2.4 - Computers and the AC

Something something hacking.

What Is A NetStructure

The short version is that a NetStructure is any combination of software, hardware, and user actvity designed to (1) perform specific functions, (2) retain specific data, and (3) protect those functions and data from intruders. A NetStructure can be basically anything; the primary server in a corporate office, a vehicle, a vending machine, or someone's brain (the price we all pay for carrying neuralware). An example NetStructure can be found here.

Usually, you won't have to deal with a NetStructure; this remains true for hackers, NetNinjas, and everyone else. Hackers and NetNinjas usually don't bother with the hassle of breaking into a NetStructure when they can fire off a simple app that will do most things they need, and everyone else wouldn't know what to do inside a NetStructure if they ever found themselves in one.

A NetStructure can only be accessed in deep VR. Even if you access a NetStructure by looking at something and choosing to open its structure, doing so automatically puts you in deep VR. This means that your body falls to the ground (so most people only do this while already laying down), and you immediately gain 1 Dissonance.

The NetStructure Map

The typical NetStructure is comprised of nodes, each of which is connected to one or more other nodes via pathways. You can travel along any pathway in any direction, not matter how long or short the path may be, but entering a node costs 1 cyber action. Some pathways may cross others, but you can't jump from one to another, you have to follow it to the end of line.

Map Nodes

Each node is classed as one of five types: Access, Security, Data, Feed, or Function.

Access Nodes are where you enter the NetStructure. There is usually only one Access node in a small NetStructure, but a larger NetStructure may have more than one; an Access node is where you begin your time in the scene, and if there's more than one you can choose which you prefer, unless the Narrator specifies one for story reasons.

Security Nodes contain nothing helpful, and exist only to impede your progress. Upon entering a Security node, you must immediately make a Techie + Software + Security SSI Check against the DN listed in the node. If you succeed, nothing happens. If you fail, several things happen: (1) the NetStructure is alerted to your presence, (2) all aggressive ICE apps on the NetStructure are immediately activated, and (3) you are pushed back to the node you were at before you failed your SSI Check.

Data Nodes contain information, classed by the name of the specific node you entered. For example, a Secure Data Node contains all Secure Data contained on the NetStructure. While in a Data Node you can view, or copy anything found there; viewing anything costs 1 real action, copying anything costs 1 cyber action. You can also attempt to modify or delete any of the data found here, but doing so costs 1 cyber action and you must make an SSI Check against the NetStructure's Firewall; if you fail, you take 1 level of damage and you are pushed back to the node you were at before you entered that Data Node.

Feed Nodes contain information based on the tactile, visual, aural, olfactoral, and gustatoral input (if any) of whatever contains the NetStructure you're infiltrating. For example, if you hacked into a vending machine with a security cam, you can see what it sees; if you hacked into a person's brain you can feel, taste, hear, smell, and see everything they do. If whatever you've hacked into doesn't have a particular sensory capability, there's nothing for you to see in that category.

  It's important to note that there are usually two different kinds of Feed Nodes. A Sensory Feed Node is a live current feed of the NetStructure's current sensory input; you can't pause, rewind, or anything else. A Memory Feed Node is also a live feed, but it's built on the recording of what comes from the nearest Sensory Feed Node; you can pause, rewind, and fast-forward all you want. There are limits to a Memory Feed Node, in that you can't go forward past the current point in time, and if you go too far back most of the memory begins to degrade. Anything older than about an hour either gets stored on a Data Node or a Function Node; if it doesn't, it's gone forever.

  While in a Feed Node you can view and copy what you're seeing without difficulty. You can also attempt to modify or delete any of the feeds, but doing so costs 1 cyber action and you must make an SSI Check against the NetStructure's Firewall; if you fail, you take 1 level of damage and you are pushed back to the node you were at before you entered that Feed Node. Modifying any sensory data in a Feed Node might also require some level of programming and artistry, depending on what you're trying to do, at the Narrator's discretion. Convincing someone they saw someone they didn't means you need to make that thing believable.

Function Nodes contain the critical systems necessary for the ongoing functionality of the NetStructure itself, and the machine or person in which it is installed. An ICS Core Functions Node is effectively the operating system for the entire NetStructure. It controls all ICE apps, regulates the flow of information, and more. While in that Node you can view or copy anything you like any of the NetStructure's apps. You can also attempt to modify or delete any of the NetStructure's apps, but doing so requires an SSI Check against the NetStructur's Firewall; if you fail, you take 1 level of damage and you are pushed back to the node you were at before you entered that Function Node.

  A Control Function Node monitors and regulates the hardware and wetware of the machien or person in which the NetStructure is installed. This means heart rate, nerve functions, throttle control, soup can dispensor, or the like; if it's a physical or physiological function of the machien or person you've hacked into, this Node controls it. You can view anything here without any effort. If you want to modify or delete any of the functions here, you must make an SSI Check against the NetStructur's Firewall; if you fail, you take 1 level of damage and you are pushed back to the node you were at before you entered that Function Node.

Using Apps

Given the way modern code is written, and the ways in which you interact with code in deep VR, it's technically possible to hack, rip, and do anything else without the use of apps. It's just a really bad idea, because everyone else is going to be using apps. Going into any NetStructure architecture without any apps is like going into a gunfight empty-handed.

App Storage

Players can have any number of apps loaded. Each app uses up a certain amount of space, usually measured in Exobytes (EB); if you've got enough money, you might have a storage drive measured in Zettabytes (ZB). Inactive apps are stored either on a Neural Storage Drive (NSD), Quantum Mirrored Drive (QMD), or sometimes a Solid State Drive (SSD); for the vast majority of cases, it'll probably be an NSD (QMDs are expensive as fuck, SSDs are ancient tech). Active apps remain on your storage drive, but also take up space in your Neural Random Access Memory (NRAM); usually about half the space they take on your storage drive (unless the app specifies otherwise).

Inactive and Active Apps

Inactive apps don't do anything unless they have a passive effect. An inactive app with no passive effects doesn't benefit or hinder you in any way, it just takes up space on your storage drive. An inactive app with a passive effect provides whatever benefit the passive effect is, given in the app's description.

Active apps perform whatever function they were designed for. An active app's passive effect continues (if it has one), but the app's primary function takes precedence in any instance where one might contradict the other. Every app's primary function is detailed in its description.

App Categories

Every app is categorized as aggressive, defensive, support, or utility, and its primary function exists within the confines of those descriptions. For example, a defensive app can never be used to perform aggressive actions.

There are, however, complex apps that fall within more than one category. These apps are expensive, difficult to write, and take up a lot more storage space, but they're usually extremely sought-after. For example, one of the more famous apps ever written is called Kingslayer; an extremely powerful app that makes the user almost unstoppable in any net architecture (the term "kingslayer" has also become a coloquial term for any highly powerful app, but most NetNinjas and hackers only refer to actual Kingslayers as kingslayers).

Something Something

Write something about how apps function. Defensive apps wrap around you and ablate damage, aggressive apps seek out ICE.