When I think of RPG material I tend to think of how it would work in a novel or movie first. What does the character type favor? That kind of thing. I realized that Shadowrun doesn't really favor this all that well. You can create a cybered character in several different ways but it is all about the game mechanics first.
I was thinking that maybe if we came up with archetypes for various cybered characters first then we could work towards something that made more sense rules wise.
Also I am beginning to think that essence is not the best way of dealing with all of this. Once you figure out that you can't use magic then what is the point. It's not like we have a hard limit here. Once you have enough money then the bioware and cyberware can replace most of you. I wish that there was a better way to do this.
Okay part of what I was thinking was maybe that there are several technologies that work in different ways. Each would have it's own limitations and advantages. Instead of a huge list of cyberware it would be several smaller lists and package deals.
Start with standard package deals and have upgrades so they have somewhere to go with it. Maybe have a series of prereqs instead of the essence drain thing stopping you at a certain point and making you pull everything out to get higher grade.
Heavy Ware - This would be the very obvious stuff with rotating mechanical joints and pistons and such. Easy to swap out arms or hands and such. Shows up very well on sensors though. High armor rating and strength rating. Moderate to low reaction time. Cheap to work on. Uses the mechanical skill to repair. Can do all the upkeep on your own. Common among street hitters and gangers. Requires a cybertorso or a torso frame or a harness on a Troll. Adds to weight and has little tactile sensitivity. Mostly just the mechanical replacements. Other ware may be needed for internals. Often combined with heavy armor.
Heavy Ganger Archetype - Has considerable Heavy ware to act as the gang's main thug.
Partial Conversion Borg Archetype - Sort of an artificial Troll. Heavy combat armor seals in the body and the legs are large. They work as a walking and running tank by some militaries.
Alphaware - This would be the myomer cyberware that is stronger, faster and tougher then human but expensive, requires connections, and has upkeep. Used mostly by megacorps and older militaries. They can do some of the strong man stuff and are fairly quick. Think Gits. Can create full borgs with this.
Corp Samauri Archetype- This is the street samauri but made to make more sense in that it would take a corp to afford one.
Merc Archetype - Some cyberware for help in combat and replacement parts.
Full Conversion Borg Archetype - This would be like the Major in Gits.
Hyperware - This would be bioware and some cyberware designed to make a person incredibly fast. It would reduce the effect of damage and make you stronger but not make you heavier. Maybe limit wired 2 or 3 to this kind. Maybe you need certain bioware to limit the damage that they do to your system. Basically you have a less armored highly acrobatic and fast killer. They can't take as much damage as some of the other types but they are more for assassins.
This would be a set of ware not available on the streets and expensive on the black market. This would be the sign of a corp or military black ops team mostly.
Assassin Archetype - Think Prince of Persia in high speed.
Any other archetypes that you can think of?