NothingNew

As a player I don't think they necessarily need to trust their crew to handle their own safety, the core issue in my opinion is that people are less open to the idea that something might go wrong - The main issue we saw with the crew armoury is that it led to most antagonist rounds ending in a witch hunt, which could very well be repeated if every crewmember is given a firearm. Another issue with the crew armoury was that it would sometimes open without a single death to any crewmember. Not everything needs to go well - A story where everything goes wrong and the crew lose out is just as interesting in my opinion. Therein lies the issue really - As there isn't any such thing as "winning or losing" in collaborative storytelling to begin with, yet that's often the terms being applied. If skills are being worked on, having certain roles have higher proficiency with a gun and others having some form of debuff when using a gun (could be week aim or speed or as such) could alleviate the issue.

As often as I've seen bartenders or chefs confront Antags with the shotgun I think the same would very much bleed into the average crew member given the chance to. Letting certain crew members use guns on expeditions makes sense to me (ideally those who would have the experience such as Miners, Anomalists and Security) but the idea of crew members being in genuine peril where they would need to work together to use the best of each member's abilities is a lot more interesting than everybody having a gun and being able to confront the main antagonistic force. I think a problem that maybe I've simply been unlucky to experience (though it tends to vary, it's not always the case) is that potential expeditions or situations that could lead to Roleplay often get shut-down outright, be it originating from an off-site, the science department, the psychologist, so on and so forth. I've seen this happen only for players to then sit at a desk wordless for the majority of a round. I'll give you a recent example of this: An off-site player set up a K'ois farm and wanted people to visit it, I was playing a scientist during this round and there were others interested in the proposition - The potential idea was shut down by the captain, who stated it would be too dangerous. Nothing proceeded to happen for the rest of the round. So long as it fits the setting and falls well within the rules of the server, I think it's important to let such situations flow naturally and to be open to the idea that things might not go well and then bounce off from there. Aurora can feel stagnant as the rounds end in stagnation without any goal to drive the players forward. Bounties are nice as they provide a goal for the players within each department, but once the set-up is done departments outside of mining, Anomaly or Science are left with little else to drive interaction.

I enjoy playing reporter every once in a blue moon, I'd definitely be willing to play it more often with this change, sounds fun.

I had this issue earlier, try toggling fullscreen mode in the preferences tab then re-launching the server. I'm not entirely sure what resolved it in on my end, but it did end up working eventually. The new files for the UI may not have installed properly - Make sure you have enough space on your C:/ drive.

Would this require every clothing item to be adjusted as necessary to fit this change? Likewise, pre-existing guides or spriting templates would need to be updated and in the event that content is imported from other servers or new contributors from other servers would like to contribute through spriting, this change in appearance may need to be made clear. Legs on male character may also look slightly longer as a result. I can't really say I've ever noticed this difference between the two sprites and as goofy as it is, would it be worth the effort to implement the change?

The way I pictured it was with Hephaestus making its initial expansions in the aquaculture sector a couple years prior to the revolution, bringing a variety of job positions with them, there would be opportunities for Lazura to gain a footing in the field of science with lower-level data scientist positions and with the company's harsh response to the initial walk-outs, the fear of losing her job, apartment and potential career growth would impede her and many of her co-workers from taking part in the revolution directly, a decision likely equally influenced by the frugality instilled in her from the Kuhwinla Orphanage, with Lazura attempting to lay low as disruptions in public infrastructure and company assets took its toll on the aquaculture sector. With Ouerea's emphasis on a built community in counterpart to an attachment to Moghes' more traditional clan heritage, her decision to remain in employment by her company would very likely cause friction with those within her own network, many of whom would have seen her decision as an act of personal betrayal. Likewise, there would be those she would have known who were Human or Skrell who would end up fleeing the planet taking a fairly harsh view on the internal nature of her species with them, one which I would imagine would be ingrained in her in some way. Many of the people she would have known on either side being either beaten, killed or leaving for their own good (with perhaps a few close calls herself) I would imagine the whole event would instil a great sense of bitterness on the whole event and an internalised set of conflicted feelings on the true nature of her own species and a set of doubts on whether they are truly capable of maintaining the diplomacy seemingly necessary in a long-running democracy. Lazura grew up on Ouerea during the contact war - During this period the governance of the planet was largely under the influence of the Nralakk Federation and the human populace. As a result of this, while she herself carries with her the beliefs of the Th'akh faith and grew up mostly surrounded by Unathi leading to an internalised connection to Unathi culture through a sense of ancestry, there's a dissonance in many of the ideals she was raised with through the surrounding environment and so in her mind where the internal election of the Speaker of Scales helped to maintain the spirit of democracy, the direct placement of Overlord by the Hegemony is seen in opposition to the ideals she believes in, a feeling that would be extended to Not'zar's own attempts to place himself above the Overlord in terms of control over the politics of Ouerea. She would much rather the Hegemony wasn't involved at all, especially given the executions that occurred during the Months of Blood. That all makes sense in my head - Do let me know if there's something I need to expand on more here, though.

