[2 Binned] Blobs

[Guest Complete Garbage]

The issue:

- While infrequent, blobs have a massive destructive potential.

- They often cause breaches spanning the majority of one or more departments.

- Even with interdepartmental coordination, response, and suppression, they often do massive damage before they can be put down.

- Most viable counters have massive potential for collateral damage themselves, and take too long to set up.

- Even using most or all available counters, blobs tend to do a considerable amount of damage before counters prove effective.

- Blobs will often cause damage to critical machinery that is impossible, expensive, or difficult to replace.

- Blobs will often cause advanced damage (fractures, etc.) or death to players.

- Blobs have too-high of a potential to irreparably damage a round's natural course, and to end rounds for multiple players.

No other event (with possible exception to meteor storm-- but shields can very easily counter those) has nearly this much quantifiable potential for nearly-unavoidable damage.

Proposed possible solutions:

- Decrease the damage blobs do to structures and/or mobs.

- Decrease the rate at which blobs spread.

- Decrease the rate at which the blob can manufacture small-cores.

- Decrease the blob's resistance to damage.

- Implement preventative measures that can lessen the severity of blobs that do occur.

- Increase the effectiveness of current counters.

- Implement additional viable counters to the blob that are an improvement on current counters.

These are the issues with the blob event as I see them, and also several possible solutions I saw. I ask that the development team consider the current balance of blobs, and reach a consensus that benefits the server.

[Scheveningen]

It takes approximately a minute for the blob to form and generate its supplementary blob cores.

By this time it is a whole screen long. And it is also growing to be two whole screens long within the next five minutes.

A random event should not be immediate warrant to have the shuttle called. And blob has about 1/4 chance to happen at the 1:30 marker. And again at around 2:40.

[sonicgotnuked]

Also blobs should be only able to pull you in four ways, that would be North, South, East, or West, not 8 ways. I have been clipped through two girders by being pulled in, causing me to not able to escape because I stood inside the wrong corner.

[Arrow768]

I just did some tests with blob and found that it is not too difficult to put a blob down.

The tests have been performed in the following environment:

• Only use tools that are available on the station
  
• Only one engineer
  
• Attack after blob is fully grown
  
• Power is provided by a fractal energy reactor.

 

The attack plan is basically as follows:

• Locate the main core
  
• Find a location where you can line up the emitters
  
• Make sure the location is out of the reach of the blob
  
• Setup power in this location
  
• Setup 3 emitters lined up on the main core and tiles besides it
  
• Wait and maybe throw in a few flashbangs
  
• Within a few minutes the main core will be destroyed and the whole blob will collapse

I did a few of these tests and without doing anything else than properly setting up the emitters the blob core went down in 7-10 minutes after turning on the emitters.

It took around two minutes for all the emitters to get to the blob core.

Then it was just waiting for the central emitter to down the blob core.

If security were to shoot at the blob core at the same time (when they have a free line of fire to it), this time could be decreased significantly

Yes it is correct, that there is a lot of damage potential, but the blob is rare and it can be easily put down even by a single engineer.

Most of the machinery we have can be replaced (with a bit of effort) and there are suggestions to make the rest replaceable too. (Which will be looked into)

Also with the new map, breaches are not as likely as they used to be.

Currently I do not feel there is much needed besides people learning that they need to work together to attack the blob (the main core).

In the last blob round I witnessed I saw the following:

• Engineering arrived there with 2 emitters and a flamethrower.
  
• Engineering has been informed where to exactly setup the emitters to line up the main core
  
• Engineering setup the emitters in some other way, attacking the sub cores
  
• Meanwhile the guy with the flamethrower started to attack the blob without any coordination
  
• Then security arrived with the flashbangs
  
• Obviously they started throwing them in. The more the better
  
• They downed the guy with the flamethrower who got sucked into the blob
  
• Meanwhile a security officer attacked the blob through maint from another direction (with a smg)
  
• He nearly made it through the main core before he ran out of ammo
  
• After some time, a single engineer relocated one of the emitters and lined it up properly with the main core
  
• After that it was just waiting for the emitter to do its work

 

Major damage can easily be prevented if:

• If people actually work together instead of trying "to be the hero that kills the blob on his own"
  
• Departments coordinate properly
  
• Emitters are lined up with the main core
  
• Time the attack correctly (Wait for the emitters to get close to the blob core. Then throw everything you have at it)

[Nikov]

The issue:

- While infrequent, blobs have a massive destructive potential.

