This seems pretty self explanatory. Being a PC I would give AI the bonus dice for hot sim. But what about agents or sprites, do they get the bonus as well?

AIs get 3IP and +3 for matrix perception tests. Agents get 3IP as well I believe.

Do you mean the +2 bonus to all matrix actions? I don't think they should get hotsim bonuses on account of they're not overclocking themselves like a hotsim hacker is.

Yes I'm talking about the latter. The +2 bonus.

Well, I suppose you could make a house rule for overclocking a program for a +2 bonus where instead of increased biofeedback risk there's a threshold test to crash the node they're in, ostensibly risking a reboot and realignment. Maybe, program rolls "rating" dice at "response" threshold every "system" combat turns while running hot?

Our group wondered about this as well with agents/IC. We play that they don't get any bonus dice and i think that is how the rules are intended.

I would assume that agents and sprites don't get the hot sim bonus. They are doing exactly what they are intended and coded to do. Also, from a purely game balance perspective, they are not really taking any risk in their current state, so don't particularly deserve the bonus.

However, I would have to think that AIs (especially AI PCs) should get the +2 bonus. They are actively in the node, they are moving faster, and they are exposing themselves to risk should they be attacked. It seems perfectly balanced, as well as making sense to me, that an AI physically in this new node would get the Hot Sim bonus.

It's how we've played it too. The AI issue hasn't come up yet thankfully but I'm trying to smooth out the kinks before it does. As a PC I would give the AI this bonus.

Well, if a node is an access point for an internal network, you could argue that any IC running there would be given higher system priority, and therefore get more clock time, represented by some bonus. Maybe once it twigs the intruder's presence, it starts to spin up as a free action, with the bonuses showing up on the 2nd turn of combat. I actually like this idea a good bit. If you combine it with my overclocking instability suggestion above, it allows for programs to basically run at speeds over the system's response, at the risk of crashing a less stable system. Which, if you're looking at a secure LAN, would be a decent outcome. I mean, if your IC is fighting off a hacker long enough to crash the system, chances are you'd be better off dumping him and rebooting. Course you'd never want to risk dumping a node with a company spider in it...

Still, skillsofts have an overdrive option. Why not other programs?

They do?

Also I suggest making the crash test much lower. Highest rating you can get is 6, so at most throwing 6 dice at a threshold that is likely to be 4-6. The odds of crashing a rating 4 system with the most advanced AI/Agent/IC is only a few % or so. I don't know that that is quite a high enough risk for the benefit. Perhaps something like rating-1 or rating/2 or something similar might provide a bit of a better risk to benefit ratio.