Rigger / Dronemancer in 2021/Feb

Game Talk The Bunker
#1

Hey, returning player here;

Since it’s hard too keep track of all the additions when you’re gone for about a year, I’m asking the hive mind:
Say I want to make a Shadowrun-esque Rigger or just someone who uses drones and robots as his mainline defense: What are my best options in the latest experimental (Febrauray 2021)?

Requirements: Compact, remote or AI controlled robots with guns and explosives.

My main idea:
So far I know that I can build a foldable vehicle with robot controls, but it will only take a car battery since the big storage batteries make it unfoldabe (should I switch to cumbustion here?). I can put a turret mount on it and then slap an M249 on it. I haven’t tried it yet since I’m lacking wheels and I don’t know what wheels would be best for a single tile vehicle and where to get them…

Some additional questions:
Are there some normal gun drones that I can craft/reprogram that just take small arms on them? So far I only found the suicidal grenade/C4 hacks but I’d like just a 4-rotor drone that can carry a rifle or (machine)pistol

Can I somehow rig explosives on an RC-Car and drive it to the enemy and detonate it?

Thanks in advance!

#2

Short update one the remote controlled folding vehicle:
I used 2 light foldable frames, 2 10" wheels, 1 electric motor, 1 car battery, 1 robot controls, 1 turret mount. If you have 2 batteries you can switch them out while one is recharging although since I only used it for one field operation so far the single car battery was more than enough.
Unfold it and mount the M249 since you CAN’T fold it with the weapon still on it. Remember that installing the weapon unloads it so reload it with the ammo belt after installing it. Then you can control it with your remote vehicle controller. It basically steers like a normal car execpt that your view isn’t centered and you have to use the HJKL keys to move your camera individually. It works really well against autmatic turrets, you can just drive your drone right next to them and them aim manually with your machine gun! When everythings’ clear you can drive back or just walk up to it and drag it to your trunk. Unmount the gun and fold it and put it back into your trunk. This is a little too heavy to just haul arround everywhere though so you need to have a shopping cart or vehicle for transport.
Maybe scaling down the electric motor to a small or even tiny one might do it but then I don’t know if it will be able to move the turret mount+turret or if the mount itself is the problem. Yet that’s the closest I came to be a Shadowrun Rigger so far.
Since the remote control range is really short, you can’t really leave outside of your view. Maybe one day with cameras and screens we will be able to actually remote control a drone. I think it will be a fun playstyle if you want to play a char with low combat skills that uses smarts to solve situations :slight_smile:

Next I will test out the AI control unit for vehicles, maybe this will open up more options.

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#3

In 0.E2 stable you can construct the AI controlled vehicles/weapons you’ve picked apart (and activate ones you’ve hacked and deactivated). As far as I’ve see you can’t customize those, and they have their own AI so they follow you around.

You would need a foldable vehicle to get it up and down stairs, but otherwise it ought to be possible to use external bike racks on your transport vehicle to move these around. I believe the limitation is that they have to be a single tile wide (and probably not longer than the vehicle side onto which you want to mount it). Since racks aren’t in the version I’ve played I don’t know if there are strength or jack/lift requirements to get a vehicle onto bike racks.

As an alternative to changing batteries you can charge them using jumper cables.

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