Doxxmedearly

Oof, first complaint. Alright. I played Ashes, and let's try to hit some main points here. I will claim otherwise because you are incorrect. We took ONE OR's set of tools because we set up a forward operating base on station, rather than using our ship. It was for us to mend ourselves for the long fight. Kyres specifically instructed us not to take the other OR's set of tools, because ICly we didn't need them, and OOCly, as you said, that would be pretty dickin'. We were in medbay to take a chemmaster/chem dispenser, stethoscope, and helped ourselves to some medical equipment. At no point did we decide to just take these as a measure to fuck those who needed surgery. edit: Given the post below this and my response below that, I am confused. Were all the sets taken? They very much should NOT have been. So at round start, I decided to peruse exploitable information for some further involvement. A lot of them weren't filled out, so we abandoned the idea of a gimmick based on those. It's a shame, too, because that's the first thing I do as a merc, because it's fun for the person who wrote it and for a unique gimmick. But we decided on a new plan (Which kyres wrote down and kept on Ada so that if she died, it would give it away). Things you'd expect mercs to do: Hit high value targets, make money, and ruin confidence in NT. Basically we wanted to hit as many departments as possible for the valuables. CE office, Vault, Medbay... and then in AOOC I suggested we go down to civ sector and steal like, the booze-o-mat, and the raw supplies from mining, to get them involved. Kyres thought it was a fantastic idea. Unfortunately.... the incident with the security shootout, janitor, and Reynauld (Dickfreedomjohnson, or DFJ) shooting Ada in the head happened, which caused us to lose time, and eventually abandon the plan. I'm sad we never got to go down to civ, because I play those jobs the most, and understand how little interaction they get with mercs. It's my second time as merc, and I plan to do better in the future with involvement. Unfortunately, I still don't know much of what I'm doing, so I just follow along with orders given. Still, the team was receptive to the idea of involving them. The security incident. Yeah, this went bad. We walk to the armory, find graves, the IPC (Talon?), and one other sec member. We tell them to lay down. It started going sour when the other officer, whose name I forget, asked in LOOC how to lay down. Before I could even get my response out, DFJ was in his face, constantly demanding him to lie down. This was... extremely poor conduct in my eyes. Like... not everyone knows how to rest. You need to stop being so fucking hasty. We then saw two security members (I think it was two?) coming up from the lobby. I don't know who shot first, but I'm guessing it was DFJ? That's when it became a shootout. I waited at first, since I had just finished trying to type for them to get down... I only opened fire when I saw Graves stand up and switch his carbine to lethal (Understandably so!). I then proceeded to get robusted by a borg, and really don't know what happened from there. When we regrouped, Harper was saying things on the radio. I mentioned the bounty she had in her exploits, and we decided that kidnapping her was a good way to make some creds. Willow/Quinn/Janitor incident... I arrived to the scene last. Fresh and I told Quinn to get going. All I know is that Ada was getting pissed at Reynauld, and threatened to kill him if he kept shit up, to which ICly even I said I would help Ada kill him if he continued. Reynauld ended up shooting Ada in the head during a struggle. Again... not great conduct from DFJ. I don't know that I was directly present for the screenshots Xor posted. I don't remember that LOOC conversation, but I remember the call on the radio to move to engineering. I can't offer insight here, as I think I was out of range. When it came to engineering... I was out of range for most of the discussion. I did see Fresh having a good conversation, taunting them, calling them idiots for having a spear, generally being threatening so they wouldn't try anything stupid (Again, I was out of range for most of the talking, only hearing Fresh's side). What I did do was have some really good RP with Brayden Parker (Ckey unknown) by getting him to stand down, talking about his exploitable information, and generally having a really tense standoff. He was never hurt or killed, as promised, after the conversation. As for the decap incident? I saw the engineering apprentice charge Fresh, and, well, they described the incident in their post. It was absolutely unintended. Really the engineer shouldn't have been charging a team of heavily armed mercs with a spear, but eh. A big point of this thread and a big thing I want to touch on was Dickfreedomjohnson's conduct, ICly and OOCly. DFJ, while Ashes may tentatively get along with Reynauld IC, OOC I am pretty disgusted by your conduct. You didn't give the poor guy who was asking to lay down any chance to do so, nor did you even give me enough time to type out to him how to do it. Reynauld is constantly pushing for aggression, causing terror, and just... really things that make RPing difficult. I didn't see the "Welcome to KoS" comment in round, and that, again, is just pretty despicable. That is NOT what this is about. And taunting in OOC about "Winning Merc???" What the fuck, man. That's not... okay. There is no goal of winning in SS13. The goal is to make things interesting. I feel that, yes, as a whole, we didn't get as many people involved as we should have, or planned to. I would say then that we didn't win, but lost, because we failed our objective of making things interesting for as much of the crew as possible. You have to dial back the taunts, and absolutely dial back your IC bloodlust. It makes things difficult when we have to constantly keep you in check. I feel like your aggression played a big part in why we never really got to RP as much with the crew as we wanted, or get to all the places we suggested. On the flipside, calling Kyres out for trying to lead us to some sort of murderboning victory is... misguided? Kyres doesn't want to just... win. In AOOC and on comms, Kyres was the first to suggest establishing communications with the crew, made a plan that involved us running to different departments on the station, was super excited about the idea of running down to civ to steal their stuff and get them involved, criticizing Reynauld's conduct (and threatening to kill him if he kept it up), discussing in AOOC whether or not to bail out... and just keeping us with goals. Kyres's leadership was why we even had a plan to begin with. None of us save for DFJ played to "Win" or viewed what we did as "Winning." We bailed at the end of the round after a short AOOC conversation with Kyres. It was 1:51, most people were out of the round, and we decided it would be best to bring closure as soon as possible. Things definitely could have gone better. The sec shootout didn't need to happen. The janitor didn't need to be shot at (even though throwing a molotov at us is 100% grounds for getting shot, at least nonlethally). More people could have been involved. Communication could have been better. These are very valid points. But I feel like there are some misunderstandings about how we operated, and planned to operate, and how Kyres led us and responded to conduct. I disagree that Kyres doubled-down on unnecessary violence. It wasn't a perfect round, and for a lot of people, not a really fun one. I feel partially responsible for this, as I really could have done more ICly and OOCly to facilitate RP and curb the violence. But these are my thoughts, as I saw them.

