Change Soldering Iron to use Fabrication rather than Mechanics

Solusphere · 2017-08-09T10:40:11.000Z

Currently, the Soldering iron, as far as I’m aware, relies purely on Mechanics skill when it comes to repairing/reinforcing metal objects. This is pretty weird and inconvenient, given that the majority of metal objects that are likely to get damaged come from, or at least require, the Fabrication tree.

As it stands, it’s possible to use your level 9 fabrication skill to smith a rapier, and be completely unable to repair even minor dents to it until you’ve practiced working on cars some more. Soldering irons using Mechanics seems to be a holdover from back before the Fabrication skill was a thing.

Wyzack · 2017-08-09T14:26:35.000Z

On one hand this makes a lot of sense, how on earth can you craft something flawlessly using a soldering iron and then be utterly unable to repair said thing with the exact same tool you used to make it?

On the other hand using a soldering iron to destroy a bunch of worthless items is the best way to level mechanics initially if you are unfortunate enough to not find a copy of Under the Hood, so I would be sad to see it go for that reason

DeWolf · 2017-08-09T16:12:55.000Z

Personally I find it more dumb to need mechanics 2 to SAW a piece of SHEET METAL off a car but you only need 1 or maybe even less mechanics to WELD some handlebars to something. Actually is that stuff hard coded or is it in the jsons? Also solusphere what is that I see about a atomic cargo pants? Did your game bug out and allow you to essentially make powered pants.

Solusphere · 2017-08-09T16:19:17.000Z

Off topic, but yes, that was a real bug that happened a while back that caused the game to display random combinations of modifications in the names of salvaged items.

As for levelling mechanics, that could potentially be addressed by adding some autolearned level 0 mechanics recipes of some kind, similar to the lightstrip or crude firestarter for electronics.

DeWolf · 2017-08-09T16:34:12.000Z

A thing to note is that you do SLOWLY but measurably train your mechanics skill by lockpicking or prying any door. More specifically you can pry any closed door whether it is locked or not and it still gives mechanics experience. So I have literally trained some of my characters mechanics skill to 2 by making a makeshift crowbar and prying open a not locked closed door for a while, it was tedious as shit but it did work and all you need is either a rock/chunk of steel, a pipe and a wooden door.

Tamior · 2017-08-09T17:46:34.000Z

The “prying unlocked door” really is a weird one.
On the one hand it looks very much like an exploit, on the other hand given than you need mechanic 2 to do anything worthwhile I can kind of justify it. Namely by the fact that so much of the stuff below mechanic 2 is something that anyone with half a brain would have learned by the age of 10 by default, so I don’t really care if there is also an exploit(-ish) way to train that up.

NuG · 2017-08-23T23:05:08.000Z

Did the prying the door exploit get patched?

Alec_White · 2017-08-23T23:09:00.000Z

NuG:

Did the prying the door exploit get patched?

github.com/CleverRaven/Cataclysm-DDA

Removed ability to pry open closed non-locked doors

by Night-Pryanik on 11:19AM - 22 Aug 17

6 commits changed 1 files with 70 additions and 59 deletions.

DeWolf · 2017-08-24T00:10:42.000Z

I would say don’t patch it unless you intend to add another way to increase mechanics.

NuG · 2017-08-24T03:09:33.000Z

DeWolf:

I would say don’t patch it unless you intend to add another way to increase mechanics.

I asked because I saw on GitHub earlier what Alec linked. I just didn’t know if it had been actually added or was in the works.

Kryxx · 2017-09-14T04:46:46.000Z

a soldering iron is used for electronics, not even fabrication in games terms.

I had a few courses in electronics at a community college years ago. I could fix various issues with T.V’s, circuit boards etc with replacing resisters etc.