AI Volunteer Vote

[69andahalf]

AI is a pretty important job that sometimes isn't filled at round start. Some people like playing AI, but would rather be an antag/play a specific role.

Might be cool if there was the ability to volunteer as AI, say like 5 or 10 minutes into a round. Kinda like map vote where you could have your name put into a pool, then when the time period is over a random person is chosen from that pool.

Dunno how many people would be into this, but if you get a bad job, or a job you don't really want to do you could volunteer to be AI. The only other way currently is for an admin to make you an AI, or rarely robotics will make an AI.

Should something like this be open to ghosts? I know some people are killed pretty quickly after a round start so it could invite some meta-gaming against a specific antag that round.

[Wisecrack34]

I wouldn't mind it as a ghost option but you can already be made into one by someone in robotics, perhaps making someone into an AI should be made a bit simpler instead, say removing some of the more time consuming ingredients

[cyberTripping]

how would this work as far as becoming ai goes? There would have to be some agency on the part of the person selected as to when they go AI, a player getting abducted by aliens in the middle of a conversation to be the ai instead would be a little silly

[Wisecrack34]

how would this work as far as becoming ai goes? There would have to be some agency on the part of the person selected as to when they go AI, a player getting abducted by aliens in the middle of a conversation to be the ai instead would be a little silly

In that regard, maybe there could be some sort of machine that you step in, it then shoves your brain into the AI shell already spawned in, leaving your corpse behind for looting n such

[SimianC]

There should an alternate method to filling the AI role after round start aside from those mentioned, so I think this is an idea worth testing. I think volunteers should be limited to living players to avoid the possibility of meta-gaming using otherworldly knowledge.

While I'm not entirely familiar with how job selection works, isn't the selection of AI similar to the selection of Captain? If there's no AI in a given round, wouldn't that imply that all players have it set to unwanted? If that's the case I'm not sure how effective a volunteer based system would work.

Personally I would rather see AI, and by extension Cyborgs, as late-join options. I remember a previous suggestion of giving Roboticists the ability to make empty Cyborg shells that late-join players could just hop into. Similarly, when the AI role is unfilled an empty core could be spawned in the AI Chamber for late-join players. I'm not entirely sure how feasible this would be though.

[cyberTripping]

Personally I would rather see AI, and by extension Cyborgs, as late-join options. I remember a previous suggestion of giving Roboticists the ability to make empty Cyborg shells that late-join players could just hop into. Similarly, when the AI role is unfilled an empty core could be spawned in the AI Chamber for late-join players.

This sounds like a better, more graceful idea than the volunteer system imo. Probably would require less code effort, too

[Xeram]

The issue isn't that AI's aren't accessible to be added to a round. Its that nobody wants to be an AI or indeed a silicon in general primarily because of the laws and lack of hands being the two most cited reasons I remember hearing. I've put dead people into AI cores. A lot would rather be dead than an AI. Treat the cause not the symptoms.

Also I don't know why we all pretend AI is so important it's really not. It's most common/biggest use is a glorified doorknob and aside from the occasional telescience shenanigans that's basically the only significant helpful thing the AI can do. In reality when an AI is needed its needed for like 5 seconds at a time and in all cases anyone else is just as good it's just a matter of distance. Even its role as a doorknob is replaced by a screwdriver, multitool, and crowbar. Any round without one I've seen either never noticed or had one person ask eventually, notice there's no AI, then deal with their own issue themselves.

[Flaborized]

Personally I would rather see AI, and by extension Cyborgs, as late-join options.

Late-joining as a cyborg or an AI could have some issues. One that jumps immediately to mind is joining while having a suicide law, thus forcing you to die as soon as you join. There could also be the case of joining in while the silicons are rogue which could lead to you entering combat near-instantly. I personally feel that players who want to play borg who latejoin should either have to get someone to borg them or should have to get nanomachines, which is the way it is currently. 

As for AI, it's true that AI is similar to captain in that it can override preferences unless it's set to unwanted. This means that for there to not be an AI, every single person who joined at roundstart either had AI in unwanted or rolled an antag role. Whether or not you're an antagonist is selected before your actual job, so having AI in favorite or in medium or in low will never hurt your odds of being an antag.

I think the ideal solution is to have some sort of button or machine that you can interact with that turns you into an AI if there isn't one. If you pulled from ghosts you would have to enforce extra rules regarding using info in your past life, to ensure that players won't become the AI and then reveal info such as who killed them in a past life or whatever. It's possible to borg yourself at the moment but impossible to make yourself into an AI.

[NateTheSquid]

to many replies to read properly but i would like to be able to become an AI if there isn't one at round start yes. allowing ghosts to do it i can only see ending poorly but living people would be good

[Vitatroll]

If there was a latejoin borg option I'd probably hop in more often. Hell, I'd probably wear more clothes too!

I'm fine with the consequences. I take them every time I latejoin as crew. I'd say there's probably more instances of missing station that "All silicons suicide now" laws. Well, used to be.

As for the AI-specific problem, I had a similar thought to Flaborized: A command chair/sleeper that temporarily/permanently sets you as the AI if there isn't one already. Dedicated AI mains still get guaranteed AI and emergency AI available without admin handholding.

[NateTheSquid]

If there was a latejoin borg option I'd probably hop in more often. Hell, I'd probably wear more clothes too!

+1

[mbc]

I M O ,

If there isn't an AI at round start, spawn an unbuilt AI core frame in robotics. Such that you just need to put someone's brain into it.

and allow robotics to put something like a 'latejoin control module' into any cyborg or AI frame. this would open up that cyborg body for late joiners and just replace the module with their actual brain or something when they've joined.

[warcrimes]

I M O ,

If there isn't an AI at round start, spawn an unbuilt AI core frame in robotics. Such that you just need to put someone's brain into it.

and allow robotics to put something like a 'latejoin control module' into any cyborg or AI frame. this would open up that cyborg body for late joiners and just replace the module with their actual brain or something when they've joined.

[NateTheSquid]

+1 to mbc

[Superlagg]

Only one solution to this problem.

A sleeper that pops your brain out and belthells it over to the AI core.