Conspiracy Game Mode

[Grayshift]

I'd like to get some feedback for a planned game mode I mean to code.

Conspiracy
The basic premise of conspiracy is very similar to traitor. A selection of conspirators are picked and made hard-mode traitors, ie no buying agent equipment. Instead, they get the list of all their fellow conspirators' names. It's teamwork instead of telecrystals. Objectives are shared but optional. The design is angled more toward low-key rounds without rampant violence. I've heard the concept compared to a successor for both Spy and Rev round types now.

Questions
How should late-joins be handled? Sending alerts that a new defector has joined the conspiracy is clunky and dumb. Allowing late-joins to be full blown traitors with telecrystals or other antags breaks the low armaments condition that the round type relies on. My current thinking is that initial spawn conspirators also get a code phrase that late-join conspirators can use to identify themselves as friendly.

Objectives are where I need the most help. I need a list of fun things for a group of antags to pursue. This is where I need the most help. I'm not concerned with the goals being programatically verifiable, but that's a bonus.

Do departmental defections sound like a good idea? Instead of picking a random peppering of all crew, the antag selector could try to make a department (medical, science, engineering, civilian) all or majority conspirators. This wouldn't happen every conspiracy round, it would just be an optional thing.

Special headset channels and IFF markers like nukeops get I'm vetoing. Disguising yourself and being attacked by your fellow Conspirators accidentally is planned fun. A headset can be stolen and examined, revealing the roundtype and permitting anyone to listen in to identify the other conspirators. Plus, I want conspirators conducting meetings in dark maintenance tunnels. Use your PDA, but don't forget that it keeps a list of messages sent and received.

[Sundance]

 Do departmental defections sound like a good idea? Instead of picking a random peppering of all crew, the antag selector could try to make a department (medical, science, engineering, civilian) all or majority conspirators. This wouldn't happen every conspiracy round, it would just be an optional thing.

It would be too easy to crackdown if it's an entire department. "arrest all medical staff" is a thought that comes to mind.
Some rough idea's i'll throw out:
Conspirators originally do not know each other. They are each given a list of conspirators with varying info that's basically pulled from character creation:
-Description of person: Mohawk clean shaven male.
-Job or Department
-Traits: Will default to one of the previous two if no traits are selected.
The conspirators are given one bit of info above about each other and it's up to each other to track them down. One conspirator can identify another by *waving, in this case the *wave gives a special handsign (notably can be mimiced by customv)
It's also notable that this allows for detective work on securities side too, if they get their hands on the list or another conspirator.
This will also make conspiracy a little slower burning, it's not immediate that the conspiracy happens and is more drawn out.

Regarding group objectives? I'd rather see objectives that are achievable rather than optionable as I feel the conspriators would be more driven and not default to slaughter
Some idea's:

Overtake department: "THE XEROX BANSHEES HAVE CLAIMED THE WEST WING AS THEIR OWN SOVERIGN STATE. ALL WHO APPOSE THIS WILL BE MET BY FORCE"
Essentially similar to nuke, the idea is that the conspirators overtake a key sections of the station. I'm not talking about departments, i'm talking about large chunks which are devided by space, like the west section (engine, podbay) , medbay/research, south section (qm/mining/escape), east section (security/bridge), North section (west or east)
The idea is that this area is now conspirators only, purging anybody within the area. Attempts must be made to seal the area off.
OBJECTIVE SPECIFIC ITEM: One of the conspirator spawns with a little radio that will override the station announcement system, allowing him to broadcast at whim.
GOAL: End the round with nobody alive (not including braindeads) on the section bar the conspirators.

REPLACE HEADS
This one is intersting. The aim of this one is threading on revs toes, but it's for an interesting conspiracy. Essentially the heads are to be executed and replaced by the conspirators. In this objective, each conspirator is given a voice changer to blend in. The amount of conspirators that spawn for this is = to the number of heads.
OBJECTIVE SPECIFIC ITEM: Each conspirator spawns with a voice changer.
GOAL: End the round with all heads dead (not including late joining heads) and each conspirator wearing the heads ID's.

DESTROY THE STATION AND ESCAPE ALIVE
This objective will only work if the conspirators don't know each other at round start. The "escape alive" doesn't mean some of the conspirators, it means ALL of the conspirators, meaning immediate bombing will cause your objective to fail if one of your comrades as a result. What's interesting about this is that there's an obvious hotspot for this: Toxins. The conspriators need to be low-key, organized and have a tight rank (ie: Know who's who) in order to achieve this.
OBJECTIVE SPECIFIC ITEM: None!
GOAL: Cause stationwide damage. All conspirators must be alive at round end.

[Musketman12]

Since this mode really relies on it's objectives to make it what it is (otherwise it is just hard-mode traitor where they know eachother) perhaps completing an objective will give the conspirators cool gear as a reward.

[misto]

conspirators should be encouraged to try to frame station heads and other targeted individuals as incompetent or traitorous in order to make mutiny and execution seem justifiable and reasonable

they should also be encouraged to put the severed heads of their targets on metal rod spikes :3

the code phrase sounds like a great idea, make sure that code phrases are not too likely to come up in regular conversation

some mild macguffin objectives like placing bugs on the comms dishes, corrupting the ai and borgs to serve the conspiracy

"completing an objective will give the conspirators cool gear as a reward" goes against the low-traitorgear intent here. taking someone down and scanning and copying their e-gun for the conspiracy is plenty of cool gear

[Vitatroll]

I really like the concept. Even if it's just no-kit traitors working together. It'd still wind up being (team) rampage 80% of the time but it'd force more problem solving and require some slinking in the shadows at first.

