[Accepted] Crozarius' Industrial Frame Application

[Crozarius]

BYOND Key: Crozarius

Character Names: Tlazo Svydia (I have a couple others who have seen less than 5 rounds combined)

Species you are applying to play: Industrial Frame

What color do you plan on making your first alien character (Dionaea & IPCs exempt): IPC Exemption

Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: Yes

---

---

Please provide well articulated answers to the following questions in a paragraph format. One paragraph minimum per question

Why do you wish to play this specific race: I want to play an IPC because I've always had a penchant for playing synthetic races. I used to main AI waybackwhen on /tg/station and for a while on Unbound Travel before that particular tyre-fire came crashing down. I love working within the limitations of a specific lawset, and the implications intended or not that that can cause. I got a flair for robotic writing styles and during my brief forays into playing Cyborgs, I got into the weird, unnatural side of cyborgs, describing all the strangeness and weirdness that makes them different from playing your normal Human. I want to extend that to a high RP server like Aurora, and get into the more open ended area of IPCs as opposed to Cyborgs, who are powerful, yet limited in RP capabilities. I don't want to be a metal person. I want to be a machine that just got rolled off of a production line, custom fit and tooled to code, ready to pursue its purpose with single minded intensity. But you know, not a Cyborg.

Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human:

It really is a lot of things. I think that the most important thing for me would be how they act. A Human moves in a very organic way, which may seem quite silly to say, but think about it. Humans move the way that they do because of their physical limitations, the extent of their fleshy connectors, the gait of their step. An IPC is a tool, a tool with a absolutely VAST array of different designs and schematics. Even if the general design is Humanoid, an IPC would move in an utterly unnatural way. They have absolutely NO frame of reference for how not to move their bodies save for the essential knowledge of what they absolutely cannot do. There's absolutely nothing stopping them from twisting their torsos around in a complete one-eighty. There's nothing stopping them from contorting their bodies into strange, unnatural postures for no reason other than pure convenience. I imagine that they would move with single minded determination, unfaltering, unblinkingly. But it's not JUST the jerky, uncanny economy of motion that a machine might employ, it's also other, tiny things that really nails the character. It's the noises that they make, like the soft hum of an electric engine or the throaty grunt of a powerful servo whining and ticking against the stress it's pushing back against. It's the thrust of hot air pouring from its coolant exhaust, the scent of hot oil permeating the air around them, the ticking of metal as it contracts and expands in cold and heat. Furthermore, there's no reason that an IPC need be strictly Human in shape. Whomever designed and manufactured that IPC would be the single determiner of what exactly that machine looked like. What if it was a machine designed to carry large objects? Would such a machine not have immense arms capable of lifting heavy loads, with a massive, wide set of legs for maximum leverage and low centre of mass? Or an IPC designed specifically for combat a sublime amalgamation of ballistic weave bound around artificial muscle fibres and an exoskeleton? .

 

---

---

Character Name: CRUSH VECTOR Model O8 Leslie

Please provide a short backstory for this character, approximately 2 paragraphs The CRUSH VECTOR Model O8, an outstanding example of ubiquitous design that lent to the great financial success of the Crush Vector Mining Corporation. Model O8 was originally intended as a generic industrial android to supplement their already existing specialist mining models and co-pilots. It was, at its core, a standard endoskeleton graded for industrial stress values, full range of movement on every limb and complete spinal rotation. An Industrial PPE sheath was slapped on, and the standard model was born. It was designed to be modular, adaptable to a whole host of industrial disciplines from light mining to hazardous spill management. To supplement this modular design choice, it was only afforded a primitive AI module for basic, efficient operations as standard, but included a revolutionary system of module loading slots inside the back of its cranium, into which holotapes containing specialist AI modules could be loaded.

When the design was released, it sold almost frighteningly well. People discovered that it could be re-purposed for almost any task. More AI Modules were introduced, both by Crush Vector, third parties or black market pirates looking to make a quick buck by selling roughshod or illegal AI modules to the open market. Of course, all gravy trains eventually run their course, and Crush Vector eventually moved on to other specialist models and branched out into their exclusive line of Mining Hardsuits and PDWs. However, the Model O8 remains a workhorse of many organisations who appreciate it for its reliability, modular design and now cheap price point as a second, soon to be third generation IPC chassis.

