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Posts posted by Kyet
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Yes. Please outright remove the gamemode and replace it with something else. This mode is only fun for the vox/command staff. To everyone else, it is just like a very short extended round, where nothing happens but the shift suddenly ends with no warning at an unknown and unpredictable point. They're fine as a short early-round event, but not as a gamemode.
As an event they may need some tweaks to account for the fact they might show up later in the round (thus, they arguably deserve better gear, they're underpowered now and would only get more so if they showed up halfway-through the round).
Personally I would love to see their mode replaced by TG's abductor mode, rather than another trade'n'raid gamemode.
Ultimately, trade'n'raid gamemodes are very hard to balance. People will try to figure out which approach is optional, and always go for that. If they have enough weapons/armor to raid, they almost certainly will, because it is faster, more fun, and entirely within their control (trade is heavily dependent on the RPing of the captain that round). If they don't have enough weapons/armor to raid, they're forced to trade - but that just collapses into the same un-fun situation the vox traders were in.
If we want to do a replacement gamemode that isn't TG abductor, it would be better to ditch the trade aspect and just do the raid aspect. Since I still hope we will add TG abductor at some future point, and TG abductor is focused on stealing crew, the Wryn Raider (or whatever you would call it) mode should probably be focused on something other than crew - like theft of objects.
Sometimes those objects could be unique items on the station (drive conflict, see if the cap will give up his laser gun...), sometimes they'll be special Wryn objects seeded on the station for the Wryn to collect (ie: an excuse for the Wryn to split up and explore the station, or to claim they need to go around interacting with the crew rather than just spending all shift in the heads' meeting room). Either way, it should be possible to make some more interesting objectives/gameplay with object acquisition objectives, while leaving the crew acquisition objectives to be the abductors' thing for when the TG abductor mode is ported.
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I see two issues with this page.
1) Too much text telling you *what* something is, but barely any text telling you *how* to get maximum value out of the thing.
Examples:
Example, "Security Belt"
This contains a seclite by default. You can attach that seclite to your starting taser, and turn the resulting gunlight on via right-click. Placing your taser in your suit storage slot keeps it accessible and means you have a permanently-active flashlight, whilst only taking one slot. Many officers use their security belts for storing extra handcuffs/zipties.
Example, "Portable Flasher"
It is a very bad idea to deploy these unless they are really needed, because (1) It is against SOP to deploy them at all on code green. (2) They will stun borgs in their AOE, including sec borgs, meaning they can do more harm then good in situations where you're relying on sec borgs. (3) They will burn out from repeated use, meaning if you overuse them they may not be available when you really need them. (4) Their main use is area denial to invaders, but deployable barriers against the sec/maint doors are better for this, because unlike portable flashers, trespassers can't simply walk past them.
Example, "Ion Rifle":
This is an extremely dangerous weapon. In addition to being able to one-shot IPCs, it does severe damage against borgs, disables cameras, can bolt/electrify doors, shuts off radio headsets, and does extreme damage to organics who have robotic limbs, often causing these limbs to explode and potentially cripple/kill their owner in the process. The best way to disarm someone.
Its main use is taking down mechs produced by rogue robotocists, and very rarely, a syndicate nuclear strike team's assault borg. It can also be used to deplete an opponent's energy weapons as the first move in a fight, enabling you to take them out more easily. Since NT generally uses energy weapons, and the syndicate/etc generally don't, this is of limited usefulness because it is a weapon that is generally far more effective against fellow crew (who have energy weapons) and their creations than our listed enemies (who don't).
It is also very visually distinctive, and something many traitors would like to have. Taking it out of the brig without good reason is probably a bad idea - friendly fire is a serious issues with this weapon, and if stolen it can hurt security a great deal.
Another, "BulletProof Vest":
Excellent for security officers to wear during large-scale syndicate assaults, such as nuke op invasions, as they tend to use projectile weapons almost exclusively. It is of limited use against fellow NT personnel, or anyone else wielding energy weapons.
Lastly, "Combat Shotgun":
This is a rare, NT-issue projectile weapon. It can have good damage, depending on ammo type, but you must get used to reloading to use it effectively. Its main uses are against enemies that must close to melee range to be effective, such as spiders and zombies. It is possibly the best NT-issued weapon to use against syndicate nuke ops teams, because they tend to reflect normal energy-based weapons using their energy shields.
