SS2 No weapon degradation

[6741466d970ebKolya]

But there are existing and explained reasons why the ship is breaking down. It wasn't ready for prime time, Korenchkin was greedy and pushed ahead. And he gets served for that attitude in the end. Hubris is a major theme in SS2. And it gets somewhat invalidated if the ship is breaking down now because some metal eating bacteria ate it.

[6741466d975caEnchantermon]

The whole training sequence is something that just barely manages to keep itself inside the game fiction, anyway. Like we're supposed to believe that the UNN lets any random person just wander in the front door and right into their advanced training holosuites.

I don't know about that, actually. The starting point is labeled as the "Ramsey Center Training and Recruitment Facility" and the whole space is closed in. Perhaps what you see is just one wing (Training and Recruitment Facility) of a large UNN complex (Ramsey Center). You walk in the front doors with an ID of some sort that grants you access and take the tram to the part of the complex where the game begins.

[6741466d97902Enchantermon]

But there are existing and explained reasons why the ship is breaking down. It wasn't ready for prime time, Korenchkin was greedy and pushed ahead. And he gets served for that attitude in the end. Hubris is a major theme in SS2. And it gets somewhat invalidated if the ship is breaking down now because some metal eating bacteria ate it.

Why can't it be both?

Date: <unknown>
From: Engineering Grunt
To: Juan Curtiz
Subject: RE: Equipment Maintenence

Sir, we've got a huge problem here. I was up on Rec replacing more of that defective Tetracorp wiring that we found in Hydro and Med/Sci. Guess what I discovered? Remember those particles I detected in subsection 22-A yesterday? The maintenance shafts up there are full of that stuff. What's more, it's beginning to have a corrosive effect on some of the equipment, eating away at those cheap pipes that started leaking steam a couple weeks ago. I'm not surprised that it's chewing through that paper-thin Valu-Rep crap, but even the titanium patches we put on the leaks are beginning to erode.
What should we do? The larger, more complex systems don't seem to be affected yet, but it's only a matter of time. The entire ship was barely holding together when we left Earth; if this stuff gets into the nacelles, or worse, the reactor core.....

[6741466d97befKolya]

Why can't it be both?

Because all we need is an explanation for weapon degradation. Not for the ship failing.
Now this explanation requires us to rewrite existing narrative. That's not a bonus.

[6741466d97e1aEnchantermon]

Now this explanation requires us to rewrite existing narrative.

Not really. It doesn't invalidate that fact that the ship is made of crap, it just adds another reason for the failing systems.

[6741466d97f97voodoo47]

yes.. but I would just stick with the simpliest version-one log about the organic mist, no kaboom you are dead on the end. short and safe.

[6741466d9889aKolya]

Not really. It doesn't invalidate that fact that the ship is made of crap, it just adds another reason for the failing systems.

It adds a reason which could not have been reasonably planned for during the ship's construction and which the crew members who attribute the ship's problems to the rushed departure are not aware of. This way bacteria become the real reason for the ship failing. And that does invalidate the moral stance about Korenchkin's greed which makes up a lot of the background story.

The only reason bacteria are even considered to be responsible for the ship's failing now, is not because we needed an explanation for that, but because bacteria cannot be assumed to destroy things selectively. The same problem which was previously identified as a flaw in the entropy explanation.   

Apart from that bacteria are incompatible with the existing psi anti-entropy skill, which would have to be rewritten as a kind of anti-septic skill. 

I brought up the idea of adding the apparently missing log. But the log Xemu wrote turned out to be a parody. It doesn't fit the game for many reasons. So again I ask that we either play it as the parody is is obviously meant to be - a solution I'm becoming increasingly fond of - or we write a solution that actually fits the game. But taking one half of a joke, trying to make it sound reasonable and ram it into the game at the cost of having to change a well established story-theme plus other incompatible details makes us lose more than we gain.

Compromise: We write a log that talks about some unspecified mist, which attacks the weapon systems. No explanation given, it's a mystery to the log author.

[6741466d98a03voodoo47]

something like organic mist, seems to eat away/corrode certain metallic alloys, especially those found on weapons would work fine for me (even annelid weapons are partially made from man-made parts, so it would be ok).

[6741466d98b37Kolya]

I purposely wrote "unspecified mist" because that leaves it open to interpretation. If it's nature is undefined, we don't have to change the according psi skill. You could think of it as metal eating bacteria, I would think of it as entropic mist. That is the compromise.

