Reality filter without a user.
Somehow I’m thinking not but I can’t prove it

I have been told that if you have a second comlink running agents (for example) then you can put a reality filter onit to increase the response allowing you to ad more agents without the agents efectivly running at a lower response.

For example I have a rating 4/4/4/1 comlink that serves no purpose other than to run my agents. I can have 3 rating 4 agents, if I have more then the comlinks response will drop to 3 and the agents will behave as if they were only rating 3. However if add a reality filter the reaction stat will increase to 5 and I will be able to have a total of 7 programs (reality filter and 6 agents) reducing the response back to 4. because the comlink isn’t projecting a user’s icon anywhere (only its agents) the reality filter will never have to make a test to se if it manages to over power the system sculpting.

I can come up with only one possible solution

The agent is projecting out and the reality filter must overcome the systems it interacts with. There are 2 problems with this.

First it still allows you to make chokepoints with twice the IC (without paying for the often house ruled corporate host that has no running programs limit).

Second if that was the case then when I run an agent on my comlink and set it to look for data while I go and hack a different node the reality filter is going to be testing against both systems, the rules do not indicate this disadvantage of agents.

Edward

Unable to compute . . . need unwired . . . shutting down . . .

I suppose the reality filiter could just be stripping usless data, allowing the agents to interact with a more pure environment, simulating an increase in response? However, once the agent is free of the commlink, it's free of the reality filter too, unless you've loaded the filter onto the agent, which would be almost self defeating.

Loading a reality filter into an agent would not be self defeating. It would increase reaction buy one allowing additional payload or initiative. I would however say that the reality filter would need to compete with the system of any node the agent was on unless its sculpting was exactly that of the reality filter (good for IC)

If this dose work at all could you use it on a drones systems to allow you to run more autosofts, or both autosofts and IC

Edward

Absolutely not. The entire reason a reality filter exists is metaphor. Since metahumans can't process the enormous volume of math involved in Matrix interactions on the fly, fast enough, metahumans are forced to rely on symbols and metaphors. A reality filter speeds up your reaction times because you don't have to sit there puzzling out what the fuck the purple dinosaur is supposed to represent on someone else's sculpted system. It shows up as a candybar with a cape, so you know it's a databomb, because you preconfigured databombs, for whatever reason, to look like a candybar with a cape.

Agents don't require metaphors. They don't require symbols. They can process the complicated mathematics and other factors directly, because they're just programs, too. A reality filter would do absolutely nothing for an agent or other automated system.

Whoever brought this up to you is a munchy bastard. Let's string him up!

Excellent response, I love it Geekkake.

Additionally, in realtion to the Edward's original situation about as second Commlink: in this post I outlined some rules I use for Hackers that want to "bring along" a second Commlink.

Basically, every Commlink must "project" a Persona. I am not allowing Commlinks to simply be "slaved" together for free. So, if you have a second Commlink that does nothing but run Agents, you must get that second Commlink's Persona into your target system somehow. In short, 3 Commlinks at Response 5 does not equal 1 Commlink at Response 15. There must be a balance.

So the question is can you run multiple personas with the same thoughts?

@Geekkake: That's pretty much what I was thinking as far as multiple Commlink hacking. My only difference is that I ruled switching between Commlinks is a Complex Action.

I know the rules say that switching between Nodes is a Free Action. However, that is for one persona in multiple Nodes, and that's not what is actually happening. You are breaking the total VR experience of one Commlink, mentally blocking out all of those signals, then "re-locking" your mental focus on a completely different full-VR sensory stream. Shoot, now that I'm looking at it I could make a case to apply the -8 "while in full VR" modifier to any actions made in either Commlink.

the problem of the nodes response is a similar problem to that of the mpcp rating of old. it covers more then just the raw computing power of the node, it allso defines how fast a node can handle a users commands. so a low response will take longer to interpet a command.

thats why reality filters increase response and do many programs lower response. indirectly it allso explains why a higher rating OS increase the number of programs you can have running before the response drops. basicly a better OS implements better multitasking code, maybe tricks like pre-emptive OS and so on.

i would allso say that this supports my idea that the response drop do not impact the OS rating, therefor avoiding a death spiral for the node. instead it only affects the effective response of any persona generated by the node.

im not even going to step into the wasps nest that is the idea of multiple comlinks...

You could make that argument, but that'd be dumb. I like the complex action to switch between personas in full-VR, but what about AR?

I suppose you could say that hacking with multiple commlinks purely in AR would incur no penalties, but there might be game balance issues to consider.

Security hackers with 4 personas? I was thinking something like -1 distraction pool for every additional active persona or something.

Geekkake that is what I would have thought but there is a problem with it.

If the response increase was only due to my knowing what the icons mean it would be a initiative increase. It would not allow a rating 6 comlink to run 11 programs all working at rating 6.

mdynna. buy saying every comlink must project a persona you contradict the fact that agents can project independently of the persona. You don’t bring along a second comlink you bring along agents that are running on a second comlink. Also your solution doesn’t solve the strangeness regarding IC. Your solution however would be more than valid if your trying to bring a second comlink with you to have access to its programs for your personal use. I would use the rules for hacking multiple systems at once only the different comlinks do get separate damage tallies for there personas and you can only use programs while your “jumped into” the correct comlink. Probably make it atleast a simple action to switch as well.

How do you synchronize with a free agent? Doesn't it just go and do it's own thing? And if not, then it is subscribed to a persona, right?