[DISCUSSION] Medical Pharmacy vs. Chemistry

[Torchwick]

I have a few notes from actually trialing out Pharmacist.
While it is nice to create some intra-departmental reliance by giving us the interaction oppurtunity, this PR feels rushed to all hell. I suspect it was done this way to address something major, but I have no insight as to what that might be.

….

Which leads me to infrastructure. The Pharmacy really is a coffin, lacking intercoms, phones, disposal and delivery chutes (most maps will have one or the other with the exception of Cog1, Cog2, and Clarion which have neither), hell even a Chemical Request console would be nice. Space might be lacking to fit a lot of the bulkier items in lovingly, especially with the Chemistry related buildings, but why even bother with the PR altogether if the Pharmacy is only ever going to be as effective as a wet tissue in putting out a fire? I can understand why MD mains might be unhappy with the restricted access, because a Pharmacist on their own isn't an effective role as it stands right now, while restricting some of the things that MD mains might want to do during their downtime- not even touching on the Antag nerf (which isn't itself a dealbreaker, but might limit some of the more devious things an Antag Doctor could do). Overall, it just feels- half-assed, for lack of a better term, which is a shame because I do like some aspects of Pharmacy gameplay and the idea overall. If nothing is changed, it will become the weakest role in Medical, and probably the station overall.

This is what gets me, and it’s not an attempt to be mean or rude to those making the PRs. It FEELS insanely rushed, and the most common response to fixing it that I’ve seen has been; “feel free to PR”. I agree that not all changes are required to get a PR out the door, and yes, sprites and the like can be added later. My main issue is that any other PR would’ve been made to wait before shoving it out the door.

The map changes feel completely rushed to meet the demand of people with concerns, and I don’t think that was the best way to go about it. I appreciate that the changes were made to address the front desk concerns, but… it doesn’t feel natural. The lack of blinds, intercoms, etc… it just feels like it was completely rushed to stop the complaining. Again, I entirely get the point of the PR and I agree with the reasoning on changing things, but I think the change itself is backwards, and I wish more time was given to discuss alternatives.

That’s not to say it can’t be changed now, so I am hopeful that we can find the alternative we need. I don’t think anyone has rushed these changes to be malicious, but I think having this conversation and respectfully outlining concerns is a good place to start.