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This will be a dump of various bits and pieces of undocumented decking knowledge.
1. Canonically the Matrix requires a subscription to use. Because you're a fly-by-night shadowrunner who refuses to pay the corps their nuyen, not that you have a SIN to pay with, *any* intrusion into the Matrix is considered a hostile one. This means as soon as you step foot into it the alert level begins to climb.
2. Analyze host is not the only analyze action you can perform. As it turns out there are subsystems and built-in IC to hosts. You have to analyze ACIFS sybsystems to get it. Analyze files analyzes the files subsystem, and analyze slave detects for slaved programs and hosts. Hosts can have their own File subsytems and Slave subsystems, which can not only protect and encrypt host data, but also dump you into different locations if triggered. Decrypt file(s?)/decrypt slave is how you untangle that mess. It also shows trapdoors this way and you can find them/take them manually, and there are possibly hidden nodes around that require this.
3. Some Colus notes. locate host blah → Your search returns the address blah. logon blah → You fail to gain access to the host. # The target room has an AccessScramble value, which blocks remote login. But it could be the source room blocking, so… analyze access → There is nothing out of the ordinary about that subsystem. # Well, now what? (This is what usually keeps people from logon. But the source room has no encryption. So decker has bright idea:) analyze blah → Analyze what? (That doesn't work…) help decrypt → helpfile shows no ability to decrypt exits/SANS exists # But finally if you just do it anyway: decrypt blah → You successfully decrypt that SAN. Colus — 07/22/2021 So, the room is not the SAN, the exit is. An access-encrypted room should prevent movement out, not movement in. If encrypted SANs (Matrix exits) are a goal, then matrix exits should be 'crackable' like maglocked doors (give them a barrier rating or something similar)–but that should have no relation to the access encryption of the target room.
Colus: Related to that, 'you fail to X' messages when trying to do things involving encrypted subsystems are unhelpful. In the TT, it would be clear that Scramble IC would be protecting them; here it's just a number, so the analyze command and/or the failure should elaborate. Since it's not an actual visible Scramble IC blocking the subsystem or the entrance to the SAN, the failure message should indicate why you can't download a file ('The encryption on the files subsystem prevents your download.') or log on to a subsystem or host ('The encryption on the [ACIFS subsystem | remote host] prevents your logon attempt.') This came about when Khai was trying to decipher the one place in the game where a remote host (that has host encryption baked into the host) requires you to decrypt it remotely. The decrypt and disarm commands don't cover subsystem actions (which are more common) and new deckers run into this buzzsaw a lot. Colus — 07/20/2021 Specifically, each color code takes up two characters on the format string limit, so one closed color code reduces it by 4 characters, two reduce it by 8…example: It is a featureless cyberdeck. Custom Components: FUPS Port 2 Type: Ports (FUPS) Rating: 0 FUPS Port 1 Type: Ports (FUPS) Rating: 0 (The 2nd port has two closed color codes, notice the 8-char difference.) Colus — 07/20/2021 Yes, speaking to that: In SR3 base you technically aren't able to analyze a host to see if it's decrypted before entering it, and theoretically nothing prevents you from entering it. Once you're in, if the access subsystem is encrypted, you can't do any kind of logon operation until the encrypting IC is removed. But I think in MM I found an example where a remote encryption preventing access is implied. Colus — 07/20/2021 (MM 98, talking about Encrypt Access actions) The opposite of Decrypt Access, this operation allows the user to encrypt a system’s access nodes. If successful, the Access subsystem will be encrypted and no one will be able to log on without first succeeding in a Decrypt Access operation.
That implies encrypting access within a node prevents logons from outside.
Colus idea: I just noticed (and didn't think about it until now!) that some IC in the game are Scramble IC. Canonically, this IC would be present at the host level to block access to A/F/S subsystems (and the stuff within them, meaning hosts, files/paydata, and slaved devices). We don't do that right now; instead there are scramble flags on subsystems, individual files, and remote exits, and we ICly assume there's file-level IC on them to decrypt.
