Computers & Hosts

Personal computers are still as popular as they were since the days before Microdeck changed it's name and several Matrix Crashes changed the digital landscape. Whether it's something for gaming, word processing, or a specialized piece for a specific job, computers haven't changed all that much.

Hosts, meanwhile, are the "severs" of the Sixth World. Foundation and Framework Hosts can be found everywhere from Stuffer Shacks to megacorporate buildings - and they vary in power, price, internal functions, and processing power just as much as where you'll find them.

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Computers & Hosts

Dataterms

Cyberterminals

Optical Stack Mainframes / "Bricks"

Dataterms

These basic computers are marketed as essential in-home communication and entertainment devices. They are able to run any commlink program and provide voice and AR access, full text functions, telephone/vidphone, Matrix browsing, data storage, and chip ports. With accessories like speakers and trid-projectors - or ASIST - they become full home entertainment systems.

They also generate a PAN to control other in-home devices like environmental controls, lighting, auto-chefs, and cleaning drones. With slightly different brand names, the same units can be found who need to stay chained to their workstations but don’t require full cyberterminals for their job. Both types of dataterms can run a digital assistant to manage a schedule, search the Matrix, flag news stories of interest, and carry out other simple commands.

Dataterms are relatively boxy devices, typically the size and shape of a large book, that are non-portable and require an external power supply. With no need for portability or compactness, and the fact they use technology at least a generation or two behind current SOTA, dataterms offer all of the processing power, data storage, and functions of a commlink at a fraction of the cost.

Eastern Electronics Term

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¥30

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Xiao Homestation

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¥150

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Novatech Edge

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¥400

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Spectrum VVX

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¥900

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Leviathan Executive

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¥1,500

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Hermes Home Connect

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¥4,000

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Cyberterminals

Many corporate security jobs simply do not justify the expense of an implanted cyberjack or the portability of a cyberdeck, especially those filled by low-level personnel who haven’t proven their ability or loyalty yet. Most employers prefer a low-cost option for facility and Matrix security work, one that can sit on a desk and be used by the next shift - or the replacement for the guy who just had his brains fragged.

Cyberterminals provide full ASDF Matrix functions in one device, but are non-portable, requiring a stable external power supply to operate. They are physically much larger than a cyberdeck, about the size of a large briefcase or suitcase.

Most include a supplemental flip-up flat display and a manual input device for accessing basic functions. For actual use, a cyberterminal can project standard AR overlay controls, and all models include a sim-module for full DNI connectivity if the user has a datajack or trodes.

Aztechnology Aprendlz

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3 (Illegal)

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¥52,500

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Radio Shack CT-200

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3 (Illegal)

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¥79,900

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Microdeck Watchman

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4 (Illegal)

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¥105,250

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Renraku Shugosha

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5 (Illegal)

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¥129,000

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Shiwase Gunso

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6 (Illegal)

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¥254,500

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Fairlight Falcon

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7 (Illegal)

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¥380,250

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Optical Stack Mainframes / "Bricks"

Once the backbone of the Matrix, optical stack mainframes, usually called optical bricks or just bricks, were the primary devices used for host generation, data networks, and general commercial computing. That changed in 2075 with the adoption of Danielle de la Mar’s new Matrix protocols. Within a few months, the unlimited free processing power and storage of Foundation-tech hosts had convinced almost every major user to mothball their physical equipment. It didn’t take long for cracks to start appearing in Foundation-tech, and research nuyen was funneled back into improving physical processing. Eventually, a new framework base structure that mimics a Foundation archive was developed. With that advancement and others in place, framework hosts generated by optical stack mainframes have started coming back into use.

Individual optical bricks are about the size of a dataterm or a large book. They are packed solid with stacked optical processors, power converters, ASIST arrays, and signal processors; they all require a stable external power supply to operate. The rating of a brick is a measure of its processing speed and capacity, but even the lowest-rated bricks have the computing power of a room full of pre-optical computers. While available as a single device, they are more commonly found in pre-packaged and pre-networked assemblies such as quads (four bricks), cubes (sixteen bricks), and walls (sixty-four brick assemblies). Micro-scale and base-scale hosts use a single cluster of bricks, quads, cubes, or wall assemblies, while larger hosts require a series of networked wall assemblies scattered around the coverage area.

