Goonhub
01-20-2013, 02:11 PM
I like a lot of your ideas, and i really want more reason to do non PVP things in SS13, that being said...
Point systems that carry over between rounds are generally a pretty bad idea. Look at League of Legends for example, a simple competitive game, but because you get a reward outside the individual round most people get super pissed and stressed out about bad or new players causing a loss.
I also just think point systems that carry over between rounds are kinda silly and a bit too meta.
Instead, if you want to be tracking how well various departments are doing their work already you may as well get rid of a salary and give departments money based on their effectiveness. Some jobs (assistant, chaplain...) would probably just have normal incomes as they work now because they have no real goals to track.
Obviously tied into this we would need a use for money outside building and party supplies from QM. Larger variety of vending machines, maybe more specialized machines within departments, like....
- The science wing can get more beakers, protective gear, exotic chemicals(holy water, space fungus, new chems), more bomb valves and guardbuddy upgrade components.
- A machine near the janitors closet could sell more spray bottles, galoshes(expensive!), maybe a trash scanner so the janitor can know how messy the station is (so he can know when he should to hunt for stuff to clean)
- Engineering could get EVA gear(pretty costly), Magnetic Boots (on tier with a full set of EVA gear), Jetpacks, unloaded RCD (engineers may need to pool together to afford one?) and RCD cartridges.
I could go on listing more department specific vending machines, but ill wait to see if there is any actual interest in that line of thought before i make a monster post.
Using this money system noone is forced into doing their specific job, but there is incentive alongside helping the station against...
More consistent and scary / damaging events! Like you were saying, random events should scale up as the round progresses. But! It should be up to more than just the engineering staff to deal with the negative effects. Sure engineers should fix hull breaches from meteors that slip past shields but other jobs should be able to help in station upkeep outside of just augmenting engineerings shields.
Chemists metal foam could temporarily patch holes in the floor of the station (create a floor that will crumble away in 2-5 min)
Scientists could have the chance to find artifacts that are invulnerable meteor shields that just need to be welded down to avoid drifting off.
Electricians can have plans in their kit at the start of the round that make radiation scrubbers (cogmap) and better alternatives to opening up air canisters in depressurized rooms.
Janitor could have caution tape that prevents anyone not set to harm intent from passing them to help warn people of that massive hole in the main hallway just south of here (because we all know byond is laggy and you can easily walk a screen and a half in the blink of an eye)
Just a side note on job cooperation, electricians should be able to break down artifacts we know the effects and triggers of to make human tech versions of them (ok, so that one is actually just me wanting something i totally dont think will ever exist)
TL;DR,
PVP AND PVE are both cool, PVP is its own incentive, so we need a good one for PVE
Points crossing between rounds is anti-fun and silly
Vending machines are cool
Money should be an incentive, not just expected
Events should be bigger and scarier as the round goes on
More jobs should have the option to help deal with events, not just engineers vs holes in the station.
Point systems that carry over between rounds are generally a pretty bad idea. Look at League of Legends for example, a simple competitive game, but because you get a reward outside the individual round most people get super pissed and stressed out about bad or new players causing a loss.
I also just think point systems that carry over between rounds are kinda silly and a bit too meta.
Instead, if you want to be tracking how well various departments are doing their work already you may as well get rid of a salary and give departments money based on their effectiveness. Some jobs (assistant, chaplain...) would probably just have normal incomes as they work now because they have no real goals to track.
Obviously tied into this we would need a use for money outside building and party supplies from QM. Larger variety of vending machines, maybe more specialized machines within departments, like....
- The science wing can get more beakers, protective gear, exotic chemicals(holy water, space fungus, new chems), more bomb valves and guardbuddy upgrade components.
- A machine near the janitors closet could sell more spray bottles, galoshes(expensive!), maybe a trash scanner so the janitor can know how messy the station is (so he can know when he should to hunt for stuff to clean)
- Engineering could get EVA gear(pretty costly), Magnetic Boots (on tier with a full set of EVA gear), Jetpacks, unloaded RCD (engineers may need to pool together to afford one?) and RCD cartridges.
I could go on listing more department specific vending machines, but ill wait to see if there is any actual interest in that line of thought before i make a monster post.
Using this money system noone is forced into doing their specific job, but there is incentive alongside helping the station against...
More consistent and scary / damaging events! Like you were saying, random events should scale up as the round progresses. But! It should be up to more than just the engineering staff to deal with the negative effects. Sure engineers should fix hull breaches from meteors that slip past shields but other jobs should be able to help in station upkeep outside of just augmenting engineerings shields.
Chemists metal foam could temporarily patch holes in the floor of the station (create a floor that will crumble away in 2-5 min)
Scientists could have the chance to find artifacts that are invulnerable meteor shields that just need to be welded down to avoid drifting off.
Electricians can have plans in their kit at the start of the round that make radiation scrubbers (cogmap) and better alternatives to opening up air canisters in depressurized rooms.
Janitor could have caution tape that prevents anyone not set to harm intent from passing them to help warn people of that massive hole in the main hallway just south of here (because we all know byond is laggy and you can easily walk a screen and a half in the blink of an eye)
Just a side note on job cooperation, electricians should be able to break down artifacts we know the effects and triggers of to make human tech versions of them (ok, so that one is actually just me wanting something i totally dont think will ever exist)
TL;DR,
PVP AND PVE are both cool, PVP is its own incentive, so we need a good one for PVE
Points crossing between rounds is anti-fun and silly
Vending machines are cool
Money should be an incentive, not just expected
Events should be bigger and scarier as the round goes on
More jobs should have the option to help deal with events, not just engineers vs holes in the station.