Character Creator

The Character Creator is a Treatment machine, used only in Self-Assembly by a Nurse to cure patients with Flat-Packed. It is first made available for research in Goldpan, which requires the Close Encounters DLC.

Appearance
The machine is in the shape of a reversed L, with a blue base and beige upper section. At the base end of the L, a beige panel on blue hinges covers the entrance to the machine, which is accessed on a blue and silver tray, mounted on a silver conveyer decorated with red arrows pointing inwards. Next to this, on the inside of the L, are the control, consisting of (top to bottom) a red button, a green button, and two vertically sliding levers. The other end of the machine features the exit, which is covered by a dark swinging panel, and features another silver conveyer, with light turquoise arrows pointing outwards.

At the end of the base section is an integrated large cylindrical compressor, in dark blue, with four small vents around the top and a large one towards the bottom, and an orange ring on the top. This is connected by a length of flexible orange piping to the top of the machine, just before the exit, which is flanked on both sides by more large vents, and decorated with more light turquoise with arrows pointing both directions along the length of the machine. Also on top of the machine, in the middle of the base section, is a red panel which is home to two dark metal capsules with black-and-yellow hazards stripes on top, and lighter-coloured bands towards the top, kept in place by dark metal strips, which are mounted next to each one and curve over the top.

The Character Creator II adds a bracket on the back of the machine, below the red panel, in blue and beige, which features two further lengths of the orange piping.

The Character Creator III further adds a rounded protrusion to the back of the exit section of the machine, in the same colours as the compressor.

Function
The nurse will instruct the patient to float their way onto the tray at the entrance to the Character Creator, and press the green button to initiate the process. Raising the lowest lever will open the panel here, exposing the three circular saw blades inside. The tray will carry the patient inside, where they will be painfully shredded by the blades. The nurse will push down the upper lever, and the panel will again close, while the two dark capsules on top of the machine will sink into it. As steam is released from the two large vents, the compressor will pump the patient's parts through the orange tube, at which point they will appear on the tray, ejected from the other end of the machine, their original appearance restored and their treatment concluded. Using the red button will return the tray to the starting position and the machine is ready to be used once more.

Maintenance
The Character Creator 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
A will be required to run Self-Assembly, and by extension the Character Creator.

In addition, a will be required to maintain the machine, with  in order to provide upgrades.