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Thread: Rule Clarification Update 2019

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    Question Rule Clarification Update 2019

    Post any questions or clarification you need on the rules here. We'll clarify them as best we can. Any questions here will be added to the list.

    The answers will ONLY be given by headstaff.

    Shitposting in here = Forum ban

    This is not a place for debating or arguing rules, this is for clarification. You post a question or situation, you get a response. Debates/Arguments = Forum Warn + Post Deletion. If you need additional clarification that's fine, but don't debate/argue.

    Past FAQs: updated/relevant
    Spoiler Spoiler:


    Noteable Clarifications:

    • What is the rule about killing monkeys and other wildlife as a survivor/Marine? - This has never been allowed due to it being a big balance factor for the Xeno and ripe for abuse from some players. Much later in the round, and only later in the round, once Marines have started to be captured/are inside the hive, it can be reasoned that they use the wildlife to reproduce and thus killed. Killing monkeys for any reason outside accidental fire can put you at risk of being in trouble.
    • Can people disarm/steal (or even insubordinate) when there is no MPs? - IC but if you're doing LRP or just being a dick, you will get in trouble. Stealing someone's gun is IC but if you go around stealing stuff from a lot of people, expect OOC repercussions.
    • Can a marine choose not to deploy and stow away on the ship if they RP cowardice or something of the like? - This is IC and if you want to RP refusing to go down, the MPs can take action if Command has a real problem with it. If you are playing Squad Engineer, Medic, Smartgunner, Spec, or Leader, you are expected to assist your squad. You can't just refuse to deploy without a valid IC reason as not helping would be the same as wasting a slot.
    • What are the roles aside from MPs that will get banned if they insubordinate? I am thinking back to times when Xur was banned from SL for insubordination, despite the idea that "SLs must follow orders" isn't written down. - Currently, only MP roles are required to follow Marine Law. That said, Command roles are expected to work in-part with the rest of Command. Everyone is still Human and you're not bound like the Xeno, but a SL shouldn't refuse to follow any orders just because they don't want to. If that is a bad habit of some people, they may be job-banned from the role.
    • Can you go into detail about the "Ramboing" rule? - Honestly, this rule is rather old and from a time when CM was a lot smaller of a population, and before we had map deterrents built in. It may be just lumped into metagaming to make things easier. Big-Red and Prison are most likely going to have to undergo small updates to help deter early pushes while not hurting late-game. For now, we try to avoid actively hunting people down for meta-rushes and instead are looking for permanent solutions and we ask people to avoid metarushes will staff will also try to keep rounds from ending extremely early.
    • Being more clear regarding Squad Leaders who just ignore orders from Command - There's been more questions regarding this and I'll put it in a more straightforward explanation. If you're playing SL you can not just refuse to listen to Command's orders. "My headset wasn't working," or, "That order is bad," and excuses of the such aren't valid. Refusing to work with Command as SL is a failure to uphold the role requirements and if you do this you will be given a warning, with future infractions resulting in a ban from SL. This does not mean that SL are slaves to Command's will, you're still human and you can still adapt the plan to fit the situations your squad is in. Also, if you think orders given are "suicidal" for your squad, you can still refuse to comply; THAT SAID, you're still part of the Marines and you're down there to go to war, you can not pull this card over small dangers or things that put someone's life in danger. You're in the USCM to fight and you accept the danger that comes with this. This rule is not designed to restrict a SL's role-play and such, but it is a crack-down on SL who simply ignore Command because they don't personally like the orders or want to do their own thing.
    • In extension from the Squad Leader rule, would that apply to other important Squad Roles to any degree? How does it apply to aSL if at all? - No and unlikely it will be. This applies only to people who actively pick SL. If you're a Spec and you suddenly become the SL, you're not forced to follow those specific RP standards and things will be left IC (OOC rules still apply).
    • What, if anything, are MP's allowed to do planetside besides arrests? - MP should mostly focus on their job at hand when groundside. If you're down there to protect someone, you should be focusing on protecting them and not fighting. You don't need to shoot Xenos running around the outskirts when Marines are there to do that job and you certainly shouldn't be chasing Xeno down to kill them. If you have IC justification to defend a groundside area from Xeno, you're free to shoot them, but you shouldn't be bug-hunting on the planet even if told to ICly, that's not the job of the MP.
    • As a Rocket Spec, is it griefing to kill an alien whilst fully knowing you will kill another marine player while you're at it? - Context would be key here. I would say that a kill on the Queen would be worth possibly putting another marine into crit/death over. The Marine can be attempted to be saved and the Queen is a vital kill. It's also a fair assumption that if the Queen is dragging/slashing a Marine, they're pretty much dead anyways. That said, it's not worth blasting the Queen surrounded by a lot of Marines to FF in the process and it's also not worth shooting other Marines to hit like a Runner that's running by.
