Goonhub
01-06-2014, 06:53 PM
Keeping in departmental recyclers solves the nagging issue of "How do the materials get from disposals back to individual machines?", as well as prevents overzealous roboticists from easily and silently cleaning out the entire station without ever leaving robotics. It still adds a degree of autonomy to each department's manufacturers, instead of just lumping it all into a station pool.
Not to mention the fact that keeping stores departmental neatly sidesteps the next question, of "How does mining fit into it all?" Since they have their own machines, and are completely disconnected from the station's other various grids. (Power/Network/Camera)
You're exactly right, that the crusher should have a purpose in recycling materials for the station. And your suggestion of a central main depot for gathering that material for distribution to the station is good, but I think it functions better to have that disconnected, and something that required a sanitation worker (I.E. Janitor) to actively send out, instead of just having it automatically feed into a stationwide reservoir of materials. It just adds a little bigger degree of separation to "fire extinguisher goes in trash chute" and "QM has extra Mauxite". All the elements you suggested can still be there, you can still have mad trash thefts, and zany standoffs in disposals, you just have a little less of "Oh, QM pumped out a shitton of pod parts to sell, now no manufacturers in the entire station have materials, well fuck."
I mean, honestly if you just have everything go into a stationwide pool, there's really no reason to do those things at all. Why bother going to disposals, when you can just walk into the nearest tool storage and clean the station out of all it's material instantly. Why wrassle with anyone over your theft when you can just instantly empty the station's pools in a remote location, with 5 seconds of effort and an empty crate? Surely you can understand why that seems a bit too... easy? A little obfuscation isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially when it makes things more complicated for fucking over other people. Not necessarily harder, just more involved.
Not to mention the fact that keeping stores departmental neatly sidesteps the next question, of "How does mining fit into it all?" Since they have their own machines, and are completely disconnected from the station's other various grids. (Power/Network/Camera)
You're exactly right, that the crusher should have a purpose in recycling materials for the station. And your suggestion of a central main depot for gathering that material for distribution to the station is good, but I think it functions better to have that disconnected, and something that required a sanitation worker (I.E. Janitor) to actively send out, instead of just having it automatically feed into a stationwide reservoir of materials. It just adds a little bigger degree of separation to "fire extinguisher goes in trash chute" and "QM has extra Mauxite". All the elements you suggested can still be there, you can still have mad trash thefts, and zany standoffs in disposals, you just have a little less of "Oh, QM pumped out a shitton of pod parts to sell, now no manufacturers in the entire station have materials, well fuck."
I mean, honestly if you just have everything go into a stationwide pool, there's really no reason to do those things at all. Why bother going to disposals, when you can just walk into the nearest tool storage and clean the station out of all it's material instantly. Why wrassle with anyone over your theft when you can just instantly empty the station's pools in a remote location, with 5 seconds of effort and an empty crate? Surely you can understand why that seems a bit too... easy? A little obfuscation isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially when it makes things more complicated for fucking over other people. Not necessarily harder, just more involved.