VileFault

Can you please make a case for time compression, since you seem to be for it Jackboot? I don't really understand the argument for it, and it seems like it would just be a pain to remember. Maybe you want the lore to progress more rapidly? After all, in real time, wars or conflicts are unlikely to be resolved. If that is the reason, I could kind of get behind it. We should have more IC ways of finding the date without relying on the wiki, though. Calendars, computers, something like that.

God damn it, I feel bad for contributing to this debate about what really makes sense. Do you like the idea of occational spoopy skarry mood lighting? I do. Thus it should be. Besides, if the people playing when the "night" happens are largely playing at night IRL too, then it contributes to muh imerssions.

I am pretty sure we have spooky-scary gravity generators in this world, but really anything works. And we kind of have to have stations like that somewhere, right. The only thing on the Odin that I was able do dig up was an old thread where people talked vaguely about the possibility of the Odin being a couple of things (http://forums.aurorastation.org/viewtopic.php?f=78&t=6592&p=65254&hilit=Odin#p65254). Not really cannon, so as far as I know this is all up in the air anyway. My God, my guy's life is probably a total lie. I am beginning to think that the poor bugger really does just quietly slip into some water closet when I am not around and doesn't come out for four hours. In the end, this little digression I have developed a weird obsession with isn't super relevant to the actual change, which I pretty much agree with. Though I think that, if we finally give APC's a light switch and dimmer, we should remove those stupid wall-nipples that nobody uses. I once had a xenobotanist whine to me for over half an hour to fix their APC. Turns out that the light switch was off. That is how little those things are used. EDIT: Exactly Synnono, it is kind of irrelevant.

Huh. Bit late to find it exactly where I read all this, though I will try tomorrow. I always thought that after the shuttle took us back to the Odin, we either prepared for a new shift or slept there. Isn't the Odin supposed to be way bigger than what the map suggests, and act as a support station for the Aurora/Exodus and other installations in the region? Do we really make the journey down to planetside settlements every day? That seems like it would be pretty crazy, even with bluespace drives and whatnot. I guess they probably have apartments or homes or units or something down on Biesel or New Gibson, especially if they have families, but it seems like employees in the cloud would be away from home for weeks, if not months at a time. Again, though, correct me if I am wrong.

Just looked at this guy's post history. Good for laughs, I guess. If a bit depressing. You have really been coming back this this server on a semiannual basis, just to be banned for murdering some SSD guy each time? It is a very strange pattern, but your dedication is kind of admirable. The little heartwarming speech is a tad overdone, but I guess that is sort of the point. Honestly, even though a forth chance after three separate permabans seems like something the admins are unlikely to hand out, I would be in favor of it. Not because I think the ban was unfair or anything like that, but because I am really genuinely curious to see if this pattern will repeat itself again, years later. Again, however, I doubt the server would still be around if the admins shared the "burn it all down" attitude I get at around this time of night.

I mean, aesthetically this seems cool. And since it was suggested by a coder, I am inclined to think it could plausibly be implemented. But why are we pretending that this really makes sense? That all said, I wouldn't mind this. There are plenty of aspects of the Land of Spessmen which require me to suspend my disbelief already, and I can happily deal with it if the cool factor is sufficient, which I believe it is here.

Ah, real money. That great destroyer of friendships. But in seriousness, this sounds fine. Either way you talk about doing donations seems fine to me, and I am glad you put so much thought into the matter. In the end, if this is really $300 a year, what is left over after payments isn't enough money to really stress anyone out too much. I have a hard time imagining people, ah, embezzling a hundred dollars or so from the heavily scrutinized account of their friends and acquaintances. It just doesn't seem worth it (though I have, admittedly, been surprised before). And Bedshaped, that sounds like a pretty bad idea. Compiling a giant list of IRL information on senior staff seems to me like something that would cause way more trouble than it would avert. Think of the blackmail, drama, doxxing, etc. that could result if shit hit the fan. I don't mean to be overly pessimistic here, but I have seen similar things happen. In my opinion, anonymity and lack of real life consequences hold communities like this one together. I, personally, would try to make a point of donating, but I don't think that making a big issue out of it will have a positive impact in the long run. I would be pretty categorically against recognition or extra features in game based on donation, though I know Skull already shot that down. A wall of names is something I could deal with, as long as it didn't show as, for example, a different color in OOC or something. Huzzah for Mr. Paragon of Civic Virtue over here!

