Cogmap 2: *** UPDATE TO BYOND 509 ASAP ***

[Mageziya]

I look at cogmap 2 and I can see a robotic gorilla with really big arms and really huge fists...

looks more like that bulldog from sly cooper to me except now he has a fancy hat

So, Muggshot station.

I like this.

[Cogwerks]

http://goonhub.com/maps/cogmap2

[BaneOfGiygas]

http://goonhub.com/maps/cogmap2

Everything seems bigger. Bigger QM office, bigger chapel, bigger engineering department, bigger research department, bigger morgue, bigger owlery...

It looks nice, but I fear that it might be a bit TOO big. It's already a bit of an ordeal to get from one end of the station to another. Unless some kind of trolley system or something of the sort is implemented, it seems like it would take ages to do so with this map setup.

[69andahalf]

I know size has always been a concern of people when looking at the map but I think it's great! This is built for the future of SS13, servers really aren't getting any smaller. The changes that you've made, pretty much coincide with the issues I first saw when looking at the map. It's really coming together, and I can't wait until it's done!

[Zafhset]

I am loving the spacious departmental hallways and the distribution of crew quarters throughout the station maintenance sections.

[BaneOfGiygas]

I know size has always been a concern of people when looking at the map but I think it's great! This is built for the future of SS13, servers really aren't getting any smaller. The changes that you've made, pretty much coincide with the issues I first saw when looking at the map. It's really coming together, and I can't wait until it's done!

Yeah, don't get me wrong, this map looks really cool, and the fact that some of the more cramped locations (coughmedicaldirectorsofficecough) have been expanded a bit is definitely appreciated. I just think it'll make keeping tabs on the station goings-on really difficult for folks like the security team and the AI. That might be a part of the design, granted, but it's just something to consider.

[salix_catus]

I know size has always been a concern of people when looking at the map but I think it's great! This is built for the future of SS13, servers really aren't getting any smaller. The changes that you've made, pretty much coincide with the issues I first saw when looking at the map. It's really coming together, and I can't wait until it's done!

Yeah, don't get me wrong, this map looks really cool, and the fact that some of the more cramped locations (coughmedicaldirectorsofficecough) have been expanded a bit is definitely appreciated. I just think it'll make keeping tabs on the station goings-on really difficult for folks like the security team and the AI. That might be a part of the design, granted, but it's just something to consider.

Security has checkpoints with brig chutes in, hopefully this will help. And AI controls and security cameras in general are things that are long outstanding issues that hopefully will get some improvements by the time this map is released?

[Sundance]

It almost looks complete! Bravo. :golfclap:

What's the progress with the engineering plasma beam reflector set up? Has that been coded at all?

I agree with bane, this would be quite an ordeal to drag someone from botany for example all the way to security, but as stated above, there's a fair few more security checkpoints around now, each in every section, all with brig chutes, so that's a fair relief. Sec literally would not be able to do their job without those included.
That said there's 3 chutes back to back in security proper.. perhaps the chutes lead to there?

The map is spacious yes, but the actual work environment is about the same. The things that have expanded are foyers and hallways. The seems far more linear in design, but that could be because of the aesthetics of the new walls.

There's a strange object in a QM storage beside a portable reclaimer, looks like a furnace but isn't?

The electricians have a bunch of ports, are you incorporating something with electricity there? Or is it just a place where they can build computers?

The burning barrel where assistants spawn is a nice touch.

[Cogwerks]

Yeah, those three chutes in a row at the main sec lobby lead to the three checkpoints.
Weird furnace thing in mining/QM is a mini-smelter I saw in the codebase, someone else made 'em.

[Ali0en]

It's almost here? Can the hype begin?

Also will there be new solarium stuff when this launches?

GET HYPE

[Houka]

Some things I've noticed from this map change:

The AI chamber has extra computers in it, presumably to make common AI tasks a bit easier to accomplish. I see a QM, budget and a couple security computers there. The chambers are also far less potentially lethal to access, due to the lack of a separating airbridge. The server room is completely separated from the upload now, found near the Bridge.

New audio tools! A microphone/speaker combo at the Boxing Ring, a speaker at the Chapel, etc.

Muuuch improved crew quarters, probably infinitely easier to crime in. Speaking of...

Dark crime hallways are at an all-time high with this map. The northern area of the station, in particular, has a few little areas in it that would be scarily good for hiding criminal activities. But now a morgue is right there as well, granting easy access to corpses in these areas.

Medical improvements are pretty good. Pathology is in a very scary spot for how pathogens currently function. The old 'medical crime room' that Pathology was is now a separate maintenance room. The monkey pen is now even more separate and holds a monkey dispenser, which is awesome in that it is more beneficial to geneticists and criminals. The Medical Director's room looks swanky now, an improvement that I like seeing.

Research has some oddities. For instance, mixing gases in there will be more difficult without the three-way connector that the current map has. Is there a reason for this? The test chamber looks extremely hazardous (i approve) and I enjoy the idea of more people being able to see insane experiments. A separate 'hazardous chemistry' room from normal chem? Not necessary but certainly nice to see.

I like how open this map looks, because it makes it much easier to get around but not in a way that makes it feel... empty or purposeless. I saw Donut 2's brief return during Halloween and the size of that map seemed to lack aesthetics severely. This one has viewing windows and other ways to see into departments, as well as lobbies to break it up, a vast improvement over Donut 2 and the current Cogmap. Playing it might reveal some pros and cons that can't be seen just from looking at it, but I'm confident this is a map without too many glaring flaws and plenty of good points.

Keep up the good work, Cogwerks! This looks nice.

[atomic1fire]

Potentially dumb/risky idea but maybe security's spawn points could have a chance of being the checkpoints?

That way security would actually need to use their radio's, since they aren't immediately all in the same room, and the crew would know that security actually exists because you'd see one officer next to engineering, maybe one near escape, etc, plus detective next to bar.

[salix_catus]

A few things I've noticed too...
So many more public access desks for departments. This makes station wide communication far easier.

The whole arcsmelter/disposals/warehouse/tech storage/marketplace area looks great. These once separate parts of the station fit really well with each other.

I like the color coded mini crew quarters too. I hope they get relevant names to do with the nearby departments. Like Med-sci quarters or something

The central belt hell area looks scary. It's so big yet so secluded.

The doors starting bolted around the owlery has me thinking that there will be a lot more strategic bolting by AIs.
With the amount of maintenance areas around research, engineering and command areas it may become more necessary.

Botany being next to the kitchen with shared storage is great. Also the games room being next to botany makes FAR more sense than it being next to the chapel.

The chapel doubling up as a court makes sense because the current court gets used less than the chapel for public viewings of stuff.

The yet to be filled owlery rooms look interesting...

I like the look of the med-sci dock and the catering docks. Corridors are good.

This map is very good so far. Very much looking forward to seeing how it plays.

[salix_catus]

Potentially dumb/risky idea but maybe security's spawn points could have a chance of being the checkpoints?

That way security would actually need to use their radio's, since they aren't immediately all in the same room, and the crew would know that security actually exists because you'd see one officer next to engineering, maybe one near escape, etc, plus detective next to bar.

This makes sense. I also like the idea of security officers choosing a station to patrol around.

[TheOnlyRyan]

There's only one thing I can see that I don't really like and that's the fact you need to go into maintenance to get to the monkey pen for Genetics.

I can see people just breaking into there all day long from Maintenance, stealing monkeys and Changelings going crazy to get into there too.