MatrixRun, A Java program designed to facilitate Matrix usage Options

[Steelphoenix]

MATRIXRUN DOWNLOAD
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4ylexpb7C...GxONlpiN0U/view


WHAT IS MATRIXRUN?
MatrixRun is a Java program designed to simulate the Matrix using the 3rd Edition Shadowrun rules. The user is able to upload their character into the program, and then generate a host to their specifications. The intent is to provide the Gamemaster and players with a tool to speed up any interaction with the Matrix.


INSTALLING MATRIXRUN
MatrixRun was designed to run on Windows OS, and requires the Java SE Runtime Environment to be installed. MatrixRun itself needs no special installation. Just unzip the .RAR file (using WinRAR or some other unzipping program) to a place of your choosing (C:/MatrixRun is recommended to make use of the Default option).


CREATING YOUR PERSONA
Rename the Character.csv file to whatever your Decker's name is. The file allows you to set your Program Ratings, Attributes, Hacking Pool, Detection Factor, and any other Decker value used in the Matrix. At this time, Karma Pool has not been implemented.


USING MATRIXRUN
Executing the Batch file (MatrixRun.bat) will run the program in the Command Prompt. First enter your Decker Name (this must match the name of the .csv file) and where the character file is located. You may then generate a host by entering the Color and Intrusion Difficulty.

Following that, you are able to enter any of the System Operation commands present in the Shadowrun 3E core rulebook as well as in Matrix. The program will track of successes, Security Tally, IC spawned, and damage. The system is set up to be able do paydata runs, but the majority of the commands don't have any effect on the system (aside from what the Gamemaster instructs the user to do).

System Operations and Cybercombat have seperate menus of commands, and the user should enter Cybercombat if they want to engage the IC.


SCREENSHOTS
[img]https://preview.ibb.co/dSD3Lk/M01.jpg[/img]
[img]https://preview.ibb.co/gntg6Q/M02.jpg[/img]
[img]https://preview.ibb.co/c5Ret5/M03.jpg[/img]
[img]https://preview.ibb.co/krhKt5/M04.jpg[/img]
[img]https://preview.ibb.co/mdmOLk/M05.jpg[/img]


NOTES ABOUT MATRIXRUN
At this time, the program does freeze at times, and in spite of my best intentions, I have been unable to fix it. Given that its been a couple months since I last did anything with the program, I've decided to release the program as is, in hopes that it will provide useful to other groups.

I'd like to give a special thanks to rAINb0wf0x for her help with testing and bouncing ideas off of.
MatrixRun is otherwise dedicated to Zeus, who was one less Black Hammer away from retirement.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to contact me at andrewryoung@comcast.net
Thanks for playing!

[Acenoid]

Thank you for your program.

I tried it out with the sample character. I think i have to re-check how it works because the "logon to host" (orange-hard) failed like 3 times times with zero successes. After an IC showed up i wanted to doublecheck the programs the decker had available and switched bytween combat and operations. Then it crashed. Going to retry a bit and see what else is there.

Not sure if I can use it within the goup. How exactly are you applying it in your group? Is it meant for random hosts? And tell him: let me know when you have logged to the host , found and edited the subsystem x?

Do you let the decker type in the commands, while you deal with the other players? Or do you use it as GM tool? (GM typing it all in).

[Steelphoenix]

Hm. Well, it would have given you a few lines of errors if the character wasn't loaded correctly, so that's probably not the case. Sample character only has a Deception of 6, and a Hard system has a random Access value of 1d6+12, so your TNs would be in the range of 7-12. Try it out with a Easy system and see if you get the same errors. And sadly, yes, the crashes started becoming a little more prevalent when I added Initiative into the equation, rather than simply "Decker does one action, then IC does an action."

At this time, there is no way to see what programs the Decker has loaded from inside the program - you would have to check the Character file.

As for applying it within the group, that is exactly how I do it. For example, I'll tell the Decker "Alright, this is an Orange-Average" system, and when it comes up to his turn, he'll let me know what he's doing. For the most part, since the group tends to be moving around and stealthing a bit, I give him a fair bit of latitude, and only have him hold up during a combat situation where he is attempting to influence the environment (doors, lights, etc). The Decker is free to type in the commands, though if they've hired an NPC Decker, then yes, I'll handle it all.

Alternatively, a Decker simply doing a solo Paydata run could use the program to simulate that in its entirety.

[Acenoid]

Yeah, I used the sample character, but I did not check if the decker had programs to lower the TN of the access rating of the host (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[DeathStrobe]

Have you thought about putting this up on github and making it open source to take contributions? I'm attempting to learn Java, and possibly working on this might be a good learning experience. But I probably won't have that much time to dedicate to it since I'm working on Omae.

[Steelphoenix]

I had not, but I am certainly open to it. The files themselves are the entirety of the source code, so it is free to be modified by anyone. And yes, it is a learning experience! I had zero programming experience before starting this project at the beginning of 2017, and had it coded up to the current release by the middle of March.

I'll look into Github, and go from there. Thanks for the suggestion!

[DeathStrobe]

Welcome to the madness that is programming. It sounds like you might be new to it then, so I have to say, learn about version control and use github. It will save you in a lot of ways, usually from yourself.

[Steelphoenix]

Thanks for the link - I'll check it all over this weekend and go from there.