So i'm a tangential sort of guy, my train of thought frequently gets derailed as it were, and as I was catching up on these boards after a couple of days of being away... now back on my old galaxy note 3 (which I like so much better than the galaxy s7 edge), I thought maybe someone might like to know why I dislike the new top of the line smartphone. Everything new requires some adjustment but this is more than that... my two biggest complaints are battery life and the gimmick feature... the curved screen edge. For my typical use patterns I could go 2 nights without charging my note 3, i.e. charging it every 3rd night (I can go that long because I leave it in my car shut off during the day... I work at a gov't lab and we aren't allowed to bring in cell phones for national security reasons... cause people can remotely turn on powered off cell phones and use them as listening devices and such). With the galaxy s7 edge I had to charge it every night and that's after using the power saving mode (but not the ultra power saving mode which leaves you with gray scale/no color on your screen) plus turning off some energy hog apps that come standard. Note that in February this year I installed and then Uninstalled the Facebook app from my galaxy note 3 a couple days later because it was a huge drain on the battery even when my phone was just sitting there not being used (other than waiting for incoming calls/text messages). Then there was the "edge issue" the gimmick feature is that it has a screen that goes all the way to and wraps down the curved edge of the phone (so you can discretely read text messages on the edge only while your phone is sitting at the table while you'really hacing dinner at a fans restaurant... hey I remember commercials... the problem with that curved edge was pressing buttons (e.g. keyboard keys) on the edge of the screen from the front of the screen doesn't always work but they can trigger/activate from the side just by holding the phone in your hand and it can also cause Web pages to jump around while you try to read them. I would have dealt with one or the other but together those 2 drawbacks were just too much, so today i went to verizon and got them to reactivate my old galaxy note 3.

So here comes the star wars tie in... imperials and everyone else always seems to have a Com link on them... what do you think it would take to hack someone's Com link to use it to spy on them and what do you think it would take to do the star wars equivalent of determining someones location by the star wars equivalent of pinging their phones off of "cell towers".

So here comes the star wars tie in... imperials and everyone else always seems to have a Com link on them... what do you think it would take to hack someone's Com link to use it to spy on them and what do you think it would take to do the star wars equivalent of determining someones location by the star wars equivalent of pinging their phones off of "cell towers".

Next to impossible. Remember, this is a universe filled with thinking machines that can think and react faster than a meat body could when it comes to things like data manipulation. And they've been around for 20,000+ years. This is why so much of what we see requires direct, physical access to do things. Your phone is hackable because it can be made to do arbitrary things as it will run software from lots of places. Whereas circuit based systems can't be made to do anything that the circuits aren't physically wired to do. Granted that means that new devices have to be released, and not just software patches, but, again, thanks to the presence of thinking machines, that physical hardware can be checked and debugged at the factory faster than a meat body could do it during the design phase.

I'm so of the camp that wirelessly jacking a device such as a comlink should be impossible. Star Wars is very rooted in 1970's and often older tech. Remember that Artoo had to plug in and "talk" to a computer. A comlink is a fairly simple device that is more analogous to a long range multi channel walkie-talkie or at beast an Early nokia cell phone (1011 maybe) than modern smartphones. If anything datapads are more like smartphones, and we are often seeing them be attached.

Besides, it makes for a better adventure having to steal a comlink, likely replacing it with a replica while you modify it to let you listen in, then have to replace it. Then having done thaf, realize it would have been easier to just hide anopen comlink on an MSE (mouse) droid and have it folliw the person around.

Besides, it makes for a better adventure having to steal a comlink, likely replacing it with a replica while you modify it to let you listen in, then have to replace it. Then having done thaf, realize it would have been easier to just hide anopen comlink on an MSE (mouse) droid and have it folliw the person around.

Naw, use a holocam with a shotgun mic.

The MSE droid would be for us in cases where you can’t have a flying droid running about and it has to blend in with the other MSE droids that would also be on the ship, and you need to go find the person you’re trying to bug.

I think you can do as you like at your table as always.

I also think there are remote things that can be done, in the game there is spoofing missiles and slicing the enemy in ship combat, so there is game precedent for wireless options.

