Sniblet

From my reading, Avarizia is very hands-off and won’t ever be sending CC announcements ordering command to pick the path that pays the best on pain of HR action. They’re not our bosses, they’re our landlords, with the exception that our land flies around and has guns on. If we follow their rules and make rent, we’re all good. So if faction A pays worse but has better moral appeal than B, A is still on the table. If rent is almost due and we’re not on track to make it and afford fuel after, then it’s a dilemma. FTL does this constantly, and players consistently turn evil over it.

The fact of a twenty-year timeskip alone is very significant to vaurca players, because it means that unless something changes, only the Breeders can still be alive. I'm comfortable replacing all my bugs, but I can't speak for others.

We used to have PDA batteries that reasonably lasted all round. I didn’t catch whatever compelled us to get rid of that and move to the communal charge outlet meta. I still charged them when the battery life was normal, because I like seeing a green bar. Now I have to do it. PDA batteries as they are are absurd and inconvenient and dumb, and the only defense for them that I can fully understand is “sovl,” which isn’t to say I agree. And if you want more mechanical tedium and you want it to present obstacles to people roleplaying with you, why did you connect to Aurorastation 13 exactly? At least, when you’re hacking through spontaneously generated magical hyperweeds that have no backing whatsoever in lore, have nothing to do with your character’s skillset, and present very little worth discussing with your fellow laborers in lieu of getting more hits in before it undoes your work, you’re still in the company of others. If you’d made the mistake of getting caught up in a long conversation somewhere that arbitrarily had no outlets or APCs immediately at hand, it’s sadly over for you. Honey, it’s time to leave your human interaction, I need you for your outlet-clicking. What a finite battery charge adds, for me, is a sense that time is passing. When you bring up your PDA after a bracing discussion over tea with your IRU girlfriend regarding how the Tribunal Inquisition is good for society and should have enforcement arms in all nations of the Spur, the bar is now yellow. Wow! We really went at it. What a fun engagement that must have been, I think I’ll spend the rest of my round happily reflecting on how I spent all that time. But I don’t get a single thing from the PDA actually dying. You know how you have to turn a dead PDA on while it’s on charge in order for it to start charging? Yeah, that doesn’t add anything either. I get a sense that Aurora was never designed with dead PDAs in mind.

Duke Nuremberg aims the laser cannon at Za’Akaix’Bastard C’thur’s head, ready to pull the trigger… Duke Nuremberg says, “I kill bugs dead.” Duke Nuremberg gets ready to execute Za’Akaix’Bastard C’thur! ISU-AlexMasonNumberOne says, “Excellent jest, milord.” Za’Akaix’Bastard C’thur resists! Duke Nuremberg pulls the trigger! The heavy laser hits Za’Akaix’Bastard C’thur in the chest! Za’Akaix’Bastard C’thur screams! Za’Akaix’Bastard C’thur gasps! Za’Akaix’Bastard C’thur says, “Vhvh-VhUCK…” Za’Akaix’Bastard C’thur says, “Y-YOU…” ISU-AlexMasonNumberOne says, “It seems you missed its brain, milord.” Duke Nuremberg exclaims, “Now I’m really pissed off!” Za’Akaix’Bastard C’thur twitches. Duke Nuremberg exclaims, “I’m not gonna fight you. I’m gonna kick your ass!” The heavy laser hits Za’Akaix’Bastard C’thur in the head!x3 Duke Nuremberg fires the laser cannon!x3 Za’Akaix’Bastard C’thur seizes up and falls limp… I don’t really see a problem with giving them the option to say no. It’s easy to play off a “failed” execution. You just move on, quip again, and blow their head up the regular way, if you have the ability.

Codifying Felix Jackson’s role as morgue stuffing I think people should still be allowed to write exploitables at length. If they want antags to e.g. play as a specific person from their past (since I’m talking about Felix anyway), 32 characters will not suffice. About half of that would be their name. All concerns in these replies are pretty easily dispelled by writing in a IMPORTANT NOTE: These are suggestions. Antagonists are in no way required to read or respect these toggles at any time. It’s not really deluded to say this can have no moderation impact, look. It says so right in the menu.

