User:Grabowski

Syndicate Crew
SYNDIE MAJOOOOR
Information
Access	SSV Babylon
Additional Access	More areas of the Babylon, depending on your job
Difficulty	Hard
Supervisors	The Syndicate
Rank	Missing (???)
Duties	Try to defeat the Nanotrasen crew
Guides	A crash course in FTL-ing; this page

War has changed. The syndicate ships are no longer AI controled bumbling idiots. Instead, they are crewed by players, just as smart as you are. Oh the horror!

Thats right! In this gamemode, you will be facing off against syndie ships crewed by players. Well, one syndie ship. Before we begin, it should be mentioned that this mode is not in rotation as of writing this page*. So, the big thing here is that around half of the players start the round as syndicate crew aboard the SSV Nebuchadenezzer Babylon. They have a ship just like the NT crew, and must race to either kill them or take over the galaxy.

How to join the dark side?

So, when a PVP round is announced (usually on the NSV Discord), you have to get on the server before the round begins to have the possibility of being a Syndicate crewmember. This is because they are selected like normal antagonists. Then, once you are on, you have to go to Player Preferences screen and find the "Syndicate Crew" option. Next to it there should be "Autofill". Click it to select which syndie job you want to get (I will explain them later). Leaving it on Autofill will just put you in a role that is not filled by others. After that, all you have to do is hope and wait. When the round begins, half of all players who have readied up, and set their preferences will become syndie scum crew.

Late-joining players cannot join the syndicate side.

The SSV Babylon

The Babylon is much bigger than it's predecessors, and this may scare someone. However, all areas of the ship are neatly layn out around the main hallway. Here are presented a few of the most important ares. However, the ship itself is much bigger, so you should go around and explore.

The Bridge

The bridge is - of course - the most important area of the ship. The Captain and the Strategist spawn not far from here in their offices, while the Bridge Staff start right here. This place is the nerve center of the ship, being the place from where the ship's movement is controlled. It is also a prime target for NT boarders. As such, defensive shutters and auto turrets were provided on the outside.
For anyone wishing to control the ship, here is a short rundown:

• The Helm console:
  • W and S control the thrust
  • A and D can turn the ship left and right, altough slowly.
  • C toggles laser guided movement. If it is on, the ship will follow your mouse cursor. If it is off, the ship will follow an arrow, which is visible on top of the sprite. This arrow can be rotated with Q and E
  • Shift gives you a short boost.
  • Alt toggles the handbrakes
  • X toggles inertia assistance. This slows down the ship, when W is not held down.
• The TAC console
  • Space switches which weapon you are using
  • Click anywhere to fire the currently selected weapon

The Bridge also has access to a few more, specialized consoles, for managing the ship, such as a Communications, Crew Monitoring, Alert and FTL console. Plus a few modular ones, for anything and everything else.

Munitions

The Weapons bay is one of, if not the most important areas of the ship. It houses all of the different weapons the SSV Babylon uses. This is where the Technicians and the RO should spend their shift.
The most noticable element of this place is the massive conveyor belts. The long one goes from the Ammo storage to the Naval Artillery Cannons, while the shortest is used in assembling torpedos and missles, used by the AMS and the Torp tubes.

For any aspiring weapons technician, here is a short rundown on the weaponry:
The NACs are on the south end of this room, consisting of a multitile base and a weapon frame, on the upper deck. To fire, they must have some propellant (mostly gunpowder bags) and a round (or cannonshot) inserted. Here is how you can load them:

• Insert powder bags to the Powder Loading Gate
• Click "Load Powder" on the console.
  • Note: These steps can be repeated any number of times. The more powder, the faster will be the shot.
• Arm the projectile wit a multitool.
• Click and drag the projectile into the Payload Gate
• Click "Load Shot" and "Chamber Shot" on the console
  

The Torpedo Tubes are much simpler to load:

• Drag a torpedo next to the tube on a Munitions Trolley
• Click and drag the torpedo to the Tube
• Click "Payload Loaded" and "Payload Chambered" on the nearby Munitions Computer
  

The VLS tubes can be reloaded simply by:

• Put two missles on top of them, which will then fall into the tube
• Click "Payload Loaded" and "Payload Chambered" on the nearby Munitions Computer
  

The 50 cals are quiet fast too:

• Go to the actual turret, and load a box of 50 cal rounds.
  

