Useless Pro Tips

[Threeinone]

Thought I could start a bit of a thread sharing a bunch of mechanics and info that nobody really ever uses shift-to-shift.

 

So uh, did you know you can tie cuffed people to pipes? I found out while i was being chased down by a vamp that glared and cuffed me but forgot to drag. I got tied to the disposal pipes as soon as sec saved me. It's kinda useless though 'cuz all the pipes are in the main tunnels out in the open. 

If you got any weird mechanics or info about how the game works, feel free to share here.

[Spacemanspark]

IIRC tying people to heated/ cooled pipes causes them to take damage.

Atmos is the only department I don't know so I could be wrong.

[McRamon]

how about putting pills in drinks? it shows a message about you doing it in red so it is kind of stupid since putting pills inside others drinks to poison them should be at least a bit sneaky

[Shadeykins]

5 hours ago, Threeinone said:

Thought I could start a bit of a thread sharing a bunch of mechanics and info that nobody really ever uses shift-to-shift.

 

So uh, did you know you can tie cuffed people to pipes? I found out while i was being chased down by a vamp that glared and cuffed me but forgot to drag. I got tied to the disposal pipes as soon as sec saved me. It's kinda useless though 'cuz all the pipes are in the main tunnels out in the open. 

If you got any weird mechanics or info about how the game works, feel free to share here.

Very useful in conversion-type rounds like Shadowling, actually. It's also a quick "spur-of-the-moment" way to bucklecuff people.

Useless mechanics? Passive gates in atmos are just a recoloured gas pump.

[necaladun]

Did you know - lockers can be locked after being opened?!

stares at sec officers

[davidchan]

Did you know - Head of Staff can make announcements from the Request Console in their office. 

Did you know - Medbay has a front desk so that a doctor or assistant can man it to notify doctors of inbound patients, as well as an area off to the side for those without potentially fatal wounds to await treatment.

Did you know - The clown is meant to tell jokes and entertain the crew, while the mime is meant to emote out actions and avoid all physical contact in the process.

Did you know - Assistants are capable of doing odd jobs to help departments function and coordinate - Not steal everything not bolted down.

Did you know - The Body Scanner tells the doctor/user all the internal damages of a patient and should probably be used on every patient who is defibbed or comes out of a cryotube.

Did you know - Genetics is actually capable of monitoring the cloner and helping fresh clones fix their brain damage, SE changes and open the door to let them out.

Did you know - Engineering has a series of consoles in their departments that give them information from how much power is in the powergrid, which APCs aren't charging and notify them of any atmospheric conditions or that might require their attention! 

Did you know - Security HUD and Security Record console can modify a specific crewman's records to denote any crimes they've committed or pertinent details. Detaining someone against their will without charging them of a crime is Kidnapping, aka Illegal Detainment!

Did you know - Science department can actually build useful mechs and distribute equipment to help the crew, instead of the usual combat mechs! Who knew?!

Did you know - Botanist has a wide variety of food they can grow, not just nettles and ambrosia.

4 hours ago, Shadeykins said:

Useless mechanics? Passive gates in atmos are just a recoloured gas pump.

IIRC passive gates don't require or use power and only push gas if there is more pressure on the intake than outtake. Putting a gas pump between two pipes with equal pressure below the pumps threshold will pull from the intake, where as a passive will stop pulling gas once the two pipes are equalized even if the gate is set to higher. Basically a gate is trying to maintain a specific pressure on the intake while a pump is trying to maintain the pressure on the output.

[Coldflame]

as far as security goes:

 

riot shotguns are loaded with tranq darts by default. contrary to what the name implies, they don't stun, and are loaded with haloperidol, making them effective against stimulants. an interesting idea, but far too situational to ever see use.

stun batons have removable batteries, which can be handled with a screwdriver. this enables you to potentially reload a baton in the field or replace the battery with a higher-tier one from science.

seclights are surprisingly robust, being only marginally less harmful than a stunbaton. likewise, tasers are also surprisingly potent melee weapons. generally, both of these are overshadowed by the baton. on the topic of batons, a baton can be used on a shield to make an intimidating noise.

handcuffs can be used on orange (and only orange) shoes to make leg-cuffs. these force a person to remain in walk intent.

trying to wash a live stunbaton makes you electrocute yourself.

the DNA and fingerprint strings in security/medical records can actually be altered, potentially allowing for elaborate frame jobs or erasure of evidence.

the captain is, similairly to the chaplain, innately immune to being converted by cultists, even if their implant is removed. i have no idea of the reasoning behind this.

during rev, both heads and revheads are considered dead if off z-level. this can allow for potentially non-lethal resolutions to the gamemode.

targeting the mouth and clicking someone in help intent with a ranged weapon will perform an 'execution'. This takes a long time to prepare, but deals 5x the damage of the weapon to the target. most weapons do not deal enough damage for this to actually be lethal to a healthy victim.

 

a few not-useless-but-fairly-obscure mechanics:

tracking implants can be used to teleport directly onto the target as one would a beacon. this makes re-capture quite easy.

riot armour has a very long strip delay and protects almost all of your inventory slots. combined with a flare in your pocket, this confers immunity to shadowling conversion.

chemical implants can be activated by the person implanted in them, not only remotely. this allows the construction of ghetto adrenal implants.

flashbangs, being grenades, can be combined with the soon-to-be-removed explosive lances. this makes a ranged stun weapon that is effective even against people otherwise immune to them.

roundstart members of security heal when consuming donuts. donuts are also not considered junk food, meaning they're a fine substitute for healthy eating (in ss13).

clicking a magazine-based weapon with a magazine will perform a tactical reload, swapping the existing mag for the new one in a single click. this ditches the old mag. weapons with multi-stage reloads such as the SAW cannot do this.

the combat knife can be sharpened with a whetstone as other knives, making it arguably the best non-stun melee weapon to the crew.

prison jumpsuits cannot have their suit sensors disabled.

