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phasmaphobic
I'm working with a new crop of players to put together a new SR4 game, and I have a few questions.

1. So you've purchased your commlink. I'm assuming that this pretty much replaces all personal computers. Your commlink can pretty much do anything, right? Mix music, edit video, play counterstrike, remote control your TV, collect and sort on-the-fly data transmissions between your paty, etc?

2. Again, you've just purchased your commlink, as has everyone else in your party. What accessories do you need to use them as communications devices? What do you need in order to walk into a store, pick up a stuffed tiger, and have your commlink instantly pay for it? What do you need in order to sit with your chums at the meeting and talk to each other without saying a word?

3. Now, you wanna go full VR. What accessories do you need in order to do this?

4. What is the function of the Datajack these days?

5. You decide to install your commlink in your head cybernetically. I'm assuming you'll need a datajack if you wish to manually install software upgrades. Is a display link necessary for viewing AR? Do you need a Sim Module to "jack in" to VR? What about using your fingers to interact with AR? If you've got it cybernetic, can you control it mentally without the need of using your fingers or a keyboard to manipulate AR?

6. Say you wanna play a character who is a rigger, working as the team's Getaway Driver. She has an awesome rigger-adapted sportscar, and likes to sit in it front and center. What would be the benefits of driving this vehicle while manually datajacked in? What about if instead controlling it with a wireless connection? Can you Fully VR-control a vehicle while manually datajacked in?


Thanks in advance to any and all who can help out.
GrinderTheTroll
QUOTE (phasmaphobic)
I'm working with a new crop of players to put together a new SR4 game, and I have a few questions.

1. So you've purchased your commlink.  I'm assuming that this pretty much replaces all personal computers.  Your commlink can pretty much do anything, right?  Mix music, edit video, play counterstrike, remote control your TV, collect and sort on-the-fly data transmissions between your paty, etc?

Yes.

QUOTE
2. Again, you've just purchased your commlink, as has everyone else in your party.  What accessories do you need to use them as communications devices?  What do you need in order to walk into a store, pick up a stuffed tiger, and have your commlink instantly pay for it?  What do you need in order to sit with your chums at the meeting and talk to each other without saying a word?

With an external (non-cyber) comlink you can talk or use a sub-vocal mic, with a trode-set you can "mentally" talk (plug trodes cable into comlink), datajack functions like a trode-set. This also applies to interacting with AROs and other AR objects or you can use AR gloves if you have no trode-set.

With an internal (cyber) comlink you can mentally vocalize and interact with AR.

QUOTE
3. Now, you wanna go full VR.  What accessories do you need in order to do this?

A sim module attached to your comlink. A "Hot-Sim Module" makes you a bad-ass.

QUOTE
4. What is the function of the Datajack these days?

Much as it was before except since most things are wireless, it's a nice, secure backup.

QUOTE
5. You decide to install your commlink in your head cybernetically.  I'm assuming you'll need a datajack if you wish to manually install software upgrades.

No datajack is needed, you can wireless broadcast into and out-of the comlink.

QUOTE
Is a display link necessary for viewing AR?

No. YOu could use goggles, contact lenses, sun glasses, etc equiped with an image link, it just costs extra.

QUOTE
Do you need a Sim Module to "jack in" to VR?

Yes.

QUOTE
What about using your fingers to interact with AR?  If you've got it cybernetic, can you control it mentally without the need of using your fingers or a keyboard to manipulate AR?

You have to use AR gloves for manual manipulation. Correct, you really don't have a "manual" interface if you're pure cybernetic, or even partially given things like trode nets, contact lenses and AR Gloves. Anyone can be a decker with zero cyberware.

QUOTE
6. Say you wanna play a character who is a rigger, working as the team's Getaway Driver.  She has an awesome rigger-adapted sportscar, and likes to sit in it front and center.  What would be the benefits of driving this vehicle while manually datajacked in?  What about if instead controlling it with a wireless connection?  Can you Fully VR-control a vehicle while manually datajacked in?

From what I understand yes.

Kanada Ten
QUOTE
What would be the benefits of driving this vehicle while manually datajacked in?

Not using wireless while rigging prevents someone else from taking control of the vehicle via the wireless connection.
bustedkarma
I wonder, what are the long term effects of having a wifi enabled device implanted in your brainbox?

Teulisch
the datajack is currently a datajack, a chipjack, a knowsoft link, and a small amount of headware memory (enough for any 'reasonable' useage). all-in-one.


phasmaphobic
QUOTE (GrinderTheTroll)

With an external (non-cyber) comlink you can talk or use a sub-vocal mic, with a trode-set you can "mentally" talk (plug trodes cable into comlink), datajack functions like a trode-set. This also applies to interacting with AROs and other AR objects or you can use AR gloves if you have no trode-set.

With an internal (cyber) comlink you can mentally vocalize and interact with AR.


The sub-vocal mic is acquired seperately, yes?

And to use the datajack likewise, I'm assuming a Sim Module is necessary to convert the thoughts into understandable speech/text? Or is this just a bonus package function of trodes/datajack?

QUOTE (GrinderTheTroll)

QUOTE (Phasmaphobic)

6. Say you wanna play a character who is a rigger, working as the team's Getaway Driver.  She has an awesome rigger-adapted sportscar, and likes to sit in it front and center.  What would be the benefits of driving this vehicle while manually datajacked in?  What about if instead controlling it with a wireless connection?  Can you Fully VR-control a vehicle while manually datajacked in?


