Discussions with Predator Council

[ThePiachu]

Figured we might as well have a topic for discussing things with our Predator Council.

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To start off with, what is your opinion on recording and sharing predator rounds?

viewtopic.php?f=64&t=18431#p224624

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Also, for those that missed it on Discord:

"Deanthelis | Vance WernerToday at 8:05 PM
i'm going to start work on the council's suggestions gitlab bit this week
if you new bloods have anything you want to add to it, talk to your local councilman"

I personally listed a number of suggestions on GitLab already. Some more Pred round would be nice, but that's a given really .

[Sleepy Retard]

More pred rounds are good for preds.

Horrible for everyone else.

I'd suggest taking this to #yautja on discord and directly pinging spartanbobby so he can see it quicker (because the other pred Councilmen are pretty much low activity mode rn)

[solidfury7]

The fact no side attacks predators just shows nobody really wants to deal with them.

They really need a rework or some heavy nerfs or even benefits for killing one.

[spartanbobby]

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To start off with, what is your opinion on recording and sharing predator rounds?

viewtopic.php?f=64&t=18431#p224624

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We talked about it and 3/4 of us agree that no harm could come from recording and sharing your predator rounds so for know knock yourself out
"Bodycams are progressive"-Sailor Dave

[Symbiosis]

I’d prefer to personally see some nerfs to Predators to encourage them to be targeted more often. (Alongside benefits for both sides for killing them)

I’d personally like to see them more antagonistic - but encourage smarter engagement tactics than just being able to waltz into the Hive and destroy the entirety of the Hive without much difficulty.

Right now we have to basically capture Marines and remove our armor to give them a chance.

Xenos? They need a lucky RNG mask hit or Boiler/Prae to drop us.

I’m also okay with recording.

[ThePiachu]

So here some things I've seen a few Predators do that I think should be clarified in the code of honour.

First, engaging with a group and the use of Plasma Casters. When you encounter a few xenos and you start fighting one and the rest attack you. I've seen this turn into plasma casters being used to get away, probably due to the Unworthy Prey classification from "Any prey or group who actively pursues/engage the Predator themselves, who the Predator is not hunting/disrupting. (Groups defending a FOB/Hive or defending others are not considered unworthy)". Same with attacking a Marine with his buddies around.

How I'd see it is not really an "unworthy prey" situation - both humans and xenos swarm, and you should take that into consideration. If you engage one xeno and there are three nearby, you're fighting four xenos, prepare accordingly.

The other issue I've seen is a few Predators trying to engage in honour duels with xenos or humans over silly things or nothing at all. "1v1 me bro". I find that a bit devaluing the honour duels - those creatures have no honour, they are game animals. Sure, some might've fought with honour to earn a privilege, but that's more of an exception than a rule.

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Well, at least those are the two things I've noticed from observing a number of Predators in the past. I'd be interested to see how others, including the council, feels about this.

[Symbiosis]

Plasma Caster is heavily situational and risky to use. If you have to use it you have to use it. I would limit yourself to no more than a few times per round - otherwise you’re possibly picking fights at the wrong time.

As for the honor duels? You have the tools to easily kidnap a Marine. Use the stun prod you have the tools to easily kidnap a Marine. Then you don’t have to worry about pesky swarms.

If you want a true duel you can do it on the ship with other Yautja watching. Make sure to make it fair - with your armor on it would take a swarm of Marines to beat you down. Again... it’s your choice - but it’ll have more meaning for you and for the player if there is risk on both sides.

[Snypehunter007]

While I'm no predator, god knows I'd rather permanently deactivate myself than apply for the predator whitelist, I'd like to point out that xenos have no honor. As a advanced alien race that regularly interacts with different types of prey, I'd think that Predators would know that you cannot "1v1" a xeno, nor can you engage with one in an honor duel.

Also, show the ship some love, don't trash it too hard with your wild Predator parties and beat downs of prisoners. (XD)

[MattAtlas]

I'd like to ask if stunprodding a marine and dragging them off to a secluded area to fight them (not in an honor duel, mind you) is acceptable.

[spartanbobby]

I'd like to ask if stunprodding a marine and dragging them off to a secluded area to fight them (not in an honor duel, mind you) is acceptable.

