Quartermaster

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Revision as of 08:57, 5 July 2014 by Convair880 (talk | contribs) (RIP digbots. The ingame description for the robotics crate hasn't been updated yet though.)
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You're a Quartermaster! Lets make Money!

Number One Hustla'

Your 'official' job capacity is to take orders from the crew for such things as medicines, bots, and weapons. In practice, you will sometimes go entire rounds without getting a legitimate order, so your job is just as much anticipating needs as anything else.

An active Quartermaster will also often account for well over 90% of the crew's final score at the end of the round. They are also pretty much the only office on the station that actually turns a profit, so if the station ends up in the black it's completely creditable to the QMs. While meaningless in the long run, it's still kind of satisfying to see that while the rest of the crew was preoccupied with such important things as passing out in a pool of vomit, wearing their own ass as a hat, or trying and failing to strangle a chimpanzee, you've made the entire station worth it.

Buy! Sell!

See that orange console near the airlock? Time to get acquainted with it. You're going to be spending a large amount of time glued to it. Go ahead, click on it! You'll get some options:

  • Order Items - Shows a list of commodities. Clicking the link will bring up a comment box, the crate will be tagged with whatever you enter here. Handy for keeping track of requests.
  • View Requests - See the request console outside the QM's office? Those requests go here. Clicking "Approve" works just like ordering things from the regular order screen. "Remove" will deny the request, and "Clear list" will wipe all requests.
  • View Order History - Pretty self explanatory.
  • View Shipping Market - This shows you the current prices of various commodities. Ideally, you'll be tracking down what's in high demand and sell it off for loads of dough.
  • Contact Traders - Multiple traders will be available after each market shift. Contact them here
    • After ordering things from a trader, go back one step to tell them to actually send the crate.
    • To sell to a trader, tag the crate with a barcode from the QM Barcode computer.

Your orders will come flying through space, landing on the south conveyor belt in the supply dock. Turn on the conveyor belts to roll them into the QM office proper. If you're going to order lots of things quickly, open the blast doors or all crates beyond the first will be stuck in space.

To sell items, just load them (in a crate) on the northern conveyor belt and turn it on. It will be catapulted into space and sold for sweet cash. Somehow. Don't forget to tag the crate if you're responding to a trade offer.

Shipping and Receiving

In the rare event that you get a legit request from the crew, you have three ways to send things around the station - a cargo transporter, a MULEBot and Belt Hell. Play around with either, depending on which is the most convenient.

Cargo Transporter

CargoPad.png

Compatible with closets/lockers, crates and alien artifacts. There aren't too many cargo pads around, but teleportation works almost instantly. Generally, It's really more for letting miners send things back to the station.

Available Destinations

The MULE

MULEHelper.png

Rarely used since the introduction of Belt Hell, but it's still a viable alternative for areas without a nearby belt station. You should however tune the motor. The MULE can carry any kind of cargo.

Available Destinations

Belt Hell

Qmbarcode.gif

Belt Hell is an affectionate name for the system of conveyor belts which can distribute items around the station. This isn't limited to the quartermaster, and can in fact be used as a personal transport system by daring crew members.

It is employed by using the barcode computer that's standing around at all conveyor belt stations. This will let you pick from several destinations, and print a barcode sticker. Put that sticker on whatever you wish to send, and push it onto the conveyor belt to send it on a (bumpy) ride.

Available Destinations

  • Airbridge Dock (Right next to the main airbridge.)
  • Cafeteria Dock (Across the hall from the bar.)
  • Catering Dock (Between kitchen maintenance and hydroponics.)
  • Disposals (Stuff sent here will be ground to scrap. You were warned.)
  • Engine Dock (Inside engineering proper.)
  • EVA Dock (In a maintenance corridor near EVA.)
  • Medical-Science Dock (Between medbay's pharmacy and chemistry.)
  • QM Dock (Properly inside the QM's haunts.)
  • Security Dock (At the northern end of the brig.)