While a single brick has the processing power to generate a grade 1, scope 1 framework host, almost every other application requires multiple bricks, sometimes hundreds or even thousands, networked together. And of course, a framework host also requires more than raw processing power. There is a substantial amount of programming, along with the host registration, that goes into even the simplest host. In addition to their use in generating framework hosts, bricks can be connected to other devices, like dataterms, to provide dedicated computational power for science or engineering projects. When used this way, the brick’s rating must match or exceed the rating of the device it’s connected to.

Rating 1 - 3

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Rating x ¥800

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Rating 4 - 6

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Rating 7 - 9

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Rating x ¥10,000

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Hosts

Every host is defined by three characteristics that describe its overall capabilities:

Rating: This is a number from 1 to 12 that measures the host’s security and processing power.
Grade: A number from 1 to 6 representing the sophistication of the simsense interface.
Scale: A number from 1 to 6 that sets the effective area of the host’s LAN or WAN.

Hosts are also defined by whether they are Framework or Foundation, but those two terms have more to do with how hosts are created than how they function. To reflect this, the two different types of hosts have a different cost for the host rating, host grade, and host scale.

Host Rating

This cost represents the shell of the host and the grade and scale modifiers applied to it. The host rating number, ranging from 1 to 12, sets the Matrix Attributes of the host. These are its Attack, Sleaze, Data Processing, and Firewall values. For Foundation hosts, the rating of these individual attributes will typically be (Host Rating), (Host Rat-ing +1), (Host Rating +2), and (Host Rating +3).

They can be assigned in any order. Foundation host shells, of all ratings, can only be purchased from one of the few builders licensed by the Corporate Court to use their software. This keeps the base cost comparatively high for low-resolution grades and low-scale hosts. Less-than-legal buyers must also include the expense of setting up shell corporations in the cost to make the purchase look legitimate.

Framework hosts have a lower base cost for low-resolution grade and low scales since they use relatively inexpensive optical stack mainframes—or bricks—to form the shell. The cost of a framework host increases quickly as the scale and grade increase, since both of these factors require large increases in the number of bricks needed to generate the host. Framework hosts also have a yearly operating cost that totals two percent of the initial cost of the host. Framework hosts also have the option of running as standalone systems with no connection to the Matrix, while Foundation hosts must always be open to the Matrix. Using this option has no impact on the cost of a framework host.

Host Grade

The grade of a host is a measure of the sophistication of the simsense interface. As the simulation becomes more immersive and realistic, it requires more elaborate programming. Framework hosts also need more processing power to run the higher resolutions - requiring more physical equipment - and this is reflected in the higher grade modifier. Foundation hosts have basically unlimited processing, so increasing the resolution grade only has to account for the programming cost. This makes Foundation hosts running higher resolution grades much less expensive than a framework host using higher grades.

Grade 1 Minimal: Resolution is dialed all the way down to most basic geometric shapes and solid primary colors. Gravity, momentum, and other physical forces are not simulated. This is the lowest-cost interface possible, and users unfamiliar with the settings of a specific host will need to analyze every icon to see what its function is. This resolution is typically used for engineering and scientific work where the processing power needed for applications far outweighs the need for an immersive interface.

Grade 2 Default: Displays a basic default iconography with no customization of icons or host. The visual components of icons have a granulated or pixelated appearance, and if other sensory outputs are present, they will be equally crude. Default grade hosts may use some basic gravity environment simulation but no realistic modeling of momentum or other forces. Generally used in low-budget applications where the user is an employee, not a customer.

Grade 3 Standard: Some customization of icons and the visual elements of the host environment are made to align with the owner’s corporate branding. This is the most common resolution grade, used for retail, service, and other general-use, public-facing interfaces.

Grade 4 Custom: Customized iconography is used throughout the host to match a theme set by the host programmers. Regular users of the host can gain a single point of Edge advantage over anyone unfamiliar with its specific iconography and environment. Typically used for high-end retail and service applications, a front-facing customized host has become the standard expected from most corporations. This is the point where Foundation hosts become more cost-effective than framework hosts.

Grade 5 Sculpted: This allows programmers to define all aspects of the VR experience. Many of the icons are specific to the sculpted host, and new users will generally have to analyze an icon to see what its function is. Programmers often alter the parameters of the environment, such as gravity or momentum, and may include overrides for reality filters. Regular users of the host can gain up to two points of a Dice Reroll advantage over anyone unfamiliar with the host’s specific iconography and environment on any opposed test. Generally used as a status symbol for major corporations as much as for any other reason, framework hosts with this level of simsense interface sophistication can be prohibitively expensive.

