Welcome! These forums will be deactivated by the end of this year. The conversation continues in a new morph over on Discord! Please join us there for a more active conversation and the occasional opportunity to ask developers questions directly! Go to the PS+ Discord Server.

The 'point' of Spray Armour

24 posts / 0 new

Last post

Tue, 2014-04-01 00:50

thebluespectre thebluespectre's picture

The 'point' of Spray Armour

So there's this spray-on nano tech goop that provides minimal armor, lasts for 24 hours or until manually destroyed, can be disguised as a mundane aerosol can, and explicitly doesn't stack with any other armor. On the page right above Spray Armor, we get Smart Skin armor, which is slightly stronger, can be taken on and off at will an indefinite number of times, looks like any Utillitool widget when inactive, and explicitly works as an under layer for heavy armor. And costs the same amount of Consortium dogecoins. I have a question for other Eclipse Phase players; when, if ever, has Spray Armor come up in a session as a useful item? I can appreciate the flavor it adds, and some folks just need to have plugsuits, but if you're going to give it concrete stats, have it fill some sort of niche.

—

"Still and transfixed, the el/ ectric sheep are dreaming of your face..." -Talk Shows on Mute

Tue, 2014-04-01 00:53

Erulastant Erulastant's picture

The only possible use I can

The only possible use I can see is armoring something besides a person.

—

You, too, were made by humans. The methods used were just cruder, imprecise. I guess that explains a lot.

Tue, 2014-04-01 17:34

thebluespectre thebluespectre's picture

Erulastant wrote:The only

Erulastant wrote:
The only possible use I can see is armoring something besides a person.

So… spray armor is for making rubber chickens?

—

"Still and transfixed, the el/ ectric sheep are dreaming of your face..." -Talk Shows on Mute

Tue, 2014-04-01 17:42

bibliophile20 bibliophile20's picture

Or giving some impromptu

Or giving some impromptu protection to those fragile bottles marked "experimental nanoplague" that you just spotted and liberated from a Jovian research lab...

—

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote." -Benjamin Franklin

Tue, 2014-04-01 21:19

Chernoborg Chernoborg's picture

I could be wrong, but I think

I could be wrong, but I think the idea for spray armor came from a horror manga called Phantom Core by Yasushi Nirasawa. Really out there stuff, definitely NSFW. Good inspiration for a blighted, exsurgent-infested Earth story now that I think of it. The Scum woman on P.173 in Rimward could be another shout out to Nina Dolono ( a character and the user of spray armor)

—

Current Status: Highly Distracted building Gatecrashing systems in Universe Sandbox!

Wed, 2014-04-02 00:05

Hoarseman

This is a stretch...

The smart skin armor is dependent on active nano-machines to be used. So an EMP or equivalent attack could shut it down. Alternatively the nanites could be hacked/hijacked/subverted and they would be right next to your skin, bad things can easily happen. The spray armor seems to be a bunch of "dumb" polymer, meaning there is nothing to hack etc. So you might use the spray armor in circumstances where you can't use or don't have regular armor but also suspect that smart skin might be hacked or subverted. Another possibility is that the spray armor is easier to get a hold of in more restrictive societies, like the Jovians. They have a real mad-on for nano tech, outside government control that is, and from the description it might be possible to synthesize the spray armor even without a fabber as long as you had some good chemistry gear or the equivalent.

Wed, 2014-04-02 01:43

ShadowDragon8685 ShadowDragon8685's picture

Hoarseman: Somehow, I highly

Hoarseman: Somehow, I [i]highly[/i] doubt the Jovians let citizens buy body armor, or have good chemistry gear.

—

Skype and AIM names: Exactly the same as my forum name. [url=http://tinyurl.com/mfcapss]My EP Character Questionnaire[/url] [url=http://tinyurl.com/lbpsb93]Thread for my Questionnaire[/url] [url=http://tinyurl.com/obu5adp]The Five Orange Pips[/url]

Wed, 2014-04-02 04:38

nick012000 nick012000's picture

ShadowDragon8685 wrote

ShadowDragon8685 wrote:
Hoarseman: Somehow, I [i]highly[/i] doubt the Jovians let citizens buy body armor, or have good chemistry gear.

