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How would you prefer starship rooms worked?

edited October 2017 in The Commsphere
Each ship will be able to have up to X rooms, with X determined by the size of the ship's superstructure. 

The question I have is whether you'd prefer to be able to fully re-describe both the room title and the room description, which will surely lead to some completely insane ship interiors, or would whether you'd prefer to have some semblance of sanity enforced via room titles that can't be changed.

So, for instance, in the first case you could create, "A lava-filled skull" as the room title, and then describe the room however you want. 

In the second-case, you'd choose from a wide selection of room types, like galley, bedroom, engine room, cargo hold, etc, and the room title would always remain that. "The Engine Room of the HMS Puffenstuff," for instance, though you'd then be able to describe the room however you want. 

The main implications are whether we'd reference room names on a ship when telling you where another player is or not. In the case of fully free-form rooms, we probably wouldn't, because "Bob is in a lava-filled skull aboard the Panda Express" is not sci-fi sounding.
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  • edited October 2017
    Literally only because I want to laugh at other peoples insane room names. 

    Also, it'd allow for cool room nicknames. Why would I want my galley room to be called the galley room when I could call it the Peanut Galley.
  • Maybe a compromise where there's a system where you can 'submit' room names at a gold cost to the admin to check off on?
  • edited October 2017
    Pollivar said:
    Maybe a compromise where there's a system where you can 'submit' room names at a gold cost to the admin to check off on?
    Or allow players to name their rooms however they want but make it mandatory that the room type is in the created name. Meaning your bedroom needs to have 'bedroom' in the name, engine room must have 'engine room', etc. So, instead of 'lava-filled skull', you'd have 'lava-filled engine room'.
  • Pollivar said:
    Maybe a compromise where there's a system where you can 'submit' room names at a gold cost to the admin to check off on?
    We're trying to lessen the administrative burden on the team as much as possible, so that their time can be spent making improvements and events for you guys.
  • I voted for fixed room names. However, I am worried this poll might be a little premature in that I don't feel I have all the information I'd like to make an informed vote. The issue I have is that depending on how some of the other systems in Starmourn work, I could see it changing my vote one way or the other.

    For example, will there be ship boarding? If so, that would reinforce my vote for fixed room names as I would prefer not to deal with someone naming their rooms in such a way that I have no idea where I am on the ship (it's a good idea, but I'm not convinced it would make for fun/fair gameplay). On the other hand, if no one will ever see the inside of my ship except me, it might make more sense to have free form room names after all.

    Just some thoughts I had on this! For now, fixed room names FTW!
  • I'd say fixed room names simply because no matter how much my character might try to call the galley of her ship the 'Cookie factory', it's still a galley. Where things other than cookies are made.
  • Fixed would mean less policing of the well-intentioned-but-gone-too-far creativity.
  • I said fixed for similar reasons as stated above, but it also concerns me a little that it might possibly curb creativity. However, with free-form descs, I think it'll probably allow enough.
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  • edited October 2017
    Would be neat if the titles also had a generic description that you could optionally use. (Like "ship set title engine room" then "ship set desc generic" would give you a generic engine room) 
    Just to combat the blank rooms where people don't have an idea yet or don't want to personally describe every room.

    Also, I guess I wonder if fixed titles might lend themselves to some more interesting ship mechanics.
    Avatar by berserkerelf!
  • Sairys said:
    Would be neat if the titles also had a generic description that you could optionally use. (Like "ship set title engine room" then "ship set desc generic" would give you a generic engine room) 
    Just to combat the blank rooms where people don't have an idea yet or don't want to personally describe every room.

    Also, I guess I wonder if fixed titles might lend themselves to some more interesting ship mechanics.
    I'm thinking if we go down this route, we'd do something like this, yeah.
  • You could always do it like newbie guides in the other games where you go 'okay, who wants to get a minor credit reward for taking submissions and making sure they aren't ultra-lore-stupid to pass them', but I still vote for fixed names even if  that's not the case.
  • I voted for fixed room titles.

