On Rifts Earth, specifically North America in what was once the United States, where does one go for boinics/cybernetics and robotic tech?
Rifts Earth is described in RUE to be mostly wilderness, illiterate, and low tech. There is little in the way of described locations of manufactured tech.
Guessing world wide best suppliers are:
1. NGR
2. Atlantis
3. Japan (the 4 rifted cities?)
4. Free Quebec
5. CS (specifically Lone Star, although I was never sure if it was just a research place or manufacturing).
6. Kingsdale and such
Are they backed up on orders and one has to wait months for parts or whole units?
Are they automated factories like Archie 3?
If they do, does Archie have his drones in every factory he can get into?
Do they depend upon outsiders for refined metals or raw materials? IF so what do they need: iron? salvage parts? scrap metal?
Are they supplied by vagabound scroungers? Mining outfits? Do they care if their suppliers are supernatural or use magic (Earth Warlock casting create steal, etc)?
Could be adventure material if the shippments are having problems with hijackers?
Don't know how to rate pounds of metal to credits or such if a player wants to get paid or recycling scrap metal to earn some money.
Questions on Tech
Moderators: Immortals, Supreme Beings, Old Ones
Re: Questions on Tech
As always, the answer is whatever the GM wants.
In my head canon, I understand that the world of Rifts has been variously described as 'post post apocalyptic'. So while the vast majority of the wilds are eat or be eaten, I assume the settled lands carved out by stable communities/kingdoms/nations have an adequate level of agriculture, industry and manufacturing to justify their continued existence. NG/Ishpeming is detailed extensively in WB33 & WB34 and is a great template for the various aspects of a large modern nation, but manufacturing is clearly mentioned in more remote areas and smaller communities, such as Nevada (Bandito Arms), S Dakota (Wilks), Alabama (GAW), and Texas (Los Alamo). It would seem that anywhere there is a town of a thousand people or more, there's going to be Operators, Cyberdocs and/or travelling merchants of one kind or other. BTW for the most part anything Splugorth or Japan related would be a rare exotic item in N America and Triax imports are likely limited / expensive, so I wouldn't consider them as having a major presence.
Re Robotic technology:
Mechanical repairs just need an operator, parts, and tools. Electronic parts can probably also be swapped out relatively easily. Robots are designed to be operated in hostile conditions and it would be unrealistic for them to not be field serviceable for minor to moderate repair. MDC plate patches are likely reasonably available in most larger communities for welding over damage, as these plates might be needed for their own transports or even shielding for buildings (Merc Ops pg 118). Availability of replacement parts is another question altogether and while a rural operator might jury rig a strut, more delicate parts, like a telescopic lens, would depend on proximity to trade routes or market towns. However, with hovercraft that travel 100s of miles per hour or magical couriers that can use rifts, it would not be unreasonable to get a replacement part express delivered almost anywhere in N America within a couple days... for a price. New robots are either available only in large towns and cities or, if in a remote community, might be ordered via travelling merchants or authorized resellers. If you play with the Tolkeen War and Minion War as part of the timeline which increase demand for replacements, there might indeed be manufacturing backlogs for new robots of a few months... or a notably higher likelihood of a defect due to refurbishing (disclosed or not).
Re Bionic/Cybernetic technology:
Unlike robotic technology, biotech requires a person with highly specialized skills and adequate tools to do the initial implant surgery. Upgrades of a mechanical nature not requiring surgery might be performed by apprentices or simply hacks in a backroom (perhaps with the aid of a reprogrammed IRMSS?). In major cities, commercial grade augmentation is widely available. In smaller communities, we see towns like Mechanicsville which has at least 4 cyberdocs (WB20 pg 39). Availability is specifically detailed in the Bionics Sourcebook (pg 8-13) and discusses all sorts of settings. The Black Market Sourcebook (pg 118) has more details on types of Body-Chop-Shops.
