Goonhub
10-11-2014, 09:07 PM
Ok, so I'm going to start this post by acknowledging that several times before people have suggested some gamemode centered around construction and cooperation and each time it's shot down by how boring that would be for a large amount of players. However, there is something important that has changed, and that's why I think it's time to put a new shine on this old horse, and send it out. Therefore, without further ado, here's my suggestion for a Construction Round-Type.
Seeing as the introduction of the Euro server has... unbalanced things a bit, I think it would be interesting to revamp one of the old servers. Server #1, or maybe #2. They don't see a lot of use anymore since everyone wants to play on the hi-pop server, and in fact I think one of them is basically just set to "extended" mode overnight anyway. So why don't we do something awesome with it?
I propose that we turn the entire server into a Construction Round. Basically, take extended, and add in a dash of "do-it-your-own-damn-self" Strip away everything, the base, the Z-levels, all that shit has to go. Instead, give the server just one, big, Z-level, and fill it with various asteroids. You could probably copy-paste the old mining z-level, and just erase the base. Every 24 hours, the round ends, and a new one begins, wiping everything clean. When a round starts, the only thing on the map aside from asteroids is a single Survey Shuttle.
The shuttle contains whoever starts the round, a dispenser filled with a few basic healing items like patches and some pills, a dispenser with various pieces of metal, wiring, and glass, and a dispenser that's filled with some basic station equipment in the form of deployable frames. One creates a furnace for power generation, another some QM equipment to set up a functional cargo bay, and a mining fabricator as well as the assorted things needed to make that functional as well. There's also a couple Prototype RCD's which you refill with metal rods, and can then use to construct walls, floors, airlocks, or deconstruct shit.
Everyone who spawns in on the map automatically begins in an engineering spacesuit, with a jetpack that has a few minutes worth of oxygen. So the first step of every round would be to set up a furnace, build and power a Cargo Bay, and then get a functional mining system set up so you can afford to order things.
One you've gotten set up, and have a basic budget, you can order a Wireless Ruckingeur Kit. Find a good place for it, deploy the frame, and using it you can purchase frames for everything else you'd need in the station. Want a table for surgery, and some medvends? Drop some credits and build it. Want a ChemMaster or a bar dispenser? Drop the cash and build that shit! Tired of suffocating to death? Purchase mining a gas extractor and enjoy being in a station that actually has oxygen again! The sky is the limit, as long as you can afford it, you can build whatever you want. The rounds last for 24 hours, so unless you join at 11:30 PM you've probably got all the time you need. Nobody can spawn as an antagonist, so no chance of a surprise changeling ending your round. And, best of all, if you do die, there's respawns!
On a timer, of course, See, every 20-30 minutes, the round randomly spawns a random number of random mobs. (OMG SO RANDOM) You could stumble across an asteroid covered in space cats, or come back to base and find out an Omega Drone has nested in your bedroom. Good thing the survey shuttle starts off with two Phasers and a Fire Extinguisher! But in order to prevent you from just throwing bodies at the problem until it goes away, every time you die a timer starts, counting down from 5 minutes. Once it hits zero, you unlock the "respawn" button, and can pop back into life wherever your ghost currently is. (Maybe don't use it while standing on the Omega Drone.)
So, death has a minor penalty, nobody is allowed to run amok by due of being an antagonist, you have all the tools necessary to build a complete, functioning base, sounds great! What's the catch?
Well, to start with, that's a lot of assets that need to be created before it can be used. You'll need to map out an asteroid-filled Z-level, you'd have to sprite and code in the shuttle, the dispensers, the Wireless Ruckingeur, the Prototype RCD, and who-knows-what-else. You'd have to cobble together a mob timer, as well as add in the random aspect of it. Lights would not really be feasible, and you'd probably have to just strip all jobs and access in order to make things work. Also, you'd need to make it so the entire Z-level counts as one room, and starts unpowered. (Since APCs are an enormous fucking hassle.)
Now, there's probably a lot else I'm not even thinking of that would need to be done before it can become a reality. But I think it would be fun! It would give Goonstation a completely unique form of gameplay, something that's been touched on before (Post-Solarium rounds) but has never really been fully-implemented. It would definitely be a bigger draw for pulling people off of the Euro server to ease some strain on it. For the people who don't like the random brutality of most rounds, it gives them a quiet place to do their own thing and stop bitching at the rest of us. Plus, if there's something you want to experiment with but can't because the main station keeps exploding? Hop onto the Construction Server, build whatever you need to make it happen, and then have as much time as you need to figure things out! Accidentally blow your chemistry lab to shit? Five minutes later, you can rebuild it and try again.