    Not sure if it's planned/possible, but I'd like to see free-form titles and descriptions in a 'holo-deck' style section of the ship. Probably some issues to work around there, but it would be nice to have a free-flowing creative area even within the confines of a fixed-title system.
  • edited October 2017
    I myself would prefer the free form, as long as you have to state the type of the room in the descriptiond, mainly because the room title is, for me, the first glance of the room and usually you can not tell if it is an Engine Room or a Life Support room in the moment you set your eyes in it.
    For example, when you enter a dinner room, the first thing you notice is that it is a room with a table and chairs and, after 1 or 2 seconds, you realize it's a dinner room.
    Of course, i could be wrong.
  • I am Groot
    (I would go with fixed titles but with a customisation option to add adjectives and descriptors that can be added. So while it's always "an engine room" it could also be made to be "a steaming engine room" or "an engine room filled with clutter". This would allow customization so it's not the same thing with every ship, has a layer of consistency for combat (since every room will have a fixed portion of the name that can't be changed or hidden), and also ensures that the ship names aren't ridiculous.

    It would require a little more infrastructure for admin at the beginning, but much less than having to approve customize names each time. Additionally, only a small pool of options could be available in the beginning and be expanded much more later on. The options could also be made different for different models or types of ships or required to be unlocked through other options (like titles). Special room descriptors could also be sold for credits for those who like to show off their wealth.

    The idea from this comes from title tokens in Imperian and some (but less) from ship buckets in Achaea)
  • Euclid said:
    I myself would prefer the free form, as long as you have to state the type of the room in the descriptiond, mainly because the room title is, for me, the first glance of the room and usually you can not tell if it is an Engine Room or a Life Support room in the moment you set your eyes in it.
    For example, when you enter a dinner room, the first thing you notice is that it is a room with a table and chairs and, after 1 or 2 seconds, you realize it's a dinner room.
    Of course, i could be wrong.
    I think that the one or two seconds you spend looking around the room is still reasonably within the time frame of a glance. If not we'd have a bunch of "a room with a table and chairs" room titles :p

    Engine Rooms, Life Support, etc are all likely things our characters could identify. (Like... in Star Trek you look for the warp core and a bunch of workstations)
    Avatar by berserkerelf!
  • Groot said:
    I am Groot
    (I would go with fixed titles but with a customisation option to add adjectives and descriptors that can be added. So while it's always "an engine room" it could also be made to be "a steaming engine room" or "an engine room filled with clutter". This would allow customization so it's not the same thing with every ship, has a layer of consistency for combat (since every room will have a fixed portion of the name that can't be changed or hidden), and also ensures that the ship names aren't ridiculous.

    It would require a little more infrastructure for admin at the beginning, but much less than having to approve customize names each time. Additionally, only a small pool of options could be available in the beginning and be expanded much more later on. The options could also be made different for different models or types of ships or required to be unlocked through other options (like titles). Special room descriptors could also be sold for credits for those who like to show off their wealth.

    The idea from this comes from title tokens in Imperian and some (but less) from ship buckets in Achaea)
    Lusternia's design system does have a check built into it that flags when stuff is an issue.(Like your book doesn't have the word book in its short name)
    Avatar by berserkerelf!
  • edited October 2017
    "HMS Puffenstuff"

    Wow. That's a throwback.
    H.R Pufnstuf

    All for fixed room titles. Not supporting fixed room layouts or descriptions. I don't want my engine room next to my galley.
  • zacc said:
    "HMS Puffenstuff"

    Wow. That's a throwback.
    H.R Pufnstuf

    All for fixed room titles. Not supporting fixed room layouts or descriptions. I don't want my engine room next to my galley.
    Why not makes frying things a breeze lol
  • Yeah, but then you get grease and crumbs all over the reactor/core/drive/whateverpowersthatthing.

    Should the game go the fixed room titles route, will there be starship restrooms? Sci-fi is seriously lacking in fully functional restrooms. I'm not convinced that people of the future are poop-free. (Star Trek gets a pass... transporter technology and such.)
  • Tecton said:
    zacc said:
    Yeah, but then you get grease and crumbs all over the reactor/core/drive/whateverpowersthatthing.

