What does everyone think about the imperials getting a modification to use Astro-Mech Droids as Internal Computer Systems

Modification:

Tie Defender, Tie Advanced Only (Other Ships too, not sure which ones based on technology, that can be discussed.)

1 Pt

Astromech Upgrade

May use non unique Astromech Droids.

I would pay it for sure.

Or maybe other ships too. Not sure which Empire ships make sense. Making a modification make you take some choices, and it costs more slightly since you are basically paying 1 more point then the rebels for their non unique droids.

I don't think any imperial fighters used them. although i believe they are seen on the death star so maybe the larger ships used them for something? although rebel large ships dont use them except i think r2d2 crew if that is a thing like i seem to think

Well Then maybe they don't use the droids, per se.

Give the imps the V-Wing or ARC-170, then they can have astromechs.

Give the imps the V-Wing or ARC-170, then they can have astromechs.

Again. I'm not saying they have astromechs, but they get to use their abilities as an internal computer.

The only place I'd put an astromech is in the torpedo slot to make full use of their shape.

Nope, not in favor of it for game or fluff reasons.

All the FTL capable small craft in use by the Empire may have a Navicomputer but that is not the same as an Astromech droid.

The Empire likes to control things and that is one reason they have been loathe to give fighters FTL capability, as that would give them a lot more ability for independent action. In all likely hood, they have very limited capabilities, perhaps only the ability to store and recall a few pre-programmed "jumps". The Empire is also, a lot more human centric than the Republic or Alliance (remember that whole Clone Wars thingie?) They do use droids, of course, but on their larger ships and for very specific (and controlled) purposes. I find it highly unlikely they would give an artificial intelligence effective "command authority" over a ship.

The Rebels, however are much more inclusive and open-minded about non-human sentients (including machine intelligence) and see Astromechs as an "economy of force" asset; not only can they perform a variety of"helper-tasks", they can also double as an enhancement to a small ship's navigation system. They can also free up biological sentients (and trained personnel are something any insurgency will be short of) for tasks that a droid cannot do.

So, it comes down to culture and need... and I don't really see the Empire having either when it comes to using Astromech droids. Game-wise, I think it would be a bad idea as droids are one of the things that make many of the Rebel ships unique and capable of standing up to more specialized Imperial fighters.

I can almost kinda sorta see non-unique 'mechs on an Imperial ship. At least from a lore perspective. But I bet it would not take too much thought to figure out an amazingly broken combo.

It's that sort of interaction that we need to be careful of. I'd bet (for instance) the ATC would be available generally, were it not for the Phantom...

I could be wrong but I think astro mechs are built by a manufacturer outside of the Rebels and this is why the movies show them on emp ships, they could be used on any ship with an interface, remember R2D2 interfaces with Imp ships and the cloud city, I think droid interfaces are standard use in the galaxy and could there for be used on any ship built with those interfaces.

I could be wrong but I think astro mechs are built by a manufacturer outside of the Rebels and this is why the movies show them on emp ships, they could be used on any ship with an interface, remember R2D2 interfaces with Imp ships and the cloud city, I think droid interfaces are standard use in the galaxy and could there for be used on any ship built with those interfaces.

You are correct. Astromech droids were widespread, and used in a lot of different capacities. However, like Chris said the Empire did not use them on starfighter craft, mostly because their starfighters were not hyperspace capable or had internal nav computers.

Give the imps the V-Wing or ARC-170, then they can have astromechs.

According to Wookiepedia, the first years of the rebellion, you could find ARC-170 in Empire and Rebel fleets.

I want ARC-170!!!

I can almost kinda sorta see non-unique 'mechs on an Imperial ship. At least from a lore perspective. But I bet it would not take too much thought to figure out an amazingly broken combo.

It's that sort of interaction that we need to be careful of. I'd bet (for instance) the ATC would be available generally, were it not for the Phantom...

Well, R2 on a Defender anyone? I am unsure if for 2 points total this would just resolve all the ships problems or make it outright broken...

I can see one of 2 ways for imperials to use droids.

1. Imperial only crew slots. Sort of like the R2-D2(crew). Still somewhat limited and again takes up a crew slot which is starting to be a highly competitive slot like the EPTs.
2. Make a new upgrade slot for Imperial Droids (a mouse droid would be a nice corner symbol) However that upgrade slot would not be on any starfighters but only on Imperial Epic ships.

Some of us have been brainstorming an Imperial Astromech over in this thread .

I think the current generic Astros (or any, really) would break imp ships. Whether you make them crew or find other mechanics, most of those abilities ruin imp ships in some way or another.

The Decimator certainly would have had a droid interface as it is not a fighter. I want to get a healing droid on my Decimator!

