[PR] Removes ass jam

[github_bot]

PULL REQUEST DETAILS

[removal] [input wanted]

About the PR
Ass jam suffers from unclear purpose and every month as it rolls around a ton of usually valid overwhelmingly negative feedback appears about it. This PR removes ass jam. Please discuss in the forum thread.

Note: this PR lacks the ass jam label on purpose because that label forces the changelog entry into the ass jam changelog which this PR removes so there would be no point in putting it there.

Why's this needed?
Concerns raised by the community:

- Ass jam makes the code ugly and harder to develop when it's not in a separate branch.
- Ass jam lacks a clear purpose, it's a mix of admin shenanigans, powergaming PRs, testing PRs, silly PRs, broken PRs and shitposts.
- It is indistinguishable from a regular round.
- The ass day classic mode is too murderboney.
- Admins don't run events on ass jam and don't give a shit about the round.
- Features get reverted randomly. Moreover this isn't properly noted in the changelog so no one knows what changes are in-game and what aren't.
- No one wants to develop for ass jam because you're only developing a feature to be available for one day instead of for the other 29-30 days of a month. And the lack of clarity about the purpose of ass jam doesn't help. Most projects are either good enough to be enabled permanently or bad enough to not be enabled at all, the margin for ass-jam-ness is small.
- Most ass jam features are minor and not noticed anyway.
- It just isn't fun.
- The wider variety of maps doesn't appeal to everyone.

Changelog

Code:

(u)pali
(*)Ass jam has been removed

PULL REQUEST DETAILS

[Carbadox]

Honestly, yes. Just all of it. I've never had any fun on AssJam rounds since all the wacky features made it harder to enjoy a different or new map as well as vice versa. The curation of features seemed to be arbitrary to me as well, and I think on the spectrum of new players, they might not entirely understand what's going and if it's a normal thing or not. And when AssJam inevitably got moved to be exclusive to the Overflow server, I think it pretty much summed up that, truth be told, the amount of people actually looking for this sort of is pretty small.

[Caro]

Yea, I saw that coming when assjam was moved to overflow. Sadly, I'll have to agree with that PR

Early ass jams felt fresh and involved a lot of adminbus rounds, now when novelty of the introduced features has worn off, it doesn't feel the same anymore. Still, it'd be cool as an event that occurs every few months instead of every month, question is, is keeping the code worth it

[Sundance]

My experiences with Ass Jam have not been brilliant.

This is all anecdotal so take this as you may, but the times I've played Ass Jam, in one instance I was griefed pretty heinously (vs non antagonist and I was gibbed) on normal Ass Jam rules.

When I raised it on deadchat with an admin, I was told to "just respawn". Only thing is that when if I did, the station was vented and so the person who greifed also respawned, and the process would just repeat with me not wanting to do an eye for an eye and skirt the rules, I just remained ghost.

My general point that there was no consequence for death nor grief and as such I felt there was no progress or exhilarating moments you'd get when faced with a tough situation. As a player who thought Ass jam was just the same as a normal round but with "goofy" features, I was proven wrong on more than one occasion where it felt like I was at whims of players who played entirely selfishly and admins who were either too busy pressing buttons or grown apathetic to the shitshow that was developing.

The latter point is not a criticism of the admin team, but rather just a sign that the round was far too chaotic for the 2-3 admins online to actually manage. Ass jam felt to me like Ass day with a new label haphazardly stuck to the front. It encouraged poor behaviour, from the new to the old.

I think the proponents of Ass Jam/Day are a vocal minority at this stage. I've seen on the days when Assjam is on the population actually dips.

So yeah, I'd be in favour of putting down Ol' Yeller. Its had its day in the sun.

[Mouse]

Ass Jam was basically old Ass Day for anyone who didn't care about following the rules and playing on Ass Day without being allowed to grief back for anyone who did care.  The first few Ass Jams were interesting, but it wasn't something that could be sustained.

I'll miss Ass Day, as hellish as it often was, but let Ass Jam die.