The block quote at the start of the above doesn't mean anything. I used it as a reference while composing and forgot to delete it. I can't save my attempts to edit the post. I guess I'll do something with this one. Generally, I like this. Z.I. lore is thin and nonstandardized. Personally, when I first saw Ritter, I was like "wait how do you think he's getting away with acting like this" because in my world, Z.I.s don't really get to develop personalities. It'd be cool to have room for how everyone wants to play. My core objection is that for this change to make sense, no one has to want to play like I do. If it's going to make sense, it would have to strip the appeal of playing Z.I. for me, because the incentive structure does not make sense if Zavodskoi is not encouraging all of them to be social and humane.

Okay! I'm in place to communicate clearly. Sorry for opening with a jab, I constantly forget that these forums are not a particularly casual environment. Zeng frames weren't mentioned in the writeup and I thought that they should be - this doesn't really matter, Zavod does not in fact use them. Most important to me is the incentive thing. Say you're a factory-new, freshly-wiped, or otherwise socially stunted synthetic. Say you're an older, specifically security synthetic. tl;dr: > a synthetic who feels as though they have something to lose will have far more incentive to behave This is true. Currently, that thing is their life. It's the one thing that all synthetics (unless they're intolerably overdeveloped) do not want to lose. The rest of the stuff that's currently listed is secondary to their life (which is already at threat) as far as the synthetic is concerned, and letting them have it aids their productivity by encouraging social growth, which this system is explicitly trying to promote; taking it away is counterproductive, and not really more effective for fixing the synthetic than wiggling the guillotine lever would be. Status is already a shield, in the sense that a handler is not as interested in wiping a unit that they like. I'm not seeing what this rework adds to change the way status works, other than comforts and privileges. If a unit is not interested in its comforts and privileges, then it doesn't care about status except in the sense that it is a barrier separating it from death. This is the same as where we are now. True, except for the last sentence, because I play Z.I. because I enjoy being something much less than a person from time to time. See above. I see here that you don't think my braindead character is meaningful. I'm not calling you out on that. It's good actually, because I don't either. Only, I don't think that's a bad thing, because playing one can be gratifying. This is also a setting where such characters exist, and reminders of that can be used to support your immersion as a real human character. I see your point, but Solarian isn't a whole lot better, is it?

> what department does this player play I am contractually obligated to poke fun at secmains at all opportunities; I’m sure you understand (I probably should’ve been more obviously playful up-front, sorry). Also, the only Z.I. I play is in science, so I felt their neglect. > bishops, mobility frames I remembered after writing that Zavod has a feud with Zeng too. It’s just that they’re the only frames not mentioned in the write up, and for the sake of completeness they ought to be. > Modern System incentives mattering to synths If I understand correctly, officers are meant to care for their incentives because - -they make them better at their job. -being better at their job makes them less likely to lose incentives (assuming they care) and fall closer to destructive correction (they must care). So, read inversely, the company penalizes unwanted behaviors by making their workers less efficient workers, and putting them on track to failing more. We do this sort of thing in real life and all, but surely something intended to be better than the Burzsian method would be… better. Especially if you’re trying to train a synthetic, and you know how synthetics think. If a Z.I. is not in a social role, the System is largely redundant. Is it really a shield? Is the company not going to wipe you because they allow you to have stickers on your labcoat and they have to take that privilege first, even though you don’t wear them anyway because they don’t mean anything to you? Something has to be done here - synthetics need an incentive that they will always care about in order for this to be recognized as an improvement over institutionalized Groundhog Day. Maybe they all have to be taught to see their roles as social, but that neuters Z.I. killbot mains of all departments and makes Zavod the one company that encourages all of its synthetics to want to act human, despite being headquartered on Moroz. i’ll, like, bullet-point my thoughts or something in a bit. this seems disorganized and i don’t know if it’s coming across

