ETI: Technology in the Earth That Is

Technology in Earth That Is can be thought of in three primary levels. Not just a game construct, this is how technology is often discussed in-setting. This will affect all personal equipment and technology in general. Each category listed includes discussion of specific equipment affected by the level. 

In general, any personal equipment listed in the Helping Stick entries on Equipment is fair game in this setting. 

Oldtech: In general, this is anything that could be duplicated or produced in the 19th and 20th Centuries, pre-1950's. Any community capable of working metal or generating electricity can produce items or systems with "old-tech". This includes handmade items used on isolated colonies, pumps used as cheap replacement parts on ships, and firearms not reliant on batteries. This level of tech is most prevalent on the margins of society. This equipment is usually inexpensive and often utterly reliable due to its simplicity and ruggedness. Items are often made of plastics, metal, and other natural materials, with relatively little synthetics compared to more modern gear. Traditional cased ammunition firearms and steel blades are definitely "Oldtech", as are medieval armors, which are still in limited use on some worlds. Oldtech firearms have 1/2 the cost and 1/2 the shots of the firearms listed in the SFC p22, and weigh 1lb more. Ammunition is also half the price and easily manufactured in a workshop for nearly nothing. Kevlar armors of 20th century quality are "Oldtech" and are still in wide use due to being so cheap.

Baseline: The most common sort of technology on industrialized settlements, "Baseline" technology includes 21st-century equipment of the sort found in the fiction of the "near-future" and "cyberpunk" genres. Baseline equipment extensively uses synthetic materials - ceramics, plastics, artificial alloys, and computerization. It all works on principles easily understood by 21st century science. Most worlds with at least moderate populations and local industries can produce items and equipment at this level. Autonomous robotics are in common use at the "Baseline" level. In this setting, this is the standard by which other equipment is compared. Any ranged weapons using projectiles (slugthrowers, gyrocs, flak guns, etc) and lasers are considered "Baseline". Lasers are common in Earth That Is, due to the large number of low-gee and vacuum environments and the fact that the technology is easily understood and duplicated. Any non-powered armor in the SFC would qualify as "Baseline", and is usable at no modification. Powered armor is on the extreme upper end of what qualifies as "Baseline."... most such worlds can repair powered armor but probably cannot manufacture it. Cybernetics and organ replacement are both Baseline technologies, as are autodocs and many sophisticated medical drugs. 

Shinetech: Also called "Ultratech", Shinetech is the advanced technology of the setting. It makes heavy use of forcefields, gravitics, nanotechnology, manipulation of nuclear forces, and other things difficult to describe using 21st-century science. Shinetech at the personal scale is rare indeed, being available only from a few rare sources. This includes the things in the "Space Opera" genre, such as grav cars, deflector screens, and energy pistols. Robotics has advanced to allow self-aware AI at the "Shinetech" level. Shinetech is often not available in quantity, and many times a Shinetech item might even be a unique prototype. In the SFC, personal energy weapons such as Disintegrators, Particle Accelerators, Plasma Weapons, and Stunners are great examples of "Shinetech." Energy, Molecular, and Power melee weapons are also great examples of "Shinetech." If they can be purchased at all, they are x10 to price. Powered Armor and forcefield-based defensive tech are likewise "Shinetech." Nanotechnology, Lazurogenics, and radical genetic modifications are Shinetech, but they are far more common than other forms of Shinetech in the Earth That Is.