# Beestation Code Design Direction Ideas [toc] ## Core Focus ![](https://i.imgur.com/V7IPZ2o.png) ### Roleplay Players should be playing a role, the environment and mechanics should support this too. Don't underestimate the importance of the environment when it comes to roleplay. Most of the time when the playerbase is considered the issue, the issue is actually the mechanics and environment which fail to encourage roleplay, rather than the players (who are usually just playing the way **the game** intends them to play). Some things important in RP: - An environment that follows its own themes/storylines. (Failure would be a serious station with a memey intern announcer that ruins the attempt at a serious environment) - The game should not break character, or encourage players to break character. - The focus of the game should be on character skill rather than player skill, of course players need some level of skill, however a relatively low skilled player should be able to defeat a high skilled player if the low skilled player has a stronger character. (This can be done through items, weapons or skill systems) :::success **Things that should be goals:** - Establishing a set world condition, the state of the universe (technology etc.). Items in the game should fit within the state of the universe. Existing items should be modified to fit this theme, and new items being added will have to fit with the theme. - Establish some kind of lore for how characters should feel. If characters are forced to work for money and hate their job, then they should be encouraged to have more of a negative view towards nanotrasen loyalists. ::: ### Interactions Mechanics should encourage interactions between players, different departments and different people in the same department. Departments should avoid being entirely self-sufficient. Some bad examples (That I can think of): - Medical being overstocked at roundstart, meaning there is no need to utilise cargo. - Sleepers providing free chems, meaning that there is no need for chemists. - Armoury starting off with enough guns for a large portion of the station. (9 lethal weapons, 5 non-lethal weapons and powerful sets of armour for everyone) :::success **Things that should be goals:** - Figure out specific departmental designs in order to define how they should work with other departments and internally. ::: ### Actions & Consequences Following on from interactions, it is important for players to have a set of actions with consequences to use when interacting. Actions & Consequences can be used to make interactions more powerful, if you are forced to interact in a single way every single round, then the chance for roleplay is significantly more limited as there is no need to discuss, or even ask for something if the other person already knows what you want (and, importantly, that they have no choice but to give you what you want). ### Fun Obviously, all games should be fun. This is arguably the most important factor for the game, but it is the hardest to get right. Things shouldn't be added with their only reason being that its 'fun'. Things being added should be fun, but they should be fun in a way that supports the other core elements of the game. ## Balance Changes - Changes made to balance should ultimately enhance the core focuses of the game. If you experience something ## Features - Features should encourage the core focuses of the game. It is important to think about how something helps build on the core focuses of the game before working on it, and using this thought as a method of design to create better features rather than using the thought as justification to get something merged.