Yeah. That'll teach him to ask for some authoritative clarification on an ambiguous aspect of the informal code of conduct on a section of the forum specifically made for that purpose, then genuinely apologise when corrected! What a bastard, right?

Going from my own interactions and what is written here, Dawnguard seems a bit dull as far as characters go, and some parts of this application are pretty sparse. My IC interactions with Dawnguard have been pretty OK, but there is one thing that worries me on that front. Dawnguard doesn't really seem to be take his job or the station very seriously. While that is fine in general, it is hard for me to imagine someone who, as you describe it, "likes to mess around with people and play jokes" would be promoted a to a command level position. Sure, he always seem calmish in crises, but as far as Bard has been able to tell this derives from his severe fucks-given deficit, rather than some staunch and stalwart inner core. For what it is worth, though, I am fairly certain that Hunter's OOC knowledge of science is pretty solid. Not sure if I really want to give this a -1, but I don't really want to give it a +1 either. I just wanted to register my ambivalence, as his coworker. And Hunter, I think a lot of what I said would change if you added something to the backstory you have laid out here, so that Dawnguard couldn't just be summarized as a smart, funny guy that does science. Sorry if this seems a bit harsh.

Be the hero YouTube needs deserves.

I am only in favor of stockings being added if they have a 5% chance to instantly gib anyone who puts them on.

I have played 4th edition, and the most accurate thing I have heard it called is a "superhero simulator." It simplifies a lot of mechanics for the sake of the players, so they can play smooth badasses and generally be in control of the situation. Which is great, if you like that kind of thing. As I said, I played it for a few years, and found it pretty fun. 5th edition is, in my opinion, the best. It avoids the excruciating depth of the first few editions, which made doing anything at all a hassel (I once saw a table for computing the effects of different numbers of different type of alcoholic drinks on a player's stats), while maintaining enough complexity to make leveling up and navigating the world full of impactful choices involving the mechanics. The mechanics are very streamlined, without making it quite as featureless as 4th edition (where leveling up might only grant you access to one new ability, chosen from a pool of three). Just thought I would leave this here, since I have experience with both. Sadly, I don't have enough time at the moment to play.

I am not so sure, F&G. Though the backstory obviously needs revision, and a few of the transitions wouldn't make sense even if they worked with the lore, I think Absynth is capable of handling the technical aspects of being an IPC. Their performance as Ein, the Vaurca, has been pretty decent. They have kept to the speech impediments, and though Ein's outlook on life seems a bit too human-esque for my liking, it also hasn't done anything that sticks out as un-Vaurca-ish. My major warning to Absynth here is that you should not assume that an AI not initially designed as a general intelligence would be anything like a human, or even a human-ish AI. It seems far more likely that the character you describe here would be pretty limited in its ability to think. It might have the tools to contend with certain problems very well, but with regards to others it might find itself totally lost. Which is actually really cool, in my opinion, so long as you don't ignore it too often. A few more specific notes on the backstory, in no particular order: In the end, I think this is a +1/2. Competent player, iffy backstory as far as I am concerned. Let me know, Absynth, if you like what I have said, hate it, or have other ideas. I would be quite interested to hear them. EDIT: The Flight of the Concords reference definitely bumps that up to a +1, good on you mate.

True. I have done this, and wiped my progress many times as RD. Usually, I am so ticked off that I just give up on whatever I was writing. This has occasionally killed the documentation for experiments, or experimental designs. I would totally support this change, as it would be a major QoL improvement that would cut the sheer pain of the SS13 text editor down by half or so. Then, all we would need are pencils and erasers...

