[Adder]

I originally started asking some questions about this in the rules section, but realized that the heart of my problem is that I don't really know how to build a reasonable Matrix architecture for a run. While I'm fairly confident with all the rules individually, putting them together is still tricky for me. It's not a problem making reasonable numbers (e.g. ratings) and more so understanding how they're all supposed to be hooked up.

Maybe the best way to help would be for me to come up with some examples? If people have ideas how they would design the Matrix side of it I would definitely appreciate it!

1. Stuffer Shack on the corner
The rulebook explicitly lists Stuffer Shacks as almost always having their own individual host. Let's say the shack has one security camera, and a solid metal "bandit barrier" that can be lowered upon button press.

2. Commuter train
The train has an engine car in the front, and wirelessly lockable doors. The engine car can be rigged into. Additionally, each car has cameras that are viewable in the engine car.

3. Auction company's host (purely in the Matrix, no physical component)
The host contains data on ongoing auctions, and has the ability to send messages to their partner company to ship goods that were auctioned off.

4. Typical office building
There are cameras around the building, and a security office that can view those cameras. There is a director's office that has private data on his computer. There is a cubicle "farm" with many terminals where employees come in everyday to work. They have to access the same shared data.

[Adder]

I'll start with my own interpretations to give you some idea of where I'm at.

1. Stuffer Shack on the corner
The rulebook explicitly lists Stuffer Shacks as almost always having their own individual host. Let's say the shack has one security camera, and a solid metal "bandit barrier" that can be lowered upon button press.

I would make a Stuffer Shack host, and have the camera and "bandit barrier button" as two devices slaved to it as a WAN.

2. Commuter train
The train has an engine car in the front, and wirelessly lockable doors. The engine car can be rigged into. Additionally, each car has cameras that are viewable in the engine car.

Option 1: I would make the engine car one device with the doors and cameras slaved to it.
Option 2: I would make a host for the train and have everything slaved to it as a WAN.

3. Auction company's host (purely in the Matrix, no physical component)
The host contains data on ongoing auctions, and has the ability to send messages to their partner company to ship goods that were auctioned off.

This is where I get confused. I'm used to Matrix designs as being a graph structure (one node leads to another) but it seems more like it's all free space. If I had to take a stab at it, it's a host where you can do Matrix Perception checks to find the data. I have no idea how I'd implement the message-sending.

4. Typical office building
There are cameras around the building, and a security office that can view those cameras. There is a director's office that has private data on his computer. There is a cubicle "farm" with many terminals where employees come in everyday to work. They have to access the same shared data.

I'd make a host for the building. The cameras are all devices slaved to the host. The security terminal would be a device that is slaved to the host, that has a special command to view the cameras. The cubicle terminals would be more slaved devices. The shared data would be inside the host

I'm not sure what to do about the director's office. I want him to have access to the shared data on the host, but I also want his personal data to be "separate", i.e. I want someone to have to break into his computer specifically to retrieve the data. This would all be much easier if I could create subhosts, or have some sort of traversal control once inside the host.

[Adder]

I should add that one thing I've noticed is that a device that is not in a host is extremely vulnerable. For example, let's say you have a maglock on your shed in the backyard. If someone spots it over the Matrix and fails to Sleaze it, you get a mark on them. But maybe you're not jacked in that moment in time. Maybe you're not a decker at all. Unless you can participate in cybercombat against them, there's nothing to stop them from repeatedly trying to break into that maglock excluding their overwatch score, which would likely take a LOT of attempts.

However, if that maglock was part of a host, the hacker would need to 1. break into the host 2. fight IC launched as soon as they failed the first Sleaze.

That conclusion has led me to the reasoning that pretty much everything that is important should be in a host.

[Darzil]

Note - not a GM (yet)

1. Stuffer Shack on the corner
The rulebook explicitly lists Stuffer Shacks as almost always having their own individual host. Let's say the shack has one security camera, and a solid metal "bandit barrier" that can be lowered upon button press.

I'd have a rating 3-4 Host (low end commercial), to save complexity I'd slave the camera and barrier to it. It'd run Patrol IC, and be able to release Blaster IC and Track IC. Anything Patrol IC picked up would be relayed to head office, but they'd probably have slow response.

2. Commuter train
The train has an engine car in the front, and wirelessly lockable doors. The engine car can be rigged into. Additionally, each car has cameras that are viewable in the engine car.

I'd slave the doors to the engine car, and have it normally rigged. Don't see a need to be a host.

3. Auction company's host (purely in the Matrix, no physical component)
The host contains data on ongoing auctions, and has the ability to send messages to their partner company to ship goods that were auctioned off.

Probably host rating 5-6 if it handles the logistics of the auction including who wins and shipping. Depending on the level of goods, I'd have the IC be deadly or stun. If very high value, they might well have a decker on call.

4. Typical office building
There are cameras around the building, and a security office that can view those cameras. There is a director's office that has private data on his computer. There is a cubicle "farm" with many terminals where employees come in everyday to work. They have to access the same shared data.

Low security would be a host 3-4 with cameras slaved to the host which stores the data, IC probably doing stun. Director computer would be a higher rating device, and not slaved to the host.
Higher security would be host 5-6, cameras either slaved to a security host or standalone, with decker on duty with marks on camera and hosts. IC doing stun or deadly depending on policy.
At higher security still you can add turrets with a rigger, etc !

[Darzil]

I should add that one thing I've noticed is that a device that is not in a host is extremely vulnerable. For example, let's say you have a maglock on your shed in the backyard. If someone spots it over the Matrix and fails to Sleaze it, you get a mark on them. But maybe you're not jacked in that moment in time. Maybe you're not a decker at all. Unless you can participate in cybercombat against them, there's nothing to stop them from repeatedly trying to break into that maglock excluding their overwatch score, which would likely take a LOT of attempts.

However, if that maglock was part of a host, the hacker would need to 1. break into the host 2. fight IC launched as soon as they failed the first Sleaze.

No. It isn't quite like that.

I come up to the maglock, and if I want to hack it wirelessly, assuming it's wireless, then yes, I have to beat the host's firewall/stats. However, if I plug in a direct connection cable, I hack it using it's own defences only, AND get a mark on the host if I succeed. An accessible device that is slaved is always a potential weakness.

[PiXeL01]

For office buildings and facilities I would have two hosts; one being the data pushing host, the other the security host. Both would have IC of course and hackers either patrolling (high rating) or on call (low).