[CLOSED PR] Remove RCD from ghostdrones

[github_bot]

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[BALANCE][INPUT WANTED][REMOVAL]

About the PR

- Removes the RCD from ghostdrones

Why's this needed?

Ghostdrone grief consistently involves using the RCD to either block off or depressurize areas. While there are other ways they can grief, taking away their easy-access, rechargeable (and thus theoretically infinite), grief-machine will make doing so harder.

Yes, legitimate users of the RCD will pay the price, but anyone wanting to put the effort into building can probably get their hands on some metal sheets very easily (the ghostdrone has pretty good access for that stuff, and the tools needed to break in if needed).

Changelog

Code:

changelog
(u)Mordent
(*)Removed RCD from ghostdrones.

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[Splints]

I neither agree nor disagree with this change. However, I'm not sure what the role of a ghostdrone is if this goes through. Previously, I understood that they were for letting dead players repair the station. Are they just robo-critters now since their core gimmick is removed?

[pali6]

A possible alternative would be to use the Realistic Cardboard Device PR'd here (unmerged): https://github.com/goonstation/goonstation/pull/4047

[edward]

I don't think that this solves the issue - if a user wants to cause problems, unscrewing a window is only slightly harder to depressurize areas.

This is an issue of someone needing to be banned from being a ghost drone (or in general) rather than an issue with them having the RCD, isn't it?

I'd rather we just drop ghost drone entirely if it's heavily abused instead of take away tools because they could be used for grief.

[Caro]

Good change.
Ghostdrones will still be able to do construction/repairs, they'll just need to utilize their magtractor and metal sheets.
Pretty much every single time I've seen a ghostdrone grief, it involved them removing floortiles with RCD or spamming airlocks in the hallway.
It may not stop them from griefing completely, but it limits their grief potential nonetheless

[Mordent]

I neither agree nor disagree with this change. However, I'm not sure what the role of a ghostdrone is if this goes through. Previously, I understood that they were for letting dead players repair the station. Are they just robo-critters now since their core gimmick is removed?

To be clear, ghostdrones can still use their magtractor to interact with metal sheets etc. and construct using those as normal (as far as I can tell). I would be willing to consider adding some metal sheets to their inventory, but that just moves the problem.

I really like Pali's idea of using that cardboard RCD thing, would need to revisit that with that goal in mind. General summary of it is to let you make easily destructible things (as per the current RCD, but weaker), and not let you destroy non-cardboard items (so you could extend the station/do some renovations, but will need to remove existing walls the manual way).

This would let the ghostdrone still easily repair breaches, and construct silly gimmick areas, while reducing their ability to grief to basically the same as a staff assistant (so definitely not "zero", but it's much less lazy grief).

[pali6]

I neither agree nor disagree with this change. However, I'm not sure what the role of a ghostdrone is if this goes through. Previously, I understood that they were for letting dead players repair the station. Are they just robo-critters now since their core gimmick is removed?

They can still repair the station by building stuff manually.

[KikiMofo]

Ghost drones are always going to be a touchy subject because if you remove what they do then whats the point of them but as they are some shitter could fuck up someones day if they really wanted to grief. That would fall under just A help them but then you get people saying what if an admin isn't around or something at that moment and then they are left with a ruined round.
I really don't know what to do about ghost drones. Personally I always thought they were going to only be used for grief and I saw their capabilities of griefing during THE AMAZING DAY KNOWN AS ASS DAY(that I want back even if it was shittery let loose) and man they could fuck you up hard core. But on the other hand some people really enjoy being a ghost drone and just assisting the crew in fixing problems in the station after they die. I wouldn't want to take that from those players.
It's a hard one.

[Mouse]

As someone who has done a lot of construction manually as a ghost drone, if you ditch the RCD you might as well remove ghost drones entirely. The level of effort involved in doing even minor repairs with no inventory and one finicky and not entirely functional (you can't put anything into anything, for instance, and opening containers with an inventory is erratic at best) hand slot is so drastically disproportionate with what you accomplish that it simply isn't worth bothering.

I'm also not entirely sure what objections to ghostdrones having an rcd would not also apply to borgs.

[Mordent]

I'm also not entirely sure what objections to ghostdrones having an rcd would not also apply to borgs.

Ghostdrones are a "post-death" role exclusively, so the player behind them may be salty and looking for revenge.

Cyborgs require humans to create them, meaning that a) limited supply, b) you can choose to not turn someone into a cyborg.

From an admin perspective, cyborgs breaking their laws to grief (with and RCD, especially) is much rarer than ghostdrones doing it.

Admins can ghostdrone ban, sure, but most offenders are the <50 rounds played type, so another will come along soon enough.

While I don't encourage vigilante rule-enforcing, players *do* have a way of dealing with a griefy cyborg for the remainder of the round. Ghostdrones keep coming back.

[Brixx79]

As someone who really enjoys ghost drone projects, I must say I dislike this PR. I do understand it, but quite dislike it. If a ghost drone is going to grief, they're going to do it with or without the RCD.

[Frank_Stein]

I personally feel like we should either

1. Make ghost drones more equivalent to ghost critters, with weaker toolsets focused on menial tasks like cleaning, moving things around, and minor repairs with something like metal foam instead of any serious equipment like the RCD

2. Make ghost drones more equivalent to borgs, with roughly the same rules but no chance of being rogued or emagged. Just a robot that can be built that any ghost can hop into and do what they already do now. If one is acting out of line, have a method like kill switching to permanently boot them from any new drone bodies for the rest of the round.

[Froggit_Dogget]

I'm also not entirely sure what objections to ghostdrones having an rcd would not also apply to borgs.

Ghostdrones are a "post-death" role exclusively, so the player behind them may be salty and looking for revenge.

Cyborgs require humans to create them, meaning that a) limited supply, b) you can choose to not turn someone into a cyborg.

From an admin perspective, cyborgs breaking their laws to grief (with and RCD, especially) is much rarer than ghostdrones doing it.

Admins can ghostdrone ban, sure, but most offenders are the <50 rounds played type, so another will come along soon enough.

While I don't encourage vigilante rule-enforcing, players *do* have a way of dealing with a griefy cyborg for the remainder of the round. Ghostdrones keep coming back.

This^^^^

[Technature]

I'm sorry, but if I have to go through the several step process of making girders, walls, rods, floor support, floor tiles, and windows, then I'm just not touching the ghost drone ever again.

On the other hand, if I wanted to depressurize the station cause I'm a salty little asshole who can't take their death with some dignity, I can (as mentioned before) unscrew windows and pull them around. You're adding a single step for assholes while making people who want to still do something useful or fun go through something more tedious than the slow way of laying pipe down.

[babayetu83]

i don't have a dog in this race but to echo technature, i just hate changes that punish people who AREN'T being a pest/nuisance. that's fast way to alienate people. so why not a middleground? hamper the ability to repeatedly RCD things by causing a significant power drain + take it longer to spawn a new wall/airlock/whatever until you let it cool off for a couple of minutes. people who use it for a legitimate purpose wouldn't be screwed over as badly, and it would also encourage use of manual construction. the only people who would be screwed over here are people who just use it to grief and be a nuisance, rather than the people who use it for its intended/a legitimate purpose