TEXT:  
  Designer's Notes: GURPS Steam-Tech 
  by William H. Stoddard 
  GURPS Steam-Tech was put together from the works of many contributors. In checking their 
  submissions before accepting them for the playtest draft, I noticed several points where the 
  contributors disagreed on how to apply the existing rules -- with each other or with me -- and 
  realized that on some points the implications of the rules weren't fully clear to me. Nowhere did 
  this happen more often than in the creation of clockworks, automata, and analytical engines. By the 
  time the final draft went in, the playtesters and I had made many things clearer. For the benefit of 
  other steampunk GMs and players, or of anyone who uses the GURPS rules for computers, here 
  are fuller guidelines for designing such systems. 
  Complexity and IQ 
  Complexity is an abstract measure of a computer's information processing power, with higher 
  scores indicating more power. For most computers, IQ is Complexity + 3; for sentient computers, 
  IQ is Complexity + 5. The original Complexity scale started at 1, and thus at IQ 4. GURPS 
  Steampunk added lower Complexity scores, down to -2, corresponding to IQ 1, the lowest score 
  possible in GURPS, to represent devices simpler than computers, but still possessing some sort of 
  data processing capability and perhaps behavioral response. 
  Action Sequences 
  The simplest thing an automatic device can do is carry out a fixed series of movements or actions. 
  A device carrying out one series, such as a clock, is Complexity -2; a device carrying out several 
  coordinated series in a repeating cycle, such as a music box, is Complexity -1; if the device does 
  not precisely repeat, as in an orrery, where several celestial bodies move with different orbital 
  periods, the device is Complexity 0. 
  Self-Regulation 
  Another class of very simple devices is automatic control systems, which monitor and compensate 
  for environmental changes. Devices such as a thermostat, which keeps a room at a fixed 
  temperature, or a governor, which keeps a steam engine running at constant speed, are Complexity 
  -1. Autopilots, which keep a vehicle moving in a fixed direction at a fixed speed, are Complexity 0. 
  Note that a vehicle that moves on tracks needs a steering mechanism less sophisticated than an 
  actual autopilot; a course control that can start, stop, and make a sequence of right and left turns at 
  specific points is Complexity -1. 
  Computation 
  Complexity scores can be defined for calculating devices. Adding machines are Complexity -2. 
  Four-function calculators are Complexity -1. Calculators with preprogrammed functions, such as 
  scientific calculators, are Complexity 0. Programmable calculators are Complexity 1 or higher. 
  Codes and Cyphers 
  
  Encoding or decoding messages with simple substitution codes is a function much like simple 
  calculation; machines for this purpose are Complexity -1. Such coded messages can be broken 
  without a penalty to Cryptanalysis. More complex encryption schemes require actual programs, 
  discussed below. Breaking any code, even a simple substitution code, also requires an actual 
  program. 
  Programs 
  Only a machine of Complexity 1 or higher can be programmed. A procedure counts as a program if 
  it contains branch points, where the machine performs one or another action depending on the 
  internally stored results of previous actions. If there are no branch points, or if the branch depends 
  on something external (such as a human operator throwing a switch, or a thermostat sensing the 
  temperature of a room), the procedure is not a program and usually requires Complexity 0 or less. 
  Programs carry out a variety of functions; major categories are personality simulation programs, 
  advantage programs, skill programs, and utility programs. See GURPS Robots for several 
  examples of each type. 
  A standard machine can run two programs at its own Complexity. 
  Languages 
  A program amount to a set of instructions. But the form taken by the instructions depends on the 
  complexity of the machine. Complexity 1 machines must be programmed by actually specifying 
  the internal state of the mechanism, using what is called "machine language." The very first 
  computers during World War II were actually programmed by physically rewiring the circuits, and 
  analogous methods involving Mechanic skill can be required in a steampunk setting. 
  Machines of higher Complexity can be programmed or instructed through "languages" that bear a 
  closer resemblance to actual human languages. The instructions may take the form of alphanumeric 
  punched cards, or lines of text on a screen, or speech, or sign language, depending on the machine's 
  sensors. At Complexity 2, a machine can understand a restricted instruction set -- something like 
  Fortran for a computer, or a set of code phrases for an early mechanical man. At Complexity 4, it 
  can cope with actual human languages. 
  Personality Simulation 
  A machine at Complexity 4 can achieve limited personality simulation, which includes a single 
  disadvantage and up to five Quirks. Over time, the machine's lack of depth and of actual human 
  experience will become apparent. A machine at Complexity 5 can achieve full personality 
  simulation with a multilayered personality. Either type of program can be either voluntary (a role 
  the machine is playing) or obligatory; obligatory personality programs are worth character points, 
  but voluntary ones are not. A machine at Complexity 6 has the potentiality for sentience; a sentient 
  machine does not simulate, but actually has a personality. 
  A simpler option is a pet program, which simulates the behavior of an animal. Pet programs are 
  possible at any Complexity; the maximum IQ a program can simulate is its Complexity + 2. Note 
  that the beginnings of real trainability at IQ 4 correspond to the ability to understand a limited 
  range of spoken commands at Complexity 2. A pet program can include psychological 
  disadvantages corresponding to those of the animal it simulates, such as Hidebound or Incurious. 
  Skills 
  A skill program grants a machine a number of points dedicated to a specific skill. Note that points 
  
