New Backgrounds for Trait selection

[Glamurio]

This is less of a suggestion, and more of a "thread to compile good ideas".

I think backgrounds in any RPG are always really cool because they could fundamentally define how things play with you and add a bunch of flavor without necessarily having to have the biggest impact. And the backgrounds we do have are cool and unique. Granted, they all seem to involve changing your spawn location, but I don't want to specifically have that be the requirement.

Frankly, we actually have two other backgrounds that totally fit, but are spacebux purchases instead of a background trait, Missile Arrival and Space Diner Patron. Now I'd argue changing that personally but I also don't care enough to make a case for it, rather I'm making this thread to see what kind of cool ideas people might have for traits that define your character, but not in a way that's overbearing.

The main difficulty here I find is picking traits that are fun and maybe an advantage and / or disadvantage but without turning it into a must-pick for robust players. I'm willing to develop cool, sensible ideas (so long as they're not insanely hard to code), primarily because I've been wracking my brain, but can't think of anything cool that wouldn't totally get denied, either for being too boring or being too strong.

[Roninnozlo]

I think Diner Patron would be better as a trait as well, but Missile should probably stay as a purchase because it's really showy and bombastic and stuff. I've thought up some other ideas for spawns;
- starting out drunk/hungover in the bar with some loadout items strewn about the nearby rooms like a party happened last night
- being arrested in shackle-shoes in the brig or interrogation room
- starting in the sleepers, cryo pods, or patient care rooms in the medical bay with a preexisting condition, be it illness, organ damage, or even just brute/burn/tox, as if they were midway through rehab before the shift began.
But I don't know how hard those would be to program and whether they'd be "too strong". I think the only one that could be a major issue would be the second in the list if you joined at a really low population with nobody able to get you out of sec. Ultimately, whether it's cool or not is up to how you play it; Spawning in a random bed or container isn't inherently awesome, per se.

[Kateaclysm]

I think Diner Patron would be better as a trait as well, but Missile should probably stay as a purchase because it's really showy and bombastic and stuff. I've thought up some other ideas for spawns;
- starting out drunk/hungover in the bar with some loadout items strewn about the nearby rooms like a party happened last night
- being arrested in shackle-shoes in the brig or interrogation room
- starting in the sleepers, cryo pods, or patient care rooms in the medical bay with a preexisting condition, be it illness, organ damage, or even just brute/burn/tox, as if they were midway through rehab before the shift began.
But I don't know how hard those would be to program and whether they'd be "too strong". I think the only one that could be a major issue would be the second in the list if you joined at a really low population with nobody able to get you out of sec. Ultimately, whether it's cool or not is up to how you play it; Spawning in a random bed or container isn't inherently awesome, per se.

I really like the first one. That's hilarious. huge bonus if you spawn with a random silly hat on you or some other strange item that implies a wild night out. Hell, maybe you could spawn in one of the toilet stalls with a similar effect.

[Retrino]

big fan of that last one, anything that gives medical something to do before the wave of organ failure patients and explosions roll in. it'd be interesting to see a trait similar to addict, but in a different light. "medical prescription" or something, where you have a condition that requires a specific chemical every so often to treat. (totally not biased against making prescriptions)

[Glamurio]

I think Diner Patron would be better as a trait as well, but Missile should probably stay as a purchase because it's really showy and bombastic and stuff. I've thought up some other ideas for spawns;
- starting out drunk/hungover in the bar with some loadout items strewn about the nearby rooms like a party happened last night
- being arrested in shackle-shoes in the brig or interrogation room
- starting in the sleepers, cryo pods, or patient care rooms in the medical bay with a preexisting condition, be it illness, organ damage, or even just brute/burn/tox, as if they were midway through rehab before the shift began.
But I don't know how hard those would be to program and whether they'd be "too strong". I think the only one that could be a major issue would be the second in the list if you joined at a really low population with nobody able to get you out of sec. Ultimately, whether it's cool or not is up to how you play it; Spawning in a random bed or container isn't inherently awesome, per se.

These are great suggestions. I'm certain the hungover one would get merged for sure, I don't see the problem starting in a sleeper or cryo pod instead of a bed or crate either. I quite like the "spawn as a prisoner" one, but I'm worried about the potential headache Security will have to deal with, especially with multiple people picking said trait. One that note, there's a good chance some of these will need an upper cap on how many people can have this trait be realized. There's only so many sleeper and cryo pods, in a 40+ player match having 10 people pick that trait will cause overflow.