Fyni

Further small tips: Don't be afraid to just walls off parts of a map you don't need, especially in low intensity Ody gimmicks. The crew likes to wander, and maybe leave a few areas to explore, but cut rooms and doors with new walls without hestiation. Need a somewhat clean site? Unleashe a horde of cleanbots at roundstart to clean up the muck Give your actors chemeleon kits to dress themselves. You can also give them uplinks, but I recommend against this unless you trust them - far too easily abused. It can take the Horizon some time from your first annoucement to actually show up - don't be afraid to call them in before your fully ready to help get the round going. Too many actors? Spawn more actor vendors - it has the IDs and radios they need. In fact, vendors let them equip themselves fairly easily without giving them the free reign uplinks do. I'll add more as I think of them!

This is the biggest fact I think - all the character who bend on what is acceptable in the roleplay workplace enviroment of the Horizon only work because there is the CCIA. Without it, more drastic and none IC actions must be taken - unless attacking people, been caught with illicit substances etc. is meant to be acceptable in character, at which point the Horizon setting breaks. Lower stakes punishments which are less of an OOC punishment might be better but the facade of accountability IC allows these things to continue. Other HRP servers I played on in the past did not have anything close to the canon conflicts and (in universe) law breaking as Aurora does, and that's because on those other servers you get a character deleted, a temp ban or noted for breaking the setting too much.

Honestly, I'd be down to a "scent" section of flavour text, only visible when uncovered, and maybe distance based too (only readable in 2/3 tiles) with some species like Vaurca able to use it from further away, and some like IPCs unable to see it at all.

I’ve played in most of the test Odyssey rounds now, both as command, a grunt and an actor, alongside one round as the Storyteller. Therefore, I’d like to compile this little nugget of wisdom I think are applicable to any future Storytellers. These are not rules – rather, things to always keep in mind. 1. Thou wilt keep it simple, stupid. ST gimmicks should not be overly complex, and should be able to be summed up in two or three sentences, tops. You can add details on top of that, but the basics should be simple. This allows actors to improvise and add to your story. Make something too complex and your actors might struggle to know what you’re going for, which will make the crew struggle more. 2. Thou wilt improvise and adapt. No plan survives the crew. Mistakes from actors and the Horizon will complicate things, and even mistakes from yourself. Be willing to improvise, study the flow of the round and know what will make for a better story – change things as best you can without contradicting yourself. 3. Thou wilt acknowledge the 2 hours. Sadly, it usually takes an hour to get things set up and going – assuming the Horizon is also on the ball. Most rounds are about 2 hours + transfer time, and like antags and command (which you are whitelisted for) you should at least nod to it. Be ready to wrap things up nearing the end of the two hours so your story doesn’t get cut off by bored and lobby voters. An ending can be escalation in such a way which forces a Horizon retreat/evac, a fight, deaths, faxes etc. 4. Thou wilt have an ending in mind. This kind of ties into point 3, but I think it is essential. Tasks such as reconstructing an entire outpost or endless mob wave defence will inevitably grow boring, especially if there is absolutely no way for players to make a difference. For engineering, consider a simpler project (“Make a SM generator / set up a hospital!”) rather then a vague “do everything”, for example, or against mobs give them a macguffin to destroy with clear directions. With actors, ask them to escalate so they are eventually killed / evacuated / arrested / saying “it’s all fine now thanks!” 5. Thou wilt involve as many people as possible. This is less of a numbers thing, and more of a departmental thing. It’s a well known fact that on the Horizon, Security get most of the time to play with antags. Involve other departments – service can provide food and drink to actors (even if they are evac’d to the Horizon), medical can deal with injuries and psychological issues, engineering can fix things (but remember, goals focussed, not a “fix everything!”). This is imo the hardest commandment to do, but do try. Key rule here: do not make areas atmospheric hell, or filled with enemies, or you will not involve anyone but those who are absolutely necessary. 6. Thou wilt not force the Horizon / Command. As the voice of god, you have the power to send “must obey” messages to Command. This is good for some things – getting the ship going someplace, sending certain people down etc. but you should not force them to make certain decisions. Your job is to present a situation, a (hopefully simple and mostly achievable in one round) task and to allow them to figure out how to resolve it. If you want the Horizon to disobey orders as part of your gimmick (“this task is clear impossible!”) it might be worth using your storyteller LOOC to inform an appropriate command member of your intent as I am sure most will go along with trying. 7. Thou wilt make it easy. Always always ALWAYS make scenarios easier then you think they need to be. Less hostile mobs, less damage to structures, less demands for tasks. Why? Because it is far far easier to make things harder on the fly then it is to make things easier. Have an APC blow up, or more mobs appear just down the hall if you need to. But once the crew are dealing with a problem, it’s hard to remove it. Remember, RNG events and crew incompetence can lead to problems which you have not factored into “balance”, so always err on the easier side. 8. Thou wilt use all IC means available to you. Often, something goes wrong. You can’t get an item to work, or players are not set up, or someone DC’d. It’s too easy to ask OOC for time, or to ignore something, but this can often be accomplished by a simple excuse delivered IC, by an actor or a fax / announcement. Always try and do this over communicating OOC. 9. Thou must not be afraid to ask for help. Your actors are there to tell a story too. Admins are often willing to help – especially with the tools which for many (me included) are unfamiliar. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from both groups, and to take and use recommendations. 10. Thou will aid Fyni. This list needs others to look at it. While I agree with most of it’s points, and have seen each failures on some of them (some by myself in my one chance in the ST chair), I think it is a good list of guidelines to create a fun round but I welcome feedback to improve it.

