Bring Back IPC Hacking

[goolie]

Now that AI malf has been removed from the rotation, a lot of its better features have been lost. I think one of the most exciting things for an IPC player on a malf round was to jack into an APC and then get hacked by the AI. It was always fun to be involved in the action, and tons of IPC players I've spoken to really miss it. 
 

I think the easiest way to bring it back would be in the traitor loadout. I'm not sure what changes should be done to it, but that's another reason why I made this thread. It would probably need some rework to work better than it did, and to fit in with other gamemodes.

 

What's your opinions? Do you miss it? Do you hate it? Comment below! I'd like to see what other species who don't have an IPC whitelist would like to see what happens with it. 

Edited March 13, 2020 by goolie

[FreshRefreshments]

I personally hate being forced into an antag role, but I know plenty of people do enjoy it. Hacked by a Malf AI can lead to other gimmicks, especially if its used in a way other than straight up hackage. I think itd be good to have the option there for people. 

+1.

[Soultheif96]

I would love to have IPC hacking be a thing for Traitors, Ninjas, and Mercenaries given there is so much that can happen with an IPC. I guess one way to do it is to force down the IPC, pry open their head, and swipe the emag card on it to hack them and make you their sole master and obey you.

It'll be awesome if not abused or done in a LRP way.

[GreenBoi]

I'd rather not see something so powerful be added to Traitor loadout- note how all forms of mindslaving are a lot harder to pull off than the malf hacks- either requiring you to lure someone, or being fairly simple to escape if not combo'd with anything.

 

If you want to hack an IPC, you should have to do it the long and hard way of cracking them up and rp-hack them. Otherwise, we can all live with the agony of not having it.

[Roostercat]

I would love to see this back. Though the process of doing the hack should be long and/or difficult instead of something you can just do, or perhaps infecting the APC's or chargers like malf can.  One of my favorite rounds as an IPC was when I was hacked by the AI as my bartender, Crimson. It was great fun. +1

[VisVirific]

It would be interesting to see other methods of hacking IPCs implemented in a way that wouldn't be easy to just up and gank them, like how Malf's method was basically an invitation for the attentive players.

SoulThief's idea of actually having to pry their skulls and emag them seems good (with a possible way to fight back or something, so it doesn't end up like Cult Shenanigans where it's either Antag or Death), or probably do some weird hacking thing with the APCs/Chargers to mimic Malf's ability. Either way, it is going to feel incredibly rare now that the only modes Malf is in also happen to be the modes where a lot more shenigans can go down.

[Carver]

Conversion mechanics are shit. RP it out like mentioned above and I'm fairly certain that you can get away with 'hacking' an IPC as an antag.

[niennab]

I have been wanting something such as this for a long time, even before malf was removed from the rotation. IPCs are often neglected during long and vampire rounds for obvious reason.

One method of balancing may be if it's a traitor/ninja/etc item that uploads the virus to APCs with a limited charge. This requires the traitor to consider which APCs to hack as well as requiring garnering access to APCs behind department doors.

Better yet, it can replace the current effect of using an emagger on an IPC which seems to do nothing??? Or it makes their limbs weaker???

Edited March 11, 2020 by niennab

[A.I.M.M.O.]

I personally would like to see this in some way or form, because it somewhat speaks to an issue I have with afformentioned involvement in Vampire (and somewhat in Ling). Those two modes have most of their interaction that isnt open combat focused on organic crew (which makes sense for the antag role) which can be quite upsetting at times, Seeing an Vampire thrall an entire department and yourself having to stay on the sideline because  you basically have two big groups fighting (Thrallls+Vamp vs normal sec/command) can be upsetting. A vamp round as an IPC player is often basicaly dead wheight.

The only mode that offered some deeper interaction for IPCs in return was Malf, and interrestingly enough due to how the hack was delivered (most) times the player had a choice wether or not they want to be hacked by the simple decision of "Am I going to have my IPC char decide that due to the announcements its unwise to charge from APCs?" 

I am not sure which antags should have access to it, I could see the appeal for ninjas, heisters and mercs to get eyes and ears on the inside, while for an Traitor it would be difficult to price or should be rolled into the EMAG (but with having a more difficult time to get the condition for hacking)

My personal Opinion on hacking as a mechanic is that it can lead to many interristing stories during action (having your character struggle with the new directives and concepts),  if the hack can be removed by Roboticists then the same is also true for after action (given the antag is defeated/pushed back) 
I would love to see all this done just by RP, as that offers the most freedom and possibility for flavour but I cant see this really happening, Imagene things like vampire thralling didnt exist, but you would suddenly try to make someone an obeying slave as a Vamp just with rp, people who are quite quick to dunk on antags will use it as a way to call sec,  most would probably refuse it or just fail to pick it up. And that is already assuming that you have the idea to enthrall someone. Without the mechanic there is little incentive to try (due to the unlikely outcome) and it isnt necessarily considered. 

All in all a way to hack IPCs for certain antags is something worth looking into. +1 

[goolie]

30 minutes ago, niennab said:

One method of balancing may be if it's a traitor/ninja/etc item that uploads the virus to APCs with a limited charge.

It's a pretty high risk, low reward for an antag such as a ninja or merc to try sneak around and upload it. But then again, I can see it working. Especially with the merc / ninja teams that make themselves known to the crew and try to pose as friendly or helpful. They could probably get away with quickly running up to an APC without anyone noticing.

