[Basic]

Anyone have an Idea to stream line hacking ?

So that Matrix Hacking Will Move Faster in the game ?

[Mara]

Funny...I have seen most hacking take like...5 minutes. The system is already very streamlined from Matrix Hacking
taking all night. In fact, it is quite possible to have matrix hacking and meat world activities all done at once.
Seriously, since they did away with the CPU, SPU, Data Nodes, etc architecture, it made the Matrix much easier to
do things with.

[Dr. Meatgrinder]

Agree--it's already about as streamlined as it can get.  The only way to streamline it further is to remove/ignore Matrix defenses from unimportant stuff.  (For example, if you're making an optimized TM actually roll to hack a device rating 3, that's a waste of time.)

I'm really happy with what they've done in SR4, in which Matrix actions can be rolled quickly enough to be integrated into a firefight.  I GMed SR2 back in college, when hacking anything significant meant taking the decker's player into another room for an hour while the rest of the team ordered pizza.

[raggedhalo]

I'm really happy with what they've done in SR4, in which Matrix actions can be rolled quickly enough to be integrated into a firefight.

Agreed.  At my game last night, the team hacker was hacking into Yakuza commlinks whilst the rest of the team were shooting holes in them.  It worked very nicely.

[Sichr]

Also agree. I dont like how dicepools are computed and Im unhappy about lot of contradictions in rules and Unwired, but yes, it is quite possible to incorporate hacking into any type of combat

[Mirikon]

Same here. Although hacking is best done in advance, through subtle probing (you're less likely to be spotted breaking in), the short order stuff can be very useful. My favorite tactic is to find someone with cybereyes, hack them, and Edit their vision in real-time. But then, I have watched a lot of Ghost in the Shell, so Harlequin isn't the only Laughing Man I draw inspiration from.

[_Pax_]

I'm really happy with what they've done in SR4, in which Matrix actions can be rolled quickly enough to be integrated into a firefight.  I GMed SR2 back in college, when hacking anything significant meant taking the decker's player into another room for an hour while the rest of the team ordered pizza.

GODS YES.

One night, just once, I managed to run a game in both the matrix, and in meatspace, at the same time .... in full parallel.  On the one hand, I had to gloss over some of the matrix stuff (didn't give it as rich a description as I'd've liked, to save time; said "eh, close enough" if the player made especially-good rolls, etc).

And on the other hand?  mind-meltingly exhausting.  All night, I literally didn't have three seconds' time in which to catch my breath.  I had to just run headlong through the scenario.

I'll grant you, my players waxed effusive with their praise.  But ... it still was not worth ever, EVER making another attempt.

But in SR4 ...?  EASY AS CAKE. 

[GiraffeShaman]

I'm really happy with what they've done in SR4, in which Matrix actions can be rolled quickly enough to be integrated into a firefight.  I GMed SR2 back in college, when hacking anything significant meant taking the decker's player into another room for an hour while the rest of the team ordered pizza.

Heheh, yeah that was about how my introduction to Shadowrun around 93 happened. Only it was even worse since the GM was the Decker's best friend and pretty much exclusively ran him while we sat around making characters the whole night. I still loved the game though from the start, despite that, and it became part of our group's main rotation. And we still rarely use pc Deckers, no ban on em, but we streamline the mechanics and no one really wants to play it often.