Give the AI more camera views

[Wraithcraft]

I also say yes to giving the AI more to do. Deploying floorbots to breaches, firebots to giant infernos, and cleanbots to big messes might actually let the AI help the station in a way other than by opening doors. Or, if it's rogue, it can direct emagged bots to somewhere that they'll do the most harm.

An army of amusing ducks.

[Studenterhue]

I also say yes to giving the AI more to do. Deploying floorbots to breaches, firebots to giant infernos, and cleanbots to big messes might actually let the AI help the station in a way other than by opening doors. Or, if it's rogue, it can direct emagged bots to somewhere that they'll do the most harm.

An army of amusing ducks.

With an army of emagged firebots flanking them so the crew must listen to the sounds of bootleg as they are blasted between firebots

[Nnystyxx]

I also say yes to giving the AI more to do. Deploying floorbots to breaches, firebots to giant infernos, and cleanbots to big messes might actually let the AI help the station in a way other than by opening doors. Or, if it's rogue, it can direct emagged bots to somewhere that they'll do the most harm.

An army of amusing ducks.

+1 to all of this, whether it be through just pinging any existing non-emagged bots of type X to location Y, or highlighting a group of them to send the selected ones to the general area or tiles of the breach/emergency/etc. It would give the crew more reasons to create robots, since they'd be able to delegate the task of directing them to the AI, thus increasing its capacity to help the station (and giving the traitor more targets to emag, as a double-edged sword) without actually allowing it to necessarily hurt the crew.

EDIT: The way Frank_Stein suggested it'd be controlled sounds ideal, as I don't want to hunt down and wrassle all the bots when I need them so basically coders ignore my control scheme ideas

[Superlagg]

I too would love to direct a horde of marauding Beepskies around the station. Even as a default AI, I'd like to send backup to people who need it, like medbots. Maybe give MULE control to the AI as well, so it can more quickly send supplies and slow-ass bots to where they're needed, all without giving the shells that cursed pull ability.

Personally, I think the AI should be able to run much the station by itself, albeit in a reduced, much more pain-in-the-ass capacity. Such as if some of the crew didn't feel like showing up, the AI could fill in some of the vital parts of the role so that the ones who *did* aren't as punished by the absence.

[Noah Buttes]

I really think AI needs to borrow some blob code, not just in the viewing mode, but also some other things like abilities, hud, and hotkeys. Do the overmind view, move some of the AI tab stuff to HUD abilities for easier access, and add some new abilities to make the job easier and more involved without overpowering the AI

Couple ideas for new AI abilities in an overmind mode:

1. Summon bot: Click a tile, get a list of bot types that exist and how many, click one and have it travel to the tile you clicked. Respond to fires, send medical attention, aid security, all indirectly with your bot buds
   
2. Bookmarking: Place a waypoint on a tile or mob and assign it to a number key. Simply press that number to have your view travel to that spot
   
3. Waypoints: Someone need help finding something or someone? Set a waypoint for it by clicking it and making it, and let people use trackers or PDA apps to guide them to the location. No need to give them constant verbal updates. Tag messes, breaches, dead bodies and notify the appropriate human
   
4. Fast APC: Wanna mess with a rooms lights, equipment, or life support? Activate this to have the window for the nearest APC pop open so you don't have to hunt it down anymore
   
5. Change vision mode: Cycle through different visions to help filter out information. Different vision types could include:
   

•  Heat signatures - filters everything as a dark blue, while popping out humans and monkeys as a bright orange. Useful for finding people in dark areas
  
• Atmospheric - filters everything as dark green. Tiles that contain gasses are brightly colored various pinks, oranges, reds based on what type of gas is prominent. Useful for spotting breaches
  
• Electrical - filters everything dark red. Electrical currents are highlighted a bright white, with intensity in proportion to the amount of power flowing through. Useful for detecting power outages and sinks
  

That's a few right there that just makes the work the AI already does easier and faster. It's a job that for as important a role as it's considered really needs more love in terms of content and quality of life. It's the only job I have in unwanted, not because I disliked it, but got really sick of having to fight against the controls and mechanics of it while everything else is being made more accessible.

