Sparky_hotdog

This pretty much sums up my thoughts on the matter: It's a vicious cycle of fearing the other side's potential, rather than what they should realistically do. I'm about 9 months out of date when it comes to playing security, but this is far from a new issue. I'm not sure of a good way to overcome this either, as it requires both antags and security (a relatively large portion of the playerbase as a whole) to nigh bilaterally decide to just... chill the fuck out when it comes to escalation. Maybe don't rush to open the armoury the second someone shows up with a pistol, and maybe don't have your opening antag play be pulling an AR on someone. Oh hey, it's the old gameplay vs roleplay false dichotomy rearing its head again. I wholeheartedly agree the solution to this is not a numbers game of how much damage X gun does to Y armour, but the options and tools available to both sides. It doesn't even really have to focus on survivability - What matters more is the ease in which the antags can create an engaging narrative through the tools at their disposal, not how long they can hold out. In many ways the worst experience as security are antags with high survivability (I'm looking at you, changeling) which draw their "engagement" (read: Chasing around aimlessly) out far longer than their gimmick really necessitated. Personally I always favour the game slightly favouring security, simply because for general crew consistent ISD wipes are far more awful to play with (Hide in your department or join a crew militia) than consistent antag wipes (Go back to doing whatever you'd be doing otherwise). Edit: As an additional point, I think sometimes we put too much emphasis on antags involving as many departments as possible. Maybe I'm in the minority here as someone who almost exclusively votes Extended, but since I stopped played security I've found that I couldn't really care less if John Sol who's going to break into the vault finds some way of staying alive long enough to involve me in his gimmick. Security and medical are pretty much always intertwined with the conflict most antags generate, and if you want to be a part of said conflict consistently then those roles are where you play. Don't get me wrong, I love a gimmick than engages a niche department like research as much as the next guy, not to mention those rare ones which engage everyone (such as the recent greimorian release round), but I do think we need to start seeing these more as exceptions and not the rule. Imho, it's okay if the antag only ever interacts with security, before dying in a firefight, so long as the interaction was enjoyable.

I don't have any outright objection to these ideas - They all seem like fun little problems to solve for engineering - But I don't think they really address one of the big things that the original thread highlighted to me (And I may be alone here), that being teamwork, or the lack thereof. These all seem like they would, similarly, be able to be seen to by a single engineer. More variety and frequency might help, but doesn't feel like its solving the root cause to me. See above Now this, I fully support. This I can see slowing gameplay down (for the better), and adding the actual potential for coordination (One person goes to see the damage, another goes to lathe the required stuff).

Intended to be a feedback thread for this PR (Apologies if this is the wrong place). This idea originally stemmed from wanting to move the Lab Assistant age, currently 18, closer to the age of all of the roles it is a learner role for, currently 30. That is a 12 year age gap, and the difference between "Pass a lab safety course" and "Acquire a PhD" is similarly large, if not larger. However, when I originally suggested that several months ago, I was made aware that there are those who use Lab Assistant more akin to an Assistant, but specifically for research, acting as an extra pair of hands for the department. Given that science is far more RP based than any of the other departments with learner roles, I felt like that wasn't something I wanted to remove, so suggested this instead. The learner role would be made a separate job from Lab Assistant, the Research Understudy. The Understudy has a higher minimum age of 28, and would be expected to be finishing their PhD during their time aboard, which brings them in-line with the other three departments with learner roles which expect you to always be able to reasonably move a character to a "proper" job after you feel confident (In that regard, I'd actually be open to making the minimum age even higher). Meanwhile, Lab Assistant would be retained for those who enjoy lending a helping hand to science in a purely RP manner. As an aside, the PR in question also adds alt-titles for both roles, but I'd be perfectly happy to make those for Lab Assistants alone should people object to the split. This is purely for feedback regarding the extra job.