Making Money

When you're more comfortable in your station, consider bugging people for stuff you know they don't need. Miners, for example, have no use for most gems or the minerals Syreline and Cobryl. They tend to command nice prices on the market, however, so if Mining cooperates you can get some nice help there. Botanists will also sometimes grow way too much weed and you can shore up your bank account by becoming an intergalactic dank dealer.

Other sources of money

NPC traders will occasionally offer you trades. Most of these are useless, but occasionally you will get offers that will pay for material at much more than market price. These can occasionally make you 100,000 credits less than 10 minutes into the round.

  • NPC traders don't purely exist online, now. Take your space pod and go exploring.

Also, the AI, Captain, and Head of Personnel have access to the station's bankrolls and can shore up your account if things go wrong for whatever reason. Of course the other half the time these idiots are the REASON things go wrong, as the Captain siphons off your hard-earned money to fund his alcoholism and the AI zeros out your bank account to make some traitor fabulously wealthy.

Other ways to waste money

NPC traders will also occasionally offer to sell you things. Occasionally these are simple commodities at below market price, but much more often they are unique things that are hard to get in other ways. Always accept these trades if you can afford to without crippling your budget. Occasionally the dealer will screw you, and you'll pay thousands of credits for something useless like flashlights, but it's the cost of doing business.

Funding gimmicks or insanity is also an acceptable way to use your fat stacks of cash, particularly if doing so in spite. If the Head of Security orders you to buy a million guns to outfit his personal army, consider ordering a shuttle full of liquor instead and telling the Head of Security that his team will still be loaded.

You're gonna need to sign for that

As a quartermaster, you will sometimes get people asking you to order things for them. Some people will be very polite about this, coming down to the Cargo Bay in person, using the appropriate computer, and leaving clear instructions on delivery. Others will be very rude, simply barking an order over the radio and not responding when you ask them for details.

Generally speaking, you should be generous with people who are kind to you, and ignore people who are rude. This is not just for your ego - rude people will often forget to pick up orders, and you will then have a clutter crate that you don't want and don't need lying around. If the need is urgent or coincides with an emergency on the station, though, you should obviously make exceptions. The Chief Engineer is not going to come down and ask nicely for you to order tools, Floorbots, and metal when a bomb just went off in the chapel.

When someone comes down to the Cargo Bay and asks you for something verbally, ask them to use the requests computer outside your office. They will order exactly what they want, and you can later just approve the order on your terminal. This limits mistakes and overbuying.

Beyond that, there are a few things you can buy that will never be unappreciated. Emergency Supply Crates have lots of emergency internals - gas masks and air tanks instantly become worth their weight in gold when the station starts depressurizing. They also carry Floorbots, which will handle the hardest and most dangerous step to repairing a hole in the station - putting the floor back down so people can work. Medical Supply Crates are also much appreciated, and will be opportunistically picked clean if you leave a few outside your office. This is not a bad thing. These crates are cheap and it's a good thing for people to keep medicine on them. Beyond that, try doing something nice for a department that hasn't asked for it. Hydroponics loves getting a few Hydroponic Crates since it is the only way for them to get more pots to grow with. Robotics loves getting metal, glass, and cables since they consume huge amounts of the materials they break down to. The Chef loves getting food crates, since his kitchen can run out fairly quickly.

Crew Objectives

As a loyal crew member, you can sometimes be assigned some strictly optional objectives to keep yourself busy while you wait for something to happen. As a quartermaster, you can expect to see the following:

Have 50,000 credits in the shipping budget at the end of the round
Pretty trivial to accomplish if you just do your job. You will, however, have to hope that you don't get any meddling from the AI, a greedy head, or a traitor with a financial goal.

Syndicate Shenanigans

MurderMULE.png

A traitor Quartermaster is as good or as bad as his plan. Quartermasters can essentially produce things out of thin air, and most of the things they can produce have frightening potential. However, all of these options can ironically be the traitor's downfall, as he flounders around trying to get everything, often ending up tipping his hand and doing nothing at all. When starting your round as a traitor QM, use the first few minutes while waiting for metal and glass to arrive to consider exactly what you want to do that round. If you want to cause a drone revolution, focus on robotics crates. If you want to gut the station, get emergency supplies crates (so you can emag the Floorbots). If you want to go on a psychopathic rampage, order lasers and be sure to murder your co-workers the instant you're able.

