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Where's the damn trigger?! - Transhuman Ergonomics

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The Green Slime The Green Slime's picture
Where's the damn trigger?! - Transhuman Ergonomics
Are there any rules out there concerning the morph-specificity of weapons and the modifiers characters might have when they try to use firearms not suited for use by their morph? Browsing the gear & weapons section in the corebook reveals little save that item designs in EP tend toward the highly personalised and with limited physical interactivity. The notion of having to actually use your hands to do something your ecto/inserts can do 10 times faster is understandably archaic. But it does seem that there are some tasks for which it's still necessary to move a digit, and as such, weapons seem to still be operated by some form of physical interface (a trigger). The default imagery of weapons in EP seems quite traditional though: the corebook examples are basically modern day firearms with added greeble, tools obviously optimised for use by a human(oid) operator. But what might an octomorph firearm look like? Some kind of bizarre seashell? A Cronenberg-esque sex toy? Surely such a weapon would be either cumbersome or completely unusable to a human. Likewise octos might have a hard time making use of an assault rifle without dedicating at least half their tentacles to the job. Avian morphs, with only rudimentary digits, raise different questions. A gun requiring one or two upper-body appendages to operate would be totally useless to them. Would they opt for Predator-style shoulder turrets instead? Can a neo-hominid squeeze one of those fat gorilla fingers inside a regular-sized trigger guard? Having such a variety of body types in EP means there must be exponentially greater variety in item designs, and the occasional limitations as to who can make use of what could lead to major logistical headaches of life-or-death importance. I imagine in many cases, particularly in repressive areas, the availability of usable items would be a significant factor affecting your choice of morph.
mickykitsune mickykitsune's picture
Re: Where's the damn trigger?! - Transhuman Ergonomics
I suspect that the presence of triggers is to ensure that they can be used without having to add them to your PAN. So you can just pick it up and use it, or use it at times when.. say... there's a great deal of interference for all your personal computer systems and wireless links, or if you're being hacked, or whatever other reason. Its redundancy, is the bottom line.
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Draconis Draconis's picture
Re: Where's the damn trigger?! - Transhuman Ergonomics
I agree. You don't even need a trigger. Just electronically fire having it strapped somewhere on your body. And here I thought it was hard finding comfy seats when you've got a tail. }; ) I do like this thread though. I think about nonhumanoid ergonomics a lot. Carry on.

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The Green Slime The Green Slime's picture
Re: Where's the damn trigger?! - Transhuman Ergonomics
Yeah weapons were the first thing that stuck in mind due to the prevalence of regular-looking guns in the artwork. There are probably a hundred more interesting examples of this issue elsewhere in the setting. Public toilets? What's the deal?
Draconis Draconis's picture
Re: Where's the damn trigger?! - Transhuman Ergonomics
The Green Slime wrote:
Public toilets? What's the deal?
Troughs I presume. At least for quadrupeds. When there's gravity anyway.

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Lord High Munchkin Lord High Munchkin's picture
Re: Where's the damn trigger?! - Transhuman Ergonomics
Nano-cleaners. Clean every, erhm, hard to reach spot.
Draconis Draconis's picture
Re: Where's the damn trigger?! - Transhuman Ergonomics
Well that's good for toilet paper anyway. Not many trees still around. Now I'm thinking Demolition Man, "What's the deal with the three seashells?"

