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Message no. 1
From: Glenn Sprott wasntka44@*********.net
Subject: Knowsofts (was Hokus Focus)
Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2000 17:16:30 -0500
According to Gurth, at 11:00:02 on 23 Mar 00, the word on the street
was...

>> My point is that without the basic knowledge of a subject, it is
hard
>> to know where to look, let alone understand, what it is you are
>> referencing.
>
>Knowledge skillsofts ("knowsofts") aren't textbooks or reference
works.
>They _are_ the actual skill -- you never learned Chemistry skill, but
as
>soon as you plug in that rating 6 Chemistry knowsoft, you've got
>(probably) the equivalent of a university degree in chemistry. Which
you
>also immediately lose as soon as you remove the chip again.

I don't want to start something academic here, and I appologize in
advance for those of you who I'm sure have had this discussion before,
but I have a few misconceptions about knowsofts (I guess).

I was under the impression that knowsofts were much different than
skillsofts. Not necessarily different in definition, but rather in
how they work.

I know that there are knowsofts and there are datasofts (which is
probably closer to what I was describing earlier), but how much
different are they? I mean, the rules state that you need skillwires
to use activesofts and not knowsofts or datasofts, but if this is the
case, how is it that the user of a knowsoft suddenly "knows" whatever
is on the chip? Even if downloaded into headware memory, how is it
that the mind can access, interpret, process, and apply the
information on the chip? Is this a form of "naked decking" to a small
degree? Do you need an SPU or CPU installed internally?

I mean, I understand how the activesofts work with the skillwires.
This makes sense to me. However, the knowsoft rules, if no skillwires
are required, are harder for me to grasp. Are there some rules that I
am missing?

Don't get me wrong, I know this is a fantasy/science fiction
environment, and if everyone just tells me, "because that's just the
way it is," then I'll keep my rules for my campaign. However, any
input would be appreciated.

----------------------
Wasntka (Wolf)
...Never allow your family to get hurt...
...Never allow your friends to stand alone...
...Never betray your loved one...
...Never betray yourself...
Message no. 2
From: Wolfchild nathan.olsen@*******.msus.edu
Subject: Knowsofts (was Hokus Focus)
Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2000 22:08:12 -0600 (CST)
"Glenn Sprott" <wasntka44@*********.net> wrote:

> I was under the impression that knowsofts were much different than
> skillsofts. Not necessarily different in definition, but rather in
> how they work.

[snip]

> I mean, I understand how the activesofts work with the skillwires.
> This makes sense to me. However, the knowsoft rules, if no skillwires
> are required, are harder for me to grasp. Are there some rules that I
> am missing?

I'm probably not the best person to answer this but I'll give it a
shot. For a frame of reference, lets assume the subject for the skill is
Vehicle Repair.

Activesoft - You have the knowledge and hands-on experience to get the
job done. You know what part needs to get fixed. You know how to fix
it. And you are able to fix it with the proper tools.

Knowsoft - You have completed all the necessary training to be a mechanic
but have never actually fixed anything in your life. You know what part
needs to get fixed. You have a good idea of how to fix it. But you will
have difficulty actually trying to fix it because you don't know how much
force/dexterity/whatever to use in any given situation. You are prone to
breaking things, or having parts come loose because you didn't properly
secure everything afterwards. More importantly you are easily stumped by
unusual situations like wasp nests in the intake vents or Jackstopper in
the fuel lines. However in most situations if someone asks you a question
about basic vehicle repair, you can answer almost immediately.

Datasoft - You never actually had any training in vehicle repair. However
you do have an entire library of books in your head to search through. The
main effect here is that it takes longer to access important information,
and the character may not realize that the data back in Chapter 2 is just
as important to what they want to know as what they're currently looking
at. Trying to fix a vehicle using only a datasoft is extremely time
consuming and is almost guaranteed to fail in some manner. Imagine a
person with car parts strewn all over a garage looking puzzled down at a
textbook while scratching his head.

I hope this clears things up a little bit. Any one else want to try?



Wolfchild - "Life ain't easy for a troll named Sue."
--
"Quin tu istanc orationem hinc veterem atque|"Let us spend one day as
antiquam amoves?" -Plautus, Miles Gloriosus|deliberately as Nature. . .
--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--|and not be thrown off the
"There are nights when the wolves are silent|track by every nutshell and
and only the moon howls." -George Carlin |mosquito's wing that falls on
Wolfchild <nathan.olsen@*******.msus.edu> |the rails." -H.D.Thoreau
Message no. 3
From: Gurth gurth@******.nl
Subject: Knowsofts (was Hokus Focus)
Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2000 10:39:09 +0100
According to Glenn Sprott, at 17:16 on 23 Mar 00, the word on the street
was...

> I was under the impression that knowsofts were much different than
> skillsofts. Not necessarily different in definition, but rather in
> how they work.

Knowsofts are a subcategory of skillsofts, just like activesofts and
linguasofts are.

> I know that there are knowsofts and there are datasofts (which is
> probably closer to what I was describing earlier)

Yes.

> but how much different are they? I mean, the rules state that you need
> skillwires to use activesofts and not knowsofts or datasofts, but if
> this is the case, how is it that the user of a knowsoft suddenly "knows"
> whatever is on the chip? Even if downloaded into headware memory, how
> is it that the mind can access, interpret, process, and apply the
> information on the chip? Is this a form of "naked decking" to a small
> degree? Do you need an SPU or CPU installed internally?

You need a knowsoft link (SR3 p. 298) to be able to use a knowsoft.
Essentially, this works like skillwires, but for knowsofts -- without the
knowsoft link, a knowsoft is just data that you can't use any more than
you could use the raw code of an executable file on your computer.

> I mean, I understand how the activesofts work with the skillwires.
> This makes sense to me. However, the knowsoft rules, if no skillwires
> are required, are harder for me to grasp. Are there some rules that I
> am missing?

It seems to me that you've looked over the knowsoft in SR3 :)

(Game mechanics-wise, the reason you need only gear worth 2,000 nuyen to
use a rating 15 knowsoft, but would have to spend 5,063,500 nuyen to use
that same rating activesoft, is because active skills have a lot more
impact on the game than knowledge skills.)

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
What a pretty life you have...
-> NAGEE Editor * ShadowRN GridSec * Unofficial Shadowrun Guru <-
->The Plastic Warriors Page: http://shadowrun.html.com/plasticwarriors/<-

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