Improve RP (SCP-RP) discussion

[Coffeatus]

Well, i do not play SCP-RP lately, but I spent previous year on server, so i have a lot of thoughts unpacked. And i am waiting for Site-9. Offshore housing when? God i loved that event.

What we do here is go back​

In my opinion ppl ask to improve RP because roles are not doing what they are supposed to do. Roles are not performing enough or perform too much.

Please note, i am talking about RP. Gameplay-wise everything may be just fine. And think outside of the box.

There are 3 baseline departments that run the facility: Security, Research, Maintenance.

Security is supposed to prevent emergency situations from happening, keep things stable. But there is no way for situation to go out of control. And in cases when it happens, there is nothing Security could do to prevent it from happening.​

Maintenance is supposed to keep electricity and machinery running, upkeep containment chambers. But they are only needed when things are broken, which happens after emergencies.​

Research has the greatest setup and amount of content for RP. But they are highly dependent on other departments. So it happens, when other roles can not do anything about their supposed duties, research aswell fails to perform consistently.​

1. SCP. You can leave the containment chamber opened and leave. You do not have to do anything to prevent breach. And when timer hits 00:00:00, SCP gets out, there is nothing Security could do to prevent this event. So role is not fulfilling it's duty, there is no need in Security, things happen on their own.
   SCPs are supposed to be the center of gravity for RP. All player effort should be directed towards maintaining SCP containment.
   
   There are exceptions such as SCP-035, SCP-049-1, but they don't pose too much danger. CI-DC can make a big mess, sure, but it's it not Among Us or TTT, facility personnel are not dealing with them all the time, CI-DC can not fulfill entire facility's RP demand.
   
   
2. D-class. D-class do fulfill their roles, but here on CN SCP-RP they perform too much more than they are supposed to. Since SCPs do not require any security to remain contained (CI-DC is a rare exception), devs have no choice but to make D-class OP to keep players occupied. D-class are playing 2 roles on server: 1) D-class, 2) SCP. Quite literally.
   
   This leads to contradiction: D-class are harmless test subjects in pajamas that are protected by Ethics, but at the same time they are so empowered and strong that they have higher KDA ratio than any SCP or MTF & CI. And again, there is nothing Security can do about it but cope. You can't prevent guns & cards from getting in D-block.
   
   The contradiction of D-class filling two roles with opposite gameplay style in one - drastically reduces RP quality.
   
   
3. MTF. MTF is underperforming their roles. They are, you know ... MTF, but they are performing basic security roles most of the time. MTF is supposed to solve emergency situations if they happen. The only real MTF on server is ERT.
   
   As for CI, i believe CI should be such a threat that causes ERT response (but with Nu-7 models). The problem with CI underperforming lies in Security roles being filled with MTF regiments. Facility does not require MTF presence all the time, there is nothing on Site that regular Security can not handle on daily basis.
   
   
4. Surface. Yet again, roles are underperforming. Citizens do not have anything to do. They have homes and that is all. I mean like think of yourself, you are a citizen, what do you do? You have a place to live in, a place to work and a place to find entertainment. Surface only has homes, there are no places where players can RP a job like, i dunno, a sawmill, an office, a mine, a factory; there is no place to RP free time like a bar, a church, a shop, may be camping site ect. I dunno if devs can copy-paste bits of different maps, otherwise surface requires too much content to be made. Even if content appears magically, i doubt there's gonna be enough players on citizen roles. EVEN if all surface roles are filled and running smoothly, what does it have to do with the facility and SCP-RP? Once in a while a D-class will escape and try to hide in town.
   
   CI base is just ridiculous. RP-wise it makes less than zero sense. Negative sense. The only RP CI roles can have is being hot dropped on the edge of the map, continued with Site siege and training camp that is separate from main part of the map.

To sum up, i think that source of SCP-RP RP degradation are SCPs. SCPs do not require any attention, this leads to problem with security lacking stuff to do. This problem was fixed with overpowering D-class. But this spawned the contradiction that drives ppl mad and makes them leave Security. To separate chaos D-class causing from the Site, the rest of Security duties where filled with MTF roles. But MTF is supposed to perform in a very different scenarios, which means MTF is lacking RP most of the time.

I hope this discussion helps Site-9 evade Site-65 flaws.

 

[Dinklesprinkle]

i do believe this is a decent Discussion prompt based off of the fact it gets issues you have towards the community and the people who manage it, however this will not be able to be taken anywhere as there are no routes to fix your very valid issues and as much as this should help in a universe where content+ can bring their own idea's to the table and make the fixes they need on their own, this is not that universe. this is a universe where everyone will be sad or be angry about a change regardless of if it directly affects them or not. This will only be able to go somewhere though if you make parts that suggest how they could be fixed and hope for the love of cheese that it is accepted and a dev / NL are able to do it.

 

[RedBubble55]

Hi Coffeatus,

I'm not in Content Team, but the feedback is valuable. I've responded below to what my own thoughts are:

1. SCP's should not be able to leave any time, we are an RP server, not a breach server, and if that then meant we'd have 1-4 people who have to stay online sat next to an SCP for most of their time on the server would not be enjoyable.

