Friday, July 11, 2014

Datafortress 2020 has returned yet again....

We are back baby!

Datafortress 2020 has a new address, and finally has it's own domain
 http://datafortress2020.com/
the side effect of me finally hitching up my pants and getting a paid host.  Expect things to be a little wonky as I Iron out kinks, some of the links may still point to the old, now dead, site address.  The e-mail links are also still being worked on.  In addition, unfortunately, the host for the Fileproject and forums are still down most of the time.  I will be working to fix these issues, I ask you to be patient.  For your troubles, a special treat:

INTERLOCK UNLIMITED has undergone a massive update, the changes are pretty big, and the project has gained 2 pages in the processs and required me to redo the character sheets as well.  Details of the changes can be found on the Datafortress 2020 Blog (and at the forums when they are back up...).  If the File Project main link(s) is down, scroll down to the bottom of the page for a link to the file on Dropbox....

There is also a new Character Sheet Tutorial to help you fill out your Interlock Unlimited Character sheets properly without confusion.

Due to the Interlock Unlimited changes, the character sheets themselves have also had to be updated... The Generic IU Sheets, the Basic Gneric IU sheets (just the 4 first pages of the generic), The Simple Sheet, The Cyberpunk 2020 sheets and the full color Elite Cyberpunk 2020 sheets have all been updated.

The Hyperlinks page has also been updated.

We also have a new contribution in the form of Fight Club from Billy Billerson, which can be used either as an alternate melee system, or as a stand alone game...

The following are the list of changes made to Interlock Unlimited...

Table Of Contents edited

Page 4
Bounty Dog removed, as it is handled just fine by an investigator/cop mix.

Fixer's special ability now adds to StreetWise and APPRAISE, instead of Streetwise and Persuasion/Fast Talk.

Page 5

New Role added, Magus... SA adds to Library Search and either Education General knowledge or 2 Expert Skills.

Med Tech Special Ability now includes Diagnose Illness as a choice for skills to be added to.

Mundie was out of order, this has been corrected.

Awareness Notice is removed from the skills a Runner may add his special Ability too, instead now the runner is allowed 2 vehicle types.

SCOUT - Awareness notice and Survival are replaced by Navigation and Track

Shadow - Shadow/Track is replaced by the choice for either Pick Lock or Electronic Security.

Solo - Awareness/Notice replaced by Awareness/Tactical

Expanded on guidelines for creating new roles.

Other minor edits to entries.

Page 7

Reformatted skill list completely, now it is just a master skill list listing the skill... The skills as introduced by era have now moved to the back of the book, page 76

Added Wisdom to Special Abilites list
Changed Awareness/Notice to Awareness: Notice
Added Awareness: Track and Awareness Tactical
Removed Shadow Track and Acrobatics
Changed all skills designated Pilot to Operate

Page 8

Edited Special Abilites to reflect changes

Page 9

Endurance, minor edit, changed the word pain to strain

Other minor corrections

Removed reference to rockers and ability to add +1 to charismatic leadership

Expanded the entry for Hypnotism/brainwashing

Page 10

Removed Sing from perform description, as singing is its own skill.

Page 11

Minor changes

page 12

Minor Changes

Added swimming to list of things whose speed will be modified by athletics.

page 13

Removed Weapon: Submachine Gun entry

Removed Makeup/special Effects (disguise handles this just fine, not sure what I was thinking when I added it.)

other minor changes

Page 14 - 22

Minor edits

Page 23

Removed Bounty Dog, added Magus

Page 24

The removal of SMG from the skill list necessitated the following rules additions..

KNOWING WHICH SKILL TO USE:



Most weapons are easy enough to determine which skill relates to them, but some weapons, like SMG’s can skew the line.  Any Firearm that is fired line of sight, but does not have a stock, such as Pistols, Rifles with the stock removed, sawn off-shotguns, or hand held exotics, use the handgun skill.  Weapons with a stock, fired from the shoulder, use the Rifle Skill.  If the weapon has a folding or removable stock, use the appropriate skill at the time.  Indirect fire weapons, such as grenade launchers, heavy machine guns fired from a mount, or artillery use the Heavy Weapons skill.  Bows, Crossbows, Blowguns, and Spear guns use the archery skill.


