Im struggling with this part of the matrix. So correct me if you see anything wrong.

Ok first there are 3 kinds of simsense levels:
raw data
legal
illegal

And second there are 3 kinds of simsense filters:
sense links
cold
hot

Now simsense is the recorded senses of another person(sight/sound/taste/touch/smell/ and emotions), that have been recorded by people wearing or implanted with a simrig , or that have been artificially created with programs. Illegal simsense is normal simsense that has been tweaked by artifical means to enhance the sensations of those 5 senses + emotions. You can not record simsense at illegal levels right?

>>(is a hot modified simrig able to record illegal levels of simsense? The hotsim module in a simrig would be what is used to tweak the sensations? I was thinking Illegal simsense was made by some guy somewhere viewing it was raw data and messing with it with programs like a music producer or a movie editor does<<

ALL Augmented Reality is simsense.

Your most basic interaction with it is on a raw data level. At this level it never gets converted to something your brain can understand. The only thing that can display this raw data are devices or cyber that have Sound/Image/taste/touch/smell LINKS.

Cold sim is the next level of interaction. At this level the raw data is converted to signals the brain can understand as if they were its own and sent right to your brain. At this point you can experience sound/sight/taste/smell/touch AND emotions without using devices and cyber and only at safe levels in an AR state. You can filter out senses you dont want. At this point the book doesnt describe a damn thing about how these senses overlay or act in relation to YOUR sensations. (I assume you can use your commlink/ar glove/ DNI device connected to your comm to filter and control these senses. You could do everything you could do with Link devices like make the Images being beamed into your head appear in a window in your peripherial vision or transparent but thats just guessing on my part)

>>Ok at this point I have a question. If you recorded the simsense of somebody being burned or shot what would that feel like to a cold sim user? That has to fall within the legal range of simsense as it wasnt altered in any way? Illegal simsense represent simsense data that has had its raw data manipulated to make it spike and exceed normal ranges, Its not illegal because of the sensation it gives like being set on fire right?? <<

If you are using cold sim AR then like I said above you have to use a device to mess with its setting as it is a one way street. It is not until you go VR with your cold sim that you gain the ability to issue mental commands(pg 229 Cold Sim). Virtual Reality is a state where you go limp in the meat world in order to fully override all of your senses with that of the simsense signals. Switching between AR and VR is a free action. So it is possable to issue commands via trodes as long as you dont mind going limp. You gain +1 IP for going cold/VR(for a total of two as your meat body stats dont matter), but not if you have switched between AR/VR that turn. At this point you are vulnerable to dangerous levels of simsense, you can take stun damage but it can not spill over into the physical.

The next level of interaction is Hot Sim. At this level you use every synapse of your brain to help experience the simsense data. You are only able to use hot sim in virtual reality where your meat body and senses are totally overridden. You gain +2 IP now(total 3), unless you switched between AR/cold VR that turn. At this level you can still experience legal simsense signals although they probably seem much more real and ultra crisp and clean. You are also able to experience illegal simsense which allows you to experience things that you cant normally experience, including signals that can not only knock you cold but also start inflicting physical damage as your brain starts getting fried(often resulting in psychological issues).


>>What exactly is cold sim AR. If Runner A has cybereyes and beams what he sees to the rest of the team than what does Runner B see with his Commlink(cold)+trodes?? Does he see Runner A's view in a little window, does it totally overlay his vision and create a ghost image? Or would he see nothing until he goes VR?

I guess a guy walking down the street watching a simflick would be experiencing 2 sets of sensations and have an AR distraction modifier? <<

I don't think simsense data is illegal because of its signal strength, simsense is legal or illegal based on its content - but I'm not 100% sure of that.

Simsense modules normally have signal dampeners that limit the strength of signals (think of them like Flare Compensation for your brain). Using a standard sim module lets you experience "Cold Sim". If you remove or bypass the dampeners in the sim module, you can use it to experience "Hot Sim". The signal doesn't change, only the amount that's allowed through by the sim module. You can't take physical damage in Cold Sim.

AR only provides digital data, which has to be translated by hardware (not necessarily cyberware - e.g. AR gloves) which then creates an effect that can be experienced through your normal senses. You can't be neurally damaged directly by AR. Typically the user can view (or otherwise experience) AR in the manner they choose - for visual data, with the right hardware (not necessarily cyberware), they could have it display in a window in their visual field, completely overlay their normal vision (although if it was just an image, this wouldn't be particularly interesting), display on an external viewing device (commlink, electronic paper, etc), and so on.

If someone is sending you an AR feed while you're in VR, you would be able to view it as an AR overlay on your VR vision, or display it through an Edit program, in whatever VR representation that program uses (usually - if you've got your connection jammed by Black IC at the time, you probably wouldn't be able to make such an alteration to your visual feed.)

DS

Actually, signal strength is relevant. California Free State has different laws regarding signal strength, which results in the existence of semi-legal California Hots BTLs, which are legal some places but not others. BTL is merely simsense with the levels boosted (usually to illegal levels).

Its a combination of signal strength, and the limiters removed/circumvented in the commlink/sim module.

Might seem nitpicky, but not all AR is SimSense. All AR info can be displayed by a SimModule, but AR data that can be displayed without SimModule is not SimSense. Somewhat circular definition, but thats what we get.

From that follows that only cold and hot interfaces exist. SimSense data can not be displayed on Cybereyes and -ears. I´d allow someone to make a video file out of the optical data SenseTrack, and even include it as available funtion into better SimModules. That file would be accessible by Cybereyes/other display devices.

While there are no rules for converting file formats from simsense to trideo or so on, it seems pretty clear that simsense data can be converted into the various senselinks without effort by the user or a sim module. In fact, that seems to be the entire purpose of senselinks, such as imagelink, touchlink, ear buds, etc, by their description.

Cybereyes would be image link and fall under raw data. ....but now you have me wondering.

Why couldnt a dude with cybereyes use a sim module to pump images directly into his brain. I could see cyber guys having a secret addiction/obsession with doing this. Being able to see things like a normal person would instead of through mechanical implants. Kind of like vampires who never get to look at the sun again. Their cybereyes may give them BETTER vision but there is something about natural vision that they fall in love with.

If you have a sim module im essentially saying you dont need eyeballs or ears or a tongue to see/hear/taste. Thats just data transmitted to your brain. simsense delivers that same data.

Hmmm that sounds alot cheaper for some street bum who is blind to get a commlink, a sim module and something with recording ability?(commlink?) to be able to see again. Thats cheaper than eyeball implants.