Surrealistik

Yes, absolutely agree with all of these responses; it has always been my experience on Paradise, given its high population relative to other SS13 servers, that the AI is stressful due to one's attention being torn between multiple areas/tasks simultaneously and it definitely needs more shortcuts, logs and info management tools to better deal with this.

I like it, but I would think a clothing fabricator would use plastic and biomass rather than metal and glass.

My proposal is you have two options: Stealthy and Overt. You want things quick and dirty? You can have it; at a cost; i.e. a longer cooldown and possible AI alert. You want to be Solid Snake? Leave no trace? Go for it, but it's going to take some time. Having both, without any cooldown is nonsense. Two minutes cooldown assuming we're keeping the Crypto as is is fine, especially when any Joe Blow can hack open a door easily enough with a multitool, crowbar and screwdriver; sure it takes a couple of seconds, but it's perfectly stealthy and unlimited. What this forces you to do is moderate your Crypto use and employ it intelligently as opposed to spamming it and creating a huge mess for Engineering as every other antag that takes the thing always fucking does. Again, half of the issue is the broken shit left for Engineering, and the other half is how easy, spammable and mindless using this thing is. There's a reason pretty much every traitor buying items takes it. As for your question, I see successful non-kamikazis pretty much all the time (most of them use the Crypto).

Nice. So far so good!

Who doesn't carry lighting? It's a survival must have that's immediately below emergency internals in importance. This goes double after you know it's a MalfAI round. All it takes is a flashlight/headlight and you can more than hold your own against any borg in this situation coming at you assuming you have a flash (and if you don't have a flash, you're probably boned anyways).

I doubt it, especially since it's also a situational advantage which is often not applicable, even within maintenance (where there are corners/turns/doors). How many times do you really expect NV on a borg to specifically make or break an antag's round? Again, I wouldn't mind relegating NV to an upgrade module so long as borgs get integrated lights, but I definitely think calling default NV 'OP' is a gross exaggeration.

I'm not sure what's confusing you about that.

Alright cool, so the context sensitive action recognizes that the door isn't capable of closing. I remember someone telling me that it was only possible to deconstruct emagged doors on the server via RCD when I ran Engi borg so I never checked; I usually just replaced them with new locks. Still, I'd rather have a new process that doesn't involve having to weld the airlock shut, but that's a relatively minor thing.

But all the borgs rely pretty much exclusive on CQC (whereupon they get instashrekt via Flashlock cheese) with the solitary exception of Secborgs via Laser Carbines that can see crew with lights a couple of tiles before they can. That said, the carbine takes time to recharge, takes 5 hits to critical a target without any armour, and it's doubtful that those tiles end up being a scale tipper in a macro sense. Honestly, a well executed widespread phoron/plasma meltdown triggered by a Blackout is far deadlier and more impactful in MalfAI.

Unfortunately you have to weld the airlock shut first, which, besides being silly, isn't possible for an emagged door I don't believe (otherwise you just keep prying the depowered lock open and shut).

Regardless what you think of Baycode, Nightvision on borgs does _not_ in practice result in any kind of material imbalance; this is the important/salient point. What kind of theoretical imbal would it result in anyway, even assuming all parties were powergaming to the max? Seeing vampires further away in maintenance? What?

Nah, just tack on delays to each step along with conspicuous noises during them (beeps during the priming for example/wrenching noises during crowbarring) until it is adequately time intensive and conspicuous. Besides, it's not as if current airlock deconstruction is materially more difficult, or time intensive; the main difference is that you can now disassemble airlocks even most emag.

For the love of Space Jesus, please nerf the fucking crypto. I spent almost half a round recently as an Engineering borg fixing fried airlocks. The crypto is blatantly overpowered, not slightly, which is precisely why it is a 'go to'/no brainer antag item, and it is borderline grieftastic. Further, I don't like the balance suggestion about making its effects temporary, unless the duration of the cryptohack is very short. A big part of the problem is you can just spam the ever living fuck out of the thing with total impunity. I think it needs either a 2 minute cooldown between uses, or it needs to be recharged after each use. Also wouldn't mind revising it to get two modes of hacking: Stealth Mode: Gives you access to the target machine after a ~5 second delay without causing permanent damage/frying electronics. Otherwise acts like the current Cryptographic Sequencer. Its effects are temporary and last 2 minutes. Imposes a 30 second cooldown before the Cryptographic Sequencer can be used again. Override Mode: Alerts the AI if it can interface with the target machine (not unlike during a Door Jack attempt), or the target machine is slaved to it and works instantly, causing permanent damage/subversion. Imposes a 1 minute cooldown before the Cryptographic Sequencer can be used again.

