More Uses for Space Lube

[Scones]

Space lube is fucking annoying and it's been discussed in a previous thread.

However one thing that really stood out to me that it is essentially only used for griefing - It has no application other than making floors untouchable for extended periods of time. But I'm not making this to discuss how well it does the aforementioned thing, but instead what else it should be able to do. It seems strange for it to have only one, and one use alone.

Maybe it could speed up machinery? Well-lubed auto/protolathes produce things faster, lubed exosuits swap equipment/generally operate faster

I personally think Chemistry needs things like that which increase their inter-departmental interactivity, just to keep them in the round after they make cryo and whatever else they want.

[omnitricks]

Lubed hardsuits make you move at normal speed!

[JStheguy]

Lubing machines causes them to get a temporary buff, like they work a bit faster?

[Scones]

Lubing machines causes them to get a temporary buff, like they work a bit faster?

Yeah, sure, something along those lines. I was trying to think of specific examples outside the auto/protolathe, though. Maybe it could have some effect on borgs, as well? Not sure how.

[JStheguy]

Lubing machines causes them to get a temporary buff, like they work a bit faster?

Yeah, sure, something along those lines. I was trying to think of specific examples outside the auto/protolathe, though. Maybe it could have some effect on borgs, as well? Not sure how.

Perhaps they use a bit less charge when doing things temporarily, because the lube makes them able to use their energy more efficiently?

[PKPenguin321]

l-lube update
>"RUB LUBE ALL OVER YOUR BORG MODULES"
>"RUB LUBE ALL OVER YOUR BIG STUN BATON FOR MORE CHARGE OH YEAH"
>"REALLY LUBE UP YOUR EXOSUIT FOR THAT LUBEY FEEL MM"
>LUBRICANT

[Wizardjenkins66]

Add Cherry Space Lube.

[Scones]

It is somewhat saddening that there isn't any truly heavy machinery that would probably require industrial lubricant on the station - At least, nothing comes to mind

[DemonFiren]

Sadly, spesslube won't really be useful for anything except HONK as long as ERP is banned.

Am I funny? Please tell me I'm funny.

[soulgamer]

Space lube on an item makes it impossible to hold. As soon as you pick it up it slips out of your hand.

Space lube when used on an airlock makes it silent.

Space lube on glass causes brute attacks to slide off and deal less damage.

Space lube on sec officers so the crew can chase a greased up pig.

Space lube burns mimes like acid.

Space lube injected into a slime core turns it into FLUBBER™

SPACE LUBE! IT IS PRETTY USELESS!

[omnitricks]

Space lube when used on an airlock makes it silent.

As a person that likes to hack doors someone add this please. Right now crowbarring a depowered door makes a sound (previously it didn't) making it slightly harder to b&e if near attentive people.

On another note, space lube is even more useless because you get banhammered by admins for using it (even sparingly) for "grief" where the previous policy was just be prepared to be dunked by the crew/made valid.

[Lo6a4evskiy]

Jokes aside, that would let people actually ask for lube for legitimate reasons.

Which is... questionable.

[MisterPerson]

Yeah can we keep this realistic and serious, please? We want a legitimate, functional use for space lube, not more ways to grief with it.

[iyaerP]

Space lube the nuke disk. GG ops, whatcha gonna do about it?

[youngbuckliontiger]

space lube to extinguish the fire of blobbernauts.

[Steelpoint]

Aside from some form of Industrial Chemistry, or to get a old AK-47 to work, there's not a lot that you can functionally do with space lube.

[Scones]

Aside from some form of Industrial Chemistry, or to get a old AK-47 to work, there's not a lot that you can functionally do with space lube.

Yes, please. I wanted this to be the first part of a larger discussion about the fact that Chemistry has little discernable late-game. Chemist play either devolves into spamming pills, griefing with lube/mindbreaker/acid, or praying for tungsten/other obscure regeants. I could go more in-depth, but I'd like this particular thread to stay on topic about lube before I make a new thread about the job as a whole.

[dezzmont]

Yes, please. I wanted this to be the first part of a larger discussion about the fact that Chemistry has little discernable late-game.

