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GiraffeShaman
post Jul 17 2013, 02:42 PM
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So, on another site I was able to ask some questions of the Shadowrun Line Developer Jason Hardy. I figured it might be helpful to post the results here, as it cleared some things up for me:


JH: I've put answers below the various questions!

Originally Posted by GiraffeShaman
1. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the Grids, GOD, and the G-Men. I love these concepts, but feel a bit starved for information on some of them as the main book focused heavily on shadowruns and not as much outside of hosts. How do you envison the grids? Is there some way around the problem of Street sams having their PAN on the public grid in order to cause deckers a -2 penalty from lag? What kind of things can the G-Men do in the Matrix to track down criminals, especially ones who do things like attack someone then log out immediately to evade GOD? Are the G-Men especially skilled and intense on the Megacorp Grids? Do the corps have any other defenses on the Megacorp grids?

(Answer)

JH: Abstruse was essentially correct in his answer about the –2 public grid penalty--if you're close enough to the street sammie, don't bother worrying about a grid, just go after them directly.

The biggest thing the G-Men do is the Overwatch Score. If someone logs out, they are somewhat handcuffed--that's the nature of the Matrix. Quick hits are the name of the game. They can try the Trace Icon action to find the location of someone as long as they're online, but once someone logs off, it's awfully tough to track them through the Matrix.

G-Men are definitely intense on megacorp grids, even more so on megacorp hosts. More details about hosts and deep runs will be in the eventually forthcoming Matrix sourcebook. There aren't too many other defenses to speak of other than G-Men, but there really doesn't need to be …

2. What's are the best defenses in SR5 from grenades? Just running really fast with the new streamlined movement system?

(Answer)

JH: In general, yeah, I'd saying getting out of the blast area quickly is the best strategy. If the grenade is wireless enabled, you can try to mess with the trigger, but that's risky. Throwing a troll on top of it may help absorb some of the damage, but it makes them cranky.

3. What kinds of things can Technomancers do better than Deckers in this edition? Any future plans for the TMs, especially as it pertains to outside of hosts out on the grids?

(Answer)

JH: With TMs we tried to go for "different" without necessarily being "better." Complex forms have different functions than programs, making TMs operate in different ways. They also have some advantage when it comes to Overwatch Score, but that's only in relation to their particular actions, not when they try Matrix Actions that normally accumulate OS. Since hosts will be more detailed in the Matrix sourcebook, you can expect to see more discussion of TMs in relation to them as well.

4. Since Jackpoint exists still in new Matrix, can we assume there are all sorts of darknets for software pirates and the like?

(Answer)

JH: Absolutely! In fact, the freelancers have had plenty of fun coming up with names of these various secret spots and hacker hideaways. The upcoming season of Missions will talk some about the underground Matrix in Chicago.

5. What are the best defenses for a street sam who wants to remain online? Are there any upcoming technologies to help out online street sams? (i.e. skinlinks, some kind of alternative network, use of a PAN in areas the Matrix can't be reached, and so on) Are online SAMS able to be anonymis through an online service like the Onion Router or the like? Can they be tracked? (That's probaly going to be my players big worry when we play our first SR5 game)

(Answer)

JH: First, don't do anything that accumulates an OS, though that shouldn't be a problem. Second, if you've got a hacker handy, have them slave your devices to them to provide a defensive boost (and get faster alerts about incoming attacks). Third, yeah, you can be tracked, but remember that there are a crapload of PANs out there, so people have to know what they're looking for to find you. And the occasional quick reboot can make life difficult for anyone looking to track you down through the Matrix.

thank you,

Skyscraper the Giraffe Shaman

My pleasure. Have fun!

Jason H.
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GiraffeShaman
post Jul 17 2013, 02:45 PM
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Adding a post from Abstruse here, since it is referenced in Jason's first answer.

Abstruse: I'm obviously not Jason, but I can help with this one. Grids, GOD, and G-men have been around forever. Grids were used as far back as SR3 (possibly from the VR2.0 rules). Grid Overwatch has been around since the Corporate Courts, so this isn't anything new either. They're basically the portion of the Corporate Court that enforces international Matrix law on the grids. They've been pretty hands-off until this edition though, mostly because it wasn't until now that the corporations decided they wanted to completely lock down the Matrix.