Awesome. Really glad to hear it. Airlocks really need a new deconstruction procedure so emagged airlocks can be dismantled without an RCD: Screwdriver > Open maintenance panel. Wirecutters > Sever all cables. Multitool > Prime/unprime electronics for extraction (all cables must be severed for the multitool to work in this way; before the electronics are primed the crowbar will force the airlock open/closed if it is depowered). Crowbar > Extract electronics. Wrench > Unsecure airlock assembly. Welder > Deconstruct airlock assembly.

I don't think power should be assessed based upon what others get so much as what the actual impact is. Nightvision on cyborgs doesn't really have much of an impact except making their lives easier; I'm not opposed to it being an upgrade, but it works just fine on Baycode without in any way materially impeding the antags. The Unbound one doesn't have forced updates. The only issue I've had with it is the fact that you sometimes need to manual refresh. Further, it's not that I have problems getting screwdrivers out of toolbelts, it's that selecting the screwdriver in the window is generally materially easier than clicking it in the window. What do you think of the other changes?

I _hate_ the backpack method. It clutters my screen (especially as an Engi borg), it requires precision clicks, and it slows me down compared to the window. It is a total PITA. I'd compromise with you guys though; I'd have both if it means I can have my window which has much more click space to get the module I want than say the damned screwdriver. I'm not sure why you (Jack) dislike Nightvision; it's perfectly useful and appropriate for every last module I've suggested it for and is a massive quality of life improvement. Do you find it's too strong? If so, sure, let's give them integrated floodlights (also a Baystation thing), and make NV an upgrade per David's suggestion. Exactly. I'd prefer it as a default integrated sensor for those modules I've mentioned, but if that's thought to be OP (I don't really see it), then yes, it can be implemented as an upgrade. If it _is_ an upgrade though, Cyborgs absolutely need integrated flood lights (though I think they should all have this). Like Jack said, Mining is the most fucking annoying thing in the world as you try to juggle between your shitty flash light to see, and the modules you need to do your work, and then there's trying to do your work in dark areas of Maintenance/depowered areas as an Engi borg. I think they should probably get a high capacity spraybottle/synthesizer of Space Cleaner. The taser cooler isn't really that impressive, not to mention that many mobs are outright immune to stuns. Further, why should antag borgs get exclusive access to lethals? It absolutely makes sense for protag borgs to have them on Code Red so that they are armed at least a fraction as well as the rest of Security then. Yes, I feel all Cyborgs should have integrated floodlights by default and _doubly_ so if Nightvision is upgrade only. Also, can you guys confirm that the Medical overlay is equivalent to the full one from the Medical HUD?

