[Odsh]

device limits makes 1 PAN for the whole team a fragging nightmare, but that's the ideal to aspire for.

I never understood the purpose of the device limit (from a gameplay perspective). Adding more devices to a PAN is a double edged sword anyway:

• Since you don't hack a device, but the PAN it belongs to, by adding a device to a PAN, you increase the amount of devices a hacker can gain access to in one go.
• Noise considerations: when hacking a PAN, I assume that you calculate noise based on the distance to the nearest device in that PAN. Having devices in your PAN all over the place just makes it easier for a hacker to avoid noise. If your PAN includes a device that is located far away and being hacked, you may even have yourself noise issues when trying to counterattack the intruding hacker.

[Xenon]

The limit make sense when it comes to smarter devices such as Drones, Firing Platforms, Smart Turrets, Vehicles etc. Want to control more devices, get a better RCC. The limit does not make sense when it comes to all other wireless electronic devices that you carry on your body. Which is why it have been suggested that you, in addition to Slaved Devices (that still use the limit and is used for smarter devices that typically have an auto pilot of its own), can 'network' any number of wireless devices that you carry with you (no limit).

[Odsh]

The limit make sense when it comes to smarter devices such as Drones, Firing Platforms, Smart Turrets, Vehicles etc. Want to control more devices, get a better RCC.

The rules are a bit ambiguous here. As I understand it, whet the RCC really gives you is the ability to give a command to more than one drone with a single action. I assume you could still slave more than one drone to a commlink for instance, but then you'd need to command each drone individually.

Is it against the rules to have more than one PAN? If not and if you have separate squadrons of drones that will rarely be given the same command (scouting microdrones vs combat drones for example), a cheaper alternative could be to buy several smaller RCC. For example, instead of one Aztechnology Tlaloc (8 drones) you can get four Maersk Spider (4 drones each) that still have respectable defensive stats. These lower stats are somewhat compensated by the fact that each RCC constitutes a different, independent network that must be hacked separately.

[Michael Chandra]

From the February 2020 errata file:
p. 268, Accessories table
Sim Modules have Availability —, cost +100¥;
Hot Sim has Availability 2(I), cost +250¥.

So it's 250 nuyen to get your RCC hotsim-capable, and you can already do cold-sim if you network it with your commlink I think, since commlinks come with normal sim modules by default.

[Xenon]

Not at books atm :-(

p. 268, Accessories table

In SR5 this was specifically a commlink accessory (remember having this discussion before).

But I guess since rules in SR6 are deliberately less defined it is probably a lot easier to interpret it as if this accessory can also be used for RCCs (as well as other devices perhaps?).

you can already do cold-sim if you network it with your commlink

In SR5 it was clear that you either used a commlink (which were cheap and could give you access to its SIM module if it was modded by one) or you used a RCC (which gave you access to its multiple parallel channels, sharing and noise reduction etc) - if you wanted to switch between them you had to reboot both devices.

In SR6 rules are (in general) a lot less clear. Having said that it seem as if you can have multiple devices in the network at least for the purpose of providing firewall and data processing attribute arrays you can pick from, but possible also to enable you to access the matrix via a RCC while at the same time going into VR by using the SIM module provided by your commlink that is part of the same network...?

Not sure where to draw the line actually. For example, it doesn't seem to be intended that you can access the matrix via a RCC while at the same time having a cyberdeck in your network providing you with Attack and Sleaze attributes....

commlinks come with normal sim modules by default.

This changed?

In SR5 commlinks typically only came with a SIM module by default if they were implanted
Otherwise you had to get the SIM module commlink accessory.

(for riggers sim SIM module came default with their Control Rig implant and for deckers it came, also with hot-sim, as default in Cyberdecks).

[Michael Chandra]

Unless otherwise noted, these accessories are
compatible with commlinks, cyberdecks, and (with
GM permission) other electronic devices.

I wouldn't block you from getting it for an RCC.

A sim module must be accessed via a
direct neural interface, be it trodes, a datajack, or an
implanted commlink.

So you still need trodes or anything else giving DNI.

The implanted version of the commlink (p. 267)
comes with a sim module at no additional cost.

My bad, read too quick, you indeed need to buy separately for a non-implanted commlink.

[Xenon]

Thanks for looking up the citations for me (y)

So you still need trodes or anything else giving DNI.

Yeah, and since most riggers have a control rig the whole question is mostly moot.

But for the special case when you have a rigger with a RCC but without a control rig implant then your GM have 3 options:

• RCC does not come with SIM module and can not be upgraded with one and you can't use SIM module from any other device in your network, AR only for you! -but you can still command multiple drones from AR so it doesn't really matter
• RCC can be updated with a SIM module with the SIM module accessory
• You can use a commlink in your network that have been upgraded with a SIM module