Eliot Clef

Yeah, I've gotta agree with 1138 on this. Wizard is bad enough to encounter on Secret rotations, Ninja would just be miserable. A five player minimum is also way too low. Yeah, Ninja isn't reliant on a lot of players to get going, but five players just aren't going to be able to cope with the presence of a Ninja.

Alright, so. I've been playing a robot a lot more lately, and I'd like to call some attention to some shortcomings that I feel are unnecessary and some things that I think would be real quality-of-life updates for them. This is written primarily from the perspective of a security robot -- I've also played a janitor bot and a very limited amount of engineering bot. General QOL Wishlist (All Bots): * A crowbar for emergency situations, regardless of module. Power goes out, we're in trouble anyway, but we're ultra-fucked in terms of mobility and we don't have the ability to just go get one out of storage. Currently only the default and engineering models have a crowbar. * The ability to open andclose closets. We can already open anything on the station, we just can't close it again. This is dumb, and I don't see how it's unbalanced to let borgs open and close things. * A fire extinguisher or some other small, single-fire "jet-booster" style thing to allow us to control our direction slightly when EVA or when gravity is out. Getting stuck in space (or the center of a hall, for that matter) because of a mis-step is pretty annoying, and as far as I'm aware borgs don't have a way to right themselves without an upgrade. SecBot Wishlist: * SecHUD, unlike the flashlight, can't simply be turned on and then put away to be permanently on. We have to have it out, selected, and active. This is usually more trouble than it's worth so I end up just not using it. I believe all visual-based modules work this way. I'd recommend just having things like this, MediHUD, and the like always on for relevant borg types. * Evidence Bags. I realize this would give us a limited carrying capacity, but often enough I'm asked to drag some nonsense back to security and I'd really prefer to be able to do it -- even if only in a very limited capacity -- in a way that doesn't expose it to possible theft. (Do you really want that bald to be able to steal the cult swords? Though, the whole locker opening/closing thing would solve this problem for me pretty handily, too.) Things I Think Would Be Cool But Which Might Be A Really Bad Idea: Maybe Robots in general could have "equipment slots" that roboticists can interact with to add or remove gear, with default loadouts simply being a baseline? For instance, one fairly common upgrade for Security is to be issued Stun Revolvers by Research. So maybe a Roboticist could do something similar -- dismount the Taser Gun on a SecBot and upgrade it to a Stun Revolver.

I think that the proposed rank restructuring solution is a bigger recipe for trouble than simply having mods or admins deal with chucklefuck ERTs. ERTs usually aren't around, only get called in when things are extremely fucked, and even with our current rank structure I've had problems with regular crew members claiming that I have no jurisdiction to do minor things like retrieve implants from the armory as an ERT. In an attempt to damage control the possibility of chucklefuck ERTs, you're opening the door for compromised or chucklefuck Heads of Staff -- and there are chucklefuck Heads of Staff, whitelist or no --making the problem worse on arrival. Additionally, you're making the ERT subject to SOP rules that wouldn't allow them to handle the AI without assistance of security or the Heads of Staff, and subjecting them to the personal whims of people like the Head of Security who won't allow lethals usage during counter-terrorism operations. Basically, the consequences of making such a change is an introduction of excess complexity and additional problems. Ban people from ERT if they can't behave themselves.

So, I've been playing Genetics on and off as Austin Hunt for a few rounds now, and I've had a few ideas that I'd like to table for discussion. Because of the things Genetics can do, self-testing has become deeply stigmatized even when it's legitimate. I've seen people argue that it should never be done from an IC perspective, because it's simply too dangerous. A reasonable player can go request permission to self-test easily, and I don't think it would be too difficult to solicit test subjects from the crew at any given time, but the fact of the matter is that Genetics is built on the assumption that players will be tested upon, and more likely than not, that Geneticists will be testing on themselves. Additionally, because genemod usage on an actual player requires the permission of the Research Director or Captain, it is fairly prohibitive to actually apply the things that you find in a practical way on the station. With the possible exception of bomb testing, there are few other departments that are so blatantly useless to the greater crew. Normal researchers can make improved equipment for various parts of the station and not have to jump through hoops (as far as I'm aware) to deliver them to relevant departments. So what I'd like to see for Aurora's genetics is two things: #1: Some sort of way to find non-major genemods/superpowers on protohumans. Maybe have their flavor text set to describe an irregularity in their physiology when they receive certain things, or emote to the room when something major happens. #2: An IC policy on acceptable usage of genemods based on the genemod's proffered traits and drawbacks, with some being allowable (perhaps based on department/jobs) with no to minimal paperwork once concretely isolated, while others not being legally allowed at all. So for instance: Morphing and No Fingerprints might be considered highly illegal and not allowed for basically anyone. (Note, a single-shot No Fingerprints injector would make a pretty good high-cost traitor item.) Regeneration would be legal/allowed for widespread usage. No Breathing might be encouraged for use in the Engineering department, along with Temperature Resistance. (Although perhaps Temperature Resistance would be prohibited for granting immunity to energy weapons fire?) In the meantime, something like Hulk would only be allowed with the usual paperwork, and only for testing/research purposes. (Because I want you to seriously imagine the implications of giving Hulk to the entirety of Security, as the only department with any real combat needs.) And perhaps the usage of too many genemods could have negative psychological or physiological implications, similar to plasmids in Bioshock. (Genetic modification addiction?) I might have more forthcoming later, but this is more-or-less the gist of my thoughts and suggestions on genetics.