Grade 6 Ultra-Violet: Highest resolution possible, indistinguishable from reality by the metahuman mind. UV hosts have specific rules for interaction. This level of interface is quite rare, and most were built as research projects to push the SOTA, but a few have been built for ultra-high-end entertainment.

Host Scale

The geographic footprint of the LAN or WAN generated by the host is a general measure describing its relative size. The host used by a small research team or your local Stuffer Shack does not need connectivity outside of a very limited area; on the other hand, your typical megacorporation wants their front-facing main host to span the entire globe, regardless of the cost.

Scale 1 Micro (Personal): Designed to cover a very limited area such as an apartment, home, or small office with a small number of users in the host at any given time. These systems are considered a local area network (or LAN). Depending on the security rating, the micro-scale personal host can be used for residential applications, independent professionals, or small research labs. Micro-scale hosts with wireless access turned off are also the perfect solution for high-security, local-access-only data archives.

Scale 2 Base (Facility): Covering a larger area than a micro-scale host, the base-scale host is also a LAN and is anchored to a single physical location at the Matrix ground level. These hosts are designed to serve a single building or a small compound. They are capable of handling the computing needs of most retail outlets, restaurants, large research labs, or small corporate facilities.

Scale 3 Net (Local): The smallest of the distributed host systems generating a wide area network (or WAN), the net-scale—or network-scale—host is designed to cover an area kilometers across. Framework net-scale systems are installed in several separate locations across the area served and then networked together to provide coverage. Net-scale hosts are represented above the ground level of the Matrix. They can provide service to a large corporate compound, an arcology, a district in a typical sprawl, or even a small town.

Scale 4 Macro (Sprawl): Providing coverage to a single large city or sprawl, the macro-scale host is a distributed WAN system typically used by city governments or as the main hosts of local corporations. Framework systems at this scale use the same technology as a net-scale host and in fact can just be considered several net-scale systems networked together.

Scale 5 Mega (National): Designed to span an entire large nation or the continental division of a corporation, mega-scale hosts are typically owned by national governments and AA-rated or larger corporations. Inside the virtual world of the Matrix, the mega-scale hosts fill in the middle areas, below the giant constructs of the AAAs but still far above the rest.

Scale 6 Exa (Global): The largest hosts possible, exa-scale hosts provide coverage to the entire planet. The handful that exist are owned by the world’s megacorporations, and their icons dominate the virtual sky of the Matrix, floating kilometers above everything else.

Framework Hosts

Framework hosts are built using a physical infrastructure connecting optical stack mainframes via fiber optic cables and wireless broadcast. Frameworks are cheaper to build on the small scale but are expensive and difficult to maintain on the global level. However, because they are built on physical servers, they can be isolated from the Matrix and still function, allowing a very controlled security environment when needed.

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¥500

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Rating 2

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¥750

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¥1,000

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¥4,000

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Rating 5

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¥6,000

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x128

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Rating 6

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¥8,000

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x256

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Rating 7

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¥10,000

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x256

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Rating 8

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¥20,000

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x256

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Rating 9

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¥100,000

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x256

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Rating 10

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¥500,000

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x256

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Rating 11

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¥2,500,000

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x256

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Rating 12

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¥5,000,000

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x256

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Foundation Hosts

Foundation hosts are vast virtual hosts that are built from the fabric of the Resonance itself, as such they are extremely efficient to build and maintain on a large scale. This factor alone was very significant in de la Mar gaining the necessary support for implementing the new protocols based on this Foundation technology. The drawback to these, though, is that they can never truly be taken offline and are always connected to the Resonance, making them vulnerable to those who know how to navigate and manipulate the Resonance.

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¥5,000

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Rating 2

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¥7,500

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Rating 3

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¥10,000

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Rating 4

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¥20,000

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Rating 5

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¥30,000

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Rating 6

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¥40,000

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x128

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Rating 7

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¥100,000

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x128

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Rating 8

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¥200,000

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x128

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Rating 9

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¥300,000

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x128

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Rating 10

Cost (Base):

¥1,000,000

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x128

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Rating 11

Cost (Base):

¥3,000,000

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x128

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Rating 12

Cost (Base):

¥6,000,000

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x128

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