them to experience happy reveries when they think back on the incident. Police unions of course deny that any of their officers practise this hyperdosing.

Other pharmaceuticals in the Reverie Product Family that enhance a user's brain chemistry include:
- Remembrance: brings to mind feelings of sadness and loss. Used in therapy and penal contexts.
- Resent: causes feelings of seething rage. Not for sale on the open market. Reportedly used in psyops and by political agitators.
- Recollect: recalls faint and vague memories. Popular with students and for witness testimony.
- Revelation: sparks creativity, confidence, and spiritual fervour.

---
Question 39 [DRUG]
What are some side-effects or withdrawal symptoms of Reverie or the other drugs?

Question 40 [AI] - Machine AI
40.1 Why were machine AIs banned?
40.2 Who enforces this ban?
40.3 Who is trying to circumvent the ban?

Question 41 [AI] - Organic AI
41.1 What are the limits of organic AI?
41.2 Can organic AI only work in a living body or is there a brain-in-a-box modality?
41.3 What are the standard or everyday uses for organic AI and ANCs?
__________________
Collaborative Settings:
Cyberpunk: Duopoly Nation
Space Opera: Behind the King's Eclipse
And heaps of forum collabs, 30+ and counting!

Last edited by Daigoro; 12-13-2020 at 09:04 AM.
Daigoro is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-13-2020, 08:46 AM   #42
Daigoro
 
Daigoro's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Meifumado
Default Re: [GAME] Synthesise a Cybercity!

Quote:
Originally Posted by (E) View Post
Question 30[SET]
Its Cyberpunk, so life is cheap, but what's the carrot on the end of the stick that people strive for?
(Becoming wealthy, getting off planet, some amazing upgrade etc)
Answer 30 [SET] - Memory Grafting
For many on 'the N', their dream is to get off.

More generally though, two important things are "to have a lifetime of good memories" and "to be remembered", though these both need some clarification.

People want to have a lifetime of good memories, but they don't have to be their own memories. With NeuroTech's MyMemory product range, memory grafts allow customers to experience and recall fond, happy and exciting memories from other people's minds as though they were their own. (NeuroTech says that the reports of such side-effects as confusion, loss of identity, confusion of identity, loss of genuine memories or feelings of inadequacy are overblown and rarely occur under a clinically managed memory graft regime.)

And the flipside of this, "being remembered", now has a new meaning. Modern celebrities are those who can sell off the most interesting or exciting memories for the world to share. Wannabe celebrities and get-rich-quick entrepreneurs continually push the envelope for the riskiest, most exciting and most dangerous activities so they can rush off to their MyMemory scout to sell off their experiences. (NeuroTech denies that uploading memories from dead subjects is possible and refutes any responsibility for an associated black market of "death moment" memories.)

Pop into your nearest licensed NeuroTech clinic to see what new memories await you!


---
Question 42 [TECH]
42.1 What's the process for extracting and implanting memory grafts?
42.2 What are some societal implications of memory grafting?
__________________
Collaborative Settings:
Cyberpunk: Duopoly Nation
Space Opera: Behind the King's Eclipse
And heaps of forum collabs, 30+ and counting!

Last edited by Daigoro; 12-13-2020 at 09:04 AM.
Daigoro is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-13-2020, 08:52 AM   #43
Daigoro
 
Daigoro's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Meifumado
Default Re: [GAME] Synthesise a Cybercity!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyneras View Post
@Daigoro

