Lone Star Cyberware Suite, Would this make sense for a LS Patrol cop? Options

[Ice Hammer]

This thought recently occured to me, and I just wanted to figure out if this would be plausible, and whether Lone Star would actually do this. I was looking through Augmentation, and saw the Cyberware Suite for Lone Star, for its SWAT and Fast Response Teams. There was no mention of cybereyes and/or commlink in the suite. But I wondered if LS would give their beat cops cybereyes and a commlink that would be able to run facial recognition software? To me, that makes sense. So if you pull someone over, just by looking at them, if their image had been flagged by LS for some reason, than the LS cop could arrest them on the spot. This would have the advantage of rendering most Fake ID's useless. In addition, after many runs, you may not have an intruder's name or biometric information, but it's possible that they may have been caught on security camera footage, which could be used to issue a warrant. This seems to be a good way of being able to indentify a possible criminal without a name or biometric data. Also, if there are beat cops just walking down the street, or hanging out in a bar, and they spot you, then they don't have to check their computers in their cruisers to find out if you are wanted. Once the match has been made by the facial recognition software, the flag would appear on the cop's display. This would give LS a lot more information a lot faster as well. This was just a thought. Feel free to let me know what you think, if this is something that could possibly work.

[CanRay]

The beat cops, not likely. They're just highly-trained security guards.

But after you put in a few years, get to Sargent or Detective, yeah, I could certainly see that.

[DocTaotsu]

I honestly don't see why people would bother with cybereyes. Give em goggles, glasses, or contacts and be done with it. Run all the facial recognition stuff off your commlink and pipe them into your eyewear of choice.

Plus you get to keep your eyes if shrapnel flies everywhere.

[KCKitsune]

I honestly don't see why people would bother with cybereyes. Give em goggles, glasses, or contacts and be done with it. Run all the facial recognition stuff off your commlink and pipe them into your eyewear of choice.

Plus you get to keep your eyes if shrapnel flies everywhere.

Game mechanics reason: Because at character gen you can get cybereyes that can do almost anything, and glasses quickly run into the 12 availability limit. Also you can't get cameras as a vision enhancement (which comes standard in cybereyes). you have to buy that as a separate piece of gear.

Fluff reason: Squeezing that much junk into a pair of glasses makes them too damn bulky. Also you have to carry around that damn camera and ... *Beat cop walks away grumbling about stupid bean counters*

[Ice Hammer]

Thanks everyone. I appreciate the feedback. I can definitely see how not every patrolman would get the cybereyes/commlink cybersuite. I could see how some LS patrolmen could wash out of the ranks in a year or two, and it would be wasted newyen for LS. So maybe I will limit the cyber suite to those cops that have signed long term contracts (ie, 4+ year contracts) with the Star, and those that have made Sergeant.

[DocTaotsu]

Well I'd imagine that a Lone Star cop would be issued vision enhancement so avail is not going to come into play.

There's no rule saying you can't stuff every bit of that gear into a pair of contact lenses which means to me that the bulk of said systems are negligible if you install them in something more robust, like goggles or glasses.

A pair of goggles with every vision enhancement in the game, including smartlink and vision enhancement 3 runs 2225 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) and has an availibility roughly equivalent to buying a tank for some reason (lending credeance to your "it's bulky" theory).

A pair of cyberyes (rating 3 to accomodate all that good stuff, probably rating 4 if you want to get ultrasound). without ultrasound these eyes will run you 10750 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif)

And you have to yank them out of his head when he quits, retires, etc.

Goggles/Glasses/Contacts FTW! Bean counters unite!

[Cantankerous]

In our 3rd edition game the Lone Star Cops in B zones and up had flip down VISORStm that incorporated Low Light and telemetry links...the last with a limited range and a tendency to go on the fritz, but in C zones and below the pay off in public perception (always a corp mandate) wasn't enough to qualify it.

Because the Star doesn't only have to pay for the wares they stick in your head as a cop but also for the surgeries and lost time in recovery/adaptation, they are not likely to go for the wares unless for Elites. A lower priced system, even if bulky, in a more secure area, is even MORE worth it to the corps because Mr and Mrs J.Q. Public actually SEES that these guys have "high tech" means of helping to ensure THEIR safety... which you can be sure the Star pushes in their trideo ad campaigns.

Isshia

[Fortune]

A pair of cyberyes (rating 3 to accomodate all that good stuff, probably rating 4 if you want to get ultrasound). without ultrasound these eyes will run you 10750 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif)

Ultrasound is not 'eyeware'. It is classified as 'headware', being normally installed in the head similar to a datajack or implanted commlink. It was probably done this way as it incorporates both hearing and sight. Whatever the reason, it cannot be installed in a cybereye (although it could be implanted in a cyberarm).

[DocTaotsu]

Ah right, for some reason I just assumed it was in Augmentation. So it's actually better to get goggles because you can have ultrasound installed right there.

[DreadPirateKitte...]

Ultrasound is not 'eyeware'. It is classified as 'headware', being normally installed in the head similar to a datajack or implanted commlink. It was probably done this way as it incorporates both hearing and sight. Whatever the reason, it cannot be installed in a cybereye (although it could be implanted in a cyberarm).

Correct. It isnt eyewear, its headware.

Important note, though, and yet another reason for the cybereye, you CAN put Ultrasound into glasses, goggles, or contacts, as long as you buy the contacts after game has started. (Avail 14)

So apparently the Ultrasound is miniature enough to go into contacts, but WAY too bulky for your cybereye.

[HentaiZonga]

Correct. It isnt eyewear, its headware.

Important note, though, and yet another reason for the cybereye, you CAN put Ultrasound into glasses, goggles, or contacts, as long as you buy the contacts after game has started. (Avail 14)

So apparently the Ultrasound is miniature enough to go into contacts, but WAY too bulky for your cybereye.

I can put vibrating, high-frequency contacts in my eyes? Man, that's gotta cause a headache.