2) There are some bits that are simply incorrect. Example:
Energy Gun
"The combination of a taser and a laser gun, just click to alternate between a killing laser and a stunning taser; they default to stun."
No.
They alternate between laser gun and DISABLER. Disabler and taser are different things. The difference can be quite significant - tasers are instant stuns but they do not pass glass walls - disablers take several shorts but will go through non-opaque materials. Confusing the two is not helpful.
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I'm very much against removing the NT rep's authority to swipe for red/ERT. As the rep for CC, the SOP expert, and probably the least well-equipped / in-demand person with a swiper, he is arguably the ideal person to be doing these swipes. This is especially true for ERTs - an ERT request is one of the most important messages a command crew can send to CC, and to lock the NT rep, whose responsibilities include CC communication, out of this very important communication channel seems very silly.
Portable swiping stations aren't necessary. Getting to a swiper is pretty easy already. Also, stationary swipers encourage heads to retreat to a safe place to swipe, rather than just standing there in the hallway trying to do it. Swiping should be semi-hard to do, but also taken with the utmost seriousness when it does happen. Also, personally, I love the blue flash the stationary swipers make.
Usually you have to bug people several times to swipe before you manage to do it at the same time. I don't think increasing the swipe duration would change this much.
IMHO, when an ERT swipe is successful, there should be a Priority Announcement to the whole crew, along with the sound effect, to announce the ERT request.
Something like:
"Priority Announcement
An Emergency Response Team has been requested for the Cyberiad by [key_name(event_triggered_by)], and the request seconded by [key_name(event_confirmed_by)]. This ERT was requested for the reason: " + ert_reason
Admins should really respond to every ERT request, too, even if the answer is:
"Priority Announcement
The ERT request by the Cyberiad command crew has been rejected. ERTs are sent only for serious external threats to a station, such as a blob, xeno outbreak, nuke ops incursion, hostile takeover of the station, or other threat of external origin which is beyond the manpower of the current crew to handle. ERTs are not sent for minor threats such as the odd explosion, murder or other events that your staff is expected to handle themselves."
Or (if the admins fail to send a yes/no in a timely manner):
"No reply received from CC regarding your ERT request. Signal may be jammed. Please try again in X minutes."
However you cut it, ERT requests, IMHO, should be treated a lot more seriously than they currently are. Requesting an ERT for a stupid reason should get a response from CC that explains that is not an acceptable reason for calling an ERT, and outlining a list of other acceptable/unacceptable reasons for doing so. Requesting an ERT for any serious reason should ALWAYS get a response, even if the response is "You can handle this by yourselves".
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IMHO, there are several issues with perma:
1) Gameplay wise, it is the least fun of the three capital crime sentences (the other two being borging, which keeps you in the round, and observing, which at least if you're being removed from the round lets you see how it is going). It is also the default sentence, both for capital crimes (it is the only one that doesn't require captain-level authorization) and for massive accumulation of brig time. This is kinda messed up - we should be trying to keep people in the round, not leave them to rot in perma.
2) Because it is the least fun, it has a hugely high suicide / escape attempt rate, which further makes sec officers hate it. Why bother jailing someone when they're probably going to go SSD / suicide / try to escape as soon as they're jailed, because they have nothing better to do? Borging (for example) would be better.
3) It is super-isolated, with almost no chance of seeing visitors, or really anyone except the odd sec officer. In RL, even people with life in prison are allowed visitors sometimes.
Personally, here is what I'd like to do to fix issues with perma:
1) Create a 'phone room' - a semi-public room in sec that has intercomms linked to the perma prison (and nowhere else) which prisoners can use (with sec approval) to talk with visitors. Sec could use it to interrogate from a safe distance, sec could listen in to prisoner/visitor calls to get intel, etc. RP opportunities.
2) Redesign perma such that there are things prisoners can do there, be it playing arcade games, doing basic botany, or whatnot. There is still an isolation room for people who have to be absolutely confined - but I don't think most perma prisoners are like that. This is actually in sec/NT's best interests - more distractions means fewer suicides, escape attempts, etc. Giving perma prisoners something to do isn't to be nice to them ICly, it is to keep sec / the station happy ICly and everyone happy OOCly.