To echo the general sentiments of this thread, components and some form of blood analogue (be it coolant or oil) would go a long way. I do think that compared to organic organs, there should be some differences with IPC components: Where (almost) all the organs we have basically serve to keep the brain alive, it would be interesting if IPCs had more auxiliary components that, when damaged, cause them to lose other functionality (Such as their self-diagnostics, requiring them to manually inspect themselves to judge how badly they are hurt, or some sort of memory system, prompting them in chat periodically that they've forgotten the last X minutes (just spit balling)). I'd also probably like to see a lot of the current things that drain battery, like stun damage and ions, instead cause components to stop working temporarily, or to behave weirdly, as dealing with those issues would be more interesting than just plugging the IPC in to charge. On the note of self diagnostics, I do think they should have some messages in chat that tell them they're in trouble, especially given that self-preservation is a major driving factor for IPCs. Unlike organics this doesn't need to result in pain and falling over, but a "Warning: right arm highly damaged" would be nice. Nanopaste should really remain, but as a first aid tool akin to bandages (able to stop coolant/oil leaks, but not repair internal damage). Otherwise they become even more susceptible than Vaurca to a single bullet wound killing them from fluid loss. As suggested by CatsinHD, more frame differentiation would also be cool: Industrials should be more resilient, Shells & Bishops (and probably ZHs) should be fragile, and Baselines, being the standard, should be the simplest to repair. I do also think IPCs could be the place for more ghetto repairs - Sure, if you have the time and/or money, you can get fixed to pristine condition, but in a pinch receiving mismatching components (and that being visible) sounds cool to me too.

Once again, I am going to surprise nobody in saying that I have had nothing but great RP with Dessy, and she plays some of the most detailed characters personality and backstory wise. I can't speak for to the quality of the diona parts of the app in much detail, but from a roleplay perspective here is my +1.

While I agree that Marauders is a cool name (And I wonder if it would be acceptable were the "Glorex" part dropped), I personally think Fenrir's Angels is also a rad name (Bonus points if the name is rooted in a doggo owned by the founders, but that's w/e). Though Fenrir is one of my all time favourite myths, so I am biased.

I'm a fan of the suggestion, because it both offers a non-surgical alternative to fix bones (thus bringing us closer to my dream of ridding us of the table once and for all) while still giving surgeons relevancy. I can particularly see this being huge during mass casualty events, where many patients can end up waiting for 15+ minutes in the GTR with nothing but a fractured rib. On that note, I might be misunderstanding, but if it is required to splint before giving bone chem (Which I like, as splints are often underused), then ribs and skulls are still going to need surgery, as splints cannot be applied to either of those. Not sure if that is intended or not. On the calcium suggestion, I'm not a fan of that, partially for the risk Ramke highlighted, but also just because I would rather see a sci-fi-y med used instead. Drinking a bottle of pure calcium and having your bones repair themselves seems a little silly to me.

Part 2 is up!

As someone who has only ever played medical on Aurora, and only with our current names, I would rather not have to relearn every med again, just for the sake of IRLism. I agree wholesale with Kermit that the less we stick to IRL for medical, the easier things are. We're never going to be able to make meds in game a 1:1 comparison to any real ones, so keeping them distinct is best imho.

I don't have a problem with the spirit of this app, but I'm not sure the format make sense to me. I don't have a particularly strong opinion on writing lore for IRL religions, as I think that personal research + head canon works well enough for the most part, but also can see the merit of some unified lore. I have a larger objection to the scope of this app, however, as while you have expressed a willingness to give this treatment to other faiths, that is a lot of work. This clearly isn't going to be even just the 6-8 major world religions, given that you've started with Mormonism, a denomination of Christianity. My two concerns there are that a) It could take a long time for someone not on the lore team to write however many apps that would take, and get them all approved, and b) Embarking on such an endeavour, particularly with no tangible list of goals (i.e. which faiths to cover) seems liable to burnout, which could lead to any number of notable absences. This probably doesn't mean much, but I would rather see a single app covering a wider range of religions in a more condensed format. I'm a big fan of the "paragraph planet" format, and I think the same concept being applied here would make more sense. I don't think we really need a timeline of what happened with every IRL faith; I would prefer a summary of planets with major followings and opinions on space-age developments. tl;dr I think making an entire app for a single denomination of a single IRL faith is setting a precedent that is unlikely to be maintainable, and would advocate for covering many religions at once instead. As others have said, it would feel strange to only have one/a few IRL religion(s) detailed, leaving others untouched.

