Code Red Voting Policy Needs To Go

[Blue]

It's really inconvenient when you're in the middle of an actiony, fast-paced round, and suddenly it's code red.

Antags fade away into thin air. Security runs around, but there's ultimately no threat. It takes a while for any heads to register this and actually lower the code to blue or whatever. Sometimes the heads are like "NO CODE BLUE THERE MIIIGHT BE SOMETHING EVEN THOUGH NOTHING HAS BLOWN UP IN 40 MINUTES", and sometimes the heads are even SSD or killed.

The problem with this, is that it leaves us in code red for a prolonged period of time.

The problem with code red, is that no matter how stale the round deteriorates, You can't vote for a fucking shuttle.

I understand. If it's code red, something is probably going down. But regardless, things go down often. Sometimes those things aren't interesting. Sometimes the round is stale while these uninteresting things are going down. If what IS happening IS interesting, then surely the majority of the players agree, and will vote to continue the round? If it is not interesting, then time for a new round.

It's honestly just annoying when the metaphorical (and sometimes literal) fire's died out and you have to pester the heads of staff to actually lower the code before you can get on to a fresh start on a fresh new round.

[Johnny Mnemonic]

a vote to lower the code so we can vote to go to Odin

HUEHUEHUE

[Guest]

It's honestly just annoying when the metaphorical (and sometimes literal) fire's died out and you have to pester the heads of staff to actually lower the code before you can get on to a fresh start on a fresh new round.

 

IC issue. The way code red is right now is fine.

"Because nothing has blown up in 40 minutes" is no excuse, if there isn't confirmation that the threat was dealt with, then there is no way the code is going to be lowered.

[Blue]

It's honestly just annoying when the metaphorical (and sometimes literal) fire's died out and you have to pester the heads of staff to actually lower the code before you can get on to a fresh start on a fresh new round.

 

IC issue. The way code red is right now is fine.

"Because nothing has blown up in 40 minutes" is no excuse, if there isn't confirmation that the threat was dealt with, then there is no way the code is going to be lowered.

 

I disagree. The round lasting far longer than most anyone wants it to just because one or two people are stubborn, or are incapacitated and literally cannot lower the code to blue or green.

The presence of a threat or confirmation of a threat no longer existing shouldn't matter. Had enough of the nuke ops shit? Are you just dying for extended? Is it just boring now? A little vote, which is an OOC way to end the round versus the IC way of emergency shuttle, would not hurt anyone. Like I said. If it's really something engaging for the crew, instead of just a handful of ops and a couple redshirts, the majority will vote to continue.

[ZipZero]

A problem I've frequently seen is players calling for a crew transfer in an attempt to use the transfer shuttle as an emergency shuttle, during a crisis where the code level could not be elevated to red. I believe that allowing a transfer vote during code red would just increase that problem.

[Skull132]

Pretty much what Zip had pointed out. In my mind, keeping the no vote on code red rule is a small evil compared to folks calling a shuttle via vote the moment something goes explodey. Because it has happened, and will continue to happen. The amount of times a shuttle vote has passed during an active and developing situation on blue alert, I would wager, is proof of that. With that perspective, is one drawn out round on code red that big a fault?

Also, admins do keep track of the antag situation, specially on code red. Meaning that, if we believe that an antag's steam has run out, but red isn't lifted after a certain amount of time, we may choose to poke the issue.

[Susan]

Whether or not something is happening should ultimately be irrelevant. If people are tired of the round and want to leave, they shouldn't arbitrarily be forced to continue playing because 'wowe guys antag is shoosting ppl'. 2/3 majority vote is enough of a failsafe to prevent a transfer should the majority want to stay, and if the majority wants to leave, then oh well. That is democracy.

[Guest]

Whether or not something is happening should ultimately be irrelevant. If people are tired of the round and want to leave, they shouldn't arbitrarily be forced to continue playing because 'wowe guys antag is shoosting ppl'. 2/3 majority vote is enough of a failsafe to prevent a transfer should the majority want to stay, and if the majority wants to leave, then oh well. That is democracy.

 

No one is forcing them to play. But yes, I think a failsafe should be put in place.

Having a crew transfer shuttle be called while the station is falling apart is stupid as hell and immersion breaking. Maybe we should make a transfer vote that, if it passes, doesn't anything other than show to the heads of staff that players want to end the round. That way popular opinion can't really effect the game flow completelly but still regains its weight. Only the most stubborn or most informed of command won't either lower or call the emergency transfer if the overwhelming majority says they want it. If they don't do it, its still left to Staff's discretion.

[Jamini]

The only time in my recent memory when a crew transfer should have been called on red when it wasn't was when a wizard who had obviously gone quite hostile had accidentally teleported themselves to the solars without internals as the ERT was being called. It took us about an hour to find the body.

I'm of two minds for this really.

First, honestly, I feel people need to suck it up a little. Red alert means that things are happening, and things are fairly bad. People are dying, things are exploding, and the station is at risk. Calling a transfer shuttle makes no sense in that situation, and frankly if you are bored in code red you should be able to find some way to help with the situation at hand or find some way for your character to profit. Far, far too often people will call the shuttle vote when a round is going strong simply because they can. Just like many people will try and call votes early.

