Engine Combat

Information and discussion for players of the game. No spoilers here please!
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Slimcreeper
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Engine Combat

Post by Slimcreeper » Wed Sep 13, 2017 12:38 am

I'm processing this now, so questions:

- how long do the various programs take?
- what is the practical difference between accessing the Mill and the Store?
- what are the physical sizes of the Mill and the Store?

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Andrew1879
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Re: Engine Combat

Post by Andrew1879 » Wed Sep 13, 2017 10:42 am

1. Dramatically long. We're still finalizing some of this, which will be in the Companions.
2. The Mill is the CPU. The Store is memory. Accessing the Mill gets you into the running code, while accessing the Store gets you into the data.
3. Anywhere from a largish cabinet to the size of a locomotive depending on the Ratings. See http://sydneypadua.com/2dgoggles/the-ma ... -it-works/ for a lovely drawing of the Mill of a Secure Government Engine.

Further information and primary sources: Fourmilab Analytical Engine site http://www.fourmilab.ch/babbage/contents.html

Slimcreeper
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Re: Engine Combat

Post by Slimcreeper » Wed Sep 20, 2017 5:58 pm

The Mill and Store will generally be adjacent, right? So generally, if you're in the Store, the Byron over by the Mill could look around the corner and see you? That's how it seems to look, but the flavor text makes sound like they might be in different rooms, perhaps connected by hydraulic systems.

Can you give a couple examples of something I might do via accessing the Store rather than through the Mill? It seems like the mill is the part designed for controlling the Engine and working in the Store would put you at constant disadvantage.

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Andrew1879
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Re: Engine Combat

Post by Andrew1879 » Fri Sep 22, 2017 12:26 am

The Store may be the next room entirely, if you've got a big system running. Generally, there's a direct mechanical linkage between the Mill and the Store, which is a point of vulnerability.

Think of the Mill as the CPU and the Store as the hard drive or file server. You'd access the Mill if you wanted to run code on the Engine. You could access the Store directly if you knew the location of the data you were after, like using a utility to hex-edit the disk.

Examples:
1. You know that the firm loads their payroll processing on the twelfth of the month, and runs an overnight batch to process it. You slip in the evening of the twelfth, as the payroll batch is starting, access the Store, and modify the pay rate for a couple of employees, so that they receive their bribes in their pay packets.
2. You've previously looked at the Inventory reporting code and know where the firm's bills of lading are kept in the Store, as the code contains the starting address and the column definitions. You adjust a bill that shipped yesterday to show one more unit of an item included than actually went, which covers your theft of that item from the warehouse.

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