maintenance drone upgrades.

[BadLemonsXI]

So I've been playing maintenance drone to for the last 5hr's and I've come up with something that I'm going to post here for every one to look at.

Edit: The first bit is now redundant because I'm a blind fooktard.

1. Add reinforced glass (You can make it as a drone but its placed on the ground and there for unusable for the drone.) and reinforced metal to the list of things the magnetic gripper can pick up. because last round I went to fix the chemistry lab and I had to use glass instead of reinforced glass so a Station Engineer had to come alone and fix it to reinforced glass, kind of making what I did redundant. And add reinforced metal so that if the drone go's into a badly damaged area and there is reinforced metal there the drone can use it.

The magnetic gripper code is in :

Aurora/code/modules/mob/living/silicon/robot/drone/drone_items.dm

Githublink: https://github.com/Aurorastation/Aurora/blob/548d5abbf8ff7221f3a7d097fdcb755f5bde7f66/code/modules/mob/living/silicon/robot/drone/drone_items.dm

2. Allowing the drone to listen to the Engineer comms so to better know when it can be of help.

Edit: Im no longer counting this one because I partly agree with what Jamini had to say about it.

3. swat43: The ability to have it's power cell changed.

4. Change the law's to officially allow basic rp as a drone.

Thanks for reading. Please post what you think of this and anything you can think of for it.

 

((To add the reinforced glass I think you just have to add /obj/item/stack/sheet/rglass to the var/list/can_hold = list( of the magnetic gripper.))

Edited March 23, 2015 by Guest

[Vanagandr]

As long as you haven't used up all the stuff you have, you can pick up more resources by having them selected and clicking on a stack.

This may or may not be a bug that allows you to carry more than a drone should; I haven't tested it.

[Jamini]

So I've been playing maintenance drone to for the last 5hr's and I've come up with something that I'm going to post here for every one to look at.

1. Add reinforced glass (You can make it as a drone but its placed on the ground and there for unusable for the drone.) and reinforced metal to the list of things the magnetic gripper can pick up. because last round I went to fix the chemistry lab and I had to use glass instead of reinforced glass so a Station Engineer had to come alone and fix it to reinforced glass, kind of making what I did redundant. And add reinforced metal so that if the drone go's into a badly damaged area and there is reinforced metal there the drone can use it.

The magnetic gripper code is in :

Aurora/code/modules/mob/living/silicon/robot/drone/drone_items.dm

Githublink: https://github.com/Aurorastation/Aurora/blob/548d5abbf8ff7221f3a7d097fdcb755f5bde7f66/code/modules/mob/living/silicon/robot/drone/drone_items.dm

 

 

As the atmos tech (not engineer at the time) in question: I agree. You should be able to either pick up or directly have some reinforced glass as a drone.

 

2. Allowing the drone to listen to the Engineer comms so to better know when it can be of help.

 

Drones aren't supposed to replace engineers. They exist as a way for a player with little time to participate for a short time and be able to leave when they want, or for ghosts to participate if they die without respawning (like mice). They aren't supposed to impact the round in any way except for doing small repairs and cleaning that other players can't/won't. Engineering has a way to communicate with drones, via the "ping" feature on the drone control console in drone maint (and on the bridge). The reason these are not used? Most of the time it's better to have an engineer go.

I have nothing against drones personally, but playing a drone for five hours (or even one) isn't really intended. Why not just play an engineer or an engineering borg in that case and get access to the engineering channel?

[LordFowl]

Also, maintainence drones do have access to reinforced glass directly. Thus, since you can more or less infitely stack the reinforced glass (by clicking with it on discarded items of reinforced glass) there isn't much point for the magnetic gripper to be able to pick it up also.

[BadLemonsXI]

As long as you haven't used up all the stuff you have, you can pick up more resources by having them selected and clicking on a stack.

This may or may not be a bug that allows you to carry more than a drone should; I haven't tested it.

Right but you can never have reinforced glass selected as it is not in the module panel.

 

As the atmos tech (not engineer at the time) in question: I agree. You should be able to either pick up or directly have some reinforced glass as a drone.

Thanks

Drones aren't supposed to replace engineers. They exist as a way for a player with little time to participate for a short time and be able to leave when they want, or for ghosts to participate if they die without respawning (like mice). They aren't supposed to impact the round in any way except for doing small repairs and cleaning that other players can't/won't. Engineering has a way to communicate with drones, via the "ping" feature on the drone control console in drone maint (and on the bridge). The reason these are not used? Most of the time it's better to have an engineer go.

Right Im going to agree with you here. But it would be nice to try and include drone's as they are player's looking for something to do and be helpful (most of the time.)

