Singularity Engine: Difference between revisions

- and if you're an engineer, it's your job to activate and maintain it. If you're a traitor, it's a handy body disposal point!|650px|thumb]]

Setting up the [[Singularity]] is a simple process once you get to grips with it. This guide will assume that you're doing it alone, whether because you're the only engineer that signed up, or because everyone else buggered off like they always do.  

Does it sound unnecessarily complex, extremely dangerous, and outrageously time-sensitive? That's because it is. Thankfully, Nanotransen has been steadily simplifying the process needed to create a backyard singularity to the point where a monkey could do it... if it knew what buttons to push and could breathe in space. And until they can, ''you'' will have to do instead.

=Before You Start=

'''If you're setting up the singularity mid-round make sure the engineering APC is fully powered before turning on the particle accelerator, if not refer to "In case of no power."'''

The engine is housed inside the station, just south of where you begin off at round start. You'll need some tools to set it up, all of which you can conveniently acquire right in [[Engineering]]. You will need:

*[[File:Wrench.png]] [[Wrench]].

*[[File:CableCoils.png]] Some wires.

*[[File:AirTank.png]] Set of internals.

*[[File:RIG.png]] [[Hardsuit]].

Now that you have your supplies, it's time to get to work! Note that the steps below can be done in any order as you like, '''as long as you turn the Particle Accelerator on last.'''

=How To Set Up The Singularity=

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[[File:SingSetup.png|thumb|300px|Singularity setup in the most ideal way, just before PA should be turned on.]]

If you know the basics and need a refresher this is a quick guide that goes over the main points in the recommended order.

#Put on mesons and a hardsuit.

#Get secure storage open.

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'''In case of no power. (Optional)'''

<div class="mw-collapsible-content">No engineers or none of them set up the engine? Fear not, follow these steps and you'll see how easy it is to jump-start the singularity even with 0 W power in the network.

#Set up the PA and radiation collectors as below.

#Find the [[Pacman|P.A.C.M.A.N.-Type Portable Generator]] inside Engineering.

#Switch the PA on and you're winner!</div>

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'''Extra time to setup. (Optional)'''

<div class="mw-collapsible-content">For rookie Engineers, it is recommended that the Engineering APC is re-configured before continuing. The APC handles the power distribution for a given room in the station. By modifying the APC controls, this will ensure the equipment needed to contain the singlo will be prioritzed and stay on for an extended duration while the engine is being set up. More experienced Engineers will not need to perform this unless an emergency arises.

#Unlock the APC located in the room with the hardsuits. (Use ID/PDA on the APC)

#Open the APC interface.

#Lock the APC.</div>

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'''Advanced Modifications. (Optional)'''

*It's also possible to hack the PA controller computer. [[Hacking#Particle_Accelerator|See Here]]</div>

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'''Very old video guide. (2012)'''

<div class="mw-collapsible-content">This video will show you how to quickly set up the engine without assistance from other players. Even though it is very old and sprites, interfaces and parts have changed, it still can shine some light on how to do things if you're still lost.

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wEb1HlO7Oo</div>

</div>

==Inside Engineering:==

===<span id="PA"></span>1. Set up the Particle Accelerator===

You can set up the [[Particle Accelerator]] now or wait until just before you need to turn it on.  

#Wrench each piece in place.

#Wire all the pieces with a cable coil.

#Use a screwdriver to close all the panels.

#Click on the console and hit "Scan for parts" to link the console with the actual PA. This is your Particle Accelerator set up!

'''DO NOT turn the Particle Accelerator on''' yet or you will release the singularity, tearing up the entire station if you're unlucky.

==Outside Engineering (Spaceproof Equipment Required):==

===<span id="Collectors"></span>2. Load the Radiation Collectors===

The [[Radiation Collector]]s are located next to the containment field, three on each side. [[Plasma Tank]]s may be found in the [[Tank Storage Unit]] in the [[Power Storage Room]] or in [[Atmospherics|Atmospherics' Office]].  

