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+---- Thread: Cropsey applies for HoS (/showthread.php?tid=23152)
Cropsey applies for HoS - Cropsey - 09-10-2024
Usual character name: Anton 4145 (or von Fennec)/Ratt Ratmann/Russell Churchweed
BYOND username: cropsey
Discord username (if you are on our discord): jaws_and_canines
Recommended by (if applicable): N/A
Goon servers you play: 3 and 4
Reason for application:
I feel like I have something to offer to the security team and the players interacting with it, and applying for head of security seems like a good way to be able to offer that extra bit to the game, whilst having fun myself at the same time. A good blend of responsibility and fun. Especially with the influx of new players, having someone who’s been around a little while won’t hurt, and I have a tendency to play at strange hours when there often isn’t a HoS on- so I figured, having gone back and forth on the idea to apply for a long time, why not?
Security experience (300 word minimum):
I started off security mostly playing as Antonborg. As a borg you don't have the option to harm baton the clown for crimes, but the “support role” experience is great fun, and it's a nice learning curve to know that tasers and batons and violence are not the best way to resolve situations. RP is better for everyone on all sides.
I then played a lot of detective for a period of time, before moving on to mostly playing officer as Anton or more recently Russell, plus the occasional throwaway character. The shift from detective as a ‘loose cannon’ (I mean, not really, but the idea is there) to security officer is an interesting one, especially as a security officer you can’t be an antagonist, but coming from detective as a starting point gave me a good jumping off point on two gourgeous yet overlooked systems in the game- record-keeping and forensics.
Record-keeping is criminally (pun slightly intended) overlooked as a way to keep tabs on people- much of newer security teams don’t use it to the full potential, and whilst marking to parole was standard for suspicious people for a long time, the combination of secHUDs and adding notes makes life a lot easier and starting off with det_net instead of the endearingly clunky terminal interface was a nice way to learn this.
As for forensics, being able to reconstruct a crime scene, especially alongside a newer player, is a wonderful way to get them hooked on it- and I adore the way it becomes a little puzzle to untangle- in a game like ss13 where so many vairables are possible, a lot of security to me becomes moreso a puzzle to figure out the who, what, where, when. I think that the progression of borg, to detective, to officer gives me a slightly strange- not better nor worse- on playing as security that means I prefer to stay away from the taser. I’ve always found getting the best out of the round- and the game- lies in the interrogation room, or being betrayed in the dark maints, very small character moments that stick with you for a long while- for me, it doesn’t lie in the chases or the arrests. Part of being security is that you facilitate those moments.
At it’s heart ss13 is a social deduction game much like cleudo. The systems of the game are built around it. I have about a thousand(?) hours in the game now, and the ins and outs of how it works are always growing and changing- and still, it depends on the people. Recently I've been playing as Ratt, since he's entertaining to me, and quite a low-energy character to play. Since my brain is no longer the equivalent of a potato thanks to the wonders of Hydroxychloroquine, I’ve felt more able to play the other characters again, but Ratt is still an important point in my ss13 play history. Rather than Ratt being security focused- he’s very much not- I'm going to point to him as an example of me having range in RP. He's far different from any of my other characters, and it’s important to be able to have a depth of characters. Always being a static character isn’t so great for a more fluid job like HoS, and partly Ratt was an exercise in the polar opposites.
Answer two or more of the following:
(I’ve picked the two where I think I actually have something unique to say. Unique-ish.)
What advice would you give to other sec players?
- - It's okay to “lose”. You can get totally wiped by an antagonist, don’t sweat it, most of the time the crew can look after themselves just fine- have you ever seen mining get raided by salvagers? If the entire station is on plasmafire and you’re dead- it’s fine. It’s a round-based game. Sometimes it does feel cheap, sometimes it’s frustrating, but in the end, sometimes you’re MEANT to die and the station to explode or some such.Somewhat intertwined with this- give up chase sometimes. Let the crimer get away- I’ll come back to this.
- - Admins are not going to be mad at you for ahelping and being wrong. Seriously. It took me a while to get used to this, but if something feels off, pass it onwards. Even just a “hey you might want to look at XYZ.” Unfortunately security players see the brunt of self-antaggery, and you should always attempt to handle it in-RP, but letting the admins know is never a bad thing.
- - An antagonist is their own main character, and it’s okay to feed into that. In fact, go for it. Let them give their big evil speech, do their master plans, listen to their manifestos- really engage with the characters people put out. Sometimes they’re tragic, funny, dangerous, scary- but people really do want you to engage with their schemes. An antagonist round is an uncommon moment for them to be a true main character of the round, and if you can, facilitate that. If someone is on a rampage, gear up and be ready to try to deflect it. Duel that c-sabre weilding traitor out on the solars. Listen to the changeling’s excuses in the interrogation room, or the vampire’s sad tale- for me it’s the best part of the game. This applies for minor crimes too- honestly, for any interaction you have, even between the team members. Make time for their main character moments.
