Captain Gecko

Once again, me being very stupid I assume. Sorry about that. Though it is extremely rare for me (science player) to upgrade machines, I haven't seen Machinists being asked do anything like this since the Horizon, but I do believe you. My point was more about player population. It's nowhere near as bad as Science, and certainly not for the same reasons, but I do notice that Engineering is part of the least played departments, which sucks considering how important they are, that was what I was referring to.

Though I think lore is reason enough to make gameplay changes, especially in Aurora, I do not believe corpo lore is reason-enough, just as I believe it wasn't reason enough when we first set foot on the Horizon, but that may be just me. What is not just me is that the matter still stands. The main/most represented exosuits are effectively just powerlifters, I'm pretty sure we spawn with at least two at the start of each rounds (one for each ship gun) as far as most people are concerned, exosuits are generally used for logistics. Of course, engineering exosutis are thing, just like rescue or mining ones (technically combat too, but they're exceedingly rare by fear of earning some boinks), but this doesn't change the fact that the basline for exosuits are powerlifters. Orion Express has as much if not more rights to have workers specialized in building or maintaining exosuits than Zavod. AI and shipbounds are another matter, and while I just said that it would've made more sense for it to remain in Science on that matter, in the end I assume all corporations are used to having robots and AIs on their own ships. It shouldn't be a stretch to think that OE machinists got to work by the side of OE AIs and Shipbounds before... And I believe that positronics are not very popular within Zavod anyways. And while at it... I am not sure if I want the Machinists to return to science. It would make sense to me to have the Roboticist never leave the department in the first place, but what's done is done, and there are other ways we could fix that department, more important ones too... Which I am working on. But that's for another discussion. My main point when mentionning science is just for comparison's sake, and I still do not agree with most of the points raised to move the Machinist to Engineering. There are points to be made, clearly, but I do not think there are enough to justify such a move. Frankly I think there's as much reasons to put the Machinist in Engineering, as there is for moving them to Sec (exosuits are dangerous no matter what they're equipped with and can be armed, and of course, handling the AI is a very sensitive matter after all!) or Medical (cyborgifications, limb replacements, organ printing, and the occasional rescue exosuit all come from the machinist after all). Though on the topic of science there is something I forgot to address. Previously you did say that "...the upgrading and repair of various machines that fall outside the Engineer's standard fare of the power network..." would be the machinist's responsability, among other things. I am very much against that, as it would be gutting something else from Science, we SERIOUSLY DO NOT NEED THIS. I understand that Engineering isn't exactly in tip-top shape either right now, but Science really doesn't need anymore things taken away from it. Upgrading machines outside of Research, Robotics, and the power grid is very rare, but when people ask it is generally science's role to take care of it. It's not that the machinist, in its current state, cannot do it, they technically can, but they are expected to take care of other matters generally. If the Engie-Machinist's responsabilities include doing just that, that does not technically prevent scientists from doing it either, but obviously people will then be asking Engineering for such things, and scientists get one less thing to do.

Well dangit, another case of me being silly stupid. Sorry about that. On the case of clamps I believe they can carry canisters, yes, not sure about the pumps and scrubbers. My issue is that on this angle, this would still be a science thing. With a full command department, it IS the RD's task to fix the AI when an ion law comes and so on. AI-related business is the RD's, and by extent Science's responsability. It would only be natural that this would also include the shipbound robots under the AI's command. Unless we count on making the AI the CE's responsability (I hope not), this arguement still makes no sense to me. I agree that on this specific angle, Operation is not a good condidate, but neither is Engineering.

Victor Jenkins is my favorite telescientist (It's the only one still alive) and I approve of this message. More seriously, Science is in dire need of... ANYTHING, really, any arguements to make the department more fun, or just plain useful, and this is a great idea. I remember Jenkins allowing Sezrak to pull out like 5-6 anomalies in the span of a single hour back on the Aurora, the wonders a talented teleporter player can do are fantastic, and could prove lifesaving in many expeditions and the likes... And just give science the tools to do more experiments and other sciency stuff. We NEED this.

