 March 4, 2010 - 7:31pm | http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/03/03/worlds-deadliest-drones/?test=faces I just saw this article and the picture screamed star frontiers for me. I’ve come across articles about UAVs before, but this one made me wonder what role unmanned craft would play in the frontier. I could easily see up to half a dozen (or more depending on HS) Unmanned Space Vehicles attached to the outer hull of military vessels or government owned vessels to fend of possible aggressors. Each drone would be little more than a lite ships weapons platform. Pod lasers or rockets mounted to an engine for the purpose of getting a closer shot at the enemy as well as drawing or distracting their fire. They would be controlled by ship personnel from a computer console onboard the ‘mother ship’. This would essentially give your computer geek PC the change to operate a ship based weapon during combat. I figure these USVs would be half the size of a fighter so they would be more difficult to hit, as well as from any stealth-like abilities. These USVs also could be configured with different devices such as White Noise Broadcasters, Radar, electronics that might provide false energy signatures or whatever else you can think of. Essentially they could be anything from a fighter to a remote controlled sensor pod. There would of course be Unmanned Atmospheric Vehicles as well. I suppose these are just fancy combat robots with rockets/jets rather than treads, wheels or limbs. But I see the USVs being less autonomous than a combat robot. Anybody use UAVs in KH? |
 March 4, 2010 - 8:50pm | decoys in the KH's rules sort of overlap this. no I haven't used them yet but might if someone wrote an article- ;) I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 March 4, 2010 - 8:51pm | KH UAV = Seeker Missile. ;) The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of
the strong. * Attributed to Mahatma Gandhi |
 March 4, 2010 - 9:15pm | If I integrate a rocket pack -- would I be considered a UAV or USV or RV (robot vehilce). |
March 4, 2010 - 9:26pm | If I integrate a rocket pack -- would I be considered a UAV or USV or RV (robot vehilce). for some reason I just had a vision of Ripley in Aliens in the crago loader asking Sgt Apone where he wanted her to put the rocket gripped in the loader's claws. Talk about integrating a rocket! I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
March 4, 2010 - 9:39pm | Yes, I thought of them being able to be used as a decoy. Or say a vulnerable ship going through treacherous space could launch the USVs to give multiple signals so the lone ship would look to be more than that. I see them as not being disposable though. Thus not a seeker missile. However, I suppose it could be a kamikaze. |
 March 5, 2010 - 2:09am | 2300AD uses USVs largely as one-shot weapons. "You're everything that's base in humanity," Cochrane continued. "Drawing up strict, senseless rules for the sole reason of putting you at the top and excluding anyone you say doesn't belong or fit in, for no other reason than just because you say so." —Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stephens, Federation |
March 5, 2010 - 4:43am | I am unfamilliar with 2300AD. What's the difference between their USVs and the smart (self guided) munitions of SF? |
March 5, 2010 - 4:08pm | Their USVs mount detonation laser warheads and are remotely controlled(one operator per USV, but given the state of the art 20 years ago....), while SF's smart munitions are fire and forget. "You're everything that's base in humanity," Cochrane continued. "Drawing up strict, senseless rules for the sole reason of putting you at the top and excluding anyone you say doesn't belong or fit in, for no other reason than just because you say so." —Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stephens, Federation |
March 5, 2010 - 8:25pm | Yes, I thought of them being able to be used as a decoy. Or say a vulnerable ship going through treacherous space could launch the USVs to give multiple signals so the lone ship would look to be more than that. I see them as not being disposable though. Thus not a seeker missile. However, I suppose it could be a kamikaze. I see. From my point of view, which is to not clutter up the rules unnecessarilly, develop USVs under the robot rules. In this case, they are robotic vehicles so some modification is needed. But at least their capabilities can then be determined by their level, programs, mission, and functions. When used as decoys, make them upgraded KH decoys. The game will be more fun if you stay within its framework as much as humanly possible. The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of
the strong. * Attributed to Mahatma Gandhi |
March 5, 2010 - 10:30pm | I see. From my point of view, which is to not clutter up the rules unnecessarilly, develop USVs under the robot rules. In this case, they are robotic vehicles so some modification is needed. But at least their capabilities can then be determined by their level, programs, mission, and functions. When used as decoys, make them upgraded KH decoys. The game will be more fun if you stay within its framework as much as humanly possible. I agree thumbs up I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 March 6, 2010 - 10:00am | Anyone remember the Survey robot from SFKH2? It could be controlled by the characters and acted very much like a UAV. "Rome didn't build an empire by having meetings. They did it by killing those who stood in their way." |
March 6, 2010 - 4:14pm | It's listed as a level 4 heavy duty with jetcopter* movement, attack/defense program (et al), and turret mounted weapons. But seems to me, since it had to be controlled, that it should have been a level 2. It's almost like the module designers made it level four just to comply with the a/d and computer link requirements. *Edited. I originally wrote that it had hover movement. The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of
the strong. * Attributed to Mahatma Gandhi |
March 6, 2010 - 4:20pm | Well, it can operate autonomously as well, if I'm not mistaken. "You're everything that's base in humanity," Cochrane continued. "Drawing up strict, senseless rules for the sole reason of putting you at the top and excluding anyone you say doesn't belong or fit in, for no other reason than just because you say so." —Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stephens, Federation |
 March 6, 2010 - 4:51pm | At the peak of the group that I GMed for, came up with drones based on a fighter hull to make them even more deadly than a wing of fighters. The fighter was the lead of this drone fighter wing, Now you had a choice to attack and destroy a fighter or a drone. Here is the bases for your thoughts. The drones have 2 assault rockets to fire and hit like a torpedo's 4d10 damage. They sport the same reflective hull as the fighter. The fighter has the usual payload minus one assault rocket to house the systems to lead the drones. Here is what happens if you kill the fighter. The drones fire all assault rockets on approach of the current or last target attacked then ram it. Kill a drone and the pilot and the remaining drone can still attack the target. However, the price for the drones was very steep even for the results that come from their use. We came up with a figure per drone to be around 350,000 Cr. per drone. Not as much as a fighter but when you figure that they can be used as weapons, weapons platform, shields, or an extension of a fighter, they can be worth it. The disadvantages are that they need special equipment to maintain properly since they are more torpedo than drone. We based the hull as .5 and the engines as atomic sub A at half the price. We also tried the modified seeker with the same idea. In this case, we went with the seeker carrying two to four assault rockets that it launched as it went through the enemy fleet. This really made the use of automated weapons in our game more feasible. When the seeker is finished firing its payload it targets the ship as a normal seeker. This was the ground work for the seeker carrier that fires seekers in front of the fleet because of the way seekers lock onto their targets. I did give w00t info into this ship class called Lone Wolves. I have even mentioned it in the chat rooms. The attack is even dramatic on the table top watching something like 10 or 15 mark 2 seekers track in on their targets. Before we stop gaming we had 4 different seekers to throw at the enemy not including the original seeker. |
March 7, 2010 - 11:21am | I don't take kindly to robots used in this manner.  I'm just saying... I agree that robots rules prevail in this situation. - vehicle controlled by person - vehicle with integrated robot brain - vehicle with both |
