Drone Rigger who's not a Rigger, Rigging from the Matrix Options

[Seville]

Has here anyone ever made drone rigger/decker without a VCR (or even a rigger without a VCR, just a datajack). There are, of course, many disadvantages (one of the biggest being a complete reliance on drone pilot ratings) but can you help brainstorm some others, and interesting solutions? I'm a thousand miles from my books so I can't do any research on my own, but if I see a copy of Rigger 3 Revised I think I'll pick it up.

Any ideas on how this can be done?

[Siege]

A drone rigger who's not a rigger...is a decker?

-Siege

[mfb]

sure, just slap a rigger emulation module on your deck. you'll really suck, but it'll get the job done.

[Seville]

Yeah I should have been more specific. I'm talking about using an REM in place of a VCR, and only using drones (no jumping into vehicles). Now, I'll admit I never tried it, and I'm not sure of the abilities of an REM, I just wonder how it works

[TinkerGnome]

Not too well, I'd wager. Of course, I'm not a big fan of captain's chair mode, anyway. Ordering drones around from there is like herding cats, only less likely to succeed.

[Lantzer]

I like the idea. I've played around with 'captain's chair riggers' before.

Why do it:

1) You can't always take your truck with you. Vehicle riggers tend to become
"the guy who drives the van" and can get left out of the action. True, often it's the kind of 'action' that you'd _want_ to be left out of, but it's a player-fun issue.

2) You can't afford to stop and take a quick nap to jump into a drone. If you want a rigger who stays with his team, he's got to keep up. A jumped-in rigger's basically paralysed - not a good situation to be in during a run.

3) You have more than one drone. Remember that when you jump into a drone, you lose track of the rest of the network. You have better control of that one drone, but the rest of the network is on its own. At least in captain's chair you have active control over every drone. If you are going to be a 'Drone swarm' rigger anyway, the VCR is just a big expensive essence hole that won't be used when things get busy.

How to do it:

1) Computer programming skill - This helps those dog-brained drones figure out what you want.

2) Preprogrammed commands - You'd be suprised how often similiar situations crop up. These are great for when it hits the fan. Multiple drones can be controlled in an intricate dance if you have planned well.

3) A big computer at home, and lots of memory for your deck. For more than just commands, the extra memory is useful for storing and manipulating surveilance data.