Ok, since someone was requesting that there be a Hacking FAQ to hold folks over till Unwired is released, I've decided to work toward that end.

From now until the end of Gen Con (August 13th), I'll be taking your Frequently Asked Questions in this thread. After Gen Con (And after I recover), I'll then take your questions, research them as best as possible, ask around to some of the other freelancers, writers, and Devs-In-Training to come up with the best possible answers. Then, I'll compile the full list, post it, and then I can update it as necessary.

A few rules for this:

1) Before posting your questions, please be sure to read the ENTIRE thread to make sure someone did not already ask a similar question. That will help things stay uncluttered.

2) Please post your questions as neatly and concisely as possible. If you need lengthy and/or convaluted explanations, chances are you're just confusing yourself to start with, and you'll just confuse me in the process

3) Please use proper capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. Spell check is your friend. Again, this helps keep things neat and organized.

4) Please include page references where applicable. Will save me a lot of time down the road if I can just look to see exactly where your question is.

5) Cut off date for this will be Midnight, August 13th, EST. After that, I'll close the thread down, copy out the questions, and start doing some research.

6) Please, for the love of Mike (and Rob, and Robyn, and Adam, and Peter), do NOT start discussing the questions in this thread. Go in, post your questions, and get out. Quick and clean, just like a shadowrun should be. Feel free to start up a new thread to debate a question or topic if you like, but I'd like to keep this thread clear.

7) Remember, this will be an unofficial FAQ. But I'll endeavour to make it as close to official as I can get.

I have sat down and learned how to play every single gorram version of Decking there has been since SR1. I really hate learning a new decking system, but once I cut through SR4, I have to say this is by far the easiest and cleanest system to date. I love it, and I really can't wait for my new campaign to start up so I can actually play a full on hacker from the other side of the GM screen.

9) Any questions?

Bull
- The Best Ork Hacker You Never Met!

Do IP augmentations affect AR actions!?!!?

does a reduction in response from running more programs then the system rating allso result in a reduction in system?

Can one Edit the wireless signal between a Rigger and his Drones to input completely different commands?


After hacking a Drone, does one have to subcribe the Drone to his commlink before he issues commands or "jumps in"?

Note: I'm not sure if these have already been clairfied on the boards somewhere. If so I'll gladly take these down.

Can Agents load Agents and thus spawn the overwhelming hordes?

Does an Agent loaded into a node count as a program running on that node for purposes of Response reduction?

I asked this question in another thread, but I'm still a bit curious, because of how the book worded it. On page 223 of the SR4 Core rulebook, it says:

"When you are directly interacting with a device, using Hacking skill + Logic. If you are utilizing a program, make teasts using Hacking Skill + program rating"


This seems to suggest that programs may be optional (hence the "if", not "when"), and also suggests that a Hacker can directly interact with a device (another commlink, a remote host, a drone, etc.) using only hacking + logic. Is this the intended interpetation of the rules, or, as I have heard on this board, is it impossible to do any hacking without using programs? In SR3, I remember programs being supplemental (and very important) to intellect, not a replacement.

1. Do Technomancers still need a commlink for everyday stuff?

2. Do Technomancers need i.e. contact lenses or cybereyes to use smartlinked guns? Which leads to...

3. How do Technomancers percieve AR? Inner eye? Intuition? Like Neo in the Matrix movies?

I had more... will see if I can remember them

Does a jumped-in rigger use agility for gunnery tests?

Is one able to circumvent the subscription rule by spoofing your ID?

Is an alarm only triggered by glitches after you successfully hack in? If not, by what else?

How does patrolling IC work? How do they find out you are an intruder?

Is a sim module inlcuded in a cranial comlink? (no in 3rd print, yes in 1.3 pdf)

Does lowered response affect system and thus programme ratings, or is the lowered rating only used for rolls where response is involved directly (for example matrix reaction) ?

Do all the programmes loaded into an agent affect the response of your comlink ifthe comlink is running the agent?

Do I have to hack 5 comlinks if they are all chained together in a subscription line, to get to the comlink at the end of the line?
(ie. A-B-C-D-E the hypen meaning a subscription to aonly accept traffic from that node)

Can I change system settings (Accounts, subscription lists) of a node by inserting false traffic into the traffic to that node?

Does the admin account have any restrictions?

Can I still be identificated by the system as a hacker once I hacked in as an admin? If yes, how?

Can I fight a matrix fight in one node and let my icon be repaired by an agent in another node? If not, what are the restrictions?

What exactly does the Command software do? If it's used with drones, when is it used and how?

Can an agent/pilot program be given a Computer skill program to help with/automate the programming process of new hacking programs?

• Are there any situations where the opposed test for running a Reality Filter is not actually required? (i.e. when running it while performing tasks on your own commlink)
  
• Is it possible to modify a Sim Module to disable the emotive tracks of simsense, or is feeding your AR/VR through the various *-Link implants (Image Link, Sound Link, Touch Link...) instead of using a sim module the only way to avoid simsense-induced emotion?
  
