Game Mode Grievances: Nuclear Emergency

[Guest]

This will be part one of Game Mode Grievances, a series of discussion threads regarding the assortment of game modes that people either praise or lament over. Nuclear Emergency is one of these controversial game modes. Next thread will be about Malfunction.

Please fill out the below format for your first post/2 cents in this thread. Feedback is super important, and posting things without any sort of hands-on or first-person experience can be rather destructive to the discussion itself. Please try to be descriptive of your answers.

After your first post, discussion can be made. Insulting other people or their intelligences because they have differing opinions isn't okay. Please don't be a dick.

 

What do you like about this game mode? Be honest, don't just say 'nothing' or 'everything':

What do you dislike about this game mode? Don't just say 'everything' or 'nothing':

Do you think the things you like about this game mode are conducive and healthy to the general flow of roleplay?:

Do you think that reinforcing the things you like about this game mode would help make it better for everyone else's RP experience?:

Are the things you dislike about this game mode highly destructive to the flow of RP?:

Do other people on this server share that sentiment? If so, how many that you know of do?:

How do you think we could 'fix' the issues that, in your opinion, make the game mode bad?:

[Jboy2000000]

What do you like about this game mode? Be honest, don't just say 'nothing' or 'everything': I wish I could say 'nothing' here, but I honestly do not have many good things to say about Nuclear. The one good thing that I feel comes out of this game mode, is that sometimes, though very rarely, the team doesn't actually go for the nuke, and does some actually RP, trying to do something different.

What do you dislike about this game mode? Don't just say 'everything' or 'nothing': Now this is something I cane talk about. I dislike nearly everything about Nuclear. Im going to play the broken record, and say its nothing but a gank fest, theres no RP in it, its no fun for anyone outside security, and sometimes its probably no fun for security. Same thing almost everytime I see it, cut off cargo, bomb the armoury, disable medical, sometimes get a hostage in there, once thats done and the hostage is dead or safe, try and go for the nuke, end up with either an ERT or something going horribly wrong and an emergency shuttle being called.

Do you think the things you like about this game mode are conducive and healthy to the general flow of roleplay?: When they happen, yes, absolutely.

Do you think that reinforcing the things you like about this game mode would help make it better for everyone else's RP experience?: Yes.

Are the things you dislike about this game mode highly destructive to the flow of RP?: I think so, nuke is horrible to RP in my opinion.

Do other people on this server share that sentiment? If so, how many that you know of do?: Ive never seen nuke get voted in, and NOT see someone saying nearly the exact same thing I siad above. I know even some moderators think the same about the game mode.

How do you think we could 'fix' the issues that, in your opinion, make the game mode bad?: Basically, gut nuke, get rid of it, package it as "Mercenary " or "Operative" as some people have suggested, take away the Syndicate's pretty high power guns and armoured hardsuits, give them moderately power weapons, new objectives, maybe a set few like with Mutiny. Take away the powers to make the entire game mode ganky from the Ops, and it would pan out to be a more fun, equal game mode for everyone involved.

Edited February 23, 2015 by Guest

[Jamini]

What do you like about this game mode? Be honest, don't just say 'nothing' or 'everything':

It is a high-action mode based around teamwork and coordination, with a good amount of potential RP between hostile elements who are not station crew.

 

What do you dislike about this game mode? Don't just say 'everything' or 'nothing':

 

Due to the number of antagonists and security staff, and the highly volatile nature of the round, it often devolves into excessive amounts of damage and bloodshed that isn't very fun at all for non-security staff.

 

Do you think the things you like about this game mode are conducive and healthy to the general flow of roleplay?:

 

When both sides of the equation are played well, Nuclear Emergency is one of the most fun and RP-intensive modes available. It allows one to show off aspects of their character that does not normally come to light in quieter round types. So yes.

 

Do you think that reinforcing the things you like about this game mode would help make it better for everyone else's RP experience?:

 

Yes, reinforcing cooperation and teamwork on the station side of the equation would make things more enjoyable.

