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Message no. 1
From: Robert Nesius <nesius@******.COM>
Subject: [SR3] Skillwires question
Date: Thu, 17 Sep 1998 00:21:09 -0800
I'm looking at the new skillwires in SR3. I have a question
about the ratings of chips that can be used with them.

Ignoring MP restrictions at the moment, if you have skillwires
level 3, does that mean you can slot one Rating 3 chip,
or one Rating 1 and one Rating 2, or three Rating 1s? I think
that's the case, but that seems very restrictive. Skillwires
plus let you double the rating points allowed in SR2...

-Rob
Message no. 2
From: K in the Shadows <Ereskanti@***.COM>
Subject: Re: [SR3] Skillwires question
Date: Thu, 17 Sep 1998 03:28:03 EDT
In a message dated 9/17/1998 2:18:25 AM US Eastern Standard Time,
nesius@******.COM writes:

>
> Ignoring MP restrictions at the moment, if you have skillwires
> level 3, does that mean you can slot one Rating 3 chip,
> or one Rating 1 and one Rating 2, or three Rating 1s? I think
> that's the case, but that seems very restrictive. Skillwires
> plus let you double the rating points allowed in SR2...
>
> -Rob

Ah how I remember this question a year or so ago. Does anyone have an answer
to this??? I have gotten NO replies back from FASA when I asked before, and I
forgot to ask Mike or anyone else for that matter about it when I was at
Gencon.

In the games here, assuming that enough MP exists, I allow the total points of
skills to not exceed the level of the Skillwire Implant in question, and where
Skillwires PLUS is concerned, twice the rating in total points, with no skill
chip over a rating equal to the actual implant.

-K
Message no. 3
From: "D. Ghost" <dghost@****.COM>
Subject: Re: [SR3] Skillwires question
Date: Thu, 17 Sep 1998 06:08:08 -0500
On Thu, 17 Sep 1998 00:21:09 -0800 Robert Nesius <nesius@******.COM>
writes:
>I'm looking at the new skillwires in SR3. I have a question
>about the ratings of chips that can be used with them.
>
>Ignoring MP restrictions at the moment, if you have skillwires
>level 3, does that mean you can slot one Rating 3 chip,
>or one Rating 1 and one Rating 2, or three Rating 1s? I think
>that's the case, but that seems very restrictive. Skillwires
>plus let you double the rating points allowed in SR2...
>
>-Rob

Skillwires (BB#, p301): "When purchased, choose a maximum total MP and
maximum skillsoft rating for the system; these determine the total rating
and total size of all activesofts a character can use at any one time."

>From the wording of the item desription, the system has two limits.
First, there is the maximum total MP that can be used at once. Second
there is the maximum of the sum of the ratings of the skillsofts that can
be used at any given time.

It really feels to me that the second limit was an error and that it was
supposed to be the maximum rating of any SINGLE skillsoft used at any
given time. (In other words, you'd be able to install one system that
can use a dozen rating 3 skillsofts at once while another system can use
no more than 1 rating 4 skillsoft at any given time.) This adds a great
deal of flexibility to the skillsoft systems and I think I'll use it in
the home games.

D. Ghost
(aka Pixel, Tantrum, RuPixel)
o/` I traded my Flesh for a Fantasy and now my truck broke down, my wife
left me, and my dog died o/` -- Billy Idol, Jr. Rock Country Singer

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Message no. 4
From: Mike Bobroff <Airwasp@***.COM>
Subject: Re: [SR3] Skillwires question
Date: Thu, 17 Sep 1998 09:17:08 EDT
In a message dated 9/17/98 2:28:58 AM US Eastern Standard Time,
Ereskanti@***.COM writes:

