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Node Backdoors

I suggested this a long time ago in the Grid 3.0 suggestions thread, but I wanted to highlight it here as a possible Grid 2.0 addition in the interim for an issue that has been a very, very frequent source of frustration for deckers (I know it's not just been me, it's come out IC'ly multiple times).

I know Johnny has absolutely zero interest in spending any time on Grid 2.0, but I'm putting it out there because it might (potentially) be an easy addition. I'm not a MOO coder, I haven't seen Grid code.

We know we can roll critical success skill checks on securing nodes even if our skills that affect the security when doing so are, relative to our or someone else's skills at breaking node security, very good, making said node extremely difficult to get back into. Design-wise, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

But it feels very bad and makes zero sense that a decker who secured a node (ICly programming the ICE or whatever techbabble we like) themselves should have so much trouble getting back into it.

The suggestion is simple: we already have a log of who last secured a node (it appears in Activity feed, and in the visual code that runs when you're hacking a node). Can we have a simple check that if GRIDACCOUNT (not character, this is important!) hacking node is equal to GRID ACCOUNT that last secured that node, there is a huge bonus to the skill roll?

This solves the problem, while still making it so critical successes when securing nodes you just want secure from others is a great thing, that doesn't get messed with me. IC'ly it's explained as...well, you secured it, you wrote the ICE, you left yourself a backdoor, totally themely.

It also allows people to setup burner grid accounts to create nodes for someone and then give that person the login credentials, allowing them to maybe give them to someone else way later, so if the original node designer dies or disappears or goes mixer or whatever, the 'client' can give the account to someone else who now has the account with the 'backdoor' bonus to get back in and clear it, even if their skill is lower than the original creator's, which solves a second really annoying problem.

As an amateur coder it feels like just adding an IF account == THEN +500 to [redacted skill combination] or whatever. I'm sure it's more complicated, but it really would be a Grid 2.0 bandaid to something that's incredibly frustrating and makes no sense.

From what I've been told, Grid 2 code is practically unintelligble dark magic, but I'd love to see this as a thing. Getting locked out of your own nodes just doesn't make any sense, really.
This is good thinking, but I'd rather no development continue whatsoever in grid 2.0 and the focus be entirely on 3.0.
We don't know when 3 is coming. If this could be potentially band aided on and fix something that has been literally game and plot breaking for me in the past, and take a nominal amount of time, when we might not see 3.0 for months, it's beyond worth. I'd never make a 2.0 suggestion otherwise. It's also a feature that would carry over.
Yeah I see that, I haven't really done much decking but I understand it can be frustrating.
For the record - this used to be a feature of Grid 2.0 that worked to some degree. It is not going to be fixed.

The fundamental problem with Grid 2.0 is it is severely deprecated. A lot of components of it are hanging on for dear life and it's a rabbit hole which is a huge time sink to even uncover. It's essentially a bunch of custom code of questionable origin piggybacked onto the bulletin board system that is no longer supported, has a slew of known issues, security bugs, etc.

As much as I want Grid 3.0 to be a thing. It's simply going to take time. Grid 2.0 is not coming back. Just count your blessings and be happy it works at all. I know it sucks.

I strongly believe the decker archetype needs code love but we need to work with the level of code love it can get. This means working with in-game system and not grid/web based ones.