During the last maint meeting it was established that
The cargo telepad needs to be nerfed as unlocking it trivializes gameplay
Everyone can basically make stuff appear in their department because they have the console
The cargo telepad is a holdover from an ancient state of SS14 where there was no ATS
Was moved to research as a tech
Unsure how it would even fit into current day SS14, it should probably be removed
The ATS needs to see discussion on how antagonists should interact with it (it can be killed pretty easily and cargo made unviable for the rest of the round)
The ATS console can’t be destroyed by player grief. Or indestructible
Being able to just instantly bring items in is bad gameplay. And removes some intresting gameplay of flying and protecting the ATS.
Should we not consider finding a new niche for it, where it increases the available options rather than just be the objectively superior choice? Make it a mapped part of Cargo, however:
Normally, it can’t be used. It’s there for “emergencies”. For example, CentComm can decide to send stuff through it, if they deem it urgent
Possibly, Cargo could be able to use it, but with significant costs and/or restrictions, that would make it’s use a “tactical choice”.
Make it expensive,
heavily time restricted
The item takes much longer to arrive, but you don’t have to go and get it
maybe using it draws a ludicrous amount of power, or causes some sort of interference for other stuff (though inter-department “debuffs” should be considered very carefully)
If it is made sufficiently useful so it won’t be just dismantled/walled in/creatively blocked, it could then also be made dangerous. Perhaps it could cause anomaly-like effects. Maybe sometimes dangerous things come out of it. Maybe the nukies could use it as an entry point, if they “pay for the capability” ? (Since being able to directly drop into cargo would be an incredibly powerful move, this should either only allow one nukie to go through, or be expensive per nukie)
could make it T3 experimental. This would give experimental a much needed super attractive Multi-department tech which currently it lacks while also making it a choice between micro-reactors, speed boots, telepads or sec tech
Make it require a resource: just feed it plasma/uranium/whateveranium for it to work. It spends it any time something is teleported. Maybe a power requirement spike too? People are spending over 20 minutes setting up heat dissipation stuff just to spend less resources on lathes, they will CERTAINLY prefer to not spend resources on teleporting stuff.
Give it a cooldown and command locked: make it once per 4-5 minutes and keep it in a command-only area. Make it require the command person to be present and aprove the teleportation manually. This makes it only for emergencies as it is an important choice to make due to the cooldown. (non-replaceable, obviously). Also makes it nice for events where CC wants to send something to the station.
I just had an idea for an altertative for telepads. rather than have them removed, or limiting them to cargo, or making them T3 tech you could also have they act as telepads for people as a sorta face travel. im thinking like teleporting Holopads crew would need to set each up but could be cool late game to have station wide teleportation between departments.
well.. ive only been playing a few months so.. I might be suggesting things that was removed. Im just spit balling. though the new cargo changes seem to have it healthy again imo
From what I have seen (on Vulture), cargo telepads had a spike of use when dept economy was just introduced, but recently I have very rarely seen them, though it might just depend on the set of (sci) players I play with. I predict that removing them from early tech/making it harder to build them will have some backlash from players, but I think that cargo is currently still doing most of the work most of the time anyway.
I think the routes are definitely making it free to use and late in tech, or early in tech/unlocked at the start and expensive to use.
I have a feeling players won’t actually go out of their way to research a T3 just for the telepads so I’m more in favor of the last one. It also offers more interesting gameplay options like locking to command, giving it cooldowns, and giving it wacky effects if they are actually consistently used.
they changed how the order consoles worked on main line, before it was as if a cargo request computer and it could be linked to a telepad. now it prints off a ticket that you bring to cargo to put in the order returning telepads to there old fuctionality as a mid-late round ATS skip.
Actually Oasis has a gateway from genpop to perma exile now, which is very cool.
Would love to see them used more but realistically, even in 80 player maps they’re hard to justify
Could make it so it requires someone to actually put the cargo on one side to send it to the other. Make one take it to depot place the other in desired location. Allow people to be sent through it. But have them take some genetic damage as a result
