How to make O2 masks have actual purpose

[Bluefoxfire]

As of right now, there's no real reason to ever use them over atmo suits. My solution is to create a new equip slot for them like the atmo and clothes have.

Each dupe can carry around a mask that they can pull out and use when their breath amount hits a threshold (should be a bit higher than the normal one for dupes to run to a breathable space) and put them away when they no longer need them. They would be able to equip both atmo and masks at the same time though dupes will prioritize using the suit O2 first. As for refilling the masks, there would still be the docks, but no checkpoints, as they'll just return the masks when they run low enough when job priorities let them. Same with picking them up when they are full again.

[The Plum Gate]

It's been mentioned before.

Maybe they will dispense with the station need and simply allow dupes to exchange masks at these docking ports. This would be a nice change in direction for it.

Otherwise, my main use of them is in the rockets as spare O2 sources.

[ghkbrew]

My only real complaint about O2 masks is that dupes still emit CO2 while wearing them. I was very upset when I tried to do an early game volcano tamer and my dupes nearly died by scalding from their own exhalations.

[SharraShimada]

3 hours ago, ghkbrew said:

My only real complaint about O2 masks is that dupes still emit CO2 while wearing them. I was very upset when I tried to do an early game volcano tamer and my dupes nearly died by scalding from their own exhalations.

This is working as i´ve expected them to work  They provide oxygen, but they dont collect exhale. Its like a divers equipment, and where do they exhale? Right, into the environment. It was designed to work as an inferior version to the atmo suit. Just oxygen, nothing more.

[Sasza22]

I think they do their job. They are a cheaper alternative to atmo suits. They could do it better though. For example if they accepted polluted oxygen. The old gas mask station worked with both clean and polluted oxygen. They would also be better if they would accept bottled oxygen instead o piped. It would simplify the setup a lot for the cost of extra labour. We badly need more buildings that accept bottled gasses (only ones currently are the gas bottle emptier and that one recreation station).

[marioespinho]

They are good as the "hamster wheels" of gas breathing. They work fine as an early game, poor man's atmo suit, specially if you start in swamp, since you can't really rush atmos. I use them a lot when i want to construct stuff in space early on and don't want to deal with dupes holding their breaths every 10 seconds.

[yopyop6]

 

3 hours ago, Sasza22 said:

They would also be better if they would accept bottled oxygen instead o piped

I agree. Maybe it could support both at the same time?

[Bluefoxfire]

I just realized that you can fill a number of the masks on docks then transfer them to a storage container aboard a command module. Then you can have your dupes equip them as needed, like if the o2 in the suits run out or you want to conserve the o2 in said suits.

I know you could just put a dock pre-filled on a rocket, but that has it's limits. 

[NewWorldDan]

3 hours ago, Bluefoxfire said:

I just realized that you can fill a number of the masks on docks then transfer them to a storage container aboard a command module. Then you can have your dupes equip them as needed, like if the o2 in the suits run out or you want to conserve the o2 in said suits.

I know you could just put a dock pre-filled on a rocket, but that has it's limits. 

I do exactly this with atmo suits.  When colonizing a new planet, I load up a storage unit with fully charged atmo suits.  When the suit runs out, it's back to the ship and find one that's fully charged to equip.  Easier than putting a dock and checkpoint into the ship itself.  Kind of.

[spkthed]

I really like them. It's a nice balance - currently lead and atmo suits have an interplanetary gap for a starting world and that may expand. The CO2 thing is annoying, but that's a tradeoff that encourages progression which again is nice.

Didn't they used to be bottled-only? I remember that being a hassle - prefer the current approach - or maybe let both be an option?

[Sasza22]

1 minute ago, spkthed said:

Didn't they used to be bottled-only? I remember that being a hassle - prefer the current approach - or maybe let both be an option?

Before there was a machine that sucked nearby oxygen and produced masks that dupes dropped after use. It created vacuums, used up ore and littered the place with unusable masks. Current design is more clean but requires a similar setup to atmo suits but without the resource requirements.

[pether]

9 hours ago, Sasza22 said:

Current design is more clean but requires a similar setup to atmo suits but without the resource requirements.

KLEI made a step in right direction, but I'd love to see current mask stations to suck oxygen from surrounding...

[ChrisPBacon000]

The masks seem like the kind of thing you set up before starting a project in toxic environment. And I could get behind this niche application if only the masks had GOGGLES too.

They're borderline useless in my mind because almost every situation where you need portable air you also run the risk of eye irritation and your dupes end up rubbing their eyes and slowing down despite having the portable air. 

Maybe if this aspect was changed so that the masks included eye protection I could see setting them up before starting a new project, particularly if you don't have reed fiber or oil/dreckos for plastic. 

[FSharpDotNet]

what drives me crazy is having any suited dupes with these oxygen stations, can't get suited dupes to just use their suits and ignore these stations, while making unsuited dupes put them on. If a suited dupe goes in, they drop their suit when they hit this station. The two systems fight in really annoying ways.