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So I made this. Not sure if it qualifies as art tho.

My ultimate lifeform on the left

I'm a longtime Seccie myself, and I'd have to agree with many of the earlier issues raised in this thread. More to the point, I'd argue that quite a few of them are closely connected: -The learning cliff: Security is an extremely difficult job to learn, requiring both robustness and knowledge of station SOP, server rules, and a thick enough skin to survive a storm of criticism. -Actual shitsec: While often just undeserved whining, much of that criticism is actually quite fair. I've seen prisoners left in cuffs for 15-20 minutes in Processing, utterly ridiculous criminal records placed (a 15-minute charge for just "resisting arrest," lol), and more undeserved harmbatoning than I can count at this point. -Poor oversight: Between the HoS, Warden, IAA, Magistrate, and Captain, there should be enough on-station personnel to correct bad behavior. I'd argue that much of the problem preventing that from happening is simply being overwhelmed: the HoS is desperately trying to keep a semblance of order, the Warden's watching over officers in the field, and every officer is desperately needed to fight the baddie of the week NOWNOWNOW. This leaves the IA agents and Magistrate with little to do, and when coupled with the high requirements for Magistrate and low job options for IAA, results in the positions usually being undermanned. This, of course, then worsens the problem of "bad apple" officers in the first place. -Staffing: All of the above, coupled with the reasonable likelihood of dying to valid-salad, makes Security a chronically understaffed force. Any measure to address Sec's issues must mention its horrible, horrible staffing problem, because everything else is secondary to it. No one's got time or energy to train newbies when they're constantly running after the next threat, and no one's got time to process prisoners properly when there's an officer down in Med-Sci Maint yada yada yada. And when there's no "low-speed" Security role, no one signs up for the job if they want a slower shift; it's either ASS TO THE GRASS BALLS TO THE WALL HARMBATON IN FREEFALL YEEHAW or it's playing Janitor instead. Note that this is a well-known real life phenomenon, often called a "staffing crunch:" with too few staff members on a job, pressure and requirements increase on the remaining ones, increasing their stress and causing them to quit (further worsening the staffing problem). Poor staffing is the heart of Security's woes; we can put patches over other issues, but none of them will stick unless we can ensure that there'll be more than just the Detective and Warden at roundstart. The term I've heard in RL law enforcement is "paradoxical policing," where inot only are there too few cops, the ones that remain are tired, burned out, and angry - and it shows. Conclusion: Recruitment&Retention is the key, everything else is secondary. I'd love to see a lot of the ideas in this thread implemented, from 'slings getting another rework to additional Code Red access, but ultimately the biggest problem with Sec is simply that there aren't enough of them around. Any suggestions for fixing Security's issues should focus primarily on getting more people to stay in the job. Issues and potential solutions: It's very, very difficult for even an experienced player to transition into playing Security. Others in this thread have already covered most of the reasons why, so I'm going to cover some of the issues inherent in resolving the problem and my proposals for addressing 'em: a) Hostile learning environment vs. protecting the "learner" role: Unsurprisingly, no one in red catches a break. I think there's simply no substitute for a "learner" Security role, a la the cadets that Kyet proposed earlier (personally, I'd go with "Constable" myself to avoid too much newbie stigma; I personally wouldn't mind playing a low-speed Sec role sometime). To separate cadets/Constables from the rest of Security's valid-salad, I'd suggest trying to draw a divide between them and the rest of Sec. Keeping other Sec roles more exclusive could be done with either a minimal karma-lock on Security roles (5 points to unlock "Security roles," a.k.a. the Brig Physician, Sec Officer, Warden, and HoS), or simply requiring a bunch of playtime (6+ hrs) in the "learner" role before being able to play as a Sec Officer. Combine this divide with limited equipment for cadets/Constables, restrictive instructions, and a limited degree of social protection. We can't entirely stop the low-speed Sec role from being a loot pinata, because they'll still need Brig/Holding Cell access and Security comms to do their job. However, limiting their equipment to less-effective tools like flashes and pepperspray a) forces them to actually use that gear, instead of relying solely on the holy harmbaton, b) limits their ability to get rekt by their own weapons used against them by greytiders, and c) makes them less attractive as a target. Similarly, the starting instructions (and hopefully over time, the basic standard and expectation) should tell cadets/Constables to remain in public areas and to not go patrolling off alone. There's no guarantee that they'll follow it, but it should keep at least some newbies on the straight and narrow. And finally, this divide between "always legit" Security targets and "try not to kill/humiliate" newbie role can be enforced through social interaction. Public shaming for antags, or even greytiders, who deliberately dunk on newbie Seccies can limit some bad behavior, especially if there's a clear divide between who's obvious valid-salad and who isn't. b) Lack of connection vs. a physical presence: One common problem with Sec roles is that there's no 'belonging' to the rest of the station. You've got antags to fight and greytiders to bash, and there's very little interaction between you and other departments. Even within Security itself, there's very little face-to-face time outside of hanging around in Processing at the same time, and the constant barrage of trouble on the radio means that there's very little of the team-building