/tg/Station 13

Augmentations are one of my favorite things about robotics, but they feel a little bland in their current state. Sure, they give you more health and torso augmentations make you immune to xeno impregnation, but other than that they don't feel all that powerful. With dismemberment and robot limbs on the way, now is the perfect time to expand the augmentation system. I have a few ideas to make them a little more interesting

Do away with cyborg head augmentations and make them their own item. There could be several options for each type of augmentation, each with benefits and drawbacks. An arm augment could have a welding tool built in. Another might be shock resistant. Perhaps augmenting both legs with a certain type of augment makes it so you don't slip. Torso augments that let your body digest metal. There are no shortage of fun ideas for these. These would be tied to research levels, and could easily be balanced with research requirements, material costs, and the fact that somebody else has to attach them to you. Illegal augmentations could also be an option, requiring either illegal tech research or hacking the exosuit fabricator (wires could be introduced to it).

>what are cybernetic implants

i'm just waiting for the baleful eye implant

any day now

edit: also where are my fucking mechadendrites isn't this /tg/station seriously

The fact that aug'd parts have to be healed with wires and welders is kinda meh in execution, since you either have to augment your entire body (when you may only want a robotic arm or something, not to mention how long it takes to fully aug someone), or you have to carry around two sets of healing items in your medkit, one for your organic parts and one for your aug'd parts. If you got rid of that limitation, I'd be more inclined to use them here and there

Shaps wrote:The fact that aug'd parts have to be healed with wires and welders is kinda meh in execution, since you either have to augment your entire body (when you may only want a robotic arm or something, not to mention how long it takes to fully aug someone), or you have to carry around two sets of healing items in your medkit, one for your organic parts and one for your aug'd parts. If you got rid of that limitation, I'd be more inclined to use them here and there

Not happening.

1: makes no sense for chems or medicines to fix augments
2: there's got to be downsides to being auged (this and emp are fair downsides)

If anything, we could have a healing item that's capable of healing both, but at a reduce effectiveness:
Brute patch: 20-Organic only
Welder: 20-Robotic only
Nanopaste: 10-Both

and it'd be an RnD researchable or something.

Getting healed by wires and welders is metal as hell mang.

I feel like if you start giving augs powers that they should run on an internal battery or something.

Also if you feel augging takes tooooo long maybe we can make a sort of 'augging pod' which would work like a clone pod except it strips you of all that WEAK FLESH and replaces it with PERFECT MACHINE. Maybe all that left-over flesh can get sent to the chef too.

Augging takes a few minutes tops. If you can't sit still for that long, in exchange for becoming robocop tier robust, then too bad.

Remie Richards wrote:

Shaps wrote:The fact that aug'd parts have to be healed with wires and welders is kinda meh in execution, since you either have to augment your entire body (when you may only want a robotic arm or something, not to mention how long it takes to fully aug someone), or you have to carry around two sets of healing items in your medkit, one for your organic parts and one for your aug'd parts. If you got rid of that limitation, I'd be more inclined to use them here and there

Not happening.

1: makes no sense for chems or medicines to fix augments
2: there's got to be downsides to being auged (this and emp are fair downsides)

If anything, we could have a healing item that's capable of healing both, but at a reduce effectiveness:
Brute patch: 20-Organic only
Welder: 20-Robotic only
Nanopaste: 10-Both

and it'd be an RnD researchable or something.

Hah, you could call it omni-gel.

Anyway, yeah. Augmented arms to hold various items (maybe even a kind of revolving multitool) would be cool. A gun arm, or whatever.

Nanopaste is a thing on Bay, and used to repair just about any prosthetic as far as I know.

We could just steal that and apply it in a slightly broader fashion.

A tail augmentation (lizards only, must be researched first) that adds a robotic claw to your tail, allowing you to hold another object at any time. What can possibly go wrong?

The problem with nanopaste is that if it's used as standard medicine, it has to run out; and if it runs out, it probably shouldn't need a great deal of effort to make. What about a 'nanopaste applier' or something that runs off a cell (and so needs to be recharged)?

I was gonna say that nanopaste being quick to use up and easy to make wouldn't be much of a problem, but having a cell charger sounds even cooler

I once suggested a variety of job related augments that basically ran off a powercell. You can take the cell out and recharge it or swap it for a better cell of course. This were like engineers with augs would have full toolbelt as their hands,sec getting stun arms,aug mented lungs,etc,etc.

