dessysalta

I don't think we need a command learner role, since bridge crew in and of itself is meant to be that introductory role more than anything. Mining is where you learn how to pilot and hangar tech is where you learn gunnery (to a point), and just going out to fly a bit on a deadpop shift isn't so bad. Bridge crew teaches you how to fire the guns on the Horizon as well as be a glorified assistant for the rest of command. It's not particularly complicated or high stress until ship combat begins. If you're worried about starting out as one, don't be. Ask for help, even in LOOC, about what you should be doing and how to do certain things. There's surprisingly not much to know aside from paperwork, delivering items, and the occasional (or frequent) pilot job. If you want to be extra cautious, play a character who recently got their pilot's license for cruisers, and don't be afraid to turn down opportunities if you don't think you're ready for them. (Obviously there's a time and place for some things, so if you get asked to grab a drink from the command bar or you're the last crewman alive, you'll still have to do those.) If you're still worried, you can ask admins to let you play as an assistant for the SCC and have OOC permission to fly the ships. Frame it as an introductory period or internship, and introduce yourself to heads of staff that way ICly and OOCly before you turn that character into an actual crewman. Don't expect to be called across the ship constantly or sent on impossible errands or require a lot of interdepartmental knowledge. You're just the command-designated assistant and pilot. The most you'll be doing is leading away teams or taking on limited authority in very specific circumstances that a head of staff needs your help, and you can always delegate leadership to someone else in the former case. It's unlikely anyone will get on your case if for some reason you get 20 things on your plate at once, especially if you say you're new to the role.

Out of curiosity, what made you choose to make phoron be less relevant (or potentially irrelevant in some cases) for IPCs specifically? Does this apply to cyborgs or other robotics, too?

Completely agree with Comet, I like the proposed changes, although I have to say that bioshells/organic reactors are a novel concept and should absolutely be explored/implemented if not soon then on a long enough timeline. I think we'd be the only server to approach them with a degree of seriousness, one that isn't just "robots but human bodies". (And please do not limit them to a single frame.) As a suggestion, I recommend the parts that can be swapped out not be too restrictive mechanically but instead ICly. There would be some exceptions, but for instance having some kind of Zavodskoi patented design only for use in Z.I.s or particularly custom or expensive off-brand posis I think would add to the depth of a lot of characters without leading to a FOMO moment of having not picked the "cool" or "meta" frame for whatever's trying to be accomplished. Or maybe having certain parts cost loadout points a la the augment system? Baselines being able to mix and match is an okay start, but I fear this will run into situations where it's only baselines with strange limbs or parts inside of them. In fact I think it would neuter some existing scrapper characters that rely off the gimmick of not being constructed correctly or being jury-rigged to function. Part of the appeal of being able to mix and match is the justification behind it, and having the freedom to have a certain trait or belief or whatever (see: Unathi's gender roles and religion) so long as you can reasonably justify it makes for very interesting and diverse characters. I wouldn't like to see too many instances of a megacorp having an interesting system or unorthodox piece of tech just for the sake of giving it to them. I'm sort of torn between the two spectrums—realistically most of what could be suggested for unusual or nonstandard power sources and components would already be available and experimented upon in the public market, and so restricting them to frame or megacorp would suck in a lot of instances (and then you'd have to draw a line about what "is" or "isn't" too complex/available for a certain frame, etc.) I'd also like to echo what's been said about untagged shells. They exist and there should be some safety precautions in place to make sure they aren't outed so easily. Personally I'd suggest additional ways to repair themselves in private without risking being seen as what they are, as the nebulous warning message for trying to repair yourself seems to not make much sense for the three-decades-self-owned synthetic with a degree in engineering. As far as radiation immunity, I'd make it a visual thing like we saw on Konyang iirc. The more radiation they absorb, the harder it becomes to see things until they either decon or visit a machinist (or rest for awhile). Goes hand in hand with how radiation affects cameras IRL without being too disruptive and still enforcing their superiority over the organic dude in a radstorm.

I've played a few rounds both as command and not, as well as an antag and Derrick is a great character, with Toomie having the skill to back it up. I like the way they approach situations, and they have a habit of having thing done before you're even done asking. +1

Seconding Goolie. I love the characters Lenny writes and among other things like being inspired to make a pirate, and having our two Sinta have an official duel on the Horizon, I can't imagine anyone else as a better pick for Vaurca. +1. Let's see it. P.S. VEDHRA SWEEP!!

I'll be the first to say that Goolie's writing capabilities are off the charts; he's able to make realistic, believable, and to a degree hateable (hey, you did this to yourself) characters that have just an inane amount of depth to them. I love being on the receiving end of his more popular characters like Ska'zaszhk because of the charm interlaced with deep sensibilities and motives. +1. Shaken, not stirred.

The relay was different in that it was wholly IC shenanigans and not necessarily "integral" to anything so much as it was just fun to have. The lorecord, I imagine, has a lot of channels behind the scenes for organizing stuff and whatnot. A dev can chime in and tell me if I'm wrong, but if it is the case that would be losing a lot for not much gain.

This is cool as hell!! +1 Also obligatory "I think Hazel is a good writer but I'm busy rn so just imagine this is a giant paragraph of text abt how they play IPCs/characters in general/etc"

I once asked if I could be spawned in as a survivor deep inside the Grem-infested hideout on an Extended round and staff was nice enough to approve it, which led to the away team at the time gunning their way in and saving my life. I'm not sure how many people remember this if any at all, but this sort of thing stuck with me as a player and I'm sure gave those involved a much more tangible goal than "loot this space ruin." Frankly I think this should already have been a thing. Staff know how these tools work and with the upcoming Odyssey it'll be even more commonplace, and I doubt there's going to be many if any situations where they just throw mobs or guns at the away team.

I'll keep it only on those two, yeah. Especially because swapping between armors would just mean dropping my existing carrier and grabbing the specialized one for the sake of speed (and I understand readability is important).

Spectated Fletcher recently and liked Fabian's approach to antagonists and his department. Works with their gimmicks, not against them. +1