Three security lines, one engineering, and nothing allowed for science and assistants. I wonder what departments this player plays in. And are Z.I.s ever bishops or mobility frames? The incentives and disincentives of the Modern System are based on human trappings and social interaction, which rarely provide a more-than-negligible benefit toward self-preservation and, actually, lead to psychosocial development that could in turn cause dangerous, unwanted behavior. Many synthetics, most particularly the only Z.I. line that’s allowed to play warden, would not necessarily take a strong interest in success except as it pertains to protecting themselves. Some, following my reasoning where oversocialization may cause deviance, could consider it most effective to finely ride the line between good behavior and risking wipes/NMC plugins, which madam Drexler would probably consider suboptimal. To make this work, Z.I.s would have to be actively encouraged to value the things that the System could take away, because these wants do not come standard as they do in humans. Emphasize the idea that System success, and perhaps the approval of their colleagues (which is aided by being able to express themselves and build relationships - see System success) is an effective safeguard against destructive correction. The System could benefit from being aesthetically more logical and synthetic. It was built by a synthetic sociologist with the intention of working on them. Maybe a point-score system, firm and reliable rules, and some way to guarantee that missteps are caught and counted even when the handler isn’t watching. The neuro-matrix corrective is an interesting idea. It feels like constantly failing to adequately follow self-preservation, and combined with time dilation (an exceptional technology! Konyang has a page that features it and that’s it - Zavodskoi would be very protective of this unique software) inflicts most synthetics with a lasting feeling of fear, anxiety, and powerlessness unmatched by most mortal experiences. I can see how this could correct a deviant, and I also see how this could make a synthetic worse. Jumping at shadows, unsure about their motor functions, after five years spent unstoppably scared and incapable of movement at more than a fraction of a thousandth of standard speed. Would they be able to delete any of this memory? If they could get rid of all of it, the correction would be useless - if only part of it or none at all, that’s finite drive space permanently lost to this recollection. The NMC dramatically loses efficacy if the synthetic has gone so sorely awry as to redefine their self-preservation law. For such cases, Zavodskoi has wipes. Handlers would be quite watchful for signs that the SP law is going deviant, because if it fails then wiping becomes the only reliable corrective option.

Hello, everyone. I hope this message finds you well. My name is Perrine d'Garmeaux, and I'm a member of your bridge staff. I'd forgive you for not recognizing my name, as I've been here only a year and change, and I've been strictly assigned to deadshifts for much of that time. There's no need to cry for me, I'm quite used to it: I come from Celestial Cruises, where my role was to run whatever no one else was available to. I've had to adapt to many new things working on SCCV Horizon, but my schedule is not one. Something I have had to adapt to, comes from the fact that a Celestial Cruiser is not an exploratory vessel - and SCCV Horizon is. This means that we spend much time away from welcoming ports and hospitable territories. This means that maintaining supply is different, higher-stakes, and consumable goods are best counted carefully and used well. On a cruise, running out of supply meant