Revamp Anti-OXY Chems

[CameronWoof]

THE PROBLEM
Salbutamol is considered the baseline chemical for treating OXY damage, but its synthesis procedure is quite complex, requiring phenol (which itself requires oil), and the creation of salicylic acid to complete. Perfluorodecalin, on the other hand, requires only oil and chemicals from the dispensers to create, and is a far-and-away more effective treatment option besides. While perfluorodecalin does max out LOSEBREATH and prohibit the patient from speaking, it also stops the accrual of OXY damage from LOSEBREATH, making it both a fantastic emergency medicine and a spacewalking chem.

THE STATS

Salbutamol
-6 OXY (per tick)
-4 LOSEBREATH
No addiction chance
Safe to use in most situations
Complicated synthesis makes it difficult for beginner chemists

Perfluorodecalin
-25 OXY (per tick)
Halts the accrual of OXY damage
Removes the need for oxygen
Easy synthesis
Addictive
Patient can't speak

PROPOSED CHANGES
Perfluorodecalin's unique interaction with LOSEBREATH makes it an incredibly powerful emergency medicine, while its non-overdose-based addiction chance and removal of the patient's ability to speak are drawbacks that are more commonly found in lower-tier medicines. 

I'd like for perfluorodecalin to be a more niche chem, used mainly for quick and dirty spacewalking with some drawbacks, or as a silencing poison for traitors. I'd also like salbutamol to be elevated to the place of apex anti-OXY chem more in line with its complex synthesis procedure.

I'd like to also introduce a new baseline chem, camphor, as a topically-applied anti-OXY treatment that uses salbutamol's current stats.

Camphor
-6 OXY (per tick)
-4 LOSEBREATH
Easy synthesis

Salbutamol
-25 OXY (per tick)
-4 LOSEBREATH
Overdose (25): Stuttering, dizziness, jitteriness, random stuns and confused movement. 8% chance of +1/+2 TOX.

Perfluorodecalin
-4 OXY (per tick)
Halts the accrual of OXY damage
Removes the need for oxygen
Easy synthesis
Patient can't speak

With this model, perfluorodecalin is less attractive as a medicine due to its lower anti-OXY power, and is relegated to a niche spacewalking chem that is no longer addictive. Salbutamol is much more effective, and its -25 OXY will likely outheal any mounting OXY damage the patient is suffering. Camphor takes salbutamol's place in emergency kits and vendors as the baseline anti-OXY chem, and its easy synthesis is good for learning chemists.

Wikipedia states that camphor looks like "white, translucent crystals" if that information helps.

[SgtBriar]

Why though? Salbumatol is way more common because it's found in O2 deprivation kits and med vendors, you don't need to make the damn stuff ever. Why is this change necessary?

[CameronWoof]

Why though? Salbumatol is way more common because it's found in O2 deprivation kits and med vendors, you don't need to make the damn stuff ever. Why is this change necessary?

Currently, we can break down the most commonly-used medical chems into Basic and Advanced categories:

Basic
Burn - Silver Sulfadiazine
Brute - Styptic Powder
Toxin - Charcoal
Oxygen - Salbutamol(*)
Shock - Saline-Glucose

Advanced
Burn - Synthflesh
Brute - Also Synthflesh
Toxin - Pentetic Acid
Oxygen - Perfluorodecalin(*)
Cardiac - Epinephrine

The problem is that Salbutamol has a much more complex synthesis than any other chem in its category, and Perfluorodecalin is the easiest to make in its category (perhaps tied with Synthflesh). I'd simply like the complexity of Salbutamol's creation have some effect on its effectiveness.

Perfluorodecalin is also a very niche chem with a pretty nasty side-effect that could be dangerous or undesirable in general use. Camphor would be a good substitute for the "Basic" set, with a simple recipe and low effectiveness without drawbacks.

[SgtBriar]

Meh. Chalk me up as not liking the idea, I still don't see the point. Salbumatol is a much more effective chem than you give it credit for, because it not only heals 6 OXY per tick, it also, critically, heals Losebreath, which Perfluorodecalin actually increases. Why does this need to change? It doesn't, it's that simple.

[CameronWoof]

Meh. Chalk me up as not liking the idea, I still don't see the point. Salbumatol is a much more effective chem than you give it credit for, because it not only heals 6 OXY per tick, it also, critically, heals Losebreath, which Perfluorodecalin actually increases. Why does this need to change? It doesn't, it's that simple.