#Move the collectors into place at the end of the wires at either side of the containment field.

#Wrench them down.

#TURN THE ARRAYS ON BY CLICKING ON THEM with an empty hand.

#Lock the arrays by clicking on them with your ID/PDA.

Do this for all six collectors, and you should be ready to continue.

The plasma tanks you get from the dispenser aren't full. Luckily, a canister of plasma is located in [[Engineering Secure Storage]], behind the shutters in the [[Power Storage Room]]. You could ask the [[Chief Engineer]] to open the Engineering Secure Storage shutters from his office, or the AI to do so if the CE isn't present. You could also go bug [[Atmospherics]] for one of their canisters if neither is responding.

#Load a [[Plasma Tank]] into the [[canister]] .

#Increase valve pressure to maximum.

#Eject the plasma tank.

#Repeat with all plasma tanks.

This will cause the engines to generate energy for far longer, although normal tanks are unlikely to run out over the duration of a shift. You may also lock each [[Radiation Collector]] with your ID so that the AI cannot deactivate them remotely.

'''<span style="color:red">NOTE:</span>''' While filling your plasma tanks, it is VITAL that you DO NOT open the valve when there isn't a tank attached and that you MAKE SURE TO CLOSE the valve before removing the tank. If you fail to do either of these, you will flood the room with [[plasma]] almost immediately and become the laughingstock of the crew.

===<span id="Loose"></span>3. Wrench down loose parts===

[[File:Grounding_rod.gif]][[File:Tesla_coil.gif]]

Use a wrench to lock the tesla equipment down; even if not used, if left loose it will bounce on the shield, which in turn can feed the singularity with sparks until it gets too big to contain.

===<span id="Tesla"></span>4. Remove the tesla generator===

[[File:Tesla_gen.gif]]

Take out the tesla generator and place it inside the station, so you don't accidentally activate it with the particle accelerator. If placed together the singularity will usually eat the tesla ball, but it's always a good idea to remove it to prevent possible double loose engines.

===<span id="Emitters"></span>5. Start the Emitters===

[[File:Emitter_On.gif]]

Now that you've gotten everything ready, it's time to start the engine!  

#Once they're all on, carefully make your way to the inner circle of the area, being sure not to cross in front of any of the [[Emitter]]s, because you'll get hit by the laser and burned pretty bad.

It is highly recommended to lock each of the emitters by swiping your ID on them, after activating them. This will stop an AI, or anyone without Power-management access from deactivating the emitters.

===<span id="Field"></span>6. Start the Field Generators===

[[File:Field_Generator.gif]]

Now that the emitters are on, it's time to fire up the [[Field Generator|field generator]]s.

#Staying on the inside of the field activate the field generators in a circle.

#'''Move out of the inner circle before turning on the last emitter.'''

#Wait a few seconds to ensure all the generators activate and the field is fully enclosed

'''<span style="color:red">NOTE:</span>''' Coming into contact with any of the field generator beams will pop your head like a midget in a microwave and hurl your corpse through the [[Engineering]] windows at terminal velocity. It's a good idea to start on one of the inner corners, and do the field generators closest to the windows first, so you don't have to worry about accidentally straying too close while the corner field generators are on. Generators often have a field of effect 1 tile on either side of the beams, so make sure you leave a clear zone around any active field generators, and don't linger too long when you turn them on.

==Starting The Engine (back inside)==

===<span id="Start"></span>7. Fire it up!===

[[File:SingSetup.png|500px|By now things should be looking a little something like this.|thumb]]

Once the field generator beams form a box around the [[Gravitational Singularity Generator]] get back inside the station and head to the Particle Accelerator again.