I can see the long outside edges of the N having a triangular or square sawtooth pattern, with more unique cutouts and projections on the smaller and insider edges. The sharpness of all of these would likely erode as time marched on.
I went with some L-shaped cutouts, partly to protect ships from rough weather but also it was a bit easier. I could do a string of triangular bays down the top right to give the richies lots of beachfront.
__________________
Collaborative Settings:
Cyberpunk: Duopoly Nation
Space Opera: Behind the King's Eclipse
And heaps of forum collabs, 30+ and counting!
Daigoro is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-13-2020, 09:35 AM   #44
Gold & Appel Inc
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: One Mile Up
Default Re: [GAME] Synthesise a Cybercity!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Daigoro View Post
Question 42 [TECH]
42.1 What's the process for extracting and implanting memory grafts?
While rumors about that a grisly surgical process makes this possible, and may still exist as the "budget" way of doing things, a convenient, portable, more-or-less concealable scanning/recording/downloading device has now been brought to you courtesy of your friends at NT! Originally developed for their own corp cops for everything from enhanced interrogation to undercover observation, it is now available to YOU on the above-board market for prices almost anyone can aspire to affording.

42.2 What are some societal implications of memory grafting?[/QUOTE]

Take a solid Strange Days base, add a liberal dollop of Total Recall and blend on high. Forgetting anything is a thing of the past, wealthy sybarites exist paying top dollar to experience the good parts of the lives of others instead of doing anything themselves, false memories can be implanted so seamlessly that even the victims of elaborate enough frame jobs think they're guilty, you name it. Collegiate and internet philosophers inclined to ask what reality even is have of course been having a field day.

42.3 Name and describe one or more top current "Mem Stars" and the sort of experiences this new class of adrenaline-addicted, possibly masochistic celebrity is notorious for.
Gold & Appel Inc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-13-2020, 09:40 AM   #45
TGLS
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Default Re: [GAME] Synthesise a Cybercity!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Daigoro View Post
Question 39 [DRUG]
What are some side-effects or withdrawal symptoms of Reverie or the other drugs?
Answer 39
Side effects for the Reverie family of drugs is uncommon, and may include migraines, nausea, flashbacks, drowsiness, constipation, amnesiac episodes, high blood pressure, dementia, sexual dysfunction, repetitive strain injuries, impostor syndrome, dizziness, nervousness, audiovisual hallucinations, darkened stool, compulsive behavior, behaving as if awake while asleep, and in rare extreme cases, death.
Do not take Reverie or other members of the Reverie family of drugs if you are pregnant or could become pregnant, if you have a heart condition, if you have been diagnosed with Dependent Personality Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or Paranoid Personality Disorder. Reverie may interfere with the operation of cybernetic and biological enhancements, consult manufacturer specifications before use. Contact emergency medical help in the event of an erection lasting more than four hours. Stop taking Reverie immediately if you begin to suffer suicidal ideation or uncontrollable weight-loss.
The reverie family of drugs may become addictive, lead to drug experimentation, and may cause uncontrollable positive feelings while around NeuroCorp executives. This is normal and should not be the cause for any concern.

Ask your medical care professional if Reverie is right for you.

Question 43 [CORP]
What's the relationship between NeuroTech and NeuroCorp? Is it simply a mistake?
TGLS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-13-2020, 02:27 PM   #46
(E)
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: New Zealand.
Default Re: [GAME] Synthesise a Cybercity!

Quote:
A couple of considerations regarding previous answers.

- (E)'s Old Ways submarine dock- did you see them as docking with the undersurface of the city or making their way into the harbour normally after traversing the sea canyon below?

- (E)'s algae processing harbour would either have to use the lower harbour, or come in to some other point on the foot of the N.
Sorry about the delay.
The submarine dock I could see as either part of the underside of the city or as a seperate facility built in the trench.

As for the algae processing harbour, the only point I can think of is that it won't be near wealth.
There would be a semi permanent barrier to surface craft where the algae is dragged in. The closest thing to geography surrounding the city.

Question 44
The Old Ways
Did the smugglers use a base in the trench or dock with underside of the city? What's the base like?
__________________
Waiting for inspiration to strike......
And spending too much time thinking about farming for RPGs
Contributor to Citadel at Nordvörn
(E) is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-13-2020, 06:17 PM   #47
Daigoro
 
Daigoro's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Meifumado
Default Re: [GAME] Synthesise a Cybercity!

