Mech Overhaul

[John_Oxford]

Essentially, the basic concept of this is, that mechs will receive a overhaul of all of their interfaces, UI's and controls. Essentially smoothing out the extremely bulky and clunky design of the interface. They will also receive the ability to be painted any color on the color palette, from a Mech Painter. And have the ability to be made out of custom parts, of which can be made out of different materials, instead of the stock metal and plas-steel.

MECH PAINTING

Mech Painters
Two of these will spawn along the table that hugs the right wall of robotics, these can be used on completed mechs to change their colors, just by simply using the painter on the mech, selecting which part they wish to paint, and confirming the painting process. Painting individual parts costs large amounts of toner. Robotics starts with a box full of them in the clothing locker, located in the south of the room.

Custom Parts
The break down of this is that each mech starts out with 2 basic armor types, of which are needed to hold the mech together, this being the Internal Armor and the External Armor.
Internal Armor
This determines basic attributes of the mech, below lists the modifiers for each of the materials
Metal - Default Speed, Default Strength, Default Modfiers.
Plas-Steel - Speed is lowered, Strength is moderately increased
Silver - Speed is very slightly lowered, Strength is slightly increased
Uranium - Speed is lowered, Strength is increased, Operator takes constant toxins damage if not currently wearing a rad suit
Plasma - Speed is slightly increased, Strength is not changed, Operator takes constant burn damage and toxin damage if not wearing a radsuit
Gold - Speed is greatly increased, Strength is greatly lowered

External Armor
Metal - Default Speed, Default Strength, Default Modfiers.
Plas-Steel - Speed is greatly lowered, Strength is greatly increased,
Silver - Speed is lowered, Strength is increased,
Uranium - Speed is Greatly lowered, Strength is largely increased, Operator takes extreme ammounts of toxin damage if not wearing a radsuit, People standing around the mech take very small ammounts of toxin damage,
Plasma - Speed is not changed, Strength is slightly increased, Operator takes extreme burn and toxin damage if not wearing a rad-suit,
Gold - Speed is extremely increased, Strength is extremely lowered, whatever color the mech is painted, shines with a high polish.

CUSTOM PARTS
There is another tab in the exosuit fabricator that allows for the creation of custom armor plates for a mech.
The following are the parts that can be covered in plates:
Front Hatch, Forearms, Shoulders, Legs, Back, and Knees.
Each material has a tab in the exosuit fabricator that allows custom parts to be built for the mech.
Front hatch and Back custom parts generally increase the most armor and decrease the most speed, and increase the severity of the modifiers
Forearms somewhat increase armor, and somewhat decrease speed, and slightly increase the severity of modifiers.
Shoulders, and Legs generally increase armor and decrease speed, and moderately affect modifiers
Knees only change modifiers/ are for style (gold kneecaps yo)

The parts are put on by using them on the mech, then wrenching and welding.

Sprites may or may not be made soon.

[Scones]

Do you plan on coding this or

[John_Oxford]

Do you plan on coding this or

>me
>coding


EDIT: No, i plan to sprite it.
100$ this ends up like gunsmithing, we're i make 100 sprites for it, and no one wants to code it.

[Scones]

Somewhat pointless to make massive idea threads like this as anything but a proof of concept for a code project you intend on tackling

[John_Oxford]

Somewhat pointless to make massive idea threads like this as anything but a proof of concept for a code project you intend on tackling

It was kind of ment for someone (IE: A coder) to go
"Oh shit man, this is a fucking badass idea, i'm gonna code this shit!"
And 2 weeks later, i can make a golden mech.
Its more or less a suggestion with some information behind it.

[Falamazeer]

Because clearly only coders can have ideas.

[Falamazeer]

Gold as a heavy metal doesn't really count in circuitry, Due to engineering wizardy, gold is used on the international space station due to it's ductility, not it's conductivity, It's really not that more conductive than copper, at least not enough to justify using it in space, It becomes more economic because a thinner wire can be formed and carry more charge to weight ratio than copper, It's only viable and used because of the high cost of ounces of material to rocket feul ratio being insane, that and the corrosion resistance is pretty fucking sweet, Which is more significant because of the enriched oxygen there being hard on copper.

That being said, Silver is the most electrically and thermally conductive metal on earth, Your keyboard? Colloidal silver print, Older switches? silver.
As for hardness, it's in the softish metals category, Pure aluminum, zinc and copper range.

[Not-Dorsidarf]

Gold plating making a five-tonne robot faster? This aint minecraft you know.

[MisterPerson]

Somewhat pointless to make massive idea threads like this as anything but a proof of concept for a code project you intend on tackling

This thread is great, actually, because it's basically a checklist of stuff to do with some of the pitfalls already explored. Frankly I wish more people made threads with detailed ideas like this.

