/tg/Station 13

What do people think of the current state of Janitoring in 2023?
What do you like? What do you dislike?

I fucking LOVE the janitor, change nothing except the lack of beartraps in the tram station janitor room.

The janitor key thing is neat but, in practice, almost never gets used. I have had it used a whole two times. One time was because it had just been merged, and the other time a head actually granted me access for the purposes of replacing a singular lightbulb.

Also, it kind of sucks joining as a janitor after seeing there are no janitors just to see ten mop bots and two janieborgs making you 100% redundant. The same thing can happen even if you start as janitor, but at least it seems to happen a little less often.

Janitor is unironically the best job in the entire game

Time-Green wrote: ↑Mon Jun 05, 2023 6:25 am Janitor is unironically the best job in the entire game

Wrong it's cargo

cargo would be great if we could get people to use cargo

Janitor is my favorite job. It's not tied to progression and you can do it at your own pace. You just get to wander around the station and run into trouble or other interesting scenario's. There's no abstract, hard to remember chain of actions you have to look on the wiki for just to be able to do your job. Just hold soap and click on tiles. There's a surprising amount of depth to it. Soap and mops clean in 3x3 patches, while cleaner spray is good for trails of blood. There's also the galoshes which stop you from tracking blood over floor, so you can get a full 3x3 of blood without leaving bloody footsteps. It can get tiring cleaning up after people deliberately making a mess of the place though. Eventually I will be strong enough to beat the shit out of them for turning my job into a sisyphean affair. Metal foam grenades are especially infuriating. Somebody pressed Z once and now you have to spend a whole ass minute just smacking metal foam. It'd be nice to maybe have some sort of tool just to clear out metal foam. And maybe it could shred the person that set the grenade off too.

kawoppi wrote: ↑Mon Jun 05, 2023 9:13 am Janitor is my favorite job. It's not tied to progression and you can do it at your own pace. You just get to wander around the station and run into trouble or other interesting scenario's. There's no abstract, hard to remember chain of actions you have to look on the wiki for just to be able to do your job. Just hold soap and click on tiles. There's a surprising amount of depth to it. Soap and mops clean in 3x3 patches, while cleaner spray is good for trails of blood. There's also the galoshes which stop you from tracking blood over floor, so you can get a full 3x3 of blood without leaving bloody footsteps. It can get tiring cleaning up after people deliberately making a mess of the place though. Eventually I will be strong enough to beat the shit out of them for turning my job into a sisyphean affair. Metal foam grenades are especially infuriating. Somebody pressed Z once and now you have to spend a whole ass minute just smacking metal foam. It'd be nice to maybe have some sort of tool just to clear out metal foam. And maybe it could shred the person that set the grenade off too.

I use the mop, you know why? Because it gives XP, and its efficient. I don't give a shit if you slip, you should have read the damn sign. Its better then the shitty soap, which takes forever to clean with and runs out easily. Of fucking course I'm going to use the mop, Bang, Bang, The mess is cleaned up. Space cleaner runs out quickly, doesn't give xp and makes me talk to the fucking crackhead chemists. My janibelt is reserved for cleaner grenades and light replacers only. Of course I'm going to laugh and point at the sign when you slip, its bright yellow, obvious and clear as day. Ill see you losers when I have the jannie cape and you're still stuck with your shitty soap and space cleaner.

I wish there were more jobs like janitor. Variety is important, and people will gravitate to niches so having a ton is good, but I wish we were better at making janitor likes instead of virology likes

Janitor is a job that organically always has things to do. Very good job. Almost never changed because no change is needed

kinnebian wrote: ↑Mon Jun 05, 2023 11:05 am

kawoppi wrote: ↑Mon Jun 05, 2023 9:13 am [...]

[...] Its better then the shitty soap, which takes forever to clean with and runs out easily. [...]