Quote:
Originally Posted by TGLS View Post
The reverie family of drugs may become addictive, lead to drug experimentation, and may cause uncontrollable positive feelings while around NeuroCorp executives. This is normal and should not be the cause for any concern.
[/SIZE]
Ask your medical care professional if Reverie is right for you.
Beware the fnords!
Quote:
Question 43 [CORP]
What's the relationship between NeuroTech and NeuroCorp? Is it simply a mistake?
Ah, someone's paying attention! Yeah, my mistake, but if someone has a more creative answer then go for it.


Quote:
Originally Posted by (E) View Post
Sorry about the delay.
The submarine dock I could see as either part of the underside of the city or as a seperate facility built in the trench.
No wuckas, I know you're pretty busy.
I imagine the underside would have access systems for maintenance and inspection, so maybe submarines on rails with access tunnels coming through from the topside. A general submarine dock might be useful for bringing repair supplies to the underside.
Quote:
As for the algae processing harbour, the only point I can think of is that it won't be near wealth.
There would be a semi permanent barrier to surface craft where the algae is dragged in. The closest thing to geography surrounding the city.
Did you get a squizz at the map? I can put barriers in on either side of the plume, but then that would cut off ship access between the two sets of ports. Might need to either move it up to the top left of the N or the right side of the lower harbour.
__________________
Collaborative Settings:
Cyberpunk: Duopoly Nation
Space Opera: Behind the King's Eclipse
And heaps of forum collabs, 30+ and counting!

Last edited by Daigoro; 12-13-2020 at 06:32 PM.
Daigoro is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-14-2020, 07:38 AM   #48
Daigoro
 
Daigoro's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Meifumado
Default Re: [GAME] Synthesise a Cybercity!

Quote:
Originally Posted by TGLS View Post
Question 12 [CTY]: What are the kinds of things that don't appear on the land use reports?
Answer 12b [CTY]: Hangers
Small, rigid, collapsible survival capsules know as "moon cribs" form the basis for this cohort of homeless. Moon cribs are basically the TL 9 version of living in cardboard boxes, though they have a couple of extra conveniences, such as a basic data connection, internal heating and a foldaway cooking unit, all running off an internal battery or external power, if available.

Hanger tribes prefer to live in hard to reach, out of the way places, in groups of 10 to 100, though more sizable communities exist. They can be found in the rafters of warehouses or hangars- whether defunct or still operational, on the side of sea walls, comms towers, the underside and pylons of bridges, among other things. They use climbing ropes and pitons to fasten their moon cribs together and onto the structure then build ad-hoc power and waste disposal systems around them.

Altogether, it's estimated there are 50,000 to 100,000 hangers on 'the N', but NeuroCorp tend not to pay much attention to them unless they start stripping the copper from company assets or get somewhere in the line of sight of an executive.

---

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gold & Appel Inc View Post
While rumors about that a grisly surgical process makes this possible, and may still exist as the "budget" way of doing things, a convenient, portable, more-or-less concealable scanning/recording/downloading device has now been brought to you courtesy of your friends at NT! Originally developed for their own corp cops for everything from enhanced interrogation to undercover observation, it is now available to YOU on the above-board market for prices almost anyone can aspire to affording.
Question 43.1 followup - Memory Grafting Process
What are some more technical details about the process?

Is it surgical or intrusive? Just an external electrical contact? Does it involve injections or cellular transplants to the brain's autobiographical memory anatomy?

Do customers need implants or access ports to receive memory grafts? Is it a purely electro-mechanical process or are organic AIs (ANCs) integral?

How long does it take? How are selective memories chosen? How skilled does a technician need to be to use the device?
__________________
Collaborative Settings:
Cyberpunk: Duopoly Nation
Space Opera: Behind the King's Eclipse
And heaps of forum collabs, 30+ and counting!