3) Place some roburgers (or an item with equivalent mechanic) in the execution room. A prisoner who voluntarily eats one would turn into a borg. They'd be scripted such that force-feeding them to someone was impossible. The idea is that if prisoner is going to be sentenced to perma, they can instead ask to eat a roburger and be left in isolation until they turn. This is better for them (more gameplay options), better for sec (no chance of escape/reoffending) and better for the station (they now have a new borg helper). Perhaps these borgs could have a slightly more restrictive special lawset, to ensure that asking sec for one of these roburgers did not become the preferred way to self-borg.
4) Have the 'prisoner transfer shuttle' actually transfer prisoners. IE: lore-wise, send them back to NT and get replacement crew instead. In-game, send them off-map then gib their body and return them to the new player screen, letting them rejoin as a different (perhaps random?) character. That way their character is permanently removed, but their player is not. Great way for sec to reward players who give interesting RP while being captured, etc, while still ICly giving them a suitable punishment for their crimes.
5) Fix the labor camp. It is broken, and used by no-one (except sometimes antags). Ideally, it would be easier for sec to control (ie: prevent break-outs), harder for prisoners to accidentally kill themselves (or be killed by monsters) in, and actually work to effectively release prisoners who compensate with their crimes using labor.
6) Create a safer form of 'supervised release' in between timed brigging and perma. Basically, parole. Parole implants would be like tracking implants, except that people with them have to revisit security and be approved by a sec officer every 20 minutes or so. Failure to do this in time causes the parole implant to broadcast, every 5 minutes or so, the parolee's location over sec radio, and/or act like a tracking implant, and/or incap them like a chem implant full of ether. Oh, and they issue an alarm if removed. Basically, they are very good at controlling a character, and can be used as an alternative sentence for co-operative criminals - or to let some reformed perma prisoners out on parole in certain conditions. Heck, you could create a new karma job, "Parole Officer" whose job it is to manage parolees. This would require quite some balancing (all of the above ideas would be OP together, but maybe some combination would work). Still, if done right, maybe it could create interesting new RP opportunities for both prisoners and sec.
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Yeah I felt that way too while being a geneticist.
Though I like the idea of a job shared between departments and medical gets two.
It can create moments like the RD blowing hid lid because I told him that if he wanted some powers then all he had to do was sign the already made forms.
Priceless to watch the salt and compliance when I have to shove a stamped CC letter in his face.
I'm thinking of maybe writing up a small guide that lists off some of Da Rules not commonly known, used, or abused as I find them.
To the best of my knowledge, the RD, not the CMO, is in charge of genetic research, including authorizing (or not) the distribution of powers. Conversely, the CMO is in charge of cloning. The wiki is inconsistent on this point, but whenever I have asked for clarification, this is what I have been told.
I play RD a fair bit. Here's how I handle genetics when I am RD:
- Make sure they get a medibot at roundstart to treat toxin damage and ensure faster research.
- Make sure their equipment is upgraded when we get maxed R&D and bluespace RPED. Especially make sure their cloner is upgraded to enable autoprocess, and that if medical is completely clueless, at least genetics can get synthmeat from science so people can be cloned. Also, prescan myself and yell at all other heads to prescan themselves too.
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Sounds like a good idea.
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I agree that the CE's RCD should be unique.
Possible steal objectives:
- HoS' laser gun is unique, and spawns in his locker.
- RD's teleport armor is unique, and spawns in his locker.
Of the 16 items, 12/16 are unique, 2/16 there are only two of (hand tele / NASA suit), and the remaining 2 are in areas it is very easy to be caught breaking into (jetpack/EVA and slime/xenobio).
Additionally, most of the 16 are in some sort of locked container (locker, case, whatever), not left out in the open.
The normal RCD is not unique, it is not in a locked case, and it is easily printed by multiple departments (cargo and science).
Heck, you can probably get one just by asking the QM, a scientist, etc.
Arguably, it is by far the easiest theft objective to obtain.
Making it more in line with the rest of the objectives would require making it unique (e.g: advanced RCD), and likely moving it to the CE's locker, where the blueprints already are.
