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

A guide to the Glitch by Professor Oak. [Khaltor]
((Everything that's not certain, or a source OOC will be in Italics, normal text is considered IC report by Professor Oak)) ((For example THIS would be IC, THIS would be OOC.))

Professor Oak
A quick introduction:
Hello once again, community!
This time I will be releasing an article I’ve been working on for quite some time now. I’ve always been fascinated by the inner workings of the Glitch and desperately wanted to know as to what makes them tick. The Glitch are, just like the Florans, a rather mysterious race, and are often misunderstood. First off: they’re technically NOT a race or species, because those terms refer to “living organisms”. The Glitch are automatons and although it depends on your definition of “life” they do not actually qualify as a living organism. They are programmed robots, but technically one might say organic life forms are also programmed, in their DNA. But that’s in the field of philosophy which doesn’t interest me whatsoever.

Glitch and gender and reproduction:
Glitch gender:
Once more, we’ll go over the issue of gender.
Technically the Glitch are genderless. They lack the reproductive organs found in organisms to qualify as either male, or female. But one might argue that there is a difference in apparent gender. A male Glitch simulates, in general, behaviour that can be attributed to male organisms and vice versa. Their head modules, more specifically the decorations on these modules and the shape of their torso, is an indicator to this apparent gender. ( Glitch)

Glitch reproduction:
The Glitch reproductive systems is quite fascinating. Historical records state that a long time ago, before the dawn of the “Outcasts” or “Enlightened Glitch” (as in Glitch that are free from the Hive-Mind) the Glitch did not know how to create others of their kind. After some time they found out the secrets to reproduction however, it would seem this system of reproduction wasn’t flawless.
When two Glitch come together they can create a new Glitch, if the materials are present. The construction process is an intimate experience with their Glitch partner, where information of each “parent” comes together to create a new Glitch personality. The imperfections that are created by this process, in turn cause a number of errors, which may dissolve their Glitch Hive-Mind programming.
( Tiy’s Glitch introduction post, Glitch - Starbound Wiki )

Glitch inner workings:
Glitch mechanics:
Although Glitch cannot be poisoned by conventional poison, the liquids they consume still have to be clean. Sludge or toxic substances can still damage the Glitch's inner workings. Some Glitch, upon consumption of a large amount of alcoholic beverages, have a significant change in their behavioural patterns. Their speech changes and they seem to emulate a drunken state as can be observed in organic creatures. It is speculated that the consumption of a large amount of alcoholic drinks influences the energy conversion process the Glitch possess, it creates a fluctuation in their power levels, which causes a "drunken" state. Glitch are immune to most poisons and disease, but they are in fact susceptible to EMP’s. it would seem that because of their makeup, which is mostly mechanical but not entirely, or just pretty well isolated, just knock them out for a while. It is also possible to corrupt a Glitch’s programming with a really complex type of virus.
Glitch do feel pain whenever their bodies sustain a large amount of damage, such as being stabbed in the chest or losing a limb. Scratches on their outer shell however do not seem to hurt.
((balance wise: EMP’s are about as common as poison grenades, they’re quite rare, don’t just have your character own tons of them, that’s just power-gaming, Glitch combattants may in fact isolate their armour pretty well to block EMP waves from harming them mosty. Unarmoured Glitch will receive the full brunt, kind of like how a sleep gas grenade knocks out a human without a gas mask etc...(Steel Casebook: Prisoners 4))

The Glitch body generates some heat, so in general a cool climate agrees with the machinery within them. However, in climates that are extremely cold, their inner circuits may freeze and they will shut down. This makes extremely cold climates also very dangerous to the Glitch. Warm climates however, would obviously have a bad effect on their machinery, since it could be more prone to overheat.
Glitch are water proof, but after a while water will find its way into the Glitch’s systems, which would damage its inner circuitry and shut it down. Acidic substance may corrupt a Glitch’s outer shell and damage its inner systems that way.
((Excerpt 1 from The Steel Casebook, Conflicted. This hard bed is perfect for the Glitch, but what if it melts?(Ice Bed) Longing. Lying in this snow pile and making snow angels might be bad for my internal circuitry. (Snowdrift))
((Glitch can drown using in-game mechanics, they make water RESISTANT devices all the time. My phone is water resistant to 10 feet for 30 minutes. Beyond that and it will start to take on water and probably stop working. Glitch may be water resistant, but it's hard to waterproof a piece of complex machinery without encasing it in a protective shell, Glitch get damaged from the green water, which is described as acid on the wiki, which would explain why Glitch get damaged from them))

