User:Hordes/Mechanoid allies
 | This article relates to content added by Biotech (DLC). Please note that it will not be present without the DLC enabled. |
With the release of the Biotech DLC, mechanoids may be built and controlled by a colony - specifically, a mechaniator.
Summary
General
Mechanitors are required to build, gestate, and control your own mechanoids. The amount depends on the mechanoid itself and the mechanitor's own bandwidth.
All mechanoids are immune to fire, toxicity, and temperature extremes, despite having a Comfortable Temperature. They are vulnerable to EMP attacks, being stunned by them. Mechanoids do not need to eat, sleep, and have no mood. However, they require power, and cause pollution in the process.
Mechs are autonomous. They are assigned control groups, and the group recieves orders (Work, Escort, Recharge, Dormant). So long as the mechanitor is alive and has enough bandwidth, mechs will remain obedient and working. Mechs cannot be directly controlled or ordered unless drafted. However, they will respect zones (and won't stay outside of one). Mechs will work if the mechanitorr leaves their current map, but orders can't be changed.
When drafted, mechanoids act like any other drafted pawn, so are limited to combat actions and are under player control. However, mechanoids can only move and be given commands if their new position is within a 25 tile radius of their mechanitor. They will still defend themselves and continue any previous command, though. The mechanitor must not be downed or in a mental break in order to give orders.
Mechs considered "light" use a regular mech recharger and mech gestator. Mechs considered "medium" or heavier use the large mech recharger and large mech gestator.
Power
Player mechanoids will use 10% power per day when active: labor mechs doing work, or being awake at all for combat mechs. They can be commanded to enter dormant self-charging, which stops power drain, and recharges at an extremely slow rate (+1% power / day). They can instead be recharged at a mech recharger or large mech recharger, which quickly recharges them (+50% power / day), but creates pollution in the form of toxic wastepacks. The amount of waste is directly correlated to their bandwidth. This leads to a theoretical uptime of 83% - 5 days active, 1 day charging - but this decreases if mechs are idle and increases with strategic dormancy.
Mechanoids can be repaired at the cost of their power, the rate dependent on which mech it is. This will restore otherwise permanent injuries. If killed, mechanoids can be ressurected at the cost of some size-dependent steel and gestation time, so long as some part of their corpse is intact
Acquisition
Mechanitors are required in all steps of the process. Research must be done with a valid mechaniator in the colony, and only the mechanitor may initiate any of the mech creation processes. First, creating your own mechs requires the Basic Mechtech research, which in turn requires the Electricity research to be completed first.
- Mechanitors must have enough bandwidth for the mechanoid in question. The larger and more complex the mechanoid is, the more bandwidth is required.
- All mechanoids require a subcore to create, along with other materials like steel. Simple mechs use a basic subcore (from a subcore encoder, while more complex ones require a standard subscore (from a subcore softscanner) or high subcore (from a subcore ripscanner). The ripscanner in particular requires killing a human pawn to create.
- After being "built" for a tiny amount of a mechanitor's work, mechs must gestate at a mech gestator or large mech gestator. Gestation types are measured in cycles; each cycle is 1.8 game days by default, and larger mechs require more cycles. A mech gestation processor can be installed into a mechanitor to increase the speed. When cycling is done, the mechanitor must take the mech out.
More complex mechanoids require more research. Mechanoid research in particular requires killing one of three mechanoid commanders - the Diabolus, War queen, and Apocriton, in order of progression - and studying their specific item before it is possible.
Hostile mechanoids cannot be tamed or converted in any way. However, you can create every mechanoid in the game, except for the Termite and Apocriton.
Mechanoid Types
Light
Militor
A small combat mechanoid, armed with a low-power mini-shotgun. Cheap to gestate and maintain,
Lifter
A small mechanoid designed for hauling. Lacking a ranged weapon, it can make only weak melee attacks.
Constructoid
A small mechanoid designed to perform construction tasks. It is equipped with a small slug gun for light defense. It can also perform blunt melee attacks if necessary.
Fabricor
A small work mechanoid designed to craft all manner of manufactured objects. It is equipped with a small slug gun for light defense.
Agrihand
A small mechanoid designed to sow and harvest crops. While it is better suited to labor than combat, it can fight with built-in cutting blades if necessary.
Cleansweeper
A light mechanoid designed for cleaning. Lacking a ranged weapon, it can make only weak melee attacks.
War Urchin
A small, deployable combat mechanoid usually manufactured inside an ultra-heavy war queen mech. War urchins are expendable fighters designed to swarm-attack enemies. They are mounted with short-ranged spiner guns and have a non-rechargeable power source.
Paramedic
A small mechanoid designed for non-violent emergency situation management and medical care. The paramedic can rescue the wounded, fight fires, treat the sick, and even perform surgery when a more-qualified human is not available. Its built-in jump launcher allows it to jump into, and out of, emergency situations, and its built-in firefoam popper can quickly extinguish fires.
Medium
Lancer
Armed with charge lances, they make up for modest DPS with the chance to insta-kill pawns by destroying body parts. This is fairly rare, but long term presents a significant risk. Thus exposure should be limited and lancers eliminated with extreme prejudice. As they fight best against pawns at medium to long range and cannot fire when engaged in melee, melee combat is very effective if the distance can be safely closed.
Pikeman
Acting as the sniper, they aren't terribly powerful. Their main role is to allow mechanoids to engage at range - use bends in chokepoints to force them into range, or simply advance and kill them.
Legionary
A combat support mechanoid with a wide range bullet shield and long-range needle gun. Designed to support other mechanoids from long range, the legionary is vulnerable to anyone who can get inside its shield.
Tesseron
A medium-range combat mechanoid. While it is fairly vulnerable to attacks, the tesseron's sweeping beam graser attack is so deadly that few opponents can get shots off against it.
Scorcher
A close-approach war mechanoid that specializes in incendiary attacks. Its flame burst attack has little reach, but once it closes on a group of defenders it can ignite and disrupt them with blasts of searing flame.
Heavy
Tunneler
A heavy mechanoid built for mining in treacherous locations. While intended for excavation, the tunneler's gigantic power claws and ultra-thick armor makes it a dangerous force in combat.
Centipede
Centipedes are tanks and crowd controllers. They are extraordinarily durable and their heavy charge blasters do respectable damage in massive bursts, while inferno cannon light fires and force ignited pawns out of cover.
Centurion
An ultraheavy mech with a built-in shield bubble generator. The centurion carries a point-defense bulb turret capable of firing while the mechanoid is moving.
War Queen
An ultra-heavy mech with a built-in mech gestator. Fed with appropriate resources, the war queen can form small war urchin combat mechs within its massive carapace and deploy them into combat.\n\nEven more than other mechanoids, the war queen resembles a giant, living insect. All war mechs can be terrifying, but humans tend to find the war queen disturbing on a deeper level.
Diabolus
An ultra-heavy mechanoid with an ultra-powerful hellsphere cannon. Made for siegebreaking, its hellsphere cannon takes time to charge up a shot, but can melt concrete and vaporize bone.