[invisty]

IMO ideas like this would really benefit from an improved mining materials system. Alloys and the like, plasteel being the basic (and only) alloy we currently have. I understand it's all a bit minecraft-esque currently, but if there were a variety of grades of "metal" alloys then you could have all sorts of creations influenced by the properties of said alloys.

I could be wrong. I think that mining focuses too much on the "getting" end of the equation and perhaps there's more room for expansion in the "smelting" end of the equation. It would likely be a project just as significant as the OP's though.

I approve of the OP's ideas. Sounds cool.

[Falamazeer]

Honestly adding in more metals would just be amazing, As a well read mid level metalurgist I'm happy to speed up google searches for such a thing by bending someones ear over it. Probably make a thread for mining with basic information on metals ores and their applications for spessmans, maybe someone will take an interest.

[Killbasa]

A mech update would be very appreciated. A system with metal types and bonuses sounds awesome if implemented correctly, like having levels of quality on the metals maybe. As for the paint i like it but the only problem i see is someone making a neon green/hot pink ripley. For the custom parts i feel that would have to be something that his hard to obtain, like goliath plates which can only be obtained on the asteroid.

[Miauw]

mech code is complete fucking garbage, so you won't find anybody willing to code this, and if you did it would be denied on the base of making mech code worse than it is.

i have had plans to implement a tinkers' construct-like system for RD for quite a while, but i've never really done much about it.

[John_Oxford]

IMO ideas like this would really benefit from an improved mining materials system. Alloys and the like, plasteel being the basic (and only) alloy we currently have. I understand it's all a bit minecraft-esque currently, but if there were a variety of grades of "metal" alloys then you could have all sorts of creations influenced by the properties of said alloys.

I could be wrong. I think that mining focuses too much on the "getting" end of the equation and perhaps there's more room for expansion in the "smelting" end of the equation. It would likely be a project just as significant as the OP's though.

I approve of the OP's ideas. Sounds cool.

This.

Essentially it'd be better if we added a better ore/metal/alloy system before adding the really simplistic ore set we have now to mechs.
Once again, i can't code ores for shit, i can make some sprites though.
If someone wants to elect themseleves to code a fuckton of ores, i'd be more than happy to make some sprites for it.
We also need mech code re-coded all together if the custom parts thing is going to be added,

Essentially, we need some fukken coders, yo.

[Killbasa]

mech code is complete fucking garbage

Garbage in what way? Is it just a clusterfuck of code?

[Scott]

mech code is complete fucking garbage

Garbage in what way? Is it just a clusterfuck of code?

Something like that, yes. We could use a refactor or rewrite of mech code before expanding the feature.

[tedward1337]

>external armour
>damages someone inside a cockpit
Literally how/why

[Killbasa]

>external armour
>damages someone inside a cockpit
Literally how/why

I assume the concept is internal armour is what makes up the actual frame of the mech? If I'm completely wrong and it literally is just internal and external armour layers then yes it is weird.

I'm pretty sure that it is literally internal and external, but now that i think about it the frame could also be involved somehow.

[John_Oxford]

I always assumed the frame was the internal armor, the thing that held all the servos, wiring, and circut boards together, and the external armor was the thing that stopped all the shit from coming in, because it was the only thing stopping the outside from becoming the inside and vice versa.

[Not-Dorsidarf]

Have you ever actually built a mech in robotics? The frame and the internal metal/plasteel plating are totally different parts.

[John_Oxford]

Have you ever actually built a mech in robotics? The frame and the internal metal/plasteel plating are totally different parts.

I've built easily hundreds.

The frame you build from the exosuit fabricator generally represents the servos and gears that make the mech move, also including any on-board electronics.
The internal armor compresses all this shit down, making sure its secure, and creates a small base for the external armor.
Notice when you put the internal armor on, on a ripley, there are gaps around the edges of the armor.
This is where the external armor comes into play, the external armor covers over all the internal armor plates, bolts onto the internals, and overall secures itself onto the mech.
Generally, you could refer to the fabricator built parts as the sub-frame, the internal armor as the frame, and the external armor as the armor itself.

What you are trying to say requires you to have actual blueprints for the mech itself.
Assuming you don't have real life blue prints, the design of the mech is up for interpetation.

Having the fabricated parts be the frame, would mean there would be two sets of armor.
Why would a mech have two sets of armor when it can have one all together, increasing the effective build time.
Why would a mech bother to have internal armor if the internal armor is so weak.
Why would a mech not have the internal "armor" be made out of plas-steel, reinforcing the whole mech all together.
Why would a mech want to have internal armor, if it could have a sub frame, a frame, and armor plates.


