Typical Tuesday Suggestions: Megacorps Ultratechnology
Added 2023-09-05 16:30:21 +0000 UTCHello everyone and welcome to a post in which I actually want to listen instead of talk.
That's right. I need your help, and considering half of you puts unbelievable amount of hours into the game, I think you will be able to provide me with extremely valuable feedback.
As some of you have noticed, VFE-Megacorps has three storytellers. This is to represent the three major segments of the mod - while seamless to the player, these segments help us evolve the mod in three distinct directions.
First segment is that of military recreation - stacks and combat sleeves, ultratech weaponry, deadly skirmishes occuring in Arkology and outside of it, where rich and powerful wear their organic avatars, almost Gamer (2008) starring Gerard Butler-style.
Second segment is that of the wicked dinosaur disneyland, where guests can travel through the restored ancient biomes and witness the beauty and marvel of genetic engineering and gene restoration.
The third segment, and the one I'd like to talk to you about, is technology. You can't really have an Ultratech mod without a focus on technology, and our goal is to provide a lot of this technology to the player. I know how badly you want your super-advanced high-tech bases, and I believe this is the right opportunity to give you some new, ultratech solutions to old problems.
We want you to not only be able to build all that cool tech stuff yourself, but also to witness it in full might when you inevitably decide to raid Arkology resorts. Run around fancy hotels stealing glowing blue tech - I know you're all about it.
I came up with an initial list of ideas for things I think players would appreciate, but this is also your moment to give me ideas what you would like to see.
Make sure to explain why you want something specific. For example:
Biolab sunlamp: A massive sunlamp covering a huge area, with built-in heaters for temperature control. Why? Because I think ultratech society should have some better ways of growing crops.
And now here's my list. Please note that it doesn't mean these things will be added, or that they will be added exactly as I wrote them down. These are mere ideas at this stage.
- Power connector - a special 1x1 ‘generator’ that looks like a power box, with sockets. It’s meant to represent the connection to the main underground conduit system under the megacorporation complexes. It provides huge amounts of power but cannot be used to refill batteries. Players cannot build them. Instead, we will use them throughout KCSG structures of the ultratech resort to power various power-hungry appliances.
- Antimatter - a brand new extremely volatile resource which cannot exist outside of the antimatter containment. It’s extremely efficient and can be used for variety of different things. It’s moved around in temporary containment shells - and that’s how it looks in an item form. Players wanting to store it permanently need to do so in special Antimatter containment buildings.
- Antimatter Generator - A large generator unit reminiscent of the standard power generators. Turns a grain of anti-matter into large amounts of power. It needs to have a visible containment chamber where antimatter is stored. It needs to be surrounded by Psychic suppressor to suppress antimatter. The more antimatter is stored, the more volatile a containment building like that becomes. Players can specify the maximum amount of antimatter stored.
- Depending on the amount of antimatter stored in such a containment building, it may need more or less psychic suppression.
- If Psychic suppression is too low, anti-matter might become unstable. Antimatter becomes more red the more unstable it is. That’s why it’s important that every building accepting anti-matter has a visible tank with it. If antimatter reaches critical stability, it will detonate.
- If Psychic suppression is too strong, anti-matter might decay at faster speed. Decay is essentially anti-matter breaking down. If antimatter fully decays, it fizzles away into nothing.
- If correctly suppressed, antimatter is an infinite unit.
- Generates more power the more antimatter is in it.
- Antimatter Generator has a gizmo to take antimatter away from it.
- Antimatter Generator generates high-voltage power.
- Psychic suppressor - A special structure that provides psychic suppression in a small radius. Psychic sensitivity drops for anyone in that radius. These structures need to be placed around the Antimatter containment building in order to suppress antimatter. Each of them has an adjustable power level which changes power drain and psychic suppression strength. Psychic suppressor uses standard electricity, not Volts.
- Solar shield is a small structure similar to low shields and high shields, that protects nearby electrical buildings from the effects of solar flare. Needs to be connected to High-Voltage conduits.
- Ultra high-shield projector - a 1x1 structure that can be activated to project a high-shield in a decent radius around it. Needs to be connected to High-Voltage conduits. Only draws Volts when it’s activated.
- Ultra low-shield projector - a 1x1 structure that can be activated to project a low-shield in a decent radius around it. Needs to be connected to High-Voltage conduits. Only draws Volts when it’s activated.
- High-voltage conduit - a new type of conduit, high-voltage conduits are required to connect various devices from this mod to the Antimatter Generator.
- High-voltage converter - a special structure that turns high-voltage electricity into standard electricity. It is effectively a generator which needs to be fueled with High-voltage power in order to output standard power.
- High-voltage electricity uses ‘V’ as the symbol. V stands for Volts.
- High-voltage battery - a new, powerful battery that stores high-voltage electricity. It is effectively a ‘tank’ that stores high voltage electricity resource.
- EMI emitter - an ultratech device that shuts down all electricity in radius when active. The area affected should have some visible electricity static, perhaps taken from Staticlord path in Vanilla Psycasts Expanded. Shuts down shield belts, turrets and mechanoids. Needs to be connected to High-Voltage conduits. Only draws Volts when it’s activated.
- Ultracomputer - A very large supercomputer that generates research points towards currently selected project automatically. By default, it generates 4 research points per hour, but overclocking gizmo allows the player to increase the speed of research even up to 16 points per hour. Overclocking increases the heat generated by the supercomputer, as well as Volts-drain. Needs to be connected to High-Voltage conduits.
