Research Director

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SCIENCE

Research Director

Superiors: Captain Difficulty: Hard Guides: Guide to Research and Development, Guide to Toxins, Guide to Xenobiology, Guide to Xenoarchaeology and Anomalies, Chain of Command Access: Research Departments, EVA, Engineering, Construction, External Airlocks, Robotics, Bridge, Research Director's Office, Teleporter, Telecommunications Duties: Lead Research and Development, supervise your Scientists, make sure the Roboticists are building borgs or mechs. Minimum requirements: Manage the research department by making sure they are doing their job, that they are not doing something they aren't supposed to, and maintaining the AI and silicons. Make sure research, toxins, and all other aspects of the job have the ball rolling.

SCIENCE

Department head:
Research Director

Science roles

Research Director - Geneticist - Scientist - Science guard - Roboticist

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Guides

Guide to Research and Development - Guide to robotics - Guide to toxins - Guide to xenobiology - Guide to cytology - Guide to Circuits - Guide to Xenoarchaeology - Guide to synthetic surgery

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The Research Director in charge of what is (theoretically) the reason the station is around. You job is to direct research into new things. And you have a group of Scientists to help you do that.

Overview

Unlike most Heads of Staff, your job isn't so much to keep your staff working as it is to keep them from doing so. Or, at least, to keep them from doing so badly.

Technically speaking, your job is the least vital out of any of the Heads of Staff. The Science division isn't vital to the continued operations of the Aurora, even if it is why it's there in the first place. The station won't fall apart if the slimes die, alien artefacts never get studied, and bombs never get made. It will, however, fall apart if the slimes escape, if dangerous alien artefacts aren't well-monitored, or if a poorly-made bomb destroys the Escape arm.

Your job, then is to keep them from accidentally killing themselves. Toxins Mixing and Xenobiology in particular are highly-dangerous areas, and should be monitored at all times.

You're also the foremost expert on strange phenomena on the station. When something strange shows up, it's your job to figure out what it is and how best to deal with it. The other Heads of Staff will rely on you to figure out exactly what it is and what to do about it.

So, in short, keep your staff from screwing everything up royally and keep the other Heads informed about anything weird going on.

You arrive on the station inside your office next to toxins. You have the front seat. So sit back and enjoy the view. Remember that you have two of the most important things on the station, Robotics control and the AI integrity restorer.

Directing Research 101

As the Research Director, your job is obviously to direct research. You have access to anything scientific.

There's No I In Team

Your official responsibility is to ensure that nobody does anything they shouldn't. This means making sure that the Roboticists don’t cyborg people without good reason, and that Toxins does not destroy the station.

Try to stop Toxins from igniting. Teach your scientists the proper way to handle phoron.

Computer Maintenance And You

In the event of AI damage on an Intelicard, there is a computer in your office which can be used to repair its systems. This is a long process, but it is still usually better than having no AI at all. In addition, it is possible to build a new AI from the circuit also found in your office. Using plasteel and glass, it is constructed just like any other computer up until the Synthetic brain is inserted. Please be aware that a freshly constructed AI comes with the default NanoTrasen laws.

Lamarr

Inside the display case in your office is a surgically modified facehugger. It can no longer kill and implant its embryos inside a host body, but it still feels the need to leap on anyone in reach. It's usually best kept in its case. With a chameleon projector, Lamarr can be scanned to act as a fearsome disguise.

AI Overpopulation: The Core Circuit And You

Whether to reduce the load on primary AI or just to increase information chaos, with this nifty AI Core circuit board found in your office you can make a second, working AI. You need the following components first: a screwdriver, a wrench, 4 sheets of plasteel, 2 sheets of reinforced glass, the circuit board, and, of course, a brain in an MMI.

Make AI Core frame with plasteel, wrench it in a preferably secure place near an intercom (or a radio), add circuit, screwdriver, wires, MMI, glass, screwdrive again. Voila! Now there's two working AIs on station!

KNOW YOUR SILICON

There are three types of rogue silicons that you should be familiar with. Each has a slew of different options regarding how you can deal with it.

• Subverted: A traitor (Or unscrupulous Captain) has used either a Freeform module of a Hacked Law Module to upload a law (or several) that is dangerous to the crew
  • Subverted AIs can be fixed very easily via using a Purge and Default board on an Upload Console.
  • Subverted AIs cannot hack their cyborgs
  • Subverted AIs can be downloaded to an Intellicard

• Malfunctioning: The AI has an irremovable hacked law and the ability to hack APCs. It can access several special powers by spending it's CPU.
  • Malfunctioning AIs cannot be fixed. They must be destroyed. They can and will shunt into a hacked APC before dying, requiring you to deconstruct the APC (ENTIRELY) to finish it off.
  • Malfunctioning AIs can hack their cyborgs.