 

Are the things you dislike about this game mode highly destructive to the flow of RP?:

 

I feel the things I dislike about this game mode are more pandemic to the player-base of the server, as opposed to intrinsic to the game mode itself. It only takes a single person acting out of line or ignoring a hostage to turn a tense, interesting situation into a full-on shootout

 

Do other people on this server share that sentiment? If so, how many that you know of do?:

 

I can't speak for the opinion of others.

 

How do you think we could 'fix' the issues that, in your opinion, make the game mode bad?:

 

Several things could be done.

1. Preservation of station staff should be higher priority than it is currently.

-In current lore/attitudes, protecting the staff of the station comes secondary to protecting the station itself. From a game-play and logical perspective this is a very, very poor attitude to take. Human element aside, training/hiring employees, paying insurance, and the lawsuits that would result from ignoring the well-being of your employees is far, far more expensive to a company like NT than all but it's most sensitive equipment. (The AI, the engine, and top-tier research). Requiring Security and Response team staff to take lives into account first, and equipment second, would help alleviate many problems intrinsic with the mode.

2. Be much, much more strict with people who rambo hostage situations, and make it readily apparent that doing so is not okay.

-I cannot count the number of times I have seen security here rush into a hostage situation with little more than a taser and basic armor, even when the opponent is in a full syndicate hardsuit and armed with a kinetic weapons. I haven't been here that long, but the lack of fear in some of the members of security here are /abysmally/ bad. It is one thing, going toe to toe with the mercenaries when both of you are armed to the teeth and in groups. It is another to try and lock a merc through a glass window with a Taser or rush into a room with six operatives AND a hostage in it.

3. Remove or limit the syndicate bombs. While a powerful tool, they are used far too often and cause excessive damage with extreme ease. Replacing the plasma warheads with bundles of C4 would be ideal, in my mind.

4. Reduce the restrictions on non-security staff on EVA and assisting security. This is more of an issue with the player-base as opposed to an actual rules or mechanics issues however: Playing in a merc round as anything but security can be extremely boring for non-antag, non-sec crew. Far too often medical and civilian are stuck in their departments, waiting for the fighting to end so they can actually... play.

I would strongly recommend that security be ENCOURAGED to have at attempt to have at least one engineer and/or doctor with their strike teams (not really unlike how the ERT function on a smaller scale.). The staff here have routinely expressed that they wish to encourage interdepartmental cooperation. This is a prime example of how to do such!

4.a. I would also suggest, mechanically, that each response department (medical, engineering, and security) be given 2-3 "emergency channel" headsets, to facilitate such interdepartmental cooperation. These would likely be kept within either EVA or the respective Head of Staff's office, and not to be used unless the station is on blue alert or higher.

5. Make the ERT rarer and harder to call.

The ERT are, essentially, the big guns of the station. Calling them for a power outage or a handful of intruders who haven't actually DONE much damage is... distressingly common. Making the ERT more difficult to call, or having ERT call failures more common in conjunction with some nerfs to the mercs would make both sides more interesting to play.

6. Give the mercs better supplies

The merc shuttle lacks several things it really needs to keep the mercs relevant. A surgical table, spaceacillin, and tramadol comes to mind. The merc need a way to fight infection and internal damage.

[enkas]

What do you like about this game mode? Be honest, don't just say 'nothing' or 'everything': What I like about this game mode, is that it tends to make a lot of pressure for security, when you have to repel those invaders, medical, because in a situation when armed people are getting on board, there are bound to be a lot of injured, and engineering, because of all the bombs and power outages that happen during nuke. It also creates some conflict RP, and it is always fun to play a terrified hostage, or the poor sod's friends. And it is also fun to play as one of the mercs as well.. So yes, I mostly like this mode.

What do you dislike about this game mode? Don't just say 'everything' or 'nothing': The clusterfuck that those rounds often turn to be. Lots of explosions, lots of breaches, make it a very hard day for anyone without EVA access, and ramboing does often happen quite a lot as well, from both sides. There were countless times when security mowed down through civilian hostages to shoot the ops, and there were a lot of times when I was shot by an officer mid-emote... Though, I can't say that those things are easy to avoid.