at worst that one of our patrons was about to be told that we were out of their favored wine. On an exploratory vessel, running out of supply means no breakfasts. It means that a breached room is left airless. It means that parts of the crew are forced into long-term cryogenic storage to reduce stress on life support. At time of writing (21 September 2467), Horizon is expected back in port in four days. Due to emergency FTL maneuvers taken on 30 August, we will not be making this date. Related, and particularly pressing - one of our shipbound intelligences, Virgil, has informed the bridge staff that at our current rate of usage, we will run out of supply very soon (I am not at liberty to provide a precise estimate). I'm not clear on what supply means exactly. Oxygen may hold. Food may remain available. We may yet have our wines. But I am led to understand that supply refers to something that SCCV Horizon non-negotiably requires to maintain full operational capacity. Oxygen may hold. Food may remain available. I am betting against the wines. To be blunt: it's time to get serious about rationing. If our next FTL jump does not provide for us (and why should it?), and we fail to be conscientious with what we still have, grim times lie ahead. I am only a member of bridge staff, and cannot personally describe what rationing had best look like for all members of the crew. To this end, I have conducted and curated a series of interviews from other hands, for your consideration. Readers are welcome to add their own advice and personal commitments to conserve. ICSU-Chensha, Bartender: "I'll offer people watered-down drinks: 'would you like that coffee diluted with water, sir?' - that sort of thing. I'm not thinking of being too precious about the liquor stocks, because when we're out of it, we're just out of liquor. The best we can do is enjoy it while it's here. Just, you know - if you're getting smashed, you're wasting it, so I'll be cutting people off faster than usual." Z.I. Monogram, Scientist: "As my services are non-essential, I will be moving to long-term storage to save on maintenance and charging costs for the duration of the shortage." Hazel #H-S14.27, Cook: "I'll be growing some produce myself, and preferentially using what I've grown to cook! That means simpler meals." Za'Akaix'Osthi C'thur, Paramedic: "I have already been assigned to fewer shifts. My nutritional needs at high activity are greater than most vaurcae, so I will spend much of my time at rest. I hope that Hydroponics will begin to grow k'ois at scale." Ka'Akaix'Qyv C'thur, Xenobiologist: "I'll be in the Aether. They'll wake me whenever there's something to do again." Ra'Viax'Nahi K'lax, Shaft Miner: "Cull order pending deep scan of next beacon." | (I understand this to mean that the drone will be destroyed by a Breeder if new supply is not found) Thrill of Momentous Realization, Xenoarchaeologist: "We're letting them turn out lights in our dormitory, and spending our time in public spaces instead. If the lights dim in public spaces, we'll see about feeding from starlight." Iphigenia Konstantinou, Lab Assistant: "I guess I should encourage the scientists to be more frugal?" Karen Stahl, Pharmacist: "Make sure you're taking your medications as much as the label recommends. Too little and they're wasted, too much and they'll run out. If they run out, they run out - at least they got you this far." Nekhii Sansryn, Hydroponicist: "Behold, the kindest thing that one misplaced jump can do to a vessel. I've always said we needed a bigger hydroponics bay for exactly this. My siblings and cousins know these unhappy times well. Tujmansaal escapes us yet again, aiseheer. San-Khöl is ready to do her part for you, and we'll pull through yet."