• What are the benefits of having a system use Linked Passcodes or Passkeys over Basic Passcodes? The rules for Hacking on the Fly and for Probing the Target don't seem to care what type is used.
  
• Can a Matrix Perception Test tell the difference between a user who logged in using a Linked Passcode / Passkey, and a user logged in under an account that doesn't have a Linked Passcode / Passkey because their account is a backdoor created using the Probing the Target method?
  
• What exactly does it mean to encrypt a device? A signal?
  
• When using Edit to manipulate data in real time (video feeds, etc.) are there any guidelines for what the program is and isn't capable of?
  
• A node on Alert gains a Firewall bonus against the intruder who triggered the alert. However, under both types of breaking-in scenarios (Hacking on the Fly, Probing the Target), it is possible to trigger an Alert and fail your break-in attempt at the same time. Can a Node identify a specific intruder even when they fail to break in? In other words, if an intruder attempts to break in, fails and triggers an alert, does the Firewall get the Alert bonus if they try a second time to break in?
  
• When exactly is the Data Bomb program considered to be running?
  
• What determines whether a character is a Hacker or not, for the purposes of awarding points for Simsense Vertigo?
  
• A Technomancer's organic wireless link allows them manipulate EM fields to be able to receive and broadcast a wireless signal. Does it also allow them to manipulate the electrical field on the surface of their skin, thereby letting them communicate directly with skinlinked devices without any additional hardware?
  
• What happens when Response drops to 0 as a result of running too many programs? Does the device simply refuse to run any more programs?

On page 216, it notes: "Note that standard electronic devices only have admin accounts, as there is no need for other accounts for their software."

Are commlinks standard electronic devices for this purpose? Could you please give examples of other standard electronic devices?

When sending an Agent of to perform a Datasearch, he jumps Nodes. As his Response is defined by those, what dicepool does he have when searching the entire Matrix?

EDIT: Removed question, answer was already in the book, I just didn't see it.

Why are drones and devices treated differently?

Can I hack an opponent's cybereyes and guns? Do they count as standard devices? If so, is it necessary to install ICE or unplug these devices? How would I do so?

Can Agents perform or assist in Teamwork tests?

Is it possible to insert a Pilot as the OS of a commlink and/or device? It is after all a more specialized OS that can act more independently that a normal OS.

If the above is possible could a Pilot Commlink hack for itself (with adequate instructions)

Does “flavour” programs like Wallspace, Virtual Person etc affect Response?

How many “pre-set” commands can I give a Pilot? Could I limit what kinds of orders it is allowed to receive, what language they have to be in for example?

How many standing orders can I have for an agent? Can it doublecheck orders from a controlling persona for a drone to prevent spoofing?

Can Agents use medic on each other or the hacker?

For agents to affect each others with programs (medic for example) do they have to be in the same node.

What happens to a Commlink with Response 1 who runs 1 program - Does it shut down?

Can vehicles perform Jamming with their Electronic Warfare Autosoft alone or do they need some kind of hardware?

Are all Drones classed with average matrix attributes of 3 or does (for example) the Steel Lynx classifies as a “Security vehicle” and then have Matrix Attributes of 4?

How do drones, nodes, agents and autosoft fit together?
Is a drone a node that is running an agent (the pilot programme) of rating 3 that is in return running the autosoft?
What happens if the agent is running more than two autosofts?

Are the encryption rules meant to be that way?
(A moderate hacker, everything rating 3, can hack the best available encryption in 18 seconds.)
If yes, what is encryption for? To make an additional dice roll necessary?

Do you need a rigger control to jump into a vehicle?

As a note, deadlines past, I'm taking the list to GC to bash out some stuff. Will probably tackle additional characters as needed later So if your questions aren't in the first version, keep your eyes peeled for later additions.

Can agents load and unload new programmes?
If no, what must a hacker do to give new programmes to an agent?
Isnt a rating 6 agent running on his own comlink better or equal to most maxed hackers. What stops anybody (especially runners) from just letting rating 6 agents do all the work?

Because of the differences in how a Technomancer's Living Persona's ratings are generated compared to a normal Commlink, is a Technomancers' System rating limited by their Response rating? It doesn't seem that Technomancers' forms affect their Response, so would the Response still affect the rating of System?

Put hopefully more simply: Is a technomancers System rating the lowest of (Resonance or Logic), or is it the lowest of (Resonance or Logic or Intuition)?

Do Technomancers have a "living node" that houses their persona? If so, can it be hacked by others? If so, can a hacker screw up the Technomancer's normal neurological functions?

Could you clarify the game-mechanics effect of subscripting a device to only accept input from another device (say, a drone to the rigger's commlink)? Is this simply fluff text, or does it make the peripheral device completely unhackable except through the master device?

