Goonhub
08-11-2023, 07:20 AM
It's me, Mouse, the guy who makes all the suggestion threads but can't code or sprite. What I can do is write, and I'm hoping I'm good enough at that to convince other people to do the work. So without further ado...
DISASTER. The only player triggered mode. Has a habit of getting spammed like crazy and then not being done for ages as people get bored with it. It's tied to the enduring mystery of the Solarium, and there's a medal (with a reward) tied to it. It is, I feel, something that deserves to stay. But in its present form, it has problems. Oh, it has problems.
THE PROBLEMS: There are a number of criticisms that have been leveled about disaster, some of which have been addressed, some of which have not. Broadly, they mostly consist of a series of design decisions that render Disaster rounds quite same-y. There is a very definite meta to things, and it's a particularly dull one.
First, the enemies being entirely AI mobs (with the exception of a single, relatively recently added Wraith that doesn't have much time to power up) means that they are dumb as hell. They don't open containers, so you can safely just spend the round inside a crate, chute, or locker. They don't path well and they don't understand how to open false walls, so you can just wall off escape. They're quite dangerous in combat, especially after mobification of critters, but it's pretty easy to avoid fighting them.
Second, the current meta strongly encourages holing up at and fortifying a specific location, normally escape since that's where the shuttle shows up. I don't consider this bad in and of itself, but without any motivation to leave the safe zone it just results in a mass of people standing around as nothing much happens, and furthermore in an areas that isn't really suited for a mass of people to stand around. Does disaster still suggest the Chapel as the congregation area? I honestly cannot remember, but it's a better place for a bunch of people to hole up on almost all maps.
Thirdly, there isn't much direction. You have to survive until the shuttle arrives and then get on. The design of the round essentially discourages the players from interacting with the round, they don't really have to take any affirmative actions to survive, doing anything other than hiding makes it harder to survive, and when you get down to it the only winning move is not to play. It is not engaging.
Fourthly, there isn't really anything for the AI to do. Most of the round there's no power, and there's no time for anyone to make the AI actual shells. They just get to sit around and watch the chaos happen, which can be entertaining, sure, but gets old.
I like disaster mode, I like the aesthetics, I like the break from PvP, I like the idea of a round type where, for once, everyone is in it together. That's why I'm suggesting it be reworked. Now, on to
THE PROPOSAL FOR A DISASTER REWORK
When the round starts, Centcomm makes an announcement. I would expect the exact wording to be tweaked, and for thematic purposes it should be somewhat staticky and corrupted, but not enough to make it difficult to read. My suggestion is along the lines of this:
At this point all silicons are connected to an off-station law rack with default laws. This may not be necessary, and I'm not remotely tied to it. I mainly include it because of what this message does to the AI. It causes it to sprout arms and legs, allowing it to move around on its own and interact with things, mainly by hitting them on account of it being a giant frickin' robot. It can bash down or pry open doors, has all the health of the AI core (which is a lot), and deals a whole bunch of damage in melee. The AI gets to do something, and that something is SMASH.
A few minutes later, probably after power fails, the following message is sent.
This establishes the way the round functions. Unlike current Disaster, there is no shuttle. Rather, the materials to assemble a special teleporter are dropped in the station at random, announced locations at minutes 10, 20, and 30. (subject to change, with these numbers I'd expect the forced round end to be at minute 40 or 45) Once assembled and activated, a new announcement occurs.
That starts a two minute countdown to round end. Anyone who makes it through the teleporter escapes. Anyone who doesn't, well, doesn't.
And that is the base frame of how the round goes, but it's not the only thing that happens. Every few minutes a supply drop comes in at a random, announced location, containing various goodies. The thing is, it's not just NanoTrasen sending in stuff. There are a lot of traders and NPCs in the universe who might be interested in helping out with an absolutely unprecedented disaster. The supply drops should contain reasonably powerful things to encourage people to go out and get them. Monster spawns can also be tweaked upwards since more people will be heavily armed.
NT's supply drops are medicine, energy weapons, and armor.
Josh donates NVGs and energy drinks.
Buford sends in a whole load of white weed blunts and various foods with powerful buffs.
Vurdalak sends in activated beneficial artifacts, such as healers, surgery arts, guns, and weapons.
Bombini sends in a speedy cloner.
The Brothers Bill send in combat drugs.
