Lucaken

This thread and the suggestion has come a long way from the Discord discussion it was spawned from (which is great!), and so I don't have as much to say as I was originally going to. One of my main points that I'd like to carry over, though, is the caution against going overboard, and the importance of accepting compromises. Just as an example, I don't think it would be realistic to expect new languages for minority factions like Dominian Unathi - I think edge-cases like that should be covered through accents (as they already are), as it makes for an easier workload for our already overworked developers. Things like mid-emote language changes could also help. If you are a Dominian Unathi, once again as an example, you might be able to select both Tradeband and Sinta'Unathi, then switch it up inside your sentence. For planets, I think more push has to come from lore writers, and not the in-game systems. We all have our favourite planets, but since most of them exist within the confines of a greater entity, it's better instead to rely on a list of local phrases/sayings that players can pepper into their vocabulary. A great and proven example of this is the Eridani system, where players have found - I think - major success in evoking their culture by utilizing a couple of terms. I've seen particularly invested players do this on their own for other planets, with equally great results. I don't think every planet needs as extensive of a structure as Eridani, where the class struggle encourages it, but it almost always goes a long way. Really, the only place I would actually add new languages would be major factions/races, and this applies to almost everybody but Elyra. I think it's easy to side-line because it is a very barren faction (not for long), but when compared to it's sister factions, the problem does become obvious. Sol obviously has Solarian Common, Freespeak accounts for both the Coalition and the Frontier, while Tradeband is linked pretty strongly to Dominia - leaving Elyra without a crumb. I also want to emphasize the importance of lore team collaboration here, particularly because just a couple of days ago, it was mentioned how Skrell are unable to choose Solarian Common as an option, and that this is something the teams knew about. It was a very strange incident because if you spend any amount of time looking over Solarian lore, the integration and acceptance of Skrell is well-maintained throughout. When poking further, the most responses I got were about language exclusivity to factions/races, and 'clubhouse mentality'. As in the discord discussion, I am not going to name names or cry drama (especially because there has been no official response on this yet, and I do not have all the facts), but I feel if we're going to aim to be more inclusive, the lore team should also try to be as cooperative as possible. Without that, I don't think this project will go over well. Lastly, while it is great we're talking about this (and we should keep doing so), it's important to respect the time of all the teams as we are close to finishing one monumental project they have all worked hard for. I think it's best to start something like this after the NBT is up and stable.

You're doing so much 'implying' with the lore of a major faction that it's hard to call it passable headcanon - which is my main issue with most headcanons, really. With how the Coalition's page currently is, you can imply just about everything. Case and point, just because there is a Chief Representitive, does not automatically mean there is a heavy-handed constitution that every single colony signs, and which moderates the likely hilariously chaotic market of the Frontier. You are implying one thing from an already implicit fact - at a certain point, we're literally just making things up to justify your own point. Let's not get started on whatever the """deep lore""" means, either, because it could be anything. And to be clear, I'm not disagreeing with what you are proposing - it's funny, even, because much of what you are claiming here, I have written word-for-word a month ago in my canonization application. The bigger issue is that you cannot base your objective ranking of superpowers on a personal assumption of a vaguely-written paragraph. Once you go this far with headcanon, it's hard to take it seriously - even moreso coming from a Loremaster.

This is quite literally all headcanon and has very little basis within the current lore. They're not banded together as a coalition because of the economic benefit - their single unifying force is the defense treaty they all signed years ago to ensure independence politically. There is no authority to 'obey' because, in the description's current state, Greentree cares very little what each colony does, and makes a point not to interfere. You do not get a trade superpower without there being some controlling factor - the major planets win very little by keeping the small colonies alive, who mind you, are rapidly seperating from the wider Coalition since 2458 (see: Timeline of Humanity). Some of what you say could be true if this was written down, and indeed the Coalition does need an update in this regard (some of it is already there to review!), but we gain very little by guessing at something that's not there. The same could be said of Elyra - I think the only reason why anyone could claim they are a wholly isolationist nation that does no trade at all is because not much is written on their page. In practice I'd say that's completely false, but again, pure headcanon from me as well there.