    • As a queen, can you order your larvae to evolve to something specific to avoid an all-runners-no-drones hive situation? - You can and if they don't evolve into what you requested, you can ahelp and an Admin can force them into what was required, but on it's own we won't ban someone due to not evolving into the requested Tier 1.
    • To what degree is incompetence is allowed? - It's allowed up to the point you're either causing more harm in the round than not, or you're part of a command role. In the case of a mute SL, (check the rulings above about SLs) this is not allowed and mods should be taking as SL is a vital role in the round. If someone wants to not bother with RP, we got roles like PFC for that. In the case of a Doctor, a Mentor will help them out to the best of their abilites but unless the doctor is killing people with his operations, taking a long time to heal you up isn't something we punish for.
    • What exactly constitutes as a "good reason" to not deploy? - I've somewhat answered this question under the name "Can a marine choose not to deploy and stow away on the ship if they RP cowardice or something of the like?" You can search for that question to get that answer. Expanding on what a good reason would be, if you've gone to the ground and had your friends all slaughtered or been seriosuly wounded yourself, you can refuse to go down so you don't lose your life or because of the emotional/physical trama of the operation. That said, your rank and the amount of people left should play a key factor in this. The higher your rank, generally the less likely you should be to refuse to follow Command. You also should keep in mind the rough amount of people left alive. If your squad's got like four people left, you would have much more reason to refuse than if you've got a squad of ten along with all the other squads.
    • What's the ruling on "wasting" a role? - Wasting a role will and always has had the punishment of a job ban. If you play anything other than PFC, you have some role that needs to be done. There is no excuse for loading in as a Combat Medic or Engineer to only shoot stuff when PFC has unlimited slots.
    • What is the current stance on Jailbreaks? - If you start shooting up people or causing a mutiny, you'll usually get yourself in trouble for LRP because it's turning a pretty mild situation into more problems than should be spawning from like a 20 minute time in the brig. If you want to get an engineer and try to break down a wall to get him out or something that isn't negatively impacting the round as a whole, that's fine.
    • Clarifcation on Xeno attacking the DS on first drop - In general, Xeno are free to attack the Marines when landing as Marines should be ready for anything as there's a distress beacon on the ground. The Xeno are also at their weakest while Marines are at their highest number. That said, this is limited to tier 1 and 2 Xeno. Tier 3 are blanket covered against this to prevent unfair attacks such as Boilers shooting gas into the dropship or crushers charging into all the marines when they can't move out of the way. Simply put, T1 and T2 Xeno being at the LZ is IC but T3 shouldn't be scouting out the Marines during the drop. It should be noted that this is strictly for attacking during the first drop. If a T3 is hanging around and not attacking, they're not doing any harm. Along with that, after people have unloaded from the dropship and are moving into the colony, the Xeno are free to attack you as per any round.
    • What are the rules for using Orbital Bombardments and CAS on drop ships after a complete evacuation with no intent to redeploy? - Firing any OB/CAS is fine except ones that hit the dropships, accidental strikes included. This means you can fire around the DS, you can shoot by the launchpad or on the LZ itself if the dropship is currently in the hangar, but any shot that hits the dropship itself will get you in trouble. This is because the dropship is not designed with the ability to dodge OBs with and as such, it's an unfair way to easily kill Xeno after you've already lost the ground.
    • What is a valid mutiny reason? - All the normal reasons you can come up with a mutiny are fine. What this is here to prevent are mutinies with joke or unrealistic reason. Reasons such as denied attachments, lawful arrests for minor issues and/or low times sentences, or the CO called you a mean name are unrealistic reasons to start a mutiny. Attempting to mutiny for reasons outside the CO (such as XO or MP) must first be brought to the CO to address. Failure for the CO to address the issue in a timely manner can be grounds for a mutiny.
    • With the mutiny update, are Captains no longer allowed to BE medical staff for healing a Mutineer or can they give a warning and then act if the medic refuses to listen? - The CO is still allowed to deny medical treatment to people during/after the mutiny. If you were going to possibly BE a medic during a mutiny, you must first order the medic to cease before blasting them on the spot. Keep in mind the medic may not realize you're talking to them right away so make sure they're aware you're ordering them to stop before you start shooting anyone.
    • The Queen has ordered me to specifically slash the Shipside CIC/Tcomms APC and nothing else. Since this can be meta, do I slash or disobey the Queen? - If a Queen is giving you orders to meta specific high-value targets and nothing else, you can send an ahelp asking if the orders are to be followed upon or not. While Xeno can't just run around melting/breaking only the round-critical equipment, if you are given the order to slash an APC, you should attempt to do so unless you know it's suicidal, in which you should ahelp regarding the situation.
    • Is it considered powergaming to extrapolate coordinates and to what degree? By that I'm referring to lasing one spot to get it's coordinates and then use basic math to get coordinates for nearby tiles. E.g: I lase a spot that I want to drop a crate on and get the coordinates 123, 45; but decide that I'd rather have the crate two tiles to the west so I tell the RO to drop the crate on 121, 45 instead. - No, it's not powergaming and is perfectly allowed.