Do drones need to remain within Signal range of their rigger, or can they be remotely rigged via Matrix coverage?

When crack sprites trigger an alarm it is suppressed for several turns - if in the meantime the sprite hacks in, can the alarm be disabled?

When you trigger an alert, will security automatically spot you, or do they still need to succeed in an opposed matrix perception test?

Matrix Condition Monitors (SR4 p. 231) are defined as using 8+(System/2) to calculate the number of boxes. But what about sprites? Is the MCM for a sprite determined by the node it currently resides in? Does it use the System of the living persona of the technomancer that summoned it, or should you use either the Rating or Response of the sprite? Should you use the highest value of any of the attributes (Response, Firewall) that can be higher than Rating?

Update: Okay, it has been pointed out to me that Pilot is the right answer. Can this be clarified in the FAQ please?

Can sprites be detected in a node?
How do they avoid being noticed?
Do they need an account to avoid being flagged as an intruder?
Do they have to be inthe node with the TM to aid the TM ?

In one of the Shadowrun Missions (The Grab) the runners get pinged by a security drone to check their commlinks. Does this mean that if you have LOS on a person you can automatically ping them to determine what mode their commlink is in without having to use Scan to check all nodes?

Can Crack sprites hack a system for a TM and pass along the back door to him?

Since System and Firewall are programs is it possible to encrypt them? Specifically can a TM use a courier sprite at rating 1 to prevent the system from communicating with the firewall?

If a character implants a simrig, full arms, legs, torso, skull, and builds a neck brace could he be rigged like an anthroform drone?

Can spirits and critters (i.e. dragons) use AR?

Edited: Changed SR Missions quote to quote the correct Mission.

There are some anomalies in the sprites that I would love to see corrected.

Courier, Data and Machine sprites all have a CF called "Transfer". In the case of Courier and Data sprites, this is a standard CF. The problem is that data transfer is handled by Edit (SR4, p 226) -- there is no Transfer CF.

Edit is already a standard CF for Data sprites (and another optional CF for Machine, as is the Transfer non-CF).

So, should Edit be added to the list of CF's for Courier sprites? Edit already exists for Data sprites, so that is no problem[1]. For Machine sprites, it should be dropped from the list of Optional CFs, since Edit is already on the list.

[1] Since Decrypt should move to the standard CF list, that will fill that void.

I know this thread is done and over with and that it's too soon for the FAQ in any fashion to be released, but I'm hoping that Bull can reply and let us know if he got a chance to get some of these questions answered. I think we're all very anxious to hear any news about this.

Where the hell is the Sprite Bane flaw for Technomancers & Hackers? Perhaps available to everyone, with a reduced BP bonus. 5/10 maybe, like some of the others?

A hot sim VR user gets +2 dp to all matrix actions, 229, SR4. Does that mean a rigger using hot sim VR gets that bonus to tests for controlling the vehicle? Pilot, Gunnery, Vehicle Infiltration, etc.?

Questions are compiled and I'm slowly working my way through them. There are a lot of very good questions, and there are a lot that are not, unfortunatly, answerable strictly by the rules (WHich is likely why they were asked ).

I'm working out everything I can, and will be hopefully talking with some of the other Hacking Geek freelancers to try and make sense of the more confusing stuff.

Bull

looking forward to the results. and maybe this should be a hint as to the required verbosity of unwired.

atleast.

Just wanted to post a quick update... I have the basic FAQ done on paper, but am only about halfway done typing it up, and it's still gotta go to a couple of the freelancers for second opinions... Been a bit pressed for time lately, so it's on the backburner for a bit. Will hopefully get back to it soon.

Bull

Awfully nice of you to update us Bull, looking forward to seeing it.

Can a supressed (by a sprite) alarm be:

a) cancelled with admin rights while it is suppressed
b) rerouted to another matrix Acess ID with admin rights while is is supressed (the node still goes into alert, but the alert information is sent elsewhere)
c) none of the above. when the supression ends, the node goes into alert mode and the alert message is sent to the appropriate matrix access ID(s)

I have a PC set up with a Sim Module (Cold), Datajack, and Control Rig. My question is, if I load and activesoft "Pilot Aircraft" Level 4, and "Jump" into the aircraft with Rigger Adaptation and go full VR, do I need Skill wires since its my mind doing the driving and not my body?

Ok, Rob's working on an SR4 FAQ this week, so I sent in what I got done to him. I have no clue how long it will be before he posts it, and there were a handful of answers I left for him to make the final call on, as there were definately some ambiguous questions and answers there. So I can't even post a "prelim" Hacking FAQ as I don't know what some of the final answers will look like.

Thanks for all the questions though, you made me spend far, far too much time digging through the SR4 Hacking section. I've reread that section so many times I've almost worn it out!

Bull