Several small ideas

[alexpkeaton]

 

Here's a few ideas I was thinking of.

 

 

• Remove NT Rep's authority to swipe red/ERT, remove NT Rep's swiping station in his office (I am playing NT Rep a lot recently but admit this seems to exceed the NT Rep's authority/charge - if the Blueshield has this authority too, it should also be removed)

Portable swiping stations for heads using PDA. Insert ID card into PDA, click a button. (I don't know how difficult this would be to code to allow simultaneous swiping)

Increase simultaneous swipe recognition from the current 2-3 seconds to 10 seconds. This can get frustrating and that sort of time change does not change the intent of simultaneous swiping.

Notify all parties to an ERT swipe that the request was sucessfully transmitted, or, better yet, let all swiping stations beep with that message upon a successful ERT request. (will avoid the "did it go through? Are you sure? Did you get the message? What message? Let's swipe again.")

Allow jetpacks to have a limited backpack-style inventory. Maybe fanny-pack size, but allow full-sized items. Especially as a miner, getting your backpack slot taken can suck.

Give NT Rep, Magistrate pens the ability to change ink color by clicking on them. Give IAA's a "cheap multicolor pen" that does the same. (cannot claim this idea as my own, saw it weeks/months ago and thought it was a brilliant idea never implemented)

 

 

[Plotron]

 

Remove NT Rep's authority to swipe red/ERT, remove NT Rep's swiping station in his office (I am playing NT Rep a lot recently but admit this seems to exceed the NT Rep's authority/charge - if the Blueshield has this authority too, it should also be removed)

Well, I see where it's going. I just don't like the nerf to these two roles when it's time for crisis management. Some command staff is already sluggish in this aspect, and in some extreme cases when most of command is incapacitated/dead, the NT Representative will play even less of a role.

 

Portable swiping stations for heads using PDA. Insert ID card into PDA, click a button. (I don't know how difficult this would be to code to allow simultaneous swiping)

Isn't the point of stationary swipers to force Command to drop whatever they're doing (and become vulnerable for a moment) to do something together in unison?

What would happen if a traitor managed to gain access to two head IDs and a mobile swiper? He'd be able to give himself emergency maintenance access at will.

 

Here's a few ideas I was thinking of.

[*]Increase simultaneous swipe recognition from the current 2-3 seconds to 10 seconds. This can get frustrating and that sort of time change does not change the intent of simultaneous swiping.

It's only a problem for newcomers or people with severe lag. You have to learn how to swipe. It's a very simple procedure:

1. Announce that you're ready to swipe and that you will initiate it, swipe when the other party says they're ready.

2. Announce that you're ready to swipe and that the other party will initiate it, keep your eyes on the swiper and click the moment it blinks blue.

3. Alternatively keep swiping until you succeed, the other party will have to do the second half of procedure no. 2.

 

10 seconds is a fucking overkill. When I think about swiping, I imagine a scene from Terminator.

 

Notify all parties to an ERT swipe that the request was sucessfully transmitted, or, better yet, let all swiping stations beep with that message upon a successful ERT request. (will avoid the "did it go through? Are you sure? Did you get the message? What message? Let's swipe again.")

Yes. What we have right now is a fiddly placeholder. We've had ERT mechanics changed some time ago. Previously you'd get a huge automatic announcement that ERT has been called.

 

[*]Give NT Rep, Magistrate pens the ability to change ink color by clicking on them. Give IAA's a "cheap multicolor pen" that does the same. (cannot claim this idea as my own, saw it weeks/months ago and thought it was a brilliant idea never implemented)

It's been requested multiple times already.

 

[SigholtStarsong]

 

Remove NT Rep's authority to swipe red/ERT, remove NT Rep's swiping station in his office (I am playing NT Rep a lot recently but admit this seems to exceed the NT Rep's authority/charge - if the Blueshield has this authority too, it should also be removed)

This is a bad idea IMHO. Command is dangerously slow a number of times - not to mention you're Nanotrasen's man on the ground when it comes down to it - your faxes can already make the difference between an AMBER team being sent to fight a massive xenomorph infestation or getting a properly armed RED or GAMMA team. Additionally, Nanotrasen Representatives are one fo the few people with a direct line to Central Command and the ability to get Gamma (Or even the dreaded EPSILON) based on your reports.

 

Portable swiping stations for heads using PDA. Insert ID card into PDA, click a button. (I don't know how difficult this would be to code to allow simultaneous swiping)

Personally, I think this would make calling an ERT super trivial when it should be a fairly big event - ERTs already get called for very trivial things that the Station can deal with on its' own fairly well.

 

[alexpkeaton]

I should clarify that I feel that the Rep's fax is his primary hardware for Code situations and ERT's. And I think, for ERTs in particular, instead of fumbling with the swipe station for the 5 minutes it seems to take 2 warm bodies to coordinate a swipe, the NT Rep should be focused on a concurrent fax to CC about the need for an appropriately-equipped team, and not on being one of those warm bodies.

[Shadeykins]

 

And then the NT Rep does... What now, exactly?

 

Strongly against, most of Command can't even get it together when you need to swipe for something.

 

[tastyfish]

The pen thing.

[alexpkeaton]

 

The pen thing.

 

Awesome!

 

[Kyet]

 

I'm very much against removing the NT rep's authority to swipe for red/ERT. As the rep for CC, the SOP expert, and probably the least well-equipped / in-demand person with a swiper, he is arguably the ideal person to be doing these swipes. This is especially true for ERTs - an ERT request is one of the most important messages a command crew can send to CC, and to lock the NT rep, whose responsibilities include CC communication, out of this very important communication channel seems very silly.

 

Portable swiping stations aren't necessary. Getting to a swiper is pretty easy already. Also, stationary swipers encourage heads to retreat to a safe place to swipe, rather than just standing there in the hallway trying to do it. Swiping should be semi-hard to do, but also taken with the utmost seriousness when it does happen. Also, personally, I love the blue flash the stationary swipers make.

 

Usually you have to bug people several times to swipe before you manage to do it at the same time. I don't think increasing the swipe duration would change this much.

 

IMHO, when an ERT swipe is successful, there should be a Priority Announcement to the whole crew, along with the sound effect, to announce the ERT request.

Something like:

"Priority Announcement

An Emergency Response Team has been requested for the Cyberiad by [key_name(event_triggered_by)], and the request seconded by [key_name(event_confirmed_by)]. This ERT was requested for the reason: " + ert_reason

 

Admins should really respond to every ERT request, too, even if the answer is:

"Priority Announcement

The ERT request by the Cyberiad command crew has been rejected. ERTs are sent only for serious external threats to a station, such as a blob, xeno outbreak, nuke ops incursion, hostile takeover of the station, or other threat of external origin which is beyond the manpower of the current crew to handle. ERTs are not sent for minor threats such as the odd explosion, murder or other events that your staff is expected to handle themselves."

 

Or (if the admins fail to send a yes/no in a timely manner):

"No reply received from CC regarding your ERT request. Signal may be jammed. Please try again in X minutes."

 

However you cut it, ERT requests, IMHO, should be treated a lot more seriously than they currently are. Requesting an ERT for a stupid reason should get a response from CC that explains that is not an acceptable reason for calling an ERT, and outlining a list of other acceptable/unacceptable reasons for doing so. Requesting an ERT for any serious reason should ALWAYS get a response, even if the response is "You can handle this by yourselves".