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FrostyNSO
Just thought you all might wanna know.

Here
RunnerPaul
And there was much rejoicing.

And since your link was to the front page, which may change, here's a link to the FAQ in question, just in case it cycles off of the main page.
Arethusa
Heh. I really enjoyed that product code.
Skeptical Clown
I hadn't been planning on getting SR4 to begin with, but that pretty much sealed it. Thanks!
FrostyNSO
Thanks Paul!
Fortune
QUOTE (Skeptical Clown)
I hadn't been planning on getting SR4 to begin with, but that pretty much sealed it.


Would you be willing to tell us why, specifically?
Critias
With a name like Skeptical Clown, you've gotta ask?
Ol' Scratch
I hope some of the sarcasm and humor finds its way into the sourcebooks, too. It always makes them more interesting to read, even if you're just searching for a specific rule.

And hooray for the death of cyberdecks and the term "deckers!" <cheers> How I loathed designing those things. biggrin.gif
Kagetenshi
*Scribbles down Houserule #1: Hackers Do Not Exist*

~J
Fortune
I have no problem with the concept of losing the Deck (and Decker). Hackers are just fine in my opinion, and even better if the whole concept of Hackers incorporates Riggers as well.
Kagetenshi
As much as I like the term "decker", I think what we're seeing is my dislike of the term "hacker" shining through more than anything.

~J
Fortune
Yeah well, call them Tech Specialists instead.
Kagetenshi
Now we've got a term that applies equally well to the guy repairing your trid unit's VCR.

~J
Arethusa
QUOTE (Kagetenshi)
As much as I like the term "decker", I think what we're seeing is my dislike of the term "hacker" shining through more than anything.

~J

Well, I'm not sure what's wrong with you, but I don't think there's a cure.
Critias
How about L33T H4XX0RZ?
Arethusa
533? \/\/3 4|_|934|)y |-|4\/3 4 501|_|710|\|.
Kagetenshi
\/\/0|2|<5 |=0|2 /\/\3.

~J
DrJest
Alta Vista ought to add L3375p33|< to Babel Fish, I swear...
Aes
You can get google in l33t. It's a start, at least nyahnyah.gif
Spookymonster
For those looking for an RSS feed for SR news, check this out:
http://www.shadowrunrpg.com/wordpress/wp-rss.php
Skeptical Clown
QUOTE (Fortune)
QUOTE (Skeptical Clown)
I hadn't been planning on getting SR4 to begin with, but that pretty much sealed it.


Would you be willing to tell us why, specifically?

Because I haven't played Shadowrun for nearly two years, and nothing being released makes me want to change my mind.
Jrayjoker
I feel your pain SC.

I haven't bought a lot of the new books, just replaced core books.
craigpierce
QUOTE (Aes @ Mar 22 2005, 08:38 AM)
You can get google in l33t. It's a start, at least nyahnyah.gif
Eyeless Blond
QUOTE (archimagus)
if we're gonna go OT, might as well go all the way:

http://www.gizoogle.com

rotfl.gif

So, what would you rather call them Kag?
Techies?
Slicers?
Fades?
Ghosts in the Machine?
Wiz kids/wizzies?
Information technology and technological implemetation experts?
Trogdor the Burninator?
MidnightGhost
I actually liked the term decker. But then again I like most of the shadowrun slang.

How about the term black hat(criminal) or white hat(good guy). Those are used today also. Or better yet make up a new term. One related to what they do.


QUOTE
Q. What does this mean for my old books? 
A. SR4 is a new rules set — simpler, streamlined, and more accessible, but new rules nonetheless. That means SR1, SR2, and SR3 rules will be obsolete in the new system. Source material, however — meaning background, plot, and world info — will still be relevant. We are advancing the timeline a slight bit in order to account for some new technology, but not so far as to completely sever ourselves from ongoing plots.


