Idea of new department/field : IT

[Lyude]

I have an idea that could create many new gameplay opportunities : IT (new department or science or engineering).

Purpose : developping new hardware and software to monitor and add possibilities on all the consoles (we consider they are all interlinked via cable or waves and that it would be possible to access them remotely to work on them or change their functioning)

It could require creating new pieces of hardware and/or programs (like viruses) to control consoles remotely via laptop to add more gameplay :
- calling the shuttle from a simple laptop via special board that can be added to laptop or virus program that makes you access it remotely ; send away small shuttles so that only the big one remains to flee
- remotely access APC and atmo alarms in order to kill people or mess with their electricity access
- accessing video cameras without camera bug (it could be useful for non antags sometimes, like for security in order to monitor suspects)
- destroy evidence on security consoles (like footprints, to avoid being found by detective)
- being able to add trigger to certain consoles and program their work (like adding a trigger to pull you after having used launchpad so you may comeback without any asisstance) ; kill people in cryogenic pods by pumping in (remotely) other chemicals or making cooling dysfunctional

I could provide more ideas if people find it interesting. It's just that in the real word we can do this kind of thing, why not in the game?

In order to avoid to break the balance of the game, searching viruses and specific pieces of hardware could be time consuming or made a bit difficult. Some consoles could have a certain level of security requiring even better programs/viruses to access them (programs/viruses with tiers). And since it's about IT connection of consoles the AI could have a job to detect this kind of remote control attempt, triangulate it and tell sec where the threat comes from. That would give another interesting job to AI.

All it would require would be a kind of board/key to connect to a laptop or PDA and research nodes or something like that. And then remote access depending on the level of the research and the programs found. And last resort to stop it if AI can't : intervening on communication hardware (shutting it down, destroying it or injecting a special antivirus program).

The possibilities could be gigantic!!!

Tell me what you think of it.

[Lyude]

I forgot to tell another idea :

Viruses/programs could destroy consoles remotely in 2 ways to avoid it being too easily repeated at big scale :
- a silent way to destroy console that would take time (building up overload) : difficult to detect while overloads build up but time consuming
- an obvious and quick way to destroy it remotely (quick overload) : more efficient but requiring a dedicated research for a new virus at every attempt, making it difficult to reproduce at large scale ; alternatively could be easily traceable and strategy for antag would be to single use every laptop channeling the program (and dump it just after), otherwise you get detected by AI/detection program from security

Destroying consoles remotely could create another job opportunity for engineering (rebuilding)

[XDTM]

To make it a proper department it will need extensive non-antag functionality to justify its existence, otherwise the only people working on it will be those interested in griefing or antagging.
I think there's probably not enough depth in computers and modular consoles yet to allow for a full department based on them, but if they keep getting expanded with new programs and interactions, it might eventually be possible.

In the meantime, though, some of the features you proposed could definitely be added independently as illegal modular computer programs.

[Lyude]

Thinking back about it, you are right it's not enough to justify a new dep (and a change in the map). It could be another job for science.

But I don't think it should be only for antags. Like nanites, it could be used both ways :

- antags : locking consoles to slow down jobs, destroying consoles, pirating consoles and siphon data/research points/others, act as an equivalent of a malf AI to make the good AI look like malf when sabotaging and get away with it, make the radio of someone say things they don't actually say (way to piment the game like with forced speech)

- non antag : create and use antiviral programs to protect the station (preventive or curative), purge the consequences of a new kind of random event (like a bug or something that does not need antag to come to pass), increase the possibilities of certain consoles by programming them with delay/trigger (like launchpad), potentially mine some kind of bitcoins to make additional money for the station or get TC, protect station crew against malf AI by launching countermeasures

Getting antag round is rare. New kinds of gmeply should also consider making the jobs of non antag nice. Making programs/viruses could be useful for antags and non antags

[XDTM]

I agree, what i meant was that the only proactive non-antag gameplay on that list would be setting timers on consoles and mining bitcoins.
Virology suffers from a similar issue where if they're not antag and there's no virus-using antag or event, they can only do the classic healvirus with very minor variations. There's also the chaplain where their anti-magic theme is only useful if there's the right antag around, although that's less severe since their job duties are more rp-based.

The solution to that problem is simply coming up with a variety of useful stuff they can do that does not require antag/event activity beforehand.

[cacogen]

I didn't read but if you could set up and/or hack security shit like Deus Ex that'd be cool. Did you suggest that? I think you suggested something like that in there.

Also what you said about footprints and erasure from detection made me think of the second best game about hacking (i.e. not Quadrilateral Cowboy) Uplink. I feel like certain terminals in the game already have access records but being able to remotely access data and manipulate or steal it and having to cover your tracks mite b cool (or tedious bullshit that's never used, would depend on how it were implemented)

Obviously the comfy IT dungeon would be a given. We've seen the IT Crowd. We've encountered that shitty rip-off in that Hitman 2 mission.

Also IT sounds like having to install a printer driver so ideally for the health of your thread you'd have called it something sexier and less accurate

[XDTM]

Also IT sounds like having to install a printer driver so ideally for the health of your thread you'd have called it something sexier and less accurate

Lean into it, genetics now needs to call IT to download Adobe DNA Scanner

[enginseer-42]

Also IT sounds like having to install a printer driver so ideally for the health of your thread you'd have called it something sexier and less accurate

Lean into it, genetics now needs to call IT to download Adobe DNA Scanner

That could be funny, remove ID access for programs from everything but IT. You have to call IT to download programs onto a new computer or if your computer got punched into nonexistence by a gorilla.