I took note in TFA when Rey and Finn are grabbed by Han, Rey says she can't do anything as she was "locked out" of the controls, which clearly occurred wirelessly.

Star Wars "tech" has advanced in the narrative as the series did, I don't feel as though there was some benchmark for analog and hard wired being laid down with the OT, it just wasn't futurist focused. Even though the PT was backwards in the chronology, we had guided munitions and remote controlled drone warfare added to the tech lexicon. In TFA we had the whole lock out scene. Point being the exact nature of tech in the universe has advanced with our culture. Do what works for your story.

Remember, too, that certain comlink models (for example, those used by the Jedi) are capapble of transmitting data. We saw Qui-Gon take a blood sample from Anakin, insert the sample slide into his comlink, and send it to Obi-Wan for analysis (specifically, a midichlorian count...performed on the Naboo royal starship, which could also suggest that Qui-Gon's radio silence instructions didn't apply to some form of wireless data connection, because I see no reason why Naboo government would have that sort of analysis capability in the ship's med bay).

My take is that you can't hack someone's comlink remotely for the same reason you can't hack a walkie-talkie; it's a portable two-way radio, not a computer. There's no software installed, no interface to interact with, just a radio.

Some of my players will occasionally bring up the whole "modern technology vs. Star Wars technology", but personally I've never seen an issue with it. I've always seen the SW universe not as being stuck in the '70s technologically speaking but rather so far ahead that they've encountered all the pitfalls of modern (like wireless) technology and plugged them all.

For example: why use comlinks instead of smartphones? Because smartphones require signal boosters, towers and even satellites to work. While that would certainly exist on heavily populated and "advanced" worlds, who do you think would pay for global cell coverage on Tatooine or other Outer Rim worlds? And without a signal, how much would your precious smartphone be worth? A comlink, on the other hand, is both a transmitter and receiver and doesn't require anything else. It works equally well everywhere, and can't be sliced by anyone.

As for wi-fi networks there's nothing in the movies that states there are no wireless networks. Keep in mind that the only time we see anyone interacting with computers and the like is when they need to accomplish something important. For example, R2-D2 physically accessing computers on the Death Star or Cloud City makes perfect sense. The former is a high-security military installation - in other words, not prone to letting people access secure files via wi-fi - and in the latter case it also makes sense that you won't want anyone with a laptop and access to a hotspot tamper with the central computer of the gigantic floating city. Because that couldn't possibly go wrong.

In my campaigns I have no problems letting my players access wireless internet variants and the like; I just play it so that no one with a functioning brain ever puts anything important or sensitive on a computer with wireless access. If anyone want to steal those top-secret documents they need to enter the building and physically access the computer they're stored on. Because in a society with that much computing power literally walking around, nobody would ever use wireless networks for anything but trivial stuff.

Remember, too, that certain comlink models (for example, those used by the Jedi) are capapble of transmitting data. We saw Qui-Gon take a blood sample from Anakin, insert the sample slide into his comlink, and send it to Obi-Wan for analysis (specifically, a midichlorian count...performed on the Naboo royal starship, which could also suggest that Qui-Gon's radio silence instructions didn't apply to some form of wireless data connection, because I see no reason why Naboo government would have that sort of analysis capability in the ship's med bay).

I just realized, it makes sense that this is a specialized feature of a jedi Comlink. It would seem like a nice thing to have on your phone if part of your standing mission is to find children that are strong in the force. Never gave it much thought until now.

And to make you jealous: I saw the actual prop that was used in the movie yesterday in the Star Wars Identities Expo. Also, I was close enough to one of the R2's so that he could've heard me whisper through the glass.

I think it would take a plot excuse and a computers, mechanics or skulduggery check. Or maybe just a destiny point flip or added obligation to get the tech.

I would say it is possible track the signal, but not like you would using a cellphone's GPS. You can track Radio transmissions and was available to since at least WW2. I believe its called RDF (Radio Direct Finding).

As for hacking a Comlink the question is not is it possible, but what specific way and for what purpose.