A non-disarmable stun baton would be fantastically useful.

Especially if you could spawn with augments for some other sort of trade off.

Cheimon wrote:A non-disarmable stun baton would be fantastically useful.

Especially if you could spawn with augments for some other sort of trade off.

No,bad.

PKPenguin321 wrote:>what are cybernetic implants

That's what I had in mind actually. Something like the implants we have, but with augmentations instead. We have a diverse array of implants, but augmentations are very bland.

Cheimon wrote:A non-disarmable stun baton would be fantastically useful.

Especially if you could spawn with augments for some other sort of trade off.

>what is a no-drop implant

guys this is nothing new, it's just that it's all behind a research wall

Luke Cox wrote:

PKPenguin321 wrote:>what are cybernetic implants

That's what I had in mind actually. Something like the implants we have, but with augmentations instead. We have a diverse array of implants, but augmentations are very bland.

honestly i'm sort of against this unless the augments are very, VERY obvious and non-concealable and have a serious downside, as the implants we currently have are pretty cool but also terribly unfair

PKPenguin321 wrote:

Luke Cox wrote:

PKPenguin321 wrote:>what are cybernetic implants

That's what I had in mind actually. Something like the implants we have, but with augmentations instead. We have a diverse array of implants, but augmentations are very bland.

honestly i'm sort of against this unless the augments are very, VERY obvious and non-concealable and have a serious downside, as the implants we currently have are pretty cool but also terribly unfair

They'd be highly obvious. Each one would have a distinct sprite, and you probably wouldn't be able to wear gloves with them. I'd argue that they would be a much more balanced way of implementing the implants we currently have. No-drop could be an arm augment with an easily identifiable appearance for example. Sec would know instantly if somebody has one. Examine text could show it too.

Maybe make metal foam heal augments? LOOK A CLOUD OF IRON THERE MUST BE A CYBORG INSIDE!

Cheimon wrote:A non-disarmable stun baton would be fantastically useful.

Especially if you could spawn with augments for some other sort of trade off.

This is called a stun glove. And we're never getting them back under any situation or guise.

Also letting people spawn with augments would lead to powergaming no matter how you try balance it.

Might make sense for say the captain. Guy is meant to be the pimpest human around.

Yeah, if each head of staff could choose to spawn with some department related augment (or, sure, just the captain) it might be fun and interesting.

Or it might be powergaming. I hadn't really thought about how baton-arms were stungloves, but if anyone could get away with one, it would be the HOS or captain. Plus it is quite severely worse than a stunglove if you then can't use that arm for anything else (assuming it's not some sort of retractable baton-hand).

Baton-arms aren't stungloves if they're obvious.

The problem with stungloves was that they were stunbatons nobody could see or detect in any way until you were on the ground going ";H-h-hee-eelp" while they ziptied you

Maybe a baton-arm would be like an armblade, except you need to wait a few seconds after extending it to use it? That way it's not immediately obvious they have one, but you're given a few seconds warning before ";H-h-heee-eelp".

Then again, everyone will take one if they're too good, so perhaps limit them somehow? (One available to the HoS when they join, maybe?)

I was entirely assuming they would take up an entire hand slot, which is a significant disadvantage. No way to use boxes within your hands all of a sudden.

Harmbaton the box until it opens

Cheimon wrote:I was entirely assuming they would take up an entire hand slot, which is a significant disadvantage. No way to use boxes within your hands all of a sudden.

In the case of tool augments, I imagined that they could be coded just like armblades. They take up a slot when they're active.

A neat (but sadly probably OP) augment/item would be power fists.

Toggle is on and your hands are occupied by FIST POWER, and you can punch with the power of a hulk.
Down side would be massive power drain - you'd only be able to use it a few times before draining even a high end cell.

I say it would be OP simply because hulk punch stuns, which is ggnore.

Can't you people think of something else other than weapons?

It's either robust or irrelevant.

Scott wrote:Can't you people think of something else other than weapons?

I've suggested tools, shock resistant hands, and torso augs that let you digest different stuff. There are a ton of things we could do.

Flashlight, pressure sealed body( none o' dat horrible pressure damage), extended capacity lungs. Heck just crack open a Shadowrun/Eclipse Phase book and you can find a lot of stuff there.

