Raiding, Griefing and the like...

I read the whole thread. By the end he cut it down to 2 rifles, and a grenade launcher on seperate arms. It also looks like a very expensive project to mass produce, so I think specialized infantry only would wield the few suits. He is certainly balancing it out.

 

As Steamy said, this is not Cole Ombre's journal, and Jace has no affiliation with the RA. Please do not point accusatory fingers where they are not due.

As a player-to-player tip, keep in mind that just because a character is associated with a faction, does not mean that OOCly they are only in that faction's mindset. While there are exceptions to this, such as (frequently, but not always) faction leaders, most players don't keep themselves restricted to one faction, if any.

As an addendum: Although I personally don't like the idea of power armor being integrated IG (Since it's such a sensitive topic), I don't see why it would be an issue to show IC development of it. In an example such as Jace Ombre's journal, it can be used for character development, etc.

 

If it's any consolation, the R.A. spends a lot of effort in trying to set an ooc standard for itself when it comes to being balanced out and not oocly screwing others over. It's why in our faction or player pvp engagements we've tended to take the short straw and accept heavy losses. We've lost well developed characters to death via events or pvp and have actively avoided canon fodder pc's like others. We've ensured that we avoid being OP oocly and have good explanations for what we do have.

That being said, it's primarily why I'm burnt out on the server. Revamping the RA was a lot of fun. I had a lot of fun RP taking in the former USAF people and some of the new blood we took, rping with others was great too. But then it came to the ooc bits. I've done what I can oocly to avoid conflicts with certain groups because watching as a third party has shown me the level of ooc whininess/discourtesy that was shown by one party. And when it comes to the factions who pretty much play nice/fair ooc as far as rationalization, and working with others goes, there's simply no IC backing for a conflict. Then you have the promising factions with potential ooc and IC who basically fall offf the radar.

Plus there's the good ol' bar rp that dominates the server. Which has lead me to realize, I'm looking and expecting something from this community that simply isn't an integral part of it. This community is great if you want casual bar rp, in a sense it's a lot like GalCiv as far as RP options, just slightly more regulated oocly, but factions in general, are just a sort of background fluff. And that's fine. It's simply not for me.

This thread is a sort of prof of concept. The issues at hand are nothing new. They'll likely persist. There's a reason most hubs are oriented around a bar. That's what the majority wants.

 

Also, fun fact. I just now found out about some ooc bickering that happenned today <3 timing

 

that RA did create "powered armor" by the definition we have all come to accept

i had long conversations with many people during creation of said power armor about how to balance it and realistic downsides it would have

said power armor was obliterated on its first sortie, zero people have been killed by said power armor because it never saw another operation before the RA went on its hiatus

there were limited suits of said powered armor created because we said to ourselves many many times "these things needs a shitload of resources to create and maintain" - there are actually 10 suits last I checked:

six scorpios - light exoskeletons offering barely more protection than standard non-powered armor, meant only to augment mobility

three orions - medium exosuits designed to provide supporting fire to a squad using a modular weapon system. designed to absorb small projectile fire but crippled severely by explosives. this was the variant destroyed on its first op

one taurus, partially assembled - designed to be a walking tank. heavily armored and could blow shit up, but suffered from crippling mobility (a soldier at a walking gait could outrun this thing moving at full speed) and overheating issues (firing the main gun caused a ten second shutdown sequence which would have been extended over the course of a roleplay session, during which the suit was immobile and completely prone to return fire because it's not like the damn thing could get into cover or anything)

you can read more about them here:
http://community.playstarboundrp.co...tal-research-and-development-classified.3503/

all forms of power armor are currently not in use because the term "power armor" has become synonymous with "godmodding" and "powergaming" due to multiple instances of abuse from many parties. the RA currently uses traditional forms of non-powered armor for all its soldiers

i will say that i take great pride in making sure my stuff is balanced and fair to opposing parties and gives them plenty of room for counterplay, and that it *sorta* irks me when people claim they're overpowered when they have not done their research, so please do that in the future before bringing up any concerns which you can then bring up with me in private okay thanks

/me flutters away

 

So just saw this, and saw that the SPEC suit was pointed out. Just gonna clear some things up.
Most importantly, it is not affiliated with the RA. Jace is seperate from Cole. They are brothers, but Jace is not developing for the RA.

