Gas Pumps Cost Money (Cash Cards)

[acehawk]

[quote=“acehawk, post:19, topic:6148”]I would argue that the lore supports all these things and more, the USA has gotten extremely distopic in the years before the cataclysm. And where is this top of the line security in gun shops you are talking about? All I see is easily shattered windows.

Ironically, most security systems are dependent on electricity. Also tend to be dependent on people turning them on, which they tend not to do in the middle of a riot/evacuation/being murdered.

My point is this, I think society sounds like it was fucked beyond reason even before everything went to hell, I think the automated response systems should reflect that.

And why would communications shut down? Sattilites and nuclear batteries, maybe even entirely automated nuclear powerplants with hundred year supplies.

Satellites would work just fine. It’s the ground side that’s at issue. Pull out your cell phone. Odds are good that your phone calls will bounce through a satellite at some point, right? Take out the power to the towers or the uplink, and your phone can’t do anything about the satellite that’s still working just fine. Now you have an advanced calculator and MP3 player that will run out of power and do nothing more than be a paperweight.

And if “entirely automated nuclear powerplants with hundred year supplies” were around, we wouldn’t be running around in the dark scavenging for batteries to run our food dehydrators.[/quote]

Question, why do we have vending machines that can dispense things and robotic security forces that still run if there is not an active electrical grid? It’s ludicrous to assume there is not some form of power generation still occurring on a large scale with all of these electronics still working, for more than a year after the event I might add.

Also, security systems are typically left on or set to automatically engage at certain times.

[Khrysanth]

Question, why do we have vending machines that can dispense things and robotic security forces that still run if there is not an active electrical grid? It’s ludicrous to assume there is not some form of power generation still occurring on a large scale with all of these electronics still working, for more than a year after the event I might add.

Two things here:

[ul][li]I agree that some of the things that are still functional don’t make a lot of sense.[/li]
[li]At the start of the game it is only five (5) days after the evacuation. That’s all. Not a year, not a month, not even a full week.[/li][/ul]

Also, security systems are typically left on or set to automatically engage at certain times.

Having worked around numerous places that used security systems, I can say with absolute certainty: No, they aren’t. They are manually set when people leave, to prevent accidentally tripping the system.

[acehawk]

[quote=“acehawk, post:21, topic:6148”]Question, why do we have vending machines that can dispense things and robotic security forces that still run if there is not an active electrical grid? It’s ludicrous to assume there is not some form of power generation still occurring on a large scale with all of these electronics still working, for more than a year after the event I might add.

Two things here:

[ul][li]I agree that some of the things that are still functional don’t make a lot of sense.[/li]
[li]At the start of the game it is only five (5) days after the evacuation. That’s all. Not a year, not a month, not even a full week.[/li][/ul]

Also, security systems are typically left on or set to automatically engage at certain times.

Having worked around numerous places that used security systems, I can say with absolute certainty: No, they aren’t. They are manually set when people leave, to prevent accidentally tripping the system.[/quote]

I have been playing a character for 1 full year, guess what? Everything that worked on day 5 still works on day 365. It’s not as if they are shutting down after a certain amount of in game time.

I’d argue that the advent of intelligent autonomous security forces would indicate a similar improvement in automated security systems. Besides, I’m not talking about door alarms, I’m talking about alarms on things that are not regularly accessed that go off when they are broken into.

[jimboblordofeskimos]

Question, why do we have vending machines that can dispense things and robotic security forces that still run if there is not an active electrical grid? It's ludicrous to assume there is not some form of power generation still occurring on a large scale with all of these electronics still working, for more than a year after the event I might add.

Also, security systems are typically left on or set to automatically engage at certain times.

The correct answer is: Games.

It works within the game and the devs have a big enough pile of stuff to work through without trying to live up to reality with every feature.
Sit back and enjoy the glorious spectacle that is reality taking a flying fuck at a rolling doughnut.

[acehawk]

[quote=“jimboblordofeskimos, post:24, topic:6148”]

Question, why do we have vending machines that can dispense things and robotic security forces that still run if there is not an active electrical grid? It’s ludicrous to assume there is not some form of power generation still occurring on a large scale with all of these electronics still working, for more than a year after the event I might add.

Also, security systems are typically left on or set to automatically engage at certain times.

The correct answer is: Games.