    Should the game go the fixed room titles route, will there be starship restrooms? Sci-fi is seriously lacking in fully functional restrooms. I'm not convinced that people of the future are poop-free. (Star Trek gets a pass... transporter technology and such.)
    I'll make sure that's one of the options for you!
    well.. star citizen does have ships that provide a fully functional restroom (maybe... hahaha...?) but then I never saw a mud that gives you the urge to pee at any time.... haha...
  • I am all for fully free-form.  If people naming their rooms in such a manner that they completely obscure what place of the ship it is, then just force them to have a certain word or group of words in the room title.  So, for the engine room, the room title would need to have the string 'engine room' to pass, but would otherwise allow whoever full of creativity.
  • @Arsentar That's basically what most of us are voting for with the other option. The room itself is fully free-form, but the descriptor for it has to have certain key-words. Whether they still allow freedom, or they demand that you use pre-made options.
  • Satomi said:
    @Arsentar That's basically what most of us are voting for with the other option. The room itself is fully free-form, but the descriptor for it has to have certain key-words. Whether they still allow freedom, or they demand that you use pre-made options.
    Ahhh. Well,  good to hear :3 . Though what you are describing is not what I take 'Fixed room titles' to mean, which is why I voted the way I did. Good thing the posts themselves are like to be read and not just the results of the poll looked at.
  • edited October 2017
    @Arsentar even if they're required to have "engine" in the room title I think it'd hit the concerns about not being scifi (and therefore would not be referenced).

    Cause like you can still go pretty out there and potentially non-scifi with that.
    "An engine room composed of ever burning magma"
    "Within an engine of ever-flowing crystal"
    "A secluded dining area within an endless forest"


    Similarly, I don't personally think that it's a massive stifle on creativity if the room title is limited.

    It's just a bit more specific in the title and you can go as creative as you like with the description within that bound.
    Like the above three random examples you could describe if you wanted but their names would just be "The engine room of the x", "The engine of the x", and "A dining area of the x" 

    Of course, later on I'd expect we'd potentially see specific player housing which would be even more free-form.
    Avatar by berserkerelf!
  • edited October 2017
    @Sairys Yes, and you can still go pretty out there with the free-form description too. Might as well argue to have that changed too while at it. Predefined and safe descriptions for everyone.
  • Arsentar said:
    @Sairys Yes, and you can still go pretty out there with the free-form description too. Might as well argue to have that changed too while at it. Predefined and safe descriptions for everyone.
    As the op mentioned, one of the biggest implications is that the title could be visible to other players. 

    here is the quote

    The main implications are whether we'd reference room names on a ship when telling you where another player is or not. In the case of fully free-form rooms, we probably wouldn't, because "Bob is in a lava-filled skull aboard the Panda Express" is not sci-fi sounding.
    So going crazy with the room description has no impact on other players in either option. 

    Again, I really don't think it diminishes the creative freedom of the individuals unless they are hoping to describe things that are really outside the guidelines of "a spaceship"

    Avatar by berserkerelf!
  • edited October 2017
    To clarify, I'm hoping for a list of room types and descriptors.

    You need to pick a room type for every room and you can choose to have a descriptor before it.

    So they'd fall into:
    (The/A/An) <descriptor> <room type> of {the} <Ship name>


    The room types would be stuff like: Engine Room, Cockpit, Bridge, Bathroom, Crew Quarters, etc, etc

    While the descriptors are stuff like: Decheeran, Elagnite, Dominion Styled, Ascendancy themed, Gaudy, Gilt, Scungy, Trashed, etc, etc


    As Groot noted, could even make them unlockables. The "Opulent" descriptor could be an achievement unlock for money earned through trading.
    A "War room" might unlock from pvp achievements.


    edit: Oooh, maybe even some class-based ones, like a B.E.A.S.T engineering bay or something.
    Avatar by berserkerelf!
  • TNATNA
    edited October 2017
    @sairys I could get behind unlockable descriptions/words.
  • Sairys said:
    To clarify, I'm hoping for a list of room types and descriptors.

    You need to pick a room type for every room and you can choose to have a descriptor before it.

    So they'd fall into:
    (The/A/An) <descriptor> <room type> of {the} <Ship name>


    The room types would be stuff like: Engine Room, Cockpit, Bridge, Bathroom, Crew Quarters, etc, etc

    This is pretty much how it works, I left the descriptor as free-form, but limited to a single word.
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