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• Analytical Engines
  • Analytical Engine (Electro-Mechanical)
  • Analytical Engine (Genius)
  • Analytical Engine (Mechanical)
• Auxiliary Devices
  • Engine Card Duplicator
  • Engine Card Press
  • Kinetomatic Screen
  • Speech Synthesizer
• Data Storage
  • Capacitative Electric Disk
  • CED Reader
  • Data Disks
  • Magnetic Drum
  • Paper Tape
  • Punched Cards
• Designing Analytical Engines
• Examples of Analytical Engines and Automata from GURPS Steampunk
  • Alexandrian Machine
  • Analytic Artilleur
  • Anthropic Engine
  • Athena
  • Automated Ornatrix
  • Difference Engine
  • Economizer
  • Golden Nightingale
  • Mechanical Brain
  • Player Piano
  • Police Engine
  • Relaymatic Analytical Engine
  • Steam Calliope
  • Tellurometer
• Programming

Analytical engines are mechanical or electro-mechanical computers and brains.

Designing Analytical Engines

*Historically, engines built at TL 1-5 are always Dedicated.  Any system that is not Dedicated optionally has an extra -3 to Intelligence.  This does not apply to engines built at TL(4+1), including Babbage's Analytical Engine.

**Systems built at TL3- have a maximum Intelligence equal to their tech level.

***For small and tiny devices, "genius" multiplies cost by 20 and "dumb" multiplies cost by 1/20.  For mainframe, macro-frame, and mega-frame engines, "genius" multiplies cost by 20; "dumb" multiplies cost by 1/5.

• Automaton:  The engine is designed to operate a humanoid or vehicular body that can move about the environment.

• Compact and Super Compact:  The engine is built with small parts and is more expensive as a result.

• Dedicated:  The engine can only run a single program, which is built into its mechanism.

• Dumb and Genius:  The engine has lower or higher intelligence than normal for its tech level and size.

• High Capacity:  The engine can run programs up to 1.5 times its INT.

• Mechanical:  The engine is built with purely mechanical parts; no relays or other electrical switches are involved.  It cannot be disrupted by electrical effects.  Historically, any system at TL4- should have this option.

• Sentient:  The engine has self-awareness comparable to that of a human being.  Only an engine at Complexity 6 can be given sentience. A sentient engine has an INT of 7.

The computer modifier for use in spacecraft design is equal to 1 divided by the analytical engine's INT.  Analytical engines with an INT of 0 may not be used as ships' computers.

Programming

Programming is handled the same as for robots.  High-Capacity analytical engines can run 1.5 programs per point of INT.

The number of turns required to run a program is equal to its skill level divided by the intelligence of the engine and rounded to the nearest whole number.  Zero-level programs run in a fraction of a turn and can be considered effectively instantaneous.  After a program is run, the engine may be reprogrammed by physically removing the programming media from the engine and replacing it with a new program.  Removing a program requires a number of turns equal to the number of memory "blocks" (see below) the program takes up.  Installing a program also takes a number of turns equal to the number of memory "blocks."

Dedicated Systems:  Dedicated systems are designed to perform one function.  Programs for such devices are built into the machine itself.  A dedicated system does not require any program storage media.  Only one skill can be "installed" in such a system and may be installed at any level between 0 and 10.  Dedicated Systems may not be reprogrammed.

Program Storage:  For purposes of these rules, skill levels require storage media "blocks"¹ equal to the programmed skill level plus 1 squared ({SL + 1)²).  A skill level of 0 requires one memory "block" while a skill level of 4 requires 25 "blocks."  One memory "block" equals 64K of memory.

Analytical Engines

Analytical Engine (Mechanical):  This is a compact, high-capacity mainframe mechanical computer for use in a steampunk campaign.  This is equivalent to a shipboard computer and can be used as such.  It has an INT of 2 for automata purposes.

Analytical Engine (Electro-Mechanical):  This is a very early electronic computer.  It is a compact, high-capacity mainframe computer for use in a steampunk campaign.  This is equivalent to a shipboard computer and can be used as such.  It has an INT of 2 for automata purposes.