[RSG250]

I saw this coming as well, its real sad, ill miss the bush shaking

shake shake

[virvatuli]

Hmm, well I was never for the removal of Ass Day itself, but I only ever played 1-2 shifts of it every 13th and then that was it for the day. It's been my MO for a very long time, Ass Day nostalgia isn't really something I've ever gotten. However, since Ass Jam became a thing, I've honestly found myself less interested in playing it. I love testing out new features and maps, however from experience it mostly just ends up being a confusing mess of ideas that get very little testing in between the chaos. Some of the ideas and maps are cool and good, but I find it hard to really do anything with them when Joe McGreysuit is trying his damnedest to gouge my eyes out with a fork (regardless if it's everyone-is-a-traitor mode or not).

Ultimately I don't really think Ass Jam is super important in itself, especially now that so many people are contributing features and code to be used for every other day of the month. I would still like to have an organized alternative for testing out new maps though!

[Tribaja]

I'm ambivalent about ass jam mostly, but I kinda feel that I'd miss it if it was totally gone. How about a slight adjustment to its frequency, make ass jam on only friday the 13th's. This would still have a few in a year, but not every month.

[GORE]

To be honest - ASSDAY seemed to have more longevity than ASSJAM.

I would love to play on Overflow today for ASSJAM but the only time I logged on everything kept bugging out. Like...I slipped on a puddle and was unable to move. Everything else worked. So...like; if others had that experience too no wonder ASSJAM today is desolate.

---

Also Bellephon Fleet is a candy of a map! So sweet in design; strange but I love it. The best map for any pod battles.
So I ask to add it to normal rotation; I mean if people vote for it then we could at least play it once in a while.

[Sundance]

On a more positive note, I'll just add that there's two things from Assjam that i'd like to see going forward, on the basis that it would be removed:

1. A lot of the weird stuff (Beepsky gun, Fart shoes, Bush rustlin' springs to mind) could actually be implemented into the main game, so long as the feature itself is toned down. Ass jam turned these features up to 11.. because it's ass jam.. it's for one day, so stop crying. 


But what if a beespky gun only had 2-3 rogue securitrons in it and had to be bought from a trader? Or if the fart shoes only lets out a fart every X step and also had to be purchased? Or if the bush rustlin' was for specific bushes or the whitelist for items was dependent on where the bush is placed (i.e: Rustlin' a sec bush might yield you a flash, cuffs, etc?).

Further to this, i'd agree with others that there needs to be an avenue to actually test these features. But as Pali as pointed out, "No one wants to develop for ass jam because you're only developing a feature to be available for one day instead of for the other 29-30 days of a month." So don't do that. Actually have the goofy stuff that's being developed with the intention that it will put in the main game, after feedback and testing. 

2. This feedback and testing (including maps!) could be done on a day whenever the person who coded and a willing admin to babysit can be available. No Friday the 13th. Just flick a switch on a round, get feedback on discord/forums. Boom.

Assjam becomes a live feedback session for aspiring coders in a controlled state. It would spice up the odd round when suddenly everyone is running around with fart shoes.

[GORE]

Going on a leg here...but - Disaster rounds are based around being available through doing SOL.

How about the crazyiness of ASSJAM rounds also being bound to a seperate round-type accessed through normal means, either by lots of people deciding on it; it being quite rare or it being the climax of an adventure zone?

[KikiMofo]

BRING BACK ASS DAY

[sartorius]

I don't want Ass Jam/Ass Day to go. I like the unpredictability and silliness of the features and the generally more relaxed attitude of it with respawning enabled.

[AlexanderThompson]

AssJam/Day is great, I totally don't want it abandoned as a player that's been playing for the last year only. If you want to remove it just...IDK, at least make it a seasonal thing, like the 13th of the first season.

Maybe that can keep it more fresh?


LATER EDIT:

Maybe keep AssJam, but as a day when random cataclisms happen more often?

[Rilor]

the main thing i liked about ass jam was seeing old maps, that was intresting and fun trying to learn a new/old map. though ass jam did have a tendency to be too chaotic. Im not quiet sure how i feel about it going but i suppose its for the better (still wish i had more opertunities to play on old maps but so be it)