Space ninja design document

[SlamBamActionman]

This PR adds a design document for the Space Ninja

C&C is welcome, as this tries to define the fundamentals of the Space Ninja and how it should be designed

[deltanedas]

didnt i already make one

[SlamBamActionman]

didnt i already make one

You tell me!

[deltanedas]

oh yeah it was that hackmd bullshit

never copy someone copying tgs documentation methods

[RemFexxel]

Suggestions and corrections.

[RemFexxel]

Suggested change

The Space Ninja is a midround antagonist primarily focused on station disruption and sabotage, de-emphasizing lethality for crew in favor of stealth and avoiding direct confrontation. Playing as the Space Ninja should feel "cool"; slipping past crew into restricted areas to complete objectives, doing silent takedowns on unsuspecting targets and escaping danger as bullets fly past. For crew the Space Ninja should be a force that disrupts regular station work, but that one can be safe from by staying together with other crew.

The Space Ninja is a mid-round antagonist primarily focused on station disruption and sabotage, de-emphasizing crew lethality in favor of stealth and avoiding confrontation. Playing as the Space Ninja should feel "cool"; slipping past crew into restricted areas to complete objectives, doing silent takedowns on unsuspecting targets, and escaping danger as bullets fly past. For the crew, the Space Ninja should be a force that disrupts regular station work, but one that can be avoided by staying together with other crew.

[RemFexxel]

Suggested change

Space Ninjas are a classic SS13 antagonist, and its inclusion in SS14 fills a niche of being a solo midround antagonist that doesn't directly focus on death and destruction, instead opting to cause issues for the station in other ways. Before this document was written the role has been in the game for a long time and largely seen as an enjoyable antagonist for both the player and crew. It features unique theming in the form of the "Spider Clan", a nefarious shadow cult that aims to... well, do evil ninja stuff. The specifics don't matter: You are a badass sci-fi ninja. Get the job done.

Space Ninjas are a classic SS13 antagonist, and its inclusion in SS14 fills a niche of being a solo midround antagonist that doesn't directly focus on death and destruction, instead opting to cause issues for the station in other ways. Before this document was written, the role has been in the game for a long time and has largely been seen as an enjoyable antagonist for both the player and the crew. It features unique theming in the form of the "Spider Clan", a nefarious shadow cult that aims to... well, do evil ninja stuff. The specifics don't matter: You are a badass sci-fi ninja. Get the job done.

[RemFexxel]

Suggested change

	The Space Ninja is meant to fill a role as a medium-impact antagonist that focuses on station sabotage, with elements of elusiveness instead of the direct confrontation that is often seen with other midround antagonists. It should test the player's ability to disorient the crew, plan attacks and navigate through the station in ways that make pinning them down difficult.
	The Space Ninja is meant to fill a role as a medium-impact antagonist focused on station sabotage, with elements of elusiveness rather than the confrontation often seen with other midround antagonists. It should test the player's ability to disorient the crew, plan attacks, and navigate through the station in ways that make pinning them down difficult.

[RemFexxel]

Suggested change

	Since the Ninja's objectives are not intrinsically tied to the round ending, some objectives should have failsafes such that the Ninja can't simply wait until the end of the round (when the station is empty due to Evacuation) to complete them. Examples of this could be that an objective locks out access once Evac arrives (e.g. the R&D server claims the tech has been uploaded to a remote server).
	Since the Ninja's objectives are not intrinsically tied to the round ending, some objectives should include failsafes so the Ninja can't simply wait until the end of the round (when the station is empty due to Evacuation) to complete them. Examples of this could include an objective that locks access once Evac arrives (e.g., the R&D server claims the tech has been uploaded to a remote server).

[RemFexxel]

Suggested change

The Space Ninja should be the apex 1v1 combatant but drop off *heavily* in effectiveness if up against more than one foe. This gives crew a clear way of countering the Ninja by grouping up, which has its own inherent downsides by slowing down crew and making it harder to defend multiple locations. Additionally the Ninja should encourage an ambush-heavy playstyle. To accomplish this, the Ninja should not have high resistances (making advancing on an aware target more punishing) and instead focus should be put on abilities that lets it get the drop on people.

The Space Ninja should be the apex 1v1 combatant, but drops off *heavily* in effectiveness if up against more than one foe. This gives the crew a straightforward way to counter the Ninja by grouping up, but it has inherent downsides that slow the crew and make it harder to defend multiple locations. Additionally, the Ninja should encourage an ambush-heavy playstyle. To accomplish this, the Ninja should not have high resistances (making advancing on an aware target more punishing), and instead focus on abilities that let it get the drop on people.

[RemFexxel]

Suggested change

	- Favoring ambushes and 1v1 confrontations; when up against multiple strong opponents, the ninja should prefer escaping.
	- Favoring ambushes and 1v1 confrontations, when up against multiple strong opponents, the ninja should prefer escaping.

Semicolons are used to link two independent clauses that are related.

[RemFexxel]

Suggested change

	- Feel badass, cool and sleek to control, fairly easy to pick up and play.
	- Feel badass, cool, and sleek to control, fairly easy to pick up and play.

[RemFexxel]

Suggested change

	As a midround antagonist, the Space Ninja is the most effective once the round has progressed a bit. This allows the Ninja to counteract progress that has been made in the round, lets the crew settle in a bit and makes it possible to utilize some pre-existing chaos.
	As a mid-round antagonist, the Space Ninja is the most effective once the round has progressed a bit. This allows the Ninja to counteract progress made in the round, lets the crew settle in a bit, and makes it possible to leverage pre-existing chaos.

[RemFexxel]

Suggested change

	The main concern with the Space Ninja is the risk of using its abilities to cause more death than is desired for the role. Mechanics should be balanced such that the Ninja is discouraged to use its abilities to directly cause death and round remove other players.
	The main concern with the Space Ninja is the risk of using its abilities to cause more death than is desired for the role. Mechanics should be balanced such that the Ninja is discouraged from using its abilities to directly cause death and round removal of other players.

[RemFexxel]

Suggested change

Once the Ninja has completed its objectives, since it doesn't rely on station destruction (Nukies, Space Dragon, Zombies) or integrating into crew to evacuate to CentComm safely (Traitors, Thieves), the Ninja requires some alternate end condition. While a Ninja is disruptive it should not on its own be enough to cause the station to evacuate and thus end the round (though crew may opt to do so anyways). This document does not make a proposal for what this alternate end condition is, though some sort of continuous objective beyond "Survive", or a way to (optionally) exit the round once all objectives are finished, are possible options.

Once the Ninja has completed its objectives, since it doesn't rely on station destruction (Nukies, Space Dragon, Zombies) or integrating into crew to evacuate to CentComm safely (Traitors, Thieves), the Ninja requires some alternate end condition. While a Ninja is disruptive, it should not, on its own, be enough to cause the station to evacuate and thus end the round (though crew may opt to do so anyway). This document does not propose what the alternate end condition is, though a continuous objective beyond "Survive" or a way to (optionally) exit the round once all objectives are finished are possible options.