New book: Curing Diseases for Dummies

[Studenterhue]

I just really like the way that guide is written. We could use a lot more of that for the more complicated systems, something short and sweet that barely touches on how to do things without explaining the how or why, leaving that for those that want to experiment

I second this notion, especially for urgent things like disease curing. If I was infected with a horrible pathogen and was looking through this book for advice (not theory, as the title's suggesting) on curing it (which is what most people would be reading this book for), a big slog of theory with a single practical tip hidden in some obscure detail somewhere is last thing I'd want. Which is why I heartily disagree with Erev's argument.

From what I've been hearing, one of the major frustrations with curing diseases is the annoyingly vague suppressant hints, particularly the "medical" and "gastronomical" hints. I think it's a valid concern, not a complaint from lower-skilled or less knowledgeable or uncreative people, because discovering suppressant yourself involves none of those aspects. Unlike tweaking engine setups, it's doing the same general thing, over and over, with only slight variation, and unlike, finding plant splices or discovering secret chem recipes, nothing interesting happens along the way. The fact that "medical" and "gastronomical" are such broad categories only exacerbates it.

A book that just reiterates or restates hints can't help with this, because again, people find the current ones too vague. We could, perhaps, avoid name-dropping chems. Instead of a key, we could do something like "past studies have highlighted the pathogen-suppressing qualities of soybean extract" or "certain pathogens are intensively sensitive to radioactive elements". This is probably what Erev wants, but I doubt these hints are suitable for something that really has little player agency or experimentation involved.

Anything that makes pathology nerds mad is a good idea 10/10 add immediately.

I almost agree, but the three pathogen nerds I know (King Midas, Barry Bluejeans, and Lamar Roth-something) are Actually Pretty Decent People, so I really can't, as much I love this post.

[warcrimes]

Actually Pretty Decent People or not, gatekeeping is gatekeeping and relying on ignorance for feature balance is a violation of good space game design

[Vitatroll]

https://github.com/goonstation/goonstati...=pathology

aaaaaaaaa The gates are open, run for the hills! (Well, shit's changed since 2016 but not really)

Pathology is dumb. (RIP Marq) It's the nerdy-antag's version of the canbomb; build it up for a long time and release it for round ending damage. There's no reason for moderate investment; it's balls to the wall or it's a waste in both learning and application. There's no (worthwhile) legitimate use. There's no counter for it unless the antag allows for it. There's no reason to counter it as no pathonerd is gonna release something that won't cause irrevocable chaos.

I like the vector, mutation, etc. systems of pathology, but the actual usage is too cumbersome for stations that might be half-deleted in 40 minutes. In the very least, opening the gates (lol this book won't change anything) will allow for blowing out some bugs and streamlining the system. No point in changing something that <10 (usually decent and open to teaching) people use, afterall.

[Frank_Stein]

Pathology cure making should just be a Dr. Mario knock off

[MrMagolor]

Pathology cure making should just be a Dr. Mario knock off

That would be great but probably not applicable in BYOND

[Erev]

Pathology cure making should just be a Dr. Mario knock off

That would be great but probably not applicable in BYOND

It could be something in that vein that is turn based. Make the person pass so many levels per tier of the disease. Only one person can use the console at a time.

I've actually been writing up a pathology proposal that should make Path more accessible, more understandable, and with obvious benefits. It might be something to consider for the curing - not even joking.

[Frank_Stein]

I mean, I was mostly joking, but if we do want a mini game for pathology, this would be a much better choice
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conway%27s_Game_of_Life

[Sov]

I like the idea of more in game books

Aside from a few grammar mistakes, this piece's a lot better than the stuff you usually write, honest. Unlike some of the other books, (Geothermal Capture guide comes to mind) it's goes straight to the point, without any unnecessary auxiliary verbs or awkward sentence arrangements to congest things. There's just one major thing I'd like to point out:

If you don't like my book go update it yourself. It's out of date anyway. It was made during a beta using mostly admin hints and observation