Seconding this. Please give the Warden the option of having an old-style uniform in the new colors. Also, I notice that a fair number of regular Officers like wearing the current Warden hat. Perhaps it would be a good idea to make the current Warden hat available to all members of sec, and make a blue version of the old warden hat for the Warden?

Cassie pretty much has the right of it. Security is very involved, almost always has something to do, and very often has TOO much to do. You're not likely to get bored, or get too much peace and quiet (except maybe on extended), and you're allowed to interact with the antagonists as anything but a set piece or victim without getting grief for it. When violence needs to be had, you're among the people to have it, and you PROBABLY won't be taken out of the round permanently even if you die. One time, I saw a nukeop put his back to Ana while she was a nurse. She happened to have the defib on hand, and I knew as soon as the nukeop broke line of sight with Ana that he was fucked. And so he was, she defibbed him and shot him with his own gun. People usually bitch to high heaven even when Ana is very effective at security, but hoooly shit the outrage at what she did there. Some departments are only truly active when the shit is REALLY hitting the fan, and a lot of departments are only particularly useful in specific circumstances. Security, Engineering, and Medical will always be needed at all times. Cargo is useful but optional. Not having it is a severe impediment if some limited supply or another runs out, but you can live without it. Research is SUPER useful, but to be frank most of what you learn to do there is better applicable as an antagonist than it is as a regular crew member. Robotics is the most immediately useful sub-department for general station usage. Toxins testing? 100% useless for non-traitors. (Could transfer bombs have applications in mining?) Telescience? Widely hated for stealing things even though the same people who use it that way use it to rescue people. Standard research? I usually don't see people churning out upgrades here, and when I do see them they're primarily being directed to Robotics in the form of battery upgrades, or buckets. Or, in nations rounds, mass-producing the most powerful equipment in the game and rapidly dominating the rest of the station. Genetics Labs? (Not cloning) More reviled than telescience because random new players show up and abuse it to cause problems. TL;DR: Security, Medical, and Engineering almost always have useful if not critical stuff to do, and there's very little disadvantage to playing any of them relative to other servers. (I came here from Goon, and started playing security because I knew high RP servers would kill and therefore frustrate me less.)

This bill is misguided, and so is this concept. Being shot in the legs is massively more lethal than most people think it is (it's easy to hit arteries there that will bleed you out in no time at all), on top of being much more difficult for the person doing the shooting. While you can debate this specific in-game instance to the ends of the earth, the idea of "shooting limbs to disable" with ballistic weapons is a tremendously stupid and irresponsible one.

Thundy: People meet in public places all the time, and this is no different. Would you consider it reasonable to be asked not to return to a restaurant, library, or grocery store? Please don't leave over somebody who can't cope with vague proximity to another human being, particularly within a niche hobby with heavy community overlap. The request that's been made of you isn't reasonable.

I do miss you! But I have to admit that I've been pretty absent myself, since around January, so I might not count for much.

I am slightly weirded out by the fact that the three Head roles most strongly associated with keeping people from being dead are considered those of minimal importance. Regarding the overall thread topic: I would perhaps consider the possibility that the NSS Aurora is a test bed for non-standard command roles and that what occurs there isn't actually consistent with what occurs elsewhere in the setting. You could frame the entire thing as a research project in and of itself, with the results being tested against other stations. This concept in general would explain why the Aurora is so commonly regarded as a madhouse and treated with bizarre directives like those found in mutiny/rev rounds.

+1 Good people, good characters. Every reason to believe that this character will be pretty great, too.

Statistical nonsense aside, +1 because I've seen you a-plenty as Avelak Nirisha and you seem like good people to me. Man though, that's a lot of characters you've got there.

On the off chance that anybody was willing to give you a ... fourth? Fifth opportunity to be whitelisted, I think you'd have to spend quite a bit of time in high-responsibility non-whitelisted roles before you'd be considered for positive feedback. I recommend Security roles. It seems clear that this just isn't happening under current circumstances, though.

This is another point that doesn't seem entirely consistent. I've seen some people play it like this, and others play it like it's something they're required to have at all times. During events, I've also seen admin-played (presumably) characters remark on the Captain being unable to provide meaningful input since the loyalty implant required her to basically be a yes-man. This is a pretty big part of what caused my confusion, since it doesn't seem to be uniformly decided at all, even among staff and event runners.