You wot m8?

They have no late game because they already have the best stuff to start with, better than most everything else on the station and stronger than what any other job would get as an 'end game' device. They don't need their late game enhanced, they need to be nerfed heavily to have what most would consider an 'early game.' Sure, medical has sleepers, but it is really easy for a chemist to make two syringes that will bring anyone up to 100 from crit when both are used, without even scanning for damage.

Security doesn't get an end game, neither does engineering or medical. If you thing chemistry isn't still ridiculously strong just because of the chloral-poly nerfs you are sorely mistaken. Those are just low hanging fruit and you can still consistently achive the same effect with minimal knowledge.

[Raven776]

I can't find many uses for it, but then there are a lot of things that don't exist for anything other than grief...

Most of botany doesn't exist for anything but grief, after all.

The real problem we should be addressing is the fact that space lube is a funny, griefy tool that also doubles as a very potent murder weapon. It's difficult to simply say to take it out because it's essentially just another stun capable murder tool that antags can use for funny/great effect, but anyone who isn't an antag who uses it is generally making at least a few moments of someone else's life and playtime worse.

[Pybro]

*Make Mechs faster move.
*Make autolathe/protolathe print instantly.
*Make borgs use no extra battery power for having extra tools on their belt. Apply 10u per hour.
*Make doors silent and close/open instantly.
*If ammonia is sprayed on spilled spess lube it neutralizes it.
*Put it on the surgery circular saw to make it cut [whatever] in surgery instantly.
*If borgs go too long (2 hours) without lube they get crusty and start making noises. Think the skeletons from Oblivion. That teeth-grindy noise.
*Makes the mint print an ~extra~ coin because EFFICIENCY.
*NPC Monkeys are strangely allergic to it, apply it to them to make them stand the fuck still and stop pushing and shoving. Sentient monkeys are immune to the hypnotism of lube.
*Space Carp are likewise allergic to lube and will not attack anyone splashed with it or cross over lubed tiles.

[Scones]

I can't find many uses for it, but then there are a lot of things that don't exist for anything other than grief...

We had a thread a while back about this. Sadly, despite consensus that it's annoying as fuck, nothing changed (Reminder that it the stun time is multiplicative depending on how many tiles you slip over - 7 seconds, I think, for each?)

*Make Mechs faster move.
*Make autolathe/protolathe print instantly.
*Make borgs use no extra battery power for having extra tools on their belt. Apply 10u per hour.
*Make doors silent and close/open instantly.
*If ammonia is sprayed on spilled spess lube it neutralizes it.
*Put it on the surgery circular saw to make it cut [whatever] in surgery instantly.
*If borgs go too long (2 hours) without lube they get crusty and start making noises. Think the skeletons from Oblivion. That teeth-grindy noise.
*Makes the mint print an ~extra~ coin because EFFICIENCY.
*NPC Monkeys are strangely allergic to it, apply it to them to make them stand the fuck still and stop pushing and shoving. Sentient monkeys are immune to the hypnotism of lube.
*Space Carp are likewise allergic to lube and will not attack anyone splashed with it or cross over lubed tiles.

It's fun to think of these things, but a lot of them sound way too powerful. I'm not trying to make lube use almost mandatory, I'm trying to just think of ways we could use it without sending people on slippery slides into electrified grilles. Like I said before, we don't have a lot of heavy machinery - No massive drill presses or instances of large-scale systems with moving mechanical parts in general. A lot of those changes would make Chemistry just "im bored time to go splash the magic juice on everything electronic"

[Cuboos]

Momentary machine boots is the best idea i've heard for Space Lube. A lubed machine should be faster than mid level upgrades but slower than max level upgrade. (if possible).

It's important that players don't feel penalized for not using the lube, otherwise they would constantly seek it out and get agitated when they're unable to acquire it. Feeling like they need to have it would get in the way of other game features.

So, borgs speeding up momentarily while lubed might be a bad idea, if they didn't have it, then they'd feel like "slow borgs". Increased battery life on the other hand would be acceptable. A middle ground would be most acceptable. Lubed borgs would have an efficiency greater than high-cap power cell, but lower than hyper-cap power cell. Otherwise RnD wouldn't be needed anymore and everyone would switch to chemistry for upgrades.