BYOND Ckey: NothingNew Discord username: GlassOfWater Character names: Mira Adame, Malika Markov, Za'Akaix'Synn K'lax, Ashlynn Lowe Species you are applying to play: Unathi ------------------------------ General Whitelist Requirements What colour do you plan on making your first alien character?: Bleached Bone (RGB 183, 169, 169 / Hex #3D2F2F) Have you read the lore pages for the species you wish to be whitelisted for?: Yes. Please provide well articulated answers to the following questions in a paragraph format. One paragraph minimum per question. Why do you wish to play this species?: With my first whitelist being a K'lax Vaucra and one of my longest-running characters being a Dominian I've had a little knowledge of Unathi lore and culture as they pertained to those characters - It wasn't until the recent Dominian update that led me to look further into the culture of Dominian Unathi, which led me a lot further into the species as a whole. It's been quite fascinating to read through, particularly the differences between each religion and regions/colonies. What makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a human?: The largest factor is their biology, not only as it influences their body language, with the tilting of one's head in positioning of their neck, emphasis on gaze and staring with deep attention and tail stomping to name a few are displayed in accordance with their stature and height with a faster, more physical child develpment as hatchlings devolop their neuromotor skills within a much shorter time-span than other species - This lends itself particularly into the species' Warrior culture, from the Hegemony's hierarchical structure to the Zandiite Games. In the opposite direction you have the gender or aspect of the Healer which emphasises diplomacy, level-headedness and tact while Fisher is left as a representation of resourcefulness. Religion, views on hierarchy and occupational gender tend to be very important to this species intertwined with its history as one of the younger cultures in the current age of the Spur. ------------------------------ Character Application Character Name: Lazura Kuhwinla Write a backstory for your character. This may include their origin, education, personality and how they arrived to the SCCV Horizon. With discoveries occurring in the xenobiological development of subterranean fauna there was fairly little in the way of reason, however unspoken, for Lazura to remain unadopted throughout her youth, with her pale scales and garish, unmaintained claws bearing an almost unnaturally uncanny appearance to that of the blind, cavernous crawlers lurking beneath the surface of the Ouerean landscape. Her sickly constitution induced by the budget-tightened conditions of the orphanage was heightened by a lack of sunlight induced by her increased sensitivity to the sun's UV rays that would occasionally pierce through the jungle tree-tops, Lazura's personal world would often shrink more inward, away from the external developments of Ouerea or the more distant on goings of the Contact War on Moghes and toward herself and the halls of the hastily constructed Kuhwinla Orphanage she resided in. It was through this inward introspection of her youth she would take particular interest in the worn-out puzzles, books and riddles kept to entertain while partaking in great attention and interest to the stories told within the Th'akh faith. The thought of a constant presence of the wandering Kyula and the Zo'Zyola of the spirit realm provided some comfort to the bare-minimum drudgery of the routine scarcely afforded by the matriarchs. Naturally born a Healer, as the Matriarchs would often comment, when it came time to leave, as all must sincerely do, Lazura found herself fronted with the bill and forced to take up the mantle of Fisher, working for honest pay shuffling cargo at one of New Skalamar's Dockyards. The abolishment of the tile of Guwan and newfound access in education brought by the influx of humans and the oversight of the Nralaak Federation however, provided some opportunity in the advancement of her education as she begun to take up a higher education in the promising science sector. The few years during and leading up to her Master's Study led to the inclusions and formations of something of a community, an inter-mingling of Unathi, Humans and Skrell between her fellow dock-workers and eclectic scientific students. As a result of