* SS14-26480 Roll Traversal Distorter into regular Artifact Analyzers
Bit of a grab-bag of cleanup of Xenoarchaeology prompted by #26480.
1. Traversal distortion biases are now "up" and "down" instead of "in" and "out".
2. Node generation has been tidied up to make it a little clearer how it works.
3. Traversal Distorters have been removed from the game along with their board.
4. Traversal distortion is now done by the artifact analyzers by default.
5. Some loc strings have been made clearer.
6. The Abnormal Artifact Manipulation tech has been made slightly cheaper.
7. The aformentioned tech is now localized as Artifact Recycling, given all it does is unlock the crusher.
8. The Xenoarchaeology guidebook entry has been given a bit of a rewrite, putting all information into
one page and making sure to cover the basics that otherwise would require someone typing "Liltenhead
artifact tutorial" into Youtube.
* Fix references to deleted guidebook entry
* Add fancy button to console because @EmoGarbage404 asked me to
-A large portion of Xenoarchaeology gameplay revolves around the interpretation of artifact reports, which are created at the [color=#a4885c]analysis console[/color] after an artifact is scanned. Reports contain the following information:
+# Artifact Reports
+A large portion of Xenoarchaeology gameplay revolves around the interpretation of artifact reports, which are created at the [color=#a4885c]analysis console[/color] after an artifact is scanned. Reports contain the following information:
-- [color=#a4885c]Node ID:[/color] a unique numeric ID corresponding to this artifact's node. Useful in conjunction with a [color=#a4885c]node scanner[/color] for quickly identifying recurring nodes.
+- [color=#a4885c]Node ID:[/color] a unique numeric ID corresponding to this artifact's node. Useful in conjunction with a [color=#a4885c]node scanner[/color] for quickly identifying recurring nodes.
-- [color=#a4885c]Depth:[/color] a distance from the starting node (depth 0). This is a good shorthand for the value and danger of a node.
+- [color=#a4885c]Depth:[/color] a distance from the starting node (depth 0). This is a good shorthand for the value and danger of a node.
-- [color=#a4885c]Activation status:[/color] whether or not a node has been activated in the past.
+- [color=#a4885c]Activation status:[/color] whether or not a node has been activated in the past.
-- [color=#a4885c]Stimulus:[/color] the stimulus for that particular node.
+- [color=#a4885c]Stimulus:[/color] the stimulus for that particular node.
-- [color=#a4885c]Reaction:[/color] the reaction the stimulus induces. This is often vague, so caution is advised.
+- [color=#a4885c]Reaction:[/color] the reaction the stimulus induces. This is often vague, so caution is advised.
-- [color=#a4885c]Edges:[/color] the amount of nodes that are connected to the current node. Using this, you can calculate the total number of nodes as well as organize a map of their connections.
+- [color=#a4885c]Edges:[/color] the amount of nodes that are connected to the current node. Using this, you can calculate the total number of nodes as well as organize a map of their connections.
-- [color=#a4885c]Unextracted value:[/color] the amount of research points an artifact will give when extracted. Extracting sets this to zero and traversing new nodes increases it.
-
-Reports are a helpful tool in manipulating an artifact, especially in the later stages where you are traversing nodes that have already been activated.
-To help with this process, consider printing out reports, writing down details uncovered during activation, or storing them in a folder nearby.
+ - [color=#a4885c]Unextracted value:[/color] the amount of research points an artifact will give when extracted. Extracting sets this to zero and traversing new nodes increases it.
+ Reports are a helpful tool in manipulating an artifact, especially in the later stages where you are traversing nodes that have already been activated.
-Artifacts placed on top of a powered traversal distorter are subjected to a bias which affects which node they will move to after being activated. The bias can be set by clicking on the distorter.
-
-There are two types of biases:
-- [color=#a4885c]In:[/color] favors nodes closer to the origin. Results in a decrease of depth.
-- [color=#a4885c]Out:[/color] favors nodes farther away from the origin. Results in an increase of depth.
-
-Setting it to bias inwards allows you to return to the beginning of an artifact graph, if you've reached a dead end.
-
-Likewise, if you find yourself stuck at low depths, setting it to bias outward will help you find new nodes. In certain circumstances, toggling between the two allows you to repeatedly activate the same node.
