Kintsugi

Bump

A high quality security team and a high quality mercenary team will always, always, always see the security team beat the mercenaries. Why? By virtue of numbers and the cooperation of the station- there is very little that the mercs can use to get a one-up on sec. The only thing that can really turn the time is an expertly placed bomb or an absolute armory blitzkrieg.

What in tarnation

What is an ERT? A miserable little cheat! I'm going to open with this: On this roleplaying server, who should be solving problems - the characters of the station crew, or a heavily armed group of faceless goons who are non-characters and can in 95% of scenarios wipe out the antagonists on their own? If you answered the latter, you may be a validhunter! In all seriousness, I do not think ERTs are conducive to creating interesting stories. Think about what they really bring to the table - at most, they might attempt to be mediators or simply support for the station. At worst (and in most situations), they take the situation out of the hands of the crew and place it solidly into the hands of the ERT, who will almost always be better equipped to deal with any problem than the crew is. The ERT is not a roleplay enhancement: the distress beacon is an "I win" button, that command clicks when they're forced to deal with the prospect that the valids may not be completely secured. Interesting scenarios, such as the crew being forced to arm themselves and attempt to fortify a location long enough to evacuate, or deal with being subjugated by an occupying force, or trying to attempt a valiant last stand against an enemy they may not be able to defeat? The ERT prevents this. A mercenary team can play admirably, roleplaying along the way, and if they're successful enough? Well, inevitably, the valid squad will come to shut down their round. It simply isn't fair, and it isn't fun for anybody except the valid squad. The worst situation ERTs can lead to is a premature distress beacon, when command totally jumps the gun on calling an ERT and effectively shuts down the rest of the round. Now, I do not actually propose outright removal of the ERT - I would actually really like if we did remove them completely, but I don't think enough popular support exists for this. What I do propose is: 1. The disabling of the NT-ERT - as it is obscenely powerful - and replacing it with something adjacent but less-capable, like NT civil protection. 2. Making it so an ERT cannot be sent without admin approval during a round when an admin is online. If any admin is not online, the distress beacon can be sent without approval. 3. Delay the spawning of the ERT, so it takes a considerably longer amount of time for them to arrive. Also welcoming additional suggestions.

Wholly opposed to option number 1, as medical residents IRL are considerably older than 17 typically. I'd rather go with 2.

Nobody is allowed to say "improve don't remove" except the person who will be coding these improvements. It is a rule (in my book, anyway), comrade

Bump. I actually just went to make this thread before the forums politely reminded me I had already made it in the past. I'm going to approach the subject of wizard more diplomatically. I am sure that to some people on Aurora view me as an individual who makes scalding denunciations of things he dislikes, and to be sure this is quite true. Ignoring every other statement I've made about wizard, there's one thing people can agree on, I'm sure: Wizard is flawed by virtue of being a single antagonist gamemode that must engage the entire station. They are a high visibility, low capability antagonist that is alone. While I do not like wizard, I will not suggest removing visitors, magistake, or other gamemodes that incorporate wizards. Why? Because mixed bag gamemodes have a cast that can support the wizard. The antagonist to crew ratio is entirely skewed out of whack with wiz. I have seen many wizard rounds where there are forty, fifty, even sixty people on the server-- Which invariably leads to a brief wizard incursion that inevitably (d)evolves into extended. Wizard simply cannot support a station of more than ten to fifteen people. If people do not want to lose a chance to play wiz, increase the odds of visitors or other wizard-including gamemodes to compensate. This post is solely being made to point out that wizard is not viable as anything but an ultra-lowpop gamemode. Please ignore the rest of this thread, with that in mind!

I liked the original onmob spriters and believe it unfortunate that they are being removed. However, I am glad to see the current ones go. No offense to whoever made them, but the sprites are just too huge.

Mel is a great bean and in the past I've had a great time roleplaying with them. I'll always remember our first interaction on Aurora, and they were one of the first people to really speak to my character at the time. They have my support, +1

I hate ERTs. I think they take the problem out of the hands of the crew, and instead put it in the hands of faceless goon non-characters (oftentimes respawns of dead sec officers). +1 from me, at the very least it'll make it so the crew might handle their own problems sometimes. Yes, but you can get guns from cargo AND call an ERT, which will instantly arrive. With this change, you'll have to choose between waiting for an ERT, or instantly receiving a shipment of gear.

