NewOriginalSchwann

Out of our current candidates you are, in my opinion, the person I would most like to work under. I've had no major issues working alongside you and you've proven to be amenable to cooperation between the teams, which is a good sign to me. But despite this I cannot support you if you wish to remain the unathi maintainer/developer while also being the deputy loremaster as it is (in my view) a potentially very frightening conflict of interest. My only question for your application is this: will you relinquish the position of unathi maintainer/developer if you are granted the position of deputy loremaster?

Hello, and thank you for applying for the position of human lore deputy! For better or for worse there have already been quite a lot of questions asked in this thread. As my colleague, Lain, has already gone over your responses to our questions quite thoroughly I won't be responding to your responses individually. Instead I'll be asking some questions of my own below in bullet point format. Remember that there are no right or wrong responses, and to simply fill out the question to the best of your ability. Please attempt to keep individual responses roughly one to two paragraphs long. A great amount of your writing seems to focus on "technical" aspects of lore such as economics, government structures, and the military with comparatively less space devoted to society and culture. A lot of our planets (for example: Luna, Venus, Silversun, NHP, etc.) tend to devote a large amount to society and culture or weave together society and culture with more technical aspects, such as how Silversun's cultural divide is intrinsically tied to Idris' economic presence. If you are hired as our deputy, how do you intend to balance the technical and cultural aspects of your written lore? You've mentioned that you have an interest in reworking/retouching the Coalition, a part of the lore that you feel is boring, but you don't offer a lot regarding the how of your rework instead if the why. Your response is also a bit too limited in scope -- the Coalition is one of our largest lore entities, and reworking it will be a very big prospect. Could you expand upon which areas of the Coalition you'd like to examine and focus on in order to achieve your goal? Additionally are there any areas outside the Coalition you'd like to focus on? Again, thank you for your interest in applying! I am eagerly looking forward to reading your responses.

Much like Nienna and Matt, I don't believe I can support this application. While you are clearly passionate, you're difficult to work with and -- in my experience -- tend to become confrontational in arguments over lore. You additionally have a past riddled with communication issues, particularly with the synthetic team. These negative traits became much more noticeable when you became a full maintainer, and I am concerned that they will be carried over to the position of deputy loremaster. While I respect your capabilities as a writer and maintainer, I cannot see you as a deputy loremaster.

I have no desire to see you as the deputy loremaster. Your attitude is often snarky/passive aggressive and you have absolutely zero experience in the lore team beyond two denied applications, some vague suggestions, and some administrative experience that I do not remember fondly. Out of all of these your lack of experience is, in my eyes, frankly the biggest reason as to why I am not supporting you. This isn't a normal species deputy position that simply writes lore: it is in charge of the lore's direction, and whoever holds it needs to have the experience, and attitude, to properly run it.

A color will be added in the near future, once I shake the coders enough to make them work. As it stands there is no chance that the verb will be changed back to "growls."

They're massive improvements -- I like these a lot and hope to see them in-game soon!

Accepted.

Thank you very much! That addresses all of my concerns, and I'm excited to see the new law set in action.

First, let me say that I completely support the idea of an AI whitelist. However, the current regulation on sapience seems a bit weird to me. Specifically, the exclusion of IPCs from "sentient" while golems and slime people (do we even have slime people?) are regarded as sentient (there's also vaurca drones, but I'm not familiar with the species so I'm not going to discuss them). It's a really, really weird distinction that just comes as unneeded complexity (also, doesn't this mean I can murder an off-station IPC antagonist with the AI's full approval or am I misreading this?). All player species should be considered as sentient, or as some other equivalent term like "registered employee species" if you want to avoid the "is X really sapient?" debate.

