Server Rules

This is a Delta-V server. If you are banned on this server, you will be banned on all Delta-v Servers. You must be at least 17 years of age to play on this server. By connecting to this server, you agree to our privacy policy found at https://discord.gg/deltav

This is a roleplaying (RP) server. Try to immerse yourself into your character. This includes interacting with your fellow crewmates, and using roleplay as the primary vessel to play the game alongside things like your job on the station. Roleplaying places less emphasis on "winning" and more on just telling a story.

Space Station 14 is not like most games. Many rules are designed to require roleplay, and not all rules are intuitive. Please take the time to read and understand the rules before you play so that you aren't surprised. Our community rules specifically are zero-tolerance rules, meaning that a violation will result in an appeal-only ban. Game admins will treat you as if you have read the rules, even if you have not. If you have any questions about these rules, please use the admin help menu by hitting F1 in-game or clicking the "AHelp" button in the lobby, or by making a post in the "Rules Clarification" forum at https://discord.gg/deltav

Community Rules

These rules apply at all times, including between rounds.

0. Admin Discretion

• Admins can disregard and override any and all of these rules if they deem it in the best interest of the current round, server, and/or community at large.
• Administrators will be held fully accountable for their actions if they exercise this privilege. Report any perceived abuses by making a post in the "Staff Reports" channel at https://discord.gg/deltav.
• The rules are not perfect. They intend to clearly communicate what the administration team intends to be allowed and not allowed. That being said, All of these rules, in theory, should apply as they are intended. Every example of a rule break cannot be defined as written, therefore, enforcement of the rules is subject to staff interpretation of the rule's intention.
• If you are unsure if something breaks a rule, go with the more restrictive ruling until you are able to get an answer from an admin on the matter. Lack of response does not constitute administrator approval.
• Do not attempt to “rules-lawyer” the flaws in the rules to get away with your own personal goals / to degrade the round for others.
• Any extended discussion regarding interpretation of the rules should be avoided in the AHelp menu and can be instead pursued within the Delta-V Discord in the #help channel, or in the rule clarifications forum on the discord.

A1. No Sexual Content/Themes

Do not say or do sexually explicit or erotic things.

• No sexual content/themes including erotic roleplay (ERP) and no shock content is allowed on this server.
• Erotic Roleplay (ERP), erotic content, or 18+ sexual content is not allowed under any circumstance.
• This includes comments not explicitly sexual in nature that contain words, phrases, or ideations that are deemed inappropriate by staff or members. Leeway is given to insults, but otherwise this rule is strictly enforced.
• If roleplay reaches a point where it has become sexual and/or uncomfortable, immediately stop and contact an administrator or moderator.

Allowed:

- Calling someone a dickhead.
- Being affectionate in a mutually consensual way.

Prohibited:

- Emoting sexual acts.
- Erotic or sexual memes.
- Erotica content.
- Memes which contain sexual content.
- Emoting defecation or related acts.

A2. Use English and be respectful

Delta-V is an English-based Community;

• Use English as your primary method of communication within the game and Delta-V servers.
• Do not spam or advertise on our server.
• Be respectful towards other members and avoid making others uncomfortable.
• We have a zero tolerance policy for racism, sexism, homophobia, violence, threats, hate speech, slurs, and other forms of bigotry, discrimination, and harassment.

Slurs and terms that use real or implied mental or physical disability to mock or denigrate members or their in-game characters are also strictly prohibited. Failure to comply with this rule will result in community removal.

• The denigration of other player characters through reference to their species, status as a cyborg, or discriminatory comparison to a nonsophont species is strictly forbidden.

A3. Rules regarding livestreaming

Delta-V welcomes content creators and streamers to our community, but we have a few rules regarding livestreaming game servers.

• While a stream delay is not necessary, it is highly recommended to have at least a 10 second delay.
• Please let admins know you are streaming via the AHelp prior to doing so.
• If your chat or viewers are in-game with you while also watching your stream, they are breaking our server rules.

• Please do not coordinate with them and discourage this behavior if it is seen.

A4. Engage in proper AHelp etiquette

Do not use the AHelp for conversations of little substance.

• Intentionally disconnecting, responding with hostility, or refusing to respond when an admin privately messages you in-game will be met with an appeal-only ban.
• Additionally, abusing the AHelp relay by flooding it with garbage, checking for admins before stating a problem (ex: "hello?", "any admins?"), using it as a chatroom, or sending messages of no substance will result in your removal.
• All AHelp messages are relayed to the Delta-V Discord. Just because your AHelp was not answered does not mean we cannot see it. If you would like to submit an offline Ahelp, you may do so in our Discord.

