Command (gameplay)
NOTICE: This page is a Work in Progress as much of the lore/Development for the game is yet to be established.
A command (also referred to as an order) is the term given to an instruction from a senior officer given to a junior member. On a starship, it is primarily used by the Command department to manage operations of the bridge or give officers tasks to perform. In current gameplay builds, commands can be given to NPCs operating a specific station and will perform actions related to the station.
Gameplay
In current builds, players can give commands to Bridge stations such as the Helm and Sensors. They must first interact with the station by looking at them with the cursor and pressing F. If an option is clear, the player can select and issue the command. If a command option is shadowed/greyed out, then the player will be unable to issue the command until the meet certain criteria.
Summoning and Dismissing NPCs
If a station's seat is empty, the player will be given the options to Sit Down, man the station themself, or Summon an NPC. Choosing Summon an NPC will summon an NPC for the player to issue commands to.
Once an NPC is manning the station, they will can be dismissed with the Dismiss NPC command, located towards the bottom of the interaction options. When pressed, the NPC will leave and the station will become available for players to man.
Issuing Orders
When manned, the station officer will remain idle until the player issues them an order. Depending on the station, the orders and functions will vary. For example, commands to the Helm Officer will mainly regard the ship's travel and navigation, such as plotting courses to targets sent to them, altering the speed of travel, and returning to Earth. Likewise, the Sensor Specialist will mainly regard displaying a Sensor Range and altering the shown distance, performing surveys on selected targets, and displaying renders of targets on the Holo-Display.
For most orders to work, targets must either be interacted with or given an objective through the Holo-Display. For example, the Sensors station will only perform surveys and show data if an object has been selected by either through the Holo-Display by the Captain or by another operator at the station. If this does not take place, they will either use their current or previous target.
Shipwide Orders
A shipwide order is given by the captain to the entire crew to complete. They are usually given to tasks that the captain would like the crew to achieve in their absence or whilst they perform other duties. An example of this is surveying a star system, performing short range surveys on each stellar object until it meets 100% completion.
Shipwide oders can be given through the Holo-Display on the ship's bridge, usually by selecting a target and issuing the command from the Target Action menu. Once given, the crew will work to complete the objective. Once the objective criteria is met, the crew will alert the captain to its completion, requesting their presence on the bridge for further actions.
Development
Commands were first implemented during dev build 0.225.0.109. In their original state, they were used to provide instructions to officers stationed at the Helm and Sensors Station.