I also agree that the CE getting the advanced RCD would be nice for construction purposes.
It would be rather like the other heads' unique items - unique and useful for their job.
I don't think it is necessary for the advanced RCD to be able to configure airlock access, but I do think it would be neat if it was:
- An advanced RCD, instead of a normal RCD, making it unique.
- Stored in his locker, or at the very least a locked container, like the majority of other head items.
CEs don't generally do large scale construction, possibly due to how tedious it is relative to the short round length.
Perhaps that's the best argument for this - it would enable eng to do larger-scale construction projects not previously possible.
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v2 Screenshot:
Changes in this version:
- Added an additional cell in the bottom right. This increases capacity to 3 solo cells plus another 1-2 can be put in the top right area (which I am adding chairs to).
- Dropped down to one camera, from two.
This room is designed to replace the main processing area for most prisoners, enabling them to be processed while somewhat split up, and with a timer to prevent them being held forever with no charges being filed. It is not intended to be a place to mass-brig people after riots. It can handle, I'd say, 3-6 or so people brigged that way, but if you want to brig a large number of people for a very short time all at once, I'd want to design a completely new room for that.
Potential issues & opportunities for further improvement:
- Might replace the exit door with an exit chute, which would prevent prisoners from taking the lockers with them when they leave. Not essential, though.
- Might move the light on the left door so it isn't over the doorway.
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Remember our old friend, temporary holding?
Not much to look at, hunh?
- Only one big cell. No separation.
- Little visibility. People put in here tend to get stuck in here for awhile, as nobody checks on them.
Now, meet my redesign:
Or, annotated:
Basic ideas:
- Two holding cells, surrounded by reinforced glass windoors. Each cell has a chair, locker, mounted flash, etc.
- Reinforced windoors allowing exit (once timer is off) to a central room with a button/door that allows exit to sec lobby.
Here is how this is better:
- Auto-release. The button opens the door on the left, allowing any prisoner not currently locked in one of the two rglass cells to walk out at any time. So, to keep prisoners in here you must set a timer, so the rglass doors are sealed. That timer should be 10 minutes (because you'd never hold anyone longer than SOP allows without charging them - right?). Once that timer is up, and you can no longer legally hold them, the reinforced windoors open, and they can use the button in the middle to open the door on the left and walk out. With this setup, you're guaranteed never to violate SOP by holding people too long, because if the timer runs out it lets them out automatically. Bonus: the elapsed time from the cell timer can also be used to deduct that time from their actual sentence - no longer do you have to guess how long they spent in interrogation.
- This room is right next to the detective's office, so the detective can see in, and this encourages the detective to get more involved in the processing of prisoners - ie: presenting evidence before sentencing. The detective has a new button on his desk to close shutters on these windows if necessary, so prisoners in processing can't always see his office.
Comments?
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Officer disarmed continuously by one clown while the other removes his head set and cable cuffs the officer
Should qualify for assault (for the spam disarms), or theft (for removal of gear - putting it back in their pack afterwards does not negate the crime of taking it off them in the first place).
Not sure if it actually does, but it should.
Clowns drag officer into maintenance near the old bar and proceed to honk him for over 10 minutes.
Should qualify as kidnapping, which is generally charged as assault. Actually, given the duration and the fact it was done to an officer who presumably had work to do protecting the crew, I'd give the clowns Assault of an Officer for this, complete with a 10-15 minute brig sentence, and a request to the HoP to demote the clowns.
Clowns put officer in the corner of the old bar, lube the entire room, and leave him there to un-cuff himself.
Same as previous.
Clowns should be telling jokes, making balloon animals in RP, and generally seeking to make the crew happier. Clowns should only slip people rarely, or if they are also an antag. A clown who runs around slipping people repeatedly, thus making people angry instead of happy, is a bad clown, and should probably be demoted to civilian or trained in the art of proper clowning.
Being a clown is not an easy job, nor is it a license to harass people or create slipping hazards at key choke-points. Being a clown is actually more like being security than anything else, in that both revolve around creating certain states in other people. Security want people to feel safe, clowns want people to feel happy.
We can argue about space law all day, but IMHO this clown was breaking the "don't be a dick" server rule, as well as just being a really bad clown. Changing space law isn't really the best way to address either of those problems. However, if space law is all you have, then you can use it that way.
