Port a modified version of tg drones

[Midaychi]

 

First of all: What are TG drones?

 

 

 

- They're tg's version of maintenance drones. They have similar laws, but are very different. They're more like mechanical diona nymphs with improvements, that can only be printed from fabricators. They resemble the spider bot but with two arms and a pai screen stuck on.

 

 

- They have two fully functional hands, all access, a gas mask/head slot (one slot that accepts both, but can only have one at a time), xray vision, and a belt slot. They also have a drone light and can ping other drones with varying levels of alert. They can also ventcrawl with alt+leftclick.

 

They can't, however, grab or throw. They also can't remote manipulate electronics and have to use hands like normal station plebs.

 

 

- They start with a fully stocked mechanical toolbox stocked with a multitool, but can take it off. They can wear hats and belt items, and do all sorts of hands and hat-wearing related things. Doing so on a live server and breaking your laws is a good way to get banned though.

 

 

- They're about as flimsy as normal spider bots. Not very robust at all.

 

 

 

Why would we need them, as is?

 

- We don't, and they'd be kind of silly and ridiculous. However, I think a modified version has potential.

 

 

 

What are these modifications you propose?

 

- First off, how they're made, and how they're populated:

 

I think it'd work out better on paradise if you had to use the illegal borg module on a constructed spiderbot to convert it into a drone. Crazy drones with hands aren't NT sanctioned.

 

You'd then have to insert a brain containing mmi or a positron to populate the drone. No ghosts. Maybe pais. (they do have a pAi-like screen, after all).. Guess it'd be neat if they had improved stats or something based on what level of manipulator was used in the construct too but eh.

 

- Second, No Xray or all access.

 

I think it'd work better if you can give them access in the same way you give exosuits access; swiping a card on them and adding access from the card manually through an interface.

 

- Third: Maybe make them lawless. Or at least give them lax laws.

 

They have to be manually constructed, have requirement of the R&D team actually doing their job as well as giving you a matter manipulator AND materials from mining, AND don't have all access, AND can't be populated via just ghosts (unless you include pais, then they have to convince their masters to put them into one anyways so that's a whole 'nother hurdle.)

 

 

This still sounds like a horrible idea

 

-Alright, but botany-drone is sad. Why do you make botany drone sad? They just wanted to grow plants, boop beep.

 

 

[Fj45]

I don't quite see the point of them, robo already has a huge amount of content and these just kinda seem like mostly useless borgs.

[Midaychi]

 

Really this suggestion was about porting them over to become somewhat illegal spiderbot upgrades.

 

You could put a positron or mmi into it and have a robo pal that could help out anywhere around the station,

put a pai in it and give your buddy hands,

and even subvert it with an emag to make a loyal (but rather flimsy) mechanical monkey.

 

[Wintermote]

 

I just don't like their sprite.

 

Everything else about them is interesting.

 

[Fox McCloud]

 

I really don't see much point to porting them over unless they are to replace drones completely.

 

It's a huge amount of overlap to have both in the game at the same time--plus, who wants to waste an illegal borg module on a spiderbot?

 

[Midaychi]

 

I really don't see much point to porting them over unless they are to replace drones completely.

 

It's a huge amount of overlap to have both in the game at the same time--plus, who wants to waste an illegal borg module on a spiderbot?

 

Overlap? Wat?

 

Maybe I was being super unclear and vague as usual.

 

Tl;DR I was proposing taking tg's code for drones and using it to improve spiderbots but at a cost of resources and effort to the players involved in creating it ingame. It's less of a maintenance drone after the changes and more like the old diona nymphs paradise used to have before ponies removed their hands and ability to wear masks and backpacks by their own volition.

 

Protags can use them to have little helping hands and antags can emag them to force them to be little helping hands (or just get a willing victim to put into it beforehand)

 

Paradise station maint drones are ghost joining vessels with very strict laws to prevent them from interfering in the round, have a kit full of tools to attack at least basic and sometimes advanced repair and custodial problems, and cost the station literally nothing but power. They have all access and silicon remote access to electronics. They get around via the disposal system.

 

Their uses are limited to: Ghosts that want to mess around instead of observing or leaving.

