So this is going to be a question-rant-ramble-suggestion sorta thing.
First of all, this post is about Close-Quarters Cooking. This is not about Close-Quarters Combat.
The Question:
Why does a non combat character like the cook have very powerful ability like this? And second, why is it specifically the cook? Where is the Close-Quarters Cleaning that only works in the janitorial closet, or the Close-Quarters Computing that only works in the robotics lab? I am still considering myself as a kind of new player to the game and from my point of view the existence of CQC seems entirely unreasonable and random. Maybe there is a valid reason for it to exist or some interesting history behind this, and I would love to hear about this from a veteran player.
The Rant:
I do not just not know why CQC exists, I also thing itâs existence is bad. First, I think its existence is random and it is very unbalanced. Second I have the feeling the power corrupts people.
POV you are cook and there is a conflict. You can
A: try to talk it out
B: shove against counter, throw in kitchen, CQC to crit
I swear to god, 90% of cooks I meet choose B.
The Ramble:
Part 1:
Okay so, the only reason I can think of for why CQC exists is to give the cook a little more robustness in their own realm. For example the bartender has the classic shotgun and the dangrous combo of alcohol plus lighters. But I think CQC is way to overpowered and also: the cook has a knive. Is that not enough?
Part 2:
Letâs talk about Pete. Pete is the cookâs pet goat who can also be milked. But Pete also has this fun little quirk where he randomly starts attacking anybody in his close vicinity after a while. Because of that, no cook has ever pet the Pete or milked the Pete. So whatâs left is, that Pete is just⌠a goat. Pete is usually murdered roundstart or shoved in the kitchen mulebot delivery tile and left there forever.
The Suggestion: Close-Quarters Goating
Okay, summarise. We want to remove CQC, fix Pete, and still give the cook a bit of robustness to make people think twice before they jump over the counter in the kitchen.
First, Pete should be passive to everybody when outside of the kitchen area. That way maybe one can finally use Peteâs cool ability to eat space vines. Currently, if you try to bring Pete, you are probably being killed before you arrive at the vines. Second, Pete should be passive to everybody who has access to the kitchen, when inside the kitchen area. The cook can finally safely pet the Pete and milk the Pete. To anybody who doesnât have access, Pete should still keep his current behaviour. Even more so, the time that passes until Pete feels the need to defend his territory against those pesky intruders should be shortened, but still long enough that when the cook throws you in the kitchen now, you still have some time to escape. Pete also gets aggressive when being attacked. To make removing Pete harder, he should also immediately get agressive when being grabbed inside the kitchen area. Outside, anybody can grab him. And to make killing him harder he should also recieve a significant HP increase. Since Pete always spawns in the freezer, people can still go in the kitchen when there is no cook.