[X] My Assistant

[ds1138]

I don't think I've ever, in my life, had any of the above drain all the way to 00.0%.

But Dr. Reyes told you not to do that, Mr. Simons.

Anyway I like the idea of taking away their tech-toys. Becoming totally disconnected from the grid would probably be a terrifying/evolutionary experience for people that most likely grew up without any conception of being unable to access the Matrix. Good RP to be had.

[Pepsi Jedi]

I've gone into the woods, caming with no tech.

It --was-- horrible. Not anything that I'd willingly do again. I'm definatly a child of the technological age. I know HOW to do it. I can live and even prosper with no power, no phone, no computers... it's just not fun at all and I dislike it.

I like my AC (( Most of all)) and my multiple computers and such. With out them I get surly (( especially the AC)) and grumpy.

I'd imagine it'd be even worse for those people in 2074. I've said more than once, once the tech gets here I'd sign up for a headjack, cyber eyes, etc. Now in 2074 they're kinda skipping past headjacks but still. I'm down. Shadowrun would be an awesome place for me. (( and I doubt I'd even be a shadowrunner.))

[All4BigGuns]

But Dr. Reyes told you not to do that, Mr. Simons.

Anyway I like the idea of taking away their tech-toys. Becoming totally disconnected from the grid would probably be a terrifying/evolutionary experience for people that most likely grew up without any conception of being unable to access the Matrix. Good RP to be had.

It could be fine so long as you discuss the game idea with the players beforehand and ALL of them are completely okay with it. If EVEN ONE is the slightest bit uninterested, drop the idea down the well. A good way to tell is if one of the players responds to the idea with a shrug saying "Uh...I guess it could be okay..."

I've gone into the woods, caming with no tech.

It --was-- horrible. Not anything that I'd willingly do again. I'm definatly a child of the technological age. I know HOW to do it. I can live and even prosper with no power, no phone, no computers... it's just not fun at all and I dislike it.

I like my AC (( Most of all)) and my multiple computers and such. With out them I get surly (( especially the AC)) and grumpy.

I'd imagine it'd be even worse for those people in 2074. I've said more than once, once the tech gets here I'd sign up for a headjack, cyber eyes, etc. Now in 2074 they're kinda skipping past headjacks but still. I'm down. Shadowrun would be an awesome place for me. (( and I doubt I'd even be a shadowrunner.))

Right there with ya, and I also doubt that I'd be a 'runner. I'd probably sign up for a nice, safe and cushy corp cubicle position that'd give me skillwires to do what I needed to do.

[_Pax._]

There is a recent scientific discovery that IMO is extremely relevant to the discussion at hand: Graphine Supercapacitors.

[Dakka Fiend]

Content-free video is free of content. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

The tech looks interesting, though.

I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it.

[Mantis]

Content-free video is free of content. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

The tech looks interesting, though.

I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it.

There is an XKCD for everything.
Seems everyone thinks that your gear should never run out of juice then. I thought it could be an interesting complication with getting lost in the wilderness, much as it is used as a device in movies. The whole no cell phone reception or the battery is dead thing. Perhaps even a tactical decision where you need to decide whether using that gear at a certain point is worth it against the possible need to use it later.
One thing I will point out about people saying their cell phone/laptop/etc IRL never gets depleted is that these devices are usually not run constantly (cell is on standby usually), unlike a shadowrunner's commlink with its AR feeds, cyberware monitoring, etc. that is always on and active.

[Lionhearted]

There's fluff about batteries running on muscle contraction, body heat and other omnipresent elements...
Even then your functionality in the middle of nowhere would be kind of limited...
In a dead matrix zone your AR aids have no databases to access and even if they did the area might not be mapped at all or whatever freak of nature you ran into will be likely to bear your name.
Also you need to consider poor working conditions and various hazards that might kill your gear.

[Mantis]

In a dead matrix zone your AR aids have no databases to access and even if they did the area might not be mapped at all or whatever freak of nature you ran into will be likely to bear your name.

Smart guns also use AR and commlinks and are useful no matter where you are if you need to shoot something. TacNets fall into this category as well.

Also you need to consider poor working conditions and various hazards that might kill your gear.

