| From: | Kenneth Vinson kennethv@****.wisc.edu |
|---|---|
| Subject: | strange economics of SR equipment( was Re: SR2->SR3 questions) |
| Date: | Wed, 19 Jul 2000 19:03:59 +0000 |
>
<snip>
> Second, any idea why the proce of cell phones and home
> electronics was cut
> by a factor of 10 for SR3. I realize a $1000 for a cell
> phone is a lot in
> SR2, but I was amazed when one of my players pulled a 3rd
> edition
> equipment list and I saw the differences. Was there a
> misprint in SR2?
In a somewhat opposite case, has anyone out there tried to put together
a good communications setup for a group of shadowrunners? I started
with an excellent quality (i.e. rating 6) micro transceiver and
attempted to add on some decent encryption and ECCM and some other bits
like subvocal mikes, and so on. I don't have my numbers right in front
of me but I remember the cost (before street index) running around
15,000 nuyen per set. That seemed quite outrageous to me since much of
the price markup was encryption. This, when today any old schmo with a
bit of know-how can encrypt their email with an encryption key that
would take months for the authorities to break. I realize I'm talking
about millisecond encryption of audio signals but that doesn't seem like
it should be a problem when you extrapolate out to Shadowrun's overall
tech level.
Basically I'm asking if there are any encryption and/or commo gurus on
the list that would care to tell me why this sort of encryption would
be so expensive or if I can chalk it up to a game balance decision on
the part of the DLOH and company. It seemed a bit weird to tell the
players they had to devote nearly a hundred grand for a good commo setup
when they're getting paid ~20,000 (total) per run. Comments?
Cheers,
Ken Vinson
