Species design document: Martians/Eggheads

src/design-proposals/Martians/martians.md

@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+# Martians/Eggheads (Name TBD I guess)
+
+| Designers     | Implemented | GitHub Links |
+|---------------|---|---|
+| Teasq | :x: No | TBD |
+
+## Overview
+
+![martian preview.png](martian%20preview.png)
+
+Martians, or colloquially known as eggheads, are the classic and quintessential alien. They're short, have big heads, 
+and big, black eyes. Everyone knows them, so instead I'm going to drop some lore.
+
+## Background
+
+Martians come from the planet Mart, according to NanoTrasen. The planet they actually come from is Glumph, but 
+that would not be discovered for some time due to reasons that will soon be discovered.
+
+For many years, companies have tried and failed to add Martians to their workforce due to the Martians' unique
+neurological disposition. Initially, NanoTrasen social workers believed it to be a simple language barrier, but when
+usual methods to establish an effective and common language failed it was realized that the Martians' brains did not
+work like any other species they had made contact with before.
+
+
+Many initially believed it to be a neurological disorder similar to aphasia: what Martians mean to say and what they say
+*never* align. Early neurologists coined the term "Martaphasia" but that was quickly dispelled due to PR concerns and
+for the simple fact that it was not a disorder. This is the norm for Martians. While Martians can understand the
+common language (Anglosinetic, a blend of English and Mandarin!), any attempts to reciprocate results in
+the Martians' uniquely encoded language: glumphish. Many attempts have been made by non-Martians to translate the
+language, but all attempts have failed. There are no grammar markers and no correlation between the words they mean to
+say and the glumphish that is produced. This seemingly insurmountable language barrier has made every attempt at integrating
+Martians a failure, until...
+
+
+A group of musical Martians took the music industry by storm: the beloved Alien Kids! This group of Martians possess
+a unique neurological disorder: their language is not automatically encoded. This not only created a metaphorical
+bridge between Martians and the rest of the universe, it also resulted in a massive wave of tourism to Mart
+due to the Alien Kids's indefatigable hunger for concerts.
+
+Finally, when asked in an interview how the divide between Martians and the rest of the universe could be bridged even
+further, the super-genius superstars made a revelation never before thought of: "Just use AAC tablets." This
+later became widely known as the "Speech Pro™" as the brand became synonymous with the product.
+
+## Features to be added
+
+- They are adapted to high pressure environments and have to wear special inner clothing suits and bubble helmets 
+or they blobify
+- Blobification does not necessarily kill them, just makes them incredibly slow and requires them to be repressurized to
+fit back into their suits. (Current idea is a long do-after to "squeeze" them back in.)
+- They have language barriers and need Speech Pro's™ to communicate with other species.
+- They are particularly weak to piercing damage, because it makes holes in their suits and that is a no-no.
+- They have a slightly higher heat resistance, thanks to their adaption to the heat of their planet and the insulative
+nature of their suit.
+- A selection blues, greens and gray skin tones or at the very least a limited hue selection.
+- They cannot wear head items other than bubble helmets due to their colossal cranium.
+
+- Most importantly, unique uniform, shoes and glove sprites for each department so Martians can still be identified easily.
+- A variety of bubble helmets to allow for greater individual expression.
+
+## Game Design Rationale
+
+### Maintaining Authenticity
+
+Martians are as authentically sci-fi as it gets. Their unique appearance,speech and pressurized suits,
+while hardly realistic, creates a more authentically alien and strange species that is immediately identifiable.
+
+### Seriously Silly
+
+I mean, just look at them. Other than that, I think their unique encoded language is an entirely new possibility for 
+funny scenarios (see the "I am using a Speech Pro™" bit or having a translator that is just translating absolute bogus),
+while the AAC tablet still allows them to engage with the rest of the station in a uniquely limiting way similar to mimes
+or mute characters.
+
+## Roundflow & Player interaction
+
+Between blobification, the encoded language and the Speech Pro™ I expect player interactions to be largely comedic, while
+still allowing for deeper emergent roleplay the same as any other character or role with speech limitations. 
+
+## Administrative & Server Rule Impact (if applicable)
+
+The one, and I imagine most prevalent administrative concern I can think of for Martians are the formation of 
+cliques/metafriending. When one's speech is limited, some naturally gravitate towards those they can communicate with
+more easily: that being other Martians. 
+
+However, I do not expect a greater degree of meta-friending other than what is already present. Players may gravitate 
+towards Martians to form friend-groups or cliques, but I firmly believe that is something they would already have done 
+had they intended to and not something the mechanics inherently promote.
+
+# Technical Considerations
+
+- There is a need to port over language systems from other forks specifically for the glumphish, or otherwise a system
+that scrambles your speech for those who do not have a specific component.
+- Infrastructure is needed to change the Martians' sprites conditionally. This is already being worked on, but the 
+mechanic of blobifying is impossible without it.
+- Displacements are needed for outerclothing and hands. It is not necessary for the head, as that will be whitelisted.
+- VERY IMPORTANT: the AAC tablet needs to be renamed to "Speech Pro™"