Medical Bay Map Update

[Vetinarix]

 

Greetings, Paradise Station.

This is mainly aimed at your devs (Ponies, I'm lookin' atchu!) but I can't actually PM on this forum yet, so I guess you can all read this... yay!

 

So! Your server uses a variation of the Medbay I designed (/am designing) for BayStation12. Which is wonderful; I'm simply ecstatic to see it put to use as it's just entered dev for the second time over there, and the first time it entered their dev-build it was removed for some hokeypokeyish reasons.

Anyhow, I come here to inform you that your Medbay... is ancient!

Well, not really. But it is lacking many (many, many, many) changes and improvements I've made over the year since I first began work on it. Most of the big differences were recently made - in the last couple months when I reinvigorated my efforts to make it become the actual medbay. And finally, it left dev hell and entered dev heaven and soon it'll be reborn onto the actual BS12 server. I digress.

 

I'd be very happy for you guys to have the latest version of the Medical Bay! It's already on bs12 dev, so Ponies should be able to easily pull it. I just thought I'd let you know so that you weren't stuck here using the older 2013 version, when the newer 2014 version exists!

But perhaps you prefer your version?!

Let's do a quick comparison:

 

Paradise Station Medbay - The 2013 Version

 

Latest Dev Medbay - The 2014 Version

 

The Major Design changes in the 2014 version are:

 

• Dual operating theatres.

• Extended virology.

Medbay/Research Maintenance Corridor

2 Tile Wide Port & Starboard Medbay Corridors instead of 3 tiles.

More Privacy & Lockdown Shutters.

An extremely detailed Technical Guide - http://issuu.com/vetinarix/docs/asclepius_medical_bay_manual_v1.0.0?e=11071475/6947875

Massive changes to engineering layout allowed this Medbay. This Medbay will eat the current location of your Atmospherics.

It doesn't have your magical, mysterious colored glass. But that's easily fixed!

 

 

Anyway. It's completely up to you and your dev team, but I just thought I'd come on over to let you all know that it exists and is ready for utilisation!

 

[Fathuran]

 

Having two separate operating theaters is nice and all, but the fact that they both have no body scanners, as well as only one having observation has me wanting to know your design philosophy regarding surgery. People like watching surgeries and it's hard enough to get them to leave the OR to watch from observation. Having in theory only half of the surgeries be observable will make some people more stubborn I think. Having one large OR as a more centralized operating area is technically better, unless in my opinion, my next concern could be addressed.

 

The lack of a body scanner in either operating room is disconcerting, especially since we'd have only one in the entire department. In the current layout, the body scanner in the OR is the most used scanner by my experience in medical. If we have someone with breaks or otherwise we know we're going to operate on them just by looking at them, we use the OR body scanner to locate the breaks and get them right on the table, while the one by the auxiliary cryogenics chamber is more general use. Reducing it to one can prove to make traffic in hectic rounds.

 

I personally believe the operating theater should still be consolidated into one room, BUT I do like the surgical storage room. That's a good idea. If a body scanner is added to each OR room, that indeed would make things easier and I wouldn't mind supporting the changes.

 

In regards to everything else though. It looks good to me and more experienced people can comment in regards to the engineering layout. I'm just putting my opinion out as one who primarily plays surgeon.

 

[Taaketa]

I like the look of it. Quick question, does this med bay have any love for medical borgs? I wish there was more I could do as a medical borg other than scan and inject Tricordrizine into people and shout at the medical staff to assist my medical borg with issues I can't deal with.

[Lucyz]

 

I like the look of it. Quick question, does this med bay have any love for medical borgs? I wish there was more I could do as a medical borg other than scan and inject Tricordrizine into people and shout at the medical staff to assist my medical borg with issues I can't deal with.

 

This ^

 

I like being medical borg, would be cool if there was something else for us

 

[Vetinarix]

 

Let's talk about Surgery!

Having two separate operating theaters is nice and all, but the fact that they both have no body scanners, as well as only one having observation has me wanting to know your design philosophy regarding surgery. People like watching surgeries and it's hard enough to get them to leave the OR to watch from observation. Having in theory only half of the surgeries be observable will make some people more stubborn I think.

 

This was the one major part I figured that some concern would come from. Your version of Medbay isn't the original final 2013 version, you've got your own touches as well, like the patient admission cards, the paramedic off to the Port side and yes - the large multifunction operating theatre.

