# Why are USB's in the game?

**URL:** <https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/why-are-usbs-in-the-game/5261>\
**Category:** The Bunker\
**Created:** [March 2, 2014, 3:58am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/why-are-usbs-in-the-game/5261 "2014-03-02T03:58:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 15\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![SKiPPY](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/skippy/32/123_2.png) [@SKiPPY](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/SKiPPY)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2014, 3:58am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/why-are-usbs-in-the-game/5261/1 "2014-03-02T03:58:34Z")

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Seriously, can i upload this medisoft program into the PDA or what?

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**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/cataclysmdda/original/1X/21b5d044e8473b25d0bf905d60477e25f6fbe0cf.png) [@system](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/system)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2014, 4:05am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/why-are-usbs-in-the-game/5261/2 "2014-03-02T04:05:14Z")

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It’s shit for NPCs bro.

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**Author:** ![John\_Candlebury](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/john_candlebury/32/6437_2.png) [@John\_Candlebury](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/John_Candlebury)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2014, 11:11am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/why-are-usbs-in-the-game/5261/3 "2014-03-02T11:11:18Z")

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Yep aside for a single NPC quest they are completely and utterly useless. They don’t even burn

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**Author:** ![Rivet](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/rivet/32/11_2.png) [@Rivet](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Rivet)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2014, 11:41am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/why-are-usbs-in-the-game/5261/4 "2014-03-02T11:41:25Z")

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> [@John Candlebury](#):
>
> Yep aside for a single NPC quest they are completely and utterly useless. They don’t even burn

Disassemble them to get RAM.

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**Author:** ![Zaweri\_Runewright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/5e9695/32.png) [@Zaweri\_Runewright](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Zaweri_Runewright)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2014, 2:12pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/why-are-usbs-in-the-game/5261/5 "2014-03-02T14:12:57Z")

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USBs are pretty much volumeless RAM.

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**Author:** ![SKiPPY](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/skippy/32/123_2.png) [@SKiPPY](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/SKiPPY)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2014, 3:59pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/why-are-usbs-in-the-game/5261/6 "2014-03-02T15:59:04Z")

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It WOULD be nice if I could install a usb program to load up an e-book on my PDA. It could be the same as any other book that one could find out in the Cataclysm universe, just simply on your PDA. The amount of battery it uses should be time dependant. Could also open up the path of CBM: E-LIBRARY, where one has the power to take retinal scans of books he/she has read so that they may read them again.

But regardless, USB’s: idk how to code, but is there a way/mod that makes them useful?

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**Author:** ![i2amroy](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/i2amroy/32/909_2.png) [@i2amroy](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/i2amroy)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2014, 6:53pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/why-are-usbs-in-the-game/5261/7 "2014-03-02T18:53:49Z")

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Without learning to code? Not really. I guess you could make a recipe or something that used them, but that would be it.

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**Author:** ![SKiPPY](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/skippy/32/123_2.png) [@SKiPPY](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/SKiPPY)\
**Post date:** [March 3, 2014, 3:44pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/why-are-usbs-in-the-game/5261/8 "2014-03-03T15:44:20Z")

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I’m sorry, that was a stupid question asked earlier. I meant to say “Is there a mod out there that makes USB’s useful?” I realize that trying to modify the game without understanding C++ is dumb.

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**Author:** ![Soyweiser](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/soyweiser/32/37_2.png) [@Soyweiser](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Soyweiser)\
**Post date:** [March 3, 2014, 5:55pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/why-are-usbs-in-the-game/5261/9 "2014-03-03T17:55:30Z")

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There might be a usage for certain USB’s and a certain decrypting computer in the lab. Or there might not be. (Looked at the code a while back, I know there is stuff in there about USB’s but no idea what it does any more).

