Engineer
This page is a Work in Progress as much of the lore/Development for the game is yet to be established.
An engineer is a shipwide role aboard a starship. The role places the officer in charge of maintaining the ship's technology and equipment, diagnose technical issues and performing necessary service to rectify these. Some roles will place them at bridge stations to monitor ship systems, such as the propulsion and power systems stations. In the UNSF, engineers hold the rank of crewmen and are members of the engineering department.
Responsibilities
An engineer is placed with responsibility of looking after various pieces of technology around the ship. These include ship systems such as the Alcubierre Drive, Sublight Engines, the Fusion Reactor and Cryotanks. If an technical problem is reported to the department, the Chief Engineer or one of their direct subordinates will assign an engineer to diagnose the problem and perform the necessary repairs. Some will also be placed in charge of monitoring ship systems and reporting issues, either from the bridge or within the vicinity of the system. Engineers are also expected to work in teams to complete major tasks or repairs, for example bringing the Fusion Reactor safely online or offline, replacing a crucial component and refuelling fuel tanks.
Primary Location and Access
On a Magellan Class vessel, an engineer is expected to operate out of the main engineering decks on Decks F and G. They will be placed on task and will be expected to fulfil the requirements, where it be to repair a system or monitor and react to any changes. Engineers will primarily roam the engineering sections and rooms such as the Reactor Room, Cryogenic Storage and Battery Rooms, often to perform checks and operations on the systems located in these spaces. Engineers are also granted access to the Maintenance Tunnels that stretch throughout the underside of the starship, often to check distribution systems and perform actions on the underside of the ship.
If given tasks in upper decks, the engineer will be granted access to the location where the fault is located so that they can perform the necessary actions. Some are also expected to be assigned to the bridge for Propulsion and Power Systems reporting, thereby given them access to A Deck and the upper systems. They are also expected to have access to facilities on both Decks D and E and personal quarters on one of these.
Key Interactions
Personnel
The key interactions for engineers is currently unknown and not under development. However, as members of the engineering department, they will likely to report to the Chief Engineer, Second Engineer or Third Engineer depending on their shift assignment. Whilst on duty, an engineer is expected to be assigned a task by the chief or deputy of the department to dictate which tasks they wish to complete. Once they are completed, they are expected to report completion to the task to the Chief Engineer or one of their deputy officers.
If assigned to a bridge station, the engineer is expected to follow orders given to them by the Captain or officer of the watch. These include commands to change the stations' functions, such as opening the Cryotanks to begin a refuelling process or affecting the power distribution for their console. They are also expected to report changes in ship systems, such as low fuel or critical system faults.
Stations and Devices
The full station and device interaction systems for engineers are currently in development. However, they can currently interact with systems and stations that are related to the ship's Fusion Reactor and its connected utilities to bring online ship components and controls. These include the Start Capacitors, the Fusion Reactor Controls, power distribution panels and other utilities throughout the ship.
If assigned to a bridge station, the engineer will be expected to operate it
In future updates, engineers will be granted the ability to pick up tools and use them to repair components. They will also be expected to be able to install and replace components to maintain ship functions. Other ship systems will become interactable to engineers as they are added.
Gameplay Focus
Playing as an engineer is expected to focus on maintaining ship systems and repairing damage caused to the ship. This includes knowledge of ship systems, devices and toolkits, and specialist knowledge of technical faults and repair procedures. Key gameplay elements include:
- Managing power systems
- Monitoring ship systems
- Repair procedures
- Component installation and removal
- Responding to orders from senior officers such as the Chief Engineer and officer of the watch
Development
The engineer role has continued development since its implementation. Members of the department were the first NPCs added to the game in early builds, with their role mainly confined to F and G Decks.[1] In early builds, the NPC engineers would perform repairs on damaged components when they were damaged.
As of dev build 0.227.0.21, engineers currently perform RP actions in the lower decks of the player's vessel. However, some can be spawned in as operators of the Propulsion Systems and Power Systems Console on the Bridge. Only the Power Systems operator can be given orders, primarily to take part in refuelling operations.