Glitch abilities:
In order to detect any flaws in their programming or damage to their body, Glitch are able to scan their own “medical” state. They also seem to integrate some minor things onto themselves, such as specific kinds of vision and they are able to interface (, not hack,) with modern computer systems.
They also possess a highly analytic brain, or in other words, a processor, which makes them able to scan, observe and calculate faster than most organics, my guess is that this makes up for a lack of instinct or intuition. This also allows them to read binary. ((“Data Screen”: Confusion. I cannot interface with this machine, Scanning. This monitor is receiving no signal. “Wrecked Screen”, The Steel Casebook: Prisoners 4; The Steel Casebook: Prisoners 5, Counting. There are exactly six thousand, four hundred and eighty four ice cubes in this ice dispenser. (Ice Machine))

Glitch repair:
When Glitch get hurt they do not recover in a conventional way. They are able to deconstruct parts of themselves, and in a similar way, reconstruct and repair certain parts of their mechanical body. These repairs however, do take a rather long time, since they aren’t just welding a metal arm back together. Their systems are way more complicated, they have to reconnect the wiring in their body parts, among other things. The repair process takes quite a lot of time, effort and materials, in order for them to be able to repair their damaged body and frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if the process was painful.
((A Glitch Introduction, http://puu.sh/aHGJt/ea716fbccc.jpg ,The Would-Be King 5 , Discontent. A particularly unpleasant method of torture, especially for Glitch. "Torture device", Consider. Chance of back pain very high. (Egg chair), Critical. Ergonomics unacceptable.(Office chair) ALSO IMPLIES PAIN/bad for their inner structure to sit in an awkward position))

Glitch energy systems:
It would seem that the Glitch, although partly mechanical and partly robotic, closely resemble humanoids. Study suggest that they require to eat a variety of both organic and mechanical food, in order to fuel their power cells. A nearly depleted fuel cell will either recreate a feeling of hunger or exhaustion, if the glitch has eaten it will probably be the latter, so that they may conserve energy and that the food in their system can be converted while conserving energy for their systems to keep running. They also seem to drink a variety of fluids, this can be either because of a pre-programmed need to consume them, or to refill certain fluids that allow their machinery to function.
Glitch have to sleep in order to save energy, similar to a computer that goes into stand-by mode. They "recharge" by converting food into energy, this process is able to recharge them sufficiently while they are asleep because in this state their systems use less energy. Although the specifics on this energy conversion of the Glitch still elude me, it is quite certain they require a steady supply of oxygen for their energy conversion to work properly. Glitch are also capable of dreams and nightmares, which leads me to speculate that, similar like in organics, data is processed and saved during their sleep, like memories in organics.
((Comfort. A useful station for recharging one's batteries. www.starbounder.org/Standard_Issue_BedWooden Bed - Starbounder - Starbound Wiki Drowsy. Power levels low. Sleep mode required. Rust Bed - Starbounder - Starbound Wiki) The smell of rust will give me nightmares.)) (( If they're not powered by fusion, fission, solar, or a spinning magnet in a coil of wire, then they're aerobic or anaerobic. Anaerobic is extremely efficient, but the process is too slow to support us big, mobile lifeforms (including Glitch). They likely require oxygen to convert food into energy just as we do. Kitchen Tools - Starbounder - Starbound Wiki and http://starbound.ru/files/avianlore_pdf.pdf : "[...] analysis of the robots’ internal systems netting the Avian science efforts valuable information on technologies required by machines to process organic substances.", The Would-Be King 5 - Starbounder - Starbound Wiki , Avian Fruit Stall - Starbounder - Starbound Wiki "gasped", Survival System, hivemind Glitch apparantly don't dream: , A Well-Folded Note - Starbounder - Starbound Wiki , Oak would have no way of knowing of this difference between Outcasts and hivemind, but I suppose it's probably common knowledge among Glitch.))

 

The Glitch Hive-Mind:

The Glitch Hive-Mind isn’t commanded by a monarch Glitch, but it’s a set of directives in their programming that makes them act in a medieval way, locking away advanced technologies that are unlocked when an outcast becomes self-aware. Hive-Minded Glitch were for a long part in their history, when there were no outcasts, unable to reproduce. When they finally figured out how to reproduce this made it more likely for these Glitch to have errors in their programming, which caused them to become self-aware and these Glitch are seen as insane by their Hive-Minded peers and became the outcasts. Through various painful and quite horrible methods, Glitch are able to have their link to their Hive-Mind directive forced. This can mean either re-linking them into a Hive-Mind state, or freeing them from their Hive-Mind programming. ((From Tiy’s introduction to the Glitch, it explains why the player, the outcast Glitch is able to use advanced (It basically makes a Glitch as proficient as any other race in what it can do in terms of) technology, although a bit medieval in style.))((The would-be king codex entries.)) ((A note on Glitch outcasts, The Severing, Outcast No more))