Yeah ok, mopboy. Can't afford to use the JaniDrobe, huh? Maybe if you had more cleaning XP you wouldn't have to worry about the speed and durability of the soap. When you trip over your stupid water bucket that you have to carry all over the place, I'll be there, laughing at you. SOAPGANG FOREVER 2023

(It's nice that there's sidegrades fit for different preferences and situations with considerations like cleaning speed, inventory space, renewability, capacity and convenience.)

kawoppi wrote: ↑Mon Jun 05, 2023 7:11 pm

kinnebian wrote: ↑Mon Jun 05, 2023 11:05 am

kawoppi wrote: ↑Mon Jun 05, 2023 9:13 am [...]

[...] Its better then the shitty soap, which takes forever to clean with and runs out easily. [...]

Yeah ok, mopboy. Can't afford to use the JaniDrobe, huh? Maybe if you had more cleaning XP you wouldn't have to worry about the speed and durability of the soap. When you trip over your stupid water bucket that you have to carry all over the place, I'll be there, laughing at you. SOAPGANG FOREVER 2023

Took you long enough to come out of the woodworks, guess you had to clean a mess larger than a piss puddle and it took you 7 hours?

kinnebian wrote: ↑Mon Jun 05, 2023 7:20 pm [...]
Took you long enough to come out of the woodworks, guess you had to clean a mess larger than a piss puddle and it took you 7 hours?

Once I'm done scrubbing away my tears it'll be SO OVER for you!!

kinnebian wrote: ↑Mon Jun 05, 2023 11:05 am I use the mop, you know why? Because it gives XP, and its efficient. I don't give a shit if you slip, you should have read the damn sign. Its better then the shitty soap, which takes forever to clean with and runs out easily. Of fucking course I'm going to use the mop, Bang, Bang, The mess is cleaned up. Space cleaner runs out quickly, doesn't give xp and makes me talk to the fucking crackhead chemists. My janibelt is reserved for cleaner grenades and light replacers only. Of course I'm going to laugh and point at the sign when you slip, its bright yellow, obvious and clear as day. Ill see you losers when I have the jannie cape and you're still stuck with your shitty soap and space cleaner.

trash bag on hip > janibelt imo. you can fit almost all of your janitor gear in a box anyway.

speaking of, pretty much the only janitor issue i can think of right now is that the slightly full/full trashbags are missing on-body sprites and show up as bright pink on the spacemen

edit: actually i think thats been fixed already!

I feel like such a hipster not running around with the soap. I walk around with a jannie cart stuffed with anything that will fit into it, lights, spray bottles, brooms, mops etc. The belt has a cleaner grenade, plunger, rust scrubber, etc. Anything left on the ground is going into the trash.

The only time I use the soap is if it's an area that I will get attacked for using a mop in (medbay mostly)

Janitor is a super chill job and it's how I learned how to navigate maps. There's also minimal risk or you being stuck in one area. Jobs like cargo might require you to almost never leave your workplace if you're the only guy, but janitors can basically wander off and do whatever. It essentially gives you the freedom of an assistant but you're more respected. Janitor is one of the few jobs that I consistently hear being thanked for their work. The only time it sucks is when a whole department's lights go out because it takes fifteen minutes of asking people to open doors for you to get to every light (no the heads of staff won't even grant access via the key system in that kind of scenario)

I still like cargo tech more, but I thoroughly enjoy the janitor job.

good evening,

it is with a great warm glow in my heart that i report that janitor is in fact one of the greatest roles in /tg/station. please do not change it, it is perfect.

seasons greetings,
bobbah 'bee' brown

bobbahbrown wrote: ↑Tue Jun 06, 2023 4:47 am good evening,

it is with a great warm glow in my heart that i report that janitor is in fact one of the greatest roles in /tg/station. please do not change it, it is perfect.

seasons greetings,
bobbah 'bee' brown

What is the state of Bees in 2023?

I'd like to see more random roundstart messes to take care of.