The one thing that needs to be worked out, and could also be used for balance, is the idea of multi-limb augmentations. Some augments would have to be applied to multiple limbs/areas to work. Most leg augments wouldn't make sense if you only apply them to one leg. Maybe augments that let you eat certain things need both head and torso augments.

Luke Cox wrote:The one thing that needs to be worked out, and could also be used for balance, is the idea of multi-limb augmentations. Some augments would have to be applied to multiple limbs/areas to work. Most leg augments wouldn't make sense if you only apply them to one leg. Maybe augments that let you eat certain things need both head and torso augments.

What about having an implant that requires the legs/torso/arms to be augd in order for it to work? Let's say you want to run faster, you would need the augd legs and the implant for it to work.

Killbasa wrote:

Luke Cox wrote:The one thing that needs to be worked out, and could also be used for balance, is the idea of multi-limb augmentations. Some augments would have to be applied to multiple limbs/areas to work. Most leg augments wouldn't make sense if you only apply them to one leg. Maybe augments that let you eat certain things need both head and torso augments.

What about having an implant that requires the legs/torso/arms to be augd in order for it to work? Let's say you want to run faster, you would need the augd legs and the implant for it to work.

What I'm proposing is essentially visible implants for each limb. Functionally, the augmentations are the implants. Right now, we have torso and head implants, but I feel like that system could be made much more robust. The current implants are completely invisible to other people, meaning that you're limited in what you can do if you want to avoid making anything unbalanced. Additonally, the present augment system is very limited, granting nothing but more durability and immunity to Xeno impregnation, which is only situationally useful. Implants have the benefit of providing a diverse array of effects, but are held back balance-wise by the lack of a visual indication. Current augmentations have clear visual indicators, but suffer from zero variety. It only makes sense that we merge these systems. Robotics augments that function like implants. Better balance, more variety, coolness factor, nice compliment to the coming dismemberment system


Also, I shamelessly plugged mentioned this idea in the dismemberment thread. I might put together an initial list of augmentations that could be considered, along with requirements and materials if this idea is feasible.

Been brainstorming a bit, and I came up with a few ideas. Arm-based augments would be toggled like armblades are in lings, and would occupy the hand slot while active. Some augments permanently occupy clothing spots


Medical
Syringe hand: A mechanical hand with extendable syringes. Activating it makes the item Can hold 40 units total, injects 10 at a time. When used with harm intent, needles inflict minor brute damage and have a small chance to cause bleeding. Fill it with mindbreaker toxin and be Scarecrow. Requires glass, medical research
Defribilator arms: Arm augments that can function as defribilators when activated. Requires both arms to be augmented to function. Could possibly deal burn damage if emagged limbs become a thing. Watch as people haplessly try to use them as stun gloves. Requires silver, bio and EMP research
Vital monitor: Torso implant that monitors your vital signs. Sends a distress signal over the medical headset channel with your present location. There's a catch though: the message won't be sent until you've spent 10 seconds in crit. Be brutally murdered faster than that and you're out of luck. Requires gold, silver, bio and EMP research

Engineering
Photoresistant eyes: A head implant that protects your eyes from welding. Also makes half-resistant to flashes, and negates the meson sensor's sensitivity to light. Requires uranium, engineering research
Plasma respirator: A gasmask that's grafted to your face and throat. Acts as a gas mask, and convertes a portion of plasma into oxygen (I was thinking 25%-50%). You'll still suffocate in plasma-filled hallways eventually, but it can be the difference between life and death. Provides some heat resistance. Permanantly occupies your mask slot. Will help you crash the station with no survivors if you're a big guy. Requires silver and plasma, bio, engineering, and plasma research

Science
Portable DNA scanner: Requires both the arm-mounted scanner and transmitter in the torso to work. When activated, you can scan a body with your arm, which takes several seconds. Great for field medics. Requires gold, uranium, EMP, medical, and bluespace research

Security
(note: all security augments require firing pins before they can be grafted on)
Reinforced torso: Makes your torso more durable all-around. Permanantly occupies all torso slots. Has a built-in jumpsuit. Requires diamond, plasma, materials, combat, EMP, and plasma research
Magnetic hands: Requires both arms to work. Keeps you from dropping items held in your hands. Would replace the current no-drop implant. Requires diamond, gold, silver, materials, EMP, engineering, and combat research
Grenade launcher: Launches either a flashbang or tear gas grenade from your arm. Not sure about capacity. Requires plasma, silver, uranium, combat, EMP, and engineering research