- They often cause breaches spanning the majority of one or more departments.

- Even with interdepartmental coordination, response, and suppression, they often do massive damage before they can be put down.

- Most viable counters have massive potential for collateral damage themselves, and take too long to set up.

- Even using most or all available counters, blobs tend to do a considerable amount of damage before counters prove effective.

- Blobs will often cause damage to critical machinery that is impossible, expensive, or difficult to replace.

- Blobs will often cause advanced damage (fractures, etc.) or death to players.

- Blobs have too-high of a potential to irreparably damage a round's natural course, and to end rounds for multiple players.

No other event (with possible exception to meteor storm-- but shields can very easily counter those) has nearly this much quantifiable potential for nearly-unavoidable damage.

Proposed possible solutions:

- Decrease the damage blobs do to structures and/or mobs.

- Decrease the rate at which blobs spread.

- Decrease the rate at which the blob can manufacture small-cores.

- Decrease the blob's resistance to damage.

- Implement preventative measures that can lessen the severity of blobs that do occur.

- Increase the effectiveness of current counters.

- Implement additional viable counters to the blob that are an improvement on current counters.

These are the issues with the blob event as I see them, and also several possible solutions I saw. I ask that the development team consider the current balance of blobs, and reach a consensus that benefits the server.

 

I gave this matter some thought and voiced my opinions over the Discord, but I think it bears repeating again.

My proposal to de-robust blobs is to remove their ability to destroy walls and doors, change how they interact with fuel tanks and remove their maximum size.

Remove wall and door destruction.

The problem we have is that blobs will breach the hull of the station, spread this breach through several compartments, and players will be killed environmentally. By removing their ability to destroy walls and doors, blobs will be far less likely to vent their compartment to space, and other compartments will be less likely to be breached. It makes for less atmospherics kills. However it also makes the blob behave different. Blob growth will be confined to open tiles, and blobs almost never spawn in large open spaces. Blobs will now grow linearly down hallways and tunnels, "chasing" people.

Doors will be handled differently, however. Some time ago, a change was made so that doors take melee damage until they break, and then can be wedged open if they weren't bolted shut. It would follow that the blob can break through doors in the same way, cracking them open the way tree roots crack sidewalks. With this change, blobs travel down maintenance tunnels, start battering down doors, break in, and smash up departments. An AI or a welder can lock the door off to the blob, however, which provides some counterplay.

Change how they interact with fuel tanks.

It doesn't make much sense that a blob will crack open a tank of welding fuel and it instantly explodes. It does make sense that roiling clouds of welding fuel "smoke" would spray out, smearing everything in the room with welding fuel from floor tiles to people. Then, as light bulbs are smashed, we may see a rather fierce fire in the middle of the blob itself, which given our reduced chances of a hull breach, will create a whole new problem for engineers to struggle with. Welding fuel fires are pretty mild compared to phoron fires and won't nearly match them for destruction, but people walking into welding fuel puddles with lit welders will be a new problem.

Remove maximum size.

To my understanding, blobs grow at a rate of one tile per so-many ticks so long as they are not at their maximum size or maximum blob tile count. A blob that stabilizes has hit these thresholds, and attacking it makes it "heal" damage. The maximum size is about a screen by a screen in both directions, so we get roughly a big square shaped blob by the end of it. By getting rid of the maximum size, a blob can spread down long tunnels and narrow passages very quickly. Given no maximum size, only a maximum tile count, you can never be certain how much farther you'll have to run in order to be safe. When you combine removing the maximum size with the other dynamics, we get a blob that is a long, snakelike monster in the maintenance tunnels causing fires and spilling into other rooms through back doors.

So its not really less robust. Its just robust in a different way.

[canon35]

If we are going to talk about nerfing blobs, I think that one thing that should be considered if that if a small core is taken down, it removes the blob walls around it within a certain area. Would help with slowing it down and keeping it contained.

