More Minor Random Events (Or: Let's Make Extended Less Boring)

[chaotic_idealism]

When we're playing Extended, or some other low-risk round, sometimes we run out of ideas. Random events can help us have more things to do... but they're getting really samey. there's only so many times you can shut down a knife-spitting vending machine before you get bored with the whole concept.

What we need are more minor, positive, or neutral random events that can help spark role-play. Not huge, major issues that force people to defend themselves, because that stops whatever we're already doing. What we want are minor events that can spark more RP. I'd like us to use this topic to brainstorm random events that the coders might like to add to the game. Please add your own suggestions. Here are mine.

Animal Shelter Emergency Transport

An animal shelter on [planet] has become overwhelmed, and these animals need good homes! We've transported them to [location] on your ship. We're sure you can find adopters. (Teleport a random small number of harmless animals--primarily corgis or cats, but perhaps also other domestic creatures--to a random public location.)

Scrubbers Overload Prevention

An overload has been detected in your scrubbers system! Atmospheric technicians should move to remedy the issue. (Atmos technicians can respond to this warning to prevent a scrubbers malfunction.)

Fishing Tournament

Command is running a fishing tournament! The ship that returns the most carp by Ops shuttle in the next 30 minutes wins [large number of cargo points]. (Managing to return any carp at all should have a good chance of winning.)

Monkey Stowaway

Your last port reports that they are missing their pet monkey, Fun-Fun. He's a mischievous fellow and should not be underestimated! Please capture him and hold him in your brig until we can retrieve him. Please see that he comes to no harm! (Spawns a random monkey; optionally to be possessed by a ghost with the reminder that he is a curious little monkey, not an antagonist.)

[KingOfThePing]

1. Extended is not boring, but I get that there are different opinions on this.

2. Almost all proposed events sound pretty terrible, sorry to tell you this bluntly.

- Having a zoo amount of pets on board becomes unbelievable quickly.
- Scrubbers overloard prevention involves straight up 1 job (thats never played
- Fishing tournament sounds like a "how to get in danger and injured quickly" card and is kind of LRP. + cargo points dont mean shit to anyone outside of cargo.
- The last one sounds alright? But will probably also get annoying fast so that people will probably just shoot the poor guy.

[Roostercat]

most of these are fairly LRP and don't make a lot of believable sense to even happen on the ship. Though I do think the scrubbers one is a good idea. It may only involve one job (that is indeed played) but that still gives atmos techs something to do when they really don't have a lot going for them on most rounds.

[chaotic_idealism]

I was kinda hoping that you guys would offer more ideas. The whole point of this topic was to try to start brainstorming.

Re. the animal shelter event: Ideally the number of animals would be around 5 or less, and perhaps they could come pre-named. The idea is to get the crew to adopt the animals either individually or as mascots. A flood of animals wouldn't be that much fun, and would be laggy besides.

The reason I think adding more minor, positive, or neutral events would make Extended "less boring" is that it'd give us more to spark role-play. Instead of events that you HAVE to respond to--like a biohazard--these would be events that you can respond to if you like, and can ignore otherwise. If you want to go out carp-fishing, or negotiate with the miners to buy the carp they've had to kill anyway, that's your choice and you aren't being forced into it by having a blob plopped onto your workplace. It's nice for atmos techs to have something to do, whenever they're around. And heck, everybody loves corgis. The monkey thing could be cool, provided the player inhabiting said monkey is aware that they are not an antagonist. But if you don't like my ideas, please add your own.

SS13 started out as this wacky, high-fatality game, and we're using it as a role-play platform. So I think it would be cool to have more random events that are RP-friendly.

Edited July 31, 2023 by chaotic_idealism

[Carver]

I don't play extended for random events, in fact every time I encounter a random event on extended it's just a chore. The only thing I do like is the possibility of atmos techs preventing a scrubber malfunction, more preventatives for dangerous events (scrubbers/greimorians) so that fast response can prevent annoying events later on would be good. Doubly if said preventatives are done by members of departments other than the ones targeted by the dangerous events (with scrubbers being effectively a medical event, engineers preventing it is good - perhaps janitors or the like can have some manner of preventing infestations and greimorian outbreaks?).

[GeneralCamo]

We have an "event ideas" board which is intended for the submission of ideas for events like this. Might be better to utilize that than the suggestions forum. 

[Gem]

4 hours ago, GeneralCamo said:

We have an "event ideas" board which is intended for the submission of ideas for events like this. Might be better to utilize that than the suggestions forum. 

i'm pretty sure that's for literal events, not random events.

[chaotic_idealism]

16 hours ago, Gem said:

i'm pretty sure that's for literal events, not random events.

Yep. That's for story events, special rounds. I'm talking about programmed random events.

We want ones that aren't a chore, don't force people out of ongoing RP, but offer a little more realism to ship life. Little things that could happen, without it being a huge emergency.