Accordingly: strange mist, which seems to corrode certain metallic alloys, especially those found on weapons

[6741466d98c05voodoo47]

good enough, I say.

[6741466d98d24Mr Rayford]

You could link it back to the environmental regulators. I'd imagine that every deck would have a set, not just Hydro (unless all the ships air runs though hydro at some point), so someone from maintenance for some deck could find something odd in the filters or what have you. Perhaps what's eating away the equipment is created through the respiration process of The Many, both through the Hybrids and to goo (which is conspicuously absent on MedSci and Engineering).

[6741466d98e30Kolya]

That is a good idea, but it might confuse first time players, similarly to how Delacroix's location (shuttle bay on command deck, not on engineering!) regularly confuses new players. We can avoid this if we use different terms instead of "environmental regulators" that basically say the same thing.

[6741466d98f63Mr Rayford]

Well, that's a simple enough fix as just saying "air filtration system."

Has any though been given to where this will be? That pump that hidden away on MedSci across from Watts' room makes sense from a structural standpoint (it's out of the way in a place on maintenance crews would probably know about) and there is already a body next to it (you could have the guy in the log get gunned down at the end for trying to interfere). Of course, if first time players are the primary concern, then a more visible location may be preferable, since it took me several playthroughs to discover that alcove.

[6741466d993baRocketMan]

I like your idea K.  Instant win.  I was trying to think up all these elaborate explanations but why not leave it to imagination?   

How about this:

Date: TBD
From: Engineer
To: Juan Curtiz
Subject: RE: Equipment Maintenence

Sir, we've got a huge problem here.  I was doing non-destructive electrical tests on an air circulation controller on the Recreation Deck and I found corrosion on all uninsulated contact points.  My electrical testing confirms that contact resistance has increased significantly and is now almost out of spec.  This particular controller is almost brand new.  It was installed less than a month before we left!  When I'd completed my work at the end of the day, I found the same issue in several other electronic units....they all looked like they'd been in service way longer than they actually have been.  Following a hunch, I asked other engineers on the ship if they'd come across anything similar and received disturbing reports confirming premature failure of certain reciprocating pumps, turbines and virtually every weapon on the ship....they were seizing up without ever having been used. 

Since the effects are systemmic and not localized to any one part of the ship I collaborated with a few scientists to look for the source of the problem.  They used magnetometers, spectrometers and all sorts of equipment to scan the environment for anything unusual.  Sir, what they found is rather alarming.  It looks like there is an as yet unidentified field or....mist all around us, in every part of the ship.  It does not vary in intensity so we couldn't figure out where it was coming from but it's there.  It could be what's causing the accelerated degradation to our weapons and ship systems.  Certain materials seem to be affected more than others, especially those used in weapons but the rest of the ship is slowly following suit. 

If we can't figure out what's causing the field, we could be facing a life-threatening situation before we can make it back to Earth.

[6741466d994b9voodoo47]

not bad, but it suggests that all parts of the ship are affected, and we want to avoid that (if I understand correctly).

[6741466d9968fRocketMan]

Well....you may not want to entirely.  If you dismiss the rest of the ship altogether then you're left with the excuse that the ship was put together quickly using crappy components.  I don't buy it.  Think of it in terms of our space shuttle or the Saturn V rocket.  Yes, the components were supplied by the lowest bidders but that doesn't mean they are garbage and will break.  The design of spacecraft adhere to strict NASA-STD and MIL-STD specs.  These specs control geometric dimensions and tolerances, materials, mechanical and electrical properties, durability, corrosion, the list goes on and on.  When something is not controlled, the manufacturer has the flexibility to make their own choices to control cost.  They may also have superior process control which gives them an edge over the competition in terms of their piece price.  None of this necessarily equates to an inferior product prone to failure.

If we assume the future is anything like the present, then there will be a level of control over quality.  The ship may have been assembled in haste, which can lead to failures unrelated to component quality but I think the sort of ship we are presented with in the game suggests an exaggeration of this point.  If we include the ship in our mysterious mist explanation, it makes the ship's state of disrepair a lot more believeable.