Preface: This is was an idea I was pushed to follow through on by @dessysalta, providing an epilogue and final ending to the story of Adalwin Von Roes. I don't know exactly how this will end yet, but for now I hope to use it as a chance to explore a few ideas I never got around to during his time on the Horizon, and to provide me some closure. Part 1 - One Chance 05/09/2465 "Goodbye, Sadie Almayer." Clank. The airlock to Adalwin's holding cell closes harshly. "I think it is time you left." Hiss. The bolts slid into place, locking the door. "I love you, Adalwin Von Roes." Thud. His legs finally gave way, and the ex-noble's body fell to the floor. The pain didn't register. He no longer wore his cape, but his now well-worn suit was stained bloody from the officers that had taken him. That pain hadn't registered either. Nothing compared to that of the previous few hours. "Adalwin Zerich Von Roes, you are charged with breaking the Fifth of Her Edicts, engaging in romantic relations with the synthetic known as Sadie. You are to be extradited, and returned to Her Empire, where you will stand judgment before Her Church, and receive Her Divine Mercy." He hadn't resisted. He knew what he had done. Lured by the flame, he had grown too close, thinking himself immune to the warmth. Now he had been burned. He was an Edictbreaker, and there was only one absolution for those. The Tribunal offered him mercy, a chance at retribution, if not in this life then in the next. This was his one chance at a second chance. He would not squander it. Even still, he was afraid. Afraid of death, something he had never expected. He had been so ready to die in the Goddess' name so many times. He just never imagined it like this. Afraid for his family, and how they would react. He would break his fathers' hearts, and his sister's too. His brother would just be disappointed. And he was afraid for Sadie too, no matter how hard he tried to push that fear away. He did not know how she had taken his rejection. He hoped she had gone to the Trinary; They could watch over her better than he could have. Even now, he contemplated heresies. Had he truly been so corrupted? Turned away from Her light so completely? He reminisced old days, long since past: A spire, in the heart of Nova Luxembourg, looking out across the vast city, the snow-capped mountains and trees in the distance. The top of the Archive had been his favourite recluse, back then. Back before he left on the orders of a priestess. Before the Horizon, and his solitude, and the companionship he had found in Sadie. And everything else she had shown him. Hiss. Clank. The bolts released, and the airlock slid open. A man - one of the officers, he recognised him from earlier - stood on the other side, arms folded, a now clean truncheon in one hand. "Apostate. You, Adalwin Zerich Von Roes, stand informed that you are to stand trial for your crimes before the Tribunal in Nova Luxembourg, twelve days from now." He began his disdain for Alwin as clear as his Vulgar Morozi accent. Twelve days until absolution. "Given the nature of this conviction, your title of Holy Knight of the Holy Order of the Red Dove is hereby revoked." He had somewhat assumed that. "Similarly, your status as the heir of the late Baronet Von Roes is also hereby revoked." The world froze. Had he heard that correctly? He- He couldn't have. Sören couldn't be- "D-did you ju-just say... l-late?" The officer chuffed, unfolding his arms. He shut his eyes, bracing himself for the impact of the truncheon, punishment for daring to speak. Instead, he heard paper fall in front of him. "I suppose even a heretic deserves to know the fate of their family." He replied, his tone a little softer, though still full of hatred for the disgraced Primary. "This would have been delivered to you in the morning." Alwin opened his eyes, seeing the envelope that had been placed on the ground. Ser Adalwin Zerich Von Roes