Lubed item being unable to be picked up isn't a bad idea, as long as it's temporary. Lubing the disk could buy enough time to intercept the ops and have a chance at taking them down.

Lube doors being quiet when they're forced open is a great idea. Makes stealth more practical + more game play options.

One con about adding more features to Space Lub (if you can call it a con) is, if there's a legit reason to use lube, someone with bad intentions can get it easier without breaking into chemistry or arousing suspicion. Clown might still get sec called on him for asking for it, but a traitor scientist or engineer could go get some, have a legit reason to use it, then suddenly it's slip station 2015.

[Balut]

I like silent doors, un-pick-uppability, and temporary speed boosts for mechs and machines.

An hour is wwwwaayyyy too long for a lube-buff though, re: that one unrelated-to-the-above idea. It should be like ten minutes, maybe fifteen max, I think. That way, you can't just use one dose and then never care again.


Question: What are there between picks and drills? I think it might be cool if drills gained a digging-speed boost if lubed, since their motorized bits work better and less friction is generated on the bit or whatever. I think Shaft Miners have the normal drill as one of their initial ticket choices, right? Provided the lube-boost was significant enough, that could make the drill slightly more attractive in comparison with the charge-up mining space shotgun and the auto-pickup robro - would also vary stuff up a little if Shaft Miners might go and beg for lube at roundstart. Iunno about the possible effects that they might spend like five or ten minutes scoring lube instead of digging up minerals, but yeah.

As a possible balancey tradeoff, maybe the picks could be like, significantly cheaper and lower-tech to make, or something. Iunno, they're never made presently anyway, right.

[cedarbridge]

Personally, I'm more interested in the idea of machines degrading over time without maintenance work. Lube could be the go-to WD40 of spess chems to repair that mechanical degradation when the machine "gets stuck" or slows down. This would have the upshot of engineers having a minor routine task they can do when the station isn't exploding and the chef isn't blowing up his microwave.

[paprika]

The turbine requiring lube to turn consistently quickly would be another good one.

[Balut]

Personally, I'm more interested in the idea of machines degrading over time without maintenance work. Lube could be the go-to WD40 of spess chems to repair that mechanical degradation when the machine "gets stuck" or slows down. This would have the upshot of engineers having a minor routine task they can do when the station isn't exploding and the chef isn't blowing up his microwave.

That's just obnoxious busywork though, like clicking coins in stupid phone games. It's just an impediment to 'shit working properly' that is otherwise not interesting or rewarding.

Would also detract from the odd fun building project, because every so often people would bitch over the radio for 'fucking Engineering do your fucking job'.

And if that weren't the case, it certainly would be that everyone with swag that needs lube will come over, get lube, and bypass having to wait for Engineering to drop what they were doing and walk their ass all the way from wherever they were to click a thing with some lube. So, as an Engineering 'duty', it probably wouldn't actually be done by Engineering.

[cedarbridge]

Personally, I'm more interested in the idea of machines degrading over time without maintenance work. Lube could be the go-to WD40 of spess chems to repair that mechanical degradation when the machine "gets stuck" or slows down. This would have the upshot of engineers having a minor routine task they can do when the station isn't exploding and the chef isn't blowing up his microwave.

That's just obnoxious busywork though, like clicking coins in stupid phone games. It's just an impediment to 'shit working properly' that is otherwise not interesting or rewarding.

Would also detract from the odd fun building project, because every so often people would bitch over the radio for 'fucking Engineering do your fucking job'.

And if that weren't the case, it certainly would be that everyone with swag that needs lube will come over, get lube, and bypass having to wait for Engineering to drop what they were doing and walk their ass all the way from wherever they were to click a thing with some lube. So, as an Engineering 'duty', it probably wouldn't actually be done by Engineering.

Lets not kid ourselves. Those "fun building projects" are rarely done by engineers. They're done by greyshirts breaking into eva. "Obnoxious busywork" is what every other department does. Its called "their job."