Move-By-Wire 4, What is the point? Options

[Arethusa]

Why?

It's so expensive that no one will ever take it. You have to install it as at least alphaware, and it's not even really acceptable until you hit delta. And even then, its effects are easy to achieve with combinations of other ware that don't cost 16 million nuyen and chew through your body. So why does it exist? Even if you have the 16 million to burn, you can outfit 10 or 12 soldiers with the same capability, if not better. It doesn't really do anything that other stuff doesn't already do for far cheaper.

[shadd4d]

I think it was just a cool idea and useful for those making cyberzombies. True, you can get the increases with a combination of bioware and cyberware, but I think it is useful to give to higher up threats.

I've never actually seen a player take one, I think it's what the designers thought was a good idea at the time.

Don

[Zazen]

I don't know of anything that mimics the extra-action bonus of MBW4. In addition to its sheer numerical bonuses, it really is the ultimate in speed.

[A Clockwork Lime]

It's there for cyberzombies and not much else.

With Reaction +8, Initiative +4D6, Quickness +4, and Athletics/Stealth +4, such a cyberzombie *will* be going first unless dealing with an adept with Quick Strike. They're less likely to be surprised and more likely to surprise, too. The fact that they gain an extra action in addition to all of that is an extra perk.

And since it is designed almost exclusively for cyberzombies, the fact that they'll have it as deltagrade means it only takes up 3.5 Essence. That's just slightly more than Wired Reflexes 2 with a Reflex Trigger. That leaves a *lot* of room for other deltagrade implants, so not only will they be mindboggelling fast, but loaded to bear, too.

[Arethusa]

The extra action is really the only thing you can't practically achieve for far cheaper through other equipment. Even if I had a cyberzombie, I'd be packing him full of far more efficient and effective ware. I'm having trouble seeing its use as anything remotely practical, even if I want an impractical zombie killing machine.

[Zazen]

The extra-action bonus is two extra actions, really.

And it's just there to be cool.

[Arethusa]

Cool, maybe, but I'm having trouble rationalizing its existence as anything but a pure prototype system. Down and out runner to corp special warfare project, I can't see anyone who would view this as viable.

[Zazen]

'bout as viable as a metal tail or an eyeball gun. It's just there so the runners can feel cool when they beat someone with it.

[Arethusa]

Except that the amounts of money involved in eyeguns and tails are small enough that someone could concievably buy one for a specific use or make a bad decision. When you're shoving 16 million nuyen into a single human being who will be handling high risk situations, you don't get to make a bad decision with that money.

[Abstruse]

No one reads flavor text, do they? MBW is smooth as silk in motion. WR tend to be jumpy and jerky, while adept IR tend to just move in starts and fits, MBW is totally smooth and graceful. It's like the difference between watching a UFC match and a fight from CTHD. One is effective but not very pretty, the other is just as if not more effective and also beautiful to watch. Poetry in motion as it were.

From a pure number-crunching standpoint, sure you can get almost all the bonuses with other stuff. But why and at what cost? Will you be looking like a walking trash compactor with all the metal sticking out of you? You can't even tell someone has a MBW system by sight alone.

Oh, plus you can pump the MBW up with Synaptic Accellerator bioware to push it up to Rea + 6d6 Init, which is the highest you can get with any combination I believe.

The Abstruse One

[Arethusa]

I thought Synaptic Accelerator was incompatible? If it's compatible, I could concievably get Reaction + 9d6 with SA2, MBW4, and BR3, which is fairly nice. I don't believe it's supposed to be possible, however.

In any case, the smooth movement is supposed to be disturbingly, inhumanly smooth. Regardless, there's little use for it when what you need is combat effectiveness. In any case, worth pointing out that as pretty and well choreographed as Crouching Tiger was, none of it was remotely effective in a real life situation, and I'm not even counting the absolutely impossible stuff.

[Herald of Verjig...]

M&M 30, top paragraph on the right:

[Arethusa]

Well, that seals it. Amusingly, if you take a physad, give him delta MBW4 and Enhanced Reflexes 1 (all he can afford), you get an assounting Reaction + 5d6. Woo.

[edit]

Well, maybe not.

This post has been edited by Arethusa: May 1 2004, 07:01 PM

[Fresno Bob]

[Herald of Verjig...]

SR3 page 169

[Zazen]

[Ancient History]

[Lilt]

People with this system will still be 'twitchy' in the sense that they react to stuff before they think about it. They'll just react really smoothly.

Why make the MBW system?
Because it's the drek!

Why install a 16 million nuyen piece of gear into one person?
Because it makes it far less likely that the other 32 million nuyen you spent on the fragger will be damaged!

Why bother when you can just use Bio+Cyber for the same bonus?
Because IIRC Bio+CZs don't mix that well.

[Fresno Bob]

[Abstruse]

Crap, sorry. That was 2nd Ed Cybertechnology you could cram a synaptic accellerator in there too, but only at level 1 and only if you paid extra or something. Enhanced Artwinkulation doesn't say it's not incompatable with the MBW though...

The Abstruse One

[shadd4d]

[A Clockwork Lime]

When Shadowrun says "not compatible," it generally means "use whichever one gives the most benefit; they don't 'stack'."

[Zazen]

[Shadow]

Why not? Would be a better question :)

It's cool
It gives sammies something to dream about. "One day I could be that fast".

It insures that no matter how fast your PC's get you can allways bring out the MBW4 CZ.

Did I mention that it is cool? Unlike the eye gun which is stupid IMHO.

[A Clockwork Lime]

Well, it's cool except for the minor having-to-have-your-brain-cut-out part.