The Prefix Problem:
Many, although not all Glitch use prefixes to make up for a lack of intonation in their voice.
Their voice box doesn’t seem to be able to emulate emotions the same way organics do.
Hive-Mind Glitch aren’t even aware of the use of the prefix, although outcasts sometimes learn to stop using a prefix, and it may be possible to install a modified voice box, that is in fact capable to express emotion with intonation.
Glitch appear not to have a mouth as their facial expressions are expressed by their optics (they even cry and leak a fluid when crying) but they in fact do have a mouth, which opens horizontally.

(closed)

(open)
(Lore book: The Prefix Problem)
(( Not necessarily canon, but a view by an experienced Glitch player: [Quote from John M893-CV]
The Glitch don't have vocal-cords, they have voice boxes that are capable of playing only ONE tone of voice.
That's why they subconsciously use a prefix to describe the tone of their voice.
Glitch, especially ones who haven't reached self-awareness, do not hear the prefix.
This is a common misconception people have about the Glitch: "Glitch don't use the prefix when talking to other Glitch". But they do, they just don't hear it. Instead of hearing "Furious" in "Furious. I'm going to kill you." they just hear "I'm going to kill you!" in a furious tone of voice.
But if the prefix is used to describe the tone of voice, why do some Glitch say 'Statement', 'Query' or 'Request?
Most likely to give a prefix for series of sentences that would just have "Monotone" as it's prefix.
Imagine a Glitch that doesn't use "Statement", "Query", "Curiosity" or "Request"? "Monotone. Greetings." "Monotone. What can I get you?" "Monotone. Cup, pint, or bottle?"))

TL;DR Recap:

Glitch Pros:
+ Different kinds of in-built vision available
+ Able to connect with computers/machines, and directly interact with them
+ Minor mechanical customization options for role play fluff, not god moding (in built radio= OK, Missile launchers/nuclear batteries = OP))
+Poison, Disease immunity
+Quicker recovery through repair instead of healing, but still takes a lot of time, effort and pain
+Computer-like mind.

Glitch Cons
- EMPs knock them out
- Viruses, Hacking
- Hive-Minded society, Outcasts, Severing and Relinking of Hive-Mind
- Lack of intuition, or instinct.

Glitch Facts:
*Need food to refuel their energy reserves.
*They have a mouth that opens horizontally.
*The food to fuel conversion process uses oxygen, so they require to breathe like any other race.
*Recover quickly through repair, similar to Floran regeneration, but still takes quite some OOC downtime because otherwise it’d be too unfair towards the other organics + it makes more sense.
*They feel PAIN
* They can freeze and overheat.
*They are likely to use prefixes in their speech.
*They sleep.


((OOC word of thanks: I'd like to thank the staff for letting me make this write-up and for giving me feedback on the article, helping to construct it and such by giving their input and through discussion coming to an agreement on those things server canon and not supported by the lore. Animator, The Grand Mugwump and Chronicle in particular were very helpful in the creation of this article. Thank you.))
((Any mistakes or additional info that would refute some of the things stated here are welcome.))

 

[Reserved]

 

((Your lack of appreciation saddens me. ;-; ))

 

Gonna come back from the dead and fix the broken image on the second page.

 

I've been focussing on school lately, i've basically returned from beyond the grave and i do appreciate your... appreciation !

Thx, Jimmy .

Most of them chose not to, sometimes Glitch npc's don't use the prefix, so it's a random thing. Some are inclined to use it often, others choose not to. IMO using prefixes well is a sign of a creative smart role-player, it just adds so much to the whole glitch characteristic imo.

 

It's been heavily discussed by the staff at the time when it was created, in a group conversation, and most of it is based off item descriptions, lore books and npc text, which is as close as you can get to canon. It was however "approved", but never MEANT to be considered lawful enforced canon on others. It's mostly just for information, since I can't just force others to see this as canon.
I think it's fairly accurate though.

 

((By the same logic as saying that this information, although as close to canon as it can get and very accurate/thougt-through, can't be enforced as canon, you can't enforce canon that says all Florans are agressive, violent and unintelligent. Greenfinger, although a genius among his kind, is an example of a "intelligent" Floran, but he also still has the typical Floran tantrum going on for him, also my Floran scientist Oak did some RP way back during the summer holidays related to these finds.))

 

Yeah, that's true. It was "sorta" approved then, i guess.