    Fringe Clarifications:

    • Is it okay for Standards to loot dead SGs and grab their M56 Harness, Sight and a Powerpack to gain a speed boost and night vision? - No. Normal Marines, or anyone else not trained to use a smartgun, shouldn't be taking the equipment when they can't even use it in the first place. Anyone who is trained to use a smartgun can take the armor, but make sure the person is beyond saving (can't defib) before you take anything off them.
    • Can Synthetics desert the ship after the Xenos hit via droppod or Normandy without being given explicit orders to do so? - Generally, this is fine. Synths aren't forced to remain on the ships at all time or could go down to protect someone else. That said, a Synth wouldn't really be the first one to jump ship, they want to protect people. This could vary from case-to-case but Synths are free to leave the ship if they wish.
    • Are there any rules on aliens attacking synthetics? - Aliens are free to attack Synths as they please, though Synths will often try to RP with you in return if you attempt to RP with them.
    • How you can detect Metarush and avoid being a commander (queen) that've done a metarush? - This is a rule we really don't try to directly punish people for, unless the player in question caused serious problem or made the round end extremely quickly. In majority cases, we simply put in-game restrictions to prevent so we have a simple and fair system. Usual metarush tactics involve either spearheading all squads to the Xeno hive or Queens (less often) aiming to quickly dispatch squads/emplacements before they can be prepared. That said, this is very much a case-by-case thing.
    • Are Civillians from the Almayer (Doctors, researchers, etc) allowed to leave the FOB whenever they wish? - This is IC, though don't play a doctor who just runs to the frontlines and dies or you will be punished for LRP (Low Role Play).