My intent in designing the new Medbay has always been a focus on realism and roleplay use, as well as efficiency in terms of travel paths around medbay (patient staff 'flow). There is, indeed, a question which ultimately spurs the difference between:

Option A: having a huge open room with two optables and a scanner in it + all their tools is this

Opton B: having separate operating theatres with their own storages, a pre-op preparation room between them, and a diagnostics room above with the scanner in it

 

What is it reasonable to expect in real life?

The answer is most assuredly not option A. For all manner of hygiene reasons, patient/staff privacy concerns, and for any other reasons you can roleplay out.

In turn, the categorical layout means less confusion, less people one place, a bit of added difficulty (games need difficulty after-all), more RPs (dem RPs, nurses and doctors running bodies on stretchers up and down corridors shouting medical things!) and more realism (realism = more undistracted immersion).

 

And if you oppose the separation/categorical layout based on its efficiency in the game, then you may as well ask yourself why the rest of Medbay has walls too, because the same argument can be used for almost any part of Medbay, indeed the station. Why not have the whole station in one room?

 

For people who like to watch surgery: It's not your right. That's why there's a button for shutters.

 

The lack of a body scanner in either operating room is disconcerting, especially since we'd have only one in the entire department. In the current layout, the body scanner in the OR is the most used scanner by my experience in medical. If we have someone with breaks or otherwise we know we're going to operate on them just by looking at them, we use the OR body scanner to locate the breaks and get them right on the table, while the one by the auxiliary cryogenics chamber is more general use. Reducing it to one can prove to make traffic in hectic rounds.

It's part of a process of categorical layout. For that scanner: people may have to wait longer, people may have to queue, or it may increase hastiness with which scans are completed. There are 29 beds (counting stationary and rollers) within the Medbay, so you shouldn't run out of places to put people while they wait the extra two minutes for their scan, during which time you can RP!

This categorical layout is what reshapes Medbay from being a factory floor that churns out living people in the most gamey sort of way, to a respected department with an ordered structure. It's what makes us know what is in which room, and it also means commonly used rooms are adjacent each other. Medicines are all stored in one place. Equipment is all stored in another place. Less people using the same space at the same time. More purpose behind the way the localities and structure was designed.

And of course, there's its dynamic range. It can adjust from treating one person in the examination room comfortably, to simultaneously performing two surgeries, treating two emergencies, three cryo(/cloned), three lower level triage patients (patient rooms), and anyone else on beds out in the corridor. Even then, if a virus was to break out within the medbay, the CMO can tap a button on their desk to lock down the whole of Medbay. There's nothing in the design which negatively effects patient outcomes which isn't made up for in either the multitude of positive changes, or by using the layout in the way its structure encourages you to!

 

And in the end, you guys are more than able to keep your own operating theatre :lol:

 

I like the look of it. Quick question, does this med bay have any love for medical borgs? I wish there was more I could do as a medical borg other than scan and inject Tricordrizine into people and shout at the medical staff to assist my medical borg with issues I can't deal with.

Aside from the fact that a Charging Station could be added to it... I'm not a coder, as such. There were no changes made to the way medical borgs function, and I'm not familiar with any differences there may be between the way they function on Paradise and on BS12 .

I for one would also be happy for them to no longer be a rolling doctor-caller.

 

[Fathuran]

 

As I said towards the end of my main point, I have absolutely no problem with two separate OR's and their storage areas, so long as a body scanner is in each operating room. One can argue about realism or take the time to RP between scans, but when I have a patient who has internal bleeding, I'm not going to be waiting, and I don't find it fun to lose a patient trying to bustle through a crowd when that instance can be completely avoided if there were simply more avenues. That's my main point of contention. I am a really heavy roleplayer myself. I love that kind of stuff. I'm the guy who will ask patients if they consent to surgery and explain what all I will do, but in life threatening situations, I'm not going to bother, just like how I believe in rounds when there are 80+ players, a single body scanner will only prove to warrant congestion and frustration, not immersion, and not realism. In the far future it doesn't break my immersion to have the idea one doing some scans of a patient just before putting them on the table within that same room. Making the body scanner a commodity doesn't make things more RP friendly, in my opinion.

 

In regards to observation, I bring that up because I have had numerous experiences where it takes me upwards of several minutes to convince someone to simply watch an operation from observations instead of within the OR. The stubbornness from folks demanding to stay in surgery so they can watch the procedure is annoying at best, congested at worst. If this mindset didn't exist, I wouldn't mind if there weren't observations at all.