I have no strong feelings about this whole thing, I don't use guns much... But God please stop taking more things away from Science, we're already dead enough as a department as it is, I'm not even memeing.

I have no ideas why the machinist/roboticist would be part of Engineering. As far as I'm concerned they should've stayed in science, I mean they use the same materials, rely on the same research, are right next to science, and even it even makes sense lorewise, since exosuits and robots are complicated machines, and usually employ advanced/experimental technology on the Horizon since it's linked to RnD's servers. I'll accept that YOU COULD argue to have the machinist in operations, since operation does use plenty of exosuits, whether it is to move cargo and ammo around or to mine on some occasions and they deliver other more general machines like cleanbots and the likes.., but engineering? I seen no point in this. Exosuits don't build nor can they perform any engineering tasks, there are no engineering bots (unless you count floorbots? But no one uses them, assuming they still exist), engineers are trained to start up and maintain advanced technology like reactors, generally not build them by themselves (generally they would ask science for boards and the likes when it is not already put in their storage), and engineering might be the only department next to Service that I've NEVER seen use an exosuit in all my time playing... Not that I say that it didn't happen, but it is awfully rarer than, say, operations, security or medical. And yes, while I'm at it, I blame science being the least played department since the Horizon on the roboticist being moved to operations.

And by that point you expect people to just make an extra character for these 20-10% of games when there IS a Captain? This is like making a merchant character, this is a bonus, a gimmick, not an actual character to play. This is exactly my issue. There is ZERO icentive to play the new XO, absolutely no reasons. If you want to play with the bridge, just become BC at this point. If you want to actually have authority you're better off being the actual Captain. Honestly even the Head of Service had more reasons to exist than this. Assuming there isn't a second vote WITH all of the information at hand now (and I REALLY advise we do one considering the backlash), I don't expect this new XO to played much if at all in its current state.

Honestly this just sounds like bloat more than anything. Given the choice between making a Captain or an XO, most people would choose Captain anyways with this current proposal, since they have the same restrictions and expectations, but the new XO gets much less autonomy and authority than the actual Captain. Why would anyone choose to play an XO at this point? Merely controlling the bridge can be fun, but it's in no way worth a command WL, and doesn't come up that often (Look at how many times the Horizon moved since we arrived in Konyang, for instance) Another issue is that we are all assuming that there IS a Captain around. If there isn't a Captain onboard, which is how it is on 80-90% of the XO rounds I've played, where does the new XO gets their authority? They don't have the excuse of carrying out an absent Captain's order. That, and no, we don't elect acting Captains unless we have actual emergencies. And that "I'm carrying the Captain's order" authority boost doesn't change a thing. XOs already do that, and people play along with it. Even then, this acting captain thing is useless with the new XO. If an RD or a CMO is promoted to acting Captainship... Only to return to their department to focus on their field and leave the Captain work to the XO, why would anyone even get acting Captainship in the first place? From experience, Acting Captains are often members of Command that DON'T have their hands full so that they can focus on organising things...

I think the issue is that no side of the conversation gets a satisfying outcome out of this thing currently. - On the one hand, many people just don't like seeing more species restriction being applied, whether it is ICly or OOCly. - On the other, other people are not happy with the newer XO being described as what is ultimately a very underwhelming thing- perhaps what exacerbate the first issue even more. As Fluffy put it, it's more like a secretary right now... Unironically it feels like the current XO actually has more influence/authority over the ship than what is being proposed. At least the current XO can actually become an acting captain. Genuinely, I think that would the current proposal to pass in the state it is currently being presented as, you could expect the XO role to get MUCH LESS popular, with or without Xenos. - It's been ONE YEAR. Characters changed, opinions changed, PLAYERS changed, lore moved forward, etc. Opinions between when the vote was made and now may actually be different, who knows. I also agree that the species restriction was a POSSIBILITY, indeed, but that's exactly the issue: a possibility. Hell, this was debated from the get-go, see Carver's first post on this thread, on page one... But that was debated indeed. It was not exactly set in stone what would happen. Some may have even assumed that we could've gotten a chance to discuss this later on. (Hence why I say we should have a second vote now, with all of this new information) As far as the character arc thing goes, I agree about the potential, though not everyone can just get an excuse for things to work out, it's inevitable that many characters are just going to disapear if their player want to keep their characters' stories serious... That, and, this just feels unfair. A character, in any roleplaying game, SHOULD have its story evolve along with the setting, but that is not an evolution of the setting right there. There is no lore coming with this, no signs of this move coming, nothing to really roleplay about until you're actually fired/on a new post. This is mainly a gameplay/OOC change.

