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Role of scripts

Scripts acts as would consumables in other games, like potions. They are a one-off bonus that can be used once.

Scripts are optional in Attack Vector. They are not needed to creating a fun challenge for players. Scripts give extra tools to players, who will have to choose when to use them. It can also be fun for players to have and use scripts, making them feel more powerful.

Managing how many scripts players will have access to​

Scripts create additional design considerations when designing sites. When designing a site, you as GM need to take into account what scripts the players will have access to.

As a GM you have some control over how many scripts players have. This comes in the following ways:

  • Defining what scripts exist in your game world
  • Defining what scripts the players have normal access to
  • Defining how much memory each script costs, and how much memory each hacker has.

Script memory (RAM)​

To be able to run scripts, the players first have to load them into memory. Each player has a limited memory pool (called RAM blocks) where they can load scripts. Script loading is instant. But once the memory is used, it will take time to free up the memory to be used again.

This way, the players will only be able to load a limited set of scripts for a single hacking run on a site.

By choosing the RAM size of scripts in accordance with their power, you can limit how many ICE breaking scripts will be available to the hackers.

You can also set the time it takes for memory to become free, and this way manage how many scripts can be used in multiple subsequent hacking runs.