Step 9 - Computers

A computer is rated with two basic statistics -

1. PERFORMANCE ( PE )

   This is the performance rating of the main processor, which actually may be a large number of individual processors networked together. Performance is the same as the Earth / Cybertech Cyberdeck Speed statistic.

   Processor Performance Table
   
   

   Tech Level	Performance	Mass (kg)	Cost
   Antique	0.50	0.040	Lv 250
   Old Commercial	0.75	0.030	Lv 500
   New Commercial	1.00	0.030	Lv 1000
   New Military	4.00	0.020	Lv 2000
   Experimental	16.00	0.020	Unavailable
   Artefact	64.00	0.010	Unavailable

   Volume for any processor is 0.000009 m³ ( 3 cm x 3 cm x 1 cm, or 9 cm³ ). Power is 0.000003 Mw per processor unit ( or 3 watts ).

2. STORAGE ( ST )
   
   The storage capacity of the system. Note that unlike 20th century computers which have a distinction between volatile storage ( which loses its contents without power ) and non-volatile storage ( which doesn't ) all storage is solid state. Also, there are no clumsy mechanical hard drives or other devices. Instead, memory consists of simple modules that can be inserted or removed as required. Memory modules can even be "hot-swapped" - the operating system merely requests that a particular module be re-inserted if it has been removed.
   
   Storage is measured in the same units used for Cyberdeck "Volume". The two statistics are effectively interchangeable. For the purposes of this design sequence, it has been assumed that 1 point of Storage / Volume is equivalent to approximately 1 gigabyte ( Gb ) or 1024 megabytes ( Mb ) of information. This is 1,048,576 kilobytes ( Kb ) , or 1,073,741,824 bytes. Allowing for international character set encoding schemes and ignoring compression algorithms, two bytes store a single character of text.
   
   Here is a summary of the Storage Requirements for various data types.
   
   • Text
     Assuming approximately 60 lines of text per page with about 40 characters per line and no embedded images, there are 2400 characters per page. Given a 2 byte international encoding scheme, allowing 15% formatting overhead, and 16:1 compression for the document as a whole, we get 690 bytes per page. So, for a thousand page book, we have 690,000 bytes or 1 / 1556^th of a single point of Storage.
   • Image
     Assuming that an image is 1600x1200 pixels, in true colour ( 24 bits or 3 bytes per pixel for colour and an extra byte for opacity = 4 bytes per pixel ), then a raw image requires 7,680,000 bytes. Modern day fractal compression algorithms can compress images by at least a factor of 100, and I think it is reasonable that in 2300AD this technology would have perfected, yielding compression ratios of say 256:1 on average. This is 30,000 bytes or approximately 1 / 30,000^th of a storage point.
     ( Note that the Adventurer's Guide mentions an image format called "Encoded Formula Reduction" under the description for a camera in the Equipment Section. The compression achieved by this image format is achievable ( and sometimes exceeded ) with fractal compression today, so I think that my suggested improvements to compression are reasonable in my opinion ).
     
   • Sound
     Assuming that the sample rate is 44.1 kHz ( Audio CD Quality ), that each sample is 32 bits ( 4 bytes ) and there are at least two channels for stereo sound, we have a storage requirement of 44,100 x 4 x 2 = 352800 bytes per second. Assuming a compression ratio of 32 : 1 using advanced waveform analysis, then the final storage requirement is 11,025 bytes per second on average. 1 storage point is thus 27 hours of such sound, or about 21 modern audio CDs.
     
   • Video
     Assuming that each frame of video is effectively an image as described above, that there are 24 frames per second and that frames 2 to 24 are not the full image but only the changes to the first frame ( and are thus 10% of the size on average ), then one second of video is 30000 + ( 23 x 0.1 x 30000 ) = 69000 bytes. Add on one second of sound, as above, and we have 80,025 bytes per second. One point of storage is thus 3.72 hours of full motion video.
     
   • Holographic Video
     As a rule of thumb ( since I have no real world equivalent for this ), I assume that 1 point of storage is equivalent to 1 hour of holographic video.
     