Very new for a command WL, that's super bold. I like it, though; wish I had that courage! Sulyard is (was, RIP) one of my favorite cadets to play with, both IC and OOC; Adrae is being really humble about their RP abilities here. They really know how to stay in character and make their characters feel alive. There were zero troubles with their cadet character going out of line from the cadet role. I don't know if they were learning, or were just a veteran player who really knew how to stay in their character's place, but either way she was both notable and impressive. On that line of thinking, I want to know how much you know about the actual mechanics of the game and what you'll be expected to know in a command role; you should have some rudimentary knowledge on the departments you'll be heading (Sounds like a HoP, so basically what the employees in supply and service require for their jobs, what's expected of them, etc.) Do you think you possess this knowledge? I'd like to see you detail some of the questions a bit more, too, namely What do you think the OOC responsibilities of Whitelisted players are to other players, and how would you strive to uphold them? I know you CAN do this, but I want to hear how you think you could do, personally, to uphold them. I also want to hear how you think Ms. Leach, in particular, will try to make those under her work harder. Honestly, I know you're capable of turning Ms. Leach into an extremely interesting and fun character (I already love her from this little preview). I know you're capable of performing to the standards of an IC command member. And most importantly to me, I know your OOC conduct is amazing, and you'll serve as a great example of what whitelistees should strive to be. It sounds like you're up for the challenge of learning and serving in an important role (And I know you're not one to shy away from asking questions or for advice). I'd like to see you do it. In case there was any doubt, this is a solid +1 from me. edit: Wait a minute is that the Dayna that ends up as a hostage like 80% of the time??? I never knew it was you. Wow. +2, she is amazing as well.