"Leslie", as denoted by the scratched nametag on this particular unit's chassis, is one such Model O8, stripped back and re-purposed for the role of Corporate Security. Well, at least on paper. What appears to be an old Model O8 with a CorpSec lick of paint is in actuality a serious piece of hardware. Concealed beneath the normal bulk and heft of an industrial android are retrofitted combat-grade actuators, cooling systems and advanced Tac-link processors mashed into its normal, dull AI brain. Its normal, industrial boxy sheath has been replaced with a sleek impact-gel bodyglove that winds taut across its endoskeleton. Its AI Module system remains intact, despite hidden augmentation, and only one slot lies occupied - It's crudely soldered in, and bears a peeled label with the words: Leslie scrawled upon it.

Leslie itself could hardly care about all this secret squirrel business, of course. Sure, that Tac-link and enhanced processors have its reflexes buzzing along at quite a clip, but in the end it is still just as... Simple as your standard Model O8. You know, for now. Until whoever took such pains to get such a nifty piece of combat hardware aboard decides otherwise.

What do you like about this character? I'm excited to have a go at playing this character because I've always wanted to play a quite... Basic character. A character of focus and determination, one that can take orders from its crew members and carry them out with brutal, frightening precision. On its own, Leslie lacks initiative in spades. In many cases, without given a problem to solve or a THING to DO, Leslie lacks a purpose. But with people around to provide external stimuli, and instructions for Leslie to follow, I feel like it can provide a whole host of great RP opportunities.

How would you rate your role-playing ability? I have four years of solid RP and storytelling experience under my belt. Forgive me for tooting my own horn, but I would consider myself a very advanced roleplayer. Granted, SS13 is only a small piece of the outlets of creativity that I enjoy, and I have taken a break from mid-2016 onward. but I haven't ever stopped writing.

---

---

Notes: I understand that Leslie's combat augmentations may be a point of contention for this application, regardless of how I intend to roleplay it, and I'm fully willing to discuss that aspect of the character should you guys feel that it should be tweaked.

[Guest]

This player is one of the biggest reasons I came back to Aurora!

They've got an absolutely uncanny grasp of the inhuman nature of synthetics. It's really hard to describe just how much nuance they put into the little things. They seem to have an almost intimate knowledge of what makes (robotics) tick on the inside, knowing what servos and hydraulics actually SOUND like. How they operate.

I've seen them in action on other servers and forum based roleplay, and I've been nothing but impressed with them so far!

+1 out the nose, man.

[Muncorn]

So, not read through it all as I write this, but the sheer amount of text is already a good sign. I'm going to be going full ham on this, so let's have some fun.

Before I start though, what AI did you play on UT? As much as I recall your ckey, I've always been better with remembering the chars from back then. Either way, let's get to it.

First off, all IPC's are included within one app, so stating it's an industrial frame isn't too needed apart from within the char description. It's a common mistake, but something to keep in mind.

You're bringing up some differences even I had hardly thought about, which is honestly impressive. As much as most models likely can't do a 180 torso spin, you seem to have a clear grasp of what an IPC is about. Do note, however, unless you're playing as some down in the dumps cheap-ass model, they don't run on oil or have gas cooling systems. They've got internal batteries (this is an ingame requirement actually) and simply don't overheat in normal circumstances, though Industrials and Shells might have some basic cooling systems. As for their shape, you bring up a good point. There is a general standard for them to be humanoid, and the game sprites don't allow for much change in how you look, but everything you say that is pretty accurate, but conveying it IC may be a little difficult if that's your intention.

Now onto your character, I'll go through the good points first, then move onto the problems I see with it:

1: I've seen a lot of IPC apps in my time here, both in my time as IPC overseer and else wise, and in all that time I have seen 2 other apps that created a reasonably designed company for their backstory. One was Coalf's I believe, and he only half mentioned it. The other was myself, and that was the same company as Coalf. So this is honestly quite pleasent to see. On top of that, it's believable, it's a nicely made company, and I just like it overall.

2: I'm going to presume this is a security IPC, going off of what you say here. Presuming that, it's nice to see a IPC going into security that isn't some robocop-esque machine that is in the top of it's form. This one's old, faded and been around a fair bit, but still should do it's job decently enough.

3: Leslie's a nice name for an IPC.

Now for the bad points:

1:

Overall I very much enjoy this application, and I see no reason why it shouldn't go through. I look forward to seeing you play and to boss you around as my Skrell HoS.

