Captain Gecko

I've been trying to play merchant recently, it's quite nice, I like it... When I can actually play it. The thing is you cannot play as a merchant whenever you want, on some rounds, there is a slot available, on some rounds, there is not. Firstly, I don't get why merchants are not allowed on every round. I assume that the reason is that we don't want people possibly trading weapons with the crew on every rounds, so that antags would have more of a chance. It might've made sense on the Aurora, but on the Horizon, even the crew gets an armory, if anything a merchant selling weapons is redundant. Worst case scenario, lower fundings for the merchant at round start for most rounds to prevent them from spending it all on guns. Secondly, that means that we get rounds where merchants can't even properly trade. The two rounds I got to play as a merchant were all low-pop, since I created my character two weeks ago, NEVER did I find a round with an over-20 souls crew where the merchant slot was open. There may have been a planned probability on when one could play merchant (I remember someone telling me it was 1 out of 4 rounds a while ago, not too sure about that), but in practice it's MUCH LOWER than that considering that you barely do actual merchant work on lowpop. Here's my proposal: Simply remove the limitations on playing Merchants, let the people play merchant on any round. Worst case scenario reduce fundings on rounds where they wouldn't have spawned.

I agree. While I don't want vampires to feel forced to drain people to death, having stealth-vampires 99% of the time until they decide to go full antag at the last few minutes. a RNG-based forgiveness system could work, we could also have the Vampire being unable to tell if that guy has been affected or not mechanically speaking (and only having to rely on their victim's roleplay to know)... Or we could make it a very blood-hungry ability, meaning that the Vampire ends up being very limited in how much people they can drain.

Agreed as well. On the science side, makes me think of a few anomalies that would be much more manageablewith a move like that. The Statuette for instance, is so hard to manage not because of the monsters and all, but because of the constant blood-drain, leaving you with something like a minute or two before you're too dumb to press a button, and be able effectively try to study/contain it. +1

Okay I just thought of something else. Meals with the new Xenofauna meat. Could be anything... The only issue is that we would need these creatures to drop meat in the first place, I don' tink any of them do, besides the carps.

As far as I went I never expeceted Psychs to actually do medical work, so I'm kind of surprised about that part. I wouldn't be pissed if a Psychologist simply didn't save my wounded character, but I've never really played medical, so what do I know. As far as I go, I don't know if you do it often, but seek medical records, and don't hesitate to go out of your way to contact people that might be in need, either from events during the shift, or from things you might've learned about their past (IE: by reading the records). Last time I saw Mobius in game he was just standing here in the medical lobby. I pass by an hour later, he's still there. Go out of your way to see who might need help, because there are, and you might get even more patients!

Okay, this is NOT a shitpost... ROUNDMEAL. Maybe not EXACTLY Roundmeal; but basically something so god damn full of protein you literally cannot finish this alone unless you're actually starving. The idea is that this thing could be a favorite among explorers, miners, Xarcs and all who are going to be away for a while and will probably not have access to food and vendors.

Putting aside the antag reasons, I don't like this, I think this doesn't make much sense. I can see why they wouldn't be mandatory on lower/lack of alerts, but why would they be disabled? It's basically a possible lifeline. You don't need to be on alert to have a workplace accident. You can very easily freeze yourself in the science server room, irradiate yourself in front of the supermatter, etc. And your best chance of survival might be someone picking up your vitals because you thought about setting them up prior to the incident. And yeah, these wouldn't be too common of an instance, but would the SCC take chances, lore-wise? Putting aside gameplay/antag reasons, which can be debated (I agree with Carver), setting-wise disabling sensors on any alert level makes no sense to me.

Do they still serve the Sweet Burger(tm) with the white sauce and the bit of honey in it?