Strong +1 Elianabeth is a really, REALLY good RPer. They're extremely capable and very friendly, with excellent IC and OOC attitude. Not only do I trust them to uphold a species whitelist standards, but they would serve as an excellent role model OOCly. The character concept is awesome! Super unique, with a distinct and believable personality, without being ridiculous. Got no doubt Qlglinshi will be a really fun addition to the crew, and that any future skrell characters will be just as good. Eliana puts a LOT of effort into what they do, and it shows. I have no doubt she put a good amount of time into this app and has really examined the lore before posting. Overall, a really nice app; I don't have any other comments or criticisms to add. Hope to see you warbling soon, Eli.

These are very good points. The key is that you need to be aware that you're doing this on purpose, and doing it consistently. If it fits your character to use perfect grammar and speak stiffly, do it! There's still plenty of way to put personality into it with things such as word choice, pauses, inflections, etc.

Fantastic post. This is solid advice, and advice used by professional authors. It's the difference between stiff, sameish dialogue and something enjoyable to read. Recognizing that you suck is the first step to improvement; that advice alone is helpful. This is your biggest hurdle. We're writing characters who are speaking. It's important to transcribe how they would talk as accurately as possible. Jakers provides really good examples. Another suggestion is to look at people on station: You can tell the difference between Erin MacGregor, Tabi Trekers, O.R.B., and Amaya Stone just from how they transcribe their speech, and it gives you insight into their personality. I'd like to add on to this a little! = = = Say It Out Loud This is the biggest thing writers do to improve themselves, and it's doubly effective for dialogue. Say the words out loud and write down how it SOUNDS. Saying it in your head is not as effective as speaking it. It's weird and embarrassing at first, but it's probably the most helpful thing you can do for yourself. It forces you to slow down and really HEAR the words. For example, say someone asks you if you're a security officer, and you reply "Yes, I am." Say it out loud. It's kind of stiff and generic, right? Maybe that's what you're going for, but it's kinda dull. Say these out loud instead: "Yep!" / "You got it" / "Yes, sir!" / "That's right." / "Mhm..." / "Sure am!" These all say the same thing but you can hear the difference in the speaker's personality. Inflection We have the advantage of being able to bold, underline, and italicize words when we type. Use this for a notable change in inflection, usually on a single word. Take the following sentence: "I didn't say she stole my money." Say it out loud. Now say it out loud again, but put the emphasis on a different word each time (Ex: "I didn't say she stole my money") See how it changes the sentence? It's a useful tool to make your character's voice come across how you want. Just... don't overdo it. It'll lose its emphasis. Fuck the rules! Yeah!!! No, really, re-read what the OP said about not writing an academic paper. When it comes to dialogue, the only grammar rule is to do whatever it takes to make the voice accurate. Type "Y'know" or "Yaknow" instead of "You know." Throw commas, just, anywhere, to get the pauses right, for how you talk. Streeeeeeetch out the words (Even if you're not a tree!) Repeat, uh, repeat words with, uh, fillers, to show you... To show you kinda, like, are trying to think as you, as you like talk, y'know? Trail off mid-sentence when you're.... yeah, jumping thoughts, kinda. Use exclamation points! Sentence fragments! Read and Write Basic advice, but the best way to write like a human talking? Read more. Write more. Pay attention to dialogue when you're reading a novel or fanfic. Try your hand at writing your characters interacting with each other. Experiment! Try to find a voice. = = = Those are my contributions to this thread. The OP is filled with really solid advice and honestly? Thank you for writing it up.

Yes, I'm with Prate. I assumed Hardsuits to be rather comfortable for what they are, whereas voidsuits are super uncomfy, bulky, heavy...

What I didn't even know you could press the KA before. This thread is just a learning experience. Yeah, I noticed that about the thermal. It's finicky. If you press it while it's charging, or move while it's charging, or... like, anything while it's charging, it breaks. So yeah, I see why you'd rather carry one around. And it makes sense that you should be able to sling it on your hardsuit. Worth noting that the smaller frames of the KA can fit in an explorer belt still.

You can put the thermal drill into the RIG press and install it in the Hardsuit. But yeah, this makes sense. Would be nice to do with KAs, too, since the largest ones can't fit in an Explorer's belt.

