Linking Cameras

General Policy Feedback
1

Q: Can I build cameras on the colony and link them to the Almayer?

A: No, this is a bug exploit and is not intended to be possible.

This is quite silly.

  1. Alamo is able to connect its cameras to the LZ with an upgrade, and able to look at the other DS’s cameras regardless of where either ship is, planetside, Almayer, or en route

  2. There are about 50-100 helmet cams that CIC regularly connects to from space to planetside, said helmets have no power source nor physical link to anything- it’s kinda a huge immersive breaking stretch to argue that there is something inherently wrong with setting up cameras & linking them to consoles on the Almayer when simultaneously marine helmets are blasting signals into space

  3. On maps like Solaris, you can link the cams or deconstruct & transport its Camera Console. However, I’d say at least half if not the majority of cameras are damaged as a matter of mapping, aka every round the same cams start damaged- they are overzoomed, blank, and none can see in the dark- which xenos are doing their best round start to destroy all lighting.

  4. Most maps have 0 cameras set up planetside, so linking to their network does nothing

  5. You can set up cams & a console around an FOB, this is super useful- you aren’t allowed to link these to any where on the Almayer though. The only place you’d really bother with it probably CIC- even then, SOs XOs and COs are juggling many things- sure this is advantageous, but no more so than having a helmeted marine standing at a flank

  6. You can set up three cams outside of the Alamo’s docking area and link them to Alamo- this allows Alamo to check who is waiting on transport at any given time. At this time however, since the Alamo would be using these cams when planetside. . . well, technically that’s an ‘exploit’

  7. I would personally rather just use the systems we have in place rather than reinventing the wheel over and over- if it’s an issue of power then make cameras require an APC(although this would suck since you couldn’t set up cameras anywhere that doesn’t start with an APC power network mapped).

edit

  1. Even if you build a camera on each flank it’s not some end-all be-all provider of information, cameras are the first thing destroyed well before cades or walls or anything- acid and gas easily knocks them out and 9/10 times I find that so much damage happened the camera is outright deleted, requiring you to print a fresh camera assembly at an autolathe, and even worse, your old camera is still stuck on the list
10 Likes
2

I agree with you. CIC staff can watch high quality, real-time video footage from the helmet cameras of the entire marine ground force regardless of whether or not the telecommunications tower is set up, yet we can’t build cameras in the FOB and link them to the Almayer?

5 Likes
3

Would I be correct in assuming there’s no contest to this, and the clarification should be disregarded?

1 Like
4

CM is not a democracy. Just because a large portion of people may agree or like something, we’re at the whims of the despots. So - no, you would not be correct in assuming there’s no contest and you can disregard the clarification. You should wait until an admin (or more likely a manager) chimes in.

For what it’s worth though, I agree with you here.

1 Like
5

After the recent changes to the clarifications, I noticed that this particular rule clarification regarding cameras wasn’t there. I asked an admin about it and he said it’s completely fine to do and that it’s not against the rules. I made upwards of twenty cameras all around the FOB during the same round, made sure command and CIC knew of their existence so they could utilize them, and had no trouble from staff.

2 Likes