Right so, after yet another grief I have decided on my end to try making an alternative. This is a Discord equivalent of the Manifest, it's goal being to be as easy to use and retain the original goal, all the while remaining as safe as possible against possible Griefs. The idea is that each player gets a role for each of their character (two characters max per player, safe for possible exceptions), in which they make a profile of their character to pin, then, make a section for each character they want to write on, giving opinions and the likes. Perhaps the main difference with the original manifest is that it is NOT updated monthly, and instead, can be tweaked and updated whenever you want. This also comes with it's own room to discuss the manifest and all OOCly, of course. All of this is mostly a prototype, and time will tell if it will work. Here's the link: https://discord.gg/V75CHhZQgB It's in no way officially endorsed by the staff, since it's closer to just a personal project, also.

Ckey/BYOND Username: Captain Gecko Discord Name: CNEGecko#9618 Position Being Applied For: Spriter Past Experiences/Knowledge: I draw for fun, been doing so since I was 12. Other than that, I've been handling the Metal Crushers chirper channel for over a year now, and made a LOT of sprite work for it. Examples of Past Work: - All of my Metal Crushers work - Sezrak's custom items - WYVERN's custom shell - The science holotapes - Solarian Combat Drone A few other custom items for people that never ever made their apps anyways, and maybe some other contributions I can't remember... Additional Comments: I've been spriting for a while and only now did I think about applying for developer when I said I'd sprite flora and fauna for the coming exoplanets and all, and Matt told us to also apply as developpers so... Here I am.

Oh nice. That's a cool explanation, I idn't really picture it this way. And yeah the elevator part I'm mostly messing around but... Hmm... I mean it's still a VERY small space for everyone's quarters, but it's better than nothing! I am satisfied now. My thirst for knowledge is quenched.

You come into the round, the take the elevator. You leave the round, you take the elevator. When not on shift your character is in their little quarters it's great and all... BUT WHERE THE HELL ARE THE QUARTERS? Putting aside the fact that elevator is on deck 2, yet we don't see a continuation of it on Deck 3 or 1, where the hell even are the quarters? There's no sign of them anywhere on the on the ship! If you look at pictures of the Horizon from outside, it's clear that what we've got on the ship's map is ALL of the ship... Is this really an elevator? Or is this some kind of bio-construction machine deconstructing people and rebuilding them as the SCC sees fit? Perhaps it even is a Bluesapce rift sending us not to rooms, but to spaces allocated in pocket dimensions, just like with a Bag of holding... Big Corpo is hiding something from us! Ok more seriously though, putting memes aside, is it just game balance going over lore, which is fine, or is there really an explanation? I'm just curious.

Oh yeah, I guess I'll ask for it too then...

Taeko Mori is a good Bridge crew. Does his job well, engages well enough in his job and in the roleplay around it and all. Solid +1.

I support this idea too!

I remember complaining about this multiple times. Science teams get hit even harder since they generally don't come with any ranged weapons/tools (so no way to kill most creatures before they actually reach you) and come with a paper-thin void-suit with a 3-tile light. Most importantly, though, the largest issue was the increased lethality, not really due to the new fauna or site, but due to the fact that we can't get quick rescue. On the Aurora you were still on the same stellar object. You could still limp your way back to the airlock and get picked up there. Hell, a rescuer could still pick you up outside at times. Now you have to head back to your shuttle, fly back to the Horizon, dock, then get picked up, and try to not die on your way there. If the Horizon isn't literally above you, that whole process can take up to ten minutes at worse, two at best. Two is still more than enough to bleed out for instance. To this, add the fact that hauls are generally not worth it. Not counting this week since I'm on RD trial, but since April when the NBT dropped, I have found exactly 5 anomalies. I have taken part in dozens and dozens of round on the Horizon, and I got 5 anomalies. It's not rare, I've seen, for miners to arrive on rocks and find nothing the basic materials to make steel and nothing else. I get that the in-lore phoron scarcity is a thing, but we don't have a scarcity for other materials, do we? One solution would be indeed to upgrade our EVA workers' equipment. I've been working on the science end of that issue here, but Mining could definitely need some extra gear. Pest guns, for instance. Why not having an emergency tool to be sent back to the Horizon? Like a Fulton-Teleporter device, which has the miner be teleported back to the Aurora, once he stands on the mining pod's fulton-teleporter-pad, but turns comatose for a bit afterward, still giving them a chance to survive, and not changing the fact that the trip outside is failed (since the mining pod now remains down there without a pilot). Really there are a lot of solutions out there.