years of hard-work and diligence, often supported by her local network she was able to approach something far greater than herself, with her first job within the scientific field arising as a low-level Lab Assistant within the Zeng-Hu Laboratories. Big decisions occurred during this period and it would all be whisked away in a flash - A new apartment, an adopted child - Red scales, poor physiognomy and stumbling with Hasik - Debts were being paid, however slow - But there was always a thing or two to skimp and save on, or someone else to aid in the slack. The first sign of trouble began in 2457, as the contact war ended - Something hardly existant in her small bubble of the world would end up bursting it as the Hegemony would once again take precedence over the political governance of the planet. The debts never went down during this of course, as Lazura was once again forced to take up a sense of frugality between feeding two mouthes at a time where many of the people she had known were fleeing for greener pastures, the Zeng-hu facilities closing down with them. What's worse was the turbulent troublement of raising her child, unkeen of following the matriarchal code and uninterested in the puzzles Lazura had grown up with, it was made clear that she was initially ill-equipped for the prospect of raising a warrior. For what was to be a shaky year would end with a new glint of hope however, with the expansion of a new corporation making its advancements over the Hegemonic territory of Ouerea - Hephaestus - Having previously worked for a company within the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate the jobs provided an oppurtunity to complete her PhD and move ahead in the wider working world - A chance to increase the weight her own pockets, too. The second sign of trouble started with a walk-out - A few miners causing an upstart over the harsh working conditions, some firings, some more walk-outs - In spite of it all occurring in the same city as her, it would seem distant to the mundanity of the day-to-day. Until news caught that the violence had escalated - The city was almost flipped over with the violence that would ensue. Having two mouthes to feed and the pride of finalising her years of study, taking part in any of the protests was unimaginable as the situation escalated, her alignment now seen as a treacherous act to the community she was accustomed to, it quickly became a dangerous position to work in as more people gathered to take part in the savagery - And brutal savagery it was, as Lazura throughout the months had found herself dwelling on the internal nature to the Hegemony and her species, her own child - perhaps all ill-equipped for the more diplomatic nature of democracy or the wider spur - The gospel of Juzida Si'Akh - There was something internally very rotten to the very core of those who left Moghes from the contact war. Things would settle and mature - As they always do, and with her child seeking their own education in Biesel, Lazura found herself seeking employment anywhere near that would allow her to continue to keep tabs on, or to try to guide her child to something of a better life. How has the recent events of the Orion Spur impacted your character? Events such as the Phoron Scarcity, the Solarian Collapse or even the Invasions of Biesel for interstellar-wide affairs, while region-specific events such as the Peacekeeper Mandate, The Titan Rises or even Cold Dawn may impact your character. Not necessarily recent, but The Rebellion on Ouerea was particularly influential, causing a sense of mistrust in to the better nature of her own species and impacting her complicated feelings on megacorporations and the hegemony. Not so much an event, but the infrequent visit of the SCCV Horizon to Biesel where her child is currently studying provides some motivation on why she would work there over other opportunities. Due to her age (early thirties), it isn't enough to dissuade her views of her own religion, but the rise of Juzida Si'akh's faith provides some outlook on her own views towards Moghes and the Hegemon's impact on Ouerea. How does your character view the megacorporation they work for? Having worked for the SCC in the past, they view it as a reliable source of work even if the decisions of the companies involved may at time be fairly questionable - There's a sense of loyalty but hesitation in the extent of her own attachment to it.

