furrycactus

Atmos Techs do not have access to that room, nor have they ever historically on the Aurora either. I know for sure because I have to hack into there every round for a gas cooler circuit board and micro manipulator for Atmos modifications.

I'd very much agree with returning them. Engineers and Atmospheric Technicians have different tasks at roundstart to be sure as they have different specialties, but once their respective duties are done (setting the SM/INDRA + setting Atmos/Thrusters) it becomes necessary that they fulfill similar tasks when it comes to a repair job. If you're in a highpop round, it's pretty easy to dedicate yourself primarily to what your job expects of you, with engineers fixing powernets and equipment, and atmos techs fixing pipes and atmosphere issues, crossing over and helping each other out as needed. But as population dips, it becomes significantly harder to play atmos tech. God forbid you play one as the sole Engineering staff during lowpop/Australian hours without gloves, because you can't do any of the aforementioned things in the original post. The only opinion of atmos techs having insulated gloves that I've seen has been "oh thank god, finally". I don't think it's all that dissimilar to Physician/Surgeon. Both these roles can provide patient care with medication and surgery, but they both specialise in one or the other, and we don't have some kind of enforcement that prevents Surgeons from administering medication to patients (especially because they often have to do so during surgery). And of course we don't, because it would make playing Surgeon on hectic highpop where patients are filling the treatment room, and lowpop/Australian hours feel terrible, too. "Sorry, I can't give you dylovene/inaprovaline/kelotane/mortaphenyl because those medications are locked in a cabinet I don't have access to". Additionally, why is it the expectation that Atmospheric Technicians are not able to interact with cable and wire in any way, even if it's purely for repairs (because you straight up cannot without insulated gloves, which means any broken cables will sit broken until an Engineer with gloves comes to tend to it, and if there isn't one you're plain out of luck), and yet, Engineers have free reign to engage with scrubber/supply/fuel/aux/simple pipes/scrubbers/vents as they see fit? Why are pipes and their devices not then treated in the same vein and entirely restricted to needing a pipe wrench to alter? Let me be clear, I did make a PR recently that removes pipe wrenches from Engineer lockers, but it's not a change I actually wanted to see, but I think if we're for some reason set on making suspiciously timed and motivated PRs to hold Atmospheric Technicians to an unfair standard, we need to start doing it to Engineer as well. That, or we simply give Atmos Techs the gloves that they need in order to help out when their tasks become aligned with Engineers, and let Engineers retain the tools they need in order to do the same. Which I think is far more preferable.