I was afraid of this. There were a lot of rules I liked in the old system. It sounds like they are throwing out ALL of the old system. I'm definitely buying the core book to give it a fair try, after all maybe they have a new system that will be "slimed" down and not "dumbed" down.

I wonder if there is any chance we could get a classic shadowrun for those who like the old system. We might only get one book a year but at least we could get some new stuff. And Fanpro can make money on old fans and new ones.
MidnightGhost
I vote for Burninators! biggrin.gif


Lets just take netrunner. I don't think that's being used anymore.
mfb
i might slime the system when i get my hands on it, but i doubt the developers will be. familiarity breeds contempt, and all.
Skeptical Clown
QUOTE (MidnightGhost @ Mar 22 2005, 10:42 PM)
I wonder if there is any chance we could get a classic shadowrun for those who like the old system. We might only get one book a year but at least we could get some new stuff. And Fanpro can make money on old fans and new ones.

I would say that there is a snowball's chance in a mythological fiery underworld of that happening. That would divide resources in a line that's already got problems keeping up a strong release schedule. Besides, nobody who writes for SR is interested in the old SR game.
Cain
QUOTE
I was afraid of this. There were a lot of rules I liked in the old system. It sounds like they are throwing out ALL of the old system.

Not exactly. The core mechanic is likely to remain the same, and some stuff will be left untouched. Wired Reflexes, for example, are exactly the same as they were in SR1. (Initiative changed, though.)

Having lived through all the rules changeovers to date, I can tell you that the odds are, the system will still be recognizeable to you. Excepting the matrix stuff, of course; but then again, the matrix rules have had the most radical changes from edition to edition.
BitBasher
A big fat heartfelt screw you to FanPro for releasing the PDF's of books which they are about to obsolete. I just bought over a hundred bucks worth of PDF's only to find out now that all older rule books are obsolete.

This is one absolutely fantastic way to screw me over, and any other gamers.

This is also one fantastic reason for me not to buy SR4, as it's like a freaking reaming for my cash in light of my recent purchases.

On a less vitriolic and unrealted note, over the several year span between System Crash and sr4 The name of a subculture wouldn't change. Deckers would still be deckers even if they didn't physically use a deck. It would be a vestigal word but it would still be used. That and I despise anyone calling themselves a hacker, it's a 1337 asshat subculture based on stupidity. All the really competent people I know would never call themselves a hacker, they leave that to the AOL wannabees running Kiddie Scripts.

EDIT: incidentally, I'm all for the way it looks like deckers are going. That I have no problem with, but I hope to god they maintain a sense of internal consistency, because the decker=>hacker thing does not bode well for me, even in the atmosphere adjustment. If someone says "I'm a hacker" most everyone I know giggles and thinks they're a retard.
Zen Shooter01
So we've just learned that SR4 will be so different from anything preceding it that ALL PREVIOUS RULES WILL BE UTTERLY OBSOLETE AND USELESS, and the big discussion here is whether we prefer the word "decker" or "hacker".

I was optimistic about the new edition, because I thought the changeover would resemble previous edition changeovers, where 2 wasn't so different from 1, and 2 was recognizable as 3's ancestor. Now I learn that FanPro is taking a system we all love and chucking the whole thing out the window.

There's an explanation for this? Besides "we're a bunch of knuckleheads"? (Yes, of course there is...White Wolf did it!)

If 3rd edition is so nonfunctional that it needs to be burned to the ground, why do we want the same people who wrote third edition to bring us this new and improved Sixth World?

I knew that there was a high level of incompetence when books were missing their release dates by six months and a year, but I stilled hoped that this ship of fools could make it all the way to the squared-off edge of the world.

I am filled with doom and despair, and terror of this new edition.
BitBasher
I wouldn't go that far, I think they have done some damn fine work in the past with 3rd edition.