The difference is, what space Elyra does have, it's all used to further the economy because it is drowning in phoron deposits. The Coalition's size does not represent it's economical strength, because most of its worlds are not like Vysoka and Himeo (economical outstanders due to abundant resources). Most of it is scrappy frontier worlds that join merely for the purpose of defence, as the Frontier Alliance Defence Pact doesn't come with any trade agreements or such - it is mostly a military alliance, and it should be treated as such. The 'government' of the Coalition can't even enforce any standards because of it's hands-off policy. No matter how many people are there, they're not going to measure up to a powerhouse like Elyra, because not nearly every colony is actually contributing. So I agree with Elyra being higher economically - it's a bit funny it's not even on the chart. I would put it second, if not first.

You're thinking of Zaurghis, which, unless I missed a very important conversation, is still canon. It's on the wiki and all, you just have to go to the CoC main page - it doesn't have a page of it's own, and probably doesn't need it, either. I think it's pretty easy to explain away transport logistics in the gargauntuan Coalition with it - but it could still use expansion. For example, how 'chaotic' are these wormholes in terms of their destinations? Are there any legends of smuggler runs (à la Kessel Run)? What are the most stable ones, and where do they go? Just some neat details. 'Zhaurghis Smuggler Culture' is something I see a lot of potential in, even if the obvious Star Wars cliches are easy to fall into. As for my own piece, I'm mostly just repeating an opinion I staged earlier on Discord - I think the amount of rivalry the Suzuki-Zhang Hammer Drive pushes is woefully undercut by the fact that in-game and in recent lore, we see very little of it's impact. It ends up sort of bypassing the entire Phoron Shortage as a story beat - one of the more comical examples of this being that both shuttles that the station employs daily are still running on bluespace, despite the obvious waste. I recognize that this is all likely to be tackled with the coming of the NBT, but it still bears repeating.

BYOND Key: Lucaken Discord Username: Lucaken#8171 Character Name: Leonid Myagmar Item Name: Old Rebel's Chokha Item Function(s): It is coat worn over a uniform, with two spaces worth of storage. It can be closed and opened when worn. Item Description: "A not-so traditional Vysokan Chokha made out of beat-up gurmori leathers, worn-out to the point of seeming ancient. Though it might have been a Host-boy's garment once, it is now swarmed with dozens of patches all with varying colours and origins - the most prominent of which is a large image of a crimson snake on a white plain, curled around a fire. It's the oldest out of all the adornments." Why is your character bringing this item to work?: He wears it almost constantly, bringing it with him ever since he left Vysoka. More than just a coat, it has become a sort of good-luck charm that he doesn't feel safe without. It's size and pocket space also make it handy for an investigator. How did your character obtain this item?: It was first given to him upon his admission into the Great Serpents Host. Most of the patches are ones he collected during his adventures both on and off-world, but the one on the back was woven by a now long-gone first love. What value does this item have to your character, and what story does it tell?: It's an old-time keepsake of his past from Vysoka, everything from his Host adventures to his eventual falling out with the traditions of his homeworld and the beginning of his individual journey. 'Desecrating' his chokha with so many patches is his way of declaring independence from that history - while still reminding himself and others about where he came from. It ends up encapsulating much of his character in something as simple as a worn-out, guady coat. Sprites: 111_blank - Copy - Copy (4).dmi Additional Comments: Sprites by sekritsanter. (Thanks again, Corporate Santa!) The concept behind the item was reviewed by Wigglesworth, the writer for Vysoka, to make sure it's all kosher.

Christmas letter sent.

I agree. I was alright with NT going red because they didn't really have a theme before that, but it's particularly depressing to see Zavod reduced to this drab brown/yellow. Which, in fairness, was part of their aesthethic with some unfiforms, but now that it's isolated I'm worried it'll be hard to distinguish them at all. Not to mention, if we change the colour schemes like this, that means everything from the logos is going to have to be changed accordingly - and that seems like a lot more work compared to just sticking to the current range.

