Like this idea? Vote for TOADs, here! T.O.A.D., or "Terrestrial, Omnifunctional Assistant-Drone", is your own, personal helper! The idea is for this little robot to eventually be yours to command! TOADs can serve all sorts of useful functions! ~TOAD'S MOVEMENT~ TOAD gets around by hovering and flying, which allows him to follow you wherever you go! TOAD is also completely water-proof! If he ever gets stuck and cannot path his way to your current location, TOAD will wait until it falls offscreen and teleport to you (additionally, if you have a TOAD Transponder, you can summon TOAD to you at any time, regardless of how far away he is). TOAD cannot teleport just ANYWHERE. He can only teleport either to an available TOAD Station, or to his owner (you). ~AS STORAGE~ TOAD is also capable of acting as a mobile storage, an extension of your own inventory! Of course, TOAD is a small machine so his space is limited, but he'll sure try his best! ~AS A LIGHT SOURCE~ When the SHINE upgrade is added, TOAD can produce a faint light from his hull capable of lighting up a wide area around him. ~AS A COMBAT BUDDY~ TOAD can receive two combat upgrades. One provides him with a laser functionality that allows him to fire in any direction (TOAD will automatically target enemies closest to it). The second upgrade allows the TOAD to emit a melee-range burst of energy from his hull. The damage is only slightly greater than the laser attack, but has incredible knockback to keep pesky melee creatures away from TOAD (and you, of course). ~ACCESSORIES NOT INCLUDED~ There are two additional items you might want to built and utilize after you've created a TOAD. First off is the TOAD STATION. The Toad Station is a sort of chamber large enough for TOAD to step into and sleep in when not in use. It also functions as a special TOAD-only deposit box, which is to say that only TOADs can deposit items in them (players can only withdraw from the TOAD Station). The TOAD station's primary use is to have a way to send the TOAD back home while you are away from your base, since it acts as a beacon, allowing the TOAD to teleport to it. Secondly is the TOAD Transponder. A small communication device. It's function allows you to see the status of your TOAD and summon it to your side if needed. ~AS A WORK-AT-HOME DROID~ TOAD's functions aren't limited to following you around! TOAD can be left at home and assigned to do repetitive tasks for you! Do you have a garden that you need tended? Tell TOAD to periodically check the garden and cut down mature crops, and then tell him where to store the resources! (Info on how this looks below) A variety of programming options are available when you right-click TOAD, opening the TOAD interaction menu. Of course, there are "follow" and "home" options. If you want him to remain where he is and not follow you, pick "home". He will treat the current location as his "home" point, and return to it when his tasks are complete. Alternatively, you can install a TOAD station at your base and that will always be treated as the return point. ~Step-1: IDENTIFY THE WORK AREA~ You can indicate a specific location you want him to visit periodically and work in. Like in the original example, if you have a garden, select "Work Area", and your cursor will change to indicate it is ready for you to select the work area. The point that you select with your cursor will act like a beacon, and TOAD will perform the designated tasks in the area around the cursor mark. Alternatively, the work area could be indicated via a rectangular selection style. ~Step-2: INDICATE A WORK SCHEDULE~ After laying the beacon on the target work-area, identify how often you want your TOAD to visit the indicated work area. The options include, "Once per login", "Every 15 minutes", or even just "Once". ~Step-2: IDENTIFY DESIRED RESOURCE~ There is a separate slot in TOAD's inventory called the "Sample Node". Place an item in here (and leave it there) to indicate to TOAD what resource you wish to harvest, if any. TOAD will scan it's work area and indicate objects that will (or can) yield the desired resource when harvested. So if you place an ear of corn in the Sample Node, TOAD will target mature corn stalks and collect the matching drops. He will continue to collect until either his inventory is full, or there are no more matching resource-items in the work-area to harvest. When you place an item in the sample node, a number box will appear next to it that shows the maximum number of items he can hold by default. You can toggle this if you wish to limit the amount of items he brings home after a "shift". As a bonus, when TOAD harvests any plantable resource, he plants a new "seed" where the old "crop" once stood. This is automatic, and does not require additional commands. ~Step-3: INDICATE A STORAGE UNIT~ The final step is to indicate where you want TOAD to return his acquired harvest. This step is not required if you have a TOAD Station installed at your base, since the TOAD Station is also a storage device (however, only TOADs can deposit items in the TOAD Station. Players can only WITHDRAW items from it, although they can command a TOAD to deposit an item if they must). TOAD will cease work if the indicated return storage unit is full and can no longer hold items, at which point it enters sleep mode at it's Return Point. Work will resume when the container is emptied by the player. ~Step-4: HIT THE GO BUTTON~ Hit the go button! Watch 'im go! (There is "Accept" and "Cancel" commands at the bottom of the TOAD interaction screen. Hit Cancel to cancel the programming, hit Accept to have TOAD start executing the programming. You'll get an error message if you forgot something, like indicating a work area.) ~AN EXAMPLE OF ALTERNATE USES OF THIS PROGRAMMING~ Let's say you have TOAD following you and you notice a huge vein of gold, or clay. Dig up a chunk and place it in the Sample Node, and then command it to work in the area. Don't forget to pick "Home" under the status commands. Select "Once" as the Work Schedule. Press "Go!". TOAD will immediately get to work on the vein while you continue to travel. Once his inventory is full (or there is no more of the desired resource to harvest in the given area), TOAD will teleport back to the TOAD Station at your base and deposit what he's obtained there. Afterward, you can remotely summon him back if you have constructed a TOAD Transponder. Every race should have the option to build a TOAD, perhaps somewhere in the late-game. Yes? Very yes? How's it look? Like this idea? Vote for TOADs, here!
This sounds really cool, there should be an option to customize the top half of the sphere to look like this guy's hat/mushroom. Just make sure it's balanced so it's super hard to get.
Ah. Sadly, I haven't played, but no. TOAD doesn't get addicted to things. He is too adorably simple. Well, I guess... technically... he is addicted to work.
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Crap, how do I find my own suggestion in the... suggestion... poll-thingy!? EDIT: Nevermind, found that helpful little guide-thingy. I am now placing a link in the initial post!
