Mental Medication Overhaul Proof of Concept

[BurgerBB]

Overview

With the new implementation of Brain Trauma, I find it would be best for the antidepressants to include some relation to it. Obviously, Lord Fowl was away ahead of me and implemented them in the update already, but not the way that I would like it to be implemented.

Currently, taking antidepressants suppress brain trauma conditions, however the suppression of brain trauma is not relative to the strength and dosage of the medication much like actual antidepressants. This proof-of-concept update now introduces a framework that factors in the dosage of the medication when it comes to applying or removing brain trauma effects, as well as adds harsher penalties for missing dosages which are relative to your regular dose.

Future Plans

(In order of least difficult to most difficult)

- Make antidepressants easier to make (one stage recipe) and more effective (lower metabolism rate). Chemists should not be punished with a two stage recipe because some RPer put "has depression" in their medical records.

- Make antidepressants only cure certain brain traumas as opposed to all of them of one class of severity. Antidepressants are not magical and don't cure all your mental disorders. Some are better at relieving depression and anxiety than others that may be better at removing hallucinations or schizophrenia.

- Add more antidepressants, especially psych ward strength pills that could possibly be an alternative to loyalty implants. Equalizer, anyone? Lot of RP potential, especially in a loyalist round where the entire crew is ordered to take the equivalent of obedient pills.

- Add new traitor medicine that intentionally gives a specific type of brain trauma. Lot of things you can do with a schizophrenic captain, or a head of security with tourettes.

- Implement side effects of antidepressants and perhaps other medicine, especially when combined with alcohol. Currently there are no downsides to drinking booze with antidepressants, or really any medication for that matter.

Github Thread: https://github.com/Aurorastation/Aurora.3/pull/4220

I'm currently looking for suggestions, ideas, and discussion about some of the future plans. I don't want to spend hours coding a feature that no one likes doing. All of the planned features listed above are doable and within my skill level. I just need the blessing of the userbase as well as people who handle balance.

[alexpkeaton]

Dr. Jack Tanner approves this message.

All of the yes. The psych medicine was 100% RP'd until the trauma update and this concept takes the notion of psych drugs and a psychiatrist that transcends RP to where I would love Aurora to go. Make psych drugs have real value - different drugs for different traumas. Personally, I'm in favor of some traumas being incurable via surgery - that will become the powergamer's go to solution very soon since drugs only fix temporarily (and Citalopram only fixes minor traumas). That or brain surgery needs to be made MUCH more risky - not simply more complicated. For example, there is a 5% chance you will die when the trauma kit is applied to the brain, and a 95% chance you will be fixed. Make surgeons consider whether a permanent fix with a risk is in the best interests of the patient, or whether a medication management solution which will prevent the trauma from reappearing but require regular medicine is best.

Dosage strength should matter. I am unsure though how you would code dosage strength mattering in the current environment where drugs simply metabolize at a fixed rate regardless of whether you pump in 1u or 1000u. Perhaps adding low OD thresholds to psych meds (which currently have none, I believe). Or have metabolism of psych meds be directly proportional to intake. For example, a 5u pill will last 15 minutes, a 15u pill will last 15 minutes and a 30u pill will last 15 minutes (you can do the maths on metabolism yourself). All of this will help promote a "you need to take one of these every X minutes or you will start seeing symptoms again." If the body isn't metabolizing at X units a minute, you won't be suppressing the effects of Y trauma. This might force doctors and chemists to do actual math! And, perhaps, traumas could be cured by religiously taking your meds without ODing for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Basically, make psych meds work differently than other meds.

I agree with adding side effects, which should be noticeable but not game-breaking. Their occurance rate and severity could be linked to the metabolism rate as described above. Severe conditions should have risky treatment plans.

I also agree with psych condition inducing meds. A traitor chemist could lace foods with something that will cause schizophrenia. Or a drug that will provide depressing messages every 5 minutes much like the existing psych meds offer a stabilizing message every 5 minutes. Plenty of RP potential there.