Yeah, summoning the dark lord of ultimate terror from Bluespace or whatever should probably take more than eight dudes chanting some shit in a circle. Then again, adding a strict person requirement feels a bit ham-fisted. If they are motivated and clever, they shouldn't have to recruit a ton of people who may or may not actually be participating in the cult (that is to say that option 'B' would lead to people converting others not because they want those people to help them, but because they are playing a numbers game). Maybe make the spell more complex and difficult to do unobtrusively? Perhaps it could require a human sacrifice, or several in succession, before it goes down (this could have the added benefit of incorporating the 'sacrifice rune' code). Just a thought. I do agree with the basic premise, though, that this isn't something that they should be able to do without disturbing the rest of the station. They should have to interact with way more people before they get to end the round. EDIT: Reread it. Yeah, I sorta misinterpreted that. The click spam doesn't really bother me that much, but I think just not allowing them to say the words would be fine. I think the delay until a 'recast' if the circle was setup improperly is probably going to do more harm than good. Say you have one new guy in the group, and they don't quite get the mechanic. Now they click it first, and everybody has to wait 30 seconds for no real reason. If they have what is required to complete the summons, I think they shouldn't have to wait if they click it too early.

You can go back and edit it, if you want. Should be a button at the bottom of the post. You might also be able to delete or edit away the second post. Nobody has to know... Just be a bit speedy - posting unfinished applications is generally discouraged. Though not by me. I enjoy seeing them develop.

Practically speaking, this suggestion appears likely to fix a problem that often requires an uglier approach. Why involve the staff when such a simple solution readily presents itself? Occasionally, however, I could see this kicking normal, respectful AI players on a break. How exactly would you set the timer you suggest?

That is sort of my problem too, Absynth. I feel like station AIs and cyborgs should be standardized in a similar way to xeno races. I am honestly surprised that they are not whitelisted - a single bad AI can ruin the feel of a round far more than a cat-person who doesn't know about Adhomai politics. I was just playing the "Turing Test," a new game which deals with the limits of artificial intelligence. I would suggest that anyone who is interested in AI portrayal in video games look up some footage of the game online, or play it themselves. The AI is just human enough to make it seem highly advanced, and just off enough to make it seem disquietingly inhuman. Obviously we aren't voice actors, nor do we have teams to write up dialog, but a bit of consistency in AIs (or even a distinct array of manufacturers to choose from) would go a long way towards improving the game's ambience.

You could do that - but it also isn't unreasonable to suppose that you could only get your hand on one of these artifacts, which are presumably pretty rare and precious. You can happen to have one and not the other, while maintaining that both deities must be held in equal regard. Frankly, the relics seem way more interesting and important than some jacket, though that is a fine aesthetic touch. Not to rain on your parade or anything, but the "duality of life and death" shtick is a tad overdone. If it were me, I would want the deities to have a more complex relationship that just that. EDIT: Fair enough, I shouldn't assume.

Sounds cool, though maybe a bit tricky to sprite based on what you have given. One point, however, about this: Descriptions like this are super poetic and cool, but they really wouldn't be readily apparent to anyone who quickly examines them. Consider instead making your descriptions tell people the physical characteristics of the item like: Obviously this is only what came to mind when I read this, I have no idea how you actually want these to look. But regardless, I think you get the idea. Then, if someone asks Poslan about them, he can explain the significance with his religious metaphor and you get to say the poetic stuff. Additionally, your "Pressing of S'Rendarr's Hand" and "Pressing of Messa's Tears" seem to serve very similar purposes. Since they will be tricky to add, and don't have attached models, it might be better to only ask for one for the moment. If you find that that works well, and helps start conversation, then maybe you can request the second one? I just worry that asking for too much all at once might encourage people to deny them all together. Nonetheless, I support Chaplains getting more tools - their ways of standing out as a member of one faith or another are pretty limited for a job that is so dependant on unique RP.