And added to the Concealability explanation:

Note: adding a Stock to a small arm provides the weapon with a +2
Accuracy bonus. It also changes the range to 250 meters (except for
shotguns) and the weapon now is classed as a Rifle, requiring that
skill to use. Removing a stock from a Rifle imposes a -2 penalty,
changes the range to 50 meters, and the weapon now uses the
Handgun Skill. Adding a fixed stock drops the Concealability by two
levels, and a folding or retractable stock by one. Other modifications
and add-ons, such as scopes, laser sights, and brass catchers, can also
change the Concealability, this is at GM discretion.


Page 25-36

Minor edits to correct formatting.

Page 28

Minor edits

Page 30

Addition of new rule,



Optional Initiative Rules 2 (used at GM discretion) –

Advanced Initiative

This method will add more realism to your combats, at the cost of being slightly more time consuming and creating extra book keeping for the GM.  A chart, beginning at 33 (tics), is created.  Initiative is rolled as normal, with the characters total initiative determining where they begin on the chart.  Actions for the turn are declared.  On their turn, and every five “tics” after, that player may perform 1 quick action and move at a rate equal to ½ their MA.  As the Tics count down, everyone takes their actions in succession. Movement Quick Actions, Standard Actions, and Regular Actions begin on the increment they are declared, and do not end until the Tics have passed.  Every 5 ticks equals 1 Quick Action, every ten a Standard, and every 15 a Full.  Any player who has actions during that time may take advantage against the position the first character has left himself in.  For example, if during your action you decide to run, it will take you five tics to reach your destination, if on the third tic another player’s turn comes up, they can take a shot at you while you are mid run. Firing itself consumes 1 tic, but emerging and re-entering cover from a stationary position still takes a full 5 tic turn, leaving you vulnerable.  Changing an action from that declared is possible, but costs a quick action.



Any actions remaining after the tic count reaches zero are lost, however the actions that were lost can either be spent on defense rolls, or used to change actions from what was declared.


Major reformatting, 2 images and a page is added to keep formatting straight, which of course makes keeping track of page changes from this point on for the rest of this change log rather confusing.  Sorry about that...

Page 35 (was 34) Added new modifiers, including mods for attacker walking (-2) and changed attacker running mod to -5, added rules for adding a stock to handguns and smg's, and for removing a stock from a rifle.

Page 38 (was 37)

Changed range for bows to BT x 20 (from 10)

pages 39 and 42 (was 38 and 41, also 26)

Fixed ranges for casting to be more inline with BT chart on page 3

Pages 63 64 and 65 (62,63,64)

Added rules for swimming speed and modifiers.... reformatting and minor edits to sustain book format.

Page 77

Moved list of skills introduced by era here.

As a result of all these changes, there are now 2 additional pages to Interlock Unlimited.

Enjoy...

Monday, March 10, 2014

Two blogs you should check out!

Greetings programs,

If you are waiting for the File Project or the DF 2020 Foums to be up and running again, or waiting on any new information about the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 game from CDPR, and want something to occupy your time, here are a couple of blogs you should be reading.

The first is The Vircades Project, brainchild of longtime collaborator Richard Balmer, AKA Companero.  Richard is no dick, he is a brilliant young mind with some fantastic ideas going up on this page.  My favorite entries are those on running Cyberpunk in a rural setting, something I do a lot since I am fond of running nomad games.  Comp is one of the main contributors for Interlock Unlimited, as well as Conflict: South America, and is also one of the driving forces behind Run.Dot.Net, an absolutely brilliant new take on netrunning rules for Cyberpunk 2020. You won't be dissapointed, check out Vircades here:

http://vircadesproject.blogspot.co.uk/

The second blog is the website of a more recent, though still long time friend and collaborator, Seth Skorkowsky.  Seth is the recently published author of the fantastic novel Damoren, and has been working for a while now on helping me with various Interlock Unlimited projects.  Providing invaluable edits and playtesting to the IU Magic system and IU Drug rules, and has been working on both a Fantasy setting and a Call Of Cthulhu based setting for IU, which when complete I hope he will allow me to host on DF 2020.  His blog is full of insight and personal experience, and is as indelibly interesting way to spend your time.  You can find Seth's blog here:

http://skorkowsky.com/


Sunday, March 9, 2014

Skinweave ridiculous you say? Now it's a reality!

