Bummer to hear. I can assure you that bots don't reset in the way you suspect though. The lounge will not repopulate at all, repair bay repops with an entirely different configuration governed by a unique combat scenario and for that to occur a certain amount of time must elapse. These are always difficult design decisions as some players expect new content on retraversals separated by significant time while others such as yourself apparently disdain them. Initially that particular retraversal didn't repopulate. A majority of people expressed that they wished it would. If you ever take the elevator back down to daycare you'll discover new scenarios there for similar reasons.
Cool, cheers for the feedback. Interesting that playtesters disliked the area being populated again. It really hit me as a "I can't be fucked" thing, but a lot of that probably has to do with the way it plays. If I were enjoying it more I think I'd be okay with cleaning it out again.
And I really believe that's just where I sit with Burial at Sea: I'm not enjoying the play enough to stick with it. Which is less of a criticism against the DLC and more my subjectivity. I had a lot of fun playing through Infinite, but Burial doesn't do it for me. Something feels off or not all that fun about the core mechanics, changes to damage variables, and so on.
But I'll add that I can attribute much of my disinterest in returning to Rapture. I know there's some people who fucking
love it, and seeing Rapture cameos in Infinite was a highlight. So the idea of returning to Rapture in a two part story arc is the bees knees. For me though Rapture was done once BioShock's credit's rolled. Similarly with BioShock 2, a game that I enjoyed in
play but had no interest in actually pushing through, the Rapture appeal does nothing for me here so where others care I simply do not. I don't need more Ryan or Atlas, or more Rapture lore expanded.
I'm being a bit hyperbolic though: I'll probably push through it regardless. I did pay for it and I would like to see first hand how Irrational's final work comes together.