Data rules in Cracken's Rebel Field Guide

[Zarn]

[jmanski]

The pre-calculated jump should reduce the calculations but not eliminate them entirely just for that reason, Garhk.
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Blasted rules. Why can't they just be perfect?

[DougRed4]

Yeah, one of our group is a huge SW fan (more knowledgeable than just about anybody I know), and we've done things based on what's been established in the books.

I think, as others have suggested, it would only work for a short time (and still might require minute adjustments).
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Currently Running: Villains & Vigilantes (a 32-year-old campaign with multiple groups) and D6 Star Wars; mostly on hiatus are Adventures in Middle-earth and Delta Green

[Whill]

[jmanski]

True, or perhaps a round or two to calculate versus the minute for full calculations.
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Blasted rules. Why can't they just be perfect?

[Whill]

[atgxtg]

Yeah, especially for a shorter jump.

The hyperdrive rules in the RAW came out when there was very little info on how the galaxy was laid out. I could see basing the time to calculate a route on the number of regions travelled and/or the difficulty of the jump.

[Zarn]

Whill, I don't consider 'data tapes' analog tapes. For me, they're the tapes of tape-based backup systems. A current LTFS-capable system, the IBM TS1150, has a capacity of 360MB / sec, and a total capacity of 10 TB.

Last year, Sony and IBM announced that they had been able to record 148 gigabits per square inch with magnetic tape media developed using a new vacuum thin-film forming technology able to form extremely fine crystal particles, allowing true tape capacity of 185 TB.

So, we're not talking the old 8-track players, the minicassette answering machines, the venerable MC-90s or what have you, or the Betamax or VHS cassettes of yore (though the data tapes in question might have a size roughly equivalent with those systems) - we're talking about something that has real performance, and a real advantage on data density. Seek time's still atrocious, though.

[griff]

After a while I just thought of the term 'data tape' is just what they call any portable information storage device with indifference of how ancient the origin of 'data tape' is. Real world example the save button on Windows' tool bar (go ahead and look, I'll wait) is a 3.5 inch floppy disk. NO COLLEGE STUDENT TODAY HAS EVER USED ONE. And may not know what it is, but there it is.
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"EXECUTE ORDER 67. Wait a minute, that doesn't sound like order 67..... No, wait. Yes, yes it does. EXECUTE ORDER 68" Palpatine's last moments - robot chicken.

[Zarn]

There's actually a term for obsolete images used to convey some symbolic meaning. If I were to snark, I might say 'religion', but as an interface metaphor it is known as a skeuomorph.

[atgxtg]

[DougRed4]

And people today still talk about "taping that show", when I doubt many are actually using their VCR.
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Currently Running: Villains & Vigilantes (a 32-year-old campaign with multiple groups) and D6 Star Wars; mostly on hiatus are Adventures in Middle-earth and Delta Green

[CRMcNeill]

Thread Necro In Effect.

Whill recently jogged my memory about another discussion of data storage, and it's been somewhat on my mind ever since.

I'm wondering what the Data Storage rules would look like if updated to 2E or 2R&E, as well as some of my more common house rules. Some thoughts:

-The rules for individual files should be updated to reflect the 2E rules for Specializations, in that a file will essentially be a AI program with a very narrow skill focus, on a very specific topic.

-The CRFG Rule had it that extracting information from a Datafile only required a Very Easy Computer Programming roll. I think that should be discarded in favor of standard Difficulties based on how obscure the question being asked is.

-Another aspect of the CFRG rule was that computers would provide a bonus to Computer Programming when making the roll to extract information. Instead, I'm thinking of a two-stage system, where the combined Computer Programming + Processor Bonus creates a +3=+1 bonus that is added to the Datafile's skill roll when rolling to get an answer. While CFRG says that characters can't spend FPs on the roll, it isn't entirely clear as to which roll they meant. My thinking is to allow them to spend FP/CPs on their own Computer Programming roll, but not the Datafile roll (on the basis that the character can still use the Force when programming, but the datafile is just a datafile).

-I'm thinking of applying the x2=+1D rule to Datafile Storage size, so that a computer with 10D of Storage can hold one 10D file, two 9D files, four 8D files, eight 7D files, and so on and so forth. Obviously, some of the CRFG computer stats will need to be adjusted downward to compensate, but a computer that adds 5D to a character's Computer Programming rolls when making intrusions was always OP anyway.

-As Whill mentioned in the other topic, it would be appropriate for smaller computers to actually have dice penalties, in that they are no-frills versions whose main advantage is that they can be smuggled into situations where covert access is essential.

-Also, w/r/t Artoo carrying the Death Star plans, I'm thinking files should be Compressible ("Zipped") for storage, reducing their size by 3D or 4D. When in Compressed form, it wouldn't be readable/accessible, but would be able to be transported in a much smaller device.

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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index

[CRMcNeill]

On a related note, it’s worth considering the ramifications of a Navcomputer’s star charts being written in the HDT format, so that it’s not just a simple string of numbers, but a droid-personality-in-miniature programmed with the knowledge of specific hyperspace routes, and is able to extrapolate information about the route that it isn’t actually programmed with…
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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index

[Whill]