Deep space signals analysis #540
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| # Deep space signals analysis | ||
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| | Designers | Implemented | GitHub Links | | ||
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| | chromiumboy | :x: No | TBD | | ||
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| ## Concept | ||
| "The night is dark and full of terrors." | ||
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| Deep space signals analysis is a new branch of research that can be conducted by station scientists. It borrows heavily from games such as 'Signal Simulator' and 'Voices of the Void'. Scientists set up and monitor radio telescopes on the periphery of the station, scanning the depths of space for interesting radio signals from various astral phenomena (stars, planets, quasars, etc). Scientists process the signal data acquired from their telescopes to generate research point disks. In addition, conducting signals analysis can provide forewarning of upcoming space-based events (e.g., ion/solar/radiation/meteor storms) and information about ships that might be in the area. | ||
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| ## Progression | ||
| At the start of the round, aspiring astronomers will first need to set up their radio telescopes. The radio telescopes may already be mapped or stored somewhere in the science department as flat-packs. As radio telescopes only function in open space with a long and unobstructed line of sight into the void, scientists will either need to find an EVA suit and obtain external station access to set them up, or else ask engineering for their assistance. Once in place, the radio telescopes will need to be connected to a radio telescope control console (using a multitool/configurator). In addition to tweaking the orientation of radio telescopes, this console displays and allows for the recording of detected signals (signal analysis will take place on a second computer, the deep space spectral analyzer console). After this initial setup period, the scientists can get to work. Scientists may need to periodically return outside to adjust the facing of the radio telescopes or repair them if they are damaged/malfunction. | ||
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this feels unusually cumbersome for a normal part of the job that is done every round. If this is just routine procedure for them, then why do they not have any of the tools to do it themselves? This is kinda similar to engine setup, but at least in that case, engineers have all the tools to do this themselves at the beginning of the round. Needing to bug other people every single round to set this up may be too big of a barrier to make this routinely usable during the round. |
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| ## Flow | ||
| While the radio telescope control console will typically be located within the (relative) safety of the station, the range between the console and its connected radio telescopes is intentionally limited. Due to this range limitation, signal analysis will typically be conducted outside of the science department. This gives scientists an excellent excuse to get out of the lab and even outside of the station, which is handy for antagonists. Being outside of their department also makes scientists more accessible to antagonists. For the convenience of players, the deep space spectral analyzer console should be near the radio telescope control console, so that recorded signals can be easily transferred to it. Scientists will return to their department periodically, however, to deposit the research point disks they have generated (or at least badger a passerby or cyborg into making the trip for them). | ||
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I feel like this is a very literal understanding of "jobs shouldn't be holed up in their departments" that misses the key point of that idea. Getting people out and around the station is more about creating opportunities for them to engage than literally getting people to walk from point A to B. Moving from science to the signal outpost is not really an activity that prompts interaction the same way as something like securing an anomaly or acquiring resources to activate artifacts. Additionally, i think this section is kinda in ignorance of how players would realistically set up these signal areas. The overwhelming majority of stations either have a science department that directly faces the exterior of the station or have a setup where you can trivially walk to an external-facing maintenance area in less than 10 seconds. Even if the limit between the telescope and analyzer console distance is relatively low, i think it's extremely likely that the majority of this gameplay will just be happening inside of science, especially if players are going to need to construct dedicated consoles that could potentially be sabotaged. |
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| ## Mechanics | ||
| The moment-to-moment gameplay of deep space signal analysis consists of four stages: | ||
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Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment. my main issue with this mechanically is that almost the entirety of the gameplay is just fiddling with the signals inside of dedicated UIs. The entirety of the tuning, recording, and processing steps are simply minigames that the player does that eventually spits out a point disk. There is the mention of physically rotating the telescopes, although i'm reserving my judgement because of a lack of specificity. If you are physically rotating the telescope in the world (via a verb or something) then i think it's gonna have a lot of the same issues as the setup process, as scientists generally do not have the means to get out into space to set up these things. There may also be an issue with tuning if they need to constantly check the alignment on the console. If it is done in the UI like the solars console, then it simply becomes another step that occurs in the UI. |
