I'm specifically interested in Program Ratings but I figured I might as well ask about all Equipment, after game starts... Can you buy Programs (or other Equipment) at ratings higher then 6 or is there no rules that deal with this? (As I know the book states this is military grade equipment)

Rating 6 devices/programs/whatever are the highest-rating products made on anything approaching a mass scale. Probably because skill rating 6, essentially, represents the pinnacle of (meta)human achievement in science and the mundane arts. Higher-rating products are so rare (if the GM decides that they exist at all) that there's no market in place to distribute them to individuals and no set metric to determine their value (they cost whatever the owners choose to charge you, thanks to their monopoly on the items in question).

i would say that as a general rule, you cannot buy rating 7+ programs. for largely the same reason you generally cannot buy an MBT. well, actually, more along the lines of being the same reason you cannot generally go out and buy the prototype for ares' new top of the line laser cannon. they generally aren't for sale.

now, this isn't to say that they can't be acquired, nor even that they can't be acquired for money... but it's the kind of thing where you do a shadowrun to get it, not the kind of thing where you talk to your fixer, transfer the creds, and get a download link...

From page 227, Shadowrun Core Book:
Programs have variable ratings, usually from the range of 1-6, though some cutting-edge or military grade software can rate higher.

You cannot buy anything above rating six at Char creation (as noted by the rules in street gear), and so you are stuck trying to find anything better in-game. I choose to think of rating 7 programs (or other tech) as prototype, still-in-development stuff, and they would be significantly 'bulkier' than the normal version. For example, Renraku probably has a rating 7 or 8 firewall around it's super-sensitive home office server, but it is such a huge recourse hog that there's no chance you could get it running on your personal comlink. Similarly, Docwagon may be experimenting with a Rating 7 medkit, but it would probably be the size of a modern-day VCR. Saeder-Krup may have a Response 7 computer, but it would be the size of a modern-day desktop, etc.

Actually, there is nothing stopping you but the GM saying "No, you can't!" from coding up your own programs to any rating you want. Of course, you'll have to write Optimization into it to get it to run, which will limit it you to Rating 12 on Response 6/System 6 hardware. A rating 12 Hacker program with Optimization 6, Crashguard & Ergonomic requires a total of 36 hits @ 1 month intervals. A rating 12 Common program with Optimization 6 requires a total of 18 hits @ 1 month intervals.

I have a Adept Hacker in the 800pt thread who can spit that out more success on average in 4 rolls then the Hacker program requires and owns a maxed out nexi optimized for programing. If he does the task quickly, he can spit out that nasty Hacker program in a month with possibly a bug or two, or two months most likely without any bugs. He can do the Common programs in half that time (half a month, one month). Hell, in three months by himself he can spit out a rating 9 Firewall with minimal/no bugs. Firewalls are not limited by System or Response per the Erreta. Also programs you write yourself do not degrade.

So to answer your question, yes there are rating higher then 6 out there. No, most likely you'll never be able to buy them. Your best bet is to build a good programmer (High logic & Software, Max Programing Suite, Optimization: Programing, and a Nexi) and write the monster ones yourself. They are made of pure win!

The downside to that, of course, is the necessary upkeep to make sure it stays rating 12!

With the unwired errata self coded programs no longer degrade at the one month rates correct?

By unwired errata, self coded programs no longer degrade. So there is minimal if any upkeep.

So, what's keeping everyone from defining their chargen programs as self-coded, and ignoring the degredation rules completely?

GM smackage. Honestly though, for a normal powered game (or even my current slightly higher then normal game), I don't allow self coded programs to start. For higher level stuff though, I let a player buy months of lifestyle (often at 50% off) to use for coding his own programs.

*Smack* the GM!

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cool.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

In all seriousness, starting with "Self-coded" programs is not an unreasonable request, especially if the PC has the right skills and equipment to back it up. That's just part of a creative character background. Why punish them for it?

Given, if they have the skills to back it up then it isn't that bad. And since they wrote them, they have the source code and can crank out modded versions very fast. But how much money do you charge them for self coded programs? Full price? Reduced 1/10th price? Free?

Resource money isn't cash that you laid your hands on, it represents gear you've acquired and the time spend modding it. You'd charge the same for an armorer to have a custom gun, or a rigger/mechanic to have a customized drone. Why not charge them exactly the same for the same program?

I've always ruled that 1-6 is the rating actually on the market, rating 7 is high end prototype not on the market stuff that special elite people use and is jealously guarded and not available for sale except in rare circumstances(like a program the Grid Overwatch Division might use). Rating 8 stuff is super cloak-and-dagger people die to protect the secret no way you can buy for just money stuff. That kind of things a mega might be willing to risk a huge sum of money(billions) to get the prototype for. Anything higher is the realm of basically god-like beings, like a masterwork single program made by deus himself.

Ahhh TheOOB, but as we were just talking about, by RAW a person can write a program up as high as they want, there is no listed caps.

Really now? Only 2 dice separate "dude, you can get this on the street for real money" and "if you get your hands on this, you will be facing assassination attempts"? Seems a bit underwhelming in terms of in game mechanics. Significantly underwhelming.

Especially since you can totally hit Rating 12 on stock hardware through gratuitous Optimisation usage. A six dice divide translates to a pretty decent game mechanical divide whilst also letting you gradiate the oppurtunity cost (in terms of ouchies/day) to allow a well nuanced expression of personal risk assessment.

It's not as bad when you use the "Program Rating = Hit Cap" optional rule, which makes a lot more sense than the default "Skill + Program".