Spruce up that Chemistry Window!

[I-Sett]

There is a whole hell of a lot of room for improvement with the current implementation. First lets break down the current issues with the chem-window:

- It's not positioned correctly (and it's too tall)! On both of the computers I play ss13 on, the window open far above the screen space and needs to be manually adjusted by clicking its border. Each and every time. I know I'm not alone in this particular problem.
- The chemical auto-update is maddening! This is especially frustrating with the new chemistry updates or if you're attempting to use a stored chemistry recipe. Every tick the window resets its scrolling up to the top making chemistry an odd minigame rush against time to click the right ingredient as the chem's tick down.
- The window is poorly formated and sized. It's far too big compared to any other window in the game, takes up 1/3 of the screen, most of which is wasted blank space but STILL requires scrolling if you have practically anything in the beaker at all. Here's an example of wasted real estate:
Spoiler!

Granted, some of this space is used when ingredients are added, but not much.

None of these issues are game breaking but they certainly are frustrating. Occasionally the window is big enough to get a scientist killed (if his own chemistry doesn't do that first) and it seems entirely unnecessary. Geneticists, for example, have a lot of information packed into their window and it's even got some leftover space for a pretty animation.

Suggestions for improvement:
I like the idea of keeping everything in one open window, rather than clicking through several menus and I think this would be easily doable with a formatting change. Here's a quick and dirty sketch of what an ideal chemistry window would look like {oversized version]:

The horizontal aspect allows for a comfortable positioning of the window in the upper right quadrant so that it covers a minimum of gameplay and chat space.
Separate scrolling window portions allow for there to be 10+ chems in a beaker but you don't have to scroll through them each every time just to add a few units of a basic chem. It also means that as a chemical reaction is underway you're not driving to madness and fits of two-dimensional rage trying to outrace a scrolling window .

[Erev]

This would be amazing. All for an updated chemistry window!

[Vunterslaush]

It can be rather tiresome to scroll when making a basic chem over and over again.

[Grayshift]

If you're asking for a dispenser interface update, why not include combining chemaster and reagent extractor functionality into the dispenser as well? Both machines are always included in close proximity to every dispenser (chem, bar, soviet shuttle). Gives chem a little more floorspace, makes it a little less of a headache shuffling beakers around. Hell, even the heater/cooler. With the right interface, all four chem machines could be combined into one. The old machines will still be needed in medbay and botany, even.

[I-Sett]

If you're asking for a dispenser interface update, why not include combining chemaster and reagent extractor functionality into the dispenser as well? Both machines are always included in close proximity to every dispenser (chem, bar, soviet shuttle). Gives chem a little more floorspace, makes it a little less of a headache shuffling beakers around. Hell, even the heater/cooler. With the right interface, all four chem machines could be combined into one. The old machines will still be needed in medbay and botany, even.

All good ideas to be sure. But that sounds like more of a major overhaul than I'm suggesting, and therefore would likely require more coder effort. The mockup requires no extra additional functionality and (hopefully) could be implemented a bit more easily. I think the idea of the additional machines is to make chemistry require a bit more movement and effort than simply clicking on an open window (see: genetics). These sorts of artificial speedbumps are pretty common, but the current chemistry impediment of scrolling and wrestling with the window is needlessly infuriating.

[Grayshift]

The point about forcing chemists to move around some is a fair one, as is an interface problem some people are apparently facing getting fixed. Nonetheless, I hacked together an extremely rough sort of "Super CheMaster" mockup. The genetics and wrokbench interfaces prove this sort of thing is at least possible.

Mockup

[DyssalC]

Personally, I find it to be a bit of a bitch to try and use the function where you put your card in and put in a recipe. The list of ingredients is 100% vertical, meaning that if it has like 3-4 ingredients you lose the ability to quickly click the button to put the ingredients in.

Of course, this issue probably only comes up when using artifact beakers, but still, this is a good suggestion.

Also, slightly off topic:

It would also be nice if we could put a double input in the recipe thing on the chem dispensers. Like, you list an ingredient twice in the recipe and it puts it in twice. So say you list hydrogen;hydrogen;hydrogen;nitrogen to get 30 units of hydrogen to 10 units of nitrogen so you can quickly make a shit ton of ammonia (I can't remember if this is the actual hydrogen to nitrogen ratio for ammonia but you get the point) super quick.

[Roomba]

I'm not too sure about the superchem machine, but I've always felt the reagent extractor and chemmaster could be combined, both of them always feel like they're missing key features from each other.

But yeah I would be totally up for a cleaner chemistry window.