Frans_Feiffer - Developer Application (Spriter)

[Frans_Feiffer]

Developer Application

Byond ID?

Frans_Feiffer

Age?

17

Gender?

Male

How would you define yourself? (Coder, Mapper, Spriter):

Spriter

If Coder, what languages?

-

Any previous experience developing with SS13?

As of yet, no. I've dabbled on my own time with DM and use other spriting tools for SS13 development, however I've never worked apart of a development team, nor really developed anything for SS13, asides some sprites and lines of code on my own time.

Proof of any previous or current work:

MP40, first firearm I fully sprited -
https://imgur.com/TxmX7XP

Luger, normal, AP, and incend mags, 2nd firearm I sprited -
https://imgur.com/1wm9VBg

M39 Redesign -
https://imgur.com/kYYgWk0

G36c -
https://imgur.com/63CzkrN

Revolver Time -
https://imgur.com/fMfglOn

Corporate Liaison Formal suit, ties included -
https://imgur.com/HaqPoRw

Corporate Liaison Casual wear -
https://imgur.com/QwGWIwy

And last but not least, A xeno Monstrosity -
https://imgur.com/PnT7GzY

How well do you know Git?

I have a /very/ basic understanding of it. I've looked through the guides the GitLab website provides and some other sources to try and figure out what I can about it, but I've never used it in a team project setting, or for much of anything, honestly. That said, I'm more then confident with some instruction, I can figure it out and familiarize myself with Git.

Your primary job is server development, not policing the server. You may be given Moderator-level of access but you should *not* be invoking any administrative actions unless there are no moderators or Admins online. Do you understand?

Yes

Anything else you'd like to add?

I'm not the most experienced spriter out there, though I know more then enough that I finally feel confident enough to apply for a spot. It's been something that I've contemplated for quite some time now, and have talked with a select few people about for either insight, or criticisms.

Part of why I want to join as a spriter is because there are many items in the game, Grenadier specs nade launcher when wielded, the Combi-stick when wielded and whatnot that are missing certain sprites and I'd like to work on fixing that. Being able to visually know when someone is wielding a weapon, or which hand they're holding an item in is nice, and it would only help to improve my skill as a spriter for when I start working on bigger projects later on.

I understand that may be very low-priority right now, as there are probably a good few other projects that require spriting for them that will take precedence over that, and i'd be more then happy to help where I can there in those projects.

I've not worked with a development team before, but I am a Senior Moderator as of right now, and feel as though I work well on the staff team. I can handle criticism or feedback from other team members and put em' to good use, as well as provide that to other members of staff in a respectable way.

If anyone has any questions, whether that be about the sprites I provided, the app itself, or anything else you feel important to ask, i'd be happy to answer em' best I can in the comments.

Thank you for reading my app and have a CM day.

[Triiodine]

Hello Frans, thank you for applying for the Spriter position. However, due to our age policy, should you be accepted, you face a 3 month trial in respect to your position.

I'll be handling your application from here on. First, while your displayed work is of good quality, I'd like to run you through some questions first before I issue you the Spriter test. Due to the delay in our development meeting, I will not be offering the test re-write as an option.



1. No matter who you are on the development team, there are some projects that are considered strictly confidential until the Head Developer says otherwise. Do you understand that, at times, there are things you cannot show to others that are outside of the development team no matter your role in it?

2. What's the best way to go about getting sprite feedback should players react adversely to your content?

3. Sometimes the rules regarding the way we sprite things change, or something you make falls out of stylistic guidelines. Are you aware that in these situations, as a Junior Spriter you would not only be subject to the scrutiny of the Lead Spriter, but of regular Spriters as well? It should be noted, this authority is almost only ever used for the review process before content enters the codebase.

4. You seem to be interested a lot in Quality of Life improvements. What sort of investment is QOL in the long term, short term?

5. Should you be accepted into the development team, while you may retain your moderative abilities, and gain a few extra permissions, do you understand that there are only specific circumstances that you should regularly be using these tools? And that none of those regular circumstances are moderative in nature? (With respect to assisting moderative staff in specific circumstances)

6. Do you have relations to any other server, past bans, staff positions? Have you ever regularly played on another server before, or during your time at CM?

7. Sometimes there can be a lack of internal direction, be it because there are no projects, persons are busy, or on leave. This means you can't always ask for direction. How comfortable do you think you are when it comes to switching to following a lead and self direction when one is not required specifically?

8. At any time, should it be agreed upon internally, the overall direction of the sprite/codebase might shift in a direction you don't agree with. You might be required to work on content you don't personally agree with, do you think you can learn to be okay with this? Yay/Nay.

9. Would you pet a Praetorian if you knew it wouldn't wake up?

[Frans_Feiffer]

1. No matter who you are on the development team, there are some projects that are considered strictly confidential until the Head Developer says otherwise. Do you understand that, at times, there are things you cannot show to others that are outside of the development team no matter your role in it?