The Particle Accelerator is used to feed the singularity and make it grow. The larger a singularity is, the more radiation it emits and consequently, the more power the collectors generate. Radiation, however, is very bad for humans, and will cause anything from mutations to fainting if you are not wearing protective clothing and eyewear nearby. As such, make sure to '''wear a [[Radiation Suit]] and some [[Optical Meson Scanner]]s'''. An engineering hardsuit works in a pinch.

#Close the radiation shutters with you inside.

#Set the Particle Accelerator output to 2.

#Set the Particle Accelerator output to 0, DO NOT TURN IT OFF. You can leave it at 1 if you want a stage 3 singulo, but keeping it at 0 is safer.

#Leave the room and close the radiation shutters behind you.<br />

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===<span id="SMES"></span>8. Activate the SMES Cells===

[[File:SMES_Turn_on.gif]]

There are four SMESes located in the room at the far west end of Engineering. Do not ignore this room, or else the singularity will escape early and everyone will hate you, yes, '''YOU'''.

*Make sure each of the SMESes are set to auto charge.

***Note: To sustain this level of output, you'll need to have fully filled the plasma tanks from the cylinder in engineering secure storage, and will need to make sure the singularity stays at stage 3.

**Further detail can be found on the [[Guide to power]]

**If one or all stops (the light will turn red instead of blinking yellow) adjust one or all a bit to make sure they're not trying to charge faster than the power input to them allows.

If you're still the only engineer, you may want to consider setting up the [[Solars]] to ensure a source of backup power if the engine becomes unusable.  

Also, make sure the APC of the engine is charging, if it isn't, turn down the SMES charge settings AND make sure all the radiation collectors are online.

=<span id="Leave"></span>Maintaining the Singularity=

'''Make sure you check back AT LEAST every 30 minutes to make sure that no one's been tampering with the singularity, preferably every 15 minutes and go through this quick checklist:'''

#[[Emitter]]s are on.

#[[Field Generator]]s are on.

#Radiation shutters are closed.

#Engineering [[APC]] has power and is being recharged.

The singularity is the second most probable reason for a shuttle call, so you have a BIG responsibility of keeping the whole crew safe! Without any interference though, the singularity will behave nicely and be contained for at least two hours without any babysitting. But being the infamous supermassive blackhole, he's a huge star among the enemies of [[NanoTrasen]] who wish to completely obliterate the station.

Note: Sometimes the singularity will cause EMP pulses if something is close to it and exposed to its radiation. These pulses can cause weapons to misfire, radios go haywire, thermal goggles to blind people and even disable containment's emitters. Which is pretty bad. So keep an eye on it.

==Maintaining the SMESs==

In general, the SMESs don't need maintenance. However, there are a few times when they do need to be handled specially, namely during the following instances.

:'''The SMESs are fully charged.''' They might as well be ramped up to full output. But it doesn't hurt to keep them at lower levels.

:'''The Backup SMESs are charging.''' In this case, the SMESs will need to be ramped up to full output so that the Backups can charge faster.

:'''The AI is rogue.''' Cut all power. The AI's greatest ally is electricity. Take it away. Note that the APCs' batteries will still power the station for a bit.

:'''There is a power sink on the ship.''' Ensure output levels are lower than input levels, but not completely off. This keeps the power sink from draining the SMESs. You can use some clever electrician tricks to [[power sink|find the power sink]] through the power lines as long as there is still output from the SMESs.

There is an off-chance that an enthusiastic [[Guide_to_Research_and_Development#Upgrading_Machines|RnD]] Scientist will want to upgrade the SMESs. If they do, you'll lose all that charge you've been saving up, so only upgrade one SMES at a time at most.

==Maintaining the Containment Field==

Maintaining the containment field is as easy as looking through the Singularity Engine Telescreen on the outer wall of the PA Room. There are only a few items that can go wrong:

:'''The singlo is missing but the fields are intact.''' Report it immediately and then [[#Maintaining the Particle Accelerator|check the PA]]. The singlo may have died if it received no power from the PA. You may have to build a new singlo.