- - The big one. Sometimes, for the pace of the round, look away from crime or go easy, or let someone slip away. It's not fun for anyone if the antags have all their gear confiscated and/or are killed within 40 minutes. Both security and antags have a huge effect on the pace of the round and being able to read the room as such is an asset, but in reality, the antagonist should usually be the one to escalate first. Let them kill before you reach for the lethals. Security is well-equipped to deal with most antagonists (there being exceptions, of course) and put them down pretty swiftly- you usually have the upper hand. Don’t use it if you don’t need to.
Describe any differences in your playstyle when part of a full security team and when being the only security officer.
Part of a full security team I often find the team lacks someone to keep tabs on all the information. If that's not happening, I like to park myself at the desk or somewhere like the bar, keep a running update and engage in a slower paced RP with people walking by. Not everyone on the security team needs to be a taser out hero, but facilitating that for other people is a joy. Also things can just get damn confusing and I find keeping track of it satisfying. Sometimes having someone delegate to an alert, especially when things get hectic, keep track of who is where doing what, makes things a lot smoother. I also enjoy helping newer security players discover more niche mechanics- secmate, special attacks, the record track, a deployed barrier- cool features that are a little more obscure.
When playing solo security, I tend to take a more relaxed approach. Trying to chase down the clown in a clown car is not a priority, but a crime mastermind loosing the singularity is. I’m a somewhat firm believer that the crew will mostly police themselves- I’ve seen plenty of rounds with no security, or dead security- and it doesn’t really have as big of an impact as you’d think it would. It also helps to get people involved outside of security (always, but especially so here) - the MD can help you with autopsies and forensics, the bartender might know some juicy gossip, the janitors have eyes in the walls. To be upfront with the crew that you’re alone often presents entertaining opportunities. Additionally- see above. Sometimes it’s not possible to keep the station intact and safe. A TTV will go off in your mailbox, or an asteroid will smack into the back of security, or the borgs will decide humans can only breathe plasmafire. The game lends itself to chaos and you can be okay with it.
Answer one or more of the following fun questions (because it's important for the HoS to be fun):
Write a poem to convey your thoughts on security/NanoTrasen/space/bees/anything related to SS13.
There’s a damn emergency
State the nature of the thing
There is a clown on the loose
The chief engineer’s a ‘ling
The cloner’s been stolen
The MD is dead
We’ve found the captain’s body
But we can’t find his head.
There are salvagers on the starbord bow
And nukies on the solar farm
The plasma fire is uncontrolled
We agree it’s cause for alarm
We agree it’s cause for alarm
So please, my dear AI
Call the shuttle, will you.
The emergency shuttle has been called.
For what else could we really do?
Draw a picture!
I’m a digital artist so this felt a little like cheating to do this question with any drawing I haven’t done recently, so here is Ratt with a hoard of things. That mug is definitely his. Please don’t ask questions.
https://imgur.com/a/cropseyys-art-thread-fDHUgRk [I'm DEADLY serious when I say I tried to get this to embed for about 20 minutes and couldn't. Yes I'm a milennial.]
Previous bans (while this will not affect your application lying about it will): I have a ban from a few months ago which I think was about 90 minutes for saying everypony after Zamu threatened to ban anyone who said it. They did indeed.
RE: Cropsey applies for HoS - Glamurio - 09-12-2024
Unfortunately will have to mention a negative experience that I've made, particularly with Antonborg. I distinctly recall a round where you were acting like an ass, likely as part of your character. I told you to maybe be more nice, which your character retorted with "Define nice", and "Everyone always says to be nice but they never tell you what that means". That in of itself isn't terrible, but as the round progressed, I had multiple officers pull me aside and complain about your behavior, to which I then pulled you aside again to tell you that you should make more of an effort to be less of an asshole. Ultimately this all escalated with you ending up emagged, now kind of being even more justified in your behavior, until you were killswitched.
There's a very fine line when it comes to roleplaying characters that are dicks, this is especially true as Security. We already struggle with a bit of an image problem, and with the notorious history of robocops, this doesn't really help either. You may need to reconsider the way you present yourself or your characters, especially going forward, and even more so if you want to be a HoS.
That being said, I'd like to end on a positive note. I think you're qualified in terms of experience, and I think you are observant and communicative. It's really just the way you communicated I've had an issue with.
RE: Cropsey applies for HoS - jan.antilles - 10-17-2024
We really appreciate the time and effort you put into this application, but have decided to deny it due to insufficient community response. You're welcome to reapply in 60 days, which would be 12-17-2024. In the meantime, I'd encourage you to keep sec officering!