High-end & low-end Nav Computers

[Ning Leihrec]

I'm working up stats for higher and lower quality Nav computers. The dirt cheap models add difficulty to astrogation rolls (+1-10 or so) while the top-of-the-line computers grant an astro bonus (+1-3D). Not sure how to price them yet. A really special item like a prototype nav supercomputer (unavailable for sale) could be capable of unlocking an otherwise impassible route to some miraculous system in the Unknown Regions. Such a prized device could be the "score" in a heist adventure or the like. Haven't seen varieties of nav comps fleshed out before. If stats exist for alternate models Id be interested in seeing them.

[cynanbloodbane]

I would think price and quality would have a lot to do with memory and preprogramed data. Something like:
Class 1: all known systems and hyperdrive routes stored, may be updated as part of regular maintenance.

Class 2: all major systems and major hyperdrive routes stored, may be updated if a memory upgrade is installed

...
Class 5: only has stored data for one sector's systems and established hyperdrive routes. Non updateable. Must be slaved to another nav-comp to make a jump outside its sector.
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"Yes because killing the guy you always planned on usurping and killing anyways in order to save your own kid, totally atones for murdering a roomful of innocent trusting children." The Brain

[garhkal]

Well, by nature those on freighters and fighters (those few which have one that is) would be smaller in what they store compared to those on the big cap ships.
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[CRMcNeill]

Here is a previous conversation we've had on the subject.

Personally, I'm inclined to move away from the concept of an unlimited jump nav-computer, if only because the dividing line between Limited and Unlimited is so stark.

I'm thinking in terms of commercial and military astrogation support networks, like so...

1). All starports of a certain grade or higher are equipped with a mapping office that is constantly updating the coordinates for hyperspace routes on record.

2). A ship makes a hyperspace jump, and its onboard sensors measure and record gravitic and radiation fluctuations over the course of the trip.

3). When it reaches its destination, a ship can contact the mapping office at the starport / space station / whatever, and request a map update. They will also receive a hefty discount if they provide the mapping office with the flight recorder data from their previous hyperspace jumps, which the mapping office will then compare to their existing jump data and make any appropriate changes (this can create something of a quandary for characters operating on the shady side of the law, as they may not want their previous hyperspace jumps being part of the public record).

4). A nav-computer, rather than being capable of unlimited jumps, will have a base difficulty modifier which is applied to the difficulty of any jump it makes. It will also have a modifier that increases the difficulty based on the number of jumps made since the last time the ship downloaded a chart update. Larger capital ships will have lower difficulty levels and modifiers, and can make dozens or hundreds of jumps without difficulty, but smaller craft (starfighters and space transports) have more limited and less capable nav-computers, with higher base difficulty and a modifier that ramps up more rapidly.

5). In addition to commercial networks, there will also be military or fringe navigation networks. Military networks (especially the Empire during the classic era) will likely have full access to the commercial networks in their own territory, as well as classified information from their own jumps and secret installations. Fringe networks could be found in shadowports or with infochants, and would likely offer a discount for data exchange at a lower rate, but with the added promise of anonymity.

In simple terms, rather than a simple Yes/No/10 Jump Maximum listing for a nav-computer (as it currently exists), nav computer ratings would look something like so:

Star Destroyer: -10 (+1/10 jumps)
X-Wing: +0 (+1/jump)

Just me rambling. Thoughts?
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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

[Ning Leihrec]

That linked discussion is very productive, Crmc. I also agree with the data sharing between space port traffic controllers and onboard nav computers as you've described it. Most ports would naturally have black market hyperspace charts for those unwilling to share routes beyond their immediate point of origin. Refusal to share one's travel history might raise suspicion with port authorities, unless it's a common practice with most commercial vessels - safeguarding against industrial espionage for instance.

[CRMcNeill]

Corporations could also have their own navigation support networks, managed through local offices and the like. The data could be shared to the public networks on a limited basis, say, after having been scrubbed for sensitive data and the like.
_________________
"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

[garhkal]

Heck you could have a new form of forgery. Black marketeers scrubbing those files, OR making fakes.
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Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[CRMcNeill]

[Ning Leihrec]

Exactly. If a forget was brazen enough to sell bogus charts he could make a killing on the black market but would quickly become persona non grata. As the hyperspace casualties piled up he'd be turned on by his own contacts. He'd wind up surrounded by corporate authorities and criminal enforcers alike, probably Imperial agents too. Running for his scoundrel life like Orson Welles at the end of The Third Man. Could be a compelling NPC, or PC turned rotten.

[Ning Leihrec]

*forger
Not forget

[CRMcNeill]

That doesn't invalidate the idea, though. A skilled forger who could produce route data that was accurate for that route, if not necessarily for that ship would be a respected and valued member of the Fringe, with a skill set in high demand. The personas non grata would be the cut-rate profiteers who are scamming fellow Fringers.
_________________
"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]

[garhkal]

[Ning Leihrec]

Good point. Many applications for forged routes. They wouldn't necessarily have to be hazardous, just a fake out.

[Savar]

Astrogation computer

One part:
what is the astrogation hazards mapped out in an area ?
How new is the map?
How accurate is the map? File size.

Part two:
What is the best way through the hazards.
How reliable is your map?
How close can you shave the space to the hazards, how close can you cut it?

So two parts to an astrogation computer.
Storage(how accurate/complete the map) and computation(how easy is it to use/calculate) bonus to astrogation checks.

File sizes based on routes and sectors.

Computational power based on size and cost.