So what do you guys thing? I already posted about it on SA, and some people seemed to like the idea. If nothing else, I think it could be a fun experiment. And since we'd be shunting it off to a mostly-unused server already, anyone who wouldn't enjoy that kind of gameplay would easily be able to avoid it.
Seeing as the introduction of the Euro server has... unbalanced things a bit, I think it would be interesting to revamp one of the old servers. Server #1, or maybe #2. They don't see a lot of use anymore since everyone wants to play on the hi-pop server, and in fact I think one of them is basically just set to "extended" mode overnight anyway. So why don't we do something awesome with it?
I propose that we turn the entire server into a Construction Round. Basically, take extended, and add in a dash of "do-it-your-own-damn-self" Strip away everything, the base, the Z-levels, all that shit has to go. Instead, give the server just one, big, Z-level, and fill it with various asteroids. You could probably copy-paste the old mining z-level, and just erase the base. Every 24 hours, the round ends, and a new one begins, wiping everything clean. When a round starts, the only thing on the map aside from asteroids is a single Survey Shuttle.
The shuttle contains whoever starts the round, a dispenser filled with a few basic healing items like patches and some pills, a dispenser with various pieces of metal, wiring, and glass, and a dispenser that's filled with some basic station equipment in the form of deployable frames. One creates a furnace for power generation, another some QM equipment to set up a functional cargo bay, and a mining fabricator as well as the assorted things needed to make that functional as well. There's also a couple Prototype RCD's which you refill with metal rods, and can then use to construct walls, floors, airlocks, or deconstruct shit.
Everyone who spawns in on the map automatically begins in an engineering spacesuit, with a jetpack that has a few minutes worth of oxygen. So the first step of every round would be to set up a furnace, build and power a Cargo Bay, and then get a functional mining system set up so you can afford to order things.
One you've gotten set up, and have a basic budget, you can order a Wireless Ruckingeur Kit. Find a good place for it, deploy the frame, and using it you can purchase frames for everything else you'd need in the station. Want a table for surgery, and some medvends? Drop some credits and build it. Want a ChemMaster or a bar dispenser? Drop the cash and build that shit! Tired of suffocating to death? Purchase mining a gas extractor and enjoy being in a station that actually has oxygen again! The sky is the limit, as long as you can afford it, you can build whatever you want. The rounds last for 24 hours, so unless you join at 11:30 PM you've probably got all the time you need. Nobody can spawn as an antagonist, so no chance of a surprise changeling ending your round. And, best of all, if you do die, there's respawns!
On a timer, of course, See, every 20-30 minutes, the round randomly spawns a random number of random mobs. (OMG SO RANDOM) You could stumble across an asteroid covered in space cats, or come back to base and find out an Omega Drone has nested in your bedroom. Good thing the survey shuttle starts off with two Phasers and a Fire Extinguisher! But in order to prevent you from just throwing bodies at the problem until it goes away, every time you die a timer starts, counting down from 5 minutes. Once it hits zero, you unlock the "respawn" button, and can pop back into life wherever your ghost currently is. (Maybe don't use it while standing on the Omega Drone.)
So, death has a minor penalty, nobody is allowed to run amok by due of being an antagonist, you have all the tools necessary to build a complete, functioning base, sounds great! What's the catch?
Well, to start with, that's a lot of assets that need to be created before it can be used. You'll need to map out an asteroid-filled Z-level, you'd have to sprite and code in the shuttle, the dispensers, the Wireless Ruckingeur, the Prototype RCD, and who-knows-what-else. You'd have to cobble together a mob timer, as well as add in the random aspect of it. Lights would not really be feasible, and you'd probably have to just strip all jobs and access in order to make things work. Also, you'd need to make it so the entire Z-level counts as one room, and starts unpowered. (Since APCs are an enormous fucking hassle.)
Now, there's probably a lot else I'm not even thinking of that would need to be done before it can become a reality. But I think it would be fun! It would give Goonstation a completely unique form of gameplay, something that's been touched on before (Post-Solarium rounds) but has never really been fully-implemented. It would definitely be a bigger draw for pulling people off of the Euro server to ease some strain on it. For the people who don't like the random brutality of most rounds, it gives them a quiet place to do their own thing and stop bitching at the rest of us. Plus, if there's something you want to experiment with but can't because the main station keeps exploding? Hop onto the Construction Server, build whatever you need to make it happen, and then have as much time as you need to figure things out! Accidentally blow your chemistry lab to shit? Five minutes later, you can rebuild it and try again.
So what do you guys thing? I already posted about it on SA, and some people seemed to like the idea. If nothing else, I think it could be a fun experiment. And since we'd be shunting it off to a mostly-unused server already, anyone who wouldn't enjoy that kind of gameplay would easily be able to avoid it.