I have three main issues with this submission, though I find the overall idea of creating a more solid background for prosthetics a good initiative. So, unless I mention otherwise, I think everything here is good and viable to be put through - especially ADS. Firstly, while the idea of FBS is a worthy one - in that it can be sometimes good to put an upper limit to how far races can augment themselves - it is quite contradictory to wetware Cyborgs and the existance of Man-Machine Interfaces (MMIs). The current revision suggests that it is scientifically impossible to augment a person to that degree...despite both the lore and in-game mechanics saying otherwise. Unless I am completely misunderstanding this part of your proposal, I don't know how this wasn't noticed by other readers. The current blurb for Cyborgs on the Synthetics page even says how particularly wealthy individuals can and have managed to replace their bodies without the restrictions of cyborgification laws. My suggestion would be to change the wording that implies it is a hard limit (because the current lore says it is not at all), and perhaps have Karlsson survive his procedure with some noted psychological damage. This would also keep his story in-line with current lore (see: Notable Synthetics). Secondly, I find the general idea of the 'corporate-given prosthethics as a bonus' a bit disheartening to see, because it is essentially word-for-word what N4NL, the EPMC, has as its unique pull. I understand that corporations wouldn't be above that kind of thing, but to me, it makes more sense for a megacorporation to simply give you a bonus paycheck, as the current version implies it is - 1. fairly cheap for them to install such high-level prosthethics and 2. that they are outright preferred over organic models. That is a level of quality and availability that I think you could only see in Eridani, and sticking Zheng-Hu on it steals a bit of uniqueness from the faction in general. You posted above that you changed the wording on these sections, but I'm not sure if the link was updated - this comment is based off the version I currently have when viewing the file. Lastly, and on a more general tone as well, the non-human prosthethics section feels more than a little poor. I get that it's mainly a way to get readers into other pages on the wiki, but it feels like a lost opportunity to expand on their usage - especially Diona nymph-limbs. I recommend collaborating with those writers if possible. All in all, though, great work!

