I got hooked on BattleTech and on one of the coolest manuals released for it was FASA's 3025: Technical Readout which was more art and fluff than rules. Yes it had stats on all the pictures, but it was a pleasure to look at as well as an aide!

FASA was very good at the "Sell the Sizzle" part, it was the steak that was often lacking.

Same here.

SR1 was a nice change from what I was used to in RPGs. I was excited about SR2, very resistant to SR3 (at first ) and am excited about what's being done with SR4.

Despite SR4 abandoning its unique Dice system for a recycled one, I am enjoying enjoying the "new" look and feel of it.

...ditto here too.

Definitely a refreshing change. Being in the Northwest, the setting is what initially attracted me. When I got my hands on SR2, I thought what could be better? Gone were oddities like the old weapon damage codes, and when the build point system appeared (SRC), that clinched it for me. Then there were the supplements like the first SSB, Shadowbeat, Shadowtech, and two of the best adventure arcs, Harlequin & Harlequin's Back

One thing I still miss to this day is the old Skill Web (which was dropped in SR3). I kind of liked the idea of defaulting from French Cooking to make Molotov Cocktails.

Drastically? Like extra limbs, prehenciles tails or the ability to transform? What more are you hoping is provided to "balance" SR4 for you? The whole series has been slanted towards magic since SR1.

I am guessing Augmentation is going to be a lot like everyone other version itteration of Cyberware/Bioware that's come out since SR1. If it keeps the trend of Street Magic the new concepts won't superceed Core but extend it further and that means at least covering the items that have been around since SR1-3.

Now alternatively, you could play all of SR w/o using the magic system if you wanted that more "realistic" bend on things which isn't a bad idea if the whole magic is a turn off for you.

I'm not quite so extreme that I'd ditch SR if Arsenal & Augmentation don't provide a much needed boost to the technology side, but likewise, I'm sincerely hoping for some heavy duty kit in these books. I particularly want to see more powerful cyberware (less so the bioware) and better cyberlimbs (i.e. higher caps, troll-size, more armour capacity, etc.)

Oh, and really big guns. If Magic has dragons, then technology should have heat-seaking missiles and jet fighters.

...i've considered this in the past. To this end I have also tinkered with a more MA based adept which relies on MA styles & moves (similar to what was introduced in CC), instead of magic.

That's my current stream of thought on how to make Martial Arts more than it was in SR3.CC. With SR4 making most things similar to other things, I wouldn't suprise me to see MA follow the Magic/Resonance trend.

It's not so much I'm look for a realistic experience, as this is Shadowrun. It is true that Shadowrun has always had a bit of a skew toward magic, the problem I have is that magic has become all-important. Even the tecchnology in the game has become tanted by magic in a way that it never had in the past. Now Bioware somehow has become the augmentation of choice. I thought Shadowrun was supposed to be Cyberpunk, not Biopunk. That and now if you realized, "oh shoot I screwed myself by going mundane", well with Streetmagic its not too late you can pick-up magic later on. It just seems too much, even System Failure exploits magic instead of technology to knockout the Matrix. I'm not saying the story isn't cool its just the reliance on magic to explain and justify everything in 4th that gets under my skin. Though, this is the culmination of years systematically transitioning to this point since FanPro took up the reins, to which they have turned tech (particularly cybertech) into the dirty stepchild of Shadowrun. I don't know, I'm just very disappointed with this decision and hoping that technology gets some love in the coming source material.

Well, no. Now with Street Magic you can create a character concept that awakens during the campaign. It costs you BP, gives you an awe inspiring Magic of 1 when the GM finally decides it activates, and you can't take any cyber if you want to keep things cheap. OMG!!!!

Really, I don't see any difference. Mages have always rocked SR. If you faced magic you were at a severe disadvantage if you didn't have magic on your team. That part hasn't really changed.

You see magic as being behind this, the source 'taint' as it where? Well that would explain why you see magic as all-important. You seem see it everywhere.

Or are those just two different sentences that are coincidentally placed together like that?

It has CP roots, but it was never billed as CP. The orginal intent has always been about Magic.

As for gaining magic later, that's really a GM call. If you're GM allows it, then that's their decision. I'd think as long as it follows your group's ideal then cool. It's just nice to have some option in RAW.

Well the only remaining source books are all Tech unless some other new magic stuff is in the future.

Personally, I can care less about the "storyline of SR" it was never what drew me to the game. I had read the book and played Neuromancer on my C-64 and saw SR as an interesting blend between that and Fantasy RPG.

If you're sincere about a tech only game you could do it but be prepared to fill-in-the-blank if you want a complete history of things SR.