Jamini

Can't say I really see these. Cargo - assuming they have staff, normally are pretty quick to get me my orders? Nonhuman gloves, 200metal, 100glass, and sometimes a supermatter crate/hull circuit crate/electrical crate as my department needs. Normally if I send someone I can expect to have it in 10-15 minutes, less if I go personally. Had the same experience when I go as Omnir to get nonhuman sterile gloves or medical crates. Normally if I can't get cargo on the line, I can get the HOP/Cap/AI to help me out. Medbay - I ... can't even name a doctor who really seriously job hops. Yes, there is a bit of cross training within medical itself (between chem, surgery, and general practice. Less so with cloning/genetics) but mostly that is done more to keep players conscious and able to play, rather than dead. If anything, I'd argue that some certain doctors care too much about their personal rp and too little about the patients. The the point where I've seen people die from sheer negligence several times. Science - Science is and remains terminally understaffed. That said, robotics is normally pretty responsive and quick to requests. I'd love to see the materials lab actually make and distribute equipment more often, but I can understand why they don't (Because materials is boring once you know it). Engineering - Honestly, the gang and militia mentality of engineering stems from two things. The distance engineering has from the station, and the abuse that engineers need to put up with from security just for doing their damn jobs. I cannot count the number of times I've had or seen technicians who are doing very basic, or required work (for example, finding door codes.), harassed by security/the AI unless they do it in the safety of engineering. How about that lovely complaint just in this thread about breaking into the CE's office to open part of the department that is pretty much required to get the engine set up right? (those shutters are pointless, by the way. And I can't think of any regular CE who gives a damn about it, because we all know that the engine produces jack shit for power unless the tanks are filled.) Can we touch on the verbal abuse the engineers get when they are fixing one vital area (say a central hallway, atmos, or EVA) and another one (like the research dock) needs to be put off? How about the fact that they are by far the easiest of all departments for merc teams to kidnap/take hostage/kill? To be blunt, engineering isn't appreciated nearly as much as a whole as it should be. While yes, there are certainly lazy and ineffecient engineers. That said, if you treat an entire department who has likely been working all shift without break like shit, don't be surprised when they start taking on an us vs you mentality. Is it right? Hell no. Is it understandable? Yes. No offense Boka, but your security background is really, really obvious here. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but do try and remember that everyone has bias in this. Not a single person here is neutral when it comes to interdepartmental stuff, nor should they be.

Are you talking about when Rasaine was a "hostage"? The issue there is that her brother was, essentially, saying that the operative's story was so full of holes that it didn't hold water. Which it... kinda didn't. Generally holding someone who isn't on the station hostage is tricky, since it can be extremely hard to believe in any way. It's far better to get real hostages if you want to try that sort of thing. Take 'em, and shoot 'em if the crew don't play along. Then send back the heads. Also, for the love of god the ops need spaceacillin on the shuttle. It's really a requirement with infections.

((I'm running a tabletop, think Dungeons and Dragons, game based on this story-line. Players who sign up are encouraged to join us on Friday, at 7:00pm (-5GMT) Right now we have... quite a few players. Probably more than I'll feel comfortable having at once. I suspect at least a few people will end up dropping but right now I can't justify taking on more than the people we have. I do promise that more sessions and on-shots will be run in the future though, so check back occasionally!))

Incorrect, I talked to the HOS the entire time you were in processing. When he continued to ignore me despite being a witness to the entire event, I went to the captain. It's not shizzy in the least. the head of security wasn't doing his job right and he frankly deserved to be re-primed. I never once stated I wanted to brig you for neglect of duty, but considering that you essentially were pushing for an extremely trumped up charge I would have been happy if you had been.

Alright, everyone who signed up/interested should try and contact me to get characters set up if they haven't already before friday. Right now we are aiming to start around 7pm. I've added a few extra slots in case people cannot make it, or things happen.

Tentative Game Date FRI 27MAR2015 If you would like to participate please state so in this thread. Thank you.

Personally, I will say that using the target option is very nearly the same as shooting. Doing so means you intend to shoot if your target moves, and is a hostile action that warrants running away or retaliation. It may be best, if you want RP as an op, to save targeting for when you truly intend to shoot? And by all means, if you get targeted treat it as if the other side has fired. By "give more leeway" I mean such for both sides. You can have a gun out without aiming it with intent to fire. You and emote threatening someone without targeting as well. Once you target lock, you are essentially setting yourself in for a fight. While those situations can be defused, they very rarely are.