Re Manufacturers vs Retailers:
Don't confuse the distribution and trade of technology (retail) with the manufacture of technology. These are two different core competencies and, while the books often present the manufacturers as also the sellers, IRL this can lead to big problems for companies if they lose sight of what they are best at. CS is a nation state and it is unclear what the corporate ecosystem looks like. However, NG/Ishpeming, WI/Manistique, and Triax/NGR are presented as nation states coupled with a dominant corporation, with a few references to smaller corporate players offering a little competition. Therefore, these big players may try to do it all with the power of the State supporting them through regulation or economic restrictions, but that doesn't mean they do it all equally well. Note that Bandito Arms and other factions of the Black Market manufacture goods without State assistance, but I'd bet a penny to a dollar that they sell those goods far better than they manufacture them. In fact, many of the weapons they produce have lower damage stats than 'name brand' equivalents (BM SB pg 144).
Beyond the State's sphere of influence, manufacturers probably rely more on price and their brand to compete with independent resellers, smaller generic manufacturers, counterfeiters, and smugglers of restricted alternative goods. Indeed, Merc Town is an example where these manufacturers have to act more like retailers to compete for market share. That means they need to make sure that people know about their products, think they are better than competing products, and easily get the product in their hands when wanted. Availability of goods or parts is a function of distance from place of manufacture, who the good/part is being sourced from, customer expectations of quality, and the local demand for the good/part. For example, it is as unlikely that a general store in a pastoral region is going to carry a range of mini missiles as a dealership in downtown Lazlo is going to sell combine harvesters. Sellers of technology need to ensure they have adequate supply chains and inventory to cover when those chains are disrupted (i.e. perhaps when LLs surge at different times of the year and shipments are attacked by demons). See WB33 pg 90-100 to see more about NG lake shipping and hovertrains for examples re transport of goods and security against attack.
Whether the goods produced by the big players in the major cities are "automated" (as in computer controlled production without human intervention) or not should not usually be relevant to PCs, unless it is an adventure involving sabotage or industrial espionage. However, it is reasonable to assume some processes are highly automated - perhaps those involving hazardous materials or requiring speed/precision not achievable with human labor. Imagine IRL what the world would be like if there wasn't the level of automation in today's factories - add a century of technological development to reflect Golden Age tech that was salvaged during the Dark Ages. Heck, a hundred years ago IRL, we were just getting the knack of the assembly line concept. For basic goods, like clothing or food or sheet metal, manual labor probably is the order of the day. Also, given the demands of the environment and what it takes to survive in Rifts Earth, these nation states are probably on a permanent war footing with the balance of energy and labor allocated where it would be most effective for the survival of the State. As much as the various books seem to make out that cities are islands of plenty, refer to Heroes of Humanity (pg 67-68) regarding issues re resources, manufacturing and food production in the CS.
Independent Operators and Technowizards can craft devices or machine the parts desired if they have access to tools and resources. Even basic circuit boards could be put together by anyone with adequate skills, components and a soldering iron - heck, I did it in Grade 8 shop class. This could lead to a cottage industry for low grade tech. Think of a rural operators collective with a garage workshop and various tool kits turning out a suit of custom built or refurbished power armor once every few years that looks like it will fall apart and held together by bungie cords... but they work.
Depending on the needs of the manufacturer and the processes being employed, resources would need to come from mines, rigs (oil/natural gas), lumber camps (charcoal for forges), and plantations (some crops might yield latex or other polymers). Ishpeming, for example, maintains extensive mining operations in their territories for iron (WB33 pg 53) and copper (WB33 pg 58). The CS has mined everything within 300 miles of their borders (HoH pg 67). In magic communities, warlocks or wizards that can conjure up lumber, metals, and other resources would be highly valued. Arzno is a great example where they've integrated Ironwood into armament manufacture.
