Ordnance Content Update: Scientific Papers

[vincentiusvin]

How do I play/test/operate this?

1. Download NT Frontier on any modular computers. It should debrief you on what experiments are available and how to publish.
2. If you want to do a bomb experiment, make sure it's captured by the doppler array (as usual) and then print the experiments into a disk and publish it.
3. If you want to do a gas experiment, make the gas and either pump it into a tank and 1) overpressurize it with a "clear" gas like N2 or 2) overpressurize tanks with the gas itself. Make sure you do the overpressurizing in the compressor machine. When tanks are destroyed/ejected leaked gas will get recorded. Print it into a disk and publish it.
4. For publication, the file needs to be directly present inside the computer's HDD. This means you need to copy it first with the file manager.
5. Fill the data (if desired, it will autofill with boiler plate if you dont) and send away!
6. Doing experiments unlock nodes, while doing them well unlocks boosts (which are discounts but slightly more restrictive) which are purchaseable with NT Frontier.
7. If you are testing this and have access to admin tools, there are various premade bombs under obj/effect/spawner/newbomb

About The Pull Request

A doc I wrote detailing the why and what part of this PR.
https://hackmd.io/JOakSYVMSh2zU2YL5ju_-Q
TLDR: Added new experiment to toxins, added the framework for those experiments existing. Experiments comes in gas synthesis and also bombs but with more parameters. Experiments needs to be published through papers, various choices to be made there.

• Combine implosion compressor and bomb processor into one.
• Make the UI up to standard.
• Add a sprite for the compressor.
• Map changes.

Codersprites

They're not very good but they're serviceable at least.

Doppler malf ban he

small change but i couldn't resist making the joke

Implementation notes:
Because of how paper works, ordnance experiments are handled outside of experiment_handler components. My reasoning for this is twofold:

1. The experiments will be completed manually on publication and if the experiment isn't unlocked yet it will still be completed.
2. Experiment handler datums have several procs which require an atom-level parent, and I figured this is the most sensible and cleanest way to implement this without changing the experiment handler datum too much.
   I won't mind changing this if requested by a maintainer.

Small change to /obj/machinery/proc/power_change() signal ordering to adjust the state first and then send the signal. Didn't found any other usage of this signal except mine but barge down my door if it broke something.

Rewrote the ttv merge_gases() code to be slightly more readable.
A small code improvement for thermomachine to use tofixed (my fault).

Why It's Good For The Game

Adds content to ordnance, more experiments, more variety.
More sensible learning curve, better player feedback.
Pretty much refer to my hackmd for a more substantial justification.

Changelog

🆑
add: Ordnance have been updated to enable the publication of papers
add: Several new explosive and gas synthesis experiments have been added to ordnance
add: Anomaly compressor has been TGUIzed and now supports simulating the reaction of the gases inside the ttv.
add: New tank compressor machine for toxins. You can overpressurize tanks with exotic gases and complete experiments.
balance: Several techweb nodes are locked and require toxin experiments to complete.
balance: Toxins can purchase boosts for various techweb nodes.
balance: You no longer need to anchor doppler arrays for it to work.
qol: Doppler array and implosion compressor now supports deconstruction, implosion compressor construction added.
qol: Doppler now emits a red light to denote it's direction and it being on. Doppler not malf.
code: Implosion compressor renamed to anomaly refinery.
code: Created a new program tab "Science" for the downloader app. Removed Robotics.
refactor: Reworked the code for bombspawner (used in the cuban pete arcade game)
/:cl:

UI:

Tank Compressor

Publisher

Doppler

Detonation Chamber / Anomaly Compressor

[Fikou]

sexy

[bobbah]

simply brilliant

[Sealed101]

glorious
might wanna tweak the initial research cost of the nodes you've applied discounts for, though. more incentive to actually do the experiments or scream at toxins men to do their job.
also, are there any IC manuals for gas synthesis recipes? having some would be a huge help, most people don't even know how to use an experi-scanner in the first place, let alone gas synthesis

[vincentiusvin]

glorious might wanna tweak the initial research cost of the nodes you've applied discounts for, though. more incentive to actually do the experiments or scream at toxins men to do their job. also, are there any IC manuals for gas synthesis recipes? having some would be a huge help, most people don't even know how to use an experi-scanner in the first place, let alone gas synthesis

Good suggestion. I plan to add tooltips later down the line.

[Sealed101]

tooltips

the experi-scanner argument still applies, though that is a problem with the system itself. might do something about this in a bit

[Lauwma]

Stop rewarding science with discounts, reward them with raw points. We don't care about discounts, most of the time the tech is already done so we don't benefit from doing things.

Stop rewarding science with discounts.

[Sealed101]

speak for yourself, discounts are effectively equal to research points, as you can save up the discounted points for other tech or spend it on a different node altogether. it takes two people to blast through most of the experiments in under 20 minutes.
also active point generation is pretty much a no-no by design, so tough luck

[Farquaar]

This could be big

[Stalkeros2]

Okay, this is epic.