      List of questions from Avalanchee:
      • Is it LRP to do things like /me inhales /me exhales, even just once? I had no intentions to be like the guy that emoted every step he made. - You won't get anything more than a warning for doing it once, but given it's become a joke of itself, it's often perceived as LRP/not serious. If you do want to emote something like that, I'd suggest adding some description to it like /me breathes shakily or /me takes a deep breath.
      • Snowsuits as a PFC. Powergaming or not? - IC, you can get in trouble for not being in uniform but if it's on the ground to use there's no reason you can't.
      • Is using Planetside equipment as a marine LRP? - IC, read above.
      • Is stealing a command radio so you can coordinate with other squads better LRP or Powergaming? IC, but you may be arrested if the MPs find out.
      • Lowpop and some random MP is arresting someone for something he never did - command doesn't give a damn and there are no admins/seniors online, I want to save the marine - what are my options? - Server rules still apply and there's almost always a staff member online that can assist you. If there isn't anyone online, you can ask for a staff to get onto the server to assist you with a problem via discord.

    • Is recording games where you play as a Predator and uploading them to YouTube against the rules, or generally "something we'd rather you not do"? - I have no problems with this myself though do ask the Yajuta Council directly about their concerns with it. If they're fine with you posting a video of you playing predator, you're free to do so.
    • Is using a switchblade to clear weeds against the rules? They clear weeds the same speed surgical tools do. - This is powergaming, yes. Surgical tools don't have a delay to them so Doctors can have the quality of life to do their job without waiting for the action delays. As for switchblades, it's unintended they have no delay on use so don't use them to clear weeds. If the devs step in and nerf them because people abused it, then you're free to use it then.
    • Are auto-clickers allowed even if it's part of the mouse soft/hardware? - No.
    • Green Aliens from Event: They are still on "They are not friendly and will not negotiate." outside of team they are bound from the beginning? - This is an event role and can vary from event-to-event. Always ahelp before taking things into your own hands, however.
    • What is the stance on livestreaming Colonial marines? - You're free to do so but we do ask for streamers to put a delay of 2 to 5 minutes to dampen the impact of people watching for nefarious reasons.
    • Is it ok for the SO, XO or CO to make chems ICly given that they have medical experience and chem access? - If they have the IC ability and nothing better to do, sure. They can't be ignoring Overwatch or other Command specific duties to do this, however.
    • On HvH, to what extent are you able to use enemy gear? - While guns and other weapons are always free-game, armor is almost never allowed, even if it's just a helmet. The reason we don't allow armor swaps is because armor is currently the only real way to figure out who's on who's side and it's not fun to have someone you thought was on your side unload into you and kill you on the spot.
    • Marine dies somewhere and benos build a wall around him and make him pay for it all. Is this powergaming? - To keep it simple, not really. If you've had a wall build around your dead body, the outcome is unlikely to have been changed in the grand scheme. If the Marines are pushing up, they're most likely going to destroy the walls anyways and then find you. If the Marines are unable to push up, then you weren't getting saved regardless. There are some cases where you could not be found due to this, but given how rare this would be overall it's not worth applying a global ban of building walls around Marine bodies.
    • Is it allowed to put utility vendors in Dropships. Food, Drinks, Engi-Vends, Tools. Etc? in roundstart? - I would wait till at least enemy contact is made (second drop) as in theory, there may not even be anything on the ground. Doing it during the second drop would be fine, first drop I'd advise not as you could get in trouble during it.
    • Clarification on spamming copy pasta in OOC chat? - Most of the time it like a whole block of text and lots of people posting it over and over is just spam that adds nothing to OOC discussion. If a staff asks you to stop and you refuse, you can still get banned for it. In general it will start with a 3 hour ban but depending on note history and the situation at hand, it could be higher.
    • What about Hivelords walling entire sections of map before first drop? - IC. It may be annoying but it also blocks Xeno movements as well and doesn't give Xeno any real advantage other than slowing down Marine advancement by a minute or two.
