Bauser

@ MO_onyMan Since the cloning process doesn't change anything about the body, it would even make sense from an in-character standpoint that medical gets dibs. The company would absolutely be more interested in bringing the person back to life when the autopsy can be performed after. I don't know why you assume security should absolutely get the first look from an IC perspective, knowing that the cloning process doesn't mess with any of the evidence. It's a question of fail-states. If medical takes the body and something fucks up, suddenly an autopsy might not be possible. If security takes the body and something fucks up, suddenly cloning might not be possible. One of these dangers is greater than the other. Medical needs priority because their immediate goal is more important. Another mechanical benefit of giving medical priority is that it gives antagonists a short grace period to attempt to intervene in whatever way they need to, before it gets locked up in the security wing. This serves as a window for them to steal something from the deceased, maybe plant something on them, maybe stop security from being able to perform that autopsy if they know it's going to incriminate them... @Schev: Is it really the standard if it's unsaid? Because plenty of people don't subscribe to that same process. The benefit of codifying it is demonstrated by the fact that we're having this conversation and you're outlining the process at all. In other words, making it not-unsaid.

I would hope there's consensus that the title suggestion is good. The diversity is worthwhile mechanically (allowing a patient traitor to choose their weapon based on what armor security is geared up with, for instance, or deal the damage type you need), but more important to me, it seems completely necessary from a roleplay/flavor perspective. It's 2460. The bad guys need to have lasers.

I love that this would make non-TTV explosions more dangerous, AND proportionally more dangerous based on how confined a space you're in when it goes off - after all, a welder tank blowing up next to you really should be more deadly if you're cramped in a little airlock or maintenance tunnel with it. Dealing damage based on knockback reflects that. I'm concerned about making the brain damage a constant because of how crippling traumas can be and how difficult they can be to cure (requiring the medical team to be adequately staffed and on-point). Even in a best-case scenario, where the trauma is mechanically insignificant (Tourette syndrome, imaginary friend...), it's extremely annoying and forces you to sort of change your character's personality while it endures. Conversely, I don't know how much brain damage it takes to develop traumas, so I don't know how dangerous 10 or 20 points really are. But if it's significant, I do think maybe the explosion could be downgraded to just a chance of brain damage. Not everybody who gets rocked gets a concussion, after all. Some have thick skulls, some are standing in a safer position, some land better, etc.... +1

Do other players get the same general feeling I do that proper "crime scenes" aren't even created or enforced often enough? The pace of violent play is such that, when the situation arises where bodies actually start hitting the floor, security becomes too preoccupied with that to ensure that a particular scene is processed the "right" way: taped off, pictures taken, items bagged, cleaned up. And it's not strictly their fault - things happen too quickly for security to prioritize that bureaucracy, and of course dead players want to get back in the game as fast as possible. It's because of those problems that I think having a clear regulation would be beneficial: if there's a prescribed series of actions, like a straight checklist, then people wouldn't need to waste any time debating who gets what and when. That time is valuable. So, security tapes off the scene, medical takes the body to attempt cloning, CSI takes pictures and bags evidence, janitor (or nearest bottle of space cleaner) cleans it up. I don't see why medical shouldn't get first dibs on the body, considering that 1) autopsies are the exception rather than the rule and 2) security can requisition it from the medical bay just as well as they can snag it from the crime scene. If the most common case is that a cloning attempt will be made (and that is the most common case), it makes sense that the standard process would be to send a body to medical first. And besides those mechanical reasons that a regulation would be beneficial, it absolutely makes sense from a roleplay perspective that there would be a Standard Operating Procedure describing what to do in the event of a workplace death. As has been pointed out before. So I agree that there should be a regulation, but disagree that the regulation should assume security gets precedence for the bodies.