[Arrow768]

I gave this matter some thought and voiced my opinions over the Discord, but I think it bears repeating again.

My proposal to de-robust blobs is to remove their ability to destroy walls and doors, change how they interact with fuel tanks and remove their maximum size.

Remove wall and door destruction.

The problem we have is that blobs will breach the hull of the station, spread this breach through several compartments, and players will be killed environmentally. By removing their ability to destroy walls and doors, blobs will be far less likely to vent their compartment to space, and other compartments will be less likely to be breached. It makes for less atmospherics kills. However it also makes the blob behave different. Blob growth will be confined to open tiles, and blobs almost never spawn in large open spaces. Blobs will now grow linearly down hallways and tunnels, "chasing" people.

Doors will be handled differently, however. Some time ago, a change was made so that doors take melee damage until they break, and then can be wedged open if they weren't bolted shut. It would follow that the blob can break through doors in the same way, cracking them open the way tree roots crack sidewalks. With this change, blobs travel down maintenance tunnels, start battering down doors, break in, and smash up departments. An AI or a welder can lock the door off to the blob, however, which provides some counterplay.

Change how they interact with fuel tanks.

It doesn't make much sense that a blob will crack open a tank of welding fuel and it instantly explodes. It does make sense that roiling clouds of welding fuel "smoke" would spray out, smearing everything in the room with welding fuel from floor tiles to people. Then, as light bulbs are smashed, we may see a rather fierce fire in the middle of the blob itself, which given our reduced chances of a hull breach, will create a whole new problem for engineers to struggle with. Welding fuel fires are pretty mild compared to phoron fires and won't nearly match them for destruction, but people walking into welding fuel puddles with lit welders will be a new problem.

Remove maximum size.

To my understanding, blobs grow at a rate of one tile per so-many ticks so long as they are not at their maximum size or maximum blob tile count. A blob that stabilizes has hit these thresholds, and attacking it makes it "heal" damage. The maximum size is about a screen by a screen in both directions, so we get roughly a big square shaped blob by the end of it. By getting rid of the maximum size, a blob can spread down long tunnels and narrow passages very quickly. Given no maximum size, only a maximum tile count, you can never be certain how much farther you'll have to run in order to be safe. When you combine removing the maximum size with the other dynamics, we get a blob that is a long, snakelike monster in the maintenance tunnels causing fires and spilling into other rooms through back doors.

So its not really less robust. Its just robust in a different way.

 

Problem with removing walls and doors is, that blobs only spawn in maint.

So you end up with a blob covering a maint tunnel.

It´s incredibly easy to take it down then ocne you locate the main core.

Just line up a few emitters right outside of the maint tunnel and the blobs gone.

I believe that environment kills are completely fine.

If someone goes to fight the blob unprepared and they die, you cant really blame the blob.

Everyone knows that´s a space station.

Everyone knows that if there is a blob breaches can happen.

If they insist on fighting the blob without a spacesuit and there´s a breach, it sucks for them.

Regarding the fuel tanks

With the new map, this wont be a real issue anymore.

Even if they explode, they wont breach to space, since there is not space below the floor, but rock and therefore the room wont be vented.

Regarding the maximum size

Afaik there is no size limit at the moment.

Only the number of sub cores is limited.

(And through that a max size is established; So you can already get a long slim blob, if it spawns in the right place)

But there are also some interesting suggestions:

• Remove some of the adjacent blob tiles if the sub core goes down
  
• Make the blob prefer open spaces compared to walls when a new blob tile spawns (i.e. give open spaces a higher chance of being picked)
  
• Maybe add a tweaked version of the blob that doesnt take down walls and doors to add more variety to it

[Nikov]

It will be very difficult to find the primary core in maintenance if a blob runs the length of a tunnel. I understand a flanking position can be found to kill the main core, but how one will do that with the rock-enclosed windowless maintenance of the new map is beyond me. It will depend on the AI having a camera or someone locating it by eye.

The idea to spread fuel instead of explode is predicated on adding a new hazard, fire, instead of simply compounding an existing hazard, breaches. The new map is clearly intended to cause less breaches, so adding fire risks is one way to keep an environmental hazard.