:'''The singlo is missing but the fields aren't intact.''' Report it immediately, and check your immediate surroundings to see if there is anything amiss and react accordingly. If not, shut down the PA and figure out if a new singlo can be re-built.

:'''The singlo is present and there is someone out there!''' Report it immediately. If the person is alive, they won't be soon. If the person is dead, they will stay that way. Don't try to retrieve them or you will die too.

:'''The singlo is present and the containment field is intact.''' Repor&mdash; Wait. There's nothing wrong. Are you trying to trick me? Not cool, bro.

==Maintaining the Particle Accelerator==

Usually, you'll notice that something is wrong with containment before you notice something is wrong with the PA. Here are a few items to follow up with. Make sure to wear a Radiation Hood, a Radiation Suit, and Optical Meson Scanners before entering the PA Room.

:'''The singlo is fricking huge!''' Turn off the PA for a bit to power down the singlo, checking its size periodically. Also, check to see if the PA's power level was higher than 0. This is almost always the culprit.

:'''The singlo is fricking small!''' Increase the PA power level to 2 and wait until the singlo is back to Level 3 size. Then return the PA power level to 0, like you just set up the singlo before.

:'''The singlo is fricking gone!''' Turn off the PA. You'll either have to set up a new singularity generator or evacuate the station.

:'''The singlo is big, then small, then big, then small, then...''' Let me cut you off there. This is normal behavior for the singlo and should be ignored so long as it's not larger than Level 3.

=Turning off the Engine=

Occasionally, bad stuff happens. In fact, most of the time, bad stuff happens. Sometimes it is necessary to deactivate the engine as safely as possible because nobody can maintain it. Other times meteor showers and bombs endanger your containment machinery. Whatever the crisis, if you have followed the steps above it should be safe to '''simply turn the particle accelerator off'''. The engine will continue to generate power as the singularity starves and shrinks, so containment '''SHOULDN'T''' fail until the singularity is sufficiently small enough that it cannot move and pull stuff into it. However, the 1x1 baby singularity will take a long time to die completely, leaving it exposed to potential suicidals jumping into it, giving the singularity energy to expand again. (Cool fact: Engineers provide a singularity with a lot more energy than you'd expect).

If things have absolutely gone tits up, there's a rumor that the singularity will reduce in size by a few stages if it swallows a [[Bag of Holding]]. A full sized rampaging singularity would have to swallow two or more to be completely defeated.

=Singularity Pro-Tips=

*Experienced Engineers pick jobs based on their starting location in Engineering. If they're right next to the PA, they're assemble it first. If they're close to storage, they'll grab a hardsuit and set up containment. If they're near the gas masks, they'll start working on the Radiation Collectors.

*Engineers announce when they've completed any of the setup tasks so that other Engineers know that the singlo is not still waiting for it. In particular, it's good to announce when the containment field is ready since that task is only one requiring EVA.

*The SMESs technically don't have to be set before you start the PA. If you're by yourself, you may want to start the PA first, then run and set the SMESs, and then put on your radiation gear, and then run back and watch the singlo. If you're fast enough, it can all get done before the L1 singlo appears. However, this is a rare case when it's necessary to do it this way.

*The input level on a charging SMES should always, always, always be higher than its output level. If the charging isn't higher than the output, eventually the SMES won't be able to output at all. See the [[Guide to power]] for a better understanding.

=Troubleshooting=

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'''Action:''' Sit in the dark and think about why you deserve this.

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=Sabotaging The Singularity=

'''Keep in mind the following rule when regarding this section.'''

Directing the singularity to a target area - be it the emergency shuttle bay or the bridge - requires a '''singularity beacon''' and a screwdriver. Don't hang around after you plant it, unless you are in the mood to change [[ghost|classes]]. Putting the beacon somewhere outside the station is usually your best bet to ensuring the singularity reaches its destination, though considered bad sportsmanship, as they are intended to be placed on wires.

[[Category:Guides]]