Munitions also has an ammo storage room to the north, which contains powder bags and Naval Artillery shots. From here you can send them down with the conveyor belts.
Also included is a small room to the right side, where you can build even more guns.

Engineering

If CIC is the nerve center of the ship, than Engineering is the beating heart of it. This area houses the Stormdrive, Atmospherics, the FTL drive and the Armour pumps. This is the other workplace of Technicians, as it is their job to manage the engine and such. Boarders often show up here too, as sabotaging the engine is a very viable strategy. Thus all workers are advised to have at least a small sidearm when working here, to at least scare away enemies.
Now, let's go through the individual parts of this place.

Engineering proper

This area - shown on the first picture - houses

Strategy

The Syndicates, despite being the defending force, still need to take control of (enemy) territories and attack enemy forces. You simply can't win a war without advancing. To win the game you obviously need points, as they decide who is the victor of the conflict at the end. You can gain points by taking over enemy systems and destroying enemy fleets. Both of these give 25 points each, though destroying a fleet will also subtract 25 points from the defeated enemy's total.

System Control

For the Syndicate taking over systems will be quite different compared to Nanotrasen, as they don't get an invasion fleet that automatically moves into the region. Instead the Syndicate Captain has to activate a beacon which will spawn a random Syndicate fleet after 5 minutes. (Yes there is a blacklist, you cannot spawn an Armada with the beacon). If you jump to another system while the beacon is active it will cancel the timer and you will have to re-enable it and wait again. When this Syndicate fleet arrives they will officially take control of the system and thus give you 50 points.

Meet the (Syndicate) Crew!

Captain

Syndicate Captain
"Bring us closer, I want to hit them with my sword!"
Information
Access	Syndicate, Syndicate Engineering, Syndicate Armoury, Syndicate Requisitions, Syndicate Heads
Additional Access	N/A
Difficulty	Hard
Supervisors	The Syndicate
Rank	Captain (CPT)
Duties	Command the Syndicate ship, order the Bridge Officers to fly into a black hole.
Guides	A crash course in FTL-ing; this page

As the Captain of the ship it is your job to lead the crew of the Syndicate vessel. It is very much similar to being a Nanotrasen Captain and requires you to behave as such.
On the ship you are the highest ranking officer, though the Strategist is technically your superior. You should try to follow advice the Strategist gives and discuss tactics before making any rash decisions.
What to do:

• Call in on the radio and establish your authority determine if you have people in the impüortant slots (the ones listed on this page)
  • Promote normal crew if you dont
• Discuss a plan with the Bridge Staff and the Strategist
• Talk with the Marine Sergant on who and when to send aboard the NSV
• Ensure that there are enough technicians to setup and maintain the reactor AND operate the guns.

Strategist

Syndicate Strategist
"I'll tell the Admiralty about this!!"
Information
Access	Syndicate, Syndicate Engineering, Syndicate Armoury, Syndicate Requisitions, Syndicate Heads
Additional Access	N/A
Difficulty	Very Hard
Supervisors	The Syndicate
Duties	Assist and advise the Captain, tell everyone you're the captain's superior.
Guides	A crash course in FTL-ing

The Strategist is a Syndicate Admiral assigned to help the Captain win the conflict. This does mean you are technically the Captain's superior, however you are still expected to follow the Captain's orders much like an Executive Officer on a Nanotrasen ship would. The most important part of your job is thinking of and sharing possible strategies that could benefit the crew and it's ability to triumph in combat.
Tips for coming up with the best strategy:

• Your allied fleets are a bit stronger then the NT ones, so they can buy you more time. Emphasis on can
  
• Your ship is smaller and more manuverable than the NSV, so you may have a chance of slipping by NT fleets, and going into their backlines.
  
