Deathcube is Deathcube.
@Lenglon: Amp specialists sense the world through their amps. That requires the amp specialist operation to be performed on you with all its unfortunate side effects and high mortality rate. I think Pancaek had asked about it, I'll search for a quote if I have time.
Not saying that weirdsense is impossible, just saying that method of achieving it will probably not work.
well darn. got any suggestions?
First of all, the quote I was talking about:
"Well, that was an epic fail... okay, so questions about amps... firstly, during the battle, there was this amp specialist. I wasn't involved with hunting him, so I only heard that he was some wheelchair amp user who could use amps to sense. Previously I was told that you can't really use amps to sense. Is that a long, impractical process of some sort? Is there some... safer procedure that could work?"
Ask
"Not really. Sensing with them basically requires a combination of augmentations plus being kept comatose. Even then it's still not always successful. Specialists are basically the same idea as a ghost ship but limited to a single person. It's not the sort of thing that most people would chose, since it basically means you're going to spend the rest of your life doing that and basically only that."
There is not much info about how amps or space magic works, so I can only offer guesses. After thinking for a bit I got three ideas, but I'm not really sure if they can work. I guess that's something the Doc has to answer.
First idea is a simple extension of what piecewise suggested. We currently have shield automanipulators that can protect you from certain effects. You could simply use the sensors those shields use without the automanipulator. You could have them be an external system that warns you about harmful effects around you and shows them in your HUD or you could somehow integrate it into your brain so that you can sense what is going on. It would probably be a bit crude though and only sense things in a small area around you. It would also probably be unable to tell who is causing the effect, only that an abnormal effect exists. And, the way I understand it, the sensors would not be able to differentiate between space magic and dangerous environments. So if you were in a fire, the sensor might become confused and think the fire is amp usage.
Second idea is only a theory, based on the following quote:
Stay in the hallway outside of the entrance to the R&D. Heat up the door beyond the rods with my microwave amp to soften up the metal a bit. Then use mass amp to apply a generous blast of force to blow the door in. Use cameye zoom to observe what lies beyond.
You attempt to apply heat to the door but something rather odd happens. The heat you're imagining, flowing from your head and into the door, becomes strangely visible halfway to it, as it passes into the rod laden room. And as it becomes visible, as a sort of glowing fluid, like molten metal flowing through the air, it also cools, fading from existence and being sprayed across the room in a thousand tiny pieces at the same time. Huh.
The theory is that the effects of amps (and maybe other forms of space magic), whatever their user is imagining, actually exist on some other level of reality. So if you had a way to see that other level of reality, you could see the effect of amps. It would be some sort of alternate vision mode you switch to when you want to sense them. Perhaps the doc could design a device that could do that or just alter your brain. And it would have the benefit of allowing you to see who is using amps. Understanding what they are doing with amps might be a bit trickier in certain circumstances and would probably take some time to get used to it (heating something looks like fire going out of their mind, but what does gravity or mind control look like?). The only drawback I see is the possibility of sensory overload or one kind of space magic masking another (for example, the Sword uses automanipulators to generate gravity. That would probably make everything on the sword look full of the effects of that gravity automanipulator. And since it probably is very strong, it might obscure other, less powerful space magic until you are close enough.)
Third idea is also a theory and not a very good one. It is based on the following quote:
"How does that work, though? What's willpower supposed to be, anyway? And how can it possibly help matters any when your body chemistry is being recklessly altered by outside forces? How about if someone just goes and liquefies your brain stem with one of those organochemistry overriders or whatever they're called? Does willpower figure into that somehow?"
"I mean, how can you resist something through an effort of will when the thing being altered is the very thing you're resisting with? Wouldn't it be like trying to remember a dream you've forgotten or trying to beat rapidly advancing dementia by outwitting it or ignoring it? After all, you can't think or will your way out of schizophrenia or OCD, or heck, even depression - in those cases, it's your thinking that's the problem, caused by chemical imbalances in your brain and whatnot."
"That is, unless you're a great believer in souls and so forth... although, considering that we can apparently come back from the dead within five hours of dying when brain damage begins within five minutes of being deprived of oxygen seems to support that particular idea. But yeah, what's your take on that stuff?"
Keep asking! And, since nobody was eager to buy it, turn in MKII suit as I speak for 3 tokens.
You turn in your suit and get three tokens, bringing your total to five.
"Because the box listens to whoever is talking the loudest." She mutters, starts to say something and then reconsiders and shakes her head. "Listen, a pilot can fly a ship without having to understand the physics of a jump point or how the electronics in his console function. There are good reasons we don't tell people whats in the black boxes, not the least of which being that we don't fully understand it ourselves. Someday, if you live long enough, you might find out, but for now, drop it."
That means that willpower can be described as "talking loudly". So if you were to somehow develop a sensor that can sense the use of willpower (assuming it is something that can be received, something like a radio transmission), you would be able to know when someone is using theirs. If you could somehow decode that "willpower signal" you could even understand what they are using it for. This however has the drawback that it probably only works on humans and that it would probably require you to succeed a will roll. The way I'm imagining it is that you have something like a custom built amp in your head (or your brain altered) so that you can try to receive those "willpower signals", perhaps by tapping into the brains of everyone around you. Like someone eavesdropping in a telephone conversation, only the conversation is between the mind of the amp user and their/your amp.
Fourth idea is to try talking to the AM about it. She appears capable of sensing space magic around her (unless that's a result of her being aware of almost anything around her). Maybe she can give you some insight on how she does it and if it is possible for you to do it without becoming an amp specialist.
Author
Topic: Einsteinian Roulette: OOC and NEW PLAYER INFO (Read 2549609 times)