Your Cargo Bay is pretty isolated, which makes a good base of operations, but also makes you very suspicious. Security is used to getting calls that the QM is doing something shady, and they don't often need much of an excuse to demand a search. Always have a backup plan to keep yourself as inconspicuous as possible. A stealth storage in the corner of your office makes a great place to hide your incriminating toys until you're ready to go, and the airlock next to your computer provides a quick place to get rid of murder victims. A surprising number of things can be loaded into the autolathe and broken down (jumpsuits, for example), and the mail chute next to your autolathe provides an easy way to hide things that can't be. You also may consider just holding off on spawning your gear at all until the second you need it. If the AI announces you're killing someone in the cargo bay, get rid of the evidence and insist the AI is lying. As little as people trust you, they're way more used to the AI being corrupted.

As a traitor QM, an emag is basically required. It allows you to break the cardlocks on all of the crates you can order & interacts with many of the items you get (like robots). Exactly how you spend the other points is purely up to your plan. If you are going to get violent, you might consider a cloaking device. If you need people distracted while you do a few things, consider the voice changer and agent card combo. If drone revolutions sound like your style, consider some EMP grenades to send the bots insane en-mass.

Items you can order

Item Cost Contents
Empty Crate 10 Credits Nothing (Crate only)
Paint Cans 1000 Credits A selection of random paints.
200 Metal Sheets 2000 Credits x200 Metal Sheets
50 Metal Sheets 500 Credits x50 Metal Sheets
200 Glass Sheets 2000 Credits x200 Glass Sheets
50 Glass Sheets 500 Credits x50 Glass Sheets
Internals Crate 500 Credits x3 Gas Mask, x3 Air Tank
Catering: Dry Goods Crate 200 Credits x25 Assorted Cooking Ingredients
Catering: Meat, Eggs and Dairy Crate 600 Credits x25 Assorted Cooking Ingredients
Catering: Fresh Produce Crate 1050 Credits x25 Assorted Cooking Ingredients
Catering: Condiment Crate 250 Credits x25 Assorted Cooking Ingredients
Electrical Supplies Crate - 4 pack 1000 Credits x4 Cabling Box (x28 lengths of Cable)
Engineering Crate 1000 Credits x2 Mechanical Toolbox, x2 Welding Mask, x2 Insulated Gloves
Experimental Local Generator 5000 Credits x1 Experimental Local Generator
Medical: First Aid Crate 1000 Credits x8 Assorted First Aid Kits
Medical: Medical Reservoir Crate 1500 Credits x4 Assorted reservoir beakers, x2 Sedative bottles, x2 Hyposprays, x1 Syringe Kit
Janitorial Supplies 500 Credits x3 Buckets, x1 Mop, x3 Wet Floor Signs, x3 Cleaning Grenades, x1 Mop Bucket
Hydroponics: Starter Crate 500 Credits x2 Watering Cans, x4 Compost Bags, x2 Weedkiller bottles, x2 Plant Analyzers, x4 Plant Trays
Hydroponics: Nutrient Pack 1000 Credits x15 Nutrient Formulas
Mining Equipment - (Cardlocked [Mining]) 500 Credits x1 Powered Pickaxe, x1 Power Hammer, x1 Optical Meson Scanner, x1 Geological Scanner, x2 Mining Satchel, x3 Mining Explosives
Lab Monkey Crate - 4 pack 500 Credits x4 Monkey
Honey Production Kit - (Cardlocked [Hydroponics]) 450 Credits x8 Space bee eggs
Plasma Assembly Crate (Cardlocked [Research]) 600 Credits x3 Plasma Tank, x3 Igniter, x3 Proximity Sensor, x3 Timer
Chemistry Resupply Crate (Cardlocked [Research]) 500 Credits x6 Reagent Bottles, x1 Beaker Box, x2 Droppers
Weapons Crate - 2 Pack (Cardlocked [Security]) 5000 Credits x2 Laser Gun
Experimental Weapons Crate (Cardlocked [Heads of Staff]) 2500 Credits x1 Wave Gun, x3 Cryo Grenade, x3 Incendiary Grenade
Emergency Equipment 1500 Credits x4 Floor Bot, x5 Air Tank, x5 Gas Mask
Alcohol Crate 300 Credits x8 Assorted Liquor
Robotics Crate 2000 Credits x1 Security, Floor Repair, Cleaning, Medical and Firefighting Bots
Replacement MULE Crate 750 credits Contains x1 MULE. Remember to set its home beacon to QM #2 or it won't return automatically after a delivery.
Novelty Clothing Crate 12500 Credits x7 Assorted Novelty Clothing