I'm liking it - Especially if it's used as a rough guideline to get a general price for things, which I feel the "Wants and needs" sections help with describing. It's a lot easier to read through than the previous article on it, which makes it a lot easier to use as a reference in-game. One thing to note that may need some re-wording though, is that how often people purchase clothing varies from person-to-person and if they do prices can vary wildly depending on personal taste - Having a price rank depending on class is generally a good idea, though. Utilities may need some expanding as well, or linking it to the different levels of accommodation, as I'd imagine the available utilities aboard a ship would be fairly standardised.

I think another thing to factor into this discussion is the effect IRs have on the application of in-round Corporate Regulations (Space Law) - Whenever there's a disagreement on the application of law it's become rather stock and standard for the officers to push for an IR as opposed to seeking solutions to such disagreements in-round via the HoS or possibly Captain. It ends up feeling quite stonewalled and dilutes the application of it as officers have no inclination to seek evidence in cases where there might need to be, or on the subjectivity of what regulations were broken and to what severity - There ought to be wiggle room here, but usually it's whatever ends in the highest detention time that gets sought, and since there's no need for security to really prove they have the right person it is disincentive to detective players since you don't really need any evidence to apply maximum charges. In that sense, issues that could be resolved in-round are instead pushed to be resolved out-of-round. I think some sort of intermediary role to in-round conflict (possibly whitelisted, if need be) could help to alleviate this, such as a lawyer Human Resource role or something similar. Maybe conflicts between characters that might escalate to breaches of Regulation can also be met by the ship's psychologist?

Cow-sized animal on a bike.

Reporting Personnel: Floriane Poeu Job Title of Reporting Personnel: Cook Game ID: cvk-ddR3 Personnel Involved: Unknown, Head of Security: Offender Unknown, Security Officer: Offender Ricco Altarz, Cook: Victim Secondary Witnesses: Unknown, Paramedic: Witness (Came in to check on Ricco Altarz) Time of Incident: Around 22:45 Real Time: (Around 23:30 - 23:45 GMT or so, I think) Location of Incident: Command Bar Nature of Incident: [ ] - Workplace Hazard [ ] - Accident/Injury [ ] - Destruction of Property [ ] - Neglect of Duty [x] - Harassment [x] - Assault [ ] - Misconduct [x] - Other: False Arrest Overview of the Incident: After a pretty big order made for the captain and this giant deep-fried sandwich for Ricco Altarz, it was getting pretty quiet so I decided to take a bit of a break by going upstairs into the bar up there, taking a couple pies that were baked earlier for Ricco Altarz and myself to enjoy along with a few drinks. After having stared out the window, having a pint of Guiness and a glass of wine with a good chat the Head of Security comes and starts insulting us, telling me I was wasting up here and that I wasn't allowed a break. Well I was pretty offended by this, but he accused me of trespassing, and I disagreed, politely informing him that I had access up here and that I was just going to enjoy a couple drinks, have a good chat and clean up. Well after a bit of back-and-froth, he started getting the whole of security up there to arrest me. I was admittedly pretty drunk and just wanted enjoy some pie and sober up a bit, but that's when one of them grabbed me by the arm and started dragging me off, hitting the door to the kitchen to try and force it open. Meanwhile, Ricco Altarz is just enjoying his burger when they decide to arrest him, too. They said I had to either pay them a hefty 500 credits or they would arrest me for who knows how long - Well I disagreed with the whole thing, but I didn't want spend time in prison, so I offered to pay it up using the tip the captain gave me earlier. My arm has been sore since, and I'm pretty sure they left a few bruises on there too. I didn't plan on staying on the command bar the whole shift, and was even going to clean it up once we were done. I don't think Ricco Altarz even got to finish his burger. Submitted Evidence: Would you like to be personally interviewed?: [X] - Yes [ ] - No Did you report it to a Head of Staff or a superior? If so, who? If not, why?: (Unknown, Executive Officer) Actions taken: The Head of Security and the Executive Officer took no issue with the arrest, nor did the captain - I was told to fill out a form about it. Additional Notes: I was pretty drunk at the time, but I didn't try hurt anybody or break anything.

I don't mind the change, but being able to Emag Cyborgs still would be nice - Maybe Emagging it kickstarts the brain in some way?

Sure, these Loadout items: It's mostly fluff I believe, but they could potentially be stolen or go missing which the machinist could help repair or replace in some way.

They're just aesthetic, but replacements for those little antennae things would be neat.

At this rate, just give the Machinist their own entire department.