At this point, then, I agree with Greenjoe. There probably should be a second vote. A lot of people didn't think this would bring species restriction in, and I assume their opinion on the matter would've changed if they did. I know I wouldn't have been too fond of the idea if I knew. Any restrictions are going to bring a lot of frustrations when they kick in, that's inevitable... But this is different, people did originally want this, but not with the restrictions, as far as a part of them were concerned. We need to see how popular it would've been with the restrictions in mind before actually putting anything like this in the game.

Sucks to see something like half of the XO population getting fired/forced to change job, but I think I agree with Carver, it just makes sense for the Captain's second to have the same restrictions as the Captain themselves. My question is more about Service. Since the XO truly gets in their role as, well, an XO and not just an HoP, do they carry the same expectations as before regarding Service and how they were meant to handle it? (Chances of getting back a Service Command Role?)

Hello there! Really liking the character so far, but I have some questions. - What faith does Ozikar follow? - You spoke about the DFPF, but what about the SCC and megacorps themselves? What's his opinion about these typically alien entities? Especially since he, like many other Moghesian, had to get introduced to these in some way with Heph barging in.

Been playing with Opossum for a while now, and he has always been a great player and a good roleplayer. Saw him with his HoS and as expected I was not disapointed, so +1, obviously.

Hey there! Three questions so far: 1) What would be Izekissha's opinion of Unathi from non-Hegemonic backgrounds, if they have any? Pirates (of individual fleets if they differ on the fleet/allegiances), Foreigners (Mictlan, Biesel, etc.), Dominians... 2) How did Izekissha react/what is their opinion of the Hegemony's current practice of hiring cooperative pirate crews and fleets to assist in dealing with the pirate threat, notably with the arrival of Iska's Adventurers? 3) Is Izekissha a guy or a girl, sex-wise? I get that they're a fisherman as far as gender goes, I'm just curious about the physical side. It's not really an important question, I'm just curious!

Hello! I bring good news, your application is accepted! Or at least, will be so with some changes. The overall idea is great and we'll be working on it right away. Thanks for the app in any case!

Iska’s Adventurers pledge loyalty to Hegemon! Translated into Tau Ceti Basic: Today, Altarak Iska, Fang Captain of the Iska’s Adventurers, arrived on Moghes with his flagship, the Incarnadine Shield, to meet with the Hegemon himself. In public, before thousands of Sinta, Iska knelt before Hegemon Izweski. To him, the Hegemon answered: Iska accepted, and swore fealty to Hegemon Not’zar Izweski, after which, he was brought to the Hegemon’s palace where they were to discuss strategies and the role of his fleet now. The Iska’s Adventurers fleet as a whole serving the Hegemony is a historical first and a great occasion for the Hegemony. Pirates swearing fealty to the Hegemony is not new, but those usually come either individually, or as crews of single, independant ships. Iska’s Adventurers are an entire fleet, however. Though far smaller than any proper military fleet, it remains a force to be reckoned with, especially when it comes to dealing with small-scale threats like other, more hostile pirates. After talks with the Hegemon, it appears the Iska’s Adventurers’ main assignment will be patrolling the periphery of the Hegemony’s territories, mainly protecting colonies and trading lines, not unlike what they used to do before joining the Hegemony officially. This post will also mean they would occasionally work in tandem with the 4th Fleet of Lord-Admiral Xitac, and it appears that he and Altarak Iska already met. Iska allegedly managed to negotiate some advantages too, such as higher pay than other pirates would have, and easier access to some military-grade equipment; advantages justified by the Adventurers’ role being more important than one of typical privateers, as well as an entire fleet requiring more funds. Reactions are mixed on Moghes, but many colonies and their Lord have thanked the Hegemon for this decision, as some have already benefited from the Adventurers’ services and can attest to their reliability. Time will tell how good they will fare, now that they are properly part of the Hegemony.

