Remove disguises
A discussion of the poll

There is currently a poll in-game regarding disguises and I thought I'd make the thread here for discussion as I could not find any previous ones.

I personally think that removing everything except for wigs/contacts is the way to go. Disguises are a powerful tool for some plots such as infiltration/social ones, and they should always require some planning/setup to really convince players. I heavily dislike the use of ponchos and hoodies in general as a tool for becoming a ghost and avoiding conflict as it becomes a get out of jail card for most people.

I also want to bring up that smallworlding shrouds and hoodies isn't really enforced on an OOC level so it's kind of not balanced there either. You can be respecting someone's disguise but there's nothing preventing from the other player on the other side playing to win to smallworld yours and fuck you up. I've experienced this firsthand multiple times where I have let people go, and know others who have, only to not receive the same kind of gesture in return.

So my solution would be to just remove all disguises except contacts and wigs to make disguises more of a plot/infilitration/manipulation tool rather than a requirement of PvP and combat as they stand now.

I genuinely got shocked at the poll and went "the hell, that's stupid" but then thought about it and…

Yeah, I like the middle ground you are proposing here Cowbell, it lets people completely change ID still, with very expensive items, and also removes the game of "my vs your definition of small worlding while counting bullet holes in a poncho on someone I passed at a glance".

I really hate that game as what is fair to notice for one is not for the other, and leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

@zxq

The issue isn't even the combat but living under a poncho at all times to avoid detection when you're out and about. Or wearing a poncho during something PvP-esque to avoid detection. This doesn't even have to just be combat. I think disguises in general should be kept out of anything direct PvP and instead be used in social PvP entirely. I suppose you can always go shoot someone with a wig on but still it leaves a lot to be pursued and gives players a lot to work with.

As for biomods that's as easy as introducing changes to wigs to make them cover biomods too, or using tailored items to cover the modded parts. I don't think ponchos and hoods are necessary.

@Mindhunter

Honestly my intention wasn't for wigs and contacts to be used in murder. I'd rather everyone murder each other with their own ID at this point rather than play the game of 'how do I smallworld who was under the shroud' that happens constantly. People will do something under their poncho and people will smallworld it anyway if they want to or find excuses for it, while some players instead try not to. There's no balance there.

It'd just be better altogether IC and OOC if people knew who killed what, who did what, with no dodging of the consequences or hiding forever. It would make for better stories and more conflict.

(Edited by Cowbell at 7:00 am on 12/15/2025)

What if being in combat, dipping, grappling, etc. just forced shrouds to slip? Then they would only really work as a passive concealment thing, right? I don't think it's fair to remove some people's ability to to go around anonymously. It's already really hard for corpies to go into the mix under the current system. Without shrouds it would be even harder.

And gangers should toll shrouds or force them to reveal their identity. You got double-tolled? Too bad, cost of wearing a shroud.

EDIT: I'm cool with getting rid of ponchos. I like hoodies though.

(Edited by ikunaut at 8:16 am on 12/15/2025)

I don't think fighting should allow you to keep a complex disguise up. I think the way you keep a person from finding out who you are when killing them is by killing them. But I think the other uses of disguise are really great and helpful for immersion. The idea of ponchos/hoodies is a little silly. Let me pull that off with any clothing that hides features and swap disguise from a 'put an item on' thing to a 'appear disguised'

Cowbell, I could see other disguise items replacing it. Or even levels of wigs. Like 'is wearing an obvious disguise'.

Perhaps this is also just a side effect of the name system?

Since you get the player's 'name' instantly unless they are shrouded. What if a shroud just hid their name in shortdesc but you could see their full description when you actively look at them? (I'm just throwing out ideas and brainstorming. Sorry if it's too many suggestions for the thread.)

I am going to point out something that seems to be missing in all the arguments of Solo McSwingdown hiding underneath shrouds.

Non-combatants use shrouds too as a survival mechanic. If you're a relatively fresh face and a ganger has it out for you, your odds of survival in a fight are sli- yeah not even slim. You're dead.

But if you wear a shroud, take time to appear as something you're not, and remember to change your shoes, there is a small amount of security that you're not going to be immediately identified on the street and vatted for "roleplaying reasons". Granted this is nowhere near safe but it is SOMETHING that might allow you to move around with whatever your day to day is. So you'd be taking away a pretty powerful defense from people who don't want to have to Min/max their Dodge skill to ensure they reach six months.

If you remove shrouds and go contact / wigs only, then you need to drastically lower the skill check for the @disguise-name command. Seeing someone enter a room that doesn't have a name associated with it immediately sets me on edge of who is this person, and I bet I'm not alone in this.

Finally, I'd prefer if the Disguise system was built up and improved more before doing something as drastic as ripping out ponchos. I'm not exactly a fan of the design philosophy of "if it's a problem, rip it out completely instead of fixing it."

Like, if we're dropping ponchos, can we please have makeup that can change the color of our body parts? Or be able to custom input what the makeup we're applying appears as? I know it's been asked for for awhile now, and you guys are really chopping down trees and mechanics without doing much to replace the lost systems.