Xenoarchaeology is a science subdepartment focused on researching and experimenting on alien artifacts.
-## Artifacts
+At the start of each shift, the Science department will usually have access to at least two artifacts to experiment on. You can buy more by talking to the Cargo department.
+
+By researching the unique things each artifact can do, you gain Research Points, increase the artifact's sale value, and potentially discover a useful ability or two that can help your department or the whole station!
-Artifacts consist of a randomly-generated graph structure. They consist of nodes connected to each other by edges, the traversal of which is the main goal of the scientists working on them.
+Artifacts consist of a randomly-generated tree of nodes. These nodes have a "[color=#a4885c]depth[/color]", representing how dangerous the node is, and the number of other nodes connected to it, called "[color=#a4885c]edges[/color]",
+
+Artifacts always start at depth zero, the root of the tree. Travelling the tree to find as many nodes as possible is the main goal of the scientists working on them. Knowledge is extracted from nodes to gain Research Points and increase the artifact's sale value.
+
+Each node has two components: its [color=#a4885c]stimulus[/color] and a [color=#a4885c]reaction[/color].
+
+A stimulus is the external behavior that triggers the reaction. There's a variety of these, and higher depth nodes have more difficult to accomplish stimuli. Some stimuli will need improvisation to trigger, and you may need to talk to other departments to get everything you need.
-Each node has two main components: a [color=#a4885c]stimulus[/color] and a [color=#a4885c]reaction[/color]. A stimulus is the external behavior that triggers the reaction. Some reactions are instantaneous effects while others are permanent changes. Triggering the reaction causes the artifact to move to one of the node's edges.
+Some reactions are instantaneous effects while others are permanent changes. Once an artifact is triggered, the reaction causes the artifact to randomly move to another node it is linked to.
-With these basic principles, you can begin to grasp how the different nodes of an artifact are interconnected, and how one can move between them by repeatedly activating nodes.
+With some experimental science, you can begin to grasp how the different nodes of an artifact are connected, and how to move between them by repeatedly activating nodes.
-While it might seem random to an untrained eye, a skilled scientist can learn to understand the internal structure of any artifact.
+All non-zero-depth nodes will have exactly one edge that leads up to its parent node. All other edges a node has lead down to the next depth.
## Artifact Analyzer and Analysis Console
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@@ -22,13+32,26 @@ While it might seem random to an untrained eye, a skilled scientist can learn to
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The main equipment that you'll be using for Xenoarchaeology is the [color=#a4885c]artifact analyzer[/color] and the [color=#a4885c]analysis console[/color]. You can use these to create reports that contain valuable information about an artifact.
-To set them up, simply link them with a network configurator, set an artifact on top of the analyzer, and press the [color=#a4885c]Scan[/color] button.
+To set them up, simply link them with a network configurator and set an artifact on top of the analyzer. Every station has at least one of these machines already set up.
-Using the console, you can extract points from the artifact using the [color=#a4885c]Extract[/color] button. The amount of points you extract is based on how many new nodes have been activated, since last extracting. You can extract multiple times, there is no reason not to!!!
+Use the console's [color=#a4885c]scan[/color] button to discover what stimulus the artifact needs and what its reaction will do. Scanning takes thirty seconds.
+
+Use the [color=#a4885c]print[/color] button to save the scan result, so you can refer to it later.
+
+Once you've discovered a new node, you can extract points from the artifact using the [color=#a4885c]Extract[/color] button.
-It is possible to gather multiple artifact fragments and assemble them into a working artifact. You can ask for these from Salvage, they usually find these while mining asteroids or on Expeditions.
+It is possible to gather multiple artifact fragments and assemble them into a working artifact. You can ask for these from Salvage, who usually find these while mining asteroids or on Expeditions.
+Artifacts placed on top of a powered artifact analyzer are subjected to a bias which affects which node they will move to after being activated. The bias can be set in the artifact console.
+There are two types of biases:
+- [color=#a4885c]Up:[/color] favors nodes closer to the origin. Results in a decrease of depth.
+- [color=#a4885c]Down:[/color] favors nodes farther away from the origin. Results in an increase of depth.
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# These are technically not equivalent, but it probably makes more sense to replace any existing SCAF stuff with SOME kind of armor, instead of just deleting it outright.