A guide to making a pretty bad shuttle, brought to you by the person who plays crap music in the bar.
 
 

Introduction

Hey, I’m that person you probably know as “<first name> Sadler”, and I’m here to show (well, tell) you how to make your own shuttle!
 
 
Note: This info is only really applicable for the “Wizards Den” set of servers. It MIGHT work on other servers, but this is at your own risk (of humiliation).
 
 
Note 2: Never EVER delay a round to build a shuttle. Many a cargo has taken the Comms Console, only for the other console to be destroyed, and for ocky to be filled with salt.
 
 
By the way, do take this with a pinch of salt, and maybe a huge pack of doubt.
 
This info might become outdated as time goes on.
 
 
 

The basics

So how do you actually MAKE a shuttle?
 
 
Well, first of all, you need to know the absolute basics, and a few bits of physics.
 
 

The boring physics stuff

 
Think about how a car moves.
 
Yes, really.
 
A car:
 

• Accelerates forward
• Gradually slows down
• Comes to a stop (hopefully BEFORE hitting someone)

Seems simple enough. So why am I saying this?
 
 
Think about that car, but in space.
 
Yes, really.
 
That same car:
 

• Will accelerate forward
• …
• It won’t stop.

 
In space, there’s nothing in the way to slow you down.
 
“So how do I stop?”, I hear you not asking.
 
The answer:
 
 
Accelerate, but backwards!
 
In order to lower your velocity (fancy term for speed, if you didn’t know), you have to thrust in the opposite direction to where you’re going. If this seems daunting, you’re not gonna like what comes next.
 
 

The “exciting” decision and planning

 
“Okay”, you very much aren’t saying, “I know how to do all that. So how do I-“
 
WHOA there, pal. You can’t just go into space without any kind of plan, nor materials!
 
 
There’s multiple things you need to make ABSOLUTE SURE you have, before you step out the airlock:
 

• 1: Trust that the crew isn’t going to rip you to shreds. The most important part, make sure the crew actually wants to spend the time and resources on a shuttle. If you don’t, they’ll probably knock down your door, and then you’ll be the next meal.
• 2: An awareness of the current round. Also pretty important, and ties into number 1. Be sure that the shuttle isn’t coming (but DO NOT RECALL IT if people are needing it), and make sure that you’re not gonna get murdered during construction.
• 3: An actual plan of what you’re gonna build. It doesn’t have to be the Mona Lisa, but even a simple idea in your head can help with building a shuttle. It’ll determine how much materials you’ll need, and how much time it’ll take. Simple shuttles (plating floors, no walls, 1-2 thrusters) take a very short time to produce (in relation to the large shuttles, which take way too long to make)

 

The basics of building

 
There’s not really much to say here, other than, “look at the wiki’s guide for construction.”
 
For a TL;DR:
 

• Rods on space = lattice
• Placing lattice far enough from the station creates a new “grid” (basically a new station)
• Metal on lattice (or tiles) = plating
• Magboots allow for walking, even in Zero-G environments

 
The last point is pretty important, since building a shuttle, while confined to the wall, is very difficult.
 
 
 

The preparing part

Okay, you’ve gotten a plan, crew approval, and materials to create a shuttle.
 
Note: Crew approval may be impossible to achieve, but who cares?
 
 
What now?
 
 
…What, you think you were gonna go to space without a hardsuit?
 
If you haven’t gotten one now, a hardsuit is pretty darn important for space stuff.
 
Common hardsuit types include:
 

• TheEVA Suit: The suit of choice among assistants and pretty much everyone else. There should be some suits in EVA Storage.On packedstation, there’s 4 EVA Suits, and they’ve probably already been taken.
• The Engineering hardsuit: Engineering lockers have this at round start. It provides radiation protection, but there shouldn’t be rouge singulooses around. Hopefully.
• The Salvage hardsuit: Found in salvage equipment crates, Cargo spawns with 3 of these (on packedstation)

 
“Are you done berating me for-“
 
No, of course not!
 
