Hackers, Riggers, and the Matrix?

[hackdZ]

Like many of you (I assume?) I am a huge fan of the SR P&P RPG, which I have played on and off for the last 5 - 6 years. When I heard that the kind people at Cliffhanger were producing a new MMO based on SR my excitement peaked.

"Holy crap! Someone is making a SR online RPG and their trying to stay true to the setting? "

 - Was pretty much my reaction. However, I started thinking;

My favorite types of characters to play in the P&P version were always Matrix/AR specialists. Either hackers, riggers or some other form of fancy techno person. But how will this fit into a computer game?

For example, A rigger & a hacker might not be the toughest (Physically) group of Shadowrunners to deal with, but...(At least in the P&P version) The rigger could be running anywhere between 1 - 5 armored Combat drones with SMG/LMG, (Which on FA Narrow/Wide Burst could cause some serious, serious damage) While the hacker runs ECCM protocols and hacks, cracks, and crashes any drones/Cyberware/Smart-linked weapons etc. In combination these two seemingly weak (in terms of individual combat ability) characters can take down multiple Street Samurai or tweaked combat characters...(Obviously this isn't the rule of course, just a generalization)

So what I would like to pose to Cliffhanger staff is;

Do you plan on implementing systems similar to the P&P game, so that (for lack of a better term) non-combat characters can compete? How many Drones will Riggers be able to control at once? Will we have Pilotsoft Programs to run drones for us? (essentially making drones like Pets from WoW) Will hackers be able to viably target things like an enemies cyberware? Eyes, arms, Heart? Will Smart-link play a role? Will we be able to hack them, and turn peoples weapons against them?

I realise alot of this is probably too difficult to implement in a browser game, but the Matrix is one of the biggest parts of the SR universe, and its possible to play characters that simply cannot function without it. Hopefully Cliffhanger has some answers and some cool ideas for what the Matrix has in store?

Thanks

and sorry for wall of text.

[primetide]

There are two answers to this:
a) we plan for groups, so initially you can always balance your group to have a damage dealer or a tank type in it
b) we actually do plan to have riggers with drones (how many is tbd) which can be upgraded and which can run independently of the char (so yes, like pets with big guns) and hackers hack into smartlinks etc. In fact, a lot of status information about enemies will be accessible through AR displays for hackers, so they can directly interact with enemy augmentation. We actually treat hackers the same way we treat combat roles- they need to be able to function in combat like adpets and shamans will have to: cause effects on enemies, either directly (block their smartlink) or indirectly (use the wall-mounted auto-turret) and quickly. Why not short-circuit enemy augmentations and make their head explode?

We will have aiming and target zones, not sure how detailed, though.

[Dimetime]

Are there plans for the npc hackers to be able to do the same level of hacking back against us?

[primetide]

do guards shoot back?
we will probably feature less "able" hackers, but of course the corps have their guys too

[hackdZ]

Thanks for the speedy reply's

One more question though, you said Drones will run independently of the rigger, which is awesome. But will they be able to "Jump-in" to a particular drone should the situation call for it? Or is that too difficult to balance for an online game?

PS: Thank you for this, if this game turns out to be half as good as it sounds I will cry...

[primetide]

Basically, as you will have to physically transport your drones to the mission location, the amount of drones you have will be limited. How exactly you select how many drones for a mission is not yet clear.

[Dimetime]

Very nice. The last thing I want is to have a feeling of missions being "too easy" or that the NPCs "held back" on me. That waters down sense of accomplishment in my view.