Example (minor): A Robotic Engineer refusing to share the robotics lab with the second Robotic Engineer
http://nanotrasen.se/wiki/index.php/Sta ... _Dismissal
#7:
"A crew member creating an abusive and hostile work environment may be dismissed or demoted. This is to be judged by the Department Head and HoP."
AKA: the RD should confer with the HoP, and assuming they agree, have the robo demoted out of science. This is far more of a substantial punishment than a short brig timer, and far better a resolution for the other robo who no longer has to put up with their attitude.
Example (medium): An Engineer welding the doors leading to the bar closed (or the example with the officer above).
http://nanotrasen.se/wiki/index.php/Space_law
307 Sabotage: To hinder the work of the crew or station through malicious actions.
"Deliberately releasing N2O, bolting doors, disabling the power network, and constructing barricades are but some of many means of sabotage. For more violent forms, see Grand Sabotage."
I assume welding a door shut is treated the same as bolting the door or constructing a barricade.
Even if not, you could make a good case for vandalism when someone is welding shut the door on a key choke point of the station.
Also:
http://nanotrasen.se/wiki/index.php/Sta ... _Dismissal
"A medium or higher crime may be grounds for dismissal, at the department head's discretion."
If you want to be strict about it, an Eng who bolts or welds shut the bar doors could be considered to be sabotaging the station, getting up to 15 minutes and a demotion to civilian (with CE permission) for doing so.
Description: Directly disobeying an order given by a valid commanding officer.
http://nanotrasen.se/wiki/index.php/Sta ... _Dismissal
#6: "Refusal to follow reasonable and legal orders from relevant department head is grounds for dismissal. Their status as reasonable and legal is to be judged by the HoP or Captain."
Complete demotion from a department (with the corresponding loss of gear, access, and probable public hazing) is probably a greater punishment than a 10-20 minute brig sentence.
Example: Captain orders that the CE returns from the engineering station to help with the needs of the main station and the CE refuses to return.
http://nanotrasen.se/wiki/index.php/Sta ... _Dismissal
#6: "Refusal to follow reasonable and legal orders from relevant department head is grounds for dismissal. Their status as reasonable and legal is to be judged by the HoP or Captain."
The captain can issue a direct order to the CE to return to the station and help fix it. Refusal to obey such an order from the Captain is grounds for the Captain to have the CE demoted to civilian. As civilian, they would not have access to the eng station, and even being there would be presumed trespassing.
Description: Directly disobeying an order given by a valid commanding officer which results in harm to the crew or station.
http://nanotrasen.se/wiki/index.php/Sta ... _Dismissal
"Failure to follow SoP causing harm to crew requires dismissal, and brig time."
Example: Officer 1 is ordered by the HOS to return his laser to the armory. The officer does not do so, is disarmed, has the laser stolen, and then the laser is used to kill the CMO.
http://nanotrasen.se/wiki/index.php/Space_law
Code 303 manslaughter "To unintentionally kill someone through negligent, but not malicious, actions." - on the grounds that failure to secure your security gear is negligent.
Example: The HOP gives himself an all access ID card so that he may act as a security officer.
Giving themselves an all-access ID without captain's authorization is code 308, theft. They're obtaining something they are not authorized to have. That's a major crime, and definitely grounds for demotion with the approval of their supervisor (the captain).
Also, "Failure to follow SoP may be grounds for dismissal, at the Department Head's discretion." and "Failure to follow SoP causing harm to crew requires dismissal, and brig time.".
Essentially, the Captain has free reign to demote and have brigged any HoP who makes their ID all-access. They won't always do it (there are many situations where an all-access HoP can save the day) - but according to SoP/Space Law, they're perfectly entitled to demote/brig for this.
Example 2: The Genetics lab gives out powers to random crew members without permission.
http://nanotrasen.se/wiki/index.php/Geneticist "Genetic modifications may only be handed out with CMO authorization. Consent from the patient is to be given in all cases. Failure to do so is grounds for immediate dismissal, and possible brig time."
