[wastedwalker]

Renraku Manservant-3 (Medium) AR 121
ECM Rating 6,
Firewall 5,
Mechanical Arm,
Mechanical Arm,
Pilot Program Rating 6,
System 5,
Walker Mode
Adaptability Rating 3,
Clearsight Rating 4,
Maneuver (Water) Rating 4,
Maneuver (Air) Rating 4,
Maneuver (Ground) Rating 4,
Medium Drone Sensor

Make it so the thing is designed to break down into something the size of a large backpack, have it moveable with wheels and you have Drone that acts like a Rigger... You know for the small cost of 46k heh. Have one in a boat, an airplane and a car. Should you be hurt and can't drive you now have something that can drive and help you with any hacking attempts, have your rides go purely offline so they can't be messed with and boom a drone that work darn well.

[Phylos Fett]

Does the cost factor in each type (Water, Air, Ground), or are there three models?

[wastedwalker]

Cost is factored in so one drone can do all three.

[Phylos Fett]

What's the cost for a "terrain" specific model?

[wastedwalker]

8k less, it is 4k for a R4 autosoft .

[Phylos Fett]

8k less, it is 4k for a R4 autosoft .

Cheers, mate, just didn't have my books anywhere near me, and I was trying to see if it was cost-effective to just have one rather than all 3.

[wastedwalker]

One for each would be useful to have stored. Say you have one in a storage room in the cockpit of your plane, then should you find yourself injured you set it off and have it fly you out. I was just thinking it would be nice to have like an R2 unit in SR, something that could drive you around and fight back against someone trying to hack them.

[Argent]

8k less, it is 4k for a R4 autosoft .

Cheers, mate, just didn't have my books anywhere near me, and I was trying to see if it was cost-effective to just have one rather than all 3.

Generally speaking, I'd go for the adaptable model anyways. Even if it's not cost effective, I'd rather have options if a run goes to hell. (EDIT: Unless of course you have the carrying capacity for one of each.)

[kirk]

I think you have some errors (I could be wrong and am open to correction)

1) You don't need the system. Pilot is a system specialized for drones.
2) Needs EW Autosoft to run ECCM.

Also, keep "Pilot Capabilities" (AR 103) in mind. In particular:

In game terms, this means that each Pilot program only functions for the particular type of vehicle it is designed for. At the gamemaster’s discretion, a Pilot program could possibly function for a similar type of vehicle (a Eurocar Westwind Pilot could possibly operate a Honda Spirit subcompact, as they’re both cars), but it should suffer dice pool modifiers ranging from –1 to –4, depending on how different the vehicles are in make, model, and function.

[kirk]

The more I look at this the more it bothers me as a GM.

A pilot program is supposed to be for that particular vehicle/drone. It isn't a generic. It isn't an external operation, either. On the other hand the maneuver and adaptability seem to allow at least some adjustment.

I'd be tempted to run it this way. Adaptability [3] allows the Renraku to "drive" another vehicle as though it were base attribute (Reaction) [2]. The maneuvers add their value as skill levels. Finally there's a "point of difference" effect from the AR 103 statement. -4 for air, -3 for water (surface), -4 for water (submerged), -2 for ground. If you'd picked up maneuver (anthro) I'd have allowed -1 for it as the Renraku is a walker.

So your drone rigger is 2+4-[varies]
Aircraft 2 dice
Water (sub) 2 dice
Water (surf) 3 dice
Ground 4 dice.

Note that's my interpretation. I can make a case for "can't do it" too, but I lean toward permissiveness.

[wastedwalker]

Page 167 20th Core
Pilot
Pilot is an attribute that measures how sophisticated the vehicle’s dogbrain
computer is. In general, Pilot substitutes for character attributes
(typically Agility, Reaction, Intuition, and Logic) for any Success Tests
that the vehicle makes. The skill portion is covered by autosoft programs
that are loaded into the vehicle’s memory. See Pilot Programs, p. 245.

Page 264 20th Core
Clearsight
Clearsight autosofts improve the Pilot’s cognitive abilities, allowing it
to better analyze and judge sensory input. A drone with this autosoft
rolls Sensor + Clearsight when perceiving the world around it.

Page 264 20th Core
Maneuv er (Vehicle Type)
This is actually a family of autosofts, each for a specific type of vehicle
(e.g., ground vehicles, anthroform vehicles, etc.). Maneuver autosofts
are equivalent to vehicle skills. They help a Pilot maneuver its vehicle.
They contain a comprehensive guide to a drone’s particular specs, allowing
the Pilot to achieve optimal performance and control the vehicle
to the limits of its capabilities. A drone with this autosoft uses
Pilot + Maneuver for Vehicle Tests (p. 168).

The pilot of the drone is how well it works, not how well it pilots something.

[Pyromaster13]

If the pilot program were interpreted so loosely, I'd just grab a single rating 6 pilot program for my monocycle and copy it into all my other drones like... rotodrones, Stormclouds, GMC vans, and according to your rules my bike pilot can perfectly pilot all those other vehicles without any penalties...

I don't think so.

I'm going to have to agree with kirk on this one.

[kirk]

SR4A 245 (which your cite specifically references)

Drones, vehicles, and some other (semi-)autonomous devices have a special System program called a Pilot program. Similar to an agent’s Pilot program, Pilot programs are a special type of OS featuring semiautonomous decision-making algorithms and special programming specific to the device on which it is installed. Pilot is for devices that must be able to assess situations, make decisions, adapt, and possibly even function independently of a user, sometimes for extended periods. The higher the Pilot rating, the “smarter” it is.

A Pilot program is basically a System program with extra features, and so is used whenever the drone’s System rating would be. It also stands for a drone’s “Mental attributes” when called for (usually Intuition and Logic, and sometimes Willpower).

Pilots are not bright, and are often called “dog-brains,” a term that reflects their intelligence level. When faced with an unexpected or novel situation, a drone makes a Pilot + Response Test with a threshold set by the gamemaster to see if its “common sense” prevails.

[wastedwalker]

Pilot is a how a specific drone operates, you can't just copy a fly spy's r6 pilot into a steel lynx and have it working. What pilot would do is allow it to use the autosofts loaded onto it to a higher level of efficiency than something with a weaker pilot. So the drone uses pilot to walk and do all tasks. As it says in the maneuver description the drone will use Pilot + Maneuver when driving a vehicle. The drone would sit in the drivers seat, it would act just like a person and fly/drive/pilot the vehicle in place of a living person. This allows you to have something with you that can drive anything you come across.

[wastedwalker]

Oh and since the pilot attribute is very simplistic, that is why the clearsight is added. Clearsight helps the drone judge situations.

Clearsight
Clearsight autosofts improve the Pilot’s cognitive abilities, allowing it
to better analyze and judge sensory input. A drone with this autosoft
rolls Sensor + Clearsight when perceiving the world around it.

So now the drone has the ability to operate a vehicle, has a high end OS and software that helps it process situations.