A basic guide to the inner workings of the Glitch By Professor Oak (IC/OOC) [Khaltor]

((I try not to overdo it... He's a weak (even by human standards) but smart, and a passive-agressive know-it-all. Also, a lot of these "cute and non-agressive" Florans are secretly evil and are deceiving people. But it's hard to play an evil murderous ravenous Floran character that can survive for long, RP-wise.))

 

Guys. This is an OOC section of the forum. Thus the OOC tags.

 

((Oh yeah.))
*cough* Oh yeah.

 

From the Nightly build IRC today:

Just thougt i'd drop that here.

 

woooow))

 

http://starbounder.org/Greenfinger's_Notes:_Writing_Ban ((For anyone that thinks Glitch don't have mouths, because i remember someone in the past saying that))

 

Great work on this! As far as rpg flair goes, I like it.

 

I really appreciate this, I love the glitch they are my favorite race but I didn't really rp them because I didn't understand their inner workings. Even if it is only sorta approved, I'm still glad I can utilize this information to finally make a glitch character.

 

Forgive me for waking the dead, but I've got to throw my two cents as I've noticed some inconsistencies.
Part of this is me making corrections. Part of this is supplying my own research and theory. So that we may all better understand the glitch. Feel free to absorb any information you find useful into your main post for the world to see.

Glitch speech patterns:
I recently commented on another post in the Unofficial Lore section regarding this very thing. I believe the Prefix Problem to actually be a form of network packets spoken in glitch native language. A network packet is a series of binary that includes a header, a payload, and a trailer. Headers can include IP information, Ports, Application information, etc. It is designed to ensure the payload reaches its' destination in the fashion the sending computer wants it received in. The payload can then be a rather large string of information, as long as all that information follows the rules of the header. Trailer is checksum. This would explain why the header only changes when the tone the glitch needs to portray changes.


Extreme temperatures:
There's a lot of different things that affect computers negatively. Since Glitch are both mechanical and digital, we have to take both into account.
Extreme cold - Cold weather is surprisingly preferred for any kind of computer. Since computers generate heat, the colder they get the faster they can run. There are limitations, of course, but not until you start reaching absurd temperatures. Here are some Cold-related dangers for a Glitch:
-Stress fractures from frozen hardware
-Lack of moisture in the air causing electrostatic discharge
-Coagulation of fluids (such as oil for gears or battery fluid can drain battery life)
-Rubber seals to fracture and allow dirt and moisture inside the chassis
-Optical lenses can form condensation, icing, or hoar frost (LEDs are typically unaffected, but LCDs might not work at all)

Extreme Heat - Everyone knows heat equals bad for computers. But why? The answer may surprise you, because even recent technology can let computers reach over 150C and be fine. Your main concern is blowing transistors and capacitors. But overlooking that, what else can wreck a Glitch in high temperatures?
-If common solder is present, it has a melting temp of 188C. Stronger alloys can be used for higher melting temperatures.
-Humidity. Humidity humidity humidity. For every 10C past 0C, air can hold 50% more water particles. And if you think it's humid in Florida, imagine how humid it is on a volcano planet.
-The more water in the air, the higher the chances of causing an electric short, as water conducts electricity. That's like a aneurysm for a Glitch.
-The Glitch body is made out of many different materials. Whatever the lowest melting point of any of those materials, that's when the glitch will start to feel the negative effects of heat.



Oxygen and Bio-fuel consumption:
Referencing the machinations of an organic body, food is consumed and broken down into various nutrients and what-have-yous. Among these, are simple sugars, such a glucose. Glucose is a staple food for all of our lovely cells! But glucose doesn't do anything without the presence of Oxygen, which oxidizes the glucose inside the cell to form ATP, the chemical energy used by all cells and tissue. This chemical process is most likely replicated in Glitch to provide energy for their own fuel-cells, as the process is remarkably efficient. However, this does beg the question, as the process provides additional carbon dioxide and water, which are released as waste products. Do Glitch urinate? Or is their breathe humid with the production of all this H20?


Core Processes:
It is actually stated in official lore I believe that a glitch is entirely mechanical, and it is widely believed their core components are protected by a Faraday cage. A faraday cage protects against electrical currents such as lightning strikes and electrostatic discharges. However, it does NOT protect against an Electro-Magnetic Pulse, which is definitely different. Pragmatic EMP devices emit a frequency so tight-knit, a "cage" would have to be a solid metal sheet before it blocked anything. And depending on the radiation spectrum of the EMP, it might need to be somewhat think metal casing. But that might be the entire Glitch chassis, with the EMP only affecting thin areas or areas with small openings.


And that's all I got!

 

Interesting theory, however, it's a topic that has been elaborated upon in the unofficial lore discussion forum.

These all make a lot of sense.

detailed image of a glitch power source:


All jokes aside however, I do think the Glitch have some form of "byproduct", probably a combination of gasses and heavily combusted material.

Glitches are potentially entirely mechanical, although I would like to imagine there is something "different" about them, which makes it impossible for them to be replicated by non-Glitch. However, that's a bit beside the point. The fact is that there was a lore codex which detailed a scene in which it is very heavily implied our narrator got zapped by an EMP and lost conscioussness.
Because killing a Glitch with EMP's would be OP, we've decided that EMP's are basically like stun grenades, for Glitch.
A Glitch has some form of built-in EMP protection, which would cause them to "only" lose consciousness for a while, but with specialised armour they might only lose control in some parts of their bodies, or be unaffected. It depends.

However, I should inform you that this guide is actually quite outdated.
We have some information on the Glitch physiology in this thread:
https://www.antaresroleplay.com/threads/an-introduction-to-the-glitch.12517/

And any additional feedback or ideas regarding the Glitch lore, whether it be cultural or technological (in terms of physiology), you're more than welcome to submit them in this thread:
https://www.antaresroleplay.com/forums/unofficial-lore-discussion.229/

If the ideas are good, the Lore Writer team will attempt to integrate that into our lore and add it to our server canon as an alteration or expansion on what was already there.