While I strongly agree with this, I have sadly been told it is impossible from a technical standpoint. However, at the very least I believe there should be automatic instand respawns for the ghosts wanting to get the role in Odyssey rounds (missing out on a contest job is already bad enough), and perhaps some sort of lottery (instead of "whoever is fastest gets it") - give ghosts a minute to sign up then randomly select one eligble ghost. I have already asked this but also the ability to jump directly to them via pressing an F next to their name in AOOC chat like you can in regular chat would help too - and perhaps adding to AOOC a note, for example: Fyni (playing as Jane Doe) to help co-ordinate better. Easier (safe) destruction, ability to interact with things easier (like an AI - closing / opening doors for example), easier way to make bodies are all the things I think are required to enable most ST ideas at this point.

I personally think the IR/CCIA is an excellent part of Aurora. It all but enables the type of play that people are complaining it stifles - by allowing questionable character and actions that other HRP servers I have played on in the past would have just outright not allowed by admin action. Aurora has interpersonal conflict on a none antagonistic level which I havn't seen across multiple servers, enabled by allowing characters to not always fit the (let's be honest, fairly low) IC standard expected of working on the flagship. The CCIA / IRs remain as a way to know there is accountbility in character - there are numerous characters I know who are on the verge of breaking the illusion the Horizon has, but the exsistance of the accountbility helps reinforce it and allow these characters to exsist. I hope I don't have to name these characters but I think people know exactly who they are. If the problem with the CCIA is it makes some characters difficult to play, the problem is with the setting, not the CCIA. But the Horizon is a workspace, and if things do escalate beyond (IC) rules then there does need to be some (again, IC) accountability, otherwise the whole illusion breaks. However I don't think it's perfect. I do think there should be more that effects the day to day rounds, and this comes to alternative punishments. Demotions can be unfun (forcing you to play a job you perhaps don't like), fines are meaningless beyond just been able to mention them and "retraining" or whatever takes a character away for a short time (though personally as someone who plays multiple characters regually I'm not too fussed by this). I think a good alternative punishment would be merely to mark records of effected characters with an "Under watch" "on notice" etc. on their records which command and security can see (and perhaps even alert command more directly when such a character comes up). This could allow command, security and the effected player to interact in an intresting way which is otherwise absent from the CCIA systems ("I see your already on notice, don't make a same mistake!" or "That mark is bad, let us have a chat about how we can improve to make sure we get you through this", depending on the chracter ofc.) I would also like it to be semi transparent OOC - hiding punishments of these I think is a bit silly since they are IC actions, and a quick report on why (one paragraph tops) a decision was made would be helpful. I also think the OOC restriction on lying is crazy considering the whole point of the CCIA is to be an IC investigation. Make it clear IC that if caught in a lie, there is some sort of punioshment (no matter how small) then let characters say what they say. Not all investigations will conclude successfully perhaps once this is introduced, but again this is an IC system, and sadly in real life that often is the end result.

