Tweeks and duct tape

[swillo]

I know that similar thoughts have been mentioned in the pass, (by me even) but this one takes a slightly different bent then I have read yet.

I would like to have the option for engineers to tweek various machines.
Depending on their engineering skills they would have a skills based chance to modify say a generator to goose a little more power out of it.

They spend some time working on it and they can get a engineering skill % chance to get another 1% efficiency out of it. This would be a cumulative process where additional % increases would have an additional % change of losing all the increases, and in a critical error cause a % decrease.

Example idea,
engineering skill 45/ 0% tweek increase, 45% chance to get 1% tweek increase.
engineering skill 45/ 1% tweek increase, 44% chance to get 1% tweek increase, 1% chance to loose all tweeks.
engineering skill 45/ 6% tweek increase, 39% chance to get 1% tweek increase, 6% chance to loose all tweeks, 1% critical error lose 39% efficiency.

Or something similar.

This could be applied to any stage machine, but if that machine is upgraded then all the duct tape is removed and it starts at base line again.

This would give you engineers who when things are all built they can tinker around with things limitlessly.

It would also add the option to the game that if you find certain artifacts/components while traveling the wastes, they could be added to certain machines in the same way to give them an additional boost. They could either be used up in the process, to there could be a slot added to machines where those parts would fit in and become a standard addible/removable item.

Coupled with the previous ideas for incremental research based bonuses you could make a living with
stone mine that only has 10 stone to work with bearable.

Special coils improve stills, diamond drill bits improve mines, meat grinders improve incinerators, you get the idea.