Remote Hacking a specific Comlink is something I would limit to more advance models, like the one used by Qui-Gon. In that case I would limit it to being able to intercept the data which is probably encrypted. Also, you would have to be close enough to be able to isolate that specific Comlink from any others.

As for Physically Hacking a Comlink: Adding a transmitter to it (Possible, short range), Modifying it so that other's can listen to the conversation. (Yes), Making it so that you can remotely turn it on and listen in. (Possible, but short range and feedback can cause detection.) Basically, I would say that if you can get your hands on the Comlink, your options are open as long as it's reasonable.

Part of the dilemma I see cropping up here, is that OP is trying to inject a Shadowrun level of hacking and cyber mischief into a game which has very little to offer in those regards. According to SWRPG, those Commlinks and Datapads are just props. If you have one, you can perform some action (like making a call). If you don't have one, you can't. Or maybe you can talk the GM into letting you have a bonus die b/c you have that prop in hand at the right time.

But there is a distinct lack of hacking rules, especially to the degree that we're talking about. That's why Vader planted a homing device on the Falcon, instead of hacking into their Navicomputer or putting a virus in their Caller ID. Star Wars uses a completely different level of technology. The kind where keyboards and mice have been replaced with Droids putting their elongated probe into a console and spinning it until the door opens.

If hacking Commlinks were possible, there wouldn't be a need for all those Bounty Hunters. A single Slicer would just call to offer you free pizza, and triangulate your position.

I say split the difference. Your average civilian wants convenience. Have them carry around datapads with built-in comlinks (basically smartphones), which are hackable in about a thousand different ways.

The Empire, Rebellion, and large criminal syndicates all use old school basic comlinks. No software to hack, it simply doesn't do anything it hasn't been programmed to do. This is mostly due to security concerns. Think Battlestar Galactica where they had to go with old school tech and limit the use of networks.

We had a similar discussion recently on a thread about encryption and encoding, data security, droid brains, and communication capabilities.

While that would certainly exist on heavily populated and "advanced" worlds, who do you think would pay for global cell coverage on Tatooine or other Outer Rim worlds?

Ugh, can you imagine the roaming charges you would incur making a call from Hoth?

While that would certainly exist on heavily populated and "advanced" worlds, who do you think would pay for global cell coverage on Tatooine or other Outer Rim worlds?

Ugh, can you imagine the roaming charges you would incur making a call from Hoth?

I imagine that 24 (Google GPS for support for the 24 number, basically full global coverage with plenty of redundancy) or so star wars tech level satellites in orbit could provide all the infrastructure needed to get global cell phone coverage (assuming that every phone was a sat phone)... so that's a pretty trivial investment in the star wars galaxy, then you would need one holonet relay to be able to talk to anyone on any planet with a similar set up... assuming that the person trying to make the call could get holonet access (which the empire restricts)

Except... Not all planets are that "well off".

Tatooine is a giant dust bowl. People try to earn a living "harvesting" water vapor out of the air. And it's not like the planet has a central government. Jabba isn't the Mayor of Mos Eisley, he just happens to be a crime boss who moved into the neighborhood b/c there isn't much in the way of law and order for him to worry about.

So who is going to pay for these 24 communication satellites in the first place? Who is going to pay for their maintenance? And how much are they going to charge everyone else on the planet for the privilege of using them? Or... how many different groups are going to launch their own sets of satellites just so they don't have to pay someone else for the privilege of making calls? Suddenly space is very crowded as everybody puts their own network in orbit.

Host is a giant icy tundra, almost completely devoid of life. That's exactly why the Rebellion chose to set up their secret base underneath the ice. They were doing their best not to be noticed. And it was only b/c a random Probe Droid happened to get a look at their power generators (before someone managed to blow up the Droid) that the Empire found them. But... if that Probe Droid had noticed 24 shiny CommSats in orbit, that definitely would have tipped them off that something big was happening on Hoth.

Coruscant and Nar Shaddaa, of course those places are going to have satellites. But as I mentioned before, they're probably going to have too many instead of not enough. At some point during your arrival, either while on approach or somewhere in the space port, there's probably a process for buying minutes on one of the cell phone commlink carriers so you can use one of those satellite networks while you're planetside. Or else you'd have to rely on direct connections from your comm to the other guy.