• The Lighthouse beacon has a cooldown and takes time to call in a fleet.
  
• Because the Beacon has a cooldown, you can't just zip around the sector and capture systems, while the NSV is still charging their FTL
  
• You can buy Universal Encryption keys from req, which will allow you to listen in on NT comms, and tell which system they are in.
  

Requisitions Officer

Syndicate Requisitions Officer
"Who stole the budget card!?"
Information
Access	Syndicate, Syndicate Requisitions, Syndicate Heads
Additional Access	N/A
Difficulty	Hard
Supervisors	Captain, Strategist, The Syndicate
Duties	Manage the requisitions department, waste all of the telecrystals on cigarettes.
Guides	Guide to Cargo

The Requisitions Officer is in charge of Requisitions, as one would expect. Requisitions is responsible for managing and ordering supplies and ammo much like the Quartermaster and Master At Arms.
As the Requsisitions Officer you start with an uplink and telecrystals. You also manage the distribution of money and telecrystals among the crew, and it is advised that you communicate with the Marine Sergeant and Captain before spending anything on things that aren't needed. Use your requisitions console and supply beacons to purchase steal supplies from central command.
Because you start the round with relatively little cash or telecrystals you have to do missions for the syndicate stations to earn more.

Marine Sergeant

Syndicate Marine Sergeant
"The makarov's are NOT reshaped glocks! How many times do I have to tell you this!?"
Information
Access	Syndicate, Syndicate Armoury, Syndicate Heads
Additional Access	N/A
Difficulty	Medium
Supervisors	Captain, Strategist, The Syndicate
Duties	Manage the distribution of guns among the crew, organize boarding parties, get yelled at for not boarding every ship you find.
Guides	Syndicate Drop Trooper

The Marine Sergeant is the commander of the Marines and also the defacto Head of Security on the ship. They are in charge of managing boarding parties and defending the ship from Nanotrasen boarding parties and also have the keys to the Armoury.
Many tips and tricks from playing as a Boarder are useful here:

• Hit them where it hurts! Attack the CIC, the Reactor, Medbay.
• Use your numbers to your advantage!
  • Send a few troopers to distract the enemy, while others sabotage.
• Teleport bread bombs onto the NSV
• Tap into your Nukie memories, and use some dirty tricks from there.
  

Syndicate CAG

Syndicate CAG
"Stop doing test flights during combat!"
Information
Access	Syndicate, Syndicate Heads
Additional Access	N/A
Difficulty	Medium
Supervisors	Captain, Strategist, The Syndicate
Duties	Command the fighter pilots, steal a fighter and do a one-man boarding mission.
Guides	Guide to Fighters

The CAG, or Commander Air Group, is the Syndicate equivalent of a Flight Leader in that they lead the fighter pilots. The key difference is that the CAG also takes the role of an ATC and thus stays shipside to relay information to the pilots and assist in their repairs and refuelings.

Syndicate Technician

Syndicate Technician
"Don't touch that dial!!"
Information
Access	Syndicate, Syndicate Engineering
Additional Access	N/A
Difficulty	Medium
Supervisors	Captain, Strategist, The Syndicate
Duties	Keep the reactor running, cause chernobyl 52, tell the Captain yelling "It just works" won't repair the hull.
Guides	Guide to the Supermatter;Guide to the Nuclear Reactor;Guide to Munitions

The Syndicate Technicians are the engineers and Munitions Technicians of the ship. It is their responsibility to start the reactor or Supermatter and keep the ship powered. They are also the ones who operate the ship's weapons and yell at the Requisitions Officer for not buying enough torp parts.