Objectives will make a difference, but only if they're rewarded for their efforts as has been stated. People are just really jaded. They would be really hard to write, but sequential objectives would be neat. Finish one, get rewarded, get a new objective that is possibly working towards some goal but probably not because meta happens. The problem would be discouraging lone-wolves. I've seen regulars and veterans run off with all of the donks, rpg+ammo, and the nuke to try and solo the new nukemode for some reason so that's a hard problem.

An odd thing that may fit the mode: I remember when the new MGS5 was released and everyone was going Gaga - so naturally someone suggested a fulton-like objective for ss13. That'd probably be a pain in the ass to code though.

[Musketman12]

conspirators should be encouraged to try to frame station heads and other targeted individuals as incompetent or traitorous in order to make mutiny and execution seem justifiable and reasonable

they should also be encouraged to put the severed heads of their targets on metal rod spikes :3

the code phrase sounds like a great idea, make sure that code phrases are not too likely to come up in regular conversation

some mild macguffin objectives like placing bugs on the comms dishes, corrupting the ai and borgs to serve the conspiracy

"completing an objective will give the conspirators cool gear as a reward" goes against the low-traitorgear intent here. taking someone down and scanning and copying their e-gun for the conspiracy is plenty of cool gear

By cool gear I don't mean like a shotgun, something that will help them do traitorous things without plain ol' murder

[Mordent]

By cool gear I don't mean like a shotgun, something that will help them do traitorous things without plain ol' murder

Some of the more sneaky items would work. DNA Scramblers, Voice Changers, Chameleon Suits, etc.

[Arborinus]

How about using the flags idea as objectives? Sprites are already made.

[misto]

keeping track of flags kind of sounds a little bit like just a re-play of gang's gang tags mechanic, but i guess it would be funny for security to bust some poor vandals on suspicion of conspiracy when they decide to mess with flags during a non-conspiracy round

[Frank_Stein]

Some lighter objectives could be stuff like running some kind of con job and defrauding the station of money and resources.

This might involving stealing things heist style, running some kind of fake cult, or just cheating people at three card Monte

Another way of going about how to contact each other is rather than giving them a full list of names, just give them one person they know is a part of the group. I do like the idea of descriptions of their appearance though

[Noah Buttes]

 Do departmental defections sound like a good idea? Instead of picking a random peppering of all crew, the antag selector could try to make a department (medical, science, engineering, civilian) all or majority conspirators. This wouldn't happen every conspiracy round, it would just be an optional thing.

WORDS

I love it.
Every bit of it.

[BBEG]

 Do departmental defections sound like a good idea? Instead of picking a random peppering of all crew, the antag selector could try to make a department (medical, science, engineering, civilian) all or majority conspirators. This wouldn't happen every conspiracy round, it would just be an optional thing.

WORDS

I love it.
Every bit of it.

In addition i think there should spawn with a special radio headset with a channel that only they can access but anyone who speaks on the channel will come up as anonymous. this will help them better coordinate and make sure none of them can rat out who the others are to early.

[Noah Buttes]

 Do departmental defections sound like a good idea? Instead of picking a random peppering of all crew, the antag selector could try to make a department (medical, science, engineering, civilian) all or majority conspirators. This wouldn't happen every conspiracy round, it would just be an optional thing.

WORDS

I love it.
Every bit of it.

In addition i think there should spawn with a special radio headset with a channel that only they can access but anyone who speaks on the channel will come up as anonymous. this will help them better coordinate and make sure none of them can rat out who the others are to early.

I'd like to refer you to this quote:

Special headset channels and IFF markers like nukeops get I'm vetoing.

[BBEG]

Disregarding my last suggestion i think an idea we could add with this is conspiracy themes like for example having an anarchy conspiracy would entail an objectives like wipe out security and heads of staff. (late joining heads would not count) however you can only get certain themes if specific conditions are met for example anarchy conspiracy would mean none of the heads of staff would be part of the conspiracy. this would serve 2 purposes one it would allow conspirators to narrow down who there possible allies are and two it would give the security some way to identify the round type because otherwise there just left in the dark.

[Boa Jacque]

Consider that any traitor is free to follow their objectives or not, as far as a basic player is concerned. For this reason I suggest that you DO get a complete list of co-conspirators in your notes tab. If the average player runs the risk of outing themselves in their attempts to find their co-conspirators, then all the antags will just run off to make pipebombs and bomb shit without bothering to meet their buddies.

Please consider the above when suggesting things for this game mode, this game mode will depend on the antags wanting to complete their objectives and work together if it is to avoid the pitfalls of Spy and Rev in which the antags just went rampant.

I suggest including a meeting point as well (in the notes tab)

Late join antags should be disabled or stuck in special roles like wraith or blob.
Or be given a special role in which they attempt to hunt down the conspirators. Kind of a rouge agent or mole kind of feel.

Wraiths would provide more weird shit going on to distract from the conspiracy objective.
Blobs would provide an alternative focus early on. Mid-strength blobs provide something to rally the crew together around (provides opportunity). Late stage blobs provide the conspirators with a new threat to handle.

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I really like the "Replace Heads of Staff" objective, maybe give these dudes some mutagen + syringes so they can take the blood of the heads and mix it to transform themselves.

I would, but not all spacenerds care to use myshas or even bother with chem