[1 Dismissal] Cyborg sprite option: eyebots

[Bauser]

A couple years ago I sprited some eyebots and they got adopted by Baystation. But then Bay started doing its lame Navy RP shtick and now I'm hoping the eyebots can be adopted here. The kicker is that the sprites for it are already in Aurora's robots.dmi. Ready to go. I guess Aurora branched off from Bay after they were added. But there's not an option to select it in-game.

 

 

They basically look like this

 

 

but without the lettering "AL" on the back (it was initially made for a personal custom cyborg), AND it's important to note that they have a subtle floating animation that's always on - just a little bobbing up and down.

I made this thread because Nursiekitty said they wanted them. So. Might as well see if there's public support.

[LordFowl]

Voting for dismissal. We purposefully disabled these eyebots because we did not feel that such an oblique reference was suitable as a cyborg sprite, following the same reasoning we rejected the Mr. Handy sprites.

[climax708]

Yes please! It looks like a simple thing to implement, and the content is already there! Why not use it?

[Bauser]

The game is full of references - science fiction as a genre takes inspiration from other works all the time. It doesn't have to be called an eyebot - the fact is that a hovering pod is a perfectly reasonable design direction for futuristic robots to take. We've got xenomorphs. The AI face is practically SHODAN. We have a brand of ice tea that's named for a Homestuck character. You should at least see if the players want something before deciding for them.

[LordFowl]

The game already being full of references does not justify adding further references, and the fact of the matter is that cyborgs already have too many sprites with no internal consistency. Furthermore, cyborgs are an everpresent aspect of the game, compared to xenomorphs or the AI core which are rarely seen, particularly in the former's case. Were it so that we had any need for additional cyborg sprites, which as it stands we do not, adding these could ostensibly be justified - not because they are a reference but because we would hypothetically need cyborg sprites. As it is right now adding this would only satisfy the desire to have a reference.

[Bauser]

No, it satisfies the desire of players to use the design. It completely stands on it's own merit; the fact that it's a reference is only coincidental. The reason we want to use it isn't so we can go "Oh, haha, yeah, like Fallout!" It's just so we can say "oh, cool hovering robot!"

EDIT: Not to mention the fact that how many cyborg sprites you "need" is completely determined by how many people want. Nothing sprite-wise is visually "needed" - it's just a question of what people enjoy having.

[LordFowl]

That is incorrect. If people want an additional cyborg sprite they can apply for a custom item. The amount of cyborg sprites we have currently is by all definitions sufficient and by many definitions over-saturated. The "need" for a cyborg sprite is not determined by the community, although their input is welcome if ever a new cyborg sprite is needed.

[Bauser]

As soon as you tell me that the need for content is not defined by the community, I completely lose value in your opinion. It clearly demonstrates that your priorities are in the wrong place.

[Kaed]

Yeah I'm sorry fowl, but I can't really agree with your angle here. Your personal opinions on Borg design oversaturation shouldn't necessarily supercede the work and wants of the community.

I like the breadth of borg models we have, and would welcome another floaty one that isn't based on a star wars probe droid

[Butterrobber202]

. The "need" for a cyborg sprite is not determined by the community, although their input is welcome if ever a new cyborg sprite is needed.

 

Eyebots are /ok/, and I guess its fine if they are added. But holy shit balls fowl, I highly disagree with that sentence.

[Azande]

Dev Team are volunteers. If no devs want to do something, it doesn't matter if every single other community member does want it - it won't happen unless a Dev decides to do something they don't want to.

I think that's what Fowl meant.

[Kaed]

Dev Team are volunteers. If no devs want to do something, it doesn't matter if every single other community member does want it - it won't happen unless a Dev decides to do something they don't want to.

I think that's what Fowl meant.

 

Throw them into the slave pit with the other coders! Buahahah!

Joking aside, I guess that makes sense, put in that light.

[Bauser]

That would be true in the case that anything actually needed to be coded in order to implement the suggestion. But in this case, both the assets AND the framework are already present, so enabling it is basically as simple as flipping a switch. He said as much earlier - that it was just disabled, not anything changed or removed.

EDIT: Additionally, even if he just didn't want to do it personally, that wouldn't make it right to dismiss the suggestion. Dismissing the suggestion means that he specifically thinks it shouldn't be implemented by anyone... So it's clearly not just a situation of him not wanting to do it personally.

[Butterrobber202]

Dev Team are volunteers. If no devs want to do something, it doesn't matter if every single other community member does want it - it won't happen unless a Dev decides to do something they don't want to.

I think that's what Fowl meant.

https://forums.aurorastation.org/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=7785#p75124

[Arrow768]

[mention]Butterrobber202[/mention], you are correct. There is no requirement that a developer "wants" to code something.

Developers are expected to implement projects they are assigned.

However, the requirement of a project being assigned to a developer is also listed in the post you linked:

If the project is deemed as befitting and worth carrying out.

 

And that's where the points raised by LordFowl come into play:

We already have a huge number of cyborg sprites, where most of them fit into a general visual theme.

There are some exceptions which, imho, should eventually be reworked or removed.

The sprite proposed does not fit into the visual theme.

If you play a cyborg, you intentionally choose to play a role that is limiting, both in its mechanical functions and its visual appearance.

They are tools, the available designs should reflect that.

[Bauser]

Okay, I'll humor that. What visual elements or or stylistic changes could be made in order to integrate the eyebot sprite in with the "visual theme?"

[climax708]

They are tools, the available designs should reflect that.

I don't understand how this sprite says "Look at me I'm not a tool!"

[Bauser]

 

I'm sorry, what was this problem about references

[Bauser]

Is there a reason other than the referential nature because clearly we do not broadly have a problem with references

[]

[Itanimulli]

Eye don't see what's wrong with this.

[Zundy]

It is too obvious. Fowl already explained that literal references are too much as well as the fact that references existing doesn't presuppose all references are fair game.

If you want an eye bot don't make it an exact replica of the eye bot from Fallout. Spruce it up.

Of the references given, one is vague enough (not literally Mustangs gloves from FMA) and the other two are basic sci-fi fare.

[Bauser]

I don't subscribe to the theory that a floating spherical robot is anything other than basic sci-fi fare, even if it did appear in a popular series. That's the thing about being basic sci-fi: it... basically... is in sci-fi.

Maybe I'll spice up the sprite. Maybe. Even if only because I haven't touched it in a while.

[Zundy]

I totally agree that an eye bot is generic sci-fi, but this sprite is literally the fallout eye bot. I'd imagine folks will still push back against it on the basis of the current borg sprite over saturation but with a fresh look you'd have more of a level ground to argue from imo.

[Banditoz]

I honestly can't believe everyone is so vehemently against more sprites. Who cares if it's a reference? That's what SS13 is.

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

A reference is not the same as a copy. Its not a reference to an eyebot, it is literally an eyebot.