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Thread: Very Important Engine/Reactor Post

  1. #1
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    Post Very Important Engine/Reactor Post

    HEY! LISTEN!: Take everything I say here with a grain of salt, probably two. I haven't seriously played CM in months, and while doing research for this topic I made a few very quick searches through the forums, gitlab, and wiki. I have no idea what, if any plans are out there for the Almayer reactor. From my perspective this is a topic that hasn't been touched on at all, so I'm gonna try to be the first.



    Hey there, remember me? You probably don't, but that's okay. I'm here today to talk to you all about something pretty important: the S-52 Fusion Reactor.

    To be perfectly blunt here: it sucks. I don't wanna be too mean and I'm sorry to those that worked on it, but hopefully by the end of this discussion you'll understand my grievances with it. So, why does it suck?

    Point numero uno: It's too easy
    You might think I'm crazy making this a point. Maybe I am. But honestly, I think the fusion reactor is too easy. You spend some time fixing them up, then pop in some fuel cells and magically get power. Eventually the power cells run out of juice so you take them out and put them in a device which magically recharges, then pop them back in. Occasionally they'll break and require repairs before you can have them continue to produce power. Near as I can tell that's all there is to them. It's not engaging, it's tedious, especially repairing them all at the start of the round. The only strategy I can see with them is trying to balance how many reactors actually need to be on for maximum power efficiency. The reactor is a job, and not in a good way. The engineer would make much better use of his time wandering the ship trying to RP.

    Point zwei: No room for experimentation
    If you've played anything other than CM, you might know about all the other engine designs. The supermatter, the singulo, the tesla. All good engines you can play around with and push the limits of. You cannot play around with or push the limits of the S-52. The simplistic nature of it has backed it into a corner where there's not much you can do with it besides maintain it.

    Point tree: It's too safe
    If you didn't think I was crazy before, you probably do now. Hear me out. What I find great about the previously mentioned engines in the rest of SS13 is that there's a danger factor with each that keeps people on their toes. I know fun is subjective, but having an engine that can go boom is a lot more engaging than one that...doesn't. SS13 and by extension Colonial Marines is a game where things are expected to go wrong, and that's half the fun of it. Having an engine that is completely safe has the side effect of no longer being fun.

    Now look, I'm not stupid. I've been around since Sulaco times, I can understand why the admins and devs want a pillow fort-tier engine these days. But the problem with such an engine is that there's a lot less to do with it, and the effect it has on the round is practically nonexistent. Granted, back when CM still used the supermatter engine it might have affected the round too much. Hull breaches, radiation, atmospherics fuckery, and the problem of what to do about power if the core had been ejected. I can't imagine admins enjoyed dealing with it, and I don't think I would either. But the key thing here is that the supermatter was fun. It wasn't a glorified prop. You could experiment with it. You could torch xenos (and marines) with it. It created fun stories and memories. The S-52 does none of those things.

    So what do we do, huh?

    Well mister, if I had my way we'd have the supermatter back within a week. But that's obviously not going to happen. Nor should it. The amount of grief and problem potential there is too much for current CM to handle. But we can learn from it. And with that in mind, there are two ways this could go:

    #1: Give the S-52 an overhaul
    or #2: Give the Almayer a whole new engine


    If we're rolling with the first idea, I believe the first thing that should be done is make it seem like it's not producing power magically. How about adding in a heat aspect? I'm pretty sure the reactors are thermoelectric generators, so it makes sense. The reactors produce excess heat that can cause them to break down faster (or cause fun explosion things to happen, but I'll get to that in a moment). To counter this, add in a cooling loop that you can fill with different types of gas for more or less efficiency (and fun). And/or how bout using that excess heat to power a turbine? As for the danger aspect, what about having it emit radiation? Put the radsuits to good use. Maybe have seriously broken down reactors shock unprotected lifeforms. I'm just spitballing here, but hopefully you can agree these ideas are already far more engaging than the S-52 in its current state.

    The second idea is going to require a lot of coding and spritework, so I can understand not picking it, but it would add a bit more freedom in terms of what to do. If we want to stick with the theme of fusion, how bout something like the gas turbine generators on most regular SS13 generators? Get some big turbine in the back room of the Almayer that needs to be fed with a certain mix of gas to produce fusion and power. Different gasses can be used for different power outputs. Or a proper nuclear reactor that requires careful management of fuel rods to secure a balance between safety and power.