Do you think the things you like about this game mode are conducive and healthy to the general flow of roleplay?: Some of them, yes. Hostage taking should be heavily encouraged, as well as taunting. Negotiations between security for the safety of the hostages should be fun as well.

Do you think that reinforcing the things you like about this game mode would help make it better for everyone else's RP experience?:Yes

Are the things you dislike about this game mode highly destructive to the flow of RP?:Yes. Ramboing, and constant bombings do not add anything to RP. People from both sides often have the ''shoot first, ask questions later'' mindset. But as I said before, I doubt that it is possible to fix this problem entirely

Do other people on this server share that sentiment? If so, how many that you know of do?:I don't know to be honest. So I can't say

How do you think we could 'fix' the issues that, in your opinion, make the game mode bad?:I honestly do not know. We already encourage RP, but people do tend to ignore it during high-stress situations. So I honestly have no suggestions here, apart from the name change, that Jboy already stated

[Frances]

The good:

-It's a high-action round on a heavy-RP server, providing a nice change of pace

-It gives me a chance to put my characters in highly stressful or dramatic situations (I actually mean civilians/station staff, I never got to play as an operative sadly)

-The focus on antag teamplay sounds fun

The bad:

-Lots of people seem to neglect or forego the teamplay aspect of nuke antagging to a degree

-People misunderstand nuke for something it's not: the chaos, explosions and killing are part of the round - it's short and fast-paced, so dying /should/ be an expected risk and should not be made as big of a deal as it is now

-If you don't like it don't play it, nuke is obviously enjoyed enough if it gets voted into the rotation regularly

[Blue]

What do you dislike about this game mode? Don't just say 'everything' or 'nothing': Fucking everything oh wait, I can't say that.

It's a mode based around redsuits breaking in the station and systematically making it a pain for everyone else. The security team tries in vein to stop the men with lethals with their tasers. The engineers scramble to fix the areas the ops breach, only to scream and run their asses back when they see the ops still there. Medical gets stacks upon stacks of bodies to fix and clone. Everyone else just hides and cowers. Hiding, cowering, "It's g-gonna be alright, I p-promise" RP is not fun.

Do you think the things you like about this game mode are conducive and healthy to the general flow of roleplay?: Nope. Ops are designed to be stealthy, quick, and efficient. None of that in an antagonist makes anything fun.

Do you think that reinforcing the things you like about this game mode would help make it better for everyone else's RP experience?: Nope. Just make people whine more about how the ops are "powerless".

Are the things you dislike about this game mode highly destructive to the flow of RP?: Oh, hell yes.

Do other people on this server share that sentiment? If so, how many that you know of do?: Quite a few, actually.

How do you think we could 'fix' the issues that, in your opinion, make the game mode bad?: Just scrap it. It's a terrible gamemode.

[SierraKomodo]

What do you like about this game mode? Be honest, don't just say 'nothing' or 'everything':

• 
  
• While everyone's distracted with the crap the other nukeops are pulling... I can actually sneak in, steal shit, and get out without much problem.
  

 

What do you dislike about this game mode? Don't just say 'everything' or 'nothing':

• 
  
• Bombs. Always bombing everything. I've wanted to see a stealth infiltration for so long, and it never happens.
  
• Kidnapping from the same pool of 2-3 people
  
• Security deciding rambo/ignoring hostage situations is the best route. Every single time. There's no RP here, just 'Red hardsuit SHOOT HER WHILE SHES TYPING!'. This right here has made me give up on any kind of IC interaction, and just bugger off the second I see security without even waiting to see if they shoot first or say something.
  
• Being completely ignored when trying to suggest something outside of the usual 'Take a hostage/blow shit up' route.
  

 

Do you think the things you like about this game mode are conducive and healthy to the general flow of roleplay?:

Not really. Sneaking in and stealing things without being noticed because everyone's freaking out over the armory/engineering being explodified doesn't give me any chance to actually interact with other players, or anyone a chance to interact with me.

