Vehicle Sensors

[Inquisitor1138]

This is the only one i have found in the RAW stated with Sensors, whereas the Heavy Tracker has its Omniprobe as a separate entry to refer to...
■ Landing Sphere
-snip-
Sensors:
--Passive: 5/0D
--Scan: 10/1D
--Search: 15/2D
--Focus: 1/2D

Almost forgot;
▇
▇ SpecForce Freerunner APC
-snip-
Sensors:
--Passive: 1D
--Scan: 2D
--Detect: 3D ((Focus:?))

Anybody know any others?

[Dr. Bidlo]

I think that is about it from the WEG books. Sensors in vehicles sound like a good idea, but if an AT-ST had sensors, the players cannot hide well from it, which kills a lot of the fun and feel of Star Wars IMHO.

[Whill]

[Dr. Bidlo]

Fir one, WEG did not give sensor stats to most vehicles... okay that is a horrible excuse and I know it! I have the echoes of memories of games past where the players asked for reasonable 'modern' technology with sensors that would have ruined the tension of the game. When the Falcon was captured by the Death Star, they didn't even know it had lifeforms aboard somehow and they brought a big clunky sensor package INSIDE the ship for the purpose of searching the ship.

Star Wars has always at its heart been about adventure and beating the odds with heavy influence from serials and World War II. The inclusion of technology like sensors ruins this feel when it pulls back the veil too much, whereas technology like blasters and laser swords are just sci fi proxies for rather real world counterparts.

I don't have a strong argument other than that feeling and past experiences. I just believe that vehicles should have sensors to some degree, but not in the way that they operate for ships.

[Whill]

OK, thanks. Yeah, that giant sensor 'chest' on the Death Star bothers me a bit about he film, but it is probably mostly that it is not on repulsorlift tech like carbonited Han is in the next film. So we are left with coming up with explanations, like the smuggling compartments are sensor shielded (which is quite reasonable)... Maybe repulsorlift tech would affect the calibration of the highly sensitive sensor equipment... Maybe the Death Star hanger lifeform sensors had already failed to find any lifeforms in the first place, which is why they brought in the personal sensor equipment, and the hanger sensors being used at the same time would throw off the readings, so they weren't used.

However, the same movie shows it is film canon that tractor beam operators on star destroyers have lifeform sensors, which is how Artoo escaped from the Empire to Tatooine. It is a premise of my damage system that targeting computers/fire control in general is an application of sensor tech, and the Death Star definitely had fire control tech and thus it had sensor tech.

So should vehicles have sensors? Yes. Should they they be up to par with space vehicle sensors? In most cases, no. I can agree on that.
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[garhkal]

[Inquisitor1138]

TESB clearly shows the AT-AT Walkers have at least visual scanners, with which the onboard computer was able to identify the Shield Generators for the rebel base.

I think Whill is right, the 'Empire's Best' were so high on their ego & hype, they were all cocky & lazy, & that got them killed more than Ewok strategy did. Hence why Han yelled @ Luke in ANH, "Don't get cocky, kid!"

Also makes the high numbers of gunners make more sense; someone has to watch the scanner.

[CRMcNeill]

The better argument for countering sensors should be things like "they're in a forest, so the sensors have difficulty differentiating one living being from another" or "their cloaks have sensor diffusing linings that blur their sensor signature". Infantry tech in the SWU is woefully behind the curve relative to all other tech in the setting; IMO, Mandalorian type armor with stealth equipment should be the standard for front-line infantry in such a high tech setting, not guys running around on foot with blaster rifles.

Renegade Legion handles it by giving all their mechanized infantry "bounce packs": personal repulsorlift units that allow them to run faster and jump further, as well as offsetting the weight of their armor.

Heck, maybe those goofy looking helmets most Rebel soldiers have to wear actually contain sensor baffling emitters
_________________
"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

[KageRyu]

@CRMcNeill, those are all great points.

Caution should also be used when correlating vehicle sensors to real world equivalents. When the original trilogy was created, with the exception of possibly Jedi, even in the real world there were fw to no electronics on ground vehicle that would really fall under sensors in the context of the game. A few vehicles would have some special scopes with visual modes that might be akin to advanced MacroBinoculars, and some would likely have some fire control computers and limited "sensors" to determine firing solutions, but this would be more like Fire Control. I do not think that the creators could have envision what exists today, and did not feel confident bluffing it. The most common reason typical radar typed devices were not and are not effective on ground vehicles is house easily uneven ground, trees, obstacles, and even weather can foul it (ever fight a radar enforced traffic ticket with the excuse that due to rain the reading could not be accurate?). Much if this is no longer true due to advances in computer control and recognition on what radar and motion control is detecting. Sensors would likely be much more common on Air speeders I feel, or aquatic vehicles. On ground vehicles I feel it would likely still be special visual modes (low light, infra red, thermal, ultra violet, etc...) and fire control options (limited motion tracking, limited radar for air born targets, etc.). I would suggest limiting true sensors to specialty vehicles, such as Command and Control units, Electronic Warfare Units, advanced Scout Units. That's not to say that the empire might not have a special variant of the AT-ST for such tasks.
_________________
"There's a set way to gain new Force Points and it represents a very nice system, where you're rewarded for heroism, not for being a poor conductor to electricity." ~Jachra

[CRMcNeill]

I feel compelled to point out that, even in ANH, Luke's crappy speeder had a scanner capable of detecting a droid in the open desert, so there is obvious precedent for at least basic sensor systems in even low-end civilian vehicles.
_________________
"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

[KageRyu]

[Dr. Bidlo]

[Inquisitor1138]

[Whill]

[KageRyu]