Spatial Interdictor Guide

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  A spatial interdictor turned off and at full charge.

Part of the engineering department's equipment lineup, spatial interdictors are a player-constructable field-emitting device that protect an area around themselves against energy-based random events.

Shields to maximum, Chief

The primary function of spatial interdictors is to protect against random events; to do so, they'll need to be activated, in range of the phenomenon being interdicted, and have sufficient power in their internal cell. At time of writing, the range and cost of protection is as follows:

• Anyone with a bio-magnetic field affecting them can bump into another affected individual to safely discharge the field, consuming 300 units of cell power per individual de-magnetized.
• Anyone in an irradiated area within the interdictor's protected area will not have radiation applied to them. This has a very high power cost, consuming 900 units of cell power per machine tick, but doesn't scale with number of individuals protected; good external power is important to keep the interdictor operational for the full duration of irradiation.
• Black holes that begin to manifest in range of a sufficiently-equipped interdictor (recommended 10,000 capacity or higher, fully charged) will be delayed in their manifestation, and the interdictor will repeatedly sound an alarm to warn anyone nearby.
• Machinery hit by an ion storm in radius will be shielded, with variable cost based on which object was affected (ranging from 40 for lights to 900 for APCs). Law racks are too sensitive to interdict; make sure to check your AI systems.
• Radiation pulses from radstorms will be blocked at a cost of 100 to 150 cell power units per protected turf, preventing radiation application.
• Solar flares can be counteracted by interdictors; as they're a broad-area phenomenon, every interdictor on station will attempt to counteract them at a cost of 4,000 cell units per interdictor. Each interdictor reduces signal loss by a percentage equal to one to two times its interdiction field range.
• Spatial tears can't be fully removed by interdictors, but can be partially "mended" with stabilization; 800 cell units are expended for each segment of tear that's stabilized. Initializing a charged interdictor in range of a tear will allow it to stabilize that tear, even if it wasn't in range when the tear first formed.
• Wormholes and vortexes that appear in range of the interdictor will be interdicted at the time when they "discharge"; wormholes that whisk you away to somewhere else will expend 400 cell power, while those which attempt to bring something in will expend 500.

In addition to this primary functionality, interdictors can also be given bonus capabilities by use of an alternate mainboard. Here's a breakdown of the mainboard selection:

• Standard mainboards don't yield any bonus capabilities, but are the cheapest selection and give interdictors an additional unit of interdict range (radius).
• Nimbus-class mainboards (requiring extra insulative material and crystal) allow wireless recharge of cyborgs in range, giving each cyborg up to 75 units of cell power on each of their power usage ticks.
• Zephyr-class mainboards (requiring extra viscerite) provide an invigorating bioelectric field that gives carbon-based mobs in range an additional 12 stamina regeneration, falling off quickly when they go out of range.
• Devera-class mainboards (requiring extra crystal and syreline) suppress exposed bacteria, preventing miasma from forming in range. It's also good for anybody with the Stinky trait (and everybody if an admin has enabled sims motives for some godforsaken reason), because it also prevents hygiene from passively decreasing.

Where do I get these things?

Spatial interdictors aren't available at round start, but Engineering departments are typically equipped with the next best thing: an interdictor fabrication crate.

This crate contains:

• A ManuDrive (specialized floppy disk) containing the schematics for all of the interdictor parts that aren't off-the-shelf. Slap it into any manufacturer, and the lineup of parts will show up at the bottom.
• Spatial Interdictor Assembly and Use, 3rd Edition - your one-stop shop for the basics of spatial interdictor assembly and operation. Keep it on hand if you're new to assembly.
• Three uncharged high-capacity cells suitable for interdictor installation.

This is the only location the interdictor schematics exist initially, but the ManuDrive's contents can be copied if you're computer savvy.

To assemble an interdictor, you'll need to get the following components together:

• An interdictor frame kit (from ManuDrive).
• A wrench.
• An interdictor mainboard of your choice (from ManuDrive).
• An interdictor phase-control rod of your choice (from ManuDrive).
• A large power cell. High capacity is recommended; you're not limited to standard 15K cells, but they can't be removed once installation is complete.
• Electrical cable (four or more lengths).
• A screwdriver.
• Metal plating (four or more sheets).

The actual process of assembly is pretty simple; open the frame kit to dump its contents onto the floor, then use the remaining items in listed order. Engineering training will make some of the steps quicker. The interdictor's casing will inherit the color of whatever metal is used for the final casing step.

An aside: Interdictor phase control rods come in four variants, which influence the range and efficiency of the interdictor, and have different costs.

• Lambda rods are the "default" rod, with an interdiction range of 4. They're fairly easy to make, but require insulative material, the easiest source of which being recycling of cable coils.
• Sigma rods are the "deluxe" rod, bumping the interdiction range up to 6. They require a higher-grade conductor, as well as a little bit of power-source material (such as cerenkite).
• Phi rods are the "high-efficiency" rod. They only have an interdiction range of 2, but consume as little as 60% of regular power to perform interdictions (including secondary mainboard functions). They're also fairly cheap, only requiring basic materials you can find in any manufacturer.
• Epsilon rods are the "max-range" rod, with a colossal interdiction range of 10 at the cost of consuming 80% more power to perform interdictions. They also require electrum alloy and a high-density casing in addition to a trace of power-source material, making them the priciest rod on the block; if you're going to use one of these, it should be accompanied by a top-shelf power cell.

After you've made a few interdictors, or if you want to add custom mainboards, you're probably going to be low on materials; getting in contact with Quartermasters or Mining will help you keep the construction train rolling.

Time to Roll Out

To install your new interdictor and bring it online, pick out a suitable location and engage the magnetic locks with a simple tap of your hand. You can install them in any powered area, but keep in mind that an interdictor can't activate if it's inside the field of another active interdictor. In addition, the interdictor needs to be at 70% charge or higher to activate. If the three bars on the cylindrical part of the machine are glowing green, that means it has enough charge.

To avoid someone tampering with your setup, interdictor activation and deactivation is locked to Engineering personnel, though this can be disabled using certain illicit hardware.