Do you think that reinforcing the things you like about this game mode would help make it better for everyone else's RP experience?:

No. The problems I listed above need to be addressed, and that's more of a player mindset issue than anything game mechanics can fix.

Are the things you dislike about this game mode highly destructive to the flow of RP?:

Very. When we get to a point where nuke ops just blow things up, and security just fires without a word on people that are obviously sitting still because they're bloody typing.. There's no RP. It's just gankstation 13.

Do other people on this server share that sentiment? If so, how many that you know of do?:

I've seen and heard people saying similar things about nuclear rounds (I know a few people that just absolutely refuse to play during nuke rounds)

How do you think we could 'fix' the issues that, in your opinion, make the game mode bad?:

We need some way to address the player's mindsets for this round. Security needs to stop forgoing RP for just shooting at the nukies, and nuke ops need to actually provide some interaction at the least instead of just suddenly setting off bombs, and not saying a word to the crew. (I think the nuke ops could learn a few things from how Stein and Sylvia handled themselves awhile back)

[Guest]

First note:

Someone is tearing the station apart with explosives, people are dying, atmosphere is gone, an officer just shoot down three hostiles alone, and your biggest problem is that someone called you an idiot, and you have a need to tell it over the SBR system, despite it being the only means of communication between departments because the ops decided to blow up the commsat

I will take this moment to share with you the sentiment that comes with the previous line. I'm generally a peaceful person, but seeing things like this in chat, make me, at best, wish I can walk up to your character and empty an SMG clip in your head. Its not RP, its immersion breaking drama and its fucking annoying. Please, how many times must I tell you not to misuse comms during nuke ops.

What do you like about this game mode? Be honest, don't just say 'nothing' or 'everything':

You would be surprised actually, I like action. People also take nuke ops for the action, but its rarely done well. An almost perfect round of nuke ups is the one where actual fighting happens, hand to hand, exchange of fire, hostage holding, etc. This does not include bombing and steamrolling anyone, just fighting, the fighting is the point. Its what makes the most interesting RP, the eternal hell that is war.

What do you dislike about this game mode? Don't just say 'everything' or 'nothing':

The fact that it either boils down to some pointless ploy where crew is required to play along as if they don't know what's going on, or previously mentioned steamroll of either side. Security rushes them with lethals or nuke ops bomb the hell out of the station. Then the moaning starts. Nuke ops bomb the shit out of everything, then moan for being executed out of spite. Well, fuck you.

Do you think the things you like about this game mode are conducive and healthy to the general flow of role-play?:

Role-play? Not that much. I've already said that people don't vote Nuke for RP, something people laughed at me for. Well, you know I'm fucking right. Everyone just wants to go in blazing and shoot the crap out of everything, this includes both sides. The other ones, who are too afraid to do it, just think of complicated or pussy ideas that are actually less fun than the alternative. But to that point, a certain hostage situation was actually good RP, even though it had a lot of action. An example of what can be done as a Nuke Op

Do you think that reinforcing the things you like about this game mode would help make it better for everyone else's RP experience?: Yes, just keep it simple, keep communication and escalate slowly. If someone points a fucking gun at you, drop to the ground and don't move. You're now a hostage, act like it. If someone starts killing civilians, get the fuck out of there, don't go robusting the nuke ops.

Are the things you dislike about this game mode highly destructive to the flow of RP?:

Yes. Powergaming, metagaminging, expecting people to kill their own suspense of belief are all destructive to the RP. Along with that, I've noticed a trend as command, where crew, instead of trying to coordinate to defeat the ops, actually goes out of their merry was to fuck up the station further with infighting, constant moaning and general misbehavior.

Do other people on this server share that sentiment? If so, how many that you know of do?:

No idea. Don't care.

How do you think we could 'fix' the issues that, in your opinion, make the game mode bad?:

By having people restrict their characters to human (alien) beings, not super-solders. If you're being fired at, fall back and wait for backup, don't charge a highly armed kill squad alone. If you're a nuke op, don't go around blowing the fucking station to bits, then stealing everything left or not bolted down. Give security a chance to interact with you. And for fucks sake, stop with the cyborg rush.