Better Than Wolves Forum

Imported from Phase 7.

Another idea I had for encouraging automation was a system where it injured the player continually if they were near it. So the player would have to set up the system then leave before turning it on and use mechanisms like pistons and BDs to manage it. They might not automate it but having them set up a kind of control center would be a fun thing all on it's own... :)

FlowerChild wrote: Well, it's not bad...but it strikes me as a little high-tech.

It *might* have applications in a magical process though.

When you say high tech I'm not sure what you mean. Because the parts I would consider high tech like a logic system, control signals, and remote operated machinery are already in the mod. As to what could be hurting you I had imagined something that was just really hot. Although some kind of toxic fumes or magical aura could work just as well.

I'm just thinking in terms of this feeling like dealing with a nuclear reactor or something.

I think these kind of remotely operated systems in dangerous environments tend to be associated with sci-fi rather than fantasy. Like I said, I think it could work in a magical situation, but it would have to be done just right.

I don't think that It would have to be a dangerous process even. What if Steve just didn't have the capabilities/ skill level to harvest said item and needed a magical thingy( ex. The BD) to do it. A very basic example is what if Steve had giant hands and couldn't break unfired pottery by hand because every time he did he pulled a Lenny and crushed it, that would force a piston setup.

You know I wonder if this goes hand in hand with a passive architecture system where you have to build a large building to capture and focus magical energies and then while it's active it would be dangerous to be inside.

Sarudak wrote:You know I wonder if this goes hand in hand with a passive architecture system where you have to build a large building to capture and focus magical energies and then while it's active it would be dangerous to be inside.

This actually sounds like a very cool thing to have to build. Have some architectural requirements that still leave a lot of room for creativity, and that is dangerous to be inside while running. And to achieve the effect you need you have to have moving parts inside that fire at the right moments. This would make it possible to have a control room, or to automate. Both would be a cool thing to build, to be honest.

The dark magics Steve is meddling more and more with shouldn't be entirely safe to harvest, and this would definitely make it feel like we're into things that maybe should not be meddled with... Also, if both the architectural and automation parts required things further up the techtree, this kind of system could act like a cool bottleneck.

To expand on this slightly, perhaps along similar lines, systems that only work in 'dangerous' situations.

Consider items that require a large space around them to function, but are sensitive to light, and so must be run in the dark, leaving players the choice of running the gauntlet getting to it through the mobs that spawn, or turning it off. Also presents the conundrum of do I run the machine and reduce my mob towers effectiveness?

Sarudak wrote:You know I wonder if this goes hand in hand with a passive architecture system where you have to build a large building to capture and focus magical energies and then while it's active it would be dangerous to be inside.

This almost sounds like a lightning rod, some kind of thinger that pulls static from the air and causes bolts to rain from the sky into it.

Something with poisonous gasses could be one idea. Perhaps Respiration enchants would lessen the damage, giving people more incentive to get it. Or hallucinations, make steve see creepers everywhere (and sometime they might even be there).

Urian wrote:Something with poisonous gasses could be one idea. Perhaps Respiration enchants would lessen the damage, giving people more incentive to get it. Or hallucinations, make steve see creepers everywhere (and sometime they might even be there).

Or explosions... requiring Blast protection...

Something just feels right about having to make the containing room from either obsidian or SFS Blocks to keep a powerful item farm safe, and using enchanted armour to keep Steve safe while harvesting.

"Any sufficiently analysed magic is indistinguishable from technology"? This idea seems pretty cool flavour-wise, but mechanically, do we really need more incentive to automate production?

Dirdle wrote:"Any sufficiently analysed magic is indistinguishable from technology"? This idea seems pretty cool flavour-wise, but mechanically, do we really need more incentive to automate production?

We always need more automation. And Automating some sort of giant magical doomsday machine would be pretty damn cool.

Dirdle wrote:"Any sufficiently analysed magic is indistinguishable from technology"? This idea seems pretty cool flavour-wise, but mechanically, do we really need more incentive to automate production?

Automation is alway needed, what do you think why people started auto record farms? Because we can do that.
As magic machine I would say that it is the unleashing of the Endstone souls (or is Endstone complete empty, because it gets not destroyed and no other changes when the dragon flys through?), or binding/channeling a huge soul stream, wich takes time, and is dangerous ( the soul stream wants to take souls from the overworld with it, causing every mob (and also steve) to take damage WITHOUT dragon orb or Xp drops.).
Yeah, I would look forward to such a machine.

Maybe a semi-specific application of this would be something that only works on nether growth? Or perhaps a more lethal ground covering of the same type. Vaguely applied idea:
bloodwood trees only grow on nether growth, which means its difficult and dangerous to harvest them manually. Manual harvesting would either mean damage and possible death to the player, or a substantial hit to the durability of soulforged steel armor Obviously the specifics are just placeholders, but a system like this could be a way to encourage automation without bottlenecking through resource limitations.