    • Is it OK for a limited role to ditch non-essential articles of equipment, provided they're still fulfilling their role's duties effectively? - As long as the Grenadier Specialist at least distributes/uses the grenades and performs his role in the squad, it's fine. That said, the Grenade Launcher is pretty useful to have and not bringing it only really makes your job harder.
    • Is it possible to record game play. (Not stream) then use the recording as �body cam� footage IC when you have a MP role? - No, not because it's unreasonable but because it opens up too many possible issues and starts to move too far into OOC territory. If you need to collect proof of stuff ICly, you can use the in-game cameras to take pictures that can be presented as proof.
    • Mutinies are only on the captain right? - Yes, you can not mutiny for anyone lower. If it's someone lower rank than the CO, you take the issue to the CO and allow him to deal with the situation. If the CO fails to act in a reasonable amount of time, you can start to take things up with the CO then.
    • Are xenos allowed to unnest you, neuro you, and nest you again when they see you try to struggle out of the nest so that you don't unnest at an inconvenient time? - Yes and while it may suck, if there's a Xeno there to do that in the first place then it's unlikely you're going to be breaking out either way. If they want to continuously take you out of the nest, you can prepare and attempt to act when they unnest you.
    • Is group punching someone until their bone breaks overescalation? - When we say you need to escalate a fight, it's refering to the amount of damage you can do. Punching someone to death/broken bones has no real differences than doing the same with a knife or gun. As such, keep that in mind when escalating an argument.
    • Is it okay to lase into the fog in LV or into space on Prison? - Yes, these are IC means of getting a strike to a specific location. This isn't bug abuse because you're targeting land that is CAS-available and offsetting to the prime targeted area.
    • Survivors and being hostile the second they see a Marine? - Survivors are allowed to be hostile provided they are openly hostile. That said, a survivor shouldn't be camping the LZ to shoot Marines unloading from the dropship. That said, if you're moving outside the LZ and into the colony, you should generally be ready for any possible encounter.
    • What is the reasoning on spitters not being allowed to push & explode fueltanks? - This is and has always been metagamming. Xeno don't understand tool and while it's one thing to hide a trap under box, it's another to push a fuel cart somewhere to blow it up. Spitting or melting a fuel tank placed somewhere is fine, however.
    • Can I (a Xeno) board the Dropship at First Drop? - Not against the rules since it's the PO's job to make sure that the dropship is clear in the first place. That said, a Lurker wouldn't stealth its way up on first drop since it wouldn't even know if it was taking off. Simply put, not currently against the rules but it's asked that you at least wait till the second.
    • Is wearing part of a uniform considered LRP or IC and to what extent? - Depending on what you're wearing and how you're acting, it could fall under LRP but not just by wearing it. A normal Marine wouldn't take off their armor and suit to start running around in a chef's outfit for no reason. That said, if a specific item has uses, such as snowsuits from a previous clarification, while debatably worse than sticking with your armor, you're free to use it. Note that hats, gloves, and shoes can be more freely swapped provided you still have your suit with you. Keep in mind your suit is what distinguishes you as USCM, and you'd never just throw it away during an operation. Obviously, MP are free to arrest you for not being in standard gear so while unless you're really acting LRP in the round as a whole, it's pretty much just something the MP will deal with.
    • As an IO, can I give the stuff in my vendor to the marines following with me. Including Uniform, Armor, headset and whatever else? - You can, but generally should do so with reason. Uniform and armor specifically, while not a OOC rule break, is an IC one with Marine Law and can get someone in trouble for wearing it. Headsets can be given out but having a command headset isn't a standard issue item, so same issue with Marine Law. Backpacks and other basic items can be handed out without much real issue.
    • Is it against the rules to kill marines that are SSD in cryo and putting them in the morgue? It feels like it should be against the rules, but I can't find anything specific on that. - I feel like this should be obvious but yes, it's not allowed. Just because someone is sleeping doesn't mean they're not alive and you could just kill them.