That doesn't sound too bad... I'm not entierly against it, and it would also give some all-new roleplay option... Assuming that it can't be abused too much, you never know what people can come up with...

((For those not in the know: Old refers to... Late 2020/Early 2021, roughly. Around KOTW. We had a stable team, in the sense that we had mostly the same people playing regularly in science, then, on european hours that is. From this time, there indeed only Ayo and Sezrak left, most having changed characters or stopped playing entierly.))

So that might be good but I have several issues with this. On a gameplay perspective this is a tad redundant, first with the usual off-ship merchant, and with the operations department. We can already ask Hangar Techs for stuff from the warehouse and get some for free (and if not, by doing our job and filling bounties), why would we pay for a merchant's gear, let alone go through the hassle of heading there and doing the whole transaction when you're working, need something quick, and cargo can send your stuff straight through the delivery chute? Worst case scenario, science can print all kinds of gear for you, advanced or not, for free as well. Whoever is going to play this on-ship merchant is going to get very bored, very quick I imagine. On a roleplay perspective, it makes literally no sense. I've been questioning the reason why some chefs and bartender would make you pay for products that the company already pays for. I mean there's no sense in paying the bartender yourself if they are already paid by their company to be there, right? But most of those doing this were Idris so, you know what, it's Idris, they are weird, they have a different way to work with money, and hey, perhaps it's just character ripping ours off. It however makes no sense for the SCC to add a merchant on their ship that is no only paid via a salary, but also... Does transactions with people paid by the same companies. It also makes no sense for them to do the same for an independant, because they would be wasting room and resources for a merchant that actually stays there and take room in this unique exploration vessel... Unless I assume the merchant was paying a fortune for that, but even then it gets very... Weird and to me makes little to no sense.

Now that's a tutorial I highly appreciate! I've been considering mapping for a while now. Thanks! - I've got two questions now, one, we're speaking of having sites stand apart from others, it makes realize... What are the limits of what we can do? How out there some of these sites can be? And are we looking for specific things? - Do these sites have to be ruins/derelict/other things to explore (IE a big dionae gestalt like we had on the Aurora as an away site) or can we also map more lively areas, sort of like the space bar and civilian station we currently have, even if it doesn't feature any ghost roles (could've been only recently abandonned for instance) ?

So long as science keeps their excavation gear, even if it's another room, like in the Xenoarcheology atrium, I agree with the idea.

