Remove Antag Drafting

[DronzTheWolf]

Maybe something for antags who use TC, is adding in the ability to get optional objectives to earn extra TC with so you can have more stuff to play with. Since the objective system is being overhauled, make it something you can request through your Antag Uplink:tm:

[aleksix]

A lot of emphasis is being put on optional objectives for the antags. There's already a 'contract' system in place for uplink-using antagonists such as traitors, ninjas, etc. However, it seems somewhat abandoned - I'm yet to see an antagonist doing anything related to these contracts. Might be a good place to start the overhaul?

[Scheveningen]

Those contracts are incredibly out of the way of things and give no feasible in-round benefits for even completing the objectives, plus the 'completion' of the contracts entirely depends on the person who created the contract in the first place to log into the WI to confirm it's done. Any work in progress being done by a dev right now will probably turn out to be more reasonable - and a bit different than attempting to rework a system (still existing, sure) to work completely differently than the fluff it provides right now.

[Scheveningen]

Having experienced this more, the antag drafting thing is actually amazing. "Get what you wish for, but not what you want" is kind of SS13 exemplified. Likewise there's a way to 'game' the antag drafting system if you are not personally an antag player: simply don't vote or don't vote for a game mode that includes antagonists. 

But it's not really 'gaming' the system in a negative way because you're exactly one person, and even if several individuals also did this, well hey, would you rather we go back to the server not being able to load a majority of the various game modes at all? That was a way worse system than what's being done right now. It's probably a good thing if secret voters have a random chance of being an antag than not having antagonists at all. Interest in the game kind of dies anyway if there's nobody to drive conflict once in awhile, even if it isn't the most riveting experience. Some people just need a workout or an occasion to keep them on their toes.

Funny enough, though, some people have said this leads to more chaotic rounds as a result of more varied gametypes. Sure, chaotic round /=/ good round, but at least it's interesting. Shitty rounds exist to whine about briefly and then get over, it's part of the SS13 rhythm after all.

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

Being a bad, cringey antag is something every single one of us were and on our off days continue to be. 

Let he who has been without cringe cast the first +1.

Putting them on blast as sweeping as this thread is is counter productive. Thr more bad antags we have now the more good antags we have later. And with the quantity increased we will have more good AND bad.

Antag drafting is good. Antags are a bedrock of the aurora experience and we need to make sure its numbers continue to remain diverse and consistent.

Edited April 17, 2020 by Marlon Phoenix

[Carver]

I'm not a fan of objectives, harkening back to the days of being parapen+e-sworded out of the blue because RNG decided I was someone's kill target - it led to a rather unbreakable habit of IC social distancing for me. I'd sincerely hope the murder objectives go in the trash and are replaced with thematic, faction-based objectives or some such focused on espionage and corporate sabotage.

As memory goes, either way, objectives never really helped 'antag quality' (on RP servers). It just gave people an excuse to play worse because 'muh greentext' and made the game overall more competitive. If competitive is the way you want, go for it, it'll generate a lot of funny threads to read.

[nonno_anselmo]

I come late to the party but i'd like to give my general opinion on OP's post:

 

While the whole quality aspect has been thorougly discussed under this forum post by virtually everyone and their mother i'd also like to throw my two cents in regarding the experiences an antag player makes more than the experiences others have when confronted with an antag. First and foremost when i see a """""""""""""""""bad"""""""""""""" antag i like to think that problem is far higher up than the player just being """"""bad"""""". I like to think the player is, to put it unkindly, clueless, the only way to make someone have a clue on how to play antag is to play antag yourself instead of expecting them to know everything and this is probably the main mistake most people make when they see a bad antag and immediatly jump to conclusions. I know everyone who plays on the server is not some four year old kid bashing his head against a keyboard but you can't, in no way whatsoever, expect anyone to be "good" at making "gimmicks" if they never had the chance to do them before either, this post goes to enforce the same vicious cycle i've seen in other mrp/hrp servers of:

>player plays antag for the first time
>trips on their shoelaces
>everyone shittalks them for ruining muh funy chair arr pee
>the player gets upset
>the player stops playing antag
>their enthusiasm is nipped in the bud
>they either continue to play antag with shit gimmicks because the feedback is "you're are bad"
>they stop playing antag entirely and change server
>pop dies/people complain muh no antag and only extended players are happy because they get to talk about their feelings for 3 hours straight

Teaching and letting people learn to play antag or just giving them a little push by introducing them to the concept(s) of antag(s) is a very good way to both boost population, curb the waves of extended that plagued the weeks prior to the adding of this change and keep things interesting. 

Implying that people will not adapt, when major changes come around is not proactive in any way, people ALWAYS adapt if the change is reasonable and this change is, in my opinion, extremely reasonable as there is a very quick and easy way out which is simply joining after the round started. 

Do consider putting more faith into others and their ability to adapt to the circumstances, it would really help improve the community expecially now in the wake of the coronatide which has seen many many many new and old players join : )

With this said i'm completely in favor for something regarding contracts or adding optional objectives to guide people or give them an idea, perhaps an option (automatically turned off) in the "role" selection menu which makes you decide wheter or not you'd like guidelines at roundstart or working on your own gimmick. Give them the option to have an option or an option to have freedom.

 

edit: i'd also like to add that one of the primary characteristics of ss13 is, and i'm quoting the wise words of a wise man/woman, incompetence of the professionals aboard the station is a big part of this game. And this can and should apply to antags aswell.

Edited April 25, 2020 by nonno_anselmo

[Chada1]

I still really wish we'd put a warning somewhere visible in the menu that if you vote you could be selected for Antag in the mode. Past that I don't feel v. strongly against the draft system and understand what it's for, and I agree the original posts implications are p. bad, but just dropping people in as Antag who have no clue it's even a possibility is not a good thing at all, the solution is simple: JUST A WARNING.