OOCly, I don't think Paradox and I could be more opposite with our opinions, especially regarding Unathi. I can't say I'm a fan of how he expresses them a lot of the time (But to be fair to him, that's how I feel about 70% of our players). But what he does know how to do is make good characters, and play them very well. RP-wise, my interactions with his characters has been positive every time in my memory. He absolutely knows his stuff when it comes to representing his species whitelists. Flavius is no exception here. The story is believable but not boring, and unique without being ridiculous. I'd definitely like to see how he interacts with his team, command staff, and all the crises plaguing the Aurora. P-Dox seems to have a good grasp on what's expected of him in a command role, especially given how many species whitelists he possesses; I have no trouble believing he can uphold the standards of a command whitelist, too. If I had to list a concern, it would be that he might have trouble serving OOCly as a sort of mentor to the departments under him, given how abrasive I feel he can get expressing frustration and opinions. But even this isn't too much of a concern to me at this time. And perhaps it's only me who feels this way about his conduct. In the end, it's a strong +1 from me, for both a solid character idea and the abilities and knowledge to back up playing in command roles.

Elliot's a good lad, even if he doesn't play during the times I do >:C No, honestly, Elliot is definitely a player that can be trusted with a whitelist, and the higher standards that come with it. He's a really good roleplayer, and I definitely trust him to know his lore. I'm glad you acknowledged how young Ryliab is. I like her story; it's interesting how she's attached to science in an observer role. I already love how her inability to grasp science makes her feel disjointed from her planet and elders. But I think I also want to see what you have to say to some of Saudus's questions. Namely: -How does she feel about working alongside synthetics? Perhaps this will develop over time, as you said, but I'm interested in her initial impressions and thoughts. Fears? Apprehension? Etc. This is a pretty big thing for Skrell, so it's important to know how she's feeling initially. -What was it about science that didn't click with her? How hard did she try? I'm interested to see how she interacts with science crew, so I think that's am important bit to nail down to help you RP. It seems to be very key to how she ended up where she is. Overall, it strikes me as a solid app, and an interesting character. And since I know you're an A+ roleplayer and responsible lad, I fully give this my +1

I see a lot of them running around. It really seems like people are enjoying the role, which is only a positive thing in my eyes. I think they're fitting, and a nice addition!

God I wish we could have a discussion about this because I feel this so hard. It's not even sec, but most of the veteran players that salt at you. But that's going off topic. This has been my experience with Carmichael now that I've been playing security for a few weeks or so. I started off as a totally green cadet, and Carmichael was one of the first ones to offer RP by showing me around, initiating conversation, inviting me to ask questions, etc. Just because he doesn't go to the bar or interact with the chef when getting food (spoiler: like half the players on the server don't do this either) doesn't mean he isn't RPing. He's always calling for extended rounds, too, because he genuinely enjoys RP. Yeah. This. = = = I won't say that I don't get validhunty vibes from Amory when playing. I don't usually, but for some reason wizard rounds really seem to make him jump to "We gotta kill this thing." I've seen him say "I didn't get my kill" in OOC after a round end, which sets off a few alarms in my head. And I don't think that some of these examples are without merit; I have respect for Amory and Daniel, but there are still some validy vibes that need to be curbed in my eyes. Daniel's anger can seem a little extreme at times. He's not perfect, OOCly or ICly. The examples of Amory's attitude in discord don't exactly paint a pretty picture, either, but as I avoid the ooc discord at all costs, I'll refrain from commenting further. But overall, I don't agree that his character is just sitting around waiting to valid with no RP. I can't speak for all the other rounds, and I can't speak from an antag perspective (Because I rarely play antag for the same reasons mofo cited about playing security: God forbid you're not amazing at what you're doing or the community will ridicule you in OOC). But I think he and Daniel fit the HRP environment and aren't just out for valids most of the time.

Oh, I didn't expect people to jump on that idea. Traz makes a neat point. It gives traitors more options, too, such as hacking/emagging the pistols to have them unlocked, or using the warden's ID/tool/console/whatever to lock them permanently if sec's being a pain. And since the thread idea is basically to make things sci-fi, I think it fits well. People have already brought up a lot of good points on why Sec should NOT have lethals from the get-go (And why they currently don't, unless I guess cargo is that willing to hack a lathe on request for some reason). IMO the option to unlock should go to those who already have authority on controlling level of force: HoS, Warden, and Captain. Anyway, it's not my intention to derail the thread by talking about lockouts. I still love the idea of moving away from projectiles for the setting. But no, security should not have a lethal option from the start. Gettin' some Psycho-Pass vibes from this tbh.