I spoke a lot around this topic on the discord, and really the first thing I wanted to make clear is that while my view on this update is critical, I do not hold any one writer or team accountable, as the actual process of the update was later explained to me. I apologize if I came off as scathing during my little tirade - I respect every writer's work and commitment, and while I may critize the work as any responsible reader would, I do genuinely wish to contribute, not detract. Overall, the update felt somewhat unfinished, in the same way I felt about the CRZ update and the PMCG rollout. That is not to say it was bad writing, I just didn't feel like the potential of each project was fully realized, much like this one. I'll list my issues below, followed by some (admittedly light) suggestions for improvement. The ideologies seem to accomplish little but be stand-ins for their respective parties, barring the Egalitarian Coalition, which is a mix of more than half of them. This achieves very little, as the parties and their respective schools of thought are so tied together that you may as well merge the blurbs and provide a much clearer read of the factions. I really do not see the point in keeping it so rigidly seperated if this is how we're using them. The parties collectively cast too wide a net, and an also weirdly niche one. The elephant in the room is the Hadiist party, which on its own is not an inexplicable or unneeded faction, but certainly a strange one considering the other five are not nearly as minor in scope. I understand this is partially because not all of the teams wanted to make similar parties for their respective races, but there is still a horrible lack of representation of other species, while the Tajara get a comparatively large amount of attention here. I don't think that name-dropping a party leader being X species is enough, either. And to be very clear (because some people had read only parts of the conversation, and got the wrong idea), I don't think this is a problem with Tajara or of their team. The actual process of the lore team was made much clearer to me later, and I understand that no one person or team can be 'blamed' for this. That, however, still leaves us with the issue of species representation, or rather the lack of it. If the Hadiist group exists, a minority faction as it is, then it stands to reason that other factions like the Eternal Church and Traverse Skrell see similarly focused additions. Much of my contributions below will be focused on this point. There is generally not enough 'meat' to the entire thing, despite it being the sole representation of Biesel's (likely very complex) political environment. I assume part of this is because it was a team project, and things were cut down or simply held back to not bloat the document. I also understand that being concise is important to our lore, but I do think there is a point where you are leaving 99% of the details up to the player's imagination. Just some of the very big questions that came up during reading were - why/how does the United Congress of the People manage to secure a spot in a clearly monopoly-dominated environment? Why is it seperate from the Biesellite Protectionism Union, if their goals are so close? How does the Independent Freedom Party even manage to exist with it's anti-immigrant views, when not only is most of the Republic's population from all over the Spur, but the Elyrans who created and run it are migrants themselves? I have no doubt a lore writer could answer all these questions and more if I asked them, but there is a point where player intuition has to end, and actual written lore needs to start. And if the answer to this is 'they are new factions, chill, they'll be expanded on later', I'll raise the same point I did when the CZR updates came around - why release things that are pretty much unfinished, and lack so much detail? I do not see this pattern in anywhere else but with 'lore team' projects, and I don't know why the approach is so different than usual updates for other teams. With that out of the way, here are some suggestions that I personally think would help the situation. As I have in the past, I am fully willing to work with any writer that takes these up, if they want more of my input. Merge the United Congress of the People and the Biesellite Protectionism Union into one party that shares both the anti-synthetic sentiments of the first, the 'nationalistic' view of the second, and the general anti-monopoly stance of both. This party, coincidentally, could have major Jargon influences due to the similarities and Skrell-dominated environment of the new faction. Perhaps the idea of a universal income policy could be inspired by the social credit system. The goal here is not to create a 'Skrell faction', but one that is influenced by it, just as with the Hadiist group. Key ways of differentiating it could be it's stance on state monitering, the use of the TCFL, and the treatment of immigrants. This way, it ends up being a more anti-corporate, but still truly Biesellian party with elements of Skrell politics. A foil to the Republican Universalism Party, in some ways. Rebrand the Egalitarian Coalition to be centered around the Eternal Church, while keeping to the roots of the original concept. Essentially, both the main outward influence of the Church, and an avanue for all manner of outsider factions - dregs, Guwan, Traverse Skrell and anything else that is not caught by the other factions. It could be made very clear that while the Church is it's main driver, the party exists to represent all the minority factions within it to the best of its abilities. Extra focus could be put on their charities/actions in the more impoverished districts, as well as their stance on megacorporations, which is notably missing in the original blurb. My suggestion would be advocacy for employee rights, not nesseccerily anti-corporate or anti-monopoly, merely an interest in Megacorporations using their wealth to create more opportunities for their workers. Tying in the IAC might not hurt, either. This could all work without the involvement of the Eternal, but I think it provides nice context and an actual reason as to who is helping these minority populations be represented on the bigger stage. Change the Independent Freedom Party to be less centered on the Elyran influence, but still isolationist and focused on a more nationalistic angle, thus acting as a catch for factions such as Dominia, the Hegemony etc. Expanding on their stance on the CZR, megacorporations in general and perhaps a Unathi angle would give them a more full feeling without losing the original purpose - to create a more centralized Biesel. This is the one I have the least amount of input on, however, as there really is a lot of ways to take it based on the team's vision. I only felt the Elyran influence was unnecessarily large, especially considering the incoming rework which might switch things around.

You can simply lose the whitelist which was attributed to the ban. That is to say, if you act irresponsibly as a Unathi several times, get a 24h ban on playing the species as a result, you simply have to apply under Unathi again while keeping all your other whitelists. That is how I see the system working out, anyway, as none of it is in place. As for your other example - yes, sometimes admins get something wrong and an appeal goes through. I agree in those cases, where the admin agrees to revert it, the whitelist should be given back. But that's a different point than the one you proposed in this thread.

And I just realized this post only relates to Command whitelists - that is my bad. I hold the personal opinion that it should be the case for alien whitelists as well, but that is not relevant here. Either way, apart from that one point about nerfs/retcons, I stand by everything else.

I just checked, and yeah, it does in both the AI and Command rules/format, but not the alien one. Perhaps a line could be added there, just a 'do you understand it may be stripped following administritive action'. Apart from that, yeah, it's transparent enough.

Nah. I trust the staff to apply bans with justification, and I also trust players to push for the reverting of those punishments if they find it was not. That the entire process is not always clear is something that should be worked upon (I don't think it's ever written anywhere that you lose your whitelist with any ban), but the suggestion to give more strikes is absurd without changing the process that already works. I can't count how many times 'whitelists should filter it' is used as an argument as to why we shouldn't nerf/retcon abilities that come with certain whitelists. And it's a point I support - the general population of both players and whitelistees shouldn't have to suffer because a few players couldn't live up to the responsibilities of said whitelist. I'd also hate to experience someone making a bannable offense three times before they finally get their whitelist taken away - it just encourages people to play less responsibly. Not to mention, the note-warning-ban system already presupposes that a player commits previously punished behaviour before they are banned in any way. In a sense, there is already a three-strikes system in place, it's just interlinked with the general warning system. As it should be.

