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Re-imagining Robotics Research: The Decrypter - Printable Version

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Re-imagining Robotics Research: The Decrypter - Sundance - 08-02-2014

Ok get this:
Robotics is one of the few jobs on the station where you could be left with nothing to do. Aside from round start where you could make a few borgs, or if your lucky you might get a few corpses to borg later on. Cogblap 2 places robotics beside guardbuddies which I'd like to see roboticsts have some sort of input in. But otherwise there's nothing, nada.

I've come up with an idea of bringing back robotics research, in the same light of genetics, in the form of a mini-game known as the Decrypter. The decrypter works like a game of Concentration (the matching card game):
Example:
[Image: Xj7g7h6.gif]

General rules:
Matching gains you "data" points. Matching incorrectly loses you data. If you match incorrectly too much or run out of data, you will be "locked" out, and the game will be reset. You can buy more data through the research fund.
In-depth rules:
Matching lower case a-z: or matching lower case with upper case: Yields 10 data
Matching upper case A-Z: Yields 15 data
Matching 2-9: Yields 20 data
Matching any "junk" (!@£$%&*?/): Yields 0 data
Matching ANY with X (joker/wildcard): Yields 10 data, and flips up the matching tile.
Matching ANY with 1(Binary on): Yields 0 data, but flips up the matching tile and 1 junk, making the game easier.
Matching ANY with 0 (Binary off): Yields -20 data and flips up the matching tile, unless matched with junk, in which case its 0 data.
Incorrectly Matching: Yields -10 data, and flips down the selected tiles.
Incorrectly Matching with junk: Yields -15 data, and flips down the selected tiles.
ANY remaining tile: Yields 10 data.
Lose game: Yields -20 data.
So you can see by looking at the in-depth rules, not only do you have to use your memory, but you also have to strategize. Found a null? Match it with junk or X to prevent data loss. Found an upper case? Make sure you match it with another upper to maximize data, etc. The game can randomly increase with difficulty (increasing the number of tiles and junk) but the reward is greater.

Potential uses:
Complete the game and by backing up the data to a floppy and inserting into a manufacturer, you unlock more robotic stuff.
-Cyborg attachments that otherwise would require mining materials can now be made without the need for rarer materials.
-Guardbuddy stuff that otherwise would cost money to buy can now be built.
-New Cool™ cybernetic stuff. Stuff like cyborg interface allowing you to remote access doors/computers, one time defibs; which restart the heart and inject omnizine 1 time but may be set off accidently if stunned, camera eyes which work like a mutation allowing you to view cameras naturally, alert system which sends an alarm to AI if you are in crit, arms that can act as boxes that appear on your hud, etc. Essentially cool unique stuff that is tied to the AI/cyborg and works like genetics shit, but is different in that may require surgery and can have certain drawbacks.

Re: Re-imagining Robotics Research: The Decrypter - Splatpope - 08-02-2014

At first I was like "uh thats just a dumb memory game" but then, the special rules concerning with what you're matching stuff really seem nice.

But yet I think a more IT/electronics oriented puzzle/minigame could be more interesting. (Though it will be hard to come with a concept as enjoyable and "gamey" as this one so whatever)

Re: Re-imagining Robotics Research: The Decrypter - Sundance - 08-02-2014

The game needs to be fairly simple to implement, as it would be HTML script. Any more complicated, it becomes more difficult to randomize and thus more difficult to ramp up the difficulty. This game can be both easy randomized and easily ramped up difficulty wise. This is why genetics is the way it is, underneath it all it is just a simple mastermind game.

That said, there could be more unique IT related symbols to mix up the game. Binary 0101 and junk symbols was one thing I could think of, there could be more.

There could be outside effects that could benefit the game, such as borgs getting a unique button to add data once off, meaning that the more borgs the roboticist has, the more data he could accumulate without draining the budget.

Re: Re-imagining Robotics Research: The Decrypter - Amuys - 08-02-2014

Yes I want to be a transhuman psychic cybernetic dude.

Re: Re-imagining Robotics Research: The Decrypter - Zadeon - 08-02-2014

You should be able to unlock a nanite injector with this. Heh.

Re: Re-imagining Robotics Research: The Decrypter - Splatpope - 08-02-2014

Actually I think the Face of Mankind hacking minigame would be pretty rad for this

Re: Re-imagining Robotics Research: The Decrypter - david2222121 - 08-03-2014

Hiding cool, fun, and gimmicky implants behind the higher levels of this would be rad.

Though we'd need to be careful to not really step on any robotic toes when it comes to special abilities. I'm down with all of Sundance's suggestions except being able to interact with doors like a borg. How about instead, you wirelessly hack the door? It brings up the wire display when you use it on a door, and you can pulse the various wires remotely. Shock the door just before people use it! Get the AI in trouble!

Re: Re-imagining Robotics Research: The Decrypter - Amelorate - 08-04-2014

Also possibly make the implants require some sort of power system.
Some examples would be:

Battery:
Stores a good bit of power, but has to be removed from you if you want a recharge.

Pulse Generator:
Generates a small amount of energy every time your heart beats by being attached to your heart and flexing whenever it beats.
Creates the smallest amount of energy.

Chemical Generator:
Generates energy by taking chemical energy from your blood and converting that to electrical energy. You have to eat food or mild toxin damage will be applied to you.
Creates a mid amount of energy.

Flesh Generator:
Generates energy by eating your flesh, doing brute damages.
Creates huge amounts of energy.

External Combustion Generator:
Creates energy by burning coal in an external generator on your back.
Makes large amounts of energy.