Misc
Buffer feet: Requires both legs to function. Lets you clean floors as you walk. No more janicart needed. Requires silver, bio and materials research
Honkmother's throat: Augments your vocal chords. Allows clowns to let out a deafening honk. Requires bananium, bio and engineering research, and a lack of basic empathy
Extinguisher: When toggled, functions as a fire extinguisher. Can be filed with various chemicals
Robotic limb: These are what you get when you're missing a limb. Can be augmented with any of the previously mentioned augments. Functions as a normal limb.
Steel gut: Requires the head and torso augments to work. Allows you to eat and digest metal, wires, and some metal-based items. Requires plasma, emp, materials, and bio research

Nuke Ops
(May as well put that shuttle surgery room to use. Obtained via uplink)
Machine gun arm: Morphs into a machine gun when activated.
Hacking arms: Utilizes the latest in Syndicate hacking techniques. Requires both arms. Allows you to rip open airlocks(even bolted ones) and shutters. Takes about 10-15 seconds and you're vulnerable while... hacking.

Luke Cox wrote:Been brainstorming a bit, and I came up with a few ideas. Arm-based augments would be toggled like armblades are in lings, and would occupy the hand slot while active. Some augments permanently occupy clothing spots


Medical
Syringe hand: A mechanical hand with extendable syringes. Activating it makes the item Can hold 40 units total, injects 10 at a time. When used with harm intent, needles inflict minor brute damage and have a small chance to cause bleeding. Fill it with mindbreaker toxin and be Scarecrow. Requires glass, medical research
Defribilator arms: Arm augments that can function as defribilators when activated. Requires both arms to be augmented to function. Could possibly deal burn damage if emagged limbs become a thing. Watch as people haplessly try to use them as stun gloves. Requires silver, bio and EMP research
Vital monitor: Torso implant that monitors your vital signs. Sends a distress signal over the medical headset channel with your present location. There's a catch though: the message won't be sent until you've spent 10 seconds in crit. Be brutally murdered faster than that and you're out of luck. Requires gold, silver, bio and EMP research

Engineering
Photoresistant eyes: A head implant that protects your eyes from welding. Also makes half-resistant to flashes, and negates the meson sensor's sensitivity to light. Requires uranium, engineering research
Plasma respirator: A gasmask that's grafted to your face and throat. Acts as a gas mask, and convertes a portion of plasma into oxygen (I was thinking 25%-50%). You'll still suffocate in plasma-filled hallways eventually, but it can be the difference between life and death. Provides some heat resistance. Permanantly occupies your mask slot. Will help you crash the station with no survivors if you're a big guy. Requires silver and plasma, bio, engineering, and plasma research

Science
Portable DNA scanner: Requires both the arm-mounted scanner and transmitter in the torso to work. When activated, you can scan a body with your arm, which takes several seconds. Great for field medics. Requires gold, uranium, EMP, medical, and bluespace research

Security
(note: all security augments require firing pins before they can be grafted on)
Reinforced torso: Makes your torso more durable all-around. Permanantly occupies all torso slots. Has a built-in jumpsuit. Requires diamond, plasma, materials, combat, EMP, and plasma research
Magnetic hands: Requires both arms to work. Keeps you from dropping items held in your hands. Would replace the current no-drop implant. Requires diamond, gold, silver, materials, EMP, engineering, and combat research
Grenade launcher: Launches either a flashbang or tear gas grenade from your arm. Not sure about capacity. Requires plasma, silver, uranium, combat, EMP, and engineering research

Misc
Buffer feet: Requires both legs to function. Lets you clean floors as you walk. No more janicart needed. Requires silver, bio and materials research
Honkmother's throat: Augments your vocal chords. Allows clowns to let out a deafening honk. Requires bananium, bio and engineering research, and a lack of basic empathy
Extinguisher: When toggled, functions as a fire extinguisher. Can be filed with various chemicals
Robot limb: There are what you get when you're missing a limb. Can be augmented with any of the previously mentioned augments. Functions as a normal limb.
Steel gut: Requires the head and torso augments to work. Allows you to eat and digest metal, wires, and some metal-based items. Requires plasma, emp, materials, and bio research

Nuke Ops
(May as well put that shuttle surgery room to use. Obtained via uplink)
Machine gun arm: Morphs into a machine gun when activated.
Hacking arms: Utilizes the latest in Syndicate hacking techniques. Requires both arms. Allows you to rip open airlocks(even bolted ones) and shutters. Takes about 10-15 seconds and you're vulnerable while... hacking.