Having seen these sprites in-game, I have to say that I'm reversing my early opinion on some of them being improvements and would, frankly, like to see the old gun sprites back (at least, for security's guns). I'll be leaving my comments in a list below. General: The cartoonish style of the guns, combined with the white colors used, makes them look like toys. They look like they were made to shoot Nerf darts rather than things that kill people. The white color scheme of the guns makes them blend in really, really awkwardly with security's uniforms. I can't tell where my disruptor ends and my arm begins. The bright, bulky design of the guns makes them stick out like a sore thumb when they're on any tile. It's honestly quite jarring. Most of the guns are extremely chunky and bulky as sprites, which makes it feel like you're carrying around a brick rather than a weapon. This does not help them not look like toys. Disruptors: The disruptors have a weird combination where they are both too stubby and too tall, which makes them look like half of the gun has been sawn-off. It is extremely hard to tell where the disruptor's sprite ends and your arm begins on most uniforms, unless you're not wearing white. This means that officers in the default NT uniform, Idris contractors, and EPMCs suffer from this issue. Morphing/changing sprites are cool in theory, but you can barely see the changes on anything short of a magnum (which you will never see in-game). It is extremely hard to tell how many shots you have left, due to how busy and bright the sprite is. There's very little contrast between the blue and the white. Laser Rifle The laser rifle is extremely huge and clunky-looking. It seems like it's too large for your sprite when you're wearing it on your back. Meanwhile, the wielded sprite looks similarly chunky - it's exceedingly wide (vertically) and has so many details that it's hard to tell what is going on with it. The sprite, when placed on the ground, seems to be leaking out onto other tiles near it - it's really weird to see in-game. The white coloration (I know I mentioned this in general) looks really awkward and out of place when it's sticking over your shoulder or on your back. It feels like you've strapped a giant Nerf gun to your sprite. Carbine: The carbine looks like an oversized pistol. Despite this, the sprite on your character model still looks enormous - it's about as big as the old laser rifle was when one-handed. It seems to not have any on-model sprite? Old carbines were previously visible on your legs, which was a nice touch. Ion: I haven't seen it in use yet. Shotgun I haven't seen it in use yet.

Please allow me to apologize for any harshness in advance -I'm trying to provide my feedback honestly. With that disclaimer said, let's get into my opinions on these sprites. The new disruptors are an outright improvement over the current sprites. The new laser rifle is bad, the shotgun is okay, the ion is bad, and the blasters are a mixed bag. I'll go into more in-depth reasoning below. The disruptor is an improvement for one very big reason: readability. The previously tiny (literally 1x1) charge indicator is now much larger and can be more easily seen. They also change slightly when the gun switches to lethal mode, which is very cool. If I could bring only one sprite from this PR (yes I know it's three different guns, shut up I'm making a point) I would bring this one. It looks excellent. But the laser rifle does not. It's been horribly scrunched up to the point where it looks like somebody took an actual gun and compressed its stock and part of its barrel. This is kind of hard to describe so let me use an image. The above image is essentially what I see when I look at the two sprites side by side. This issue is also shared by the blaster sniper rifle (I forget the in-game name) and the ion rifle. The shotgun is fine. It looks less like a gun from 1897 and more like one from 2463 which is good. It doesn't pop as much as the disruptor does, but it still looks good. I have no comments beyond that. The ion rifle looks bad. It's committed the dual sin of being horribly scrunched up like the laser rifle is while also looking like a brick. It looks more like a toy than an actual weapon that's designed to kill exosuits. This is my least favorite sprite out of everything here. The blasters are a weird mix of everything above. The pistol looks good, and resembles the NT blaster (which is good, since they're supposed to be the same gun in a way). The revolver looks kind of weird: the cylinder feels like it's way too small and it comes off as being a pistol with some funny bits glued onto it. The blaster carbine is way too small and honestly looks more like a pistol than the actual pistols do. The blaster rifle (sniper rifle?) is way too scrunched, like all the other long weapons. In my conclusion I would like to state that these are, technically, well-made sprites. The person that made them obviously has an artistic vision for how these guns should work, and the ability to pursue this vision. But in my eyes this vision, as it currently stands, is not what I want to see as the Aurora's weaponry. I know Wezzy has raised concerns about their colors and general aesthetic clashing with security uniforms and I must agree with him. These guns - particularly the worst offender, the ion rifle, - look like they belong in a cartoon instead of in the hands of security.