• While it is technically "power armor", the only reason it is "power" is because it uses and internal power source to help power the weaponry. It doesnt have super strength, it cant move very fast, it isnt a walking tank, etc
• The armor is about on par with normal soldier gear. Might be a little stronger, but it wont stop everything. A full burst to the chest will get through. I also plan on incorporating the fact that even when armor protects from bullets it can still leave quite a bruise/broken ribs. Just because it didnt get through doesnt mean the user is unharmed.
• Movement in the armor is bulky and awkward. The only reason that there are servoes at all is to make up for the extra weight of the built in weaponry. Theyre very small, and only strong enough to move the suit. Close range is deadly to the suit, and so is anyone running around it really fast. Take out a servo, the thing wont move. It may even fall over.
• As the suit is still in testing/initial development, its going to have a few kinks to work out. Guns may mess up, or strange atmospheres may interupt the radios. Launcher may misfire, who knows.

If anyone has problems with the suit, please, tell me. I'd be happy to work them out and/or explain them. Seriously. Go ahead.

And it was hella expensive. Designing and manufacturing one suit took 80% of Jace's money, but if youve ever glances into the Stirpis thread, plus multipel pm's he does have an IC way to get the money. Another suit wont be developed for a while, if at all.

Thing is, I tried to go even more legit and buy the materials in the market page, but i got no responses, so i just delayed the development a few days and got the resources from wherever any faction gets resources from, albeit not a faction.
If you have any other questions about the suit, feel free to ask, but please PM to keep teh thread clear.

 

I think people (except Sloth) need to realize that no armor is going to help you if you're hit directly by an AT grenade or rocket, and that power armor makes you a big slow highly visible target.

 

the problem with this is what I call "master chief syndrome"

people have been exposed to easy mode halo/literally any first person shooter, whereby master chief/any FPS protagonist ever in his power armor could steam roll over pleb aliens/Russians with nigh a scratch

"oh so power armor makes me invincible"

enter Starbound, make power armor, suddenly invincible

tl;dr scrubs didn't play halo on legendary mode like they should have

 

I like to rp.

 

If people still whine about "muh power armour", have them play Stalker with the Misery mod installed, even an exoskeleton won't save your ass.

Alternatively, you could force them to wear an actual suit of power armour/an exoskeleton, and see how they fare.

 

Can we just take a second and see that we have (in my opinion) the best rules about these kinds of things compared to other high ranking rp servers. (Again my opinion don't flame me pwease)

 

This server has fantastic potential, in all honesty. We have a lot of great things going on, however, we have a few critical bad things that can easily put all that to waste. To name two things standing up front in my head, we have a bad knack for attracting players who like to stretch the rules as far as they can, and even though the whole community (save a handful of people) wants them gone, the mods have to make sure they stay adamant in their ideologies and the rules to ensure that further abuse can't be taken. The second issue, though not nearly as frequent, is the occasional corrupt mod

And on the topic of saying "why does this matter just roleplay," not everyone is able to just do that. People play this game to enjoy themselves, and when other players have a total lack of courtesy, it causes issues (in many peoples' defense, this community has issues with people freaking out whenever the slightest miscommunication occurs, which cause flame wars regarding "OMG MUH IMMERSIONS THIS GUY BROKE A RULE IN THE MOST VAGUE WAY POSSIBLE".)

Though this is just a game, it's also a community. The question shouldn't be "How can I enjoy myself in this game the most?". It should be "How can all of us involved have the most fun?". Though it is an option to "just push the power button," that shouldn't be the go to. Just because a person can leave whenever they want, doesn't give anyone else the right to steamroll over everyone else for the sake of their own fun. If you're interested in keeping only yourself happy, play single player.

#RantOver

 

..if this was supposed to go in the outcast thread, then wrong thread. If its just in general and as an example, and you did mean to put it into the thread that degenerated into a discussion on power armor, then either way I can say I agree that there is and always will be miscommunication in text.

 

Off screen, OOC downsides like time and cost aren't really downsides in a RP setting where those aren't enforced by the system.

It's much better if an equipment's downside is something like "It consumes so much power it has to be plugged in at all times with a 50 yard long power tether to function." This gives the opponent immediately visible options to counter, which spices up roleplay way more than "its weakness is spurgle" would. More interesting dynamics are created when this equipment is used offensively as well. This idea is called counter-play, and it is a cornerstone to almost everything competitive.

(Note: I'm not picking on anyone's idea in particular, hence the vague equipment.)

 

Aw you mentioned spurgle <3

 

Nice post anyway.