A5. Do not exploit the game

Do not exploit the game, use cheats or macros.

The usage of:

1. any third party applications/scripts/client modifications,
2. any other applicable software to gain an advantage, avoid intended game/server mechanics, or to harm server infrastructure is strictly prohibited.
3. known glitches, exploits and bugs.

Any and all instances of the above will be met with an appeal-only ban; please report bugs in the issues section of the GitHub (DeltaV-Station/Delta-V) to report any issues you find in-game.

Game Server Rules

These rules apply within the context of rounds.

B1. Behave like a normal person

You must roleplay. Your character's actions, feelings, and knowledge in-game should be based solely on the character's experiences rather than your own as the player.

• Act in character throughout the round, and focus on collaborating with other players to advance the narrative of the round. Whether or not you do something should be based on whether or not it makes sense for your character to do it.
• Let people do their own jobs. Engage with other departments rather than doing everything for yourself. Ask for assistance, and negotiate as needed.
• Actions that have no regard for your character or setting are not acceptable. Roleplaying insanity or any other mental illness as an excuse to bypass this is not allowed. Nanotrasen would not have authorized you to be present on the station.
• Being an antagonist does not allow you to stop playing a character. Determine how your character would react to being given these objectives, and work through it appropriately.
• Do not annoy other players without any roleplay or IC reason.
• As a non-sentient or partially-sentient character, you are expected to have only a limited understanding of space stations and their mechanics.

Rule B1.1. Follow the naming convention rules

• In-character names must not make obvious references nor be a play on words, and must not be obscene.
• Theatrical roles such as the clown, boxer, and mime are allowed stage names with more freedom.
• If you seek to have a name that could trespass onto these rules, talk to an Administrator regarding why this name is important to your character. Administrators reserve the right to approve or deny character names at their discretion.

Rule B1.2. Communicate in character

• Do not use the Emote channel to bypass an inability to speak. Use the Emote channel for things that could reasonably be displayed by your character’s physical motions.
• Do not use Netspeak in character. (lol, brb, wtf, etc)
• Do not discuss Out Of Character (OOC) matters In Character (IC). This can include mentioning admins, the fact that one is playing a game, or anything that breaks the immersion of other players.
• Do not use In-Character channels to bypass a lack of ability to use LOOC or OOC chats (e.g. "Huh, wonder where the captain went? OOC He probably left to get dinner lol").
• Do not engage in meta-communications (i.e. using external channels to communicate with other players in the same game).

Rule B1.3. If you die and return to life, follow the new life rules

If a player dies, they forget the specific details of their death. Please report players who break this rule. A borg being removed from its chassis is not a death, and there is no memory loss.

• If they are revived by using a defibrillator, they can only recall vague information such as “Someone shot me” or “I was set ablaze”.
• If they are revived by any other method, they forget the last five minutes leading up to their death, and cannot describe their death in any capacity.

Rule B1.4. Escalate appropriately

Have an In-Character reason for attacking other players, whether they are in a ghost role or not. The required reason depends on the situation. For instance, killing a mouse as a chef can simply be “it was vermin in my kitchen”.

• Escalate the situation appropriately as your character would, keeping in mind that they are a sane individual who wishes to keep their employment.
• If a fight results in someone being critically injured, seek medical help for them - and if they die, do not destroy or otherwise hide their body. This falls under self-antagonistic behavior if you do not.

B2. Follow the Metashield

See Metashield.

B3. Powergaming Guidelines

"Powergaming" is considered to be the act of prioritizing "winning" rather than sensible roleplaying. We are here to tell a story. Being vulnerable and accepting the loss of your character in the advancement of the narrative of the round is important.

• Engage with players if they are attempting to roleplay an antagonistic scene. For instance, if nuclear operatives are attempting to negotiate, do not immediately shoot them mid sentence.

• Leeway is given if the scene is coming to a close, but we expect all players to engage in good faith; even if it puts your character at a disadvantage.

• Do not seek/acquire items that have no relevance to your character in the round.
• Do not, under any circumstances, hide the nuclear fission explosive, or other sensitive items in an impossible to see/access location. This is excessively lame.
• Non-security personnel should not seek to kill or detain threats. You should generally attempt to flee from combat or dangerous situations. Remember that your character likely fears injury or death.

• Certain severe emergencies may make it reasonable for normal crew to defend themselves and their station, such as nuclear operatives, a zombie outbreak, space dragon attack, or other critical situations.

• If there is sufficient roleplay, reason, and rationale, you may be exempt from this rule. Always ask an administrator in round before conducting such an action.

B4. Do not behave like an antagonist as a non-antagonist

As a crew member on the space station, you are allied with Nanotrasen and the station as a whole from the start of the round.