[Flatulent]

this idea will literally make it IC to say “coders suck”, “fuck coders” and “coders can suck my balls”

merge now

[Saege Tilth]

With the advent of covid-19, more people have been trying to work from home and try to get into the IT field because of it. As someone with a bit of practical knowledge, I'll tell you that the game still needs to be balanced if it was to add a new "department" as you put it, which would basically be comparable to telecoms. In fact some servers use telecoms to act as IT in many ways, placing it with the engineers. As for making it more realistic, I don't agree with your idea of putting on the computers on portable devices. Extremely insecure compared to having to physically be somewhere. Maybe adding gimmicks would be a good idea, such as being able to trigger or prevent the triggering of greytide virus or vending machines from killing people by using a "virtual machine" to defeat it in a minigame. This isn't suppose to be super literal, not even chemistry.

If we went heavy RP levels of realism with this, then we would need to add a chief technical officer to the bridge to discuss how they will save money by preventing hackers from damaging the network to such a degree that it doesn't justify the salary the CTO is getting and thus meaning they're incompetent and should be fired (out of the mass accelerator/driver). Then you have the data stewards. Nanotrasen would never have data stewards for disposable people.

For the job of IT to match the theme of the game, there would have to be some kind of purpose that matches the games theme. IT would have to be connected in some manner to the power grid so that they could prevent specific machines from draining too much power. That would seem more realistic to a lot of the things certain members of the IT community that are trying to get a bonus would try to get. Maybe adding the ability for the station to sell electricity similar to that of other servers would make a budget worth trying to pay for someone to be the IT fellow.

In reality, I don't think IT fits into the game beyond telecommunications.

[cacogen]

What about hacking, like Deus Ex? You could access terminals remotely. Have to delete access logs like Uplink. Steal data for the Syndicate or to sell. You could remotely disable cameras. Or use them to track people. Interfere with silicons or the AI. Use tablet programs like BotKeeper without necessary access. Interface with airlocks or turrets remotely.

IT would be good for maintaining and protecting the station's computers and electrical systems from a software point of view. This would open up avenues for antags to manipulate these things remotely rather than physically.

[SardarKreuz]

... In reality, I don't think IT fits into the game beyond telecommunications.

Actually it does considering some objects.

There are floppies everywhere on station.
And servers.
And computers.
And also terminals / totems / etc.
And don't forget the AI.

IT could be a specialized type of engineer, like atmos is.
Better equipped to deal with those things.

If virtual reality is ported, then it would even get a totally new dimension.

Also there could be a server there logging some activities by the station.
Making IT a sort of "well informed about all alarms and logs" department.

Hmmmm...

Just an idea anyway.

[Valorium]

I honestly really like the idea; I do also agree that so far almost all the ideas have been for antagging and giving science even more gamer power than it already does.

Simultaneously, Engineering has a current problem wherein unless you want to work with the SM or atmospherics, your only job content is five minutes of setting up solars, tiding or building random machinery in the Engineering Foyer.

So, with that in mind, we add a new ENGINEERING role called the Technical Engineer or some such. Pull a Genetics and port Nanites over to Engineering and give it to the Technical Engineer alongside this new system of IT development. This solves a few problems at once:
- Prevents Scientists from being even more generalist than they already are
- Doesn't give Science yet another powergaming tool (alongside Genetics, R&D, Robotics, Xenobiology, Cytology, etc. etc. etc.)
- Gives Engineering some desperately needed job content (and if people use it to tide, at least it'll be more interesting than funny insuls-screwdriver-multitool-crowbar)

That'd be my plan of action, anyway. Ideas for non-antag abilities pending.

[Stickymayhem]

My only suggestion is allowing an AI camera view of interactable machines but with like a cool green filter

[terranaut]

what if there was a huge cool subsystem interfacing with networking for the station and nearby z-levels that allows fine manipulation of messages sent via radio and other broadwave public channels

[Valorium]

Concepts for non-antag IT functionality:

We can go two options with this department. We can give it what I think of as the Science route or as the Engineering route.

The Science route is similar to that of Xenobio or Robotics; these don't *need* to be done to push the round forward, but they're a tool to expand the station/user's capabilities. If no one sets foot in Robotics or Xenobiology for the whole round, the station isn't going to suffer as a direct result. Taking the Science route suggests adding more utilities to the content in order to make it appealing to do, such as access manipulation, advanced telecommunications or remote monitoring of machinery.

The Engineering route is similar to that of the SM, Mining or, to a lesser degree, Virology; the station is almost always going to suffer consequences if the bare minimum isn't done to make sure shit doesn't hit the fan (the SM needs to be set up to get power going, Mining needs to bring in materials or work begins to grind to a halt, Virology needs to be active in order to combat disease outbreaks). This suggests the addition or modification of more events, negative ones that can be solved by or prevented by IT such as the Greytide virus or Ion Storms. Examples of new events could be viruses that steal cargo credits, wipe security records or scramble computers like the SM monitor or ID console. Thus, IT would have to be set up - you could structure it similarly to Virology, designing an ideal firewall with stats like Detection (how fast it finds viruses, faster viruses being able to act or cause more damage and faster defenses being able to combat them more quickly), Strength (how powerful the defenses are, with stronger defenses essentially acting as enhanced Detection, or weaker defenses reducing the time to destroy the virus or preventing them from acting at all) and Power Consumption (how much power the system eats up, with generally stronger systems being more power-consuming in order to promote working within the department with Station Engineers to ensure the system stays fed).

I honestly think either of these methods would work well, if not without flaws - the Science route may lend itself to powergame, and the Engineering route would potentially foster the same issues Virology currently has with "optimal" defenses being made and the department being left with very little to do - and all we need is implementation.

[Jonathan Gupta]

make it so that the consoles go slower when bitcoin is being mined, in fact, make 100% of the CPU used and new parts for computer consoles???