On the other hand, I also feel red needs to be reserved for very, very serious situations. While a single loud traitor going around breaking windows is a known threat, I don't personally feel that such actions warrent code red. Code red should really be reserved for situations where the armory is required and the ERT should be called. Not just because joe shmoe is causing trouble/going hostile. Exceptions to this are wizards and Ninjas, as they can do ridiculous amounts of damage if played properly. Likewise, many people try to go to blue alert for the weakest excuses. A carp event or meteor shower isn't really worth blue, as long as security and engineering are on their game. A collision event is blue-worthy, but even that can be mitigated with a bit of proper planning and coordination.

With a little more manning up from the crew as a whole, and a little more restraint in going to blue for headstaff, I feel that there is no need to remove the restriction on crew transfers during red alert. We need to look at what we, as players, are doing before we go changing systems.

[Frances]

Aren't situations where the emergency shuttle should be called but isn't the heads' fault?

I mean, shit goes bad, heads vote to move to code red, and at this point, it's their job to monitor the situation and assess whether the station should be evacuated, and if it is safe to do so.

If nothing is happening anymore, they should begin evacuation procedures, as ICly that generally means security has enough control over things to ensure the safety of the evacuees.

[Guest]

Yep. And, also, you can't get into escape pods when the CT shuttle gets called and gets hailed in. Can't change the escape pod code to go back to what it used to do, because the escape pods are for emergencies.

You also severely risk antags bombing escape to prevent people from leaving. And no, you can't just say 'well then just ban them if they do that.' Antags are allowed to force you to stay on the station, as long as they don't mass murder or gank while doing it.

[Blue]

It's not about going to the shuttle, it's not about getting out of the station (Although those are usually given and definitely preferred).

It's about ending a crap round that's going nowhere and start with a new opportunity to do something enjoyable.

[mrimatool]

The only time in my recent memory when a crew transfer should have been called on red when it wasn't was when a wizard who had obviously gone quite hostile had accidentally teleported themselves to the solars without internals as the ERT was being called. It took us about an hour to find the body.

I'm of two minds for this really.

First, honestly, I feel people need to suck it up a little. Red alert means that things are happening, and things are fairly bad. People are dying, things are exploding, and the station is at risk. Calling a transfer shuttle makes no sense in that situation, and frankly if you are bored in code red you should be able to find some way to help with the situation at hand or find some way for your character to profit. Far, far too often people will call the shuttle vote when a round is going strong simply because they can. Just like many people will try and call votes early.

On the other hand, I also feel red needs to be reserved for very, very serious situations. While a single loud traitor going around breaking windows is a known threat, I don't personally feel that such actions warrent code red. Code red should really be reserved for situations where the armory is required and the ERT should be called. Not just because joe shmoe is causing trouble/going hostile. Exceptions to this are wizards and Ninjas, as they can do ridiculous amounts of damage if played properly. Likewise, many people try to go to blue alert for the weakest excuses. A carp event or meteor shower isn't really worth blue, as long as security and engineering are on their game. A collision event is blue-worthy, but even that can be mitigated with a bit of proper planning and coordination.

With a little more manning up from the crew as a whole, and a little more restraint in going to blue for headstaff, I feel that there is no need to remove the restriction on crew transfers during red alert. We need to look at what we, as players, are doing before we go changing systems.

 

Completely disagree about the blue alert. Blue alert is for awareness mostly, so when there's a possibility people could be struck by a meteor then yes we should be on Blue. Carp is a little different.

[Jamini]

9/10 meteor showers you won't get hit by a meteor in any important areas.

Collisions are different, but showers are generally pretty low risk as long as you pay attention to the alert and stay out of maint.

[mrimatool]

9/10 meteor showers you won't get hit by a meteor in any important areas.

Collisions are different, but showers are generally pretty low risk as long as you pay attention to the alert and stay out of maint.

 

The point I was trying to make is if there was a meteor shower in real life that had even a 1/10 chance of hitting you, then I'd be pretty certain you'd want to have the crew to higher alert. Just a note, I'm not really talking about security, but Blue alert just means a higher alert level for the ENTIRE crew, security just seems to benefit the most from the whole thing(gear and authority wise) which should not be the case.

[Jamini]

In real life if I was anywhere near a location that could get caught in a meteor shower, I'd not only insist that our fancy shield generators be put up and stay up in key locations, but I would probably find some way to remotely activate or automate them to go off during the announced meteor showers.

I get your point, but remember that this is first and foremost a game. I can count on one hand the number of times a shower has enough significant damage to actually risk the crew as long as they show a lick of common sense. It's collisions that really wreak the station.

[Guest]

With the amount of topic detracting and derailing I'm seeing right now, I am extremely willing to write this off as an argument with no foundation.

Let me remind you all that the FOCUS of this subject is about the code red voting policy. No one is going to give a single fuck about real life, this is about the OOC game mechanics of how code red works and how it also effects us ICly.

Stop trying to use irrelevant shit to justify... you know what, literally anything. Stick to what matters, I don't fucking care if you're the Queen of England.

[Skull132]

I don't think this is actually too meaningful of a suggestion.

From my experience, for the majority of code red situations, the alert level is lifted after most everything meaningful has happened. The only one time that I've seen it go over that level, and maintain code red, admins intervened to help move the action along. Due to this, I don't exactly mind it being here.

The purpose of the mechanic is to catch your focus OOCly. "Hey, something's wrong, see what you can do." Which it apparently does, ergo, mechanic functions as intended. And due to the ways you can get to code red, it's actually somewhat rare. Ergo, even if you do have to sit out a relatively boring round, I don't see the issue as anything too grand.

[Erik Tiber]

Ditto what Skull said.