it read. He was no Ser anymore, but he supposed this had been written before that. He broke the seal, pulling out the folded paper inside. The officer turns to return to the door, as a smaller piece of paper falls from within. Alwin quickly scans the words, yet they make no sense to his mind. He pockets it and returns to reading the letter itself. Dear Ser, I regret to inform you that tragedy has struck your House in your absence. Your twin brother, Captain Lucian Theodore Von Roes, was discovered by Tribunal Constables to be involved in smuggling synthetics out of the Frontier. He unfortunately fled the Empire before he could be apprehended. His whereabouts are presently unknown. Additionally, your step-sister, Doctor Katherine Céleste Von Roes-Blanc, disappeared the day after the discovery of your brother's betrayal. Her whereabouts are likewise, unknown, but she is suspected to have been involved in the operation. Finally, your father, Baronet Sören Amadeus Jannsten Von Roes, had taken ill health prior to these events. With these discoveries, it seems he lost his will to live. As the final heir to Baronet Von Roes, you are requested to return to the Empire immediately to be present for the reading of his will. Goddess speed, Isaac Avington, Imperial Foreign Affairs Adalwin's head swam with the information he had just read. His brother and sister were both heretics, just like him. His father was dead. He was his father's last heir. Or had been. The news cycled round and round in his head, a torrent of emotions swirling in his thoughts. He could accept the Goddess demanding anything of him: His service, he had given decades ago; His arm, sacrificed in a heartbeat; Even his life, he had accepted that price. But his family? He did not care if it dishonoured him, he drew the line there. He would not recognise the "mercy" of a Goddess who wished his brother and sister dead too. Clank. Hiss. The airlock closed and locked again, leaving him alone in his cell once more. He sat down on the metal bedframe, still processing the letter. He returned it to the envelope, and pulled from his pocket the other scrap of paper, re-reading the words, their meaning now clear in his mind. I am alive. Meet on Biesel. - Kat. His sister was a heretic. His sister was alive. And his sister was headed to Biesel. He knew that, somehow, he would see her again. This was his one chance at a second chance. He would not squander it. Part 2 - The Many Crimes of Adalwin Von Roes 14/09/2465 Adalwin tossed and turned in his sleep, the metal bed offering no comfort to his slumbering body. "But why are we going to the capital, father? I thought the Tournament wasn't for another fortnight?" The thirteen-year old Alwin had asked. Lucian sat next to him in the train carriage, across from Sören and Aivar. "You will see, my sons. Your Goddess-mother has requested our aid with some new visitors to the Empire. All our aid." Sören replied calmly. Alwin nodded, though he wasn't certain why the Baroness would want him and Luke meeting some foreign guests - They were just Secondary children, far from the best impression one could give of Dominia. The train sped across the Morozian countryside, finally arriving in Nova Luxembourg several hours later. It wasn't the first time Alwin had seen the capital of the Empire, but the sight of it always filled him with wonder. The scale and splendour was surely proof of their status as the chosen people of the Goddess. They disembarked, and travelled by foot through the busy streets. Alwin wanted to stop and stare and marvel at the sights on every street corner, but he knew better. They were here for a reason, whatever that may be. Sören led them to a large hall, a few blocks away from the spaceport. Alwin supposed that made sense, if they were meeting diplomats. He wondered where they would be from. He was in for a surprise. They entered into the hall to find a number of Primaries, and