Destiny & RP on Goonstation

[Dastardly]

I understand what you're saying, but I still feel like making a fuss about what your character does and does not know bogs down the game. If you have to consider whether your character can really do something takes away from the improv, off the cuff nature that (I think) we want for Destiny. Let the only consideration be "Will this make things more fun and interesting?", as it's short and sweet, easy to answer, and easy to tell to newcomers.

Going way back to the wraith example, I feel like not knowing how to deal with the wraith makes you defenseless against it, and therefore make the round less interesting. If there's a book in the chapel that tells you how to deal with it, you're really just going through a dumb step so you can 'learn' things you already know. Let people know about the supernatural! If you want to make it fun, spread lies and misinformation about the origin of the wraith, tell ghost stories, whatever! If someone knows something that they shouldn't, ask them why! Make it a conversation, if their answer isn't good, accuse them of being a liar or suspicious. Like Atamus said, roll with the punches. I feel like Destiny already is moving towards a player culture with more interaction and less chaotic, longer rounds which make talking and investigating a more viable playstyle.

Also, I get what you're saying about taking that you don't know something as a handicap to make things amusing (I don't know how to set the engine, so I'm bound to make a mistake or fuck something up). At the same time, that sort of comes close to intentionally fucking up the station for others, so IDK.

[Nnystyxx]

From what I can tell, part of the issue is more 'executing only the mechanics' rather than 'knowing the mechanics'. Knowing something's fine if you can provide a justification, like being a paranormalist for the wraith stuff, but not making it clear that you do know something and instead heading off to go robust is crossing the lines. It's about visibility. Nobody likes the silent types, whether they're antags or they're fighting the antags.

[Spy_Guy]

Tbh we never wanted the "your character doesn't know how to use a microwave!!! That's a ban! " level of IC knowledge enforcement.

At the same time, it's somewhat necessary that people stick to their assigned roles so as to not devalue jobs, as is what happens on the main servers.

I will ask people who display ooc- knowledge in-game why that is. Not because I want to ban someone but because it'll make things more fun in the long run.

Take an example I saw the other day:
A security officer sees the HoS' locker emagged open and correctly calls to the hos "your locker is emagged".

That's the end of that. What they could have done was tell the HoS his locker was messed up, then called in a mechanic to investigate.

The mechanic could then conclude the particulars of how the locker was messed up. "Electromagnetic interference" or some similar verdict.
Doing it this way enables more participants in any given situation and as such creates the most fun. At least in my mind.

Do you guys agree that this makes sense?

[Kubius]

Do you guys agree that this makes sense?

Even though your particular example is a little silly (if you close the locker and the lock's circuitry is burned out, that indicates its fate to any layman) I do understand the point entirely and concur with it. I think a better example would be if a security officer found a beaker full of some obscure chem in a Scientist's backpack and had to consult the Science division on what the hell it is and what it does - a sec officer is more likely to be trained in lock-breaching tech than in advanced chemistry.

[Dastardly]

I just got to play a fantastic changeling round, and I gotta say, the abundance of blinds is one of my favourite features about Destiny. Two men walk into the MD's Office, only one leaves . It also makes a nice place to have private conversations.

[Frank_Stein]

Going way back to the wraith example, I feel like not knowing how to deal with the wraith makes you defenseless against it, and therefore make the round less interesting. If there's a book in the chapel that tells you how to deal with it, you're really just going through a dumb step so you can 'learn' things you already know.

I mean, ideally items like that would be a contingency plan for when someone who would have that knowledge isn't available. The first course of action against something like a wraith should be asking someone like the Chaplain, who wrote professionally know about the supernatural.

No Chaplain? Let's search their office for a clue. Maybe the chef is just really sloppy and keeps spilling salt everywhere and your character just happens to notice the effect. Or a scientist studys an ectoplasm sample and notices it reacts with salt. Or Heck,
Just make up a story about the summer you spent on your Uncle's Ghost Ranch.

Either way you've got options.

[Archenteron]

It's probably in the D&D book.