At the bottom of the supply chain are those who provide the labor to physically extract raw materials. Drones could be used instead, but there is very little of a business case unless the resource was in an inhospitable environment. E.g. 2m credit used drone working 24/7/365 still costs 45 credits/hour of labor over the 5-yr life of its power plant.
Opportunists like scavengers don't produce anything with their labor - they simply collect, sort, and transport scrap. In Ishpeming, metallic scrap from vehicles and the like is typically bought at top dollar for 0.5-1% of original list price (WB33 pg 37), though note specific businesses mentioned. However, SB01r also has prices for salvageable components that are calculated substantially different. For slag or scrap metal, such as what remains after main MDC is reduced to -80 MDC, the price is 60 credits/ton (SB01r pg 35).
In my head canon, I understand that the world of Rifts has been variously described as 'post post apocalyptic'. So while the vast majority of the wilds are eat or be eaten, I assume the settled lands carved out by stable communities/kingdoms/nations have an adequate level of agriculture, industry and manufacturing to justify their continued existence. NG/Ishpeming is detailed extensively in WB33 & WB34 and is a great template for the various aspects of a large modern nation, but manufacturing is clearly mentioned in more remote areas and smaller communities, such as Nevada (Bandito Arms), S Dakota (Wilks), Alabama (GAW), and Texas (Los Alamo). It would seem that anywhere there is a town of a thousand people or more, there's going to be Operators, Cyberdocs and/or travelling merchants of one kind or other. BTW for the most part anything Splugorth or Japan related would be a rare exotic item in N America and Triax imports are likely limited / expensive, so I wouldn't consider them as having a major presence.
Re Robotic technology:
Mechanical repairs just need an operator, parts, and tools. Electronic parts can probably also be swapped out relatively easily. Robots are designed to be operated in hostile conditions and it would be unrealistic for them to not be field serviceable for minor to moderate repair. MDC plate patches are likely reasonably available in most larger communities for welding over damage, as these plates might be needed for their own transports or even shielding for buildings (Merc Ops pg 118). Availability of replacement parts is another question altogether and while a rural operator might jury rig a strut, more delicate parts, like a telescopic lens, would depend on proximity to trade routes or market towns. However, with hovercraft that travel 100s of miles per hour or magical couriers that can use rifts, it would not be unreasonable to get a replacement part express delivered almost anywhere in N America within a couple days... for a price. New robots are either available only in large towns and cities or, if in a remote community, might be ordered via travelling merchants or authorized resellers. If you play with the Tolkeen War and Minion War as part of the timeline which increase demand for replacements, there might indeed be manufacturing backlogs for new robots of a few months... or a notably higher likelihood of a defect due to refurbishing (disclosed or not).
Re Bionic/Cybernetic technology:
Unlike robotic technology, biotech requires a person with highly specialized skills and adequate tools to do the initial implant surgery. Upgrades of a mechanical nature not requiring surgery might be performed by apprentices or simply hacks in a backroom (perhaps with the aid of a reprogrammed IRMSS?). In major cities, commercial grade augmentation is widely available. In smaller communities, we see towns like Mechanicsville which has at least 4 cyberdocs (WB20 pg 39). Availability is specifically detailed in the Bionics Sourcebook (pg 8-13) and discusses all sorts of settings. The Black Market Sourcebook (pg 118) has more details on types of Body-Chop-Shops.
Re Manufacturers vs Retailers:
Don't confuse the distribution and trade of technology (retail) with the manufacture of technology. These are two different core competencies and, while the books often present the manufacturers as also the sellers, IRL this can lead to big problems for companies if they lose sight of what they are best at. CS is a nation state and it is unclear what the corporate ecosystem looks like. However, NG/Ishpeming, WI/Manistique, and Triax/NGR are presented as nation states coupled with a dominant corporation, with a few references to smaller corporate players offering a little competition. Therefore, these big players may try to do it all with the power of the State supporting them through regulation or economic restrictions, but that doesn't mean they do it all equally well. Note that Bandito Arms and other factions of the Black Market manufacture goods without State assistance, but I'd bet a penny to a dollar that they sell those goods far better than they manufacture them. In fact, many of the weapons they produce have lower damage stats than 'name brand' equivalents (BM SB pg 144).
