[TECHWEBS] THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN - IDEAS FOR POINT GENERATION

[Dr_bee]

Bottom post of the previous page:

The biggest problem of techwebs I've seen is that the rest of the station has near-zero incentive to actually print off anything science researches, because it takes so damn long for other departments to get any of the decent tech.

How the web itself is designed is the problem here, If tech were divided into fields of research instead of being divided by department and the tech of each department was mixed together then people might enjoy techwebs more.

So picking a research option would benefit more than one department at a time, like unlocking both mining and security tech in the same techweb node. Pick the biology path and you end up unlocking stuff for Medbay, Botany, and the Kitchen. Pick the bluespace path and you end up unlocking the stuff for mining and science as well as being a prerequisite to the high tech parts.

Goal really should be to have every tech node give something to two departments at minimum, so the fun is spread around.

[Pizzatiger]

So Orange, The plan is to have research points be fused with the cargo budget while also giving multiple ways to generate points/cash? Kinda like what goonstation does by splitting its budget between cargo and genetics, creating budget wars between the two departments? I'm just asking so i can properly know what kinda design space i should brainstorming for

[oranges]

Well it's more that I want departments to be able to
A) spend their money on unlocking new items from the research tree
B) spend their money on printing already unlocked items without needing minerals

So they can still produce some items if all the miners are dead but it costs them in how much they can unlock so they have to earn more

[oranges]

I suppose we could use the same budget to allow them to order and pay for things from cargo though

[Dr_bee]

I suppose we could use the same budget to allow them to order and pay for things from cargo though

So a money system basically? Finally adding an economy?

[Pizzatiger]

Robotics could get Research nanites which give cash in exchange for nanite generation

Security could get money for every minute that the warden remains in the brig instead of being the SUPER COP all wardens think they are that. If your going the full economy route and give everyone a bank account,then you can give security the ability to give fines or allow troublemakers to pay bail to get out of jail early.

Botany will get a list of constantly updating ingredients that will encourage them to make something that is weed or bananas. The Ingredients are scanned once they enter the Smart Fridge

The Kitchen gets a list of constantly updating recipes based on what Botany is tasked to make to encourage the chef to make unique recipes instead of the usual stuff. The kitchen will be given a smart fridge for the food to be scanned.

While Cargo also has the ability to sell crates/stuff in crates and do bounties they will need a new consistent source of money to help counteract the constant leaching that such a interconnected system will cause. My suggestion is to take this idea- https://tgstation13.org/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=15455 and allow cargo to make mini factories of various items such as coins, action figures, crates, canned food, hats, toolboxes/tools. This way they have some sort of income to help sustain them that isn't just 1 time massive pumps of cash from bounties and crates.

Medical gets a bunch of implants and useful surgeries that would improve the lives of the crew but are never used. What about giving Medical a few starting implants/useful surgeries that gives medical points when they are given to someone. Extra points are given if Medical follows proper safety standards and puts the person under Anesthesia before the surgery. This will encourage med bay to give out those useful surgeries and create a use for anesthesia past keeping a ling perma-stunned

More ideas to come

[Cobby]

I suppose we could use the same budget to allow them to order and pay for things from cargo though

It would be a lot easier to exchange between the two than intermingle them, I'd rather touch an exchange rate should balance go out of whack then have to hit the source because it helps out a particular department wildly but otherwise is sane for the others.

[Luke Cox]

Just came up with an idea: nanite program that generates points when different things are done to the host. Different types of damage, being injected with different chems, etc. Only awards points once per thing, of course. At last, we'll have human experimentation.

[Yakumo_Chen]

Chaplain whacking assistants for 30 minutes but this time it makes science points instead of making the chaplain completely overpowered

[Luke Cox]

I mean, the whack would only generate points once. Could totally see prisoners experimented on or people selling their bodies to science though

[Arcanemusic]

Why not just take a simpler approach, like making the deconstructive analyzer get a one-time point payout for items with a tech origin? Not trying to bring back the SUPREME FUCKING CHAOS that was the old duke science rush, but as it stands objects no longer have a reason to be scanned by science goggles anymore, and the analyzer is only good for unlocking illegal/alien tech right now. Granted, the payouts would need to be SMALL. Like, anything in the RnD office such as stock parts might only pay out 5 or 10 points, but something with some level of rarity like a spellbook might be 1000 or so, just to give the players who play science exclusively to get their validhunting gear SOMETHING to do between Industrial Engineering and High Eff. Parts every round. Maybe randomize what items do and do not have a point value would be a good idea.

[Hathkar]

Here's my idea for how Engineering can generate R&D Points:

New SMES Configuration: Research Mode
Similar to how the radiation collectors and tesla coils have a mode that generates points, add a setting/mode to the SMES units. The input mode would instead consume power based on the settings, and generate points based on how much power is being consumed by the SMES. Upgrading the SMES' parts = More Power Inputted/Consumed = More potential R&D points. Maybe the sprite could also be slightly different in R&D mode, so it's easy to tell. Make the SMES lights purple or something in that mode.

Something like this?

[Cobby]

The biggest problem of techwebs I've seen is that the rest of the station has near-zero incentive to actually print off anything science researches, because it takes so damn long for other departments to get any of the decent tech.

How the web itself is designed is the problem here, If tech were divided into fields of research instead of being divided by department and the tech of each department was mixed together then people might enjoy techwebs more.

So picking a research option would benefit more than one department at a time, like unlocking both mining and security tech in the same techweb node. Pick the biology path and you end up unlocking stuff for Medbay, Botany, and the Kitchen. Pick the bluespace path and you end up unlocking the stuff for mining and science as well as being a prerequisite to the high tech parts.

Goal really should be to have every tech node give something to two departments at minimum, so the fun is spread around.

I sorta agree,

My biggest concern with this though is that people will compare items within the same node and expect the "power level" of A department's unlocks = "power level" of B department's unlocks so we're arms racing with things that otherwise have no relationship.