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Sub-Aquatic Drones

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Maddoux1

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« on: <07-29-13/0248:02> »
Hoi, Chummers!

So, I'm trying to come up with ideas on a job coming up, and I want some thoughts on it.  My group is searching out the smugglers within the floodlands of LA.  There's no chance in hell that I'll ask the Mage to scope out in Astral, I know that wouldn't end well.  The Technomancer doesn't have much that he can do, and I don't have much options in the way of drones.

Sure, I could get some skimmers, but those won't help in the underwater caverns.

I think that I'm going to need to create something from scratch.  I've got an idea, and I'd like your thoughts on it.

Picture this, a submersible that has a RCC built in.  Two or three drones designed to move through water are connected via retractable cable.  The Noise would be too great to try to control them through wireless means in the Deep Lacuna.  Someone else would have to pilot the submersible, but it uses the the drones much like endoscope cameras.  Weapons on the drones would be pointless, so optical upgrades would take their place.

Would this work?  How would I go about its construction?

Malathis

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« Reply #1 on: <07-29-13/1012:55> »
The book Cyber Pirates has some information about the types of drones your looking for, I don't remember too much about them, but I do remember that they were tethered as you mention. I'll try to remember to check when I get back home. Cyber Pirates is from an older edition of the game, 2nd or 3rd I can't remember, so there would need to be some converstion, but the general idea of how they work would be there.

Tzeentch

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« Reply #2 on: <07-29-13/1758:35> »
Cyberpirates! (yes, the title has an exclamation point) has precisely ZERO AUVs. It also has no information on remotely rigging anything underwater.  :'( But if you want a peg leg there's a half-page of rules, and you have stats for a nuclear aircraft carrier, because that's more important I guess.  :o

Maddoux1

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« Reply #3 on: <07-30-13/0041:51> »
hmmm

So, apparently the standard audio range frequencies transmit well in water, they're just loud and somewhat obvious outside of water.  My tech guy (who's playing the technomancer) says that they transmit at one magnitude worse than ideal, but the time shift is one magnitude, so we'll be at a good level.

Here's my current line of thought.

My RCC, this has to be a custom job, and will be my second.  Obviously it will be Scratch Built Junk.  A bathysphere, basically, air coming from a facility in the Deep Lacuna.  I've got ties to Ares, so Knights Errant might work with me on it even, if I help them when need be.  It transmits out on the frequencies below human audible range, but other creatures will hear it.

Screamer Drones, they receive the sub-human audible levels, and transmit on the human audible levels.  If they weren't underwater, and were being used in a populated area, people might think its a goblin rock concert gone mad.

Good luck hacking them, they operate on a signal that nobody else uses.  Eventually, sure, the smugglers will figure out what's what, but until then...

Malathis

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« Reply #4 on: <07-30-13/1011:53> »
Cyberpirates! (yes, the title has an exclamation point) has precisely ZERO AUVs. It also has no information on remotely rigging anything underwater.  :'( But if you want a peg leg there's a half-page of rules, and you have stats for a nuclear aircraft carrier, because that's more important I guess.  :o

Hmm, been a while since I read the book, good to know. I thought there was something about tethered lines and control, maybe that was for some sort of guided torpedeo, who know's I may even have my book or game system mixed up, sorry for any confusion/misleading.

calaen

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« Reply #5 on: <07-30-13/1619:30> »
Big problem with using audio to control them is that it is going to get attention - new audio would get picked up by sonar pretty effectively, and that means they're easy enough to target, though perhaps not to hack... and if I were a smuggler, new and fun noises would certainly cause me an itchy trigger finger.

Csjarrat

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« Reply #6 on: <07-31-13/1413:36> »
modern day ROV's (sub aquatic drones) work with fibre optic tethers (http://www.oceaneering.com/rovs/rov-systems/magnum-plus-rov/)
any SR drone could use the same tech, and could be specced just like any small drone (similar body etc). Your rigger/TM can control it with pilot watercraft (submarine) as per usual.
RL drones (ROV=remote operated vehicle) tend to have mechanical arms, powerful lights and plenty of sensor equipment installed on them and are used for exploration, scientific data gathering and maintenance/inspection work for drilling platforms and large craft.
It might be worth hooking up a player or two with instruction in scuba diving and equipment too
« Last Edit: <07-31-13/1415:29> by Csjarrat »
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