What is it with these late deployments?

[Tetrino]

Mechanically speaking, the biggest bottleneck I've observed in deployment prep has always been Requisitions, primarily on lowpop rounds. With the click update, there is a hard minimum limit on how quickly you can vend and dispense attachments. Compound that with how there is often only a single RO/CT and the back vendors to deal with, and a marine can easily spend ten minutes waiting in line.

Everything else is down to player agency. Command can choose what time to hold briefing, pilots can easily outfit the Alamo before 1225H, and marines can forgo their attachment obsession. But even the best Req main will be hard-pressed to supply the whole platoon with their ungas alone.

[awan]

Well, the second you announce briefing at 25 you already gave up any hope of deploying at that time.
And in my opinion, req should feel as if they have to hurry. Marines also take ages today.
You get to the first place in line and then start typing your message then you are slowing stuff down that is not req that is slow pre-type those messages!
And other tactics also work. You as xo can also help out req most xo do nothing during that time anyway.
Or you can get all sl to list what their squad wants and then send it in by a crate.
At least for the fob squad, this should be not an issue at all. Because they can get their crate from the alamo. And are the last to see combat if everything goes right.

The less often you try for early deployment the harder it becomes. Because people will not be used to it and it will cause deployment to be more and more delayed as meta.
Also, those 8 minutes is 5% of the total mission time. That is a lot. (8*20=16 that is 2 hours and 40 minutes and close to an average round time.)

[x31stOverlord]

So. I'll throw in my opinions on the matter.

Deployment time will vary dependant upon a number of factors; Server Pop, Command, Marines.

SERVER POP:

The round pop will affect the deployment stage of a round in no uncertain terms. I've seen rounds where there are no pilots/command staff at round start which will impair the ability to get a good deployment time due to either a) Having no pilots and b) Potentially having an overwhelmed and under experienced command staff on their own. If you've got one SO running the entire OP alone and they aren't confident, you're in for a late deployment.

COMMAND:

Sort of plays into the above point as it is more likely to be stuck with incompetent command at a low pop time, on higher pops it is easier to mitigate damage from a bald command staff because you are likely to have some competent command crew around them to take command. But again, if you have the bald command staff trying to organise a briefing and a plan it may take some time to prepare and do. (Ive seen deployments at nearing the hour mark).

MARINES:

Alright, this one is also dependant on other circumstances. In a perfect world, marines would get equipped. Get their attachments from reqs and wait for briefing whilst chatting with their squad. In a perfect world that doesn't always exist. Marines that demand 15 attachments from reqs delays everyone else in line who sometimes refuse to deploy if they don't get their load outs. You have the rabble rousers who cause trouble in req lines and briefing leading to fights and multiple arrests being made, if command then choose to ground flights until all the marked marines are arrested and the marines in question decide to start running around the Almayer or hide on the Alamo causing more and more issues? Well good luck getting deployed in a timely manner. (Seriously. If you want to deploy on time don't be a fucking jackass and cause issues and then moan when you are arrested).

All in all. Deployment times can vary wildly on these factors (and more). Personally I am a pretty decent command staff player and aim to start briefing at 12:20 for deployment at 12:25/26 to give survivors the best chance at surviving and also to allow marines to play the game.

[awan]

The above might be the case but everyone who announces briefing at 12:25 is never going to make that 12:25 deployment. They do not even try for it. And that makes all other points not matter at all. Just announcing briefing at 12:25 means you will never deploy at that time.

[Arbs]

Announce briefing at 12:18-20.
Alamo launches at 12:25 sharpish. And youll have boots on the ground shortly after that.
Close req at 12:22(or when briefing ends) until 12:30 (or perhaps until the first wave has been sent).
20 minutes is more than enough for marines to get prepped for deployment, not counting the RO line and ungas cause that's bullshit.

12:25 is too late for briefing because you have to take into account that there's a ~5min delay (or more) between briefing start and actual deployment. So a 12:25 briefing means you're deploying at about 12:30 or later.

Time is not on the marine side.

[Rohesie]

This is why I make paperwork RO. Every attachment counts.

Cause for late deployments detected.

Close req at 12:22(or when briefing ends) until 12:30 (or perhaps until the first wave has been sent).

If command closes req line I'll just late-deploy (and I've seen several others doing the same). I feel this to be an ineffective tactic.

