While many are focused on the destructive (and divisive) power of meteors / resulting atmospheric crisis, I would like to suggest a couple of smaller informational tweaks. These are not intended to solve the larger issue at hand, but are directed at improving the ability of the crew to react and respond to such events.
Suggestions:
- Include the direction that meteors are approaching the station from in the event announcement
- Slightly increase the time between the event announcement and the impact of the meteors
Rationale:
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Giving the players a directional or angular callout allows crew in the potential zone of impact to quickly vacate the area, and lets engineering crew immediately know generally where to head in order to make repairs. It also helps to eliminate cases where an impact goes unnoticed and unrepaired (a small breach in maintenance for example).
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Increasing the time does exactly as it says: it gives players the time they need to react to danger and make decisions rather than unexpectedly becoming victims of random chance.
Timing and information are a critical resource for players. Iām reminded of the now reverted post-rod announcement (āwhat was that?ā), which was an interesting if unpopular change to the expected formula. Choosing when and what information to give players can have a large effect on gameplay.
While some have suggested larger solutions to the meteor issue, such as implementing a āmeteor defenseā mechanic as a proactive measure for crew to use (a creative, but bloated idea in my opinion), or simply removing them outright (an understandable overcorrection), I believe that quicker and smaller improvements should be made in the interim while a better solution is reached.