Howdy. My static IC is Hunter ‘Pun’ Thompson. I’ve played SS13 since 2013, I believe my first login for CM was 2015ish. Nuklearcellphoneg - Favorites For a very long time, I’ve been stuck with Satellite internet- basically, I would have 1,000- 10,000 Ping consistently every round- if the sky was clear, good, but any cloud overhead ruined my ability to meaningfully play with other players.
So to compensate, I have spent a large number of hours doing support- Engineering especially, because cades, walls- all that stuff doesn’t move, so it gave me a way to have a meaningful positive impact on a round without say ruining it for others via FF or whatevs.
My hours, for reference. And again, because every click counted even more for me, I’ve spent a lot of time mulling over engineering to reduce it to as much of an exact science as possible or to think up alternate strategies. I will try not to drone on around the basics & fundamentals, but I will be pointing out things I believe even medium-high experience engies get wrong.
This guide is going to be worked on over a length of time, because I have a lot to say about a lot of things. I’ll be changing the title to Finished once I feel I’ve covered everything- if I can’t edit the title, I’ll repost it in its finished entirety later.
APC, Tank, and MTs/CEs
When these vehicles are added for an event, VCs have at best average Construction/Engineering skill- MT, CE, Synth- all these jobs can remove, repair, and reinstall all the APC/Tank parts 3-5x as fast as VCs. Even if both VCs get out and attempt to help, it’s possible for a single MT/CE/Synth to finish removing, repairing, and reinstalling ALL the parts before the VCs finish with even one part.
Cameras: POs, OTs, FOB Cam Console, Mortar Operator, Fobbit SL, CIC. . .
See my Setting Up Cameras guide for the basics how to set up cameras.
- POs, specifically Alamo but Normandy doing Rappel can benefit from cams: POs, you can build Camera Assemblies via the Autolathe. Then for example for the Alamo, Wrench it down outside Medbay/Your Right side doors; Weld, Add wires, Screwdriver: Name it Alamo for camera network. Then name it ie ALMAYER 1
This will allow you to visually check when you need to cycle to pick up Marines waiting on Transport.
- OTs- notice the above. You can borrow a Camera Console from the Hangar Bubble- it’s tuned to the DS cams, and can watch cams set to the Alamo network. Bring this console to FOB- install it beside the Mortar & its operator. This lets Bravo SL check cams, engies as well, but more importantly- After choosing the Alamo network, you will name the Camera- grab a crayon out of the mess hall, and click a tile on FOB, select rune. Grab a Laser Designator and get Coords for the tile you placed the Rune on- Now, build a Camera Assembly on that exact tile. Set it to Alamo(This way as you add Cameras, the PO is able to check up on the FOB’s flank status, more eyes are always better) but more importantly name it: FOB S XX YY(ie, FOB S -55 123)
This way, the Mortar Operator will also be incentivized to watch the camera console- again, more eyes means more callouts in case of an Ambush/Flank, but more importantly they can use the Coords you named to actively Operate Mortar w/o needing to use Camera Shells
NOTE: The explosions will almost certainly destroy said Camera on impact, though the Cam’s name remains on the list.
- CIC & the 2nd Hangar Bubble Console
It’s a good idea to move & reinstall the 2nd console inside the CIC- this allows the SO/CO/XO to check the status of FOB flanks, and would allow them to communicate Mortar Coords more fluidly if the above is done. In order for newly built cameras to appear on the Console’s list, it must be Closed & Reopened-
So, I leave an Igniter-Signaller inside CIC beside the console, and carry a Signaller with its matching Signal with me: Each time I build a NEW Camera, I Send Signal, which causes the assembly to spark, letting them know to refresh the cameras.
Self-Sealing FOB Doors/Motion Alerts
Similar to above, let’s say there’s a five tile flank: Build 5 Airlocks(add glass so they are see-through) to secure said flank, on top of the existing barricades. Cut the ID wire, motor wire, shock safety wire. Add a Signaller to the Motor Wire. Then, arm a Proximity-Signaller that matches the Signallers in the doors(all should be the same signal for a given flank), and Arm the assembly set to 1 tile behind the cade lines. Open all the doors. IF a xeno walks up to the cades to attack them, it will set off the Prox-Signallers: If they don’t move, the door will crush them(and if you have a Signaller on you, you may be able to repeatedly send signal to crush them to death). More importantly with these doors closed, they can no long access the cades to break them w/o first breaking the door(if they try to open the door, it may shock/stun them, and if they walk up to the cades it will again re-seal the doors)
Note: You need to be careful; marines dragging dead Xeno corpses/ non-IFF humans will set off the doors, crushing themselves or causing them to shock on the door which could get them capped- try not to go overboard building too many doors- if you’re doing this, you should be walking between the flanks and visually checking on things to trouble shoot this sort of thing, and to fix the doors as they may get out of sync.
