Our group has just dipped its toes into the hacking/rigging rules with some success, and we like it quite a bit (though I want to do a better job of giving non-hacker players something to do)
We have a vehicle rigger, and I'm planning for some chase/tactical combat...
1. he has 3 IP when jumped into his combat-bus in VR. Reading the rules, I interpret that he must spend one of those IPs on the complex 'driving' action to avoid losing control. Is this correct? Can he use any of his IPs for the task?
2. How many IPs can a drone with a mounted weapon achieve? I understand that the jumped-in drone must have advantages, but I'm confused whether or not the rigger can spend 3 IPs firing the same weapon when an autonomous drone cannot.
3. Can the rigger use the command program on the drone he's jumped into? On different drones when he's jumped into another one? If said vehicle has mounted weapons on both sides and on top, could he spend one IP driving, one IP firing a specific machine gun, and another IP giving commands to fire the other two, thus firing all 3 MGs on full bursts with only 2 IPs spent shooting?
4. How can a character obtain a commlink with more than 4 rating in say, Response for higher vehicle test rolls? If not, could he install one of the nexus links from Unwired into his vehicle and use it's higher ratings for rigger tests?
As for hacking...
1. Is this correct? Nodes that a corp wants the public to access (like user pages for company information) are sent from wherever they've stored the node to some sort of relay tower with a mondo signal rating? And said tower bounces them around all over the world achieving the same effect as a universally accessible web page today? This means that paydata nodes are obviously not going to be accessible from your basement (a difference I've heard is present in 4 from earlier editions). Is declaring whether or not a node is on the worldwide 'wireless grid' a defined task or simply GM interpretation?
2. Detecting hidden nodes. it says you can attempt to detect a specific one with a threshold of 4 or detect a general one with an extended threshold of 10 (iirc). If a hacker is trying to find a hidden node he knows exists, does he roll until he hits 4 on one roll OR gets 10 on an extended, and whichever happens first counts as a success?
3. What's a breakdown of node security? How many roadblocks does a typical hacker have to work through? How does the system detect the hacker once he gets past probing/hacking on the fly?
A little magic...
1. Windows and line of sight? Can direct spells ignore translucent barriers by way of still knowing where their aura is?
2. In the vehicle combat mentioned earlier, if there is a mage on each opposing vehicle, how can the affect the other group? Could summoned spirits manifest inside a moving bus or truck? Could they battle on the astral? Is there any good reason to do so? Is it reasonable to trick a mage into going dual natured or project by summoning a spirit to attack his group and then project yourself to gang up on him?