Mr.Popper

This would be a great compromise of making the IPCs a present force on the map without them being overbearing. The way I see it the issue with the IPC NPCs is not that they exist- it makes the arc more relevant and I would not want them to be locked away in a dungeon where they act even more like video game enemies- the issue is their simple mob behavior is incongruent with RP. It works fine with aggressive animals because there is little RP to be had with them, but a theoretically sentient mob should be way more nuanced. Basically, either give them the space bear AI as suggested above or create custom behavior where they are still aggressive but do not immediately bolt for players. Instead they could hover around passively until aggroed (maybe when someone comes near or runs around making a lot of noise). It would provide far more opportunity for tense RP without completely invalidating the threat they pose.

BYOND key: Mr.Popper Discord name/id: mr.popper Borg / AI names: TEA, Mopotov / CaRLOS (Collaborative and Reliably Lucrative Operating System) Have you read the Aurora wiki page about the AI?: Yes. Why do you wish to be on the whitelist?: Put simply, I enjoy playing Borg and would like to try my hand at its big brother, the AI. But to elaborate, I will explain the roleplay appeal followed by the mechanical appeal. My Borg characters have been very one-note with their gimmicks, and while they are fun to play I would like to expand my palette to a similarly robotic, but more versatile role. For this same reason, I would eventually like to apply for the IPC whitelist, but IPCs are the most complex AI characters and I would like to dip my toes in the water first, so to speak. But AI is a roleplay goal in its own right as it provides a unique experience. I will try not to go into too much detail here, but I love the idea of developing a blank-slate AI based on how it is treated. My AI could develop into a benevolent parental figure, or perhaps into an even colder corporate crony- it all depends on the inputs provided by the crew. And this is all while having to juggle several binding programming laws. There is a lot of potential to breathe life into an otherwise uninteresting NPC and I hope I can explore it. AI is even more unique when you look at it from a gameplay standpoint. I struggle sometimes with normal jobs- especially Borg- to find things to do, so I actually find the premise of a constant stream of queries and requests to fulfill quite refreshing, even if it may be stressful at times. And even in downtime, you can pass the time by spectating nearly anyone on the ship. Not only is it usually interesting, but watching others roleplay is also a good learning experience as it offers a window to appreciate others' writing styles and character quirks. Aside from all of that, being able to play AI would greatly diversify my job selection and counter burnout from playing the same few characters. Have you received any administrative actions? And how serious were they?: No. Do you understand your whitelist is not permanent, and may be stripped following continuous administrative action?: Of course. A whitelist is a privilege, and it is up to server staff to decide who is fit to participate in their server. I hope that I prove capable if given this privilege, but were I to misuse it, it would be only right for them to retract it. More than any other whitelist, the AI has massive implications for everyone in the round and its players need to be vetted.

I am not sure if this was intentional or a bug but could the beaches be lit up better? As they are now most of the sea is pitch black, which I assume is unrelated to the time of day because the rest of the map is in complete daylight(?)

I like the spirit of this as an RP mechanic (for the longest time I would carefully avoid covering any windows with flags before eventually succumbing and doing it anyway) although part of me thinks it would be weird for a cotton flag to have the same impact on visibility as a solid wall. Ideally flags would only partially affect visibility but I don't know if that could be properly represented with SS13 sight mechanics. In any case, it's a cool enough catalyst for RP to look past that and I consider anything that binds gameplay closer to RP to be a net positive.