> > Ignoring MP restrictions at the moment, if you have skillwires
> > level 3, does that mean you can slot one Rating 3 chip,
> > or one Rating 1 and one Rating 2, or three Rating 1s? I think
> > that's the case, but that seems very restrictive. Skillwires
> > plus let you double the rating points allowed in SR2...
> >
> > -Rob
>
> Ah how I remember this question a year or so ago. Does anyone have an
> answer
> to this??? I have gotten NO replies back from FASA when I asked before,
and
> I
> forgot to ask Mike or anyone else for that matter about it when I was at
> Gencon.
>
> In the games here, assuming that enough MP exists, I allow the total points
> of
> skills to not exceed the level of the Skillwire Implant in question, and
> where
> Skillwires PLUS is concerned, twice the rating in total points, with no
> skill
> chip over a rating equal to the actual implant.
>

K is right, though I think the limitation on the highest a skillsoft rating
could be (with Skillwires Plus) may be a house rule. As I can't find the
limitation in any of the places I would think to look for the rules on
Skillwires.

-Herc
------ The Best Mechanic you can ever have.
Message no. 5
From: David Foster <fixer@*******.TLH.FL.US>
Subject: Re: [SR3] Skillwires question
Date: Thu, 17 Sep 1998 09:29:47 -0400
On Thu, 17 Sep 1998, K in the Shadows wrote:

->In a message dated 9/17/1998 2:18:25 AM US Eastern Standard Time,
->nesius@******.COM writes:
->
->>
->> Ignoring MP restrictions at the moment, if you have skillwires
->> level 3, does that mean you can slot one Rating 3 chip,
->> or one Rating 1 and one Rating 2, or three Rating 1s? I think
->> that's the case, but that seems very restrictive. Skillwires
->> plus let you double the rating points allowed in SR2...
->
->In the games here, assuming that enough MP exists, I allow the total points of
->skills to not exceed the level of the Skillwire Implant in question, and where
->Skillwires PLUS is concerned, twice the rating in total points, with no skill
->chip over a rating equal to the actual implant.

That's the way I interpret it as well. Although I allow
skillsofts in a softlink without headware memory to function as well. FOr
the multi-softlinks, this comes in handy.

Fixer --------------} The easy I do before breakfast,
the difficult I do all day long,
the impossible only during the week,
and miracles performed on an as-needed basis....

Now tell me, what was your problem?
Message no. 6
From: Mongoose <evamarie@**********.NET>
Subject: Re: [SR3] Skillwires question
Date: Thu, 17 Sep 1998 12:54:21 -0700
:->In the games here, assuming that enough MP exists, I allow the total
points of
:->skills to not exceed the level of the Skillwire Implant in question,
and where
:->Skillwires PLUS is concerned, twice the rating in total points, with no
skill
:->chip over a rating equal to the actual implant.
:
: That's the way I interpret it as well. Although I allow
:skillsofts in a softlink without headware memory to function as well.
FOr
:the multi-softlinks, this comes in handy.
:


Read the header; "[SR3] Skillwires question". As is evident from
previous posts (including one quoting the SR3 skilllwire's description),
the price and function of skillwires is determined differently in SR3 than
in SR2 or Shadowtech.

Mongoose
Message no. 7
From: Mongoose <evamarie@**********.NET>
Subject: Re: [SR3] Skillwires question
Date: Thu, 17 Sep 1998 13:35:25 -0700
:> Ignoring MP restrictions at the moment, if you have skillwires
:> level 3, does that mean you can slot one Rating 3 chip,
:> or one Rating 1 and one Rating 2, or three Rating 1s? I think
:> that's the case, but that seems very restrictive. Skillwires
:> plus let you double the rating points allowed in SR2...
:>
:> -Rob
:
:Ah how I remember this question a year or so ago. Does anyone have an
answer
:to this??? I have gotten NO replies back from FASA when I asked before,
and I
:forgot to ask Mike or anyone else for that matter about it when I was at
:Gencon.
:
:In the games here, assuming that enough MP exists, I allow the total
points of
:skills to not exceed the level of the Skillwire Implant in question, and
where
:Skillwires PLUS is concerned, twice the rating in total points, with no
skill
:chip over a rating equal to the actual implant.
:
:-K
:

See the [sr3] in the header, k? This is not a year old question. (To
answer your question, rating for old skillwires IS total rating, and total
rating is doubled for skilwires plus; another question, also one I have
not gotten a "official" answer for, is if a skillwire plus can run a soft
OVER its rating, IE, a Skillwire plus running a rating 6).