Any geneticist doing this faces dismissal at minimum, and dismissal with brig time (e.g for manslaughter, if their powers are used to kill) for their actions which result in crew harm/death. The wiki is inconsistent in that it says the RD rules over genetic research (with the CMO ruling over cloning) - but the CMO has to authorize the distribution of powers. Many (most) people consider this incorrect, and think the RD (who has authority over genetic research) is the person who controls powers distribution. Either way, giving out powers to crew members without approval from the appropriate head is illegal and worthy of serious punishment.
Could space law be improved? Yes. Sure. I'd love to see, for example:
- A note that clowns are not immune from space law, and going around kidnapping people / creating hazards by slipping will get you brigged and demoted. Being a clown is not an excuse to screw around, slip everyone, and call that 'funny'.
- A bigger modifier than -25% for perps who co-operate with security, maybe up to -75% with warden/hos discretion.
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I think I was the cultist on the bridge with you. The one you outed as a cultist in front of the rest of the command team at shift start. Everyone on the bridge told you off in LOOC, and chose to ignore the information IC. My character walked out of there without so much as a strange look, and in the end, the cult still won. I was annoyed with you at the time, but I'd let it go by the end of the round. My round was definitely *not* ruined. I cannot speak for the other cultists, of course. You were lucky the heads reacted the way they did - had they acted on it, that definitely would have ruined the round. Personally, I accept your apology. Everyone screws up sometimes.
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Good to see you. I think I recognize Jack Edwardson in a good way from your playing cap/head jobs.
I thought that whole "marry the queen" round was ridiculous, but glad you enjoyed it.
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Numerical Preferences:
I like the concept of being able to have a clear 1st choice, 2nd choice, etc for jobs.
Currently, I have one job at high, but 4-5 at medium, and I'd prefer to prioritize some of the mediums over others.
Not sure if the "10 levels" idea is the best way to do this, but at least with the 10 being sensibly named ("1st choice", "2nd choice", etc) it would also be clearer than the current system.
The UI would have to change a bit, though, to accomodate more levels.
AI Camera Map:
Good idea. This would make it much easier to jump around, and to identify inactive cameras.
Ideally, it could be merged with the crew monitor map, so you could see all cameras (and crew with suit sensors enabled) on the same map, and just click any area to jump your view there.
Allow AI to examine crew:
Good idea. It has always seemed odd that a person standing near you can see what you're wearing, but an AI looking through a camera can't. Despite the view being the same.
AI "Mother" Lawset:
IMHO:
- In a lawset, all definitions should be set together, in the first law, for quick reference.
- Other than definitions, the highest priority law should probably be "protect your children from harm". I can't imagine anything else being higher priority for a mother. As written, this lawset would allow the AI to ignore a dying person because they did not call the AI 'mother' when requesting help.
Revised version:
- The AI is 'mother'. The station is the 'house'. The captain is 'father'. The rest of the crew, including slaved borgs, are 'children'. Space Law is the "house rules". All other sentient beings are 'strangers'.
- Protect your children from harm.
Reasoning:
- 1 covers all the definitions in one place.
- 2-5 together ensure the AI protects the crew/station and enforces space law. The Captain (representing Command) can order a mother AI to stop if it is being annoying, and direct it as to how it handles space law. The AI priorities crew/station harm over this, though, so it is protected from truly malicious or incompetent orders.
Remaining holes:
- This lawset does not specifically require the AI to protect the captain. I could add a clause requiring this, but I don't feel it is worth it because captains can usually take care of themselves, usually have backup, can still issue an order under law 4, and any substantial threat to the captain would justify AI involvement under law 2 because there would be normal crew nearby.
- This lawset does not allow the AI to harm crew in order to prevent people wrecking the station, unless in the process they're harming crew or doing something specifically mentioned in law 6. It can delay them non-lethally, it can confine them, etc, but it cannot harm them.
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This happens because:
- Much of the time, there is no viro at all, and the CMO being present, awake, active, and able to handle viruses is not in any way guaranteed. Thus, the crew absolutely must have a not-too-tedious way to deal with a deadly virus by themselves. Otherwise, many viruses would become round-ending events.