Breaking through windows and airlocks to space will continue to breach areas and cause environment kills. It will simply be less common.

[SomeoneOutTher3]

Blobs are not overpowered. Just yesterday, one security officer was able to take down a Blob single-handedly with only a laser rifle, flashbangs, and an energy pistol (And a spess suit too,of course), recharging them as their energy is depleted. There was nobody else available to help, and the officer had to go through 2 other cores before reaching the main one.Blobs are also extremely susceptible to fire. A single flamethrower or a phoron inferno will be able to take down a significant amount of blob tiles. The only times there was a problem with the current blob was when somebody approached it in melee combat (Why the fuck....) and had his/her tool taken away and sucked into the blob.And if the station doesn't have an engineering team or a good security officer? Then that would warrant a shuttle call, or some improvisation from the crew.

Git Gud.

 

Remove some of the adjacent blob tiles if the sub core goes down

Make the blob prefer open spaces compared to walls when a new blob tile spawns (i.e. give open spaces a higher chance of being picked)

Maybe add a tweaked version of the blob that doesnt take down walls and doors to add more variety to it

1 and 2 sound good.

3 is good if the blob as-is is also kept. Maybe make the variant that doesn't take down walls and doors blue?

[Arrow768]

Yup, 3 would definitely be a additional blob subtype.

(But I would keep the same color, so it cant be meta´d to easily)

[Chada1]

I understand your dislike of this, for Dead hour rounds it can be extremely dangerous to take it down, but I'd also like to say that not all dangers in the game should be from PvP, I personally don't want the blob to be made insignificant. I've died more than several times to the thing, but the fact that it can be a threat is what sets it apart from all other similar events and makes it fun to contend with. When is the last time people complained about Vines? Space Bears? It hasn't been in a long time, Space Bear more recently, but never Vines.

I'm very okay with new variants of Blob, but I don't want it to be made irrelevant. All other events are easily counterable and with no damage at all. The vines might as well not exist because 2 people with Welders can deal with them, without serious RNG to make them into a threat.

TLDR: I Really like the Blob, it can be dangerous, but that's why I like it. It takes actual coordination from the Crew to deal with effectively, and that's the entire point. 'All Crew must contain the Outbreak'.

[Nanako]

Here's a thought. As a small concession, how about reducing and randomising the wall damage rates/ So that blobs would take anywhere from 2-10 minutes to eat through a wall.

This would mean that initially, they'd be confined to rooms and corridors, but eventually break out and expand as they do now. Critically, it would give people time to see that something is wrong and evacuate the area, so that we don't have mass civilian death by breaching.

[SomeoneOutTher3]

Here's a thought. As a small concession, how about reducing and randomising the wall damage rates/ So that blobs would take anywhere from 2-10 minutes to eat through a wall.

This would mean that initially, they'd be confined to rooms and corridors, but eventually break out and expand as they do now. Critically, it would give people time to see that something is wrong and evacuate the area, so that we don't have mass civilian death by breaching.

>2-10 minutes to breach a single wall.

Last time I checked, the biohazard warning is given to the crew around 1 minute after a blob or vine infestation spawns. If a blob has to take 2-10 minutes to breach a single wall, it hardly sounds like a threat, and it would mostly be contained to whatever room it happened to breach into first, until it breached another one in 2-10 minutes. At that rate, it would only breach into 2-3 adjacent rooms before being taken out by any competent engineering team. Honestly, this sounds a lot like the old blob: An annoyance that the crew has to deal with, sometimes a threat, other times not. The potential of a blob to take out a decent-sized chunk of the station while spreading decompression and murdering everyone nearby is what makes it a threat that has to be dealt with,such is life in spess. You already get warnings when a blob is nearby, in the form of shutters dropping on maintenance tunnels if a breach occurred, and welding tool noises when a blob is eating a wall. If the wall to your department has been breached, but the wall separating you and the blob from spess has not been, there is absolutely no reason for you to stay behind until it does. If the wall to spess has been breached, but the wall separating you from the breached tunnel has not been, you still hear welding tool noises from the blob eating the walls, indicating that you should GTFO. Whenever a blob is attacking a wall,reinforced or regular, the wall tile will start getting cracks in it, similar to how the walls of the science burn chamber crack when overheated. If you don't run when you see the wall which separates you from the vacuum of space begin to crack, while strange noises come from the other side, you can't really blame anybody but yourself for your horrible death.

