More art from 2011! And this time the last from Artslam: Spotlighter Edition! This is kind of a grab bag of infobits that didn't fit anywhere else, detailing information about a subtype I hadn't finished designing (Communications division) as well as modifications made to Spotlighters gotten through uh, less above board means- it deals primarily with spotlighters that have fallen into the hands of BREACH, that one thief organization that has become a thorn in the side of Secure Technologies, and most of the rest of Amberline.

Here's the old description!

<sub>-I'm still a little unsure on these guys and their design- my initial idea for them was possibly some kind of stealth division ("Call me Bondlighter. James Bondlighter.") but that didn't really fit; I've been toying with the idea of them being some kind of Communications Division and/or possibly handling the upkeep and connections between certain network/database systems of some type or another, but I've been having trouble hammering out specifically what that would entail or how to word it.
-And thus concludes our introduction to the various divisions of Spotlighters! I don't think it's all of them, but these are the only ones I've sat down and designed- I can certainly imagine there being more (like perhaps a Search & Rescue Division) and would someday love to fiddle with that.

Notes on 'repairs':
-While Secure Technologies gladly repairs Spotlighters (for a fee), you can imagine this really isn't an option for ones being used for less than legitimate purposes; so that one thief organization needed to find their own way of handling matters. I get the feeling it's a fairly 'loose' organization, meaning that while there may be some head honchos, that doesn't necessarily mean everyone there has access to the same resources as everyone else- there may be some individuals who are willing to repair spotlighters for others, but you also might have some who try and do the job themselves. (Additionally, I think there might be a maintenance-division someone loaded spotlighter schematics onto that can do some repairwork, but I'm not sure to what extent or how many people have access to it.) Anyway, new 'shells' are a lot harder to come by than spare parts, so even if a spotlighter is heavily damaged they'll try to repair before they replace- and while some individuals are meticulous in what parts they use, others will just use whatever is handy, and the end results might not match the original body plan.
-Additionally, there's occasionally the problem of that fiber optic-esque fur Spotlighters have. If a chunk gets damaged, you can theoretically replace it; but in order for it to work, you need to reattach all the tiny little connections so that it can actually 'read' what color data is supposed to be processed through it. If someone doesn't know what they're doing, you can wind up with repaired areas that are totally 'blank'/default because the data isn't getting through.

Notes on modifications:
-If the resources are available to repair, why not modify as well? You rarely ever see 'unofficial' modifications like these in actual security spotlighters; it's more something that occurs amongst that one organization. There are Functional as well as Aesthetic modifications, with functional being something that will assist in whatever job they're trying to pull off. These generally aren't too flashy (it's better if anyone else can't tell they're there); one such example being the addition of electrified contact plates on a thief 'lighter's feet, which can then be used to attack or short out any security spotlighters they encounter on a job. You might also see modifications meant to scramble radio frequencies/disrupt the ability of security spotlighters to communicate in that way, among other things.
-You may also find some individuals modifying the looks of their Spotlighter for the sake of looks alone. This is actually pretty frowned upon by most of the organization, though that doesn't mean it doesn't happen- it just makes the spotlighter in question far too recognizable, and nearly impossible to use for infiltration or stealthier pursuits. There's also the mentality of 'why would you ruin such an advanced piece of machinery by doing that', especially given that many of these mods are done on a more amateur level (in some cases, even bolting scrap metal on instead of something with craftsmanship). You usually see it happening more among the 'younger'/less mature members of the group who want specific recognition for any given heist and don't believe in the advantages of going incognito, even if it winds up making them more likely to be caught later on. They don't want to blend in, they want to be flashy, dammit!

Notes on BREACH:
-I've been trying to figure out how that thief organization got their hands on so many spotlighters in the first place. When things were first starting out, it would be pretty hard for them to just steal a whole bunch of functional spotlighters for their own use, and without being able to alter code there's no way those would listen to them, anyway. It makes much more sense for them to have acquired things piecemeal- new chipcards that hadn't been activated yet, and would therefore be loyal to them as 'owner', as well as the spotlighter shells needed for those cards to actually be of any use.
-I think the chipcards actually came first- there was likely some kind of gifting ceremony meant for Secure Technologies' more generous investors, here have a spotlighter for all the help you've given us. They probably had a bunch of shells and new chipcards so they could activate them then and there and make a show of it, but the box of chipcards went missing and was never found. They tried, of course; waited to see if any would show up 'on the market' or anything, but they never did- it was early on enough that ST assumed whoever had taken it maybe didn't know what they had or what it was worth, and eventually they just stopped searching. Meanwhile, said individual(s) were slowly obtaining spotlighter shells, maybe even through legitimate means- buying 'secondhand' ones at a discounted price from people who had upgraded theirs to a new shell or division, or possibly even salvaging damaged ones and fixing them up themselves. It would take a while for them to get enough shells to use up all those chipcards they had, but it gave them enough of a starting point to 'build their ranks' before Secure Technologies realized how much of a problem this was going to end up being.</sub>


I always wanted to make a roleplay/adoptable shop with these like I had with Project LAYHR on Gaia, and while I never did, I still want to do something with them someday!