The reading I got from the core book was electronics were pervasive on all weapons unless throwback...
Unfortunately, this isn't true. Electronics are pervasive in
all items.
While throwbacks are immune to hacking via the wireless Matrix, all devices have a universal access port.
All being a throwback does for it is turn off wireless permanently.
I really wish there were three tiers of items.
- Standard: These are the "normal" items. They have some form of wireless functionality from the bare bones Advertisement ARO that your clothes give off, up to full Matrix interaction with comms or decks.
- Lobos (short for Lobotomies): These are what are currently Throwbacks. They still have electronics, but no wireless so they aren't "smart"
- Throwbacks: These are the true mechanical only items. There would be very few of them because so much must be broadcast to blend in with technosociety seemlesly
Until such a time, all items can be hacked - even bricked, even if there isn't a whole lot of mechanical benefit. I'm not sure who the madman is that put electronics into an actual 1860's firearm, but even it can be bricked via direct connection.
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As for how much I use the Matrix in my games...
I
want to use it all the time. I am a technophile at heart, and would love to use it all the time.
Unfortunately, the 5e Matrix rules are such a fusterclucking hot mess they get in the way of the game.
Since SINs are required to be broadcast at all times, it is nearly impossible for a Shadowrunner to even enter a non-public area in a building.
- If the internal sensors detect someone without a SIN? Alert security.
- You have a Fake SIN? Does it fail a verification check? Alert security, and they come out guns blazing because there is zero legitimate reason for a Fake SIN to be in a non-public area. (Public areas have a bit more leeway because there is too much chance for collateral damage that can't be easily covered up)
- You have a Fake SIN and it passes a verification check? Too bad. SINs = IDs, and it is stupid simple to check if the Fake SIN is authorized to be in the area. Alert security.
We know that SIN scanners are
everywhere because you need a Fake SIN just so you can hit up the Stuffer Shack without them calling the authorities on you for being a vagrant.
We also know that you can't duplicate someone elses SIN, in part because their SIN will be in use wherever they are.
So, if you follow the world as written, Shadowrunners can't even infiltrate a building without the tech alerting security.
Then there is the whole thing that there aren't any passwords/passcodes/access codes anymore because that is what your Persona is for.
And thanks to Kill Code, we know that a Persona can not be faked, forged, or hacked. The best that can be done is Masquerade as another persona. (Kill Code, page 39) This is not a simple thing to pull off. You need 4 MARKs (two on the Persona you are trying to imitate, as well as two on the icon/device you are trying to manipulate) and that means the Overwatch Score timeclock is ticking. If you or your target Persona logs off, your done.
Then, of course, that doesn't take into account that Personas are made of - among many other things - "usage patterns." That means it is easy to imagine that if you don't operate the icon/device you are manipulating in the same way as the person your imitating it could trip security.
A bad analogy would be think of typing speed. If you don't type at the same speed as the person you are imitating, the system can detect something is wrong and trip security.
What this does is anyones guess, but I imagine at the least it would be a re-verification of identity. Kind of like "security questions."
For a game that is supposed to revolve around stealth to some degree, the tech and magic make all of it nearly impossible.
And before anyone wants to respond with something along the lines of "no [sane] GM would run the game like that," let me stop you before you start.
If your only counterpoint is that "no GM would run the game as it is written," then that is a prime example of how crappy the rules are and how much they desperately need a rewrite.