[REQ] Cyberspace maps for Shadowrun Matrix simulations

[gcaytan]

Hello all,
I'm a french player, 31years old, having just bought HL2 only to run Dystopia !!!
That's makes years I have not played intensively to CS or HL mods, lakibg of time to stay in front on my PC.

I'm a RolePlayingGame master, supporting Shadowrun since the first edition more than 10 years ago, and this autumn 06, i will concretise a project I have in mind for years. Organising a LiveActionRolePlaying game in the Shadowrun world.

With 7 to 9 teams of 7 runners, meeting in a suburb old factory, each team will be transfered to outdoor sites for 3 missions during the weekend, I will rely on an already existing PC network and intranet PHP interface (developed for a StarWars LARP organised by my association few years ago) for chat services, online infos, bank accounting, etc... but I am still searching something to simulate a "good" matrix.

Cyberspace developped in the Dystopia project is FANTASTIC, congratulations to all Dystopia developpers.

My only dream now would be to integrate this cyberspace in my LARP project, but i'm not at all a mod mapper, and i'm completely unable to evaluate the complexity of "extracting" the cyberspace part of Dystopia, to propose to the deckers LARP players only this part of the game. Live assault being played in LARP.

Hoping this introduction shows you how much I'm EXCITED by the Dystopia demo compared to my always DREAMT Shadowrun Matrix.

And expecting than somebody would help me to make this dream come true !

[Persol]

Just want to clear up what you are looking for:
Your people run around outside roleplaying the shadowrun universe. You want something they can actually log into, but is more fitting then just the internet.
You want them to only see the cyberspace portion when they log in.

Assuming I'm reading you right, you can put each player on the map infront of a deck, and they'll just need to hit F1 to login to cyberspace.

What exactly do you want on these maps though? A runthrough of a sample mission would help.

[gcaytan]

Hello,

To avoid the "real life" part of Dystopia, I agree, the best solution would be to start the game with each player in front of a JAck in Point, just having to push F1 to enter Cyberspace.

The problem I see after playing few hours of Dystopia, is that Cyberspace is like "capture the flag" missions, and require two teams (at least two deckers) just fighting for nodes.

For simulating an Shadowrun Matrix during my LARP, when a team will be out for an outdoor mission, I will have only the decker player loggedn on a laptop pc, so he will encounter no opposition.
That's a real problem, compared to Shadowrun Matrix, where a decker will have to fight lots of differents ICE. It would require dystopia Matrix to have bots and I don't know if it is feasible. (not only bots which are aggressive, fix like turrets, or mobiles like enemy deckers, but also ICE which will run directly to your entry point and eject you if successful.)

Okay, it is less a problem when they one or two deckers players will jack in the factory because I will have networked PCs, and will be able to jack in some opponents.

In terms of providing you a sample mission. In fact, any map already existing is beautiful and different. Having at least 4 to 10 servers, and 1 to 3 nodes in each is ok.
I need to be able to change the node names to map an objective in the LARP mission (like opening the gate, stop the detectors, etc...)
I would like to add the capability to read some infos, like the actual cameras nodes which provide you real life view, there i would like to make a text scrolling...
Last thing, I would like to know if the decker could be customised, havin the capability to provide is energy value, the power of his programs, not only the attack ones.

Here it is, you know everything about my DREAMS, hoping one of you could help me make them come TRUE.

guigui

[feanix]

are you going to have all your players decking in the same cyberspace?

you are right when you say that the exisitng style of cyberspace is limiting. unfortuantely, we cant add bots and turrets with hammer alone, we'd actually have to add models, add code and so forth, and we cant do that.

its an interesting idea, tho. if you had the devs permission, you could try to make an off shoot mod thats more cyberspace orientated

[gcaytan]

to answer to the question : are you going to have all your players decking in the same cyberspace?

I would answer that on outdoor mission NO, one decker will be alone in front of a PC, and that's were the problem is.

In the factory building, I would answer, POTENTIALLY YES, because if it is to hack differents systems for differents infos, each decker will be logged on different cyberspaces, with one or two ennemy deckers being played by NonPlayersCharacters. Few missions could be to hack the same system with two players deckers and NPCs deckers as enemies, and their the problem is that players deckers could be opposed and Dystopia does not offer 3 different teams.

Hope this could help to understand my dreams

BR
Guillaume

[Garrisson]

Howdy,

I am playing Cyberpunk LARP in Germany myself and my GameMasters had the very same problem. Two Players - one of them me - came up at the same time with the same solution: "There is this cool mod for HL2 called Dystopia!". So basically my idea was to do a matrix run with 2-4 Deckers where the Deckers use the real world tech of WiFi to connect to the Server.
The meatspace is played out in real 3D and the deckers push F1 on a keyboard to log on/jack in.
(All the deckers spawn in a Dystopia map in front of a JIP inside a completely dark room)
As cyberspunk LARP cons have usually 5-30 Players with max 2-5 of them being deckers there should be no problem with the technical limitation of a server in the LAN.
So here I am starting to design a map mainly consisting out of a big CS...
I will soon start to write PNs to those people here, who also wanted to do a "mainly CS" map. Maybe we can pool the ressources...

[the-central-scrutinizer]

Considering how the Matrix in SR is presented (at least in the novels), one solution would be to use meatspace and cyberspace segments both as Matrix constructs.
The meatspace parts could be out of proportion or using cs textures to give it a strange look. You can also add lighting effects or decals for additional Matrix look.
Teleport entities could serve as node connections or i/o ports with cs parts to be just another CPU/SPU. And gravity on the whole map could be cahnged too.

[pcktkite]

Was wondering if this ever got figured out? I would love something like this for a similar game.