I definitely agree. More than anything else, it would make sense roleplay-wise since the Horizon's main job IS exploration-related. Now I have one tiny issue with this. It's going to take a little story, though. Back on the Aurora, there was a time when we played with roughly the same team on most rounds for a full month or so. We were a VERY good team, we roleplayed well, we knew how to do our job well enough, there was fantastic chemistry between characters and OOCly; basically we were the PERFECT team. With our RD (I include her in the team) being quite eager to start expedition, we did a LOT of these, and it was good. Expeditions are REALLY fun. But we had to roleplay it in a very specific manner. See, putting aside mineral rocks/outside of the Aurora's hull and into the caves, sites are not randomly generated, there is not an infinite number of these, evidently. This meant that, with the sheer pace at which we went out and explored, we VERY QUICKLY manage to thoroughly explore all of the away-sites. This meant that at some point, we somehow had to roleplay as if our characters had the experience of constantly going in expeditions, BUT did not explore this PARTICULAR site that we still know about OOCly. It's not that big of an issue, you just have to get used to it, and while we didn't mind at the time, and that I'm sure that there's more to explore today than back on the Aurora, I definitely expect people to get bored and stop caring about exploration. The solution to this is easy really: add more site maps, as well as, perhaps, different types of randomly generated maps (we have our standard mineral asteroids, how about barren-ish inhabited planets for mining, like frozen or desert worldss occasionally, things like that, ones that would still have the ability to generate structures.) On that note, if anyone can teach me about mapping in SS13, or at least for Aurora, I would be making SO MANY MAPS... On another note... There is one reason for preventing expeditions/explorations that would like to bring out: lack of preparation. It's not so much about team-size/composition. A properly geared and skilled three or even two-men team can definitely do miracles, but one that is NOT prepared, one that doesn't feature at least a single member that has the experience to properly handle unplanned situations and guide the team, will lead to some really, REALLY BAD. I'm not speaking "You will die" kind of bad, because you should expect death on away sites, while the few I got to explore so far weren't as dangerous as some I've seen in the time of the Aurora, they ARE meant to be dangerous, and the last one I explored definitely had the potential to kill us all had we not been prepared or cautious enough- but no, that's alright. No, the worst is to be BORED. And there's nothing like having a team stuck in the shuttle with no way to reach the site because no one brought the materials to build a bridge, or no one being able to communicate with no GPS or Station-Bounced radios (I know the Intrepid packs some), or even bad chemistry between players, with some disreguarding cooperation and messing everything up, either for them or the whole team (nothing like explosive decompression from another room throwing you onto an automated turret or a landmine). You don't want to end up waiting in front of a closed door with an engineer unable to open it for an hour and a half, or waiting inside the Intrepid with nothing to do because you're missing voidsuits, this is worse than (in-game) death to me, and to many others I assume. It should be a command member's role to improve the roleplay, use their powers to make the round more fun, for them, and all other players... When the red flags of a very bad time are here, if the command member is SOMEHOW not able to fix the situation (bring an extra, better-trained member, bring more gear for them), then the expedition should be postponed in my opinion.

BYOND key: Captain Gecko Discord Username: CNEGecko#9618 Character names: - Sezrak Han'san - (I have a handful of other characters, but I have not played them yet/since months ago) How long have you been playing on Aurora?: I started in 2017, then stopped. I came back around... Summer of 2020. So I'll go ahead and say that I've been playing Aurora on a more regular basis for 2 years or so now. Have you received any administrative actions? And how serious were they?: I got a warning a little while ago on the forum, and that's pretty much it. Safe for a couple of harmless boinks, nothhing in the game. What do you think the OOC purpose of a Head of Staff is, ingame?: - Heads of staff are generally more experienced players, both in gameplay, and lore. Through roleplay or not their role extends beyond just giving other players something to do, and also has them act like mentors of sorts, guides and helpers. Heads of staff SHOULD be able to assist their respective workers and teach them how business goes in their department, how to play, basically, if needed. Of course, as far as stuff IN the game goes, heads of staff have the ability to make things move forward. An RD can order an expedition to be made, a CE can demand that an extension to the ship be built, and a captain can define the direction a round can take entierly. Command staff are not nescessary to RP, but they can make it really, really good... And while I wouldn't say that this is obligatory... Not using your Command powers to make a round more fun certainly is spoiled potential! What do you think the OOC responsibilities of Whitelisted players are to other players, and how would you strive to uphold them?: - Heads of staff are experienced players, they also should be GOOD players, not in the "being robust" kind of way, but more importantly in the "know the rules", and "know to play" kind of way. Heads of staff should be exemples for their department, ICLY and OOCLY. Good command members can be great, just like how bad command members can absolutely ruin a round. For instance, an RD may prepare the crew for a great expedition with good preparation and a well balanced team... Or they could know absolutely nothing about what they are doing, dismiss their more experienced subbordinates, and send a tiny unprepared team to their death... Or worse... BOREDOM. Second responsability would be what I spoke about just above, use your powers to make the round even more fun (or fun at all) for your fellow players. Also don't be an authoritarian, micromanager. Please. Could you give us the gist of what is currently happening in Tau ceti and how it affected your character and their career? With the "rogue" Solarian fleet pushed back, and the Solarian Alliance more or less collapsing, one could think that the Tau Ceti Republic would be quite well off by now, but of course nothing can be that easy. The very reason that led to the events of the KING OF THE WORLD arc, the coming Phoron crisis, is now looming over the Republic, and the many corporations acting within. Coming like a savior in these times is the Stellar conglomerate, the union of the most powerful Megacorp in the spur (safe for EE for obvious reasons) bring us the SCCV Horizon, a fantastic, top of the line, high tech cruiser meant for exploration and science, in order to locate new Phoron deposits, discover new planets suitable for colonization, and explore the unknown corners of space... But mostly locate new phoron deposits, most likely. Still, it's a glimmer of hope for the Spur, or at least, the Republic and its friends. Sezrak eagerly moved from the Aurora to the Horizon, most likely to answer the call of adventure. The Aurora gave him quite a lot of opportunities to push back his limits, to contribute to science... And to earn quite a few scars, but now with the possibilities to find MUCH MORE, of course he couldn't refuse such a thing. Did he get what he wanted? Yes, and no, in his own words, "It is a different kind of adventure, but adventure nonetheless." Yet in this new workplace, a question comes back to him... The question of responsability. A few years ago, Sezrak was nothing but a humble, learning Anomalist. Now, he tends to be one of the most experienced in his field, in his department even. It is not rare to have him take over the department, get... Bossy, in ways, when things get dramatic, and actions need to be taken. Hell, even got to be made Interrim RD multiple times. On several occasions now, he got to to question if yes or no it would be more proper for him to be in a command position and leave the responsability of DIRECTLY hunting anomalies down and handling them to others was wise. Ages of questioning later, it seems like Han'san is ready to try and take the mantle. The reasoning behind this is more personal than linked to the current events happening to Tau Ceti, as Sezrak doesn't hold strong opinions about it. Sezrak is a proud Dominian, and doesn't think too much about other nations and their interest, besides dropping some barter on them from time to time. He appreciates Tau Ceti, but if it has to fall, then it will fall. He'll do his best to do his part as usual, though, as an Anomalist, or an RD, and to protect his friends and co-worker, wherever they come from... What roles do you plan on playing after the application is accepted? Research Director. Have you familiarized yourself with the wiki pages for the command roles? Yes. Characters you intend to use for command or have created for command. Include the job they will be taking: Sezrak Han'san - RD Do you understand your whitelist is not permanent, and may be stripped following continuous administrative action? Yes. Have you linked your byond account to the forums? Yes. Extra notes: Hiss.

