05-17-2024, 12:50 PM
I love cyborgs and I want them to feel as complete as they possibly can be. So here's where I'm presently finding them lacking:
That's about everything I've come to notice so far. Thanks for reading and let me know what you think!
- Round Start: Borgs tend to suffer from a considerable period of downtime at the start of a round due to an immediate need for a roboticist to be present to do most of the work, as well as some time for the fabricators to run. This fact is hardly a dealbreaker, and in the worst case you just have to play a more flimsy and less cute lightborg with only your starting module. I do still feel it's worth exploring ways this can be alleviated, such as by adding a cyborg counterpart to character creation that allows you to select your part preferences when you start a round. And/Or the UI where cyborgs get to set their names at the start of a round could be expanded to include some starting part settings.
- Part Swaps: Another minor thing that sort of compounds with the above thing. The actual process of swapping borg parts, especially the head or chest, does nothing to excite me as either the roboticist or the cyborg, and so I think it could stand to be made less cumbersome. For QoL's sake, I'd say if a roboticist is holding a cyborg part and clicking on an activated cyborg with its wires exposed, that should be sufficient for swapping exterior parts while leaving the activated brain and power cell in place. If head swaps are going to remain the first thing a roboticist usually has to do every round, they probably shouldn't also be the most risky. (though I acknowledge they've still got nothing on engineering)
- Law Racks: The only thing about these that feels strange is that they appear to be both immovable and indestructible. I'm not entirely sure if that's true, but like an antagonist can blow up the entirety of upload and the borgs will still remain connected to a law rack that's just floating there in space and that's kinda weird! Considering it's possible to build new law racks wholesale, I don't think they warrant being (borderline?) invincible.
- Slimy Brains: These are also a bit unintuitive to work with. A slimy brain does not necessarily mean the patient cannot be borged, just that their spirit is currently preoccupied. And so I think you should be able to activate a borg with a slimy brain without it popping out. This would function somewhat like a SICC for the specific player whose brain is inside it: They gain control of the borg as soon as they return to their ghost form (warm brain state). Ideally they might even get a notification while reincarnated (slimy brain state) that their borg shell was activated and is awaiting the warmth of their spirit.
- Brobocop Module: From what I glean this module is supposed to be a mashup of secoff and clown, though it is oddly under-equipped for any kind of direct confrontation. I know law 1 is a thing but even the Medical module is capable of disarming people with the defibrilator, so I think giving brobocop some form of stun and maybe one of those riot shields would make it more of an actual security asset. It also does seem funny to me that the module's icon is handcuffs even though it cannot use them.
- Civilian Module: A bit odd that the bucket is its only fluid container. I think it could stand to have one or two glass pitchers to help simplify barkeeping tasks.
- Science Module: I'd say give them a port-a-sci remote and a bigger fluid container (water cooler jug?) for bulkier Mini-CheMaster processing. I also think it'd be nice if they had efficient ways to check for artifact triggers, like a set of tools that can apply focused heat, shock, radiation and so on at the cost of significant battery drain. And a synthflesh glove or something for testing carbon touch. Lastly, a cargo transporter for managing artifacts would be great.
- Medical Module: I think the only thing this module is missing is a genetic analyzer to help confirm when a health problem is the result of flaky genes.
- Engineering Module: This module already seems pretty comprehensive but a Floor and Wall Designer would be a fun cherry to top it with.
- Mining Module: This one also does everything it really needs to, but I know there are occasionally ores that its mining drill can't ever break down. Probably not worth changing, but maybe a more experienced miner than me would feel differently.
That's about everything I've come to notice so far. Thanks for reading and let me know what you think!