Security Department Design Document

Concept

The Security department is the primary counter-weight against the many chaotic PvP and PvE events that occur on the station, allowing the other departments to focus on their gameplay without (too much) interuption. Combat and “busting bad guys” should be the main draw to play Security, though not to the extent they oppress other roles from doing their goals. They also assist with player-enforced behaviors via Space Law, acting as an in-game way to ensure other players don’t detract from the experience for each other.

Intended Experience

• Rip-roaring combat; shooting guns and taking down bad guys.
• A sense of empowerment; you keep the station safe, and have the tools to do so.
• Processing and law; codes to follow, to ensure fair treatment.
• Friction with crew; other crew should be treated fairly, or there will be consequences.
• Good for intermediate to experienced players.

Responsibilities

• Security protects the station & crew from hostilities, having the best equipment to do so.
• Security contextually enforces Space Law, an in-game law system players agree on when playing the game (as well as the consequences for breaking it).
• Security ensures secure storage of strong combat equipment and weapons.

Desired Gameplay

• Being called upon to deal with station threats.

  • Other crew should be able to rely on Security for assistance against threats that disrupt their role’s purpose; whether that be low-stakes disputes between players or round-ending threats. Security doesn’t always need to be able to succeed in dealing with the threats, but should be considered a viable option.
  • Security should also have options to discover threats on their own. These options should be subvertible and balanced to not be oppressive for antags, yet be reliable enough that a Security player feels it’s useful. This kind of proactive work should be ideal for downtime between more reactive threats, when there’s a lull in the action.

• Risk of friction when performing work.

  • Security should need to rely on other departments and players to perform well; failing to have good relationships may cause other players to deny access, obscure information and/or assist antagonists. This reliance may temporarily distract other players from their role’s purpose, causing a base amount of friction that must be overcome.

• Higher than normal crew combat capabilities, but needing to use resources/teamwork to effectively combat antagonists.

  • As the station’s protectors Security should be stronger than the average crewmember, with the possibility to become even stronger by utilizing resources or tools provided by other departments. A single Security role should still baseline be less powerful than a primary antagonist, with teamwork and skillful play bridging the gap.

• Fairly enforcing Space Law, in favor of what’s best for the round and player.

  • Security should only enforce Space Law to the extent that it makes sense in context; being the enforcers, they are also expected to follow it.

Undesired Gameplay

• Speedrunning to redtext antagonists to make each round a greenshift.
  • While Security will be engaging with antags frequently and part of that work involves pre-emptively detecting antags, it becomes overall detrimental to the round if Security “defeats” antags too early. It becomes anti-climactic, unenjoyable for the antag, and detracts from the level of chaos in the round.
• Militaristic behaviors and design.
  • Security should lean more towards the “mall cop” archetype rather than being a military force. That doesn’t mean they won’t have access to military-grade equipment such as assault rifles, armor or bomb diffusal tools, they are in a futuristic sci-fi setting after all, just that the overall design shouldn’t impose military levels of structure and rigor.
• Becoming a police state/unfairly enforcing space law.
  • Security has the tools to very forcefully oppress other departments and players; sometimes this force may be necessary to deal with unruly players or antagonists, but exercising it wantonly to the detriment of other players can cause great unenjoyment and should not be encouraged.
• Always opting for lethal means.
  • Lethality when dealing with threats is important as it can provide an innate definitive end to the threat, however the impact injuries and death can have on other players means Security should not be encouraged to always go for a lethal option.