a few other Secondaries invited by their patrons like themselves. But the true surprise were the non-Imperials. The non-humans. Towering, reptilian figures, some with faces like dragons in myths of old, others more akin to Earthen crocodiles or snakes. Unathi. Alwin had heard of them before, but never seen one in the flesh. Never even imagined he might meet one. Yet here they were, on Moroz. In the same room as him. There was a ceremony to greet their new guests, the newest of the Emperor's faithful servants, after which there was a lot of mingling. Alwin noticed how on edge all the adults, human and unathi alike, seemed to be around each other. He didn't understand it really; They all served the Emperor and the Goddess after all, didn’t they? Alwin decided to break the ice with them - For all their scary looks, surely they would be pleasant conversationalists. They must have some stories, to have traveled this far from their home. “Excuse me sir? Might I offer a warm welco-” Alwin was cut off as the reddish-scaled unathi he had approached turned to face him. He could hardly claim to be able to read an unathi’s emotions, but this seemed clear enough. Rage. “Warm? Warm! Issss that what you call thisss, boy?! I am posssitively chilled to my boness.” The sinta looked down at him, but before he could respond, Alwin felt a strong grip on his shoulder, pulling him back between some of the other guests. “A word of advisssse, child.” Another sinta’s voice began. Alwin spun around on his heels to see that he had not been saved from the other unathi by one of his fathers as he had expected, but by a tall, stone-brown coloured unathi, standing proud with a large dorsal fin and dragon-like frills adorning his head. Alwin couldn’t claim to understand unathi beauty standards, but he was fairly certain this wasn’t it. “You might want to be more careful when treating with the Han’ssanss. That one in particular. Ackrozh is a belligerent sssinta. Sstrong warrior, jusst not good at diplomassy.” Alwin nodded shakily, a little in shock after his first failed attempt at diplomacy himself. “Th-thank you, sir.” “Of coursssse. Mou’ro’sau Kazhkz, a pleasssure.” “Adalwin Von Roes. L-l-likewise.” “Well young Adalwin. Perhapss you can ssshed ssome light on the wayss of thisss world. It iss all new to me.” “It would be m-my pleasure, Lord Kazhkz.” Alwin’s dream faded out, a new scene taking hold in its place. A sixteen-year old Alwin was standing in the drawing room of his Goddess-mother’s home. The Baroness had offered to host, given the occasion was fitting of more than the living room in their family’s personal home. Alwin stood there, in his finest attire - A red and black two-piece suit, his jet-black hair neatly combed, his eyes trained forwards where the portrait artist their hostess had paid for was working. To his right stood Luke, dressed and groomed identically, yet somehow still maintaining his ever present slight-disorderly look. Flanking them were his Goddess-mother - Baroness Marie-Hélène Cere-Strelitz; Count Erland Strelitz - Whose life Alwin’s father had saved, earning him his new title; And his fathers. Aivar dressed in a white and red suit; The newly appointed Baronet Sören in his own brown and red three-piece, resting in his wooden wheelchair - The price he had paid for the Count’s life. And then in front of Alwin sat another: a girl a few years younger than Luke and him, dressed in a white, black and red dress in the classical Morozi fashion. Katherine Blanc, now Von Roes-Blanc, Sören’s new ward and Alwin’s step-sister. Once again the dream shifts. Now the age of 25, Alwin is once again in Baroness Cere-Strelitz’s drawing room. A brief respite from the party ongoing outside. Alwin sipped from his drink, sighing. He enjoyed these events and was glad his Goddess-mother offered to celebrate this occasion - Closing the case on the Communalists had been the first major achievement in