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[Hat]

Is anyone really comfortable with all the AR and hacking rules to help give a sense of how that should run, feel, play?  How about attacking PANs, cyberware, etc.?

Are there good examples of runs describing how to make this work and flow within game?  One of the issues I had with previous versions of SR, Cyberpunk 2020 and similar genre games is the disruptive flow of Matrix work vs. meat side of things.

Thanks.

With a sweep of his...

Hat

[Darrian Wolffe]

Sr4 is better than most at that integrating meatspace and cyberspace.  You'll want to talk to KnightofArgh and Augustaquilla on the particulars - Brent is a networking guy in real life and always runs deckers, and Mike is a rules and real lawyer who enjoys going through the rules for kicks.  They were both INVALUABLE resources for me when I GM'd an SR4 campaign.

[Hat]

Ok, sounds good.  I had a decker in my last SR4 game and did what I could with it, but didn't make a real attempt at trying to capture the feel of all of the AR stuff for example.  I'll follow up with the two folks you mentioned separately unless they're inclined to chime in here.

With a sweep of his...

Hat

[Knightofargh]

Assuming the default 2064 setting the things to remember with Matrix 2.0 are:

1) AR is ubiquitous. Almost anything can have an ARO and probably should. However AROs are supposed to only be visible when you "focus" on them
2) Don't open Pandora's box. Don't used Unwired at first, get familiar with the rules before doing that to yourself
3) Matrix synchronizes 1:1 with meatspace now. Encourage your tech PCs to use AR when possible. VR (especially hot sim) is addictive. If you feel a PC is abusing VR make them pass addiction tests. Will is often a dump stat for hackers, this hurts if you are becoming an addict.
4) Generally don't allow direct PAN hacking. Spoofing is fine because it's faster, but any professional will have a decently encrypted 'link with high firewall, IC and an good Analyze. Use that to keep your hacker in check. The reverse is also true, let your hacker actually break into a PAN on occasion.

[agustaaquila]

As for examples of stuff in play:

1)  The Runners Toolkit "Anatomy of a Run" is nice, as it has side by side of narration and dice.  Its not super rules heavy but shows how hacking can be used in a pass by pass manner.

2)  For a lot rules heavier https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YZlJmdQt46YdzjL1ZEY3gqT9-JzYrSlZ8oeb0MTsglI/edit?pli=1.  This is a very detailed version of a hack, just know that simply because it claims to be RAW doesn't mean there aren't debatable actions in there (specifically the magic healing and how many hits to find the hidden node).  It is also aware of ambiguities, and footnotes them well.

3)  Floating around on dumpshock and likely on the official forums is the author of Game, Set, Match showing a turn by turn what actions are being taken to hack or spoof a drone.  My googlefo is weak right now, and i've spent too long to find other examples, but this peice was what helped me more than anything else to understand hacking actions.

KnightofArgh points are all valid, but i would like to add that if you have enough time to hack cyberware in combat, you should be dead.  It takes forever to break into cyberware (at least 3 IPs on average from super optimized characters) and by the time that is done you can only shut the cyberware down by placing into diagnostic mode.  So while it is something to do, its generally not that effective.