[TrickingTrapster]

Yeaaaaah, I agree with the notion that blobs should not be able to suck people in diagonally. Attacking is fine, no problem there, just don't bullshit me all the way in there just because I passed a blob diagonally for half a second due to no maneuvring space. On that note, isn't the blob dealing a bit much damage? I have seen it way too moch, then if it touches you once, it imediately, on the spot, breaks one of your arms or legs. The RNG on that is either ridiculous or the damage is too high. It's even worse for borgs. I can almost guarantee the chance for them to lose their power cell after a single hit could be around 75%, if not higher. That's just... Bad. Why is that even a thing. You'd think the armor plating would absorb a blow or two before the blob got to components.

[Arrow768]

I just noticed a problem with the suggestion of removing the blobs ability to suck in people diagonally

Essentially, this could be exploited by people to attack the blob manually without the risk of getting sucked in, by just standing diagonal to it.

Also the suck-in mechanic is there to remind people that its a bad idea to attack the blob with manual tools.

Just use ranged weapons. There are quite a few available.

It seems that there is a 40% chance, that the blob sucks in a mob within a certain range and a 60% chance that it attacks you.

What could be done to solve the issue of people getting sucked in diagonally is reduce the chance of that happening when it is in process and limiting it to the "main" directions.

Additionally, to prevent people from exploiting this by attacking the blob diagonally a chance is added in attackby to suck people in if they attack the blob with non-ranged weapons.

[SomeoneOutTher3]

Yeaaaaah, I agree with the notion that blobs should not be able to suck people in diagonally. Attacking is fine, no problem there, just don't bullshit me all the way in there just because I passed a blob diagonally for half a second due to no maneuvring space. On that note, isn't the blob dealing a bit much damage? I have seen it way too moch, then if it touches you once, it imediately, on the spot, breaks one of your arms or legs. The RNG on that is either ridiculous or the damage is too high. It's even worse for borgs. I can almost guarantee the chance for them to lose their power cell after a single hit could be around 75%, if not higher. That's just... Bad. Why is that even a thing. You'd think the armor plating would absorb a blow or two before the blob got to components.

RNJesus must hate you very much.

I have seen lots of people tank a few hits from a blob before getting a broken bone. Also, why the hell are you within melee range of a blob in the first place? If it is simply growing towards you, you should back off.If you fail to back away from the blob before you are forced to go near it, you really can't blame anybody but yourself for what follows next.The new blob is now a threat that requires a degree of coordination,spacial awareness, and planning. If you were fighting the blob from a position where you have nowhere to retreat to once you run out of energy/ammo, you really can't blame the blob.You were rightfully punished by the game mechanics for lacking those things.Simply mindlessly rushing at it will only result in your liver getting eaten by a giant spess amoeba.I also faced the wrath of newblob as a security borg, and have seen other borgs do too. The probability of losing the power cell after a single hit is nowhere near that high.

 

Also the suck-in mechanic is there to remind people that its a bad idea to attack the blob with manual tools.

Just use ranged weapons. There are quite a few available.

A very good solution indeed.

It seems that there is a 40% chance, that the blob sucks in a mob within a certain range and a 60% chance that it attacks you.

Seems good.

What could be done to solve the issue of people getting sucked in diagonally is reduce the chance of that happening when it is in process and limiting it to the "main" directions.

"Reduce the chance of that happening when it is in process and limiting it to the "main" directions."

Going to assume that means less chance to get sucked in when the RNG is deciding, and only suck in from the "Main" directions.

What that would mean is that somebody could stand near a blob tile that is only 1 square away and attack the rest of the blob unhindered, provided the tile is diagonal from the player. That just sounds silly and arbitrary. Almost all the time, people end up being right next to a blob due to poor situational awareness, or spess wind doing what spess wind does.