The rules state that negative experiences are optional (getting murdered, being a traitor, what-have-you) while positive experiences (making friends, advancing relationships) may be retained. Personally I tend to gloss over the details of rounds but retain the general idea, as long as they're not strictly negative. Eliot was once made the only man on a firing squad due to some serious shit that went down, cutting the rest of security off from assisting in the execution we were ordered to perform. I've yet to resolve that overall "issue", but I haven't played Eliot too much lately.

I've been playing less and watching more lately, and many of my rounds were on Takeji Hiraga, CSI or Detective. So I've been around, and I've seen you doing stuff from ghost, but I haven't been interacting with you directly as much.

Alright, so there are two subjects that I'd like to see addressed if they haven't been addressed already somewhere. If they have, my apologies. There seems to be a fair amount of contention regarding how professional Security is supposed to be, how well-trained they are, how well-paid they are, etc. People seem to strongly favor the "they are glorified mallcops" perspective, but it's usually by people who want Security to be ICly recognized as fairly incompetent/not to be taken seriously. Could we get some official clarification on this so the issue can be put to rest? Secondly, there seems to be significant confusion on what exactly a Loyalty Implant does to enforce loyalty. Some interactions suggest that they completely strip free will and the user isn't capable of thinking negatively about NT, while others... well, I don't know that there are others but it seems to be a confused issue. My personal inclination would be that Loyalty Implants don't prevent you from thinking badly of NT or expressing a contrary opinion, but do prevent you from ACTING against the company or allowing the implant's removal. It ensures loyalty in action, but not loyalty in thought. As with the previous issue, I'd like some sort of official clarification on the subject either way. Though, I will say that if the implant completely curbs free will, it seems to me like any loyalty implanted employees should get some seriously amazing compensation above and beyond what would be normal for their profession.

I'm not The Furry, but I can inform you what he's generally doing as Travis Davis: Usually, he'll set up telescience, then set up a crew monitoring computer, and a security camera monitor. This allows him to pull off some really wicked rescues of people (seriously do you know how much longer it takes anybody to retrieve a corpse in space or in a vented area?), but it also allows him to steal from the station really freely and I understand he regularly pilfers an ERT headset from deep space basically as a matter of course. What he usually gets in trouble for to the third degree is helping the wrong person (like Charlie Dove on an antag round) with the wrong task (like robbing the Vault). On a more mundane basis, he gets in trouble for teleporting into places he shouldn't be, like Tech Storage. Sometimes he gets in trouble for domesticating slimes and giving them to departments, but that's kind of a niche thing. I'm sure he'll offer a more comprehensive perspective. When I play Security I've always tried to cut him a break, but man, there's only so much Security can put up with and we eat a lot of I-told-you-so's if we defend somebody and they keep doing whatever it is they're doing to make people angry.

Are you serious? I actually griped about this shortly after it happened and was told that faxes aren't admin dictated. How do faxes work, then? Are they, in fact, admin-dictated?

I was going to, but the IAA used his fax machine and was apparently ordered to have the creature transported alive. I'm told that these faxes are automated, though at the time I was under the impression that they were admin-dictated so I chose not to exercise my own judgement. In the future I will probably simply execute in situations like that where safe handling is clearly not possible, though most situations are dramatically less clear-cut than that one was.

Alright, so I have a pretty volatile question to ask here. Across my time playing as security, I've seen a lot of really mixed signals when it comes to usage of lethals. When I'm playing with more harsh Heads of Security, like Isilthai Uaekis, lethals get deployed at the drop of a hat and while people make noises of discontent, nothing is really done about it. On the opposite end, I've been in a round where a bucklecuffed changeling eye-spat and deathstung anyone who got near him (causing a fairly silly cycle of death-and-cloning) in processing and an IAA player was standing by threatening us with termination if we executed the damn thing, while (I assume) ghosts in LOOC complained about "gank for gank" while we contemplated killing it*. Am I conflating OOC grumbling with unacceptable behavior, or is security just really expected to act profoundly stupid even when people drop dead like flies trying to deal with something? * Incidentally, we ended up not killing it. I went into cryo shortly afterwards out of frustration, and when I came back to see how it had gone, everybody left in security had been absorbed or killed.

As somebody who doesn't enjoy Nuke, I feel the "population filibuster" should be less viable. The very first rule we have is: -Don't be a dick. We're all here to have fun, not fight and argue with assholes. Don't ruin the game for everyone else, and use common sense. This behavior of deliberately declining to ready up in order to force a re-vote is pretty dickish behavior, and in keeping with that, I think it's appropriate for the "round population filibuster" to be harder to accomplish.

Looks good to me. Also, while I don't think these dufflebags specifically should be an improvement over regular bags, I do think that there's some merit in making a full-sized dufflebag item that requires hand-carrying and which can store larger items.

I love everything about this. Lord Fowl: There are two solitary cells along the lefthand side of the security area.

This makes a lot of sense. Here's an alternative idea I just had, which may or may not be exactly as awful and short-sighted as my original idea: What if every department had a security officer post attached to it? A one-man role similar to the Warden, with access to their assigned department. So Science Security, Medbay Security, etc. I don't know how much effort it is to set up new positions like that, though.