Funnily, I can't say I've ran into one of my characters being disliked due to the company they work for on Horizon - I don't think the use of mob rule will reduce or alter the state of politics/faction in-fighting in the lore necessarily neither, it could very well lead to the possibility of the largest representing group only being present on-ship, or further petty squabbling due to the nature of the illicit activities potentially conducted by the ship (pirates' "no purchase no pay" is stereotypically associated with petty bickering in fiction, where everybody points the finger at someone else) and its lack of official proceedings. I think such faction-aligned squabbling is more an issue of pre-existing political lore as opposed to the corporate factions themselves, and I think most of it stems from planetary politics than from the corporations people work for. I think this concept has a leaning more toward the potential for eccentric personalities in the lore to the possible detriment of the straight, deadpan personalities and corporate procedure that clash so well with it. I think the server at the moment is in a good sweet spot here in terms of improv where the eccentricity is held within the confines of a corporate setting, where disciplinary actions are enacted with bureaucratic doctrine. I think there's a lot of entertainment to be had on the server at the moment as either the eccentric instigator or the reactive straight man in such character conflicts.

I may be an outlier in saying that being able to directly choose which corporation you're from as opposed to merely working for Nanotrasen was one of the initial draws of the server for me - That said I do agree that the corporate side of the lore could be more involved at times and that the Horizon doesn't necessarily have to be one of the SCC's most important ships. I very much like the map and the idea of an exploration ship, I'm just not personally convinced on why it would need to be independently operated when a lot of the spur is monopolised by a group of six highly competitive corporations.

BYOND Ckey: NothingNew Discord username: Glass of Water Character names: Mira Adame, Makila Markov, Za’Akaix’Synn K’lax Species you are applying to play: Integrated Positronic Chassis (IPC) ------------------------------ General Whitelist Requirements What colour do you plan on making your first alien character?: (Exempt, but #3d4f66 or similar.) Have you read the lore pages for the species you wish to be whitelisted for?: Yes Please provide well articulated answers to the following questions in a paragraph format. One paragraph minimum per question. Why do you wish to play this species?: I’ve enjoyed playing IPC on other servers and really like the breadth of potential such characters can provide along with their varying degrees of ownership, appearances and backgrounds all of which can have an influence on their overarching personality. What makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a human?: IPCs, unlike other species are all created fully-functioning in terms of performing a specific task or job and as such instead potentially develop personalities later on throughout its lifespan (barring potential memory wipes) depending on the social norms surrounding it. This makes IPCs a fairly adaptive species with personalities largely dependant on age, manufacturer/employed megacorporation, owned status and location. Another factor to an IPCs personality are its varying views on self-preservation, equally dependant on its age and background with younger IPCs valuing continued existence and minimising physical harm as opposed to additional self-preservation to ideas of personality, expression of self or worldviews. ------------------------------ Character Application Character Name: CC-06 Write a backstory for your character. This may include their origin, education, personality and how they arrived to the SCCV Horizon. Within Cape City, Biesel, along with a moderately sized batch of other lower-end Baseline IPCs, CC-06 was purchased directly from a start-up public charity, Cape City Connect, involved in providing free access to mental health services having initially received public funding from Cape City’s local entertainment industry with the core promise that the services will help to encourage lower-level employees within the industry to continue their employment. As a direct part of this process, CC-06 (Call-Centre (Employee) Six) along with every other Baseline purchased were loaded with base social care and psychological data packs with additional training to handle the initial contact phase of the charity’s call process, each baseline was given a general manual and flow chart to ascertain the correct information necessary to direct the caller to a specified member of the charity’s smaller team of organic specialists. This continued over the course of four years, with each Baseline working additionally long hours with minimal maintenance and upkeep checks in order to reduce costs, as a result of this the charity would gain ire from a minute amount of IPC rights activists within Biesel and prank-callers, requiring additional training to circumvent. As a result of this, the cost of upkeep of the charity’s call service amidst lowering donations with the initial funding beginning to dry up were only furthered by growing concerns of the cost of potential needs to erase the memory of certain Baseline units that may be affected by prank or protesting calls. In order to evade the growing threat of bankruptcy, the charity was forced to auction off its supply of Baseline models and call-centre equipment. It was during one of these auctions that a Solarian, Nanotrasen-employed Psychiatrist by the name of Josef Yugoslovitch won the rights of ownership of three baseline units (designated 09, 12 and 06) at a fairly low price with the intention of introducing them within Nanotrasen’s lesser subsidiaries as a means of reducing the cost of mandatory psychological assessments, loading them with additional psychiatric data disks to streamline the process of assigning prescriptions. This change of ownership and the impact of prior calls, official and detrimental led to Dr. Yugoslovitch deciding to wipe the memory and sell off the 12th designation, deciding that just the two would suffice - For the remaining units this would set the precedence that the nail that sticks out gets hammered down - Continued existence is dependant on the fulfilment of one’s core function, any deviation of which is to be avoided. Aware of the potential existence of idealised self-ownership and freedom from prior calls, for the next two years CC-06 fulfilled the role of psychiatrist whilst employed in a Getmore Corp subsidiary without divergence in fear of being potentially mind-wiped, sold or scrapped leading to its employment onboard the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate’s Horizon Vessel to widen its range of patients. How has the recent events of the Orion Spur impacted your character? Events such as the Phoron Scarcity, the Solarian Collapse or even the Invasions of Biesel for interstellar-wide affairs, while region-specific events such as the Peacekeeper Mandate, The Titan Rises or even Cold Dawn may impact your character. The latest crisis on Konyang was of particular concern as it potentially decreased the trust of IPCs where CC-06 works in a role where trust is a fundamental requirement, however the impact of the Phoron Scarcity may have lead to further cost-cutting measures held in place by Nanotrasen, leading to IPCs being a cheaper alternative compared to organic psychiatrists. How does your character view the megacorporation they work for? With personal impartiality and indistinct from its prior places of work as its focus is instead on maintaining the fulfilment of its directives set out by Josef Yugoslovitch and Nanotrasen itself.

