MagmaRam

I've been on most days in the past couple weeks, usually in the evenings by US Central time.

All my experiences with Hakim have been great. They're a consistently competent investigator with a lot of personality. It's +1 from me.

BYOND key: MagmaRam Character names: Nino Weld, Fir Vele, Madisyn Chitalia, Lyndis Kantautine, SILVER. There's a bunch of other characters who got played 1-2 rounds and then tossed when they just didn't click, though. How long have you been playing on Aurora?: On and off for a good couple years. Latest active period has been for the last couple months. Have you received any administrative actions? And how serious were they? None that I can recall. Please provide well articulated answers to the following questions in a paragraph each. What do you think the OOC purpose of a Head of Staff is, ingame?: Command staff both hold their own departments together as well as hold the various departments together into one hopefully-functioning crew. Their primary OOC purpose is the same as their IC one - they facilitate various functions for their department and they maintain communication and teamwork between departments. A good Head of Staff multiplies the effectiveness of their department, both via coordination and by acting as a voice for the department that can use their authority to expedite issues like a lack of access or the need for new equipment. They also have other functions. Ideally, a Head of Staff will be played by a player with a lot of experience in their department, meaning that they can help others who may be unfamiliar with a game mechanic. In slow rounds, heads also have the IC authority to do things that aren't part of the station's day-to-day, which can give people things to do. Medical can run blood drives, Security or Engineering could run emergency drills, Research can ask for volunteers for whatever weird crap they're doing or put on a demo. What do you think the OOC responsibilities of Whitelisted players are to other players, and how would you strive to uphold them?: Whitelisted players should be an exemplar, displaying quality roleplay and behavior. In addition, for heads of staff in particular, they should be willing to provide assistance to other players, especially new players who are still learning various game systems. They should also be working to make rounds interesting, not just to win. Heads of staff have a lot of leeway to either allow unusual things to happen or to squash it, both for antags and for non-antag players looking for things to do. Knowing when to allow things and when to step in is a key skill, and whitelisted players need to handle this ability well. Could you give us the gist of what is currently happening in Tau ceti and how it affected your character and their career? There's an ongoing phoron shortage, which can be a concern for Engineering. Phoron isn't usually required for their operations, but when it is, the shortages hit hard. That said, this hasn't affected any of my characters in a major way yet. Lyndis is a veteran of the previous Second Solar Invasion, but is now working as a freelance reporter. She's a bit concerned about being recalled if the situation in Mictlan escalates and spreads outside the system, but things getting so bad that the TCFL is worrying about manpower in that way is a long shot. In all likelihood, there's not a conflict severe enough on the horizon for her to need to worry about that. A couple of my characters have left Sol for Biesel, with Sol's collapse continuing and little hope on the horizon. As for other things going on within the system, there's been a recent conflict between two Vaurca hives, with violence breaking out in Mendell City. While I don't play vaurca myself, the potential for related arguments or violence on station is something that Security needs to be aware of. What roles do you plan on playing after the application is accepted? Chief Engineer and Head of Security. Maybe CMO and Captain further down the line. Have you familiarized yourself with the wiki pages for the command roles? Yes. Characters you intend to use for command or have created for command. Include the job they will be taking.: Elise Burris is an aging forensic investigator from Earth who's recently decided to take her talents both to the private sector and, more importantly, away from Earth. More than two decades of experience in the police force of one of Earth's large cities makes her easily qualified for the position of Head of Security. Isabel Shinde is a cranky New Gibsonite with a chip on her shoulder and, unfortunately, the ability to back it up. Nobody would ever accuse her of becoming Chief Engineer by favoritism, at least. Do you understand your whitelist is not permanent, and may be stripped following continuous administrative action? Yes.

BYOND key: MagmaRam Discord name/id: magma in space#6455 Borg / AI names: None on Aurora so far. On other servers: OCEAN, REMORA, FIORA. Have you read the Aurora wiki page about the AI?: Yes. Why do you wish to be on the whitelist?: I like playing AI. It's fun. I also like robot stories, and playing the AI is a more fun way to play one of those than playing a borg or IPC. Have you received any administrative actions? And how serious were they?: None that I remember. Do you understand your whitelist is not permanent, and may be stripped following continuous administrative action?: Yes.

The station is way whiter than I thought.

brb leaving 4 evar edit: back guys

I think I've played more of Kaiserreich than Darkest Hour proper. I'm pretty awful at Hearts of Iron in general, though.

That's for people who do the same thing twice in one round. What about the guy who is constantly in the brig for petty crimes every round, and usually allcapses over the radio to lynch security whenever he gets arrested? And yes, I have seen the same person do these things every single round. Would it be overkill to file a player complaint next time I see them do it?

Everyone's favorite. Staring at maps. Hopefully there's some other fans of this genre around, if not, I'll post maps at myself and cry at night. I've been playing far too much Victoria II recently, and so my last Sweden game went pretty well, even if Austria has the worst borders ever. It helped that Prussia/NGF/Germany was my ally all game long, so I just let them take the brunt of the casualties in any war while using small amounts of troops to do useful stuff. So, kings, presidents, emperors. How fare your lands?

How did this happen.

The only character I've played for more than two rounds is Iris Thomas. Hit me with your best (worst) shot.