[Lauwma]

speak for yourself, discounts are effectively equal to research points, as you can save up the discounted points for other tech or spend it on a different node altogether. it takes two people to blast through most of the experiments in under 20 minutes. also active point generation is pretty much a no-no by design, so tough luck

Discounts are not equal to research points because you can spend researchs points wherever you want, when you want. Sometimes when you late join all techs have been done without discounts and there's pretty much no reasons to do the experiments.

Active points generation on a one time experiment is not a no-no, you should read experi-sci design doc again, they're talking about passive generation and repeatable active generation.

Discounts are good, too much discounts are bad, stop giving more discounts period.

I will also add that it takes one bitch ass to ruin all your experiments by researching things while you do the scans

[optimumtact]

Active points generation on a one time experiment is not a no-no, you should read experi-sci design doc again, they're talking about passive generation and repeatable active generation.

Incorrect, experi-sci is designed to be a complement to the techweb and passive point gen.

Discounts are okay, but not what i'd like to see, ultimately my goal was that nearly every node would require an experiment to unlock and we could step away entirely from points.

they exist only because we had to compromise for low pop and also people need to get time to get used to having to do experiments to unlock things on the web.

[LemonInTheDark]

Initial review for code sanity, didn't go all the way.

[LemonInTheDark]

Just a few minor things, think I'll send it after this

[LemonInTheDark]

[optimumtact]

ordinance

[TheBonded]

Woo implants and T4 lasers are now locked behind atmospherics lets goo!!

[Iamgoofball]

fucking based let's goooooooooo

[Draggeru]

Tier 4 lasers are now locked behind gasses toxins cannot make, you need to adjust the gasses to gasses toxins can feasibly get with their access.

[Draggeru]

Additionally: Toxins is now stealing xenobios BZ about every round, believe it or not BZ is actually useful for xenobiology. Toxins either needs a way to obtain the gasses you are making them fetch within their space or give them atmos access. Im sick of having my xenobio rounds ruined because of toxins.

[MaineTheMan]

Tier 4 lasers are now locked behind gasses toxins cannot make, you need to adjust the gasses to gasses toxins can feasibly get with their access.

this

[ghost]

We also cant make the compressor machine boards. In the event that the compressor is exploded or destroyed, were screwed,
For reference, We can make tachyon-doppler array boards, for example.

[vincentiusvin]

Can't make nob

It's possible without any help from atmos. I've done it before. Maybe a holofan would be in order though. Not my highest priority, you can simply ask atmos for it.

BZ for xenobio.

The experiments don't actually consume the BZ, or any gas for that matter. You can request that it be repacked into a canister, or that the compressor be moved to xenobio, with the stasis chamber injector right at the waste port. Of course toxin players won't always do this, but I really want to keep the roundstart BZ scarcity we currently have.

I like atmos, toxins, and xenobio having to race for it and then taking the whole cake, while in reality there is probably enough for everyone. Makes you appreciate those who want to go above and beyond and actually repack them. It being pretty easy to produce is also another plus, so no one is really gimped.

But of course that's just my opinion, goes without saying that if other people disagree and they have maints willing to back them, more BZ can be added.

Nitrium for implants.

Yeah, I agree this is a bit iffy. It was made when nitrium was nitryl, a much easier gas to make. I wanted to remove it but decided against it at the last moment, Lets give it some time and see if the players manage yeah? A PR opened to revert this would probably go through if in a few months or weeks folks still haven't. I have a reaction lookup PR up though so hopefully that might help a bit.

As for the rest of the issues, ill try and get to it right away. Thanks a lot folks.

[vincentiusvin]

A bit of addendum on the nitrium one.

Click me for graph

This does influence my opinion on the topic a bit. It's by no means a "gotcha" graph or anything of the sort. The nodes might be the ones without experiments or cheaper ones, but i hope you will still agree with the conclusion. It takes time for people to actually play with a new mechanic. Even if nobody understands how to make the gases right now, doesn't mean they still won't in a few months.

Just look at how it takes most servers a few months to readjust to expersci and pretty much go back to very similar levels as before.

[optimumtact]

Why is one axes labelled 7 days? is that the time period for a single point? or the entire graph?

[TheBonded]

Why is one axes labelled 7 days? is that the time period for a single point? or the entire graph?

im not vince but it seems like the numbers at the bottom correspond to the number of weeks over the years of 2020 and 2021

[MetalClone]

This is super unintuitive, and with how slow science players are normally, these experiments rarely ever get done now, even rarer than when they were just locked-behind normal explosive experiments. I notice a lot of these PR's made by atmospheric technician players tend to assume the round goes on long enough for people to have time to do these things.

[optimumtact]

do some of these experiments then

[Draggeru]

These changes have rendered tritium more suspicious when someone goes to create it since its a gas not required to unlock nodes, change nitrium to tritum so trit farming can still be useful and antagonists that want to make bombs can have an actual guise to use. Sure you can say it's for core refining but nobody uses trit for core refining. Anyone who sees trit collection in play is going to be suspicious.

[vincentiusvin]

Trit is used directly for nob bombs, isolated hydrogen, the most common high yield, and maybe some more. and indirectly it's used for nitrium and nob shells. 🗿
It's used for pretty much everything.