Wireless Energy Receiver:
Receives energy from nearby APCs, doing tiny amounts of burn damage.
Creates mild amounts of energy as long as an APC is nearby.

Re: Re-imagining Robotics Research: The Decrypte - BlakeJohnson - 08-04-2014

Amelorate Wrote:Also possibly make the implants require some sort of power system.
Some examples would be:

Battery:
Stores a good bit of power, but has to be removed from you if you want a recharge.

Pulse Generator:
Generates a small amount of energy every time your heart beats by being attached to your heart and flexing whenever it beats.
Creates the smallest amount of energy.

Chemical Generator:
Generates energy by taking chemical energy from your blood and converting that to electrical energy. You have to eat food or mild toxin damage will be applied to you.
Creates a mid amount of energy.

Flesh Generator:
Generates energy by eating your flesh, doing brute damages.
Creates huge amounts of energy.

External Combustion Generator:
Creates energy by burning coal in an external generator on your back.
Makes large amounts of energy.

Wireless Energy Receiver:
Receives energy from nearby APCs, doing tiny amounts of burn damage.
Creates mild amounts of energy as long as an APC is nearby.



How about a joint torsion ratchet that generates power when you move?
Also, can we call the implants CBMs?
(Name the reference for internet cred)

Re: Re-imagining Robotics Research: The Decrypter - Amuys - 08-04-2014

That's that post apocalyptic car customization game where you wear fetish clothing.

Re: Re-imagining Robotics Research: The Decrypter - Amelorate - 08-04-2014

Amuys Wrote:That's that post apocalyptic car customization game where you wear fetish clothing.
Do you mean CataclisimDDA, In which yes, my addition to the idea was somewhat inspired off it.

Re: Re-imagining Robotics Research: The Decrypter - Paineframe - 08-04-2014

The one thing I worry about in regards to giving the Roboticist a minigame is that the roboticist can do a lot of things to help the station and there's a possibility he could just ignore them completely in favor of playing more minigame. Just look at Genetics - there's basically only one thing they can do aside from researching mutations, and people constantly complain about geneticists being too preoccupied with mutations to do even that one thing.

Robotics, on the other hand, has plenty of things it could potentially be called on to do. Like doctors and sec officers and engineers, the roboticist is often bored when the antagonist is shitty or stealthy, but when shit goes boom or crazy murdering starts, they're in high demand. As a Roboticist I've never seen a Geneticist beat me to a body in the morgue, because I'm bored and actively looking for things to do while the Geneticist is too busy finishing one last mutation or ignoring someone who's knocking on the door and begging for mutadone/mannitol. What's a robotics research minigame going to do to the availability of metal, medibots, borg limbs, upgrades, and flashes in Medbay?

Re: Re-imagining Robotics Research: The Decrypter - Sundance - 08-04-2014

Quote:Though we'd need to be careful to not really step on any robotic toes when it comes to special abilities. I'm down with all of Sundance's suggestions except being able to interact with doors like a borg.
I agree. I feel like cybernetic implants/surgery should be unique from genetics, like a half-way house between human and borg, having some features that borgs have, but with some major drawbacks. Like, I don't even like how machine translaters work, imo they should have a drawback too in that they come up on the killswitch computer which the AI can activate to stun+burn the implanted when rogue.

Quote:The one thing I worry about in regards to giving the Roboticist a minigame is that the roboticist can do a lot of things to help the station and there's a possibility he could just ignore them completely in favor of playing more minigame.

This is a legit concern. Although you've used the word bored twice in your sentence so I presume you know where i'm coming from.
The major difference between the roboticist and geneticists is two things: Their borgs, and the surgery table. I suggested that the more borgs a roboticist has, the more free data he has access to the computer. This acts as an incentive for the roboticists to still do one aspect of their job, while having an advantage of the other. Geneticists lack this (although I think cloning should add money to the research budget)
The surgery table is also the other biggie. I think the unlocked stuff shouldn't be just simple implants, but require some amount of surgery to do. This will take the roboticist away from the decrypter.

Quote:What's a robotics research minigame going to do to the availability of metal, medibots, borg limbs, upgrades, and flashes in Medbay?
The mini-game will increase the amount of metal, as it will unlock more effective production, stuff requiring less metal/rarer materials to produce upgrades. It's often the MD who goes into robotics to make medibots, and as HoS I often go into robotics to make securitrons.

Re: Re-imagining Robotics Research: The Decrypter - Ikkonoishi - 08-06-2014

Sundance Wrote:The major difference between the roboticist and geneticists is two things: Their borgs, and the surgery table. I suggested that the more borgs a roboticist has, the more free data he has access to the computer. This acts as an incentive for the roboticists to still do one aspect of their job, while having an advantage of the other. Geneticists lack this (although I think cloning should add money to the research budget)
The surgery table is also the other biggie. I think the unlocked stuff shouldn't be just simple implants, but require some amount of surgery to do. This will take the roboticist away from the decrypter.

I think giving the roboticists more reason to borg people would provide a bit of a perverse incentive. I already drag any dead staff assistants to the chop shop instead of cloning them. If I got paid for it with more shiny stuff then my flash would start getting a workout.

Re: Re-imagining Robotics Research: The Decrypter - Frank_Stein - 08-06-2014

Sundance Wrote:I suggested that the more borgs a roboticist has, the more free data he has access to the computer. This acts as an incentive for the roboticists to still do one aspect of their job, while having an advantage of the other. Geneticists lack this (although I think cloning should add money to the research budget)
Yes, this.