To answer the first question, your reading is correct (the description
is quite clear, even with the tables use of "rating" for essence and "max
rating" for cost); I think skillwires go garbled a bit in creating the SR3
version (more after I check with Rob), but are not overly restrictive, and
certainly work more clearly than the old stuff.
Its not so restrictive, since you don't really NEED to run more than 1
soft at a time; get headware memory or multiple chipjacks for switching as
a free action or a Skillsoft jukebox (p. 296 sr3). The jukebox is an
external device, but can be datajack controlled or even limb mounted with
DNI for soft switching as a free action.
The less "staggered" pricing is definitely nice, IMO, even with the
(sometimes) higher essence cost.
And the current version leaves (a lot of) room for improvement in
MaM. <g>

Mongoose
Message no. 8
From: Robert Nesius <nesius@******.COM>
Subject: Re: [SR3] Skillwires question
Date: Thu, 17 Sep 1998 11:50:02 -0700
Mike Bobroff on -268443480 wrote:
> In a message dated 9/17/98 2:28:58 AM US Eastern Standard Time,
> Ereskanti@***.COM writes:
>
> > > Ignoring MP restrictions at the moment, if you have skillwires
> > > level 3, does that mean you can slot one Rating 3 chip,
> > > or one Rating 1 and one Rating 2, or three Rating 1s? I think
> > > that's the case, but that seems very restrictive. Skillwires
> > > plus let you double the rating points allowed in SR2...
> > >
> > > -Rob
> >
> > In the games here, assuming that enough MP exists, I allow the total points
> > of skills to not exceed the level of the Skillwire Implant in question, and
> > where Skillwires PLUS is concerned, twice the rating in total points, with no
> > skill chip over a rating equal to the actual implant.
> >
>
> K is right, though I think the limitation on the highest a skillsoft rating
> could be (with Skillwires Plus) may be a house rule. As I can't find the
> limitation in any of the places I would think to look for the rules on
> Skillwires.

The more I think about it, the more it seems to me from a game design
standpoint that FASA tried to separate the restrictions of "Maximum
Ratings" and "Maximum Number of Skills that can be used at once"
from each other. I have a gut feeling that the description on page
301 from SR3 is poorly worded.

Hmm. The cost is determined by "Rating x MP x Constant." The MP is
is related to the size of skillsofts. However, is that MP Rating
a reflection of what the skillwires can handle, and not what they
actually have? If a Rigger buys Rating 3/200 skillwires, he still
has to purchase 200MP of headware memory separately if he wants
to upload his skillsofts, right?

Seems like a no-brain question, probably, but I'm wanting to make
sure I got these figured out correctly.

-Rob
Message no. 9
From: Mongoose <evamarie@**********.NET>
Subject: Re: [SR3] Skillwires question
Date: Thu, 17 Sep 1998 17:31:04 -0700
:The more I think about it, the more it seems to me from a game design
:standpoint that FASA tried to separate the restrictions of "Maximum
:Ratings" and "Maximum Number of Skills that can be used at once"
:from each other. I have a gut feeling that the description on page
:301 from SR3 is poorly worded.

No; that's what I suggested to FASA, but its not what happened. The
rating indeed sets the limit on the max skillsofts used at once (and the
"memory" on the size of those softs).
I don't think its poorly worded; the description is rather clear. As
I said, it leaves room for improvement in MaM; SR3 skillwires just update
the classic skillwires. At least they are failry affordable as alphaware.