I was going to make a post including a bunch of mini suggestions and something like this was it. I'm bad at piloting and feel intimidated trying to learn - it's very easy to troll a round by accident. In an ideal world there is a an (IC) computer program you should be able to download on any terminal which lets you fly a fake ship on a fake overmap as practice - even give it lore as a flight sim in universe - but I'm not sure how hard that would be to implement.

Reporting Personnel: Elizabeth Joyce Job Title of Reporting Personnel:[Captain Game ID: [Odyssey Test Round 3] Commended Personnel: Operations Manager Bayar Yeke Chief Engineer Percival Caladius Head of Security Cornelius Huizhong Birdge Crew Narasi Perlyalna'shirani Bridge Crew Celine Arceneaux Witnesses: Elizabeth Joyce, Captain (details below) Time of Commendable Act: 12/10/2466 22:00-00:00 Ship Time Real Time: 12/10/2024 11pm-1am BST Location of Act: SCCV Horizon, Propellant Depot AG5 Overview: Yesterday we responded to a distress call in Valley Hale, a nearby independent depot designated AG5. Without a complete picture of the situation, I dispatched a multi faceted away team, lead by Cornelius Huizhong and Percival Caladius. What they found was a hostile enviroment. Infested by Greimorians, lacking air, light and running on minimal power, they were thrust onto the frontlines of a extended and somewhat grueling battle against the enviroment. Through my total comms access, I listen to both command members on the mission co-ordinate their teams, effciently using sub teams, assigning specific tasks, and checking on the needs of their workers. Pervical in particular was always on the ball to what was needed to practically restore a triage area for any rescued crew. Working in tandem with Bayar, who with his team scoured the whole Horizon for the needed rescources, they established an albiet temporary shelter where multiple members of the Depot's crew were treated by extremely limited medical staff. Both members of my bridge crew spent time co-ordinating the Intrepid and the relief around it, including making sure all Horizon crew were accounted for and during a difficult security incident, were able to remain calm under pressure and follow my orders exactly. While this sort of mission is not entirely unordinary, and the roles performed by the members of my command is expected of them, I saw a harmoneous whole working in a frankly difficult situations to deliver the best possible result. I hope the crew we rescued will think positively on the Chainlink.

I don't think there was any intervention from the outside - there was a natural player vote when the away mission was wrapping up. Perhaps some OOC guidelines to storytellers, actors and even command try and get to that stage within 2 hours would be good though. I was considering this myself. Odyssey rounds can start wit ha simple "we have recieved a report that you should be stationed on standby" which will include Intrepid grounding until further notice. However, yes, this does take away from science's ability to have a normal round. While I think there is plenty of time for them to have a normal round, maybe what the Horizon needs is a bigger then canary but smaller then intrepid science shuttle to help with this? I dunno. Other thoughts: Meta knowledge: Not knowing IC where we were going but people knowing OOC was a bit awkward. Said Xenoarch beelines directly to the Depot, and it was nearby the whole time. Having the exact location shown to everyone at round start might not be nessesary - I know we're not meant to use meta knowledge but I did feel that info pulling at people during the hour set up time. Communication and cameras: I still think there should be body cams available for away teams, and these cameras and the Intrepid cameras should be accesible even when they're at away sites. This will help engage people forced to stay behind with the round (like me as Cap this time), help with communications issues we always have when it's busy, while not "breaking" an antag exprience (maybe the storyteller has the ability to cut them out for story reasons) Service: So often left out, Service was making food and drink aid for the crew. This was great! They should get access to more and labelled portable fridges so they can do this easier in the future. Operations: I loved the scramble across the ship for resources. However, this round we kept the Intrepid mostly stationary, which meant Ops was mostly just pushing things through the teleporter. This might be a playstyle thing, but a smaller pilot-able shuttle to do deliveries which isn't the Spark (which is often been used by miners) might lead to more engagement?

I really think the HoS should have a filing cabinet, though the office is kind of cramped so I'm not sure how this can be done without expanding it a bit.

My concern is a checkpoint is meant to be in an area of the ship which is unavoidable. In theory, the hanger and merchant checkpoints cannot be avoided without extreme measures, whereas the janitor's deck two office can be very easily bypassed. The point of the checkpoint is to... check. In theory the merchant checkpoint allows security to check crew leaving the merchant for contraband, and the hangar one incase the Intrepid is used in a rescue, or picks up some bad 'uns or... something. All turning the closet into a "checkpoint" would do is create another unusued space.

