Automated Prison Security

[Silvador]

Just had an idea and I'd like to probe the general knowledge of others as to whether or not it is a viable option or not.

Auto-turrets. Can I set one up outside my prison so that if my prisoners attempt a prison break it'll mow 'em down? Will it even target prisoners? Will it target someone my colonist has arrested and is escorting to prison? Good idea? Bad idea? Unknown, testing required idea?

[JonoRig]

It works, will only target berserked or prisoners escaping due to a break out

[Silvador]

It works, will only target berserked or prisoners escaping due to a break out

Good to hear!

[Fruit loops]

I normally do this if I have a prison that is barracks-style. if its separate rooms its not worth it most of the times.

I started using this after one of my guys had his eye crushed.

[Coenmcj]

I normally do this if I have a prison that is barracks-style. if its separate rooms its not worth it most of the times.

I started using this after one of my guys had his eye crushed.

Could still do it cell block style, a few rooms around a central hallway with a turret at the end.

[Rahjital]

Why was this moved into the suggestion subforum? It's a discussion about using turrets as prison security, not a request to add that.

Glad to hear turrets are useful for that. I already used them when a prisoner went berserk to avoid them breaking down the main doors and releasing the others, good to hear it works against prison breaks as well.

[JonoRig]

Why was this moved into the suggestion subforum? It's a discussion about using turrets as prison security, not a request to add that.

Yeah, that is a bit odd, why is it here? It Already works like this.

[Vaperius]

Why was this moved into the suggestion subforum? It's a discussion about using turrets as prison security, not a request to add that.

Yeah, that is a bit odd, why is it here? It Already works like this.

Although since it is here; lets start a discussion relevant to title: why not at stun turrets for prisons to contain prison breaks? Crowd Suppression weapons would also be nice.

[JonoRig]

Alright, good idea, glad I bumped it.

Maybe had a prison build tab in the architect menu with prison specific items. Prison door that is harder to escape from (prison breaks are already rare, so bump up the chance they happen when enclosed with a regular door).

Feeding slot, so pawns don't need to enter the room.

Restraiment points, so you can chain them. Prevents berserking, but mood penalty means they can never be recruited. other prisoners can free them in an outbreak,

[Limdood]

there are a lot if suggestions that currently exist for nonlethal subjugation.

Stun turrets, grenades, tranqs, tasers all fall under this category.  The problem is that theyd be just so insanely easy to abuse.  getting giant amounts of prisoners is not as safe as it once was, but it still makes picking and choosing perfect colonists quite easy, and earns the colony a fortune during pirate traders.

Also, it would be hard to make stunning work without making it a super weapon - a virtual 1-hit kill.  you're either stunned or youre not

[Kluge]

Alright, good idea, glad I bumped it.

Maybe had a prison build tab in the architect menu with prison specific items. Prison door that is harder to escape from (prison breaks are already rare, so bump up the chance they happen when enclosed with a regular door).

Feeding slot, so pawns don't need to enter the room.

Restraiment points, so you can chain them. Prevents berserking, but mood penalty means they can never be recruited. other prisoners can free them in an outbreak,

Enhanced Defense allows for much stronger walls and doors (which are kind of OP for the price, I'd argue, though the whole mod's OP).... though it seems pretty ridiculous you could punch apart even a normal steel door, yes.

I take prison security pretty seriously... there's a weapons ban in place for the colonists. There are more turrets in and surrounding the prison than all other places on the map combined.

[JonoRig]

Prisoners when they break don't attack doors, they pick the lock, and then can walk freely through any door. I was suggesting ones that lock down preventing them from doing this easily.

[Silvador]

Alright, good idea, glad I bumped it.

Maybe had a prison build tab in the architect menu with prison specific items. Prison door that is harder to escape from (prison breaks are already rare, so bump up the chance they happen when enclosed with a regular door).

Feeding slot, so pawns don't need to enter the room.

Restraiment points, so you can chain them. Prevents berserking, but mood penalty means they can never be recruited. other prisoners can free them in an outbreak,

Enhanced Defense allows for much stronger walls and doors (which are kind of OP for the price, I'd argue, though the whole mod's OP).... though it seems pretty ridiculous you could punch apart even a normal steel door, yes.

I take prison security pretty seriously... there's a weapons ban in place for the colonists. There are more turrets in and surrounding the prison than all other places on the map combined.

GOOD GOD! I'm be terrified just to get out of bed in that place! Just looking at it makes me cringe.

[sadpickle]

Also, it would be hard to make stunning work without making it a super weapon - a virtual 1-hit kill.  you're either stunned or youre not

What about a melee weapon that inflicts pain without wounding? You still have to connect enough hits to get the pain threshold to the point where they collapse. The flipside is they aren't wounded and after a time the pain goes away, so if you don't capture them in a speedy manner they can get back up and run off.

[Silvador]

I think that you are looking at a stun weapon in the wrong way. You think that it is something that could be exploited and abused. But in truth, stun weapons are inherently OP even in the real world. The key factor in what makes a stun weapon OP is not that it can drop an opponent in one shot, but the decision you make about using it. DO you want to stun this person? You could go out with an army armed with nothing but stun weapons and easily one-shot your opponents, but then what? Imprison them all? That's a lot of people. A lot of resources committed to feeding, housing and potentially fighting again (if they attempt an escape) several people that are in peak physical condition. This is a decision that needs to be made before combat begins. Do I want to capture these people? Or not?

Another point to note is that stun weapons are typically short range. A "stun baton" still carries the danger of getting injured yourself, so Stun Guns are usually preferred. But while they can essentially drop a person in a single shot, A. you need to be a good shot, B. their range is very limited, C. they can be defended against with armour, and D. if you miss, you generally have to manually reload them, which requires time.

My opinion is, make stun guns as they are in the real world. Short range (1-4 blocks), completely negate-able with any sort of armour (so if the guy you're shooting at has anything on more solid than simple fabric, stun gun won't have any effect), and maybe also require a cooldown on their usage (can only be fired once every few seconds). This makes stun guns much better suited to combating rioting/escaping prisoners who are more likely to be un-armoured and in a confined space, but poorly suited to large scale combat such as armoured raiders who are probably gunna be met in an open area and in large numbers (especially later in the game).