Goonhub
01-14-2024, 05:39 PM
I'm a big fan of playing Science, especially chemistry. Like half of the jobs on station, Science is very much a department that likes to stay in its department... Maps like Donut 3, Kondaru, and especially Nadir are ones that I like because they put Chemistry (and in Nadir's case, almost the entire department) in a space with a window into a main hall near a central location. I think this is great for RP, and breaks isolation really well. Some other maps don't do this so well; Cog2 tucks the entire department behind 5 window blocks, and you're unlikely to catch more than a glimpse of someone working Oshan's science because of that weird second hallway.
...And then there's Donut2, which puts the entire department on a separate, self-reliant station, with showers, food, drink, a lounge, 5 roundstart artifacts... Hell, they even have metal and glass sheets for repairs, toolboxes, multitools, their own power source, their own disposals, extensive medical supplies, a surgical table... Getting to and from there is a pain and you'll never see a soul there that's not in a purple and white jumpsuit, unless some good-hearted engineer sets up a teleport system and remembers to hit Zeta.
The satellite is a cool idea, but the roleplay experience for me as a scientist there is so bad that I've stopped queueing for the job when I see that Donut 2 is the next map. Sure, I can absolutely just take that 30-second trek to the nearest point of congregation on the main station, but during that time I'm nowhere near the place I'm supposed to be doing my job, and when I'm at my job, I'm only talking to other scientists (very rarely). It feels like a punishment to have to walk all that way just to share a beer with someone.
What's your take on Zeta's independence, and how it affects RP? Is there some change you would make to lessen this problem?
...And then there's Donut2, which puts the entire department on a separate, self-reliant station, with showers, food, drink, a lounge, 5 roundstart artifacts... Hell, they even have metal and glass sheets for repairs, toolboxes, multitools, their own power source, their own disposals, extensive medical supplies, a surgical table... Getting to and from there is a pain and you'll never see a soul there that's not in a purple and white jumpsuit, unless some good-hearted engineer sets up a teleport system and remembers to hit Zeta.
The satellite is a cool idea, but the roleplay experience for me as a scientist there is so bad that I've stopped queueing for the job when I see that Donut 2 is the next map. Sure, I can absolutely just take that 30-second trek to the nearest point of congregation on the main station, but during that time I'm nowhere near the place I'm supposed to be doing my job, and when I'm at my job, I'm only talking to other scientists (very rarely). It feels like a punishment to have to walk all that way just to share a beer with someone.
What's your take on Zeta's independence, and how it affects RP? Is there some change you would make to lessen this problem?