I'm curious if anyone knows of any official references to AR glasses incorporating at least a minimal trodes set. My idea is that, for my magician characters, they can get what looks to be just a nice pair of eye glasses. In actuality, however, the frames incorporate at least enough trodes functionality to function as a hands-free mouse and keyboard, and also have some discrete earbuds on the frame arms for audio output. Sure, you'd still need to actually carry a commlink, instead of having one implanted, but it's 0 Essence cost, and less of a pain than constantly having to wear a headband all the time just for hands-free functionality. (And really, how many outfits is that going to go with?)

i mean, you could always just go with trodes in a wig. the wig could even be made to look like your own hair.

anyways, i always got the impression you needed more coverage than a typical pair of glasses would give you for trodes. are nanopaste trodes still a thing? i haven't pulled out my SR5 in so long i can't recall. you could maybe do that. or heck, just use regular AR interface; these days it doesn't matter whether your brain is hooked up or not, so long as your gear is all on the matrix, everything works at the speed of thought because reasons.

Well, keep in mind that a whole trodes net is sufficient to record and playback full simsense. I'm just looking for a hands-free keyboard and mouse, so I think I can make a case for having a limited level of neural control with a minimalist set of trodes (comprising the entire glasses frames).

You know you could go minimal cyber...

Come to the Dark Side... we have cookies!

Well, as I've said before, we already have a house rule that if your only piece of cyberware is a deltaware implant commlink, you can have it without Essence Loss. However, if you get even one more piece of cyberware, you'll be retroactively charged the 0.1 Essence for it. That said, we're talking about some pricey hardware that'll be totally obsolete in 6 years, requiring another big pile of cash (and surgery) to replace with a newer version. Ultimately, this is me trying to find a cheaper, less invasive solution. Considering that I only want hands-free keyboard and mouse input, it seems like a better choice. Normal trodes are 50¥ and rating 4 AR Glasses are 100¥. If I were to price NanoTrodes Frames ™ at 1,000¥, they'd still be cheap at the price, and a hell of a lot easier to replace.

Wait, I thought a Cyberware commlink was just a port where the commlink CPU was installed. I thought that all you need to upgrade is to remove that chip and put in a new one. Kinda like how modern cellphones are mostly battery and screen. The CPU, GPU, Modem, & Memory are on a very small chip.

If your GM considers glasses to be "headgear" (not too much of a stretch), then trodes cost 2 points of capacity.

I always thought the whole micro-computer was implanted. Hence, you'd need full neurosurgery to replace/upgrade it. That's just easier around 2080 than it is now.

Ah, but that's a full set of trodes. I'm arguing for a "low-res" version, just enough for hands-free data input in AR. Surely that could be a bit more compact.

are nanopaste trodes still a thing? if they are, you could talk to your GM about getting them in nano tatoo form (which iirc costs no essence, but is limited in duration).

Personally, I've always thought those sounded kinda sketchy as an idea, but if they are present, then I can easily make a case for glasses frames being composed of nanocircuitry.

i dunno, i'm not a brainologist so i can't tell you which parts of the brain could even be plausibly used for what you want... but i suspect that if you could use just one part of your brain, it would be incorporated into normal AR gear

anyways, if you can get an implanted commlink essence-free, why can't you get an implanted datajack essence-free?

edit: perhaps a better way to put it: only your GM can decide if in his/her version of shadowrun what you're asking for can be done. there is nothing to suggest such a thing exists in official material that i'm aware of, but there are plenty of things that are mechanically not very different (that is, there are a variety of methods you could use to disguise a full trode net, so it isn't mechanically overpowered to have a means of getting the functions of a trode net in a disguised form).

what you are asking is fundamentally a question about how your GM sees the setting... that isn't something any of us can answer for you.

I'm not really fond of nitpicking and details, I consider that the existence of nanopaste trodes is enough to let any player say "I've got DNI" and only care about the details when in situations where the nanopaste can wear off or be removed.

Well, I am one the GMs for our group, and on the "House Rules Committee," so to speak. I'm trying to see if this concept sounds reasonable enough to be included in the official House Rules files.

I've always thought of it like the side of Data's head. Whole commlink is in there, but it's not that big (cellphone without the screen) and access just takes some tools.

Agreed, but in my way of thinking, it wouldn't even need that many tools. It would be even easier for a cyber commlink installed in a cyber limb.

it is not mechanically different in any significant way as far as balance is concerned.

the question of "does it fit in the setting" is not one we can answer; your shadowrun setting is not quite the same as mine, and neither of ours are the same as any other person's on these boards. that question ultimately is one that only your group can answer. so, talk it over with the group. it's their setting, not ours.

I have always been a fan of the implant in Scorpious' brain (From Farrscape)... tap it, and the commlink/simrig/deck slides out for retrofit or repair.
But the imagery of a small panel opening ala Data also works well...