I have nothing against drones personally, but playing a drone for five hours (or even one) isn't really intended. Why not just play an engineer or an engineering borg in that case and get access to the engineering channel?

Yer your right but I did have a lot of fun. I don't know why but some people really take to drone's they like to pick them up and play with them and I meet some engineer's who like'd to carry me and have me help out. And I like them because I didn't have to talk and could emote most things.

 

Also, maintainence drones do have access to reinforced glass directly. Thus, since you can more or less infitely stack the reinforced glass (by clicking with it on discarded items of reinforced glass) there isn't much point for the magnetic gripper to be able to pick it up also.

Right I'm not following you here? So I can be holding reinforced glass? Can you please tell me? As I said I can make it but it spawns on the ground with no way for a drone to interact with it as far as I can tell.

Also if anyone whats to add something I'll add it to the list.

Thanks for the replys!

[LordFowl]

A maintainence drone spawns with resources, metal rods, metal plates, glass, reinforced glass, etc. It can select these like any other module. Simple as that.

[Guest]

I thought I would join as a drone to see what I would have.

http://puu.sh/gHwrL/7ba64d7765.png

Reinforced glass is the third option in Resources.

The only thing I don't see on that is Plasteel, I think this topic has been spoken about before, would need to check the old forums and logs to see what things were brought up there.

-edit: Apparently the pic copied my highlight too.

[BadLemonsXI]

I thought I would join as a drone to see what I would have.

http://puu.sh/gHwrL/7ba64d7765.png

Reinforced glass is the third option in Resources.

The only thing I don't see on that is Plasteel, I think this topic has been spoken about before, would need to check the old forums and logs to see what things were brought up there.

-edit: Apparently the pic copied my highlight too.

Well now I just feel silly that I didn't see it.

But the topic still stands. Dose anyone have anything they'd like to input?

Also can any coder's tell me if this:

((To add the reinforced glass I think you just have to add /obj/item/stack/sheet/rglass to the var/list/can_hold = list( of the magnetic gripper.))

Is actually how you'd add it?

[Guest]

Yes that would work.

[BadLemonsXI]

Yes that would work.

[swat43]

I like this idea of course, and i thought of making my own suggestion. Since it is a drone, why not give it an ability to have it's power cell changed? From i bluntly know (correct me if i am wrong) drones has the standard power cell the 1K? If so, they have to recharge quiet so often, so why not give them maybe a chance to just making the players worry (those who play as drone) to much and calculate how much power they need to return back before dying off in a middle of a hallway and having assistant McKennedey picking it up on his head and pretend he's an ice queen. For some it may be a useless idea, but imo i think it should be implemented.

[Vanagandr]

The only problem with maint. drones is that they simply don't carry enough cable to properly wire more than a quarter of a solar.

[ZipZero]

The only problem with maint. drones is that they simply don't carry enough cable to properly wire more than a quarter of a solar.

Assuming it hasn't been damaged, the most wire you need for a solar array is 48. A drone can carry 30, and also drag along another coil of 30, using that when theirs gets low. I usually just take it from art storage.

[BadLemonsXI]

I like this idea of course, and i thought of making my own sugg. . .-snip snip snip-. . . ink it should be implemented.

This sounds like a good idea because it can lead to some rp, as a drone can't talk and will have to emote to the Roboticist what it whats done. As well as giving longer life to the drone. Now code wise:

For the cell here's the drones code for it.

line 42://They are unable to be upgraded, so let's give them a bit of a better battery.
line 43:cell.maxcharge = 10000
line 43:cell.charge = 10000

And here's what happens when you try and use a crowbar on then.

line 103:else if (istype(W, /obj/item/weapon/crowbar))
line 104:      user << "The machine is hermetically sealed. You can't open the case."
line 105:      return

So drones will have to be made open-able and I don't know how much work that would involve.

Code found in: Aurora/code/modules/mob/living/silicon/robot/drone/drone.dm

Link: https://github.com/Aurorastation/Aurora/blob/master/code/modules/mob/living/silicon/robot/drone/drone.dm

 

The only problem with maint. drones is that they simply don't carry enough cable to properly wire more than a quarter of a solar.

Ah now this is a question of is it giving to much to the drone because as Jamini said they shouldn't replace engineers. But on the other hand its a massive time sink having to go back inside to get other cable coil or all the way back to a charger if you used all of your's first.

 

Assuming it hasn't been damaged, the most wire you need for a solar array is 48. A drone can carry 30, and also drag along another coil of 30, using that when theirs gets low. I usually just take it from art storage.