I understand and respect that. While i'm free to show personal projects (Unless told otherwise by the Head Dev, or lead spriter) I believe, there'll be projects that are for Dev eyes only until released or again, told otherwise by Head Dev. I'm more then fine with this, as I've heard a few times the reasonings for keeping certain things confidential and believe myself more then capable of maintaining this. If I don't, I fully expect to get the axe.

2. What's the best way to go about getting sprite feedback should players react adversely to your content?

While I've not yet faced this kinda feedback, I imagine it's a real possibility of something that could happen in the future if i'm to be accepted. There are a few ways I believe to go about getting feedback I can use to amend the communities adversity to my content. Maybe not the /best/ way, though the first that comes to mind would be to start a discussion on the forums asking for feedback so that I may have some insight into why the content was met with Adversity. Other ways may include Asking fellow devs, though I understand we may not always have the answers to everything. Asking/reading through Dsay, and if the salt's not flowing, there may be a few insightful responses, or reading through the discord/starting a discussion as to why the content may not be a fan favorite.

3. Sometimes the rules regarding the way we sprite things change, or something you make falls out of stylistic guidelines. Are you aware that in these situations, as a Junior Spriter you would not only be subject to the scrutiny of the Lead Spriter, but of regular Spriters as well? It should be noted, this authority is almost only ever used for the review process before content enters the codebase.

I understand and can respect that. Any feedback about a sprite I make is welcome, and if the guidelines change/my sprite falls out of stylistic guidelines, I'd like to know what about it is out of style, so that I may fix that. 2 heads are better then one, and thus I value any feedback I can get, especially that of other spriters or devmembers.

4. You seem to be interested a lot in Quality of Life improvements. What sort of investment is QOL in the long term, short term?

In the short-term, I'd like to focus on QOL as i'm still rather new to spriting, and have never been apart of an actual Devteam. Thus I feel QOL over new content would be the most beneficial in my personal development. I get a feel for how things work, and in turn fix small things that while they may not have a massive impact on gameplay, look out of place, or are just odd in general. For instance, guns missing wielding sprites (I can think of a handful that are missing these sprites) or when you button up say, the labcoat, while it shows as buttoned when facing South, when you turn left or right, the sprite doesn't change and appears as if you hadn't buttoned it, though when you face south again it buttons up once more. It looks a bit weird, and again, i'd like to fix those sorts of things while I get comfortable with being a spriter for the team and before I get to work on a few ideas I have.

In terms of the long-run, I believe there will almost always be things sprite-wise that can use fixing/improving, no matter how small. There's so many sprites in CM currently, and more being added with every other update, I doubt fixing all these things is something that could be done in just a few days or weeks and stay fixed. Thus it would be an endeavor that will take some time and a bit of maintaining as the game continues. While it won't always be my main focus as I get more comfortable with being a spriter, it is something I'd like to continue working on when I have the chance to do so.

5. Should you be accepted into the development team, while you may retain your moderative abilities, and gain a few extra permissions, do you understand that there are only specific circumstances that you should regularly be using these tools? And that none of those regular circumstances are moderative in nature? (With respect to assisting moderative staff in specific circumstances)

While I may be a Senior Mod at heart, moderation is not a devs duty as staff. We have a pretty sizeable moderation team as is, and i'm in a spot where I believe we're competent enough I can leave and the other Senior Mods will still hold down the fort. If they don't, I can always yell at them, but i'm not to use my powers to assist or take their job, unless it's a really rare scenario. If i'm the only staff online and players decide to goof, I can use the powers at hand, though I'll also do my best to get a mod or two on so that I can go back to ignoring that one squaddie who primes a nade in the Req line. And even then, this isn't a regular circumstance. I doubt i'll have to regularly use these tools while I'm apart of the Dev team and am comfortable with that. If I abuse these powers, I again expect fully to get the axe.

6. Do you have relations to any other server, past bans, staff positions? Have you ever regularly played on another server before, or during your time at CM?

I've played Paradise a grand total of maybe 3-4 times and beginning last week I've played at least a round each day of Baystation. I've never too my knowledge been banned from any other servers, nor our own. My notes are squeaky clean and I've a spot currently as Senior Mod here. However I've never been staff elsewhere, and don't really intend on being staff elsewhere ever.

7. Sometimes there can be a lack of internal direction, be it because there are no projects, persons are busy, or on leave. This means you can't always ask for direction. How comfortable do you think you are when it comes to switching to following a lead and self direction when one is not required specifically?

Were this to happen, I feel pretty confident I'd do fine. There'll always be QOL improvements to be had, and I have a few ideas of my own i'd like to do at some point.
I also trust that if there is no overall direction, if the Lead Spriter is around they'll have something for me to do. But if they're not, I still feel confident I'd do just fine.

8. At any time, should it be agreed upon internally, the overall direction of the sprite/codebase might shift in a direction you don't agree with. You might be required to work on content you don't personally agree with, do you think you can learn to be okay with this? Yay/Nay.