[6741466d997a5Enchantermon]

Sidenote: if we want to attribute the log to someone without having to explain his death, we could make up a first name and give it to crewman Wells, who was "critically injured" (and later died, presumably) by one of the turrets after the Many commandeered them. The end of the log could even mention him going to check on the turrets to see if they were also affected by the mist (since they're also weaponry).

[6741466d999afKolya]

RocketMan: The ship is not constructed by the NASA. It's a private enterprise and there is lots of evidence that the ship fails because of unfinished design and hasty construction. See the backstory I linked above.

Date: 05.JUL.14
From: Chris Wells
To: {Wells} as log entry
Subject: Failing guns

That tinfoil hat Bronson told me she and her men were experiencing high failure rates with their guns. Of course she suspected that someone had been tempering with them. So she locked away large stashes in the deck subarmories, but the weapons still failed after only a few dozen shots fired.
When she handed me some of the guns for repair, I noticed they really were in a terrible condition. I asked her if she had gone to war with these. And she said: "No, but we might have one."
Whatever that means. 
When I did an electron phase scan of a loading mechanism, I discovered that something was corroding the gun's titanium alloy, causing it to fail. I looked for the source of the substance and discovered this strange mist that's coming in through the climate control system. I have no idea how it gets through the filters. But fortunately it only seems to affect this one military grade alloy that is courtesy of TriOptimum.
I told Bronson and she said that something may be sitting in the conduits that's breathing this corrosive mist through the whole ship to destroy our defences. Must be an alien, hehe.
She ordered me to also check on the gun turrets, although those are made of Tetracorp's own alloy. I'm fairly sure they're safe.

[6741466d99a9fvoodoo47]

bit rough on the edges, and maybe too long, but I think this is what we were looking for. nice

[6741466d99b78Kolya]

Feel free to rephrase then.

[6741466d99d56RocketMan]

That log would do the trick too.  I'd go with a more serious/worrying tone but the content is good.  I think even if none of us have a perfect log suggestion, each iteration brings us closer.  Perhaps with elements of each we can really solve this problem in an elegant way once and for all.

[6741466d99fc2Mr Rayford]

Just for kicks, I've decided to write up my own log. For refrence, this log would have been recorded on the front end of the debacle, which is why it lacks any worry or urgency.

Date: 07.JUL.14
From: Chris Wells
To: {Wells} as log entry

Bronson came to me early today complaining that the weapons her men were using during their daily target practice were experiencing abnormally high failure rates. She brought one of the pistols with her, because she's never without one, and I stripped it down. The thing look liked it had never seen a maintenance tool, let alone had one used on it. What's worse is that some of the metal seemed to have been eaten away. It fixed it up with a maintenance tool and followed her to the firing range. After less than a clip, the stupid thing jammed again.

I asked to see where the weapons were being stored and she took me to the sub-armory. I checked one of the assault rifles and it was in just as bad a condition as the pistol. The first thing I checked was the air vents. Moisture can wreak havoc on untreated metal, and I can bet you a months pay that TriOp didn't spend the money to make their brand of tin last.

It sucks to be right sometimes. The air filter had been completely eaten away and there was a thick goo in the vents.

Maybe it has something with what's going on with Hydro. Ever since Tau Ceti, I've been hearing talk that the environmental regulators are being overwhelmed, so they may have started redirecting air all over the ship to lighten the load.

I told Bronson that until we get the air system cleared, her men are going to have to be on top of their weapons condition. Of course, that wasn't enough for Bronson, so we'll be doing rounds around all the decks, checking the security turrets aren't suffering form the same corrosion. I told her that it was unlikely, since the turrets are all TetraCorp's make, and only TriOp metal seems to be effected, but Bronson wouldn't take no for an answer.

Probably too long. With a little editing, it could be broken up into two logs, but that may be more work than you guys want to put in.

[6741466d9a198ZylonBane]

"TriOp metal"?

Seriously, I think the first two paragraphs of what Xemu wrote are perfectly fine. It reflects the original intent of the developers, it's the right length for a log, it doesn't over-explain things, it meshes well with what we see on Hydroponics deck, it merely contributes to rather than undermines the other reasons the Von Braun fell into chaos, and it avoids the "A wizard did it" explanation of invoking a magical incredibly specific weapons-only entropy field (which if they had that ability, they'd logically use to bust up other machinery as well anyway).

[6741466d9a2d2Nameless Voice]

*mumblemumblefixingthespellinginalltheselogsmumble*