Tal's opinions on the Zo'ra is along the lines of feeling somewhat intimidated by their might and their historic reputation as the most powerful hive. Quietly and to themself, they think the K'lax becoming independent would be ideal, but for now, they quietly and respectfully offer Zo'rane hive members the deference that they're due. Their opinion on the C'thur meanwhile is pretty consistent with the sentiment they've grown up hearing, "C'thur man bad", so Tal does not have a positive view of members of the C'thur hive. Obviously the Lii'dra are like, the worst. Tal's opinion of NanoTrasen is somewhat mixed. They are curious to a degree, since they were the big player when it came to Phoron for a long time, but they did not become particularly familiar with them until they spent some time on Valkyrie. Were it not for the SCC, they'd perhaps even feel envious that NT staff had so much access to work with Phoron. Otherwise, they're viewed in a somewhat negative light, due to the K'lax hive's necessary trade deals being more weighted in NT's favour. Tal's opinion of Zeng-Hu is mixed. A corporation that dedicates itself to medical progress sounds like an admirable idea, but their affiliation with the C'thur hive taints that opinion. Tal's opinion of Zavodskoi is a measure of curiosity as well. Working with weapons manufacturing and robotics, it does give him a little more than a passing interest, as they would enjoy the chance to take some of their creations apart and try and put them back together again, just to see how they work. That's more of a personal curiosity than anything to do with their work, though. Tal's opinion of Idris is relative neutrality. They have not been exposed to them particularly much, but they do admire how their staff are trained to maintain a proper 'face' when representing the corporation. It gives an almost hive-like appearance in how they're all trained to act a certain way. In their spare time, they enjoy tinkering with and reverse engineering pieces of machinery and technology, and as of late since being relocated to Valkyrie and the SCCV Horizon, this interest has taken hold in particular with alien technologies. They find great mental stimulation and enjoyment in deconstructing and analyzing pieces of machinery that was made by the races native to the Spur. This is both to become ever more familiar with the technology that's typical and commonplace in the Spur, which they'll likely find themselves working with, and also to compare the level of progress and sophistication in comparison to the technology that the K'lax already possess. In particular, Elyran technology is of extreme interest to Tal, but understandably getting their hands on anything like that is well beyond their means. Otherwise, Tal enjoys spending what other free time they get in VR, when possible, The Founding being a particularly revered subrealm that they enjoy. On the Horizon, Tal shares a small, tightly packed room with a few other Zkaii-born that were similarly recently assigned to the ship. They have not personally known any of them for long, but they're the beginnings of an adopted hive-cell. Being of Zkaii's brood, Tal is a very spiritual individual, being deeply devout towards Mother K'lax and the Mother Dream religion, though perhaps due to their young age and exposure to Unathi, they've had hints of their faith influenced by the Sk'akh faith as well, seeing the parallels between Worker, Warrior, and Breeder as the spirits of Mother K'lax. Also because of this proximity to Unathi, Tal has become an individual that takes great pride in their work and accomplishments, and has had a degree of their honour code rubbed off on them. Obviously, not being a Warrior, it's not as though Tal has universally adopted the Unathi Warrior's code at an exact 1:1, but certain virtues such as Righteousness, Integrity, and Loyalty have resonated with them, and so they carry themselves and their interactions with others in a similar way. Lastly, being so young, Tal is still just a simply curious individual. They are often jumping on experiences to learn or understand new things in their field, whether it be learning new methods from colleagues in a work setting, or taking the chance to be exposed to new aliens to learn more about them.

BYOND Key: Furrycactus Character Names: A whole bunch, but my current mains are Z.I. Flak (Atmospheric Technician, IPC) and Ali Al-Kamali (Resident Surgeon, Human). Species you are applying to play: Vaurca What color do you plan on making your first alien character: Dark Green (Zkaii Brood) Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: Yes. Please provide well articulated answers to the following questions in a paragraph format. One paragraph minimum per question. Why do you wish to play this specific race: As of late, I’ve been interacting with a lot of Vaurcae characters when on the Horizon. While I never had much interest in playing a Vaurca in the distant past, something shifted lately and I’ve found their lore to be a lot more interesting. I find it really appealing how alien they are compared to many of the other playable species, and I really want to experience that in roleplay. Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: There’s loads of things, both in roleplay and in mechanical gameplay. You’re given the chance to put yourself in the shoes of a species with a thought process and society that is really far removed from how humans operate. While humans are pretty individualistic, vaurca exist within a biologically enforced caste system, where practically everything is done in the name of the queens for the hives’ collective advancement and survival. Being purpose-bred for a specific type of task and having your life set out before you in such a manner as dictated by the Ta is not entirely dissimilar from the life of an IPC (which I also very much enjoy playing), but it also stands on its own as a unique life experience for an organic to be put through. The fact that Za and Ka also only have a standard biological lifespan of 20 years (not including time in cryo and VR) really serves to emphasise that in the grand scheme, these beings are disposable compared to the Ta and their queens. In that same vein, being a species that has access to VR afterlife, I love how that changes their perception of death and mortality, viewing it as both something to be mourned, but also celebrated as there is still the assurance that one will be reunited with the deceased again. Character Name: Ka’Akiax’Tal K’lax Please provide a short backstory for this character. Tal was hatched in 2460, not terribly long after the K’laxian settlement upon Tret. Their purpose was clear before they were even properly born: an Unbound worker whose purpose was to assist in engineering tasks that required more presence of mind than a Bound worker could typically provide. The months following their hatching was relatively standard; a period of maturation, after which they were given time in VR to learn and train to gain a proper understanding of what would be expected of them, and it was also here where they became familiar with the concepts of the Mother Dream. After a few months, Tal was brought out of VR and set to work, with tasks varying from assistance overseeing general structural maintenance, to maintenance of electrical infrastructure such as the planet’s solar arrays and Tyu’kata spires. Tal excelled in their duties and in understanding the complex engineering intricacies involved. In perhaps a stroke of luck, or not, the Ka’s talents were noticed by a Hephaestus Industries representative, and eager to secure an additional source of credits for their hive, their Ta encouraged them into pursuing employment with the corporation. Tal took to work with Hephaestus well, their engineering know-how proving to be advantageous to the corporation on two fronts; their work ethic was effective, and the pittance they were offered in wages was saving them credits. In time, they were relocated to assist with maintaining the operations of the Neutron Forge in Tret’s orbit, and though they had no hand in working with the materials produced by the foundry, they were kept around for maintaining the electrical and structural integrity of the installation. They took a measure of pride in this work, until the Phoron Scarcity Crisis began to result in lay-offs and decreased production. Deemed as being no longer required, Tal was caught up in these moves and it was decided that their services would be put to better use elsewhere. Tal’s time working alongside Unathi in orbit however had instilled a sense of pride for their work, and a distinct enjoyment of working in space facilities. If it was to be permitted, they expressed a desire to be reassigned to another similar facility in the wider Spur. The request was granted by Hephaestus, and with their Ta passing on the request to the Queens for such, Tal was granted consent to travel the greater galaxy outside of Tret and the Izweski Hegemony as a whole. Initially, Tal was first transferred to work on facilities on Valkyrie within Tau Ceti, and ultimately, was assigned by Hephaestus to the SCCV Horizon. What do you like about this character? I enjoy that while I get to play a character that is quite alien in the way they think and act, they have a small piece of familiarity, being of the K’lax hive and thus additionally intertwined with Unathi and the Hegemony. I also find the prospect of playing a younger Vaurca who is relatively unfamiliar with the wider galaxy to be a fun prospect, as they’ll have to go on something of a journey of discovery and learning about the other peoples of the Spur. How would you rate your role-playing ability? 10/10. I’m perfect and infallible in everything that I have ever done in the history of ever. (I think I’m okay, I’ve been doing it since I was barely a teenager.) Notes: *chitter

