NerdyVampire

Alright so having read your reply and thinking it over for some time I retract my suggestion to make it random. Cool as it might be, it doesn't make sense from a practical PoV. We should consider that both the Captain and RD are to work with and protect this, if it changes each round we'd have to also spawn a treasure map in the offices, which defeats the purpose. I still do not agree with the AI thing, you are saying that NT expects the AI to be hacked, and that's kinda on a meta level. I mean, the AI is expected to keep the SAT hidden from even command staff, and if you feel it is against laws to not teæl command when asked, I'd argue its perfectly reasonable to keep the secrets as part of the 'asset protection' law, and simply not answer whoever asks the question. Thats what I do whenever the SAT becomes a problem and no captain is online.. also I send an emergency message. For those antags that goes the path of subverting the AI, I still believe it will be most enjoyable for all parts of the AI can actually reveal something about the currently held data and the interior of the server room.

Yes, but NT needs to be confident that it's properly defended, so the first antag with meson glasses wont find it and take 4 minutes to deconstruct the reinforced wall. I think we need a bit more security to validate its existence. I can see what you are going for with the secret location thing though, protected by the bioscanner. If it is just regularly hidden in a relatively easily accessible location, then every round someone will happen to walk into it and loudly wonder over comms what it is, don't you think? I did consider another and pretty cool solution, it becomes a part of the map spawn at an undisclosed location accessible through the command teleporter via beacon. It is never in the exact same place, it can be protected by a triple layer of reinforced wall and still have the things we want it to have. I'd consider that a detriment to be honest, it cuts more possibilities out than it adds in for roleplay with the AI, as far as I can tell. The AI already knows all relevant secrets on station for the sole purpose of being able to react rationally on behalf of NT. You should remember that it isn't normal or expected for an Intelligence to be hacked at all. But I agree with you that the AI shouldn't have any way to actually help them getting in, except perhaps as with the vault where it can unbolt 1 door, but not actually disable the turrets into it.

I imagined the research sublevel or near the AI core, under command. The command section is the logical choice, but I consider that research sublevel may be good for now having it all in the same place.

I love that bioscanner idea, it brings a new challenge and really fits the theme of the protected server. I do think the silent alarm thing needs to be a bit.. louder given the security breach. A PDA message is easily lost, but I see what you mean about an announcement not being made. I do believe your choices for the access is good, there is no reason anyone should enter that place without a captain or RD, and it underlines its value for antags. I disagree with keeping the AI out of the loop, what would the reason be? It is already trusted more than most of the crewmembers, has a direct emergency line to central command for when the command is incapable or unauthorized to deal with stuff (like the auth disk) and should be available to answer any of the captains questions. It'd be weird for me to just have a blind spot in the single most important location aside from the nuke. What I do agree with is that the AI should not be able to interact with the console or read the contents of the server, aside from perhaps the headlines to service the captain. The camera issue should be solved by placing the camera on the same network as telecomms control, which is as far as I know inaccessible to anyone but the AI. In times without the proper command members, the AI should still be able to notice if things are going wrong and take appropriate action (contact CC, inform HoS vaguely, etc.)

Played a round with his consular as AI. While I did not have the pleasure of hearing him speak to his lore in person, I did enjoy him taking a stand against both the HoS and Captain to demand the respect he was due as a consular. Incidentally I totally agreed with him and his complaints, it was a pleasure to see the role being played as the arrogant V.I.P it really is. Cudos to the tomato-thrower as well for exposing this relationship as well. Command side they convinced me of their role, +1 for that. Other than that I cannot say I recognize his characters, and I haven't interacted with him directly at all so.. can't really make more of a call than that. If they were planning to play something else than consular I'd enjoy seeing them handle the real responsibilities of command as well.

+1 as well. I feel like I handle the role well, I have fun playing it and I genuinely believe I make the rounds better for people, both antags and non-antags. It is very disheartening to hear talk of people wanting to remove the role entirely, or slicing off game elements because of some problem players, when what they need is to be confronted by admins that explain what they are doing wrong. I don't actually use it much myself, if at all, but I like having the option for those scenarios where it is relevant. It felt like a good addition.

Played station intelligence with them this round, they were naturally a bit inexperienced, but they tended their duties with care and interest. I felt that they had their department well in hand, without being a lone island. I'm so far convinced that they'll make a good addition to the command staff +1 from me

The AI would likely be able to read the contents of the server, as a measure to ensure integrity. Whether the RD and Captain would have this knowledge is a lore-question I feel. On one hand they are both high-classed and highly-trusted command members, but specifically the RD is not loyalty implanted or such, which is controversial given how deep an insight they are supposed to have into NT goals and priorities. I would leave the question up for debate. Personally I would be thrilled if whoever implements this would add something unique as well, unusable objects are a good idea, as long as they look cool and have some pseudo scientific name! Bluespace Vortex Buffer, Prototype S-44, Anomaly Core sample collection, etc. etc.

