Extra Items (enhanced research, useful engineering mechs)

[Killerhurtz]

So, I'm pretty dissatisfied about two things.

First, the higher research levels serve VERY niche purposes.

Two, pretty much all departments have a mech except for Research and Engineering.

And so, I present a series of item that I suggest to fix this little issue. I already got some sprites ready, but eventually all of them will be done. Sprites subject to change.

 

Power regulation circuit (PRC)

Used in construction of advanced power machines

Engineering 2

Power 3

 

Power regulation integrated circuit (PRIC)

Used in construction of advanced-power devices.

Materials 3

Power 3

Engineering 3

Half the resources of a normal circuit

 

Goggles Frame

Engineering 2

10 Metal

 

Goggles Lens

Materials 2

10 Glass

 

Laser cleanbot

Moves extremely fast (probably Cargo Tug fast) but can only clean grime.

Made with Machine Frame, Power Regulation Circuit, 2x Cable, Advanced Micro-Laser x10, Proximity Sensor, 1x Metal, 2x Advanced Capacitor, 1x High Capacity Power Cell

 

Laser Cleanbot Deluxe

Luxury version of the laser cleanbot. Moves as fast, but can clean anything the space cleaner can without the slippery effect. Vaporizes floors when emagged.

Made with Machine Frame, Power Regulation Circuit, 2x Cable, Ultra-High-Power Microlaser x10, 1x Plasteel, 2x Super Capacitor, 1x Hyper Capacity Power Cell

Science Goggles

Safety goggles. 'Nuff said. It's already ingame.

1x Goggle Frame, 1x Goggle Lens

 

Basic AR goggles

Basically night-vision goggles with no tinge, can be loaded with a security or medical module (not sure if encryption key or PDA module) for Medical/Security HUD effect. Looks like optical mesons scanner when off.

Made with Goggles Frame 1x, Goggles Lens 1x, PRIC 1x, 1x Basic Capacitor, 1x Basic Sensor Module

 

Advanced AR goggles

Basically a tinge-less Optical Meson Scanner that can be implemented with a security or medical module.

Made with Goggles Frame 1x, Goggles Lens 1x, PRIC 1x, Advanced Capacitor 1x, Advanced Sensor Module 1x

 

Deep-Field AR goggles

Equivalent to X-Ray vision gene mutation w/ toggle-able T-Ray scanning. Can also be implemented with a security or medical module.

Made with Goggles Frame 1x, goggles Lens 1x, PRIC 2x, Super Capacitor 2x, Phasic Sensor Module 1x

Brain Extractor Board

Looks like a circuit board.

Data 3, Power 2, Bio 2

 

Automated Brain Extractor

Automatically extracts the brain of patients for MMIs.

Made of Machine Frame, Brain Extratcot Board, Incision Management System (if it's enabled on the server), Advanced Laser Scalpel x1, Pico-Manipulator x2, Advanced Mass-Spectrometer x1

Portable Mass Driver Board

Looks like circuit board.

Materials 4, Engineering 3, Data 3

Portable Mass Driver

Looks like a slightly smaller, red-pistoned Mass Driver. Used for either security operations or whatever purposes could be thought of.

Made of Machine Frame, Portable Mass Driver Board, Advanced Capacitor 2x, Super Capacity Power Cell 1x, 4x Cable, 3x Metal, 1x Remote Signalling Device

 

Mass Extractor Board

Looks like a silver or blue power control module.

8 Materials, 6 Engineering, 4 Plasma, 7 Power, 5 or 6 Bluespace, 5 Biological, ESR 5, Data 5. Basically, all research maxed out.

 

Bluespace Mass Extractor

Basically the ultimate research item - either it makes items as needed (like one of the possible alien machines but understandable - or a materials-less autolathe/protolathe) or extracts raw materials (as selected) at a set rate from a pocket dimension.

Made of Machine Frame, 1x Mass Extractor Board, 3x Power Regulation Circuit, 6x Pico Manipulator, 3x Ultra-High Power Lasers, 2x Artificial Bluespace Crystals, 4x Super Matter Bins, 12x Super Capacitors, 2x Phasic Scanning Modules, 1x Subspace Transmitter, 2x Substace Ansible, 2x Subspace Amplifiers, 1x Subspace Treatment Disk, 2x Subspace Analyzer, 2x Ansible Crystal, 4x Hyperwave Filters, 2x Bluespace Beakers, 1x Positronic Brain (not activated). OR a solid prayer to the gods, I don't know.