Sorry to announce that this project is being discontinued. If some other developer wants to pick it up they're welcome, but I'll no longer be working on it, apologies.

Honestly, cloning's potential removal from lore entirely kind of majorly screws over characters who have made use of it in backstories or who have had it happen on-server to them in the past. As already stated, there's lots of ways to get creative with circumventing cloning from a writing perspective, and it provides interesting avenues and character concepts. The complete disregard for the characters and developments that have occurred from it is disappointing to see, and personally I think it's a very bad idea to axe it from lore. Mechanically though, I also echo what's been said previously - it comes with a slew of problems for gameplay balance and shouldn't make a return.

Surprise, I'm back, and I started working on this again. My current hurdle is tackling what to do with the current Bridge area. I'm still not 110% sold yet, but tentatively I'm considering giving it some stuff related to expeditions. A storage area for finds, briefing room, lounge to wait around in, soon-to-be a locker room with mech chargers and interim equipment storage for weapons/voidsuits/anything else. I even added a small infirmary for critically injured patients - not intended to serve as a second medbay, but to function just enough to stabilize patients that can't wait for transport to medical. This is the draft, but everything in it is still heavily subject to change. Lemme know what y'all think or have to suggest.

I definitely want to continue, but I became unexpectedly busy IRL for a little while, and then had some education stuff to contend with. For the time being this is sorta on pause, but I do intend to continue it.

Please see my above post. But honestly, I may consider removing the glass cage in favour of a pet bed, like from the old Exodus.

Of course! I'm just getting the rough edges down at the moment, I still have a lot of "filling" to go back and do as it were for a lot of stuff - lights, air alarms, welder tanks, intercomms, etc., so if you see a really blank area just assume that I'm still getting around to filling it out. Keep making suggestions though, by all means.

