Does anyone else think Cogmap 2 is too big and inaccessible?

[Kubius]

the issue is that power wouldn't hook up right at all since that's done on round start

There's a solution to that, actually, if my understanding of the power system is correct - predesignate the power zones in empty space, so when the APC is introduced it can charge the power zone that was formerly just space. That's a benefit of having fixed docking positions for add-on modules.

[Mageziya]

Well, speak of the devil and he'll appear before you.

[Zamujasa]

Every time I've been on cog2 it's just like a gigantic empty maze. One of the benefits of cog1 and Destiny is that, for the most part, there was one "major" hallway that would take you past pretty much every department. Cog2 just looks like a huge circle with a bunch of interruptions (like the PTL). Everything just feels kind of jumbled compared to cog1's generally clean layout, as well, but it's hard to describe exactly how.

Then again, Destiny also has a huge advantage in that its "arrivals" is literally in the center of everything, as opposed to a shuttle off in a corner that... somehow goes straight into a maintenance tunnel.



(Part of me wonders if things would look any better with less visually noisy flooring; lots of places use huge, contrasting checkerboard patterns)

[atamusvaleo]

In one of the hospitals I worked in, they used color coordinated lines painted along the floors to guide people from building to building. Seems like we could certainly use something along those lines with cog2. We already have the color system.

Blue: medical
Purple: research
Red: security
Yellow: engineering

If not lines on the floor then perhaps some sticky note-esque markers on the walls to show which direction a department is in?

[TheOnlyRyan]

Ehhhhh EHHHHH... Ugh... I was really reluctant to make a thread on this as I'm hardly active as of recently, however seeing that there's one already here with the same title I'd choose I might as well.

First of all I want to get this out of the way.

Cog2 is an incredible achievement for Cogwerks. It's a very very nice looking and well detailed / designed map -

IF Goonstation had a daily population of 60-100.

However Goonstation does not. It's much lower than that, especially later in the night or earlier in the morning for Europe.
I don't want to say let's have Cog 1 back because that will probably never happen ever just from the amount of effort put into Cog2, and of course because of the people who like Cog2.

I like Cog2, however I liked Cog1 much more.
I would see people far far more often which just doesn't happen that much on Cog2 unless I go looking for someone just so I dont feel alone in my Genetics lab.
I feel changelings and other nonhuman entities thrive way way more than they ever used to with the sheer size of the station, amount of maintenance and mixed with a low population server is just asking for trouble.
Cog2 certainly feels more like a genuine space station, however everything is so modular and the same size everything feels like a copy and paste from other rooms and it just doesn't feel like home, it feels too new, empty and faultless.

I guess my main quarrel is just that the station doesn't fit the amount of players interacting on it.

If there were an option between Cog1 and Cog2, maybe a pre round vote where you get to pick which map the round is played on, given the population of the server I'd probably always choose Cog1.

[Embolism]

Unpopular opinion: close down other servers to consolidate population.

While I was a proponent of a two-server system, Cog2 can't really be played well without a lot of people. So in the light of Cog2, I'd be for a one-server system.

The issue is, what about Destiny? Well I don't know.

[Ed Venture]

Although I do love cogmap 2 I have to agree. It's seer size hurts it more then anything and I mostly play during the late hours of the day and if their is less then 25 people playing then I just don't play. My main issue back when it was being tested that the size of the station would make security extremely hard and tedious, those fears are gone though as I found it still easy to get to one end of the station to another. But I have to agree with comments above. This station feels too big for the amount of players we get. It feels okay at 40 people (though I've only played two rounds with this many people) but I can't help but think it was designed for more people. I'm sure changes and reworks will come to cogmap2 within a few months that will make it better as a whole we just have to wait and see.

[DyssalC]

Unpopular opinion: close down other servers to consolidate population.

The issue is, what about Destiny? Well I don't know.

There's no issue because if that idea you have was done it'd be the single stupidest thing to close down Destiny as well.

[Zamujasa]

That also ignores the fact that Destiny regularly has 5 players on it (rarely 10 or more) and server 1 has one or two people 99% of the time (unless it's telesci shenanigans time, usually).

Consolidating the server, one of which is of a different type entirely, would not help one bit.

[Embolism]

5 - 10 players is not a negligible addition to say 20 - 30, and would be a great boon if player count is less. The question is, are Destiny players old players that would rejoin the main servers if it goes away, or are they "out of town" RPers that would leave?

Currently for example #4 has 20 players and Destiny has 15. a 35 player round on Cog2 would be functional where 20 simply can't be. On the other hand Destiny is designed to work with less so perhaps 15 is plenty for a Destiny round, in which case it would be ending a functional round to create another.

[Embolism]

Also I don't think even Destiny can work well with 5 - 10, so if that's its normal pop (disregarding the current 15) then it's not like you're getting a functional RP server anyway; in which case it may as well be merged back if it means saving #4. But as I said, that depends on whether Destiny players would merge or simply leave.

[Vitatroll]

There are many reasons the pop is faltering here. Goon has a stigma from it's old days, for one. Another reason is the bans against bigotry and sexually charged conduct. Memes (excluding in-house) are looked down upon. There's also the stigma associated with Goons. Feeder-sites are also of interest, as SS13 is very word-of-mouth. I, for instance, saw it on Plump's channel -- therefor Gibbed became SS13 for me. SA by it's nature is closed where reddit and 4chan are very, very open. Reddit and 4chan don't exactly feed push people to try Goon. *laughtrack*

It will take a stroke of luck or active campaigning to get LLJK-4 at the top of the list. No minor change is gonna help the overall problem there.

[ZeWaka]

There are many reasons the pop is faltering here. Goon has a stigma from it's old days, for one. Another reason is the bans against bigotry and sexually charged conduct. Memes (excluding in-house) are looked down upon. There's also the stigma associated with Goons. Feeder-sites are also of interest, as SS13 is very word-of-mouth. I, for instance, saw it on Plump's channel -- therefor Gibbed became SS13 for me. SA by it's nature is closed where reddit and 4chan are very, very open. Reddit and 4chan don't exactly feed push people to try Goon. *laughtrack*

It will take a stroke of luck or active campaigning to get LLJK-4 at the top of the list. No minor change is gonna help the overall problem there.

Though, we certainly get visited if we have something cool. At cogmap 2 release we had over 100 players on I think. That's one of the great things we got going for us. Great features. I also remember speaking with someone who came recently from /tg/ and was surprised at how many differences we had yet how the general mechanics were the same.

[Embolism]

It will take a stroke of luck or active campaigning to get LLJK-4 at the top of the list. No minor change is gonna help the overall problem there.

No, but if people cannot consistently get rounds without enough pop for the map then they're much more likely to leave. Minor changes that can keep functional rounds going more often can be a huge difference when it comes to retaining old players or keeping what new players we do get interested.

[Embolism]

Yes I accidentally used a double negative, deal with it.