Matrix has Custom Designed Cyberdeck rules on pg66. Spiffy. I saw the rules were just discussed in another thread regarding the possibility of an MPCP-40 cyberdeck. Cool.

What I'm having trouble finding is the Availability of a custom-designed cyberdeck. I saw some proposed in the above-referenced thread, but not actual, canonical rules for the Availability of a custom-designed deck. Anyone know where the rules lurk?

(I'm not trying to build an MPCP-40 deck, just a rating 8- to 10 deck, but the GM has made availability critical so the presence or absence of availability rules will fine tune my decker.)

not really certain there is one, since you have to go through a deckmeister, and have them build it 'custom'. So it's not like youre trying to find one. They build it for you, 'custom' even. I dunno, try the rating of the MPCP. Or if that's too easy, try finding the equivelant in the BBB. Or if that's still too easy (Fairlight is 22), double the MPCP rating.

Then see if he'll let you build it your self. You'll have to buy a microtronics facility, but it's a whole hell of a lot cheaper now than it will be with street index.
Then make the rolls your self. At starting, you can have computers 6,meaning you can make a MPCP 9, where if I recall, the highest one you can buy at char gen is a 7. And it is amazingly cheaper! Something like 50k for a full deck, not counting programs, IIRC. Been a while.

Cyberdeck's aren't so bad if you can get them at cost. And it won't take the year or so that it takes in game to make it either.

If I were your GM, I would make you have to buy a level 2 Deckmeister contact at the very least, probably level 3, in order to have a custom ordered deck that good.

If level 3 is required, this means most of your money from the Million would go toward your deck. (recreating the MPCP-8 deck costs 403,271¥)

how do you figure that when buying out straight out of the BBB costs 400k?

How do I figure which? Also, I'm kinda new here, so I'm not quite sure what you mean by BBB. A quick googlesearch says that means SR2. I'm using SR3 (specifically, the Deckmeister rules found on page 66 of my copy of Matrix, and I don't have SR2, so if that's what you mean, then of course we are getting different numbers.

As for the price of the deck, that's just straight out of the rules, making some assumptions on what some of the persona chips will end up being rated as. (Masking and Sensor highest, Bod and Evasion roughly equal), also I took the liberty of assuming you'd order it with a hot ASIST, rather than a cold one. With a cold ASIST, it comes to 375,111¥, which is actually cheaper than the legit deck with the exact same stats.

Next, the level 3 contact costs 200,000¥ at chargen (p. 62 of my SR3 rulebook). Combine that cost with the cost of the deck, and you get a bit more than 600,000¥ for them combined. Plus you have to buy some programs for it. I doubt you'll have more than 100k left when all is said and done with your deck.

BBB meaing the Big black book, or the core book in general.

and that makes sense if you were figuring in the cost of the contact. But why would it have to be Lv 3?

welcome to DS BTW

it takes forever to decrypt all the abbreviations (at least it did for me. YMMV )

I figure that, in order to get around availability restrictions, you have to pay for it. I would require, at the very least, a level 2 contact because that's alot of trust going on. The deckmeister has to gamble that you're gonna have the money, you the runner has the gamble that the deckmeister can build it. Plus, it requires some pretty hefty skills to make a deck that good, hence level 2. I, personally, in my very limited experience with the game, would bump it up to level three. But that's just me.

that's one of the things about SR4 that I like. Two different levels to the contact. One for how buddy buddy you are, and for how good they are at what you do. That way you can have a contact that's an awesome deckmeister, but you two barely trust each other. Like lv 3 is skill, but lv 1 for 'friendliness' or whatever you want to call it. I've been using that system in my games for a while, and it seems to work pretty well.

Even with a good programming suite, it still takes forever to code your own cyberdeck.

MPCP: Multiplier 8
Bod and Evasion: Multiplier 3
Masking and Sensor: Multiplier 2
Hardening: Mutiplier 8
Response Increase: rating MPCP, Multiplier increase*2
ASIST: rating MPCP, Multiplier 2 or 4 (cold or hot)
ICCM Filter: rating MPCP, Multiplier 4
Reality Filter: rating MPCP, Multiplier 10

That's a whole lot MP to code.

Let's assume you're gonna make a copy of the MPCP-8 stock deck. (Masking and Sensor 8, Bod and Evasion 4)
MPCP (8): 512mp
Bod (4): 48mp
Evasion (4): 48mp
Masking (8): 128mp
Sensor (8): 128mp
Hardening (4): 128mp
Response Increase (2): 256mp
cold ASIST: 128mp

That's a base time of 1,376 days, or more than 3 1/2 years!

Even with an average of 8 successes per program, it still takes 5 1/2 months.

It seems to me that you can buy the components at any electronics shop. They shouldn't even be restricted. It's like poping into best buy and picking up some more ram, or a motherboard. The majority of the cost is the programs themselves, not the hardware.

It's still gonna take a while just to make your own deck. Of course, if you can (and have the time), you can build your own fairlight Excalibur for a mere 85,000¥ in spare parts.

dropping the reality filter I can understand, but whywoulnd't you want the ICCM filter!? Unless you've already got that attribute built up (troll decker?)?

The ICCM module sold as an upgrade for another deck with the same MPCP as yours may be worth buying.

Edward