This was all but what I said in one of my posts earlier in this thread - I like Odyssey but as a new "this will be most rounds" it felt a bit intense. I think it needs a tone down (no expectation of sending the whole crew away from the ship for example). Big scale "involving near everyone" Odyssey been a few times a week, maybe with preset times ("every friday night at X time!") will I think give time for people to get that comfy work RP in other rounds and maybe feel more upto that intense odyssesy round every now and again. I honestly think it would make the usual rounds more poplous too as people want to get that RP in between those intense Odyssesy rounds, where that groundwork of relationships can really pay off? I'd also like to add I don't think the intent of Odyssesy is for every round to be so intense. Lighter rounds where a simple goal is engineering based (fix this broken ship with none hostile crew in danger on it (medic work) and maybe a few active turrets or loose grems (sec work) which doesn't involve everyone seem like they would work well in this format - as long as the "involve everyone all the time" nature of this test round isn't intended for every round I don't think this should be a problem?

It was a lot of fun, and I think having this game mode as a semi regular "event" at the very least will heal deal with missing the quiet rp hour most antag rounds have and make the none Odyssesy rounds popular too because it offers that?

I think the teleporter as a "send down a single or handful or people or a few items" thing is fine, but should not be used primarily too. I think maps should be there purely because long time player will learn the maps by heart and less frequent players will end up lost. There needs to be an aide.

Hello! Captains perpective. My first bit of feedback is time. I was quick to prepare the departments to set up a base on the planet, but that's only because I knew where we were to go and instructed to do so ASAP. If this mode is run "properly" (I.E. with a GM), I can see this infomation taking some time to filter down. The amount of time it takes to set up people and gear means I think some basic info that both Command and the GM can work with needs to be available immediately, or at least within 5 minutes of round start. This can include the aforemention PDA maps / paper maps and a brief (command only maybe) message saying "Prepare for operations / expedition to XYZ planet" I highly enjoyed the command brief I called, if I had more info earlier it could have been better. With that in mind, with expediance of the action in mind, I would like there to be some guidelines on how to approach these situations. Five minute Intrepid flights, advanced seat booking (engineering and security first! etc.) can all be specified to ease that start of round chaos. As the Captain, one of the few I can see reasonably staying on the Horizon, there needs to be better meathods of communication. First, all crew should have access to hailing or an expedition channel, to stop the "angry locals can listen in on our common communications and talk there too" problem we had on Konyang, but which also last night made me restrict exactly what I was saying - keeping the crew less informed, making the round less engaging. I would also like remote cameras to the planet to away sites to work - often your just going of word of mouth as the Cap, and been able to use a borg's cameras or the journalist would make that much easier, and I don't think "over powered" like earlier talk of body cams concluded. Finally, I am unsure if my annoucements were "hearable" on the planet, but making sure they are would aid with that communication and coordination aspect. Feedback on a per deparetment basis (which I only gather from watching over it all) Command - Intrepid flights are under Bridge Crew. I assigned one as the "crew chief" (in charge of who and what gets on each flight with absolute authority around the Intrepid). Having this tempoorary role codified (see my earlier guideline suggestion) I think would make the Intrepid less chaotic. Adding guidelines to cycling bridge crew on pilot duties too could help alievate boredom for said players too. Security - No comment here! Science - I was glad science had something to do, even a large role in this round. I hope Odyssey always prioritizes this often neglected department more often. We need some generic macguffins which GMs could use which perhaps interact with the tools science has access to? (Cool idea of a "macguffin" designer where you make an object/artefact and give it propeties based off a list) Medical - Access to chemistry is key and may see a player stuck on the ship producing as such. Operations - I loved Operations role in moving supplies up and down, using the tug to help medical move their gear etc. and it feels like the department finally coming into it's own. The mining rock issue dulled it a little bit but otherwise it was great. The machinists were one job stuck largely on ship, even when I asked one down to do field repairs. A way for them to quickly set up recharging stations for IPCs and shipbound synths would give them a reason to go down. Service - Poor service. I believe a storeroom should be added full of "field supplies" for them to easily set up a field kitchen - a few crates of MREs including K'ois, and "field" stoves / ovens - cooking equipment which is not electricity powered, but powered by phoron/other sheets like PACMAN generators to help them start this process ASAP. In this and the recent event round, they were supposed to set up in the field but it is severly slowed by power restrictions when they are low on the priority list below engineering and medical. Overall I had a lot of fun sat on top of this chaotic mess of energy and was proud of what engineering achieved, with the help of Operations. Proud of what my bridge crew did, and amazed at Medical and Security's work in rough conditions.