- Ultrafabricator - A powerful, ultratech device capable of fabricating various end-game objects. Allows the production of healer mech serums, antigrain warheads etc. It is effectively an ultratech workbench. Needs to be connected to High-Voltage conduits.
- Biolab - A 3x3 structure that acts as both a heater and a sun lamp. Emits a huge amount of extremely powerful light that allows to grow crops. Built-in powerful heaters also help maintain proper temperature. Needs to be connected to High-Voltage conduits.
- Ultrabed and Double Ultrabed - very high tech beds that not only provide extreme comfort, but also replenish rest at a much faster rate. They should look high-tech, and have some sort of unique shape that’s not just a rectangle.
- Ultracinema Screen - a very large TV screen that creates a large watch area, like a cinema. Needs to be connected to High-Voltage conduits.
- Wind ultraturbine - A square wind turbine that produces small quantities of high-voltage power.
- Solar ultragenerator - A large solar panel that only provides high-voltage electricity, and only in small quantity.
- Geothermal ultragenerator - A powerful generator that generates power from the crust of the planet. Generates high-voltage electricity, and not too much of it.
- Geothermal laser bore - A strong laser device that over a long period of time creates a hole in the planet and essentially spawns a geothermal vent. It’s the same size as a Geothermal generator is. It requires a lot of high-voltage power and has a progress bar. Once the hole is dug, it can be uninstalled and moved somewhere else. Needs to be connected to High-Voltage conduits.
- It has a chance to trigger an infestation while it works.
- Climate adjuster - A large ultratech device that is able to slowly impact the local climate. It requires large amounts of high-voltage electricity. Players can select several different operations using a gizmo - either increase temperature, decrease temperature or change biome. Depending on the operation, it takes more or less time. If the process is interrupted due to power cut, the progress goes backwards. Needs to be connected to High-Voltage conduits.
- Dreamcaster - Similar to sleep accelerator. When adjacent to a bed, it shows a special effect on a sleeping pawn. Makes it so sleeping also recharges Recreation.
- Fuse - an ultratech device set to intercept any Zzzt events and save the colony from explosions caused by it. Potentially a 1x1 or 1x2. Absorbs some, but not all, of released electricity.
Please do let me know what you'd add! You don't have to write down too many details - leave actual implementation design to me. I need to know what you'd see added, and most importantly WHY. I don't want to add stuff for the sake of adding stuff.
Lightsabers. Why? Because they're cool.
NO.
Comments
Two technologies which could be implemented as ultracomputer functionalities or seperate items (ultra-transmitters): 1. Hacking enemy turrets and mechanoids - the transmitted signal allows you to temporarily take over enemy automated defenses and turn them against your enemies. Basically the technomancer's "haywire" skill from VPE, but with a fixed duration/cooldown and with unlimited range (using "haywire" with VPE usually requires getting within firing distance of the turret). Making an item with this functionality would essentially make it a non-psychic psyring - a simpler solution, but essentially a copy of VPE. As an ultracomputer functionality: Somewhat similar to Gestalt Engine from Reinforced Mechanoids 2 (allows permament "hacking" (capture) of hostile mechanoids with unlimited range on local map, adds them to your faction). This however would be temporary and could be also used against turrets. The size of the area covered/number of simultaneous targets/duration would increase with each ultracomputer "overclocking" (at the cost of drastically increased Volt consumption and heat produced). Most importantly, although a bit more technically challenging, this ability, which would require a working ultracomputer in your base, should be available on all generated maps. Perhaps instead of adding a gizmo to the ultracomputer, there could be a neuralink implant that would add a gizmo to the pawns? It would be amazing if turret hacking was actively used by the hostile megacorp faction against the player: either as an aforementioned item that enemy pawns would be equipped with, or as an event/game condition/unique raid strategy, during which periodically random player's turret or mechanoid would get temporarily hacked. Considering that this faction's distinguishing feature is its technological superiority over the player and other rimworld factions, using technological solutions (cyberattacks / bioweapons?) against the player (rather than simply sending out unending waves of cannon fodder) seems to fit this theme. 2. Clearing the Fog of War - item/ultracomputer hacks into the megacorporation's orbital surveillance systems to reveal the entirety of the local map. It would allow for a more accurate assessment of the loot and enemy forces, and their movements when raiding a settlement or on a quest map. ----------------------------------------- 3. Building: force field generator. Activated with a gizmo, creates a line of force field single-tiled impassable objects in front of itself, similar to Wall Rise from VPE or Hex Shield from Rim-Effect. Can be used to block main corridors of your base when under attack or isolate some areas in the case of an infestation. Draws a huge amount of Volts when active.
2023-09-08 12:51:04 +0000 UTCSimilar to the indoctrination pod from VFE - mechanoids, a pod that recruits (or enslaves) people over time. Why? Megacorps' actions are sometimes not so very moral, and their workers sometimes need to be "reminded" who they work for when they seem to disagree with what the higher ups are doing
2023-09-07 17:18:52 +0000 UTCA new ideology structure or style so you can maintain that ultratech aesthetic throughout your whole base. Techist style doesn't quite do that and looks more spacer than ultra-tech. Something cleaner than techist, with a style similar to that of the power armors. White, clean, polished, shiny.
Félix Dubois
2023-09-06 15:02:30 +0000 UTC