[Blade2000Br]

Cause for late deployments detected.



If command closes req line I'll just late-deploy (and I've seen several others doing the same). I feel this to be an ineffective tactic.

Attachments are a privelege, not a right.

I also just send MPs in to punch marines at req lines. Always work.

[Varen]

[...] Close req [...]

Never close req.
All you're doing is making people stay in line and wait until it opens again.
You're gonna have a hard time convincing me to not get the stuff that usually saves my butt from getting killed.

[Omicega]

Nothing you can get from req is in any way vital. Vanilla guns are great as they are and if you are any role other than a PFC and miss first drop on account of wanting (not needing - you don't need them) your dungas you are a detriment to your squad.

[Jonesome]

Grenades used to be vital, until they took away xeno stun. Probably for the best.

[Rohesie]

Nothing is vital. You could deploy naked and scavenge everything you need. Still, we like our ungas. Close req and expect some people to deploy without them and others to wait it out.

[Renomaki]

You're gonna have a hard time convincing me to not get the stuff that usually saves my butt from getting killed.

I dunno man, while there ARE some attachments that have a visual impact to them (like rail lights providing more light, mag harnesses keeping your gun close at hand, and rail scopes giving you greater visibility at longer ranges, etc), a lot of them are more passive buffs that I swear often go unnoticed.

Like, sure, accuracy buffs can help with hitting xenos, but it is only so big a buff. You don't NEED a red dot to kill things, but it does seem to have a way of boosting one's confidence in their weapon.

I do, however, agree that closing the req line is a wasted effort. Then again, unless the marine in question is an NCO/spec, there is nothing wrong with late deploying. Hell, means more room on the dropship!

[Arbs]

Never close req.
All you're doing is making people stay in line and wait until it opens again.
You're gonna have a hard time convincing me to not get the stuff that usually saves my butt from getting killed.

Daw, but that req line is uncomfortable, why dont you wait in the comfy brig bed instead? Nothing a good beating in the brig cant fix!

Talking from a command perspective, orders are orders. If you’re deliberately going to miss deployment just for some extra unga, theres something fundamentally wrong with that.

Timely coordination and cohesion is really important.

Your rifle will still fire bullets and your shotgun will still fire buckshot. Its hard to convince me that something from req lines is so lifesaving that makes it cruicial for you.

23 minutes from roundstart should be enough for you to get prepared with all you need. At 25 it’s two minutes too late and you have to go.

Again, time is important and you have to follow orders precisely and timely. “B-but I didnt get my ungas” is not necessarily an excuse. Whether you like it or not.

As far as late-joining goes, its simply bad luck going for req during the five minutes of in the whole round that it’s gonna be closed. Besides, the main concern is about sending the first wave. Latejoiners are going to miss it anyways, so might as well wait it out as one.

[Varen]

And I will die when I get jumped as an engineer because the idiots around me walked off when they were meant to cover me, and I didn't see the thing cause welding goggles.
Mag harness saved me -countless- times as an engineer, as a Pyro spec, etc. As an engineer specifically, a shotgun with mag harness and angled grip is the only way I can handle those situations. Which are basically the norm, if you play engineer as often as I do.

That's not life-saving?
Yeah your rds and such isn't vital, but there're some attachments that make the difference between life and death, and that's one of them for people with 200 ping who can only hope to survive a pounce that essentially come from off-screen only if a) there're people around or b) they can quickly get their weapon back and stun the thing long enough to run.

Now you can surely close the req line, that's within your rights as command. But if you had picked up your ass instead and went to make sure req worked well at roundstart, you'd have solved the problem in a much more effective manner.

[Skimmy2]

Just close req indefinitely and give entitled muhreens no reason to stay on the ship.

[DefinitelyAlone0309]

Just close req indefinitely and give entitled muhreens no reason to stay on the ship.

Yes, please, cut the Req line and you kill the best part of Req for its players. But you have a deadline to make, so continue.

Deploying at 12:25 is quite easy. Decent Req staff can finish with their stuff at 12:19, maybe 12:21 if we're talking really high pop (like 170+ players). Decent POs can have their DS ready for first launch by 12:18 at the latest if we're not counting laying out all the shits in advance; and 12:24 if otherwise. Decent Command and MP staff can have the briefing only take 3 minutes, with every unga settled down; you just need to know who should be nabbed and who should be left until right after briefing to not start a fight.