PUT HIM IN THE PR

Right so there are a few things I have issues with and a few things I like. I've been a bit bugged myself at miners exploring derelicts right away, considering it's pretty much the only thing I can do myself with an anomalist. I rarely get to properly work with the current issues (although the allowance of scientists into the Intrepid has made things better for now, that's pretty cool), and the few times I hear of an away site well... It's already been explored. And since away sites don't often hold materials, it's even a proper replacement, and most of science (besides Xenoarcheology since there are often anomaleis been brought back, thank god) don't even get the benefits they would've had with a standard mining mission. On the other hand, I can get why this would happen. As stated above, expeditions don't happen so much, for one reason or another, so... Why not? At least on a gameplay level... Alt-title is okay, since it would indicate a different specialisation, people wouldn't have the same expectation for them, the same way they wouldn't have the same expectation for Xenoarchs and standards Scientists despite them being technically the same jobs with alt-titles. Now, if you've red my thread about this issue in science, you may know my opinion on this issue already, I'd rather have it its own job from the get go... That would also allow them to have access to the Intrepid without allowing all miners to do so... But that would be a thread on its own. Still, alt-title or new job, somethign needs to be done, both to differentiate these "explorers" and more classic miners, and have proper expectations for them. Also, on the proposal of "EVA specialist"... No. EVA Specialist is way too broad. Technically, a Xenoarch is an EVA Specialist. An engineer (or at least some of them) might as well be EVA specialists... Something simpler, more precise, and more importantly that could be understood by everyone, so that we could associate it with the proper expectations associated with it. My proposals would be "Explorer", "Scavenger", or "Pioneer". Hell, we could make them "Scouts", "Forward Reconaissance Elements", their jobs being limited to exploring a site while touching as little as possible, leaving the proper expedition work for when they'll be accompanied by a proper team with science, engineering, security (and hopefully someone from medical too).