Knowledge of Fortifications and Other Engineering Shennanigans

[Sovieteer]

Knowledge of Fortifications and Other Engineering Shennanigans

Hi there! Welcome to my little guide on fortification building, setting up the geothermals, and other shennanigans!

First off, Fortifications:

Fortifications range from the simple turned over table to the majestic false reinforced wall. I can explain a few of the ones that will be used most often, but not much else beyond that.

Regular Wall: Click on a stack of metal and hit "build wall girders" (requires 2 metal). Then, click on the girders again with the same metal (requires 2 more, a total of four per wall).

False Reinforced Wall: Build some girders, get a crowbar and click on the girders (wait for it to fully dislodge) and then click on it with plasteel. Boom, it's ready to be opened and closed!

Metal Barricade: Click on plasteel and build the metal barricade (requires 5 plasteel).

Wooden Barricade: Same as the metal, but weaker and wooden and cannot be mounted, per-say. Five wooden planks needed for this.

Tables: Wooden or metal alike, both need two of each material to make the parts, which is found in the construction menu. When the table parts are there, pick them up and then click on them, which will deploy them. If you didn't want them deployed at a spot, just get a wrench and take it down. Click on the parts with a wrench will deconstruct it to the base resource, be it metal or wood. Reinforced tables have to be welded and then wrenched. To make reinforced tables, simply apply plasteel (or metal rods, whichever) to the assembly.

Where would I apply them?

Pretty much at any entrance or breaching point. If you know a low-traffic or unoccupied is breached, patch it up. Them enemies like to hit you where you aren't lookin'. If something is recently broken, fix it. If glass and grilles are gone, replace with girders or wooden barricades. Suffice to say, patch that stuff up.

Doors

Doors tend to be an iffy matter. People (or aliens) can crowbar/claw that stuff open if it isn't welded or bolted. Bolts are great, as you don't need to waste welding fuel, and you can easily block off an area at no expense! Just screw-driver the panel open, randomly pulse around for a bolt wire, test light wire, bolt lights wire (if you want deception and discreetness). For safer measures, you could always weld it instead of bolt it, or do both!

Setting Up the Generators

So you met something you can't quite wrap your finger around, have you? Well the generators are quite simple! When you first hit that desolate planet, you'll face the fully broken geothermal power generators. These generators work off of a borehole over a phoron "well". The heated steam rises, and in turn provides power. But lets not worry about the background..

Step 1: Use a welding tool on the broken generator (where applicable).
Step 2: Secure the wiring with wirecutters.
Step 3: Use a wrench to secure the plating.

Finally, turn the generators on by clicking them with an empty hand. These line of generators tend to have a large disadvantage of frequently breaking, so you'll need to keep going back and checking on them and repairing them.

Next, you'll need to break into the SMES room and set the SMES: Input to maximum, and output to about 75,000. Both need to be set to: Auto and Online. A switch to the right will be for the colony floodlights around the planet, so wait till it turns red, then click it to turn them on.

Colony Floodlights: Yellow, large lights around the planet helping to illuminate. To repair the broken ones broken by aliens, simply weld them.

Electrifying Grilles

Grilles can be electrified by running cables from a already deployed and working cable line to the plating under the grille. This will - in turn - allow electricity to run to the grilles, making them electrified. You can then place glass around them and place an appropriate airlock where you want to. Quite effective, honestly.

Any more ideas or things to put in this guide? Please feel free to message me!

[Derpislav]

Something I'd like to point out is - engineers love to build zig-zagging mazes out of tables. Because "that will force them to walk that entire distance so we can shoot them more, duh". Except it will just result in marines having to walk that whole distance while retreating, while aliens slash both them and tables apart. Also, Ravagers and Crushers exist. It requires just one to make an autobahn out of your elaborate maze.

Another thing is, when fortifying entrances, on the outside you'll usually get a box of tables, on the inside of the entrance a 5-tile long "kill zone" and a wall of tables. What this results in is:
1. Marines outside try to stand their ground, buy ayyliens simply slash them over the tables thanks to their engineer's oversight.
2. Marines try to fall back through 1x1 entrance while the table box does nothing to stop the angry ravagers from violently raping everyone not sanik-fast.
3. Machinegunners form a firing line at the wall o'tables.
4. Machinegunners can't do shit because their sights are full of retreating marines.
5. Retreating marines can't do shit because the engineer put another single 1x1 entrance here. Pushing ensues while ravagers flood in.
6. Finally, gunners are clear to fire. Except a single charge makes a breach in their wall of tables and forces them to flee
7. Alien major.

[Abbysynth]

This is a pretty good guide.

I'd also like to point out the usefulness of metal barricades to stop the scenario Derp mentioned-- neither Ravagers nor Chargers can easily knock down barricades, and hunters/runners can't pounce over them like they can with tables. They also have a high chance of stopping incoming projectiles from the direction they're facing.

A little known fact is that you can actually put standard tables next to metal barricades or flipped tables, and use the barricade to climb onto the table to quickly exit a sealed-off area or stand on the table. Ie.

v Table
   v barricade
[]___

[]_<--@_
 
[@]____
 v

[Derpislav]

Since there is no real field engineer guide, and this one has "other engineering shennaningans" in title.

