<div style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:purple">Science</span> STARGÅTE <span style="font-family:'Impact'">Edition</span></div>

--- tags: Rework --- # <div style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:purple">Science</span> STARGÅTE <span style="font-family:'Impact'">Edition</span></div> <img width=100% height=160px src=https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/844329487998124084/868198346672717824/unknown.png/> <div style="text-align:center">making science fun™<br>Alternatively known as SciGate</div>  ## What is the purpose of this? Changing R&D to a more explorative focus. Instead of waiting for ~~paint to dry~~ automatic point generation, you go to different randomized locations to collect interesting, unique objects which then can be turned into several unique research effects. ### Basic gameplay loop Setup: Gather your team > Prepare and go in > Set up a small FOB Explore: Look for artifacts > Encounter problem > Solve > Get reward Return: Return to gate > TP to prep room > deliver artifacts to R&D Reset: Get equipment back > Get people back > Reroll location ## How it works: The machine works in-lore by generating a bluespace field around certain anomalous locations, then pulling the zone around the location into the bluespace dimension itself, allowing people to enter it via bluespace translocation fucklery. Once everyone is out, the location can be spat out into the real world again by the machine, resetting the Z-level. Doing this would cause the bluespace rift around the location to become unstable for several weeks, effectively locking people out of it for the rest of the round. The map border can simply be a thick bluespace mesh because of this! Do note that the machine only works because SS13 is located in a small region of space where spacetime is so very thin. This also explains why so many scientific advancements can be made in such a short time compared to the rest of the universe. Right before the shift the round starts at, NT finally delivered the last few bits of the gateway device. The exploration team gets access to a GPS pinpointer in case they get lost, and for corpse retrieval if they die. It's designed to point at either the gateway or other GPS signals. When the crew first enters the translocated zone, they'll arrive in a generally mostly-safe room, so they don't instantly fucking die on arrival. From there on out, they can explore the map. The map generally has several areas where people from certain departments could be needed. A room with no power would need an engineer on the exploration team, whereas a room filled with hostiles could be cleared by a sec officer armed with a weapon. If a non-security member of the exploration team wants a weapon, they can ask (and print at the science lathe) a bluespace field firing pin after a bit of research. The firing pin will not work unless it's located in the exploration map. Most maps will have puzzles, which when solved will often yield valuable objects, ranging from research items to loot. These puzzles are generally found as a side-objective in the map. Puzzles can range from being generally quick and simple, to long and complex, with their respective rewards. Each map is semi-randomized to keep the replayability high while also deterring against metagaming. The scanner also doesn't say what map it is! The teleporter will also be the gate at the other side, meaning that you (normally) can't be spat out away from the gate, leaving you with no return. ## Types of machines and devices The exploration gate: - Uses the sprite of the away gate. - Needs to be directly powered. - When powered up, allows teleportation to the zone and back. - The power is one-way, meaning that the gate might not be powered from the other end. - You can TP to a powerless gate, but not from it. - Can be constructed with a machine frame, plasma and a bluespace anomaly core. - Only one can be active on the station due to bluespace attunement. Gate console: - Tells the user if they want to fetch a location on a 15 minute cooldown. - A new location can instantly be fetched if the main objective has been secured. - Gives information on the gate itself. (power, cooldown time, e.t.c.) - Tells the user how many people are inside the current zone. - Only fetches a new location if there are no people in the zone. - When there's corpses in the zone, the console will not change zones unless authorized by the RD or higher only when the cooldown is up. Artifact pinpointer: - Only works when set up INSIDE the exploration zone. - Over time locates artifacts, increasing in accuracy as time goes on. - Requires 2 scanning modules, 2 capacitors and 1 glass sheet to make. - Scanning module upgrades shorten the time it takes to pinpoint. - Capacitors allow pinpointing of simultaneous objects. Handheld artifact pinpointer: (must be researched) - Goes off when it detects an artifact, while also giving a rough direction. - Artifacts in the user's inventory don't trigger it. Tracking pinpointer - Works like a nuclear disk pinpointer - Pinpoints different science GPS signals - Allows people to track down others who died in the zone. Science glasses now tell you if you're examining a research artifact. ## Types of zones and maps ### The break room: The gateway room will be replaced with a common break room, filled with generic break room items and whatnot. Helps with RP a little bit! ### The exploration room: The exploration room is generally close to the R&D laboratory, with both public access shutters and scientist access. The room contains every basic kind of equipment needed to traverse the zones including the gateway itself. ### Research and Development: R&D gets the addition of researching artifacts brought back from the exploration zone. It is here that these artifacts are (normally) broken down and turned into interesting data, allowing for new research and development methods. ### The exploration zones: - A Syndicate raiding ship, overtaken by something anomalous they stole from a NT transport. - Some artic outpost, anomalous readings coming from deep within... (With multiple Z levels? (multi-Z isn't supported on non-station levels?)) - An ancient battlefield including several shipwrecks in deep space, anomalous readings coming from one of the capital ships. - An unknown spaceship with a highly experimental redspace drive, drifting throughout space... (Doubles as classic sci-fi and an Event Horizon reference) - A highly advanced experimental AI satellite, crashed into some backwater swamp / jungle, worshipped by tribals. (Crew can fight the tribals. Most are simplemobs, the tougher ones are ghost controlled. Throw a non-aggressive scientist ghost role in here who can join the crew. Doubles as a way to convey liggers as actual sci-fi aliens instead of furfaggots) - A digsite deep underground on lavaland, excavating some of necropolis including what lies within... - Some arena, with the entry point being in a cage. The infiltrators will get seen as combatants with the ultimate price being a great anomalous artifact! (Give a commentator ghost role, along with a few combatant ghost roles! The commentator can join the crew if he wishes!) - An abandoned mining ship, with something anomalous dug