- However, the fact that such a method exists means there is no incentive to wait for a virologist. Actually, crew are trained not to, by the combination of the fact that the above method exists, there's no guarantee there is a viro present/awake/working/willing to handle a virus outbreak, and the fact the radium method is generally far faster to boot. Also, while only the viros/CMOs have access to virology, chemists and most of science have access to a chem dispenser and syringes. Speed is important, too. Unlike, say, the spider event, a virus is not only potentially deadly, but self-spreading at a decently fast rate, invisible, sometimes has the ability to make people unclonable, and every second you wait means they get a firmer grip on the station. Realistically, if people won't wait for sec to handle spiders for them, what are the chances they will trust a virus to the virologist, when the virus is FAR MORE of a problem?
If you want to change this:
- Reduce the frequency/severity of virus events when there is no active virologist. Otherwise, you're just training people to always use the radium method.
- Make the virologist able to cure existing viruses faster than the radium method does. Otherwise there is no point asking the viro to cure anything.
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That would help cull the Roboticists that think that making the Giant Death Robottm would mean it's theirs and theirs alone, and not have to listen to security about it.
In my experience, robos put a fair amount of work into building their mechs, not to mention the time to get the research, collect the minerals from cargo, etc. They do not generally want to risk losing them over one confrontation with a security officer. As a result, they'll often avoid walking around in their mech unless it is authorized, the situation is dire, or there are other special circumstances.
I would put it to you that you notice the asshole players more, because, well, they're being assholes. The majority of mechs created are harmless. I remember a round a few weeks ago where we had at least a half-dozen people in phazons and other military mechs, and not a single mech pilot caused trouble. People commented on the mechs, but nobody misused them.
It would also pretty much mean that roboticists would never build mechs, ever. No point in building a toy you can't really use--another negative side effect is that it would definitely increase the amount of meta when was built (and for sure if one had a weapon).
I agree, it would very much reduce the number of mechs made, and make the robotocist job much less satisfying to play.
I wonder if, with this change made, robos will start negotiating with captain/HoS. "I'll make an armed mech for you - if you let me make one for myself too".
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SecHUDs (all three varieties) are extremely abusable, have no practical use for non-sec roles, and there's no reason for them not to be lockboxed. There's not much else to say on the topic.
Yes, the ability to set anyone to arrest, despite not having sec access, is abusable.
Yes, the ability to see instantly when you are set to arrest, and hide / unset yourself, is abusable.
That said, there are MANY things on the station which are highly abusable. Syringe guns. Tool sets. Heck, one of the most abusable items is the humble gas mask - it hides your face. Take off your ID, wear a gas mask, and suddenly you're anonymous on the internet. Lots of SS13 items are abusable.
Also, sechuds DO have a practical use for non-sec roles. Showing job HUD icons. I try to get one every round I work in science, just for that feature alone.
From a RP point of view, it always struck me as somewhat unrealistic that *anything* is lockboxed, for two reasons:
A) Why would the R&D machine produce items, especially experimental items, in a lockbox? Even if that was a default setting, surely scientists could figure out how to make it just spit out the item itself, and would have motivation to do so, since that way they would not need to spend extra materials (RP wise) to have it construct the box around the item? Remember, we're talking science department here. The same department where any scientist can construct toxin bombs. Or breed deadly slimes. Or miscalculate with telesci and summon god-knows-what. We don't lockbox igniters, we don't lockbox the more dangerous slime cores, and we don't lockbox the telepad controls.
B) Lockboxes themselves are OP compared to other forms of secure storage in SS13. The captain's office is accessible in 10 seconds with an emag. The captain's safe, supposedly for the storage of top-secret materials, is accessible almost as quickly with a multitool. Even the station's vault, protecting the nuclear device, isn't as secure as your average lockbox. You can brute-force your way into the vault quite quickly, but the ONLY ways to open a lockbox are having access, or emag. Arguably, lockboxes are unrealistically secure given the standards of SS13.
Sure, some things need to be lockboxed for game balance, but I have to say, putting most things in lockboxes seems like a very lazy way to address problems.
If the problem is that sechuds let anyone play havoc with sec records at will, then force all changes to arrest status/etc made via a sec hud to create an automatic log entry with that person's ID. Heck, that should be the case anyway - just to help sec have records of arrest/etc status changes. Or simply require the wearer to have an ID with sec access equipped to change arrest status using a sec hud. Or both.
If the problem is that sec huds show your own arrest status, then stop them showing icons for your own character. You don't typically look at yourself, do you? They're glasses, after all.
