Currently, there’s a lot of tension between security and the crew. I suspect part of the reason this tension is here comes from the fact that security has so few opportunities for POSITIVE interactions with the crew. Instead, the crew usually finds themselves in a position where they need to protect themselves, and can only delegate to security if they are very lucky.
If something spawns in your department, you have two choices, one of which is ineffective: Run or Fight. In my experience, running rarely gets you away, be it from slimes or spiders. And if you are running, you aren’t calling for help, since you have to focus on running.
To help with this, I’d like to suggest the following:
A new mob - Theft Gnome. Tough little enemies that would rather steel than fight, but are really tough to fight if you’re armed with nothing but a crowbar. Stealing from them makes them aggressive (even if they took your ID), as does fighting them, but you can walk away from an encounter unharmed if you don’t make them aggressive
Provide a smaller auto-attack radius on smaller enemies like slimes, to allow the user to get away.
Add some bait options that can be used when a mob has yet to be aggressed upon. The idea is the bait allows the player time to get through and close a nearby door.
These options will allow non-combat players to stop having to take on mobs themselves, allowing security to be the ones to dispatch them and save the day.
I see where your coming at, but there’s problems with that.
Now lets you have a full server of eighty people yeah?
Minus seven for command that’s 73 people, now take off like six for Security and you have 67 Non-combatant’s [Not Including Nukies or any antags], so how will the 67 people all get baits?
But the smaller radius on the slimes I agree, and the Gnome is sorta interesting it would be like a monkey, but he can steel from your person.
I admit my idea may be a bit under-baked. Mostly it’s based on trying to run away, but not being able to get enough distance.
The kind of bait you would use and where you get it might depend on the enemy… but this is a role I would likely mostly look to the chef for. If spiders are hunting you for food, logically there should be foods you can throw that might get the spider’s attention for a short time (enough to get a door open and closed?)
It also wouldn’t require everyone to have baits, only enough people, since it would be reasonable for someone with a bait to open a door, throw the bait, and give their coworker a chance to successfully flee.
The person who goes to the ATS would want one. Someone needs one in each department. Anyone going into mantis would need them. That brings the number down from 67 to nearly 10.
Well I see that, but that’s only for spiders what about slimes, they don’t feed, they just hate and attack.
Also I get that spider’s should want to attack to eat, but I’m pretty sure in the description of it it doesn’t mention anything about feeding.
But I see the possibilities.
BEFORE they are attacked, each mob that’s not hunger oriented (This is more lore than mechanic based) will start with some sort of aggressive “GET OUT OF HERE” stance or display. This display holds them in place for a short time (I mean SHORT - just enough time to make “flee” a viable option), draws attention to the mob, and makes it very clear the mob is NOT interested in having you around.
Now that’s viable, I like to think that slimes would be territorial, instead of just attackers, same for spider’s, most Tarantulas warnings are putting there front legs up and that’s their warning saying like "you come closer and die’'.
But the other issue is, they are ghost roles, and no one would really want to play a territory game.
Honestly, I don’t think that ghost role issue is terrible.
While true, a player who is a spider may choose to skip the threat display, the spider is also not as likely to play “Run around the obstacle for a full minute while the other player is desperately trying to get away”.
Players are also going to be inherently less precise and predictable than the computer, meaning there’s the option of running past the enemy (The computer will ALWAYS hit in this scenario, but a player might not), or using other parts of the environment to their advantage.
Also something critical - the mobs being played by a player is an exception, rather than a rule. Having the odd slime or spider who kills the crew without hesitation (and always at least a few seconds after it spawns) is far more manageable for the crew than having EVERY mob be like that.
I see what you mean, but what if instead of having random spider spawns and random slime spawns, a part of a department or a part of maints get taken over by them and like a sorta hive forms you know, like the spider’s have their Brood Mother and Slimes have the Slime Queen, and the mob AI, instead of just attacking start expanding and taking over territory, so then everyone can escape the area and wait for sec to deal with this. This would also remove player mob spawns.
Just adding, this could be a code red, like "The Station has been Invaded by an Unknown threat and its taking over’
I’m not sure I’d go as far as to change the existing mobs that much (I don’t have the skill to even know if that’s a good idea. Kinda nice when a slime turns friendly, actually.), but it’s not a bad basis to design an enemy around. Such an enemy, if it were designed to give the poor residents of the department a chance to evac, could absolutely be a place where security can step in and save the day, without mechanically requiring non-security to handle the problem themselves.