We should be able to hack into machines and interact with their components. This sounds really OP, but I feel like it should be possible. If we can access the CPU of the machine, and get it to target allies, we should also be able to send instructions to the CPU to route power to, or send different instructions to its individual components. FNIX obviously does not care about cybersecurity if we can hack them like that.
So if you’re scouting out a beacon, and you see a seeker a bit away from it, hack the seeker to activate its horn, luring the machines away for a bit.
If you’re scouting a tank, hack it and make it divert excess power to melt its own cameras. Or make it power down for a few seconds.
Its not a fully fleshed out idea, so constructive feedback is appreciated
I like the core idea, and the hacking perk does need a major overhaul before would i waste points on it again.
I would fully support the core suggestion of yours, as long as its A) fitting the game lore, and B) “realistic”.
Hacking a seeker, tricking it into activate its horn is a A+B-feature, does fit the lore and it is realistic (in my opinion), while melting a camera with excess power does not seem like a realistic option.
There should not be any hardware connected to the camera that could provide enough current, so regardless of your software mods, the juice isnt there.
On the other hand, having the camera signal processor go into “failsafe reboot mode” does sound reasonable to me.
Triggering any sub-systems via a remote hack is perfectly fine from my perspective, its a realistic and believable game mechanic.
Modifying values could also be alot of fun, imagine a harvesters confusion when its rockets suddenly detonate 0.1ms after launch, or if the tank suddenly drops ALL of his ticks at once, but they target its “mum” instead of the player
Re-routing signals could also be “feasible”, making the robot control the wrong leg when it tries to walk and so on, or just invert the axis of movement as a temporary “malware attack”.
I could imagine using single-use hack-tools to achieve any one particular exploit/hack, allowing the player to fabricate the hack-tools they desire and deploy them like the vision mods, equipping them to the binocular while not in combat.
I love those scenarios! I’ve always been fascinated with how robots start freaking out when you alter their systems, especially when its an AI. I would love to see a tank start going Omnidroid vs Mr Incredible after hacking them.
Just one thing:
The ability to hack a machine is something we got by the story of fnix rising dlc. One npc created a special device to be able to do what we do when we hack a machine.