Now, the various NPC and trader supply drops only occur once per NPC per round, and aren't guaranteed to even happen. They're willing to donate stuff but there's a limit here, folks. The only ones that repeat are the NT drops and, well...
That's the Syndicate supply drop, sent to help agents in deep cover, so deep that they aren't even antags. It contains syndicate gear, up to and including nukeops stuff. There would be one guaranteed Syndicate drop, any others are up to random chance. Why is the Syndicate putting their gear into the hands of NanoTrasen? Well, it's really their only option if they want to help their guys get out alive. If everyone's a suspect no one is.
There are other changes to Disaster that I envision as well, although they are admittedly less important so I'll summarize them.
1. Monster spawn rates increased and made more thematically appropriate.
2. Dead players can take control of mobs, allowing people to stay in the game and provide a degree of counterplay that the mob AI cannot.
3. The Disaster wraith is essentially a super-powered wraith with boosted point generation and perhaps additional abilities.
3. Chutes and lockers are all alive, have teeth, and kill you horribly and messily if you attempt to climb inside. Your own fault, really.
One final point as well: I'd like to see a framework for themed disasters, so that we're not just limited to the Void for aesthetics. Timeslip disasters, a la the debris ship. Meat Station disasters, where everything is meat and space is acid. Demonic disasters, like Doom. Whether the disaster theme is randomly determined or depends on what specific keys you use to activate Sol doesn't really matter, but I feel like the latter is more interesting in the long run.
I am sure there is something I am forgetting, if I remember I'll edit it in or make another post. Anyways, thoughts? I realize this is a pretty damn big project that I am essentially asking other people to undertake, but perhaps this will give people ideas for smaller things.
DISASTER. The only player triggered mode. Has a habit of getting spammed like crazy and then not being done for ages as people get bored with it. It's tied to the enduring mystery of the Solarium, and there's a medal (with a reward) tied to it. It is, I feel, something that deserves to stay. But in its present form, it has problems. Oh, it has problems.
THE PROBLEMS: There are a number of criticisms that have been leveled about disaster, some of which have been addressed, some of which have not. Broadly, they mostly consist of a series of design decisions that render Disaster rounds quite same-y. There is a very definite meta to things, and it's a particularly dull one.
First, the enemies being entirely AI mobs (with the exception of a single, relatively recently added Wraith that doesn't have much time to power up) means that they are dumb as hell. They don't open containers, so you can safely just spend the round inside a crate, chute, or locker. They don't path well and they don't understand how to open false walls, so you can just wall off escape. They're quite dangerous in combat, especially after mobification of critters, but it's pretty easy to avoid fighting them.
Second, the current meta strongly encourages holing up at and fortifying a specific location, normally escape since that's where the shuttle shows up. I don't consider this bad in and of itself, but without any motivation to leave the safe zone it just results in a mass of people standing around as nothing much happens, and furthermore in an areas that isn't really suited for a mass of people to stand around. Does disaster still suggest the Chapel as the congregation area? I honestly cannot remember, but it's a better place for a bunch of people to hole up on almost all maps.
Thirdly, there isn't much direction. You have to survive until the shuttle arrives and then get on. The design of the round essentially discourages the players from interacting with the round, they don't really have to take any affirmative actions to survive, doing anything other than hiding makes it harder to survive, and when you get down to it the only winning move is not to play. It is not engaging.
Fourthly, there isn't really anything for the AI to do. Most of the round there's no power, and there's no time for anyone to make the AI actual shells. They just get to sit around and watch the chaos happen, which can be entertaining, sure, but gets old.
I like disaster mode, I like the aesthetics, I like the break from PvP, I like the idea of a round type where, for once, everyone is in it together. That's why I'm suggesting it be reworked. Now, on to
THE PROPOSAL FOR A DISASTER REWORK
When the round starts, Centcomm makes an announcement. I would expect the exact wording to be tweaked, and for thematic purposes it should be somewhat staticky and corrupted, but not enough to make it difficult to read. My suggestion is along the lines of this:
Quote:URGENT NOTICE FROM CENTRAL COMMAND
[Station Name] has been trapped in an extradimensional Void bubble. Hostiles may be present, all crew should report to the emergency meeting point, the Chapel, for further instructions. All members of Security are instructed to prioritize the protection of the crew above all else, including personal safety. To ensure crew safety, we are activating the Experimental Long-Range Law Rack and the Experimental Mobile A.I. Chassis.