Also, the -2 penalty doesn't work the way a lot of people seem to think it does as an extra decker shield. The decker's probably going to be within 100m which is within handshake range meaning that the connection is now peer-to-peer. That means no -2 penalty from using the public grid to protect your smartlink or wired reflexes.

If your commlink doesn't have a Stealth chip (which would technically make it a cyberdeck), it can be tracked. But you can reboot it easily to end any marks you may have collected. It's no more dangerous in SR5 to walk around with a commlink than it was in SR4A and is actually a bit better for you since you can slave all your wireless gear to your PAN and let the commlink's Firewall protect everything instead of the drekky default one.
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Sengir
post Jul 17 2013, 03:01 PM
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Link for reference: http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.ph...developer-stuff

I'm not exactly sure where the two got the idea that being within 100 m of somebody qualifies as a direct connection (which by RAW is only possible via cable), and the idea that used ware should not be available at chargen is...interesting...
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Jhaiisiin
post Jul 17 2013, 03:17 PM
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That action points initiative system was a neat idea, but thank the gods they didn't stick with it. Thank your playtesters for that, btw.
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binarywraith
post Jul 17 2013, 03:17 PM
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QUOTE (Sengir @ Jul 17 2013, 09:01 AM) *
Link for reference: http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.ph...developer-stuff

I'm not exactly sure where the two got the idea that being within 100 m of somebody qualifies as a direct connection (which by RAW is only possible via cable), and the idea that used ware should not be available at chargen is...interesting...



What, you expected the line developer to actually know what got printed in the rules he was responsible for? Man, that's totally 1990's. Not how we do business today! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rotfl.gif)
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Draco18s
post Jul 17 2013, 03:39 PM
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QUOTE (GiraffeShaman @ Jul 17 2013, 09:42 AM) *
5. What are the best defenses for a street sam who wants to remain online? Are there any upcoming technologies to help out online street sams? (i.e. skinlinks, some kind of alternative network, use of a PAN in areas the Matrix can't be reached, and so on) Are online SAMS able to be anonymis through an online service like the Onion Router or the like? Can they be tracked? (That's probaly going to be my players big worry when we play our first SR5 game)

(Answer)

JH: First, don't do anything that accumulates an OS, though that shouldn't be a problem. Second, if you've got a hacker handy, have them slave your devices to them to provide a defensive boost (and get faster alerts about incoming attacks). Third, yeah, you can be tracked, but remember that there are a crapload of PANs out there, so people have to know what they're looking for to find you. And the occasional quick reboot can make life difficult for anyone looking to track you down through the Matrix.


That didn't answer the question at all! Unless enemy (corporate) hackers never go after the sam's gear...
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Fatum
post Jul 17 2013, 03:51 PM
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Wait wait wait, so you can establish direct connection between various devices over wireless? Why then doesn't wireless-enabled gear get wireless bonuses in a zero zone?
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DWC
post Jul 17 2013, 03:54 PM
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It did answer the question. The answer was "you do not have any defenses other than trusting your decker, because that was the whole point of implementing the system as it is", but he didn't come right out and say that.
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quentra
post Jul 17 2013, 04:04 PM
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QUOTE (DWC @ Jul 17 2013, 10:54 AM) *
It did answer the question. The answer was "you do not have any defenses other than trusting your decker, because that was the whole point of implementing the system as it is", but he didn't come right out and say that.


So he used political double-speak instead of forthright replies?
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Aaron
post Jul 17 2013, 04:13 PM
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I'm guessing that JH wasn't talking about going after the samurai directly through the Matrix when he said "go after them directly." Unless he's advocating running up and plugging a cable into his gear. =i)
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Sendaz
post Jul 17 2013, 04:18 PM
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QUOTE (Aaron @ Jul 17 2013, 12:13 PM) *
I'm guessing that JH wasn't talking about going after the samurai directly through the Matrix when he said "go after them directly." Unless he's advocating running up and plugging a cable into his gear. =i)

You know.. a modified harpoon gun with an invasive hacking tool built in and a trailing cable line......going after the Great White Sammie (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)
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DWC
post Jul 17 2013, 04:24 PM
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QUOTE (Sendaz @ Jul 17 2013, 12:18 PM) *
You know.. a modified harpoon gun with an invasive hacking tool built in and a trailing cable line......going after the Great White Sammie (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)