The kiln gets very hot when it cooks stuff, why not take damage while you stand inside of it (kinda like swiming damage)

We're kind of already highly encouraged to automate the kiln because it takes so long to do manually. I personally don't see a point in making this change. And besides, how do you fit into a kiln? It's a 1x1 hole O_o

EDIT: gigantic phallus flower. If it matures fully, it becomes a exploding phallus hive, spawning tons of creepers, and possibly begins to take over the land surrounding it. Mostly the first part about spawning creepers. On second thought taking over the land around with with extra growth and more hives seems unrealistic to code. I think it would be awesome to battle some sort of hive mind, but it almost definitely doesn't belong/would be way too difficult.

I'll add my two cents, but it looks like everyone has the idea pretty much covered.

Maybe dealing direct damage isn't the best way to encourage automation. The way the health system works now, most players would harvest said resource and then just walk away and wait for the health bar to fill.
I've thought of some kinda of system or device that, instead, severely crippled Steve, such as reducing walking and mining speed for a few seconds (or even minutes), or something like that.
Sure, the player would be able to simply harvest whatever resource it was and then AFK until the debuff wore off, but that would still be an annoyance, something that advanced players would end up willing to avoid through automation.

Lore-wise: Maybe said system would involve some sort of magical energy that is inherently dangerous to all organic forms? This would open some cool possibilities, as such form of magic would be a hazard not only to Steve, but to animals and whatever else. While I know that FC doesn't want the Nether Growth as a pre-requisite to advance further in the tech tree, its soul-eating nature could be somehow linked to that energy.

Ceunon wrote:-snip-
I've thought of some kinda of system or device that, instead, severely crippled Steve, such as reducing walking and mining speed for a few seconds (or even minutes), or something like that.
-snip

I was going to suggest a more advanced form of nausea or something similar. I definitely like this idea a little more than hallucinating, although hallucinations would be highly entertaining ^.^

Ceunon wrote: Maybe dealing direct damage isn't the best way to encourage automation. The way the health system works now, most players would harvest said resource and then just walk away and wait for the health bar to fill.

Well you don't have to make it impossible to strongly encourage it. Imagine if the turntable hurt you and poisoned you if you were withing 10 blocks of it while it was running? Sure it might be possible to operate manually. But automating it would actually be easier.

It could even be something as simple as hibachis producing toxic fumes while burning and giving Steve the poisoned effect. That would also encourage people to wire them properly instead of just popping a lever or a redstone torch underneath.

There is so much potential for toxic or otherwise physically dangerous stuff in the mod already that there is no need at all to touch on high tech or sci fi. Another low hanging example would be something along the lines of some item like a soul urn damaging the player when entering the inventory or being held, forcing them to automate the entire process or risk death.

Rianaru wrote:We're kind of already highly encouraged to automate the kiln because it takes so long to do manually. I personally don't see a point in making this change. And besides, how do you fit into a kiln? It's a 1x1 hole O_o

EDIT: gigantic phallus flower. If it matures fully, it becomes a exploding phallus hive, spawning tons of creepers, and possibly begins to take over the land surrounding it. Mostly the first part about spawning creepers. On second thought taking over the land around with with extra growth and more hives seems unrealistic to code. I think it would be awesome to battle some sort of hive mind, but it almost definitely doesn't belong/would be way too difficult.

I use pistons to make it 2 high for colecting stuff darn XD
Maybe nearby it

DaveYanakov wrote:Another low hanging example would be something along the lines of some item like a soul urn damaging the player when entering the inventory or being held, forcing them to automate the entire process or risk death.

And how do you expect people to craft block dispensers?

Elevatator wrote:

Dirdle wrote:"Any sufficiently analysed magic is indistinguishable from technology"? This idea seems pretty cool flavour-wise, but mechanically, do we really need more incentive to automate production?

Automation is alway needed, what do you think why people started auto record farms? Because we can do that.

I think you will find you are agreeing with me.

Some people automate just for the heck of it. I don't think most people are like that. Most people automate when a problem is too tedious, difficult, or they need to much of a product to just get what they need by hand.

Soul urns are a stand in item because nothing that behaves this way has been introduced.

Ceunon wrote:-snip-
I've thought of some kinda of system or device that, instead, severely crippled Steve, such as reducing walking and mining speed for a few seconds (or even minutes), or something like that.
-snip

Actually, with the potion effect system, something like this would be quite possible. No idea what effects would work best gameplay-wise, but I could imagine the spores from the phallus-flower blooming could be quite dangerous.