Some edits and additions, based on feedback that I got here and on Discord. All of them are highlighted in orange in the document, but for ease of reading, I've included them below as well. Chief Attorney of the House of Observers "It is headed by the Chief Attorney, who is tasked with organizing and enforcing the myriad of interests pushed by the chamber and all of its speakers. Though the position holds considerably less power than its contemporary in the upper House, the current Chief Attorney, First Speaker Marja-Leena Helminen of Himeo, has broken the mold of her title by virtue of her careful political maneuvering and a tight grip on the House of Observers." Hakamism "One of the first Assunzioni to actively venture out into the galaxy after the planet’s stabilization, he and many others from his planet held the Solarian government accountable for the colony’s struggles, outraged in the way they were abandoned. Quick to join the Frontier revolutionaries, al-Hakim and his followers would present some of the greatest resistance against the Solarians, sowing a legend both at home and in the new Coalition." League of Independent Corporate-Free Systems "While the CPF’s stance on most of the Wildlands is generally disdainful, a notable exception is the League of Independent Corporate-Free Systems, who enjoy a special relationship with the party and by extension, with the Coalition as a whole. Through the sponsorship of Himeo, the formerly Solarian planets have held a position in the House of Observers ever since their creation, and have even pushed for integration into the wider Coalition. While planets such as Gadpathur support this movement in the interest of creating a ‘buffer zone’, the general instability and anti-corporate status of the League has drawn avid opposition from the Caucus. For now, the chambers remain deadlocked on the issue."

There is quite a difference between 'reporting' someone and asking for clarification of the server rules, which is exactly what I did. It's what you do when you are unsure if something like spamming a role consistently is considered an offence of the rules. Was my question born partially out of my frustration? Yes, but to claim that it was becuase of a vendetta against these players is an argument in bad faith. I take issue with how they play and react to polite requests to change them - never the players themselves. Do not presume a toxic attitude from a (admittedly vague) line in my argument. Considering high-pop hour timeslots and the commonality of two-spot limited roles, yes, it is actually very easy for one person to sit on a role for a considerable amount of time. It's certainly not a monopoly, but when you take into account that these players also usually know about quirks like the 'unready bug' in comparison to those that do not, it is very easy to hold onto a job no matter your luck. But even if that wasn't the case, due to the purely luck-based nature of the current system, you could end up with a player 'winning' two rounds in a row while another player has to bite the bullet, which is an innately unfair point of luck-based systems. This is about fixing that partially, and while that is bound to upset/derail some people, I think it's safe to say that if you can commit four+ rounds to this game nearly every day, you're not going to quit because you can't play your most favourite role for two of your eight hours of playing the game. Yes, there is an innate hypocracy to some of this, as I do find myself wanting to play the same character and job on repeat many times. The difference is, I do not take it nearly as far as some players do, and should I be asked to stop doing it by another player, I would. To label this my main argument when I've pointed out several times that it's wholly subjective is just plain wrong - if you need to look for the actual points, read the paragraph above. I do not take issue if I have to play some alts, indeed I consider it a benefit at times. What I do take issue with, is people hogging roles with absolutely no concern for others, even when it is brought to them directly.

To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to play a maintanance drone. The gameplay is extremely subtle, and without a solid grasp of theoretical physics most of the SS13 mechanics will go over a typical player's head. There's also a drone's nihilistic outlook, which is deftly woven into their lore background- their philosophy draws heavily from Orwellian literature, for instance. The players, like Colfer, understand this stuff; they have the intellectual capacity to truly appreciate the depths of these jobs, to realise that they're not just here to unclog toilets- they say something deep about the GAME. As a consequence people who dislike maintenance drones truly ARE idiots- of course they wouldn't appreciate, for instance, the intracasies in a drone's existential catchphrase "01100101 01100001 01110100 00100000 01110011 01101000 01101001 01110100," which itself is a cryptic reference to Asimov's Russian epic, the Foundation series. I'm smirking right now just imagining one of those addlepated simpletons scratching their heads in confusion as Geeves' genius PRs unfold themselves on their computer screens. What fools.. how I pity them. 😂 And yes, by the way, i DO have a matriarch drone tattoo. And no, you cannot see it. It's for the ladies' eyes only- and even then they have to demonstrate that they're within 5 IQ points of my own (preferably lower) beforehand. Nothin personnel kid 😎

