It has been my experience that the skill Computer (Data Alteration/Hacking) is a very, very powerful skill considering what can be done with once a computer is controled by the player, especialy on a starship.
My question is how do I make this still challenging in someway, I've read the hacking rules in Spacedock, and they're helpful but still to me seem to be too easy to beat (with the exception of encrypting the computer, but that screws the ship that does it too)am I wrong? Is there anyone out there with experience with this skill in game and wants to share their experiences with it and ideas on how to make it a challenge to hack into computers in game?
One good way is to make sure the difficulty is appropriate. Some types of computers -- like those of a starship -- would be fairly difficult to hack. The first roll would be just to get into the machine. Then they would have a second roll to stay hidden from the system administrator (or whoever's running security.) For every action they are taking, give the other guys a chance to cotton onto what they're up to; then make it an opposing roll between the two to pull off any other actions (like lock each other out of systems, etc...)
Certain subsystems are going to be compartmentalized as much as possible and have several walls of encryptions -- engineering, fire control, etc. -- but because they are all linked, there's going to be open ports, and all sorts of holes to exploit.
Melbourne, Australia. Winner of the First Trek Survivor Trivia Show, and Bearer of the Steve Long Pink Elephant Stamp of Learning. :)
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Yes, you can do a lot with a ship once you have access/control of its computer.
Problem is, you have to get control of the computer first - and that's the tricky part.
Starship computers have all sorts of safeguards against hacking attempts - passwords, access codes, voice authorisation, retina scans - not all of which are easily counterfeitable (is that really a word? ).
Once you have access to the computer, you then need to work your way around to the system(s) you wish to hack, and break their safeguards also.
So, while the skill Computer (Data Alteration/Hacking) is rather powerful in terms of what you can achieve with it, the odds are stacked against the would-be hacker at every step...
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Most players will always try for primary systems, either that or issue fairly nebulous commands to serch for a barely defended back door to the system.
Remember best of both worlds, when the Enterprise crew were unable to stop the Borg attack on Earth, and it was Picard/Locutus that suggested the use of the regeneration cycle as a tactic.
Case in point of going in through a back door.
But it would also base difficulty on the tech difference. Ranging from the Borg - as next to imposssible and likely to do you more harm than good. Down through to something like the 20th century with Starfleet ships easily able to monitor and hack modern day comms.
Also consider the system has a SYSOP who is there to ensure that such hacking attempts are countered and fought, suddenly giving the Communications officer some much needed glory outside of repeating; "Hailing Frequencies are open Captain."
Something one of my players (a security officer) came up with a long time ago:
For highly suspected guests she set up a computer terminal (or several) that only seemed to be hooked up to the ship systems - all access was monitored and no actual systems could be controlled. So, when the bad guys tried to hack - it was immediately monitored. That way she not only found out they were trying to do something, but also how good they were.
I know this is not actually answering your question - but my point is, would visitors to a starship even have physical access to a real system? In my office no one is allowed to touch a system hooked to the LAN without access, and we control that by old fashioned physical security.
In my experience as a player, our narrator usually forces the combo of Hacking/Alteration with Security Systems. As well as the fact that not all ship panels are linked to the critical systems. Notice how in the show they switch panels to do their work? Same for hacking, while a station devoted to regulating the plasma injectors may have access to warp core data it has no idea what the internal sensors are doing. However, you do see officers running around in the corridors accessing panels and getting what they want, but remember that the computer is aware of who is at what console. The episode where Data helps a young boy who thinks (falsely) that he inadvertently pressed a few buttons which caused the destruction of his ship shows that the computer is not blind. Internal sensors are manned, interlocks are engaged, making hacking very difficult unless it is being done by a true professional.
Countering Computer (Hacking) atempts?
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