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+--- Thread: RP Ramble: Station Activities (/showthread.php?tid=13758)
RP Ramble: Station Activities - UrsulaMejor - 02-02-2020
I am very sorry for this. This is multiple 2am rambles stitched together in something that I hope makes sense.
I might come back and edit this again later, but I really wanted to get this out there since I've been stewing on it for a while
Why are we here?
we're employees
we get paid
what are we being paid for?
stuff as basic as that is missing from the lore/gameplay, I think.
we're expected to work together to create a cohesive story, and I don't think that always works when everyone on the station has a different idea of why we're here and what our corporate goals actually are.
This is where Manta really excels as a roleplay map because, in my opinion, gameplay and lore collide perfectly there:
We are employees on the NSS Manta
the NSS Manta is a military sub on Abzu, patrolling the seas and protecting our research station, Oshan
right now we are patrolling the waters near the sunken NSS Polaris
we... literally patrol
the ship actually moves
we have logs
we're a military vessel so we have weaponry
like it's such a good map for RP because we can all agree on at least that much
This is what we do here:
Something that we could really benefit from is to finish and polish that concept by giving us some stuff to do as a team (whether this be station goals, quests, or whatever). Some background activity that sets the stage for the drama to occur on the map
For example (and this is a bad example because cog 2 bad for RP at our current population)
BUT WHAT IF:
Cog 2 being a supply depot actually meant something to the gameplay?
Like what if we had to, as a station, you know, fulfill orders and depot some supply.
stuff like that!
background shit that just happens because of the station you're on
that actually for real matters
What if Atlas has posted bounties for each adventure Z that you could redeem stuff from there for as like, proof you cartographered it, because Atlas is a cartography ship
What if each map had a signature "bounties" (Quest system?) or activities based on the lore behind the map, e.g., cargo deliveries on the cogs, adventure bounties on atlas, etc.
Would be like "station goals" in concept but directed based on what each map is supposed to be
With this kind of stuff in the game, then, for RP you're not just picking a map when you vote, you're picking a scene
Why is this important?
I think we need things like that; things that the crew, as NT employees, ostensibly care about so that there's something to actually sabotage or engage with.
Like, if cog1 and cog2 were actually supply depots like they are in lore, and the traitor could sabotage that, and if there were meaningful consequences to the crew for failing, I think that would be a good start would be to give the station something to care about.
As a traitor I want to be able to deprive you of something.
To make you feel like I've taken something.
To give you something to lose, then make you lose it.
But I don't necessarily want to kill you, you know?
From a gameplay perspective, I want to give the station something fun specifically so that traitors can take it away, and be effective "villains", without necessarily killing anyone, since a lot of people don't want to actually play murderous antagonists.
It would be fun if killing people were a way to accomplish an objective rather than an objective in and of itself.
If the station has a concrete goal and traitors actually could be effective spoilers for that goal with objectives to support that I think it would be Good
Random examples of new possible objectives:
- Ensure the NSS Manta remains stopped for 20 minutes (you sabotage the bridge, assassinate people with access to the piloting console, convince people someone is trapped outside and needs help, break the engines, etc.)
- Ensure that NT-13-COGMAP1 misses 3 consecutive delivery windows (you steal the cargo, shut down belt-hell, kill the QM, etc.)
- Deal major damage to the Oshan Trench Elevator (if Oshan is here to study the trench, this is a big blow)
TLDR;
1) Develop station activities and defined lore per each map that sets the stage for what each map **does**
2) Develop meaningful consequences for succeeding or failing at those objectives
3) Reframe antagonist objectives around ensuring the crew fails at theirs.
For the record, I think that this system would excel equally well on Main, for different reasons. It definitely encourages and facilitates a more stealthy style of traitor play that isn't just "kill people, but quietly." That said, I feel the RP server desperately needs something like this, which is why I posted it here and from the perspective of the Roleplay server.
From an implementation standpoint, I don't see a reason for us not to push the changes to both servers.
RE: RP Ramble: Station Activities - Leeanei - 02-02-2020
This would help the RP server a lot just because it'd force the crew to work together. Even on RP there's people hiding in chem/genetics/adventure zones instead of interacting! It would also change the atmosphere quite a bit, give people some urgency. Even if it was just basically a notes pop-up, it'd still be neat.
RE: RP Ramble: Station Activities - Tarmunora - 02-02-2020
(02-02-2020, 03:20 PM)UrsulaMejor Wrote: -snip-
1) Develop station activities and defined lore per each map that sets the stage for what each map **does**
2) Develop meaningful consequences for succeeding or failing at those objectives
3) Reframe antagonist objectives around ensuring the crew fails at theirs.
-snip
In my opinion, that first point, about giving the maps each their own identity, so to speak, is important.
As far as maps go right now, we have 4 'settings': station, ship, Oshan, and Manta, and even the various spaceship/spacestation maps don't have too much in terms of strong hooks, for lack of a better term.
blub
RE: RP Ramble: Station Activities - Flourish - 02-02-2020
This is a good ramble Urs. I agree with everything you've said re: purpose and direction. Honestly, I don't have much to add beyond that.
RE: RP Ramble: Station Activities - MarkNstein - 02-02-2020
Agreements from me.
Another one for Manta that I enacted today:
"Help the station go green! Send as little trash through the crusher as possible. Instead, send it to the Singulo to boost power!"
Protag objective: Modify the engine room so that the singulo can be fed easily. Feed it to increase power.
Maybe add a PTL to Manta? Or have some other source of rewards for a high-amount of singulo-mass.
Antag objective: send as much trash through the crusher as you can.
Maybe the rewards/detriments are direct to the payroll. A tug-of-war on the budget, where NT is issuing subsidies for "green" activity.
Could possibly be warped into the cargo-objectives. Ship trash to a third-party handler (the Syndicate windshields) instead of crushing it.
RE: RP Ramble: Station Activities - jpnh - 02-03-2020
(02-02-2020, 08:52 PM)MarkNstein Wrote: Maybe add a PTL to Manta? Or have some other source of rewards for a high-amount of singulo-mass.
Antag objective: send as much trash through the crusher as you can.
> Azungar adds PTL to Manta, Mark proceeds to literally boil the ocean away.
> Send as much trash through the crusher as you can
Not sure if this is already an antag objective for the janitor or not, but when I was turned into a traitor by an admin for a short time this was literally my objective and it would've been pretty fun too if the round wasn't going to be over in 5 minutes.
RE: RP Ramble: Station Activities - Gannets - 02-06-2020
Yeah, I wanted some sort of proc genned exploration objectives for atlas when I was designing it