If you made it so it went after ANYTHING that reacted like an optical lens, it would hardly be "targeting" any more, it would be blanketing the area for all intents and purposes, a laser area-denial system (the US Army is playing with a fairly directed version of the same gadget as we speak). For it to be 360 degrees, it would probably look like a laser-powered disco ball. It's feasible, but to make the thing so it doesn't blind EVERYBODY around, it would have to be set to a fairly speciffic set of parameters for targeting. And I agree that any kind of flare compensation in 2070 should be able to handle such a system.

I agree that it should be directional - perhaps 60 degrees of coverage at full effect and an effective -1 Rating (-2 dice) per additional 60 degrees covered might be reasonable. Also, it would be a targeted effect - it would scan for humanoid forms and then shine at the head. As for Flare Compensation, I hardly think it should completely negate the effect, but it could reduce it somewhat (much as with a Flash Grenade).

I haven't scanned the rules for the item in detail, I got the impression it completely blinded... if it's just a modifier, treat as a flash grenade is fine by me.

Why not simply blanket the area with good ol' fashioned Flashpacks?

Simple: Flashpacks are finite (short) duration. This device can be left running.

Then plug your flashpacks into a better power source.

As written, and without any consideration of Flare Compensation, it does temporarily blind the target(s).

I'm interested in making it balanced and useful, so I have no problem with Flare Compensation reducing the effectiveness to a degree. Blind fire penalties begin at -6 (only a bit worse than the flash grenade) so this is a fine place for the modifier to start with Flare Compensation dropping the modifier to -4. This device should not drop off from distance nearly as fast as the grenade, and (IMO) it shouldn't be the modifier that drops but rather the dice that result from Rating (the targeting portion) - perhaps -1 die per 20m would work. Lastly, unlike with the grenade, there is no lingering effect - once you're not getting the laser shined at you your vision is fine again.

Suggestions?

Maybe I'm showing my age here again, but I remember the pictures from the Street Samurai Catalog. They were grenade-like objects with powerful capacitors linked to peak-discharge strobes designed to overload the optic nerves and cause temporary incapacitation. Not the same job description at all. That and they are broad spectrum light flashes as opposed to the description for the gadget we're jabbering about. I supposed a skilled armorer could recharge/refurbish them for reuse, but that's not the same as just plugging the things into a belt power pack and turning yourself into a walking lightshow.

Flash-paks are rechargeable by default...

But not designed for sustained use...

This may indeed be true, there will be some downtime as the capacitors are forced to recharge...

And on those kinds of strobes, cool-down too.

But you might be able to have the two phases coincide... Cooldown as the capacitors recharge.... I don't know...

Interesting subject for my first post but I’ld like to put my two cents in.

First many cyber eyes are already built to fool sensors so they can pass for real eyes hence Retinal duplication. If a high end biometric lock has to roll to spot the difference then a sensor 100 meters away shouldn’t have a chance.

Second both real and cyber eyes blink and move around quite a bit compared to a security camera or even most drones.

Third what effect does flare compensation have on this system.

The pupil (the part that admits light to the retina) is many times larger than the tiny spy eyes in 2070, and micro-drones tend to flit, so I figure the two approximately cancel out. But that's kind of irrelevant given your correct observation (since you agree with me *grin*) about spotting the difference between a cyber eye and a real eye.


Per RAW? None.

Regardless of any arguments, if I were the GM in the game involved, I wouldn't allow it. You shouldn't be able to auto-blind your opponents, at least not with such a relatively cheap device. You can make up all the fluff rules you want for why it should work, but I still wouldn't allow it.

From a game balance perspective, I see the difference between this camera neutralizer device and a flashpak as about the same as the difference between throwing a grenade (indiscriminate, area-wide, one-shot, range-dependent) and somehow creating a grenade that you could hold in your hand while it shot a concentrated explosion wherever you pointed it (no friendly fire, targeted, continuous, long-ranged)

Nevermind, I went back and read the camera neutralizer description. Even a rating 6 device isn't going to get two hits every time, and that's assuming it rolls all six dice; besides, not only would I impose a penalty on the neutralizer if it's attached to something moving (like a shadowrunner), I'd also impose a penalty for trying to track two particular moving eyes in a room full of eyes. Hell, I'd even make the device make two tests, one for each eye! If it only got one eye, I'd call the victim Cyclopean for the turn, which, I believe, is merely -1 to physical actions. In fact, I would go to far as to force a Software check to modify the parameters, or accept yet another penalty for asking the software to track a target it's unfamiliar with.

In short, there are plenty of ways to beat it. If you're moving, and it's moving, it'll have trouble keeping a bead on you. If it's placed on the ground, shoot it. Sound like a fragile PoS to me. In any case, pop smoke and it'll just be an expensive laser pointer. Clever, I'll give it that; hide a few in a dark room with programming to take aim at any eyes that enter the room, then activate when the intruder flips the light switch. Add a closing/locking door and some poison gas vents, and we've got ourself a genuine trap here. It's just not a combat item.