I like all of this, there is so much potential to finally have useful and relevant augments.

Nuke ops should get a chainsaw aug.

Then take noslips and some antistun drugs and go full chainsawhands.

callanrockslol wrote:Nuke ops should get a chainsaw aug.

Then take noslips and some antistun drugs and go full chainsawhands.

Damn, how did I not think of this?

Luke Cox wrote: Hacking arms: Utilizes the latest in Syndicate hacking techniques. Requires both arms. Allows you to rip open airlocks(even bolted ones) and shutters. Takes about 10-15 seconds and you're vulnerable while... hacking.

"Stand back I am going to perform a manual override on this door."

Luke Cox wrote: Honkmother's throat: Augments your vocal chords. Allows clowns to let out a deafening honk. Requires bananium, bio and engineering research, and a lack of basic empathy

Hearty chuckle/10

A stomach/throat aug that let you swallow an item and regurgitate it later would be interesting, but I can't think of it being used for anything other than mischief/outright malice.

You could use it for voraphilia with a neckgrab.

DemonFiren wrote:You could use it for voraphilia with a neckgrab.

Y'know, when I was typing that up, I was thinking "It's only a matter of time before someone makes a vore joke about this idea", so kudos for going from 0-60 in a single post.

What can I say, Scones encouraged me to be more of a sick bastard.

EndgamerAzari wrote:

Luke Cox wrote: Honkmother's throat: Augments your vocal chords. Allows clowns to let out a deafening honk. Requires bananium, bio and engineering research, and a lack of basic empathy

Hearty chuckle/10

A stomach/throat aug that let you swallow an item and regurgitate it later would be interesting, but I can't think of it being used for anything other than mischief/outright malice.

Clowns and lawyers in a nutshell. Augs don't necessarily have to have practical functions. Some of them could just be for fun. It could be a good method of storing emergency supplies or hiding contraband.

You could even make tiers of augments/dependancies.

So with the honk throat for example (which if it worked like the mech honker would be hilariously strong), could require you to eat bananium to charge it, which cannot be eaten without the iron stomach thing.

Luke Cox wrote: Grenade launcher: Launches either a flashbang or tear gas grenade from your arm. Not sure about capacity. Requires plasma, silver, uranium, combat, EMP, and engineering research

AWWW YISSS
Better let people load it with a box :^)

lumipharon wrote:You could even make tiers of augments/dependancies.

So with the honk throat for example (which if it worked like the mech honker would be hilariously strong), could require you to eat bananium to charge it, which cannot be eaten without the iron stomach thing.

That would be a good way of implementing the multi-limb augments I had in mind. For example, the DNA scanner aug I had in mind listed an arm scanner and a torso transmitter. Instead, the torso could be a generic "transmitter" augment that works with several different augments.

kevinz000 wrote:

Luke Cox wrote: Grenade launcher: Launches either a flashbang or tear gas grenade from your arm. Not sure about capacity. Requires plasma, silver, uranium, combat, EMP, and engineering research

AWWW YISSS
Better let people load it with a box :^)

I was thinking only 1-2, maybe 3 max. It could get OP very quickly.

Okay, let's be real here.
We shouldn't add more implants like this to the game yet. This is mainly because they will almost never see use by antagonists, but almost always get used by security. I believe this is because of the removal of self surgery. Why would a medical doctor ever give an assistant any implant besides buffer feet or photo resistant eyes? They wouldn't. Now, would a medical doctor give the HoS an arm cannon and reinforced torso? Of course he would, why wouldn't he?
Either find a way to make these augments not require surgery somehow or bring back self surgery.

Really liking the implant ideas, though.

how dare u give something to security!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So they did remove self surgery! What kind of monster would do such a thing!? Probably the same one that got rid of being able to get SE's and other genetic information from the dead.

Also I'd like a neon hair aug please. Glowing hair in different colors.