up from the ground of the planet beneath... (Dead Space lol) - A fragment of Reebe, somehow spat out into our reality quite recently ago... (Clock cultist enemies, constructs and a salvage ship nearby. The salvagers can either lay claim to the fragment of Reebe or join up with the crew to beat back hostiles. Relations should really depend on how the crew engages in dialogue.) ## Findable research objects Minor artifacts - Often handheld items, easy to transport back to the station. - Relatively simple in pretty much everything. - The most common. Normal artifacts - Often corpses, machines and the like. Take a bit more effort to retrieve. - Can be a bit challenging to decode sometimes. - Somewhat common. Major artifacts - Often larger puzzle rewards, or gained after a good struggle. - Is gonna take a good while to fully decode. - Rare, expect some of them to arrive during a normal round however. Anomalous artifacts - The ultimate reward each zone leads up to. - Takes a great amount of work to fully decode. - Only one per exploration zone! Only expect multiple on longer rounds! ## Other Things The Curator can spot artifacts and reveal their general purpose just by examining them! He can also maybe find use for the artifacts that science isn't really interested in and put them where they belong; in a museum! Cult items found should be the real deal. Kinda gimmicky, but makes for interesting situations. Certain things should be in the admin log, such as: - Whenever someone deletes an exploration zone with revivable people inside it. # Idea zone How will research be done? Edge is working on a generic research overhaul where you can actually upgrade point generation, let's make this tie in and work well with his project. We could use the EXPERImentor as a way of decoding artifacts, allowing said artifacts to be used while also discovering their unique buff. The deconstructive analyzer could be used to "spend" these decoded artifacts into a buff! When a used up artifact is examined with science goggles, it will say that it has been researched and provides no more research value. For if you want to start a collection / recycle them into mats / bragging rights. When used in a deconstructive analyzer: Minor artifacts either: - give 75% progress to 2,5K tech nodes - give a temporary research speed bonus that totals for a single tech node Medium artifacts either: - give 3,75K points, 1,50 tech nodes, excess goes to random node - give a temporary research speed bonus that totals for 2 tech nodes Major artifacts either: - give 10k worth of research, excess going to random nodes - give a temporary research speed bonus that totals for 6 tech nodes - allow you to research 2 individual nodes at the same current speed Anomalous artifacts: - give 20k worth of research and reveal a unique tech node While also: - giving a temporary research speed bonus that totals for 6 tech nodes - allowing you to research 3 individual nodes at the same current speed --- Force players to wear bulky suits to protect them from the BS magic, until some research (something like a small shield generator you can pin on your uniform). << should we keep this? there's gonna be humanoid NPCs in exploration areas so it wouldn't make much sense... Tech available set according to the theme of the zone. e.g. medical facility has medical stuff, syndicate ship has weapon tech, etc. << of course we should keep the theme of the map in-line with the research artifacts, could probably spawn in specific artifacts only for those missions > There should be some kind of wearable camera available to science, for scientists to monitor volunteers going in. The camera could be destroyed with enough physical damage done to the person's head. Not sure if this is a good idea since people could abuse this on-station to catch antags. << I am completely fine with people abusing the cameras on station, though it should probably be glasses or something like that. > Should the selected zone be unchangeable until completed? I am thinking that completion should be done by nullifying an anomaly which keeps the "bubble" from collapsing. (after that you get a timer to get away from there) << I'm thinking of it instead being an anomaly, it should be a deliberately created bubble that has a timer perhaps? so you gotta get the tech then bug out before it collapses. and you can't go back to the same type until you clear a different tech type zone ^ oh that is a good idea actually, that could also allow changing how long it should take for researching everything. ^^ probably give a longer time to higher level zones. Personally, i'd go with a timer that allows you to change the level at will. (15 minutes until you can tell the console to fetch a new area) This way people can get more control over when they want a new mission entirely, and also allows for levels to have a lot more content since people can simply decide to explore it all if they'd like. Also helps with the total amount of playtime needed to discover all of it, keeping it fresh for longer. > Should exotic items be available? Stuff that is just plainly overpowered/doesn't really have a place elsewhere, etc. << maybe once you go to more high level ruins? << niche shit is always a good idea if it fits, plainly overpowered stuff i'd give a very, very low percentage of spawning and only capable of spawning at all in either the end room of the map or with completing larger puzzles > How to research? Ho w do resrch? ho Rserch?? << have a machine that gains insight into the workings of more advanced tech items that you steal? perhaps similar to the deconstructor but less gay and with more options? if you wear that scishitters will get strong things too fast, make it take time to decipher and catalogue the pieces? << having research generation mainly focused on the deconstructor sounds like a good idea, considering things brought back from the exploration zone can't be used ad infinitum that way. I was thinking about some kind of minigame that you have to do, but just not sure what kind of minigame. Actually maybe give each of the tech items a special type which has randomised steps you have to do. maybe make more advanced tech require preparation steps which are randomised and you have to figure the order out? ^^make a minigame based on the tech type researched? like one for bluespace, one for engineering, etc? that could work > player controller mobs at higher pop/ruin level? I think giving observers more stuff to do would be good, and adding ghost roles that don't require playing that well is also good. << perhaps both hostile and non-hostile mobs? like sort of researchers you can kidnap/convince to come with you/steal from and they have some good things to research? << agreed 100%, giving ghost roles to do something is always a good idea. Also helps to make the map itself feel alive. > this could help with mapping out the areas a bit https://github.com/tgstation/tgstation/pull/60401 The mapping part will likely contain spawners with a different level, then the generator will pick a certain amount of certain level items to add to the map. This will also be how the simple mob generator will work, you get spawners that have a level for the mob and higher level causes it to pick more dangerous mobs.