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| 1. **Signal detection.** Scientists must first locate a signal of interest to study. If the radio telescopes have been configured correctly, the radio telescope control console will present players with a periodically updating list of signals to pursue. Each signal lists its point of origin, source (if known), and strength (an indicator of how difficult the signal will be to process). Signal strength will decay over time, and the signal will vanish when this value hits zero. While the deep space signal analysis console can be used to tweak the facing of connected radio telescopes, the telescopes can only scan a limited area of space. To detect signals in regions of space outside of these limits, a radio telescope may need to be physically rotated to face a different cardinal direction. Having a large coverage of space allows for the detection of a greater number of signals at a time, allowing scientists to pick and choose which ones they'd like to process next. Converging the radio telescopes to scan the same area will multiply the strength of these signals, allowing them to be processed more efficiently and effectively. This trade-off in coverage vs signal strength allows for some strategic depth - players can opt to cast a wide or narrow net, or alternate between the two (e.g., starting with wide radio telescope coverage, locating a signal of interest, then converging the telescopes on its point of origin to boost the signal strength). | ||
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There was a problem hiding this comment. Somewhat of a no-brainer but you need to state that radio telescopes can only be set outside the station (or work inside the station at reduced efficiency). |
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| 2. **Signal tuning.** Once scientists have decided which signal to study, and have optionally converged multiple radio telescopes onto its origin, they can further boost the strength of the signal by tuning the telescopes to the correct frequency. This is a simple mini-game in which players turn a pair of knobs back and forth, attempting to dial in on the setting that will maximize the signal. | ||
| 3. **Signal recording.** After tuning is finished, scientists can record the signal. The speed at which the signal is recorded is proportional to its strength, with stronger signals being recorded faster than weaker ones. Once the recording is finished, the radio telescope control console will eject a disk with a copy of the signal recording on it. Scientists can then either set the recording aside and begin hunting for another signal or move to signal processing. | ||
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Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment. This step is missing a good reference in terms of timeframe. How long does this recording process take? It mentions being able to speed it up at the cost of reduced points, but is that even something worthwhile to do? If this process is happening automatically in the background, why wouldn't a given scientist just let it record as long as possible and do other things in the meantime? The whole process in general is kinda a victim of passivity. There isn't any kind of greater threat or pressure on the people doing the research. The worst case scenario is that the telescope or frequency tuning takes too long and the signal decays, but the only adverse effect is that you just get less points. |
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| 4. **Signal processing.** Signal processing is conducted using the deep space spectral analyzer console. First, a disk with a signal recording from the radio telescope control console is inserted; a waveform representing the signal will appear on the UI along with an estimate of the signal quality. The initial quality of the signal will be proportional to the strength of the original signal, and it represents how much noise is present. Players can use the console's filtering and noise removal tools to clean up the signal and improve its quality. Some care needs to be taken, as aggressive noise removal may actually degrade the signal quality rather than improve it. When the player is satisfied with the signal quality, they can initiate signal processing. After a moderate span of time has elapsed, the console will eject a research point disk. The point value of this disk will be dependent on the signal source and the final quality of the signal; it can be later redeemed by depositing the disk into a tech disk console, located in the science department. Depending on the source of the signal, certain events may trigger when signal processing ends. If the signal was from the local star, a station announcement might occur forewarning of an approaching ion storm, for example. | ||
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Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment. I think this processing minigame is a bit overly vague as something to base this whole step around. Simply saying that players use filtering and removal tools to improve quality isn't really much to go off of, and i feel like you are kinda just envisioning another game's gameplay in mind and not actually explaining what it fully entails. |
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| ## Risks of gazing into the void | ||
| Deep space signal analysis is generally a low-risk form of research. However, on rare occasions, scientists will detect signals from unknown sources. These could originate from unknown ships, debris, or unusual deep-space phenomena. Decoding signals with an unknown origin will award a substantial amount of research points. Unfortunately, analyzing signals from deep-space phenomena runs a risk of attracting the notice of certain entities that live in the void, and the odds of this occurring will increase with the number of signals decoded. Drawing the attention of these otherworldly beings is generally not advisable. While scientists *might* be awarded a boon, they are more likely to be afflicted by strange visions, be assaulted by monsters that no one else can see, or even transported to the shadow world. It may even increase the odds of certain mid-round antagonists appearing, such as abductors, heretics, or cultists (when these antagonists are implemented). | ||
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There was a problem hiding this comment. I'm kinda dubious on the concept of low-risk research in general. The gameplay loop of science basically consists of: science interacts with some research element -> dangerous stuff potentially happens as a result -> science is rewarded with points for tech -> science unlocks new goodies. If there's just an everpresent low-stakes point generator ticking in the background, I don't feel like it adds much to the game as a whole. The gameplay of actually doing the signals is not full of any real risk or social engagement, besides potentially being exposed outside of the department. The most danger in this system is just the described rare otherwordly signals which, while cool, seems to intentionally only be a small portion of the gameplay and is also seemingly avoidable by science players. |
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it's kinda unclear what the causality of this is. Simply forecasting what happens is more useful and makes sense, but actually causing events to happen (while more interesting gameplaywise) feels very strange conceptually.
At the very least, these two different ideas should be explained a bit more.