Goonhub
03-15-2025, 07:56 AM
All this is from my perspective as an RP regular, I can't speak to how severely these issues impact the classic servers.
I understand some of the nitpicks like spectro goggles and how "half the crew [...] running around with [them]" would be problematic - if that were the case. It could be a difference in playtimes and servers, but for me, personally, seeing someone who's not in research with spectros is an incredibly rare occurence.
In a game driven by its amount of fun and optional features, there is a lot of roundstart gear, sure. But why wouldn't scientists need reagent scanners? Why wouldn't engies need mesons? This kind of equipment is deeply interlocked with the departments jobs. I don't think a kind of gear progression system would be fun in the long run. Remember, these types of things have to be for both classic, lowpop, and RP play styles. After a while, the progression would just be another chore in the way, limiting what one can do withing 80 minutes (or less, on classic) even further. Antags, for example, currently have a lot of freedom in how they set up their gimmicks. Cutting down on optional items required for optional features would also limit antag freedom, causing rushed, unfun rounds with too much required preparation.
Who would be responsible for progression? If it isn't actually fun or gets boring too quickly, whichever department's got the task of bringing the whole station forward is gonna create a "this is boring af but someone has to waste 90 minutes of their life on this" kind of atmosphere, which is really not good for the gameplay. Same thing would apply if the departments would be responsible for their respective progression trees.
Additionally, one should try to figure out the actual cause of these issues. Everyone has an upgraded medical scanner (another example which I haven't seen happen on RP)? Is a game issue, or just players optimizing routines (which might even end up counting as mild powergaming).
In short, I think it's a classic-server issue of people going out of their way to get the best items, and not something that could be changed in the long term through game changes, as people will always end up trying to optimize routines and find metas.
I understand some of the nitpicks like spectro goggles and how "half the crew [...] running around with [them]" would be problematic - if that were the case. It could be a difference in playtimes and servers, but for me, personally, seeing someone who's not in research with spectros is an incredibly rare occurence.
In a game driven by its amount of fun and optional features, there is a lot of roundstart gear, sure. But why wouldn't scientists need reagent scanners? Why wouldn't engies need mesons? This kind of equipment is deeply interlocked with the departments jobs. I don't think a kind of gear progression system would be fun in the long run. Remember, these types of things have to be for both classic, lowpop, and RP play styles. After a while, the progression would just be another chore in the way, limiting what one can do withing 80 minutes (or less, on classic) even further. Antags, for example, currently have a lot of freedom in how they set up their gimmicks. Cutting down on optional items required for optional features would also limit antag freedom, causing rushed, unfun rounds with too much required preparation.
Who would be responsible for progression? If it isn't actually fun or gets boring too quickly, whichever department's got the task of bringing the whole station forward is gonna create a "this is boring af but someone has to waste 90 minutes of their life on this" kind of atmosphere, which is really not good for the gameplay. Same thing would apply if the departments would be responsible for their respective progression trees.
Additionally, one should try to figure out the actual cause of these issues. Everyone has an upgraded medical scanner (another example which I haven't seen happen on RP)? Is a game issue, or just players optimizing routines (which might even end up counting as mild powergaming).
In short, I think it's a classic-server issue of people going out of their way to get the best items, and not something that could be changed in the long term through game changes, as people will always end up trying to optimize routines and find metas.