User:Hordes/Mechanoid allies

With the release of the Biotech DLC, mechanoids may be built and controlled by a colony - specifically, a mechaniator.

Summary

General

Mechaniators are required to build, gestate, and control your own mechanoids. The amount depends on the mechanoid itself and the mechaniator's own bandwidth.

Player mechs require electric power to function. Mechanoids will generally use 10% power per day when active: 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 creates pollution in the form of toxic wastepacks. The amount of pollution is directly correlated to their bandwidth.

Mechanoids can be repaired at the cost of their power. This will restore otherwise permanent injuries. Dead mechanoids can be ressurected at the cost of some size-dependent steel and a gestation time.

All mchanoids are immune to fire, toxicity, and temperature extremes, despite having a Comfortable Temperature. They are vulnerable to EMP attacks, being stunned by them.

Acquisition

Mechaniators 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. More complex mechanoids require more research.

1. 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.
2. Mechinators must have enough bandwidth for the mechanoid in question. The larger and more complex the mechanoid is, the more bandwidth is required.
3. 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 mechinator must take the mech out.

Mechanoid research in particular requires killing one of three mechanoid commanders - the Diaoblus, War queen, and Apocriton, in order of progression - before it is possible.