The Premise We are the premier research facility for the entire NT corporation, yet our best research room is 2x3 meters accessible by cutting an ID wire? Antags are having a hard time justifying targeting us as a research station at all, since their best bet at playing this out is stealing our research by jamming data disks into the console in R&D and just copying whatever the smarties have managed to do so far. That doesn't really make sense to me, so I suggest we implement an actual vault-like server room with some actual valueable research hidden inside. The Mapping I suggest we either plop down a turret-protected server room on the research sublevels accessible through the maintenance tunnels or near the AI core under command. It can take inspiration from the vault, but should feature some high-tech decor items (or actual items) to convince the visitor that it is an actual high-value target. The most important object in this room is of course the server console, from which the RD is meant to administrate the contents, and from which the antags can download classified high-value data. The Research I imagine that we create a list of ~15 different incriminating research topics and randomly insert 3-4 of those into the server at round start. This could include things such as 'Xenobotanical Bioweapon T22', 'Classified: Anomaly Gamma-Z', 'Toxin research compound solution S22', 'The omni-weapon', 'Skrellian telepathic mapping data', etc. Whatever it makes sense for NT to have (and want to obscure having). When an antag accesses the console with a research data disk, they can download the data to the disk as normal, but the disk should turn red to indicate its high value (and make it identifiable) and the console should enter an X minutes lockdown period, which challenges the antag to come back again for more. Closing All in all I believe this would help alter the game-loop, give antags a better reason for targeting this station whether they are ninjas or traitors, and generally just reinforce our perceived role in the Nanotransen company.

It's my favorite and its still around, I got it just a few days ago. "You must question everything" opens up some interesting interpretations. And I agree that rework is better than removal, I generally just want more surprises with the events, which is why I suggested turning off announcements for a chunk of them. Knowing immediately what's going on ruins the surprise, and not all of them makes sense for central to keep tabs on.

How about we try a few rounds where we disable automatic announcements altogether, (with few exceptions like rad storm) so no warnings are given at all unless crew report them and command/AI proceed to make it into an announcement? I really like us trying to key in ghost roles to new events if possible, I like the idea of a critical patient being sent to Aurora medical ICU via bluespace due to X reason.

All interactions with Khaled have convinced me that he is a good player and roleplayer. +1

The event triggers and fires an unusual container somewhere on station. Crew react differently from calling dips to carefully examining if it might be a bomb. Well, how about actually making it dangerous once in a while? It'd be pretty cool if the unusual container could actually be unusual like that. Either that it is actually a mimic, or a bomb, or a trap that releases a random chemical when opened, or electrified, or EMP-rigged, or releases a hostile xenoform when opened. Would surely make it far more interesting to have this event, and make people think twice about whether they want to be the one opening it. Thoughts?

It's just a suggestive list for now. I am not sure what else would be good for engineering, but would love some ideas. Mostly I am concerned about how taxing these events would be in regards to coding, which I'm not really on top of.

Love this suggestion!

I wouldn't mind trying out rafters, it might be pretty cool.