The general consensus so far though is that it's OP and definitely needs a rework if it is going to make a comeback.

[goolie]

4 minutes ago, A.I.M.M.O. said:

A vamp round as an IPC player is often basicaly dead wheight.

Also, this. I think we've all had that moment as an IPC where you go, "Oh. It's vamp." And kinda just sit there not being involved.

Edited March 11, 2020 by goolie

[Cnaym]

Hey dropping in the admin side and "sometimes" hacked IPC side here. 

We did that a couple of times with mercs doing the posi emag swipe and then giving the player the antag role. Usually only requires both sides to be cool with it and an ahelp and there is little in the way of supporting this. A mechanical item would still be very useful to make it more accessible to those who do not like to ask the admins or want to force it onto someone in an evil fashion.

I would imagine doing it with a multitool and having it take a long time makes sense, maybe even announce it to stationbounds and AIs, like some kind of emergency protection message. Maybe not a name and a location, but something like "Illegal Posi Access in process" would spice stuff up I suppose.

[goolie]

Wouldn't be much hassle to implement an item, would it? Maybe some coders could look into it? I don't know jack about coding or how to transfer one mechanic to another. Relying solely on admin intervention when there's a chance we could get a fully working item in the game that does the admins job for them, is totally worth it. 

Edited March 11, 2020 by goolie

[Carver]

16 hours ago, niennab said:

Better yet, it can replace the current effect of using an emagger on an IPC which seems to do nothing??? Or it makes their limbs weaker???

They disable the safeties on limbs, enabling them to explode once reaching a certain damage threshold. Prosthetic limbs exploding after a certain threshold was a mechanic removed around 6-7 years ago, retained in a legacy fashion via e-mag.

If you e-mag every limb and use an EMP weapon, you can create quite a significant explosion assuming the booms still stack.

[PrutteHans]

I, PrutteHans, plenarily concur with this conception. The fact that it isn't already in the game is appalling. The mere conception of being a mindcontrolled robot, having to follow the orders of a mean traitorous Unathi (OR Human, though the malefaction rate studies prove perpetrators to be Unathi more often than not.) is mouth watering. A definite +1 from me!

[StationCrab]

I agree if it is difficult to pull off.

[goolie]

@StationCrab You think it'd be hard to implement it? What'd you think would be difficult specifically? Most of the code is already there from malfunction. I'd hope any coders that decided to put their mind to it, would have an easy job of getting it back in.

[GreenBoi]

They said "if it is difficult to pull off," as in- a risky endeavor that isn't guaranteed nor easy.

[StationCrab]

1 hour ago, goolie said:

@StationCrab You think it'd be hard to implement it? What'd you think would be difficult specifically? Most of the code is already there from malfunction. I'd hope any coders that decided to put their mind to it, would have an easy job of getting it back in.

Sorry there is a misunderstanding here. I meant I am okay with hacking IPCs if it is difficult for the antagonist to successfully accomplish it mechanically. IE they should have to work for it not just click one button and instant convert remotely or something.

[Natiform]

i also think that this would be a fun way to get IPC’s involved in antag business again. i feel like they’ve been kinda left in the dust now that the main game mode that affected them has been removed from the rotation. 

 

as stationcrab said, as long as it’s high-risk high-reward, i’m all for this!

[goolie]

@StationCrab @Natiform

It's all about finding the right balance between it being too easy or too hard. There's a lot of surgery related ideas, which I really like. But for other antagonists like Mercenaries and Ninjas, won't it be a little too challenging for them to find a safe place to actually perform said surgery? Let alone the surgery table. I think as long as it's not an instant M1 convert IPC, it'll be pretty balanced. Maybe add a timer? Give the IPC a whack, handcuff them, get their radio off, swipe the emagger against their stupid dumb head and boom. You gotta wait a bit, and they're converted. That's fair enough. The good ol' bonk on the head and drag into maintenance is balanced as balanced gets. They have ample time to scream for help.

[Gangstafary]

Supporting. Maybe, like with borgs, a roboticist tator or any other tator with enough knowledge could pry open the IPC's chest and then open the wiring, having to deactivate some stuff and then emagging, or making inserting a hacked law board doable..

[ferner]

I'd be for it, ipcs are outright immune to some antagonists so it'd make sense they'd be vulnerable to other kind of influences.

[StationCrab]

18 hours ago, goolie said:

@StationCrab @Natiform

It's all about finding the right balance between it being too easy or too hard. There's a lot of surgery related ideas, which I really like. But for other antagonists like Mercenaries and Ninjas, won't it be a little too challenging for them to find a safe place to actually perform said surgery? Let alone the surgery table. I think as long as it's not an instant M1 convert IPC, it'll be pretty balanced. Maybe add a timer? Give the IPC a whack, handcuff them, get their radio off, swipe the emagger against their stupid dumb head and boom. You gotta wait a bit, and they're converted. That's fair enough. The good ol' bonk on the head and drag into maintenance is balanced as balanced gets. They have ample time to scream for help.

Should be fine, make the swipe take a little bit!

[goolie]

Thanks to @MattAtlas for coding everything! Here's the GitHub link if any of you want to check it out.

https://github.com/Aurorastation/Aurora.3/pull/8417