How would you go about running 2064 Campaign using 4th ed rules? My idea for cyberdecks, is take the 4th ed Hacking rules, but change commlink (That have Sim Modules) to cyberdeck, and require the character to have a datajack in order to access Matrix. Then use regular commlinks like cell phones. Any other thoughts or ideas?

Ditch the 'absolutely everything is wireless' idea, losing AR as well; have wireless be a mature tech but specialized; used by the plebs for information access at home or for police squads to access their vehicle's computer remotely. Definitely have it nonexistent anywhere where data security is actually something to be desired(basically, anywhere corporate or government). Have temporary shadownets set up by tapping main lines for a few hours or days before corpsec catches wind of the breach and swoops in.

That´s exactly how I did it and it worked very well. But I didn´t use comlinks for anything else. Cellphones etc where just as in previous editions.

So basically I used the Comlinks as cyberdecks (just increase size, availability and price - big desktop breadboards can be less expensive). Comlinks w/o SIM module would be cyberterminals.

System, Firewall, Analyze and Stealth would be persona programs. Maybe increase prices and or availability. You can also call them Bod, Evasion, Sensor and Masking if you want. Comlinks have to be modified to accept Stealth/Masking - which is illegal - use the rules for installing a spoof-chip to represent a stealth module

Remeber that even with decks, it is possible, too, just slow. Same goes for snailmode (decking without SIM module), just even slower.

If you want to use the 1st edition infospikes, make them run System, Firewall and Analyze normaly or Stealth instead of firewall for illegal decking. rules wise, they can be datajack+handrazors (not realy but they can be improvised as weapon - glitch damages them) + implanted simmodule. Use the Response of the terminal you log into.

Of course ignore the Signalrating (unless you want all the decks to come with a built in radio-transmitter). Radiotransmitters (and sat-uplinks) can be installed & used to connect to the matrix LTG, but usually not directly to any devices (the layering of RTG/LTG/System/node was an important security concept in post-29 network-architecture). laser & maser links can be used to conect to a system or LTG via dedicated receivers.

If you want to simulate even older tech - like I did for a 2048 campaign with 3rd generation keyboard-sized decks only beginning to trickle into the shadows a bit later, you can use the guidelines for info-spikes, just instead of the implants (save for the datajack), peple carry around their personamoduls+storage for programs, which they then plug into the big terminals that hold response and the sim module. Lots of fun

For riggers you can use the same guidlines - only keep the signal rating for remote control decks and don´t equip them with sim modules. Riggers should pack a controll rig & implanted sim module (cold to simulate lvl 1, hot for lvl 2, add simsense booster for lvl 3). Depending on how much you want to play up the rigger/decker incompatibility, you can have rigger & decker versions for all relevant programs, that cant be swapt for each other and riggers still need a deck with sim module and a datajack to deck w/o penalties.

Thanks )