Questions about the RCC and related stuff. Options

[T2-Keks]

Hello everyone,

the two rigger archetypes do not use RCCs but commlinks. Commlinks can slave rating*3 devices, like the RCC. What they loose is the free noise reduction and the option to share autosofts to drones. Do they loose anything else?

And how many programs can RCCs run? I recall that you have slots for autosofts, but not that you have to use the same slots for programs.

And could a commlink used as drone controller run some programs? If yes, how many?


Thanks everyone for taking the time.

[CrystalBlue]

As far as I can tell, you can use a commlink to slave devices, and drones are devices. What you lose is the ability to jump into those drones (since you need an RCC now to do so) and the bonus dice for rigging drones that you get from the RCC's rating.

EDIT: Huh...my mistake. RCC's can host programs. The list of these programs is on page 269. Go figure...

And, again, commlinks can't host programs. It specifically says under programs that only cyberdecks can hold and run programs. Think of programs as huge, expensive (in terms of processing power) pieces of code that a commlink just can't run.

If you're looking to be a rigger/decker, you'll need to invest in both an RCC and a cyberdeck anyways. Which is a lot of money.

[HugeC]

You do not need an RCC to jump into a drone, a commlink works just fine for that (and indeed, an RCC is just a commlink with extra features). RCCs (not regular commlinnks) can run cyberprograms, they're just different than the ones that run on a deck.

[CrystalBlue]

Huh...I guess I was assuming a lot of things then. It then begs the question why Technomancers still can't jump into vehicles themselves unless...oh, right. No PAN. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[CrystalBlue]

Stupid double post...

[HugeC]

Maybe there is just a confusion of terminology, CrystalBlue. A rigger command console (RCC) is a commlink-like device. A vehicle control rig (VCR or just rig) is an implant you need in order to jump in. TMs don't have a control rig unless they submerge and take the Mind Over Machine echo, which is why they can't jump in at chargen.

[T2-Keks]

Thanks so far.

But there seems to be no limit of how many programs can be run at the same time on a RCC. Right?

[BlackJaw]

1) In order to jump into a drone or vehicle with a rigger module, instead of just controlling it, you need to have a Control Rig implanted, or have the technomancer echo that duplicates one. This is the only requirement. You can directly rig a vehicle without a commlink or rcc involved, for example, but generally you want to slave such things to a Commlink, Deck, or RCC for security reasons at the least.

2) An RCC aids in handling groups of drones in a few ways. It can use it's device rating to run programs and/or reduce noise. Autosofts it runs are shared among all the drones slaved to it. If you issue commands to drones, it can be used to issue the commands to all your drones. Lastly, if you are rigging a drone or vehicle through the RCC, you can jump directly to any other drone or vehicle slaved to the RCC instead of first jumping out of the existing vehicle.

3) An RCC uses it's device rating to run cyberprograms and autosofts, but you can designate some of the "slots" to instead act as Noise Reduction rather than run software. Note that only Autosoft programs are shared with drones, and then only if the drone isn't running any autosofts of it's own. Cyberprograms are not shared. Autosofts often have specific targets, such as only working on a single model of drone, or working with a single model of weapon, etc.
Pro Tip: the Signal Scrub cyberprogram uses 1 slot, but adds noise reduction 2, which makes it more efficient than using a single slot for noise reduction. If you want more noise reduction, then add extra slots as they will stack, thus one signal scrub and one noise reduction slot is 2 slots used for 3 Noise Reduction.

4) RCCs can apparently run any cyberprogram, but because it lacks a Sleaze and Attack rating (note: lacks them, not has them at 0) it isn't so useful with many hacker programs. More over, the RCC expressly uses different cyberprograms than a deck, so you can't share them. That means many deck cyberprograms for hacking probably don't even exist for an RCC.

5) Drones and vehicles have program slots of their own, equal to half their device rating (pilot rating) rounded down.

6) There are currently no prices for autosofts or pilot programs. This is especially troublesome for autosofts because a drone can't use a weapon on its own without an autosoft for that weapon. So right now, we the players can mount guns on a Doberman, but we can't have the drone use the gun. We can still remote control or rig the drone into using the gun, but we can't have it use it on command, or leave it to guard somewhere on its own.

7) The game term PAN (personal area network) refers to any collection of devices slaved to an RCC, Deck, or Commlink. Slaving a device is not required for jumping into it, but it is required for a slaved drone or vehicle to get the benefits of an RCC. Note that WANs (Devices slaved to a Host) are a bit different but not likely to be in the hands of a PC.

[Flaser]

You do not need an RCC to jump into a drone, a commlink works just fine for that (and indeed, an RCC is just a commlink with extra features). RCCs (not regular commlinnks) can run cyberprograms, they're just different than the ones that run on a deck.

Actually could you point out the page and section that says commlinks can't run cyberprograms? As far as I know there's no such rule... and then you have drones which *can* run Rating/2 autosofts or cyberprograms. In our group, we decided commlinks can run Rating/2 common use cyberprograms (Edit, Browse, etc).

[BlackJaw]

Actually could you point out the page and section that says commlinks can't run cyberprograms? As far as I know there's no such rule... and then you have drones which *can* run Rating/2 autosofts or cyberprograms. In our group, we decided commlinks can run Rating/2 common use cyberprograms (Edit, Browse, etc).

Page 221: "A commlink is combination computer, smartphone, media player, passport, wallet, credit card, Matrix browser, chip reader, GPS navigator, digital camera, and portable gaming device. And possibly a few other things, if you’ve got a really nice one. It’s got all of the necessary software already loaded, but unlike a cyberdeck it has no space for cyberprograms or other hacking tools."

Personally, I agree that commlinks should be allowed to run the Common cyberprograms at a rating equal to half their device rating rounded down. The fact that the cyberprograms are split between common and hacking, and the very nature of the common programs like browse and edit, makes me think the common ones were supposed to be used on commlinks at some point in the design process.

[T2-Keks]

Ok, i read on p.269 under autosofts that drones can run autosofts and cyberprograms. But p.267 noise reduction and sharing only mentions autosofts for sharing.

But it makes sense to me to assume that the cyberprograms should be included in the shareables.

Thanks.

[BlackJaw]

Ok, i read on p.269 under autosofts that drones can run autosofts and cyberprograms. But p.267 noise reduction and sharing only mentions autosofts for sharing.

But it makes sense to me to assume that the cyberprograms should be included in the shareables.

Only Autosofts are shared, but Encryption running on an RCC would help all the drones thanks to the slaving rules, as the slaved drones/vehicles would be using the RCC's firewall.

There is an upside to not sharing cyberprograms: Because drones have a limited amount of program slots (a rating 4 pilot drone has 2 slots), and running an autosoft prevents it from getting shared programs, the best thing to do is to run (useful to the drone) cyberprograms on the drones and autosofts on the RCC. Signal Scrubber on drone helps it avoid jamming, and doesn't prevent it from getting shared autosofts, for example. Sneak is another useful one for a drone or vehicle, as it makes it harder to track the device down in the real world if you locate it's icon. Armor would help defend the drone from matrix damage (IE: the dreaded bricking.)