Orange and Violet Alerts, Changes to Alert Calling

[Retrograde115]

I know these suggested changes are fairly fundamental to the way Paradise Station works, and I’m not an expert on game balance or anything, so I wanted to make a thread here before starting any coding work on this idea. The classic Green - Blue - Red alert scale has been in the game for a long time, at least as long as I’ve been playing, and it’s been perfectly sufficient. However, after playing on Skyrat for a good handful of rounds, there was one idea that really caught my eye as an engineering main: Orange Alert.

Orange Alert is used during engineering emergencies (asteroids, SM delam) and gives engineers expanded access to fix the issues. No sitting at the door begging science to let you into toxins to patch the hole Bald McGrey made, no standing at the doors to the brig spamming them until security finally acknowledges your existence and lets you in to filter the N2O leak. It’s pretty convenient, and something I thought we could use here on Para.

Then, like the ADHD bastard that I am, my mind began to wander and think about what other changes could be made to the alert system. The next obvious addition was bringing over the idea of Violet Alert - which is for medical emergencies. From there, I started to ask why security still needs to ask to be let into places on Gamma alert of all things.

After a few days of thinking, here’s the full package of changes I thought up that I think would be beneficial to the server, allowing for a more dynamic and informative system of alerts, separated into sections based on how radical I think the changes are, with Section 1 being the least radical.

 

Section 1: Engineering, Medical, and Security Emergencies.

This section is fairly straightforward. Adding two new alerts, independent from the others so as not to override them. Engineering alert would grant expanded access to the engineering team, and the medical alert would turn on EA in medbay and grant expanded access to paramedics. For security, red alert would remain unchanged, with gamma alert giving security expanded access, since it is meant to be essentially martial law.

Here is a color coded breakdown for how this system would work, and what each alert level would enable:

Green - Situation Nominal - Unchanged

Blue - Generic Unconfirmed Threat - Unchanged

Red - Confirmed Security Emergency- Unchanged

Gamma - Martial Law - Security Access and Authority Expanded 

Orange - Engineering Emergency - Overrides Green - Concurrent with Blue/Red/Gamma - Engineering Access Expanded

Violet - Medical Emergency - Overrides Green - Concurrent with Blue/Red/Gamma - Medical Authority Expanded/Paramedic Access Expanded

Delta - Big Boom - Unchanged

Epsilon - Overrides all. You don’t exist. Unchanged.

 

Along with this change would be a respite of our god-awful fire alarms, and some tweaks to door lights to indicate expanded access.

 

Section 2: Who can call what?

This section focuses on changing who is allowed to call these alerts. Right now, alerts are called by the Captain alone, unless red needs to be called. And gamma is completely outside the players hands, relying on admin intervention. Here is how I would change that:

The Captain will still be given universal control over alerts. He can unilaterally, at will, call Green, Blue, Orange, Violet, and perhaps controversially, Red. This is to ensure that at least someone will be able to change the alert level in the event the others are incapacitated. The others being…

The Head of Security will now be able to unilaterally call Green, Blue, and Red alert. This makes sense, as it is the Head of Security’s job to oversee the security of the station. Regardless of the state of the rest of command, he should be able to raise the appropriate alarms for threats to the station.

The Chief Engineer will be able to unilaterally call for Orange Alert. Self-explanatory.

The Chief Medical Officer will be able to unilaterally call for Violet Alert. Self-explanatory.

ANY alert, barring Gamma, Delta, or Epsilon will be able to be called by three simultaneous swipes from command-level personnel. This includes Captain, HOP, HOS, RD, CE, CMO, Magistrate, and NTR.

Gamma Alert can be called by two simultaneous swipes by either the Captain, HOS, or NTR. This is the change I’m least confident about, as it will likely turn Gamma into Red+, but from a roleplay perspective it makes sense to me.

ERTs, Epsilon, Gamma armory, and medical ships will still be under CC’s control.

