Faranight

Thank you baystation code! I now have a new character to submit as an emergent IPC whitelist app.

Ten Thirty. He never was a man of great timing. Late in everything from arriving on the job to Emails. This time Dr. Gauss only just caught the shuttle out of New Gibson as a result of his habits. Glaring into the mirror of an overdecorated powder room, she let's out another frustrated grunt, tugging at her bangs. She sarcastically asks herself how her hair is so capable of loosing it's artificial purple hue in a mere thirty hours, while remaining impervious to any attempts to accelerate the process. If only the industrial polymer of her workplace was as effective for beauty as it was for saving expenses. At least no one was around to see it. Yet. "Really Isiah? Out of all of the nights?" Taking one last forlorn glance through the mirror at where her usual rose hairpin would reside only reminds her of the confidence she apparently also left in her New Gibson apartment. "But then again," Talia sighs as she heads for the door to her date. "Iv'e never been able to stay mad at him."

So if this is going to be added in, will the posibrain still be a thing?

From my experiences, genetics’ issues are primarily derived not from the leisure in which literal superpowers are obtained, but from the requirement to neglect RP in favor of this somehow, all-consuming goal of obtaining abilites. Genetics is the only occupation that appears in two different departments on the manifest (excluding command of course), and acts the link between medical and science. One would think this would require twice the RP of a normal position if anything. However, RP is catalyzed through the link to another position or department in each job. For instance, robotics requires constant RnD presence for all things circuits, and interweaves with the station cyborgs for repairs, IPCs for tagging, medical and Mining for mechatronic projects, and at even the “custodial engineer” with cleaning bots. When walking into the lab, where is the geneticist? In a joint project with the xenobiologist on the makeup of a golem? Never. Learning new surgical techniques? Extremely rarely. How about clicking buttons on the console like he or she was for the last hour of the shift? Most always. Because currently, powers are the main deal of genetics on a metal level regardless of whether it is supposed to be this way. We don’t need to RP clicking buttons for three hours. That’s what all of us are doing irl. Instead of requiring interaction with other departments, genetics then relies on the lack of interaction. So, nerfing genetics by removing block injectors for instance, would worsen this problem and lead to more required time not interacting. The best solution would be a new requirement involving interaction beyond that of occasional cloning, prosthesis, and ordering chems in order to develop powers. I propose a system similar to that of the destructive analyzer, except with organic matter. What if organic samples of various races, plants, and artifacts would play a role in the furthering genetic research. This would act as catalyze RP between so many departments and genetics. Especially with the up and coming xenobotany. Now I’m not suggesting anything quite as invasive as it sounds. As skull mentioned it is far easier to add new code then replace the existing. Say the analyzer accepts some biological items like blood samples of all races, organs, plants, and slime cores as random fragments of the genetic code. Each containing a small set of structural enzymes with activated genes depending on the worth. Perhaps a Tajaran blood sample for instance comes with 18 blocks, six of which are active. One of those being warmth, the other five disabilities or nothing. A tagaran heart obtained through the cloning of your local janitor might narrow the activated genes to four, allowing for better isolation. Perhaps a sample from a Vaurca would have a higher chance of blindness disability, or carpotoxin offering resistance to vacuum. This would be easy to balance too as the RNG could just be skewed accordingly. There are of course realism problems introduced by the sample genome differing from that of an analyzed organism, but the intricacies can be refined while retaining the idea of overhauling genetics though the addition of RP requirements and objects of genetic interest. That suggestion, of course, only buffs the department alone, adding more ways to get power faster. It would be ideal In tandem with Skull’s idea making multiple powers impossible without a balancing negative effect in the form of damage. Although this force doesn’t have to be through more permanent damage, it is necessary. The current geneticist from the perspective of the rest of science: Scientist: “Geneticist?” Scientist: “Hello? Scientist: “Guess SSD has struck again.” Thirty minutes later a geneticist wonders around the station with maxed out powers single-handedly taking down a cult. Can’t RP their character anymore either due to the hulk gene turning them into the bane of public comms rather than an intelligent researcher. Although the hulk gene’s specifics could be argued, I have still yet to observe a situation in which it improved RP. Very rarely does it not hinder the quality. Not to mention the destroyed immersion resulting from an allusion to corny fiction. I do agree with Magnificent Melkior somewhat in that our current system really is not that bad. I mean, the same situation of relying on the specific scientist to catalyze their own RP is seen in virology, xenoarch, and xenobio, there is a big difference from those and genetics. As I said in the beginning, it is the link between science and medical. The role of biologist is hardly being used at all. When I dissected a vaurca with an RND scientist in robotics the biologist was busy with genes. That may have been the first time they were dissected on the station for all I know. The point being, there are times in which science has such a clear place for genetic intrigue and need for medical insight that is overlooked in favor of clicking buttons. This should change.