his career - but he quickly found himself exhausted with all the attention on him. Speaking of which… A woman approached Alwin, taller than him by a few inches - Primary born he guessed - and bowed briefly before him. “Constable Von Roes, the man of the evening. I hope I am not intruding.” She smiled.. Alwin didn’t recognise the woman, yet her attire told him everything he needed to know. Red beret atop her long brown hair, red makeup across her blue eyes, red and gold cloak. A priestess of the Tribunal. “Ah, not at all Priestess…” “Merridus.” Alwin nodded. “A pleasure, Priestess Merridus, I hope you are enjoying the festivities. Can I help you with anything?” She nodded in response. “Perhaps. Or perhaps I can offer advice of my own. Tell me, do you believe you best serve Her will here, on Moroz, hunting heretics?” “It is my duty as a Constable to root out the unfaithful wherever they may be found.” “Of course. I simply wish to highlight an alternative; To spread Her influence beyond our borders, rather than to consolidate it within. I think perhaps it is something you should consider.” “And are those your thoughts, Priestess, or the Tribunal’s?” “Are they not one and the same, Constable?” She smiled again before adding. “That is all. I wish you a pleasant evening.” And with that she turned and left. And again… Three whistles. After two years aboard the OHLV Lightwatcher, Alwin knew perfectly well what that signaled. They were under attack. He flicked open the radio on his wrist, requesting a situation report from his superiors. Reports of breaches, starboard side, near the chapel. He rushed off down the corridors of the Frigate. He arrived to find an engineer having already sealed the breach. Goddess bless their speed. He rushed past them into the onboard chapel, the priestess still inside. “Ma’am. I would request you follow me to a safer part of the vessel until this engagement is over.” “Of course. Lead the way, Officer.” Alwin turned to lead the priestess out when the vessel shook as something impacted into the hull. Outside the chapel’s windows, Alwin saw a hole torn in the hull, a metal pod attached outside, a sole black-scaled Sinta emerging from inside. Alwin recognised the black, red and white livery she wore immediately - Hiskyn Revanchists. He drew his sabre, and rushed forward. Right now he was the only one between this unathi boarder and the priestess and engineer. She dodged his first thrust, and went for a weapon of her own. She had hardly grasped it, however, before Alwin’s second strike landed, a slashing movement straight across her neck. The sinta collapsed at his feet. Then he saw what she had grabbed. Not a sword, but a grenade. A grenade with the pin now removed. “Get ba-!” Was all he managed to yell before it detonated. He felt the fiery pain engulf him. He felt his right arm call out in agony. Then he felt it stop calling out. Then it all went black. Alwin awoke in a cold sweat, the nightmares having only subsided as he came to from his slumber. He turned to sit on the bed frame, running a hand through his grease-ridden hair. He was in Dominian space now - He had heard one of the guards mentioning such a day or so ago. Another day or two and they would land on Moroz. A day after that, he would have his trial. That was his only plan. He knew he had no chance of overpowering the guards: There were more of them than there were of him, he had no equipment, no plan. And now, he was nearing the heart of the Empire. No, escape was impossible. Instead, he would plead his case before the Tribunal. Call on his long service and ask for mercy. Aivar might testify for him, being his only child left; He equally might testify against him, another Von Roes turned heretic. He doubted there was anyone else who would speak for him. So that was all he had to try and save his life. His words. And an unending desire to see himself free of this Empire once and for all.

