Old Electronics

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Revision as of 07:31, 12 September 2021 by Studenterhue (talk | contribs) (→‎The New Way: Rewrite this reference to being able to make circuit boards in the general manufacturer, since those were replaced by something else)
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FoodPancakes.png This page is about discontinued content.
The following information is not current. It is kept for historical purposes.
Mushroom Station's Mechanics Workshop, then called Electronics, during this obsolete era. Obviously has changed since.
Cogmap1's Mechanics Workshop, then called Electronics, during this obsolete era. Obviously has changed since.

This page documents the old versions of the Mechanic job, variously called Electrician and Electrical Engineer in its older days. It draws from the archived Electrician/Electrical Engineer page from the days when Goonstation was hosted on ss13.donglabs.com and the previous iterations of the current Mechanic page.

The Old Way

Deviceanalyzer.png Like today, to scan an item of interest, you would hit it with the analyzer. However, unlike today, the analyzer could hold only one scan at a time. To scan more complex apparatuses with multiple machines, like the cloner, you often had to carry multiple analyzers.

RuckingenurKit.png Next, you'd hit the ruckingenur kit with the analyzer to load the scan into the machine. Then, you'd click on the ruckingenur and tell it to "research" the scanned item, which took about two minutes. After that, you'd use the ruckingenur kit to create a data module DataModule.png, formerly called a data disk, and frame ElectronicsFrame.png of the item.

GenericVendingMachine2.png Now here's the horrible part. You had to complete the frame by manually filling with it electronic components, like capacitors, fuses, and other actual circuit parts, from a special vending machine called the ElecTek Vendomaticotron. Complex machines needed tens or even hundreds of parts, component requirements were randomly generated, and if you made a mistake, you had to click on the frame in-hand to individually remove it. Thankfully, later on, you could add multiple parts in one go with click-drag.

  • To check your work, you'd add the data module to your analyzer to load a "schematic" of the item and scan the frame, after which it'd helpfully tell you how many parts where left remaining. Sensibly, the analyzer could hold multiple modules/"schematics" at a time.

File:Solderingiron.png Following that ordeal, you'd click on the frame with the soldering iron to secure it and use it in-hand. If you had satisfied the part requirements, you'd get a box frame and could then use the soldering iron on it again to finally deploy it. If you hadn't, you had to use the soldering iron on the frame again to unsecure it and add/remove components as needed.

The New Way

In early 2014, Goonstation coders I Said No, Keelin, and others replaced the system you see today. The Mechanic page has been updated since then, but the section describing the process is still called "R&D", an vestige of the days when the ruckingenur kit did in fact do research and development. Also, the current MechComp vendor has 30 of each component, just as the ElecTek Vendomaticotron did. Sign of something more or simply a byproduct of lazy copy and paste coding?

The old resistors, screens, batteries, and other circuit components, instantly recognizable by the phrase a "A [NAME] used in electronic projects." in their Examine text, still very much remain. Many of them drop from destroyed Syndicate drones and other robots. If you could get a hold of a frame, you would still be able to add these components to it, but you wouldn't be able to deploy it or anything.

You used to be able to make boards through the general manufacturer, but these were eventually replaced by vending modules for player-made vending machines.


Archive
Former Features Discontinued Game Modes · Discontinued Syndicate Items · Construction Server · Old Constructions · Old Electronics · Old Material Science · Old Nuclear Engine · Ass Jam · Ass Jam Changelog · Pathology Research (old) · Pathology for Dummies (outdated) · Pathology Mutations · Beesmark's Goon Guide to Robust Security · Powering the station · Torpedoes
Discontinued Jobs Atmospheric Technician · Chemist · Communications Officer · Construction Worker · Elite Security · Head Surgeon · Intruder · Martian · Mechanic · Part-Time Vice Officer · Replicant · Spy · The Welder
Retired Maps Donut Station · Devstation · Mushroom Station · Chiron Outpost · Samedi · Linemap · Manta · Horizon · Destiny
Past Locales Prison Station · Syndicate Shuttle
Old Lore Chemical Information‎ · A Crash Course in Legal SOP · Creature Conspectus Original Edition · Dummies guide to material science (Old) · Generator Startup Procedure (Old)‎ · Job Information · Mining Pocket Guide No. 1‎ · Mining Pocket Guide No. 2‎ · Old Storyline · So you've contracted a pathogen! · Standard Operating Procedure · Stations and Syndicates 8th Edition Rulebook · Torpedoes And You Aka How To Not Blow Yourself Up
Outdated Culture Pubbie Tears · Dumb Pubbies · Banned Camp · Android Data