 

The modified version proposition I made in the OP would essentially be lawless (or nearly lawless) mechanical monkeys with a belt slot, two hands, inability to grab or throw, and a combined head/gasmask slot. They have to be made and given access specifically by the player crew, and they don't even have to spawn with a full blue toolbox if the porter doesn't want them to. They get around via vent crawling,

 

Their uses are: Basically anything you can do with a belt slot and two hands. This includes aiding or interfering in all departments. They can even equip a clown mask, put a clown pda on their belt, and run around with a bike horn.

 

[Kluys]

I'd like these instead of drones actually, They seem fun.

[Midaychi]

 

I'd like these instead of drones actually, They seem fun.

If that were the case, I'd still like to see their x-ray removed. It's kind of crazy powerful. I'd also like the option to print them out and give them custom laws if they weren't spawned from the drone fabricator via ghost, and some visual indicator so people could tell the ghost-spawned non-interactive ones apart from the player-made positron or mmi based ones with potentially custom laws (or lack thereof) at a glance.

 

[Spacemanspark]

 

I'd like these instead of drones actually, They seem fun.

If that were the case, I'd still like to see their x-ray removed. It's kind of crazy powerful. I'd also like the option to print them out and give them custom laws if they weren't spawned from the drone fabricator via ghost, and some visual indicator so people could tell the ghost-spawned non-interactive ones apart from the player-made positron or mmi based ones with potentially custom laws (or lack thereof) at a glance.

The X-ray is actually the result of it being a simple mob... I think that got fixed here already.

 

As for porting it... ehhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

The idea of a syndicate drone army here isn't very appealing. It's happened on /tg/ before, and there is little the crew can do if they all work together. With the current ones, at least, they can be easily defeated if they act up, and they can hold many more items. They can also spawn in as many times as they want (With a time restraint, of course.).

More thoughts on this later.

 

[Fox McCloud]

 

My biggest concern with TG drones isn't from a drone army--it's just day to day drone operation--the ability to pick up items and utilize themselves is rife for abuse, and we have enough problem with drones, as is; that said, the fact that they have to be created rather than as a free respawn mechanic might curb this, as well.

 

I dunno; it's neat, but I get really bad vibes about it when I know what they can do.

 

[SpaceTimeNow]

 

Our current drones are abused quite a lot, it's gotten to the point where you have to distrust every maintenance drone that spawns, especially if you are playing AI. People use it to abuse any way they can: electrify airlocks, set bots to go rouge, bust lights, release plasma, you name it, they do it.

 

I can totally understand the urge to nerf them suckers until they can't do shit, but it cuts game mechanics that could be great, if used responsible. Drones can't be nerfed to a point where they can't grief anymore, because that would mean to take all their tools away and also the ability interact with station equipment, at which point they would be useless.

 

Drones having hands would be a awesome mechanic, because you could put items back on tables or put certain trash into disposals or just carry around a beaker of space cleaner and refill your spray bottle on the fly. In addition new items would automaticly work with drones and it would not have to be coded seperatly. Like vending machines refill sets, or using a wet floor holo sign tool and so on.

 

So instead of removing mechanics that can be abused, it would be better to just deal with it like you would with a regular human character (per Admin and job bans and server bans). We should also add a new rule that specificly states that you are not allowed to fuck around with drones. Even if that appears to be redundant but it reinforces the admins stance on this sort of abuse.

 

[SpaceTimeNow]

 

I would also like to have hands added to brogs, same idea as with the drones, not having to code everything twice. I could come up with incredible long lists of things that borgs should have or be able to do and all of that is normal/legit gameplay related.

 

I do agree that this would make borgs quite a bit stronger if they are malf, no doubt about that. But since they are currently really weak and also can be blown with a single click at the RD console, i don't see this beeing a big issue. Also malf AI rounds are currently way to much focused on fighting the AI and borgs are just dealt with on the side.

 

Borgs haven't really gotten a lot of love lately and as a result they are somewhat rarely choosen by now.

 

[Midaychi]

 

Yeah it really is the case of having a system where you've either got to restrict them heavily or rely heavily on admin and community policing to weed out the abusers.

 

Someone *will* abuse it, especially if there's no admins on and the retellings of the occurrence of said abuse *will* be greatly exaggerated in frequency.