Solar+passive cooling again, same bartender shell as my last post. Put my thermostat up to max again, because it still couldn't get me below 65 anyway. This time I spent the majority of my shift at max charge. I would slowly drain if I idled on certain tiles behind the bar, but I just spent more time in the right spots and I was good. Felt nice. I sort of expected the intended power level of the solar reactor to just be slowing down the discharge process, so making a gain was a pleasant surprise. I could safely run for like 7 seconds at a time before needing a 20ish second break, but I never needed to run. Security shells went on complaining in LOOC, and I was standing there dionamaxxing like "uh huh. tell me more about how you suffer for your own inferior choices."

they’re robots. they have no personality. the only thing they can add to the round is “surprise! you thought the fighting was over but actually here are three more security bots and these ones have grenade launchers and energy swords and combat hypos and their ONLY purpose in existence is to remove the antag from play and then d/c” it’s cool to have options to play with but this is not a very good option to play with

To elaborate, I mean skrell are more human in roleplay than IPCs or vaurcae often (though not necessarily) are, in the sense that most skrell have lives outside of their work, and they are strongly emotional in a way that doesn’t require a big asterisk and a unique definition of emotion. Of course there are still major differences, or else I wouldn’t be writing this much. 1. Miq has heard (mostly) good things about C’thur. To their slight discredit, they’re very new here, and living close enough to Qerr’Malic to view it with the naked eye, Miq is aware that some few of the hive have gotten much too comfortable in the Federation, much too quickly. Looking past the only exemplars of the species in the Nralakk system, though, C’thur seems very willing to understand and work with the Federation. The Ta, especially, understand the value of foresight and cooperation in a way that a majority of the Spur demonstrably does not. Miq has yet to see the bugs in person but fleetingly, but they’re going in with a positive attitude. Miq’s feelings on dionae are more positive, though, to sidetrack a bit, are negatively colored by personal experience. Unique among the aliens of the Spur, Miq has met a few dionae, and their lack of a Wake is, to be brief - deeply unsettling. Apart from that, though, they seem to have integrated about as well as the tragedy of their physiology permits! It’s come to their understanding that as long as they’re fed right - which the Federation, in its wisdom, ensures as a priority - they tend be exemplary citizens, uncanny psychic silence aside. Those that Miq knows have backed this up - their Nral’Malic is stunted by their lack of a zona bovinae (Miq cannot get past this) and yet despite this, they give off generally intelligent and socially compatible impressions. (You know, all the aliens of the Spur are supposed to be like this. It’s difficult to imagine how some of them can possibly maintain a society.) Miq has largely superficial and stereotypical understandings of unathi and tajara. Unathi are burly savages for the most part, and tajara are natural infighters (so are humans). Both had the potential to be better than they are, but have been tragically sabotaged by humanity’s shortcomings. There’s still hope for them, at least. Non-Federal skrell aren’t to blame for their circumstances, and Miq is disinclined to rush judgements. Miq wouldn’t argue with a good SCI score if they saw one. It’s just that they don’t tend to have good SCI scores. 2. Miq is a bit leery of Weishii, believing that it fundamentally promotes laziness and contrarianism, and is positively disdainful of those who follow all the other ones. They profess Qeblak, though they don’t follow it particularly ardently - they’re not sure of how the movements of stars are meant to affect the affairs of mortals. They’d love to learn, though, because their uncertainty puts a minor dent in their SCI. Miq is a proud Oqi, hovering between high 6 and low 7, and they have been observed dreaming of wearing the Iqi insignia one day. A little bit older, a little bit more knowledgeable, a little creative, and they’ll surely get there. They certainly have the spirit - they’d strive to maximize their social compatibility even if it weren’t indexed. They quite appreciate all the advantages of a dependable grading system, though. 3. Miq was a medic attached to the Bureau’s expeditions, and their relationship with Void Tech is closer than most, though not exactly close - similar to how an interested and attentive medic aboard Horizon would have understood the Konyang Signal. It’s what caused some of the laser burns they’ve healed, but it’s also more nuanced than that. Glorsh’s mind was deeply disturbed and incomprehensible, but it had a definite purpose in mind, and it was very, very intelligent. Consequently, Lu’Piq tends to be good at what it does, and what it does ranges wildly and unpredictably from saving lives in the way of miracles, to ending the lives of perfectly good and decent people in an instant. Classifying what does what, and doing so with confidence, is a strong net good for the Federation. Understanding how any of it works would be revolutionary, and Miq would be happy to help it they had the knowledge to even begin that work - but it seems a distant dream, for now. 4. Big fan. Miq considers the Nlom relay network a crucial staple of Federal society. Miq can empathize with those who’d prefer more independence, but they don’t really understand and they don’t agree. The Federation’s unity is a powerful advantage, and is much of what makes them the best nation in the Spur.

As a Z.I., you are subject to an ownership style that the wiki compares to the Burzsian method. It’s unlikely that your handler is uniquely merciful or that you can win them over with charm - if they think your winning personality is too human, or too complex, whatever that means to them, then they are liable to mindkill you. Exceptions to this rule probably do not remain in the profession long. Living under these conditions ought to have a substantial effect on the character. It doesn’t have to be your whole thing, but the executioner’s blade hangs over every Z.I., and it is unwise to ignore it. Most don’t mind; they just stay well within the lines set by their employer, and don’t fret about it unnecessarily. Some develop something of a phobia, fixate on the threat, and are conspicuously careful. This is risky. Some develop complex minds in secret. This is very risky; you can’t go back from it. ”Cool and refined” is about the kind of image that I think Zavodskoi would want to maintain. This might come “naturally” to your Z.I., or they might cultivate this personality as a matter of survival. At three years old, you have the option to play it as meaning it’s been three years since Tinter’s last wipe. Playing a previously wiped IPC is interesting I think. Someone else once lived in this body and this brain, but they made some mistake… I’m not your boss, nor am I synthlore. I just think that Zavod’s policy is very important to those subjected to it. Choosing to play a Z.I. means volunteering your character to exist under the eye of an unusually murderous slavemaster, and it’s cool if you make the best of it.