Hacking a handheld radio should let you listen in to every frequency.

[Carbadox]

Yeah.

[polivilas]

So you mean let every staff assistant listen in to every 'secure' frequency within 20 seconds? That's ridiculous.

[zjdtmkhzt]

It would be a very strong tool to give to traitors, especially since a radio is so easily hacked.

The radio mutation is harder to acquire. If this is added, it would definitely need to have an exception for syndie channels (which I believe the radio mutation already does).

[aft2001]

If by "hack" you mean "emag"?

[Frank_Stein]

I'd support this with some limitations

For instance, make it part of a construction where you build a little immobile or large radio that can't be easily hidden

Or, if it is handheld, it would occasionally broadcast a bit of static or feedback to cue people that they were being eavesdropped on with hacked radio

I personally like the first option for the potential to also broadcast from it as a pirate radio station

[saccharineChampion]

I agree with the idea of it being from emagging instead - it is a really strong ability, even if immobile or obvious.

[aft2001]

Emagged and makes it a bit obvious that you're being eavesdropped would be excellent.

[Carbadox]

I don't believe this to be that game breaking since for one, listening in to frequencies isn't a weapon, it's only an asset. Not to mention that it can't be worn, it takes up an inventory space and any intercepted messages aren't spoken into your ear but are on a speaker so it makes it extremely obvious when you're in a corridor with someone who's listening in. I do agree that it might be too easy but emagging seems a bit dumb when you could just go emag a locker to get an actual headset.

[saccharineChampion]

The fact you can just emag into a locker to steal a headset is part of why I considered it more fine to have it as an emag thing. Emagging things open to steal one is more obvious, it's not dumb to have a more stealth option.

Also, I could be wrong, but I don't think a pocketed handheld radio plays its messages to everyone around. It can be "worn" by putting it in a pocket.

Also, something does not need to be a weapon to be strong. Having information someone else does not realise you have can be pretty strong, especially if a security team coordinates over radios.

Lastly, the thought that anybody can trivially listen in on security radios is really discouraging towards actually using them, which I think is something to be avoided.

[Technature]

My opinion for why it should be emagged are two-fold.

1. The ability to listen into security and what they're doing. On the one hand, you're being obvious and broadcasting everywhere, and everyone who sees you doing it will immediately be suspicious. On the other hand, this almost never matters in Gangs and Rev (especially the latter, where just about anyone is a potential antag), and matters less on Nukes where you're a walking "Murder Me" sign 90% of the time anyways.

2. Every Frequency? Including the Syndicate one, where Syndie members often speak on before they're even done getting ready to nuke the station? I don't see how that could possibly go wrong.