Unwired Questions, Now with Merge-y Goodness Options

[PlatonicPimp]

One thing I've always been unsure of is when cybercombat would actually occur.

A user with admin level access can kick any user they know about on the network. Under what circumstances would someone with this level of access ever choose to use the attack program instead?

[Cheops]

One thing I've always been unsure of is when cybercombat would actually occur.

A user with admin level access can kick any user they know about on the network. Under what circumstances would someone with this level of access ever choose to use the attack program instead?

It's actually pretty tough to kick a hacker out of a system and takes quite a while. By the time you finally kick him he could have already made off with the Paydata. Cybercombat diverts his attention and potentially boots him faster. See "Terminate Connection" (BBB 223).

[Ryu]

Subscription is a level of connection. You may opt to fight in order to make time for a parallel trace.

Then I think not even admins should be able to kick connected admins, as hackers can easily spoof admin rights. Disable that and you are left with cybercombat.

Anyone who doesn´t have admin rights has to fight, too.

[crizh]

Note also that Agents cannot attack anymore either unless they are unrestricted (costing x1.2).

I'll go check now but are they not restricted to not using the Hacking skill?

Attack uses Cybercombat....

[Ryu]

Forbidden to execute illegal orders, causing damage certainly qualifies.

[Sombranox]

One thing I've always been unsure of is when cybercombat would actually occur.

A user with admin level access can kick any user they know about on the network. Under what circumstances would someone with this level of access ever choose to use the attack program instead?

I thought I remembered somewhere in the fluff of Unwired implying that if you get an active alert called down on you, your account privileges are revoked temporarily. So if a patrolling IC or spider got a matrix perception roll past your stealth while you're using a hacked account and recognized you had invalid status or looked at the access log a few turns after you did something invalid (though not much is invalid for admin), they could call an active alert and you get bumped by the system down to user level again and can be booted more easily. They had just better hope they don't call an alert on a valid admin or their job is probably going to be in the trash.

I could be wrong about the fluff though and just be going off something I've done at my table before (had a hacker using a hacked admin account who critcially glitched a log edit that I ruled had to still be rolled to clean his tracks and an alert was activated on him)

[Cheops]

It's not fluff. That's actually in the rules. When an alert is triggered the trigerring user loses all access rights in addition to the +4 to firewall (Alerts, Unwired about pg 69). Ironically by stripping his user rights it actually makes it harder to terminate connection.

[Crank]

I got an Unwired software question that I hope someone can answer for me. I apologize in advance if it was answered somewhere else and I didn't see it.

Why is does open source software cost any money according to Unwired? That's pretty much against everything that I understand open source software is supposed to be, which is to be open and available to everyone.

[Sombranox]

I got an Unwired software question that I hope someone can answer for me. I apologize in advance if it was answered somewhere else and I didn't see it.

Why is does open source software cost any money according to Unwired? That's pretty much against everything that I understand open source software is supposed to be, which is to be open and available to everyone.

Open source programs by most licenses are open and freely available by anyone who wants them, but that doesn't mean they can't be sold. A lot of people who develop open source programs allow it to be freely downloaded and compiled, but they also sell boxed copies for some small amount, sometimes only enough to cover the cost of shipping and handling, other times for a few hundred dollars in combination with support plans or in house training. A lot of people like to have a physical disk they paid for of a program, even though they could go download it for free, with or without source code.

So it's valid. though I'd probably make some rule about the 50% cost being for non-degrading versions to represent support from the open source group selling the software. Other open source stuff would just be free up to certain ratings and restrictions without an actual warez group contact or open source tribe or something.

[Aaron]

They don't when they're in hidden mode.

Sorry for jumping in late here, but could you offer a page reference for that?

[Ryu]

Sorry for jumping in late here, but could you offer a page reference for that?

Unwired, pg.54, Routing

[crizh]

Sorry for jumping in late here, but could you offer a page reference for that?

Urrrrmmm...

Yup, p54, under 'Routing.'

[edit]

Hawt dang, ninja'd again....

[Aaron]

Unwired, pg.54, Routing

Hm. It seems I need to read the actual published version of this thing.

Interestingly, this means one can't do a string of drones acting as a relay if she also wants those drones to be in Hidden mode.

[crizh]

I'll stick this in here as well.

Has anybody noticed that Sprites don't have Edge and can't become Free due to not being able to make an Edge(3) test?

I'll answer my own question then.

On closer inspection the new sprites in Unwired have all miraculously developed both Edge and Resonance stats that they did not previously possess.

At least one of the Free Sprite Powers implies that Sprites don't have Resonance so this has obviously changed during the development cycle of Unwired.

Still there's no mention of this change anywhere in the text, it just sorta happens...

[crizh]

Forbidden to execute illegal orders, causing damage certainly qualifies.

That's the optional version in 'To mook or not to mook,' Unwired p101.

The basic version simply bans any use of the Hacking skill.

