long and boring prep times at round start could be cut down on

[misto]

Summary (a quick, 2-3 sentence summary): give both sides faster gear-up/build up periods at round start

Benefits (How this will benefit the server and game as a whole): gets you all to the action a little quicker

Details (Description of how you think this would work, the benefits, etc): hello im new player. i usually get stuck as alien and BOY is that startup procedure unnecessarily long and boring. youre expected to build up the hive brand new every round while the queen is screaming at you not to explore or fight because youll get yourself killed? i can only assume that the human gear-up period is similarly sluggish! i know that you want to build some tension like a good movie, but we all know what's what and what we're here for.

Implementation (Optional, if you have an idea how to implement it): give aliens faster regenning/infinite plasma FOR THE SHORTENED STARTUP PERIOD ONLY to let them build up their stuff behind the fog faster. (its nice that its going to be at least a little different every time because you have to build it every time, but we all know the queen always demands the same long thin hallways for crushers and boilers and such). in exchange let the first wave of marines gear up and get their boots on the ground a bit quicker. permit the marines to attack with greater ferocity into the new, more dangerous hives that aliens unbound by slow plasma regen can build, if they really think they can handle it.

"but misto" you say "the aliens will also be less evolved if we let the marines hit sooner and will be slaughtered by the tough guy marines even with fancy new hives built with infinite plasma" well then you can experiment with speeding up that evolving junk a bit during the shortened startup period too, you know?

just something to think about and discuss this is based on my honest first impressions of the game, it has a lot of great qualities but GOD is that startup SLOOOW PACED

[xeno366]

1+ yeah i get so bored that i just want to quit the game but i just wait.

[YungCuz]

Ehh i'm not sure...on one hand it probably could make some games quicker but on the other it just feels to railbased and there isnt a whole lot of regular stuff to do besides just killing xenos and meds.

[Kwin_Original]

-1, I'm not joining CM for a quick action-shootout but rather the (sometimes extremely slow) developing RP

[caleeb101]

-1, gives aliens the ability to build unbeatable hives in small amounts of time.

[Challenger]

Marineside nothing stops COs from saying fuck briefing and attachments, everyone drop at 12:12. Happens occasionally, nothing wrong with it, we ARE first responders, should we be wasting time on being yelled at by a megaphone and kitting out our guns? But you need to be aware that PFCs aren't the only ones who need to prep for drop. Squad medics have to rush the medbay for chems and reorganize their massive inventories while engineers need to take some time to prep their gear, hack the vendors, learn the wires, and communicate.

Alienside it's more boring yeah. If you're a runner and queen's ordering no killing just hit rest in the hive and listen to music for twenty minutes.

[misto]

if the marines need the extensive time to kit up, then perhaps you could contribute ideas for ways to shortcut that kitting-up time somewhat? if medics need to reorganize their massive inventories, then maybe this is a sign that some of their supplies could be condensed or simplified? if the engineers need to learn wires and hack vendors, then well, why is it critical that they need to go through these rituals at the start of every round, if it's just slowing them all down?

and to those of you scared of super-hives: if the current startup is 20min, how about if the prep time is halved to 10 minutes, and the plasma regen rate is doubled during those 10 minutes? then its all equalized, isnt it?

[xeno366]

-1, gives aliens the ability to build unbeatable hives in small amounts of time.

so you rather wait like 2 - 1 hour as an alien on the planet with nothing to do.

[FelixG]

The only thing to speed up is dispense kites for pfc. Spotty kit. Shotgun + pistol ammo rig full of shotgun ammo+ backpack with boxes of ammo. Etc.

[misto]

thats a good start, felixg. remember that every little shortcut you think up, while it might not look like much at first, adds up across the dozens of marines who need to prepare!

[FelixG]

Well then here it is. Marines kits, of course you can customize them using vendors. To much ammo trow away etc.
Rifle kit. Shotgun kit. Smg kit. That's pretty much all standard readouts. If you want something non standard ether asamble yourself in vendor or pick standard and trow away thing you dont need.
Also one thing that really slows down is the fact that there is only 2 food vendors close to prep rooms. Everyone rushing to this two leaving 5 or so vendors unused.

[Ikmalmn]

How about a no to this suggestion?

There isn't really anything wrong the the prep times (for the marines). It all depends on how much time the XO or CO gives you. If everyone is prepped, the CO or CO will probably announce that it will start early.

If your a standard marine and waiting for everyone to be done doing their attachments and for brief, just RP along with other fellow marines. Maybe LOOC with others on tips against the xeno scum.

Also, there isn't really any point on making SMG kits, Shotgun kits and etc. You have PLENTY of time to vend them out one by one and filling your belt with ammo. The only time consuming thing is the attachments part of waiting in line at Cargo.

[Renomaki]

FUCK THAT NOISE.

Look, I don't mean to be rude, but this really triggers me.

This isn't Call of Duty: Alien Edition. This is a roleplaying game similar to D&D, where people are expected to roleplay and pretend. Yes, it isn't always exciting, but that is just how roleplaying can be at times.

Fun fact, you want to know why the fog wall is there now? It is because of marines and aliens rushing each other so much that the staff couldn't control them anymore. The metarushing got so bad that they had to add a fog wall just to prevent squads of marines from rushing across the river. It also was put there (partially) because of xenos setting up hives within the colony instead of the vast cave network they were presented with. Had marines and xenos not been constantly rushing at each other and metagaming, it wouldn't be there, and you probably would have the action you crave sooner. But nope, marines like you are the reason why we can't have nice things.

