Feedback On Powergaming
#1
Admin: Multiple admins have been in the discussion regarding the following.

Server: Goon 1 / Classic.

Date + time: Multiple times, the most recent being 31/03/2024. Unsure of when the first discussion took place, but feels like between half a year and a year ago.

Synopsis: This feedback is in relation to two discussions I've had with the administrative team regarding powergaming. The first discussion happened roughly more than half a year ago and was a lengthy discussion, but to cut a long story short I came away with the impression that I shouldn't be abusing certain items otherwise the developer team may feel like they are forced to nerf them. At that time, the item I tended to take every round that I considered overpowered was the item that lets you slip through wires. I can never remember the name of that item for the life of me, but it's something you can abuse. I took the feedback on board and stopped using that item and also decided to be more careful on what I acquired at the start of rounds going forward. For example, I ditched grabbing a light suit every round and rely on a EVA suit if I ever need it. At this point, I considering the matter resolved as I felt like I understood where the admin team was coming from. They also made it clear that I wasn't at risk of being banned for doing the above, simply that they did not want to have to nerf items if they were going to be abused, so I stopped abusing them.

The second most recent discussion was centred around me acquiring certain items at the start of every round to make myself more powerful. There are a few items that I collect at the start of every round, namely sunglasses, extinguisher, tools & insuls, mech boots, an armor vest, first aid kit, meth & crank and I upgrade the scanner at medbay. These items are what I would consider 'basic' as there are multiple of them on the map or can be purchased easily. My roundstart usually doesn't take more than 5 minutes and doesn't consist of anything I would consider to be grossly overpowered. An example of items I don't pick up would be any azone loot, weapons, or anything that would give me an extreme edge over the rest of the crew. I regularly die on some shifts because that's just the way the game goes even with some tools in your toolbelt and a first aid kit. I'd also like to mention that my roundstarts are fluid depending on what I would like to do that shift. For example, I might skip collecting certain items because I want to build something on station and I don't want to waste any time. I might feel like collecting artifacts that round so I spend a chunk of time doing that instead. I might simply feel lazy and go to the station with nothing simply because I want to walk around and watch people. The most recent discussion I had mentioned artifacts as something that I collect often, but I feel like 75% of my rounds often don't involve any artifacts at all (the previous round I had found 7 handheld artifacts on Nadir by sheer luck so I was happy to use them, but this is not a regular occurance. That may be why artifacts were brought up in the discussion).

I have been playing for roughly 4 years and I have pretty much always had a roundstart routine that consisted of the above. It has only been relatively recently that I have been warned by admins for this. I bring this up because I'm unsure if people perceive me to powergame worse than I think I do, or if there's been a shift in the attitudes of the admin and developer team recently. There are a lot of players who regularly acquire the gear that I do at the start of the round. Sunglasses were mentioned in the second discussion, and there are multiple spawns around the station that people will take at the start of the round. This isn't the defense of "Other people also do it so it's okay", more pointing out that I see it as a relatively normal and established part of playing on Goon Classic. This isn't an attempt at rules lawyering either, but there is no rule against having a roundstart routine and many people have one. I would still understand being warned if the items in question were grossly overpowered and I was using them to kill antagonists every game, for example the OHR from an azone, but that isn't the case and that also isn't my playstyle. I personally don't see that the items that I acquire at the start of the round give me a big enough edge that it warrants a warning and a lot of roles start with some of the items I mentioned above, or better items than that.

The recent communication I had stated the main issue was that I spend the start of my round gaining an advantage over others that make the game less fun for others. From my point of view and experience I struggle to see this, I don't search for antagonists and kill them using the items I gained roundstart. 95% of shifts I only kill antags who have murdered the majority of the crew, or are actively trying to kill me. My kit mainly revolves helping keep myself alive. Popping some chems to run away if I need to (at the heavy price of meth + crank addictions that make popping them a heavy choice). Otherwise, they're QoL items that a lot of players use, such as tools and insulated gloves. Where exactly am I making the game less fun for others by having these items? It also seems abitrary to say that I can't pick up these items at the start of the round, but after waiting a certain period of time in the round it's now okay to pick up these items. What would be the difference except for moving the time I aqcuired them? If the issue is me picking up these items at all, why are they freely available for anyone to pick up in the first place or why do some classes start with parts of that kit? Again, I completely understand if you do not want players to spend 20 minutes abusing azones every round for overpowered items, but that's something I don't do because that isn't fun for me, let alone anyone else.

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#2
There isn't a sliding scale of "you can grab this at round start, but not that" items that would be considered "powergaming" if you grab them. Is getting a set of tools powergaming? probably not. It's impossible to define "this is powergaming, this is not" because every round is different in the needs of the round. What is, typically, considered powergaming is exactly what you stated. Every round getting a routine of "I must have this item to counter this, this item to counter that, and this to make myself hard to kill" is what makes the game unfun for others. Players notice "wow that player goes and gets these items every round" and it sucks to be an antag who tries to kill you only to have you whip out your unstun pills or your powerful armor that 90% of the players don't have. Me personally, sometimes I'll grab sunglasses if I spawn near them, or if someone tried getting me with a flash I may go grab them, but I don't get them every round. Sometimes if I spawn near a medkit I'll pick it up, but I don't have one on me every round. It's also, as you said, not something we're going to warn someone for immediately, both because we might not notice it happening regularly and because it's not an issue until it becomes one. When players regularly complain (which people have, about you specifically) we will notice these things more. It typically takes a LOT of powergaming for us to give someone a "please chill out" warning. Most people don't end up getting any warnings about not grabbing various different pieces of loot so they're as hard to kill as possible. I don't know of anyone else that will go grab meth and crank to give themselves near complete stun resistance every round.
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