You know what? I've actually changed my mind a bit. I'm allowed to do that, right? Why don't we do the following? Security: Navy Blue (Command airlock colors), Gold highlights Command: Black, Gold highlights. I'll admit, command has the LEAST amount of color-coding of all departments. Having security be a navy blue might be an interseting and nice change of pace. (Plus I wanna see them in NC colors ) What Sue is working on right now: (Disregard the warden closet)

That is... really really ugly. Clown-level ugly. Try Navy for your blue, Sue. Edit: You know what I could dig? Grey, with blue accessories and gold highlights.

People change all the time, sometimes for the "better", sometimes for the "worse". If anything he stated that he wants to just influence how they change. I can't entirely disagree, though I wouldn't have put it the way he did. Half of my issue with security is their image, more than anything. Image matters, and image is the primary recruitment tool for a department. It directly influences what types of characters and players join, and can drastically change how things play out. Engineering is seen as slightly lazy, but dedicated and skillful. This directly results in a good number of enthusiastic apprentices who want to learn from the regulars there. New players are genuinely welcomed in the department, on a whole, even though it results in slightly slow response times. Medical is seen as insular, and attracts doctors and interns who are good at one on one chats. Science is seen as a bit wild, but efficient, and attracts scientists who are generally quite multi-skilled. Security is seen as efficient, but a bit brutish, nosey, and foul-mouthed as hell. New officers tend to pick up those traits, which can be an issue when a cadet thinks it is okay to rush up to a suspect and break their rib. If security has the image of getting away with minor crimes, even if it's untrue, you will have issues crop up with cadets that think they can get away with such. This brings the image and quality of the department down. While I do not want to put Security on a pedestal (in fact, I think the no-drinking rule in particular is kind of stupid) I do want to see players be genuinely happy to see an officer for a change.

I will point out a fair number of people do and have tried exactly that with both of them. Personally, all I want is in-round accountability. If Jade goes and throws crap or harasses crew, I want to see her fined/thrown into a cell for a few minutes. If Carton does something stupid and hits someone, I want to see him thrown in for assault and the person he attacked given an official apology. I don't want these personalities REMOVED, but I do want them to be held accountable for what they do in-round. There is a middle ground, and that's what I want. Security doesn't need to be on a pedestal, but they do need to be accountable in a way that the rest of the station can see it.

Allow me to quote a friend of mine. Do I want Security to be a perfect ideal force all the time? Naw. Do I want to see, and have other people see, Security being held accountable? Yes. Don't get me wrong, I like Jade. I like her, mostly, as an officer. She's fair, and she has personality. Some of my characters like her, others don't care, and some hate her. My issue is that other officers can and do let her get away with minor shit more than they do. Even if she does get punished, it's not seen by the bulk of the crew. Allow me to quote another friend: Appearances matter just as much as actions do. If no appearance of action is taken, resentments and accusations can form. Were you not there when Clarke was reprimanded at for going to the captain regarding an improperly-set sentence? Being told off for "Breaking the blue Code", by a HOS no less. It's not the player-by-player attitudes that bother me, it's other players legitimizing said attitudes. It isn't limited to security, but it sure as hell is much more visible there. If I were to play a shitty officer, I would expect to get arrested and anyone I caused trouble with to be apologized too.

