Mail Courier

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Revision as of 23:05, 12 January 2024 by Studenterhue (talk | contribs) (Studenterhue moved page Mailman to Mail Courier: Renamed to Mail Courier when PR #17604 was merged)
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CIVILIAN DEPARTMENT
Mailman
MailmanV2-64x64.png
Mailman
Difficulty: Easy
Requirements: None
Access Level: Cargo Bay, Bridge, Maintenance, wherever there are mail chutes thanks to your mailman suit
Additional Roleplay Access Level: None
Supervisors: Captain, Head of Personnel
Subordinates: None
Responsibilities: Deliver things to the crew
Guides: This is the guide.

Neither storm nor shower nor fire nor vacuum of space shall sway the Mailman, also known as the Head of Deliverying or Head of Mailmanning (despite not being one of the Heads of Staff), from delivering mail and other goods to the crew. With relatively few responsibilities, low expectations, and a surprisingly generous amount of gear and access, it's suitable for both newbies and old-timers. The mail system is relatively simple while still being engaging, but you can also safely ignore it if you'd rather do your own thing.

This job gets Bridge and Cargo Bay access, so they can access the mail and, potentially, deliver crates the Quartermasters order (but can't order anything themselves) and start with wrapping paper and scissors for those extra special gift deliveries. They also spawn wearing their iconic mailman hat and the syndie mailman suit, allowing them to ride mail chutes. Depending on the map, there may also be regular mailman uniform and hat, either with Routing Depot, or one piece will be in Routing Depot with the other in Disposals.

This job appears as a job of the day on Wednesday, available exclusively to people who join after the round has started. Since they're latejoin-only, this locks them out of roundstart antag selection. They can still be an antag by some other means, e.g. the game makes them an antag upon joining, the Syndicate randomly awakens them as a sleeper agent, or a Revolutionary converts them over to the cause.

A (Not So) Brief History of the (Other) Boys in Blue

Mailmen originally appeared on June 4th, 2010, during the early history of Devstation. Back then, all the station's mail went through chutes going to and from a central hub called the "Mailroom", and the Mailman's job was to sort the mail as it came in and distribute it to the correct destinations. Back then you had to click on the mail chute to open it, since the chute did not automatically open. Besides this extra step, it worked much today's mail chutes: afterwards you'd click on the chute with the item to be delivered, then click the chute, and hit "Engage". There were a couple hazards with the job: the chutes area was often low on air, but luckily the Mailman often spawned with an air tank, and poo was a game mechanic at this time, so people occasionally sent literal shit through the mail (and sometimes the Mailman sent it too), which would often splatter across the room.

The big issue with the job was that no one would send mail (correctly), and the Mailman would often disappear somewhere. The job was quietly discontinued from normal play months later. It was not missed. Some few years later, on August 27th, 2014, the Mailman was bought back as a job of the day for Wednesdays. In the intervening years, the station's mail system was vastly automated and simplified, so when the job came back, it was sort of a curious relic of the past without much to actually do.

It was the August 29th, 2019 update that gave Mailman their Cargo Bay and Bridge access, chute-compatible suit, and gift-making supplies, shifting the role from a novelty of the past to a legitimate job about delivering the right packages to the right places. Back then, the QM console required the general Cargo Bay access level rather than the specific Quartermaster Supply Console one, which didn't exist back then, so they could also place cargo orders. When the console got its own special access level on September 28th, 2020, Mailman lost this ability since they didn't get said access level after the change. This was less a deliberate attempt to weaken the job and more an unforeseen side-effect.

Fun fact: the day after Mailman was added, Mr. Muggles was re-added (yes, he was removed before) to the game, ostensibly as an assistant to the Mailman. He technically still is, but it's like an Office Space situation where NT stopped paying him years ago but never got around to telling everyone the news.

Supplementary Video


Jobs on Space Station 13
Command &
Security
Captain · Head of Security · Head of Personnel · Chief Engineer · Research Director · Medical Director · Security Officer · Detective · Security Assistant · Nanotrasen Security Consultant
Medical &
Research
Geneticist · Roboticist · Scientist · Medical Doctor
Engineering Quartermaster · Miner · Engineer
Civilian Chef · Bartender · Botanist · Rancher · Janitor · Chaplain · Staff Assistant · Radio Host · Clown · Gimmick jobs
Jobs of the Day Dungeoneer · Barber · Mail Courier · Lawyer · Tourist · Musician · Boxer
Antagonist Roles With own mode Arcfiend · Blob · Changeling · Gang Member · Flockmind · Nuclear Operative · Spy Thief · Traitor · Revolutionary · Vampire · Wizard
Others Grinch · Hunter · Krampus · Werewolf · Wraith · Wrestler · Zombie · Gimmick antagonist roles
Special Roles Artificial Intelligence · Battler · Cluwne · Critter · Cyborg · Ghost · Ghostdrone · Monkey · Santa Claus