Beyond the State's sphere of influence, manufacturers probably rely more on price and their brand to compete with independent resellers, smaller generic manufacturers, counterfeiters, and smugglers of restricted alternative goods. Indeed, Merc Town is an example where these manufacturers have to act more like retailers to compete for market share. That means they need to make sure that people know about their products, think they are better than competing products, and easily get the product in their hands when wanted. Availability of goods or parts is a function of distance from place of manufacture, who the good/part is being sourced from, customer expectations of quality, and the local demand for the good/part. For example, it is as unlikely that a general store in a pastoral region is going to carry a range of mini missiles as a dealership in downtown Lazlo is going to sell combine harvesters. Sellers of technology need to ensure they have adequate supply chains and inventory to cover when those chains are disrupted (i.e. perhaps when LLs surge at different times of the year and shipments are attacked by demons). See WB33 pg 90-100 to see more about NG lake shipping and hovertrains for examples re transport of goods and security against attack.
Whether the goods produced by the big players in the major cities are "automated" (as in computer controlled production without human intervention) or not should not usually be relevant to PCs, unless it is an adventure involving sabotage or industrial espionage. However, it is reasonable to assume some processes are highly automated - perhaps those involving hazardous materials or requiring speed/precision not achievable with human labor. Imagine IRL what the world would be like if there wasn't the level of automation in today's factories - add a century of technological development to reflect Golden Age tech that was salvaged during the Dark Ages. Heck, a hundred years ago IRL, we were just getting the knack of the assembly line concept. For basic goods, like clothing or food or sheet metal, manual labor probably is the order of the day. Also, given the demands of the environment and what it takes to survive in Rifts Earth, these nation states are probably on a permanent war footing with the balance of energy and labor allocated where it would be most effective for the survival of the State. As much as the various books seem to make out that cities are islands of plenty, refer to Heroes of Humanity (pg 67-68) regarding issues re resources, manufacturing and food production in the CS.
Independent Operators and Technowizards can craft devices or machine the parts desired if they have access to tools and resources. Even basic circuit boards could be put together by anyone with adequate skills, components and a soldering iron - heck, I did it in Grade 8 shop class. This could lead to a cottage industry for low grade tech. Think of a rural operators collective with a garage workshop and various tool kits turning out a suit of custom built or refurbished power armor once every few years that looks like it will fall apart and held together by bungie cords... but they work.
Depending on the needs of the manufacturer and the processes being employed, resources would need to come from mines, rigs (oil/natural gas), lumber camps (charcoal for forges), and plantations (some crops might yield latex or other polymers). Ishpeming, for example, maintains extensive mining operations in their territories for iron (WB33 pg 53) and copper (WB33 pg 58). The CS has mined everything within 300 miles of their borders (HoH pg 67). In magic communities, warlocks or wizards that can conjure up lumber, metals, and other resources would be highly valued. Arzno is a great example where they've integrated Ironwood into armament manufacture.
At the bottom of the supply chain are those who provide the labor to physically extract raw materials. Drones could be used instead, but there is very little of a business case unless the resource was in an inhospitable environment. E.g. 2m credit used drone working 24/7/365 still costs 45 credits/hour of labor over the 5-yr life of its power plant.
Opportunists like scavengers don't produce anything with their labor - they simply collect, sort, and transport scrap. In Ishpeming, metallic scrap from vehicles and the like is typically bought at top dollar for 0.5-1% of original list price (WB33 pg 37), though note specific businesses mentioned. However, SB01r also has prices for salvageable components that are calculated substantially different. For slag or scrap metal, such as what remains after main MDC is reduced to -80 MDC, the price is 60 credits/ton (SB01r pg 35).