Yay.

9. Would you pet a Praetorian if you knew it wouldn't wake up?

If i'm close enough to pet a Praetorian, that /probably/ means i'm inside of the hive and am done for anyways. So it is my duty to pet that Prae.

[Triiodine]

Hello again Frans, apologies once more for the delay.

Here's your copy of the Spriter test. This is a public facing document, and you are free to gather feedback from whoever from wherever.

You have up to two weeks to complete this test. Your application will not be considered until you have submitted your results to this thread.

While we don't encourage it, you may share these testing materials freely, as they can be accessed by anyone who also happens to visit this thread.

Once you reply to this thread, you will be considered to be on the clock. Best of luck, if you have any questions, you can forward them to me here, or in private on discord.

[Frans_Feiffer]

Hello Triio! Thank you for giving me a shot with the Spriter Test. I've looked it over, and as of this message am gonna get to work on it. I'll edit this post with my results once I got em'!

4/5/19
Right! Apologies for the wait. Let's get right to it -

1. Rework the included .png Station Bounced Radio into the CM style.

Ouila. Probably the sprite I'm the happiest with out of the bunch. New palette, and some of the stuff on the original Station Bounced Radio like the Button on the side have been moved, or redesigned.

2. Design and draw a set of terrain sprites, these can be walls or flooring (Or even underplating).

A set of walls, based off of those found in A:I to an extent. Lighter palette and some changes to the current walls (Like grilles on the lower-half) but otherwise, they follow the general design of the current walls. They may not be my strong-suit.

3. Draw a set of terrain 'doodads' or props that could be used in theory to spice up our current maps.

A Radio, like the ones found in A:I. Potentially something to spice up living quarters. A switch that could replace the current Floodlight switch, or be used to open doors. It's based off of the design from Aliens:CM. 3 Barrels, one Grey, Red, and Yellow. Ideally, they'd have different symbols on them to signify what they contain. On these sprites however they do not have such. The yellow and Red ones, while just palette swaps of the Grey one, I did as I realized almost all the colors used on the rest were Grey's, and I wanted to add some color to this batch. Not just to say I made more doodads.

4. Please write 2-8 sentences on why you're applying to the CM: SS13 development team, what you think of the current state of the game, and what you would change in an ideal world.
- I picked up spriting for a few reasons. For one, I enjoy drawing and art in general as a hobby, and figured I'd give spriting a try for it's different in a lot of aspects and looked like it would be challenging, but worth it if I could pull it off. I don't think i'm anywhere near perfect at it, however it's been worth it so far. I also decided to pick it up, as at the time there were at least a handful of sprites in the game that don't fit our style, whether that be because they're unused relics from older times, or because no one's really given them a look and tried to redo them in our style and we really didn't have that many spriters to do anything about it. A good few guns in the game as well were missing sprites when wielded, or just small things like that, that while they don't have a big impact on gameplay, just look off and with some time could be rather easily fixed.

With that said, I want to join the Dev team as a spriter, in part because I feel as though it'll improve my skills for a hobby I enjoy, but also because I feel I can contribute in fixing these smaller things and even contribute to bigger projects later down the line as needed. I feel as though I can contribute to the Dev team and would be happy to do so if you'll give me the chance.

As for my opinion of the game in it's current state, and what i'd change; I believe we're heading in a good direction. Recent additions such as Defcon, Mutators/strains, the CAS rework and Kits provide for more variability in how the game is played on both sides, and while that requires a lot of balancing to make sure none of these additions are too OP, I feel as though these additions have been handled well and will continue to be as they go on and new ones are added.

As for what i'd change, I feel as though each strain should also give their Xeno a slight change to their physical appearance that reflects in some way what that strain changes about the Xeno. I'm not sure what that would look like at the moment for every strain, however I believe this would be for the best as it makes it possible to differentiate Xenos with different strains and would be a neat addition. More cosmetic options as well for the Marine side would be nice, albeit a bit snowflakey to an extent. There have already been some additions such as the Synth clothing vendor, TactiCOOL bandanas and Boonie hats that give Marines more variability in there appearance, but you can never be too snowflakey.

5. Why are you applying to CM: SS13 specifically. Why not TGMC, RUS: CM, or a more vanilla experience like Paradise or /tg/?
- I enjoy being apart of staff here for CM and don't wish to leave it anytime soon, especially for another server. I like our spriting style and in general the direction CM is going in as a whole, and want to do what I can to contribute to it and the team in any way that I can.

6. If you have held any previous staff positions on this server, others, or have received bans on other servers, etc. Now is the time to list them.
- Currently a Senior Moderator here, only staff position I've ever held for any Server. I've never been banned from this server or any other server to my knowledge.

Thank you again for looking over my application. I hope you find the above is adequate.

[monkeysfist101]

Having voted, we have decided that you would make a fine addition to the development team. We should have your permissions sorted out within a few days.