User:Racc-Off/new artifacts
WIP
Artifacts 
Artifacts are powerful and mysterious items, they are responsible for many phenomena including transforming people into corgis, or spontaneously creating missing persons cases.
Science can research with these items to gain various rewards, including both research and discovery points.
Anatomy
Defining an artifact starts with its material. An artifact's material defines what 'rules' it follows in terms of what kind of traits it can have, and how many traits it can have.
| material Type | Info |
|---|---|
 Bluespace
|
Bluespace artifacts are generally considered the safest type, as most of their traits and synergies are benevolent. |
 Plasma
|
Plasma artifacts are the easiest to weaponize, often containing dangerous traits that synergize together in an offensive manner. |
 Uranium
|
Uranium artifacts are even more dangerous than plasma artifacts, having access to most traits with no overarching patterns or pre-determined synergies. Uranium artifacts also start with a malfunction, and gain another later. (See below) |
 Bananium
|
Bananium artifacts are wild cards, they have no rules or restrictions regarding trait types. |
The next aspect is an artifact's traits. Traits define an artifact's behaviour and characteristics, these traits fall into 1 of 4 categories, of which are-
| Trait Type | Info |
|---|---|
| Activators | These define how an artifact 'activates'. Every artifact will have 1 of these. |
| Minors | These can define an artifact's physical characteristics, special secondary actions, or artifact function behaviour. Every artifact will have 3 of these. |
| Majors | These define an artifact's action, what it does. Every artifact will have 1 of these. |
| Malfunctions | These define what's wrong with an artifact. Most artifacts will not start with these, instead gaining 1 through repeated use without stabilization. |
Traits
Trait List (mouse over the sleuth entries for a brief explanation)
| Name | Type | Description | Sleuthing | Materials | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sturdy | Activator | This activator responds to, almost, any tactile input. This trait is especially useful for weapons. | 
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Research
As stated earlier, science can research these items to gain various rewards.
Tools
Scale 
The Scale is used to measure an artifact's weight. Each artifact trait has a unique weight, all the artifact's traits' weights are added together to determine the final artifact's weight.
Conductor 
The Conductor is used to measure an artifact's conductance. Each artifact trait has a unique conductance, all the artifact's traits' conductance are added together to determine the final artifact's conductance.
Stabilizer 
The Stabilizer is used to stabilize artifacts. When an artifact is inserted, the stabilizer can be activated to stabilize it. However, if the artifact is labeled incorrectly, or not at all, it will calcify / be destroyed.
Listing Console 
The listing console is used to purchase artifacts through cargo.
Anti-Tactile Pinchers 
The anti-tactile pinchers are used to safely handle artifacts. They can be toggled on and off.
Labeler 
The labeler is used to, safely, label artifacts, what traits they have.
Science Goggles
The science goggles are used to help identify artifact traits.
Acquiring
Obviously you'll need an artifact first, before you can begin research. Artifacts can be bought through the Research and Development Listing Console with the science budget, which will deliver artifacts through cargo. Otherwise, artifacts can be 'found', or even made.
Artifacts can be found on lavaland, inside maintenance, or during exploration missions.
Making artifacts is a little bit tricker, and will require some sleuthing from the player to figure out.
Labelling
Once you have an artifact, you'll need to label it, correctly, for it to have any value whatsoever. This is generally done by sleuthing out what traits the artifact has by examining, weighing, conducting, and generally testing it, which can be done with various items. If you don't want to accidentally activate the bomb artifact while doing this, be sure to wear a pair of anti-tactile pinchers , these will make most interactions safe, but only if they are enabled. Otherwise, activating the artifact, although dangerous, can also help you sleuth out what traits it has.
It's important to be wearing science goggles during this process, as they will generally translate vague hints and effects into exact trait names.
Processing
Once the artifact is labeled, you have several options on how you'd like to process it.
Stabilizing
Stabilizing an artifact stops it from malfunctioning, and doubles any potential rewards gained from it. This is useful for artifacts you want to distribute across the station, without the risk of blowing a hole in the hull, or just maximizing profits before selling it. Successfully stabilizing an artifact will reward science with a small amount of discovery points.
Exporting
Exporting, selling, an artifact through cargo will not only give cargo a monetary kick back for doing your dirty work, it also awards science with research and discovery points.
Scanning
Scanning artifacts with the Discovery Scanner will also yield discovery points. However, traits can only be discovered once, and will not reward points if they have already been scanned.
Tracking
Once an artifact is stabilized, instead of selling it you can opt to 'track' it instead. Tracked artifacts will generate research and discovery points when activated, and, if enabled, will announce their location of science comms.
The Work
The work is a process players can figure out for themselves in-game, and we encourage them to do so, but for those who can't quite figure it out-
How to perform the work
The work refers to the process of making custom artifacts. This is a somewhat lengthy process that will require lots of mechanical knowledge, from either yourself or others.
- Stabilization(Optional) - The first step requires you stabilize an artifact. To do this, you must label an artifact perfectly, excluding malfunctions, and run it through the stabilizer.
- Pearls(Optional) - After an artifact is stabilized, traits will 'open' when the artifact is aligned on certain coordinate grid marks, the unique grid position for each trait is determined by its weight and conductivity. A trait with 3 weight and 3 conductivity will 'open' when the artifact's XY coordinates are both perfectly divisible by 3. When 'open' traits can be removed, in the form of pearls, by using a screwdriver on the artifact. These pearls are then attached to the item you want to turn into an artifact later.
- Tritium - Items you want to turn into artifacts must be on a tile that has a visible amount of tritium in it.
- Fusion - To turn items submerged in tritium into artifacts, a nuclear particle must pass over / hit it, and then roll a 1/3 chance. The easiest way to make nuclear particles is fusion.
Misc
Defense
Knowing how to defend yourself against particularly dangerous artifacts is a key step to keeping yourself outside medbay. In terms of avoiding the effects of artifacts, certain techniques and clothing will keep an artifact from being able to target you.
- The tile directly under arua, timed, flammable, etc. artifacts isn't actually targeted, and is the safest place to be in most cases.
- Clothing and armor like syndicate hardsuits and wizard robes have a chance to deflect artifact targeting. Here's a definitely accurate list of which clothings block artifacts, and their chance to do so.
| Clothing | Block Chance |
|---|---|
 Blood-Red Hardsuit
|
100% |
| Gem-Encrusted Harsuit
|
100% |
| Prototype Hardsuit
|
100% |
| Bio Suit
|
75% |
| Radiation Suit
|
100% |
| Wizard Robe
|
100% |
| Fake Wizard Robe
|
75% |