Supplementary Video

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Jobs on Space Station 13
Command &
Security
CaptainNew64.gif Captain · HeadOfSecurityV2-64x64.gif Head of Security · HeadOfPersonnelV2-64x66.png Head of Personnel · ChiefEngineer64.png Chief Engineer · ResearchDirectorV2-64x70.png Research Director · MedicalDirectorNew64.png Medical Director

TankTopSecurityOfficer.gif Security Officer · DetectiveNew64.png Detective · SecurityAssistantNew64.png Security Assistant

NanotrasenSecurityOperativeWithSuit68.gif Nanotrasen Security Consultant

Medical &
Research
MedicalDoctorNew64.gif Medical Doctor · MedicalAssistantNew.png Medical Trainee · RoboticistNew64.png Roboticist · Genetics wiki big.gif Geneticist

ScientistV3-64x64.png Scientist · ResearchAssistantNew.png Research Trainee

Engineering EngineerCoatNew64.png Engineer · TechassistantNew.png Technical Trainee

QuartermasterNew64.png Quartermaster · MinerV3-64x64.png Miner

Civilian

AssistantNew64.png Staff Assistant · JanitorNew64.png Janitor · ChaplainNew64.png Chaplain · MailmanV2-64x64.png Mail Courier · RadioHostV2-64x64.png Radio Host · MimeNew64.png Mime

Chef64new.png Chef · BartenderNew64.png Bartender · BotanistNew64.png Botanist · Rancher2.png Rancher

ClownNew64.png Clown

SousChefV2-64x64.png Gimmick jobs

Silicon AIV3-64.gif Artificial Intelligence · CyborgV3-64x64.gif Cyborg
Jobs of the Day Dungeoneer64x64.png Dungeoneer · BarberV2-64x64.png Barber · WaiterV2-64x64.png Waiter · LawyerV2-64x66.png Lawyer · TouristNew64.png Tourist · MusicianV2-64x64.png Musician · BoxerV2-64x64.png Boxer
Antagonist Roles With own mode Arcfiend64x64.PNG Arcfiend · BlobOvermind64.png Blob · AbominationAnimated64x96.gif Changeling · GangLeaderV2-64x68.png Gang Member · Featherdrone-flockmind.gif Flockmind (Featherdrone-flocktrace.gif Flocktrace) · SyndicateAssaultTrooperV3-64x64.png Nuclear Operative · SpyThiefV2-64x64.png Spy Thief · TraitorNew64.png Traitor · HeadRevolutionaryV2-64x64.png Revolutionary · VampireV2-64x64.png Vampire (VampThrallV3-64x64.png Thrall) · WizardNew64.gif Wizard
Others HardmodeTraitorNew64.png Sleeper Agent · WerewolfV2-64x68.png Werewolf · WraithV2-64x64.png Wraith (Poltergeist64.png Poltergeist) · WrestlerV2-64x64.png Wrestler · PredatorV2-64x64.png Hunter · GrinchMitch.png Grinch · KrampusSquish.gif Krampus · OmniTraitorV2-64x64.gif Gimmick antagonist roles
Special Roles Drone64x64.png Ghostdrone · MonkeyResprite64.png Monkey · SpaceMouse64.png Critter · GhostV3-64x64.png Ghost · CluwneNew64.png Cluwne · SantaClausV2-64x64.png Santa Claus