 
If you wanna have enough power to drive a shuttle for longer than 2 seconds, you’ll need either:
 
– A salvaged SMESand Substation, or
 
– Apower source, that can actually supply enough power.
 
 
Both options are equally valid, but generally,I’d suggest salvaging an SMES and a Substation.
 
 
 

The jump off the station

Okay, NOW you’re FINALLY ready to make a shuttle.
 
…How are you-
 
 
Step 1:
 
Make sure your hardsuit is on, and your internals are working. We’re going to the one place without capitalism SPACE!
 
 
Head out the airlock (of your choosing), and face out towards space.
 
Then, take a deep breath (if you want to, adds to the experience), and push off the side of the station.
 
 
You’ll be floating, for a while.
 
 
It’d now be a good time to make SURE you have magboots, and that they’re on.
 
I should’ve probably mentioned that before, but-
 
 
“How do I know that my magboots are on?”, you’re asking (and I’m not hearing).
 
Look to the right hand sideof your screen. Is there an icon that looks like the magboots?
 
 
If so, your magboots are on.
 
If not, look to theleft side of your screen.
 
Is there an icon that looks like the magboots(on the LEFT side, not the right side)?
 
 
If so, press the corresponding number on your keyboard to turn on your magboots.
 
If not, try pressing Shift+1 on your keyboard. If it still doesn’t show up, then you’ve forgot your magboots, and now you’re lost to space. Nice one.
 
 
Okay, so you’re floating in space. What now?
 
Take out theMetal Rods you have.
 
 
“Wha- Metal rods?! What’s that?!”
 
 
Oh, right.
 
 
Press G to open the crafting menu.
 
There SHOULD be a search bar. Inside of it, type in “rod“.
 
If a crafting option for “metal rods” appear, click on it, and then press the “Craft” button.
 
 
Oh yeah, you should probably be doing this on solid ground, as the rods’ll appear at your feet if your hands are full.
 
 
“Okay, I’ve got metal rods now. What do I-“
 
Remember section 2? Place a lattice in the direction you’re going.
 
Make SURE it’s in the direction you’re going, and not directly at your feet. If you place it at your feet, your magboots might not be able to catch you, and then you’ll be fined for littering.
 
 
Did a lattice appear at your feet, and are you stuck to it, like glue?
 
If so, then congrats!You’ve made a separate grid.
 
 
Now, for a few things.
 
1: Know where the station is, and which direction it is. Getting lost in space, without supplies, is the worst fate.
 
2: Remember that physics is working against you. If 21st century spaceflight was practically magic, 26th century spaceflight is literally fighting God.
 
3: Remember that you’re probably going to die. This IS SS13, after all. Don’t be angry if things go wrong, or not how you intend. It’s only game.
 
 
Step 2:
 
“So what good does this simple lattice do me?”
 
This simple lattice (that is probably rotated), is the most important thing (at least, to you).
 
 
You’ll need to have more lattice, as 1 tile isn’t going to work miracles.
 
 
“Wait, that means I-“
 
Yup, get started on making those rods. You’ll need ’em.
 
 
You’ll want to expand your shuttle to something rather reasonable. How reasonable?
 
You’ll need to put:
 

• A power system
• Something to generate that power
• Some thrusters
• A gyroscope (or 2)
• A shuttle console
• Walls, if you’re trying for style points.

 
It’s around this time that basic construction knowledge applies, more than this guide.
 
I’d recommend for you to look at actual construction guides (like the one on the wiki).
 
Just, remember the listup there.
 
 
 

“How do I fly the”

Okay, so you’ve built your shuttle. It looks…
 
Cool?
 
 
Now you want to fly it around.
 
Buckle in, bud. Physics’ll hate you for this.
 
 
Remember section 2’s boring physics bit?
 
Well, I was KINDA lying about it.
 
 
In real life space, you won’t slow down in space (well, you WILL slow down, because of gravity and stuff, but that’s something for nerds).
 
In SS14 spess, you’ll slow down, despite the fact that nothing’s there.
 
 
This helps, but it doesn’t help enough, however.
 
