Counterfeat

The Counterfeat is a Treatment machine, used only in Escape Room by a Nurse to cure patients with Wanderust. It is first made available for research in Overgrowth, which requires the Pebberley Island DLC.

Appearance
The machine is almost entirely made of light brown stone, with green vines wrapping around it in various places. The main body consists of a long open-topped corridor, broken up in the centre by two taller sections on either side, connected by a half-pipe, with a spherical boulder waiting on one side to roll down. To the left of the entrance to the corridor is a set of steps on the outer aspect, leading to a platform with a light grey control console, consisting of a throttle lever, a green button, a red button and a joystick.

A set of step lead up to the first part of the corridor, before the half-pipe, which consists of two walls bearing the same three glyphs in various configurations, with eight stone-bordered holes scattered among them. On the other side of the half-pipe is another corridor section with a very cracked floor, leading to a small pagoda, with four outer columns, a roof of several tiers, and glyph-bearing walls on the left and right. Three more stone-bordered holes with spikes protruding from them are seen at the exit, before a set of steps leading down.

The Counterfeat II adds four light-coloured columns bearing the same glyphs, a tall one and a shorter one on either side of the steps at the entrance.

The Counterfeat III further adds two canopy-like formations of large vines over the second corridor section.

Function
The nurse will ascend the steps to the control panel for the counterfeat, while the patient psyches themselves up at the start of the course. A press of the green button begins proceedings, with nothing for the nurse left to do but react to that which they will witness, and the patient starts their run. Their first task is to traverse the first corridor section, where spears will shoot out of the eight holes in the walls, requiring some gymnastic dodging. As they stagger out of this section, the boulder begins to roll down the half-pipe, which must also be narrowly avoided. After its fourth pass, the patient will leap past it.

The patient's landing in the second corridor section will dislodge some of the pieces of the cracked floor, and destabilising the rest, creating another obstacle for them to traverse. Finally, they will dive into the pagoda, expecting a clear path to freedom and raising their hands in celebration. Before they can exit, however, three spears shoot out of the last two columns in the pagoda, blocking the exit, and the entire structure begins to sink into the ground. Helpless, the patient will reach in vain as their adventure ends tragically. This deflated feeling will conclude their therapy, and their normal appearance will be restored as the pagoda rises back up, for them to exit, their treatment complete.

Maintenance
The Counterfeat loses 5-10% of its maintenance gauge with each use. Once the gauge falls below 50%, a Janitor will automatically be called to repair it. A janitor can be summoned manually by the player by pressing the appropriate button.

Should the maintenance gauge fall below 15%, the machine will catch fire. A janitor will need to use an Extinguisher to put this out before the gauge reaches zero; if it is allowed to do so, the machine will explode, leaving wreckage which must be sold and replaced with a new machine before the room can resume functioning.

Upgrades
Upgrades are performed by a Janitor with the Mechanics Qualification. The machine will not be accessible while this work is being done, although it can be interrupted and resumed without losing progress.

Staff
The following Staff is required before Escape Room, and by extension the Counterfeat, will function correctly:

Additionally, the following staff is required to both maintain and upgrade the machine: Janitor (with Mechanics Qualification for upgrades)