We could omit fingerprints from people's records requiring them to be collected (if there's a logical reason for doing so) or add some process in the middle that might require interaction with further suspects. It depends a lot from round-to-round just how urgent finding out whodunnit is really, and maybe there's some responsibility on detective players on not outing people too soon or acting up the investigation part (I try to do this by limiting the specialised knowledge of my character in small ways, like asking an engineer what a specialised board might be for or constructing/deconstructing computers).

Why can't the Odyssey GM and actors set up a story involving the ship itself, the GM spawning in things as may be necessary? There are also secondary vessels that could be utilised with ships visiting the Horizon - Plenty of opportunities for high and low combat stories to be developed with those. I like the idea of odyssey, but with secret I like how character conversations and little roleplay moments have the opportunity to be disrupted with potentially the involvement in a different story.

I tend to find that while the partial fingerprint system is pretty neat, most fingerprints end up showing the full code, which can very easily be searched to find out whodunnit. Gloves can muster things pretty well, though. Having fingerprint types or partial matches could be interesting, having to pair down suspects depending on their alibi and other supporting evidence would make the process a bit more interactive, since multiple people could potentially be involved in a case.

This is very much an issue with the game design of space station 13 - Things are designed to go wrong, with specific departments such as security, medical and engineering built to react and respond to the destruction of the station, each in their own part with some minor roles which have gameplay loops non-reliant on an antagonistic force - The issue with these jobs however, is that a lot of them are disconnected, meaning they do not require interaction with other players to engage with the mechanics of that job role (think Machinist, Science Department, Mining, etc). Random events such as those giant insects and space carp are designed to act as an antagonistic force which cause damages to people and the station allowing for the gameplay loops of Engineering, Security and Medical to come into play during the round, but aren't generally liked for their disruptive nature. Yeah, I think what Aurora would need is something for these departments to work or co-operate on that isn't reliant on an antagonistic force and is consistent throughout each round. Preferably something co-operative rather than competitive. (I don't have any ideas for that though, get the eggheads on it.) I do wish Aurora had a more OOC-ly lenient culture when it comes to dying in-round or getting injured, especially considering how Aurora is one of fairly few servers permitting re-spawns, sure waiting twenty minutes isn't all that great, but there are plenty of other servers that are more lenient towards having your character die that don't offer re-spawns at all, instead requiring you to wait until the next round. It would provide more opportunities for the big three to perform their job throughout a round.

The good news is anyone can make such a template for the kind of exploitable information they're looking for. I agree that it should be optional, more variety is better than less variety overall, and when I play antagonist I've yet to try incorporating exploitable information into a gimmick, I usually just go by some vague idea and then improvise, nor have I yet to fill in any of my character's exploitable information, in part because I play so many and also purely because I've yet to truly figure what to put there that could be potentially usable or interesting enough to warrant an entry.

A potential record-like template would be nice to use, one that's not too restrictive, but points people in the right direction with what kind of information could be put in there.