[JoelHalpern]

That's the optional version in 'To mook or not to mook,' Unwired p101.

The basic version simply bans any use of the Hacking skill.

Okay, so a Node by itself can't run Attack, and a conventional Agent can't run attack.

So how would a nomral person's commlink (and a shadowrunners commlink) be set up to respond to detecting being hacked. Choices I can see:
1) Most hackers are so good that a normal commlink won't detect them, so there is no norm...
2) People buy a service that provides a backup hacker to take the alert when their commlink is hacked?
2') Shadowrunners better have a hacker on the team who can respond to such alerts
3) People's commlinks turn off when hacked?

I am trying to understand what the normal set for different types of people would be.
Your midrange person? A corporate exec? A Johnson? A normal runner?

This has bothered by with BBB, and seems to be made harder by the descriptions I have seen of Unwired.
Any clarifications would be appreciated.

Yours,
Joel

[RunnerPaul]

Interestingly, this means one can't do a string of drones acting as a relay if she also wants those drones to be in Hidden mode.

Sure you can. It's what the Retrans Unit from p.142 of Arsenal is for. It's a radio retransmitter that is separate from the drone's node and not limited by what mode said node is operating in.

[PlatonicPimp]

Okay, so a Node by itself can't run Attack, and a conventional Agent can't run attack.

So how would a nomral person's commlink (and a shadowrunners commlink) be set up to respond to detecting being hacked. Choices I can see:
1) Most hackers are so good that a normal commlink won't detect them, so there is no norm...
2) People buy a service that provides a backup hacker to take the alert when their commlink is hacked?
2') Shadowrunners better have a hacker on the team who can respond to such alerts
3) People's commlinks turn off when hacked?

Yes.

More specifically, 1 and 3 are what happen with normal users. They rely on their firewall and analyze programs to detect a hacker. If the hacker is detected, then the system probably tries to boot him, and if it fails it reboots. If it fails to detect the hacker, he has free reign.

Anyone with real sensitive data will either have a liscence for the good agents and attack program, or they will break the law and get them anyway. Your runners obviously fall into category 2.

[hobgoblin]

Hm. It seems I need to read the actual published version of this thing.

Interestingly, this means one can't do a string of drones acting as a relay if she also wants those drones to be in Hidden mode.

i would say that depends on the drones being owned by the user or not.

the p54 stuff is for general matrix routing. as in, the mesh networking stuff when your out and about on the street and just want to look up the local news. in that scenario your basically piggybacking on active mode comlinks all around you to get in contact with telco backbone nexi nodes.

but if one wants to use a specific chain of drones to act as relays for getting past a corp signal blocking wall or similar, get those subscriptions going (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Nightwalker450]

I'll answer my own question then.

On closer inspection the new sprites in Unwired have all miraculously developed both Edge and Resonance stats that they did not previously possess.

At least one of the Free Sprite Powers implies that Sprites don't have Resonance so this has obviously changed during the development cycle of Unwired.

Still there's no mention of this change anywhere in the text, it just sorta happens...

It happened in the Catalyst printing of the BBB. I believe I started a thread elsewhere on here as soon as I got a new printing of the book. So it didn't start in Unwired.

[Ryu]

It happened in the Catalyst printing of the BBB. I believe I started a thread elsewhere on here as soon as I got a new printing of the book. So it didn't start in Unwired.

Very stealthy. Can someone offical answer if that is intentional or another version difference between odd and even printings?

[Cheops]

Okay, so a Node by itself can't run Attack, and a conventional Agent can't run attack.

So how would a nomral person's commlink (and a shadowrunners commlink) be set up to respond to detecting being hacked. Choices I can see:
1) Most hackers are so good that a normal commlink won't detect them, so there is no norm...
2) People buy a service that provides a backup hacker to take the alert when their commlink is hacked?
2') Shadowrunners better have a hacker on the team who can respond to such alerts
3) People's commlinks turn off when hacked?

Yours,
Joel

Or instead of buying an Agent for defense you could buy an Offensive IC. The one developed by the Choson is VERY funny,

[PlatonicPimp]

Or instead of buying an Agent for defense you could buy an Offensive IC. The one developed by the Choson is VERY funny,

IC is an agent for all purposes.

[Cheops]

IC is an agent for all purposes.

However, it is very specifically the Agents that are restricted. IC, especially Offensive IC, are created to deal with intruders. I certainly don't believe they intended the Three Musketeers IC to not be able to attack when an intrusion is detected. Or that the Choson IC can't hack its way into nodes in order to do its job.

[KCKitsune]

I've got a question for everyone here: If a Technomancer can "code" a Program Complex Form for a Smartlink, then could a Hacker make a program to do the EXACT same thing? The hacker's version of the program needs to have a display link (either cybereyes or added to a vision enhancer) to work (of course), but can a Hacker do it?

If they can't, why not? It's not like the Technomancer is using a Sprite to do this.