 

Section 3: The Headless Chicken (sorta unrelated to alert levels)

It’s rare, but there are times on the station where the Captain, HOP, and the spare ID are ALL missing. Following chain of command, the HOS steps into the bridge. But without a captain-level ID, the HOS is powerless to communicate with CC or call the shuttle.

This is where my last idea comes in: the Command Override Code. This code would be randomly generated each round and given to the NTR, Magistrate, and Blueshield in their IC notes. It would allow Captain-level access to the user who inputs the code into the comms console, allowing for shuttle calls and CC communication. This code would only be used as an absolute last resort, and allows the extraneous NT delegates to uphold the chain of command in times of crisis.

 

Closing Statement:

I haven’t yet done the code-diving necessary to figure out just how large of an undertaking these projects would be, and I understand that these suggestions (especially in Section 2) would require a huge rework to the current SOP. The system also has more room for abuse (I can already see an antag CE calling Orange to break into armory) but I think it’s worth it to somewhat decentralize the “narrative” of the round away from the Captain and the HOS, and to give more utility to the crew. Being a naive TA, I still trust our players to use these systems responsibly MOST of the time.

That being said, I don’t trust myself to make changes like this alone, so please discuss below. Criticism and suggestions are welcome.

Edited September 5, 2023 by Retrograde115

[Generaldonothing]

What's a situation where violet/orange alert will be called where red alert wouldn't be justified/positive to the station?

[Retrograde115]

4 minutes ago, Generaldonothing said:

What's a situation where violet/orange alert will be called where red alert wouldn't be justified/positive to the station?

Red alert under this system is specifically a security-related alert. In the case of medbay getting bombed, orange and red could be called simultaneously. However, the supermatter delaminating due to incompetence or a tunguska meteor wiping out kitchen don't really have anything to do with security, so only orange would be called.

Edited September 5, 2023 by Retrograde115

[Generaldonothing]

3 minutes ago, Retrograde115 said:

Red alert under this system is specifically a security-related alert. In the case of medbay getting bombed, orange and red could be called simultaneously. However, the supermatter delaminating due to incompetence or a tunguska meteor wiping out kitchen don't really have anything to do with security, so only orange would be called.

If you can call multiple alerts at once, why wouldn't the station constantly be on orange/violet alert to allow for each department to have extra accesses?

[TheBadPerson]

I think cap or HoS should be able to swipe for red alone. Was always weird to me that the ultimate authority on station wasn’t allowed to declare a code red alone. 
 

To be honest I’d forgotten the finer points of Gamma SOP. The ability to declare gamma without CC would be a noticeable change. I’d be a tad worried of people getting in the trend of calling gamma just because sec took casualties. There may need to be certain guidelines on when a code gamma can be swiped for. 
 

Orange and violet sound interesting from a RP perspective, but mechanically I don’t think they’d change much. They’d just be cool to have, and be a way to focus department attention. 

[Retrograde115]

4 minutes ago, Generaldonothing said:

If you can call multiple alerts at once, why wouldn't the station constantly be on orange/violet alert to allow for each department to have extra accesses?

For the same reason we don't preemptively go to red every round for access to lethals, random searches, and turning all the lights on.

Orange and violet would have their use cases defined by SOP. Preemptively calling them or other inappropriate use would be policed by IAAs and NTR.

[Generaldonothing]

Just now, Retrograde115 said:

For the same reason we don't preemptively go to red every round for access to lethals, random searches, and turning all the lights on.

Orange and violet would have their use cases defined by SOP. Preemptively calling them or other inappropriate use would be policed by IAAs and NTR.

I don't think this will work in practice. Not only is red often kept for nearly the entire shift, the dynamic between getting access to different items vs a blanket access increase is rather different.

Every single item in armory is specific. Disablers and batons work better than other equipment against people without stun resistance, this accounts for almost every non antagonist role. Lasers work best against things that cannot be stunned effectively or things that you require permanent damage to effectively deal with. Ablative armor and riot armor do well against what you think they would do well against. Shotguns are excellent for adrenal users or as a sidegrade to the disabler that is higher risk. The best example of how something like this can go wrong are shields.

