Goonhub
04-20-2020, 08:35 AM
Would addressing a single person help underlying issues with both perception and negative applications of pathology currently?
While I agree somebody who's currently being consistently unfun with it should be personally addressed, I only see this as another case in a constant trend. The entire time I've played, there's been a consistent ebb-and-flow of nobody really using pathology for awhile, somebody then becoming interested in it, such a person running it into the ground, and then the person get complained at.
I think it's important to examine why, in particular, this occurs with pathology. Public opinion is, to my knowledge, low with regard to pathology. It's a different low than usual jokes at the expense of genetics and (to an extent) chemistry; while those two are best known for just sitting at their computers and blowing up their own lab, respectively, pathology is generally seen as "arcane difficult mechanic that can make everyone unable to move how they want, or make plasma everywhere all of a sudden, or spam chat." It tends to have more of a negative effect on others' rounds when it's noticeable. Even the common harmless ones - in particular, I consider the Shakespeare virus - it doesn't really add anything, just annoyingly spams up chat with messages several players have already seen several times before.
Personally, I think the effectiveness of Pathology should be heavily rolled back, then have it be made a bit more accessible, then probably having the more dramatic or sweeping effects re-added at a later time. In this paradigm, what would remain during the rolled-back time?
Tier 1: Gasping, Shivering, Sweating.
Generally, just a few symptoms which causes some emotes. The difference between emote symptoms and shakespeare is that people tend to pay more attention to things being said. The Shakespeare quotes have the same appearance as normal conversation, while emojis have the faded grey that makes them easier to skip.
Tier 2: Indigestion, Farts, Fever, Detoxification, Snapping
At tier 2, there would start to be actual effects. Indigestion to express the damaging nature of some pathogens, farts and snapping are audible emotes, detoxification as an early example of a positive pathogen, and fever as a different way for pathogens to be noticeable - and also have a possible beneficial effect. Note the lack of Common Chills; becoming cold is annoyingly detrimental, to a degree that would not be wanted to be expressed at such low levels.
Tier 3: Deathgasping, Neuron Restoration, Paranoia
In this rollback idea, tier 3 in particular is weakened particularly hard. This is because it's a reasonable stopping point for beginner pathologists to strive towards; most of the more debilitating symptoms are pushed up to Tier 4+ so that a new pathologist doesn't accidentally or "accidentally" unleash them while learning the basics and practicing. It again follows the pattern of noticeable emotes, healing, and some other way for things to be noticeable, just more effective than Tier 2.
Tier 4: Plasma Farts, Bee Sneezing, Disorientation, Smoke Farts, Accelerated Metabolisis, Sunglasses Glands
This is where most of the more complained-about and common to see symptoms would be pushed into. Most of the above are generally crippling or have serious implications for the station at large.
Tier 5: Teleportation, Radioactivity, honestly most of the current Tier 5s.
The gloves come off here. Besides a couple of existing Tier 4s being bumped up here, the rarity and difficulty of getting these would justify keeping them as a tool for experienced antagonist pathologists to unleash.
All in all, I think that removing pathology entirely would be a bit hasty. However, a way to push it to being more publicly looked well upon, with an emphasis on reducing the miserable rounds and making it more accessible so counters could more easily be figured out, would do well for both those who currently enjoy pathology and those who dislike pathology as-is.
While I agree somebody who's currently being consistently unfun with it should be personally addressed, I only see this as another case in a constant trend. The entire time I've played, there's been a consistent ebb-and-flow of nobody really using pathology for awhile, somebody then becoming interested in it, such a person running it into the ground, and then the person get complained at.
I think it's important to examine why, in particular, this occurs with pathology. Public opinion is, to my knowledge, low with regard to pathology. It's a different low than usual jokes at the expense of genetics and (to an extent) chemistry; while those two are best known for just sitting at their computers and blowing up their own lab, respectively, pathology is generally seen as "arcane difficult mechanic that can make everyone unable to move how they want, or make plasma everywhere all of a sudden, or spam chat." It tends to have more of a negative effect on others' rounds when it's noticeable. Even the common harmless ones - in particular, I consider the Shakespeare virus - it doesn't really add anything, just annoyingly spams up chat with messages several players have already seen several times before.
Personally, I think the effectiveness of Pathology should be heavily rolled back, then have it be made a bit more accessible, then probably having the more dramatic or sweeping effects re-added at a later time. In this paradigm, what would remain during the rolled-back time?
Tier 1: Gasping, Shivering, Sweating.
Generally, just a few symptoms which causes some emotes. The difference between emote symptoms and shakespeare is that people tend to pay more attention to things being said. The Shakespeare quotes have the same appearance as normal conversation, while emojis have the faded grey that makes them easier to skip.
Tier 2: Indigestion, Farts, Fever, Detoxification, Snapping
At tier 2, there would start to be actual effects. Indigestion to express the damaging nature of some pathogens, farts and snapping are audible emotes, detoxification as an early example of a positive pathogen, and fever as a different way for pathogens to be noticeable - and also have a possible beneficial effect. Note the lack of Common Chills; becoming cold is annoyingly detrimental, to a degree that would not be wanted to be expressed at such low levels.
Tier 3: Deathgasping, Neuron Restoration, Paranoia
In this rollback idea, tier 3 in particular is weakened particularly hard. This is because it's a reasonable stopping point for beginner pathologists to strive towards; most of the more debilitating symptoms are pushed up to Tier 4+ so that a new pathologist doesn't accidentally or "accidentally" unleash them while learning the basics and practicing. It again follows the pattern of noticeable emotes, healing, and some other way for things to be noticeable, just more effective than Tier 2.
Tier 4: Plasma Farts, Bee Sneezing, Disorientation, Smoke Farts, Accelerated Metabolisis, Sunglasses Glands
This is where most of the more complained-about and common to see symptoms would be pushed into. Most of the above are generally crippling or have serious implications for the station at large.
Tier 5: Teleportation, Radioactivity, honestly most of the current Tier 5s.
The gloves come off here. Besides a couple of existing Tier 4s being bumped up here, the rarity and difficulty of getting these would justify keeping them as a tool for experienced antagonist pathologists to unleash.
All in all, I think that removing pathology entirely would be a bit hasty. However, a way to push it to being more publicly looked well upon, with an emphasis on reducing the miserable rounds and making it more accessible so counters could more easily be figured out, would do well for both those who currently enjoy pathology and those who dislike pathology as-is.