Perfluorodecalin heals *25* OXY per tick. Critically, Perfluorodecalin prevents you from from taking OXY damage because of Losebreath (not that it wouldn't out-heal it anyway) making it far above and beyond Salbutamol's effectiveness, all for heating up three chemicals in a beaker. 

I think that Perfluorodecalin is far too effective for the ease of creation, Salbutamol is too weak for how difficult it is to create, and adding a new baseline chemical allows the others to be adjusted without changing their recipes.

[Haprenti]

Still, you didn't address the fact that salbutamol can be found everywhere, you also need oil for making Perfluorodecalin, which isn't available from a chem dispenser.
The only problem I see is the salbutamol recipe being overcomplicated.
But then again it's irrelevant as you can just make tons of it from a little visit at Botany.

[CameronWoof]

Still, you didn't address the fact that salbutamol can be found everywhere, you also need oil for making Perfluorodecalin, which isn't available from a chem dispenser.
The only problem I see is the salbutamol recipe being overcomplicated.
But then again it's irrelevant as you can just make tons of it from a little visit at Botany.

I don't think that the design of Chemistry/Medicine should be based on the fact that Cog2 has way too much of everything. Oil is both available in chem storage and easy to make with Welding Fuel, which is widely available near chemistry labs. 

What I'm trying to address is that there isn't an easy-to-make, baseline anti-OXY treatment chem, and that Salbutamol is far too ineffective for how complex it is to make.

[Superlagg]

Salb is really easy to make if you have a fuel tank, a bunch of aspirin, and a large beaker.

I'd go so far to say that Salb is far too *effective* for its own good, at least in terms of recreational preventative robustery. Its slow decay allows it to stay in your system for quite a while--a full medkit is able to last about a third of a round with Slow Metabolism. It happens to heal OXY damage faster than a vacuum can apply it, which frees up a mask and pocket slot for cigs and Cryox hypos. There's no overdose or addiction chance, so you can just quaff a million units of it and laugh off suffocation for the rest of the shift.

Instead, Salb and Perf should be flipped in their categorization, with Perf being the basic one in medkits and Salb being the advanced one nobody uses because it's hard to find.

[atomic1fire]

Why not just give the core oxygen reagent some oxy loss removal.

[Maegor]

I do not see a reason for this change, sure you can easily make perfluorodecalin but it is not found anywhere besides the MD's medicine locker. It gives you a reward for a little preparation without having to spent a few minutes doing chemistry. And if do want lots of salbutomol just ask botany.

Also there is phenol in the chemical storage locker, so you can do all your synthesis without leaving the lab

[CameronWoof]

I do not see a reason for this change, sure you can easily make perfluorodecalin but it is not found anywhere besides the MD's medicine locker. It gives you a reward for a little preparation without having to spent a few minutes doing chemistry. And if do want lots of salbutomol just ask botany.

Also there is phenol in the chemical storage locker, so you can do all your synthesis without leaving the lab

As I said, the problem is that salbutamol is too difficult to synthesize given its effectiveness. I'd rather it be made more effective, befitting the difficulty of synthesizing it, and to add a new baseline chem to take its place that's easier to make.

[Maegor]

As I said, the problem is that salbutamol is too difficult to synthesize given its effectiveness. I'd rather it be made more effective, befitting the difficulty of synthesizing it, and to add a new baseline chem to take its place that's easier to make.

Just because something is hard to synthesize does not mean it needs to be strong, a new baseline chem may be interesting though, just add some side effects so out of both salbutomol has the least side efffects

[CameronWoof]

As I said, the problem is that salbutamol is too difficult to synthesize given its effectiveness. I'd rather it be made more effective, befitting the difficulty of synthesizing it, and to add a new baseline chem to take its place that's easier to make.

Just because something is hard to synthesize does not mean it needs to be strong, a new baseline chem may be interesting though, just add some side effects so out of both salbutomol has the least side efffects

Something that's complicated to make *should* be strong, or else we have the current situation where no-one makes Salbutamol and instead goes straight for perf. because it's easier to make and has a much better medical application.

Even if perfluorodecalin has side effects that are undesirable in a medical chem, its strength means it's used anyway, which I don't think is a great situation to be in.