Shields before parrying used to almost always be available for anyone to take as an officer, if they weren't available security would just take a shield from science. This was because the benefits they gave were entirely passive. For giving up one hand slot (minor downside) they gave you a 50% chance to block hits (major upside). Like an access upgrade like you are suggesting, this is entirely passive with ultimately no reason to deny said upgrade beyond "you're not supposed to".

Players will generally not listen to empty threats, especially when it is tied to something as uncommonly followed as SOP. Sop works best when it complements the design of a set of features, and is utterly ignored when it works against it.

[Sadhorizon]

Plain access increase has problems, but it can just work as an indicator for general crew, CC, and new players about to join. If it gives no gameplay benefit, it won't be abused.

Joe Smith the Cargo Technician can say "Oh, code orange is declared, guess we are about to loose power soon!"

Xx_w0lf_xX the guy in the lobby can say "Oh, code violet is declared, guess I should join as an MD and help get it under control!"

 

Also, "violet" isn't really related to medical. How about code white maybe? Or maybe code cyan?

 

I like the idea tho! Being able to declare a station-wide emergency as a related head makes sense.

Edited September 5, 2023 by Sadhorizon

[BottomQuark]

Honestly I am really for the idea!

As @Sadhorizon mentioned this would give players joining mid round more info than just "well it's red again".

As for the access I am not sure this is a great idea.

- Things like armory, ai sat or Perma should not be accessed even on orange or violet alert without someone who has access there. Same with the personal room of heads of departments

- tho tbh imo if the engineers and med staff should only the most basic access if any.

I would not grant engineers/med staff any access.

But from the RP point of view I really like the idea!

@Retrograde115 Imo this if done well could be a really positive thing

This would require a clear guidelines of what contributes to an alert. Does one breach contribute to orange? If yes how big? It could always be left for a heads of departments to decide but well

This could also play somehow when crew is calling ERT. If captain sends the message "We need ERT we got a guy who makes a lot of Breaches and we cannot catch him". The CC could look if the orange alert is active.

- If yes then send some engineers

- If not presume breaches are covered by engineering crew present and send just mussles

[CinnamonSnowball]

Quote

"Oh, code violet is declared, guess I should join as an MD and help get it under control!"

This can honestly already be done by a competent Head of Personnel setting MD slots to priority (same for Engineering emergencies).

Personally, I don't really see the mechanical appeal of extra access, and feel like it'd be abused more than used responsibly:
- Engineering already has plenty of tools to get into places, even including an SOP clause that allows them to break into places for the purpose of repairs.
- Medical doesn't really need extra access anywhere, as ideally the only person who should be outside of medbay is Paramedic, and giving the entire department extra access just for one person is somewhat overkill; they could use a different method of gaining extra access when they need it.

As for the argument of adding some atmosphere to the game, I feel like the status screens the AI/Captain/not sure who else can change already do a decent job of it, only that they're not used very often. Maybe those could be expanded instead of adding an entire new alert level?
And if the status screens aren't a convincing argument, remember that any head can already also make station-wide announcements whenever they want (and if you need to notify joining crew of something, ask the AI to modify the welcoming message). A head who likes contributing to the atmosphere can do a lot with just them, assessing the severity of the situation and giving crew plenty of updates on how things are going.

Edited September 5, 2023 by CinnamonSnowball

[Landerlow]

While I like the idea, I am not sure how it would work in practice. I'd be afraid there would be players inclined to raise the command level / keep bugging for higher alert level for elevated access. 

Basically: The other alert levels? Absolutely.
The changes in access? No. 

[Frank]

Violet alert would be cool if level 7 biohazards were more severe. I just don't see where it would be useful otherwise. Paramedics can easily request more access as long as there is a hop or captain around, and I don't think I have declined printing jaws of life for a paramedic ever.

