Decompressing Airlocks Or Airlocks Decompressing, and why it should be reworked/removed

[ayeblinchik]

I might have not found the original pull, but who cares, we all know what I will talk about.
https://github.com/tgstation/tgstation/pull/91457
https://github.com/tgstation/tgstation/pull/91458
So Dear Mr.Melbert, decided to rework the external airlocks, and make them decompress, which is, not good idea at all.
Why? Easy.
Because you have to wait 1 fucking minute for the airlock to open and let you into space, now this wouldn't be an issue for normal space explorer, but what if you are an antag that tries to escape in space?
Here is what.

Windows! windows which from lasers are very but very easily pass right into your antag face while you wait for airlocks to open. Completely throwing off your round.
Then in his pr's he made a lot of points, why it's cool to have this pr, and I want to take a look at them too.
1-It stops the station from getting airlock hell
-Airlock hell is not happening just because of one spacemen decided to go into space real quick, in fact, you could always just go into space without airlocks even starting so called airlock hell.
2-It stops space wind from making entering the station a huge awkward
-yeah, well, this might be an issue, because the space just tends to suck you in, but again, it would be easily fixable if all station had shiftstart holofans, the small black vent ones.
3-It allows you to walk straight on/straight off docked shuttles
-Here i'm not sure what he talks about, in whole of my 2.5k playtime I don't remember having this issue, or even if i had, it did not bother me enough for me to remember.
4-It gives some protection to antags in space, but also gives protection to the crew from space antags.
-Yeah as i said earlier It is a fucking trap room for antags if there is someone with a laser near.
5-Adds potential for fun stuff like sabotaging external airlocks to fill with plasma
-Yeah, as if someone would ever do that for pretty much nothing since they will open in 1 minute and the guy could just heal himself.
Overall, Maybe in Manuel this type of change would be somehow bearable, In more fast paced Terry, this change is disaster.

[mrmelbert]

1. It's a contributor to airlock hell, especially if someone sticks the external airlocks open. I have seen many times someone opening an airlock once causing firelocks to fall.

2. Holofans or tinyfans on all external airlocks is never gonna happen

3. I'm surprised you haven't airlock shuffled a single time. It's incredibly annoying.

4. When I say it gives antags protection, I mean antags already in space. You can't tell me you haven't seen an antag sitting in space when a security officer just walks out and batons them because space damage is pretty pitiful.

5. Your trap-fu is weak

Addendum: It doesn't take a full minute for it to cycle, it takes like ten seconds. Even if atmos is lagging the airlock will "override" and let you go through without cycling finishing.

But in any case, if you made a PR bumping up the pump speed, I'm certain it'll be accepted. Faster pumps should address a few of your qualms with it.

[ayeblinchik]

1-It is a contributor, but not a great one, if for example someone left the airlocks open in meta station arrival, the airlock hell will be in arrival, but won't go over all station, or even 1/4 of it. but again, for it to happen, you have to wilfully sabotage the station, which is well, I can do by just rcding the airlocks.
2-Which is very sad, really sad, same as we have them in shuttle, why we can't have them in station? If it's just a QoL mostly.
3-I have airlock shuffled, yeah, if you are talking about that, still, the second point could fix it.
4-Yeah, well this is what this game is all about anyways, If antag died to seccie walking out in space, it's a skill issue? Like, really, They don't need another layer of protection just from that.
5-Mine might be weak, yeah, but never saw someone using them for traps since they came out, Which means that everyone trap-fu is weak??
addendum addendum)) -Even if it doesn't take a whole minute, it still takes time, time enough to kill whoever stand there, really. Annoying, really annoying, and kills the whole "opportunist" spirit of any antag, which is a part of the game, My main point is that it's just a trap if you are being chased, and makes you not be able to go into space to throw off a tail from you, because sometimes that works, especially if the seccie is lizard for example or a slimeperson.
But, rework wise, making this deccompressing time like 3-4 seconds, would be super cool, sadly I'm not good with code, and see no reason to learn it just for the spessgame13.
And, the best outcome in my eyes would be revert of this pr.

[mrmelbert]

Fortunately for you, changing the pump rate is super super super easy.

It's one variable:

Code: Select all

var/volume_rate = 1000

If you just... edited it to 2000, bam, you've doubled cycling speed.

Code: Select all

var/volume_rate = 2000

Super easy

[bingusdingus]

I started playing again after this was added and the mechanic seems kinda wonky. It could just be me lagging or something but I swear the airlocks are super finnicky and accidentally bumping another airlock or even the same one starts the process over. I feel like its super easy to get caught between airlocks and waiting for things to happen which feels bad. There should just be a button like the Virology and Xenobio airlocks that do the same thing.