Summary (a quick, 2-3 sentence summary):
A small contingent of player-controlled Working Joes and a POTENTIALLY player controlled APOLLO unit, implemented in a few possible ways.
Benefits (How this will benefit the server and game as a whole):
- - Due to APOLLO having its own objectives, creates a small 'third faction'.
- New gameplay opportunities for players.
- Canon friendly - 2150 is only a decade or so after the events of Alien: Isolation, so it's reasonable to think that Seegson is still active.
For those of you not familiar, the Working Joes are a line of rudimentary androids manufactured by Seegson, a small corporation riding on Weyland-Yutani's coattails. They are sold as a package slaved to a stationary computer mainframe, called the APOLLO unit. Working Joes have no personality or real intelligence of their own, they are basically drones. They come in two varieties: the "Standard" Joe, and the "Industrial" Joe which wears a hazmat suit. There are two ways I can see these being in the game:
- - As a part of the Sulaco. Here, the Working Joes would be enslaved to the ship's MOTHER unit. I see this as a weaker option because it's infringing on MT duties and gives them and the Marines less to do.
- As a part of the colony. A player controlled APOLLO unit would be placed somewhere on the map, and spawn with a small contingent of Working Joes. APOLLO would have its own objectives to fulfill. For example, it could be tasked to kill all the aliens, keep them alive, or simply keep the colony systems running. This adds a layer of mystery to each game mode as the Marines do not know what the APOLLO unit is trying to do.
The base code for the Working Joes and APOLLO already exists in the form of cyborgs and AIs on other servers, and they would function similarly.
- - Working Joes would have a power cell and take only Brute and Burn damage, repairable by welders and wires.
- Unlike cyborgs, they would retain all 4 Intents and have free use of their hands.
- Upon spawn-in, Working Joes can choose whether they want to be the Standard or Industrial variant.
- Standard Joes are vulnerable to EMPs, but are highly resistant to brute damage and fire.
- Industrial Joes are much more damage and fire resistant and are immune to EMPs, but can only walk - they can't run.
- If player controlled, APOLLO functions identically to the AI on other servers.
- If admin controlled, APOLLO functions like MOTHER does now.
- APOLLO and the Joes can communicate via their own special chat.
- Aliens should ignore Working Joes under normal circumstances.
=
A charging station for the Joes: