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Nepleslian Medical Symbol

Wes

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As you may have heard, the Red Cross has objected to the use of their internationally-protected symbol in games (1) (2) (3), which is why in 2008 I had the Star Army of Yamatai stop using the red cross and switched to a red diamond with a teal center and clearly marked Star Army Medical, which was inspired by the Red Crystal (which is also a Red Cross symbol, but a non-religious one).

star_army_medical.webp

Old:

medic_teal.webp

Current:__commission___star_army___athena_stamoules_by_komissachan-dbz7zqk.webp

So, we have the same issue with Nepleslia, which I want to address since I'm FM for the time being and this is a good chance to do that.

acdn.discordapp.com_attachments_368981966588215298_408065725681369089_image.webp

So I want to open a discussion about other options for a Nepleslian symbol.

Here's some ideas:
  1. Copy the SAOY style but appropriately relabeled for Nepleslia, as a sort of defacto international standard. Could make the center green if necessary.
  2. Color-edit the old red crosses to green and call it a day. It would be pretty easy. Thanks Littlewasp for this idea.
  3. Use the public-domain Star Of Life
  4. Come up with some new medical symbol.
  5. Wait for some international standard to be introduced in RP (maybe at the IRC but the IRCs aren't exactly known for getting international agreements successfully passed, also I'd rather change this sooner than later)
Opinions?
 
If we were to use an SAOY-inspired one, I definitely think giving it Nepleslian trim/coloring would need to happen. I do think, however, that we need to make it mostly (if not fully) red, blue, or white. These are commonly established medical colors, after all, and will stand out on the uniform (which is what most medics have the symbol for, so they can be easily identified at a gaze).

Nepleslia is actually somewhat more adept because rather than a symbol, they have the armband. I spoke briefly when reworking the awards to potentially bringing back things like the Nepleslian arm bands into proper/common use (rather than sorta ignored these days), so it might be part of solving our problem.

In terms of symbols, I am actually a fan of the symbol on the Star Of Life / WHO logo: the Rod of Asclepius.

It should be obvious why I'm a fan of it, but I do think it's a fairly well-established medical symbol that could fit the tenacity of Nepleslia. We could put it in white on a red symbol of choice (I think an octagon or a circular shape would be my ideal pick) or simply make it on red with the white armbands. If we're against that, though, then I'd prefer to opt for a fresh symbol. Nepleslia might work with Yamatai, but they have always tried to tread and chart a path of their own. It's probably really the only reason I'm against the easiest option of just copying the SAoY, as I think it kinda backslides to make them copy it. Simple as it is and potentially helpful due to working alongside Yamatai more recently, that's just my two cents that Nepleslia would want to stubbornly use something else.
 
Bilgecrank said:
ai.imgur.com_Zc48H3c.webp

The Nepleslian Medical Corps
"You're better off just not getting shot."
Click to expand...
Big thing to remember is that it has to be identifiable, buddo. That's the whole purpose of the symbol in military medic usage. Unless we're fleshing out the medical corps and this becomes their symbol, I think it'd need to be in red (even on the white armband). If we're wanting to flesh them out, though, keep this in our pocket.
 
Star_of_life_red_T.webp

I actually found this version of the Star of Life on a public domain clipart site, it might work well as an international-type symbol that factions might agree on. And a red rod (Ruby Rhod?) would also be an easy option for Nepleslian armbands.
 
I honestly like the idea of a green cross. It would be a simple fix for most art, and it'd be overall patriotic. That, or do something with cybernetics!
 
Legix said:
Big thing to remember is that it has to be identifiable, buddo. That's the whole purpose of the symbol in military medic usage.
Click to expand...


speaking from experience its hard to PID anything from range. We're taught in classes and in field to personally identify certain objects that the Geneva convention and general decency forbids us from shooting. Solid white with a red demeanor arm bands and matte white objects (such as a helmet) that goes against a solid uniform (such as a white helmet with an OD green or black uniform.) As an example are easily identifiable as a medic and decency and legality say we shouldnt shoot these people unless they shoot at us first.

What im trying to say is the symbol doesn't really matter, Beyond standoff range all they'll see is the armband or the helmet, So its less about what you put on it.

But boy do i love those sawbones tho, Bilge~
 
Bilgecrank said:
I honestly like the idea of a green cross. It would be a simple fix for most art, and it'd be overall patriotic. That, or do something with cybernetics!
Click to expand...
Charmaylarg Dufrain said:
speaking from experience its hard to PID anything from range. We're taught in classes and in field to personally identify certain objects that the Geneva convention and general decency forbids us from shooting. Solid white with a red demeanor arm bands and matte white objects (such as a helmet) that goes against a solid uniform (such as a white helmet with an OD green or black uniform.) As an example are easily identifiable as a medic and decency and legality say we shouldnt shoot these people unless they shoot at us first.

What im trying to say is the symbol doesn't really matter, Beyond standoff range all they'll see is the armband or the helmet, So its less about what you put on it.

But boy do i love those sawbones tho, Bilge~
Click to expand...
If people would prefer Nepleslia just use green crosses, I suppose we could. The fact that they wear armbands does open it up. I had just figured it would coincide with the idea of Nepleslia at least making their symbol red to fit the medical norm.

And yeah, the fact we have armbands does give Nepleslia a big step in being identified at a long distance. The use for a symbol that's precise, though, is more for identification up-close as well. This is how a Nepleslian-certified medic, who would have the band with proper symbol, could be identified from someone posing as one.

I also definitely like the sawbone symbol, saying this. It's very easy to profile, but partially why I think it'd be better going toward a Nepleslian Medical Corps page. We could easily make it into a new medical certification/saving someone in the field badge, too.
 
#4 is my personal favorite! easily identifiable and /very/ Nepleslian. It really breaks the mold for something denoting a medic, while still making sense.
 
Two and Five are prob the best for their intended purpose. Maybe we could make the + a bit bigger to touch the border on five if we chose that too. Four is my favorite tho even if it doesn't look as good in red. Maybe we could make it a kind of rank pin some day like how corpsman have the emblem opposite of their rank on uniforms.
 
It looks like #2 has the most support.

Now we've got to just implement the update on the wiki.
 
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