    I realize these ideas aren't terribly fleshed out, which is why I'm making this a discussion and not a suggestion. The point here is that the current Almayer engine feels too much like a prop than it should be, and that something should be done to turn it into an actual engine like the supermatter or singularity from vanilla SS13.

    TL;DR: S-52 reactor boring. Too easy, not dangerous. Plz fix.

    Thoughts/comments/clarifications/insults?

  2. #2
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    Yeah, the current reactor is just plain bad. Because it’s boring. Half the damn round as MT or CE is spent using wirecutters, wrenches and crowbars on engines. But not in the frantic fun kind of engineering but the “urch, I have to do this or the MPs drag me off into jail once COC loses power”-kind. There’s just no fun in engine maintenance. If there’s ever two engineers (mt+mt or my+ce) on the ship, one is gonna try and fuck off to FOB duty half an hour after drop at the very latest unless there’s lots of calls for OBs and some blew up Medbay again.

    When can the CE finally go back to giving ‘er all she’s got again?

  3. #3
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    I don't even need a reactor rework or a new engine. I just want to be able to build fun and stupid shit without getting tagged by the MP for "Damage to Government Property" because I didn't ask the CE (nobody plays CE in med pop and below lmao) and the XO (literally the second busiest person in the entire damn ship; the busiest is there isn't a CO) or CO (busiest dude on the entire ship). If devs want to make MT into a semi assistance role, at least let us build stuff without getting in trouble with MPs as long as it's not bothering or griefing anyone.

    The current reactors are absolute trash. They break every 30 minutes and run out of fuel in 45. They require SO MUCH MORE attention than ever before, and it's not fun to work on them. Same old 3-4 steps, no risk, no reward. Hell you can probably have more fun by moving the power cell vendor around and replace the APC as needed

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    Hmmmm... Radiation was removed like before Xenomass.

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    The sm calls to all

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    I think CM was actually more fun when we had some of the normal SS13 mechanics still in it, sometimes less isn't more. The devs have simplified so many different roles and systems that playing any of them has just turned into tedium without any actual creativity or fun reason to play them.

    In accordance, getting rid of atmospherics in a space simulator still doesn't sit right with me and I feel CM has culled too much of standard SS13 in an attempt to be different or to get rid of any volatility in rounds (think unexpected events or rounds not playing out in the same stages every single time).

    Not trying to attack the development direction of CM, but it's my opinion that CM used to be more fun and had way more RP potential (also I know this whole post is kinda off-topic, but it just reminded me of all the things that have been removed over the years).

  7. #7
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    I heard something about a possible new reactor, but's more of a new sprite for a big reactor that probably needs about the same level of input. So it would look nice but it won't add much to the gameplay.

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    yeah, give us Lord Singulo

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Trench007 View Post
    I think CM was actually more fun when we had some of the normal SS13 mechanics still in it, sometimes less isn't more. The devs have simplified so many different roles and systems that playing any of them has just turned into tedium without any actual creativity or fun reason to play them.

    In accordance, getting rid of atmospherics in a space simulator still doesn't sit right with me and I feel CM has culled too much of standard SS13 in an attempt to be different or to get rid of any volatility in rounds (think unexpected events or rounds not playing out in the same stages every single time).

    Not trying to attack the development direction of CM, but it's my opinion that CM used to be more fun and had way more RP potential (also I know this whole post is kinda off-topic, but it just reminded me of all the things that have been removed over the years).
    Atmos was removed due to the sheer amount of lag it caused. I don't think anyone on the team wanted to remove it, but it was that or we wouldn't be able to play above 120 pop.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by RobBrown4PM View Post
    Atmos was removed due to the sheer amount of lag it caused. I don't think anyone on the team wanted to remove it, but it was that or we wouldn't be able to play above 120 pop.
    If that's the case, then perhaps we might want to consider a population cap or splitting the server into two? Isn't that generally what really popular SS13 servers did, create multiple ones to deal with their large playerbase and actually have it be playable?

    As it currently stands, if you try to play CM on the regular high-pop 200+ player rounds it's not really that much of an enjoyable experience. Also, if the cost of running multiple servers is too high the team could always reopen donations and I bet that would solve financial issues in a heartbeat (people have been wanting to be able to donate again in forever).

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