Analytical Engine (Genius):  This is a compact, high-capacity mega-frame electro-mechanical computer capable of running a city.  Wealthy governments or criminal organizations may make use of this type of analytical engine.  It has an INT of 5 for automata purposes.

A sentient version is also available.  It has the same physical characteristics, but costs §187.5 million.  The sentient version has an INT of 6 for automata purposes.

Examples of Analytical Engines and Automata from GURPS Steampunk

Athena:  This is the steampunk analog of a supercomputer; a mega-frame with Genius, High-Capacity, and Mechanical options.  It has an INT of 5 for automata purposes.

Difference Engine:  This is Babbage's first design, a highly-sophisticated calculator intended to generate and print mathematical tables.  Information is input on punch cards copied from the Jacquard automatic loom; results are used to control an automatic typesetting engine.  This is a mainframe with the Compact, Dedicated and Mechanical options.  It has an INT 2 for automata purposes.

Golden Nightingale:  This is an artificial songbird formed from precious metals for some imperial court.  It is a tiny device with Automaton, Dedicated, Genius, High-Capacity, Mechanical, and Super-Compact options.  It plays any of three songs.  It has an INT of 0.

Mechanical Brain:  This is an analytical engine suitable for controlling a human-scale mechanical man.  It is a micro-frame with the Automaton, Genius, and Super-Compact options.  It has an INT of 3, sufficient to understand simple spoken orders and give pre-recorded responses.  It can be programmed with basic skills, usually physical.

Player Piano:  The Victorian age's version of the CD player, this is a small device with the Automaton, Dedicated, and Mechanical options.  It has an INT of 0.  The values below do not include the piano.

Steam Calliope:  The control system for a steam calliope is a mini-engine with the Automaton, Dedicated, Dumb, and Mechanical options.  It has an INT of 0 and can run a calliope of any size and weight.

Alexandrian Machine:  The Alexandrian machine was constructed ca. 260 BC and has plausibly been attributed to the direction of Archimedes during his residence in Alexandria.  It is a sophisticated mechanical calculator built from wood and sinews capable of multiplication, division, and finding square and cube roots; it can even retain one number in internal storage for use in later operations.  Why it was abandoned is unknown, though if it was the handiwork of Archimedes his well-known contempt for mechanical invention may be relevant.  However, it could have been useful for complex calculations as it circumvented the extreme difficulty of multiplying and dividing Roman numerals.

Data Storage

Analytical engines have built-in data storage devices.  However, there is a need to transfer data between systems or to store it for long periods of time.  The following devices are used for these purposes.

Paper Tape (TL 3):  A standard paper tape roll is 15cm wide and 60 meters long when fully extended, but rolls up into a 10cm diameter cylinder.  Multiple rolls can be taped together to hold larger programs, but an Easy: Mechanic roll is required to avoid jamming, at +1 Diff Mod per roll in excess of two; on Catastrophic Failure the tape ignites from friction.   Early tape readers use rods to sense the holes, but at TL(4+1) the photoelectric properties of selenium allow light beams to be used instead.  One memory block requires 5.33 rolls of tape (each roll holds 12K).  15 cm × 60 m, 0.7 kg, 0.5 liters, §22.50 per roll.

Punched Cards (TL 3):  Punched cards can be made of any cheap, reasonably-sturdy substance; the most popular are cardboard, celluloid, and bamboo.  A stack of 100 10 cm × 20 cm cards is about 10 cm thick.  They can be tied end-to-end or fed into an analyzer through an automatic hopper.  One memory block requires 100 cards.  1.5 kg, 2 liters, §1.50 per 100 cards.

Data Disks (TL 4):  Developed from sound reproduction technologies, data disks are made of shellac, metal, or early plastics such as bakelite.  They hold more data than paper media but are bulkier (36 cm across, 3 mm thick).  In addition, disks can only be recorded on once, and contact with the needle slowly erodes the disk.  The disk can hold 75 memory blocks per side.  0.5 kg, 0.3 liters, §15.

