Slot Off, Frag-Face! Let's Play Sega's Shadowrun

man, is there something in the hotel owner's guild that involves initiation rites? all them motherfuckers got their eyes punched out for the priviledge of being motel desk clerks.

Not to mention the beard clause in the uniform description.

Every hotel in Seattle is actually owned by the same guy, astrally projecting himself across the city.

It's a real bummer, chummers, but this LP may be delayed a while longer than its already considerable amount. Turns out that one of my fellow runners needs open heart surgery (seriously) - so that means that I'll be away on biz for rehab expenses and...procuring a cyber-heart. I'll be back with you guys ASAP.

Good luck! We'll be here when you're ready!

Wiz chummers, welcome back after a longer than expected absence. Fortunately, my running partner came through surgery all right and going through physical therapy. He should recover soon and be back to running in no time. Which is good, because he owes me big time for pulling that job to get the cyber-heart. (Also, apologies to those laying money down that I'd avoid going on hiatus - I didn't quite beat the spread. Hopefully your bookie will accept a payment plan.)

Now where were we...oh yeah! We'd just shot up another Renraku executive in an upscale bar. Also, it was ladies' night, so we snagged a couple of numbers too. We'll have to give them a call once we've taken care of our family business.

First order of business is to get Stark stocked up on bullets since he used all of them in our last bar brawl.



This means another exciting round of Down-Up-A for about a minute. While I look to Brickroad for parts of his LP to steal wholesale perform homages to, I don't quite think this was the best one to ape.



After making Seattle slightly safer (for us), it's time to follow up on some leads. Since we happen to be in Puyallup, step one should be to seek out Vigore and or Jarl.



Hmmm...now it's a really good thing I didn't contract a run from them. That said, the trail seems to have gone cold on finding them at the moment. Dammit.



However, the bar has another familiar face, that of our second runner Petr. As for why he seems less than ecstatic to see us, it's time to have a little chat about hiring runners.

Remember how each runner has a hiring price (and a price 10 times higher for hiring them permanently)? Well, it turns out that there's a reason to hire folks for the short term besides running low on cash. See, each time you successfully complete a run with a runner (meaning you get paid by Mr. Johnson), your friendship stat with that runner goes up. (Friendship is, like life, one of those annoying invisible stats.) As your friendship with the runner goes up, they'll cut their fee for working with you by a substantial amount.

Unfortunately, there's a flipside to this as well. If you go on a run with them and they get wasted (or dismissed halfway through, in Petr's case) then your friendship level with them will go down, and their fee for runs will go up, owning to your tendency to cause them to die of lead poisoning.

Ideally, the way to go with hiring runners is to hire expensive runners for a couple of Mickey Mouse runs (meaning cakewalk runs, not runs against the heavily fortified Disney corporation) so that their permanent hire price dips down by a lot less. Bit like renting-to-own, if you'll pardon the poor analogy.

That said, while I think our time with Petr is concluded, it's good to keep this stuff in mind for Rianna.

And, because about half of my readers demanded it, it's time for a little magick.



Man, this looks better already. Huge step up from that Running Stream guy.




Good selection here. First off, we've got Fire, Fira, and Firaga up there, as well as a new Barrier spell and upgrades to Rockskin and Heal Wounds (which we started with.)

Wait...Riannon's? Wasn't there someone that mentioned Riannon?



Ah yes, the Big Man on Campus.



All rightie, 1,500� gets us a store discount. Let's see how much we'll save...

Looks like 10%. So roughly a 100� savings per spell level bought - which means that I've only gotta buy 15 spell levels to break even here. Now which spell is most deserving of purchase...



Heh heh heh heh heh heh....



BWAHAHAHAHAHAH! I HAVE BECOME DEATH, DESTROYER OF SEATTLE!



As soon as I'm outta there, there's another chase scene in progress. Since this one doesn't involve Johnny Law, it should be safe to let out an outburst.



And we get jumped by some random thugs. Luckily, as we an unholy portal to a netherworld on our side, they decide to lay down and die rather quickly.



Um...erm...unfortunately so do my comrades. It, ah, turns out that Hellblast is an area-effect spell that doesn't discriminate between hostiles and friendlies - so consequently both those street punks and my buddies are ready to be served with sides of baked potato and rice pilaf.



