Assassination target buffs for exploration

[Rukofamicom]

About The Pull Request

There are four types of assassination targets, this PR only modifies three of their combat capabilities directly because one of them is perfectly fine as-is thanks to spawning with a .45 and captain's saber.

• Operatives - now spawn with a combat knife so that if they run out of stechkin ammo they have a melee option instead of being pretty much defenseless
• Super Spy - now spawns with a stechkin, suppressor, plastitanium switchblade, chameleon mask (for voice changing) and a spy glasses kit. He notably does NOT spawn with a second clip for his gun like the operative and dictator do so he'll still need more guile to survive.
• Clown - now spawns with taeclowndo shoes and a lube flower, but still no weapon of his own. He is also no longer clumsy though, so if he can successfully disarm and swipe a weapon from the explorer, that becomes the clown's weapon instead. Still the weakest of the lot, but at least able to do something other than die miserably now.
• All of them, including the dictator - now spawn with a flashlight and infiltrator medkit, which contains a small assortment of meds (gauze, bicaridine, kelotane, charcoal, and two synthflesh patches) so the targets are able to see and deal with simplemob threats that may spawn nearby.

Why It's Good For The Game

Assassination targets are very seldom taken by ghosts because they are simply not fun to play as more than half of the time. Even the most powerful possibility is easily outmatched in a 1v1 due to explorer survival pens. However this PR does not aim to fix this, at least not yet.

What this PR does aim to do is make all of them at least fun to use and play as by giving all of them at least a fighting chance. None of the targets were buffed to be stronger than the current "worst" possibility, and the medkits provided still don't compare at all to the explorer survival pens, but do offer a much better chance to survive against the various threats they may be surrounded by as soon as they spawn (especially spiders with their venom).

Testing Photographs and Procedure

Super Spy:

Operative:

Dictator:

Clown:

Changelog

🆑
balance: All explorer assassination targets now spawn with a few medical supplies and a flashlight to help them deal with potential mobs nearby
balance: The operative assassination target now spawns with a combat knife so that they have a moderately powerful melee option if they run out of ammo for the stechkin
balance: The spy assassination target now spawns with a stechkin, suppressor, spy glasses kit, and chameleon mask for voice changing. They do not have a second clip for their gun.
balance: The clown assassination target now spawns with a lube flower instead of water flower, and also knows taeclowndo thanks to their fancy shoes. In their isolation they have also managed to overcome their clumsiness.

/:cl:

[Tsar-Salat]

That's a lot of stuff for one backpack.

Really hope it doesnt break the outfit unit test guh

[PowerfulBacon]

Interesting, I don't want them to be too strong as to reliably kill the explorers, but at the same time they choose the mission themselves. I like this expansion and it adds some interesting rewards for taking them down, though idk if it will do anything about nobody ever taking the roles.

[MarkusLarsson421]

Perhaps giving them customized objectives other than "survive"?

Clown might be to make contact with the station Clown agent (who may or may not be an actual agent) while the super spy might have to get the black box from the station, and so on.

Make them antagonist, but make their objectives low priority things which shouldn't make the station (maybe not even security or command) valid targets for the antagonist.

[ClownMoff]

You could give the clowns the reverse revolver but keep the clumsiness

[RDS88-beeman]

Infiltrator kit, my thing's being used!!! :D
this is a good change.

[Hardly3D]

While it gives assassination targets more chance to win, what if the exploration team still manages to kill them? We're basically giving exploration free traitor items at this point, something that other roles such as mining rarely get access to.

[MarkusLarsson421]

While it gives assassination targets more chance to win, what if the exploration team still manages to kill them? We're basically giving exploration free traitor items at this point, something that other roles such as mining rarely get access to.

I think they should have a death rattle, similar to nukies which should blow up most items. This would only work if the target is alive to resist or activate it themselves.

[Rukofamicom]

You could give the clowns the reverse revolver but keep the clumsiness

This would make them FAR too powerful because of how much damage the revolver does.

---

While it gives assassination targets more chance to win, what if the exploration team still manages to kill them? We're basically giving exploration free traitor items at this point, something that other roles such as mining rarely get access to.

I like this expansion and it adds some interesting rewards for taking them down

This doesn't add that much new for the explorers:

• Stechkin was already available, although it is now even more available
• Suppressor was not already available, but is also really only useful for antagonists since an explorer probably does not have a reason to need it or its functionality
• Combat knife is the only new item that has the potential to increase explorer power level, but it's still weaker than the guns they already get access to.
• Spy glasses kit can be useful for monitoring the shuttle from hijack, or directly monitoring your team mate when you split up but is otherwise not increasing their actual power.
• Taeclowndo shoes come with the same major downside that normal clown shoes do - they make you move substantially slower. An explorer might choose to use them anyway, but I'm not entirely sure they will. The benefits it offers aren't nearly as large as the normal TC cost implies they would be.
• The only especially useful part of the medkit for explorers are the synthflesh patches if their target doesn't get a chance to use them first.

---

idk if it will do anything about nobody ever taking the roles.

I don't want to buff them too much in one go and end up with the reverse problem where assassination missions are never worth it for exploration to choose. I strongly believe the assassination targets shouldn't be viable for a solo explorer to attempt without help, but I'm trying hard not to make the job less enjoyable while I fix this, so I'm not pursuing that at this time - just trying to make sure every assassination target can at least put up a fight and survive what they spawn near.

If it needs a follow-up PR with other changes, I might take another swing but I think small steps are best for this issue.

[MarkusLarsson421]

• Suppressor was not already available, but is also really only useful for antagonists since an explorer probably does not have a reason to need it or its functionality

Illegal tech.

• Combat knife is the only new item that has the potential to increase explorer power level, but it's still weaker than the guns they already get access to.

Isn't the survival knife they have good enough?

While you're at it. Remove the toolbelt on them as they always spawn with one next to them and give them a regular survival box (Clown survival box for the Clown).

[Rukofamicom]

Illegal tech.

Just like stechkins already do. They are actual uplink stechkins, not the rusty ones that spawn in evidence.

Isn't the survival knife they have good enough?

They don't spawn with a melee weapon at all, so no. It's not the same as the actual basic operative loadout.

Remove the toolbelt on them as they always spawn with one next to them

No, they need this to hijack the shuttle and also sometimes to get around the ruins too. They don't have access on their NT cards that for some reason opens certain doors on ruins that are closed to the targets.

[MarkusLarsson421]

They don't spawn with a melee weapon at all, so no. It's not the same as the actual basic operative loadout.

I meant compared to the Explorers' knife regarding this topic:

This doesn't add that much new for the explorers:

No, they need this to hijack the shuttle and also sometimes to get around the ruins too. They don't have access on their NT cards that for some reason opens certain doors on ruins that are closed to the targets.

There spawns one next two them every time I think. Meaning they got two toolbelts. One on them and one on the floor next to them.

[Rukofamicom]

There spawns one next two them every time I think. Meaning they got two toolbelts. One on them and one on the floor next to them.

You can see in my test images that the one that spawns next to them is the only one any of these four get.