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**Author:** ![vache](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ea666f/32.png) [@vache](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/vache)\
**Post date:** [March 3, 2014, 5:57pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/why-are-usbs-in-the-game/5261/10 "2014-03-03T17:57:25Z")

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I had a plan for USB drives to do stuff in my computer refactor, the hacksoft one would make hacking marginally easier, and you could have computers check for the contents of a usb drive (so a computer in a hospital could check for the medisoft one, etc) before performing an action. I never finished it though, but everything is on my github ([https://github.com/vache/Cataclysm-DDA/tree/computer\_refactor](https://github.com/vache/Cataclysm-DDA/tree/computer_refactor)).

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**Author:** ![i2amroy](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/i2amroy/32/909_2.png) [@i2amroy](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/i2amroy)\
**Post date:** [March 3, 2014, 9:35pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/why-are-usbs-in-the-game/5261/11 "2014-03-03T21:35:45Z")

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> [@SKiPPY](#):
>
> I’m sorry, that was a stupid question asked earlier. I meant to say “Is there a mod out there that makes USB’s useful?” I realize that trying to modify the game without understanding C++ is dumb.

Surprisingly it’s remarkably easy to modify the content without knowing how to code since we have lots of JSON options available that require virtually no learning to edit. 😃

Sadly, this is not one of those things that can be edited with JSON files.

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**Author:** ![Garm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58f4c7/32.png) [@Garm](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Garm)\
**Post date:** [March 3, 2014, 10:04pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/why-are-usbs-in-the-game/5261/12 "2014-03-03T22:04:01Z")

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USBs could be really neat as sources of specific information too:

USB+PDA = PDA “book” that has unique recipes not found in books (think secret files and hightech blueprints)

USB+CBM = Matrix learning (this would be decent option for learning martial arts too =P)

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**Author:** ![Sanarr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Sanarr](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Sanarr)\
**Post date:** [March 4, 2014, 11:39am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/why-are-usbs-in-the-game/5261/13 "2014-03-04T11:39:29Z")

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[quote=“Garm, post:12, topic:5261”]USBs could be really neat as sources of specific information too:

USB+PDA = PDA “book” that has unique recipes not found in books (think secret files and hightech blueprints).

USB+CBM = Matrix learning (this would be decent option for learning martial arts too =P)[/quote]

Very good idea, especialy with “book” one. Whole PDA stuff seems like it requiire some more attention from contributors. Ability to grab some USB with game, install it and hve fun in fallen world… Like it )

Direct downloading into CBM’s might be a good add, but, to my mind, it would be better if information would “download” to char’s memory, rather than to his CBM’s. So, to my mind, it would require at least one new CBM, like some “neuro-synaptic tramslator” which would revert machine code into brain impulses and vice versa. So we’ll have some matrix style “downloading” (game-wise it might be as good as reading books, just a little quicker). Or go deeper and make some like conversion of players knowledge to e-book (to refresh ones rusted skill later).

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**Author:** ![Inadequate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Inadequate](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Inadequate)\
**Post date:** [March 4, 2014, 1:51pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/why-are-usbs-in-the-game/5261/14 "2014-03-04T13:51:27Z")

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I don’t think Cata tech has advanced that far yet, but I do like the idea of writing skills down into a book and being able to read from it to relearn skills. It would be pretty neat if a character ground up an obscure skill like swimming or submachine guns, wrote it down in a book, and your next character found that skill book. I guess there would have to be some limitation to it though, so it wouldn’t outclass the regular skill books.

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**Author:** ![Garm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58f4c7/32.png) [@Garm](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Garm)\
**Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 12:22am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/why-are-usbs-in-the-game/5261/15 "2014-03-05T00:22:38Z")

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> [@Sanarr](#):
>
> Direct downloading into CBM’s might be a good add, but, to my mind, it would be better if information would “download” to char’s memory, rather than to his CBM’s. So, to my mind, it would require at least one new CBM, like some “neuro-synaptic tramslator” which would revert machine code into brain impulses and vice versa. So we’ll have some matrix style “downloading” (game-wise it might be as good as reading books, just a little quicker). Or go deeper and make some like conversion of players knowledge to e-book (to refresh ones rusted skill later).

I was actually thinking CBM as simple hardware interface between brain and USB stick - sort of like matrix plug: useless by itself but allows additional interactions with appropriate items.