robots

[sundial]

maybe add a late-game machine that makes robots, which are basically duplicants except with certain limitations and quirks?

not sure what limitations/quirks, that should probably be left up to the people who are developing the game and know what's hard to implement and what isn't.

[CrutchPunk]

As a vague concept, I really like the idea of robots. It's a step farther from automation and allows for a more self sustaining base/colony.

My only question/issue is this.... right now (and for the foreseeable future) all the Dupe's do.. all day, every day.... is work... there's no leisure activities... no down time, or "fun"... so... if robots took over their only jobs.. you'd have a base full of "idle" dupes, which seems to kind of defeat the whole purpose of the entire game.

[alficles]

I don't know that robots are the strongest feature you could add to the game, but I think there could be a place for them. I see a few niches for robots. First, you are correct that robots shouldn't replace dupes. Dupes are versatile, robots shouldn't be. So I think robots should probably be fairly slow and their job should be set for them when they are created. Robots should need to charge, but it should be on-demand, not scheduled like dupes. This will allow a clever person to "cover shifts" to allow uninterrupted productivity on some tasks, even at night.

Some specific robots I can see constructing from a special "robot menu":

Octobot: A fairly slow (maybe half the speed of an unathletic dupe) robot with eight arms. The only tasks an octobot can perform are "sweep", "deliver", and "harvest". What an octobot lacks in speed, it makes up for in strength: an octobot can carry easily ten times the weight that even a strong dupe might carry.

Vacutron: The vacutron is a versatile bot that performs the "mop", "sweep" and "deliver" actions (but for bottles only), but only for one liquid at a time. Instead of creating bottles, the vacutron fills it's large internal storage, which it can then disgorge either into a pipe opening created for the purpose or deliver to buildings that require it.

Hot Shot: The Hot Shot is constructed entirely of refined metals and has a very high overheat temperature. It's fast and versatile, but takes three times as much energy to operate and has half the battery. Unlike most robots and dupes, the Hot Shot takes only a 1⨉1 space, allowing it access to spaces that would be impossible for a dupe to reach. The Hot Shot can "de/construct", "sweep", "deliver", "dig", and other simple tasks. Unfortunately, it cannot construct complex machines.

Hot Shot Zoom: The HSZ is the Hot Shot's bigger brother, much more expensive and much more capable. It can perform the same tasks as a Hot Shot, but an HSZ can connect to a natural gas pipe to fill it's internal gas tank, which it can use to fly and recharge it's internal battery.

Arm: The Arm has no legs, so it moves very slowly, by crawling with it's fingers. It is, however, the only robot that can operate other machinery, a fact in which it would take pride, had it had a brain in place its arm. The arm has a fairly delicate disposition and cannot operate if the environment is too cold or too hot. The Arm cannot operate looms, exosuit forges, or robot assembly zones. That last prohibition exists to forestall the inevitable robotic uprising by at least a week.

Tanky: Tanky is another small robot with a special purpose. Tanky can pick up gas bottles and insert them into special receptacles that connect to conduits. It can also connect to a gas pump to draw gas from the air to fill its internal tank. Tanky is the only way to carry gasses without a conduit.

None of these would be suitable replacements for dupes, although a very clever operator with vast power production might be able to automate the majority of a base with properly managed robots. But they each open up an avenue for doing new things or old things differently. The Octobot helps pick up giant piles left behind by mining or mass fertilizer spam. The Vacutron can be parked at the bottom of the base where water collects to clean up messes, or be used to deliver water to a far-off electrolyzer setup. The Hot Shot will never replace your dupes for constructing things, but it can easily swim in magma and reach places your dupes can't get to. It and the Hot Shot Zoom could be used to quickly construct the floors, ladders and doors for a new structure, but it would be up to the dupes to fill it. And so on.

Bots can complement dupes, they don't have to replace them.

[vovik]

I currently consider dupes as biorobots. Reasons to consider so: unbelivable carrying capacity, low calorie usage and high oxygen usage, unf***gbeliveable resistance to temperatures and physical damage, dupes are made by machine....
Do you really want more robots to do work of other robots?
Also in the other place instead of making robots to do tasks of dups you may consider decreasing amount of tasks dupes need to do by clever management?

[alficles]

It's a legitimate observation. The reason for robots would be to make workers that excelled differently than current dupes, to allow players to progress by investing and to create variation and strategy in gameplay. Also, robots are cool.

Decreasing tasks with clever management, yes. That's great. Robots shouldn't just "do more" or "do faster". They would have to "do differently" to make things interesting.

[sundial]

On 12/13/2017 at 8:58 AM, alficles said:

...Arm: The Arm has no legs, so it moves very slowly, by crawling with it's fingers. It is, however, the only robot that can operate other machinery, a fact in which it would take pride, had it had a brain in place its arm. The arm has a fairly delicate disposition and cannot operate if the environment is too cold or too hot. The Arm cannot operate looms, exosuit forges, or robot assembly zones. That last prohibition exists to forestall the inevitable robotic uprising by at least a week...

I don't like this

It feels creepy and inhuman. One thing I like most about ONI is that its a kind of adorable game (at least, concerning the duplicants).

I think if robots are ever added, they should have just as much personality as duplicants.

Considering the rest: I actually had the idea that whatever machine makes robots would function very similarly to the printing pod.