So in addition having a working neural interface, cybernetic limbs, and even being on the verge of freaking power armor, one of the more oft scoffed at bits of CP2020 tech, the Skinweave, is now a reality... in at least that they have working models....

http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/nstv/2012/01/stronger-than-steel-spider-silk-skin-takes-a

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Sorry for the absence...

Jesus, I have been gone so long it seems.  Where to begin...

In late august, I had some health problems that got pretty ridiculous.  I won't go into details, but it involved three seperate emergency room visits, a minor surgery, my introduction to the greatest drug ever (Dilauted), and culminated in me going from 0 debt to 50,000 grand in debt in the space of a month, just after my unemployment ran out.  Health wise I am recovering, though the unrelated problem of my back has gotten worse.

On top of all that, for the last 2 months the entirety of Datafortress 2020 went down.  The Main Site, the File Project, the Forums... all of it... so until I got all that sorted out, there was really no need to post anything.

Luckily however, the site is back online, including the File Project and forums, though they are still a bit sketchy, so if you need anything from them be sure to let me know via e-mail, facebook, or whatever...

Finally, it's not important enough to rate a mention on the front page of the site, but there has been a small update.  I finally got the updates to my Cyberpunk 2020 soundtracks compiled, 3 new volumes each for Neon Gutter and Wastelands, the new track list is as follows.

Life in the Neon Gutter II
DISC 1 (Vol. IV)
TRACK LIST

  1. The Matrix - Choice (0:53)
  2. Miracle Of Sound - City Of Night (4:01)
  3. Kanye West - Power (2:27)
  4. Sybernetyks - Corp. (3:38)
  5. Cyborg II - Cyborg Love (0:04)
  6. Kim Lukas - Cyber Queen (3:52)
  7. Beastie Boys - So What'cha Want (3:37)
  8. Rockets - Mecanic Bionic (4:57)
  9. Bladerunner - Irrational (0:07)
  10. ACDC - Dirty Deeds (Done Dirt Cheap) (3:53)
  11. Linkin Park - The Catalyst (5:39)
  12. Billy Idol - Flesh for Fantasy (4:38)
  13. They Live - Kick Ass (0:07)
  14. The Sisters Of Mercy - Detonation boulevard (3:50)
  15. Everlast - The Warning (3:06)
  16. Rihanna - Man Down (4:27)
  17. Scarface - My Balls And My Word (0:17)
  18. Geto Boys - Scarface (4:54)
  19. Wang Chu - Fire In The Twilight (3:52)
  20. Modern Talking - Mrs. Robota (3:28)
  21. Taxi Driver - Here Is A Man (0:13)
  22. Snoop Doggy Dogg & Tupac - Street Life (5:15)
  23. M83 - Midnight City (4:03)
  24. Duran Duran - Electric Barbarella (5:12)
  25. Qadir - Nickname (2:18)

DISC 2 (Vol. V)
TRACK LIST
  1. Terminator 2 - Anatomy (0:12)
  2. Miracle Of Sound - Cyber Psychosis (3:37)
  3. Soul Coughing - CIty of Motors (4:38)
  4. Rush - Test For Echo (5:55)
  5. Bladerunner - Leon (0:22)
  6. Archive - Bullets (5:53)
  7. The Fugees - The Beast (5:37)
  8. Prodigy - One Man Army (4:11)
  9. The Matrix - All Around (0:27)
  10. Jamiroquai - Virtual Insanity (3:45)
  11. ACDC - Who Made Who (3:26)
  12. Men at Work - Underground (3:03)
  13. Scarface - Bad Guy (0:50)
  14. Rage Against the Machine - Killing In The Name Of (5:14)
  15. Miracle Of Sound - Man And Machine (4:01)
  16. Geto Boys - Crooked Officer (3:59)
  17. Bladerunner - It's A Test (0:03)
  18. The Fugees - No Woman, No Cry (4:33)
  19. The Rockets - Synthetic Man (4:36)
  20. Glenn Frey - You Belong to the City (5:49)
  21. Robocop - Dead Or Alive (0:02)
  22. Akira The Don - I Am Not A Robot (4:38)
  23. Fun Loving Criminals - Scooby Snacks (3:03)