• Do not act like an antagonist if you are not an antagonist.
• Willfully assisting known antagonists is self-antagonism.

• Leeway is given in the case of bribes, coercion, or other forms of duress.

• Actively seeking conversion or transformation into an antagonist is considered self-antag.
• Clowns, Mimes, and theater roles are expected to "entertain" the crew, and should not be committing regular felonies to do so.
• Significant end-of-round grief (EORG) is not allowed. This includes attacking, destroying, polluting, and severely injuring without reason both at and on the way to Central Command. Remember that you are playing a character throughout the round.

B5. Leaving the Game

If you wish to leave the game, please use the cryosleep chambers located in/near the dorms when possible. This will free up your character's job to be filled by a new player.

• AFK (a.k.a. SSD) and catatonic players are considered to have the same rights as any other crewmate.
• If a player is dead and catatonic (not SSD), they are not required to be revived and should be stored in the morgue. You should not biomass and/or grind dead and catatonic crew unless in an emergency.
• If a player is alive and catatonic, they may be brought to cryostorage as necessary, after confirming they have not been present for 20 minutes.

Command, Security, Justice and Antagonist Guidelines

These rules apply within rounds for specific roles.

C1. Command, Security and Justice Guidelines

Security, Justice, and Command roles are held to a higher standard of roleplay, and are subject to these additional rules. These roles shape the roleplay experience of the server.

• Your character must act in a manner that Nanotrasen would reasonably hire them to this position.

• Your character is presumed to be sane, competent in their duties, and able to make decisions to the benefit of the station.
• Giving away Traitor objective items and sensitive equipment should be avoided in these roles. Your character should value them deeply.

• Leeway is given to making deals with criminals if the deal benefits the safety or situation of the crew and station.
• Leeway can be given in extreme circumstances of emergency/crisis.

• The three departments are required to read and follow Delta-V Space Law, Standard Operating Procedure, Alert Procedure, and Company Policy to the best of their ability.

• Circumstances and context may permit you to break these laws. However, the fact that this rule is malleable is not an excuse to ignore it entirely.
• Your character is expected to uphold the law and maintain order aboard the station. Do not engage in lawbreaking activity or troublemaker behavior, and ensure all laws are followed.
• Security is expected to intervene in criminal activity where possible and safe to do so.
• Heads of departments are at minimum expected to report criminal activity to Security and should cooperate with law enforcement where possible.

• Do not hire random crew to be your bodyguard(s) or promote random crewmembers to Command positions at random. If you require bodyguards or security details, talk to your Security department. If you need new Command staff, talk to the personnel in that related department.
• If you need to leave the round, notify your fellow crew via departmental radio and put your equipment in its proper places prior to going to cryo. If you need to leave IMMEDIATELY, please at least send an ahelp saying that you're leaving.

C2. Prisoner Guidelines

By picking the prisoner role, you have chosen to roleplay as a prisoner.

• You are still subject to the same rules regarding escalation, and should only seek to escape from the brig with excellent reasoning (e.g. abusive security personnel or badly damaged permanent brig).
• Escaping for no reason is considered a self-antagonistic activity.
• If you are unsure whether your escape reason is valid, feel free to AHelp it first. Lack of administrator response does not constitute approval.

C3. Follow Antagonist Guidelines

Through engaging in antagonistic activity, you should seek to make the round more engaging and fun as the primary driver of the narrative of a round. Succeeding as an antagonist should not be your goal, but rather telling the most interesting story for everyone involved.

• Antagonists are free to complete their objectives through committing proportional damage. Through roleplay, damage becomes more proportional. Example: Holding the singulo hostage for a theft objective is acceptable, while simply singuloosing and using that chaos is unacceptable.

• Killing players unrelated to your immediate objective in a manner that results in their round removal should be avoided. Crew that do not make an attempt at self preservation, or engage in valid-hunting, are exempt from this.
• If you are concerned as to whether or not what you're about to do is allowed, feel free to AHelp and ask an admin for clarification. Lack of administrator response does not constitute approval.

• Other antagonists are not necessarily your friends. Other antagonists are often free agents that you may negotiate with at your own risk.

• If you are a team antagonist, you must work with your partners to complete any shared objectives.

• Excessively lame tactics are strictly forbidden for all antags except for station-destroying antags, such as nuclear operatives or space dragons. Examples include:

1. Explosives and strategies with capacity for high collateral damage used on or around the evacuation shuttle
2. Heavily damaging/spacing or camping arrivals/cryo
3. Unnecessarily extending the round
4. Behavior that calls the round to an end prematurely