Space Station 13, and a hypothetical Eva-inspired mecha server

This is the place to start: Feel free to introduce yourself, have general conversations and casual discussions about all things Evangelion, including chit-chatty topics like "Sachiel is adorable" or "Which Eva kicks the most ass?"

Moderator: Board Staff

Softmachine
Embryo
Posts: 3
Joined: Jul 24, 2021
Gender: Female

Space Station 13, and a hypothetical Eva-inspired mecha server

  •      
  •      
  • Quote

Postby Softmachine » Tue Aug 31, 2021 11:52 pm

Space Station 13 is a community developed, online multiplayer role-playing game. The premise of the game is that you and various other players inhabit a space station (or depending on the server, a spacecraft or planet), and you must follow your chosen role to the best of your ability. Examples include being a janitor, security officer, scientist or even the station clown. In practice things deteriorate into chaos very quickly, either as a result of the comical incompetence of the players in doing their job, game mode modifiers like a traitor infiltrating the station to screw things up or both. It's this chaotic nature that makes the game so appealing to many people.
Now before I talk about this, I want to mention that I have absolutely no skill or talent whatsoever in programming. All I'm really doing is just laying out my thoughts in a stream of consciousness about what I think think an Eva-inspired SS13 server would be like and how cool it would be.

Like I said in the beginning, SS13 is entirely community developed. Different servers have their own development team, lore, maps and game modes. The most played server by far is Colonial Marines, which is based on the Aliens franchise. Unlike default SS13, CM is a team-based military game. Marines deploy on a map and make war with the xenos. The latter team is entirely gameplay oriented, while the former has a balance of roleplay and gameplay. As such, it generally plays very differently from "normal" SS13. But the same sense of chaos and absurdity still carries over.
Now with this in mind, let's get to the point. Ever since I first saw Evangelion, I've fantasized about what it would be like if an Eva-themed server was made for SS13. The possibilities are endless.
Of course it would be hellish to plan out and program. How would mecha battles even be represented in the 2D format of the game, which is also made on outdated software? These are not questions that I have the answer to, so I will leave them to the experts.


I think a server such as this would be best off set in it's own universe rather than explicitly being in the Eva setting, as the title says. I have a few reasons for this.

1. The server having it's own distinct setting would allow for a lot more creative leeway, giving it it's own identity while still paying homage to Evangelion.

2. You won't be railroaded into only being able to role-play as Japanese characters with the token foreigner here and there. Realistically, how many foreign workers actually work in NERV headquarters?

3. Unfortunately, big corporations do prey on small and powerless SS13 players when they try to make a server based on a popular franchise.

4. Given the nature of the game, it would be impossible to fully represent Eva's setting with 100% accuracy. This brings me back to point one.


At it's core SS13 is a station management RPG. You make your character, select your occupation and then do it. Everything else unfolds from there. CM is a radical departure from the framework of literally every other SS13 server, and is considered by some to almost be an entirely different game. Even so, it nonetheless still carries over traits from default SS13. If you're not a marine, you're part of the staff supporting them and managing the ship. An Eva, or Eva-inspired server has to be made to fit this.
My idea is that it should take a page from CM and make it team based. There's the human side and then there are the not-Angels, both controlled by players. Simply having three or four pilots in the field would not work for this game and would be extremely unfun. There would have to be at least a couple dozen or so pilots in action. I have not thought of how angels would be incorporated, so I will skip them for the time being. If anyone here is familiar with SS13 and can think of a creative way for how the not-Angels as a team would be factored in, feel free to share them.
There has to be diversity to the roles of the pilots. For example, there could be a medical pilot whose mecha is designed to treat damage inflicted on other not-Evas. Another would be a heavy weapons specialist, an engineer who can deploy combat drones, etc. All of the Pilots would be divided into separate squads, each with their commanding officer.


Beyond the pilots, the rest of the human team would be stationed back at the base. I don't think a space station or alien planet would be particularly fitting for something paying homage to Eva, so it would likely be in a futuristic military fortress back on Earth. The command staff, as in the original series, would give the pilots orders and monitor them. There would a medical and science wing, an engineering department, and a requisitions office that would support the pilots with supply drops. With this being said, I think the base-side half of the team should have pressures that aren't just supporting the pilots. For example, they could be fighting a sort of secondary battle. Suppose one not-Angel was plague-themed, and they infected the base personnel with their virus. This not only creates pressure on the pilots to win the battle ASAP but adds extra problems for the base staff, who must now quarantine themselves in order to survive. Perhaps the virus would mutate people into mindless abominations.

This is all I really have to say regarding this. Like I said in the beginning, I have no programming skills and no knowledge of proper game design. I'm only expressing a fun fantasy. I do hope that one day someone goes out and makes something equivalent to this.

Thank you for reading. Give me your thoughts!

Return to “Evangelion General and Chit-Chat”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 5 guests