Their ability to playtest and provide intelligent, consistent and well balanced mechanics and the justification for those mechanics worries me however. Especially considering the latest FAQ answers which contradict existing rules and are a detriment to the game world. If the people that are responsible for the FAQ are actually making the new 4th edition rules, God Help Us All. In 3rd edition, the FAQ is the primary target of my hate, and the primary reason I feel that if anyone involved with it is working on 4th edition, then we're screwed, because the faq, which is NOT an erratta, is often totally inconsistent with the rules in the books.

mfb
what's this "we" stuff, paleface? i've been hoping to see SR3 burnt down and rebuilt for years, now. the explanation is, they don't want to have to deal with all of the insanity and idiosynchracies that come packaged with SR3. and as well, they're interested in drawing in new players, which the current rules strongly discourage by virtue of their insanity and idiosynchrocity. if that's even a word.
BitBasher
That I agree with, totally. The current rules are a bitch to learn, and hard to introduce new folks to. That SHOULD be changed, I have nothing inherintly against a 4th edition.

I do however have serious reservations about a 4th edition written by anyone involved in the FAQ. This does not inspire me with hope for a well written, internally consistent and sane 4th edition that plays well.
Arethusa
QUOTE (mfb)
what's this "we" stuff, paleface?

Heh. Man, I was thinking the exact same thing.

By the way, idiosynchronicity. Though that's a little gentle, I'd say.

QUOTE (BitBasher)
I do however have serious reservations about a 4th edition written by anyone involved in the FAQ. This does not inspire me with hope for a well written, internally consistent and sane 4th edition that plays well.

Erm, so would I. This is happening?
BitBasher
You think the people running the FAQ *aren't* involved in SR4? I was told the line developer maintains the FAQ, hence my distress.
bitrunner
QUOTE (Skeptical Clown @ Mar 22 2005, 06:54 PM)
Besides, nobody who writes for SR is interested in the old SR game.

nobody is an awefully limiting word, and not quite accurate...
mfb
most of the FAQ is okay. there are a few... problematic answers that have been discussed in other threads. but even some of those can't really be laid at the FAQ writers' feet. called shots, for instance--there are problems with the FAQ answer, but definitely fewer problems than the existing rules (in which there are no less than three different and distinct methods of handling called shots, depending on what weapon you're using).
Fortune
QUOTE (archimagus)
http://www.gizoogle.com/index.php?hl=en&ul...erion=shadowrun

Gotta love the Shadowrun Supplemizzle! biggrin.gif
Eyeless Blond
QUOTE (BitBasher)
A big fat heartfelt screw you to FanPro for releasing the PDF's of books which they are about to obsolete. I just bought over a hundred bucks worth of PDF's only to find out now that all older rule books are obsolete.

This is one absolutely fantastic way to screw me over, and any other gamers.
Well, you know, that probably *was* kinda the point. I mean, who's gonna buy the stuff they have out now when the new edition's gonna sell in six months and make it all obselete? Heh, I'm damn lucky I didn't do the same thing myself ( have a general policy for optional expenditures: wait three weeks. If you still want it, then get it. Lucky for me three weeks was "long enough")

QUOTE (Zen Shooter01)
I was optimistic about the new edition, because I thought the changeover would resemble previous edition changeovers, where 2 wasn't so different from 1, and 2 was recognizable as 3's ancestor. Now I learn that FanPro is taking a system we all love and chucking the whole thing out the window.

Now now, I wouldn't read too much onto that. I'd say they were trying to say that the new book is going to have *some* different rules in it enough that trying to use those rules and the stuff in SR3 will be very difficult and cause lots of contradictions. I predict, for instance, alot of the decker utilities in Matrix will cease to exist, so usng the old Matrix book will lead to problems. Etc etc.

QUOTE (BitBasher)
You think the people running the FAQ *aren't* involved in SR4? I was told the line developer maintains the FAQ, hence my distress.