off-topic conversations which are so common in other departments. This worsens the issue of poor communication between Security and the rest of the station, increasing the divide and allowing for an easy bandwagoning of "shitcurity!" calls, whether deserved or undeserved, which make people that much less likely to play Sec again. I'd like to suggest departmental offices if feasible, the standard 3x3 (or 2x3 in a pinch) cubicles that come with basic ID access and departmental radio encryption. I'd suggest that cadets/Constables spawn at these offices right at roundstart, and serve as their public face of Security to different departments; I imagine this'd provide a more supportive environment for someone to learn the job, and would in turn provide that department with a tangible Security presence. Having a department to guard and a little Security checkpoint office to call their own would help make the role more than just a "learner" one. Security's currently responsible for the entire station at all times, which in practice means that you're running around pissing on brushfires here, there, and everywhere. Having a single department to guard and a small group to watch over would let someone play Security in a relaxed manner, only dipping their toes into the regular chaos when they felt like it. c) Lack of education vs. having a designated teacher: I've seen someone previously suggest a "Security Instructor" role, which was shot down on the basis of "experienced Seccies can teach newbies already." Without getting too confrontational, lemme put it like this: I've played an absurd amount of time on Paradise, let alone other SS13 servers, and in all that time I've seen a 'Sec training exercise' happen exactly once. On extended. That was it. Barring extended all day erryday, we need a framework of regular newbie education. Relying on charity, on someone experienced having the means, motive, and opportunity to take newbies under their wing during a busy shift, is not a viable solution. The poor staffing problem is the root cause of Security's issues, and lack of help for newcomers in the role is a significant contributor to the issue. Other players can certainly contribute, but we need someone whose role is focused primarily around education, to teach newbie Seccies everything from prisoner processing to shooting, and who won't bin all that teaching the moment a 'ling pops up in Sci Maint. I think the previous "Security Instructor" role addressed it handily, and I'd suggest a separate radio channel for "cadets/Constables" to give them space to ask dumb questions like "how do I use a flash anyway?" The obvious response to the concept of a separate radio channel would be "just use mhelp," but as an admin with access to the mentor channel, I can definitively say that they don't. People often just won't ask for help without some prompting ("hey, I saw that scuffle over in Processing, lemme show you how to take cuffs off a prisoner safely"), and other people just won't offer it without a little push. The "Sec Instructor" role is meant to provide that push, because when you log in to that job, you know that you'll need to step up to the plate to help teach newbies. This doesn't stop other Sec players from helping instruct newbies; matter of fact, I'd argue it would make them more likely to do so. It's the basic "bandwagoning" effect in action, where one person setting an example encourages others to join in. The goal here should be to prompt people towards better behavior, to give them that initial push, and to let them carry it the rest of the way. Tl;dr version: I could go on for ages about stuff I'd like to see implemented: additional minor antags like smugglers or drug dealers to add some early-round shenanigans, renovating IA so that people actually want to play the role, improving antag gameplay so that they have greater freedom to act and are rewarded for interesting or exciting acts of villainy, etc. However, none of those things deal with the basic issue of Security staffing, and there's no point in trying to add new antagonists or tweaking high-level gameplay if we don't address the more basic, fundamental problem of "people just don't play Sec." I've seen a lot of proposals to reform Security in the past, and I've thought a lot of them had merit myself. They were almost universally shot down, primarily by admins and coders; in my *ahem* years playing on Paradise, I haven't seen Security itself change. I have seen admin policy towards antagonists and on-station troublemakers get more restrictive, however, and much of that is due simply to Sec's inability to handle anything significant. As @Ping mentioned on the first page, there's an expectation of peace and order on-station, which Security simply isn't able to fulfill. The current system just isn't working, and our piecemeal efforts to address it aren't fixing the fundamental problem. Unless we make a 180 on the idea of station chaos tomorrow, we'll need a larger Security force to maintain order. No matter whether we adopt a "newbie Seccie" role or not, we need to change things up, because the current system isn't functioning reliably. I've seen frequent suggestions made on the forums about antags being too restrictive* and Security being constantly understaffed; once again, everything comes back to Security staffing. Threads like this or this are symptomatic of the larger problem we have downstream of Security's ineffectiveness, not to mention the perfectly valid complaints about Sec misbehavior and general shitcurity-ing. I'd like to think that my proposals above would address a good deal of the "learning cliff" problem, and I'm open to suggestions and trying something entirely different. Ultimately, though, I really don't want us to put our collective heads in the sand, and pretend that the problem can be resolved with a few tweaks - or that it can't be addressed at all. This is a major issue, and adequately addressing it will require a major rework. *Honestly, even as an admin myself, I've disabled most antag roles rather than play them due to being too restrictive. Having to look over my shoulder before doing anything is way too much of a hassle.

