Real Life ‘Inspiration’ for a Cyberpunk Game

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The thing about flamethrowers is that, along with not really working as they are often depicted in movies, games, and such, I doubt there is anything you can do with them that you couldn't probably do with other cheaper and easier to procure methods.
 
Dyrnwyn said:
The thing about flamethrowers is that, along with not really working as they are often depicted in movies, games, and such, I doubt there is anything you can do with them that you couldn't probably do with other cheaper and easier to procure methods.
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I don't have a lot of shit in my garage that I could McGyver to shoot huge fucking gouts of sticky flames. Is this something other people just have lying around? I might be jealous...
 
Telok said:
Exactly. Hacking is a concern to anyone who buys one because of you.

Honestly tho the American free-for-all legality of military rated flamthrowers & napalm has always been a "WTF?!" to me. Its just the small market making them an oddity instead of a horrifying problem.
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Nope... as Fenris-77 Fenris-77 backs me up - the FLAMETHROWER is the part. My hacking is showing you that you shouldn't have a FLAMETHROWER attached to your robot dog. If I hack your robot dog without a FLAMETHROWER, all I can do is stupid tricks.
 
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Dyrnwyn said:
The thing about flamethrowers is that, along with not really working as they are often depicted in movies, games, and such, I doubt there is anything you can do with them that you couldn't probably do with other cheaper and easier to procure methods.
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Nope. Can't do that cheaper and easier. And exactly what I was thinking...
 
Fenris-77 said:
The problem is still the flamethrower. No one gets kebabed when you hack my roomba.
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Neh, I'm think the big problem is wifi enabled flamethrowers. There's some stuff you just don't want to stick a wireless connection on.

I'm sure I could come up with a security scheme that I'd be satisfied with. It'd just not be using off the shelf parts & code bases, and thus nowhere near that cheap... unless they're assuming some massive economy of scale that involves selling tens of thousands of them.

Weirdly I'm much more cool about these things if they aren't wireless controlled, save for a single-purpose shutdown command. People are more paranoid & careful about armed robot rampages than they are about remote controlled WMDs. But I trust random people on the internet way way less than an autonomous warbot with some reasonable saftey overrides.
 
Flamethrowers. Wifi flamethrowers. Wifi. Two of those are a problem. I'll grant you that one of them might be a grander problem than the other, but they're both problems.
 
Fenris-77 said:
I don't have a lot of shit in my garage that I could McGyver to shoot huge fucking gouts of sticky flames. Is this something other people just have lying around? I might be jealous...
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Well, it wouldn't be quite the same thing, but a modified propane or butane torch (i.e. the kind used to clear weeds or for controlled burns) could probably get one partway there, and those don't cost too much. Or an SFX flame projector, too.

I'd be more concerned about someone just mounting a wifi controlled rifle or other firearm on one of these robots.
 
Telok said:
Neh, I'm think the big problem is wifi enabled flamethrowers. There's some stuff you just don't want to stick a wireless connection on.

I'm sure I could come up with a security scheme that I'd be satisfied with. It'd just not be using off the shelf parts & code bases, and thus nowhere near that cheap... unless they're assuming some massive economy of scale that involves selling tens of thousands of them.

Weirdly I'm much more cool about these things if they aren't wireless controlled, save for a single-purpose shutdown command. People are more paranoid & careful about armed robot rampages than they are about remote controlled WMDs. But I trust random people on the internet way way less than an autonomous warbot with some reasonable saftey overrides.
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With no FLAMETHROWERS in the hands of CIVILIANS, you don't need to worry about securing them, natch. Why does a CIVILIAN need a FLAMETHROWER?
 
chuckdee said:
This will turn out OK! :thumbsup: (Vaultboy Thumbs Up)

Our robot overlords have made their first move...

arstechnica.com

You can now buy a flame-throwing robot dog for under $10,000

Thermonator, the first "flamethrower-wielding robot dog," is completely legal in 48 US states.
arstechnica.com arstechnica.com
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I see I need to catch up on my Ars reading, I go through spurts where I read a lot and then other times I don't read for months. Been reading Ars for about twenty two years.

Anyhow, mandatory Archer meme...

1713981698013.png
 
Fenris-77 said:
I don't have a lot of shit in my garage that I could McGyver to shoot huge fucking gouts of sticky flames. Is this something other people just have lying around? I might be jealous...
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Truly easy to make though and you don't have to be McGyver. The sticky flame like material that is. The fucking ability to shoot it any distance with a bluetooth/wi-fi mobile device is truly scary though. Then again, if you live in a townhouse, having a shared wall doesn't thrill me to be your neighbor if your making homemade napalm. Ugh.
 
Fenris-77 said:
Oh yeah, I know how make napalm just fine, it's the throwing it bit that's sticky (har har).
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Glass bottle and an oily rag is trad. Growlers are nice for quantity, if heavy. Or there's a book... Backyard Ballistics, if I recall correctly. That'll get you a few types of launchers, although mostly splatter shot and not a huge squirt gun type. For that you'd want compressed air or... hmm, good quality high pressure water pumps without too many plastic parts are probably too much work.

Whats the pressure on SCUBA or medical O2 tanks? Might as well add some extra oomph if we're using a compressed gas.
 
That's weak sauce!
I've ordered the following from Amazon and eBay...
  • a flamethrower
  • a mind-control chip from Elon Musk
  • an orangutan
Give me two weeks and I'll rule my neighborhood; two months - the world.

...and don't ask me why I need it as a civilian. I don't need TV, a smart phone, or the internet, but I want it!
 
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