StationCrab

I assume when you say normal tea you mean the tea that can be mixed with stuff like sopophoric to make sleepy time tea, ect. The only issue I can see is that it adds another food/drink item to a vendor that can be gotten without interacting with the crew roles that provide these things, I've seen that argument in the past about certain food items/drinks, so I thought I'd post it. That being said, tea is a very basic recipe, so there shouldn't be an issue adding it. +1

I think it should remain optional. However I do agree if you are playing a prominent role like the Captain or other figureheads, you should put the effort in. Everyone should, but throwaway characters do exist, for certain gimmicks or maybe even just learning a job. Maybe a middle ground could be a prompt that reminds you that the feature exists when saving a character.

+1, I like it. AI can still notice small details like sparking airlocks and out of place items, but can't just directly say who did it, leading to investigations by Security without ending someones round directly. I see no reason this can't be a thing.

If Defibs are added the rescue or medical borg should get them as a module.

Will the user be invisible to borg/robot eye cameras as well?

Thank you!

The Kataphracts I encountered so far seem to have played the role well enough. I agree with your assessment that the archetype is well enough understood that it does not require a white list like maybe playing the species full time might. I am sure failures to RP them properly can be handled on a case by case basis, there is no need for a whitelist for this limited role.

Great player. Great character. Great item. +1

Just want to say I really adore your art style. I think your one of Doctor Gonzales is my favorite. Think you'll ever want to take a commission for a stationbound?

Looks amazing.

Quick question. Is this something only the user hears or can everyone around hear it as well?

So I am going to jump in here and echo the end bit here. We've all had rounds that go tits up, and honestly playing as F.R.E.N. in medbay I have had positive interactions with your character. I did notice that sometimes you were out of the medical bay a bit too much, but I understand some of that may be trying to get the character involved and prove yourself. I will also say in your defense for most of these shitty rounds you have been saddled with a few really grey employees, this is true, I noticed it as well, however I would encourage you to learn to let them be grey, it can be tempting to take the reigns in a terrible situation, and this sometimes results in a lot of confusion. Especially if you join mid round. Anyways I am a bit tired so I will stop rambling. To sum it up, I enjoyed 'working' for this character from a borg perspective, and I do not think a few bad rounds towards the end of their trial should be the nail in the coffin. Give them an extension to correct the valid issues presented here, I believe there is potential to be found here. With that stated I am giving a tentative +1, you seem willing to see your errors and want to correct them. The mistakes with mechanics can be easily fixed and learned, the personality type to play command is harder to come by.

I for one welcome another convert to the IPC brigade. Forktress' characters are quite fun to interact with as well. I think you have a pretty solid backstory here, I won't comment too deeply on it because I am not an IPC lore expert, but everything seems to be in order from my perspective. It will be interesting to see the buried memories unfold on the station. +1

@Aticius Thank you for the feedback! I used Gyazo to capture these so there is a little compression happening here. That being said would it be possible to elaborate on the specific area of shading that concerns you? Maybe through an image? The base sprites are only four frames of animation so they are really easy to modify, and as this is my first project I am interested in insuring the shading looks good!

Lets get some bacta tanks going.

So the animation is 190 frames (with the exception of the combat display) for the LCD screens, with a delay of 0.7 - I could speed them up but I wanted the face details to linger for a certain amount of time, so it wasn't spamming the intro sequence and name as much. I did tinker with the speed a few times, it was much choppier at one point, but I think I've gotten them pretty smooth now! The faster you go the more details are lost as well, so I think I am pretty happy with them at their current speed!