 
If you’re gonna perform flight, remember to have (at least):
 
– 1 Gyroscope
 
– 2 Thrusters
 
You only really need 1 thruster, but 2 thrusters are useful for slowing down at speed.
 
 
“Wait wait wait, gyroscopes? You haven’t even explained what a thruster does!”
 
 
*scream
 
 
There’s two types of thrusters:
 
 

Linear thrusters

 
The actual “thrust” kind, these increase your velocity in the direction the nozzle is facing.
 
 
You’ll need to examine the thruster, if you want to see detailed info about why it isn’t working.
 
The important bits are:
 
– Whether the thruster actually has power (thrusters take LV power, not MV nor HV!)
 
– What direction the thruster’s nozzle is facing. (VERY important, decides what direction thrust is applied in.)
 
–If the thruster is pointing out to space or not (a thruster needs to point to space in order to work. Lattice counts as space!)
 
– Whether the thruster is actually on or not. (thrusters can be turned on and off with a simple click. Make sure that your thrusters are actually on!)
 
 

Rotational thrusters

 
Probably not the actual name, but
 
Also known as a Gyroscope, these thrusters allow for rotating the shuttle in cruise mode (more about that later!)
 
 
There’s only two things to worry about:
 
– Whether the thruster’s on
 
– Whether it has power
 
 
Okay, now what?
 
How do you actually fly the shuttle?
 
 
1:
 
Use the shuttle console
 
(Click, or press your interact button on it, typically bound to E)
 
This’ll set you intoflight mode. You’ll know if you’re in flight mode if your view suddenly expands.
 
 
2:
 
Attempt to move, while in flight mode.
 
Is space moving around you? If so, that’s the shuttle moving, as well as you!
 
 
Congrats, you’ve flown a shuttle.
 
Yeah, it sounds easy on this page, but it’s a lot harder to do ingame.
 
 
 

The many dangers in flight

Flying’s cool and all, but what kind of problems are out in the vastness of space?
 
 

Station events

 
Meteorites are the obvious, giant rocks that are thrown toward the station MIGHT just collide with your shiny new shuttle.
 
Radiation storms are confined to the station, and shouldn’t be that much of a threat to your shuttle.
 
Grid checks (the event where the station loses power for a bit) are VERY dangerous to your shuttle, as it turns off all APCs, leading to loss of control, and you being lost to space. At least you have your shuttle.
 
 
It’s rather advisable to stay close-by the station, despite this being boring, and opening you up to the risk of rad storms.
 
 

Admemery

 
Even god gets bored, and you don’t wanna be in their way when they do.
 
From random explosions, to turning into a toilet, to becoming an RGB Gamer Setup, to impacting with another shuttle that came out of NOWHERE, it’s never a surprise when someone starts to mess with you.
 
 

Running out of power

 
“Why are the SMESs draining so fast!?”
 
Thrust takes a lot (and I mean a LOT) of power to perform, so don’t be surprised if you’re out of power within 2 minutes of launch, as flying can put a strain on even the station’s powernet.
 
 
 

Epilogue, and the other stuff

So that’s basically it.
 
 
What about that OTHER stuff?
 
 

Shuttle modes

 
There’s two modes to piloting, “Cruise mode“, and “Docking mode“.
 
 
Docking mode:
 
– Does not rotate, as it was designed for docking.
 
– Uses all 4 directions to move, requiring 4 thrusters, instead of 2, for normal usage.
 
 
Cruise mode, however:
 
– Is the default mode
 
– Rotates, allowing for drifting
 
– Uses only the forward and backward thrusters.
 
 

Anything else???

 
First of all: Ow, my hands.
 
Second of all: This was made while I was connected to US West, and while some of the most saltiest people I’ve seen played.
 
Third of all: Thanks? For getting through my awful sense of humor, and my awful writing skills.
 
 
If you have any questions, or rude things to shout out me, tell me in-game, not here.
 
 
Have a good day, or night.
 
 

 
 
Here we come to an end for Space Station 14 Playtest Building a Shuttle Tutorial Guide hope you enjoy it. If you think we forget something to include or we should make an update to the post let us know via comment, and we will fix it asap! Thanks and have a great day!