it's a cargo hat i bet, cargonia leads the way

this is very cool. only little thing that could be changed to make it the perfection - i would like the cap to be either blue (grey-blue), white or black. icon is awesome though

SUPER BIG DISCLAIMER This R&D guide contains an edited version of 'Meex's guide to R&D in 10 minutes or less'. @Xantholne made the forum post originally, and this is just a version that i use for my own convenience. (And whoever else is reading this because i posted it) This version has also been updated to adapt to the removal of telescience. To do R&D, you input all the things listed below. From top to bottom. Basic R&D items do not require materials other than Metal and Glass. There is a stack of both in R&D at roundstart. If that's unavailable, there's also a stack of both in Sci/Chem. PROTIP: You can use the CTRL + F Browser search function to look for a specific item, or specific tech orgin. (For example writing (Power: 4), into the browser search will find items with that tech orgin. ONE THIRD Load 20 Glass and Metal sheets into the Protolathe Load 15 Glass sheets and 2 metal sheets into the Circuit Imprinter Basic Capacitor, made in PROTOLATHE, AUTOLATHE (Power: 1) Micro Manipulator, made in PROTOLATHE, AUTOLATHE (Materials: 1Data: 1) Basic Micro-Laser, made in PROTOLATHE, AUTOLATHE (Magnets: 1) Mechanical Toolbox, located in R&D (Combat: 1, Engineering: 1) Weaken the table in the back before deconstructing the welding tool. You will be able to place an autolathe there later. Welding Tool, located iside the Mechanical toolbox (Plasma: 1) High-Capacity Power Cell, made in PROTOLATHE, AUTOLATHE, MECHFAB, PODFAB (Power: 2) Science Goggles, made in PROTOLATHE (Engineering: 1, Magnets: 2) Reagent Scanner, made in PROTOLATHE (Biotech: 1, Plasma: 2) Health Scanner HUD, made in PROTOLATHE (Biotech: 2, Magnets: 3) Advanced Reagent Scanner, made in PROTOLATHE (Biotech: 3, Magnets: 4, Plasma: 3) Advanced Hard Disk Drive, made in PROTOLATHE (Data: 2, Engineering: 2) Holographic Sign Projector, made in PROTOLATHE (Data: 3) Mining Drill, made in PROTOLATHE (Engineering: 3, Materials: 2) Tracking Beacon, made in PROTOLATHE (Bluespace: 1) Global Positioning System, made in PROTOLATHE (Bluespace: 2, Materials: 2) Advanced Capacitor, made in PROTOLATHE (Power: 3) Advanced Matter Bin, made in PROTOLATHE (Materials: 3) Indirect round 4's reached. Sync. SECOND THIRD Machine Board (SUPERPACMAN-type Generator), made in IMPRINTER (Power: 4) Machine Board (Teleporter Console), made in IMPRINTER (Bluespace: 3) (Small edit here due to telescience removal) Machine Board (MRSPACMAN-type Generator), made in IMPRINTER (Plasma: 4) Machine Board (Quantum Pad Board), made in IMPRINTER (Bluespace: 4) Machine Board (Teleportation Hub), made in IMPRINTER (Materials: 4) Indirect round 5's reached. LAST THIRD Security HUD, made in PROTOLATHE (Combat: 2) Large Grenade, made in PROTOLATHE (Combat: 3) Exosuit Board ("Gygax" Weapons & Targeting Control module), made in IMPRINTER (Combat: 4, Data: 4) Cybernetic Heart, made in PROTOLATHE, MECHFAB (Biotech: 5) Cybernetic Heart, made in PROTOLATHE, MECHFAB (Biotech: 5) Wired Network Card, made in CIRCUIT IMPRINTER (Data 5) Round 5's surpassed. Basic R&D is now DONE. (Data 6, Biotech 6, Everything Else 5) UPGRADING STUFF Under stock parts print 1 Rapid Part Exchange Device 10 Super matter bins 10 Pico-manipulators 5 Advanced capacitors 5 Advanced scanning modules 5 High-power micro-lasers Upgrade the ORM. Upgrade Botany if they're contributing. Upgrade the Protolate and Imprinter. Moving on onto Advanced R&D. