Ship decontamintion by Sisters of Domina

[Blitz]

Code: Select all

				<Initialize>
					(if (and (gr (plyGetCredits gPlayer) 0) 
							(leq (objGetData gPlayerShip "sistersAttitude") 0))
						(scrSetDesc gScreen "\"Forgive us, child, but we cannot allow your ship to contaminate our shrine.\"")
						(block Nil
							(scrSetDesc gScreen "\"Your vessel has been purified. Devote your life to Domina and your spirit shall be similarly cleansed.\"")
							(objIncData gPlayerShip "sistersAttitude" -1)
							(shpDecontaminate gPlayerShip)
							)
						)
				</Initialize>

From this bit of code, I understand that the Sisters of Domina decontaminate your ship only if your credits are 0. A player normally has problems with contamination usually early in the game. If the player does not have 250 credits and does not have a barrel of decon gel, his only possibility of survival is the very slim chance of finding a barrel of decon gel in a station wreck. The Sisters of Domina would provide a reliable alternative in this situation. However, the chances of the player having exactly 0 credits are low. The player is likely to have somewhere between 0 and 250 credits. This small amount, which the player would be happy to donate to the Sisters, is preventing the player from getting decontaminated at the Sisters.

I think it would be better if this limit was raised to 250 so that the player can get decontaminated at the Sisters even when you are almost broke.

_____________________________________________

I just did a bit of playtesting after typing this but before posting. The Sisters do not decontaminate my ship if my credit balance is anything greater than 0. However, if you can please the sisters enough, you will get decontaminated regardless of your credit balance. I don't think this would help much as I normally do not bother with pleasing the Sisters till after St.K when I start encountering the slavers.
Also, I wasn't able to see that the sisters would decontaminate your ship if sistersattitude was high enough. So, I'll assume that there might be something else I missed. Please tell me if I did.
If I didn't miss any thing, the give your opinion of making the threshold 250 credits.

[Petrus]

I think that the sisters should ask for a donation to Domina to help others in need, and in turn be helped, if the player has more than 0 credits. This donation would be as much money as the player had on hand, up to some limit like 1000 credits, to show the sisters' keen financial sense. Or just be a tithe like 25% of their money, regardless of what that was.

[OddBob]

I actually think that if there were more Domina related situations where having 0 credits would help you, that this should stay.

Think of it like having to take a vow of poverty in order to 'join' the Sisters and receive benefits.

[Betelgeuse]

what everyone doesn't destroy the sisters on sight to get the items inside

[Blitz]

what everyone doesn't destroy the sisters on sight to get the items inside

That's another thing that bothers me. Shouldn't Domina save them or something by healing it whenever its damaged too much?

I actually think that if there were more Domina related situations where having 0 credits would help you, that this should stay.

Think of it like having to take a vow of poverty in order to 'join' the Sisters and receive benefits.

The problem with that here is that the its very rare for a player to have exactly 0 credits. Sometimes, if I have little money and I need to get refueled or repaired, the I donate whatever little I have. If I get contaminated at some point and have 50 credits left, I won't able to get rid of those 50 credits and thus won't be able to get my ship decontaminated.

[OddBob]

The problem with that here is that the its very rare for a player to have exactly 0 credits. Sometimes, if I have little money and I need to get refueled or repaired, the I donate whatever little I have. If I get contaminated at some point and have 50 credits left, I won't able to get rid of those 50 credits and thus won't be able to get my ship decontaminated.

The player would make a choice to travel around with 0 credits as much as possible, by donating their excess to be exactly at zero. You make the choice BEFORE you get irradiated.

Right now it's not worth it just for radiation, but if there were other benefits (and not just at Sisters stations, everywhere) you might make that choice as an alternate playstyle.

[Blitz]

What I've been thinking of is raising this limit to 250 and when you get cleaned by the Sisters, you automatically donate whatever money you have. You would get a message "You donate whatever money you had with you in gratitude" or something like that.
Your idea may work, but it would require a lot of tweaking and a lot of new features before it is balanced. It'll also mean you should be allowed to donate in more places than just at the Sisters. And you should have different benefits at different stations. For eg. donating at drydocks would make them either refuel you for free or maybe the install/remove devices for free. I haven't thought this through yet. Could you elaborate on the details of how this would be effective?

Also, what do you think of having Domina protect the Sisters if you choose to attack their shrine? I think there should be more serious consequences if you destroy one. Maybe you should have Domina heal them the first time. If you keep attacking them, then you can have Domina destroy your installed weapon or something of that sort. Also, you'll lose all the invoke powers you had. Maybe you can also have other factions (even those who are at war with each other) target you if you try to destroy one.

[FAD]

...what do you think of having Domina protect the Sisters if you choose to attack their shrine?

This one has bothered me in the past. I accidently destroyed a Domina station while sniping with a Howitzer. The guard ships didn't even bother to come after me but instead, just gated out. Afterwards, I was able to dock with any other Domina stations as if nothing had ever happened and found that to be odd, but assumed it was just an oversight.

I think there should be some form of punishment and I like the idea of losing any Domina powers you may have had. Also think you should be banned from getting those powers again...or maybe if you try to make amends, they would reconsider.
As for repeated attacks, having Domina destroy your weapon is favorable I think.

[Blitz]

...what do you think of having Domina protect the Sisters if you choose to attack their shrine?

This one has bothered me in the past. I accidently destroyed a Domina station while sniping with a Howitzer. The guard ships didn't even bother to come after me but instead, just gated out. Afterwards, I was able to dock with any other Domina stations as if nothing had ever happened and found that to be odd, but assumed it was just an oversight.

I think there should be some form of punishment and I like the idea of losing any Domina powers you may have had. Also think you should be banned from getting those powers again...or maybe if you try to make amends, they would reconsider.
As for repeated attacks, having Domina destroy your weapon is favorable I think.

I'll create a topic just for this. I think this bug is serious enough to deserve its own topic.

EDIT - continuation is here

http://neurohack.com/transcendence/foru ... .php?t=744

[OddBob]

Could you elaborate on the details of how this would be effective?

Well, it's not so much that donating in other places gives you benefits. It's like having 0 credits marks you as a pilgrim and Domina devotee. People will treat you differently, and you're sort of 'joining' the Sisters, so you can enter the sanctum a lot more often.

Now to avoid abuse (donating to zero credits occasionally to suit you) I think the game would probably have to keep track of how often you had 0 credits. A cumulative count, not resetting if you get credits, because it will on occasion be necessary and even fitting (you save an ag station for 5000 credits, that's completely in line with the whole idea, if you donate the reward) to have them.

Some possible benefits (none guaranteed):

A sympathetic drydock worker may refuel you for free.
Friendly ships might come to your aid.
Some enemies (basically pirates, motivated by greed as well as possibly superstitious) may very rarely let you pass unharmed.
etc.