Like I said, I've never seen the source code, I would not know for sure. But what I do know is there are people who know languages like C++ who have worked on the game and are remaking it without BYOND. These people who probably know a lot more about making a game than most people here have decided that BYOND is the problem and needs to go.
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I've seen the source code and I can say it's not BYOND's fault. The people 'remaking' it off BYOND probably want something BYOND doesn't offer.
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Is this not a limitation of BYOND?
Albro1 wrote: I've heard that for a while now. I suppose we'll see if someone actually goes through with it. You're probably right. An attempt is being made to remake the game, but whether it is finished or not is a different thing entirely. | |
And people who want tacos don't go to McDonalds. Just like these people who want something BYOND doesn't have don't use BYOND.
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Straight from the spacestation13.com website:
"Despite this depth, the game can be criticised for its cumbersome interface, poor combat and somewhat archaic graphics (seen above). Not to mention being rather unresponsive at times. To solve these issues, the game is being rewritten from scratch on a completely new engine; which is obviously no small feat." link: http://spacestation13.com/?page_id=9 They never actually mention byond, and all their "limitations" are with the game and poor design choices. Also from personal curiosity the ss13 source is pretty terrible. Not to mention the compile times take especially long, so I doubt anyone does modular testing before releasing new updates. | |
There's no doubt about it that most SS13 codebases (/tg/, goon, etc.) have enormous inefficiencies and malpractices in them that cause the game to run like molasses. Simply put, BYOND was never designed to run such a resource-intensive game, so I wholeheartedly agree that SS13 needs to be migrated away from BYOND if it wants to grow into a better game in the end.
However, the relative success of Space Station 13 is most credited toward its (relatively) basic core gameplay, yet incomprehensibly complex possibilities. This is true of Minecraft as well, a game where you start off punching trees and eventually can develop a semi-functional CPU using game abstractions. SS13 offers a true sandbox where you can do anything you'd like, and it also explores a genre, as people in this thread have previously stated, that has really never been explored before. So it offers a bunch of cool features and possibilities that always bring players back to experiment and tinker. No other game on BYOND offers this kind of immersive gameplay. At least, not without introducing a bunch of obtrusive and nonintuitive game mechanics. | |
Doohl wrote:
There's no doubt about it that most SS13 codebases have enormous inefficiencies and malpractices in them that cause the game to run like molasses. Doohl wrote: Simply put, BYOND was never designed to run such a resource-intensive game, so I wholeheartedly agree that SS13 needs to be migrated away from BYOND if it wants to grow into a better game in the end. You are aware why these two sentences literally one after the other doesn't make sense? | |
Jittai wrote:
Doohl wrote: No, I am not, because I was not trying to say BYOND is at fault. BYOND wasn't designed to handle the amount of CPU SS13 uses. Most of the CPU usage, however, comes from wasteful practices in the code. | |
Explosions.
There is one thing common with all the popular games I've ever played on BYOND: explosions. People like blowing stuff up, and SS13 does it quite well, although it's gotten boring because as time went on, they removed ( as far as I could tell ) the ability to actually create bombs and so now the only way you can get your hands on one is if you spawn as a Syndicate. But in earlier versions, you could be a Scientist or Chemist ( can't remember which one ), beeline to the lab, fool around with plasma and gas tanks, create a bomb, stuff that baby in a locker, drag the locker to a highly populated area ( which is usually medbay ), and run like a bat out of hell. By the time you come back, Medbay would look like Hiroshima. Debris, dead bodies, that was the only fun thing to do in the game. | |
@Doohl: Oh, my fault then, misread.
@Empirez: You can still make bombs, the max limit is something like 14x14 iirc- and it is the scientist who still do it. Oh, and it lags the fuck out of any server. | |
On which server? I remember on the Goon servers I couldn't find all the stuff you used to need to make them, particularly the room where you heat the plasma.
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Tg and such, and I think goon still has- idk, I avoid goon.
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I've actually be finding myself playing quite a bit of SS13 lately, which is odd, because after all the times before I've tried it, I could never get into it... at all.
The first thing that draws me in is it's immediate complexity. The next thing is the fact that I've been playing on an RP server, which is always much easier than hardcore SS13 servers. I started playing as a Psychologist because it's an easy job that doesn't really have an technical details, but work in the Medbay long enough and you'll pick up on things like Cloning, care taking, and surgery pretty quickly, especially since the Wiki's pretty clear on everything. At first it started as a curiosity, but now it's almost bordering an obsession that I'm forced to back away from and way, "Okay, what the hell is going on?" because it's extremely immersing, believe it or not. My advice would be to check to wiki or ask the server patrons what class would suit someone new to the game. The bottom line is that if you're not ready for some deep role playing, don't get into it. The fun of the game comes from the interaction with other players, not the actual jobs themselves. They simply provide a means. PS. Don't ever start by taking a command position or anything in the Medbay OTHER than Psychiatrist. You'll fall out extremely fast. | |
Solomn Architect wrote:
I've actually be finding myself playing quite a bit of SS13 lately, which is odd, because after all the times before I've tried it, I could never get into it... at all. Rule 1: Dont make a captain | |
Thanks to Jittai, the Empirez Demolition Frogs are back in business.
Only problem is, we have to find a new server because I'm sure I'm permabanned from this one now. xD | |
Because really BYOND is limited in certain aspects, but I have a strange feeling their malcontent lies in the laginess and delays in the gameplay which cannot be blamed on BYOND until the source is optimized to the fullest and still doesn't run better.