2. I do not see D class as OP, I would be interested to know how they are OP. But D class use on the site is for testing on SCP's. It's the main way D class level up when they join the server, but also it is a good introduction for players, as when they do get dragged to an SCP they get to see people moving around the site, RP going on around them.

3. MTF underperforming, I think that's more of a In Character issue and if you have suggestions on improvement that could be taken to Site Administration. But yes I do agree MTF's as a whole can become underwhelming. With the concept of CI raids, and an Nu-7 response I think this would be a good idea, but then could mean that Nu-7 really just becomes an ERT type of job and many people enjoy Nu-7 and how it works. From my time on the server, MTF's overall ideology and how each of them works has changed drastically from around a year ago. But change always happens when new players come in and start to rank up and then the player base starts to mould the site into what suits the current players.

4. Surface RP in my eyes is something that could have some minor adjustments. But really the more content you add to surface the more likely you'll be pulling people out of Foundation/CI/GOC.

SCP's not requiring attention is something that was addressed and planned to be worked on, was a system where SCP's containment chambers could break, and it would require someone to fix them. But I think as said Site-9 will address these.

It's hard to think of a solution for all of these issues but voicing them is a good start to getting them looked into.

 

[Coffeatus]

about a change

This discussion is not about change really. I wish to invite people to reflect or say meditate on what we do (well i do not do now, but i hope to do in the future, i mean play on Site-9). To talk about RolePlaying without restraining thinking with various aspects of server reality. btw this is why i chose to start a topic here in General Discussion instead of Suggestions, so we can think freely outside of the box (tho i wish to grab more attention and get more opinions on topic). Perhaps in the process of open-minded conversation we can find an easy solution or a better compromise for existing server, but this is not the point. What i really wish for in the first place is find out what we want about RP.

I would be interested to know how they are OP

D-class role is overpowered in RP sense. Gameplay wise HP/AP&DMG may be balanced, but as a role for RP D-class is OP. They do their part as test subjects, but at the same time D-class is such a dangerous entity that it requires containment procedures. I mean weapon checking, airlocks, sweeps - these are basically containment procedures. In RP D-class should never be a force to be reckoned with.
D-class as a whole drag wrong kind of attention. I agree that D-class is a great starting point, newbs get to see things as a test subjects. But i believe they should also be used in fixing CCs. And as a side activity D-class may attempt to escape silently. This would be well fit in bounds of D-class as a role in RP. But when they get hands on guns (A hell lot of guns), RP just vents out of the server.

MTF underperforming, I think that's more of a In Character issue

I do not mean that people performing MTF roles are too goofy and SA should press on them. I mean in general sense MTF is a group that solves troubles. They are called, they come, get job done, they leave. In RP sense i believe that's what MTF is (As i said before ERT is what MTF is supposed to be RP-wise).
But on server they are mostly regular guards - Site Security. No matter how cool the models are, how powerful the weapon is, in the end what matters is what you do with it, how you interact with other people. And this is in my opinion why people ask to improve RP - they play as an MTF, but feel like a Site Security. And this is why i say MTF is underperforming - they don't get a chance to show their true potential, as they are bound with Security chores.



To add little more to discussion I'll give an example what i think Roles need to improve RP.
Security needs non-lethal weapons - stun weapons. In RP you wouldn't kill a D-class for misbehaving in a safe situation. At most you would beat him up and throw back in a cell. But Security do not have stun weapons, they do not have tools to pacify, so they are left with no choice but to kill. This might not be a big deal for players to shoot, but it reduces the quality of RP. It reduces the cost of life, because you have to kill over and over again (you know D-class, these guys are suicidal at times). Cheap lives in RP lead to carelessness and low quality RP.
Stun weapon is not as powerful in gameplay, but is very powerful in roleplay. ( I suggested adding stun batons, it was accepted but lost in backlogs)

D-class should get scrap from outside of D-block. Just place scrap spawners in different areas around the Site. This will make D-class more willing to participate in testing. Also will reduce overall danger of D-block. With D-block being less dangerous, Security could allocate some forces outside D-block on Site. This will free MTF from mundane Security chores, so they could actually do some spec ops on surface.

however this will not be able to be taken anywhere

This is not my intention. During recent community meeting Cloak raised the "improve RP" question, said that he just does not know what to do. And there was a guy that came on stage and when Cloak asked him "What do you what to change to improve RP?" dude just left (as if community itself does not know what it wants). I may be wrong in my retelling since I listened to his speech in the background.
So i thought we could voice our opinion on RP here in this thread.

Thanks for replies guys,
i do appreciate it

 

[Dinklesprinkle]

During recent community meeting Cloak raised the "improve RP" question.

although i appreciate he made the gesture i feel his intension isn't to improve passive RP as when i brought up an issue with medical, medical being one of the RP forced departments he laughed and asked if anyone has any actual suggestion then essentially said if 2 regiments wanted anything to just give it to them. so...