    Marine Law Clarifications:

    • How do doctors and the CMO fit into Insubordination? - Although doctors and the CMO are labeled as civilians, they're still part of the USS Almayer Crew and should still listen to any orders the CO and XO give out. Refusing to listen to other command staff wouldn't be a Marine Law rule-break unless directly ordered to listen to them.
    • MP's must stay with brig prisoners. Does that apply for perm prisoners too? - No, if someone is in perma you aren't required to watch their closed cell, though don't forget about them there. MP are still in charge of the health and wellbeing of those in perma and no one likes to spend the whole round completely alone.
    • Civilians (Survs, CL, Doctors..) insulting marines, Can MPs do anything about it? - Nothing you can arrest them over, but you can RP it as you wish as an MP. Civilians are still required to listen to the CO/XO so you can take the problem to them if you desire.
    • I had an MP arrest a marine from the RO line because he wasn't wearing armour before briefing and deployment, is this allowed? - If you're getting ready to deploy, you are required to be in full gear. You don't have to gear up before heading to the RO line but doing so does put you at risk of being denied by the RO/CT or getting in trouble with the MP.
    • Can prisoner survivor be perma brigged on Almayer if he comes with his prisoner ID and prisoner uniform? - They can not be stuck into perma unless they have committed actual crimes during the operation. While it makes sense for RP, simply it's not fun to sit in the perma bring all round. MP can do things like make the Survivor be forced to always have an MP around them or other reasonable actions against a possible felon, but you can't lock them up until they've got actual charges on them.
    • Dropship full of angry aliens is on its way and the MP chooses to keep you in your cell, clarification? - As long as the MP don't leave you there, you can try to get to safety with the MPs and RP it from there.
    • What do MP do if a prisoner is constantly resisting and 1) trying to run away or 2) trying to slow you down so you both get killed during a hostile boarding? - Leave them handcuffed and just let them run into the hostiles to die. If they're somehow alive next time you see them, feel free to rearrest them (don't go tasing/flashing other marines in the process though).
    • Can I get a clarification on whether the Captain can BE MP/CMP? - Yes, but doing so will often come with a greater reason. Because MP/CMP are rulebound to follow Marine law, it'd be wise to first ahelp if an MP/CMP is doing so.
    • Can I get a clarification as to if MPs can wear marine armor in red alert situations? - MP have their own armor set which you should be wearing during normal operations, but if you don't have your MP armor for some reason, you can wear Marine armor.
    • Would using beanbags in place of taser considered a lethal or non lethal? - Non-lethal, though you shouldn't be using it in place of your taser, it's mostly an anti-riot tool and such. You can't go to arrest someone and start unloading beanbags into them to take them in.

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    What is the stance on livestreaming Colonial marines?

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    Updated

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    If you're SADAR specialist and the queen is in perfect shot but she is dragging and slashing a marine, would it it be griefing to take the shot knowing full well you're going to kill the marine and the queen?
    Or to phrase it more generally, is it griefing to kill an alien whilst fully knowing you will kill another marine player while you're at it?

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    As a queen, can you order your larvae to evolve to something specific to avoid an all-runners-no-drones hive situation?

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    Is it ok for the SO, XO or CO to make chems ICly given that they have medical experience and chem access?

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    Can prisoner survivor be perma brigged on Almayer if he comes with his prisoner ID and prisoner uniform? (if no, what are the RP reasons for that?)

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    On HvH, to what extent are you able to use enemy gear? I got PMd for using only the B18 helmet as a UPP standard even though everything else I wore was UPP related except for a M41.

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    To what degree is incompetence is allowed?
    I've also tried ahelping mute SLs and only got IC issue reply.
    Do mentors have the authority to teach players things beyond technical knowledge of the game?

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    Roleplay Standards

    Marines: All personnel employed by the USCM are mentally stable and physically fit for duty. They would not desert their post or go against the USCM without a good reason.
    What exactly constitutes as a "good reason" to not deploy?
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