This is a cool concept and has a really nice look to it. Would like to see this in the game. +1

Byond key: Stationcrab Discord key: Ian#8480 Character Name: F.R.E.N. Item name: F.R.E.N. - Friendly Robot Engagement Network - Crew Interaction Chassis Item function(s): I have designed these sprites as an upgraded version of the default basic robot sprite. The lighting and liquid-crystal display are adjusted to play a custom animation for each department, and the chassis' have been colored accordingly. These sprites account for all departments with the exception of security, as it has been removed, but if it is ever returned in some form I have ideas for that as well. It is essentially a basic robot that has been around for awhile, and has been heavily modified and upgraded over time either due to damage or tinkering by the crew. I wanted to keep with the spirit of the basic borg sprite, while creating something that feels 'lived in' and is recognizable. Item description: Medical/Rescue: An upgraded version of the standard station bound robot. When activated its liquid-crystal display shows a wide variety of facial expressions with a pleasing bright green hue. When it is with a patient, the display swaps to the patient's basic vital signs to allow those around it to easily monitor their condition. Engineering/Construction: An upgraded version of the standard station bound robot. When activated its liquid-crystal display shows a wide variety of facial expressions with an intense orange hue. In structurally unsafe areas, it displays a highly visible warning message, accompanied by an attention grabbing alarm. Custodial: An upgraded version of the standard station bound robot. When activated its liquid-crystal display shows a wide variety of facial expressions with a pleasing purple hue. The readout will occasionally display air sample data, as well as information on any foreign contaminants in the area. Service: An upgraded version of the standard station bound robot. When activated its liquid-crystal display shows a wide variety of facial expressions with a pleasing green hue. If the robot is working in the kitchen, it will display an up to date menu along with any relevant caloric information. It will also display all known food allergies of any crew it is serving. When serving drinks, the display will monitor customer blood alcohol levels, to insure they do not overindulge. In a hydroponics capacity, current data on the environment, lighting levels, and soil quality can be displayed. Standard: An upgraded version of the standard station bound robot. Its prominent liquid crystal display is offline. Clerical: An upgraded version of the standard station bound robot. When activated its liquid-crystal display shows a wide variety of facial expressions in a bland white light. The readout notifies nearby crew members of incoming messages, Newscaster updates, as well as any changes to the station's alert level. When assisting the cargo department it displays a pleasing animation whenever the credit account is boosted, or a bounty is filled by the actions of the station's employees. Science: An upgraded version of the standard station bound robot. When activated its liquid-crystal display shows a wide variety of facial expressions with a pleasing purple hue. The display will show any relevant experimental data, as well as in-depth damage reports of mechanical entities visiting the robotics bay for repairs. It plays a pleasing tone when new research levels are achieved. Combat: An upgraded version of the standard station bound robot. When activated its liquid-crystal display shows a hostile expression in a threatening red hue. The display will occasionally show any relevant emergency data, including evacuation routes, known hostiles, wanted criminals, and the current alert level. Item appearance: This gallery contains each sprite in action running on a local version of the station (BIG THANKS to ferner and wezzy for helping me get this working). Simply click the link to see them all. One thing to note, due to the nature of the program I used to capture these gifs, they do not show the entire loop. The face animations last for around twenty seconds before looping the name/intro scroll. These gifs do not reflect the full duration. Edit: Slight update here. The colors for medical and mining for the basic default borg sprite are changing soon courtesy of Chada, I will need to update mine to match. I will try and get those upcoming colors and add the variants to the gallery once I can get a hold of Chada - Essentially mining will likely be a tan color instead of poop brown. Update: New blue medical colors added to the bottom of the gallery. Update: New Tan Mining Colors added, with yellow caution light. Compression seems to obscure the yellow light, it is much brighter and pleasing on the eyes in the actual game. F.R.E.N. Custom Sprite Gallery Why is your character bringing this item to work? Using the standard multi-role assistance platform as a base, the F.R.E.N. unit is designed to incorporate crew morale and emotional interaction into their program. The chassis has been upgraded with an interactive liquid-crystal display, that projects all manner of imagery and information to the crew members this unit is tasked to assist. This, in theory, will enable an unprecedented level of emotional connection to the units, leading to greater cohesion in the work place with their organic counterparts. While the display allows the station bound to simulate emotional responses via assorted images and facial expressions, it also can be used to monitor life signs, system alarms, and even display Nanotrasen affiliated advertisements to encourage employees funnel their hard earned credits back into the corporation coffers. A power pack has been added to compensate for the additional system loads. The design is not without its flaws however. While F.R.E.N. was designed to facilitate smoother bound to organic interaction, its designer is hardly an expert on such social matters. The project lead has a fascination with synthetics bordering on obsession, much to the detriment of her ability to properly socialize with her fellow crew members. As a result, the emotional simulation aspect of F.R.E.N.' display programming is often unpredictable. The liquid-crystal display may occasionally show an emotion that is wildly inappropriate for the situation, such as smiling cheerfully during open heart surgery, or displaying a smile when a crew member falls into disposals or slips on a cleaning grenade. The vocalizer subroutines remain largely unaffected by these modifications, acting in a very similar fashion to the standard station bound, this leads to a disconnect between the emotional data on the display, and the mannerisms of the station bounds verbal output. While some crew members may view these largely harmless disconnects as unsettling, some may see it as the unit having a unique charm and personality, despite the reality of it being a cold unfeeling machine driven by its law set. How will you use this to better interact with crew and/or stimulate RP? One of the reasons I largely used the baseline IPC is the existence of the monitor. Having a component like that on a synthetic opens up many unique ways to emote, and interact with the crew. When I currently play FREN without these sprites I still try to have it interact with its environment as much as possible through emotes. I can think of so many situations where a liquid-crystal display could be used to facilitate RP for serious and comedic situations. FREN's creator is socially awkward, so there is some RP to be had there seeing FREN's in character design improve over time. Maybe the displays will be modified to fit the situation better, maybe it will degrade or get worse over time. I purposely made sure this was set up as an experimental premise for the modifications, so it can grow and change over time, something that isn't very easy to do within the strict law sets of a station bound. I am looking forward to finding interesting ways to role play the disconnect between the LCD, the verbal, and physical actions of the station bound. I would also like to see the crew discover who FREN's creator is through play. As a small aside, I think some of the LCD animations are going to look quite unsettling in the context of antaggery. A malfunctioning FREN unit smiling away as it causes trouble is amusing to me. Sprites: (Will add file links when I can figure out a way to host them all) Additional Comments: I would like to thank Shestrying for giving me feedback on the design and helping me conceptualize how the LCD screen would be animated. This is my first spriting project or attempt at animation, so I welcome all critiques and feedback. I look forward to reading your thoughts on F.R.E.N. and its custom sprites.

