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CentComm Rulings & GM Information

CentComm Rulings & Game Master Information

Central Command In-Game

Central Command In-Game is the bridge between Game Masters and players without the use of Out-Of-Character methods such as the AHelp Relay to communicate any relevant or important information. This itself can range from sudden calls on the red phone to simple faxes about a crew-member dying at work. Although the lore on Central Command is yet to be written, CentComm functions as the line of communication in NanoTrasen controlled territory between their stations, vessels or other assets. They are positioned in second place as law enforcement privilege holders right behind the NanoTrasen Internal Affairs. This does mean that the NanoTrasen Internal Affairs Agents superseed CentComm Commanders in terms of authority.

Each shift-end, a CentComm Commander has to be present on-board Central Command. Due to this, each Game Master is required to have a Commander of their own ready inside the character creation menu (lobby). The end-round can be incredibly important as any reports, psychological evaluations, complaints or any other meetings hold major significance for characters and workers within NanoTrasen. Any such reports or documents should be taken and later saved to be posted in either the game-masters Discord channel or the shift-overview itself. This allows us to directly read the report and possibly write any response for the character. For example, each psychological evaluation should have a verdict, best if written as a CentComm document In-Game, to be later given to the character as an employment record.

CentComm Interns do exist but they aren't considered as regular Commanders which means that they alone cannot be stationed in Central Command for the post-round time. Interns themselves should remain rare and seen more as a joke event/addition.

Commander Creation & Authorised Equipment

Central Command characters are to follow set creation rules to stay truthful to their rule. These rules split into two sets, the character creation rules and authorised equipment rules.

Commander Creation Rules:

  • Commanders have to be named in a uniform fashion following this naming convention "Commander Name/Surname/Nickname". For example, there wouldn't be a "Commander Arthur Reyes" but "Commander Reyes".
  • Commanders mustn't have any disabilities or other injuries that would prevent them from fully accomplishing their work. This rule also ties in with the Admin Ruling number 5 found here.
  • CentComm Commanders always need to have a mind-shield inside of them.
  • Commanders must be mentally stable and cannot be unfit for duty.
  • Commanders must act reasonably and should never break down on-duty.
  • Commanders have to know and understand the Standard Operating Procedure as well as the Space Law.
  • Commanders cannot appear as regular crew on scheduled and unscheduled shifts in the Umbra Sector.
  • Commanders are required to only use authorised Central Command equipment. This may range from outfits to weapons.
  • Commanders are held to the highest standard as they stand as the prime examples of NanoTrasen staff.

Authorised Equipment for Commanders:

  • Central Command clothing found in the CentDrobe.
  • Coloured scarves or green jumpsuits. When using a green or dark-green jumpsuit, leave an easily identifiable part of the CentComm wardrobe on you (scarf, coat, cloak).
  • Tracking implants that you are permitted to create, inject and use.
  • Administration sunglasses or the administration HUD that you may spawn in.
  • Sabres and sabre sheaths.
  • N1984's.

Unauthorised Equipment:

  • Any longarms or other firearms with the exception of the N1984.
  • Unrelated, lower-ranking or higher-ranking clothing.
  • Any contraband equipment that may be used by the NanoTrasen Internal Affairs such as the energy sword or shield.
  • Bags/Satchels/Duffels of holding. Basically meaning that you can't take the one found in the CentComm office.
  • Security equipment such as security sunglasses, sechud's or other related items.
  • Any advanced technologies, unless given by a crew-member. Commanders should be generally left 'bare-bones', most of the time not even wearing any backpack/satchel/duffel. You only need a clipboard, stamp and a pen.

CentComm Commanders Etiquette & Expectations

Because of the importance of the role, all Commanders are held to the highest standard and should always act in good faith for all crew-members during and after the shift. You should strive to be helpful, understanding and respectful to each crew-member and worker of NanoTrasen. A Commander should never be an asshole or unpleasant to deal with. This is especially important post-round where the players wish to relax and debrief after the shift.