Yep, that answers it very well. Thanks Tenenza.

I would rather ask a more lighthearted question here, but I have been wondering: how rare, detrimental, and permanent are warnings to a player? It seems quite a lot of them are given out and I have never heard of them being removed.

This seems a little low to me. I have played many rounds with Kala Vantiel and some with Fluffybirb's other characters. Weather she is playing xenoarch, anominalist, or RnD she never ceases to better the round experience for me and the rest of science. I would say Fluffybirb's strongest attribute is limiting her IC knowledge to that of her character, rather then giving in to the temptation of using her diverse OOC knowledge. As Vaurca are "Generally very specialized" and "often [have] no inter-department knowledge" this seems a vital skill. Now that I have had the chance to interact with both Fluffybirb's characters and the Vaurca, I can say she would be a great fit. With Kala being a very energetic portrayal of scientific curiosity, and her other characters exemplifying her ability to play very diverse personalities, I would love to see what she would add to science department and the developing race of Vaurca alike. +1

I wasn't aware that anyone besides Talia in science was. Who else were you thinking?

It makes for great interdepartmental bonding as Mofo1995 put it. Kinda became a science meme. I have noticed huge differences in the way characters like Seon play due to these posts which is why I made mine. It wasn't just because all of the cool scientists are doing it I swear!

Name is at the bottom of the screen as my invisible curser is hovering over the mech. Oh and I found out how to take Willow EVA! Thank's! I have been meaning to make another character, perhaps an RD would be a good choice.

That's great to hear! The interaction with the varying portrayals of robotic intelligence is why I love playing roboticist so much. I have tried to RP Talia as caring more about the robotic units on the station then the biological crew, being very excited when she has the opportunity to create a new unit. The interactions with IAM are when I feel Talia is able to show her real character the most. Very much so. For instance when the hand held teleporter was stolen: she knew who, when, why, and how. It was for research though so she was not going to stand in the way. Once it got serious and communication was lost, however, Talia made sure to inform IAM and therefore the rest of security about it. I'm not sure Talia would ever be promoted to RD. She has way too many issues following regulation to the point that LiLITH threatened to fire her. She also adamantly believes that the NT forms are just to slow down research. Her personality does suit the job, just not her priorities. Another one of my favorite borgs! Did PEACE ever re-name, or is Talia's naming game stronger than I thought? Sounds good to me, but just a warning that Talia isn't going to fill out any of those useless robotics construction forms. She's just going to march to plasma research and start firing away. In the secure explosive area of course. She wouldn't want to destroy research equipment.

During that round Fraser expressed interest in becoming a cyborg and Talia took notice. It's also worth noting that as a robosexual, Talia is sexually attracted to robots but romantic interest stems more from personality. The ongoing gimmick of Talia trying to borg Fraser makes for great ongoing RP in any case. The true job of Aurora's science department!

Still trying to figure out if that was part of the event or not. Took me out of more then half the round with a lot of others, but at least I learned that crowbars are not effective against xenomorphs.

I think I get what it's like to work as a waiter now. I have been doing that recently though haven't I? Odd. I would add in Kala and some others, but that's generally my science dream team too. It's an honor to be a part of it. Talia has been complemented on her name game by multiple characters. She got beet by Boopers, although who can contest to that really? In some round with a nice mining department and no RD to come, this is so going to have to happen. If by paperwork you mean write ups of experimentation then sure, Talia has done that. Definitely should do it more as it is nice practice for IRL too. If you mean equipment requisition and robotic construction forms then that would be far too OOC for talia. Those take away productivity and progress. I'm not sure if that is chemistry, robotics, or both, but I will find out. It still amazes me all that science is capable of in this game given the time, resources, and legal leniency. I look forward to perusing these new goals. Thanks for the suggestions!

Yay for conforming with the insecure science department! Please provide any suggestions for improvement, complements, or comments.