Nerf or remove the rev uplinks

[Dreamix]

I've played some rev rounds lately. Usually, from what I've seen, things are nicely brewing up and slowly escalating. Security is probably loyalist, with a part of command with then. Engineering is probably the revolution central, most likely with their local himean anarchist as the leader.

Security is harassing some part of the crew for whatever reason. Engineering is quietly building their crossbows and pipe guns. Someone somewhere is conspiring against command, spreading the news of what is going on.

And then after a while the actual loud confrontation beings and... The uplinks get fired up. Maybe one party gets some meme gun like the LMG or gatling gun. Maybe the other party distributes energy shields around. Maybe either of them buys more deadly guns, or heavy armor, or something else. Or frag grenades, for the extra murder-effectiveness of shrapnel flying around everywhere.

The moment uplinks get opened, is when it all devolves into shooting the other party to death, with everyone including the soft-spoken bartender or the random off-duty crew just taking a chill break, going all murderbone anarchist/loyalist, and it all escalating up and through the roof.

There is no tale of outnumbered security taking control back with riot gear. Or the underequipped militia defeating security with their makeshift weapons. It's chaos and murder, with more guns around than actual hands to use them.

 

And I don't really like that. I'd prefer if the uplinks were removed, or somehow nerfed, so they're more of a boost to get some tools that might be missing, but did not have enough TC to arm and armor everyone up. Currently rev/loyalist heads get uplinks with 40TC at start. That's a ton of TC to buy meta powerful gear.

There is a lot of potential in rev, and I just don't like to see it going full LRP murderbone after the first confrontation.

Edited October 4, 2022 by Dreamix

[Evandorf]

I feel like this suggestion is trying to fix a problem that exists across every antag role; that the most obvious (or simplest) story/situation that can be crafted for the role is either stale, LRP, or unengaging. And I don’t just mean at the gimmick’s conception but throughout the round. If your rev gimmick doesn’t gain traction and you start to flounder then a kneejerk reaction might be to pull out loud weapons and start escalating.

But I don’t think the solution to weak gimmicks or story ideas is to limit the tools the antag players have at their disposal. I see similar attitudes towards technomamcer, who IMO has the widest array of tools to craft any number of scenarios. I’ve had a lot of success with techno gimmicks by making it almost unrelated to the techno role, like playing an advanced IRU collecting on a debt, but all those good ideas get washed away in the tide of resentment people have towards the more likely, stale, and less engaging scenarios. 
 

Limiting the tools available feels like attempting to police RP indirectly while at the same time making it more difficult for others with better ideas to make those happen.

Edited October 4, 2022 by Evandorf

[Carver]

Without these tools it's really not unlikely for the parties to fizzle out when discovered by Security/Command, especially with nerfs to powered crossbows and the like, which were the go-to prior to these uplinks.

I also adore how the uplinks can be utilized for theming and other fun things. Without them, I'd likely never enable either antag role as it'd just be a staler traitor that gets rolled if they can't snowball recruitment (and offering crew suitcases of money or items from the uplink is very, very good for recruitment).

[Scheveningen]

I am led to believe random gun is more problematic to game pacing than anything else, and its really only more prevalent on rev where it literally just is *PULLS GUN OUT OF ASS* type of gameplay.

[EJJ]

I would highly support more guns being on the deadly weapons page rather than motivating players to hit "random gun" 35 times until they get something useful during a lot of rev rounds. I think random gun is still really fun for antags and sort of forcing you to deal with something. But that's me.

Also I really think traitor/rev uplinks just need a bit more variety in weapons. A lot of time you don't really need to use much aside from a rifle or handgun as a traitor.

[Evandorf]

In my experience, one thing that can slow security or command’s roll and really control an area are mines. Even if they’re not completely blocking access somewhere just having them peppered in a zone where people have to be mobile to avoid fire is enough to make most people stop and reconsider.

If you made them easier than the normal kind to deactivate, or even have a percent chance to be a dud, makeshift mines might be a good addition for antags and rev specifically since they could force communication without having to necessarily overwhelm/overpower security. 

Edited October 6, 2022 by Evandorf