DISC 3 (Vol. VI)
TRACK LIST
  1. Bladerunner - No Choice (0:35)
  2. The Evolutionaries - The Becoming (6:15)
  3. Miracle Of Sound - Digital Shadow (3:49)
  4. Fear Factory - H-K (Hunter-Killer) (5:17)
  5. The Matrix - Hear That (0:12)
  6. Drowning Pool - Let The Bodies Hit The Floor (3:24)
  7. Corey Hart - Sunglasses At Night (3:56)
  8. Geto Boys - Street Life (5:21)
  9. Bladerunner - Skinjob (0:10)
  10. Our Lady Peace - One Man Army (3:22)
  11. Rush - Virtuality (5:43)
  12. Rage Against The Machine - Know Your Enemy (4:54)
  13. Demolition Man - Maniac (0:08)
  14. AC-DC - Cyberspace (2:57)
  15. Akira The Don - Big Iron (4:48)
  16. Sole & The Skyrider Band - A Sad Day for Investors (4:25)
  17. Bionic Woman - Fast (0:12)
  18. Miracle Of Sound - The New Black Gold (4:39)
  19. Deltron 3030 - Upgrade (A Brymar College Course) (4:10)
  20. Judas Priest - Blood Red Skies (7:48)
  21. Army Of Darkness - Boomstick (0:17)
  22. Beastie Boys - Brrr Stick Em (2:33)
  23. Bad Religion - Modern Man (1:58)
  24. Dope Stars Inc. - Run Motherfucker Run (2:51)


LIFE IN THE WASTELANDS II
DISK 1 (Vol.IV)
TRACK LIST
  1. Desperado - Let's Play (0:03)
  2. Santa Esmeralda - 02 - Don't let me be misunderstood (10:28)
  3. The Dirty Headz - Lay Me Down (3:35)
  4. Firefly - 04 - Big Damn Heroes (0:11)
  5. College - A Real Hero (feat. Electric Youth) (4:27)
  6. Spearhead - Wayfarin' Stranger (5:28)
  7. Last Man Standing - The Only Cure (0:05)
  8. Bruce Springsteen - Lonesome Day (4:06)
  9. Curtis Stigers & The Forest Rangers - This Life (Theme from Sons of Anarchy) (2:21)
  10. Firefly - How Do I know (0:21)
  11. Tatu - Dangerous and Moving (4:35)
  12. Rage Against The Machine - People Of The Sun (4:53)
  13. Unforgiven - Hell Of A thing (0:07)
  14. Sole & The Skyrider Band - Stupid Things Implode on Themselves (5:29)
  15. DJ Tiesto - As The Rush Comes (6:43)
  16. Firefly - Steak (0:04)
  17. Miracle Of Sound - Breaking Down The Borders (2:48)
  18. Groundation (Marley Tribute) - Walk The Proud Land (4:29)
  19. Firefly - Percent Of Nothin' (0:15)
  20. Tom Petty - I Won't Back Down (2:56)
  21. Seven Stern - Soul Of A Man (4:31)
  22. Beyond Thunderdome - Ain't We A Pair (0:17)
  23. Everlast - Lonely Road (3:17)
  24. Marty Robbins - Running Gun (2:12)
  25. Tombstone - Skin That Smoke Wagon (0:02)
  26. Soggy Bottom Boys - I'm A Man Od Constant Sorrow (4:16)