Bridge Staff

Syndicate Bridge Staff
"Spool the FTL!"
Information
Access	Syndicate, Syndicate Heads
Additional Access	N/A
Difficulty	Medium
Supervisors	Captain, Strategist, The Syndicate
Duties	Pilot the main ship, ask the cook to make more cake.
Guides	A crash course in FTL-ing;Guide to munitons

Syndicate Bridge Staff have the same dynamic as normal Bridge Staff, just for the Syndicate ship. They pilot it using the Helm Computer and man the guns using the Tactical Console.
Tips for being the best bridge monke:

• Your ship is faster and smaller than the NSV. Use this to your advantage
• Your ship has a Stealth Field, which is capable of making the ship nigh-invisible.^{(Unless they removed it when updating to Newnitions)}
• Using the above two, you are more that capable of doing hit-and-runs.
• One dirty trick is jumping to the system with the NSV in it, then stalling for long enough to activate the Lighthouse Beacon.
• Always coordinate with the Strategist and the Captain. It is their job to make you the best strategy to follow.

SyndiClown

Syndicate Clown
"You're all stupid. See they're gonna be looking for army guys."
Information
Access	Syndicate
Additional Access	N/A
Difficulty	Easy
Supervisors	Captain, Strategist, Marine Sergeant, The Syndicate
Duties	Laugh at the crew Make the crew laugh, be the ultimate boarder.

Tips

- As the Requisitions Officer you can link supply pod beacons to the DRADIS to tell traders where to ship your stuff. Use a multitool on the DRADIS to switch back to default drop points. ESSENTIAL for buying fighters!
- The Syndicate is Pirating Nanotrasen's research, and vice versa. Both parties will have access to the same researched techs!

Winning the game

The main focus of PVP is not only destroying the (crewed) enemy ship, but also conquering the galaxy. This can be done in a variety of ways, but before you start flying around you're goint to need to know how it all works: At the start of the game all factions start with no control points, this means you have to start getting some! You can get points by letting a Of course every game must come to an end, and so does this one. Luckily for you you get to know exactly when and why this game will end! There's four different ways to win (or lose):

Point Victory

If any of the factions (yes that includes the Tortuga Raiders) reach 1000 points the game will end, and the faction with the points will receive a major victory. Unless the Raiders win, if the Tortuga Raiders somehow gain 1000 points you will not only be humiliated, but the round will end with a minor victory for the Syndicate.

Timeout Victory

The PVP gamemode has a time limit of 2 hours and 30 minutes, when this timer runs out the faction with the most points will win. The victory type will be decided the same way as the regular point victory.

Destruction Victory

Of course the enemy can't win without their flagship intact! If you manage to seduce subdue the captain and blow of either ship up the nuke or explode it with pure firepower, the game will end in a major victory for the survivors.

Tie

And last and certainly least, is the tie. You've somehow managed to both get the same amount of points as the Tortuga Raiders and now nothing has changed. Thanks a lot guys! Everything you did was pointless and you've all just wasted eachother's time, including mine!

Nanotrasen

So you're part of the Nanotrasen crew and Whiterapids has given your ship the all-clear to wipe out the syndicate. This means your ship will be assisted by Nanotrasen fleets during the game as you will be the agressors of the conflict this time (in contrary to the normal gamemode where the Syndicate are attacking Nanotrasen).

Command

When playing as the Commanding Officer (Captain, Executive Officer or other heads of Staff) of the NSV you will have to command the ship to the best of your ability, as one could expect. Though some measures may need to be taken to ensure the ship is ready for combat as soon as possible. As stated before you are now in control of the attacking faction and because of this it is recommended to take more aggressive actions, such as leaving for combat early and promoting non-essential personnel to more supportive jobs.

Conquer

Of course you can't just fly into a star system and claim it as your own! Oh wait, you can. Or rather, your Nanotrasen friends can. If you want to capture a system, simply make sure it's clear of Syndicate scum and let a Nanotrasen fleet fly in! When a system is captured you will gain 50 control points. Alternatively you can also gain points by defeating enemy fleets, which will also reduce the amount of points they have. Destroying a fleet will give you 25 points and take 25 away from the enemy you've defeated.