Small update. I took a break and spent most of my time working on it today reworking/adding the proper area designations in the code and such, though I did do a tiny bit of actual nitty gritty mapping too. I added a ladder to the surface maintenance area just behind the elevators. I also added a connecting maintenance tunnel to the Medical Interstitial Maintenance tunnels, which offers a maintenance route that doesn't require EVA equipment, and a handy path for Command to get to the Bunker more feasibly in the case of a lockdown. I also moved the SAT down to the Bunker, and prettied it up a little bit with the mainframe floors (they start flashing red if the self destruct is enabled, cool right? Thanks ye olde TG code.) Also adjusted the bunker's electrical and air supply to be a little more reasonably self-sufficient if it actually needs to be used. It used to be all plugged into the main line and attached to the AI's powergrid too, so using the PACMAN wasn't even viable unless you snipped a bunch of wires. Swapped out the phoron PACMAN for a uranium one because scarcity, and because the fuel lasts a little longer in that one. It's mildly radioactive when active though, so like, it gets its own little contained room so that doesn't leak out. The SAT is still Captain-only access.

It's not particularly exposed. The doors in the main hall are tamper-resistant to hacking, the walls are reinforced and need a whole toolbelt and about a full minute to get through, and the windows have shutters down. Thank you! And I wouldn't have made this PR in the first place if you didn't provide the initial concept for it in the first place. As for planned additions, none particularly off the top of my head. If something jumps out at me part way, I'll document it and carry on. If it's something somebody suggests on here that I decide would be beneficial to add, I'll make mention of it.

Overall update after today. To re-iterate, the windows to the Captain's Office will have privacy shutters closed over them at roundstart, they just appear under the windows in the map editor.

Couple updates I did over the day. Captain/HoP Offices: I swapped the positions of the HoP and the Captain's Office, and removed the line for the Captain. Captain's is still blank for now, while I ponder on re-doing it. Bar and Teleporter have been moved aside while I fill in the more important bits, and the Cryo room is above the HoP Office now. Power/Atmospherics/Maintenance: The Engineering infrastructure comes in through an airlock and gets carried across the Medical Reception rafters. At least, for the "public" part of the level. I accidentally cut the substation out of this picture, but it's visible in the next one. The Important-Command-Actual-Bridge part will probably have its own substation which is fed from a different point, like the ladders by Engineering. Diplomatic Offices: The offices for Corporate Representatives and Consular Offices have been brought up to the fancy new Bridge as well, or at least, been placed adjacent to it. I gave them modified CentCom airlocks to more heavily emphasise that they're third-party, and while important, not actually Command. I just think they look neat. Their section of maintenance tunnels has also been more clearly marked as part of the "Diplomatic Zone" for purposes of regulations and such. Reps and Consulars will probably still have Bridge access, and to emphasise the close and friendly nature they should have with station Command, they have a side entrance to it. Same rules still apply about wandering the Bridge and poking your nose around willy-nilly, of course.

An observation deck overlooking space is a bit difficult to attain, since it's slap-bang in the very middle of the asteroid now. The only ways it'd be feasible would be some kind of passage that goes down to the under-station Z-level, which is trickier to attain with the Bridge being above Research/the aft hall/Engineering now, OR, a really really really long hallway to the edge of the asteroid (which, eh). As for a security checkpoint in the Bridge, I'm going to say no, since the Security community so vehemently opposed Departmental Security.

Assuming I don't move it, I'd most likely just cut and paste what it is at the moment and slap it onto the side of the bunker, with some directional changes and tidying up to make it look pretty as necessary. It's already pretty decently secure and doesn't need any changes in that regard. It doesn't even have a reinforced roof as-is, just inconspicuous rocks or ash turf at random.

The plan was to give the windows to the Captain's Office the gray privacy shutters (like the ones Chemistry has for example) which start closed at round-start, so that wouldn't be an easy-access weakpoint for anybody with rubber gloves or a glass shard. If the airlock in the public hall is still an issue, it could be made into one of the tamper-resistant ones, such as the one to the AI Core, to make it harder to just cut the ID wire and waltz on in. Beyond that as well, I was planning to move the Spare ID into the Captain's backroom personal quarters, so it's not just an easy "pop one window/door out and grab the spare". But even so, at the moment the Captain's Office and all the goodies within are hardly secure at the moment anyway. Any engineer with wirecutters and gloves or some good luck can just pop through two airlocks and get in. And the majority of antags have an absolutely trivial experience getting in. Bridge maintenance is still very much planned, this was just a very rough early draft to give everybody a generalised and early-stage visualisation of the whole thing.

