vizuals for the matrix

[snake85027]

Any thoughts visually on how the matrix would look? Will we be actually fighting inside of the matrix, which I hope so. I really like the look of tron 2 the game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjBCRE1T6nE

Any thoughts?

[Sangius]

Last I heard the plan was to keep it much like the astral space. You find matrix-objects in the game environment (e.g. a CCTV-camera) and can hack into it, like you can shoot at an enemy. Something along those lines. But that's just what things looked like months ago

[snake85027]

that would be sweet

[Nitz]

This is a very interesting discussion for me because I've often wondered how it works from one game master to another at this stage.

The team of runners reaches some physical matrix object like the CCTV cam you just identified. The hacker hacks on the fly and breaks in - then it's trivial to see what else is connected. There could be more cameras, some hub module, some database of faces for which the camera is scanning. The inherent complexity depends on how much effort the GM has put into this particular net. The genesis game did a pretty cool job of connecting all the ports and cams and locks and doors, etc etc.

Anyway to get back to my point, let's say you click and spend some action points from the normal perspective to frag the cam to drek and you're in. How do you present a UI that allows the hacker to see the matrix as it connects to that node whilst giving her the freedom to run around with her fellow runners who are now physically breaking into the location in question.

In my opinion as a gamer, that will be "hard to get right."

[Sangius]

From what I understood, there won't be any specific GMs but rather scenarios/missions designed by cliffhanger productions. And at some later stage, there then might be user-produced content too, but for now the 'GM' would be the same for all of us.

[Yardarm]

pretty sure he was talking in generalities. some GM's enjoy the complexity of a solid network to hack through, and sometimes it's just a story point to call on and (ab)use.

I think we'd all like to see some good Matrix environments for deckers, and there almost has to be the standard access vectors and backdoors that a good thief would ferret out. what will really set the Matrix up will be the VR interaction. possible reality filters, hot-sim cyber combat. good times.

[Nitz]

pretty sure he was talking in generalities. some GM's enjoy the complexity of a solid network to hack through, and sometimes it's just a story point to call on and (ab)use.

Yeah that's what I was saying - interacting with the matrix and how it's presented can vary a lot from GM to GM in the PnP game, so I was just curious how it would come together in this case. In the old 16bit games the rest of the whole world is on hold while your decker does his business. Shadowrun Online however is a multiplayer game that lends itself well to overlays being simply drawn on top of the normal view of the world. AR will be really easy to implement in a cool, very Shadowrun way. Unfortunately, matrix topology in general doesn't match up with the physical topology of the world, and that's where this could get tricky.

How do you let your hackers log into various matrix nodes while they also move around in meat space? The first thing that comes to mind is some kind of wacky split screen, or perhaps an Edge/Node graph of the network with various nodes just occupies the corner of a screen - like a minimap of sorts. I can see it being "too much" for somebody to really manage, but that's always kind of how I've imagined deckers.

Now I'm curious to hear from the dev team if they've got an awesome solution to this already.

[Decivre]

In the context of the Shadowrun game, the Matrix actually looks different everytime. When in virtual reality, the entire matrix works on metaphors, and those metaphors are determined by either the node you are in or the reality filter you are using. So a Renraku node might look like feudal Japan, with IC represented as samurai and files represented by scrolls; while a NeoNet node might have an abstract metaphor where files are represented in geometric shapes and IC are bizarre entities. One node might portray cybercombat as magical spells being exchanged between "mages", while another might portray it as WWII dogfighting. Furthermore, metaphors are personal, and two people might not be seeing the same thing for the same exact event.

So, if Hacker A has a reality filter with a WWII theme, while Hacker B has a reality filter for a martial arts tournament... they can face each other in cybercombat, each see their own metaphor, and still be able to match wits against one another just fine. In-game, this is all largely glossed over, and only playgroups that actually care about the matrix really explore this facet. Otherwise, it's mainly a roleplaying aesthetic.

In augmented reality, the matrix is more like a digital overlay in the hacker's senses. It likely has some translucency so that he can see past it, and probably looks more akin to an advanced command prompt or graphic user interface than it does the classic virtual matrix. I think it should be easy to pull off should they put AR in the game first. Hell, the Unity engine might even allow hacker players to open a new window in which to place all their hacking interfaces, allowing them to swap between the real and digital rapidly.

That said, I hope that the Unity engine is moddable from the client side, because that may open up the possibility that players can design their own matrix metaphors for the game.

[Sangius]

I think some of the ideas mentioned here are viable as brainstorming ideas. However, I am fairly sure that if you'd check the Q/A for infos on the Matrix, you'd find that for the time being plans are only to implement a sort of AR and no dedicated matrix-space whatsoever. It might come later on, but for now the good guys and gals at CP decided to split the different play-styles as little as possible - at least that's what I heard last.

[primetide]

This is indeed still the case - we have an AR overlay. Moving into the Matrix can be simulated by allowing you to interact with nodes physically distant from you, but visible on the AR overlay. That would probably be affected by Matrix Perception and governed by some other rules. But we cannot create a parallel map of malleable matrix geography for each mission I am afraid. Since each mission has different cameras and nodes and other functionalities, this would be too much work for now.

[Stahlseele]

Demand: Make it look like Tron. That is all you need to do! ^^

[primetide]

you want sille neon helmets and bike races?

[Stahlseele]

And Frisbees!
Don't forget the Frisbees!

[primetide]

so 80s

[Stahlseele]

Most good things came from the 80's.
Me for example!