What's the maximum limit to coding your own programs? The book says the ratings go from 1 to 6 "except for cutting edge or military software." That's extremely vague. Is it safe to assume that an average decker shouldn't be able to write programs with a rating higher than 6? Thanks in advance!

I think, right now, that is a safe assumption .

House rule I'm considering is limiting hackers to coding only up to their software skill rating. Mostly this is just to have an easy answer for the question though.

Your skill usually caps the maximum so unless you have a skill aptitude you'd be out of luck. I'd allow a team effort to program higher utilities though, maybe using the teamwork rules for such a test.

Good question be interesting to see what everyone else thinks.

You would need a Response of more than 7 to use that.
And neither the cost of buying such hardware, nor the costs of building it are yet specified.

i still think it needs to be fleshed out a bit more, but I do like where SR4 rules start for programming stuff. Basically it takes time to make a prog. What I'd like to see added, is a diminishing returns/losing cutting edge kinda modifier too. The way tech and protection for the matrix seems to go in SR, its quick and changing as people try to find gaps and corps try to cover new gaps.

So if you're sitting down for an extended period of time coding a new program for your comlink hacking, unless you have huge resources or something like a supersecret algorithm or something, I think your program should lose rating over time even AS you code it. Skill level would help mitigate this, if you're skilled you are better able to keep updating the base code so it doesn't fall behind as you're writing it.

Hm. I guess I am also advocating program max = skill max rating. But I guess I'm trying to rationalize why I'd say something also like, skill rating + edge to determine max, but any edge used for that cannot be applied to decreasing time to write, and thus also is subject to degradation over time side effects.

So, next year?

if that happens I would not be surprised to see the degradation occur faster than code can be written, given coding times in the book

I ended up ruling that max rating = Software skill, and the decker has to regularly update his programs to keep that rating. Thanks for the idea.

There's also the fact that SR is made more freeform for the GM/whatever, so if they feel like letting you go above 6, you could.

Otherwise, the more plausible answers besides waiting for a book may be...

being the best in your field (6-7 rank) and taking hell of a time to make a better program

Getting a high level sprite to help or make the code if you're a technomancer (being as one or two of them have the software skill, they'd be the only ones with the brains to create superior programs outside the 'norm').

Chain-gang a group of several high level techies together until they make the program - eventually all that bickering and re-editing and mixing of skills will get something.

Create some sort of program that piggybacks another program, improving its rating by assisting it in some way.

Just some thoughts.