Why not? They aren't against science or self-protection, they're against transhumanism and nanomachines.

—

+1 r-Rep , +1 @-rep

Wed, 2014-04-02 07:54

ShadowDragon8685 ShadowDragon8685's picture

nick012000 wrote

nick012000 wrote:
ShadowDragon8685 wrote:
Hoarseman: Somehow, I [i]highly[/i] doubt the Jovians let citizens buy body armor, or have good chemistry gear.
Why not? They aren't against science or self-protection, they're against transhumanism and nanomachines.

Yes they are. they're definitely against science, but they're also against self-protection. You see, who do Jovians have to protect themselves against? The government. The Junta is the last bastian of hardcore nationalism. They like their non-privatized monopoly on violence, and they hate competition. Ergo, you can bet your ass that things like body armor and personal ownership of weapons are very, very frowned upon.

—

Wed, 2014-04-02 08:53

#10

thebluespectre thebluespectre's picture

And I thought that Spray

And I thought that Spray Armor was described as nano tech in its flavor text too, so it's not like the Republic would be okay with it.

—

"Still and transfixed, the el/ ectric sheep are dreaming of your face..." -Talk Shows on Mute

Wed, 2014-04-02 09:07

#11

Hoarseman

Nope

The only mention of nanotech in Spray Armor is using a nanotech solvent to remove it. The armor itself seems to be just advanced polymer chemistry.

Wed, 2014-04-02 09:14

#12

Hoarseman

Kitchen sink chemistry

If you can make/buy glasses and stirring rods, have a way to heat and cool samples, and a few other things like measure the aforementioned temperature you can do chemistry. It may not be great but you can do it. Trying to prevent people from doing chemistry is like trying to prevent people from using the letter "y". An enormous investment is resources that almost certainly won't work.

Wed, 2014-04-02 09:33

#13

nick012000 nick012000's picture

Quote:Yes they are. they're

Quote:
Yes they are. they're definitely against science,

No, they're not. You don't build giant doom weapons, working asteroid colonies, fleets of warships, and power-armored cyborg supersoldiers if you're anti-science. The Jovians do all of these things. Yes, including the cyborg supersoldiers; just take a look at the Jovian faction writeup; you're only restricted from gene-modified/robotic morphs and advanced nanotech. They're not anti-science, they're anti-nanotechnology, anti-AGI, and anti-genetic augmentation.

Quote:
You see, who do Jovians have to protect themselves against? The government.

Criminals. Anarchist spies and saboteurs. TITAN-infected infiltrators.

Quote:
The Junta is the last bastian of hardcore nationalism. They like their non-privatized monopoly on violence, and they hate competition. Ergo, you can bet your ass that things like body armor and personal ownership of weapons are very, very frowned upon.

I very much doubt that. The Junta is very heavily portrayed as an extension of modern-day American Conservative politics (for better or worse), and one of the policies very heavily associated with modern-day American Conservatives is a strong support for private firearms ownership. Of course, all of those firearms would be manufactured the old way, with proper mills, lathes, macroscale 3D printers, and whatnot, rather than fancy nanotech assemblers, but I would be very surprised if personal firearms weren't widely available for purchase.

—

+1 r-Rep , +1 @-rep

Wed, 2014-04-02 14:18

#14

thebluespectre thebluespectre's picture

Plus, you gotta remember that

Plus, you gotta remember that every Citizen of Jupiter either is or was part of the army or police department at one point. Everybody is assigned weapons and proper training- APPROVED, licensed weapons. I'm not sure they have stores where you can just buy them. Also, Jovians would probably have an easier time mass-producing el cheapo Armor Vests than goofy spray-on body stockings.

—

"Still and transfixed, the el/ ectric sheep are dreaming of your face..." -Talk Shows on Mute

Wed, 2014-04-02 21:50

#15

Mandella

nick012000 wrote:

nick012000 wrote:
I very much doubt that. The Junta is very heavily portrayed as an extension of modern-day American Conservative politics (for better or worse), and one of the policies very heavily associated with modern-day American Conservatives is a strong support for private firearms ownership. Of course, all of those firearms would be manufactured the old way, with proper mills, lathes, macroscale 3D printers, and whatnot, rather than fancy nanotech assemblers, but I would be very surprised if personal firearms weren't widely available for purchase.