Bay has a thing where they track litter that's been left out at end of round and spawn it back in (they don't have canon round continuity so it's definitely more of a mechanical thing)

Basically more variability in stuff to clean would be cool, especially if messes were large/inconvenient enough that someone might call in for a janitor at roundstart.

RaveRadbury wrote: ↑Fri Jun 16, 2023 5:59 pm I'd like to see more random roundstart messes to take care of.

Bay has a thing where they track litter that's been left out at end of round and spawn it back in (they don't have canon round continuity so it's definitely more of a mechanical thing)

Basically more variability in stuff to clean would be cool, especially if messes were large/inconvenient enough that someone might call in for a janitor at roundstart.

Mass shift start oil spills

Adam Klein wrote: ↑Fri Jun 16, 2023 6:27 pm Mass shift start oil spills

That brings up another thing:

Currently any time your clothes get messy the sprite gets bloody. Stepped in an oil spill? Blood on your clothes. We should probably GAGS it idk.

my biggest problem with janitor is water evaporates too fast now, giving me little opportunity to point at wet floor signs after people slip on them

RaveRadbury wrote: ↑Fri Jun 16, 2023 5:59 pm I'd like to see more random roundstart messes to take care of.

Bay has a thing where they track litter that's been left out at end of round and spawn it back in (they don't have canon round continuity so it's definitely more of a mechanical thing)

Basically more variability in stuff to clean would be cool, especially if messes were large/inconvenient enough that someone might call in for a janitor at roundstart.

I’d love this. Right now some stations start off with barely any messes (Meta and Icebox) have a few messes in select locations (Delta arrivals) or are absolutely trashed (Birdshot)

Super Aggro Crag wrote: ↑Sat Jun 17, 2023 12:54 am my biggest problem with janitor is water evaporates too fast now, giving me little opportunity to point at wet floor signs after people slip on them

I tend to make barriers with wet floor signs and people will still run headfirst into them and slip and get frustrated about it.

Sometimes I feel like 40-50% of the player base don’t have functioning eyeballs.

My belief is confirmed based on the amount of people I see getting into cargo (hacking the door, running in when someone with access walks by, asking the AI to let them in, breaking windows, unwrenching the orm (fuck you coders for shooting down every PR to make the orm welded, seriously)), etc. to get to the lathe… that was right out in the lobby, where it’s been since a minute into the shift.

RedBaronFlyer wrote: ↑Sat Jun 17, 2023 2:25 pm

RaveRadbury wrote: ↑Fri Jun 16, 2023 5:59 pm I'd like to see more random roundstart messes to take care of.

Bay has a thing where they track litter that's been left out at end of round and spawn it back in (they don't have canon round continuity so it's definitely more of a mechanical thing)

Basically more variability in stuff to clean would be cool, especially if messes were large/inconvenient enough that someone might call in for a janitor at roundstart.

I’d love this. Right now some stations start off with barely any messes (Meta and Icebox) have a few messes in select locations (Delta arrivals) or are absolutely trashed (Birdshot)

Super Aggro Crag wrote: ↑Sat Jun 17, 2023 12:54 am my biggest problem with janitor is water evaporates too fast now, giving me little opportunity to point at wet floor signs after people slip on them

I tend to make barriers with wet floor signs and people will still run headfirst into them and slip and get frustrated about it.

Sometimes I feel like 40-50% of the player base don’t have functioning eyeballs.

My belief is confirmed based on the amount of people I see getting into cargo (hacking the door, running in when someone with access walks by, asking the AI to let them in, breaking windows, unwrenching the orm (fuck you coders for shooting down every PR to make the orm welded, seriously)), etc. to get to the lathe… that was right out in the lobby, where it’s been since a minute into the shift.

i like setting up a sign 5 tiles in front of a wet spot and 5 tiles behind it and just stand there watching how many people will run for 5 tile lengths and slip

The janitor keyring thing needs an update. Neither I nor anyone else I have talked to in-game about it knows how you're supposed to use it or even what it's purpose is.