 

Laser Welder

Requires whatever is needed to build a high-capacity capacitor and a ultra-high-power laser

Takes power either out of a power cell or the NEC below.

 

Networked Energy Cell

Looks like a power cell with green stripes. Extracts energy from the energy grid like the mech upgrade.

Takes hyper-capacity cell level +1

 

Mounted Welder.

Requires Engineering 2, Materials [whatever is needed for nanomanipulator], limited fuel capacity

 

Mounted Laser Welder

Requires what is needed for laser welder plus engineering 3

 

Mounted tool suite

Good melee damage, includes Multitool, Wirecutter, Screwdriver, Wrench, Crowbar and whatever other tool I'm forgetting.

Requires Engineering 3, Materials 2

Mounted Autolathe

Looks like an autolathe -duh.

Requires whatever is needed to get the autolathe board, nanomanipulator and advanced matter bin.

Allows constructing things on-the-spot with a mech.

 

Mounted Tow

Allows mechs to pull things

Engineering 2, Materials 2.

Mounted Manipulator

Looks like a micromanipulator on a stick probably, with a box for storage

Basically, a mech hand and backpack. Can only mounted on Bastion mech (see below)

Materials 3, Data Theory 3

 

Construction/Engineering endoskeleton

Allows building APLU Janus/Terminus.

Requires Engineering 4

 

"APLU" Janus/Terminus (final name TBD - but then again, all names here are)

Built like the regular mech of the class but with the Construction/Engineering endoskeleton. Requires 2 peripheral boards of whatever class (to deal with the large amount of attachments)

Reinforced Endoskeleton

Looks like a Gygax endoskeleton.

Allows building Bastion mech.

Requires Materials 4, Power 3

Bastion exosuit

Looks like a green Gygax.

Moves very slowly, is very limited on attachments (one or two only), EXTREMELY armored (against explosives if possible). Cannot accept any addition that could be offensive (including hydraulic clamp).

The official research/EOD mech.

Limbs are all Gygax except for reinforced endoskeleton, inner armor is plasteel, middle armor is reinforced glass, outer armor is plastic.

Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions?

Edited June 14, 2015 by Guest

[Kiwidaninja]

What materials would the Bluespace Mass Extractor create? All of them? Just some?

Aside from that, this is really interesting. Would love to have it.

[TishinaStalker]

I don't like the idea of a machine that vaporizes floors repeatedly if emagged, unless you mean that it just remove the tile to leave plating behind (which doesn't really sound antaggy). You let it loose in a maintenance tunnel to breach the room. It then enters a department, breaches that department. Then it enters a primary hall. Suddenly, there's breaches spreading everywhere, will probably kill a lot of people, and I don't think that makes for very good RP.

[Killerhurtz]

@Kiwidaninja

The Bluespace Mass Extractor would extract things up to debate, depending on balance. I was thinking it to be a machine to build so that we can avoid DEPENDING on Mining for the more advanced components (hence the huge construction cost). So plasteel, uranium, plasma, gold and silver - probably at a scale relative to their normal mass (plasteel being fastest, uranium or plasma being slowest). I'm not a balance expert, but that's the general idea behind it - after completing research, we don't have to worry about materials and start making things awesome (plus it might fix the issue of people getting bored who knows). And to be able to use it in dead shifts, maybe we could have a 300-400 supply points crate with everything to fabricate it (or a fabricated but not anchored unit to avoid research abuse)?

And Tish, in retrospect it IS pretty overpowered... What about vaporizing only floor tiles, wiring and disposals piping? That way it's not TOO dangerous but can still seriously fuck things up (I was going to say generic piping, but we still have an issue if it gets to Atmospherics - with wiring and disposals piping, at most some areas are without power and disposals is fucked, but at least people can still mostly breathe)

Edited May 4, 2015 by Guest

[Guest]

Don't emagged floortile bots already strip entire floors and expose the place to space?