Yet again, we (but mostly me, the Sisyphus of human lore) return to Dominia. In this case, the corporate regulations page finally marks them as "do not borg" in the event that they, somehow, commit an infraction that carries the penalty. More lore will come soon! https://wiki.aurorastation.org/index.php?title=Corporate_Regulations#Regarding_cyborgification

I don't support removing LOOC as an avenue for funny ha-ha commentary by characters in the round, but I do support its total removal from ghosts. Personally, I am sick of the phantasmal comedy brigade inserting itself into the middle of tense situations to go "LOOC Unga Dunga: Whoa this mercenary and security standoff is just like the anime I watched earlier, and you absolutely need to know about this!" Or, in a worst-case scenario, a dead officer/antagonist/whatever loudly screaming in LOOC at their killer (I have had this happen to me before (multiple times)). If you're an observer you've already decided that there are better things to do with your time than participating in the round directly, so why are you still allowed to give epic zingers in the light blue text that everyone nearby gets to see?

This has my approval as a human lore deputy.

Sent...

This is a pretty harsh adjustment to disruptors, considering that the rubber bullets they replaced do 40 agony damage (+5 brute damage, for a total of 45) per hit. It seems as if this PR will simply render them a weapon that is used used until an antagonist appears, then is thrown away for ballistic pistols. I'm fine with reducing the burn damage, but 25 agony damage while losing a third of the disruptor's shots just renders it hopelessly ineffective.

Disruptors feel both extremely strong and strangely clunky at times. Against crew antagonists they're absurdly powerful, as every security officer is carrying a weapon that can fire twelve stun shots without reloading (this is nearly a twofold increase over the earlier ballistic pistol). They're also primarily shooting unarmored targets, which makes it even more powerful. Against off-station antagonists (or cults) it's borderline useless aside from lethal mode, as armor (such as a voidsuit or cult robes) will absorb its stuns and make security instead opt for the easily-available lethal mode. Instead of having to call officers back to the armory to distribute the bullets that kill people, you simply press a button to enable an officer's eight lethal shots (which can also pass through windows). In a twisted way, disruptors have - rather than making combat less lethal - encouraged security to pursue lethal options more due to the ease with which an officer can transition from nonlethal to lethal armament. In short, it is my opinion that we should go back to our earlier ballistic pistols.