Sure. Because shooting him in the chest with a harpoon gun isn't going to suffice to slow him down...
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Samoth
post Jul 17 2013, 04:27 PM
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I'm surprised nobody asked him when he expects the first errata to be released - I thought I heard Bull was trying to get one ready for Missions ASAP, but haven't heard anything to verify that.
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Nath
post Jul 17 2013, 04:31 PM
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QUOTE (GiraffeShaman @ Jul 17 2013, 04:45 PM) *
Abstruse: Grid Overwatch has been around since the Corporate Courts, so this isn't anything new either. They're basically the portion of the Corporate Court that enforces international Matrix law on the grids. They've been pretty hands-off until this edition though, mostly because it wasn't until now that the corporations decided they wanted to completely lock down the Matrix.
The Corporate Court was established in 2023 (don't know about the plural form). The Corporate Court Matrix Authority maybe did exist for some time (thought possibly not before the Matrix itself, which would be 2031-2036). The Grid Overwatch Division proper, however, did not appear before the late 2050ies, per Target: Matrix.

QUOTE
Target: Matrix, page 96
The CCMA is mostly a bunch of bureaucrats who shake hands with leaders and send threatening emails-they've never had a need for more hands-on type work. Until now, that is. When the Corporate Court told the CCMA to adopt a more aggressive and pre-emptive stance towards Matrix terrorism and threats, the bureaucrats created a new division: Grid Overwatch.
"Until now" implies a creation date relatively close to Target: Matrix, which is posted on August 2061. However, the following text mentions G-men who ask to stay at GOD after their initial one year assignment, which suggest GOD operated for at least one full year, which put its creation date mid-2060 at the latest.
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Sendaz
post Jul 17 2013, 04:34 PM
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QUOTE (DWC @ Jul 17 2013, 12:24 PM) *
Sure. Because shooting him in the chest with a harpoon gun isn't going to suffice to slow him down...

Depends, I know a few trolls that would just be a tickle to.
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Trillinon
post Jul 17 2013, 05:25 PM
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His answer to the -2 from the public grid makes sense, though it's not described in the book. Basically, if you and your target are within wireless range of each other, it doesn't really matter if you're on the public grid, because there aren't any nodes or devices to pass through.

The rule I'd use:

Within Wireless Range: If you're within 100 meters (and thus don't have any noise based on distance), then you don't suffer any penalties for either you or the target being on the public grid, or for being on different grids.
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hermit
post Jul 17 2013, 06:21 PM
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Which makes grids meaningless, since long-distance hacking is heavily hampered by Noise anyway.

QUOTE
So he used political double-speak instead of forthright replies?

He does that a lot.
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Draco18s
post Jul 17 2013, 06:35 PM
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QUOTE (hermit @ Jul 17 2013, 01:21 PM) *
He does that a lot.


This is why if I were to choose a super power, it would be to punch people through time whenever they say something false or misleading.

(Meaning: when I hear or read a [politician|news reporter|interview guest] say something that is either obviously false (as in I can plug it into Google and prove it in under 5 minutes) or misleading, I get the opportunity to punch whoever it was who said it, at the time they said it (my fist traveling through space and backwards in time to do so)).
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Remnar
post Jul 17 2013, 07:29 PM
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QUOTE (Draco18s @ Jul 17 2013, 10:35 AM) *
This is why if I were to choose a super power, it would be to punch people through time whenever they say something false or misleading.

(Meaning: when I hear or read a [politician|news reporter|interview guest] say something that is either obviously false (as in I can plug it into Google and prove it in under 5 minutes) or misleading, I get the opportunity to punch whoever it was who said it, at the time they said it (my fist traveling through space and backwards in time to do so)).


I'd wager you would have very, very sore knuckles very, very quickly. Is Unbreakable Knuckles a secondary superpower?

I wish they'd clarified if I can slave my PAN (with my items slaved) to my decker's deck for security purposes. Makes for less bookkeeping when determining who on the team has what slaved to where.
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Sendaz
post Jul 17 2013, 07:37 PM
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QUOTE (Remnar @ Jul 17 2013, 03:29 PM) *
I wish they'd clarified if I can slave my PAN (with my items slaved) to my decker's deck for security purposes. Makes for less bookkeeping when determining who on the team has what slaved to where.