Look at the top of the Bridge in that screenshot.

I'll see about tweaking the captain's office. Regarding the Bunker: Given that the AI Core sublevel is remaining where it is, the Bunker might remain there with it, given that it'll still a pretty secure area. If people really want it to be accessed primarily from the Bridge however, it'll likely have to be on the same level as the Bridge then. Cross-Z-level real estate is a little more sparse, given that Research and Engineering are below the new Bridge in this, and it's nestled between Yellow Dock and the TCFL Dock on the Surface. Regarding the SAT: There's a few things I Could do with this. I could move it over to the new Bridge and have it off the Captain's private quarters again. Same deal as the Bunker though, it'd be on the same Z-level, which I don't think is all that bad anyway. Alternatively, if the Bunker stays with the AI Core, I could attach it to that. Not much would change in regards to that, given that only the Captain and AI know what it does. To most of Command, it'd just be a secure device that does "something" above their paygrade, like it is now. Regarding the Former Bridge: Two things could happen. It could have some of its rooms cut down and be converted into a second station docking area. A lot of it can stay as-is in terms of general structure, but it becomes the "important" docking area. The Western Surface Docks serving as civilian transport primarily, while the Eastern caters to consular ships, agent arrivals, and would still retain the expedition shuttle. This could open up the Former Bridge hallway to be a little bit more general access, but still not necessarily a highly trafficked area. A lot of the main level rooms could be repurposed to Expeditionary Preparation Areas. Lockers, a storage room for expedition finds more on-hand and close to the shuttle, some chargers for cells and weapons and exosuits, a proper briefing room for people going on an expedition, a small infirmary, and so on. If it were repurposed this way, the AI Core elevators and such can remain exactly the same. Alternatively, the Surface Command Docks can be moved to the West above the new Bridge area or near where Telecomms/the Solars are, and the Telecomms and the Solars can be moved to where the docks are at present. If this is workable (considering the space necessary for both Yellow Dock and the TCFL Dock), then the current Bridge can be shrunk substantially, and serve as the entrance to the station's digital infrastructure hub (AI, Telecommunications, plus the Solar Panel Arrays).

Yes! Definitely, that should be easy enough to do.

The purpose of this PR is to move a good portion of the Command Bridge to the interstitial layer - right where the Construction Site off the main elevators is at the moment. Where it currently is, the Bridge suffers from a serious lack of what scientists call "being used"; outside of being the gear-up point for the HoP and Captain, location of the spare ID, and being a transitional zone to the AI Core and Command and Expeditionary docks. It generally feels isolated, empty, detached, and seldom-used, just by virtue of being so far away from everyone else. Moving it closer to the elevators has the benefit of making it much more accessible and closer to very well-trafficked areas, plus moves it to a far more central position of the station as a whole. Quite literally, it turns it into the 'heart', so to speak. This will hopefully see its usage increase, especially since I'm planning on adding a smaller central ring about it, with some places to sit about and chat with friends, wait in comfort to speak to the Powers That Be, maybe even add some rafters to look down at the holodeck. It's got a bit of potential. Of course, this is a pretty heavy WIP, as it's a decently large undertaking. It may not even come to fruition, depends what the community (all of you) think as I work on it. We'll see. If I hear a "but why NBT soon" I will go monkey mode. Here's a screenshot of an early draft - keep in mind, it's lightly decorated because I didn't want to get too far into this if it turned out scores of people absolutely hated the idea, this is just to give everyone a rough idea of the layout. Still very much subject to change. (And for reference, the office with the kinda blue-green carpet is the Captain's Office, the one with the more red-orange carpet is the Head of Personnel's Office. As for where the Command/Expeditionary docks are going to go, I'm still weighing that up. The AI Core is likely going to stay where it is. PR in question: https://github.com/Aurorastation/Aurora.3/pull/11964

All done in this PR. https://github.com/Aurorastation/Aurora.3/pull/11950

I agree with most of the sentiments above, I don't think it's necessary for them to be contractors. It's a non-profit volunteer organisation, so I don't see much reason for its members to be working on stations that don't particularly need them all that much. The Aurora isn't really an emergency area that's always in need of medical volunteers, so it seems unnecessary. A nice idea, though.

Yo same.