This is a rewrite and expansion of the comment - Role Time-Requirements and Sec/Command Standards - #17 by Tao7891 - with more thought put in and suggestions taken into account.
Overview:
Most of the time a player can’t do their job is because they didn’t know what they were supposed to know, it’s a non malicious accident that can be resolved by putting a checklist inplace. The checklist is a self assessed set of skills that a player needs to think they posess before they can access relevant roles.
Problem:
Many players are having trouble and getting frustrated with crew members that are incompetent at their given jobs, often being command members. Frequently critique is aimed at the role time requirements system as it works from the assumption that players with a set ammount of playtime in relevant roles will have figured out what is required of them to do. Any time requirement will contend with this problem and plot time required against possible competence.
I think these incompetent crew members usually fall into one of two categories, a majority falling into the first category-
Some good faithed players will begin playing the role, assuming that because they have reached required playtime, they are experienced enough to play the role, in reality they are not prepared for the role and unknowingly fail at their duties.
Some bad faithed players will play the role without any regard for if they can fulfil it or not and can fail at their duties.
When these issues are dealt with by current means, it also increases admin load.
There are even two active discussions open regarding this, prompted by the reduction in some time requirements - Role Time-Requirements and Sec/Command Standards - Revert time requirement changes - so clearly players are finding the current method a problem.
Proposed feature:
Role requirement checklist
In Lobby-
You can open a new tab called ‘checklist’, this tab is also accessable next to roles you are yet to unlock. In this tab you will find a list of tasks/skills that the player self assesses by checking/ticking each skill as they learn them. This list will be quite long as to cover all standard tasks that would be required to do each job. The list is sorted by department as to make it easy to read and understand. Each non-beginner friendly role will have a relevant set of required tasks/skills to be able to unlock said role. Skilled antags such as the Nuclear operative agent would also have relevant requirements like an understanding of chemistry.
In this ^ basic form, it is simple to develop and use while solving the issue of the first category, however there are possible further features that could solve or reduce the second category. High incompetence/risk roles could have their associated skills require recommendation before being eligible to tick/check. Recommendation would require in round access to checklists like by being accessable from the personal records computer, any ID for a job with the relevant skill as a prerequesite can give a recommendation but this would only apply OOC if the player that logged the recommendation actually had the authority to do so. (grandfathering in current players avoid initial crisis ofc)
While not necessary, it would be fun for certain Loadout items to also be tied to this system. Senior equipment could require all boxes within their department to be checked. You could also tie unique trinkets to specific skills, for example if you check ‘can fly and dock shuttles’ you can access the ‘class C shuttle license’ trinket.
Here are some hasty mock ups to help visualise:
(Examples shown are completely provisional)
Annotations: 1 task . . . 2 checkbox . . . 3 selected role
4 required skills for role . . . 5 recommendations . . . 6 ineligible box
For example, to go from engineering assistant to engineer requires - Engineering 1,2,3,4 - and to unlock atmos requires - Engineering 1,2,3,4,5.
In Round-
In round representation is not required for basic functionality, but would give RP and could exist in a couple of forms.
A new default PDA cartridge that shows the checklist of the ID holder would be useful for in round reference of what needs to be learned.
The personal records computer should provide access to the checklists of all crew. This allows staff heads to know what their department is capable of and teach them new skills if necessary. If a recommendation system was desired, it would be accessed from here.
Admin-
It would be a step in the wrong direction to make this as another admin responsibility, so players are expected to self assess.
When a player makes a major fuck up that they cant excuse because they had the relevant box checked, admins being able to see that they checked the box is a useful tool in deciding course of action. In Errants words ‘If they want to eat a ban because they can’t claim inexperience after they fuck up, that’s their business’.
What will this do/not-do?
It gives good faithed players the responsibilites that roles require, avoiding incompetence
It does not stop idiots from lying, then proceeding to fuck up
It shows newer players what they could learn
It encourages newer players to try new roles
It does not overwrite time requirements
It supplements time requirements
It does not increase admin load
It provides admins a new tool to use
if recommendation system-
It forces players to display the skill to other players inorder to progress
It doesnt stop meta coordination to bypass the system
It does provide an easy tell to detect metacomming
if loadout system-
It makes senior roles actually mean something
It gives fun little items
if inround-
Provides new players a constant reference book on what to ask help with
Provides heads an understanding of their departments capabilities