I assume by your current PAN in this example you mean your devices are slaved to your commlink and you want to slave the lot to your decker's deck.

You should be able to do so, but I think you have to slave all the devices, including the commlink to the Deck, making the Deck the Master device in this setup and thus makes up a new PAN.
Remember they can only slave Deck Device Rating x 3 number of devices. (pg 233). So your smartgun and commlink both are slaved to the Master Deck in this situation, not a daisychain of Smartgun slaved to Commlink which is in turn slaved to Deck unless I am misunderstanding this.
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Draco18s
post Jul 17 2013, 07:51 PM
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QUOTE (Remnar @ Jul 17 2013, 02:29 PM) *
I'd wager you would have very, very sore knuckles very, very quickly.


I probably would.

On the other hand, it would be so so very satisfying.
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Remnar
post Jul 19 2013, 01:26 AM
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QUOTE (Sendaz @ Jul 17 2013, 11:37 AM) *
I assume by your current PAN in this example you mean your devices are slaved to your commlink and you want to slave the lot to your decker's deck.

You should be able to do so, but I think you have to slave all the devices, including the commlink to the Deck, making the Deck the Master device in this setup and thus makes up a new PAN.
Remember they can only slave Deck Device Rating x 3 number of devices. (pg 233). So your smartgun and commlink both are slaved to the Master Deck in this situation, not a daisychain of Smartgun slaved to Commlink which is in turn slaved to Deck unless I am misunderstanding this.


Yeah, that was basically my reading of it. During the whole "we're scared of deckers bricking our stuff" phase the devs seemed to indicate the decker's job is security for the team. Looking at being limited to 12 or so items slaved to a deck (at chargen), I don't see how the decker CAN protect his crew. Best I'm seeing is that everyone grabs a dr 6 commlink, slaves their stuff, and prays. Not sure how the decker reallly helps in this situation.

Then the GM has to deal with the bookkeeping of Sammy 1 has his gear slaved to his commlink, except his arms, the decker's got those. Sammy 2 has a crappier commlink, so 5 of his devices (ware, and maybe gun) are on the decker's link, while the mystic adept just turns his crap off and massacres with spells and adept abilities. Seems like unnessary bookkeeping.

If they could, say, slave their own gear to a commlink, then slave their whole commlink/slave/pan system to the decker's deck, then he/she COULD actually run matrix overwatch on his/her crew. Easier to track too.

Unless there are options I'm missing.
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Trillinon
post Jul 19 2013, 01:52 AM
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QUOTE (Remnar @ Jul 18 2013, 06:26 PM) *
Yeah, that was basically my reading of it. During the whole "we're scared of deckers bricking our stuff" phase the devs seemed to indicate the decker's job is security for the team. Looking at being limited to 12 or so items slaved to a deck (at chargen), I don't see how the decker CAN protect his crew. Best I'm seeing is that everyone grabs a dr 6 commlink, slaves their stuff, and prays. Not sure how the decker reallly helps in this situation.

Then the GM has to deal with the bookkeeping of Sammy 1 has his gear slaved to his commlink, except his arms, the decker's got those. Sammy 2 has a crappier commlink, so 5 of his devices (ware, and maybe gun) are on the decker's link, while the mystic adept just turns his crap off and massacres with spells and adept abilities. Seems like unnessary bookkeeping.

If they could, say, slave their own gear to a commlink, then slave their whole commlink/slave/pan system to the decker's deck, then he/she COULD actually run matrix overwatch on his/her crew. Easier to track too.

Unless there are options I'm missing.


More than likely, anyone going after your PAN is going to be nearby, where your hacker can engage them.
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Remnar
post Jul 19 2013, 01:55 AM
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QUOTE (Trillinon @ Jul 18 2013, 05:52 PM) *
More than likely, anyone going after your PAN is going to be nearby, where your hacker can engage them.


Guess I didn't consider that. A reactive defense instead of actual protection.
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Jhaiisiin
post Jul 19 2013, 04:00 AM
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If I were GM, I'd allow exactly what you suggest, Remnar. Slave stuff to comlink. Slave that to deck. Multiple layers of protection. That's the smart way to do it, regardless.
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