Do you only have to pay the upkeep if the helmet was actually used, or every mission regardless if you died or not?
The second.
There is absolutely no logical reason for the helmet to have an upkeep cost and not the backpack. And it makes no sense for the base helmet to cost same as backpack despite automation. Things should at least work and be priced logically.
Idea was that the upkeep cost would be the 'price you pay' for it being automated, not requiring a roll or even a teammate you have to rely on. You basically pay for your continued peace of mind and security against stat loss.
Seriously how hard is it to get a proper fair token price for this thing, without changing the way it works? Sorry for being persistent.
Originally pw proposed a way where you pay a 1 time price, then you get to keep it 'for free' but it was single use. That idea seemed to get some traction in the council, but then other people pointed out they thought that was too cheap for a lot of peace of mind, and that seeing as how people rarely tempdie (and that tokens are much easier to come by than level ups) it'd almost effectively be the same as permanent peace of mind, and so the idea of an upkeep was introduced. Then pw made the proposition quoted above, the council voted between it and the previous, and the former won out by a narrow absolute vote margin.
I could always try to see if that first idea couldn't be put on the table again, but i doubt it'll work, this will be the n
th time it comes up. And again, they can't all be winners.
(For the record, 'a proper fair token price' is very subjective, or we wouldn't have needed a council for pricing things in the first place.)
How about you stop and think about it like this radio.
Fibroblast grants immunity from stat loss, from all sources, forever.
Brainbox grants Immunity from stat loss from dying once, needs a med roll probably, and then has to have the biogel replaced.
I think 4 tokens for the backpack system and 2 tokens to repace the biogel after each use is perfectly reasonable.
note I said after each use, not mandatory upkeep... thats just a terrible idea.
The fibroblast
doesn't give immunity against all stat loss sources, unless pw is willing to have us rebalance the thing, which would be the first I hear about it (and is unprecedented, balancing an old pw made item in order to help justify something new).
Most importantly though, you shouldn't be directly appealing to me here, I'm just presenting the council decision on the matter, which doesn't necessarily line up with my own opinions or with what I voted on. I can always collect opinions and quote them in the council pm's or put a link up, but it's not like convincing me will just change the council decision. I'm a spokesperson, I'm not the whole of the council.