EMERGENCY NATIONAL BROADCAST - EMERGENCY NATIONAL BROADCAST - EMERGENCY NATIONAL BROADCAST A middle-aged man in the uniform of a Sol Alliance navy Admiral stands behind a podium as several other officers and a dour-looking man and women both wearing civilian suits sit on tables flanking him. The middle-aged man begins to speak from what is pretty clearly a teleprompter behind the camera. “Following the illegitimate secession of Konyang and its surrounding areas, the situation in our Outer Rim has continuously deteriorated due to a lack of fuel for peacekeeping forces and the presence of terrorist actors such as rogue fleets and Coalition-sponsored gangs of privateers. Authority has collapsed in many colonies as traitors to the Sol Alliance have shown their true colours in this time of crisis, instead opting to enrich themselves or outright secede from our great Alliance when unity is needed most.” He pauses for a moment, seemingly to let that last line sink in. “Due to a lack of available fuel for our fleets, and a lack of ships equipped with the more modern Lopez-Zhang drive, the Alliance Provisional Military Government has opted to perform a strategic withdraw from areas deemed “too hot” to keep under Alliance control in order to ensure that those systems truly loyal to the Alliance remain safe and secure in our Alliance’s darkest of hours. Traitors to the Alliance will be left to their own devices, while those that remain loyal to the true government of humanity will remain safe and secure as they have always been. While the politicians may shout that we have abandoned these colonies to anarchy, the Navy has done no such thing. We have not abandoned a singular system that wishes to remain in the Alliance. Those that have abandoned the Alliance, deserve the anarchy that they now dwell within.” He pauses once again, opening up some type of logbook on his desk. “I am pleased to assure the residents of New Hai Phong and Silversun, along with their surrounding Middle Ring colonies, will remain under the watchful eye of the Alliance as they have always been. Even if we must stretch our forces to protect these systems, we will. It is our duty as the protectors of our great Alliance. The Navy has opted to bring Senator Le Hanh Trang into the Provisional Military Government to serve as a liaison between the Navy and the sector New Hai Phong dwells in. Systems that have opted to betray the Alliance, such as Mictlan, will have no such aid given to them.” As the Admiral ceases speaking, the dour-looking man rises and mounts the podium. Anybody familiar with Solarian politics will recognize him as Senator Hendrik Strom, the creator of the Third Tajara Ban. “In this ongoing time of crisis I, as emergency provisional governor of the Sol System, call upon my fellow citizens of the Alliance to have faith in our great government as we navigate this crisis. The situation will be stabilized, no matter what must be done.” The emergency broadcast cuts off at this point, replaced with a static image of the Sol Alliance’s flag and the sounds of patriotic music. The wheel has begun to turn.

An update to these sprites has been, honestly, direly needed for some time. These look suitable evil to be the uniforms of our local somewhat-racist somewhat-autocratic empire, so they have my stamp of approval as one of two human lore deputies.

Rats are really just busywork for service and don't add anything beyond some person going "haha wouldn't it be funny if I took a bite out of every piece of food in the kitchen." After spending three hours experiencing the heavy role play task of setting up traps and throwing knives at an endless tide of bored ghost mains I can safely say that it would be a huge benefit to remove this from the game. I hate this spawner.

Let me preface this by saying I consider Kyres a friend and a talented spriter. However, I will continue by saying that I do not like these sprites at all and agree with the points of Chevy and Valwyn above me. I play a lot of security so I've got a lot of experience looking at the sprites of Aurora's weapons. I'm not a big fan of these guns or the current disruptor sprite. They look like toy guns that you'd see in the hands of a '60s action figure in contrast to our present "high-tech militaristic" look that a lot of security's weaponry and equipment has (note, for example, that security uniforms are typically a bit more washed-out and duller than other clothes on the station, which leads to them being visually distinctive at first glance). Like Chevy said, they look like pulp guns or, to me, like super soakers - particularly the laser rifle. They look like something from a 1960s pulp scifi comic like Weird Tales rather than weapons from the Aurora. I'd like to see the current disruptor sprite, no offense to Kyres, be reworked to fit the current set of guns rather than all guns be resprited to fit the disruptor. As a final note all energy weapons on the server share an important trait: a tube in the gun that shows how much charge it has left. This is most noticeable on the current laser rifle, and least noticeable on the current disruptor sprite.

