HoP Role and Cargo

[CaesersLegion]

As i'm not the most experienced player in this game nor the most intelligent, i wasn't sure about making this post but i will still give it a try.

For some reason i believe that the HoP position can be overloaded with work at times, having to deal with constant job changes, borging papers random idiots who just waste your time and still having to take part in command responsibilities and managing cargo throughout the QM. I'm not sure if all or any players share these issues with me but i personally believe that if we wish to make the role slightly less annoying, we should be looking towards promoting the QM to a Head of Staff. 

Why you may ask? Well put quite simply, the QM has complete control over both the cargo area and the mining department. ( two pretty significant fields of profession if you ask me, and very crucial to the stations success at times). Where i wish to make my point is that the HoP simply cannot oversee so many things at one time while the QM can easily monitor that entire department without any problems whatsoever. Because even as it stands now, the HoP (despite what his job describes) has seemingly very little influence over cargo mostly due to players being use to running the place in a way the fashioned to suit their play style. Sometimes it turns into chaos ( Important gear not being delivered or DNA Vault parts etc...), however there are many competent players who would have no issue with running the whole operation like a well oiled machine. 

To end this here, i do not only want the HoP to get less of a workload, i also want the job of QM to be more recognized and respected because at this point the only difference between the QM and regular cargo techs is the QM having access to his office...

I hope you consider this, if not it's ok i'm sure there are more important things at the time but i would love if this post would catch someones attention so we could fix a couple of issues here and there.

[Tayswift]

I really like the QM role where it is! It's kind of an early leadership position people can try out before jumping into command. If you add the quartermaster to command too, then you kind of lose that. Also I feel like most of the time, the HoP doesn't really micromanage cargo and lets the QM do their thing.

[CPTCoffee]

The QM is there for when the HOP inevitably turns out to be vampire scum. 

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It's a good job for people to try before jumping into a head role, and most of the time the HOP doesn't bother cargo anyways (unless the captain is screaming at them to order DNA vault parts). I don't think that buffing the QM role will really impact the game either way.

[bryanayalalugo]

Yeah, as the others have said, Quartermaster is a good position to learn leadership skills on the station without the tediousness of being depended upon by your staff or important items.

And for the HoP thing, usually, I tend to deal with most of that early on the shift. Remember, you don't really have to go fully through a request if it feels to be stupid or unnecessary for the station.

[Bxil]

As someone who mains HoP, I must disagree.

The QM is there to provide new players a chance to try themselves as a more responsible role, but cargo can still function without them. Also, unlike current heads, the QM has no business outside of supply. I see literally no reason for the QM to be on the bridge, make announcements, or call the shuttle.

And if you are HoP and the QM is being bad then you don't micromanage: you fire the current QM and optionally get a new one.

[Landerlow]

Agree with @Bxil

[CaesersLegion]

Well then, as it would seem i am the only idiot that tries to appeal every demand from civis...

[TwoCam]

Actually. I agree. The QM should have at least some of the privledges of a head.

In particular, I think command radio access would be great. That would also help people who are trying to learn head roles by exposing them to command channel communications.

[CaesersLegion]

Ayyy i'm not alone, but seriously i'm not thinking about switching the entire job description of the HoP i just want him to have less things to worry about and give the QM some respect by promoting his position. Nothing else really.

[Jountax]

Only semi related, but I feel the HoP could actually use a second 'subhead' under him that manages (or tries to manage) service. That job nominally falls to the HoP, but no HoP I've ever seen has even tried to do it, or were too busy to in the first place. Someone who can yell at the barber for giving people random dye jobs, or tell the chef to actually cook something damn it, and crack down on drug dealing botanists, etc.

Call it the Manager or something like that.

[Kyet]

Last time I tried to get the barber to reverse an inappropriate dye job, they wouldn't truly listen to the Captain.

Let alone the HoP. Someone ranked under the HoP... I don't imagine anyone in Service would pay them any attention... unless they had the authority to actually fire people from the Service department.

Putting people 'in charge' without actual, direct, 'they can fire you' authority, simply does not work.

 

[TrainTN]

1 hour ago, tzo said:

Putting people 'in charge' without actual, direct, 'they can fire you' authority, simply does not work.

Pretty much this. At least the QM has some psuedo-authority considering the guy who CAN fire his underlings is literally across the hallway from the Cargo Bay. The chain of command does not need to be further complicated; the QM is not a head, he is just a managerial role meant to watch over both the Cargo Techs and the Miners to ensure that the CTs don't waste all the points on pizza and the Miners don't run off and die in the first 15 minutes of the round (or at least inform the HoP when they do so he can hire new ones).

[Christasmurf]

I quite like the idea of a Service subhead, but I doubt it would work well considering the actual Heads barely get listened to by that department. Hell, even Security Officers in the process of arresting Botanists don't get listened to by the people they're arresting.

On 11/23/2017 at 9:29 PM, TwoCam said:

In particular, I think command radio access would be great. That would also help people who are trying to learn head roles by exposing them to command channel communications.

I think this would add an interesting element to the game, and would rely less on the HoP to constantly pass messages on to Cargo. I'm not sure how it would work properly though, as every role currently with access to Command channels are either karma locked or playtime locked.

I just feel like the Quartermaster could feel like something more than a Cargo Technician with slightly more access. Give them more of a voice than the whiny guy constantly asking for Security when their Cargo Techs start beating each other to death.