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ADVANCED R&D Each category shows items you need to deconstruct in order to get tech levels to 7. Advanced R&D items require advanced materials from Mining to complete. (Gold, Silver, Uranium, Solid Plasma, Diamond, Titanium, Bluespace Polycrystals, etc...) All materials are obtained from the Ore Redeption Machine (ORM for short) in Mining. Most categories may have multiple ways to achieve level 7's. The advanced R&D guide was made by me, this time. (With the help of @BeanOS.) Items colored Emerald require items from Botany. I hope you upgraded their equipment prior. Items colored Amethyst require items from Xenobio. Someone did do Xenobio this shift, right? Riiiiight? Items colored Orange require items from Mining. Better hope all the miners are still alive. Items colored Bright Blue require items from Command. The only one being the Chain of Command. Ask the Captain and he'll get it for you. If he says no, he's a comdom. When inserting materials into the Destructive Analyzer, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, USE ONLY ONE PEICE. YOU'LL FUCKING WASTE THE WHOLE STACK OTHERWISE!!! Inserting a whole stack of materials into the Destructive Analyzer will only use up a single peice from that stack. Still, it's less confusing to just take out a single peice from the stack and then jam it in. For the Mining Jetpack, it has to be a Mining Jetpack specifically. It can't be any other jetpack. No. The CO2 jetpack from EVA won't do. MATERIALS FROM 5 Uranium (Materials: 5), Diamond Mining Drill (Materials: 6), (Reccomended) OR Uranium (Materials: 5), Diamond (Materials: 6) OR Diamond (Materials: 6), Diamond (Materials: 6) OR Ambrosia Gaia Branch (Biotech: 6, Materials: 5), Diamond Mining Drill (Materials: 6), (Reccomended) ENGINEERING FROM 5 Machine Prototype (Engineering: 6), Machine Prototype (Engineering: 6) OR Mining Jetpack(Engineering: 5), Machine Prototype (Engineering: 6) (Reccomended) PLASMA FROM 5 Green Glowcap , Green Glowcap (Reccomended) OR Phazon Torso, Green Glowcap OR Charged Slime Core, Green Glowcap POWER FROM 5 Charged Slime Core, Red Glowcap OR Red Glowcap , Red Clowcap (Reccomended) BLUESPACE FROM 5 Bluespace Polycrystal(Bluespace: 6), Bluespace Polycrystal (Bluespace: 6) (Reccomended) (Only viable option) BIOTECH FROM 6 Sentience Potion OR Conciousness Transfer Potion OR Ambrosia Gaia Branch (Reccomended) COMBAT FROM 5 Chain of Command(Combat: 5), P-X Tesla Cannon(Combat: 6, Magnets: 6, Engineering: 4, Materials: 4) (Reccomended) OR Gatfruit , Gatfruit OR Clown Mortar, P-X Tesla Cannon (Combat: 6, Magnets: 6, Engineering: 4, Materials: 4) (Bananium can be obtained from Clown Statue in the Clown office.) OR Deathnettle, P-X Tesla Cannon (Combat: 6, Magnets: 6, Engineering: 4, Materials: 4) ELECTRONICS FROM 5 Lazarus Injector, Lazarus Injector OR Ghost Chili,Lazarus Injector OR P-X Tesla Cannon, P-X Tesla Cannon (3 silver bars, 12 metal sheets total) (Reccomended) (Requires Chain of Command to unlock) DEETA FROM 6 Minebot AI Upgrade (Only possible option) TOXINS GUIDE Getting levels in Toxins is done differently then placing specific items into the Destructive Analyzer. In Science, there is an area called the Toxins Test Range. In the Launch Room of the Toxins Test range, there's the Tachyon-Doppler Array, wich has a random target value each shift. In order to get Toxins tech levels, you need to trigger and explosion in the Toxins Test Range with the same/close enough strength as the target value. It is assumed that you perform Toxins using TTV-based bombs. Meddling with oxygen and plasma however i find confusing, so i preffer to use Chemical-based bombs. (Aka. Black Powder) Let's learn how to make Black Powder bombs for use in the Test Range. PEAK PERFORMACE SUMMRAY At peak performance, the total items required for Advanced R&D are... Uranium, Diamond Mining Drill, Mining Jetpack, Machine Prototype, 2 Green Glowcaps, 2 Red Glowcaps, 2 Bluespace Polycrystals, Ambrosia Gaia Branch, Chain of Command , 2 P-X Tesla Cannons, Minebot AI Upgrade, A competent Toxins Scientist. 3 items are required from Mining. 5 items are required from Botany 1 item is required from Command. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you wish to point something out, just say it in the comments. And i'll hopefully try to fix it. Once again, thanks to @Xantholne for the original forum post and @BeanOS for helping out with the advanced R&D guide. Credit to @rapaskoti and @AffectedArc07 for providing item icons i was unable to find myself.