I'm going to preface this real quick. This isn't a complaint! I repeat. This is not a complaint! I will say this. Merc rounds of late have gotten... boring for me. Formulaic. The same shit every time. While yes, the standard "blow everything up" does keep the round exciting at times... I'm finding myself getting kind of bored with merc on Aurora. It's the same >Quiet 30 minutes >Telecomms blown up/Teleporter stolen >Some things stolen >Operative spotted >Hostages taken >ERT called >Bombs detonated >Banter over comms >Operatives bug out so they don't die. It's getting kind of... boring. At least to me. I'd, personally, like to see a little more variation, both for the operatives, and for command. So, I have a few suggestions for everyone, this includes myself. I am as guilty as anyone else for bad nuke rounds. This applies to everyone who plays nuke on both sides, for the sake of making what can be a very fun team-antag round even more fun and interesting. Operatives Part of the removal of objectives from nuke, directly from the person that did it in the first place (That would be Zuphayr) was to free them up a bit from the syndicate/need to blow up the station. To let them do oddball things, like be waffle salsemen... or traveling entertainers...or cannibal chefs...or refugees from a station that NT "amputated"...or corrupt, but legit, inspectors from Central. A breath of variety and change to what is probably the most formulaic mode in SS13 (except maybe Mutiny) So... can we try it? I'd like too, as a community, see us make a concerted effort to think of interesting and fun things that merc teams can do and actually try and implement them. I know on Bay it's pretty common for mercs to talk in LOOC about what shtick they want to do before they start. Sometimes it fails, often there are disagreements, but just as often you get some truly epic rounds from it. You don't need to be afraid of losing as a merc. Your role is to make fun for the whole crew, isn't it? It's worth dying or losing, if the community says at the end that they had a fun round. Or at least it should be. Things I would like to see Operatives do 1. Talk quietly at the beginning of the round. Work out a story, from simple, to complex. 2. Work out concrete goals. Try and make your objectives tricky, and something the crew actually cares about. Nothing is worse than a round where the operatives are not seen at all. Difficult goals are better than easy ones. 3. Try and trust the station staff a little more. Hostage trades are possible. I've done them in the past as a Vox, and Merc. Yes, it's frightening, but trading people you capture back in good faith can make for very interesting, tense situations. 4. Don't bug out at the first sign of danger. You can win against an ERT with proper tactics/communication, or you could even try and bargain with them. Remember, you signed on as an operative. Be willing to risk yourself for your goals. 5. Don't take what you can't keep. If you can't keep a hostage entertained/alive, why are you bringing them back with you? 6. Don't be afraid to limit yourselves! Working around voluntary restrictions can be fun! Command and Security and ERT The second half of the nuke equation, command and security can be... problematic sometimes. We are very, very quick to call the ERT on Aurora as a whole, and I am just as guilty of doing this as anyone else is. People talk big and act big, sometimes bigger than they should when the situation doesn't call for it, or are just flat-out excessively oppressive. Things to keep in mind as Command and Security 1. Remember, operative doesn't necessarily mean hostile. Armed doesn't necessarily mean dangerous. Use actions, rather than assumptions and meta, to guide how you respond. 2. Give non-standard operatives a bit of room to work with! If the ops are going out on a limb and trying something funky/nonstandard, try and roll with it! The best way to ensure a violent, bloody, boring round end is to be a dick to a merc team that is trying to do something cool. Worst case? You get punked for it. That's no different than dying to a standard operative team. 3. The ERT should be a last resort. Yes, I know Icly operatives can be really scary. But really; unless you have severe casualties, extensive damage, or station-destroying threats you should stay your hand on the ERT and try to work with what you have. Holding back a little can make the round much more fun for all involved, and that's why we play. Not to win. 4. At the end of the day, remember that everyone loses eventually. Yes, it can suck and tempers can be high at the end of a rough round. However once things end, for better or for worse, it's best to move on. Dwelling on a bad operative round, for you, isn't good for anyone. Administration Hoo boy, I'm opening a can of worms here! I'm sure some of you will probably completely disregard this, or scoff at it but... Try and help the operatives a little bit! Nonstandard merc rounds can be ridiculously fun for everyone involved. If the mercs want to try something cool, why not pitch in and help them a little bit? Giving "cannibal space chefs" a bit of equipment to help with their disguise, or making "suprise vox synicate joint commission!" teams could be very fun! kikikiki! Possibly giving teams that are having trouble thinking of a good plan some gentle guidance, as experienced players, would not be remiss either! Some Ideas So, that's about it! Again, this isn't really a complaint. More of a request/suggestion for everyone than anything. Next time you get op, why not try something cool and interesting? The worst case, you fail miserably and everyone complains like they do anyway, right? Anyway, I'm going to close with some ideas that you can read over, discard, or feel free to add too. 1. Asylum Seekers -Premise: You are traitors to the syndicate. You are low on fuel, oxygen, and food. Convince the station to give you safe passage to Odin and pardon you for your crimes, or steal enough supplies to escape. -Self-Limitations: You can only move the ship three times after the initial landing. -Goal: You must either be given asylum by the station staff, be smuggled into Odin by the crew, or aquire 500units of plasma, 5 full oxygen canisters, and significant quantities of food. 2. It's Payday, fellas! -Premise: You are a team of professional thieves.Minimize damage, maximize payout. -Self-Limitations: No bombs. -Self-Limitations: Try and be a Payday reference, and bring your bank-robbin' masks -Goal: You must infiltrate the station and successfully steal the contents of the vault, 11 levels of research, and a significant quantity of slime cores. 3. We come to sell... Waffles -Premise: You are exactly as it says on the tin. Waffle salesmen of the 25th century. Who knew that they'd be packing heat and selling LSD-laced goodies! -Self-Limitations: Minimize casualties -Goal: Sell dat fukking waffle! 4. Inspection Team -Premise: You are corrupt inspection/IAA officials from Odin, and intend to shut the Aurora down and seize it's plasma reserves. -Self-Limitations: You may not use weapons unless attacked. -Special: Administration needs to legitimize you -Goal: Close down at least three departments, shut down the station, seize as much of the station plasma as you can. 5. Emergency Fuckup Team -You are an Emergency Response team! Wait, why were we called? There's no alert? Are you SURE? We better make sure! -Self-Limitations: You must act as inept as possible at anything but robusting. -Self-Limitations: Try NOT to bomb people! Your the EFT after all! -Goal: Get a real ERT called, then arrest them as impostors. 6. Bluespace Technical Assistance -You are assistants to the legendary (and imaginary) Bluespace Technician! You've been called to investigate all bluespace devices on the Aurora! -Self-Limitations: You are actually legitimate! See if the crew meta you as ops! -Special: Be a bit dickish, ICly, to get the crew to hate you enough to resist you. -Goal: Gain access to telecomms and science 7. Transfer of Command -By any means, try and have the operatives take the place of the command staff of the aurora. -Goal: Become the commanders of the NSS-Aurora. -Feel free to add your own!