[b]Reporting Personnel:[/b] Elizabeth Joyce [b]Job Title of Reporting Personnel:[/b] Captain [b]Game ID:[/b] Event Round (New Blades, Old Wounds Event 4: Hell Is Empty) [b]Commended Personnel:[/b] Bradley Knight, Engineer Louise Muckle, Engineer Frank Adamczyk, Engineer Felix Fleeter, Engineer Samson-221, Engineer Manuel Barros, Engineer Samga Khatun, Bridge Crew [b]Witnesses:[/b] Elizabeth Joyce, Captain [b]Time of Commendable Act:[/b] - [b]Real Time:[/b] 0100 GMT [b]Location of Act:[/b] Mudki [b]Overview:[/b] During our recent humanitarian mission to Mudki, I tasked engineering with restoring utilities within the city, with Samga Khatun working with them to liase between them and command given the lack of a Chief Engineer. Their first task was the power plant which would be essential to restoring operation to the other utilities. Here they ran into extreme radiation thanks to the damage to the plant breaching radiation shielding. Despite the danger, they were promt in restoring at least a modicum of power to the city and importantly the hospital. They were quick to adapt and get the water plant functional again, at which point the Nralakk Federation humanitarian personnel made a comment to me over the efficient and excellent work of the engineering team. I believe this is the main commendable point - they made an extremely positive impression on outside forces, promoting the reputation of the Horizon and the Chainlink as a whole. After the key utilities were restored, they continued to make sure they were fit for long term use, and aided in small tasks all around our secotr of Mudki. It was an extremely work positive attitude, and one which has made an impreesion. [b]Additional Notes:[/b] (I would like to add the Nralakk Federation skrell to witnesses but was unable to remember their name and no one replied to my ask in discord)

I've played alongside Bayar Yeke in command several times now, as both a HoS and a Captain. They have done extremely well in difficult situations, helping antag gimmicks along, enabling none antag rp moments. I think their characters have always been good, but they have shown that OOC consideration that I expect from a command player +1 Also they did a bad annoucement by accident and fell down a lift, it was funny and relatable, silly mistakes we all make +1

The ship is not designed to handle "stairs are dangerous." There are far, far too many stairs in areas for aethetics reasons (the bridge, research, machinist workshop, bar etc.) rather than to actually swap decks. Elevators are far too far apart. And I've seen people merely weld crates and lockers, and unweld them when they've finished moving. I like the PR in theory, but I don't think it is suitible for the Horizon.

Autolathes can print leathal ammo for security in a crisis - it's strange that it needs to hacked to do so, especially since it seems they are able to (when hacked.) Simply allow autolathes automatic access to do so in Red Alert - this can also help antags, when combat starts, to have access to the ammo too without hacking (which I'm sure a lot of them might already be equipped to do anyway.)

Three dead trying to contain it, five more dead after been told not to go into it. The great vine massacre of 17th May 2466.

Yes, please ignore the one month rule. The animation is nice, but having it be CONSTANT is distracting. Either it needs to be more subtle, or it needs to have a cooldown between running the animations (30 seconds minimum). Have vents been changed too?

Secure artifact storage has windows and walls on the same space

APC Explosion An APC explodes, doing minor damage to the area around it and maybe destroying the APC. Make sure the APC gives a warning before exploding (or make sure it's not going to kill someone stood next to it at least. Atmospheric Malfunction An area panic vents (against with plenty of notice for the people in said room), and can't be fixed from a distance - maybe the air alarm cuts out a room. Waste System Extreme Backpressure A random part of the disposal system breaks. This should shoot trash out of the whole in the pipe. IMPORTANT There should be some check that most of the "round changing" random events can only happen if there are engineers on shift, possibly some of the worse only with multiple.