Frankenstein Station 13: Introducing dissections and alien organs to xenobiology

[EmeraldCandy]

What Does This PR Do

The PR page should be primarily for issue reporting. Please direct general chatter to:
https://discord.com/channels/145533722026967040/1362583282692395058

for a list of all organ abilities, functions, and progress, refer to the excel document here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19WGbyGu1gzqhWUTsYu4SBNqetkCBr8vkhoc-zyoaXUY/edit?usp=sharing

Xenobiology has lacked content for a long time. Slimes are neat, but it gets pretty boring and many times is abandoned halfway through the shift. Now, xenobiologists have a handfull of new things that they can pursue over the course of the shift: Xeno organs! (not xenomorph. Okay well, not specifically xenomorph). This PR introduces the ability to dissect organs out of alien life, and allows them to be revitalized via slime therapy to turn into useful organs. These organs can then be implanted into others, or simply processed in the new Organ Analyzer machine to turn into research credits and potentially high-tier research disks!

Dissecting
Dissecting is a fairly straightforward process. All dissections begin with the dissection manager, though this can only be started on creatures that contain a xeno organ at all. This then follows normal surgical steps: Scalpel, hemostat, retractors, and finishing by pulling out the organ with the dissection manager. While there is a standard dissection procedure, not all creatures are created equal! Some creatures have different steps to open their surgical site. If you're ever unsure, just examine the creature after the initial dissection step and it will guide you. Ash drakes, for example, will require a bone saw to cut through their mighty scales, then removing said scales via a hemostat before you can reach its squishy flesh. Blobbernaughts, on the other hand, require retracting the incision back open every other step because THEIR GOOPY BODY KEEPS CLOSING THE DAMNED INCISION SITE!

The Organs
After dissection, the scientist will be rewarded with an unidentified organ. This organ, while currently useless, can have its potential unlocked by revitalizing it via slime therapy in xenobiology (listed below). Each creature will have a list of possible organs available to them, with each most creatures having at least one unique organ available to them. Seeing as only one can be pulled from each creature, multiple corpses may be required to obtain a desired organ. Each organ will have a randomized icon, so good luck telling them apart!

Each organ also has one of three quality levels: Damaged, normal, and pristine. This is nfluenced by two factors: The dissection manager level used, and any smith tool bit modifications attached to the device. Tools with a better failure rate chance will net, on average, higher quality organs! Most of the time this will only marginally make that organ function better, however occasionally a pristine (or even damaged) quality will have unique effects.

Slime Revitalization Therapy
Unidentified organs will be unusable in their current state, being pulled from a corpse and all. These organs will need to be inserted into a slime in order to revive it. However, not any ol slime will do. Slimes must be befriended before they will accept foreign object inside of them. First one needs to discipline a slime, which can be done a few ways. A slime that tries to eat someone out of hunger, then shoved off will have a chance to discipline it. A slime hit by an object of sufficient force will have a low chance a disciplining it, but beware of retaliation! Spray bottles filled with water are also a great way to discipline slimes, however this only works if they are chasing someone or are trying to eat them. Extinguishers wont work for this, itll just make them mad. Especially trained slimes! The most consistent way to discipline however, is to feed a slime 5 sheets of plasma, which will make it very happy!

After a slime is sufficiently disciplined, it will require an additional 5 sheets of plasma to cement its training. A trained slime will be able to take xeno organs into itself and revitalize them. A trained slime will be noticeable by the ":3" big smile on its face! happy slime! After a while itll eject the revitalized organ, ready to be implanted or analyzed! Additionally, trained slimes are less likely to become aggressive when abused or hungry.

Would you believe most this slime behavior was already in the game before this PR?

Organ Analyzer
The organ analyzer is fairly straight forward. A newly revitalized is slotted into the machine, after which it can be activated with an empty hand to start the process. When its done after a few seconds, the organ will be destroyed, but will grant the science department credits based off of what organ was destroyed, and potentially generate a high-level research disk based off of what kind of organ it was. Its a give-and-take!

New Job Role
With these expanded changes, its been agreed that xenobiology will be made its own proper job slow now, consisting of two job slots. This role will not have RnD Access, however it will have the benefit of mining and EVA access to compensate for the more mobile playstyle of xenobiologists going into the field. Likewise, xenobiology will be gaining its own access, with their work area being solely accessible by the biologists. They will retain sci-chem access.

As a side effect from this PR several changes have occured:

• all megafauna have been granted a corpse sprite, so that there is a body to extract the organs from.
• All megafauna corpses are un-pullable. Mr science man is going to have to get his hands dirty down there.
• Organs datum had a bit of a refactor to account for all the new processes, thus abductor organs were affected (but should be unchanged from their original design).
• added dissectors and regen mesh to maints as a sufficiently rare spawn

Why It's Good For The Game

Xenobio and science in general has needed content. Xeno bio needs more reasons to get out into the station/world and do more and have more reasons to talk to people. From shift start, xeno can get every color slime in 30-40 minutes and then they have nothing else to do. (at least I can). Slime ranching is alright, its pretty cathartic, but theres not much at the end of the road to achieve. Now, we can make HORRIBLE MONSTROSITIES out of crew!