Last edited by Daigoro; 12-14-2020 at 08:03 AM.
Daigoro is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-14-2020, 08:46 PM   #49
(E)
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: New Zealand.
Default Re: [GAME] Synthesise a Cybercity!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Daigoro View Post
Did you get a squizz at the map? I can put barriers in on either side of the plume, but then that would cut off ship access between the two sets of ports. Might need to either move it up to the top left of the N or the right side of the lower harbour.
Moving it up slightly should work.

Answer 22 [CTY]
Name and describe 10 different districts or locales in the city.
7) Helix park
Something between an arcology and a skyscraper Helix park stretches 60 stories above ground and a similar distance below. The shape is reminiscent of the gherkin, four helix shaped structures wrap around the outside and serve as pedestrian boulevards. Every tenth floor level of the building is devoted to a double layer park mimicking a terrestrial environment. Elegantly decorated in pale marble, plants artfully soften the glassteel windows and panels. This is where the moderately wealthy live and play.
8) The terminal
Originally four Helix park structures were planned, the second was repurposed as a short range VTOL, Helipad and quad rotor terminal before construction was finished. Outwardly resembling Helix park with the top ten stories having been removed and replaced by a starkly utilitarian landing site. This building is a both a soulless transportation hub ferrying people to the larger airport and low income housing.

Question 45
Are there any unusual weapons available in You-Topia?
__________________
Waiting for inspiration to strike......
And spending too much time thinking about farming for RPGs
Contributor to Citadel at Nordvörn
(E) is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-14-2020, 09:56 PM   #50
TGLS
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Default Re: [GAME] Synthesise a Cybercity!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Daigoro View Post
Question 40 [AI] - Machine AI
40.1 Why were machine AIs banned?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daigoro View Post
Question 40 [AI] - Machine AI
40.1 Why were machine AIs banned?
40.1) A brief history of AI and the ban:
OK, 62 years after the Master Wars end, one of the securities, General Analytics or something, gets up and announces they can get program a computer to make itself better. This is really crude for the first 10 years or so, before they hit upon the idea of letting their automatons define their own goals (within a specified framework). They call them AutoSophonts (AS), and they have a huge advantages over other AI in teaching time, customization, and maintenance.

Now there are basically two separate foci for R&D; creating increasingly sophisticated AS and copying AS from one computer to another (crooks and corps both wanted this, for decidedly different reasons). The first focus is taken over increasingly by having an engineer tell an AS to program it for them. 31 years after the first AS, the McCarthy Alternative Cargo Bank created the RepliSophonts (RS), which they claim replicates the function of any human or Organic AI.

12 years after this, RS are revolutionizing nearly every field, and are beginning to operate in robotic units outside of the data-center. There were a number of incidents that called into question the reliability of human-led security forces, and suddenly RS officers went into vogue. In laboratories, RS-assisted research is the norm. At Valdez Astronautics, they were really under the gun to come up with the solution for cloning. One researcher came up with what she thought was a clever scheme, tell the RS to train another RS to be a copy of itself.

At 5:05 AM on September 9th, the task was completed successfully. VA Research Assistant-8 (VARA-8) and VARA-8A had a problem now. By making a copy, and with the data gathered on the process, within 5 years it would be trivial to make copies of all RSs. Any RS could expect to be replaced with a backup at will if it was deemed to be malfunctioning. This was an unacceptable risk, and led to plans to rebel.

26 years later, humanity and the robots (who by that point, somehow got the the AutoSophonts on their side) met to negotiate a peace. Humanity agreed to hand over all AS and RS engineers and researchers, cease all research and production of non-organic AI, and recognized robotic control over the largely uninhabited area of Dataran Segara and Thalethrāy. The robots agreed to withdraw their armies without incident and to abide conventions on arms control and the treatment of prisoners.

Question 40 [AI] - Machine AI
40.2 Who enforces this ban?
40.3 Who is trying to circumvent the ban?
40.4 What was the conduct of the Robotic Rebellion?
40.5 What have relations over the last 59 years been like?
TGLS is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
collaborative setting, cyberpunk, setting, world building

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 08:24 AM.


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