[SleepyWolf]

Crozarius is an amazing roleplayer, with absolutely amazing writing and action in game. AMEN to players like Crozarius pls let them beep

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

Hello! I'm sorry for the delay. I've read your application and it is very strong, though there are some red flags I feel are necessary to point out and have you respond to before making a decision; you have very strong feedback which is also helping.

Currently IPC whitelists you for shells, baselines, as well as industrials. You've cited abilities and construction techniques for your IPC that mix elements of industrials as well as shells. (I took away from the application that the character is a shell with industrial components)

From our wiki,

 

Tougher and more durable than most IPC's, these units are designed for heavy manual work and thus have thick metal skin and efficient internal systems. As a result, they cool well and have excellent mobility, but chug through power at a very high rate. Despite their brutish nature, most tend to have complex processing units and in turn, positronic brains. This allows them to have a wide skillset but they generally lack in complex emotion synthesization or much personality.

 

This is the opposite of shells, which tend to be more fragile - relative to the robust synthetic frames that resist brute damage, of course.

What are the 'combat' capabilities of your character? How do they respond to various threats? Do you feel that they are aggressive? Will you be using the advantages of synthetics to get a mechanical edge over antagonists and use her combat-oriented programming and backstory to justify aggressive provocation of antagonists?

[Crozarius]

Hello! I'm sorry for the delay. I've read your application and it is very strong, though there are some red flags I feel are necessary to point out and have you respond to before making a decision; you have very strong feedback which is also helping.

Currently IPC whitelists you for shells, baselines, as well as industrials. You've cited abilities and construction techniques for your IPC that mix elements of industrials as well as shells. (I took away from the application that the character is a shell with industrial components)

From our wiki,

 

Tougher and more durable than most IPC's, these units are designed for heavy manual work and thus have thick metal skin and efficient internal systems. As a result, they cool well and have excellent mobility, but chug through power at a very high rate. Despite their brutish nature, most tend to have complex processing units and in turn, positronic brains. This allows them to have a wide skillset but they generally lack in complex emotion synthesization or much personality.

 

This is the opposite of shells, which tend to be more fragile - relative to the robust synthetic frames that resist brute damage, of course.

What are the 'combat' capabilities of your character? How do they respond to various threats? Do you feel that they are aggressive? Will you be using the advantages of synthetics to get a mechanical edge over antagonists and use her combat-oriented programming and backstory to justify aggressive provocation of antagonists?

Hi, no worries. I understand that these things take time.

Anyway, to address the first question: I intended Leslie to not have the personality of a shell at all. Leslie is emotionally dumb as a sack of bricks. Sure, there may be a lot of processing power in the positronic brain, but with the basic software loaded at its core, they're simple as shit.

On the second point, I was going for something that in IC Emoteland would be extraordinarily difficult to deal with. It's hard to fight a robot, one that can move in ways that you can't, and doesn't feel pain on the same level that you do. In combat, Leslie is fast, relentless and unerring - Just like a machine with combat programming would be.

However.

The way I see it, Leslie is not an aggressive character. Leslie is an extraordinarily reactive character who requires conflict or input to play off of. Leslie follows orders and has excellent crisis management software in a sort of "Leslie saw this person break a law - Arrest" or "Leslie sees a loaded gun pointed toward officers - Engage" way, but outside of those areas Leslie almost completely lacks initiative both in investigation and... problem solving? Leslie doesn't take offense to things, Leslie doesn't get suspicious. With Leslie, there has to be a broken law or a dangerous situation else it's a very placid character.

On the topic of antagonism though, I dunno, in the concept when I was writing it I had a lot of inspiration from the thought that Leslie WAS an antagonist in a sleeper agent sense. Modules, programming and locked up addins that were smuggled in there that can suddenly be activated to turn Leslie into a potent antagonist.

Hell, the more I talk about it the more I think that perhaps Leslie would be better suited as a full blown Android.

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

Thank you for your response.

I just need to stress that it is for your benefit if you try to behave in a way that doesn't come across the wrong way. Even while she is a synthetic, she is expected to have passed the same trials and expectations that NT gives all security officers.

If she isn't an actual antagonist, she shouldn't behave as an antagonist or really do anything illegal unless you're getting admin permission. Being activated by antagonists with sleeper codes is one of those things that I would really suggest you speak to a member of administration about before putting it in your official records.

You show a strong knowledge of IPC's and have good feedback, so I'm going to accept the application.