Carrying around bulky "accessories" are of the past, in these futuristic days, they are not build directly into our bodies, augmenting our actions at a microscopic scale. Once you get the Medical Bay up and running and find yourself a capable surgeon or MedBot4000 you will be able to implant augments that boost various parts of your body. There will be a number of augments per "slot" so choosing the right ones for your play-style and the environment you are facing, is just as much a tatical choice, will you choose speed over survivability, stealth over damage absorption? During your galactic travels you may locate new and improved augments that will boost the efficiency of already known Augments, or even new and rare ones. Augments Slots and possible augments for these could be: Eye-slot: X-xay vision - allows you to see valuable ores in the ground near you, higher levels of this will increase its effective range. Scanner - targeting a NPC/Player will give you information about the target, health and stats, higher level scanner will make the info more accurate and add more stats its able to scan on the target. Torso: Nanite-shielding - these nanites will absorb and deflect a certain percent of incoming damage, making you able to last longer in a tough fight, higher levels equals greater damage reduction. Optical-Reflector - bending the light around you, at least to a degree, having this Augment makes its harder to see you at a distance, meaning foes need to get closer to you, to spot you. This also improves your stealth. Higher level augment conceals you better. Legs: Sprint-Bot - small bots integrated around your hip and legs enable you to go that extra mile, so to speak. When you run, these bots will kick in and give you an extra boost, depending on the level of Augment used, you will go faster. Later levels even make it possible to jump higher as well. I will add more to the list as I think of them, if you have an idea for a neat Augment, please post it, and I'll add it to this list, with your name of course.
Sounds like a needlessly more complicated version of DNA Mixing. Sounds kind of like DNA Mixing. You should check that out. EDIT: He's right, I sounded harsh.
Agreed with Frenzy, although a bit harsh. I mean it sounds great but DNA mixing would already allow you to get "augments", and with the other gear slots and all, this becomes a bit superfluous. Of course, if DNA mixing is not included then this holds its place!
Personally, I believe something like this (DNA Mixing/Cybernetic Implants) should carry some risk. The more you augment yourself, the more damage you can cause to yourself. Perhaps some augmentations could short circuit and hurt the player, or something. Or give the PC or NPC some sort of sanity/humanity meter, which would go down with each augmentation/genetic modification. When the meter bottoms out, the PC/NPC would go insane and attack other NPCs or PCs without provocation, or once-friendly NPCs would not recognize you and attack you. I don't know. When this idea came to mind I was thinking of Space Siege's humanity system with cybernetic augmentations, but I never played that game and I heard it was pretty bad.
While I think cybernetic augments suits the theme of the game, I don't know if I want them in. I think I am content with the extent of the customization they have planned as of now.
IF augmentation works differently than DNA Mixing and has a limit of Augmenting, no problem. But if both start overlaping, one of them becomes kind of not needed. DNA Mixing has the problem about being a sort of equillibrium. Or you has a very strong DNA mix(hey, Human counts as a DNA mix?) or various weak ones, and i guess each one comes with advantages and disadvantages. Augmentation as it is nearly has no limits of any kind. Okay, i have one laser eye, one aim eye, one rocket launcher in my left shoulder, a grenade thrower in the right shoulder... so, how to make both work together?
I like the idea of cyberware in Starbound, but I'm not sure if there has to be lots of gameplay mechanics behind them. They could just be vanity items, or items like swords/armors, etc. How about this: Some Augs must be ridiciolously heavy. Too many of those renders you inable to swim, jump high or run fast? Or having an augument replaces one of your health-hearts with a "metal" one to symbolize you being part machine. When damaged, this heart will not regenerate until mechanically repaired or replaced by wetware (organic parts... in which case it will turn into a normal heart again). Too many augs will mean many metal health-hearts... less staying power in combat, but more versatility and damage. And having to get a checkup at the mechanic once in a while is the price you pay...
Interesting idea. I personally wouldn't use genetic modifications and/or cybernetic augmentations on my crew due to moral and ethical reasons (despite the fact that this is a game), and from that bias I came up with all the limitations I mentioned. I figured that the more of a cyborg you become, the more humanity you lose. Same with genetic modifications. I realize I'm thinking in extremes here, but still.
It's more about how much robot and less human the augmentations are. If you have an arm that can lift five times the weight of a normal one, but you feel it as a normal arm, you feel pain when it's hit, and it's mechanical, how much humanity are you losing? Also, races could have different opinion about that sort of stuff. So, for the Zeans, changing your body with technology is a mortal sin, purified only with death. And when one of them see you as a cyborg... but they are nice people to everybody else!