(not too obscure anymore) tape rolls can be used to completely silence footwear. this is most notable for disabling the distinctive noise of jackboots.

[Shadeykins]

1 hour ago, davidchan said:

IIRC passive gates don't require or use power and only push gas if there is more pressure on the intake than outtake. Putting a gas pump between two pipes with equal pressure below the pumps threshold will pull from the intake, where as a passive will stop pulling gas once the two pipes are equalized even if the gate is set to higher. Basically a gate is trying to maintain a specific pressure on the intake while a pump is trying to maintain the pressure on the output.

This is more or less true, but the same effect can be achieved by just measuring your input and setting a gas pump accordingly. There's almost no situation where you want specific pressures in pipenets that can't already be achieved by the very simple gas pump.

[Threeinone]

Wow, I didn't actually expect this to catch wind...

HoS can make warrants for criminals and even give mugshots so when people read newspapers, they are told of who to report to sec.

Actually taking a few steps back, remember newspapers?

[FreeStylaLT]

2 hours ago, davidchan said:

Did you know - Medbay has a front desk so that a doctor or assistant can man it to notify doctors of inbound patients, as well as an area off to the side for those without potentially fatal wounds to await treatment.

This does not exist anymore, unfortunately.

2 hours ago, davidchan said:

Did you know - Genetics is actually capable of monitoring the cloner and helping fresh clones fix their brain damage, SE changes and open the door to let them out.

They also unfortunately cannot, not from their posts:

the CMO has a far better and more reliable view of cloning from their office at the moment.

Edited July 6, 2018 by FreeStylaLT

[davidchan]

24 minutes ago, FreeStylaLT said:

This does not exist anymore, unfortunately.

Literally the spot below the med desk. Its out of all traffic areas and doesn't block the chemistry desk. Its meant for people without serious injuries to await treatment without risk blocking the doors if someone is being dragged in while in crit.

24 minutes ago, FreeStylaLT said:

They also unfortunately cannot, not from their posts:

the CMO has a far better and more reliable view of cloning from their office at the moment.

Part of Genetics job is to routinely check cloning for fresh clones, they have a window there for a reason.

 

[BqRel]

Using a screwdriver on an open fire extinguisher closet will close it.

An empty trash bag can be put in your pocket, but one with anything in it can not. However, you can still put stuff in it without it coming out of your pocket.

You *should* put space cleaner in the mop bucket. Expect to be replaced by janiborgs if you don't.

 

Some of my secret janitorial tactics.

[Tlc2013]

Using anything on an open fire extinguisher cabinet other than an empty hand will close it, actually. It's handy.

[Sampaiii]

you can dip cigarettes and cigars into chems to fill them with chems...

which can make for some interesting times if you use the right stuff :3c 

I'm sad I never see anyone else use this 

[Tlc2013]

I do that for fireworks a lot. They blow up, but damage nothing.

[Daikyu]

As Atmos technician you can also just add a disposal pipe entrance to the garbage chute of the captain. Using this you can transport yourself through the disposal system to access the Captain's quarters, and then escape through the same way you came in. 

[Pckables]

18 hours ago, Sampaiii said:

you can dip cigarettes and cigars into chems to fill them with chems...

which can make for some interesting times if you use the right stuff :3c 

I'm sad I never see anyone else use this 

Does this work with Rollies? I tried to make anti-stun chem rollies in Botany with some modified cannabis, but unfortunately none of the chems transferred.

[Sampaiii]

4 hours ago, Pckables said:

Does this work with Rollies? I tried to make anti-stun chem rollies in Botany with some modified cannabis, but unfortunately none of the chems transferred.

I'm not sure.... Worth trying tho

[necaladun]

Just tested - works with rollies.

[necaladun]

Matches can be lit on your shoes.

[Benjaminfallout]

When you are hit with a stuffed animal a chemical known as "pure hug" is put into your character. If you eat/drink anything with chocolate the "pure hug" will be changed into "pure love" a chemical that forces you to stay in the help intent and makes you hug everyone near you non-stop. It will also give you positive messages telling you how everything is going to be okay.

Do note this my not be helpful to security due to the fact you can still attack if holding something on help intent and the amount of effort needed to get a decent amount of the drug since it tends to leave the body quite quickly.

Edited July 9, 2018 by Benjaminfallout

[Threeinone]

Not useless, but badass if a bit unusual in shift-to-shift life. You can light cigarettes and cigars on burning people. The perfect end to both a dramatic speech and your target's life.

[bobybob2964]

Did you know - Slimes can't be revived with a defibrillator? Nor can they be brought back via cloning. Yep, what we need is some good ole SR, that being said, make sure the body is healthy, or we blow up!

On a serious note i find nobody but slimes know how to help a slime person, when we die, its usually for good.

[Daikyu]

If you enter throw mode with an open hand, you will catch everything that's thrown at you. Especially useful for catching and returning bananas and PDAs from clowns and 'special' botanists.

[Normalyman]

You forgot that it's possible to transplant you into a magnificent human body that you will defenetly love!

But it's not a useless mechanic, just a downside of a race  @bobybob2964