After reading some of the responses above, I admit that I may have been a bit too harsh on the topic of playing only one character, That was still a subjective point though, as I pointed out, and I stand by everything else that was said. You can call it a bad take or precedent, it doesn't change the fact that this suggestion is needed in other ways. For events, I am fairly sure an exception could be made where the slate is wiped clean beforehand. To put it into perspective, there is absolutely nothing you can do if someone decides to play the same limited job for eight hours straight, nearly every single day. I have reached out to admins, there is nothing in the rules that they can act on in this scenario. They are not even likely to talk to the player about it. You may think reaching out to these players on your own solves it, but most of the time the response from them is 'sucks to suck'. That means this suggestion here is the only way to actually do something about this, and it's a bit off-putting to see the responses for someone that is lucky to get in a round every now and again. Keeping it random is not a solution, because the other person has eight hours to play, and I have two.

I remain adamant that no matter how this applies to the station currently, it should absolutely be implemented for NBT, especially at it's launch. As Peppermint says, I suspect a large amount of people are going to be clamoring for roles then (especially limited, new ones), and it's only fair we give every player equal amount of time. I also see no reason as to why this shouldn't be implemented later on, too. Yes, people have limited timeslots (I myself struggle to find two hours in my evenings, on a good day) but I raise you this - it is even more infuriating to finally get the chance to log on, see that you have just enough time for a round, and then lose your role to a person that has been playing since the start of the day, every single round. While I recognize the pop-killing potential of it all, I personally weigh that against the diversification of roles and characters. People need to branch out, simply said, as even if you found your perfect job, it's a disservice not only to yourself but to the wider community if you just spam that one slot until the end of days. This is not to mention the negative affects of only playing one character, but that is a lot more subjective so I won't comment on it. Visitor slots are still unlimited, though, and I think people will be surprised how much you can get out of those IC breaks, and you can still play the same character back-to-back. This also eliminates the cross-round RP issue Johnson mentioned above.

How wide-spanning are these new uniforms? Is this only for each department's uniforms, or contractor/megacorporations as well?

Though the original version had me agreeing fully with what DeadLantern said, the edit is much better. That said, I still feel it's a bit too nebulous. You have something going with the off-worlder angle, and I think you should expand on that. Is there a way to perhaps link in the Scarabs, and maybe even the Techno-Conglomorate? I think that provides a much better base to work off with. You can tie in aspects of those cultures that has come to shape the company in general. Personally, I think leaning into zero-g operations of all kinds as their 'unique theme' is the way to go, because that is also something you can use on-station. Maybe they have extra operations with EVA equipment? This PMC also seems to be the best contender to merge the 281 proposal in with. As a last note, which isn't aimed at just you, I find that a lot of people who have made PCMG suggestions have really jumped the gun here. All three suggestions that I've seen don't seem to have much time put into them, and were posted mainly because the PCMG got announced. It is genuinely heartwarming to see more applications here - but I suggest you give them a lot more thinking before making more edits. None of these concepts are bad, but they do certainly need more time in the oven.