Hacked engivendors dispense upgraded welding tools. They no longer fit in belts, but have !!!80 units of capacity!!!
Hacked wall-mounted nanomeds dispense spacealin - the drug that no medic cares to take, leading to many marines disabled by infections - and inaprovaline, the drug that even less medics use and has miraculous effects on critical marines.
Hacked nanomeds dispense, among other stuff, single tramadol pills. You can also remove the ID lock on them so marines can be GETTING PILLS themselves.
Hacked food vendors have syndicakes, which have tricordrazine.
Hacked soda vendors have thriteen loko. I'm not sure what's the chemical in them, but it makes you harder to stun. And gives a heart attack when overdosed.

[TopHatPenguin]

Runners can run through wooden barricades now so uh.. yeah...

[GingerCultLeader]

And tables are no problem for runners.
They glide right over them.

[Dyne]

And tables are no problem for runners.
They glide right over them.

Same for wooden barricades.
Add some FUN to the mix. Lots of possibilities, depending on what you have.

[kurugi]

Do not neglect the defence of gateways. They must be able to bar entry as well as allowing it.

Always endeavour to fight the enemy on your terms. If you are powerful at close quarters then engage in dense terrain where your advantage will prove greatest. If you are superior at long range then fight the battle at a distance. If you have greater numbers then attack along an extended front. Use reserves to break through when the enemy's overstretched lines collapse. If outnumbered then concentrate your forces so that the enemy can fight only your best troops. No-one ever won a battle who failed to take advantage of his enemy's weakness.

[Voldirs]

PRO TIP: You can defuse landmines by using multitool.

Please, write some turtle-related tips here. I really want this thread revived.

Shockfence-zigzag induced tears are also welcome.

[Derpislav]

Shockfences induce nothing but tears. And burns. In marines.

You can put a barricade, reinforcened table, grille and a fake wall, all on one tile. Usually it's not worth it, but there are some vital areas where putting that many defences makes sense - like your last fallback point in the FOB.

[WyattH]

Shockfences induce nothing but tears. And burns. In marines.

You can put a barricade, reinforcened table, grille and a fake wall, all on one tile. Usually it's not worth it, but there are some vital areas where putting that many defences makes sense - like your last fallback point in the FOB.

Don't forget racks~ although they only last for one slash, if you're going to put in all that effort might as well drop one more metal on it.

[Dyne]

Don't forget racks~ although they only last for one slash, if you're going to put in all that effort might as well drop one more metal on it.

Also small reds run under racks- as marines learn (not) soon enough.

[xthorgoldx]

One thing I see a lot of engies doing that leads to underwhelming last stands is total disregard for cover for attacking aliens. Bullets fly weird in SS13, but they don't fly around corners (most of the time). If you build a fortification, be aware of where the marines manning that line can shoot from, where they'll be attacked from, and - most importantly - whether or not their killzone is big enough to prevent aliens from getting dragged out to heal. No, I wouldn't count this as meta, since the same principles apply for human-on-human tactics - sure, a 1-wide opening means the enemy has to funnel through, but it also means they're scott free to prepare themselves and drag back wounded on the other side.

Prep your defenses such that cover is either minimized or prevented from being an advantage for the xenos - if you can't build far enough back from a corner so xenos can't just spit and duck, build farther up so defenders have an angle on a shot. This is most relevant for defense of the Sulaco. The reason it's so easy to take the hangar is because the Marine defense is limited to barricading the ladders when xenos can turtle in the shuttle and just sling acid until the Queen knocks down all the defenders by popping around a corner and roaring. The reason it's so easy to hold the upper ladders is because it robs xenos of their ability to duck in and out of cover - assuming you set up the barricades and took down that useless glass.

Electrogrilles - only use them on approaches where chucklefuck marines aren't going to be running in and out. Throwing up e-grilles in front of your last-stand Bridge barricade? Good. Throwing up an e-grille in a maze at the entrance to the FOB? That's how medics run out of ointment ten minutes into the mission. Xenos aren't stupid enough to run into it, but marine traffic + lag = 3rd degree burns.

[Azmodan412]

Would you have to put the grille on top of the wiring or can you wire them after building the grilles?

[Edgelord]

Shockfences induce nothing but tears. And burns. In marines.

You can put a barricade, reinforcened table, grille and a fake wall, all on one tile. Usually it's not worth it, but there are some vital areas where putting that many defences makes sense - like your last fallback point in the FOB.

Not necessarily true! The barricade model I've discovered uses shocked grilles which are surrounded by flipped tables/barricades. In order to cut through these grilles, the ayylmaos must cut through the table layer first which buys time and also protects the marines from shocks. With this safer shock fence barricade a very small number of marines can defend against an entire siege.

Also damn you Sovieteer I'm almost finished with my engineering guide! Haha I'll probably release mine anyway because of all of the work I'm putting into it.

[Edgelord]

x = table
e = electrified grille
f = false wall
w = wall
xxxxxxxw
xeeeeeew
fxxxxxxw