I'd rather not resort to destroying the player's 20,000¥+ commlinks for the sake of a story about being lost in the wilds. Having it run out of power is an easier solution and less likely to piss off the players.
Anyway, I find it somewhat weird that my shock glove or stun baton has limited charges or my gauss rifle requires battery packs to work and a standard drone only runs for 6 hours but my commlink and such will run forever off whatever power source it runs off. I'll give a pass on the cyberware and say it works from bio power and stores juice while you sleep or whatever.
Why not power shock gloves with whatever runs the commlink (or your cyberware if you really want to get technical) or let it charge however a commlink charges. Personally I think things like your commlink just get a chance to be recharged when you aren't shadowrunning. They have just as finite a power supply as the other stuff I've listed but we never get into that level of bookkeeping on the average run nor does the average run take place away from ready power sources. However, in the case of this particular adventure I feel it can and should be a detail to look at.

[_Pax._]

Content-free video is free of content. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

I'm so sorry, I seem to have forgotten to pay my Omniscience Bill. So this is the first I've ever heard of that development.

Forgive me for my unworthiness.

/facepalm

[CanRay]

Safehouses has a commlink about to run out of power, and asks to be recharged. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Umidori]

But Dr. Reyes told you not to do that, Mr. Simons.

I'd put money on this being a reference to an obscure scene in Deus Ex. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

But my youtube-fu isn't turning up a clip of the conversation, so I'd have to reinstall the game to check... and then I'd have to play it all the way through again, of course.

~Umi

[Mantis]

Gee Umidori, sounds like that would be rough. I'd hate think of you being forced to play a video game.
CanRay, if only you had included how long it had been since it was last charged I'd at least have some fluff to go by. Come on now, get back in there and re-write that portion for my gratification. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[Novocrane]

Safehouses has a commlink about to run out of power, and asks to be recharged. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Fortunately, it doesn't specify how that happens - which leaves us free to rub our feet on the carpet to build up static, shake it, put it under an armpit for body warmth, leave it in the sun, etc ...

[Lionhearted]

As a note, isn't the penalties for going into the wild harsh enough without all your gear caving in on you?
I mean with the unhealable stun damage and all...

[Mantis]

Have you seen The Grey? Something along those line is what I was thinking of. Once you get home it makes you thankful to only have to deal with gangers and the cops and pollution.

[All4BigGuns]

Really, the best answer to the question is "It doesn't matter". If you're worrying about how long the charge on a comm-link or vehicle or anything lasts, then you are micro-managing too much. Take a step back and let fun enter back into the game.

[Sengir]

Small generators powered by movement of the device. Problem solved with minimal handwaving (the tech already exists in watches).

[SpellBinder]

Small generators powered by movement of the device. Problem solved with minimal handwaving (the tech already exists in watches).

And small solar cells. My own watch is solar powered, six individual cells circling around the face, with a NiCad rechargeable battery.

[Dolanar]

part of the problem is, it seems the GM WANTS the commlinks to die for a plot device, so I think the GM is just looking for rules regarding to instead of just declaring Fiat.

[CanRay]

Oh, but there's so much more fun ways to do things.

*Gangers drive by with a stolen HERF Gun* "HEY! WAGESLAVES!!!" *HERF!!!* "GOOD LUCK TELECOMMUTING!!!" "Oh those sons of slitches! MUNGO, THEY KILLED YOUR HACKER 'LINK AND HAVE ICE CREAM!" "Mungo catch dem!!!" "Do you think he can catch them on foot?" "He caught the Good Humor Ork a week ago. I didn't know those ice cream trucks could go so fast, either."

[Umidori]

That sounds like your average day in any random corner of Mega City One...

~Umi

[_Pax._]

Oh, but there's so much more fun ways to do things.

*Gangers drive by with a stolen HERF Gun* "HEY! WAGESLAVES!!!" *HERF!!!* "GOOD LUCK TELECOMMUTING!!!" "Oh those sons of slitches! MUNGO, THEY KILLED YOUR HACKER 'LINK AND HAVE ICE CREAM!" "Mungo catch dem!!!" "Do you think he can catch them on foot?" "He caught the Good Humor Ork a week ago. I didn't know those ice cream trucks could go so fast, either."

And ten minutes later ... Mungo the Troll becomes Mungo the EMP-Troll. Talk about a new way to "hack" cameras ...!!

[Umidori]

New? You point the gun at them and pull the trigger. What difference does it make if the gun shoots energy instead of lead?

~Umi

[_Pax._]

Do you seriously not put your cameras behind armor-glass domes and such ...?

Whereas, if the camera is wireless, it's completely naked to a HERF gun. (The antenna, I mean.)

[Lionhearted]

Seriously Ray, give Mungo a full on short story already, I mean you got a complete metaplot growing around him already!