Leaderboard

If you haven't read my first post, perhaps do so now and come back. Finished already? Let's get down to business. "So, what does the CE do exactly?" The answer will vary depending on who you ask. Some say that the CE is strictly administrative and should focus on commanding their department with a hands off approach. Some people (me) believe that a CE should be working alongside with the rest of their department. Both of these methods work, but the real truth lies somewhere in between. The CE should be able to help their department when needed, but also able to command their team and ensure the job is getting done. In my opinion, the CE is one of the most intensive jobs on the station, right up there with AI. Think of it like babysitting a large group of toddlers that are all on the edge of being considered legally deaf that are also trying to build a Lego Death Star, while also having to fold laundry and cook dinner before the NTR or IAA comes home and gets upset. I cannot stress this enough, but the first mark of a good CE is the ability to know what needs to be done and how to do it. You should at least get a basic understanding before attempting CE. This includes atmospherics. Yes, I'm talking to you. "What should I do as CE?" At roundstart, first things that should be done as CE is to check the manifest. Know who is in your department. Know how many people are in your department. Remember you need engineers AND atmos techs for a fully functioning department. If you feel like you do not have enough people, notify the HoP or captain immediately and request the job set to priority. An understaffed department can be a death sentence for the station, especially with a bald team. Equip yourself. Get all the gear you need and and make sure you are prepared for the shift. Next, divvy up the work. Talk to people directly. Point at them and say, "Can you do solars for me?" or "Please do solars for me." Find out who has plans for this shift. Ask if people have personal projects they are pursuing. Make CERTAIN someone you know is capable is setting up the SM. If you think you have to do it, do that now. I posted a guide to SM setup that can be found here: Once you're finished with setting up the SM, or have ensured that the SM is being set up by a reliable engineer, go to atmospherics. Make sure the atmos techs have properly set up atmospherics. This includes swapping the volumetric pumps on distro to regular pumps and making sure all of the filters are set to max flow. Continue to check up on solars regularly as all of this is going on. Once you know atmos is properly set up, monitor the engine during startup. Once the engine is up and running smoothly, go and order the station goal from cargo. Now, your course of action changes depending on the goal. Here's how I chose my courses of action based on the different goals and what I order: -Station Shields: For station shields, I order 5 crates. I order 4 crates of shield satellites, not shield generators. This should translate to approximately 12 satellites total. Next, order the shield satellite monitor board. Once the crates arrive, DO NOT OPEN THEM. Find the monitor board and replace the arcade machine in engineering with the monitor board. It's as easy as swapping out the board. After that, find engineers with hardsuits. Instruct them to place satellites around important parts of the station first (i.e. solars, the SM, AI satellite, departures, perma, and arrivals). It is also recommended to hand out your hardsuit jetpack upgrade. Only open the satellite crates when you are beginning setup while EVA. Ensure that all of the satellites are spaced out well and turned on. Remember that the satellite coverage percentage is very deceptive. Even at 150-200%, meteors can still hit the station. Your goal is to get to 100% to get credit for completion. -DNA Vault: If the goal is DNA vault, immediately decide on a location for the vault. Two popular spots on the Cyberriad are the garden in departures and in the cubby hole between grav gen and the teleporter room, but feel free to use your imagination. Immediately inform botany and science that the goal is DNA vault. Botany especially. DNA vault is a lot of work for botany. If you need a room built for a DNA vault, ensure that is done in a timely manner. Once the crates are delivered, take the sampler crate and hand out samplers to botany and science, as well as leaving one at the vault location and giving one to an engineer. Tell the engineer to run around collecting as many samples as they can and deposit them. The DNA vault isn't difficult to build, but ensure it is done before you have too many samples and nowhere to put them. The DNA vault requires 5 super capacitors and 5 pico manipulators to complete, so if RND is even semi bald, it should be fairly easy to get the parts you need. After all that is done, you've done all you can do. It's in the hands of botany and science now. Sometimes, you'll have to order some animal crates to make up the difference, but otherwise, it is now out of your hands. -Bluespace Artillery First, determine a place for the BSA. The most difficult part of this goal is the construction required on engineering's part and the research done on RND's part. Make sure people are working on the room whenever possible. Make certain to check up on the construction periodically to ensure everything is running smoothly and to bring the engineers any parts they need. The BSA is a very material hungry goal. It requires 20 bluespace crystals, 5 quadratic capacitors and 5 femto manipulators. Ensure that the BSA has a glass wall to fire through and make sure that the machines go in this order from front to back: bore, fusor, generator. Also ensure that the bore is TWO tiles back from the wall. TWO. Otherwise you will shoot a hole in the wall every time you fire. Other than that, your job is done. -Bluespace Harvester: First, find a location. There's no real best place to do it, but I find the spare construction area in the northeast portion of engineering on the Cyberriad a good place. All you have to do is make sure it's wired, constructed, and connected to a power source. To construct, you'll need 5 quadratic capacitors and 5 bluespace crystals. There are many different power sources, each with there own benefits and drawbacks, but the goal is to supply as much power as you can to the BSH. Make sure that it isn't wired directly to the station grid and please don't set it to anything over 10 unless you're ready to fight literal hellspawns. "What are some other tips to be a good CE?" Be an approachable CE. Be well mannered with your team and they will usually reciprocate. Say "please" and "thank you." Let your team know they did a good job when they did a good job. Don't. Be. A. Dick. I promise that if you act like an asshole as CE, the department will not listen to you. Be polite, but remember that YOU are in charge. If something needs doing or someone needs a talking to, do not be afraid to let them know that there will be consequences for their actions if they disobey orders without a pretty damn good reason. Communicate. Communicate communicate communicate. A silent CE is a disliked CE. Make sure people know that you are the CE and make sure people know what needs doing when it needs doing. Be sure to keep your department informed as well. This DOES NOT mean that you should recite command comms to the entire department. If there are rumors of clings, tell your department and ensure they are careful when entering maints. Be a role model. Act like you know what you're doing and move with confidence. If you don't know what you're doing, do not hesitate to ask someone who does. People would prefer a CE that wants to learn instead of acting like hot shit when they're not. Take care of new recruits. If someone comes up to you and says, "Hey, I'm new here. What should I do?" that is your queue to make sure they end the shift knowing more than when they started. Attach them to an engineer that you know is competent or even teach them yourself, if you feel confident in your ability to do so. TL;DR: Know what you're doing. Be open. Be kind. Be confident.

The Nerdy Amira