It's rather hilarious but it's most ganky thing in the world with ZAS compared to LINDA.

[Killerhurtz]

Yeah, slowly - but floorbots are already fishy enough because of their niche-d-ness. At least, personally, if I see someone build a floorbot, I suspect things. But the laser cleanbot has an actual purpose - cleaning the station REAL fast.

[SgtSammac]

Space cleaner doesn't slip people, it's mops that do. Plus the RIPLEY is cargo AND engineering mech wise.

Everything else seems relatively cool, I'll ready properly later when I finish work.

[Killerhurtz]

Eh - point is, the laser thing cleans fast and clean.

But that's the thing though - RIPLEY is said to be engineering, but really it can only mount what, three upgrades? And it only has a cable layer. I find it does a lousy job at engineering.

[swat43]

i like some of the ideas that could implement for robotics that makes their job easy, and makes more and more roleplay for Robotics to ask science to get these nice things for them. Good idea to be honest, although about the EOD gygax i am a little bit picky. Id rather have it with a chance to have it equiped with a hydrolic clamp so it can store the objects in its cargo hold and deliver the said dangerous explosives inside of it. (Kind of risky but hey, better have the mech exploded then a huge chunk of station flying away in space and hit unknown alien species and worship the debris as god ) Besides, if it is slow, hydrolic clamp will be the least of problem for people to run off from. Laser bots? All my yes. Though wished is had something like foyers it moves with. If it levitates then it goes in my book and i give all my yes. Brain removal machine? Hell yea! Reminds me of Fallout New Tactics.

[EvilBrage]

I don't like the idea of a machine that vaporizes floors repeatedly if emagged, unless you mean that it just remove the tile to leave plating behind (which doesn't really sound antaggy).

 

It sounds like a crowbar, actually.

In any case, is there any particular reason that the research department would need a mech? I wasn't aware that this was a contest. As for the research niche, I'm really not comfortable with Sammy McScienceface running around maintenance with X-Ray night-vision goggles while waving around a lawgiver and stunning all of the security officers he comes across, only to stuff them into his automated brain extractor to provide a little snack to munch on as he hunts for his next victim.

If Engineering really needs mechs, just research the mounted RCD and call it a day.

[Killerhurtz]

I've been giving it some thought, and here's what I have to say:

First, the laser-bots. I think more ideas on how to make them antag-y without being overly cheap. One of these, or a combination of these: generation of non-insignificant amounts of CO2 (enough to choke people, over time, if left to it's own devices) microvaporization (which polishes the floor to achieve a near-permanent slippery effect), micropulverization (which renders the ground not unlike stepping on glass shards, blood lust (not unlike MULEbots or cargo tugs, maybe with some added burnination because of laser). Their main purpose is to clean really fast, as I said - as in, 5x to 10x the speed of cleanbots.

As for the Research mech, they don't /need/ one - but then again, need a department that really does. Mining has extra tools, Security never takes mechs anyway, Medical does just fine with paramedics, and so on. It would be more of a nice touch.

AND as for the 'research niche' as you say, it's already an issue with Genetics - with the Hulk gene, healing gene, x-ray gene and telekinesis - like everything, that's assuming that everyone seeks to be a dick. But most of the time people aren't - and it would otherwise provide useful tools. And those who DO abuse it would get banned/warned, just like the geneticist abusers do. On the flipside, it provides more legal and very useful tools for Security, Engineering and other crew to ensure proper function.

And for the engineering mech - sure, we could do that. OR we could provide a fun thing by having a full mech, entirely pressurized and somewhat armored, to allow Engineering to do everything they can do with a hardsuit but in a larger format. As I said before - no department /need/ a mech, but a lot of people sure do find it fun.

Also, updated sprites.

[Conservatron]

i have an idea for an engineering mech - deployable mobile solar panel mech.

it'd be basic APLU frame with a solar tracking board and some solar parts and can be 'deployed' when outside and on top of a wire knot to deliver 10-15k power directly to the loop.

niche usefulness, primarily dropping them down on the asteroid when one of the stations loses power for whatever reason

[Killerhurtz]

Or just generally if the station needs extra power.

But yeah - I like that idea.