RIVETS

[aebrain]

Not an SJ game, but connected with OGRE.
Is it on topic?

The appearance of the BOPPERS was prompted by economic factors and the types of coincidences that only occur in real life or in a bad science fiction novel. The major military powers in the later 21st century centred their strategies around the large cybertanks called Orcs?, Trolls?, some funny name (see Microgame 1); anyway, the third world powers also wanted cybertanks, but the price tag was too high. Imagine Ecuador buying a Nimitz class carrier.
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Although the BOPPERs were built at automated factories, they were not true robots. They could not act in a completely independent manner (although they were know to behave irrationally at times), and would usually just follow the dictates of their programming. Also, the BOPPERs were partially controlled by a central brain unit, usually located at the factory or at the headquarters of the local dictator. Despite their programming and the control of the central brain unit, the BOPPERs did have a certain amount of free will – as much as the average automaton. yowever, the biological warfare of the late 21st century, during the Paneuropean-Combine War, did away with most of the people in the world, and, free will or not, the BOPPERs were on their own. Surprisingly, they did quite well. Due to their low technological needs they could live off the land, especially if the land had a few used car lots on it, and they had a high propensity for scavenging; they always got the best bargains at garage sales. Also the central brains were equipped with heuristic epistemological programming, which allowed the BOPPERs to learn through experience. Experience was important, since their average IQ was only slightly higher than that of most kitchen appliances. Despite their limited intellect, the BOPPERs developed a cybernetic equivalent of territoriality. This led to conflicts between neighbouring factories, escalating to full wars.

[43Supporter]

Originally Posted by aebrain

Not an SJ game, but connected with OGRE.
Is it on topic?

The 1st-ed. _OGRE Book_ has a _OGRE_/_Rivets_ crossover article.