Portable Terminal
(Equipement capable of connecting to colony's computer net)
(http://www.azonix.com/images/NotePAC-notebook-computer-main.jpg)
Portable Terminal is an equipement which player uses (mainly) to acces HUB's computer.
Player can carry it in his hand, set it on the ground and use it just as it was HUB's computer with the difference that he can be miles away from the base.
http://www.hyperkat.com/Colony/Images/comp.png (http://www.hyperkat.com/Colony/Images/comp.png)
http://www.hyperkat.com/Colony/Images/cscreen.png (http://www.hyperkat.com/Colony/Images/cscreen.png)
In order for the Portable Terminal to work it has to have a transmision-link with colony's net.
Player in order to connect the portable terminal with colony's computer need's to have nearby a Communication Tower.
(http://www.hyperkat.com/Colony/Images/CommTower.png)
Portable terminal is equiped with very small antena capable of sending/receiving huge amounts of data, but only as far as 5 m away.
Becouse of that - player needs to have a communication tower inside that 5 m radius.
It works this way: comm.tower is capable of sending small amounts of data over large distances (like: audio comunication, GPS, Map, etc.). The portable terminal that has only minimal range, sends the comm.tower the necesary data, which are piggybacked to the main computer (and vice versa). Of course - if the port.terminal or comm.tower is out of range of the net, no data will be send = no acces to the main computer.
Becouse the Portable Terminal needs Communication Tower nearby, players will most likely carry them together, and set them both on the ground where they are needed.
This limits the use of Portable Terminal, but gives players greate chalange on planing.
For instance: players are sampling a crater with GPR and Drills. Using Rover's they set-up a primitive outpost that have: Portable light (to work at night), Porta-LIBS (to check the samples on-site), Communication Tower (to have acces to colony's net), Portable Terminal (to upload sample's test resoults). If that outpost had a Portable Video-Camera (for commander to heck on them), Inflantable shelter (used when temperatures are low/radiation-storm/dust-storm, enables eating and drinking), PLSS (to generate some power and oxygen) that outpost would be able to work continously for a few martian days, until the sampling is complete. Then the players would pack everything-up to Rovers and move-on.
Morover - players would need to set the Comm.Tower and Portable Terminal close enough to link with other Comm.Towers which usualy means high enough over ground, but close enough to the center of the crater for better usage, which make's players to think how to do it.
Portable terminal gives players the possibility to:
1) Check base status (O2, H2O, Methane, Power reserves) from distance
2) Check automated equipement status from distance (Augar ore extraction, water pump status, rover status etc.)
3) Set some automated or base equipement status (turn on/off, set drill speed for augar, redistribute power etc.)
4) Acces base terminal wiresly - use the "Locator" function for players and equipement.
5) If Porta-LIBS is used, it can download data from it, and upload them to main comp..
6) Check radiation, weather forecast.
7) If Portable Video-Camera is used you could operate them from Portable Terminal.