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An Open Discussion About RP NukeOps
#1
The intention of this thread is to openly talk about the NukeOps Gamemode on the Roleplay servers, and the thoughts about it becoming a potential permanent part of RP rotation. This thread is not intended to try and convince admins to make a change and add NukeOps as a permanent gamemode for the RP Servers, but to discuss general thoughts about the Gamemode on RP, what works about it, and what doesn't work about it, and hypothetical improvements that could be applied to the Gamemode (if any) to get it to work in a way that works with the RP Server Ruleset.



I've been playing this game on and off now for over two years. Over that time I've almost exclusively dedicated my time to the Roleplay Servers, with bits and pieces played on the Classic Servers and some brief stints on Nightshade, but overall most of my experience with this game has been through the Goonstation Roleplay Servers. But before playing, I watched a fair bit of Tomato's streams and there was one round that has stayed with me this whole time and is what originally sold me on the game, starting from the point where Tomato first encountered a team of Nuclear Operatives, breaking into the Science Department and murdering his colleagues. By now, its an iconic clip, and I know there are few people that hold the clip in a similar regard with it being a reason why they started playing the game in the first place. Since then, NukeOps has become a Gamemode I've personally held in high regard, and whenever one occurs, I am over the moon! It is by far, my favourite Gamemode to actually participate in.

But sadly, I can count the amount of NukeOps rounds I've been apart of on two hands, with the total number of RP NukeOps rounds I've been apart of on one hand. Why is that? Well, as we all know, the Roleplay Server selects from a reduced selection of Antagonists in order to better facilitate RP interactions, and avoid rounds ending early due to met objectives, such as a Nuclear Victory/Defeat in this case, or having rounds turn into murder fests where EVERYONE has to stop what they have planned, and become involved in stopping the Antagonist, otherwise the Round will end in crew failure. These are very valid reasons to have a limited selection or Antags, but I do want to touch in it a bit more later down the line.

Nuclear Operatives, as they are currently, are still very much a "murder" Antagonist. However, with their kit I believe they have the ability to still provide memorable RP moments, and memorable interactions while still simultaneously being violent and highly dangerous. Take for example, a team of NukeOps making surgical strikes on key departments of the station and taking hostages to exchange for credits, or the Auth Disk. A team of NukeOps heading in with a feigned attempt at diplomacy holding a meeting on the Bridge, where after sometime they all execute the Heads of Staff in one move, and gain the upper hand. Or perhaps something more light-hearted, like for instance a team of NukeOps boarding the station to deliver Pizza, or throw a Birthday Party for the Captain, with all situations ending with the Pizza being a bomb, or the Captain's Birthday gift being a swift gunshot to the head. All of these are moments I would love to see on the RP Servers, and I can imagine they'd garner some good general reactions from the Community. Overall I've noticed NukeOps rounds tend to be considered some of the most fun rounds for a lot of RP Players.

Of course, while NukeOps having a gimmick to run is all fantastic and definitely in-line with expectations, I believe there's also nothing wrong with NukeOps playing their hand totally straight, and just going in with the intention to kill and set off a bomb. This can still provide fantastic RP moments. For example, a team could break into Cargo and start murdering the staff there, leading to members of the crew being devastated because they've lost friends and colleagues, maybe in some cases a loved one or spouse. This has the potential for players to go deeply into grief RP and allow them to take a route with their character they may not normally get to do, if they wish. The key issue with NukeOps playing their role straight is Escalation. Their attacks weren't escalated, therefore it came out of nowhere. However I've always felt NukeOps could skirt this line and be perfectly fine due to the fact that they're heavily armed soldiers, carrying big weapons and wearing high-tech SYNDICATE armour. Any NT employee can take one look at them and KNOW they are not friendly and here to murder. Their escalation is not done through words, but through their presence. Them simply existing is escalation enough, in my mind.

But the problem I'm very much aware of is that they're Antags that take over the whole round and leave no room for folks that just want to do some personal RP in their department. While they can be ignored, it is 100% for the best that all crew become involved. And despite that, even if they are ignored by a few that continue their own RP, the round will end automatically should victory conditions be met and of course, cutting any ongoing RP short. There's a few solutions and changes I can think of for this. For example, if the NukeOps fail and the bomb is destroyed, the round should still continue. I know RP players are still very happy to continue playing out the round, interacting and telling stories, even after the Antag Threat has been handled, or even if there wasn't any at all. I am imagining the process of Security interrogating any captured Nuclear Operatives, or hunting down and remaining rogue ones. Engineering and the rest of the crew helping to rebuilding all the damage done to the station, and various other players talking about their experiences, either saying how traumatic it was, or how awesome it was. The potential for RP following onwards from the attack is quite frankly limitless. Of course, should the nuke go off, the round will end. I'd reckon this'll give players a very tangible and OOC reason to stop the NukeOps, as maybe they don't want them to end the round, yet.

Wrapping up my own personal thoughts for now, but I want to touch on one last thing. That being the blacklisting of Antags. While the intention is definitely good, I do believe the total blacklisting of more violent Antags has lead to RP rounds becoming somewhat stale. Players know that each round they play, there is a high change of them not running into much in the way of trouble unless they're actively going out of the way to find it, or they're playing Security. A lot of current Antags that the RP server has tend to play very passively, almost timidly. It has frequently, for me at least, lead to rather unengaging rounds where Antags don't do much, or act friendly and I'll be fair, the round begins to drag. Implementing more aggressive Antags, preferably at a low chance to happen like Wraith, will in my mind spice up rounds and keep players on their toes. Peaks and Valleys of action and adrenaline will keep things fresh, and I cannot see any harm in that.

Of course, this is an open discussion. Feel free to agree, disagree or leave your own points. This is something I've wanted to talk about for a LONG time, but the Goon Discord is not the best place for it!
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An Open Discussion About RP NukeOps - by Wrench-1 - 02-03-2023, 07:11 AM

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