Large amounts of koko found smuggled in southern Federation space, authorities issue warnings over possibly increased presence of Unathi pirates Translated to Tau Ceti Basic Multiple strange reports have been coming from minor colonies in the Southern regions of the Federation over the past weeks. Planetary Governors have had reports about local authorities finding increased amounts of Koko Reed-based products in circulation. In response, Federation authorities have dispatched inspectors across to all permanently settled worlds within the Median and Q’elpi Basin sectors to look for more traces of Koko on these planets as well. Koko Reed is an edible plant found only on Ha’zana, an Unathi colony unaffiliated with the Izweski Hegemony, inhabited mostly by pirates and other criminals. Though Koko-based products such as the “Koko Bars” of the O'kamazi Koko Guild often find themselves on markets across the Spur, it is not a new commodity in the Federation. The quantities found over the past weeks are highly unusual, however, and may indicate increased activity of pirates in this area. Though most locals report that they did not trade directly with Unathi, it is quite possible that this Koko made its way in the market through less direct means. It is also possible that they traded with Ti'Rakqi, as their presence remains notable around the Q’elpi Basin, despite ongoing operations to end the Marauder threat. Trade with Unathi pirate fleets both within and outside of Federal Space might be a way for the Ti'Rakqi to continue growing and operating, and thus, a threat to the Nralakk Federation.

Iroueans celebrate victory over pirate incursion, Iska’s Adventurers praised for their help Translated into Tau Ceti Basic: Today is a day of festivities for the people of the Hegemonic colony of Iroue. Yesterday, the Aldrad system saw a major incursion of hostile pirates. Though they do not appear to have been part of a known major fleet, they were well coordinated and managed to invade the system and besiege the planet, demanding resources and goods mined and produced on the colony. Though a squadron from Lord-Admiral Xitac’s Fourth Fleet was nearby, there were not enough ships to ensure a victory over the pirate invaders. However, Lord Izuzi, governor of Iroue, had paid a friendly pirate fleet for protection weeks earlier, and it only took six hours for them to arrive. Iska’s Adventurers, as they call themselves, joined up with the Hegemonic squadron present, and immediately launched a counter attack on the invaders. After a two-hour long battle, the pirate aggressors were forced to retreat, following grievous losses. This was not the first pirate incursion the Iroueans faced since the colony was founded, and they faced many hardships. And yet, yesterday’s attack was the largest pirate incursion they ever faced. Despite this, the joint force of Adventurers and Hegemonic sailors secured a crushing victory against the aggressors. To honor their protectors, and the few that fell in the defense of this colony, the people of Iroue organized a great celebration, and the Hegemon himself congratulated and thanked those that defended the colony all the way from Moghes. This celebration has been the occasion for some to meet Altarak Iska, Fang Captain of the Iska’s Adventurers. The Adventurers are a Unathi fleet that have only formed relatively recently, mostly composed with ex-Hegemonic colonists who claimed that the Hegmeony didn’t, or couldn’t defend their colonies enough to their tastes, and took to doing it themselves even if it meant forsaking their honor and their obligations. Their goals, however, had them very often work alongside the Hegemony and most importantly, its colonies, and yesterday’s battle wasn’t their first time working with and for the Hegemony. With recent talks in Hegemony leadership contemplating the possibility of giving Unathi Pirates a more active role in the defense of our territory and its interest, many are wondering if the Adventurers will end up being the very first fleet, and not just independent ships, to work for the Hegemony.