Central command supported projects What is it and why do we need it? I feel there is a strong disconcert between what Aurora's purpose is, and what NanoTransen should require it to be. We are supposed to be a state-of-the-art research station, but for most shifts I don't think anyone really gets this impression from what we do, even in the extended gamemode. So how can we remedy this, aside from mechanically implementing more stuff into research, which is already in the works, while also benefiting the rest of the station? My solution is special projects, ones that can be initiated by command members for departments which have enough staff to support them. These aren't all 'new' business, but they are all supposed to be important and valuable business. The way this could work is a shared command interface in which the present command members vote for a special project this shift, requiring at least two command IDs to function. There would be only a few available special projects available each shift, drawn from a total list of available ones. This will first make it impossible for crew to voice their opinion on the project, require that command staff are in agreement about which project to activate and create a little excitement about what projects might be available next round. Once locked in, the project would then be scheduled for delivery, ie. the event is activated. This could be done in a number of ways dependent on the event, for some events a ghost-role is required so it will have a long waiting time, for others it is simply a cargo-delivery so it could in practice be an instant spawn. Command Responsibility To order a special project should place a heavy responsibility on the commanding staff of the station, and NT interest in these projects should arguably be high. To accept a project is to invite the possibility that the CCIA might send an agent to observe the progress, or take direct contact to their liaison to document it in detail. Research department projects Dangerous xenobiological form, to be delivered by resprited wooden box. Contains a unique xenoform which can be studied, possibly dissected, tamed or.. escape. *Cough* alien *cough*. Dangerous xenobotanical nodeplant, that works like a biohazard plant, except it has an immovable mass that can be studied and extracted from and is extra hard to kill. It will be able to defend itself somehow, with gas, acid or thorns. If planted in an unsafe locale or left unattended, it can be very dangerous. Unidentified mech wreckage, it can be repaired and assembled to provide an unique mech mechanic, like the short-range teleportation or something. Bluespace network gates, like the new traitor uplink closet teleporters, these can be mounted around the station and should be maintained and powered by artificial bluespace crystals and telescientists. Medical department projects Alien parasite examination. Actually a borer that opens a single ghost role. This arrives in a plastic bag or similar, believed to be dead and behaving as such until filled by a ghost. VIP patient treatment with exotic condition. The Aurora is not the preferred treatment platform, but time is a factor and if they CAN treat this person, then they BETTER. Requires a unique ghost role, which may be boring during treatment but open up roleplay as a big shot afterwards. Engineering department projects The mole-runner prototype. A mining initiative which is basically a big vehicle with a large drill that handles three rocks at once. It requires a bunch of assembly, gas refueling and wiring before being workable. Warden Drone, a builtable drone and control console that can patrol around the surface or the station (or remain stationary) to fire on carp.. or the control could be stolen by the antag and set to attack anyone. Basically the Icarus drone. Security department project Prisoner overflow. The Odin needs to temporarily use the Aurora holding facility and are sending 1-3 prisoners over, ghost-roles. Though cuffed on arrival, the prisoners could have some quirk or benefit that makes them more dangerous. Civilian department projects VIP tour and entertainment. 1-3 VIPs will arrive on the station. They are known for having exotic tastes and quirks, and are used to special treatment. They have some extra loadout items to choose from, that helps them stand out, and can fill out ID papers. The interface and the triggered events would require a good deal of development, so I don't expect anything to come from this unless there is a very marked support from both developers and players. Edit: Reformated and rewrote a bit for clarity.

I can certainly understand that there is an open employee profile accessible by other employees.

I don't think we need to add any new colors, just rehash the ladder ones/add new injection produce. I am all for a few more exotic uses for xenobiology. We could actually go over them all and discuss which effects might be replaceable. I think shock generation could go well with the yellow slime. I think organ regeneration could be a cool cooperative project for the pharmacy to be a part of, if xenobio supply them with silme jelly from green slimes. Would be an entirely new chemical solution? Telepathy or something similar sounds like it could come from cerulean slime, though I think that color is currently disabled. The field can easily be profitable if the biologist goes for profit. They can generate a stack of phoron from one dark purple slime, they can triple this if they use purple slimes as well. Golems have a sale price of 50k, if you have a merchant ?

I do understand it, we've already discussed my standing on the bolting in general, but this is actually the wrong thread to discuss it in, so I'll not continue it here. I followed the wrong github link

Did quite nicely in my round with you on extended. Seemed interested and friendly. Hope you keep that up after the trial +1.

I don't favor removal. I think they are fine the way they are. Never personally experienced any issues with them.

The point would be that we would be transforming it into a dynamic thing that can change from round to round, instead of a permanent change. It helps to cement the AI as a tool to be used by command as they see fit and opens up for us expanding more on this, such as command disabling the mech control as well. If you are right that there is never any better reason to use it than on crew orders, then command wouldn't adjust them. But the possibility is there, and that is important to me. Aside from that, it has the added benefit of giving the RD a little more responsibility and meaning.

So after having played rounds as both station-bound and AI I gotta say that I am mostly satisfied with the changes. The only thing I'm missing, is also the biggest hot-button issue, the ability to bolt as an AI. Now, here is what I think might be worth some consideration in regards to the future of the AI. Is it possible to make a menu in the command console (blocked from AI access like the alert level) in which the RD and captain can edit AI permissions, such as its ability to bolt airlocks, access the messaging server, electrify airlocks, and possibly more? These features would still be barred from all AIs at spawn, but it will allow the relevant command staff to make this as a command decision and will further solidify the relation between the intelligence and command team. Since this is locked to captains and research directors, both white-listed players, I feel this is a good compromise to bar new AI players from any features, as they will have to actively ask for it from command staff, and provide good reasons for it. It will also allow some bias towards AI players that can generally be trusted with this, and against AI players that can't. Thoughts?

The upper z-levels most important feature imo was the easy entrance to telecomms for related gimmicks, few though they are. I won't miss the level anyway though :]