Datafortresses were described and designed in a somewhat dry and rigid fashion in the CP2020 rulebook. A pseudo-maze of datawalls tightly surrounded various device, CPU, MU and program icons. Yet, the description of datafortresses seemed to contradict this very structure. Cyberspace was described as having "real-world" positional equivalents. A workstation tapped into the net on the 10th floor of the Arasaka building would appear in equivalent of the 10th floor in the Arasaka datafortress. Nearly every single datafortress in every single printed piece of Cyberpunk material breaches this description. Most datafortresses don't even multiple "floors" (and those that do have no guidelines for how one ascends or descends through them) nevermind the myriad of terminals which must occupy something like the Arasaka Center. And what about the Disney building... is it shaped like a giant Mickey Mouse head? I don't imagine it is, so how can its datafortress have "real-world" equivalents? Part of the charm of cyberspace is its dreamlike un-reality.

Though there are guidelines provided for creating virtual realities, it is unclear how these realities are accessed. Is it necessary to enter a MU which contains part of the program, or does it occupy the entire datafortress? And if it occupies the entire datafortress, why is it necessary to draw out the "physical" layout of the datawalls and such? A virtual reality by its nature can appear as whatever it would like to -- it certainly would not have to conform to the external shape of the datafortress itself.

Cyberdecks provide a netrunner with his access to cyberspace. They consist of the following components:

The CPU is the brain of the cyberdeck. It performs all of the calculations necessary to transform cyberspace into the palpable and interactive medium in which the netrunner thrives. Nearly all cyberdecks will have only a single CPU, though it is possible for higher-end systems to support multiple CPUs. The CPU runs all programs and manages the associated Memory Units.

Speed represents the cyberdeck's performance. A high-end cyberdeck will have a high Speed rating. Speed affects the netrunner's reaction time as well as determining the capacity for his cyberdeck to perform multiple actions in a given round. In the world where things are operating at the speed of thought, it is critical that a system does not become overburdened -- a milisecond delay in processing can be the difference between life and death.

Memory Units or MU store the programs a netrunner will use on his runs. A cyberdeck's MU consist of entirely volatile (temporary) storage. It is the equivalent of modern day RAM in a personal computer. Before a run, a netrunner loads the programs he believes he will need. The CPU accesses this data directly, and should it become corrupt through an anti-IC attack, the program is lost until re-loaded. Cyberdecks and larger systems handle MU differently. MU in a multi-processor data fortress represent both permanent and volatile storage. In the case of a data fortress, the data in permanent storage can be re-loaded into volatile RAM so long as the permanent storage is still accessible. Cyberdecks are built for fast action, and while it is theoretically possible to have permanent storage accessible from a cyberdeck, most runners simply do not have the resources available to a 7-CPU AI system to divert their attention to reloading programs.

Datawalls represent the deck's ability to detect and withstand sustained attacks against the cyberdeck's hardware itself. Datawalls consist of data scramblers, system redundancy, and standard firewalls to close ports, deactivate embattled components, and destroy invading programs.

When things are moving at the speed of thought, it seems like every nano-cycle of the processor is taking an eternity to run, and a netrunner has to always be thinking ahead. The basic actions a netrunner or system may perform in cyberspace are as follows:

Movement through cyberspace is handled by 2 different methods: inter-system and intra-system travel. Inter-system navigation represents the time traveling between Long-Distance Links (LDLs) or datafortresses. Intra-system navigation is moving within the confines of a datafortress. Cyberspace is constructed on a variety of scales to assist with the efficient navigation between worldwide access points. Each scale allows only certain actions and interactions among netrunners. The three levels of interaction are: global (WAN), city grid (MAN), and datafortress (LAN).

