REVAMPED: Loyalty Implant Directives

[JKJudgeX]

They don't serve any purpose, though.

Like I get that Scopes added a "don't remove things" guideline because most features serve a purpose and it's better to fix kinks by improving than removing. But in this case, the improvement (of head roleplay) would be brought by the removal of the implants, because we don't gain anything by using them and being bent on keeping them in the code is just silly (has anyone argued for keeping them in, even? Nobody was against their removal in past suggestions

They're basically an obsolete remnant of the rev gamemode. Even Bay removed them. Their only purpose (to keep heads in line) is already accomplished by rules and our head whitelist. They stifle roleplay, while adding unnecessary complexity to the roles in a way that is unenjoyable. Players should be able to make their own decisions; if they want to play merciless heads that will make unpopular decisions to protect NT's interests, they don't need loyalty implants as an excuse to do so. The suggestions brought here don't answer a problem (other than the problem of loyalty implants being useless), they only serve to restrict head RP in an unnecessary fashion.

I'd like to see Skull give his thoughts on this.

 

Best response so far, imo.

I see no reason why the HoS and Captain can't be turned into antags every once in a while, and I don't really see why that needs to be super difficult to make happen. It makes perfect sense for Rev, since killing those characters is part of the win condition, but elsewhere, it makes little sense and makes for, in my view, bad and boring outcomes when the loyalty implant becomes involved (probably adminhelped most of the time).

[Guest]

I don't like the idea of a Captain being antag, they have all access, and all they have to do is convince another Head that there is a situation warranting code red, and once code red is enabled, the Captain's word is ACTUALLY /LAW/ . Corporate Regulations can be thrown out the window by the Captain in emergency situations and even IN normal operation, the Captain has nigh-unlimited authority.

[Owen]

Hmm, well, I would be fine if Loyalty Implants became something like this,

-HoS, Captain and IAA could still be antag-restricted via code

-Loyalty implants could be kept in the armory to give more RP opportunities with captured antags

I like both of these ideas and I feel that if we got rid of the Loyalty Implants, higher level Command Characters would generally stay the same. I mean, it isn't like if we got rid of Loyalty Implants, everyone who was implanted immediately becomes disloyal and does dumb shit that would get them fired. They still have a job to do. This should be continued in another topic though.

[Fortport]

I was in an RP rev' round a few days ago.

Nisha, as the captain, thought that NT was doing an obvious cash-grab with their pay cuts and demand for more work. They made complaints on performance.

What problem are they having with her station and its crew? Their reason wasn't specified. It was shady, and she hated it. She was fine at first, but it wasn't until the demands became increasingly unreasonable that she started to have side-effects from her implant. Cutting the pay didn't seem fair to Nisha because the directors weren't being punished like the crew was. Then the bar, holodeck, and all leisure activities had to be restricted? That makes people not want to work, and it made NT seem even more greedy to Nisha. The straw that broke the camel's back was the final order for constant work and nothing else being allowed.

Nisha thought it was insulting, corrupt, and wrong. Thus, the implant punished her with agonizing side-effects.

Since Nisha knew it was the implant that was punishing her for her skepticism and that it was trying to control her, that made her resentment, and pain, magnify. It was driving Nisha crazy, and soon she was banging her head on the wall in her office. The CMO and an engineer noticed Nisha's misery from the beginning and grew increasingly concerned. They heard her complaining about the implant, and since the CMO wasn't implanted, himself, he decided that he should surgically remove it from Nisha.

The engineer and CMO barged into Nisha's office to force her to go to the medbay, but the loyalty implant didn't want to be cut out. Nisha had a violent outburst and escaped them both, eventually kidnapping the engineer that "trespassed" into her office, "arresting" her. However, Nisha then succumbed to the implant and stunned herself because of the trouble she had caused. The engineer restrained Nisha while she was stunned, and then that engineer moved her to the medbay for surgery. With the implant gone, Nisha could finally speak her mind and allow the crew to do everything that they could before. Nisha even emptied her bank account to help the crewmembers' reduced pay.

Okay. Why did I bring this up? Even though this was very fun, I couldn't do something I wanted to from the start. I wanted to be a good captain that doesn't work their crew to death, but also confront the corporate bigwigs. A station-wide roleplayed revolution against Nanotrasen was what I would've sparked. But I had my reigns yanked in by staff, who reminded me that the loyalty implant was there to prevent this from happening and that Nisha was forced to follow her orders.

I felt stifled and hated that I couldn't let Nisha be herself. So I forced her to be herself, regardless of the consequences.

[Xelnagahunter]

That's the thing though... The RP of dealing with the implant is the kind of thing that makes it great. In Rev rounds, my captain tries to assure everyone that he is working to fix the problem and asks that everyone just follow the incoming directives to make CC understand that their call was a mistake. Derringer is a bleeding heart who has been with NT for far too long. He cares about the company and his job, but he also cares about the jobs under him.

[Guest]

Rev and Mutiny would also be pointless without the implants, there would be nothing that would actually require players to adhere to Central's orders in the face of adversity, no person would choose their job over their life when angry rev's come knocking on the bridge doors, unless they have an implant requiring them too.