   • Skill Chips
     One level of a skill in a skill chip requires 3 points of volume. This includes level-0, so level-2 is 9 points of volume. Skill chips can be made to level-3 but no higher.

   Data Transmission
   In my campaign, transferring large amounts of data takes a perceptible amount of time. I assume a reliable communications speed of about 1 gigabit per second world-wide. In other words, in one second, 0.125 storage points may be transferred. This means 1 point of storage takes 8 seconds, or 0.8 cyberspace combat rounds ( 0.267 normal combat rounds ).
   There is also the question of time delays in communications when dealing with long distance communications. These time delays arise from the distance itself and also the number of steps a packet of information must take before it reaches its destination. These delays rarely exceed a couple of seconds, which brings the time for "long haul" transfers up to 1 cyberspace combat round for 1 point of Storage / Volume.
   

   Size
   Standard holographic storage modules have a density of 150 gigabits per square inch, or about 23 gigabits per square centimetre. Therefore, a 2 cm x 2 cm x 0.5 cm module with a chip 1 cm x 1 cm x 0.25 cm inside can hold about 2 points of storage allowing for error correction bits. It would weigh about 10 grams. That's a volume of 0.000002 m³ and a mass of 0.00001 tons.
   
   ( As an interesting aside, a skill chip with a level-2 skill requires 9 points of volume, and thus fits in 4.5 storage modules. This requires 1.125 cm³ of holographic storage, with dimensions 2.12 cm x 2.12 cm x 0.25 cm. The whole skill chip is thus about 3 cm x 3 cm x 0.5 cm allowing for the casing. This feels "right" when compared with 2300AD illustrations of skill chips. )

   Cost
   1 point of storage is cheap, and costs just Lv25. This is different from the Earth/Cybertech manual which has inflated costs which I have never thought justified. Storage should be cheap and freely available in a society so dependent on computer technology.

Required Computer Performance

To determine the required computer system statistics -

• Section not complete
  All subsystems on a vehicle have a minimum computer performance rating that must be satisfied in order to provide adequate control. Some subsystems require more powerful computer controls than others ; this is reflected in the table below.

  Required Performance Table
  
  

  Subsystem	Performance
  Hull/Chassis	0 for non-hostile environments, 0.01 per m3 of total volume for hostile environments
  Power Plant	Fuel Cell - 0.20 / MW output MHD - 1.00 / MW output Fission - 2.00 / MW output Fusion - 3.00 / MW output Solar Panel - 0.20 / m2 area Battery - 0.20 / MW output RTG - 0.20 / MW output
  Locomotion	Stutterwarp - 8.00 / MW input
  Offensive Systems
  Defensive Systems
  Electronics
  Crew And Passengers
  Subcraft
  Cargo

  For each individual subsystem, determine the computer performance required and divide by the performance per processor at the chosen tech level to give the number of processors required to control it. Round fractions up. This gives you the number of processors for a dedicated computer that is responsible for that subsystem.

  Note that backup computers may be installed for any subsystem with the same attributes. For low-risk equipment or civilian systems, one backup computer is usually more than sufficient. For high-risk equipment such as fission reactors, fusion reactors and stutterwarp drives, and for military subsystems, two backup computers are more normal.

  Once you have determined the statistics of each dedicated computer, the vehicle requires a main computer to integrate all of the inputs from each subsystem. Total the performance of all the subsystems and divide by 10, rounding fractions up. This is the required performance for main computer. Again, there may be one or two backup systems.

  
  
  
• Drones and remotes (i.e. remote controlled and semi-autonomous vehicles) require larger main computers than normal vehicles. When determining the size of the main computer, divide by 5, not 10.



• Robots (i.e. autonomous vehicles) require a performance of 8 per point of intelligence. Use this value to determine the number of processors required. ( Thus, an OC model with Int 10 has a performance of 80 and has 107 processor units ). This is in addition to the required performance for normal vehicle operation as determined above for drone vehicles.



• For a cyberdeck, determine the speed required. Divide this by the processor performance. This is the number of processors required to achieve this speed. Assume that Accuracy, Offence and Defence start as listed in the Earth/Cybertech manual, and price upgrades as listed. Storage costs Lv 25 per point, as listed above.



