Artificial Intelligence already creeping into our society (part 2)

Just how much do we want AI handling systems we rely on in our daily lives? “Smart houses” are supposedly the wave of the future, where AI controls ambient temperature, the scheduled activation and deactivation of devices such as the coffee maker or the laundry machine, and it even regulates the usage of power within the house. Some states have energy usage programs, where electricity is cycled automatically off during certain peak periods to prevent high rates. But what happens when these systems malfunction? Several years ago in Maryland and D.C. on an unusually hot day, air conditioning units hooked up to the peak-rewards program all cut out. Residents were unable to control their own AC, and despite calls to the electric company in the affected counties, the system could not be bypassed. People were without AC for several days, and many of them had to stay in hotels to survive the outdoor heat. While this situation doesn't seem directly related to AI, it is a prime example of a computerized system overriding human input. Do we really want to yield control to these systems? I'm sticking with manual control of my AC, even if it costs me more in the long run!

Artificial Intelligence already creeping into our society (part 1)

There was recently an unexpected event caused by the Artificial Intelligence on the International Space Station. Two satellites were launched without human permission—the AI had been programmed to launch the cubesat satellites on a regular schedule, but apparently this schedule was delayed by the humans aboard the ISS for various reasons. The AI got “tired of waiting” and decided to launch the satellites anyway to try to maintain its schedule. This incident may seem small, but the ramifications are enormous. When we have an AI system plugged in to something as delicate as a Space Station making decisions that could potentially endanger humans, we have a very big problem. For instance, what if there was a structural situation on the space station that warranted the interruption in the satellite launch schedule, and the AI ignored human input to halt the schedule? In that situation, launching a satellite could have torn the structure apart, created a hull breach, and doomed the humans aboard to the vacuum of space.

Choosing Talents and Weapons For Your Character in Solar Echoes (part 5)

You can see how many of the choices made in character design are inter-related. Sometimes, you may have your heart set on a particular weapon, and you'll end up designing your entire character around that. Other times, you may find that your weapon choices are made to supplement the style of your character. Talents can also be equally defining for your character, and in the case of my Archaeloid, one of my talent choices was made to exemplify his personality. My Archaeloid is a very devoted, loyal protector, and regards his team as his own family. He can now literally take a bullet for someone with the Sacrificial Shield talent, which enables him to quickly shift 5 feet and step between a nearby ally and an oncoming ranged attack. It may not seem like the talent of choice for most people, because my Archaeloid suffers the damage if the attack hits him, but I just had to take it—it's what he would do!

Choosing Talents and Weapons For Your Character in Solar Echoes (part 4)

However, I didn't stop there with my Archaeloid. I really wanted to ensure that he was difficult to escape, so I looked at a few other weapon choices. The primitive bola seemed an excellent choice—this throwing weapon consists of weights on the ends of interconnected cords, which can entangle a target and prevent them from running. Another weapon I selected was the whip. It doesn't have the range of the Glob Pistol or the bola, but I could use it to entangle or trip any opponent within two squares. Tripping them put them in the prone position, which causes them to suffer a -1 penalty against melee attacks and requires them to expend their movement just to stand up again. All of this is music to the ears of a dedicated melee fighter. I had decided to make my Archaeloid a martial artist, so I purchased a pair of spiked gloves and spiked boots (which both give me armor-piercing for unarmed attacks) and I selected the Thrust Kick talent so he could seriously kick some...yeah. But, I also know that being a one-trick pony can really backfire in Solar Echoes, so I played it safe and bought a couple long-range weapons: a Phoenix Blaster which fires energy rays, and a handy revolver, which would not only work well with my Quick Draw talent, but also added a little flavor for my Archaeloid—he seems to prefer low-tech fighting methods. Plus, I had fun imagining him walking around with a 10-gallon hat and a southern accent. Howdy, y'all!

Choosing Talents and Weapons For Your Character in Solar Echoes (part 3)

For the combat-focused Archaeloid, I chose the “Deadly Focus” talent, which allows him to gain a bonus to attack and damage if he hasn't moved that round. This makes him a particularly scary melee fighter, and the only defense is keeping a distance from him. Archaeloids run a little slower than some of the other races, so I decided to compensate with my weapon choices—I wanted to make it easier for him to close and get into melee range. So, I chose the Omul Glob Pistol, which glues an opponent in place for 2 rounds. This would allow my Archaeloid to catch up to those fast runners, and hopefully give him a chance to use Deadly Focus the next round to really put the hurt on. Another concern, though, was that I might miss with the Glob Pistol, because Archaeloids start with a 3 Reflex (4 is the best you can get.) Since I hadn't put my 1 extra point into Reflexes to bring it up to a 4, I needed to give my Archaeloid a better chance at hitting with a firearms attack. So, I chose the Quick Draw talent, which gives me a +1 bonus to a ranged attack that round. Now, I could draw my Glob Pistol quickly, fire it with a bonus and have a good chance of hitting, which would glue my opponent in place and allow me to move right next to him to start my melee assault. I feel sorry for anyone that is glued in place long enough for my Archaeloid to use his Deadly Focus talent! Ouch!

Choosing Talents and Weapons For Your Character in Solar Echoes (part 2)

A lot of the decisions I made for one of my characters, an Archaeloid, was based on my friend's character, an Omul. With only 7 skill points to invest in 7 different skills, we wanted to make sure that most skills were covered between us. Solar Echoes is a team-based game, so much so that you'll want to plan your character out with other players. If, for example, both my friend and I chose to play melee-focused attackers, we might both have neglected to select any Persuasion, Cybertech (hacking), or Biotech (medical) skills. Then, if we ran into a situation where we needed to get information out of someone, neither of us would be very good at wordplay, neither of us would be able to hack into a computer database, and both of us would be in big trouble if we were wounded. So, once I knew that my friend's character had invested skills in Persuasion, Stealth, Disguise, Discern Motive, Awareness, Firearms, and Language, I knew what we were lacking. We needed a melee fighter, someone who was athletic, tough, and was great with all forms of weaponry. My Archaeloid focused on these skills, but we still needed a hacker, engineer, medic, and someone who was skilled at driving and piloting starships. We agreed to add one more to our team—an Erwani, and he covered those skills. The talent choices I made next reflected the roles that I had chosen for my characters...

Choosing Talents and Weapons For Your Character in Solar Echoes (part 1)

This weekend I designed two characters for Solar Echoes to play with a friend of mine. I've talked about considering skills and attributes in the past, but selecting talents and equipment will probably take up the bulk of your time with character design, simply because there are so many choices! For example, there are over 270 Talents to choose from, though not all 270 are available at level 1. In the Player's Guide, you can see this in the helpful quick reference table for talents, where it indicates the requirements (if there are any) for each talent and the earliest possible level the talent is available. Choosing equipment for your character feels just like you're going shopping--that is, if the store is a military stockpile of high-tech weapons, armor, and other special-forces-worthy equipment. There is a lot to choose from, with 86 weapons total (that's significant, almost 3 times as many as other sci-fi games!) You can choose from a variety of guns (pistols, submachine guns, longarms, assault, and heavy firearms), over a dozen grenade types, lots of “simple weapons” (katana, whips, crossbows, etc.), and some very unique cyber-weapons (essentially short-range remote controlled robotic drones.) There are lots of armor types, some of them only usable by certain races, and if you really want to “build” your character, you can install cyberware and become a powerful cyborg--if you can afford it. With only 5000 credits for starting money, you'll need to be judicious with your choices and make certain that your character's equipment covers a range of situations.