It's not as powerful as it sounds. It's used for basic functions - it's a whole lot like a modern hand-held computer, just more advanced. It's USED for hacking, but that doesn't mean it AUTOMATES hacking, just like computers today are used for hacking but don't automate it - you still have to know what you're doing. It's essentially just a small holographic computer with a lot of features that make it useful in a wide variety of situations, both militaristic and civilian. Plus, the technology is considerably different than ours, so any automated hacking algorithms it does have wouldn't work here, even on hackable entries - Liara will have to learn how to apply her hacking knowledge here before she can use it.
Not creating grenades with it is fine for Liara, given that she's a biotic and doesn't use grenades and tech mines in the first place. But that ability isn't as powerful as it sounds, either - in canon, the omni-tool can reduce any item to omni-gel by tearing it apart at the molecular level, but it can't create literally anything; it can only create things it knows how to make from its programming, and Liara doesn't have any programming in her omni-tool to create those weapons in the first place.
For those characters in Mass Effect who do use that feature, though, it's also not quite as powerful as it sounds - most of the things an omni-tool can create are very small and much less powerful than a modern frag grenade, and they tend to focus more on secondary effects like overheating an enemy's weapon or stopping their regeneration than on dealing damage. In essence, that ability of omni-tools is just an explanation for how tech wielders in the game can use their abilities over and over again without calling it something supernatural - it's a stand-in for magic used for specific abilities only.
From the Mass Effect wiki:
"The fabrication module can rapidly assemble small three-dimensional objects from common, reusable industrial plastics, ceramics, and light alloys. This allows for field repairs and modifications to most standard items, as well as the reuse of salvaged equipment and applying medicine from stimulants to medi-gel."
Point being, if someone were to try playing a tech wielder, I don't think the limitation would be necessary as I think I made the omni-tool out to be more powerful than it is in my first post - though it's really a moot point for me so I'm not arguing it, just explaining, since you said were unfamiliar. Omni-tools are a very small feature of Mass Effect that aren't considered powerful weapons so much as handy tools.
Thanks for the answer, though, I'll have my app up sometime tonight if all goes well. ^^
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Not creating grenades with it is fine for Liara, given that she's a biotic and doesn't use grenades and tech mines in the first place. But that ability isn't as powerful as it sounds, either - in canon, the omni-tool can reduce any item to omni-gel by tearing it apart at the molecular level, but it can't create literally anything; it can only create things it knows how to make from its programming, and Liara doesn't have any programming in her omni-tool to create those weapons in the first place.
For those characters in Mass Effect who do use that feature, though, it's also not quite as powerful as it sounds - most of the things an omni-tool can create are very small and much less powerful than a modern frag grenade, and they tend to focus more on secondary effects like overheating an enemy's weapon or stopping their regeneration than on dealing damage. In essence, that ability of omni-tools is just an explanation for how tech wielders in the game can use their abilities over and over again without calling it something supernatural - it's a stand-in for magic used for specific abilities only.
From the Mass Effect wiki:
"The fabrication module can rapidly assemble small three-dimensional objects from common, reusable industrial plastics, ceramics, and light alloys. This allows for field repairs and modifications to most standard items, as well as the reuse of salvaged equipment and applying medicine from stimulants to medi-gel."
Point being, if someone were to try playing a tech wielder, I don't think the limitation would be necessary as I think I made the omni-tool out to be more powerful than it is in my first post - though it's really a moot point for me so I'm not arguing it, just explaining, since you said were unfamiliar. Omni-tools are a very small feature of Mass Effect that aren't considered powerful weapons so much as handy tools.
Thanks for the answer, though, I'll have my app up sometime tonight if all goes well. ^^