Not only that, but it turns out that I was a bit mistaken in how much drain a fetish will absorb from a spell. I had thought that it would take one use to absorb drain from any spell - it turns out that it takes one use for each unit of drain. Thus, since Hellblast takes a whopping nine units of drain (for an admittedly awesome effect) - my fetish is about to collapse as it's gone from 10 uses to one.

Ho-kay...state load...

One of the big problems I'm running into is that my characters are still comparatively weaklings at this point. I've been getting by on nerve and critical successes lately (as evidenced by trying forty times to get Rhiana to open that damn lock earlier - not to mention her inability to crack a serious system's ice.) The answer to these problems is simple - we need more karma. Thus, it's time to do runs for Mr. Johnsons and get said karma.



The one to hit up at the moment is Mortimer Reed, since his runs are both simple and high in cash - a nice combo.



He sets us up with a simple matrix run against an unnamed system (or 'local company' seemingly unworthy of a name.) Since we've been poking around in there for a good chunk of gameplay to get data to sell, this is right up our alley.

Matrix runs are more or less poking around systems and doing one of three things - finding a particular file, deleting a particular file, or crashing the CPU. Nice work if you can get it!



Now that we have a particular company to infiltrate, we can just select Run Passcode and not have to go through the random system crap we were dealing with earlier. (Though as noted, unless it's a named system, that code will get deleted from our deck afterward.)

Nice. Low security right out of the gate.



Looking good so far...



Huh. This place seem familiar to you?




And after a minor skirmish, we're in.



And after downloading the file the suits wanted, we're done! But let's not jack out just yet...



After fighting our way in, it behooves us to snag as much crap as we possibly can to sell off to Boris later. Waste not, want not!

Now comes the best and worst part of the run - getting paid. See, getting paid is nice, but it means that runners that you've hired for the short term will head out once they get their percentages. (As for what these percentages actually are, I've got no clue. They seem to be fairly low, though, as I'm still rolling in the nuyen after we're done here. So now we'll have to head back and hire Riann...



Ah?!! Um...she didn't leave after that last run. I think that I've unwittingly exploited some Genesis logic here - in that it checks to see if the runner in the first slot (Stark) is a short-timer and keeps or boots runners based on him. But since Stark's with me for life, it looks Sega thinks Rianna's with me for life too! That's some good news, as this little bug will save me thousands in hiring costs.



We'll celebrate by hitting up Boris for some additional cash. Note that the haul we get for each individual file is greater than what Mr. Reed paid us for doing his run. If it wasn't for getting karma, it honestly isn't worth it to deal with Mr. Johnsons.

We'll leave off here for now, as it's time for some feedback from the peanut gallery. See, in order for me to continue with the plot, I'm gonna have to get some serious karma. The main way to do that is to keep doing what I've been doing for some time, ducking into the Matrix against low security systems and filching data. Thus, the next few sections of this LP will probably be that...unless you guys want me to fast-forward to a more interesting point where I have enough karma to get to other unexplored parts of the game. So...normal speed, or fast-forward?

If you're just grinding, you might as well fast-forward.

Oh, and good job with that heart for your buddy.

I wouldn't mind a fast-forward, unless something notable comes up somehow.

Definitely fast-forward through the karma grind.

I would like to see a post about the grind but no more than that. Maybe you can illustrate it with screens of the reward you will receive, like the third-to-last image in post 219.

Wiz chummers, welcome back after another abrupt absence. Man, these LP things are a lot easier to read than they are to write. Perhaps I should hire a secretary to take notes while I play through games, then throw it up on the web later. Only problem I see with that is that the LP will be unreadable if you don't already know Gregg Shorthand. Now where were we?



Ah, yes. For some reason, performing multiple highly illegal acts such as theft and murder have left our karma rather lacking. It turns out that much like in real life, you only attain karma when you steal from and/or murder the right people.



Thus, our next move is to head over to the Big Rhino for some more legitimate business.




Wow. Um, no. Let's see what else he's got.



Ah, diplomacy. Perfect for a silver-tongued devil like me. Sure, the pay's a bit low, but I'm sure that the ease of completing said mission will cover it. Plus, it's nice to finally tell off the Eye-Fivers after that punk tried to overcharge me for meeting their boss.



