Goonhub
06-04-2020, 05:56 PM
Simply put, meteors don't do much. Massive alerts way ahead of time, rather rare, and they happen only late into the round.
And how threatening are they to compensate for this massive fanfare? Well, lets review what they do:
Now, here's some effects I've seen of these mechanics
They don't do much. Some panic and call for a shuttle, but nobody sets up field generators or really even cares. Hell, I don't care too much, especially on Cog1 where a lot of the outside walls are maintenance or sealed off. And, breaches aren't that big of a deal, internals are everywhere.
Here's some proposals.
The simplest course of action would be to use the current Plasma Howitzer code to create a bunch of localized explosions along the path of travel, re-sprite the explosions used to be more shockwaves due to impacts, and cause the explosion sound itself to be a more resounding grinding and screeching of the hull (or just use the sound effect that plays across the z-level of a plasma howitzer firmly smashing into the hull plating).
I think that this is the simplest, most effective course of action - it not only recycles code, which is a big yes, but also makes meteors extremely loud, flashy, and very much so dangerous. It would cause actual station damage that would need to be repaired, instead of just a few holes in the wall here and there. The differences would, of course, be that the projectiles would move slower, be re-sprited, have to approach the station from a specific world border, and make them more susceptible to things like shields. But, the sound alone from a meteor hitting the station would probably be enough to scare people into doing something.
Another option is to make meteors burrow FAR deeper into the station and cause far more havoc. One idea I personally had was to make meteors not only last longer, but their lifespan should be determined by size, which decreases as it hits more things and more of it breaks off and flies in some direction (from boulder sized chunks to shrapnel-sized rocks, possibly hitting people, which is always fun). In this case, it shouldn't break the actual floors, but it should wreak absolute havoc on any surrounding walls, with a wide area of carnage (several tiles, not just 3).
In summary of these two ideas:
1) Make meteors more akin to plasma howitzers in terms of devastation and visual/auditory effect.
2) Make meteors burrow far deeper and cause far more havoc against crew than the station.
And how threatening are they to compensate for this massive fanfare? Well, lets review what they do:
- Firstly, an announcement with a loud, distinctive sound plays, 6 minutes ahead of time of impact, as to when the meteors will hit.
- When the meteors spawn, they approach the station from 1 of 4 Z-level borders in a straight line.
- Upon contacting a wall or window, and most objects, the object/wall/window are deleted, with shards, scrap, or full reinforced sheets (in the case of r-walls, for some reason) left behind.
- They travel a short distance - usually a few tiles - before they're deleted, leaving behind some rocks and occasionally raw ore.
Now, here's some effects I've seen of these mechanics
- They rarely ever hit people, and even though I've been playing for 4 years I STILL don't even know what happens when that DOES occur.
- Minor hull breaches happen usually in maintenance, and Escape, and don't really seem to cause havoc in departments that often.
- They don't leave much damage behind. A few broken walls with the materials to re-build them, you don't even have to repair damaged shit, since it's either all deleted or left alone (like APCs).
They don't do much. Some panic and call for a shuttle, but nobody sets up field generators or really even cares. Hell, I don't care too much, especially on Cog1 where a lot of the outside walls are maintenance or sealed off. And, breaches aren't that big of a deal, internals are everywhere.
Here's some proposals.
The simplest course of action would be to use the current Plasma Howitzer code to create a bunch of localized explosions along the path of travel, re-sprite the explosions used to be more shockwaves due to impacts, and cause the explosion sound itself to be a more resounding grinding and screeching of the hull (or just use the sound effect that plays across the z-level of a plasma howitzer firmly smashing into the hull plating).
I think that this is the simplest, most effective course of action - it not only recycles code, which is a big yes, but also makes meteors extremely loud, flashy, and very much so dangerous. It would cause actual station damage that would need to be repaired, instead of just a few holes in the wall here and there. The differences would, of course, be that the projectiles would move slower, be re-sprited, have to approach the station from a specific world border, and make them more susceptible to things like shields. But, the sound alone from a meteor hitting the station would probably be enough to scare people into doing something.
Another option is to make meteors burrow FAR deeper into the station and cause far more havoc. One idea I personally had was to make meteors not only last longer, but their lifespan should be determined by size, which decreases as it hits more things and more of it breaks off and flies in some direction (from boulder sized chunks to shrapnel-sized rocks, possibly hitting people, which is always fun). In this case, it shouldn't break the actual floors, but it should wreak absolute havoc on any surrounding walls, with a wide area of carnage (several tiles, not just 3).
In summary of these two ideas:
1) Make meteors more akin to plasma howitzers in terms of devastation and visual/auditory effect.
2) Make meteors burrow far deeper and cause far more havoc against crew than the station.