Oh hell you're right. God save us all if the line developer can't even keep the *current* mess straight. Lets hope that Invisability won't be granting LOS in the new edition. frown.gif
Kagetenshi
QUOTE (Eyeless Blond)
QUOTE (archimagus @ Mar 22 2005, 04:32 PM)
if we're gonna go OT, might as well go all the way:

http://www.gizoogle.com

rotfl.gif

So, what would you rather call them Kag?
Techies?
Slicers?
Fades?
Ghosts in the Machine?
Wiz kids/wizzies?
Information technology and technological implemetation experts?
Trogdor the Burninator?

Even if there aren't decks anymore, decker is a term that will have been ingrained in the game world for years; regardless of the existence of the deck, they still deck. There's no good reason, IC or OOC, to replace the term. Trogdor the Burninator would suit me just fine, though.

~J
Arethusa
But there was a good reason, IC or OOC, to replace hacking?
BitBasher
QUOTE (Arethusa)
But there was a good reason, IC or OOC, to replace hacking?

There's a whole hell of a lot better reason for a subculture term to change over 60 years (2+ generations) than 5 years (I have socks older than that). smile.gif

Even without a deck, I still think the term " decker" makes a whole lot of sense, because in the context of SR it has a global identity.
Eyeless Blond
QUOTE (BitBasher @ Mar 22 2005, 06:56 PM)
Even without a deck, I still think the term " decker" makes a whole lot of sense, because in the context of SR it has a global identity.

Ah ha, but, and I quote:

QUOTE
That and I despise anyone calling themselves a hacker, it's a 1337 asshat subculture based on stupidity. All the really competent people I know would never call themselves a hacker, they leave that to the AOL wannabees running Kiddie Scripts.


Substitute "hacker" for "decker" and you'll see what everyone's been saying in the new wireless Matrix subculture about the old dinosaurs running on those fossilized obselete old *decks*. biggrin.gif

Btw, "hacker" was actually quite a respectable term in the 70s, 80s, and early-to-mid 90s. But the moment the media latched onto it and started calling those damn script kiddie crackers "hackers" in an obvious and stupid mass misunderstanding of the word, it's instantly become taboo, to the point that noone even uses it anymore. Sounds like a good analogy to the sudden culture shift in 2065-2070 to me. smile.gif

Though I would have perfered Slicers or netrunners, or even nethacks to hackers. Rehashing an old buzzword to fit a new aerchtype is as stupid as people trying to revive "groovy" now.
Arethusa
Hacker is still a respected term. You'll see it on slashdot, sourceforge, etc. Used by very competent people, at that. It isn't just for script kiddies.
Kagetenshi
Hacker as a respected term has nothing whatsoever to do with system penetration and very little to do with computing.

~J
Skeptical Clown
btw, what's with the implication that Deckers were once called Hackers? Honest mistake, or just an extra layer on the severing of ties with the old Shadowrun game?
Arethusa
QUOTE (Kagetenshi)
Hacker as a respected term has nothing whatsoever to do with system penetration and very little to do with computing.

~J

But it has everything to do with a response to Bitbasher's earlier comment.

Regardless, I have no problem with deckers disappearing and hacker returning as a term. A lot of stuff is getting thrown out in order to shake off the 80s legacy that Shadowrun was firmly rooted in (it never was visionary science fiction, after all), and it got to the point where the only way to do that was to, at points, ignore that it wasn't necessarily believable within the storyline because things were already pretty damn hard to swallow. Personally, I'm completely fine with that. I don't think we need to wait 20 more ingame years for cell phones to drop from 1k to 100g.
Skeptical Clown
Again, what is this "return"? Decking has always been decking. It was never hacking.

But whatever. I know, it's necessary to cut all ties with Shadowrun, because nobody actually likes Shadowrun.
HMHVV Hunter
I smell a reverse "Vampire: The Requiem" coming.

By that, I mean this:

I hated "Vampire: The Requiem" because I missed the old storyline and setting material (from "Masquerade") and haven't touched the book since. The rules were just fine though.

It seems as though in this case, I'm going to like the setting material, but hate the new rules.

Whether that means I'll never touch the book again depends on the severity of the rules changes.

I really have a bad feeling about this...
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