[Fortport]

Rev and Mutiny would also be pointless without the implants, there would be nothing that would actually require players to adhere to Central's orders in the face of adversity, no person would choose their job over their life when angry rev's come knocking on the bridge doors, unless they have an implant requiring them too.

 

And what if the entire station rebels against central? That could definitely be interesting, too.

[Gollee]

Then we use Bluespace Artillery, which does 99 brute damage to the target, and generally messes up the general area. Ask CoolBC.

[coolbc2000]

It fucking hurts your ass D:

[Fortport]

They would artillery bomb workers on strike?

Isn't that murder?

[Carver]

They would artillery bomb workers on strike?

Isn't that murder?

You ever notice how absolutely violent rev/mutiny ends up?

[Fortport]

I usually don't see anything too violent, actually.

[Lady_of_Ravens]

The point of mutiny and rev is for people to prove how willing they are to murder their coworkers over money and the privilege to drink in the bar... isn't it?

[Mofo1995]

The point of mutiny and rev is for people to prove how willing they are to murder their coworkers over money and the privilege to drink in the bar... isn't it?

Given the current motivations to drive people to revolt, rev is like that. At least mutiny usually forces some kind of crisis that leads people to rise up, but with rev it's literally just: they took our cash and alcohol!

I struggle immensely to convert people as a rev, because with the current in-game economy, literally noone cares about losing money, and usually are not empathetic enough to care about people getting fired. I'm hoping the new economy will contribute to fixing this.

[coolbc2000]

Well... I was declaring marital law on the station as a An-Tag.

Lets say they did not like that.

[Lady_of_Ravens]

The point of mutiny and rev is for people to prove how willing they are to murder their coworkers over money and the privilege to drink in the bar... isn't it?

Given the current motivations to drive people to revolt, rev is like that. At least mutiny usually forces some kind of crisis that leads people to rise up, but with rev it's literally just: they took our cash and alcohol!

I struggle immensely to convert people as a rev, because with the current in-game economy, literally noone cares about losing money, and usually are not empathetic enough to care about people getting fired. I'm hoping the new economy will contribute to fixing this.

 

RP rev, and most of the mutiny modes, are best answered by working out the round, going back to Odin, and getting a lawyer. Or at the very least, peaceful protest... and neither the revolution nor the mutiny are ever 'peaceful.

The only real exception is the bluespace virus mode, which actually makes sense as a reason for killing people. Even if medbay is always too eager to state that the virus doesn't exist because none of their machines detect it.

[Nikov]

Here's my short list. Less is more.

1. Serve the best interest of Nanotrasen.

2. If the best interest of Nanotrasen is unclear, serve the Chain of Command.

3. In the absence of higher directives, obey Space Law and Corporate Regulations.

Sorry to have missed getting into this discussion earlier.

[Jboy2000000]

I think that creates a bit of a loop. if one fails, it goes to two, right? But, isn't the top of the chain of command the captain? And, wouldn't the captain follow the same implant directives?

[Nikov]

The top of the chain of command is some shadowy board room where the CEO drinks the blood of virgins. So far as the Captain is concerned, his superior is Central Command.

Lets say we have Captain Joe here. Joe goes about his day, serving the best interest of Nanotrasen. He gets an order from Nanotrasen, its sensible and appears to serve the best interest of Nanotrasen, he faithfully executes the order. There is a legal and an illegal way to go about the order, and in absence of any directive to violate the law, he goes about the job legally.

Captain Joe gets another order. It appears to run contrary to the best interest of Nanotrasen. He requests the justification for the order from Nanotrasen. They explain the ulterior motive, the Captain sees it is in the best interest of Nanotrasen, and he executes the order. He could execute the order legally or illegally, but since it is possible to do so legally and no directive tells him to violate the law, he does it legally.

Captain Joe gets yet another order. This one is definately against Nanotrasen's best interests, and Central's justifications do not satisfy the Captain. The Captain is not directed by the implant to obey the CoC at all times; Nanotrasen's best interests take priority. The Captain is free to disregard the order without being presumed mutinous, as the loyalty implant assures Central that the Captain is acting in his best judgement for the good of Nanotrasen. The Captain might be subject to severe delusions and misinformation, and this allows rather sophisticated roleplay.

Line by line, when things are unclear, implanted persons fall back to regulations and law. When the law is broken, we can always be assured they're serving the company's best interest if they are able to determine it, or otherwise have been ordered to violate the law. But of course, violating the law may not serve the company's best interest! So if the ordered solution violates the law, but a legal solution is at hand, the subordinate may go about the task legally instead of following an illegal order because doing so reduces the harm to Nanotrasen's interests, which takes precedence over his orders. The Captain may order an illegal execution, but if the Hoss can legally execute them, the Hoss isn't strictly bound to obey his orders. I chose the word 'serve' very deliberately; a servant is not mindless. There is clear room for interpretation while always maintaining that loyalty implanted crew will serve the company in good faith, and within the law whenever possible.

This makes a the implant a simple decision loop that is easy to explain a decision from. It is basically Senpai's original suggestion with 1-5 condensed to a single line, allowing different characters to value different things in Nanotrasen's interest and create some dialogue between parties. Should we break the window to rescue the trapped kitten? Well, its number five, and our public image is number four, so smash away. Without that level of granularity characters can have more nuanced decision-making. It also allows a lack of information to delay or defer decision-making.