Helpful Help Intent or: Less Agress & Stress

[Nnystyxx]

Okay so I've been bandying this idea around for a bit, and nobody told me it was the worst thing on Earth so I'm posting it now. The idea is (relatively) simple:

Make Help Intent safer and more silly, and move the dangerous stuff to lower intents. 
If I click on someone with a screwdriver on Help Intent, what I want to do is poke them and be annoying. What actually happens is that I stab them like a meth-addled orangutan and apologize profusely while they bleed everywhere.

A basic implementation of this would look a bit like this:
1. I grab an item that doesn't otherwise have a special function on help intent vs harm.
2. I click on somebody.
3. The chat prints "Nathan Zabloaf [pokes/prods/doinks/baps] John Pubby with his [screwdriver/fire extinguisher/multitool/you get the gist]."

There are some edge cases to this, which I have suggestions for:

THING: Help intent on guns makes you pistol whip people.
SOLUTION: Make it so you need disarm or grab to do that; keep harm intent as shooting; and make help intent nudge somebody with the gun, like a 'move along/hello I am threatening you' gesture.

I'm looking for a few specific things in terms of feedback, alongside 'is it good???':
- What would this break? 
- What else have I not covered? and
- What special stuff would you want to see Help Intent do with certain objects?

For one, I'd like to be able to just sort of. . slap people around with food instead of forcefeed them. Poke somebody with a hot dog or pizza slice. 
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[Frank_Stein]

The only real problem I can think of is intent specific stuff like surgery, otherwise I agree with the basic premise

[Nnystyxx]

The only real problem I can think of is intent specific stuff like surgery, otherwise I agree with the basic premise

IIRC surgery tools behave differently if someone is on a table vs standing up? Context-sensitivity is both a solution and a concern

[Sundance]

There's already quite a number of interactive intents with guns other than shooting. Just so we're clear:

HELP: Pistol whips at pointblank
GRAB: Holds the player at "gunpoint" at pointblank, triggering an automatic shot if the player moves. Clicking the player again releases them from this.
DISARM: Nothing AFAIK (or behaves like HELP?)
HARM: Pointblank shoots a player

Also most importantly, pointing while holding a gun will aim the gun threateningly at the target, so suffice to say this already fills the niche of what you're going for, with the bonus that you don't need to be beside them to threaten.

It could be rejigged somewhat to be:

HELP: Now works as the "gunpoint" function point-blank. Always felt this would be much better as this intent. 
GRAB: "Gunpoint" also, but with grab function added. If your offhand is free, you will grab the player. Less "stop right there criminal scum" and more "I'm holding you hostage, fucko". Clicking a target more with this intent increases your level of grab. Switching intent or letting go will release the target.
DISARM: Now Pistol whips instead of HELP
HARM: Same as before
Point: Same as before

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Outside the realms of guns, I think one thing that really stands out is the humble Fire Extinguisher. Often I've seen players accidentally whack someone on fire with the thing instead of clicking the ground. 

I'd change this so that if you are on HELP intent you won't whack them but instead you'll spray them like a reasonable crewmember? And if the nozzle is turned off, the message will simply change to "Sundance Feely tries to spray the fire extinguisher at Grody Clown but the nozzle is off!"

[Nnystyxx]

I would also love if Help Intent Extinguisher actually Helped People.

Maybe some of these changes, if implemented could be rolled out without altering guns? Guns could be subject to a separate oversight (if any was even needed)

[UrsulaMejor]

despite the name, help is closer to our "default" or "neutral" intent. you can do most things on help intent and imo that is good.

not having to worry so much about what intent you're on makes us more accessible. we've generally leaned away from making things rely too much on them

edit: also, your poll responses seem pretty loaded. compare the reasonable "Yes!" to the hysterical "Don't did this please god!"

[Nnystyxx]

despite the name, help is closer to our "default" or "neutral" intent. you can do most things on help intent and imo that is good.

not having to worry so much about what intent you're on makes us more accessible. we've generally leaned away from making things rely too much on them

edit: also, your poll responses seem pretty loaded. compare the reasonable "Yes!" to the hysterical "Don't did this please god!"

You have a fair point, though I still would like options other than 'beat man to death'
My poll responses are worded that way as a joke and I would never actually assume somebody picking that was genuinely hysterical, it's a self-own

[Frank_Stein]

The fire extinguisher actually does do that right now. Going to help will put a person out, and turn the safety off if it isn't already.

I think that contextual stuff with intent switching automating actions and item interactions a neat concept.

Imagine if guns had safeties that were toggled when you switched to help intent and toggled off on harm, while disarm and grab left it alone. Picking the item up on the help or harm intent would not toggle it, only switching to that intent. That way you can pick up a gun to quickly fire it, or toggle your safety and then holster it so you don't have to worry about it's setting next time you use it.

Another example could be automatically toggling a syringe to inject when you switch to harm in hand, since presumably if you wanted to harm someone with a syringe you'd be injecting something into them

[KikiMofo]

If only there was like a SAFE intent where you cant harm anyone at all while you are on it. But that would be adding a whole new button and everything. Sounds like Effort.

[Mouse]

I like being able to move through people in the halls and still defend myself.

Maybe attach it to grab intent instead?

[Carbadox]

I think this would only cause confusion and distrubance for people who are already used to the current system while not providing anything of value to anyone getting to grips with the games controls