Imitates-The-Lizards wrote: ↑Wed Jun 21, 2023 7:17 am The janitor keyring thing needs an update. Neither I nor anyone else I have talked to in-game about it knows how you're supposed to use it or even what it's purpose is.

“God I wish we had access like janiborgs (fuck janiborgs) or paramedic.”

*coder monkey paw curls*

One of the arguments for this was so janitors couldn’t tide. Ignoring the fact that paramedics also tide.

Imitates-The-Lizards wrote: ↑Wed Jun 21, 2023 7:17 am The janitor keyring thing needs an update. Neither I nor anyone else I have talked to in-game about it knows how you're supposed to use it or even what it's purpose is.

heads of staff can use the keycard swipey thing in their office (the one they use to call red alert) to grant the keys temp access to their department. but nobody ever does this because its pretty well hidden and almost always easier to just go open the door for them anyway.

The janitor keyring's function or how to use it isn't explained ingame either. More things to clean up is nice, but I feel the better play is to make unattended spills cause more detriment.
Vomit can have a chance to roll increasing severity diseases like gibs.
Dirt can attract roaches and rats, and maybe more dangerous pests as time goes on.
Oil is... Fine actually.
Uranium and Radium pools can (VERY) slowly irradiate surrounding things.
Large amounts of blood in one area could roll a slaughter demon in the same vein as a lone operative.

What if janitors could wave a sheet of cardboard to air dry water spills slightly faster? What if water on the floor could conduct electricity?

More fun things to put in my bucket and mop with would also be cool. The mop is a toy and mopping the floors with Nitrous Oxide is funny as shit.

BrianBackslide wrote: ↑Fri Jun 23, 2023 10:24 am Uranium and Radium pools can (VERY) slowly irradiate surrounding things.

Ripleys and Odysseus leaving oil when hit, while more advanced exosuits leave pools of liquid uranium and other dangerous compounds would be a good addition. Higher tech industry leaving by-products that lead to high tech cancer.

Those are what-ifs, for leaving stuff unattended. But mechs being polluting as fuck would be funny as hell not only as janitorial content but also as a fuck you to mechs.

I love janitor and think its great overall. I have a few minor gripes though:

Janitor Tax:
A bunch of the janitors 'core items' cost a decent chunk of credits to buy from the jani-vendor. For example the purple hat, gloves, janibelt, flyswatter, paint remover and more. The goulashes are 59c! Most other departments get their "core" items and apparel for free or can print them at round start. The janitor "tax" means that a fresh jani has to choose between being fully equipped or being able to buy things such as tools (which are also also sometimes necessary for the janitor job, nobody wants to see cracked glass or broken tiles after all). The obvious solution is to make most of these 'core items' free, bringing it in line with other department vendors.

Wirebrush vs posters.
The wirebrush should be able to remove ripped posters. Wall cleaner thingy clean wall. Makes sense to me.

Omega soap.
Very underwhelming considering how tedious it is to make. Perhaps if it had a cleaning "aura" or could track messes it might be worth doing, but currently it's a long scavenger hunt completely divorced from the janitor's gameplay and the reward is basically a flex. Obviously nobody is losing sleep over this, but it needed to be said.

So I played janitor, AND used the keyring

And not only is it obnoxious to use because you need to convince a head of staff to care enough to go to their keycard auth
And slower than using an ID, and therefore worse off still than paramedic and jannieborgo

BUT IT HAS A TIME LIMIT

WHO THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA

WHY DOES IT HAVE A TIME LIMIT

IF THEY JUST WANT TO LET YOU IN FOR ONE MESS TO CLEAN UP, THEY WILL JUST OPEN THE DOOR FOR YOU

The WHOLE POINT of the keyring is to allow heads of staff to give the jannie access to their department so they don't have to keep micromanaging opening doors for them

Someone explain to me how the time limit on it makes ANY sense?!?