  spent on mental skills count x4 because of the machine's Eidetic Memory. The maximum number 
  of points in a skill program depends on Complexity: 1/2 for Complexity 1, 1 for Complexity 2, 2 
  for Complexity 3, 4 for Complexity 4, 8 for Complexity 5, and 16 for Complexity 6 (counted as 2, 
  4, 8, 16, 32, or 64 for mental skills). 
  How does this translate into skill levels? Machine IQ also depends on Complexity. So for a 
  Mental/Average skill such as Cartography, Complexity 1 would allow IQ 4 and 2 points of skill, 
  for Cartography-4; Complexity 2 would allow IQ 5 and 4 points of skill, for Cartography-6; 
  Complexity 3 would allow Cartography-9, Complexity 4 would allow Cartography-14, Complexity 
  5 would allow Cartography-23, and Complexity 6 would allow Cartography-40. 
  But someone has to write the program, and it's not possible to write a program above one's own 
  skill. In a realistic campaign, the best person in a given field is probably skill 20 -- skills above 20 
  are getting into the "best in history" range and their possessors will not be writing programs! So a 
  machine of Complexity 5 or 6 probably should not have skill higher than 20, even if it could run a 
  more complex program. If there are sentient machines in a campaign, they can write their own 
  programs and get up to skill levels no human being can match. 
  Machines of low Complexity can't have enough skill to be worth much. But a machine can also 
  provide assistance to a human user's skill. Allow +2 to skill at the Complexity where such 
  assistance first becomes possible, and an added +1 for each added level of Complexity. 
  The Automaton Option 
  An analytical engine can have the Automaton option, which enables it to control a vehicle, 
  automaton, or mechanical man. The code that does this occupies one of its two program slots and 
  enables it to perceive, communicate, manipulate, and move about. 
  An automaton has DX as well as IQ. This is equal to half its Complexity (rounded down), plus 8. 
  Thus, a Complexity 4 machine has DX 4/2 + 8 = 10. Physical skills, based on DX, are not 
  enhanced by Eidetic Memory; for a Physical/Average skill such as Boxing, Complexity 1 would 
  allow DX 8 and Boxing-6, Complexity 2 would allow Boxing-8, Complexity 3 would allow 
  Boxing-9, Complexity 4 would allow Boxing-11, Complexity 5 would allow Boxing-12, and 
  Complexity 6 would allow Boxing-14. 
  In a steampunk setting with mechanical men, "programming" may take place through physical drill 
  in a series of actions, and a "programming language" may be a spoken language with a small 
  number of standard signals. The whole process may look much like the military training of the 
  period. 
  The Dedicated Option 
  A machine can have the Dedicated option, meaning that its programs are built into its gears or 
  circuits. This inflexibility makes it cheaper but less flexible. A normal machine has the Rote 
  Learning [-25] disadvantage, enabling it to learn maneuvers but not new skills. A Dedicated 
  machine has Cannot Learn [-30] and cannot even learn maneuvers. 
  A Dedicated machine can still have more than one program; it simply can't change which ones it is 
  running, or store programs without running them. For example, a Complexity 4 mechanical man 
  with Juggling-12 as a Dedicated program needs one program slot for the skill program, and another 
  for its basic body operation program, so clearly it can run two programs at the same time. 
  Since machines of complexity 0 or less cannot be programmed, they all have the Dedicated option.
  
  The High-Capacity Option 
  The High-Capacity option gives a machine three slots at its Complexity, instead of two. If it has the 
  Automaton option, its body operation program occupies one slot, so it has two left, instead of one. 
  For machines that do not run programs, High-Capacity can be interpreted in other ways. For a 
  music box, for example, it could mean having several different stored melodies that can be played 
  alternatively; for a calculator, it could mean being able to retain a number in memory, over and 
  above the two it was immediately operating on, like a four-function calculator with a Memory key. 
  With these interpretative rules, it's possible to build automata for a variety of purposes. For 
  example, consider the control device for the bomb-carrying ornithopter automaton. This needs to 
  direct a series of flapping movements that keep the device flying and also to execute a series of 
  turns and drop bombs at specified points, but it's not able to sense if the wind blows it off course, 
  so it's Complexity -1. At TL(4+1) this is achievable with a Genius small device, a standard 
  miniengine, or a Dumb microframe; since weight is at a premium in a flying machine, make it a 
  Genius small device. In addition, give it the Automaton, Dedicated, and Mechanical options. 
  Accounting for the effects of these choices gives a device that weighs 15 lbs., occupies 0.3 cf, costs 
  $5,000, and consumes negligible power. With Complexity -1, it has IQ 2 and DX 7; its flight will 
  probably be somewhat awkward. 
  To make it a true autopilot, capable of correcting for the wind blowing it off course, it would need 
  Complexity 0. This might just barely be reconciled with the need for low weight by making it a 
  Genius miniengine with the Automaton, Dedicated, Mechanical, and Supercompact options. The 
  result would weigh 60 lbs., occupy 1.2 cf, cost $105,000, and consume 0.2 kW. Complexity 0 
  would give it IQ 3 and DX 8. Raising the cost of the ornithopter from $40,000 to $140,000 might 
  be justified by increased reliability; an experimental advanced design might be a useful target for 
  foreign spies in a clockpunk setting. 
  With a little ingenuity, a GM can contrive many other clockworks, calculating engines, and 
  automata to aid, baffle, or tempt players. GURPS Steam-Tech offers a number of examples based 
  on these rules. 
   
  Article publication date: December 21, 2001 
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