Take the gygax for example.
The first few steps of creating one, generally consist of making all the parts
The arms, legs, torso, head, and armor.
You start by connecting all the fabricated parts together, creating a skeleton of a mech.
You then connect the hydraulics, add control and weapons boards
Then you add scanning modules and capacitors.

After all that is completed, you have a finished skeleton version of a gygax, only consisting of electronics, servos, and hydraulics.
Adding 5 metal is referred to as the internal armor. This solidifies the sub frame, creating a base for the armor plates.
The heavier, more bulkier armor (See: External Armor) men't to absorb most of the damage inflicted onto the mech, is then added.
The internal armor sets sturdy base for the external armor, linking to the sub-frame, allowing the pressure on the external armor to be distributed evenly through the mech.
You then take the external armor, place it on, wrench it (Securing it onto the internal armor plates) and then welding it, finishing the mech.

TL;DR, Your arguement is invalid.

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Refering to the orginal question of how external armor could affect someone inside.
If your external armor is made out of uranium, a radioactive substance.
You are going to be irradiated.
If the internal armor is made out of some sort of anti-radiation shielding, the effect is nulled.
I assume you we're talking about modifiers at the end of the status effects for making the mechs out of certain parts.

If you where referring to normal base damage.
I mean the mech would be more susceptible or less susceptible to that specific kind of damage.
For example, silver is known to be a sterile metal, this is why in the late 19th century, baby rattlers and binkys we're made out of silver.
Silver coated mechs would be flashy, and moderately prevent you from catching brain-rot in the event of a outbreak.
This, of course, would be better used in Odyesuses, whom of which are more likely to be exposed to viruses.

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Also, if mech code is redone, more metals are added, all this shit is done and what not.

We could consider adding more mechs.

[Falamazeer]

For example, silver is known to be a sterile metal, this is why in the late 19th century, baby rattlers and binkys we're made out of silver.

Silver was toted around as a pure thing, possibly even holy, Like salt, this is true today, I saw a guy who had blue skin from drinking a silver bearing tonic, a lot.
Silver's not even hypoallergenic actually, and it's not anti microbial either. Though that's a thing, there is an alloy called 'Nordic Gold' that germs have a hard time setting up on, and many countries choose to use it for currency for that reason, or an unpatented knock off of the same alloy.

tl;dr patently untrue, you can get tetnus from silver the same as a rusty nail.

[rockpecker]

Silver's not even hypoallergenic actually, and it's not anti microbial either.

It totally is. Silver in Health Care: Antimicrobial Effects and Safety in Use (from Current Problems in Dermatology, 2006; it's included in the sample PDF). Also explains how silver sulfadiazine really works, in case any of you spess chemists were wondering.

Anyway, back on topic. A uranium-plated mech wouldn't irradiate the mech pilot, because uranium decays very slowly and alpha particles are mostly stopped by skin and clothing. (If you're an idiot and grind up the uranium and eat it, then yeah, that'll mess you up.) A uranium-plated mech would also be slow as shit. However, the armor would very effectively block not only projectiles and impacts, but also any kind of energy attack, including x-ray lasers. What you have at that point is a tank, and many real tanks do use uranium armor.

You'd get all the same benefits with gold, though. I'd think the limitation on gold would be that you outright can't use it on certain mechs for mechanical reasons. Like, the Odysseus can be plated in silver (completely protects the pilot from disease) or gold (protects from everything else, but also slow). The Ripley is a grimy industrial mech, and has to use either plasteel (basic mining/cargo handling duty) or uranium (firefighting/salvage model). Not sure what the combat mechs would use, probably plasteel and uranium but maybe gibtonite, for reactive armor? Heh heh.

It might be fun for uranium to emit bursts of radiation when you hit it with lasers or bullets, just because we need more ways to get irradiated.

[John_Oxford]

Good points, all of them.

Personally, i think that before we bother trying to sort out compliacations with mechs, it'd be better that the metalurgy thing get passed and coded.

Because why bother coding systems for mechs that use old metals when we could be getting a entirely new set very soon.

[Incomptinence]

So golden durands? Why not just do away with the prebuilts and let people slap random goofy mech limbs together?

[rockpecker]

So golden durands? Why not just do away with the prebuilts and let people slap random goofy mech limbs together?

Golden Odys and depleted-uranium Durands, but yeah.

Nobody's talking about random mismatched mech limbs. For one, it's totally unworkable to sprite all those combinations. More to the point, if there are too many interchangeable parts then the difference betwen one mech and another depends on too many variables to be easily understood. One type of armor vs. another is not really different from mounting one accessory or another, except that it would change the sprite.