[CLOSED PR] Ghost Brains

[github_bot]

PULL REQUEST DETAILS



[features][balance][experimental][input wanted]
About the PR

https://streamable.com/5fuv0e - Prototype
https://hackmd.io/@Azrun/rJPaE6UQ9

Why's this needed?
Investigating and experimenting with a means by which players can re-enter the round through player action.


Changelog

Code:

changelog
(u)Azrun
(*)Robotics has access to a new brain that can capture ghosts!

PULL REQUEST DETAILS

[MomoBerry]

Looks very fun, hopeful for it to get polished and added. Do the brains have robotic lawsets, since they're essentially "captured" in a robotic/possessed hybrid brain?

[glowbold]

I think some of the meta concerns could be addressed by changing how people get into the brains; here's an idea I had:
Instead of capturing ghosts, when ghost-drones use a ghost brain they start transferring themselves over to it. This pushes people out of the station to the ghost drone factory (and queue) for a bit, and from then on-station to robotics. A much longer delay between death and revival lets people cool off, and puts some information you have out of date e.g. knowing where the person who killed you is.

Having a 'basic' ghost-brain that just goes into fire/clean/etc bots would let ghost drones 'transfer over' to other minor-helpful station roles, and I think that is a good fit for a default fabricator recipe. If this were the case, making the full ghost-brain/soulsteel recipe a hacked fabricator recipe feels viable for discovery / availability.

Regardless of how it works, I would love to see wraiths get to do this to people.

[Ikea]

Id rather not normalize ghost drones doing things to get themselves back into the round. I think this as its own item is good for data collection purposes, however i think if this works well in practice, and we want to keep this around, instead of a specific brain for ghosts and a specific brain for latejoin people, have the ghost capturing behavior be given to spontaneous intelligence core and remove ghost brains (youd probably need to adjust the current behavior to do this, through things like ghost popups). This seems like it would be nicer for robotics to deal with, and seems more thematically appropiate.

[Cal]

No to ghost drones.

Fantastic idea in general. I don't think there'd be much of a downside to people getting back into the round considering the current game's culture is "Do not call the shuttle without a vote" and that can literally be something people try to enforce an HOUR in. I imagine it makes the playercount drop.

[Kamikaze Mongoose]

I do love the idea of these allowing players to take on the roles of cleanbots, firebots, etc and getting back in the round this way.

[Cal]

I do love the idea of these allowing players to take on the roles of cleanbots, firebots, etc and getting back in the round this way.

Tough to balance. How would you distinguish them from an antag version?

[Kotlol]

We already have mass critter spawns to help players get back in.. but in my opinion this concept works well.

In my opinion the Chaplain or a new role should help with this ghost brain idea.
Why the Chaplain?
They are the ones that can sense when the oujia board is being used. Aka dead players trying to talk, but that warning is so low and LAAAAAAAAAME!
If there is no vampire or wraith or wizard to fight, chaplains are just sitting on their asses doing whatever.

Sure they also have the cremetorium... aka another dead thing.. and coffins.. so why not add something to them to have an item or methode to help ghosts do this stuff from the start?

Where as a robotcist could maybe make a ghost capture device to make ghost brains? Just food for thought.

[Kamikaze Mongoose]

Make all friendly bots default colors and all antag bots alternate colors. Do you mean balancing how many dead people get back into the game?

[Ikea]

The bots should have there own lawset that comes up when you first join as them, and shouldnt have a popup associated with them (considering other antags have that). These bots should also just be unable to hit humans, and maybe unable to speak.

[Rmeaper]

If we go with the non antag player bot idea, emagging them should turn them into the antag equivelent. I must make a lube army!