I was about to log in and say this very thing, but Nick beat me to it. Of course the whole space habitat thing is a mitigating factor here, but I would be very very surprised if the Jovians had absolute restrictions on guns and body armor. Right to protect yourself from criminal scum and all that. And I like the idea that Spray Armor is "lower tech" than the smart suit, and less vulnerable to boot. There might also be limits to what your available fabber can output, and you might just have to settle...

Thu, 2014-04-03 15:06

#16

savanah

Besides, spray armour could

Besides, spray armour could be really useful for patching holes in your hab or spaceship

Thu, 2014-04-03 15:35

#17

Pattom

Noncombat Uses

Don't forget that electrical currents also change the nanomaterial's texture and coloring: combined with eelware, there may be uses for spray armor as a disguise first and armor second.

—

"So much for the element of surprise." "The explosion was the surprise."

Thu, 2014-04-03 21:47

#18

Chernoborg Chernoborg's picture

Just rereading the section

Just rereading the section and I don't see where it doesn't stack with other armors. Now, you can't apply it on top of other layers nor will it work on anything that doesn't have a body temperature. As for when you would use it, that's a bit tougher. Perhaps in situations where going around armored up would be socially unacceptable. Hyperelites, Socialites, and Oligarchs are likely to have a can on hand for when things go south. Or ... just to have some fashionable spray on clothes and the protection is a side benefit. As a side note, how big of a can do you imagine this comes in? Thinking on it a bit, and carrying around a big spray can doesn't feel right . But a thin cylinder about the size of a large pen would fit in a pocket and seem much more futuristic!

—

Current Status: Highly Distracted building Gatecrashing systems in Universe Sandbox!

Thu, 2014-04-03 23:23

#19

ShadowDragon8685 ShadowDragon8685's picture

Hyperelites, Oligarchs, and

Hyperelites, Oligarchs, and Socialites are far more likely to be wearing Smart Clothing, which has an armor rating already. Or, more likely, a Smart Vac Clothing set, which can form into an even-more protective armor suit on a moment's notice that also protects them against things like contact poisons and inhalation poisons and being suddenly airlocked.

—

Fri, 2014-04-04 11:36

#20

uwtartarus uwtartarus's picture

While enjoyinig orgy-cruises

When you are enjoying some sort of orgy cruise, as a hyperelite, it may be inconvenient to wear any clothing, then having Spray Armor is useful, just be careful to keep it marked separately from the other topical substances used in such occasions.

—

Exhuman, and Humanitarian.

Fri, 2014-04-04 14:35

#21

Hoarseman

Smuggling/making it

Also, if you needed to smuggle armor into a area that prohibits it then Spray armor would be much easier to get in. A few cans of spray can simply be relabeled "hull patcher" and unless you had someone very knowledgeable looking at a sample of it the cans would probably pass a security scan. Smart armor seems like it would be much harder to pass as something innocuous.

Mon, 2014-04-07 04:16

#22

Googleshng Googleshng's picture

Way back when I had a thread

Way back when I had a thread going on this, which was largely griping about the cost (considering a given can is going to run out) for the negligible protection it gives. I believe the general consensus was that it mainly just exists for the sake of fans of body paint, but I could also see using it to fill in the gaps if you want some kind of head to toe coverage, with more significant armor just covering your torso. So, you toss on an armored coat, and then spritz some of this on your neck face and hands.

Fri, 2014-04-11 17:43

#23

Dareon

I've postulated a hab gang

I've postulated a hab gang that goes out looking for trouble wearing nothing but spray armor, which is mostly just psychological warfare directed at the players themselves. Although an appropriately conservative player character might get weirded out by someone's erogenous zones being exposed in a fight.

Sat, 2014-04-12 00:21

#24

Googleshng Googleshng's picture

It would be nice for

It would be nice for coordinating a big group's look in a hurry yeah, and I suppose if you specifically had a nudist hab where even second skin would cause some raised eyebrows, and people fought barehanded, suddenly it becomes a downright practical notion. Not sure if that sort of setup really has enough meat to it to work into an adventure as more than just an interesting background detail or the lead-in to a really mismatched fight suddenly breaking out, but it's still a viable use for the stuff, so, congrats on coming up with that!