Anybody know how much it'd cost to get my very own Red-12 host? Also: How large is a host? Is it possible to steal one?

I'd personally say that a Host is probably akin to a modern-day server room. So yes, you can steal one if you've got a few trucks, a group of friends, and some hand carts (or Trolls).
As for cost, there's no canon number. I'd say a LOT. There was a thread discussing this a month or two back, IIRC.

~J

I do know that there is a bit of talking about supercomputers and mainframes in M&M in the Nanotech section. It talks about costs for a computer capable of running the SK and programming the nano-factories.

I believe the old VR 2.0 book had notes in the programming section about how much it cost to rent time on a mainframe or host to do programming. I think there was some small mention about purchasing as well, but don't quote me.

I'd provide page numbers and such, but a friend is borrowing M&M, and I can't find VR 2.0 right now.

Y'know--and call me morbid if you like--the first thing I thought of when I read the header for this thread was, "Buy? Don't the bugs usually just take hosts?"

Ah. Does VR2.0 have anything about how much memory you can expect hosts to have?

I think that you could assume hosts to have, effectively, an infinate amount of storage memory. Yes, there is a limit, but I think it would be so big as to not matter.

To the average decker, or even FastJack, probably.

Once you start getting multiple programs rated 14+ it might be time to start keeping track, but still.

~J

Curse my total lack of decker knowledge and my insistence on posting about things I know nothing about!

I wonder how many years it's been since FastJack ever had to make a system test against a TN above 2.
Well, probably when he was dealing with the ZOG. Curse those bandwidth restrictions!

~J

Hmm he seemed too strain a tinny bit when dealing with the banded Otaku that invaded Shadowland, and even he couldn't stay online when megera went psycho

Megaera rewrites the rules around her. I don't think she counts.

~J

hosts in my game are about the size of a modern-day desktop. compared to SR's base computers, that's massive, especially when you consider that they really don't need to devote a whole lot of room to cooling systems (optical computing tends to produce much less waste heat). the only thing that might require more space is storage memory--but even then, i really can't see a single host taking up an entire room. now, if you're talking about a host farm, or some kind of Matrixspace service with a ten thousand-count userbase, or the AEP, sure. but not a single host for a single business.

Dodger is good, but not amazing. He just has the right girlfriend.
But yes, FastJack isn't the be-all-end-all. Well, he is, but it takes a little work

~J

Yoik - and the ancient thread resurfaces...

I hope I haven't just breached some major netiquette rule here by raising up an old topic like this but... that five million per rating point seems a bit harsh to me - Many MSPs provide a personal blue host for its customers - at a few bucks a month?? maybe for Red Hosts.

Anyone seen any rules (even house rules) for this ANYwhere? Got my own ideas but would like to compare and contrast, as it were.

TiA

Spotlite

Looking at the modern interweb, I would argue that the quality of a host is not necessarily a derivation of its hardware but rather its software. The way I'd do things is to follow the rules for buying a lot of MP of data and suppliment it with some sort of "software cost."

A red level host or, gasp, ultraviolet would require an enormous amount of software to protect the hardware from outside access.

Blue-4 (Typcial Telecom)
Green-4 (Public Dataterm)

It doesn't give prices, but lets assume a base of 15k. Then lets assume that the next security level up is x2 the previous cost. So ...

Blue - 15k
Green - 30k
Orange - 60k
Red - 120k

Dodger is not an Immortal Elf. He is a Spike Baby, though.

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm gonna stick with my fomula (re: the blues being VMs - I completely agree. Fits with the houserules I'm gonne use quite nicely anyway).

It works out at about 600,000 for an orange 6 base line host without IC or maintenance costs (deckers and parts and so on), and with relatively low levels of MP space as a starting point, which can be upgraded at cost as needed like any other computer memory (an orange 6 in my house rules works out at 304000MP with at least 30400 dedicated to system software plus any space used for IC). I reckon that's about right for all the various orange hosts which seem to be in existence practically everywhere. Reds are much more expensive, and much larger, and blues are relatively cheap and far smaller, costing less than a hundred thousand. VMs work out very cheap in comparison as long as you have a host to run them on. If anyone wants more details, my e-mail addy is cajun_spinesplitter@hotmail.com and I won't take offence if no-one wants them - they're just houserules, they suit our campaign (I think. let you know once its playtested).

I've done some rules for building your own rather than buying an off the rack, but they really DO need playtesting to see how abusable they are. My players are fortunately used to me coming up with mad bespoke rules and then changing them as we play until we've got something everyone's happy with (hey, if they wanna do things not covered in the books they have to live with a patchy application of anything I come up with till its finalised).

I asked fan pro about it last year sometime, and they said the rules weren't there because they didn't envisage players ever wanting them. Personally, my players have been harping on about outright owning or building one since VR2 rules suddenly made the matrix actually playable.

hmmm... as far as actual numbers on anything:

Man & Machine has no rules for buying hosts, but does have rules for buying hospitals (go figure... no one would conceivably want to buy a host, but heck, what runner couldn't use a hospital that requires a minimum of 15 legitimate trained medical personnel in order to run... plus non-medical staff)

anyways, as i was saying, you get a green host at 1/2 the rating of the hospital (although you still have to pay to get it hooked up to the matrix). so, you can buy a host within rules... you just kinda have to buy a hospital to go along with it. from the look of it, that's about 9.6M for a rating 1 hospital that can handle 15 patients. and, uhh... add in a street index of 3. good luck with that shopping trip =P

[edit] wait, my mistake... that's actually 17 trained medical professionals. but don't worry, only 6 of those have to be doctors [/edit]

Query: can I dikote the medical practioners, and if so can I then have sex with them?