Greetings! As you may or may not know, I have been working on an Engineering remap for the past couple of weeks. While it is functionally PR-ready, I felt like opening it up for additional feedback may be wise ahead of time. This is the full-view of the changes, courtesy of AffectedArc07's map image generator: This remap is rather vast, extending from Arrivals, to Escape and down south into Engineering itself. The goal here is to give Engineering a more cohesive structure and spreading out all the equipment in it more sensibly, to dedicated supply rooms or otherwise. Another goal was to make both the SM from Fox's port and the Tesling engine possible to use. Beyond that, there were also some changes made to maint areas of the station, by adding a couple of new distinct areas, like a maint-garden and an abandoned robotics area. Things of note: Arrivals' Auxiliary Storage has been moved to the public construction room in Engineering hallway Mechanic has been moved to Escape Arrival / Cargo / Engineering Maint-blocks have all been connected intl a half-ring. Consequently, Disposals has been moved deeper into maint. While both engines can be used at once, at the moment only SM is prepared. There are no Tesla or Singularity beacons in this version, but that is likely to change by the time the PR is made. Please share your thoughts! It is an extensive remap, so I could have easily missed, forgotten or overlooked some important things.

Now you can get the AI to open IRL

Norwest’s post is mighty fine description on the issues of the security, and the suggestion there to tackle them seem very reasonable to me. I just love that idea to implement a junior role to sec. It would both answer the call of Medi’s original suggestion here and add to the sec gameplay, make it more fun, by adding there some variation. As of, the junior sec role as ”constable” would definitely not be just a pinata with different name - in contrast with cadets discussed earlier, as the constable role would have its own, meaningful share of the sec cake and the restriction to not to go after EoC-type threats like regular officers. I would, in certain, take shifts as departmental constable officer, for just having more time to interact with people, instead of running after the bad guys taser hot, which often has to be the case due the situation, even if the main reason I like the game and sec in specific is the interaction, paired with meaningful action. Then have an instructor to herd the red goons in general and the constables in specific, so that a) that kind of activity would actually happen and b) the new constables would have an overwatch that have time for their doings. HoS would have their time in making decisions and maintaining contact with their department, as it is (or should be) presently. As in the instructor thread, I support a tweak to sec’s organisation, to have some more designated jobs there, to make the good things happen more often.

