So What Are The CO RP Guidelines For When The Xenos Hijack The Shuttle

[Scorpii]

So I'm asking this question after being PM'd about it as a CO twice about assuming the aliens have stolen the shuttle.

I keep things to an IC level as much as possible but what gets very vague in every round I play is how to interpret the shuttle having an unscheduled launch and eventually crashing into the Almayer.

I always think that a competent or trained commander would take a "worst case scenario" assumption ICly and come to a probable conclusion the Xenos have something to do with the DS departure, especially if the cameras are deliberately smashed, so it would make logical sense to assume the Xenos are coming

I feel as if this particular event in the command roles can be a but iffy to handle, especially for those trying to grasp a good CO position. I just think this isn't really an IC event as clearly defined in the RP guides so the discussion is here

[Steelpoint]

Depends on the level of information you have access to.

Generally the DS has cameras on board that can catch xenos boarding the ship, and usually a pilot is watching the cameras remotely. In addition it is not uncommon for xenos to load captured marines onto the DS for transportation. This gives sufficient reasoning that if the DS undergoes a unscheduled launch that the xenos have taken it over.

Now if the DS leaves the hangar and absolutely no one knows for any certainty where it has landed and who has boarded it, via the above methods, then you should not assume the xenos have taken over the ship.

Nonetheless, the fact someone has taken the ship and has illegally launched it indicates a possible boarding action (CLF is the common excuse), so you can still take defensive actions for that.

TL;DR, you can order defences to be set up if the DS is hijacked, but unless you know for certainty from either a captured Marine or a subordinate observing the cameras, you should simply avoid mentioning that aliens have boarded it.

[Tidomann]

I'm not sure what would constitute an OOC intervention unless you were metagaming the incoming invasion. Anything really goes for roleplay. You can say the dropship has been overrun- you can inform marines that they are building a nest inside if you have the information.

The only thing you can't do is order the ship to build defenses until the hijack alarm goes off. There is no way to know the aliens have the possibility of actually initiating the piloting sequence unless it has already been done.

Metagaming

Building defenses on the ship before a hostile force is en route or before the non-human alarm.

That being said, if you manually bring the dropship up, knowing aliens are inside then you may.

[Symbiosis]

I'm not sure what would constitute an OOC intervention unless you were metagaming the incoming invasion. Anything really goes for roleplay. You can say the dropship has been overrun- you can inform marines that they are building a nest inside if you have the information.

The only thing you can't do is order the ship to build defenses until the hijack alarm goes off. There is no way to know the aliens have the possibility of actually initiating the piloting sequence unless it has already been done.

Metagaming


That being said, if you manually bring the dropship up, knowing aliens are inside then you may.

Another way to pre-build defenses is if Xenos are already aboard, be it bursting or if a Hunter sneaks aboard. Then it's fine to lock down locations and prevent them from being broken into.

[Scorpii]

I'm pretty sure I wasn't metagaming. I saw that the shuttle was called down to the planet and we had only one pilot so I knew that it wasn't the pilot and it couldn't have been command staff. I ordered the Marines to the hangar so I could repel any possible aliens or boarders when I called it back up but my controls were locked out and the cameras deactivated. Then the shuttle had an unscheduled launch, then I ordered Marines to the SD and that the aliens have taken the DS. I assumed that there was enough information for my character to know the aliens were behind it but I made sure not to meta so much of it but I must've been wrong since I got PM'd