DISK 2 (Vol.V)
TRACK LIST
  1. Lynyrd skynyrd - Freebird (9:07)
  2. Tina Turner - One of the Living (5:58)
  3. Tombstone - Doc And Ringo (1:25)
  4. ACDC - Highway To Hell (3:30)
  5. Marty Robbins - Big Iron (3:58)
  6. Desperado - Go To Church (0:07)
  7. Nina Simone - Sinnerman (10:12)
  8. The Sisters Of Mercy - Dominion (7:03)
  9. Blue Oyster Cult - Burning For You (4:34)
  10. Desperado - Bless Me (0:03)
  11. Chris Thomas King - Hard Time Killing Floor Blues (2:42)
  12. U2 - Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses (5:15)
  13. Deltron 3030 - Meet Cleofis Randolph The Patriarch (0:36)
  14. Las Man Standing - Texas (0:09)
  15. Anti-Nowhere League - Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves (2:35)
  16. Battleme - Burn This Town (3:04)
  17. Bob Marley - Keep on Moving (5:44)
  18. Last Man Standing - Little Talk (0:05)
  19. Styx - Renegade (4:13)
  20. Duran Duran - Wild Boys (4:17)
  21. Talking Heads - (Nothing But) Flowers (5:34)


DISK 3 (Vol.VI)
TRACK LIST
  1. True Grit - Hard Enough (0:11)
  2. ACDC - Thunderstruck (4:54)
  3. Miracle Of Sound - Wasteland Soul (4:30)
  4. Spacehunter - Emergency Repair (0:05)
  5. Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson - Silver Stallion (3:14)
  6. Fire Inc. - Nowhere Fast (6:03)
  7. Firefly - Jail (0:05)
  8. Bruce Springsteen - Further On (Up The Road) (3:50)
  9. Katey Sagal & The Forest Rangers - Bird On A Wire (5:05)
  10. Firefly - Storm (0:06)
  11. Van Morrison - Into The Mystic (3:30)
  12. Steve Earle - Copperhead Road (4:29)
  13. Red Dawn - Hate (0:04)
  14. The Roots - Double Trouble (Feat. Mos Def) (6:23)
  15. Greg Holden - The Lost Boy (3:28)
  16. Cherry 2000 - Guide (0:13)
  17. Miracle Of Sound - Cries Of A Dead World (2:39)
  18. Lions - Girl from the North Country (4:10)
  19. Road Warrior - Dogs Of War (0:06)
  20. Akira And Machine Gun Fellatio - Mofo On A Motorcycle (2:31)
  21. Sheryl Crow - Every Day Is A Winding Road (3:38)
  22. Serenity - Fun (0:04)
  23. Clutch - Walking In The Great Shining Path Of Monster Trucks (3:43)
  24. Mad Max - Sons Of Anarchy (4:40)
  25. Serenity - Shooting (0:05)
  26. Bobby McFerrin - Drive (10:17)
  27. Jim Croce - I Got A Name (3:12)
  28. True Grit - Fill Your Hand (0:03)
  29. Marty Robbins - El Paso (4:38)


Not sure who really cares about this stuff, as I can't share the actual music with anyone, but it's been a fun little project for me... the covers, inserts and labels I created for the compilations are on display on the actual site. This is the music that I play, not while actually gaming, for that we use instrumentals, but in preparation for gaming, or for driving around. It's the music I draw inspiration from, or has such vivid genre appropriate imagery, that it instantly puts me in the mood and keeps me there...

I have to say, I am completely blown away by Miracle of Sound.  Some of you may be already familiar with him, as he does a lot of songs based on video games.  Recently eh created 2 songs for the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 game, Cyberpsychosis and City Of Night, which is where I came across his music, and was absolutely blown away. He is very talented across a wide range of genres, and a hell of a nice guy.  Check him out here: http://miracleofsound.bandcamp.com/


Also, Jesse Spurell is doing a podcast of his cyberpunk games.  It's not always strictly Cyberpunk, but it is pretty interesting. Check it out here: http://www.cyberpunksaturdays.com/

I hope to have more news and maybe an actual update to the site soon, and I will try my damnedest not to be silent for so long.