Command is a department, and it has it's own colors for the flooring/doors/consoles that involve it. Most uniforms match the color scheme of the department for a reason, changing this reduces sprite clarity and departmental recognition. This can be very confusing and/or bad for new players. It's also why I kind of despise the look of the Aurora engineering uniform. Don't forget the CMO has a blue jacket as well.

That has nothing to do with their uniforms. If you dislike red, wear the black uniforms, or the white polo+red pants. That's what I do on both of my security characters. Yes, I do play sec. I've even started playing my officers here lately. Mostly I avoid it because it is a very popular department (though I will admit it's not as consistentlyoverstaffed as I've stated previously), and engineering or medical need more hands. Blue is a poor choice for security. I will remain absolutely firm on that. Blue is the color of command, a color that no other department should be wearing as a primary for clarity's sake. (Medical has blue accents, as does the investigator, but those are not their primary or departmental colors.)

I've called out medical on issues before, specifically with both a CMO and two surgeons who resulted directly in a needless death. You don't see me call out engineering because I generally try and resolve such issues ICly, as that is generally where I play and I can address issues there directly. I've personally reprimand Travis for his IC attitude, and told him to shape up as well as issue warnings on his behavior in-game on a daily basis. I routinely have engineers who are insubordinate or ignore setup in the CE's office for reprimand or (thankfully rarely)have them demoted. Not long ago I even had a roboticist detained at the end of the round for modifying his lab in an illegal way. I've done the same to Tal when I've seen her breaking regulations. (and she is known for building random lairs in maint.) My main issue with security is that it is a consistent issue with several officers (Jade, Winston), and often they get a free pass out of IC repercussions due to being security. While yes, both of them are currently dealing with DOs and incident reports, it does not address the issue that security will let such behavior slide in he first place when they should not. Other departments can and do get detained when they break regulations, security often do not. It's a pandemic issue. Even playing in security yesterday, as I indeed to continue doing, has not in the slightest changed my opinion that security is not held as accountable as they should be ICly. Refs: http://aurorastation.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=1635 - Science http://aurorastation.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=1477 - Medical http://aurorastation.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=1695 - Science/Engineering/Security (I was involved, did not actually state in the IR as I had nothing to add) Edit: Also, there is a particular CE that I bitch about fairly constantly.

Or we can keep them with proper colors, or use the red+white uniforms we have in code already.

Our experiences are simply different then. Again, I don't generally have problems with science when I ask for things as long as I'm polite about it. I've done so as Engineering, Medical, and will happily do so as Security tonight. Perhaps rather than being a widespread issue, it might be your approach to attempting to gain access to said equipment? Also, I state on my personal experiences as it is impossible for me to state on the difficulty of other players to get special equipment. We are all limited to our own experiences, and often reputation and actions IC have significant impact in getting equipment. Also, to be frank, many officers are kind of dickish (as can be several engineers), which can and will make science disinclined to help that department.

