Goonhub
03-10-2021, 09:51 AM
Honestly, I kinda like the idea of having chemgroups be a data disk thing. I am similarly not a chemist, only having occasionally played with the system and cracking a handful of secret chems/making some medicine groups. But, here's what I propose based on my knowledge of the in-game computer systems, fleshing out warcrimes' idea out a bit more:
Chem groups are stored on data disks as 16 unit size files, meaning you can have up to 2 per disk (as each disk is 32 units). They can be created and edited via a special program available on ThinkDOS terminals specifically, as TermOS/DWAINE isn't great for intuitively downloading files to a data disk - relatedly, all ThinkDOS terminals in Research should come with this program, as should all med records consoles. A Chem Dispenser can only have 1 disk in at a time, meaning you can only have 2 groups accessible at a time.
The program's UI should be designed in such a way that would make pasting in complicated groups a little tedious, requiring some actual time to input. You'd enter in the name of each reagent, then the quantity to dispense. Also, tweaking chemgroups such that you can have decimal values (maybe up to the hundredths/0.01?) would be great, since many recipes require a good deal of precision. As an example, you'd punch in "carbon", then "15", then your next reagent, then that reagent's value, and so on. The program would display your group as a series of steps like this or something similar to this:
This could probably very easily work similar to WizWrite, wherein you have some commands to save, load, select a line, delete a line, etc.
As another possible tweak, allow the defining of the same reagent multiple times to be able to add, say, 3 units of carbon, then 3 units of hydrogen, then 6 units of carbon, as opposed to this instruction being interpreted as adding 9 units of carbon and then 3 units of hydrogen. This is a more technical change and isn't as important, but it would allow a greater degree of flexibility for chem groups.
Perhaps also give the option to 'encrypt' a group, making it not display its contents and unable to be opened in an editor? Particularly handy for secret chems or for mixes you'd like to keep to yourself.
A final change would be giving chemistry borgs a built-in data disk so that they can use groups as well.
The overall goal of using data disks for chemgroups looks like a potentially good step in the right direction to counteract the issue of copy/pasting in things with minimal effort. Much like MechComp, a similarly powerful game mechanic, Chemistry should require significant in-game time investment, even if you know exactly what you want to do. I quite like this concept and am hoping my fleshing-out of it has done it justice, but it can absolutely go in directions other than what I've described here, such as hosting the groups on the mainframe and having to log in from a Chem Dispenser to use them, or to only be able to find existing groups instead of being able to make your own.
Chem groups are stored on data disks as 16 unit size files, meaning you can have up to 2 per disk (as each disk is 32 units). They can be created and edited via a special program available on ThinkDOS terminals specifically, as TermOS/DWAINE isn't great for intuitively downloading files to a data disk - relatedly, all ThinkDOS terminals in Research should come with this program, as should all med records consoles. A Chem Dispenser can only have 1 disk in at a time, meaning you can only have 2 groups accessible at a time.
The program's UI should be designed in such a way that would make pasting in complicated groups a little tedious, requiring some actual time to input. You'd enter in the name of each reagent, then the quantity to dispense. Also, tweaking chemgroups such that you can have decimal values (maybe up to the hundredths/0.01?) would be great, since many recipes require a good deal of precision. As an example, you'd punch in "carbon", then "15", then your next reagent, then that reagent's value, and so on. The program would display your group as a series of steps like this or something similar to this:
Code:
TITLE OF YOUR CHEMGROUP
===========================
Step | Reagent | Quantity |
-------------------------------|
1 | Carbon | 6.00 |
-------------------------------|
2 | Aluminium | 9.20 |
-------------------------------|
3 | Potassium | 16.00 |This could probably very easily work similar to WizWrite, wherein you have some commands to save, load, select a line, delete a line, etc.
As another possible tweak, allow the defining of the same reagent multiple times to be able to add, say, 3 units of carbon, then 3 units of hydrogen, then 6 units of carbon, as opposed to this instruction being interpreted as adding 9 units of carbon and then 3 units of hydrogen. This is a more technical change and isn't as important, but it would allow a greater degree of flexibility for chem groups.
Perhaps also give the option to 'encrypt' a group, making it not display its contents and unable to be opened in an editor? Particularly handy for secret chems or for mixes you'd like to keep to yourself.
A final change would be giving chemistry borgs a built-in data disk so that they can use groups as well.
The overall goal of using data disks for chemgroups looks like a potentially good step in the right direction to counteract the issue of copy/pasting in things with minimal effort. Much like MechComp, a similarly powerful game mechanic, Chemistry should require significant in-game time investment, even if you know exactly what you want to do. I quite like this concept and am hoping my fleshing-out of it has done it justice, but it can absolutely go in directions other than what I've described here, such as hosting the groups on the mainframe and having to log in from a Chem Dispenser to use them, or to only be able to find existing groups instead of being able to make your own.