Hell, the first 20 or so minutes of marine gameplay is probably some of the better RP in the game, because it is a casual time of preparation and interaction, where people can get to know who is what and attend the briefing to see who gets to do what. Another fun fact, we didn't enforce marine delays in the past like that, but just like with the fog wall, the rushing to action had to be slowed down, so now we have the marine start-ups that you see now.

I could go on and on, but I think you know where I am going with all this.

-1, we are just fine as is, I like my rounds lasting between 1 1/2 to 2 hours, I don't want rounds to suddenly be shortened to mere 40 minute brawls every single round. RP is already hard enough as is with people like you focusing more on pew pew and less on immersion and roleplay.

[coroneljones]

No
-1

[misto]

The only time consuming thing is the attachments part of waiting in line at Cargo.

sounds like youve pinned down another thing that could be simplified and streamlined. but how could the process of receiving attachments be sped up?

[Ikmalmn]

sounds like youve pinned down another thing that could be simplified and streamlined. but how could the process of receiving attachments be sped up?

Err...you can't? And never needed.

Plus, command usually gives out enough time in the 20 minutes for almost every marine to at least equip themselves with a attachment. If you missed the attachment rush, you coild simply make the few like bayonet and rail flashlight.

[misto]

Fun fact, you want to know why the fog wall is there now? It is because of marines and aliens rushing each other so much that the staff couldn't control them anymore.

well, it occurs to me that if the strengths of the sides were more carefully and properly balanced, as should be a goal in team vs team games, then you should not need the staff to control them? do you mean ic command staff, or ooc admin staff? ideally a poorly planned rush by a few of either side should be quashed easily by the defending side. needing such strict control as laying down an artificial ooc 20 minute wall to keep players leashed is a sign of weak and unbalanced game design, but that probably goes a lot deeper than the subject of this thread, which is the slow startup period.

[Crab_Spider]

well, it occurs to me that if the strengths of the sides were more carefully and properly balanced, as should be a goal in team vs team games, then you should not need the staff to control them? do you mean ic command staff, or ooc admin staff? ideally a poorly planned rush by a few of either side should be quashed easily by the defending side. needing such strict control as laying down an artificial ooc 20 minute wall to keep players leashed is a sign of weak and unbalanced game design, but that probably goes a lot deeper than the subject of this thread, which is the slow startup period.

Balance is hard to achieve, especially when one side is mechanically limited to a certain play style for the rest of the round. A wall of fog that restricts both sides is a more plausible explanation, and given how this is a jungle and these are soldiers, it's not OOC. Stop it.

[Snypehunter007]

Fuck no

-1

[TheMaskedMan2]

No way, if you want to play Call of Duty and get in quick as hell this isn't the game for you. Fucking hell I want the game to slow down even more tbh.

-1

[misto]

you may have misread things somewhat. the topic merely proposes to shorten the roundstart preptime, not take it away entirely. will it really crush your dreams if 20 minutes is cut down to 15 or 10? theres still the entire rest of the round to carry out as you please.

[TheMaskedMan2]

Thing is I literally don't see the point in cutting it down, and the few points I do see are completely contrary to my personal beliefs on the way the server should work. The focus should be on rp, I enjoy the relaxing times and meditativenss of these "slow" moments. It isn't boring to me.

[NescauComToddy]

FUCK THAT NOISE.

Look, I don't mean to be rude, but this really triggers me.

This isn't Call of Duty: Alien Edition. This is a roleplaying game similar to D&D, where people are expected to roleplay and pretend. Yes, it isn't always exciting, but that is just how roleplaying can be at times.

Fun fact, you want to know why the fog wall is there now? It is because of marines and aliens rushing each other so much that the staff couldn't control them anymore. The metarushing got so bad that they had to add a fog wall just to prevent squads of marines from rushing across the river. It also was put there (partially) because of xenos setting up hives within the colony instead of the vast cave network they were presented with. Had marines and xenos not been constantly rushing at each other and metagaming, it wouldn't be there, and you probably would have the action you crave sooner. But nope, marines like you are the reason why we can't have nice things.

Hell, the first 20 or so minutes of marine gameplay is probably some of the better RP in the game, because it is a casual time of preparation and interaction, where people can get to know who is what and attend the briefing to see who gets to do what. Another fun fact, we didn't enforce marine delays in the past like that, but just like with the fog wall, the rushing to action had to be slowed down, so now we have the marine start-ups that you see now.

I could go on and on, but I think you know where I am going with all this.

-1, we are just fine as is, I like my rounds lasting between 1 1/2 to 2 hours, I don't want rounds to suddenly be shortened to mere 40 minute brawls every single round. RP is already hard enough as is with people like you focusing more on pew pew and less on immersion and roleplay.

-1 No.

These moments are intentional, we do not expect or much less want the unique action that we have to be the focus of the Server. Creating memorable, funny, and tragic stories is our ultimate goal. Sometimes these slow moments may be important to some, who use the time they have to create a prologue for their characters.

[completelynewguy]

-1
Will simplify the rounds and cut down on the RP. To be fair, SS13 is a time-intensive game, so it would be reasonable to make a suggestion like this; but your suggestion fundamentally conflicts with the design and intention devs have.

[Sleepy Retard]

-1 because of reasons other staffers have said.

NYET!