I dunno why it's showing up as an "Enforcement" run on the Pocket Secretary, though. Maybe I'll have to administer a spanking or two.



Oh dear. I didn't see this coming at all. Hey, wait a minute - that's my line, bastich! I'll kill you! I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU!!




GGRRRRRRRRAAAAAAHHHHHHH YOU ARE HUGE THAT MEANS YOU HAVE HUGE GUTS AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH

Oh, wait, Rianna's down.

After a quick patch-up, it's time to deal with the gang boss...



Huh. He seems vaguely familiar - like the guy that's at every booth in every bar that doesn't have a Mr. Johnson. I wonder how he got to be in charge of the gang. It's almost as if there's only a finite amount of people in the world so that they have to fill in the blanks awkwardly in different environments.



Welp, that was a bust. So much so that dealing with this sparkly scum on the way back to the bar is more profitable than the run itself. (Note the nuyen symbol on the ground there, which is Genesis-speak for cash.)



Going back to Mr. J, he offers us the final and most difficult 'run, a Corp run. The reward better be worth it. Tell you what - I'll put the reward after the mission and let you guys decide on its worthiness.



A quick check to our inventory assures us that the "one-time" security pass is still valid (it disappears when it's no good anymore, which there seems to be no rhyme or reason to). So, once more into the breach, lads/lasses!

Since we've been here before, our first couple of steps are fairly similar to last time.



Including the part where we forget to tell the Decker to take the lead in dealing with the security system.



And the part where we open safes like kitchen cabinets, too. That said, there's one major difference from last time, and that's that we don't know where this Weese guy is. (Thanks a lot for the recon, Mr. J.) Thus, we'll have to search every chunk of the building until we find him...

[

Oh, that's encouraging. I guess Fuchi's going through a janitorial strike right now.



That said, the room does have a Matrix terminal inside. I think that I'll give it a pass until we really need it, though, considering how well things turned out last time we decided to try and break Fuchi's ice.



Well, the first floor seems to be a bust, so let's try the second.

So far it seems to be more of the same...



Including the parts where my heart leaps into my throat for no reason.



And the parts where my heart leaps in...never mind. Though this encounter is amusing in that if you get it without having an ID badge, you'll knock the secretary out and stuff her in a closet. Amusing enough to almost make it worthwhile to sneak into a corp without a badge. Almost.

It should be noted that the reason I keep talking to secretaries when the opportunity presents itself (it's one of those annoying invisible random encounters) is that should your charm pay off, they'll tell you which floor you can find whatever it is you're looking for, much like a critical success on hacking the security panel.




Pressing on, the slog through the corp is starting to become a metaphor for white-collar life for those of us not lucky enough to have access to embezzling large amounts of cash without being detected - possibly getting a comeuppance of six months probation several years later. (No, I'm not bitter.)

Finally, we catch a break - using a computer that someone forgot to log out of has another chance for finding out what floor this guy works on, decreasing our time spent in the building and increasing our chances of survival.



...Until we remember that our pointman thinks that computers are plastic tools of the devil and messes around with it in a matter befitting that scene from Zoolander! And our carefully planned stealthy extraction goes straight to hell.



After a while, we finally exhaust the Genesis sprite limit and stay put for a while until the alarm stops blaring.



We're all pretty beat up at the moment, so we take advantage of the Medkits that folks have dropped as well.



That, and Heal Wounds, which Marcel Harseau auto-switches to when health gets low whenever we aren't controlling him. This is a bit of a problem in fights, because Shamen default to magic when you let Sega take over. Luckily, it won't use spells if there's any drain, so it's not too much of a loss. Unfortunately, this means that Joshua will default to our starting Level 1 Mana Zap, which has all of a finger poke of damage in a firefight, despite having a fully-loaded and customized automatic weapon on his back. Shamen. Eesh.



And immediately after that, I hit another invisible random encounter - the raised security plate. I hate these so much. So so much. This turns on the alarm again, and seems incredibly out of place in a random walkway, especially considering the number of employees that must trip over that thing every day.