Unathi pirates arrive in Republic space and offer their services Sailors were shocked today, on the Southern border of the Republic, when they encountered a small fleet of armed Unathi ships, all bearing the colors of pirates and fleets generally seen operating in the Badlands. Just as shocking, though just as relieving, these pirates did not engage in any hostile acts, and instead, proclaimed their desire to help and fight for the Republic of Biesel. Ships from the Republican Fleet escorted these to the nearest port, where these pirates would meet with Biesel Representatives and discuss the situation. It appears that most of these pirates were independent crews, along with some ex-members of noteworthy fleets, and decided to leave the Badlands for Tau Ceti to offer their services. Local Hegemonic envoys were present as well and indicated that they most likely thought they could offer their loyalty to the Republic of Biesel just like most pirates could in the Hegemony, where their crimes would be forgiven for swearing fealty back to the Hegemon and fighting for him. Whether these Unathis’ offer is accepted or not is a matter that the Tau Ceti armed forces will take care of. Some think that they may be accepted along with their ships within the Republic to work as privateers, but others think they may be incorporated directly into the Foreign Legion. In any case, it appears that the Armed Forces are mostly favorable to accepting these Unathis’ services in some way; to the Hegemonic diplomates’ dismay. Hegemonic envoys present have contested the decision, claiming that these pirates should instead head for Moghes, either to pay for their crimes, or to swear fealty to Not’zar Izweski instead, have their crimes forgiven, and fight for “their people” as it was said. The pirates, however, refused and claimed to have chosen the Republic, and in the Republic, they would stay.

I really like this, since it also fixes the antag part of the discussion there has been on the discord. Some seem to think that removing/changing Visitor would give antags less cover for infiltrating the ship or just doing peaceful gimmicks, but that would be assuming that people even knew about the Visitor ghost role, and would think said Visitors are legit as well. Giving something to allow the Visitor to prove their legitimacy would ensure that we avoid confusion, and most importantly, allowing antags to get access to the same thing would actually allow them to not rely on people's knowledge of the Visitor ghost role's very existence, or on command members not being serious enough to investigate an anomaly in their records/manifest, to engage in infiltration/peaceful gimmicks.

Following a slightly chaotic (but not in the way you think) technomancer round and a quick talk on discord, I have learned about the Visitor ghost role. From what I understand, the Visitor effectively works like a passenger or an off-duty crew, except it doesn't appear on manifest or doesn't have records. Now, the discussion on discord has turned to something about wether or not antags should be bugged just for not appearing on manifests which could be an interesting topic, but not the one meant for this thread. I want to talk exclusively of the Visitor ghost role here. Basically it sucks. It's exactly like a passenger, except it's prone to have paperwork issues because it's not on manifest. Now there's two easy ways to fix that: REMOVE IT. Yep, that's it, remove it. I'm usually the kind of guy that always welcomes more content, but this is just useless. It brings nothing, no new roleplay opportunities, and only more confusion. I'll be honest, it's not the best option... Which brings us to... CHANGE IT/UPGRADE IT. I get the impression that the visitor is meant to be something other than the passenger, perhaps a unique, maybe important individual; but if it's really the case then we just cannot tell. So, let's enhance the role, with something very simple: give the visitor the ability to prove their legitimacy once they arrive. Let them write up an official Centcomm announcement about their visit, let them get official paperwork to show to annoying command members (me), and so on. Without that, and without warnings, no presence on the manifest and on records, an important visitor can easily pass for a stowaway. Maybe even rename the ghost role to convey what it's meant to be, call it VIP or something like this!

Hegemon’s statement puts an end to heated debates around pirates in Zandiziite Games Translated into Tau Ceti Basic: Last week saw a debate take Moghes by storm, and mostly the Izweski Heartland. The question of allowing pirates to take part Zandiziite Games is not new, but as more swear fealty to the Hegemony, and more are allowed to step and even live on Moghes, it has become a more and more important topic to the people of the Hegemony. Many proved quite hostile to this idea, and not without reasons. Those that proved more accepting of pirate Zandiziites also brought arguements to the table: This debate lasted up to this morning, when the Hegemon himself released a statement: Pirate Zandiziites will be accepted in the future games, though not without conditions. The number of pirates would be limited, proportionally to the number of other contenders. They are also to represent each fleet as a whole with a single fighter as well as a single Zandiziite allowed to represent all other independent crews. Time will tell if pirate Zandiziites will prove to be a loved addition to the games, but something is sure, they are to be expected in the next ones.