The only problem left lies in marines, whether it be random fights or a random nade, which won't be the same with each round, and can be handled quickly with competent MPs and doctors anyway.

While everything I mention above can get tedious, such as a random paperwork RO, nothing can really stop the first human wave from going down at 12:25 if they want to make that deadline.

[misto]

wow, more and more people are admitting that having human beings act as glorified vending machines for the precious requisitions tradition has grown boring and tedious, maybe theyll finally automate the attachments shit

[Blade2000Br]

wow, more and more people are admitting that having human beings act as glorified vending machines for the precious requisitions tradition has grown boring and tedious, maybe theyll finally automate the attachments shit

won't happen.

[Renomaki]

But what if it WAS automated? How would that even work?

I doubt a coin system would work, since that would be too much trouble to balance and prevent exploits from happening. Maybe an ID system?

It sounds more work to make an automated system than it would be to simply improve the manual system, which when you think about it, is stupid easy: Just rework the cargo lines somewhat, have an extra window or two, add more vendors so the CTs won't be bumbling over each other when getting attachments (which happens WAY more than it should).

While an automated system may be possible, it would be very hard to balance.

[misto]

won't happen.

yeah, just like mortars could never happen. wait, what? they were created? and working tanks were created for fucking april fools? yeah, a way to vend items to people is surely an impossible feat

[Blade2000Br]

yeah, just like mortars could never happen. wait, what? they were created? and working tanks were created for fucking april fools? yeah, a way to vend items to people is surely an impossible feat

it won't happen because that's part of the job of Requisitions. as well, attachments are a privilege and not a right. You don't need attachments. So yeah, won't happen at all.

[misto]

and autodocs will never be added to medbay because that's the job of doct- oh!

its almost as if automation constantly creeps in because more and more people are waking up to the fact of shipside roles like doctor and req being rotten and boring

[Blade2000Br]

doctor was a different issue altogether. even if all slots were filled, people would still wait over 15 minutes just get surgery. the Autodoc is a convinience to help the people down. and even then, peopel still pass out...and we still have 4 surgery rooms. So yeah, the job wasn't changed at all. Instead, was buffed, But the doc role is still needed and even moreso.

[misto]

wow, people were waiting?

and automation helped cut down the wait?

youre doing nothing to counter the fact that automation would help

"any red dots?"
"no rds left"
"any skel stocks?"
"no skel stocks left"
"any gyros?"
"no gyros left"
"any foregrips?"
"no foregrips left"
"any grenades?"
"no grenades left"
"ap ammo?"
"no ap left"

i know, it's a shame that immersive and enjoyable roleplay like that may be sacrificed by automation of attachments vending

[DefinitelyAlone0309]

wow, people were waiting?

and automation helped cut down the wait?

youre doing nothing to counter the fact that automation would help

"any red dots?"
"no rds left"
"any skel stocks?"
"no skel stocks left"
"any gyros?"
"no gyros left"
"any foregrips?"
"no foregrips left"
"any grenades?"
"no grenades left"
"ap ammo?"
"no ap left"

i know, it's a shame that immersive and enjoyable roleplay like that may be sacrificed by automation of attachments vending

Or, or, listen to me here, the marine can just ask "What are you out of?" and the CT/RO can just say "We're out of RDS and VGrip and nades and AP ammo and skel stocks and gyros". Or, or, they can just leave a note on the service table saying what they have left (or what they have none of), and just point marines towards it every time someone gets in the Req line. Genius, right ?

Also, about doctor vs autodoc.

1. Autodoc is way slower unless we're talking multiple fractures/IB
2. Autodoc can't remove Larvas, or fix Brain damage
3. Doctors can fix brain/eye damage with ImiAlky without even touching the ORs, while the autodoc will just have to sit there.
4. Autodoc doesn't notify you if it's out of metal, so if you put someone in there for a limb replacement, they will go out missing a limb and still fucked. While with normal doctor and the bio printer, the printer will show you how much metal you have left and you can gauge how many arms/legs you'll be able to print before running out.
5. Have you ever heard of field doctor ?
6. The autodoc is not fully automated. You still need a doctor to put a patient in and select the surgeries/ put on automatic mode (which is absolute shite)