I am really impressed. That is so cool!!

nya

Hi everyone, first post on the forums. I'm making this post for feedback and discussion on the many changes I've made to Delta station to (hopefully) bring it up to working conditions for paradise. You can use Affected's webmap of Delta as a before reference https://affectedarc07.github.io/SS13WebMap/Paradise/Delta/index.html I started this project way back in December and have been working on and off on it until I now finally consider it close to finished(yay procrastination and second guessing!). All that's left now is to update my ancient folder and deconflict it. Now then to what all I've done(be ready for pictures!). First up on the major changes is that Delta's security was completely ripped out and rebuilt with high pop in mind. The number of officers has been increased from 8 to 12 and the pod pilot has been given a backup hangar to retreat to if the main hangar becomes too dangerous. The secure armory has also been expanded to provide +1 extra of each weapon and armor within to arm the extra officers when trouble hits. Other items have also been added into the armory: 3 bandoleers, 3 boxes of slug ammo, 2 boxes of rubber shot ammo, and a mech charging station. The evidence room, processing, cells, and solitary cells have all been expanded. Again with highpop in mind. Delta's permabrig has been made with the intent of holding a LOT of people and provide the prisoners with plenty of activities. Such activities are art with crayons and a floor painter, cooking with a decent kitchen(no knives or rolling pin or the like though), reading, chess, drinking soda, smoking, aquarium pet care(all vending machines in perma are free), and even play DnD. There is also a visitation room connected to the remapped Dorms to allow for roleplay while likely under the watch of a sec guard(and as a possible break in/break out point). There is now a maint area connecting to security from central primary side to allow for get aways and attacks from that angle. The IAA's office has replaced the small tool room previously there to make room for the Magistrate's office next to the court room(more on that next). The detective's office had things shuffled around to make room and the brig doc was moved over to here with a full set of ghetto surgery tools hidden away in the wall(if wanted I shall remove the tools). We're now approaching the dorms which was also ripped out and remade. The court room was significantly reduced but the magistrate has been given an office. The locker room and bathroom were remade and the dual cryo dorms were combined and expanded. Here you can also see the mime's new delta office, the dorms side of the visitation room, and the big scale mural in the brig lobby (I'm rather proud of it) And here is the rest of the Dorms, fully enhanced and remade into a nice hangout place. Like the mime, the clown has been given an office as well and the holodeck has been made horizontal. Delta now also has a pet shop, Mr Chang's, a proper arcade, and a second eastward escape pod. The dorms even has a Mule delivery spot and cargo tele beacon for when people want to order supplies for a party or some other event! Finally the last two really game impacting major changes I can think of at the moment are bringing telecoms to Delta's AI satellite and medical getting a second OR(and the psychologist getting an office). The last major change you might have noticed was that Delta has been completely repiped so that waste and distro pipes share space now! We now move on to smaller changes. The biggest of the small ones is that two new westward escape pods have been added to Delta. One is next to Engineering (alongside delta's new engineering shuttle) and the other next to science with the EXPERIMENTOR being moved to sci maint nearby(if the Experimentor rework becomes a reality I will happily map it elsewhere but for now here it stays). With these two new pods also comes an updated Recovery ship. The two pods have been given a transition area but unless prompted otherwise I plan to wait until https://github.com/ParadiseSS13/Paradise/pull/12045 gets merged before trying to update and deconflict the map. Replacing the EXPERIMENTOR chamber is Delta's new scichem room for all your meme chem testing needs. Next up is that the shared clown and mime office has been removed along with the arrivals gambling den(the slots were moved to the gambling den in engineering). In their place is a pasture for the chef, a back stage for the theater, a secret brewery, and a stowaway hideout. Home stretch folks! A boom arm for the Sol trader to dock at has been added and the little command post at arrivals has been replaced with a gift shop. Also the bathroom has been refurbished. Final picture is that the command post at escape has become the secondary tool storage. And finally many cameras were updated, disposal mailing is fixed, places were given proper areas, oil tanks were added to robotics, and other small changes. And now discuss!