The global scale is literally that, cities and other major LDLs appear as nothing but icons. The world can be traversed in a matter of seconds. Netrunner interaction cannot take place at this level. This is simply a safeguard and limitation of the systems which control the global grid. These systems filter the traffic and concentrate solely on the effective routing of datastreams between LDLs. The processing power necessary to generate realistic Ihara-Grubb simulations at a level wherin billions of datastreams are crowding for bandwidth every second is simply not realistic. It is only at the city grid and datafortress level that netrunner interaction (and combat) can take place. The global grid appears as a very clean and efficient place where travel is nearly instantaneous as the world (the one simulation which does exist) blurs by beneath you. Many newbie netrunners feel they're safe from NetWatch goons or whoever else might be chasing them if they can simply reach the closest LDL, and while this can certainly provide a valuable delay sometimes, they tend to forget about Bloodhounds...

Descending a global LDL, the netrunner finds himself at the city grid level. Here, individual datafortresses are perceived and interaction between netrunners can take place. A city grid is the antithesis of the global grid: a chaotic place of blasting datastreams, net "surfers" and runners alike, and a horizon cluttered with the megaplexes of corporate datafortresses.

Movement at the global and city grid levels is done in straight lines on a square grid up to a maximum of 5 squares per round. Netrunners may not move diagonally -- this is to represent the "established" data pathways that one is forced to travel. Line of sight is effectively unlimited in cyberspace, but interceding datafortresses, datastreams, and the general chaos of a city grid may not provide the best background for easy observation.

Once a runner enters a datafortress everything changes. Blasting your way through a datawall or sliding your way through a code gate leads you into a totally different realm. When the runner enters the datafortress, he enters a single system. And within this system the "host" makes the rules. All datafortresses contain a virtual environment of some nature. It may be superrealistic like The Matrix or it may simply be a simplistic polygonal reality or somewhere in between, but once inside the rules of movement are handled in much the same way as movement in the real world. Where applicable, there is still an established limit of 5 squares per round on a square grid, but it depends on the virtual environment. It may be that the entire datafortress consists of a single small room... or it may be an entire world...

Datafortresses are the websites and intranets of cyberspace. They represent the corporation's connectivity to the global telecommunications grid while still providing a sercure access point for their employees both in and out of the office. Much in the same way as modern computer systems work, only the administrators have access to the entire system, and the portions of the system which present themselves to the public, protected or not, will likely be the least secure. For this reason, datafortresses are generally constructed in a hierarchical fashion. Each time a code gate or datawall is crossed, the runner enters a different "Zone" where the security will generally change. This means that the physical entry point into the fortress is generally not important. Code gates and datawalls guard the borders of these Zones. Passing through a code gate will place you at the designated exit point on the other side. When breaking through a datawall you are provided more options for your exit point. In the old CP2020 rules, if you broke through the "west" side of a datawall, you appeared on the "east" side of that wall on the other side. This implies a "physical" barrier between "rooms" of the datafortress which you are cracking, but on an electronic level, there are no "physical" walls. Breaching through a datawall is the equivalent of creating your own gate using the brute force or ingenuity of your software to batter down the firewalls and system security which are keeping you from accessing a different portion of the system. Once you have broken that security, you have access at a more basic system level and may, to a degree, choose your own destination. Attacking code gates and datawalls will be discussed in more detail later.

The different areas of the datafortress are easily distinguishable by referring to them by their Zone code. Each Zone refers to a different access/security level.  The first area a netrunner will enter, Zone A, is the exterior public access area -- this is the area into which a netrunner will enter via cyberspace. It may or may not be protected by code gates and datawalls. Some corporations will likely provide some public services accessible via this stage. In many cases Stage 0 does not even exist inside the datafortress itself, but rather as icons and virtual access terminals around the perimeter. Stage 0 does not usually present any form of additional virtual reality to its visitors (but it can, of course), appearing just as the rest of the city grid where it is located.

After the first threshold is crossed, the design of the datafortress must really be mapped out.  There may be multiple access points from and to any other point in the system.  Each Zone is surrounded by datawalls and connected to . Zone B is the

For other CP2020 rule modifications, check out my group's house rules here.

Please send all contributions to winterfrost.geo@yahoo.com

Return to...

Night City

The Winterfrost Archives