Making Space exploration Worth It.

[Erik]

This is a slightly altered of a suggestion i sent to cogwerks/coderchat earlier today and does not contain some of the code related suggestions, since that would make no sense here.

This suggestion contains a set of ideas to easily generate more content for Z3/Z4 which are currently getting boring, and stale.

Space Exploration currently consists of going out to space, and visiting one of the X locations you can find on the map, and grabbing some loot, or hanging around.. But these areas could be made so much cooler if they would be randomized, had more conent, and changed each round.

This could easily be achieved by allowing players to create their own ...

User Generated Content.

Yes! User Generated Content, this could be done easily by allowing (whitelisted) players to utilize a modified buildmode version on buildmode enabled servers, for example JohnDoe has a buildmode whitelist which allows him to enable buildmode for himself on #1 #2 or #3, so he can build his own space derelict, abandoned space ship, space debris field, or really anything he can come up with.

The flow for such a thing could work like this.

• User creates new post in the HOS, Mentor and BuildMode Applications forum.
  
• User is granted BuildMode rights.
  
• User can login to #1 #2 or #3 and use the BuildMode verb to get teleported to Z-whatever and can now use buildmode.
  
• The user can now freely build his amazing space fort, ship, debris field, or really anything he could come up with.
  
• Once the user is done, he can use the Save verb to save his creation to a .txt file.
  
• Once saved, he has the ability to submit it into a Ideas & Suggestions subforum where players, administrators and other staff can provide feedback.
  
• Once the schematic is deemed cool enough, it could be added into rotation and has a X% chance of showing up

As you can see, this easily allows people to create amazing custom user generated content easily, without spending a lot of effort, this could then be used to replace all "fixed" non-lore/non-solarium related space ships, debris, and other tidbits in space on a per-round base, so space is completely randomized each round, this could even be spiced up some more by adding a proc that replaces normal walls with precursor, syndicate, or other walls to make it even more random.

This suggestion is quite similar to a web/standalone app i've been working on, but both my web and standalone apps had some limitations which would both limit the creativity a player could have, hence this suggestion post.

[BlackMane]

Sounds cool!

[robertGN]

Like I said on the IRC, this could very easily go hand-in-hand with your space cruiser idea.

Making big badass ships to explore dangerous areas built by the community. That would be the shit

[RedbeardRum]

Sounds like a p. nifty idea, would be nice to see a heap of sweet areas to explore each round.

To add more variance, you could add loot chests/crates/safes with a specific list of potential contents - so it could be any of a number of things, but you could select only those that made sense regarding the area they were placed in. Would make it more worthwhile to explore these dungeons aswell, if you didn't know what was waiting in store each time.

[Noah Buttes]

I'd be all for this idea as long as it isn't too much of a headache for coders to implement.

[Frank_Stein]

I don't really know how Byond handles maps and shit. Would it be possible to divide the Space Z-level into a grid, and then have the user generated content sections of the grid, so when it starts the round off it just shuffles the list of grid sections and fills them in with what it draws?

Also, I feel like if there is some kind of submission system, it would have to be closed, otherwise peeps are gonna know where the bits are ahead of time.

[Noah Buttes]

Make it basically work like ursdungeon did.

[Vitatroll]

Sounds good. Something like this could be a draw for the server, even. One that would be almost universally positive.

[Cogwerks]

I don't really know how Byond handles maps and shit.

A map file is basically a big text doc. Example from cogmap2:

Code:

"aAG" = (/obj/window/supernorn,/turf/simulated/floor/plating,/area/station/crew_quarters/cafeteria)
"aAH" = (/obj/window/supernorn,/turf/simulated/floor/plating,/area/station/crew_quarters/fitness)
"aAI" = (/obj/window/supernorn,/obj/securearea{desc = "Boxing ring and fitness equipment."; icon_state = "gym"; layer = 30; name = "Barkley Ballin' Gym"; pixel_y = -2; tag = "icon-bio"},/turf/simulated/floor/plating,/area/station/crew_quarters/fitness)
"aAJ" = (/obj/machinery/door/tempfiredoor,/obj/machinery/door/airlock/pyro/glass{name = "Fitness Room"},/obj/disposalpipe/segment{desc = "An underfloor mail pipe."; name = "mail pipe"},/turf/simulated/floor{tag = "icon-wooden-2"; icon_state = "wooden-2"},/area/station/crew_quarters/fitness)

aAG, aAH, aAI, aAJ are coordinates on a grid, =(/stuff) are contents of those coordinates. Some of the tags seem kinda wonky, I should probably read more about them but it usually doesn't seem to matter outside of stuff that calls locate(). Maybe. I guess.

(mail pipes probably should have been a child object instead of a varedit of disposals years ago)

[Erik]

I'd be all for this idea as long as it isn't too much of a headache for coders to implement.

I remember talking to DrSingh about buildmode, and he was able to attach it to goatfart pretty easy, so it is totally do-able, but it requires some tweaking here, and there to modify some of the parts to prevent people from exploring secrets.

Make it basically work like ursdungeon did.

That's what i'm suggesting, by pointing towards buildmode, and it's load/savefile system.

Sounds good. Something like this could be a draw for the server, even. One that would be almost universally positive.

The performance implications should be low, to almost nothing, unless you are going to import gigantic structures with a lot of simulated tiles.

[Vitatroll]

When I said draw, I meant something to bring people in, and when I said server, I meant goonstation as a whole.

[Dr_Bee]

there should be a rule that the new areas cannot have an atmosphere so they dont lag the station to hell and back when they spawn.

[Amuys]

My main question is how we're supposed to kill the folks who decide to go onto these deep space expeditions.

[salix_catus]

My main question is how we're supposed to kill the folks who decide to go onto these deep space expeditions.

Do mean for traitor objectives? That's what an ID tracker is for.

[robertGN]

My main question is how we're supposed to kill the folks who decide to go onto these deep space expeditions.

How do you kill people who explore the debris field? You follow them and blow them up of course!