So I've read the blurbs and hacked my way through a lot of the ranting and raving about jokes and come to terms with my own feelings on the matter.

Now I want to question some of the direct mechanics, if any of the developers, freelancers and playtesters can talk without breaking NDAs I'd love to hear their input.

1. SR4 is staying d6, but being completely over hauled. I know one of the major reasons they said that Shadowrun would never become a D20 system is the lack of variable success. That being said, how are you going about streamlining the process? Are you working from the book of White Wolf, where each test is based on skill and natural aptitude or have you developed a new system whole cloth?

2. The Matrix is changing and all the talk is wireless matrix technology. Is there a source that you are drawing this from? I know the game I'm currently running borrows a little bit from Technogenesis by Syne Mitchell and Gridlinked by Neal Asher.

3. What is in the works for books like Running Wild and System Crash which were supposed to be released at the same time as SR4 is coming out? Are they going to be shelved or converted to other projects and used as Event books like YotC?

4. Lastly, are you sticking with a Priority System, creating something similar to the Build Points System from SRC, or somethign else--perhaps akin to WW?

System Crash and the sister book, Critical Error, are being merged into one book called System Failure which will end 3rd edition.

Running Wild may show up in 4th, but it too might need significant rework to mesh with the new streamlined rules.

Good call, a big end to SR3 is what it needs (not that I thought it needed an end). I get the feeling that the wireless matrix initiative will be a worldwide standard in 4th edition, and it brings to mind images of the type of integration between the matrix and real worlds seen in Ghost in the Shell.

I like the thought of being able to hack someones vision software in order to make yourself invisible, or hacking fire control software of the person standing in front of you to make them miss. This will bring deckers from being momentum breakers to being more akin to magicians. In effect there would be 4 planes: Physical, Astral, Meta and Matrix. Provided the mechanics don't change from d6 I think this type of system would rock the world.

As for streamlining, SR3 is in desperate need of it, fragging around with Riggers and deckers using full rules is PAINFUL, and everyone tends to sit around bored while the "exciting" car chase or decking run is on. The rules at the back of MrJ's LBB were the first indication that this change was coming.

Here's an interesting thought for you, Otaku will be like true magicians with all doors opening at their will.

After my initial dismay that FanPro might be killing a game I love so dearly, I'm now excited that they are updating the world to reflect the type of technology that could really be kicking around in that day and age (and possibly before it).

By the way - any other Aussies on this board?

True, but they do mention the wireless matrix giving super enhanced reality or some drek like that. If you're getting a blueprint or map overlayed on your display link being transmitted by wireless matrix, then theres a signal to be hacked.

It would be cheese to hack someones cybereyes and turn them off, but if they're relying on matrix fed map or battletac data, you could seriously frag with them.

I'm interested to see what they'll do to the the interaction between deckers and riggers. The wireless feed that Riggers use to communicate with their drones is just begging to be hacked.

I wouldn't feed BattleTac through a matrix (ie easily hackable) field.

"Augmented reality" VR overlay, on the other hand, is a matter of systems external to the viewer projecting images that the viewer's display systems then show him/her.

So your hacker isn't messing around with the viewer's cybereyes...he's messing around with the advertising server that normall projects a 3D ad on the footpath in front of the sports shop (for example). I leave it as an exercise for the reader to decide just what kind of virtual images could be useful in this instance...but I can think of a couple of applications - both subtle and not...

Does that make sense?

(This has been a speculation based upon what I understand of how the Matrix works in SR and the likely nature of Augmented Reality tech...)

Just so you know... The Freelancers that are "in the know" are restricted from saying anything that wasn't in Rob's press release. Doesn't help, I know, but...

I can answer #3, i think...

System Failure will be released prior to SR4, so far as I know. Might not be much before, I'm not sure how the schedule looks.

Running Wild will be released after, and will be a 4th edition product.

Bull