Sod this. I don't care if my chances are low anymore, I'm going in and shutting everything down. At least this time only one of my characters will be incapacitated if I screw up. (Isn't it great how time freezes for everyone else while someone's in the Matrix?)

I think I'll try a different, non-Black-Ice path from last time, though.



For the proper effect, look at the image on the left about 20 times while saying "Passcode Rejected!" over and over before looking at the image on the right. That said, at least I got through. It's harder on Active Alert (since the alarm's going off, that's the state I start in.)



Now this looks interesting - the marker is on a Slave Module, which controls a section on the building's security. Seems like a nice target. I should be able to shut off the alarms with this sucker.



A grumbling on how I've got middling computer skill on a subpar deck later and...



We're in!



...to the heating and cooling system. Motivated by pure spite, I turn off the A/C, ensuring that everyone will get heatstroke and fall unconcious! Ahahahaha! Oh, wait, this is Seattle. Um...everyone will note that it's a couple of degrees hotter than normal and become slightly uncomfortable! Ahahahah...ha...OK, next node.

And black ice on the next node. Since I'm already at Active Alert, I'll cut my losses and see if I can get Rianna out conscious this time.



Dammit!



Right, that's it. After the patching up and the firefight, I'm heading over to the next security panel and figuring out where the hell this guy is already.



...After putting the decker in the lead.



What. WHAT?!! I...oh...let's just put this to bed already.



No wonder this guy wants a change of career. He has to put up with first-floor noobs all day.



Still running into lots of safes, but no escortable dude. And I refuse to learn the lesson about scouring everything before moving to a new floor on principle.

Finally, in a section almost completely blocked off, we find our guy.



And loot his safe for good measure.



Fortunately for all concerned, from here it's a lead-pipe cinch.



What...the...hell? So he had a budget to hire a chopper to land on a busy street in downtown Seattle and he couldn't just get on the roof? I...erk...aaahhhhhHHHHHHH! Let's get our money.I'll buy the first round, solely so I can smash the bottle over this guy's head at his new job.



And so, we pocket the princely sum of...



...........and that's all the Mr. Johnson's have to offer. My advice is to do Matrix runs and continuing upgrading your deck with the cash and your runners with the Karma until you're all built like Mack trucks. Caleb pays the most and can give you access to high-end systems with lots of juicy data files, so we should head over to him once we get a sweet deck and some computer skill. Getting said skill and cash, however, is a drag.

Though...there is one way...

It involves saving your progress (save-states won't work in this case) and looking at the title screen. Oddly, this is one of those games where when it asks you to press start, it means it. Pressing the other buttons won't do anything. Except...if you press A-B-B-A-C-A-B. This tribute to a Dancing Queen's fly ride will cause something interesting to happen.



Loading up your game as usual will put you...



Well, right where you saved. What did you expect? That said, there is one thing different, if you know where to look.



It seems that our Pocket Secretary has gotten a firmware update. I wonder what this does:



Man, I really wish this was in iOS 5.2. I would use the hell out of it. Here's the rundown.

Nuyen gives you 250 grand. Period. (Note: don't use this if you have more than 250 grand, or you will have...250 grand.)

Spells gives all magicians in your party a full set of spells - I think at their top levels, too.

Test Deckloads all programs onto your current deck, at version 4. (Note: don't try this unless you've seriously upgraded your hard drive space!)

Pick Systemwill put you in cyberspace and connect you to whatever system you want. Note that they're organized by numbers and not names, though.

Heal Alldoes what it says on the tin, really.

+10 Karma gives everyone in your squad 10 precious, precious karma points.

Contacts gives us just about every contact we can get, though there are a few missing.

And finally, Walk Fast is another one that does what it says on the tin. This is actually quite useful as when someone's shooting/punching at you, your movement speed slows way down. It still does after this, but not enough that you simply can't leave everyone in your dust. (Note that only the active character gets to walk fast, though.)

Once you pick one of these, however, the secret menu will disappear - meaning that you've gotta save and reset to get more than one goodie out of these things.

Of course, this is all merely for academic purposes, natch. It's not like I'm going to use any of these. My worth can't possibly be represented by a bunch of numbers on a computer, so what good could come of changing them? That said, I've gotta go - there's some important work to be done.



Hmmm...mmm...mmm...looking at numbers...la dee dah...