Minor Genetics Overhaul

[awfulworldkid]

On mobile so I’ll explain concepts and not mechanics.
First of all, we should be able to buy chromosomes (gene modifiers) for about 60-80 materials. This would use the same random table as getting them from activators. 
Second of all, we should be able to sell materials back into the research budget for about 40 credits per material. Keep in mind that they cost 50 credits each to buy.
Third of all, we should be able to combine chromosomes to get another one. I’ll make a table when I get off mobile, but one example could be Synchronizer + Reinforcer = Stabilizer, consuming both ingredient chromosomes and costing a small mounts of materials.

[poland spring]

Yes except there's nothing to spend money on in the research budget but research and there's FAR, FAR faster ways of making credits anyway. Buying chromosomes should be unlocked via research, but you should be able to combine them right away

[ferriswheel1]

Buy crates of random injectors at the QM to get a leg up maybe? This sounds like a good idea.

[Wisecrack34]

I agree with both poland & ferris, chromosomes can be REALLY annoying to deal with, considering the low chance of getting the ones you actually want. Perhaps the research lab could have a random roll every 2 minutes or so but you can buy a box of 6 assorted chromosomes from the QM

[Haprenti]

One thing that I can think of that could improve quality of life would be having, when gene checking, another display for when you have the good nucleobase pair but in the wrong order (say A - T instead of T - A).
The time interval is long enough between each checking it's not worth the time filling the genes this way. That's part of why you end up with geneticists being the entire round in their room. It's easy to get good genes, but it's not so easy to actually get something specific you want without chance or spending a long time doing it.

[awfulworldkid]

One thing that I can think of that could improve quality of life would be having, when gene checking, another display for when you have the good nucleobase pair but in the wrong order (say A - T instead of T - A).
The time interval is long enough between each checking it's not worth the time filling the genes this way. That's part of why you end up with geneticists being the entire round in their room. It's easy to get good genes, but it's not so easy to actually get something specific you want without chance or spending a long time doing it.

anything that incentivizes not using activators is a Bad Idea and should be treated as such unless it’s something that makes not using activators give the same bonuses as using activators
EDIT:

Yes except there's nothing to spend money on in the research budget but research and there's FAR, FAR faster ways of making credits anyway. Buying chromosomes should be unlocked via research, but you should be able to combine them right away

honestly there’s no reason NOT to let us sell materials and it’s a good way to make genetics maybe seen as less of a drain on station resources
EDIT 2:

Buy crates of random injectors at the QM to get a leg up maybe? This sounds like a good idea.

the issue I’m having is less that it’s hard to get good genes and more that there are only really four chromosomes worth using basically ever (and only one of the others is even edge case useful) and that unless you want your stability to suck ass or you have two competent geneticists in the same room you’re only ever really going to use stabilizer; the problem with this is that there’s currently NO WAY to get chromosomes other than using activators and hoping you nail the literally 5% chance that you get what you want

[New525]

Just going to leave these here
https://forum.ss13.co/showthread.php?tid=8201
https://forum.ss13.co/showthread.php?tid=7356
https://forum.ss13.co/showthread.php?tid=9216

[ferriswheel1]

Sorry, I completely missed that you said chromosomes, rather than the mutations. Perhaps a QM-ordered crate could be guaranteed to have at least one chromosome in it? I still stand by the fact that it should be something QM could order, they have few enough things that people will come to them to order as it is.

Absolutely yes on selling materials back, that's a fantastic idea and allows the Geneticists to contribute to their own budget. Looking a bit higher, why not have materials be a physical thing? As in, some kind of mess of liquid DNA and plasmids carted around in big drums and hooked into the genetics scanners. I love the idea of Geneticists ripping DNA out of monkeys and selling the reprocessed genetic slop via QM.

[awfulworldkid]

Just going to leave these here
https://forum.ss13.co/showthread.php?tid=8201
https://forum.ss13.co/showthread.php?tid=7356
https://forum.ss13.co/showthread.php?tid=9216

Two of those are about traitor-only things and the other one isn’t all that relevant to this discussion since it’s exclusively about stability.

Sorry, I completely missed that you said chromosomes, rather than the mutations. Perhaps a QM-ordered crate could be guaranteed to have at least one chromosome in it? I still stand by the fact that it should be something QM could order, they have few enough things that people will come to them to order as it is.

Absolutely yes on selling materials back, that's a fantastic idea and allows the Geneticists to contribute to their own budget. Looking a bit higher, why not have materials be a physical thing? As in, some kind of mess of liquid DNA and plasmids carted around in big drums and hooked into the genetics scanners. I love the idea of Geneticists ripping DNA out of monkeys and selling the reprocessed genetic slop via QM.

The idea of materials being sort of a physical thing is pretty cool, but since chromosomes work in a pretty weird way I'm not sure that you could even make it possible for them to come in a QM crate, and the idea of a QM crate with a bunch of random injectors is kinda pointless unless it’s restricted to rare, hidden, and human-only genes.