Make dirt dirty (again) - multiple germ ideas in one place

[Sasza22]

Dirt is too clean. Food poisoning only multiplies in polluted dirt and polluted water. It should at least survive on dirt. The starting dirt could be sterile but touched by germy hands should let the germs survive inside. It would make sense to clean hands after working at the farm.

Compost works based on microbes breaking down organic waste. No way you can eat something after touching that. It should produce food poisoning as well (in large numbers). Rotting food should do the same.

As for slimelung it is easy to manage at times. My idea is for it to die slower in clean oxygen or not die at all. Instead there should be a building that removes germs from air around itself.

The air sterilizer would require power and bleach stone. It would kill all germs around fast but have an large negative decor impact. (meant for earlygame use).
A similar structure could be used to clean water, but should require more power or maybe could be only usable when connceted with pipes.

A later alternative could ae an UV lamp. Would work like a normal lamp but use more power (120W). Germs would die in the lit area but dupes could get sunburn as well. Might be combined with glass pipes to clean water more effciciently.

Another thing is a biohazard suit. It would work like an atmo suit with a similar odkc setup but wouldn`t require oxygen input. It would be constructed at the textile loom out of reed fiber and bleach stone. A dupe wearing it could breath germy oxygen without getting infected by any germs. It would essentially stop germs before they enter the dupe`s lungs.

New disease types (from a post below).

Quote

Ok time for new germ types. To not overlap too much the germs are tied to different enviroments:

1. Ice Soma - The germ likes cold areas and multiplies in clean oxygen. Survive on ice and snow as well as in CO2. Wheezeworts produce it slowly while cooling gasses around. The germ dies above 25^oC so your base won`t get contaminated easily. Infected by inhaling. Sick dupes fall asleep 3 times as often as narcoleptic dupes. Reduces stamina to compensate the extra sleep time. Nonlethal but can lead to hypothermia. Could use a blue color.

2. Drecko Itch - A germ produced by dreckos. It lives under their scales so dupe can still get infected even if dreckos are in chlorine enviroment. Grooming or sheering a drecko puts a static amount of germs on the dupe. Germs multiply on phosphorite and reed fiber. Dupes get infected when covered in germs. A fraction of the germs covering them gets into their system. Might be modified by grimy/showered buffs. Infected dupes scratch themselves every few seconds, making them waste time. Nonlethal. Could use the red color. (I fear it will lead to everybody using atmo suits for drecko ranches so i`m not sure about that one).

3. Cosmic Frenzy - A germ from space. As one it doesn`t die to anything except chlorine, bleach stone and manual disinfecting as well as extreme temperatures (-200 - +300^oC range). Will multiply on solids. Space materials can come covered in it based on the destination (further are more likely to be contaminated and contain more germs). Dupes can get infected by all posible ways (getting covered, consuming, inhaling). When sick they will do a destructive reaction damaging random stuff around and spreading germs to it. It will happen once or twice a cycle but last shorter than an usual destructive dupe getting stressed (about 15-20s). Lethal. Maybe violet color. Should be a lategame danger. Analyzing planets should give a warning about the germs.

I have to think about beneficial germs. I`ll try to come up with something later. Also no germs in the oil biome since dupes move in atmo suits there anyway so they wouln`t matter 90% of the time.

 

[lunazone]

I'd love germs to be fleshed out, because right now they're just an early game roadblock

[Neotuck]

On the topic of germs being fleshed out, what about pufts being slimelung producers?

Currently they don't produce or even transfer germs from the PO2 into slime, despite the germ overlay showing them as a germ source

Also what about sinks?

Currently a sink fed with germy water will wash germs off a dupe.  We once thought this was an explote but it was never corrected

[Sasza22]

32 minutes ago, Neotuck said:

Currently a sink fed with germy water will wash germs off a dupe.  We once thought this was an explote but it was never corrected

Sinks definetly need to be adressed. Showers as well.

I also think germs should spread between different phases like from water to solid. Stuff in germy water should be germy as well. Also the tiles should take some germs. Maybe they should have a transfer speed similar to heat transfer so different tiles could get infected with different speeds (plastic insulating from germs perfectly). And of course transfer from liquid to dupes passing through it.

[Neotuck]

What about beneficial germs?

Most elements in the game have both positive and negitive impacts to game play depending how they are used.

Currently germs are negitive only

[lunazone]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6

6 hours ago, Neotuck said:

What about beneficial germs?

Most elements in the game have both positive and negitive impacts to game play depending how they are used.

Currently germs are negitive only

I love this idea, it'd be neat as well to bioengineer positive germs to add into the colony based on recipes,

[Sasza22]

Ok time for new germ types. To not overlap too much the germs are tied to different enviroments:

1. Ice Soma - The germ likes cold areas and multiplies in clean oxygen. Survive on ice and snow as well as in CO2. Wheezeworts produce it slowly while cooling gasses around. The germ dies above 25^oC so your base won`t get contaminated easily. Infected by inhaling. Sick dupes fall asleep 3 times as often as narcoleptic dupes. Reduces stamina to compensate the extra sleep time. Nonlethal but can lead to hypothermia. Could use a blue color.

2. Drecko Itch - A germ produced by dreckos. It lives under their scales so dupe can still get infected even if dreckos are in chlorine enviroment. Grooming or sheering a drecko puts a static amount of germs on the dupe. Germs multiply on phosphorite and reed fiber. Dupes get infected when covered in germs. A fraction of the germs covering them gets into their system. Might be modified by grimy/showered buffs. Infected dupes scratch themselves every few seconds, making them waste time. Nonlethal. Could use the red color. (I fear it will lead to everybody using atmo suits for drecko ranches so i`m not sure about that one).

3. Cosmic Frenzy - A germ from space. As one it doesn`t die to anything except chlorine, bleach stone and manual disinfecting as well as extreme temperatures (-200 - +300^oC range). Will multiply on solids. Space materials can come covered in it based on the destination (further are more likely to be contaminated and contain more germs). Dupes can get infected by all posible ways (getting covered, consuming, inhaling). When sick they will do a destructive reaction damaging random stuff around and spreading germs to it. It will happen once or twice a cycle but last shorter than an usual destructive dupe getting stressed (about 15-20s). Lethal. Maybe violet color. Should be a lategame danger. Analyzing planets should give a warning about the germs.

I have to think about beneficial germs. I`ll try to come up with something later. Also no germs in the oil biome since dupes move in atmo suits there anyway so they wouln`t matter 90% of the time.