Most of these are convenience/quality of life improvements ported over from Baystation; others are more crucial: Miner Borg: Integrated Mason Scanners: Convenience improvement for assessing breaches and structural layouts; prevents the Engineering borg from having to devote a precious module slot to the scanner. Accessed via Sensor Overlay selection. Integrated Nightvision: Convenience improvement for construction in dark environments. Accessed via Sensor Overlay selection. Janitor Borg: Integrated Nightvision: Convenience improvement for construction in dark environments. Accessed via Sensor Overlay selection. Engineering Borg: Integrated Mason Scanners: Convenience improvement for assessing breaches and structural layouts; prevents the Engineering borg from having to devote a precious module slot to the scanner. Accessed via Sensor Overlay selection. Integrated Nightvision: Convenience improvement for construction in dark environments. Accessed via Sensor Overlay selection. Integrated T-Ray Scanner: Convenience improvement. Toggled off and on from the Robot Tab. Accessed via Sensor Overlay selection. Magnetic Gripper: Allow this to attach assemblies to walls, such as the APC assembly and light fixture assembly. Allow this to pick up and input proximity sensors which are used for camera upgrades. Security Borg: Integrated SEC HUD: Convenience improvement; prevents the Security borg from having to devote a precious module slot to the scanner. Accessed via Sensor Overlay selection. Integrated Nightvision: Important for navigating and pursuing criminals in dark environments it is (and they are) likely to move through; for example Maintenance. Accessed via Sensor Overlay selection. Crowbar Module: So it can't be stopped dead cold by depowered doors which is silly. Code Red E-Gun Module: An energy gun module that can be selected and is _only_ usable during Code Red (even if emagged or controlled by a MalfAI). Allows the Security Cyborg's capabilities to better keep pace with its humanoid counterparts during emergencies. Medical Borg: ChemVac Module: Replaces the dropper. Essentially works as a dropper that can hold and transfer up to 120 units. Used for filling large beakers from containers in a reasonable amount of time and clicks; ain't nobody got time for dropper/syringe transfers. Space Cleaner/Sterilizine Spray Bottle: 120 capacity spray bottle. For cleaning and disinfecting surgery areas and equipment. Synthesizes a 50/50 mixture of Space Cleaner and Sterilizine. Med Storage: 7 storage slot container for storing pills, patches and pill bottles only. Collects pills and pill bottles it's used on if there's room. Clicking on the pill storage module toggles its inventory open or closed; it remains open even when deselected, so long as it's equipped. The medigripper can retrieve pills and pill bottles from the module's inventory. Medigripper: Allows the cyborg to grip, apply and manipulate organs, meat (insertion into cloner), food, iv bags, pills, patches, pill bottles (can open these), masks and anesthetic tanks. It is also capable of buckling and unbuckling the cyborg and other creatures while active. Very similar to the Engineering gripper. Essentially acts like a hand for a subset of items/functions. Biomass Processor: Turns corpses and meat into biomass which can be transferred into cloning arrays. Using it on a corpse, meat or gibs will loudly blend/grind the substance. Using it fresh blood and gibs will process them into small amounts of biomass. Using it on machinery that can accept biomass will deposit the biomass. Its transfer rate can be set via right click menu. Blood from syringes can be injected into the processor to yield small amounts of biomass. Integrated Crew Monitor: Obvious. All Borgs: Integrated Floodlights: Toggled on and off via the Robot Tab. Because all Cyborgs need to deal with the dark, and devoting a module to a shitty flashlight is a total PITA. Window Based Module Selection: Baystation innovation where the Cyborg selects modules from a window as opposed to having to precisely click module sprites which clutter the screen (especially handy when it comes to the Engi borg!). It is visible in the upper right corner of the below image; I of course recommend making the window much more polished and aesthetically pleasing:

Awesome! Really looking forward to the conveyour belts. I guess we'll need spritework done for the holopad and belt assemblies/partial assemblies.

Constructing Conveyour Tile: #1: Metal > Create conveyour assembly (autolathe can make these much more quickly) #2: Wrench > Secure assembly #3: Wire > Add wires to assembly #4: Screwdriver > Close panel and finalize. Deconstructing Conveyour Tile: #1: Screwdriver > Open maintenance panel #2: Wirecutters > Cut wires. #3: Wrench > Unsecure assembly #4: Wrench > Disassemble unsecured assembly into metal. Constructing Lever: #1: Metal > Create lever (autolathe can make these much more quickly) #2: Wrench > Secure level #3: Wire > Add wires #4: Screwdriver > Complete #5: Select a conveyour belt array within 2 squares to control. Once this is set it cannot be changed. Deconstructing Lever: #1: Screwdriver > Open maintenance panel #2: Wirecutters > Cut wires. #3: Wrench > Unsecure assembly #4: Wrench > Disassemble unsecured assembly into metal.

I absolutely agree. The Detective is all about investigation, and the essence of these suggestions is to make investigation easier and more convenient. I was initially trying to find a balance between convenience and coordination/legwork by making direct interaction with the Forensics Console required in some cases (powerful Object Scans, printing and advanced data sorting/evidence searches/matching), though some people may not find this desirable, so I've separated additional convenience measures out in the OP. That said, unless a suspect is _really_ sloppy (not using gloves qualifies), a Detective is not going to insta-ID him, even with the ability to evidence match on the spot (which he can pretty well do already with the laptop). That said if he really is that careless, he deserves to be caught/IDed quickly.

