1 dismissal Alert level for ship artillery operation

[Fluffy]

I think it would be cool to have an alert level as or on top of the internal ones (green/blue/red/delta) that indicates the crew to prepare for the ship guns operations, with a SOP attached and some sound effects

 

As an example of what I mean, I'll make up a competely arbitrary scenario to describe what would happen:

 

• An enemy vessel is spotted on the ship radar, it is deemed hostile and whatever command chain/procedure decides that ship combat is wanted/bound to happen
• The commander or who is acting as such orders the bridge to prepare for ship combat
• The bridge actuate the appropriate station alert system

 

1. A message is sent as an emergency station alert, indicating as such
2. An alarm sound effect is played
3. A recorded voice effect is played: "General quarters general quarters, all hands man your battle stations, set condition zebra throughout the ship"
4. Alarm sound effect is played again

 

• All bridge personnel not otherwise ordered: prepare on bridge and key areas to operate the equipments, helms prepare to manouver the ship, prepare to receive and load the weapons projectiles
• All engineering personnel not otherwise ordered: wear hardsuits with internals, acquire the materials and tools to repair hull breaches and the likes, prepare to assist in weapons repair
• Medical: FRs prepare hardsuits and to depart to recover injured personnel, doctors and surgeon prepare the inflatable walls to be deployed to contain the atmosphere in medbay, wear internals and/or softsuits
• Security not otherwise ordered: wear the hardsuits and the rest of the personnel the armors, open armory and prepare to either receive a possible incursion or send one out, prepare internals, patrol the decks
• Operations: suits and/or internals, haul the ammunitions to the relative weapons to be loaded according to what is needed/ordered
• Everyone else: prepare internals
• Off duty / civilians / visitors: prepare internals, group up in secure areas

 

(Again it's just an example of what I mean, not a list of specific things that I propose should happen, except the numbered ones that sounds really cool)

 

.2c

[Gem]

this use case is pretty much already covered by code blue and code red.
voting for dismissal.

Edited November 6, 2022 by Gem

[KingOfThePing]

Honestly, an alarm that is specifically for ship-to-ship combat would not be too bad. Maybe Delta can be reused for that, since the nuke is not what it used to be. I dont agree with all points in the initial post/some stuff would have to be tweaked (like the broadcasted message) but it wouldnt be the worst maybe.

[Fluffy]

19 minutes ago, Gem said:

this use case is pretty much already covered by code blue and code red.

Blue and red basically only tells you something about the ship status, they do not tell nor inform you that you are about to be thrown around by the ship doing evasive manouvers, or shook by the gun fire, they don't tell the (relevant) rest of the crew to prepare to assist in loading the ship guns, nor that the ship risk to be hit and vented in different locations, etc. etc., IMHO

[greenjoe]

This could be useful, blue + red feel like they're more for shipside hazards, while a new thing for ship combat could be interesting to see, with the kinda idea of "Hold onto something, be ready for the ship to take hits and make sudden maneuvers"
+1

[Fluffy]

I made a proof of concept in the video, please note it's the first time I ever touch DM language so I'm positive I could have broke something somewhere, and I'm also sure it can be improved, but here it is

 

PS: headphones users beware, I have not balanced the audio

2022-11-07 22-06-37.mkv

Edited November 7, 2022 by Fluffy

[stobarico]

Irl at least, ships have a general quarters alarm when they engage in combat, so I'd say we could have something like that for sure

 

+1

[Fluffy]

Added a few additions in the POC:

 

• The helm can now announce, with a click of a button, the evasive manouver, so people know what to expect and to brace if possible or interrupt something critical they are doing in a safe way (eg. surgeons)
• The sensors operator can announce from which direction the enemy fire is coming from using the button systems (same as the helm) to let passengers know where to run away from, and engineers/FRs where to run towards, and that there's no fire inbound so that operations can resume
• The lights now turn red (the same as the red alert) instead of keeping the default colour

Please keep in mind this is a proof of concept, as usual video attached showing the new options along the old ones

2022-11-09 14-29-13.mkv

[Peppermint]

I meaaannn it's pretty larpy, but sounds quite cool? Also solves the issue of needing to announce it every few minutes to stop people being thrown around

[Faye <3]

i like this idea but not broadcasting 'general quarters'. no one outside of sec rlly has to worry about 'battle stations'. just say the gun is firing lol. makes us feel like a milrp ship

 

it's also perhaps the dorkiest thing ive ever heard.

[kermit]

The only thing I'd personally want out of this is a different alert level – ideally I think it should be named after a colour so it's consistent with all the other usual alert levels – and the red lighting to go with it. The 'general quarters, general quarters' stuff can just be part of the announcement's main body instead of its title. That said, and as Faye mentioned, an announcement for everyone to get to battle stations doesn't really fit – 3 bridge crewmans, a hangar tech or two. and the Captain/XO/OM are the only people with battle stations. The Horizon's a civilian vessel, so it'd have to fit that.

I don't think a recorded voice effect thing should be played. What you've got in the videos right now is really jarring and sharp on the ears, nor does it fit any of the other alarm sound effects. The Code Red alarm or what you've got for the Brace alarm would fit fine.

The Announce buttons as an alternative to Command/BCs manually announcing over Common/consoles is a neat idea though. 

[Fluffy]

I have an idea @Faye <3 / @kermit:

 

What if, instead of the "battle" stations, we make it (like the british do) "action" stations?

 

[kermit]

A recorded voiceline for raising to Code Whatever/'GC' contrasts all the other code change sound effects; it doesn't really fit. Action stations, battle stations, general quarters: I don't mind, but it should preferably be in the body of the announcement, and not in the sound effect or title - this is so it's consistent with all the other code changes.

[Fluffy]

On 09/11/2022 at 16:48, kermit said:

an announcement for everyone to get to battle stations doesn't really fit

This was the part I was asking about, if it would make more sense to call them action stations instead of battle stations for clarity

Although unlike the name implies, "battle stations" doesn't mean to go grab a gun and prepare to shoot at whatever, it means to reach your designated position (station) that you're supposed and expected to be in a battle situation, for example on a military ship when the general quarter is called the doctors on board do not go man the anti-air cannons or whatnot, they wear the gear and stand by in the infirmary to receive patients, the engineers do not go load the guns, they suit up and prepare to put out fires and perform the damage control procedure if and when the ship gets hit or something happens, the pilots wear the equipments and prepare to take off and so on

 

Battle station, in short, means "gear up, suit up, go where you're supposed to be and be ready at a penny drop notice to perform whatever duty you're supposed to, according to the battle stations procedure"