And psych meds should ABSOLUTELY interact with alcohol. The reagents could possibly combine to make a mild sedative, or simply run a check to see if alcohol is above X units in the body and if so, if psych meds are present, effect Y syndrome.

The only thing I might change in the OP is the need to make psych meds a one-stage recipe. I know chemists aren't always there or prolofic, but typically someone can rush the fridge in 15 minutes or so, I do not necessarily see simplifying the recipes as necessary. That said, to put these meds to work in even half of the ways offered, you would need them to be easy to make, and in large quantities.

X-posted on Github.

[BurgerBB]

Dr. Jack Tanner approves this message.

All of the yes. The psych medicine was 100% RP'd until the trauma update and this concept takes the notion of psych drugs and a psychiatrist that transcends RP to where I would love Aurora to go. Make psych drugs have real value - different drugs for different traumas. Personally, I'm in favor of some traumas being incurable via surgery - that will become the powergamer's go to solution very soon since drugs only fix temporarily (and Citalopram only fixes minor traumas). That or brain surgery needs to be made MUCH more risky - not simply more complicated. For example, there is a 5% chance you will die when the trauma kit is applied to the brain, and a 95% chance you will be fixed. Make surgeons consider whether a permanent fix with a risk is in the best interests of the patient, or whether a medication management solution which will prevent the trauma from reappearing but require regular medicine is best.

Dosage strength should matter. I am unsure though how you would code dosage strength mattering in the current environment where drugs simply metabolize at a fixed rate regardless of whether you pump in 1u or 1000u. Perhaps adding low OD thresholds to psych meds (which currently have none, I believe). Or have metabolism of psych meds be directly proportional to intake. For example, a 5u pill will last 15 minutes, a 15u pill will last 15 minutes and a 30u pill will last 15 minutes (you can do the maths on metabolism yourself). All of this will help promote a "you need to take one of these every X minutes or you will start seeing symptoms again." If the body isn't metabolizing at X units a minute, you won't be suppressing the effects of Y trauma. This might force doctors and chemists to do actual math! And, perhaps, traumas could be cured by religiously taking your meds without ODing for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Basically, make psych meds work differently than other meds.

I agree with adding side effects, which should be noticeable but not game-breaking. Their occurance rate and severity could be linked to the metabolism rate as described above. Severe conditions should have risky treatment plans.

I also agree with psych condition inducing meds. A traitor chemist could lace foods with something that will cause schizophrenia. Or a drug that will provide depressing messages every 5 minutes much like the existing psych meds offer a stabilizing message every 5 minutes. Plenty of RP potential there.

And psych meds should ABSOLUTELY interact with alcohol. The reagents could possibly combine to make a mild sedative, or simply run a check to see if alcohol is above X units in the body and if so, if psych meds are present, effect Y syndrome.

The only thing I might change in the OP is the need to make psych meds a one-stage recipe. I know chemists aren't always there or prolofic, but typically someone can rush the fridge in 15 minutes or so, I do not necessarily see simplifying the recipes as necessary. That said, to put these meds to work in even half of the ways offered, you would need them to be easy to make, and in large quantities.

X-posted on Github.

 

I don't know if others would appreciate brain surgery being victim to RNG. I rather it be that brain surgery only has an x% chance to actually cure a particular trama instead but that would have to likely be another PR.

I'll make some of the more basic depression medications a one stage recipe. Stuff that goes past curing depression, anxiety, and OCD will likely be two stage. I added some common anti-depressants to the medicine loadout, and all of them are different while still somewhat remaining true to their real life function.

[BurgerBB]

I added side effects and withdrawal to the medication.

Antidepressants have an x percent chance every 5 minutes per effect to have a negative side effect. The chance is reduced significantly the more the user takes the medication.

Antidepressants also have a x percent chance every 5 minutes per effect to have a negative withdrawal effect, which is triggered only when the current amount of medication in the user's bloodstream is less than 10% of the highest dosage they received at once. "Maximum dosage" is changed over time so players could actually take antidepressants and slowly get off them if they choose to by taking lower and lower dosages at a time.

[Arrow768]

has been implemented. moving to completed.