• For a targeting computer, assume that each level of modifier is equivalent to a performance of X. +1 is thus XXXX, +2 is YYYY.

In all cases, assume a minimum storage requirement of 1 point per point of processor performance, except for targeting computers, which require 1 point of storage regardless of performance.

Supporting Architecture

All computer systems require a supporting architecture of power supplies, cooling systems, interface and communications equipment and so on. This supporting architecture is the bulk of the computer system ; for any computer, ten times the total processor and storage volume is required for this, at a mass of 1.50 kg per cubic metre and a cost of Lv1000 per cubic metre.

Software
Standard cyberdeck software is available at the normal prices. Software that emulates or augments skills, or provides robot skills, is available at chip skill prices.

Other software, such as navigational packages for starships, automated driving software for vehicles, expert systems for prospecting and so forth are all available. The cost of such software is variable - say Lv150 +(1d10 * Lv25) and most software of this nature will occupy 1 to 3 points of volume, most of which will be data.

One-shot or limited use software is common in 2300AD. A lot of cyberdeck software will only run once, or a few times, before it cannot be reused. My explanation for such restrictions on usage is to compare the software with modern day shareware programs and demos/evaluations - to continue to use the product, you have to pay a license fee or participate in a pay-per-use scheme. Software that can crack the protection systems that surround license restrictions in other cyberdeck programs would be very valuable indeed.

To load and run a program requires security rights on the computer and a Simple or Routine Computer task. A computer may simultaneously run as many programs as it has in storage, and may run several copies of each program in some cases. The effective limit to concurrently running programs is equal the number of processors multiplied by 10.

Neural Interface
Any piece of equipment can be jacked for the same prices as quoted in the Earth/Cybertech manual. This includes a starship computer. A jacked portable personal computer IS a basic cyberdeck. That's all a cyberdeck is - a personal computer with a neural jack.

Cyberdeck Statistics
Occasions may occur when a standard computer requires cyberdeck statistics. As stated above, total performance is the same as speed, and volume is the same as storage. Accuracy, Offence and Defence are assumed to be primarily software based statistics which start off as listed in the Earth Cybertech manual and are then increased by buying "kernel" components for the prices given in the same reference.

Directors who are interested in cyberspace campaigns might want to look at my Console Cowboy's Cookbook, which contains information on DOS Towers ( although I prefer the term "construct" ) and Artificial Intelligences.

Robots

A robot is not truly sentient ( unless controlled by an AI ). Its mind consists of a complex expert system that learns by example and experience. Though must robots can understand speech and talk back, they tend to be predictable and dull - they cannot "free-associate" ideas and concepts and have no knowledge of things outside of their programming. They do not get distracted, or bored, have no curiosity for things that do not concern them and have no emotions unless a simulation program is running.

When a robot comes across a given situation, the Director must determine whether the robot's programming or orders cover it. If the answer is yes, then the robot may attempt tasks related to that situation with no penalty. If no, then the robot may request aid from a human operator. If it cannot do so and has to make a decision on its own, then it must make a Difficult, Int, Instant task to decide on an appropriate course of action. In extreme circumstances, this task may be Formidable or even Impossible at the Director's discretion. Failure means that the robot takes an inappropriate course of action, or does nothing.

Most robots will obey simple verbal or electronic orders from specified sources. The robot must make a Simple, Int, Instant task to understand the instructions providing they are relevant to its programming. For orders which fall outside of the robot's skill suite, the difficulty level should be increased. Programming a robot requires a successful computing task roll to be made by the operator.

Robots may possess skills in the same manner as artificial intelligences, at the rate of three points of volume per level of skill to a maximum of skill level 2. Remember that skill level 0 counts as a distinct skill level, so level 2 occupies 9 points of volume ( 3 for each of 0, 1 and 2 ).

This page was last updated on the 10^th July 1997.

This page is © 1997 Andy Brick except where components are already copyright / trademarked by others in which case their use is not intended as a challenge to such ownership.