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Axel the Chimeric Axel the Chimeric's picture
Re: Where's the damn trigger?! - Transhuman Ergonomics
This is why I prefer synthmorphs. Questions of biological necessities aren't needed for the mechanical super-beings. Given that most anything in EP is nanofabbed, I figure there's all sorts of unique designs for other things. Octopi weaponry are very likely in tube form, requiring only one or two tentacles to use.
nezumi.hebereke nezumi.hebereke's picture
Re: Where's the damn trigger?! - Transhuman Ergonomics
Man items are described as 'blobjects', so yes, I assume that, in general, objects have some degree of transability in their form, and rely primarily on the ecto for interfacing. However, there are some cases where the form is half of the selling point. A rifle still needs to dissipate kick, a seat still needs to be sat upon, and so on. I imagine most items have a spiral or repeating orbs shape, and built-in handles of different lengths and widths, to make them convenient for most appendages, or rely on smart harnesses that adjust themselves around the appendage or body directly.
root root's picture
Re: Where's the damn trigger?! - Transhuman Ergonomics
root@Transhuman Ergonomics [hr] I'm pretty sure that most objects are still made to the humanoid template, as transhumanity still predominantly prefers morphs along those lines. Keep in mind that in the Inner System the idea of an octomorph owning a weapon might not go over so well (they are still considered property by many), so the most likely people to be making weapons for the uplifted, which would be custom jobs or concept devices for the most part, are the autonomists and mercurials in the Outer System or through the Pandora Gates. I do like the idea of the octomorph bandito though. There is nothing quite like an eight-gun salute from an octopus as Newton's Laws send it flying in the other direction. I could also see an octomorph version of the Gun Kata, making sure to fire simultaneous in orthogonal directions to keep from flying around in microgravity. "What good are your legs now, human? I see your two hands and I raise you EIGHT HANDS! Eight hands are better than two! FOUR TIMES better! I win! Mwahahahahah!"
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CodeBreaker CodeBreaker's picture
Re: Where's the damn trigger?! - Transhuman Ergonomics
root wrote:
"What good are your legs now, human? I see your two hands and I raise you EIGHT HANDS! Eight hands are better than two! FOUR TIMES better! I win! Mwahahahahah!"
You still haven't shown me that picture of the Octo holding a sign saying "8 Limbs > 4" you said you would draw :P
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The Green Slime The Green Slime's picture
Re: Where's the damn trigger?! - Transhuman Ergonomics
root wrote:
root@Transhuman Ergonomics [hr] ...Keep in mind that in the Inner System the idea of an octomorph owning a weapon might not go over so well...
Indeed, and this really cuts to the core of the issue: the design of objects, far from being a trivial matter, must be of tremendous political importance as it determines a habitat's morphological norms and cements the boundaries between the haves and have-nots. There must be countless examples of anthropocentric ergonomics evident throughout the inner system, junta habs, etc. and steering markets toward products which reinforce accepted morphologies would go a lot further than (or would be an active component of?) xenophobic memes. There must be many instances of products and technologies being purposely borked for the sake of excluding the undesirably-embodied: guns (that don't sync to your PAN) and have a five-fingered glove-cowling around the trigger, ectos that require the wearer have a skeleton or regular human ears, etc. These features would be totally superfluous to the operation of the device and serve only to make it useless to the disenfranchised. Exclusivity is a selling point, capitalising on and reinforcing the prejudices of the target demographic.
Draconis Draconis's picture
Re: Where's the damn trigger?! - Transhuman Ergonomics
Ugh too true. Don't remind me of speciesism. Luckily because of a wide variety of morph types I would imagine things like clothing and personal items are more customizable and of greater variety. Also with the availability of cornucopia machines I suppose ordering custom stuff isn't that difficult. I think tailor made is the norm not the exception. I suppose public areas and items are a pain though. Don't catch your tail in the moving sidewalk.... I get where you're coming from though. I.e. a bar/restaurant that only has barstools and high tables so that non humanoids are screwed.

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root root's picture
Re: Where's the damn trigger?! - Transhuman Ergonomics
root@Transhuman Ergonomics [hr]
CodeBreaker wrote:
root wrote:
"What good are your legs now, human? I see your two hands and I raise you EIGHT HANDS! Eight hands are better than two! FOUR TIMES better! I win! Mwahahahahah!"
You still haven't shown me that picture of the Octo holding a sign saying "8 Limbs > 4" you said you would draw :P
[IMG]http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/z366/Velocirat/Octomorph-1.jpg[/IMG] Here's a start, at least.
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NX NX's picture
Re: Where's the damn trigger?! - Transhuman Ergonomics
"No, I won't be in your hentai!" :D Reparations, eh? Interesting idea.
Draconis Draconis's picture
Re: Where's the damn trigger?! - Transhuman Ergonomics
Hey I just noticed, it's an infected convention here. Hooray for us. We can compare strains then go eat someone.

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NX NX's picture
Re: Where's the damn trigger?! - Transhuman Ergonomics
Draconis wrote:
Hey I just noticed, it's an infected convention here. Hooray for us. We can compare strains then go eat someone.
I'll be doing a write-up in the Asyncs Anonymous thread in a bit. ;) I've always thought of uplifts using unconventional weapons like eelware or nanoswarms. Just cooler, somehow.
Decivre Decivre's picture
Re: Where's the damn trigger?! - Transhuman Ergonomics
Attaching any device to your PAN is likely a very easy affair... similar to plugging in a USB cord today. It's hard to really know just how far our protocols will get within the next few centuries, and what protocols will replace them in that time. However, those who might have to deal with hackers will likely have means of dealing with the possibility. My guess is that many people who do have hacker worries will invest in skinlink technology (negates the need for wireless connections, allowing a person to turn off wireless access).
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