Woe unto rev, that most unengaging of gamemodes! For eons, rev has plagued HRP servers as a conversion gamemode, where others have thrived. Consider cult- By all means it should be less successful as a mode than rev is. It is a much louder mode, attracting security's ire more quickly. It is a mode that is less grounded and therefore harder to deal with realistically. It is a mode that would, logically speaking, attract less characters to the antagonist's side. And yet, cult can destroy the station. It can embroil it in chaos, force an evacuation. Cult is the successful conversion gamemode, and rev is the mediocre one, a filler mode that frequently begets nothing but disinterest. A "successful" rev round would be lucky to see a fifth of the action that occurs during a successful cult round. Why is there such a contrast? Because of two things: an endgame, and an ultimatum. Consider the conversion process for rev- You are given a choice when someone attempts to recruit you. "Yes" or "no". What are the consequences for declining? Nothing. The recruiter may attempt to attack you- but more likely than not, they'll move on, unwilling to blow their cover over a single person. And chances are, you'll either politely not inform security of this sedition, or you'll give them a one way ticket to the permabrig. Now consider cult- Your choice? Conversion or death. Like a zealous inquisitor, the cultist who has captured you will press the conversion attempt until you dissolve into nothingness or join their ranks. Unlike rev, your choice is to die and be removed from the round, or succumb and continue to play. Naturally, this is far more effective from a gameplay perspective. This is why you can see rounds where there are a dozen cultists. If you found a rev round with a dozen members of the fellowship or the contenders, I would be impressed. Astonished, in fact. Now, consider the endgame for rev: There is none. You set your own goals, but as far as achieving them is concerned, there's no tangible reward. There's no goodies. No impressive spectacle. No annihilation of all order on the station, unless you somehow manage to kill the entire security department and their respawns (in the form of an ERT). Meanwhile, on cult, you summon an eldritch blood God who annihilates the station and evaporates all those who come into contact with him, turning them into constructs of his nefarious and foul faith. An evacuation is forced, and if Nar'sie is summoned, it'd be a lucky thing indeed to escape alive. Here's the thing: Rev's problems come down to two things. A lack of engaged manpower on the side of the antagonists, and a lack of goodies. Even if cult can't perform many conversions, they can create constructs that close the gap- they can summon ghostpeople to serve as their faceless shock troops. And as far as rev equipment is concerned, their leaders can summon some guns. That's the extent of things. I am a total advocate for player agency, but to be frank, the choice system for rev does not work. 90% of characters do not wish to be engaged willingly. Simple fact of the matter? Rev leaders need to have a way to force the allegiance of crewmembers. Even flashrev would be preferable to choicerev. What I would propose is some sort of brainwashing device- similar to cult's conversion method, it would give the player a choice- join, or die. Or in this case, have your brain wiped and replaced by a brand new, fresh consciousness. As far as an endgame is concerned, perhaps if one side captures a comms console, they could summon a large term of well-equipped mercenaries to help them out? Better, high quality equipment? Something that really has the same oomph as Nar'sie. All in all, suggestions welcome!

Yes king, it'll be ready shortly.

If size is a concern, you'd be better off removing some songs we have that aren't particularly good. Anyway, Bay has a very good song called "phoron will make us rich", which I've always loved. I'd say the hardest part about finding recommendations is finding songs that feel like they belong in our setting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4goUdEQ5ifA

I do not like to leave negative feedback. I think that as a person who is already known for being somewhat snide, leaving serious negative feedback just confirms that I am an individual who is innately negative. This is not the perception I want people to have of me. More importantly, I do not want to feel like an asshole. I might occasionally be a sardonic dick, but I do this all in good fun. I mean nothing serious when I tease somebody, and I am always the first to apologize when me and someone else have a disagreement. With that self-serving and egocentric header out of the way, I must say that I do not want to see Doc as a server moderator. Today there was a canon event round where I did something, ICly, with IC justification, that Doc did not like. When I saw them discussing it in another discord, I said "I did that and I would do it again", and then began to explain my reasoning. Their response to me saying "I'd do it again, too", was this. This is a mind-boggling response to me. To be frank, it upset me a lot. With IC justification, and OOC justification, I did something- Doc disliked it, and their response is to dryly state that things like this is why I am disliked by people within the community. If you have a problem with me, fine. I'd like to talk to you about it. But to me, this message is absolutely unacceptable behavior to be coming from someone who is a prospective moderator applicant, who just this Sunday said this:

Generally speaking, whatever I want. To get into specifics, a security character I have made but not yet played wears a variety of loadout items: Including a jacket, different boots, and a number of minor accessories like patches and pins. I don’t particularly worry about being identifiable as security, because all the gear you carry will do that for you.

I encountered Stobarico's characters on Baystation, especially Sergio Stone- and I personally did not care much for him as a member of command. Generally speaking, I was not particularly pleased with how the character acted. When I initially saw this application I opted to give them the benefit of the doubt- but having observed him play throughout his trial period I do not believe that his characters are the right fit for Aurora command staff at this time. -1 from me.