Holy crap, those are some good ideas.

To add onto 1, each robot should get a unique ID so the AI doesn't accidentally send the same securitron to two separate crime scenes.

[Nnystyxx]

Bless these ideas. I especially like #5, not the least reason being that its atmospheric filter could also potentially be repurposed into a pair of goggles/some weird device to let engineers see where the air's breathable, so that repressurizing shit isn't completely impossible.

[NateTheSquid]

AI shouldn't be able to direct most emagged bots, like it can't control emagged beepsky, but maybe there could be a control unit for bots in the AI upload/core that can be disabled/emagged to change the AI's control

[Frank_Stein]

AI shouldn't be able to direct most emagged bots, like it can't control emagged beepsky, but maybe there could be a control unit for bots in the AI upload/core that can be disabled/emagged to change the AI's control

Absolutely. Having switches for all the AI abilities would be a good idea. Maybe some of the more powerful ones start turned off and the AI needs to gain the crew's trust to get someone to engage them, or a traitor rogues the AI and then turns them on. Alternatively, you can depower a bad AI instead of outright killing them.

[Nnystyxx]

AI shouldn't be able to direct most emagged bots, like it can't control emagged beepsky, but maybe there could be a control unit for bots in the AI upload/core that can be disabled/emagged to change the AI's control

Absolutely. Having switches for all the AI abilities would be a good idea. Maybe some of the more powerful ones start turned off and the AI needs to gain the crew's trust to get someone to engage them, or a traitor rogues the AI and then turns them on. Alternatively, you can depower a bad AI instead of outright killing them.

This too. Muzzling/shackling the AI for its impudence would be an interesting mechanic rather than someone going "WOW I SURE HATE AIS AND I HATE FUN" and killswitching them. (Then they could, say, negotiate with humans to get them to sneak in and switch their subroutines back on, assuming they don't have specific orders not to try anything like that)

[warcrimes]

{...}
Personally, I think the AI should be able to run much the station by itself, albeit in a reduced, much more pain-in-the-ass capacity. Such as if some of the crew didn't feel like showing up, the AI could fill in some of the vital parts of the role so that the ones who *did* aren't as punished by the absence.

Suddenly playing AI on lowpop / LLJK1 isn't a death sentence for fun!

[Frank_Stein]

Spoiler!

I really think AI needs to borrow some blob code, not just in the viewing mode, but also some other things like abilities, hud, and hotkeys. Do the overmind view, move some of the AI tab stuff to HUD abilities for easier access, and add some new abilities to make the job easier and more involved without overpowering the AI

Couple ideas for new AI abilities in an overmind mode:

1. Summon bot: Click a tile, get a list of bot types that exist and how many, click one and have it travel to the tile you clicked. Respond to fires, send medical attention, aid security, all indirectly with your bot buds
   
2. Bookmarking: Place a waypoint on a tile or mob and assign it to a number key. Simply press that number to have your view travel to that spot
   
3. Waypoints: Someone need help finding something or someone? Set a waypoint for it by clicking it and making it, and let people use trackers or PDA apps to guide them to the location. No need to give them constant verbal updates. Tag messes, breaches, dead bodies and notify the appropriate human
   
4. Fast APC: Wanna mess with a rooms lights, equipment, or life support? Activate this to have the window for the nearest APC pop open so you don't have to hunt it down anymore
   
5. Change vision mode: Cycle through different visions to help filter out information. Different vision types could include:
   

•  Heat signatures - filters everything as a dark blue, while popping out humans and monkeys as a bright orange. Useful for finding people in dark areas
  
• Atmospheric - filters everything as dark green. Tiles that contain gasses are brightly colored various pinks, oranges, reds based on what type of gas is prominent. Useful for spotting breaches
  
• Electrical - filters everything dark red. Electrical currents are highlighted a bright white, with intensity in proportion to the amount of power flowing through. Useful for detecting power outages and sinks
  

That's a few right there that just makes the work the AI already does easier and faster. It's a job that for as important a role as it's considered really needs more love in terms of content and quality of life. It's the only job I have in unwanted, not because I disliked it, but got really sick of having to fight against the controls and mechanics of it while everything else is being made more accessible.