RIOTING CONTINUES ON MARS - ARMY DEPLOYED TO MAINTAIN ORDER Continuing civil unrest on Mars has worsened over the past few days, with many Tajara illegally remaining in the Sol system taking to the streets to deface business or destroy property in a final act of defiance and violence. Anti-Alliance Martians have joined the rioting, and as a result the governor has declared a planetary state of emergency. With local law enforcement units overwhelmed and undermanned in many cities, the Martian government has made the hitherto unprecedented decision to call upon the Solarian Military for peacekeeping operations. Marines were spotted deploying in riot gear earlier today across several municipalities, ordered to contain the protests and riots which some historians have claimed have not been seen on this scale since the Interstellar War. Third-party observers estimate that the Red Planet, traditionally a hotbed of anti-Alliance sentiment, may be on the verge of martial law if the rioting and other violence does not abate. Many cities on Mars have been relieved to see military peacekeepers on their streets despite the planet’s often tumultuous relationship with the greater Alliance; military personnel were greeted by a cheering crowd waving Solarian and Martian flags when they landed in the northern city of Kunlun. Eshwar Baurai, the ANN reporter in Kunlun, captured the scene and this quote from a local factory worker: “You know, we’ve never really liked Sol - right? The Alliance, I mean. So, uh, it feels kind of weird to be, uh, supporting them. But these tajara? They’re [EXPLETIVE] animals. I’d uh, I’d take the Alliance over them. I’ve seen what they do to people you know? Like those uh, those factories on Hai. I don’t want them [EXPLETIVE] cats takin’ over the city. I ain’t about it.” However, the presence of Solarian Military forces on Mars has resulted in backlash from some more radical residents. In nearby Free Kunlun, anti-Solarian militants and tajara terrorists hijacked a protest against the presence of Solarian peacekeepers and used it to attack peacekeepers and relief workers. While most of the crowd was dispersed by tear gas grenades launched from an armored vehicle, militants stayed and fought using improvised weapons and gas masks. A several-hour gunfight resulted in eight wounded soldiers and forty dead terrorists - primarily tajara. Several civilians were injured in the skirmish, and the city has been placed under martial law until order can be restored. In a press conference held briefly after what is being termed the “Battle of Free Kunlun” Colonel Tereza Varzieva of the Solarian Army had this to say to ANN reporters: “While the violence in Free Kunlun today is tragic, the troops under my command responded professionally and used their training to handle the terrorist ambush. I implore all Martians to understand that we are not here as an occupying force, but to restore order and peace to one of humanity’s oldest homes. Myself and my fellow peacekeepers are here as friends, not as oppressors.” In response to a separatist conspiracy theory that troops under her command fabricated the incident in order to cover up a massacre of the crowd, Colonel Varzieva added, “The conspiracy theory that accuses us of plotting a massacre of civilians is insulting both to me and my troops. We came here to save Mars, not to destroy it.” Despite these comments even more anger has been stoked across Mars in response to the so-called “Friday Massacre” in Free Kunlun, with protests calling for Colonel Varzieva to be removed from command and tried as a murderer. As the work week ends on Mars and the weekend begins, protests are expected to escalate across Mars. The ANN will keep you updated on these protests as they develop.

TAJARA DEPORTATION ACT PASSES SENATE - PROTESTS WORSEN ON MARS Despite widespread opposition from sapient rights activist groups throughout the Orion Spur, the Tajara Deportation Act - sometimes referred to as the “Third Tajara Ban” - has been passed into law by a narrow majority in the Alliance’s Senate. The Bill was carried by overwhelming support from Middle Ring colonies such as New Hai Phong and Jewel Worlds such as Venus, though many more moderate Senators either walked out or simply refused to vote on the bill. Every Martian senator walked out of this evening’s (GST) vote on the bill as a protest. The passing of the Tajara Deportation Act comes as an overwhelming triumph for Sen. Strom (V-HU) and Sen. Hanh (NHP-SFP) along with their fellow radicals, and is a shocking defeat for xeno rights advocates in the Sol Alliance. Sen. Hanh gave a statement for the ASSN before leaving her office in Unity Station wherein she stated that “The people of the Sol Alliance have spoken, and we have answered. Many of my radically xenophilic critics have called me a monster for what I’ve done to tajara in the Sol Alliance with this Act, but these critics are misguided. Speak to the families that lost loved ones on Nhom Hy Vong and to the factory workers that lost friends and colleagues. Then you’ll see who the real monsters are.” While widespread celebrations have erupted across New Hai Phong, the planet hardest-hit by the recent surge in tajara violence, many remain opposed to the Tajara Deportation Act. With deportations set to begin later in this week, the tajara aliens residing in Solarian space have engaged in widespread civil unrest alongside tajara rights groups. Protesting has been light on New Hai Phong, with near-universal support of the Tajara Deportation Act leading to massive counter-protests of the planet’s sole anti-Tajara Deportation Act demonstration. Pro-tajara demonstrators were bombarded with tear gas when they refused to disperse, and many tajara in the protest have been jailed pending deportation to Adhomai. The protests have been most severe on Mars due to its history of opposition to the greater Sol Alliance, and many arcologies have declared a state of emergency due to anti-Tajara Deportation Act protests devolving into widespread rioting and looting by tajara protestors. In several locations, such as Kunlun and Olympia, the planet’s military has been called upon by local governors and mayors to assist in restoring order. With rioting escalating on the red planet, and its history of insurrection, some observers estimate that it is only a matter of time until the Sol Alliance deploys the federal military to restore order to major Martian cities. The Sol Alliance News Network will provide updates on this developing story as they arrive.