I freaking love laser guns, so I really hope the item that gets added to the uplink is laser-based. Please. On the subject of giving energy weapons expendable 'clips,' why not just make it so they use high-capacity power cells? This would make sense in-universe since the power cells are basically UPSs already, adaptable to tons of different devices, and it would be beneficial mechanically because it saves us from having to add some new battery item with no other use. This would give people the cool opportunity to salvage "ammo" for their energy weapons from scrapping stuff around them, like popping open APCs, or... as a janitor, even the janicart suddenly becomes another possible source of ammo. And that's baller as hell. On the flip side (though I feel this would be employed much less often), it would also allow people to empty their energy weapons in order to power other things they need. If you're the warden and you've got armfuls of laser rifles you're not using, but your whole security wing is without power, suddenly you've got an opportunity to engineer some creative power solutions. Bascially, making the role of the high-capacity power cell interchangeable in this way would be much more interesting than adding a new battery clip that just turns to garbage like bullet casings once you're done shooting. +1

Well, then I suppose we could just take that function off the table.

I don't know where you get this idea that public radio communication is necessary for the round to take place. You say it's a "vital part of gameflow," but cutting comms doesn't stop the round - it just changes it. It doesn't stop people from coordinating, it doesn't lock anybody in place, it just makes it so you can't take for granted the frankly overpowered ability to be in constant unfettered communication with every single player on the station. It makes you find handheld radios, it makes you talk to people in person. What it doesn't do is stop the "gameflow." You say you're concerned that antagonists are cutting comms for "clearly stupid reasons," but what reason to disable the station's radio communication could possibly be stupid for someone trying to subvert that station or accomplish any kind of crime on it? Obviously it's extremely beneficial for antagonists to slow down people's ability to track and report their activities, so it makes perfect sense in-character, in a way that blowing up the station's power supply, exposing themselves to extreme danger, or disabling the only shuttle that can help them escape clearly do not. (Or, at least don't make sense unilaterally) Turning off the radio only makes for a boring round if the player is choosing not to engage with it. Things are still happening. Everywhere. It doesn't slow down people from acting on whatever they're doing, even slightly. It just means that if you want to coordinate some effort, like a security operation, or engineers performing repairs, it's going to take a little longer to get everyone on the same page. But it most certainly does not stop any of these things from happening. And regarding the attitude you display towards suggestions like this... This tactic of yours, accusing people of only wanting to skew the game in their favor mechanically, is both rude and embarrassingly transparent considering you play Head Of Security - and your suggestions (in each case, here and in that thread) do the exact same thing in your favor - ensuring the game doesn't get changed in any way that might inconvenience security.

That's why it would be based on the bank account associated with the ID card inside the target PDA. Presumably. If that works any better. EDIT: A consequence (a desirable one, imo) of any of these hacks which target the ID card inside the PDA instead of simply the PDA itself is that there will finally be some mechanical incentive to not always keeping your PDA worn in your ID slot. If you know that some of your co-workers have been targeted with these cyber-attacks, you might choose to pop the ID card out and stow the PDA in a pocket or something - sacrificing a slot for a little extra cyber-security. It's a small consideration but I think an interesting one.

[mention]BurgerBB[/mention] Do you have a comprehensive plan for what functions you want to be able to perform with every ingredient? You mentioned slicing into strips and dicing into cubes, but I'm pretty sure the system you envision will need to incorporate many more possibilities, creating a complex web of branching paths, both in terms of what the food is and how it's prepared... In line with what DatBerry mentioned: what about different methods of cooking? Grilling versus frying versus baking? In other words, how much do you already know you're going to include?

@Burger: It doesn't remove the ability for crewmembers to know what's going on. At all. It just makes them have to work for it, actually TRYING to find out what's going on, instead of having it constantly poured into their ear.

Make a new item: a ceramic plate accessory that allows you to add the armor value to any coat/jacket.

Is there really a difference between "because slimes are too dangerous to kill easily" and "because slimes are not safe enough to kill easily"?