Trust me, as someone who watched that happen firsthand, it WAS hilarious. But annoying, I'm sure. I like this as a solution. Gibs will be slippery, after all.

Fresh is an incredible RPer. They're doing great with their Tajaran whitelist, and I have zero reason to believe they couldn't uphold whitelist standards for Unathi as well. They've interacted with all my Unathi pretty often, and I believe they have a really great understanding of how to properly play them. They aren't afraid to reach out for lore questions and get clarifications, which says a lot about how much they care about making realistic xeno characters. As for Az'eeki: I know Fresh has a good understanding of Si'akh, as they reached out to JB personally for some clarifications, and spent a lot of time discussing it with me as well, to make sure he's a character that sticks to the lore. The story is really good, and makes plenty of sense to me. I get a strong feeling about how important his faith is to him, and that he really believes in Si'akh and his teachings, doing his part to redeem his race from Damnation. And from what you said about him in the question after the backstory... yeah, he seems like a really interesting character. A quieter type that still gets extremely impassioned when speaking about his faith? That's great, and if anyone can do that well, it's you. You've got my full +1 on this app, Fresh. It's solid, as I expected it to be when you first told me you were making one. I know you can do the lizards justice.

Cargo isn't just going to do that, most of the time. Don't want to get in trouble, after all. Anyway I like the idea but Burger brings up a good point. What if the warden was required to "unlock" the gun's lethal mode? Keeps that sci-fi vibe with the warden retaining his agency over security's level of force.

More macro guides are never a bad thing. This is a nice reference. I have probably 15 emotes macro'd. Never knew how to properly format the .clicks, so it definitely taught me something.

Best timezone and makes me feel like I'm not alone in being old. +1 But seriously... Lilah's a good sort. I've seen no issues with her IC or OOC conduct, and she seems to know her stuff really well (jobs, lore, IC conduct, etc). She has a good attitude and I don't doubt she could be an excellent addition to the mod staff. I'd definitely trust her with a trial. Having prior experience is definitely a plus.

I definitely was hesitant at first, as I play my miner the most, but after a fair shot, I think it's a nice system. My major complaint was that they dug holes, which made mining more of a pain and less safe. Glad to see that's already planned to be fixed. I wouldn't mind a digging module option, though. I'll probably add some more feedback after I've messed around with it enough. It's just a little sad on the rounds where we don't have scientists that we're stuck with a "meh" option, but there's only so much you can do about that. I wouldn't hate the option to buy some different low-end upgrades through the vendor so we can mess around with customization even when science is unstaffed, but I recognize that this might defeat the purpose of depending on science. As a miner, I'd like to know what modules are available to me from science, because as Saudus pointed it out as I was making this reply: This is also the issue I have. I just don't know what's available to me. And I want to try out all the combinations possible, because the system is really cool! Yeah, this is a fair point. Overall, I think the update is pretty good!

Oh my god these are fantastic. I prefer the green, personally, but either way, holy wow. A+ work.

I have nothing but good experiences with her characters and roleplay abilities. She seems to understand that whitelisted players are held to a higher standard, and from my experience I believe she can meet or exceed it. I don't foresee any trouble with her playing a character in command. +1 for sure.

Love ya, Kaed. Wish we had a locker for you to slip an extra in, but putting it on the desk with the suit is a perfect solution.

What it says on the tin. Honestly, I always sort of wanted this, but held off on it because librarians didn't quite fit into "service" in the way that hydro/kitchen/bar did. And that was fine. But a bit ago, Chaplains received a service headset on start. I think it was a good change, and now I think Librarians should get one as well. The library is a service to the crew, the librarian answers to the HoP like the rest of service, and now the librarian is the only one who doesn't have a departmental headset (except like, the merchant). Thoughts?