Alien distinction

[Arachnidnexus]

+1 for the OOC tag/set number. As it is it's really hard for mostly alien players to make a 'name' for themselves on the forums and apply for staff or pred whitelist because there's no reputation that carries over from round to round. For marine players who stick with one tag the community gets to know what kind of player they're like and how helpful/rule-abiding they are. For aliens you're just random numbers each round so there's no way for you to build a reputation for being a good queen or a runner that really works well in a team etc. etc.

[Lostmixup]

Aliens does not need an OOC distinction. That should be found in end game results. Otherwise, people are going to be playing a favorite game called, Favoritism.

They already do that...

Anywho, I'm not opposed to letting aliens have their OOC, or a fake IC name (possibly randomly generated) next to them in D-chat or LOOC.

+1, good alien players should get a little more recognition.

[UnknownMurder]

I've noticed people are quoting me then I went into hiding... You're putting up my notifications. The thing is: You are not understanding. You are not being deep enough. I'm against OOC tags too... Yet, it does indeed being benefits, but with harsher disadvantages than advantages.

Aliens and Marines favoritism are a different matter. As a marine, you can choose not to go with Commander's orders and there are a lot of opportunities you can do like mutiny against commander or set your own objectives. However, for the aliens. You have to suck it up and deal with it, even if you died.

This is all I'm saying for this suggestion.

-1

[Gamerofthegame]

Marines go against the commander's orders because we have a shitty player base. Favoritism isn't a thing for aliens - it really isn't. The resources they need to hand out aren't limited whatsoever - they're not even scarce, queen-need aside.

[Sailor Dave]

I've noticed people are quoting me then I went into hiding... You're putting up my notifications. The thing is: You are not understanding. You are not being deep enough. I'm against OOC tags too... Yet, it does indeed being benefits, but with harsher disadvantages than advantages.

Aliens and Marines favoritism are a different matter. As a marine, you can choose not to go with Commander's orders and there are a lot of opportunities you can do like mutiny against commander or set your own objectives. However, for the aliens. You have to suck it up and deal with it, even if you died.

This is all I'm saying for this suggestion.

-1

But.. WHAT disadvantages? What disadvantages does it give that marines don't also have? And what does what you said at the bottom have anything to do with this suggestion?

[Evilkyle24]

Yet, it does indeed being benefits, but with harsher disadvantages than advantages.

Aliens and Marines favoritism are a different matter. As a marine, you can choose not to go with Commander's orders and there are a lot of opportunities you can do like mutiny against commander or set your own objectives. However, for the aliens. You have to suck it up and deal with it, even if you died.

See, the reason people keep quoting you and "Don't understand", UM, is because you haven't actually given any disadvantages.

As far as the Marine's go, Mutinies require admin permission if I recall correctly, and Aliens set their own objectives all the time, because the queen does not just sit there and tell each individual alien exactly what to do.

The most effect this will have in game is instructing certain aliens to evolve into certain classes because you know they're good at them, and before you say that its meta, the marines get to pick their roles before the game even starts.

[Caryl]

I will +1 this, this would be helpful and useful.

[Adameltablawy]

I'm going to bump and +1 this.

Assume you are only playing alien, ever.

Nobody really knows your Ckey or who you are in general.

Then you apply for whitelist to pred. '-1 never seen u b4' even though you play all the time as an alien-There's no way for people to remember who you are specifically.
It's one thing to argue that aliens will play favorites as to who's good and who's not, but tbh that should be bannable. If the queen goes 'I give this one jelly but not you' not only is she not helping the hive because there's one less T3, but she's also using OOC grudge IC with no reason to and thus just should get adminhelped.

It's one thing to enforce that aliens aren't memorable to marines except in extraordinary situations like the one runner on the Sulaco who killed all of command and all the doctors, but it's another to make it so that nobody remembers you after-round and that you never get any recognition in total. If someone never plays marines, the way it is now, they'll never get any recognition or attention paid to them because nobody remembers Hivelord (627) or Runner (423).

[apophis775]

There has been discussion about this actually...

[apophis775]

There's still discussion about this.

[Dubszor]

+1 for this because the aliens should get attention for some of the amazing things they do.

[MysteriousSpy]

Atleast give them an OOC tag of some kind, like if you examine them it says their Ckey or something, I've felt this personally.

+1

[MauroVega]

+1 Like it

[TheSlapDoctor]

+1

I've tried to make a few buddies as Aliens and asking over LOOC feels strange. Even a random name generator to make Alien-esque names, or random adjectives to represent a player's playstyle would work.

Or we could just put the Player's character name next to their number in the Hive Status, it'd let us keep the chat as it is already, and let anyone look up the human characters that correspond to each Alien.

[Sailor Dave]

+1

I've said my piece on this issue several times, and still feel strongly that aliens deserve just as much recognition as marines in SOME way. Honestly I'm bothered by the arguments that were provided AGAINST this a page or two back, saying that aliens would cause all of these problems, such as favoritism. Marines have the same problems. It shouldn't be this way just because "that's the way things are." That's a terrible argument and doesn't mean anything at all. Saying that this is a case of marine bias is perhaps too critical and makes me sound like a moron; but I don't understand, because it doesn't take anything away from the marines. It doesn't affect the balance.