As always your sprite work is great. I like these far better than the new ones. The new ones look like refrigerators to me.

This is a really cool concept, and something that makes sense in the profession it is applied to here. If anyone is curious, here is some information on weighted blankets: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/two-takes-depression/201812/weighted-blankets-and-depression Some even say they help with insomnia and depression. All that aside, the person piloting the character who will have this item is an excellent role player, and it is obvious that this item could be used not just for them but in the department in general, considering it is actually applicable to the job, and not just an item for personal use. Also the sprites look great. We have all kinds of toys and doodads in the psych closet, I see no reason why we could not add this. +1

It would be a misteak not to implement this.

Burned mess can be used for a fun recipe so please keep it around in some form!

I do not support this. The recent trend to outright remove things people find annoying or abused in certain niche circumstances is a bit concerning. The security borg is included in this. Just ahelp if a player is being a shitter, don't remove things that good players enjoy because a few bad apples ruined your good time. I'd rather see AI whitelisted instead of this proposal. However nerfing certain functions of the AI I am okay with. As for roundstart AI blowing antags cover, maybe make it so it takes a little while for the camera systems to come online in various areas, or make it so the AI player has their own roundstart bootup sequence they need to do, slowly enabling their vision network.

Some of the coolest MALF rounds I've been a part of have used similar gimmicks, so I'm not really sure I agree.

Shouldn't sweeping maintenance be something a Janitor does?