Can drones drag cable? I'll have to test it. I know they can't pick then up.

As always thanks everyone for replying and helping build on the suggestion.

[SierraKomodo]

This sounds like a good idea because it can lead to some rp, as a drone can't talk and will have to emote to the Roboticist what it whats done. As well as giving longer life to the drone.

 

Drones are not allowed to interact with crew in any way, from what admins have told me in ahelp

[ZipZero]

This sounds like a good idea because it can lead to some rp, as a drone can't talk and will have to emote to the Roboticist what it whats done. As well as giving longer life to the drone.

 

Drones are not allowed to interact with crew in any way, from what admins have told me in ahelp

They can interact, just not interfere. Though, they have almost no reason to be interacting in any meaningful way with anyone.

/datum/ai_laws/drone/New()
..()
add_inherent_law("Preserve, repair and improve the station to the best of your abilities.")
add_inherent_law("Cause no harm to the station or anything on it.")
add_inherent_law("Interfere with no being that is not a fellow drone.")

Drones simply have no will to do anything not strictly within those laws. Asking for a battery upgrade would not be allowed under their third law.

[BadLemonsXI]

I think the main reason for those law's are to stop the chucklefuckery when someone dose something they really shouldn't have, So the staff have a leg to stand on when confronting these people. For the whole time I played as a drone (In which I acted like a puppy when someone payed attention to me. And actually had rp with them.) I wasn't messaged by the staff saying that I was doing it wrong, Mind you had I hurt someone as the drone they probably whole have dog piled me with warnings and/or bans. I think its got to do with how you play it. If it make's someone happy and give them rp then at least it should be ok. If you fuck up someones day and your not emaged (Or what ever its called.) with a law involving what your doing then thats bad. Maybe change the law's at allow basic rp? I'll add it to the list.

[Vanagandr]

Ah now this is a question of is it giving to much to the drone because as Jamini said they shouldn't replace engineers. But on the other hand its a massive time sink having to go back inside to get other cable coil or all the way back to a charger if you used all of your's first.

It was a joke. When I wire a solar as a drone, I make as much of a mess as possible. Drones just don't carry enough for more than five tiles of wacky cable tangle shenanigans, but that's probably Working As Intended.

I can confirm that drones can drag cable coils, though.

[BadLemonsXI]

It was a joke. When I wire a solar as a drone, I make as much of a mess as possible. Drones just don't carry enough for more than five tiles of wacky cable tangle shenanigans, but that's probably Working As Intended.

Ah ok.

I can confirm that drones can drag cable coils, though.

That's good to know. I'd stopped trying to drag things after the first 10 items I try'ed just said. "That item is to big." I just guessed you couldn't drag anything. Maybe its got to do with the weight tags.

[Guest]

I think the main reason for those law's are to stop the chucklefuckery when someone dose something they really shouldn't have, So the staff have a leg to stand on when confronting these people. For the whole time I played as a drone (In which I acted like a puppy when someone payed attention to me. And actually had rp with them.) I wasn't messaged by the staff saying that I was doing it wrong, Mind you had I hurt someone as the drone they probably whole have dog piled me with warnings and/or bans.

We just haven't noticed it, some minor RP with drones are ok but you must follow your laws, Don't help them if they ask you for something, don't ignore station integrity/damage for RP.

If you're spending the whole round acting as a little pet for people when you are supposed to be a mindless drone then that's a bit of an issue.

There was a time when we would jump on people for interacting with players as a drone, we loosened up on them once the excitement of the feature lowered down.

[BadLemonsXI]

We just haven't noticed it, some minor RP with drones are ok but you must follow your laws, Don't help them if they ask you for something, don't ignore station integrity/damage for RP.

If you're spending the whole round acting as a little pet for people when you are supposed to be a mindless drone then that's a bit of an issue.

Ah yes don't worry at least 3 times I spammed the resist button to get way from people once I heard the station was damaged in some way. I think of it as idle mode the drone acts all passive until something needs its attention. And I said no when someone ask'ed me for some metal as it was not involving the integrity of the station.

Also on this matter about not doing things for people would helping an engineers get to a damaged place on the map be ok or bad? (Or they could be smart and not ask me but just follow me as I go to the damaged area.)

[Guest]

You can't directly act on what they ask you. If an engineer follows you while you are on the way to a damaged area then technically you are not helping them, they are taking advantage of the situation and neither of you are breaking any laws.

[BadLemonsXI]

Thanks SoundScopes for the feedback. I hope this it can help others out.

Also anyone reading remember to post suggestions if you can think of any and I'll add it to the list. (only if you state its a suggestion.)

Thanks for reading and participating.