As the first Gregor who handled the transition of Foxtrot from SOBDE to 212th, I'd like to provide some information that would be beneficial to this thread.
I will speak to the best of my abilities without biases towards Foxtrot, 212th, or SOBDE. Thus I will abstain from voting.
Originally, members of SOBDE at the time were having trouble with up-keeping the size of the regiment with its numbers. They felt that SOBDE was "getting too big" and were looking to cut squads from SOBDE. We saw this before with the removal of Ion team in favor of NULL/BB, for example. So this time around, SOBDE wanted Foxtrot removed to help reduce the number of members to manage, and the squad itself was struggling to keep a consistently filled, active roster - despite many attempts to save it. It was the community's decision to transfer Foxtrot to 212th instead of completely removing it. Joah agreed with the idea, and made it as such. Later in late summer/fall, Joah, Jackson, and 212th HC at the time (myself included) talked about details of how the transfer of SOBDE Foxtrot to 212th Foxtrot would look like. 212th HC along with myself had meetings with SOBDE about what changes should be made, such as the agreement where the squad specialization loadouts (EOD, TECH, MDK, ETC.) would be limited, with the slots being increased to 5. This way it would make them different from SOBDE, and trade quality for quantity.
When I last spoke to Jackson on Teamspeak regarding the details of the Foxtrot changes, we discussed any last minute changes to the job before development and potential future changes. One thing that Jackson said was that after the change of Foxtrot jobs and their transition to the 212th, that Foxtrot can go ahead to make a server suggestion to add a medic job. We both came to the agreement that if this was going to be done, that a slot will be taking off the normal Foxtrot job to make room for a Foxtrot medic, and maybe only having a medkit in its loadout instead of a bacta-nade. This was back in around the late summer-fall when we were still on Endor base.
The first task I did was create and establish a PUBLIC Foxtrot document, delineating the changes being made to the squad in conjunction with its transfer from SOBDE to 212th. I included reasoning for all actions/details, reinforced by members of SOBDE, 212th, and Joah/Founders at the time (with some lore proof/reinforcement as well).
https://docs.google.com/document/d/18ZzSAPdHf5uEPZ_F4QdHJMqbvPvEUz6uH4OGvwEJo00/edit
Disclaimer: The document is not up to date. I last updated on 1/11/2020 before leaving Gregor for Cody. Still, this document includes relevant information about my sound reasoning for many of the changes - regarding the slot, job, loadout changes, lore perspective, roleplay rules/hierarchy, and more. This information was also accurately referenced from Founders, SOBDE, and 212th alike (at the time).
It was my intention with the best of my capabilities to detach Foxtrot from SOBDE with a new identity (as can be seen in the document). Foxtrot was no longer specialized as they're no longer in the Specialized Operations Brigade. I created an entirely new, unique system within Foxtrot that was of high quality caliber, and was approved by many individuals within SOBDE and 212th. That is why there were different requirements, different training, no access to each other's comms in-game (unless it was a joint op and consent with both parties) - yet overall, I encouraged Foxtrot members to keep distance and hammered in that they were a different breed. That is also why I held Foxtrot to high standards, especially in roleplay as that was the strongest tool in their limited arsenal. The emphasis on roleplay created a standard that was even higher than was expected and maintained by SOBDE members.
Another point that needs to be highly addressed: Synergy Roleplay lore is DIFFERENT than Star Wars Universe Lore. This point cannot be stressed enough. What happens in Star Wars lore cannot be fully applicable to GMOD SWRP on Synergy in many instances. It's a sandbox, but it's not a 1:1 simulator of the Sci-Fi universe. A good example would be NULL. If members of SOBDE as NULL were to roleplay what NULL were in SW Lore (E.G. Republic Commando Novels), they would break MOST of the server rules in place. That is why NULL had a notorious, horrible reputation for 1-2 years since the start of Synergy - as they attempted to roleplay as close as possible to the real NULLs -- resulting in them being hated by most of the community.
You can say Foxtrot squad deserves a medic with medkit/bacta-nade, because it's an RC squad. You can say they don't, because they're not SOBDE. The whole point of their arsenal being stripped (as I stated in the document) was the fact that they're no longer specialized Republic Commandos. That is why I turned to roleplay, to make them stand out compared to SOBDE.
Whatever the case, I believe either outcome would be fair. I will personally state here however - that any more specialization on loadout that isn't standard RC equipment (E.G. DC-17m Blaster) should not be made in conjunction with the statement "Synergy Roleplay lore is DIFFERENT than Star Wars Universe Lore. " Plus on a gameplay stance, there should be a difference, especially since clone buffs were removed in favor of the new update we received along with the weapon revamp to make everything 'equal and standardized'.
I will conclude by stating that either outcome can be fair. The point of suggestions like these are so we can come together to help make a collective decision, to gauge our thoughts on the matter.
Personal Opinions:
- I foresaw this always being an issue. Foxtrot was an RC squad that by gameplay design, should've always been in SOBDE. Though due to the community and changes, it's now in 212th. We had to adapt and make unusual changes - even I felt weird as Gregor handling the ordeal. I don't think it going back to SOBDE again would be a great idea, as personally constant changes will just cause more problems. Foxtrot's limited lore was also rather contradicting - as they were set up to be an RC squad, yet were also considered to be troopers under the 212th attack battalion. It should also be important to mention that RC squad loadouts weren't consistent. Omega squad has 2 EODs (Darman/Corr), Atin as Tech, Niner as squad lead, Fi as medic. Delta squad has 1 Marksmen (Sev), 1 Tech (Fixer), 1 EOD (Scorch) and 1 Squad lead (Boss) - no medics. The gameplay adaptation for the server was to have squad leads be the medic, if there wasn't a designated medic. Maybe the fix here is to give Gregor a bacta-nade (kek)?
- Foxtrot should stay in 212th with a limited kit to keep both sides happy on the compromise. It was part of the agreement after all. I don't know if that includes adding a Foxtrot Medic or not. Personally though when I was in Foxtrot, I adapted my playstyle to be more cautious/focus more on teamwork as mistakes on health would be a bigger consequence without a medic. Though having a medic would make Foxtrot feel more like a unified squad, where the members can operate in new ways with access to medical equipment on a gameplay level - and even high staff saw no issue with it. It would also help with character creation to enhance RP within Foxtrot. Other players/troopers would also be much more thankful and feel assured that a Foxtrot medic would be patching them up in battle.
- Remember at the end of the day, everyone wants the best for their regiment. While SOBDE and Foxtrot are apart and now possess different identities, it also wouldn't hurt to cooperate with each other to help establish a fair and fun experience for the community.