:Hmm. The cost is determined by "Rating x MP x Constant." The MP is
:is related to the size of skillsofts. However, is that MP Rating
:a reflection of what the skillwires can handle, and not what they
:actually have? If a Rigger buys Rating 3/200 skillwires, he still
:has to purchase 200MP of headware memory separately if he wants
:to upload his skillsofts, right?

Yes; the "max MP" is a measure of PROCESSING power; the actual
information (soft) must be stored on a (sloted) chip or uploaded to normal
headware memory. The "memory size" of the skillwires just detramines how
many MP of skillsoft information can be processed at once. Your 3/200
skillwires would be pretty pointless; the biggest rating 3 activesoft is
only 81mp, so a 3/81 skillsoft will always have enough power to handle any
softs it can run (combinations of lower rating softs would always take
LESS "memory"). You COULD still get gobs of headware meory, and switch
between many uploaded softs; the skillwire only determines the softs
active at one time.
If you wanted, you could even get a rating 6 skillwire with only
enough "memeory" for 2 rating 3 softs.
Think of the rating as a "control" rating; it is the abilty of they
system to interface with your body, and as such is the factor that
controls essence lost and determines maximum skill levels active at once.

If you want to save some cash, get only enough "skillwire memory" to
run a specialized soft at the systems max rating; sr3 doesn't offer any
uses for extra skillwire "memory"- although MaM might.


:Seems like a no-brain question, probably, but I'm wanting to make
:sure I got these figured out correctly.

I don't think it's such a no-brainer; Rob and I squeezed skull juice
to come up with a system that made sense and had workable prices. But
yes, hopefully the results are more "logical" than the old sytem, but
still as easy (if not easier) to use.

Mongoose
Message no. 10
From: "Ratinac, Rand (NSW)" <RRatinac@*****.REDCROSS.ORG.AU>
Subject: Re: [SR3] Skillwires question
Date: Thu, 17 Sep 1998 17:31:17 +1000
> Ignoring MP restrictions at the moment, if you have skillwires
> > level 3, does that mean you can slot one Rating 3 chip,
> > or one Rating 1 and one Rating 2, or three Rating 1s? I think
> > that's the case, but that seems very restrictive. Skillwires
> > plus let you double the rating points allowed in SR2...
> >
> > -Rob
>
> Ah how I remember this question a year or so ago. Does anyone have an
> answer
> to this??? I have gotten NO replies back from FASA when I asked
> before, and I
> forgot to ask Mike or anyone else for that matter about it when I was
> at
> Gencon.
>
> In the games here, assuming that enough MP exists, I allow the total
> points of
> skills to not exceed the level of the Skillwire Implant in question,
> and where
> Skillwires PLUS is concerned, twice the rating in total points, with
> no skill
> chip over a rating equal to the actual implant.
>
> -K
>
Ah, yes, in SR3, of course, you have to deal with the memory
requirements. Everything is more complicated. :) K's interpretation
sounds good. Remember, even someone with the best skillwires and
skillsofts around shouldn't be as good as a similar person who actually
knows those skills.

Doc'
Message no. 11
From: "Ratinac, Rand (NSW)" <RRatinac@*****.REDCROSS.ORG.AU>
Subject: Re: [SR3] Skillwires question
Date: Thu, 17 Sep 1998 17:20:03 +1000
> I'm looking at the new skillwires in SR3. I have a question
> about the ratings of chips that can be used with them.
>
> Ignoring MP restrictions at the moment, if you have skillwires
> level 3, does that mean you can slot one Rating 3 chip,
> or one Rating 1 and one Rating 2, or three Rating 1s? I think
> that's the case, but that seems very restrictive. Skillwires
> plus let you double the rating points allowed in SR2...
>
> -Rob

Yes, but the original skillwires in BBB2 also suffered from the same
restrictions as the ones in SR3. I'd say your reading is accurate (at
least, that's how I use them in my game) - just remember, that's active
skillsofts only. You can slot any number and rating of knowledge or
language skillsofts at once.

Doc'

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