Dionae migrants intercepted, concerns rise about the Tarwa Conglomerate’s forces Translated into Tau Ceti Basic: Early today, a patrol ship from the Izweski Navy’s Fourth Fleet encountered a surprising sight: a Voyager-type Diona vessel, seemingly built around what looked like the remains of Human-made ship. The ship counted five Cyclop forms, a single Cerberus, and two dozen Nymphs. Once intercepted by the Hegemonic sailors, they proved cooperative and explained that they originate from Rueltab I, a Solarian penal colony that previously mainly meant for Dionae, Having claimed to have been stunted from experiencing what the Spur had to offer, despite their remorse for the Rueltab Incident, they were able to flee from their entrapment and seek better opportunities elsewhere. While one might feel sympathetic to the Dionae’s circumstances, they had intended to bolster the ranks of the Tarwa Conglomerate. The Fourth Fleet quickly squandered any hope for such, detaining them to appear before a Lord Magistrate where ultimately their fate shall be decided. This is not an isolated incident. There have already been numerous reports over the last months of Gestalts spotted traveling towards the Badlands, with the same goal as today’s group. This led to questions rising about the actual means the Tarwa Conglomerate holds, as their numbers. Though the Conglomerate has remained distant from the Izweski Nation and its interest, the fact that it remains so far from the Hegemony’s borders, and how little is actually known about them led to many expressing concern about the threat they might represent, if not to the Hegemony itself, then to traders and allies operating near the large area they operate in. Though it is a Unathi fleet, it is known that the members of the Conglomerate use Dionae to some extent, in what ways exactly is unknown. Some can make theories, as Tarskin Tarwa, alleged founder of the fleet, used to work as a botanist within the Skalamar University Of Medicine on various projects, some considered unethical, such as his “Sinta-to-Dionae compatibility” experiments; it can be assumed that he continues his researches to this day within his fleet. Master of Rivers Azui Hutay’zai addressed this wave of Dionae migrants later today, coincidentally enough, in a public statement. During his statement, Master of Rivers Hutay’zai also asked sailing Hegemonic citizens abroad to guide these Diona migrants to Moghes if ever encountered.

Admirals meet with the Lord's Claws and the Hegemon himself to discuss piracy matters Translated into Tau Ceti Basic: Yesterday marked an exceptional day, as all three admirals of the Izweski Navy were gathered to discuss important matters. Lord-Admiral Yizarus of the First Fleet, Lord-Admiral Gour'za of the Second and Lord-Admiral Za’Akaix’Xitac K’lax of the Third and Fourth were all summoned to the Hegemon’s Palace to meet with Notzar Izweski in person, as well as Mizaruz Izweski, the Lord’s Claws. With the large majority of the first three fleets kept in extended defense duties around Moghes, many pirates were quick to use this as an opportunity to extend their operations. Reports of smuggled goods found have increased, as well as attacks on civilian ships, Unathite or otherwise. More importantly, multiple raids on Hegemonic colonies have been recorded. Despite the Fourth Fleet’s best efforts, they simply cannot keep up with the rising tide of pirate aggression. The point of this meeting was to find a quick solution to this growing issue. From revising the Hegemonic space battle doctrine to new spacecraft design, everything was brought up, but most of these solutions proved either too slow to implement or way too expensive. It would be the Admiral of the Fourth Fleet, however, that brought the most interesting solution. There are already many Unathi pirates that have sworn fealty to the Hegemony in exchange for their crimes to be forgiven, but they generally are used in very minor roles. Having worked with them in the past, though, Admiral Xitac proposed that these friendly pirates be used in more active roles, to fight minor threats such as lone pirate crews directly to allow Hegemonic ships to focus on larger threats, and to better integrate them into military strategy when facing greater threats. This suggestion wasn’t accepted without reserves. Many of these pirates follow their own codes and tend to not act with the same honor as proper soldiers. The Hegemon expects these pirates to be monitored more closely to avoid embarrassments, but overall, all members of the meeting see the small issues this option raises as worth it if it means better protecting the people of the Hegemonic colonies and securing space around it.