Aliens do not deserve to just "be there" for the sake of gameplay. I feel as though there's no inclination to roleplay as an alien BECAUSE people know that nobody will recognize or remember their efforts. As a marine, if you demonstrate good roleplaying ability, even if the round is over, people will REMEMBER who you are and what you did in later rounds. Players who prefer to play as aliens deserve to be as much a part of the community as any marine, and to be recognized for their achievements ingame. I don't think that aliens should HAVE to play as marines if they want to be part of the community, to make a name for themselves and to have a chance at any potential applications they may make in the future.

Admittedly, I don't know what the best way to identify aliens would be. The OOC name like "Runner (564)(Sailor Dave)" next to the alien number could be an option. However, marines DO have the appropriate RP name clause, and I'm sure that's for immersion reasons. Seeing an OOC name next to an alien's name would be pretty jarring, and it would perhaps not be fair if aliens could break this clause, even if it's not their fault. But there has to be SOME way for aliens to be remembered in the community. I'm sure this has been given a lot of thought by others, I don't have many solutions off the top of my head. I don't think there's many better solutions than a simple, memorable name. An IC name would probably not be a good idea (re: Grognar the Destroyer), unless they could be filtered in the same way that marine names are.

[Kel-the-Oblivious]

Giving some form of distinction between aliens is easily explained by the Queen.

As an all loving, all caring mother figure, it seems very odd that she would name her children "Runner 643" and "Praetorian 112" That sounds less like the all encompassing mother figure the Queen is presented in various sources, and more a cold, unfeeling, biological computer. Having her name each and everyone one of her children sounds more likely.

While it wouldn't make sense for the Queen to name each and every xeno in the game, it could easily explain why they would have a unique name. Filter it so you don't end up with idiotic names, and you could have a solid xeno community formed. "Oh. Two-Claws has become a Ravager! We can not fail!"
+1

[DMAN]

+1 Why isn't this a thing already? Having it like Drone(ckey) would be the best for OOC recognition, so you know who is bad or good at being alien. Though that's a tad too undeserving for new players, so I say the Drone(marine name) would work the best. Basically, change the model from Drone(random numbers) to Drone(marine name).

[Boltersam]

Get Alien players recognized for their deeds! This feature only has benefits, nobody wants the numbers! Down with the numerical regime!

If you can't tell already, +1.

[Lostmixup]

I'm still on board for this of course.

[Edgelord]

I've always been against Aliens being more than numbers, but I've recently had a change of heart.

I respect people who main aliens but am unable to name even three of them. The point isn't for individuality between xenomorphs, it's about the community recognition. I'm for making aliens identifiable by their OOC handle somehow.

[Sligneris]

I think that showing a human name or a Ckey during the game would be even more immersion-breaking than the hivemind chat already tends to be. Not only that, it would support metagrudging in many cases, since if a player angers someone they can see a name to lash out on. Ckeys should never be forcefully revealed to non-staff in IC environment, especially if the round is ongoing.

We could go back to the old system of showing Ckeys of aliens at round end, I suppose. Still, that does prove to be currently a bit glitchy with Queens.

I suppose it would do with an option to set a preferred alien number in character setup? That if it's not already taken during the round, we could have it represent us across rounds? That would be the only way I'd support this idea implemented in ongoing rounds.

[Sailor Dave]

A chosen number doesn't feel like it would change anything. It's not really all that memorable.

[Sligneris]

It's about the only thing I can truly support. Aliens should not have marine names and Ckeys should not be shown in IC speech.

If you are truly that remarkable, people will notice your number across several rounds. If not, poor luck.

I mean, there's no real need for recognition, either. It's nice and all, but it's definitely not a necessity.

[hellion2]

If you read over the past 3 pages of this forum, there have been reasons shown that there is a REAL NEED for recognition of alien players.

Just because someone chooses to play as an Alien, they should be respected and given the same rights and courtesies as a player who choses to be a marine.

If you are truly that remarkable, people will notice your number across several rounds. If not, poor luck.

And this. Your number is not the same over different rounds. Your number changes every single round. it ALSO changes when you evolve, so in a single round you have have three different numbers. No matter how remarkable you are, people do not know who you are.

In saying that, I don't like many of the options given so far in the forum. A players ckey should not be given out to anyone who isn't an admin. It's personal and shouldn't be used for identification in game (That's why you can chose your marine name)

I also don't like the idea of using your "Marine name" as your alien name. If I am playing Alien I don't think I should be linked with a human. That is a way that you might end up with some IC problems, aliens gaining the personality of their marine character.

Also I don't like giving people a static number that they keep forever. There are only a limited amount of numbers afterall, and numbers are pretty hard to remember.

One option I was thinking was brought up by Kel-the-Oblivious

While it wouldn't make sense for the Queen to name each and every xeno in the game, it could easily explain why they would have a unique name. Filter it so you don't end up with idiotic names, and you could have a solid xeno community formed. "Oh. Two-Claws has become a Ravager! We can not fail!"

In your preferences you should be able to choose a name, Two-Claws is an excellent example. Admins already hold marines up to strict naming rules, I don't see how this should be any different for Aliens.

Sorry if this got a little ranty, it's something I feel strongly about. (I don't even play aliens. I just think they deserve the same respect that every other player should get.)


edit: Because I forgot one of my main points.

[Sailor Dave]

Yeah, I think it would be okay to have moderated names like marines. Not ACTUAL names, probably, but tribal names like Three-Stripes or something. At least as a trial run.