It works within the game and the devs have a big enough pile of stuff to work through without trying to live up to reality with every feature.
Sit back and enjoy the glorious spectacle that is reality taking a flying fuck at a rolling doughnut.[/quote]

Ultimately that’s kindof my point. There are already things that would really need power that still work, so requiring power in and of itself is not a reason something shouldn’t be in the game. Emergency power reserves, localized solar power, nuclear batteries(wouldn’t those just be miniaturized nuclear reactors?), automated power plants that supply an emergency power grid for critical services(my personal favorite concept), whatever applied phlebotinum you want as an excuse for why it works, as long as it adds to the fun of the game. That said, I do personally like there to be a good reason, but I do think there are plenty to choose from.

[Zordelraak]

How about adding automated healing/repair stations which will request money in order to use them. It will really help in the beginning when you start without skills or when you ran out of bandages/batteries. Also add automated work station where you need computer skill in order to craft items (instead of skill which is used in craft), materials and fee for using station, and high technology stations which will allow you create high tech equipment.

[Creamy_Goodness]

How about adding automated healing/repair stations which will request money in order to use them. It will really help in the beginning when you start without skills or when you ran out of bandages/batteries. Also add automated work station where you need computer skill in order to craft items (instead of skill which is used in craft), materials and fee for using station, and high technology stations which will allow you create high tech equipment.

^^^ This Fuck losing 9/10 characters because I cant find a health kit early game

[Zordelraak]

[quote=“Zordelraak, post:26, topic:6148”]How about adding automated healing/repair stations which will request money in order to use them. It will really help in the beginning when you start without skills or when you ran out of bandages/batteries. Also add automated work station where you need computer skill in order to craft items (instead of skill which is used in craft), materials and fee for using station, and high technology stations which will allow you create high tech equipment.

^^^ This Fuck losing 9/10 characters because I cant find a health kit early game[/quote]
I lose characters after 2-3 seasons 'cause I prefer secure cities and usually underestimate Z’s strenght (I prefer unarmed combat, but recently with “melee weapon training” perk I started using qurterstaff, nodachi and other melee weapons).

Oh and besides, Creamy Goodness, if I type that I’d prefer some healing stations in game and you’re not, that doesn’t mean that they don’t blend with game style, it’s future after all.

[RAM]

Ehhhh, first aid requires a certain level of portability that would lean more towards overly expensive robots than practical vending machines, but I could see large commercial establishments and emergency medical facilities having some sitting in cupboards around the place. The medical colleges are nasty pieces of work that that would kill off any fully-automated advanced medicine and “machines are less trustworthy and professional than humans” is an easy thing to sell… Finally, “walk up to machine to get a full heal” feels really first-person-shootery to me, though I cannot figure out why.
As for the vending machines, once the main power is disconnected then they will probably switch to a low-power mode. Turn off the lights, maybe have a basic sensory net to detect major damage but that would just be a low current through a small circuit, so not such a big deal, and they could put in a mechanical switch to turn on the vending system when a card is inserted, so that wouldn’t need any power over time. And the things are big with a lot of empty space and folk who do not really want to have to replace the food on more than an annual basis so they could stick a few car batteries in there and ignore the thing… Not that they would necessarily work that way, far more likely they would just stop working and, have a sufficient variance in robustness that the contents would be massively damaged by anything that could reach them. I mean, candy-bars and soft drinks are not exactly pillars of physical integrity…
But, umm, there is a topic around here someplace, right? Oh yeah, umm, I feel that pumps could be an opportunity for more skill interactions…

[Sir_Scarfalot]

[quote=“jimboblordofeskimos, post:8, topic:6148”][quote=“AseaHeru, post:5, topic:6148”]Can you smash/take apart the ammo venders?

Well, !Science! has shown me that these things dont work: Crowbar, lockpick, gunfire, 100 blows with a sledgehammer, 50 hits with the sonic resonator cbm. Ammo in them is crazy expensive as well. Like 1500 bucks for a pack by memory.[/quote]

Yeah, those vending machines are made to withstand grenade blasts. Nothing short of C4 is gonna bust one open. Although I’ve managed to bust into one by chucking around 10 grenades at it.

Also I’ve never seen ammo that costs more than ~$800. If you’ve been collecting cash cards and piling all the money into one card for a bit you should have no problem purchasing ammunition. Just keep in mind each charge on a cash card is one cent. So a cash card with 29299 charges has $292.99 on it.[/quote]

How exactly do you pile money between cash cards? Is that a thing from the experimental versions?

[KA101]

Find a working ATM and it’ll let you transfer funds between cards/accounts.

[TheFlame52]

You need an ATM to do it.