I find it a bit ironic how you say this, considering that you harped on the Coalition PMC for being little more than a mercenary group from a specific area. If your criteria for 'interesting PMC' is that they occupy a thematic niche and concept, and not just people from this area of the galaxy, I think both of these fail. I fully agree with you that a PMC's blurb should be as useful for making characters as possible, but the Outer Ring, in it's current state, is practically just a retelling of the situation in the Wildlands - they're Solarians who are experienced in keeping order. That's not any more or less dry than the Independant Rangers. Funnily enough, this is a similar reason as to why I don't find Nexus particularly worthy, either. Dagamuir has it's honour code to play around with - Kazarrhaldiye gets its veterans and all the background that the revolutions come with it. With that said, here are my (very general) suggestions for how to make both a little more focused. Lean into the rowdy, wild nature of the Independant Rangers. This can examplify the lawless nature of the Frontier, and the unusual men and women that come from it. Just like how they try and appear legitimate with their naming, they act as a professional mercenary company, while employing underhanded, unusual and wild tactics with their work. Not only does this now provide a niche for Frontier characters, it also provides avanue for more wacky PMCG ones. Make the Outer Ring more professional and in-link with their Solarian background. Perhaps a lot of their employees are formerly of the Solarian military and police forces that had to stand down with the collapse. Perhaps they like to stick close to those old methods and training, and so a lot of their modus operandi resembles that of their past. And, because of their order-keeping history, maybe they're even less tolerant of lawlessness than their newfound friends in the PMCG. This way, these PMCs become polar opposites of one another. More than just representitives of their origin cultures, they operate under completely different ideas of what a PMC should be. You can even have inter-group rivarly on-station, with contractors butting heads over their differences within the PMCG. I think conflict like that would be natural for an organization cobbled together like that.

Firstly, thank you for the kind words. It is a special kind of happiness to see people read and understand the lore you write! And indeed, a lot of your feedback is spot on about what I wanted to achieve. The North American influence is indeed very much there, and I found it almost unavoidable during the writing of this, due to the sheer amount of parallels already present. I tried not to be too on the nose about it. I think real-life influences like that help make it familiar enough as long as it's done tastefully. I was a bit confused about this part because this is essentially the core conflict between the Caucus and the CFP. Do you think it should be made even clearer? I think you can see it already in: "More practically, the party is interested in seeing the House of Members gain more legislative power to achieve this, and even more controversially, interfere with systems on a local level." "As an ideology, the CFP has continued to support the right of individual system-states to act according to their local governments, seeking to eschew almost any trace of a greater administration." As well as the previous attempts at Coalition-wide standards, and the politicization of the Rangers. This was actually a great shout, as I previously only skimmed the Human Wildlans page, and missed that part. In retrospect, I'm very surprised how well it fits in with what is written here, at least from the perspective of the League. It seems to me that they would be firmly within the circle of the CPF, largely due to the link to Himeo and Gadpathur (the two key players of the party), and because of the more corporate-friendly stance of the Caucus. I also don't think the Caucus would be interested in getting them into the fold, because they are more worried about keeping member-systems, rather than acquiring even more territory (for now). That said, I think the League with be a great tidbit to include in the final version - perhaps as one of the many lobbying parties in the House of Observers.

Type (e.g. Planet, Faction, System): Faction. Short Description: An expansion on the political enviroment of the CoC, and a more concrete concept for the 'Coalition Rangers'. How will this be reflected on-station?: Pretty much any character who originates from the Coalition will have more political nuance to engage with, both on and off station. Care has been taken to involve as many planets as possible. The two main political parties serve to incite further conflict, and make the entire faction a bit less nebulous. Does this addition do anything not achieved by what already exists?: Yeah. Do you understand that the project may change over time in ways that you may not foresee once it is handed over to the Lore Team?: Betting on it. Long Description: Click here. Additional Notes: While I understand the document's size may be a bit daunting, I believe that an entity as large and as varied as the Coalition should have a solid political background to it. I would also like to think of it as a stepping stone for numerous additions to the entire faction, which I think it desperately needs - one example being a more complete History section. None of this would have been possible without Schwann's industrious editing and consistent suggestions. They brought invaluable help all throughout the three weeks that this was written, and I couldn't thank them enough for it.

While I take no issue with the writing itself after Caelphon's edit, I am a bit unsure if this will see that much use with the NBT. Based on what you wrote, I assume you expect people contracted from 281 to be Bridge Crew in terms of their job - the prompt really only allows for that. From what I have been told, Bridge Crew are going to be SCC-contracted only, which presents an issue. While yes, you could have characters who are originally from 281 and then get hired to be Bridge Crew under the SCC, that feels like a very niche implementation. I do not know what the 'limit' is going to be on the number of PMCG groups, but I feel this would take up a slot that could be used better. I would rather see this group molded into just one entity, and then perhaps made into a sub-faction of a larger member of the PCMG.