You have got to be more careful with your wording if you're going to recommend making "live traps" orderable from cargo. Anyway As a janitor main, I would certainly enjoy any opportunity to increase my options for pest/animal control on the station. Adding humane animal traps would really let me scratch that Metal Gear Solid V itch, catching any beasties without having to murder them. It reminds me of the recent canon event where Nathan Trasen visted the station, and I ended up seeing my janitor partner strangle a cow to death just because it was walking around freely in the hallway. This is an (I repeat: it's canon now) occurrence I would like to avoid in the future.

If more hacking abilities were given to the Detomatrix cartridge, I would hope to give them some usefulness beyond the sparing functions that I described in the original post. Because tagging people, spoofing their texts, and restoring old conversations are neat tricks - they're just not quite powerful enough to make it worthwhile. Additionally, what is the benefit to sending someone a bunch of spam messages? Would it just be for the roleplay value of spooking people? If we want to make the Detomatrix cartridge a more formidable tool, I would upgrade the abilities even further. I have an idea for a whole suite of hacking programs that would make it a powerful weapon for a black-hat antagonist. 1) Instead of just making other PDAs function as GPS beacons, give the user's PDA a GPS finder program as well, so the antagonist can tag and track someone all remotely without ever risking contact. And then just give the remote-GPS-activation ability a limited number of uses, so the antagonist can maybe select just 2 or 3 people to bug, using a single cartridge. 2) Add a program that allows the Detomatrix user to completely remotely hijack the target's PDA. Simply put, allows the antagonist to open the target's PDA and use anything on it as if it was in his own hand. He can send fake messages from this PDA and then delete them, leaving no trace. He could activate the PDA's auxiliary functions, like possibly accessing records (Is that something sec/med PDAs can do? I don't know), or forcing the PDA to eject the ID card stored in it (great for thievery if you're ready to swipe it and run). 3) Add a program that allows the Detomatrix cartridge to make remote transfers between the bank accounts of any two targeted users. Just pick 2 PDAs that have ID cards in them, and this program lets you siphon funds out of one account and into the other. You could use it to fund yourself, or maybe to frame others... If either of the IDs you pick isn't tied to a bank account, then it won't work. 4) Add a program (with a very limited number of uses) that lets you download the ID card access from a target PDA and apply it to your own for a short duration, probably just a minute. This way, you don't need to spend your telecrystals if you only need to sneak into one area like for a quick heist, to retrieve equipment, or get close to a target. To incorporate your desire for a logic bomb, another option would be to make it so that a PDA receives that storm of spam messages or falsely rings when it gets hit by this hack. This way, there is a subtle indicator for the victim that somebody has them in their sights. So the other player isn't totally in the dark - it's great for suspense.

The argument being made is that the trope-filled "gritty noir detective" doesn't fit in a roleplay environment, either. And there's precedent for that, because it's not like clowns are made-up magical creatures, they actually exist - they just aren't valuable to our roleplay. And that's the same claim being made of the "noir detective": it's not valuable enough for our roleplay to encourage it. So it seems as though many of you are just rehashing the same two arguments over and over... "You don't have to use it!" "The game impels you to use it!" "You don't have to use it!" "The game impels you to use it!" That said, I personally make no claim as to whether this would be a beneficial change or not. I don't like noir detectives, either, but I doubt that getting them to change their clothes will change who they are as players. Because it's not just the clothes that inspire the "noir" theme, it's the entire profession of detective. The association is already there.