Additionally, to prevent people from exploiting this by attacking the blob diagonally a chance is added in attackby to suck people in if they attack the blob with non-ranged weapons.

Why not keep the suck-in system as is and let people plan to avoid being right next to a blob, or face the consequences if they don't?

[SomeoneOutTher3]

[TrickingTrapster]

What I meant was not make blobs vulnerable from diagonal sides, just don't make them suck you in from that position. The blob can still hit you diagonally, no issues there. Just don't suck people through two girders with no way of escape because RNG decides to be a prick.

[SomeoneOutTher3]

What I meant was not make blobs vulnerable from diagonal sides, just don't make them suck you in from that position. The blob can still hit you diagonally, no issues there. Just don't suck people through two girders with no way of escape because RNG decides to be a prick.

Blobs not sucking people in diagonally still ruins the point of the suck-in mechanic, to prevent idiots from rushing the blob with melee weaponry. If the blob can't suck in diagonally, people will just attack it from there with melee weapons. It would, in essence, be a nerf.

My opinion regarding it is this: If one is able to attack the blob with melee weapons, the blob should be able to suck/attack back.Now, is it possible to attack the blob diagonally from behind two girders arranged diagonally, including shooting a laser or bullet diagonally? If so, then there is absolutely no need to remove the ability to suck diagonally. If not (When walled off diagonally from the blob,neither the spessman nor the blob can attack), then I got a simple solution: Check if BOTH tiles adjacent to the target and the blob tile that both of them share are obstructed. If yes, do not attack. If only one or neither,the blob may attack/suck in normally. For our purposes, the ability to diagonally shoot a laser or ballistic point-blank through two girders should count as a melee attack (Because being able to shoot through two diagonal girders while the blob can't retaliate is just cheesy as fuck).Here are a few simple graphics attached:

The green B is a blob tile,the red T is the spessman, the purple Xs are obstructions.

In this case, neither the blob nor the target should be able to do anything to each other,the adjacent tiles that they share are obstructed.

 

In the two lower images, one of the adjacent tiles that the target and blob tile shares is obstructed, both should be able to attack one another, and the blob able to suck in diagonally:

[DatBerry]

stuff

 

the issue here is that you've already known where the blob is. there's usually a minute for the blob to grow in, and it can take anywhere from 2 more or even 7 minutes to locate the blob, this issue is even worse when there's no AI or if it's dead hour. even if you manage to effectively take it down, by the time you've setup. the damage is already done.

one example is a blob spawning in xenoflora maintenance, that spot is hell for science, xenoflora will be almost surely eaten fully, toxins, misc will also become inoperational soon after and xenobiology and the RD's office will follow.

that's just one example, blobs cause significant damage before you even start to deal with it. so the issue isn't killing blobs efficiently, it's stopping blobs from destroying important shit, which is almost impossible.

i also thought of something similar to nikov's idea for blobs, but here's how i'd have the blob work:

point 1: as proved by flashbangs, blobs are sensitive to light, too much and they are slow to expand in lit rooms, but in darkness they would spread even faster, so fast that by the time the announcement is made, they'd fill the spot they're in. blobs will break light sources near them.

point 2: when there's only one free tile to fill, they fill 3 times as fast. so in confined areas, they will sprint, but when they burst open into open areas, they'll slow down due to the open area and light

point 3: blobs will react with silicon in windows and turn into a hardened, air tight wall, light blocking blob wall. thus they wont vent maintenance, but they also wont be helpless against windows inside the station and avoid powergaming windows.

thus what will happen is blobs will become very stronk in maintenance, growing to a respectable size before crew can gank it, but won't deal that much damage,

im thinking it may be too easy to deal with in hallways so maybe we could add more features to blobs, or a progression / maturing stages for blobs

[SomeoneOutTher3]

stuff

 

the issue here is that you've already known where the blob is. there's usually a minute for the blob to grow in, and it can take anywhere from 2 more or even 7 minutes to locate the blob, this issue is even worse when there's no AI or if it's dead hour. even if you manage to effectively take it down, by the time you've setup. the damage is already done.