Walls
Walls are a fine defense. . . humans can’t see through walls, xenos can. Having the whole flank covered in walls is bad because it just helps Burrowers for example kidnap w/o retaliation- you always want at least one hole for marines to both see through(especially in case the whole hive is hiding to invade FOB all at once) but also to walk through, again, to save marines who get burrowernapped, or to pressure the xenos.
Signallers
Signallers in general are a great communication tool: Req can use them as a front of line bell, IO could use them in conjunction with PO(or medics with PO), where the PO beeps all IOs/Medics letting them know Fulton/MedEvac is currently active( or vice versa, but you can’t have both on the same signal- if POs beep to let IOs know Fulton is up, and IOs beep to let them know they WANT Fulton up, no one can tell who is beeping who- in this case you’d need to set aside two signal #'s.
—1.2 update—
Powerloaders
Great for plugging holes, even if you’re not an engie though you may sacrifice-
While manning, wear foldable barricades ON YOUR BACK AND EXOSUIT SLOT-
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If there is a breach, walk up to the breach, walk one tile outside, exit the Powerloader, step back- deploy a cade. You sacrifice the Loader but it can protect you from being yoinked out or clawed for long enough to deploy the cade
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If there is a breach and the xenos decide to push in, do your best to move the Powerloader onto the breach in order to TRAP them inside- then deploy the cade from the outside, sacrificing yourself- depending on situation can be a very strong trade, for example trapping crushers, defenders that would normally just retreat & heal
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Carry a crate- in the crate, keep deployable cades, pre-loosened plasteel barricades(WHEN LOOSENED THESE CAN BE STORED IN CRATES FOLDED DOWN)- in your other claw, keep a Reagent tank full of water- circle around FOB, and you can drop the tank on any flank being hit hard, letting you freely extinguish acid back to back, or to let others refill their tanks
Welder satchel & Backpack
If you empty these backpacks of welding fuel, it IS possible to refill them with other substances- water doesn’t work, but you CAN use it for various incinerator fuels- oxygen, napalm, thermite. . . this would give you a single refill + extra storage for a more utility incinerator build.
To refill them with non welder fuel, they are bugged- you must empty a WELDING tank and refill THAT with a fuel to refill the bags with it.
Incinerator Fuels & Custom Tanks
Tank U/S Usage vs Fuel% Used
1u 1 fuel
2u 4 fuel
3u 9 fuel
4u 16 fuel
5u 25 fuel
6u 30 fuel
Thermite- Possibly strongest ez to make Fuel- 1u/s gives 3 tile range use nozzle to combine economy & increase its range
Oxygen- Interesting; doesn’t last very long on ground or targets basically FF-friendly more of a scare tactic than anything
Methane- Same range as thermite- hitting someone directly while flaming sets them on fire but interestly walking on top of fire does not set people on fire/hurt so you can use w/o worrying that xenos will take advantage of fire
— 1.3 Update —
How to Use the ‘Weak’ Mats & Recycling & Light fixtures
Glass shards can be welded into glass sheets. Adding one rod to one sheet results in one reinforced glass. 4 metal rods can be welded into one metal. 2 plasteel rods can be welded into one plasteel sheet. Groundside but also on Almayer there are empty unfinished machine frames- they wrench into 5 metal. If you wrench a table to metal you only get one metal; if you put it in an autolathe it becomes two metal.
Rods & Grills
4 Rods makes one grill. Use a screw driver and you can drag the grill around places. They block shots & xenos. However since the grill has holes in it fire passes through- if you are vigilant about a flank you can have a line of cades then a line of grills on the xeno side- the grills prevent xenos from attacking the cades until destroyed so you can use an incinerator to both flame the xenos or just set up fire wherein any non fireproof xenos must catch fire before they can destroy the grills and thus must burn before ever even damaging the cades.
Fences are alright. They follow the same rules as grilles but can’t be moved- however grills break down into one rod. If the fence is destroyed you can wirecut it then receive 10 rods to rebuild the fence ad nauseam.
Light fixtures & small light fixtures are built from metal. If an APC is powering an area they can be installed in a wall to create a permanent light- wire screw then use a light replacer. Small lights give off much less light but are harder to click. Both lights can be installed in the separate place as a distraction/time waster. Further more you can build a grill on top of the light- then you can use glass/reinforced glass to build a small wall around the light/grill giving further protection for the light more wasted time & when they break the glass it makes a noise which nearby marines can hear.
Glass shards can be welded for sheets so if the xenos destroy them you can just weld and rebuild. However reinforced glass loses rods as it’s destroyed. Reinforced glass is twice as strong as glass. With reinforced glass you can build a windoor. These are pretty useful- make sure to set its access to any kind of marine access & the xenos won’t be able to open and close it without breaking it. In this way you can use them to block/protect cades but more importantly marines can open the doors to fire back at will- personally I like to build a little protected nest for an M56D emplacement. Glass of all types are also made of silica- thus they are better at protecting from acid than most things. Been awhile since I tested but last I knew they could stop gas as well. During the building of a windoor if you take a stack of rods and add them it becomes a reinforced windoor; this is MUCH MUCH stronger than a windoor for little cost.