No. They. Are. Not. Get that thought out of your head. They are the ones who uphold regulations and help command maintain order. They are absofuckinglutly not command, command's right-hand men, or the law. Security have no authority above other departments, except when it comes to protecting other staff and making sure orders from the real commanders are being followed. They have no authority as commanders in any way. None. Fin. End of story. If you feel they do you are objectively wrong That isn't the point. The point is that by giving them authority and appearance of command you are putting security above the crew and above their station. Security are there to protect the crew and ensure that things run smoothly, they should not have any indication that they are above the rest of the crew in any way. Command colors are blue. Dark blue. Both the captain and HOP have uniforms in this color. Other heads of staff have the colors of their departments (CMO is white and green, CE is white and yellow, HOS is red and black, RD is special) Light blue is atmospherics. Security has no business in command colors. Security colors are black, white, and red and should remain as such.

Isn't this an IC issue? Have you ever actually asked? I find that if I bother to ask any department for something (Chemistry, RnD, Cargo) politely that it is pretty common to get them. Heck, I've had a goodly number of RDs both here and on Bay12 give me Bags of Holding without prompting at all! Getting components is often as easy as a single PDA message with a polite request. I've even tested out a few genetic powers (shock resist)a few weeks back when a geneticist was advertising his finds over the newscaster. You can't fault someone for not giving out equipment if you fail to ask for said equipment in the first place. (Also, plasma cutters are junk. Completely pointless. Welders are more versatile and more useful.) I mean, hell, just yesterday I saw that science was collaborating with Security to give out stun revolvers to officers.

I can when it is a routine issue, which it is. I was a member of said department in question when the events occurred, and it is by no means an isolated incident. Hell, I was even told off by the head of security for reporting the abuse to the captain for "breaking the blue code" (which I presume is a reference to police not arresting/reporting their own). Such attitudes, especially from security, are sickening. And, to be absolutely blunt, I don't ignore the lack of professionalism in any department. Unless I am playing a character that is not intended to seem professional (Omnir, in medical, and even he does his job before goofing off.) I will very much take issue with ANYONE chuckle-fucking around or making a round shitty for another player. It's, in part, why I play command roles. It's why on my very first round in medical I made a complaint about a MD and CMO that had acting in a manner unbecoming. I do not play favorites. I never have, and I never will. Security is just as responsible for their screw-ups as any other department, even more-so when security members start playing favorites with corrupt officers. When it is to the point where I outright have another player tell me that the only reason they were unwilling to trust an unknown officer is because they did not believe that I would detain another officer who committed a break in regulations in front of me based on prior experience with security, there is indeed an issue.

The posibrain/program age for the IPC seems best for them. I would say it would be the point when enough nymphs in the gestalt have been combined to be considered a single being, legally. Ages would not, but requirements would. Most Diona and IPCs would likely be able to get into college after a year or two of life, assuming they have sufficiant background/programming/knowledge in their gestalt to do so. IPC Neural Nets still have the capability to learn and grow, if in a different way than organics, and part of getting a PhD for jobs that require it is showing that one has the dedication and patience to get said PhD. I would not be surprised if IPCs and Diona did not have an accelerated program however. Most IPCs in advanced jobs would likely be at least four or six years old. At least that is how I see it.

As one of the officers involved, and a player that made an IC complaint and a complaint to the admins, as well as someone who talked to Nightmare OOCly after the incident... Yes, it was an issue. He seemed bothered by it when I was talking to him post-round. Perhaps he wasn't bothered severely, but he was definitely bothered and irritated. As was I.

Blue is the color of command in SS13. Please do not make it so officers can be mistaken for command. Command - Blue Medical - Green Science - Violet Security - Red Engineering - Orange Atmospherics - Light blue Cargo - Brown Keeping department colors distinctive and immediately recognizable is important. Please do not make security look like they belong in a department they do not. Especially not a department with actual, IC authority higher than most officers have.

Can we please keep incident reports and complaints to the appropriate section, Delta? (I laughed my ass off as that happened, then had to raise a bit of an IC shitstorm over the excessive charges placed on what was little more than a battery charge, but I digress.) Honestly, I feel most of security are fine. However, a few notable individuals really can sour the whole department easily, and the "Blue Code" argument makes me genuinely angry with people who defend said individuals. While I understand that everyone is an individual; an individual who is crass, abusive, rude, and insubordinate is as unlikely to remain in security.