Archie 3 and psi-techs

[Emerald MoonSilver]

We know that archie spies on his armors and downloads the data when near another titan spy robot. IF this is so how come no psi-tech or other psychic with telemechanics has detected this. These characters are inked to their armor. They should be able to detect when something like this occurs.

[Orin J.]

mechinoids tech shenanigans, i'd guess.

[Colonel_Tetsuya]

We know that archie spies on his armors and downloads the data when near another titan spy robot. IF this is so how come no psi-tech or other psychic with telemechanics has detected this. These characters are inked to their armor. They should be able to detect when something like this occurs.

Pretty sure it says straight up that he's disguised them using his superior psi-technology and technology gained from the Mechanoids. Even using Telemechanics wont reveal them.

[Mack]

We know that archie spies on his armors and downloads the data when near another titan spy robot. IF this is so how come no psi-tech or other psychic with telemechanics has detected this. These characters are inked to their armor. They should be able to detect when something like this occurs.

It's a plot hook for the players to discover.

[ShadowLogan]

We know that archie spies on his armors and downloads the data when near another titan spy robot. IF this is so how come no psi-tech or other psychic with telemechanics has detected this. These characters are inked to their armor. They should be able to detect when something like this occurs.

This problem is also shared by the Sunji in Atlantis (maybe even Archie's own Shemarrians)

Archie though... SB2 mentions psionic shielding in Hagan in the fluff for his new Power Armor. Psionic shielding is also something that borgs can get in terms of brain implants (so in theory you might be able to extend it). Then again it might be as simple as isolating the system so that it is not considered part of item in question.

Statistical probability probably also plays a hand if it is found out. Out of the population of NA, how many are psychics with the requisite Psionic Power(s) to be an issue.

[Colonel_Tetsuya]

Ill have to check later but im sure Aftermath states that its shielded by Mechanoid/Alientech (Archie, at this point, is considered alien technology, which i think is also called out in Aftermath).

Also... lets say, for the sake of argument, that it isn't shielded.

... okay. Its... a camera/sensor recording system. Id hazard a guess that almost all PAs have these, for recording combat action (like a flight recorder). So, you (a Psi-tech) discover what appears to be a redundant/backup recording system.

And then what? Why would you think it was some super computer spying on you? Why wouldn't you just think its a redundant/backup recorder? Even if you investgate super duper deep and realize it isn't connected to the output systems (meaning you couldn't recover the data from it if the "primary"/normal unit failed)... why would you automatically assume malfeasance? Maybe its just a manufacturing error, or a system that was intended to be hooked up and it just got lost in the shuffle. If you examine other units, youll realize its line-wide. Seems like a error in manufacturing that didn't get caught, or was caught and just wasn't deemed worth correcting.

OR....

Did you read the EULA? (Can you even READ?) How much do you want to bet that in all the legalese, Titan Robotics reserves the right to record combat data to use to improve their future products? That you agreed to that when you purchased said PA/Robot? Never trust a lawyer.

The gist of my arguments here is that there are a lot of simpler explanations rather than your PC jumping to "ITZ A ZONZPIRAZY! WEZ BEING WATCHED!!!", and, given Occams Razor, most people would just shrug and be like "its a backup", or "they must have just left it in because retooling would have been more expensive" or "yeah Titan records the data so they can make better products" or "man, never trust a lawyer".

People aren't going to automatically jump to "there must be some totally sinister reason for this" when there are 100% plausible, benign reasons it could be that way.

[Colonel_Tetsuya]

I checked Aftermath. It does, indeed explicitly say that no one on Earth other than perhaps Atlantis and Mindwerks could even figure out what it is, and it would take them years to break into the data storage.

Its disguised to look like a backup recording system, tied into the traditional flight/data recorder/data systems, is impervious to Psionic probes (Thanks Mechanoids!), and the data is stored on a medium no one can read (takes an intelligent computer like Archie). Even if they could... all it would show is a backup of the data in the data recorder systems.

Basically, even if you found it, it looks like a perfectly legit backup system for your data systems, you cant use psionics to find any info that would tell you otherwise, and you cant read the data on the storage medium anyway.

So... yeah.

[Nekira Sudacne]

So basically Archie is impervious to everything that might actually be a threat because his plan is so full of vunerabilities and trivial ways to detect that if Kevin didn't give him full plot immunity he'd collapse under the weight of his plot holes? Sheesh. Guy has more plot armor than Chi-Town.