Remember, you are the impersonation of a Game Master In-Character. Act how you would in the AHelp Relay.

In-Character Central Command Knowledge

Central Command is still an In-Character entity as opposed to regular Game Masters. Because of this, their knowledge is limited and subjective with only a few sources of information. These are:

  • Faxes to Central Command.
  • Conversations on the red phone.
  • Reports on the CentComm radio frequency as it's not short-range.
  • All announcements broadcasted on the station. This includes the standard communications console but also other means such as the "Automated Station Announcement".
  • IFF scans of the station and nearby space.
  • Vital signs of the crew-members.

Central Command doesn't have access to a live camera feed and can only gain access to it after shift-end from a physical storage in the camera server, usually done by the "clean-up crew", or the equivalent to. If a situation occurred on the station and the information of it occurring was never relayed to Central Command, the Commanders present will be unaware unless some crew-member will directly report it in the station.

Communication with Central Command

Each method of communicating with Central Command should follow a small procedure to verify its legitimacy. If the message cannot be verified, it's to be discarded. This means that:

  • Command faxes must contain the stamp and written name of the sender to be considered valid. If only one or neither are provided, you may send a response fax asking for verification of the fax. It can either be sent to the sender or some other head-of-staff.
  • A conversation on the red phone, while secure, still requires the calling entity to provide a "security number" to verify their authenticity. This is purely for roleplay purposes and any provided code or number is valid. After it is provided, the conversation may begin.

Responses from Central Command

Central Command has a few ways of responding to any faxes or other forms of communication. Depending on the context, situation and its severity, the response will vary. A red phone shouldn't be used to respond to a Captain asking for advice on a small issue on-board their station and a fax shouldn't be used to communicate that an ERT team is on the way. Below are the procedures for each one:

Faxes:

Faxes function as a rather slow way of communicating information to the station, leaving them for cases of low to moderate severity. The main drawback is the time needed to write a response in-game. Not every fax sent to Central Command needs to receive one back. Some may be regular reports while others clearly joke or unnecessary faxes. You should mostly only respond to verifiable and safe faxes. Central Command faxes must contain a CentComm stamp to be valid. A signature is not needed but depending on the Commander who sent it, you may add it for added proof.

Calls on the Red Phone:

The red phone is only meant for emergencies where a fax is too slow or unimportant to use. The use of the red phone is expected to have a valid reason behind it. Mis-use of the red phone should be first communicated to the station and later at Central Command where the mis-using entity can be questioned and taken into consequence. To emit a sound in-game you can either throw the phone as an AGhost to make it ring or to use the playglobalsound command for entities which are close. To begin the call, the first needs to be picked up, otherwise, it will keep ringing. To end a call, you can simply emote "clicks." to signal the Commander has hung up.

Central Command Announcements:

The fastest and most efficient way of communicating with the station crew. The Central Command announcements should be left for quick and general messages that are meant to be heard by the entire crew. This may be a reminder of the evacuation calling or a warning that a ship is blocking the port. It can also signal the coming or arrival of a NanoTrasen vessel. It is free-form and highly depends on the situation at hand.

Contact In-Person:

Central Command generally shouldn't send out any Commanders to deal with issues on-board the stations. Unless it's a scenario where Commander presence is required, they should never appear during the shift. An inspection is fine but an issue with a Command member during the shift is not. Smaller cases are to be left at Central Command itself. Central Command can also authorise the dispatch of ERT teams per valid requests from the station Command. In the case where a full ERT team was sent to the shift, Central Command is to set the Gamma alert on-board. This allows the team and crew to efficiently deal with the presented issue.

Central Command Faxes & Documents

Any faxes or documents you may need to send or give out are entirely free-form. We have no standardised template for any documents so you are permitted to create your own or ask someone who has some for a copy. They can be simple or complex, the most important part is that they should be readable.

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