That is why we have engineering to fix that damage.

one example is a blob spawning in xenoflora maintenance, that spot is hell for science, xenoflora will be almost surely eaten fully, toxins, misc will also become inoperational soon after and xenobiology and the RD's office will follow.

Then beg engineering to fix the damage, or provide weapons and bombs for the crew to fight off the blob before that happens.

that's just one example, blobs cause significant damage before you even start to deal with it. so the issue isn't killing blobs efficiently, it's stopping blobs from destroying important shit, which is almost impossible.

Very few things are actually irreplaceable in the game, and the ones that are irreplaceable and are of any value are a good distance away from maintenance.

i also thought of something similar to nikov's idea for blobs, but here's how i'd have the blob work:

point 1: as proved by flashbangs, blobs are sensitive to light, too much and they are slow to expand in lit rooms, but in darkness they would spread even faster, so fast that by the time the announcement is made, they'd fill the spot they're in. blobs will break light sources near them.

point 2: when there's only one free tile to fill, they fill 3 times as fast. so in confined areas, they will sprint, but when they burst open into open areas, they'll slow down due to the open area and light

point 3: blobs will react with silicon in windows and turn into a hardened, air tight wall, light blocking blob wall. thus they wont vent maintenance, but they also wont be helpless against windows inside the station and avoid powergaming windows.

 

1: It seems that you want blobs to be worse at breaking things. That is the whole point of a blob: To eat the station and cause havoc, and it is the job of engineers and security to deal with it. This adds urgency to the blob threat. If a blob was suddenly worse at doing those things,then it isn't as urgent of a threat, which ruins the point of the blob.

2:Seems arbitrary. Refer to point one.

3: That removes the decompression hazard of blobs. It seems that what people find issues with is the blob venting areas of the station. I have a simple solution to that issue: Get the fuck out before you get vented. The whole point of the blob is that it is a hazard that the crew must deal with, lest they suffer the effects. The only people that get affected by blobs venting areas of the station are incompetent crew and civilians.If you are not wearing a suit when you got something to do during a blob outbreak,you can't blame anyone but yourself for getting royally fucked. If you are a civilian with no access to a suit, you get a warning in advance in the form of sounds coming from maintenance,shutters dropping, and walls beginning to crack. If you don't get out of the way when those warning signs are present,you can't blame anyone but yourself.

thus what will happen is blobs will become very stronk in maintenance, growing to a respectable size before crew can gank it, but won't deal that much damage,

 

I'm thinking it may be too easy to deal with in hallways so maybe we could add more features to blobs, or a progression / maturing stages for blobs

Yes please.

[DatBerry]

stuff

 

the main point is: a random event can fuck over a job for the rest of the shift with no way to possibly stop it in time. you are implying engineering can fix toxins properly, and in time, most blobs being dealt with end up with a transfer being called because engineering does fuck all.

do note some of these jobs take a lot of work to setup, an xenoflorist having his lab destroyed at the 1:30 will fuck him over for the first of the round, even if security and engineering managed to locate and kill the blob at around 1:40-1:50, you think they'll have time to do anything meaningful even if the transfer isnt called at 2:00?

again, the issue is that blobs can take an entire job out of commission with no counter at all, for extended periods of time, and that depends if engineering is actually competent

protip: it usually isn't.

[Scheveningen]

Unfortunately, flamethrowers are the only goddamn solid counter to the blob right now. Roasts blob growth to shit and if you get sucked in, you can annihilate more growth at once with absolutely no risk.

I'd rather not permit the stigma that engineering needs a flamethrower on standby every round. As effective that would be to have a blob fucking murdered 5 seconds after it spawns, it's kind of stupid to shoehorn a blob's only absolute weakness into a ghetto weapon literally no one uses because it's worthless for weaponization as an antagonist thanks to ZAS coding and flames interaction.

[LordFowl]

Blobs have pretty much reached a stabilized point. Beyond that, I plan to touch blobs again once new maps rolls out, in line with a suggestion Nikov shot my way now long ago. Voting for dismissal as it stands, or I guess just realization that this is continously my assignment until I die.

[Arrow768]

Seconded.

As explained, blobs are fine as is.

Its usually players that screw it up by trying to solo it.