From what I understand yes.



What are the numerical perks of the various forms of rigging the vehicle? Meaning, if you are at the steering wheel and jacked in directly, what do you get, as opposed to wirelessly driving it?


GrinderTheTroll
QUOTE
QUOTE (phasmaphobic)
QUOTE (GrinderTheTroll)

With an external (non-cyber) comlink you can talk or use a sub-vocal mic, with a trode-set you can "mentally" talk (plug trodes cable into comlink), datajack functions like a trode-set. This also applies to interacting with AROs and other AR objects or you can use AR gloves if you have no trode-set.

With an internal (cyber) comlink you can mentally vocalize and interact with AR.


The sub-vocal mic is acquired seperately, yes?

Yes.

QUOTE
And to use the datajack likewise, I'm assuming a Sim Module is necessary to convert the thoughts into understandable speech/text?  Or is this just a bonus package function of trodes/datajack?

It sort of how impanted stuff works. If it's implanted then "you" can talk to it with via DNI (Direct Neural Interface) or plug into some other interface (wireless, datajack, etc.) and send your thoughts, speech, data, etc. there instead.

QUOTE
QUOTE (GrinderTheTroll)

QUOTE (Phasmaphobic)

6. Say you wanna play a character who is a rigger, working as the team's Getaway Driver.  She has an awesome rigger-adapted sportscar, and likes to sit in it front and center.  What would be the benefits of driving this vehicle while manually datajacked in?  What about if instead controlling it with a wireless connection?  Can you Fully VR-control a vehicle while manually datajacked in?


From what I understand yes.



What are the numerical perks of the various forms of rigging the vehicle? Meaning, if you are at the steering wheel and jacked in directly, what do you get, as opposed to wirelessly driving it?

Someplace in the small rigging section there is a list of the benefits but I don't recall the bonuses off-hand.
CrimsonHawk
maybe you have BAD flashbacks of the outer limits shows all the time =P bustedkarma
spin.gif wobble.gif rotate.gif twirl.gif
Jaid
don't think being jacked in helps rigging per se.

in order to get any bonus, you need to have a control rig.

that being said, as a rather weird situation (which i recommend houseruling away personally) you can get that same +2 bonus with no cyberware by remote controlling your vehicle (program + skill instead of attribute + skill) in full VR (adds +2 to all matrix tests).

of course, you could also rule that rigging a vehicle is a matrix action or whatever, so they could get +2 for being jacked in (hot sim only i think gets the bonus, not sure), and they could get an additional +2 for having a control rig.

also, presumably if you are jacked in (depending on who you talk to, control rigs are either required or are better for it) you use your matrix initiative instead of your meat initiative. this would, for example, give 3 IPs if you were hotsim rigging it.
cx2
Could be wrong, but I think it said vehicle control rig was required to "jump into" vehicles and drones. Otherwise you'll just be giving it orders, and it uses its own autosofts to try and carry them out.
Voran
In Sr3 with the rigger 3 stuff you used to get a bonus from jacking in, even without rigger gear, but that's mostly been absorbed by the AR bonus from SR4. Main benefit to datajacks I see is privacy. You can have a secure comm between yourself and another person by extending a datajack cable between your jack and theirs. Direct, unhackable. No subvocal needed.

Plus I'm the type that still likes to DJ connect my smartguns if I don't trust running a skinlink at the time.
Edward
For VR you need a simlink on your comlink and a trode net or data jack.

A data jack is wireless and you would practically never actually plug something into it.

The purpose of a datajack s getting rid of the problems associated with triods falling off.

Edward
hobgoblin
QUOTE (phasmaphobic)
What do you need in order to walk into a store, pick up a stuffed tiger, and have your commlink instantly pay for it?

most likely only the comlink and a SIN. most likely a credit or debit account is connected to said SIN, and will be charged with the purcase automaticaly...
Jaid
QUOTE (cx2)
Could be wrong, but I think it said vehicle control rig was required to "jump into" vehicles and drones. Otherwise you'll just be giving it orders, and it uses its own autosofts to try and carry them out.

it says in one place you need it, in another place it just says it works better if you have it.

like i said, depends who you ask what answer you get wink.gif
mdynna
According to the rules: controlling a vehilce via full-VR grants you a -1 Threshold to all driving tests. Whether the +2 dice from Hot-sim applies as well is up to the GM. A rigger-adapted vehicle being controlled by someone with a Vehicle Control Rig grants an additional +2 dice to vehicle test.

Now, to avoid confusion and make things more consistent I have house-ruled the following. Controlling a vehicle via full-VR grants +2 bonus to the driving test, stacking with the +2 bonus for Hot-Sim (this encourages players to always run Hot-Sim and thus be vulnerable to Black-IC). A Rigged vehicle being controlled via Full-VR with a Vehicle Control Rig gives a -1 Threshold. Basically I swapped the two bonuses around. I do this mainly because I want to make sure that Riggers are way better than anyone else controlling a vehicle with Full-VR, and IMO the -1 Threshold is better than +2 dice. Finally, in SR3 the VCR granted a -Rating modifier to vehicle tests and so the -1 Threshold in SR4 seems more "analogous" to me.

I'm working on a Rigger 3 to SR4 conversion and all of this stuff is going to be in there.
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