[Eric6426]

After skimming, I wanted to mention something;
 

On 9/5/2023 at 4:43 PM, Retrograde115 said:

Gamma Alert can be called by two simultaneous swipes by either the Captain, HOS, or NTR

Firstly, not sure why the NTR would have power here; Their appearance would mean either HoS or Captain can, unilaterally despite the other opposing, call Gamma through NTR assistance.

Secondly, Gamma is currently admin-only for good reason; It is too much power for two players to decide to enforce, as the current SOP of it reads;
 

Quote

Martial Law is enacted. Standard Operating Procedure is suspended. Security personnel have full permission to do whatever it takes to ensure that the safety of the station and crew is maintained. Personnel interfering with emergency procedures may be detained. Security are cleared to use lethal force in response to any physical threat. Assault of Command or ERT may be punished with immediate field execution.

Reason for this being, Gamma is usually only given, as far as I've seen in my time, for two things: Either an extreme threat (which usually comes with Armory/ERT attatched) or because the crew, antagonist or not, is becoming too rowdy for security to handle, and they require higher permission to act.

Both, in this case, lead to security to have heightened permission to lethal. 

Hearing that Gamma could become "the new red" would be bad - Firstly because its the last level, the 'shit is fucked, if this goes bad its either Delta/Epsilon' already. And secondly, it allows security to have too much room to do what they like. If anyone resists, they can immediately shoot, and Gamma is often one of the few times security can and will absolutely kill anyone who purposedly goes out of their way to get in their way.

While I also dislike it when it happens to me, a simple pair of Captain/HoS/NTR being able to waive it at their own desire, in my view, will cause a lot of chaos that's a bit too far

Captains already call Red over someone seeing a 'cling' with an 'armblade' (praise extended miner-players that get fake mining armblades) - So I'm pushed to believe they'd call Gamma the moment 2 officers died and had a /suspicion/ the vampire is full power (despite it being a 400 blood umbra)

Edited September 6, 2023 by Eric6426

[Retrograde115]

It seems like no one really wants expanded access for the engineers or the paramedic, which is understandable. Using the new alerts purely as an information tool for the crew and lobby screen would still be fun and useful enough to justify their addition, in my opinion.

 

27 minutes ago, Eric6426 said:

Firstly, not sure why the NTR would have power here; Their appearance would mean either HoS or Captain can, unilaterally despite the other opposing, call Gamma through NTR assistance.

Secondly, Gamma is currently admin-only for good reason; It is too much power for two players to decide to enforce, as the current SOP of it reads;

The reasoning behind NTR having the power is because they're meant to be the liaison between CC and command, and to give a third option in the case of Cap or HOS being down. Maybe a silly idea from me. I'm not too attached to the idea of giving Gamma to the crew, so I'm definitely willing to scrap it.

On 9/5/2023 at 2:26 PM, CinnamonSnowball said:

I feel like the status screens the AI/Captain/not sure who else can change already do a decent job of it

I disagree, though I do agree with the notion of expanding the capabilities/information available on the status screens. I'm aware we already have tools command can use to communicate with the crew, this would be another tool that would passively contribute while active.

[Eric6426]

32 minutes ago, Retrograde115 said:

The reasoning behind NTR having the power is because they're meant to be the liaison between CC and command, and to give a third option in the case of Cap or HOS being down.

Agreed, but then I'd suggest making it a clause that the NTR can only step in such case that either HoS o Cap (or both) are unavailable - Namely because NTR is an easy job to unlock, previously it was like 5 or 15 karma, and nowadays its locked behind a not-too-big time window, so as I want to trust NTRs, that's powers that I'm scared for HoSs and Captains to have. I'd say if Gamma was given to crew it'd need to be changed, specifically the part I cited, or it'd be messy in the sec way. Also we'd probably need another alert level for when admins want to step it up but don't want to go as far as to Epsilon/Delta