[BoiledWater]

I've had some bad interactions with people yelling at me in LOOC for wearing a space suit and bringing a gun when going into the great unknown that is Telescience. Do with this information what you want.

[Ed Venture]

To be honest this thread has driven me further away from RP then I thought was possible. I mean I played a few rounds seemed cool and all but there was too many people to really get into it. But I was told by admins that they only thing you were suppose to change on the RP server was to do your job seriously and be creative with antag roles. But after reading how you people think using common knowledge without some kind of backstory or item in game to justify your use of said knowledge. It seriously sounds like you are expected to jump through hoops just to do something as putting salt on the ground and that sounds like the complete opposite of fun to me. I know this server and how things are handled are still in it's infancy but if this attitude says like this then I won't be returning as this was one of the biggest reasons why I gave RP so much shit in the past. Getting yelled at by people for just doing a simple action cause I had no backstory for knowing about said actions just seems silly. Do you expect people to write a short story to cover every reason on why my avatar does something? I'm sorry for being cynical about this but this seems so unfun to me and perhaps others that it.

[Tom Clancy's Gay Ghost]

I really like the RP server, and most likely will spend my time there instead of the other servers. It only becomes a problem when people start taking it too seriously, or alternatively get too silly. Just have a good time pretending to be a spaceman and don't get too bogged down in drama.

[Sundance]

...

Tbh ed it really isn't as butt tight as myself or anyone else is making it out to be. It's very much still goon but toned down a notch, there's still peeps doing whacky shit, there's just more repercussion for doing so. It's more story orientated. Which was why I was suggesting having IC knowledge available within the game, so the story unfolds a little more naturally than just "Well, my neighbor told salt works on wraiths, but that fucker put salt on everything, the loon"

I've had some bad interactions with people yelling at me in LOOC for wearing a space suit and bringing a gun when going into the great unknown that is Telescience. Do with this information what you want.

Tell them to fuck off. You're entering a distress signal where there may be hostiles and it may be depressurized. Even from an RP aspect going in armed and suited up makes perfect sense.

[Roomba]

The rounds tend to run a bit on the long side for me. I think an auto-shuttle call when there aren't enough active players, similar to when enough people are dead, might be a good idea. During less active timezones you often get rounds that last forever because half the players go braindead in their rooms (on account of how suiciding is not RP-appropriate) and the only active people are a botanist and QM or something wandering around and talking about how they would like to go back to Centcomm, but everyone who could call the shuttle is braindead and/or regular dead.

Also, there's nothing wrong with calling the shuttle just to end a shift, guys! People seem incredibly averse to even bringing up the topic, and I have no idea why.

[BaneOfGiygas]

I actually agree with Roomba, some kind of an auto-call feature would help things immensely. Given Destiny's RP setting, the "steal the Captain's ID and break into the bridge" route of calling the shuttle is usually a no-no, so instances in which you're gonna be dicked out of calling the shuttle for a really long time are much, much more common.

[Mageziya]

I think people people oppose calling the shuttle to end a shift because its supposed to be an emergency escape shuttle. Hypothetically, the space station is supposed to be a self-autonomous facility that can last for months at a time, in reality it lasts only an hour before shit hits the fan because no one has time for that.

But yeah, in people's mind the shuttle is to only be called when stuff can no longer function, being called when it's merely "no longer fun to play" even gets people shit on the non-RP servers. There was also the small stink a while back where people were afraid to call the shuttle because shenanigans that I won't detail, but I feel like the situation left people with the idea that calling the shuttle while stuff is functioning is an RP no-no.

I do admit that the longer rounds are another reason I don't favor RP servers as much.

[UrsulaMejor]

Even on HRP servers, the shuttle usually gets called after a certain amount of time has passed for a "shift change", which can be voted for by the crew OOC.

I think something like this, aka an OOC solution that calls for a "shift change" might be okay. Maybe have a room somewhere on destiny with a bunch of cryopods that are full of non-players, and the in game reason for a shift change is for the current staff to go back into stasis and wake up the new shift.