BYOND key: DanseMacabre Character names: Coenraad Nieuwoudt, Florian Dal Farra, Kot'zai Ilsek are the three that have seen substantial playtime. How long have you been playing on Aurora?: Since November of last year, so around ten months now. Why do you wish to be on the whitelist?: I'm interested in specifically playing a consular officer. In the past I've been interested in similar RP-heavy, advisory roles. Why did you come to Aurora?: I am of the humble opinion that Aurora is the best medium for roleplay available to me (judging by the fact I struggle to find any proper tabletop groups to play with!), as far as SS13 is concerned. Have you read the Aurora wiki on the head roles and qualifications you plan on playing?: I have, yes. Have you received any administrative actions? And how serious were they? On server, I have not. I am extremely neurotic about following the rules and playing close to my chest and to my knowledge I've never received a note, let alone any more severe action. On the forums, I have a single warning for off-topic posting. I have never gotten into any trouble on discord. Please provide well articulated answers to the following questions in a paragraph each. Give a definition of what you think roleplay is, and should be about: The most generic answer I could think of is that to roleplay is to play your role- to be more exact, roleplay is a complex game of pretend. You are setting yourself aside (unless you're self-inserting, of course) and constructing a separate, fictional identity for yourself to use. You are in essence writing a story, a piece of fiction - but that fiction itself is a collaborative work, involving other people. Instead of a novel written by one sole author, you are writing a single character in that story, and acting how they would act: You are depicting a personality distinct of your own, with their own goals, ideas, fears, and desires. This is both the process and the goal of roleplay - to write a story from the perspective of an individual(s). What do you think the OOC purpose of a Head of Staff is, ingame?: A head of staff is three things: a reliable character played by a player skilled in their particular field of gameplay, functioning both as a guide for newer, less experienced players, and also a guarantee of quality. A head of staff is also a manager, capable leading their underlings and keeping things running smoothly. And finally, a head of staff is also something of a narrative shepherd, influencing the story and the course of roleplay in a positive manner from an IC position of "power". What do you think the OOC responsibilities of Whitelisted players are to other players, and how would you strive to uphold them?: The OOC responsibilities of a whitelisted player in some regards do not vary from that of a typical player. They are expected to be courteous and to follow the rules; they expected to be helpful and fair, and to remain in character at all times. More uniquely, however, a whitelisted player is something of an IC mentor: a whitelisted command player is often going to be involved in a role that deals heavily with players who may be new to the game or a particular department. In that regard, the greatest OOC responsibilities a whitelisted player has is to 1. Help players develop a better grasp of concepts that may be new to them, and 2. To act as an individual who helps guide things- both characters, and the rounds they're involved in, in a positive direction. I realize reading this that it might seem a little "high and mighty", in a way- I do not mean to insinuate that whitelisted players are better than the unwhitelisted in any regard - just that a whitelisted player has more ingame power to influence a situation that someone else might. Could you give us the gist of what is currently happening in Tau ceti and how it affected your character and their career? Tau Ceti is a nation teetering on a crisis- and uniquely, this crisis is internal. The nation is in some regards a banana republic- The continued success of Tau Ceti is guaranteed by one resource: Phoron. Corporate involvement keeps it afloat, but the corporations would have no interest in Tau Ceti if it was not for phoron. If it was freedom they desired? Eridani would be the logical choice, or even the Coalition of Colonies. The primary advantage of Tau Ceti over these other destinations is that phoron is available in great supply here and in scant few other places is that the case. And phoron, at the same time, is the republic's greatest issue. They are running out- And this is Tau Ceti's problem. For Aslan Barat, a Solarian consular officer, this has been a very complicated situation. With Tau Ceti being Sol's greatest source of phoron (without which the Solarian economy, military, and indeed state itself would collapse), the loss of imports has caused great strain to an already beleaguered giant. Immense pressure has been put on Aslan- by his superiors and by the Cetites themselves. The people who hold the strings need phoron to flow once more, and he has been instructed in no uncertain terms to make it clear with local authorities (both corporate and governmental) that he comes into contact with that exports must resume. At the same time, it becomes increasingly clear that conflict with Sol may be inevitable for the Cetites based off of the ASSN's aggressive posturing, and such a situation undoubtedly feeds into anti-Solarian sentiment. Aslan has a crisis of his own to deal with, and it is tied to the fate of Tau Ceti itself. What roles do you plan on playing after the application is accepted? Consular officer. Characters you intend to use for command or have created for command. Include the job they will be taking.: Aslan Barat will be the character I play as a consular officer. How would you rate your own roleplaying?: I put in every ounce of effort I can towards roleplaying. I don't know how good that makes me: That's for other people to decide. I just know that I take roleplay seriously and give it my all, whenever I can. Do you understand your whitelist is not permanent, and may be stripped following continuous administrative action? I do. Have you familiarize yourself with the wiki pages for the command roles? Yes. Extra notes: I know I haven't played much recently, aside from ghost roles and certain temporary characters, but I am still very much involved with the community and I am constantly observing the game itself.

who said that what the heck I'm currently experimenting with a sort of bakelite look for the furniture. I'd like to add checkering, like the sec handguns have- but there's not a whole lot of real estate on the magazines to facilitate this.

alright

me

Security and medical should roleplay and create situations of their own to deal with during extended rounds. Relying on random events is a terrible way to go about enjoying an extended round.

DM what server this is on Discord and I can look into porting this, no promises - especially if it is technically demanding.