It is totally within the Detective's purview to trace and keep tabs on suspicious people as part of gathering evidence, and it often happens that people who get into shit with sec generally merit further inspection; that is why the Sec HUD is useful. Further, the Detective is actually meant to identify suspects; that is ultimately the entire point of the class after all: determining who did what. Tracking them down is a little more iffy, but I would still consider it within the class' purview and scope as the Forensics Scanner is quite good at it. What the Detective is concretely not meant to do is initiate arrests, chase down (not track, not trace, chase down in an active pursuit) and utilize force against suspects. Note that I am citing Baystation as a base for improvement; I am cognizant of the fact that Paradise is a much faster paced and more demanding environment on average, which is why I proposed _extensive_ improvements and changes in light of the fact. That said, the bottomline is that Baycode here does datasifting/synthesizing right, and is much more effective at allowing players to synthesize evidence and determine guilt, so in that sense it is definitely better than existing code which doesn't even feature locational metadata in terms of actually deducing suspects. On the fly printouts are pretty much the only thing I like about the current system by comparison. With the laptop giving you the ability to access the database on the fly, and real time transmission of data, the awkward/clunky speedbumps that are specific to Baycode wouldn't really be a thing. Further, I would be surprised if most players were versed in the Baystation code to complain about /TG/'s relative deficiencies. So, two things I'd edit into my initial concept: Mobile printouts. Ability to search and access all records from the Forensics Computer. If you _really_ want to go full force in terms of power and convenience, give the Forensics Scanner the ability to replicate all of the Forensic Computer functionality, including these above revisions, except for the special Object Scan via an interface accessed by clicking on it. See, that's the thing; Baycode as it exists is absolutely a bogdown that has no place here, for sure, but that's not what I am proposing; I am proposing Baycode as a base with extensive improvements which emphasize convenience, and mobile and real time data gathering and analysis. The main point of the Forensics Computer is high power Object Scans, easier data synthesis, cross-reference and printouts. Further, being able to do Autopsies in two places is definitely better than being able to do them in one.

It needs to have limited uses, or it needs to have a significant cooldown period (several minutes). I also think it should take time to hack most things; at least several seconds.

What I mean about the Sec HUD is it allows the Detective to both identify potentially suspicious crew at a glance, and trace/report them accordingly, which definitely helps him conduct his actual job; I'm not interested in it as something that indicates who should be arrested (Security usually _screams_ this out over their channel anyways, and often repeatedly at that). Don't Detectives already have access to the records though? I thought that in order to access the Sec and Med records from your laptop you had to have ID access that would permit you to use their actual consoles. As for getting autopsy papers from the Morgue, I really think the Detective should have autonomy here and the ability to conduct autopsies himself efficiently, because it is impossibly unreliable at worst and excruciatingly slow at best. @ 3: Is the forensics code the Detective is currently using /tg/? Because if so, it's definitely not better than Baystation's forensics code (at least in terms of functionality); the Forensic Console helps a lot.

Holopad Construction: #1: Metal (Holopad Frame; metal outline; pathable/walkable; autolathe can make these) + #2: Wires (wire the assembly) + #3: Microlaser (more powerful laser = bigger projection range; each laser upgrade adds +3 to projection range) + #4: Reinforced Glass/Glass (reinforced glass makes it more durable/robust) + #5: Screwdriver to complete Holopad Deconstruction: #1: Screwdriver to open maintenance locks. If maintenance lock is ID secured (Engineering IDs unlock and synthetics ignore the lock). Bash open maintenance panel. #2: Crowbar out components. #3: Wirecutters to cut wires. #4: Wrench to disassemble frame. Intercom Construction: #1: Metal (Create intercom assembly; item; autolathe can make these) + #2: Wrench (secure the frame to a wall) + #3: Welder (weld the frame to a wall) + #4: Wire (add wires to the assembly) + #5: Optional (add a scanner module to increase the microphone range by +3 per level of the module) #6: Screwdriver to complete Intercom Deconstruction: #1: Screwdriver to open maintenance panel. If maintenance panel is locked (Engineering IDs unlock and synthetics ignore the lock). Bash open maintenance panel. #2: Wirecut all wires. #3: Welder to unweld from wall. #4: Wrench to unbolt from wall. #5: Wrench to disassemble assembly; detaches any scanner modules used during its construction, which will spawn in the same tile. Intercom Hacking: Screwdriver/bash the maintenance panel open and have at it with a multitool or wirecutter: Microphone Wire: Controls the microphone. Pulsing toggles active/deactive state. Cutting deactivates until mended. Speaker Wire: Controls the microphone. Pulsing toggles active/deactive state. Cutting deactivates until mended. Power Wire: Toggles intercom power when pulsed. Cutting depowers the intercom. Cutting and pulsing this is a shock risk. Frequency Wire: Pulsing this increases the frequency range of the intercom. Cutting this prevents the intercom from sending or receiving communications. Dummy Wire: Does nothing. Increases difficulty of hack.

Love the Subroutine AI idea; would be _extremely_ helpful to me as an AI during busy rounds.