Question on Commlink Options

[Shalimar]

In Slacker's First Run game that we are doing with 4th edition rules, we just had the lights go out. Now, it didn't occur to me til after about a turn in the dark, that with my commlink and Cyber eyes, I could probably bring up the map of the Stuffer Shack, and put dots in place to represent my teammates (the ones with commlinks anyway). I could almost certainly do that in a window.

I wonder if I couldn't do that as an ARO, overlaying the map of the store over my Thermo so I would know where the shelves, aisles, cash registers, etc are. Which brings up the question, how integrated can you get. Take the example above, make a window thats a map of the store, could I inject objects that my teamates are seeing (assume cyber-eyes/camera) and have red dots pop up to represent those hostiles that my teamates are targeting, or yellows for npcs? Is there an actuall limit on this sort of thing?

[Eagle]

I guess you would need several complex actions to program up the AROs to get data flowing unless you had prepared certain pieces of software beforehand.

It would also require the store to have a VR map, I can imagine the big superstores having one, mom and pop stores are less likely or more likely to be out of date (where did that case of SoyPOP come from?).

Other than practicalities I can't see any problem with the idea, with sufficient data it should be possible to completely negate darkness penalties.

[Nikoli]

This is why it's goog to invest in an agent or have the hacker play the additional role of tactical data manager. What you describe is in the Buzzkill fluff fiction. Someone took camera, map, and other data and put it all together as an overlay to what each person saw, with big red X's representing the bad guys.

[Vector]

Does anyone have the specific actions and thresholds required to do what was done in Buzz!Kill? The compilation of the data into a tactical overlay and broadcast to teammates?

[NightRain]

It would involve hacking in to the security system of the building, the difficulty of which would depend on the appropriate IC/Firewall etc. Once in, I'd make it a "control devices" action to get the appropriate feeds piped to the rest of the team

[Vector]

Ok, so hack the building to get security access. Grab location map. Grab camera feeds (one action per camera?). Edit the map using camera feeds. Send to teammates. So something like 4 actions once you have access to the system. Would you have to do anything to keep that updating in real-time?

[kigmatzomat]

I haven't read Buzzkill but I'd guess the hacker simply accessed the store's broadcast map ("Find CheezNerps on Aisle 4, shelf 3!!!") and slugged it across the comms. The public map would already be GPS detailed so the stim-addled clientelle can follow their comms' glowing arrows to their soyfood.

That's maybe a datasearch test and a copy action, assuming he's part of the team's secure comm system. I might not even require a datasearch to get the data if the hacker has a habit of collecting public data. It might require a an extra copy action to get it from his public comm to his secure comm, though. (He is running with 2 comms, right?)

Adding the baddies to the map would be an edit action, though I'd probably make it Perception+Edit to see how close the hacker gets the data. Unless he can hack the security system and pull up some better coordinate data he's just eyeballing them.

OOOOOO! Genius moment! He can hack their Comms to get their GPS data!

Hmmm. This has implications......

[Nikoli]

if you've hacked that far, might as well screw up their data feeds, like having all their "targets" running out the door.

[Wasabi]

[RunnerPaul]

Someone had commented in one of these threads that they'd wished that the Tactical Computer headware had been included in the main book. At this point though, you have to wonder do we even need it anymore? Aside from the inititiave boosts, we've already got most all its functions duplicated.

[DireRadiant]

Tactical Computer -- Dedicated hardware performs better at the cost of not being as flexible.

[Slacker]

Well in the game she is talking about, besides it being dark and the question of if the cameras have thermographic vision, the cameras are also completely deactivated, so in this particular case, she can't do what the hacker did in Buzz Kill, which was hack the cameras to spot enemies and setup designators to display in the vision of the team members (any enemies out of camera view 'disappeared').

For this game, I've just said that Stuffer Shack has a map available to customers to help their shopping needs, with specials connected to the map breaking up pop-up adds as she moves around the store.

She'll have to talk to the resident hacker if she wants anything more than that.

[Azralon]

[Nikoli]

I'm thinking an agent dedicated to the correlation and dissemination. It runs browse or analyze on the hacker's feeds picking out pertinent data and sending it out.

[Vector]

Would that Agent require Tranfer as well in order to send the files?

[Nikoli]

I don't see transfer as a program.

[Rotbart van Dain...]

You could replace the System of your Commlink with a Pilot, too.

[Azralon]

There we go, we just built us a BattleTac.

Now we slap some frontline dobies and defensive autoturrets into the network and proceed to zerg the opposition via telepresence. The more reliable, less replaceable meatbodied participants will likely appreciate the covering fire and live intel.

The hacker is then freed up to attempt more dastardly deeds.

[calypso]

[Vector]

[RunnerPaul]

[Wasabi]

[Rotbart van Dain...]

Not quite.. when required Computer, Cybercombat, Data Search, and Hacking, they use Pilot - for Electronic Warfare, use the Autosoft.

So, actually, Agents or Sprites don't have the Electronic Warfare Skill at all, just letting those programs run themselves.

[Wasabi]

Can they use Cybercombat without an Attack/Blackout/Blackhammer Program?

[I know, I know, it might be a judgment call by the GM...]

[Rotbart van Dain...]

No Program, no Roll.