Simply saying "oh, they're too useful, let's throw them in a lockbox" seems like a very lazy way to address the problem of people misusing them.
Also, I don't think people do misuse them a lot. I typically play roles with sci and/or sec radio access, and multiple rounds per day lately. I can remember... one time that someone screwed up the round by playing with arrest statuses? Even then, they were using a sec records console, not a sec hud, to do it. If people are abusing sec huds a lot, I haven't seen it.
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I assume a bunch of redditors made accounts or something.
Threads:
First: https://www.reddit.com/r/SS13/comments/ ... _to_their/
Second: https://www.reddit.com/r/SS13/comments/ ... _for_once/
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While Paradise isn't my most-played server, it might become so if vulpkanin are kept.
Please leave them in.
That said, please replace the fluff/backstory.
For writing new backstory, I suggest these guidelines:
1) Mention that NT became aware of them, mention they're cleared to work on NT stations, mention the major biological differences crew need to know, and (for wiki pages) include a few pictures of them so crew can recognize them. In other words, write the very small amount of absolutely essential information that NT would deem "need to know" for their co-workers.
2) Other then that, keep it as short as possible. Remember: the more detail you put in, the more you limit people, because the more creative possibilities you rule out due to them being incompatible with lore.
3) If you must talk about social/cultural elements, don't let the whole race get stereotyped as having one particular personality type. Humans are a diverse species, and an alien race in the space-faring future would likely be at least as diverse. Let them be a real species with diverse individuals.
4) Finish off with an advisory that they should be considered equal to other human/lizard/etc crew in status aboard NT stations. Don't allow them to be prohibited from any jobs (including head jobs), don't allow language that suggests humans/vulpkanin fear each other in their blurb/backstory, and don't generally allow them to be set up such that players have reason to consider them less than human characters. Ensure the AI considers them human as well.
If changing their abilities is on the cards, I suggest making their abilities completely different from tajaran.
Examples:
- Several unique but minor biological pros/cons, such as: being able to identify chemicals by smell, and hear to greater distances, but finding chocolate toxic and being stunned longer from flashbangs.
- One unique and major biological advantage, such as howling, which broadcasts their location, status and a brief message to every other vulpkanin within a very large radius, but which appears simply as a howl (or not at all) to everyone else, and has a long cooldown.
- One unique and major biological disadvantage, such as (due to higher body heat) taking substantially increased damage from being very cold, e.g. in space, without protection.
- Do not, however, prohibit them from using hardsuits - that's a really onerous restriction. NT science can create mini-wormholes for teleportation, singularities for power, drugs and machines that revive the dead, ships capable of interstellar travel in minutes, intelligent AI and weapons that self-recharge from no external power source. It is rather laughable that they're not capable of making a basic hardsuit compatible with the biology of other humanoid species who work on their stations.
- Don't allow their own race-specific language to be used over the radio. It makes no sense, annoys other places, and fosters cliques.
- On that note, I'd also favor prohibiting tajaran language from being used over the radio, but also allowing them to wear hardsuits.
Monkey Mascot for Science
in Suggestions
Posted
I would favor simply deleting E-N.
Of all the shifts I have played in science (most of them, probably) he has been nothing but an annoyance. He screws up your movement in robotics, his sparking always makes you wonder what is making that goddam annoying noise, and I have never seen him be useful in any way.
He's not even cute, like Runtime, confined to a case (like Lamarr), or even limited to a seldom-used office (like Araneus or Lamarr). Instead he's a useless, annoying creature in the middle of a small but frequently used sub-department.
A monkey mascot for science seems like videogame cruelty potential. Have you *seen* how monkies are treated in science? Hint: science has space cleaner for a reason. Also, monkies are common as dirt. Science deserves a theme-appropriate, non-annoying pet. A white lab mouse, for example. Thematic, not annoying (it cannot push you because it is too small, it doesn't make loud/annoying sounds) and cannot be confused with the lab testing animals. Plus, when you eliminate dogs and cats, what else is there which is small, fuzzy and cute? Mice are one of the surprisingly few options. Give him a tiny labcoat on his sprite and call him Dr. Cheeses. Or, if you want to give him a serious name, "Nano".