I remember from the old Decipher CCG, the TIE Scout was hyperspace compatible, so could probably take an astromech. I mean, what's the point of having "Rebel Only" on r2-d2, if all astromechs are going to remain rebel only for ever? Eventually we are going to see them in another faction for certain.

The Decimator certainly would have had a droid interface as it is not a fighter. I want to get a healing droid on my Decimator!

Why? To heal Moffy J or one if his victims after they fell out the airlock?

I remember from the old Decipher CCG, the TIE Scout was hyperspace compatible, so could probably take an astromech. I mean, what's the point of having "Rebel Only" on r2-d2, if all astromechs are going to remain rebel only for ever? Eventually we are going to see them in another faction for certain.

But R2 doesnt have "Rebel Only". And thats the problem. Thats why Scum and villainy has a diferent astromech. Empire would need to have ANOTHER astromech.

it would be nice if the raider had astromechs. the empire had plenty of them, but their duties seem lacking in the EU

Defender + R2 unit = INSANE maneuverability without a Red maneuver anywhere on the dial and greens all over the place.

What else do we have? R5 would be no more useful on Imperial Ships than it is on Rebel ships. If we could get it on a large ship automatically turning those SHIP cards face-down might be nice but the fighters wouldn't get much use from it. Then there's the R7 with its reverse Target Lock usage; how many Imperial ships get free TL's? It looks to me like everything else is Unique to the Empire shouldn't get any of those anyway.

It looks to me like the Scum would have three Salvaged Astromechs and they may have more potential but that's a different upgrade.

The R2 is the ONLY Astromech that the Empire would really use and the only two ships it would be good on are the Defender and Decimator. The R2 effect on the Defender would be revolutionary at it takes 2 white banks and 2 RED turns (the only red on the dial) and turns them all green which is just nuts.

Astromechs are an in game mechanical option to add something "Optional" to the starfighters.

In the Canon Astromechs did didly squat during combat. They were simply a portable PC for minor Slicing functions, Navigation computing and voice activated support functions. On the Imperial side, your ship had all those functions built into the on board computer where required. An X-wing flies no worse with an Astromech or without, but for hyperspace it would be like flying without GPS on the ocean. The difference in Astromechs from R1 to R7 is simply processing power. The R1 being a tank in size and not suitable for Starfighters and the R7 being the premium in memory and nav calculation. R2 units stored a whopping 10 nav vectors.

Some exceptions are R2-D2 who really has a personality and deductive skills of a real person, and not simply running the program. Its odd that R2-D2 never acquired a real name considering D2 is a model designation and assumedly there were 100's of D2 models produced.

So... point being the astromech cards are not representive in anyway of actual Astromechs but more so to allow a card slot for gamers to add the customized twist to their ships. Most Imperials except maybe Vader and the Avengers group always used standard gear. Imperials could use some better crew or even droids as crew if we want to add some fight tweaks like those given to the rebs. R2 Astromech as crew on a Lamda would be pro.

I could be wrong but I think astro mechs are built by a manufacturer outside of the Rebels and this is why the movies show them on emp ships, they could be used on any ship with an interface, remember R2D2 interfaces with Imp ships and the cloud city, I think droid interfaces are standard use in the galaxy and could there for be used on any ship built with those interfaces.

A SOMP link is different than a droid compartment on a starfighter.

I think you mean 'SCOMP' link and the Droid socket on Starfighters has no more or less connectivity but does allow power recharge. R2-D2 can do the same things on red5 wether he is magnetically coupled to the side and using scomp extention cable as being in the socket himself. Considering his self preservation knack I think he'd rather be in the socket tho.

Sticking to the fluff side of the game. The Empire is more about mass produced uniformity. This can be accomplished do the mass amount of funding its military wing is allowed. The Rebels on the other hand are a mosh-pot of fighters, and support equipment, bought in small lots as funding supports the effort. Astromeches allowed the Rebels computing flexibility giving them the ability to support their small fleets on a tight budget. Notable is the fact that uniform regulations are usually given a back seat to the need for supplies and equipment,

Now lets look at the mechanics of the game based on fluff. Astromeches allow the added level of customization to Rebel fighters that you would expect given their greater variation of equipment purchase, especially earlier in the war. Mechanically, astromeches offer the ability for players to create that customization that you would expect to see in mosh-pot built fleet.

That said, droids still play a role in the Empire. On larger, crew sized ships, droids are used for base level maintenance and repairs. This is why the WED-15 Repair Droid has no mark indicating Rebels only, I would expect to see more passenger designated droids in the future that will by utilizable on all passenger capable ships. Can anyone say Empire only Mouse Droid.