Oh, and BTW... 24 satellites is just enough for 1 per Time Zone. That's not a whole lot, and certainly not enough for any amount of redundancy. It may work for GPS triangulation, but not for reliable communication for every inhabitant. Google Fu says we've got about 1,100 of those here on Earth.

If you want to look at reliable satellite communication for everyone on the planet, you’ve got to go to examples like Iridium, not GPS. Think hundred-plus smaller satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), instead of a smaller number of larger satellites that are further out.

Even traditional satphones based on Inmarsat technology wouldn’t be an appropriate comparison, because they’re too expensive and too big and bulky, and dependent on low-bandwidth satellites that are in geosync.

I don't think satellites are a big deal for any planet when a guy in a vest with a partner in a gorilla suit can walk out of the pub and be in orbit faster than you're average consumer can jump in their mini van and go to the nearest grocery store.

Shortwave can travel around a planet in the atmosphere. Neutrino emissions can pass through thousands of miles of solid rock as if it wasn't there. What used to require a large room to hold, now fits in your pocket. So, no reason to assume that satellites are needed for Star Wars stuff. Worst case, your ship acts as the repeater on non-civilized/uninhabited worlds when using commlinks.

Shortwave can travel around a planet in the atmosphere. Neutrino emissions can pass through thousands of miles of solid rock as if it wasn't there. What used to require a large room to hold, now fits in your pocket. So, no reason to assume that satellites are needed for Star Wars stuff. Worst case, your ship acts as the repeater on non-civilized/uninhabited worlds when using commlinks.

Except that they're canon?

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Communications_satellite

Shortwave can travel around a planet in the atmosphere. Neutrino emissions can pass through thousands of miles of solid rock as if it wasn't there. What used to require a large room to hold, now fits in your pocket. So, no reason to assume that satellites are needed for Star Wars stuff. Worst case, your ship acts as the repeater on non-civilized/uninhabited worlds when using commlinks.

Except that they're canon?

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Communications_satellite

None of those sources appear to be Mouse-era canon...

Given that droids can be be built to function as star fighters, satellites are probably just simple self deploying droids. You don't maintain them, with repulsor tech you just press the orbit button and send it on its way when one in a constellation needs to be replaced.

Except... Not all planets are that "well off".

Tatooine is a giant dust bowl. People try to earn a living "harvesting" water vapor out of the air. And it's not like the planet has a central government. Jabba isn't the Mayor of Mos Eisley, he just happens to be a crime boss who moved into the neighborhood b/c there isn't much in the way of law and order for him to worry about.

So who is going to pay for these 24 communication satellites in the first place? Who is going to pay for their maintenance? And how much are they going to charge everyone else on the planet for the privilege of using them? Or... how many different groups are going to launch their own sets of satellites just so they don't have to pay someone else for the privilege of making calls? Suddenly space is very crowded as everybody puts their own network in orbit.

Host is a giant icy tundra, almost completely devoid of life. That's exactly why the Rebellion chose to set up their secret base underneath the ice. They were doing their best not to be noticed. And it was only b/c a random Probe Droid happened to get a look at their power generators (before someone managed to blow up the Droid) that the Empire found them. But... if that Probe Droid had noticed 24 shiny CommSats in orbit, that definitely would have tipped them off that something big was happening on Hoth.

Coruscant and Nar Shaddaa, of course those places are going to have satellites. But as I mentioned before, they're probably going to have too many instead of not enough. At some point during your arrival, either while on approach or somewhere in the space port, there's probably a process for buying minutes on one of the cell phone commlink carriers so you can use one of those satellite networks while you're planetside. Or else you'd have to rely on direct connections from your comm to the other guy.

Oh, and BTW... 24 satellites is just enough for 1 per Time Zone. That's not a whole lot, and certainly not enough for any amount of redundancy. It may work for GPS triangulation, but not for reliable communication for every inhabitant. Google Fu says we've got about 1,100 of those here on Earth.