 

In conclusion, I think you missed my point in that I do actually support having two separate OR's, I would RP a sterile environment more, but I will always be hung up about the body scanners, that's my beef.

 

[Vetinarix]

 

It's a very fair point.

I look at today's hospitals and clinics for my inspiration - where Radiology is its own department. I'd love this game to have multiple different types of scans needed to diagnose different things. It doesn't yet, so all I can do is give the scanner its own room.

With IB, put the patient on blood. Patients will actually last quite a long time on infusion, with a few extra quick syringe doses of blood too.

Honestly, it's up to you guys!

BS12's never such a hectic environment as to have that issue, and thats who my primary audience it is.

When they go from the TG medbay to my medbay, they'll be going from a congested human factory to a structured, flowing department. So that change will be welcome there - and on that server, there's no issue with the Scanner being in a different room to the optables; that's how it's always been.

 

I definitely understand your concern, and can appreciate that it's probably a big issue on this server, given you'd be going from a close-knit speedy all-in-one operating theatre to a bunch of separate rooms and doors!

 

[Fathuran]

 

I understand where you're coming from. You have no idea how amazing it would be if there was in fact a specific department dedicated to scans - So long as there were multiples of each, of course! Haha - That's my thing, the place can be meticulously divided, so long as there is enough equipment for multiple people to be doing their work instead of sharing one piece of equipment. That's why it was a bit jarring when I migrated over to this server, from one that has double the amount of cryogenics tanks. I like my quantity when it comes to tools, as I'm sure you've been able to tell!

 

That being said, even as I share my concerns with you about surgery, I really do like your new layout, so don't take my criticisms as not being praise, certainly!

 

EDIT: Even in our current layout, the same sharing can happen, and it's a disadvantage of having a single OR. I've had cases where patients are literally piling in around the OR's body scanner and on stretchers waiting to be operated on. In my opinion there can never be enough when it comes to that kind of stuff.

 

[SoholTar]

 

One major issue I can see with the new version is that surgeons have to move to actually access all surgical tools. That would be a pain in the butt when the server is lagging (Paradise Station has over 80 players, even 95 players in the evening). Not practical at all in my opinion. And no body scanner is a bad idea. Body scanners tend to be quite busy when the shit hits the fan and sometimes it can't wait when players have internal bleeding.

 

Also, closets are missing in the surgery room. If we have too many medical doctors, they can't dress up properly.

 

Finally, what are the rooms underneath surgery supposed to be?

 

[Vetinarix]

 

Well, you can always change the default start location of implements, or just put them on a different table when you first arrive on the station.

I hadn't accounted for your server's uber-level of activity. I'm not familiar with your usage or playstyle, so yeah...

I'll tell you right now you might need a third operating theatre, and a whole ROOM devoted to scanners.

Closets are in the pre-op prep room (room between the op theatres). The grey closet is purely surgical gear, the doctors closet has another two pairs of scrubs.

Two more doc closets up in equip storage.

A little bit of preparation goes a long way

 

But yeah, I can't speak to the specifics, which is why I just thought I'd make sure you and your dev/admin team knew that much work had gone underway on the Medbay since you got a hold of it

 

[SoholTar]

 

You're right, one could change the place of the instruments when starting but I guess being optimal on the first try isn't a bad thing either

 

I've yet to encounter a situation where a third operation table was necessary (as long as other patients are stable, an emergency can replace a patient on a busy table) but it can't be too much, I think. Always useful.

 

And to comment on other suggestions made in this thread, players that want to enter surgery to look is a real problem. Tools are often missing and patients sometimes rebel after being treated (which is hopefully rare and they are often dealt with by admins).

 

Also, I'm not sure I'd want blood bags in a separate room that I can't see as a surgeon. It's great to have them at hand in the surgery room.

 

Maybe I'm missing something but where are all the biosuits? I can see only one in that maintenance-looking corridor near Isolation. Biosuits are very important on Paradise Station because admins love to create diseases during a round (which is a real pain in the ass, people shitting everywhere or invading medbay screaming " I NEED THE CURE " -or both ...- when all they do is coughing ). We need at least 5 or 6 biosuits, in my opinion.

 

[Vetinarix]

 

CMO has a biosuit in their locker, there are five in the Secondary Storage locker, and three more down in Virology!

 

Again - with the blood bags, sometimes a little preparation is part of the fun

 

[SoholTar]

 

Alright, thanks.

 

You did a fantastic job on that guide too. Quite impressive work on the redesign too