Capacitative Electric Disk (TL 4+1):  The capacitative electric disk, or CED, is a recent refinement of data disk technology.  The needle never touches the disk; instead the capacitance between the aluminum needle and carbon-covered disk surface is measured to provide data.  This allows smaller grooves and eliminates disk erosion.  The CED must be carried in a caddy to avoid damage from dust or fingerprints.  Like data disks, CEDs can only be written on once, and as a new device they are expensive and relatively rare.  A disk is 30 cm in diameter and 13 mm thick.  The CED can hold 25 memory blocks per side.  2 kg, 0.1 liters, §112.50.

CED Reader (TL 4+1):  Too new a technology to be a "universal standard," CED readers are uncommon outside of urban centers and universities. 65 kg, 100 liters, §4500.

Magnetic Drum (TL 4+1):  Magnetic drums are enormous, power-hungry, and frightfully expensive, but provide the ultimate in 19th-century data storage.  A standard drum is three meters high and nine meters in diameter (larger than many steam turbines) and spins at 30 rpm.  The drum is caged within a framework holding hundreds of pneumatically-guided read/write heads, which independently move up, down, and across the spinning cylinder as it goes by.

To write data, bits are changed by a miniature tungsten induction coil and solenoid mounted on each head.  Bulk erasure is usually done by a clerk with an oxyacetylene torch.  The drum's spike-like sector guides have a nasty tendency to snag the clothes of unwary passersby and pull them into the cage for a brief, brutal ride.  Anyone within one meter of an operating drum while in combat or otherwise distracted must make Difficult Observation and Agility rolls each turn.  If both rolls fail, he or she is dragged into and around the head cage for 1-3 turns (1D damage per turn to a random location) before the drum's automatic governor brings the machine to a halt.

The drum can hold 1250 memory blocks.  55 tonnes, 210 cubic meters, §45,000.

Auxiliary Devices

Engine Card Duplicator (TL4+1):  The engine card duplicator is a machine born from the needs of a punched-card-driven computer age.  Operated by a mechanical mini engine, it is designed to copy punched cards between the various formats in use.  The rat-tat-tat of duplicators is heard round the clock in engine centers as data are transferred between sturdy archival cardboard, fancy celluloid, and telegraphic tape.  A duplicator can copy one memory block in 5.5 hours into identical gauges, or 21.5 hours into different gauges.  0.0003 MW, 400 kg, 0.5m³, §3750.

Kinetomatic Screen (TL4+1):  The kinetomatic screen, or K-screen, is composed of thousands of celluloid squares mounted on spindles; when commanded by a controlling mechanism, they can flip between different colored sides up to five times a second.  Thus, they can serve as a display for an analytical engine or other device.  K-screens come in three resolutions — high (4 pixels/inch), low (1 pixel per inch), or outdoor (1 pixel/3inches).  Monochrome is standard (usually yellow on black); a four-color version is available at triple the cost.  0.001 MW/square meter; 50 kg/square meter; §250 per square meter (high resolution), §170 per square meter (low resolution); §80 per square meter (outdoor).

Engine Card Press (TL 3):  The engine card press is no more than a glorified herbary press.  Folded, torn, or crumpled engine cards are brushed with lacquer and placed in it overnight or over several days.  They will be usable without difficulty on a successful Difficult: Mechanic roll.  6 kg, 6 liters, §90.  Bottle of tincture or shellac §3.75.

Speech Synthesizer (TL 3):  The first speech synthesizer was developed in the late 18th century.  By the 1850s, one model was good enough to sing "God Save the Queen" at a public demonstration in London; they were used as toys and research tools well into the 20th century.  Speech synthesizers were controlled by an operator using a keyboard, which channeled the flow of air from a set of bellows through an artificial pharynx. 

In a steampunk world, a speech synthesizer can be hooked up to an analytical engine or mechanical man allowing it to talk.  They can also be built as compact (half weight and volume at double the price) or super-compact (one-fifth weight and volume at 10 times the price) models.  15 kg; 15 liters, §5250.  Compact: 7.5 kg, 7.5 liters, §10,500; Super-Compact: 3 kg, 3 liters, §52,500.