How To Tell A Traitor From A Disillusioned Doctor

A revolution is a bad time for both research and directing it - As such, you're in for a wild and dangerous ride where you will live as a robust freedom warrior or die the endless hordes of greyshirt commies. The sad reality is that you are extremely vulnerable, as you start in a department where dangerous things are easily put together, along with the fact that the high department population typically means there is a head revolutionary hidden somewhere inside. At the FIRST sign of danger, you need to be RD outski and get to Brig. This means:

• People flashing each other
• People following you around and not doing their job
• People milling around in firesuits with flamethrowers

You will either be one of the first to die (Along with the CMO) or the last in line, dragged kicking and screaming into the afterlife. Or, you will be a robust hero. The choice is yours.

Assistant with Science

You can be of great help as an assistant with large amounts of access. Collecting flashes and power cells for robotics and other items for research.

Upgrading the station

NT has granted your colleagues a station that has plenty of room for improvement. Plenty of machines around the station can be upgraded to improve efficiency, and you're encouraged to let your coworkers feel what an efficient science really means: Better work conditions. Use the File:RPED.png Rapid Part Exchanger device, produced by the Protolathe to rapidly replace obsolete parts with newers parts which will further improve machine efficiency; or deconstruct and reconstruct the machine from the getgo. Use the Guide to Advanced Construction to check what parts each machine contains, to know what stock parts to replace. The RPED is also able to scan the stock parts present in the machine.

Links to Other Departments

As the research director, you are the link between the captain, the heads of staff, and your researchers. R&D supplies technology to the other departments and receives supplies from the miners and quartermaster. When something strange happens--someone turns into a monkey, teleports without a device, or has illegal technology--it's your job to try to explain what just happened. Good luck.

Toxins will be your best bet, with all those explosives you'll probably be able to hold the station hostage. You hold a lot of power, and at the same time, a decent amount of responsibility. It is easy to bring the Station to it’s knees, if you know what you’re doing. Great if you’re a traitor, dickish if you’re not.

Less useful but still dangerous, robotics is a useful stopping point.

Changeling

You are the forefront expert on Changelings, you may not have the know how of a Centcom specialist, but you've read up extensively on them. RDs know the broad strokes of how changelings work such as their shapeshifting abilities much like the Chief Medical Officer. However, unlike the Chief Medical Officer the research director is knowledgeable about Changelings and their weakness to BZ

Tips

• Lamarr can be used for internals.
• You can restore dead AIs using the AI system integrity restorer consoles! There's one in the RD office, and one DIRECTLY TO THE RIGHT OF THE AI UPLOAD FOYER. That's right! When your AI dies, you don't have to fart around and say "uh, so, like, should we call the shuttle or something? or build a new one? herp?" Just use an intellicard on the destroyed AI core and slot it into the console! Wow! You're a helpful little furless monkey!
• Unlike what some Roboticists say, they answer to the RD. If they are too stubborn to remember that, make some time to demote them and ensure they don't go on a vengeful mech rampage later. Otherwise, sync your research often, and go check on 'em to eventually congratulate them on their job.
• If you have an assistant or extra Science crew, give one a RPED full of parts for said machines and a screwdriver, and send them around the station, mainly to science, medical, and engineering. Places particularly in need of parts are xenobiology, robotics, genetics, the supermatter, and the incinerator if the atmos techs are using it.

Traitoring

The Research Director, like all Heads of Staff, make extremely dangerous traitors just by virtue of their access and departmental loyalty. While your underlings are less likely to fall in line than Security most of the time they'll listen to what you want them to do.

Jobs on Skyrat Station

Command

Captain, Blueshield, Nanotrasen Consultant

Security

Head of Security, Warden, Detective, Security Officer, Corrections Officer

Engineering

Chief Engineer, Station Engineer, Atmospheric Technician, Engineering Guard

Science

Research Director, Geneticist, Scientist, Roboticist, Science Guard

Medical

Chief Medical Officer, Medical Doctor, Paramedic, Chemist, Virologist, Coroner, Orderly

Cargo

Quartermaster, Cargo Technician, Shaft Miner, Bitrunner, Customs Agent

Service

Head of Personnel, Janitor, Bartender, Cook, Botanist, Lawyer, Clown, Mime, Chaplain, Curator, Psychologist, Barber, Bouncer

Civilian

Assistant, Prisoner

Synthetics

AI, Cyborg, Positronic Brain, Drone, Personal AI

Antagonists

Traitor, Malfunctioning AI, Changeling, Nuclear Operative, Blood Cultist, Heretic, Revolutionary, Wizard, Blob, Abductor, Holoparasite, Xenomorph, Spider, Swarmers, Revenant, Morph, Nightmare, Space Ninja, Slaughter Demon, Sentient Disease, Obsessed, Space Dragon, Elite Mobs, Sentient Slime

Special

CentCom Official, Death Squad Officer, Emergency Response Officer, Chrono Legionnaire, Highlander, Ian, Lavaland Role, Construct, Imaginary Friend, Split Personality, Ghost, Golem