I am pretty new, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. So, even your own account of what happened seems fairly damning. You say the following: Firing on your commanding officer, or your fellow officers, is pretty much an insane thing to do. It would certainly mean immediate arrest, and subsequent termination. There is no way around that. "I wanted to do my job" is a piss-poor excuse for an officer in this situation. Your character would know that their job isn't to be Dirty Harry - it is to follow orders. Think realistically about your future from this point onwards. You could face decades of jail time for three counts of aggravated assault, and when you consider Nanotrasen's influence in the Biesel Government your punishment only gets harsher still. Even when you got out, your career as a security officer would be over. Nanotrasen is one of the biggest employers, and you sure as shit aren't getting a job back there. And who really wants an old officer that has been wasting away in prison for the last generation, especially one who shot their prior boss? My point is that your security officer would have to be utterly psychopathic or moronic to behave this way. If you wanted to play a "don't get in my way, I need to save the station" kind of officer, there are tons of other options that you could have taken. You could have shouted out the HOS instead. You could have ran, but stopped when they pulled a gun (like a normal person). You could have attacked the HOS in a fit of rage, but then turned yourself in when you realized the immense seriousness of your crime. All of these options would have gotten across what you were trying to convey, without making your character seem like a lunatic. Calling shooting your boss "preventing others from dicking around" is a bit of a stretch. And the actions of others don't really change what you did. If the HOS really did beat to death an unconscious man, then I guess that is bad too. Anyway, sorry if I sounded a bit harsh. I get how it is easy to get swept up in a game and momentarily lose sight of your character's motivations. Nonetheless, from what I have seen here, it seems perfectly appropriate to give you a warning.

Tragically, head of station resembles head of security too much. Not being able to say 'HOS' and be understood would be frustrating. It seems like people are really nonplused about the idea of incorporating another title, though. I think that, for most people, "Captain" is just too familiar a word to let go of at this point. Maybe when the new map roles around, people's opinions will be easier to change. Also, in case anyone cares, the NSS Exodus does not orbit a planet. It supposedly floats within the so-called Romanovich Cloud. Nonetheless, I presume that it has some kind of propulsion to help it keep pace with the nearby asteroid and avoid potential collisions with larger pieces of debris.

My life for Aiur Aurora!

Ok. I did a few minutes of searching to get a handle on what oil rig [leaders] are called IRL. The short answer is that "Offshore Installation Manger" appears to be the most technical term, and appears in documents like this (http://petrowiki.org/images/d/de/Devol2_1102final_Page_634_Image_0001.png). Some people in the industry, however, seem to colloquially refer to the job as Captain, as well. That usage can been seen in this sleazy book advertisement (http://www.themaritimesite.com/how-to-get-a-job-on-an-offshore-oil-rig/). It is worth noting that many of the results for 'oil rig captain' actually discuss the captains of the tankers that support oil rigs, as seen here (http://www.jobmonkey.com/maritimejobs/offshore_marine/). While these gigantic vessels are awesome in their own right, they bear little in common in form or function with our beloved station. Bottom line is that the number of google results isn't really a great way to tell which is more proper here. Our station is also very much like an oil rig insofar as it is a self-sustaining platform separated from civilization by a vast and inhospitable expanse that lacks its own propulsion and is geared towards resource extraction. Regardless, I would point out that we can call it whatever we damn well please. After all, this is only similar to an oil rig, not identical. We are ~400 years and ~3 parsecs from the nearest oil rig, so we have no real obligation to follow modern norms. We could call the Captain an Archduke if we wanted. I just think "Installation Manager" sounds nice. EDIT: I just read what Zundy wrote and I have to agree that having a "Captain" of a facility that is essentially a stationary mine and immobile R&D facility is about as silly as calling someone the "Captain" of an office, just cause they can order people around in it. That said, my point about this being totally subjective and based on our perceptions of different words still stands.

In my personal opinion, Installation Manager sounds pretty cool. I guess the word "installation" makes me thing of towering artillery banks, or well-trained soldiers marching in unison or something. Obviously the Exodus/Aurora doesn't have that, but my point is that it sounds respectably badass in a disciplined, military way. Commander also sorta evokes that impression for me. In all honesty, I tend to associate a Captain more with rickety wooden warships, or guys with beards running around in those dorky modern navy hats (http://ep.yimg.com/ay/hatstore/captain-s-hat-10.jpg). And if it is more accurate too, all the better really. No point creating pointless and confusing differences between reality and the world of spessmen. At the end of the day, though, a longer name would be sure to receive the same abbreviated treatment as all the Heads of Staff. Just as the Chief Medical Officer becomes the CMO, the Installation Manager will eventually become the IM. Commander, though, would be said in full, and might end up sounding more authoritative. So that is something to think about too. Calling the station an "installation" might make it seem slicker and more disciplined, too, which could be good. Thar be me two shekels.