Images of changes

Thank you to Ell Good (audrey) on discord for basically every single sprite given to this PR

Todo:

• Implement organ quality
• give megafauna corpses proper
• implement tool bits to dissection managers
• code every. single. organ AND their quality effects
• assign every eligible creature their potential organ list
• assign every eligible creature their surgery list (most are default)

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Declaration

• I confirm that I either do not require pre-approval for this PR, or I have obtained such approval and have included a screenshot to demonstrate this below.

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Changelog

🆑
add: Added xeno organs, which can be revitalized for unique effects
add: Added the ability to dissect xeno organs out of alien creatures
add: added the organ analyzer machine
add: added the dissection manager surgery tool
add: Added slime behavior for training and revitalization therapy for xeno organs
tweak: Tweaked a few items into the new xeno organ system (Xenomorph organs)
tweak: maint loot spawners rarely spawn organ mesh and dissectors
soundadd: Added a sound for the organ analyzer
imageadd: Added megafauna corpse sprites
/:cl:

[1080pCat]

Few issues i've found.

• The IMS acts as a dissector, unsure if this is intended as its the same speed as the abductor one.

• The dissector/IMS "baps" the target after you've done the organ extraction step

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The IMS runtimes on a successful organ extraction

[2025-05-05T14:55:47] Runtime in code/modules/mob/living/living.dm:947: pick() from empty list
   proc name: attempt dissection (/mob/living/proc/attempt_dissection)
   usr: Alex Campbell (1080pcat) (/mob/living/carbon/human)
   usr.loc: The shuttle floor (130,127,2) (/turf/simulated/floor/mineral/titanium/blue)
   src: the goliath (/mob/living/simple_animal/hostile/asteroid/goliath/beast)
   src.loc: the shuttle floor (129,126,2) (/turf/simulated/floor/mineral/titanium/blue)
   call stack:
   the goliath (/mob/living/simple_animal/hostile/asteroid/goliath/beast): attempt_dissection
   the goliath (/mob/living/simple_animal/hostile/asteroid/goliath/beast): attack_by
   the incision management system (/obj/item/scalpel/laser/manager): melee_attack_chain
   Alex Campbell (/mob/living/carbon/human): ClickOn
   the goliath (/mob/living/simple_animal/hostile/asteroid/goliath/beast): Click

• The saw step doesn't play the correct sound, and only plays the sound once you're done, not when you start(inconsistent with the other tools)

• the "You struggle to perform the dissection properly, and will have to start the last step over!" prompt doesn't do anything, you can just freely continue

• bubbles, colossus, and the legions bodies are all weirdly offset
  

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Vetus throws 5 separate runtimes on death, relating to its legs

[2025-05-05T15:08:34] Runtime in code/modules/mob/living/simple_animal/hostile/megafauna/ancient_robot.dm:651: Cannot execute null.forceMove().
   proc name: Moved (/mob/living/simple_animal/hostile/megafauna/ancient_robot/Moved)

[2025-05-05T15:08:34] Runtime in code/modules/mob/living/simple_animal/hostile/megafauna/ancient_robot.dm:601/603/605/607: Cannot execute null.leg movement().
   proc name: leg control system (/mob/living/simple_animal/hostile/megafauna/ancient_robot/proc/leg_control_system)

- the space dragon counts as an ash drake (because its a subtype of it for whatever reason

• lesser ash drakes(the one you can turn into via dragons blood) also suffers from this issue

• hardmode bubbles drops two bodies, one on first "death" second on second real..er death(in its arena) Probably not the biggest deal since its left behind, but a miner with tools could probably get a second organ from the arena body.

• Related, bubbles will pull the first body to the arena with you.

• Doesn't seem like you can dissect the fleshling?

[EmeraldCandy]

The IMS acts as a dissector, unsure if this is intended as its the same speed as the abductor one.

IMS can be used as a dissector. Though this isnt a great idea because of high chances of organ quality being undesirable. scalpels, wirecutters, and even forks can be used (but you're nearly gaurenteed a damaged organ)

The dissector/IMS "baps" the target after you've done the organ extraction step

should be fixed now

The IMS runtimes on a successful organ extraction

wasnt related tot he IMS, but still fixed.

The saw step doesn't play the correct sound, and only plays the sound once you're done, not when you start(inconsistent with the other tools)

im... going to look soon into making it so this is an actual surgery and not some snowflakey mess

bubbles, colossus, and the legions bodies are all weirdly offset

moved images into a new 32x32 file and changed icon on death to use the new file.

Vetus throws 5 separate runtimes on death, relating to its legs

I couldnt get this to proc myself, however I tried to add some checks because I believe its related to moving and the leg controller subsystem.

the space dragon counts as an ash drake (because its a subtype of it for whatever reason)

space dragon is intended. Lesser is not. Removed xeno organs from lessers.

hardmode bubbles drops two bodies, one on first "death" second on second real..er death(in its arena) Probably not the biggest deal since its left behind, but a miner with tools could probably get a second organ from the arena body.

ensured that hardmode bubble doesnt drop an initial corpse, and that it wont drag dead bodies in with it to its arena.

Doesn't seem like you can dissect the fleshling?

fleshling's item isnt an organ. They'll need to be butchered for it.