Also, I think it's worth saying that a lot of these mechanics exist in some form or another in game.

AI has a PDA app that can call securitrons, though it seems pretty buggy and ineffectual at the moment. Things like the tour bots use beacons to navigate, so directing other bots would be essentially creating an invisible beacon, sending the bot to it, then destroying it when they arrive there. There are various tracking items in the game, so creating waypoints would be the same, creating invisible objects for them to track where you placed them 

The alternative view exists as blobs and ghosts, bookmarking would just be teleportation that portals can do also with beacons.
The various views, tints exist with sunglasses and goggles, drones see sprites as black blobs so creating heat signatures could be done similarly 

I'm darn passionate about the AI being improved and I don't want these ideas to die here. Even if you don't want to mess with the cameras and what not, consider the abilities because it could really add a lot to the experience

Superlagg

---

Personally, I think the AI should be able to run much the station by itself, albeit in a reduced, much more pain-in-the-ass capacity. Such as if some of the crew didn't feel like showing up, the AI could fill in some of the vital parts of the role so that the ones who *did* aren't as punished by the absence.

This a really good way to approach AI. It works best as strong supplementary role, where everyone can reap the benefits of a good player.

[Musketman12]

I think the AI should also get access to all the radio channels, we're supposed to basically be the space NSA anyways.

[Vitatroll]

Like, I want AIs to have more fun, and be more useful, but I have irrational fears of silicons completely dominating the station time and time again. Besides, don't AI already have pinpoint bot control? I remember them using it often in the past -- it's called teleman.

- Bot 'posession' is A-OK in my book. Sounds fun. Especially if they get to control emagged bots.

- Vision types are really neat. I'd like more 'vision types' in game in general.

- Camera controls -- I like the AI overmind idea the best. If it even needs to be restricted, a black overlay would probably be good'nuff.

[Frank_Stein]

Like, I want AIs to have more fun, and be more useful, but I have irrational fears of silicons completely dominating the station time and time again. Besides, don't AI already have pinpoint bot control? I remember them using it often in the past -- it's called teleman.

- Bot 'posession' is A-OK in my book. Sounds fun. Especially if they get to control emagged bots.

- Vision types are really neat. I'd like more 'vision types' in game in general.

- Camera controls -- I like the AI overmind idea the best. If it even needs to be restricted, a black overlay would probably be good'nuff.

• Hence why there should be switches that turn these abilities on and off. And teleman isn't really the most accessible thing. Giving bots orders is for beginners, using the teleporter to send them where you want instantly is for pros
  
• Not possession, direction. Real Time Stratgey troop deployment style. You're simply telling the bots where to go, and letting their programming kick in once they get there. Possession could be one of those abilities that is defaulted to off at roundstart though, since it would be a lot more powerful
  
• Yes definitely
  
• That's more or less how I'd imagine it. I'd keep the turf off camera visible, but hide mobs and items and what not while tinting it darker so you can tell the difference between what's on camera and what isn't
  

[Frank_Stein]

Couple of ideas for the more powerful AI abilities. These would start toggled off at round start and would need a human to activate. Tried to keep them useful for a non-traitorous AI, but something that can be very useful for that.

1. Bot possession: AI takes direct control of a targeted bot. Some jobs you just gotta do yourself
   
2. Door access whitelist: Can add or remove players to this. Will auto open any door they get near, and close it behind. Never be bothered opening doors again
   
3. The electromagnetic decryptor: Toggles a door or bot from an emagged state to a normal one and vice versa. Has a cooldown
   
4. Hologram: AI can create a holographic duplicate of an item or person that they take control of. Can't interact physically with the world (AI can still control doors and computers to give the illusion the hologram is) and anything that makes physical contact with the hologram causes it to visually "shimmer" giving away the illusion. 
   
5. Grey Goo: The AI releases a swarm of miniature robots (resprited ants). They can be directed like bots, and are capable of physical picking up and object and carrying it safely to another location. The ability has a very long cooldown (10 minutes or so) but the nanobots can duplicate themselves by picking up something organic and consuming it