The Deafening (Communications overhaul)

I'm only making this suggestion for posterity. So no one can say the theoretical framework doesn't exist. I made it years ago on Bay, and it's an idea that people don't like. As far as I've seen, people don't want to play it, people don't want to implement it, it's generally a massive change to a fundamental mechanic that defines how the game of Space Station 13 is conducted. But they just don't know what they're missing. It is The Deafening. And it's a damn good idea.

The change at the core of this suggestion is that radio headsets and the common public frequency should be erased from the game. Or, at the very least, their presence minimized drastically. The inspiration/reason for this change, as I see it, is two-fold:

1) Enhance realism and immersion, as it would not make sense for an entire facility to be chatting on one party line 24/7

2) More importantly (to me), heighten the suspenseful and emergent aspects of SS13's gameplay by limiting (but NOT preventing) a player's access to critical knowledge

I will discuss the implications of this change from mechanical and thematic standpoints, and I will discuss complementary changes that might be needed in order to make it work.

Mechanically, the difference is clear as night and day. It gives antagonists a big buff by making it a little harder for everyone to signal distress. It isolates events by placing them in an information bubble, so the entire station doesn't get a front-row seat to any- and everything going on. This could have a profound impact on people's ability to roleplay, and in a best-case scenario, I believe the time and freedom it affords players (to carry out their designs, or to react to whatever's being done with them) could dramatically increase the quality of play that emerges. Suddenly, security isn't just a time-delayed wave that traitors have to stay in front of. And if the crew can't always count on security busting down the doors, suddenly every player needs to be a little more involved with their own safety, and every player gets a better chance to meaningfully interact with the antagonists. Suddenly, everyone has an excuse to physically move around the station, interacting with people they would otherwise never see because it's a good way to stay informed about what's going on. And this gives a sort of veil for antagonists to move through, persuasion becoming a much more powerful tool as they invent reasons to be in places they shouldn't - without the meta arousing suspicion. In total, it encourages creativity with the side-benefit of making it easier to identify player misconduct (more opportunity to roleplay = less excuses for validhunting, powergaming, etc).

Thematically... I thought of this idea as a direct extension of the most fundamental aspects of SS13's gameplay. It's more fun when you have to be just a little bit paranoid, it's more fun when you have breathing room to enact your own plans, it's more fun when things can take you by surprise, it's more fun when you have to think on your feet. Like playing Mafia, it creates these layers of intrigue as everyone's singular experience or interpretation becomes a unique story - rather than having it all blend into a single narrative by keeping everyone on the same page.

I understand that communication is vital to creating gameplay in SS13. People need to order supplies, doctors need to treat the wounded, engineers need to coordinate on repairs, security needs to act in unison to respond to problems... Talking really is the primary method by which the game is enacted, and the purpose of this suggestion is not to change or cripple that. I just know that there are other ways to implement it that are more conducive to engaging gameplay and roleplay. So when I suggest that we get rid of radio headsets, I know that something has to fill in the void. Fortunately, we already have all the tools we need to fix it back up. We have station-bounced radios that you can carry around, we have PDAs that you can use to text anyone, we have wall-mounted intercoms in any major area, we have messaging stations and newscasters, we have an AI watching at all times... Removing radio headsets does not remove a player's ability to contact the station or anyone on it in a quick and satisfying manner; all it does is impose real gameplay consequences on your decision to do so.

Station-bounced radio takes up a slot (and I would like if it needed to be in-hand to use), wall-mounted intercoms keep you in place while you relay your message, PDA messages don't reach everyone unless you take the time to do that, and all these methods are more susceptible to interference. Handhelds can be stolen, the PDA server can be cut, and wall-mounted intercoms can be hacked and sabotaged. IF it turns out this imposes too great a limitation on the crew (and, with a little getting used to, it really shouldn't), we have tons of options for dialing it back. Security could keep their departmental headsets - that's realistic. Personally, I'd like to see PDAs get a call function so that you can speak to another PDA through it. Point being: there are lots of opportunities for fine-tuning this.

This suggestion takes a core, omnipresent element of gameplay and elevates it to a sort of commodity that you need to keep in mind while you're playing. Another mechanic that needs to be taken into consideration like everything else - food, air, weapons... now, information. So when a doctor sees people dying on the suit sensors, mobilizing a paramedic becomes an active, tangible task. So when bullets start flying, notifying security is something you have to do instead of immediately fighting back. So the antagonists have a little more breathing room to carry out elaborate plans - these are the prescribed story-drivers of every round, but so far we expect them to drive that story with a noose around their neck. As a result, the roleplay is always what's done after the gameplay is carried out. The traditional system has prioritized the hectic hack-and-slash of SS13, while this new system could free people to place the roleplay first. And if there's any server that could possibly sympathize with that, it's Aurora.

I've heard distant whispers of this system and what it brings with it and i'm not gonna lie it's kind of scary to take a step towards it. Death by stupidity will become a more frequent occurance. You can call engineering if you're locked out in a room that's slowly losing air. You can call for help if you're severely injured and can't move or if you're being murdered. And general comms are second nature to a shift on any station.

However despite all doubts it would be more realistic to remove general comms. It's like a discord conference with 60+ unmuted people constantly talking right now.

And it would lead (for better or for worse) to a somewhat new style of gameplay and present a lot of opportunities for the roleplay.

If it ever gets implemented i'd expect to see a drastic increase in wall-mounted comms around the station to compensate for the lack of headsets.

And i would expect to keep interdepartmental comms (at least for security) because they really rely on fast and efficient communication and always have some means to get them IRL.

Mining would have to keep their comms too because they already die a lot in space and there are no comm stations on the asteroid. Removing the ability to call for help from them is simply cruel (maybe even implement a role that would have access to all comms to somewhat improve coordination).

All in all it would be really interesting to see how it feels to play ss13 without general comms either to have a revelation and move into a different commless world forever or to find out that it doesn't work to never return to it again.

And it would lead (for better or for worse) to a somewhat new style of gameplay and present a lot of opportunities for the roleplay.

If it ever gets implemented i'd expect to see a drastic increase in wall-mounted comms around the station to compensate for the lack of headsets.

And i would expect to keep interdepartmental comms (at least for security) because they really rely on fast and efficient communication and always have some means to get them IRL.

Mining would have to keep their comms too because they already die a lot in space and there are no comm stations on the asteroid. Removing the ability to call for help from them is simply cruel (maybe even implement a role that would have access to all comms to somewhat improve coordination).

All in all it would be really interesting to see how it feels to play ss13 without general comms either to have a revelation and move into a different commless world forever or to find out that it doesn't work to never return to it again.

This would be an interesting experiment, removing the general channel from the headsets and only have headsets with departmental channels (and Command, of course). Something I'd gladly get behind.

This was already addressed in lots of detail here https://forums.aurorastation.org/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=8947

I think you should probably focus on that rather than making a bunch of new threads.

Well apparently, as of five months ago, it didn't go anywhere. Just consider it a refresher.

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