Add a method to hack PDAs to accomplish various functions. I have some ideas both for what purposes this could serve and how it could be accomplished mechanically, but I am very open to suggestions regarding either. 1) Restore deleted messages, maybe with some corruption factored in. It would be entertaining if security could work together with an engineer or scientist to reload conversations that were deleted, enabling a sort of cyber forensics. 2) Activate a GPS tracker, making the PDA double as a GPS beacon. This would be a cunning way to track someone, and could be used by both antagonists and security (like stealthily, and unethically, tracking someone who was arrested and then released - they'd measure the benefit of extra security against the threat of being caught performing this questionable practice). 3) Change the ID signature on the PDA, allowing you to send a message as though it came from a different person/PDA. This would not affect its appearance if you display it with an ID card. However, this change would be visible to anyone who opens up the PDA screen itself (since it changes the name on the PDA's main menu). 4) Fry the PDA, rendering it completely inoperable and any information on it impossible to recover. As for the method of hacking, my expectation is that it would be a prescribed process using certain tools, like every other engineering feat in the game. My hope is that any PDA hack would leave some sort of indication that it was tampered with to someone who opens it up and examines for themselves, and that it would be involved enough that security officers wouldn't abuse it constantly. So, use a screwdriver to unsecure the PDA. Click on it in hand to pull the faceplate off the PDA. After this step, the tool you use will determine what function you perform. Using it in-hand again at any point in the process will replace the faceplate, at which point you can use the screwdriver to return it to a useable state. If you use wirecutters and then cable on the PDA (representing snipping a wire and then repairing it), it will reset the PDA's electronic signature. The next time you open the PDA menu, it will prompt you to enter a name and job to function as the PDA's new identifier. OR, use a multitool once to select/access the PDA's backup archive. If you touch a non-empty power cell to the open PDA at this point (I know, it's weird, I'm just trying to go outside the standard toolset), it will reload the deleted messages (with some information corrupted, producing asterisks like when you try to read a crumpled piece of paper). If you use the multitool again, instead, it will select the PDA's GPS beacon function. Using the power cell on it in this state will toggle the GPS beacon ON or OFF (it always starts in the OFF state). Using a multitool on it a third time in a row (closing and reopening the PDA resets this selection process) will overload the PDA's circuits, causing it to spark and destroying the electronics on the PDA - frying it. After that, the PDA will never turn on again. Any of these modifications would leave a note upon examining the open PDA, so any future modders could see that something had been done. Descriptions like "A wire has been cut and spliced" or "There are small electric burn marks" would suffice.

Since the clock is already there, I don't see any reason not to add this. It makes perfect sense for a text messenger to keep a record like that, and it would be of some use to anyone trying to reconstruct events by looking through PDAs. +1

Oh yeah. Thanks, I don't play security.

If it happens, I'm willing to help with food sprites. Discord me if you want.

As a side note, is there a "proper" place to store confiscated items? I've always found it strange that there's not a "lost & found" box behind the security desk for crew to turn in stuff; it seems there should also be a dedicated place to put confiscated things other than randomly having to choose if you give it to the CSI, or put it in one of the brig lockers, or keep it behind the desk, or lock it up in the armory, or the squad room...

To top it all off, it just doesn't make sense for a person who works at a job to not know who their co-workers are. So the MAXIMUM implementation of this idea that I could see being feasible would be to provide the crew manifest but freeze it at round-start, not adding late-joiners to the list, but still announcing their arrival over radio. That way you know for sure that certain people are legit, while also allowing antagonists to slip in without the manifest immediately blowing their cover. I would love to see an antagonist use a voice-changer to mimic the Arrivals Announcement Computer to insert themselves into a department.

It requires a security officer to be in physical proximity to the requests console, which is not the case plenty of the time. EDIT: That, or requires one of them to link their PDA to it... at which point we're back to just PDA-to-PDA communication, just with extra (and unreliable) steps.

If you want people to know they had a great meal, use extra flavor text. That's why it's called "flavor text."

I'm going to be very disappointed if I lose the ability to secretly relay information to security via PDA because I can't tell who the security officers are on the messenger list. Every security report does not need to be relayed over the public party line, for everyone to chime in.

1) Wouldn't making nitrogen kill slimes cause regular air to kill them? Since it's like 70% nitrogen or something 2) I wish the slimes were grown in pits rather than in cells. It would make it such a cool antag murder method to push people into a slime pit. Plus it would certainly make it easier to kill the slimes - just give the xenobiologists water grenades! 3) I made this forever ago, but it seems like a good opportunity to suggest it again: You know what this is and it is beautiful.