I'm not sure. Personally, I don't see any issue with stunning a marine to separate them from say a group so you can hunt them easier but like I said not sure I'll hit up the other boys

[awan]

I have had to ask this before and it seems multiple preds disagree.
Are thrown weapons classed as ranged weapons?
In an honor duel, you have to give a melee weapon. But could you use a thrown weapon yourself?
The big difference is that thrown weapons can only be used once and have to be retrieved. If you throw a harpoon/combistick or anything you need to get it back. If you use a plasmacaster you can use it again no effort required.

[ThesoldierLLJK]

I have had to ask this before and it seems multiple preds disagree.
Are thrown weapons classed as ranged weapons?
In an honor duel, you have to give a melee weapon. But could you use a thrown weapon yourself?
The big difference is that thrown weapons can only be used once and have to be retrieved. If you throw a harpoon/combistick or anything you need to get it back. If you use a plasmacaster you can use it again no effort required.

The way I look at it my own opinion, I challenged a marine to a 1v1 and he decided to break out a shotgun, so instead of just doing the caster, I threw a harpoon right between his eyes and blinded him. I don’t see this as dishonorable

[NescauComToddy]

More pred rounds are good for preds.

Horrible for everyone else.

If this is the current situation of our role, we should not exist. If you relinquish the basis of seeking to amuse others and simply use this whitelisted position for your own entertainment, you too, with all due respect, should not be whitelisted, even though I believe this is not the case with you.

Predators exist until today due to the peculiarity they bring to a round, to differentiate the generic of always and bring something different from the daily rounds. If we are being useless in order to be able to provide fun times for most players, I say again that we should not be in the game. You may have this view, El, that pred rounds are only genuinely fun for those who play as the antagonists, but I very much doubt that we are not able to provide memorable moments and provide more interesting factors to narratives of other characters. All that is necessary for this to happen is to keep in mind and as a priority not to collect digital heads but to provide stories to the players. If we have sunk so deep to the point that we are not able to exercise our role but to be snowflakes, perhaps it is time to rethink the existence of our role, or a rework.

If most of us see our role as a way to enjoy themselves, not one to bring about a special narrative, maybe we should not be here. It is possible to argue that there are recent cases where whitelisted players are increasingly distant from this goal of providing amusement to the round, but that would be a problem related to the approval of applications.

Hunt rounds are only fun to predators only when the players responsible for the antagonists do not care or have in mind that there are others also playing. Antagonists will always generate salt, this on any SS13 server, but still, they are the ones who make a round different, interesting. Maybe really, it's time to try to improve our image or sink with it until we have to be removed from CM. It would be somewhat unfortunate, but if we are not able to amuse others, we should not be different.

After all, why were we whitelisted? To access a privileged position, or to differentiate the generic? If we are not striving to amuse others, we should not have the right to have such a whitelisted role.

Note; I believe that the current RNG does not need to be changed and that recordings of pred rounds at this point should be permitted. Until further discussion of the code of honor rules, or similar, I will simply observe.

[Novus Luna]

I don't think people need more incentive to attack us. Marines are going to unga you if you're rping with one of them 15 out of 16 times, even if no preds have been hostile. If the hive decides to attack you, a lot of them do it at once, meaning you have a good change of dying, and either way a lot of the hive is going to die. I personally think preds are more or less fine as we are, it's just that...well, when you have people who HRP and people who LRP, the latter shits on the former. In a perfect world where we didn't get unga'd sheerly for trying to communicate after no hostile action, where this server was actually the MRP it claimed to be, I think preds could happen practically every other round and we'd be good.

That said, how about instead of making pred rounds more common, we increase the number per round to 6. We got a lot more of us whitelisted recently, after all.

[z a n e b o t]

I don't think people need more incentive to attack us. Marines are going to unga you if you're rping with one of them 15 out of 16 times, even if no preds have been hostile. If the hive decides to attack you, a lot of them do it at once, meaning you have a good change of dying, and either way a lot of the hive is going to die. I personally think preds are more or less fine as we are, it's just that...well, when you have people who HRP and people who LRP, the latter shits on the former. In a perfect world where we didn't get unga'd sheerly for trying to communicate after no hostile action, where this server was actually the MRP it claimed to be, I think preds could happen practically every other round and we'd be good.

That said, how about instead of making pred rounds more common, we increase the number per round to 6. We got a lot more of us whitelisted recently, after all.

no thanks