From my interactions with Rusting on discord regarding Unathi lore, I have always found him to be knowledgeable, passionate, and full of ideas, all of which I think would make him good for this position. Even if he is clearly a bug in a lizard costume. That said, as someone with his hand permanently over the "apply for whitelist" button, here are some questions: 1. In your previous responses you have talked a lot about the internal and external politics of the Hegemony, but what are your thoughts on the Wasteland, as it is currently? Is there anything you would want to see added/removed/altered about the region? 2. Similarly, you have mentioned quite a lot about Sk'akh, but what are your thoughts on the places the other three major Unathi religions (Th'akh, Aut'akh and Si'akh) are in? Do you have any plans to develop any of them further, or are they in a good place in your mind?

I think this ATM is supposed to have a screen, with the label above it. Another double airlock turned into a single + wall

Bugged wall in the holodeck Not a fan of the plastic chairs in upper medical. I would rather they be steel like the lobby ones Might be an intentional change, but I think the doors here used to be 2 tiles, and now they have this weird wall blocking the way. I think I preferred when all the windoors in EVA slid the same way, but that might not be possible anymore. I do really like the way the glass and railing work here. Very neat.

So I recently made a PR to add what I believe to be a similar role to research, which I am going to make some comparisons to because I feel like it's a good way to get my point across. To start with the positives, I definitely support the notion of adding roles which act as less experienced, but not learner, options for departments. In the case of engineering, making this just a ship technician with no expectation (but the possibility) of graduating to a full engineer would potentially help differentiate between the space mechanic and the star trek-esque astronaut engineer archetypes, which I saw brought up on the other thread. However, and this is where my comparisons to research start, there are some problems I can see. Engineering is a pretty mechanical department, in the same way that medical and security are. There are mechanics that you are expected to know, and be able to use to respond to problems (Starting engines, setting shields, fixing hull breaches, etc). Research on the other hand is practically entirely roleplay; there are mechanics there, in some places more than other, but basically all the gameplay beyond your third round comes from RP. Subsequently, it is far easier to fit a role expected to act as less experienced into research compared to engineering, at least in my eyes. In my eyes, I can see this going two ways: Either the junior role ends up basically entirely based in RP, and basically ends up what nurse was to medical, but for engineering; Or an awful table has to be made like in medical to differentiate which tasks the junior roles is allowed to do or not do. Because I feel like just having "Engineer" and "Engineer, but young" isn't really desired. Which brings me onto a question: What do you see the difference between the junior and full engineers being, in terms of how a typical round will be played on each?

Going to drop my +1 here right off the bat; I've played with 4 of Dessy's characters now (Some significantly more than others) and all of them have felt well-thought out, distinct and enjoyable to RP with. I definitely think she would do some really cool things as a bug player.

I'm not a huge fan of the south facing emergency shutters. I can see what they're trying to be, but they just look flat imo. Also, the double door to the kitchen has the old double shutter sprite.

In addition to generally supporting adding another opposing corp, this could allow us to rename the current syndicate items (sydie satchel, etc) to Gorlex instead, finally wiping clear the organisation that hasn't been canon in years.

Oh, also the alert when an airlock can't close that plays is really annoying if someone has to stand in an airlock due to, say, a security confrontation (Moving one way would stop the conversation, the other would endanger themselves). If it could only play the first time the airlock fails to close that would be great!

The plaque in the bar doesn't have a description about it's engraving anymore. Examining it just says it's a floor. The barstools look really nice, but they look like they are supposed to be directional? They don't rotate though, and most of them start facing the wrong way (South). The camera in the kitchen overlaps with the food vendor in a strange way. The light being on top of the window also looks kind of strange. Hallway light seems to be blocking this air alarm Security HUDs are also overlaying weirdly with stuff Something bugged with this door too (Machinist's lift) More strange layering in security And another light blocking a flag north of the intrepid

Ditto this. Even when security has people & gear, Engineering & Medical are still involved, with the former usually providing emitter support to handle the beacon while the latter handle any injuries as one would expect. The only difference without access to the armoury is spending 5 extra minutes breaking in for gear before hand, which personally I don't think constitutes "meaningful gameplay".