First responder is a good name. "Emergency medical officer" is way too military-sounding.

THE GOVERNMENT ADDRESSES ONGOING TERRORIST VIOLENCE: THE THIRD TAJARA BAN? In the wake of the terrible tragedy and widespread violence caused by tajara terrorists in the Sol System, there has been widespread anger and demands to reinstate the Second Tajara Ban that was overturned, with some critics going so far as to call Prime Minister Frost's decision to lift it 'short-sighted, dangerous, and catastrophic'. While more moderate voices in the Senate appear gridlocked over how to address the ongoing crisis, representatives from New Hai Phong and Venus have taken a harsher stance, sponsoring a new bill that has shocked Civil Rights groups throughout Sol. Senator Le Hanh Trang of New Hai Phong and Senator Hendrik Strom of Venus have co-authored legislation that they refer to as 'the most ideal solution to the ongoing issue of tajaran [sic] violence in the Sol Alliance". Under the aptly named 'Tajara Deportation Bill', the Department of Immigration would be forced to apply a sweeping, total revocation of all visas granted to tajara in the Sol Alliance, as well as appropriating forces and funding to forcefully deport them back to Adhomai. The introduction of the bill has enraged tajara activists, leading some critics to disparrage the senators for "spitting in the face of the Luna Convention". Despite the outrage from left-leaning political groups, the proposed legislation has been polling favorably amongst citizens in the Alliance, particularly on New Hai Phong and in the Solarian Jewel Worlds. Sen. Strom gave a statement to reporters at a conference announcing the introduction of the bill, where he was quoted as saying that it is "[...] obvious that the tajaran [sic] species isn't mature enough to conduct itself in a civilised manner. It's not that they're malicious, mind you. They're just... predisposed towards violence. It's in their blood and in their culture. You've all seen what happened when we first made contact with them: planet-wide civil wars, twice in a row! We should not allow the tajara into the Alliance until they have proven that they are able to mature and civilise themselves." Additionally, when asked about reports that the announcement of the bill has sparked incidents of civil unrest and heated protests, particularly on Mars, Sen. Strom told the SANN that, "What I do is for the good of every human citizen in the Alliance. If any pro-tajara demonstrator ever lays down in front of my car, it'll be the last car he'll ever lay down in front of." Allies of Sen. Strom call his rhetoric harsh but fair, while detractors claim his incendiary remarks are only adding fuel to the fire as massive displays of solidarity with tajara and protests against the bill rage across many metropolitan and integrated areas. The Tajara Deportation Bill is slated to go before the Senate for a vote later this week. Experts and independent observers note that it is 'unusual' for a fresh piece of legislation to be put to a floor vote so early in its lifespan, and opposing parties have not been given a chance to propose amendments or alterations to its langauge at this time. Critics say that the bill is a "flawed, knee-jerk" response to ongoing attacks by terrorist actors, and that it will have damning consequences for the Alliance politically on a galactic scale.