[Orin J.]

So basically Archie is impervious to everything that might actually be a threat because his plan is so full of vunerabilities and trivial ways to detect that if Kevin didn't give him full plot immunity he'd collapse under the weight of his plot holes? Sheesh. Guy has more plot armor than Chi-Town.

no, there's the pretty big gaping plot issue that it's mechanoids tech and if anyone familiar with the stuff gets a look at it they'll realize something pool ol' archie would like to not get known for pretty fast. ironically his defenses for his plan are putting him at WAY more risk than the plan itself could and he's a little to paranoid to figure it out.

[Colonel_Tetsuya]

So basically Archie is impervious to everything that might actually be a threat because his plan is so full of vunerabilities and trivial ways to detect that if Kevin didn't give him full plot immunity he'd collapse under the weight of his plot holes? Sheesh. Guy has more plot armor than Chi-Town.

Eh?

Not necessarily, at least in this case.

There's parts of Power Armor and Robots, and Vehicles that surely -MUST- exist that we're simply not told about (such as flight data recorders) that a plan like this would actually be quite easy to implement by any tech power. Its not even recording anything special, just the stuff going on around the bot. (It is pointed out that the Titan Power Armors dont have it, only the Robots and vehicles that they produce). There's no reason for anyone to think it would be anything malicious or anything other than a back up recorder. If anything, the fact that it ISNT just a plain-ol' recorder and cant be accessed is more of a giveaway than if it were just a plain-ol' recorder that was just programmed to ignore commands to erase its contents. So it could give itself away for being so weirdly hard to use.

A lot of his other plans are actually quite good (faux Skelebots), but he does have his weaknesses - such as thinking he's bought off NG, which actually only made them more suspicious, and the wild card that is Argent Goodson (who inherited "Dad's" arrogance and blind spot for humans) possibly screwing things up.

And their factory/repair facility in Manistique also raises more issues if people are paying attention: no one ever goes in or out, no workers are ever seen, etc.

I think Kevin pivoted on what Archie is supposed to be. He's turned more into a Splugorth-type background.. semi-antagonist. He's not really a villain anymore. You're not necessarily supposed to be trying to find him out anymore, as all his plans are super long term and hes not really a threat and could quite likely be an ally (against the Splugorth, certainly against the Demons in the Minion War). So "finding him out" is actually not necessarily something you want the players to feel obligated to do.

Really, my main issues with Archie these days are actually the giant Retcons involving the Republicans and how big his complex actually is ("complexes", not just one, etc, its not actually where it was in SB1 non-revised) and the Add-con of the Republicans being WAY bigger and more important than every before.

You could just delete the Republicans completely and it would make the setting much better.

[Orin J.]

You could just delete the Republicans completely and it would make the setting much better.

No. 1 post where the comment made me forget i was reading about an RPG.

[Warshield73]

So basically Archie is impervious to everything that might actually be a threat because his plan is so full of vunerabilities and trivial ways to detect that if Kevin didn't give him full plot immunity he'd collapse under the weight of his plot holes? Sheesh. Guy has more plot armor than Chi-Town.

I disagree. Like Chi-Town the plot armor only works when it works. Doesn't matter if it's how well Archie's base is hidden, the self-destruct on a Shemarian, or the "undetectable" recording devices they only shield Archie when they work and you as the GM get to decide when they don't work. That simple. Plot armor is nothing more than the difficulty a player group should face in going against them.

I think Kevin pivoted on what Archie is supposed to be. He's turned more into a Splugorth-type background.. semi-antagonist. He's not really a villain anymore. You're not necessarily supposed to be trying to find him out anymore, as all his plans are super long term and hes not really a threat and could quite likely be an ally (against the Splugorth, certainly against the Demons in the Minion War). So "finding him out" is actually not necessarily something you want the players to feel obligated to do.

I kind of agree with this and kind of don't. In the original SB1 Archie and Hagan are clearly villains, but not world ending villains. Even in Mechanoid Invasion where it is possible for your heroes to work with them the description is clear in pointing out that they are still evil bad guys. But with SB 1 Revised we get them moving from evil to more selfish alignments and I think this is less of a pivot as more of a clarification. A way of saying "Archie is a bad guy but he is not AS bad as demons, Splugorth, or even the Proseks. So he is still a bad guy but not THE bad guy.