"She cannae take much more, Cap'n!" - John Himeo, Chief Engineer A Shield Rework (PR here) The Problem: For a while now, I have felt shields have been a little boring as a mechanic. This is largely due to the way in which strength and charge rate are handled, whereby a saturation point exists based on: The capacitor power (A constant) The perimeter of the Horizon (Generally a constant) The dissipation rate of shields (Again, a constant) Due to this, the Horizon's shields generally saturate at about 5.5 Renwicks, and while this value changes slightly with map changes that affect the outer hull, this value has largely remained constant over the last year and a half. Aims: So here are the goals I set for myself with this project: Make shield settings a balancing act. Meaning fast charging shields come at the expense of overall strength, and vice versa. Port shield modes from Bay. These add more options to how shields behave. Add directional shielding, at least for the Horizon. This allows more power to be put into shields at the fore of the ship at the expense of the starboard, port and/or aft. Part I - The Balancing Act Most people will probably be familiar with the shield generator machine as the main device you interact with when setting shields; Well no longer. The shield generator is now the collective name for all the component machines: Capacitor, Matrix and Projector(s). The best way to explain how this all works is to walk through the steps from power in the grid to a physics defying field of force. The Capacitor: The Matrix: The Projector(s): Part II - Modulators As was shown in Part I, in porting the shield modes from Bay, modifications were made both to their name and their functionality. All shield modes have a set upkeep cost in Renwicks, taken from the modulation power pool. Some of these modes can use excess Renwicks to improve their performance, so the more specialised your shield is, the stronger it is. The matrix comes equipped with the shield modes shown before as standard, with additional ones being something R&D can produce boards for to add to the matrix. The current modulators are: Hyperkinetic Projectiles - Blocks brute attacks such as bullets, as well as explosions. Excess Renwicks increase the armour the shield has against these attacks. Available by default. Photonic Dispersion - Blocks burn attacks such as lasers or fire. Excess Renwicks increase the armour the shield has against these attacks. Also turns the shield opaque, due to it blocking light. Available by default. Humanoid Lifeforms - Slows organic humanoids (i.e. Non-IPC player characters) moving through the shield. Excess Renwicks increase the slow down. Available by default. Silicon Lifeforms - Slows inorganic mobs (i.e. IPCs, Borgs, etc) moving through the shield. Excess Renwicks increase the slow down. Available by default. Unknown Lifeforms - Slows mobs that don't fall into the above categories (i.e. Carp) moving through the shield. Excess Renwicks increase the slow down. Available by default. Hull Shielding - Causes the shield to form around the ship's hull, rather than in a bubble around it. Does not use excess Renwicks. Available by default. Atmospheric Containment - Prevents atmospheric movement across the shield. Does not use excess Renwicks. Available with Engineering Tech Level 5. Field Overcharge - Causes damage to any mob that comes into contact with the shield (Requires the mob type to be slowed), damaging the shield in the process. Excess Renwicks increase damage. Available with Engineering Tech Level 5. Adaptive Field Harmonics - Blocks both brute and burn attacks, with armour adjusting to react to damage as it is taken. Excess Renwicks increase the speed of adjustment. Available with Engineering Tech Level 8 Part III & IV - Directional Shielding & Sprites Both of these parts are fairly short so I'm going to condense them into one page. Directional shielding has largely already been covered in Part I. There isn't much more to it that there being multiple projectors which only produce shields in one direction, and being able to prioritise power to one area over the others. However, a fourth part of this project began to emerge as I delved into it; Both modulator boards and the shield matrix were going to need sprites, as was the directional shield generator. Thus, I decided to simply resprite all the component parts of the shield generator. I am far more of a codemonkey than I am a spriter, so I would appreciate feedback on these as well as any of the actual rework. I also would not be offended if someone who knows what they're doing with pixel art were to make improvements in the future.

Having thought more on this, I still think these situations are overly dire, but can see the appeal in that. I'm not a fan of having to break the ship apart to get gear, but there are many things I am not a fan of that I will put up with. Also, I cannot for the life of me find in the code where blob or appendicitis are coded with job requirements, which is leading me to think I dreamt that like a year ago and have believed it to be true ever since. They do also exist for better reasons in hindsight, as I am unaware of any way to handle either without the relevant jobs. I am also riding off less salt from one round, and more the fact that I've seen the event trigger in these circumstances twice in the last 18 hours. Hivebots are rare usually, though, so poor RNG is probably skewing my view here.

I've seen two rounds today where hivebots trigger and one or two security officers are forced to have engineering break them into the armoury, as tacking hivebots without armoury gear is a death sentence, a process which can take 15+ minutes depending on the speed of the engineer. That time leads to the hivebots growing in number, often leading to an undermanned and underequipped security having to handle a larger than average incursion. Thus what I propose is fairly self explanatory: Hivebots shouldn't spawn without a member of command or a warden being present. Blobs don't spawn without engineering, appendicitis doesn't trigger without people able to perform surgery, so I believe this should fall into the same category.