[Stainless Steel Devil Rat]

If a Rigger has several of the same kind of drone, she can run one copy of an Autosoft on her RCC for all those drones' benefit (so long as they're in the WAN, not jammed, etc).

What if the Rigger wants to run the Autosoft natively on each drone?  Say you have 3 MCT-Rotodrones and you have Maneuvering (MCT-Rotodrone) rating X.  Do you have to buy two more copies at however many thousand nuyen each, or can you run instances of that same autosoft on each drone?

[Marcus]

In 4th edition if you were prepared to pirate the software you could. Doing so came with a list of risks, but I have no idea about that in 5th.

[Kiirnodel]

If you want to buy just one copy of a program, you would need to use an RCC for the program sharing.

If you want to run a program on an individual device, you need to buy multiple copies of that program.


Essentially, programs have copy-protection that prevent them from being run on multiple devices at the same time. There are no rules in 5th edition for breaking copy-protection to let you pirate that software.

[Stainless Steel Devil Rat]

In 4th edition if you were prepared to pirate the software you could. Doing so came with a list of risks, but I have no idea about that in 5th.

Yeah, it's potentially a pretty big deal when it's qudruple digits of =Y= for an Autosoft as to whether or not you're supposed to buy one for each drone or if you can just run the same Autosoft on each drone.

[Marcus]

If you want to buy just one copy of a program, you would need to use an RCC for the program sharing.

If you want to run a program on an individual device, you need to buy multiple copies of that program.


Essentially, programs have copy-protection that prevent them from being run on multiple devices at the same time. There are no rules in 5th edition for breaking copy-protection to let you pirate that software.

Ahhh so sad, no more cracking.

[Stainless Steel Devil Rat]

Essentially, programs have copy-protection that prevent them from being run on multiple devices at the same time.

Not to argue, but can you cite a source?  I didn't find anything on that topic and want to know where to look.

[Jack_Spade]

If you have a lenient GM, you might be allowed to use the Build/Repair rules to program your own autosoft with the software skill based on an existing copy - the B/R rules are so rudimentary and short that their is no clearly defined scope of what exactly you can or can't create by yourself.

[SpellBinder]

Yes.  Slave all drones to your RCC and depending on the Noise Reduction/Sharing setup upon its bootup (which added together equal the RCC's Device Rating), its running autosofts are shared to all the drones to the exclusion of whatever each drone may have.

[Marcus]

Not to argue, but can you cite a source?  I didn't find anything on that topic and want to know where to look.

I don't think there is a source, but that's how it was explained in 4th, and I don't see any reason it will be changed in 5th.  We may get more about it in the new hacking book, but I doubt it. 

[SpellBinder]

Not to argue, but can you cite a source?  I didn't find anything on that topic and want to know where to look.

I don't think there is a source, but that's how it was explained in 4th, and I don't see any reason it will be changed in 5th.  We may get more about it in the new hacking book, but I doubt it.

Everything has a cost.

[Stainless Steel Devil Rat]

Not to argue, but can you cite a source?  I didn't find anything on that topic and want to know where to look.

I don't think there is a source, but that's how it was explained in 4th, and I don't see any reason it will be changed in 5th.  We may get more about it in the new hacking book, but I doubt it.

Well, that's head scratching.  If it's restricted like that it poses problems when expounded out into the game world.

Can you run the same autosoft program then on different drones, one at a time?

Can a the software be used on a new drone after the first drone was destroyed?

HOW does the software know that other copies of itself are running elsewhere on other drones that are silent running/ aren't in the same WAN?

If the software somehow knows when it's running simultaneously on multiple drones and copy-protection code prevents function.. then the code must be talking to itself between the drones across the matrix.  Why then are the megacorps not using that unjammable/undetectable communication to report back to Big Brother and omnisciently track every drone doing anything using their software?

Still, the rules appear say nothing one way or the other.  I suppose the responsible thing for a player is to assume the more restrictive possibility and expect to have to buy multiple copies of the same program if there's nothing out there in the rulebook that leans in favor of a "buying a single autosoft gives you a license to use it on all your drones" assumption.

[Kiirnodel]

I can say this: There are no rules for copying programs. (Thus, you can't do it)

And there are several factors that help us infer a confirmation of this fact.

• For one, if programs could be copied without limit, then they wouldn't cost anything. There would just be someone out there that has their infinite copies and just gives them out to everyone. Or the reciprocal, you buy a program, copy it, and make infinite money selling those copies.
• There would be no point in subscribing to the Data Libraries presented in Data Trails for more than a month. If you could copy freely, you subscribe, download and copy every program you want and done.
• I could probably come up with more if I wanted, but it would probably be more of the same

In the end, it boils down to "No, you can't game the system and have infinite copies when you only paid one time." That's not how it is written, and that's not how it would be set up to enforce balance. If you want to think of it as you can have infinite copies, but you can only run it for the number of licenses you've paid for, then great. The end effect is the same.

Personally, I prefer to use the idea that it limited from being copied. Meaning that transferring the program involves deleting the source. To use a completely different sci-fi reference, sort of like transporters in Star Trek. As far as salvaging from a destroyed drone, I would require some sort of test to recover the proper parts to not need to buy a new copy of the program.

[Marcus]

The concept holds up pretty well honestly, boiled way down it's like current day Window's 10 while it's running it checks in the microsoft to get security updates general bug fixes, and windows 10 it can tell if the same key is being used on multiple computers. What we are talking about here much more sophisticated

Just like very expensive software package today (and I'm not talking about Photoshop here) I mean software packages where individual licenses run 10k+ per instance, and believe that much more expensive packages do exist (or even packages that charge per process), in order to install it you have go through whatever authentication steps the maker requires and generally that means local licencing servers etc. Stuff that like isn't going to spoofed isn't going to be fooled by even a pretty professional cracking tool, or at-least won't be fooled for long. 

Given the level of control GOD has in the next Matrix I'll buy that they have pretty well shutdown cracking on serious software packages.

As to why mega corps don't screw around with it? B/C you bought it, they won't mess with a product you paid for, it would destroy their business if word of that ever got out.

[Stainless Steel Devil Rat]

I can say this: There are no rules for copying programs. (Thus, you can't do it)

I wasn't asking about can you copy software.

I'm not sure that it's viable to use real-world computer security protocols/paradigms with the fantasy matrix of SR5, but to rebut the example of copy protection there's also the example of licensing.  You buy the software and you can install it on X number of devices at once.

I actually can see the argument that Autosofts are more like firmware than software.  You install it on a drone and that's it can't have it on any other drones.   It's just that if something called a "program" operates like firmware, it's funny to call it a program is all

So let's say it's a given that one purchase of MCT-Rotodrone Maneuvering 3 allows you to run it on one MCT-Rotodrone and only one MCT-Rotodrone.  What if the drone gets destroyed?  Can you re-install that same Autosoft from whatever serves as the 2079 analogue for installation keys or will you have to purchase a new autosoft as well when you get a new drone?

[Stainless Steel Devil Rat]

As to why mega corps don't screw around with it? B/C you bought it, they won't mess with a product you paid for, it would destroy their business if word of that ever got out.

Oh COME ON.

Have you no familiarity with the cyberpunk genre at all?   Word doesn't "get out".   And if it does, the corp "makes sure" that the people airing the paydata are silenced or discredited.  It's literally what Shadowrunners do!