BYOND key: MagmaRam Character names: Riley Digson, Iris Thomas, Alma Pershing, Spike Hughes, Selena Pratt, Sandra Bowitz (unplayed) How long have you been playing on Aurora?: Since the 5th Why do you wish to be on the whitelist?: There is nothing like the moment when you manage to have everything running butter-smooth in the face of crisis. Why did you come to Aurora?: I hadn't played SS13 in over half a year, and decided to try a new server off the public list. Have you read the BS12 wiki on the head roles you plan on playing?: Yes. Very much. I have played most head roles extensively on BS12, as well, albeit some time ago. Please provide well articulated answers to the following questions in a paragraph each. Give a definition of what you think roleplay is, and should be about: Roleplaying is putting yourself into the role of another person, assuming their position and their thoughts as best as possible. What sets it apart from writing is that it's a collaborative activity, generally involving multiple people, and what sets it apart from acting is that you have to come up with your own material, rather than having it provided. Roleplay should be, at its core, about enjoyment. That doesn't mean that every session has to be upbeat and all good, but at least that roleplayers should be engaged and feel satisfied. It's also a very social activity, and if all goes well should lead to making lasting friends. What do you think the OOC purpose of a Head of Staff is, ingame?: The purpose of a Head of Staff is threefold. The first is to act as an IC check on behavior without needing to involve Security or resort to violence. The Head of Staff for a department sets rules and can enforce minor penalties as well as call for larger ones if need be. The second purpose is to make sure a department is running smoothly through positive contribution. A Head of Staff is in a unique position to help speed along requests for materials, information, or access that members of a department might need. In addition, they have a secure line to other Heads of Staff, allowing for inter-department coordination easily. The third purpose is to coordinate departments when things go south. A Head of Staff is in a unique position to obtain information and feed it to their department as necessary, enabling them to keep themselves safe and make informed decisions. They are also in a position that allows them (again, through the Command channel) to lobby for assistance to their department more effectively. What do you think the OOC responsibilities of Whitelisted players are to other players, and how would you strive to uphold them?: Whitelisted players have a responsibility to smooth the game experience ingame and to set a good example for other players. Playing a Head of Staff would provide plenty of opportunities to make things more fun for other people, considering the expanded authority and ability that the position gives. In addition to helping keep a department (or station) together during times of crisis, I can provide goals and flavor to a calm round. As for setting a good example, I can not only display good roleplay in a more prominent position, but help guide players through IC means towards good habits. Please pick one of your characters for this section, and provide well articulated responses to the following questions. Character name: Sandra Bowitz Character age: 48 Please provide a short biography of this character (approx 2 paragraphs): Born to a manager of mining operations on Akhet, constantly moving from place to place as her father's work demanded, it's not surprising that Sandra took an interest in the mines. From a young age, she took a keen interest in the machines that made them work. The more autonomous the machine was, the more fascinating she found it. Moving every three to four years at the company's behest, Sandra's family was always provided with top-quality housing, and Sandra herself with top-quality schooling. However, this took its toll on her social life. While she learned to make friends quite quickly, and assume a comfortable stance with even casual acquaintances, around her adolescence she found herself lacking in close friends. Sandra's last childhood move was after ninth grade. In her last few years of high school, she settled well into her classes, taking accelerated classes in physics, computer science, and mathematics, as well as several robotics-related electives. She continued these studies in university, receiving a bachelor's degree in Systems Robotics from Great Lakes Institute of Technology. Hired by a minor robotics manufacturing company, she continued her studies while overseeing manufacturing at a plant in the area. After receiving a Master's in Robotic Integration, she left work to pursue doctoral studies, eventually receiving a PhD in Systems Robotics as well as in Artificial Intelligence Integration. During these studies, she met and married her husband, Landon Park. Sandra was hired by Nanotrasen shortly afterwards, as a member of a research team looking into possible uses of new forms of positronic brain technology. Sandra played an important role in integrating new artificial intelligences into existing robotic bodies, and quickly found herself being given more control over the projects she worked on. However, her dedication to her work sparked conflict at home, and eventually led to divorce when Sandra wanted to move far out of Sol for work. Landon got custody of their children, and Sandra's distance due to work prevented visitation often. Sandra has proved herself quite competent at managing research teams, and has an impressive resume. What do you like about this character?: I finally got to write a childhood expat character. I've also got a character who actually knows their job and is professional about it. What do you dislike about this character?: Her personal history after high school is lacking. Many paths for character development wouldn't really be possible to take on the station. What do you think makes this character fit to be a head of staff?: Sandra has a long history of work with Nanotrasen and has proven herself effective both as part of a research team and leading projects. She is highly qualified and has the performance to back it up. Please provide well articulated answers to the following questions. How would you rate your own roleplaying?: I'd say I do pretty well in SS13 terms. While not quite familiar with Aurora's lore, I'm very familiar with Bay's and know enough about the game that mechanics don't hinder RP. The biggest problem that I have is a tendency to get pulled away by RL things. Extra notes: This took way too goddamn long to write. edited 7/18/15 to add a new character to list

I'm in the great nation state of Texas. From Ohio, though. Do places in between count? Those are way more interesting, a fun romp through Southeast Asia.

Riley Digson - Nursing Intern A young student of medicine who's slowly worked her way in from the frontier. In quite a bit more debt than she'll ever admit. Iris Thomas - Security Cadet A Martian cadet who divides her time equally between the arcades and the holodeck. Alma Pershing - Roboticist A roboticist with a distaste for cyborgization. Probably going to be ditched entirely. Spike Hughes - Atmos Tech A sarcastic jerk of an atmos tech who might just know what he's doing in his job.

I have, on more than one occasion, played Victoria 2 for so long that I forgot to have more than one meal in a row.