At this point all silicons are connected to an off-station law rack with default laws. This may not be necessary, and I'm not remotely tied to it. I mainly include it because of what this message does to the AI. It causes it to sprout arms and legs, allowing it to move around on its own and interact with things, mainly by hitting them on account of it being a giant frickin' robot. It can bash down or pry open doors, has all the health of the AI core (which is a lot), and deals a whole bunch of damage in melee. The AI gets to do something, and that something is SMASH.
A few minutes later, probably after power fails, the following message is sent.
Quote:URGENT UPDATE FROM CENTRAL COMMAND
Our models suggest that the bubble will collapse after x minutes, annihilating everything inside. We do not have a shuttle capable of crossing the dimensional boundary, but we do have plans for an experimental device that will temporarily open a portal through which escape may be possible. We can teleport the components in, but you will have to assemble the device on your end yourselves. Good luck, and god speed.
This establishes the way the round functions. Unlike current Disaster, there is no shuttle. Rather, the materials to assemble a special teleporter are dropped in the station at random, announced locations at minutes 10, 20, and 30. (subject to change, with these numbers I'd expect the forced round end to be at minute 40 or 45) Once assembled and activated, a new announcement occurs.
Quote:URGENT URGENT URGENT
The experimental teleporter has been activated and will take you safely to Central Command! However, drilling a hole through the fabric of reality has destabilized the bubble! After two minutes, it will collapse and anyone still on your side of the teleporter will die!
That starts a two minute countdown to round end. Anyone who makes it through the teleporter escapes. Anyone who doesn't, well, doesn't.
And that is the base frame of how the round goes, but it's not the only thing that happens. Every few minutes a supply drop comes in at a random, announced location, containing various goodies. The thing is, it's not just NanoTrasen sending in stuff. There are a lot of traders and NPCs in the universe who might be interested in helping out with an absolutely unprecedented disaster. The supply drops should contain reasonably powerful things to encourage people to go out and get them. Monster spawns can also be tweaked upwards since more people will be heavily armed.
NT's supply drops are medicine, energy weapons, and armor.
Josh donates NVGs and energy drinks.
Buford sends in a whole load of white weed blunts and various foods with powerful buffs.
Vurdalak sends in activated beneficial artifacts, such as healers, surgery arts, guns, and weapons.
Bombini sends in a speedy cloner.
The Brothers Bill send in combat drugs.
Now, the various NPC and trader supply drops only occur once per NPC per round, and aren't guaranteed to even happen. They're willing to donate stuff but there's a limit here, folks. The only ones that repeat are the NT drops and, well...
Quote:INTERCEPTED COMMUNICATION, SOURCE UNKNOWN
*garbled* agent *garbled* is a valuable asset *garbled* escape alive. *garbled*-not risk activation *garbled* send in supp-*garbled* vulnerability in NanoTr-*garbled* *static*-dicted *static*-tion at [Location]
That's the Syndicate supply drop, sent to help agents in deep cover, so deep that they aren't even antags. It contains syndicate gear, up to and including nukeops stuff. There would be one guaranteed Syndicate drop, any others are up to random chance. Why is the Syndicate putting their gear into the hands of NanoTrasen? Well, it's really their only option if they want to help their guys get out alive. If everyone's a suspect no one is.
There are other changes to Disaster that I envision as well, although they are admittedly less important so I'll summarize them.
1. Monster spawn rates increased and made more thematically appropriate.
2. Dead players can take control of mobs, allowing people to stay in the game and provide a degree of counterplay that the mob AI cannot.
3. The Disaster wraith is essentially a super-powered wraith with boosted point generation and perhaps additional abilities.
3. Chutes and lockers are all alive, have teeth, and kill you horribly and messily if you attempt to climb inside. Your own fault, really.
One final point as well: I'd like to see a framework for themed disasters, so that we're not just limited to the Void for aesthetics. Timeslip disasters, a la the debris ship. Meat Station disasters, where everything is meat and space is acid. Demonic disasters, like Doom. Whether the disaster theme is randomly determined or depends on what specific keys you use to activate Sol doesn't really matter, but I feel like the latter is more interesting in the long run.
I am sure there is something I am forgetting, if I remember I'll edit it in or make another post. Anyways, thoughts? I realize this is a pretty damn big project that I am essentially asking other people to undertake, but perhaps this will give people ideas for smaller things.
