Explosive Resonance Generator

[Azrun]

We shall harness the power of WAR!

Design Goals:
    Provide a non-antagonistic use for explosions, and thereby reduce assumed suspicious behavior of Toxins Scientists.
    Provide a new Engine to learn and engage with.

Important Objects:
    Explosion Chamber: Turfs that would be “immune” to explosions such that floors/walls would remain.
    Kinetic Transfer Device (KTDs aka “Wobblers”): Device(s) that capture the explosions. They would have animations to show that kinetic has been captured and would wobble until energy converted to power.  Various animations for different amounts of harnessed energy. Also immune to explosions!

Engine Generator Mechanic:
Power the station with the power of bombs! Little bombs, big bombs, SUPER BOMBS. Find the correct “power” level of explosive to create resonance inside the chamber.  Feedback would be provided from explosion monitoring equipment.

Target power levels will be based on a curve that would be based on the layout (possibly material of walls/floors), possibly sprinkled with a little RNG at round start to allow for reward full engagement.  The curve would have a number of optimal peaks and non-optimal valleys. 

Explosive energy (shockwave) would then be transferred to KTDs on the floor/walls that would provide a % of the captured energy per tick.

Future Expansion and current ideas:
    Factor in all atoms in the chamber, which would allow for some ways for players to adjust the resonance of the space.
    Factor in atmos, have the composition of the air adjust resonance of the space.
    Utilize group alerts to notify engineering staff that energy has been exhausted from “wobblers”, as a cue that further action can be taken.
    Allow for adjustment of KTDs location to adjust resonance of the space.
    Subsequent explosions could scale up/down stored energy of wobblers based on compatibility of added energy.
    Device to impact and/or heat things to trigger explosions.

Possible Complications:
    Increased interest and optimization of bomb design.  Would lead more people to know how to make optimal canbombs, TTVs, and other explosives.  Therefore may lead to undesirable player behavior.


Link to Draft PR: https://github.com/goonstation/goonstation/pull/5207

[ZeWaka]

Don't we already kinda have this with the explosion crystals

[zjdtmkhzt]

Don't those just measure the power of an explosion? (And not even particularly well, they have a random variance too for some reason?)
I don't think I have seen anyone use them ever, but they could probably be made a part of this new system.

I think this sounds like a pretty neat concept!
How's it going to work though with the fact that engineering usually makes power but science usually makes explosions?
Engineering is usually pretty self-sufficient on most maps.

[Camryn]

Where's the unique failure mode?

Geothermal has hotspot stacking
Singularity has singuloose
TEG has (or had, RIP) runaway station-wide heating

[THISISANICEGAME]

Idk, as wacky as it sounds, making TTVs and canbombs isn't the most fun thing, having to spend time perfecting a bomb so it has the right ammount if power would also be kind of meh since it sounds like something that would become well known and just repeated every round,  unless the "correct power level" was random every round.

[Drago156]

I think this could be a cool concept if certain parts of bombs and even explosive materials like Erebite and Plasmastone were expanded upon. I feel we could have some sort of machine that accepts TTV tanks similar to how the bomb sim does, beakers for explosive mixes, and maybe even a deposit chute for explosive ores which could all be converted into different charge crystals depending on the size of said explosives. As for canbombs maybe having a special chamber and shield to keep the blast contained would be neat, the chamber being bomb proof and the shields measuring the explosive power as it's absorbed and converting that energy into either direct energy or another crystal. Perhaps Engineering could also come with a set of parts for a kinetic resonance machine that can be configured and set up in a way that adjusts the amount of power input and thus output as well as kinetic collectors at different ranges that absorbed the energy, but if they're too close to a certain level of kinetic output they could be damaged, and could also knock people back or shake the ground and cause them to fall, maybe doing brute if they're too close without the proper gear. This could serve as the sole energy provider when Engineering doesn't receive anything from other department and would still provide a form of experimentation, but would be a very obvious and unwieldy thing to try and set up outside of engineering to sabotage the station.

[Azrun]

Explosion monitoring equipment... check.

How's it going to work though with the fact that engineering usually makes power but science usually makes explosions?
Engineering is usually pretty self-sufficient on most maps.

Well spotted! I feel that is one of the major weak-points of the idea, it does suffer a bit regarding anything that should go into the explosives simulator should go in engine.  But I'm not sure if that is a bad thing.  Singularity goes through a procedure to setup and then... it just kind of is.  Using QM or Mechanics are really your paths forward.

Small array of furnaces and freezers would allow for basic TTV.  Equipment for pipebombs (uh, standard nearby Engineer equipment).

Engineering could have a teleport pad to allow for transport of "materials" from Toxins and Mining.  

Modified/Simplified Burn chamber could be used, but Toxins interactions seems more ideal, where there would be a nearby airlock near to the vent.

Where's the unique failure mode?

Geothermal has hotspot stacking
Singularity has singuloose
TEG has (or had, RIP) runaway station-wide heating

First time I read that post was the first time I felt bad regarding "Hellburns"...

Tarmunora and Drago156 both mentioned the use of a shield to protect against the blast, I think that would be a great angle.  Something where there is some setup, charge time, and activation.  As the explosions increase the risk of messing up goes up.  This could then be an interesting vector for sabotage.

[Azrun]

Threw up a Draft PR to allow for early criticism/critique and hole poking.

Major framework is in place but numbers are still WIP and tuning is definitely needed.  

• Energy output is provided % of overall "absorbed" power with limits to attempt to minimize SMES fiddling.
  

• Explosion resistance on "resonance" equipment keeps explosion contained, as long as thresholds are not exceeded.
  

• Explosions that are close in power to captured power has risk of destructive interference causing immediate conversion of a large amount stored power to output.
  

• Explosions that near a factor of the captured power has benefit of large overall boosts to stored power.
  

[MetricDuck]

[isy]