Engineering
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This page is currently under active development and may be incomplete or subject to revision.
Last Updated: 27-12-2025
Editor: ThatCatWh0
The Engineering department is the blood and bones of a station, It's main goals are to keep power running, keep a breathable atmosphere and repair the damage from a tider's welder bombing of bar... again by fixing up all the holes. Engineering tasks are some of the most importent as most people aren't build for either the cold, lack of pressure and lack of breathable air in space. So you're going to need to know how to fix the departments and hallways or the people inside of them will scream as they try to relay the damage to your department.
Jobs
The chain of command in Engineering is as follows:
Chief Engineer
The Chief Engineer, or CE, is the head of the wrench wielding wackos that is the Engineering department who tries to keep the order.
As a CE, you are expected to have a good level of understanding of both sub-departments of your department and be able to teach skills when necessary. You will also need to be able to properly relegate tasks in times of crisis, monitor material levels, and communicate with other departments and Command.
Station Engineer
Station Engineers work in the Engineering sub-department. Station Engineers often can be found setting up power generation, wiring the power network, and building complex structures like shuttles. Station Engineers also often find themselves backing up Atmospheric Technician to assist with fixing spaced parts of the station.
Atmospheric Technician
Atmospheric Technicians work in the Atmospherics sub-department. As an Atmospheric Technician, you will find yourself building and repairing pipe networks, setting up the Thermoelectric Generator, fixing spaced sections of the station, and scrubbing hazardous gases from the air. Atmospheric Technicians also may find themselves doubling as Station Engineers to manage power generation on the station.
Technical Assistant
A technical assistant's primary job is to learn as much about engineering as possible. Your Chief Engineer or other department members should assist you in this learning when possible, in order to turn you into an effective member of the team. Study what your superiors do and ask for help!
Responsibilities
Power Generation
Main article: Power
Generating electricity for the station is the primary concern of the engineering department, as without it, none of the other departments aboard the station are able to work. Luckily, there are a selection of different methods to do so, ranging from immediate plug & play machines to more in-depth setups. The amount of electrical power produced by each machines (excluding the portable generators and solar panels) can power the station by itself, so an exact comparison of the numbers is not necessary.
Only some of these power generation methods are part of the station at the start of the shift, and all of those require additional setup - because of this, engineers need to work quickly at the start of every shift to set up permanent power generation. It is possible to order the parts/machines/fuel for other power sources through Cargo, but at a high price.
Fuel-based power
Generating electricity from fuel is the simplest way to power a space station, and they do not require any input power to run. However, there is nowhere near enough fuel available for any of these machines to power a station for the entire shift, so these two generation methods are primarily used at the start of a shift or when some other emergency disrupts power supply on the station.
- Every station comes equipped with parts to build an Antimatter Engine (AME) can provide power for the entire station, but only so long as anti-matter fuel is available. Generally, each map has enough anti-matter fuel to last long enough to set up another permanent power source. Station engineers are responsible for setting up the AME at round start, as they are not fully assembled at the start of the shift.
- There are three different sizes portable generators (all from the "P.A.C.M.A.N." line), and each use different types of fuel to provide different amounts of power - however, none of these generators can power the whole station like an AME can. The small J.R.P.A.C.M.A.N. uses welding torch fuel, and can provide enough power to act as an APC temporarily. The larger P.A.C.M.A.N. generators consume plasma or uranium, and can provide emergency power to a whole department or a constructed space shuttle (or in an emergency, to power up a particle accelerator). These generators are usually found in the engineering department so will need to be moved around by station engineers.
Containment-based sources
Most, but not all, stations have a particle accelerator and containment platform (set up in the vacuum near the Engineering department) that can be used to create a gravitational singularity or tesla ball lightning. Each of these phenomena can provide enough power for the entire station without needing any other generation, however they come with significant risks:
- Even when properly contained, engineers can be harmed either by the singularity's radiation or the lightning ball's strikes. The containment field is outside the station in the vacuum of space, so any accidents can be deadly.
- Both the singularity and lightning ball must be kept in a containment field, and if the containment field loses power or is sabotaged then the power-generating phenomena will escape and most likely destroy the station (see yellow alert procedures for this scenario).
- If a "tesloose" or "singuloth" situation occurs but it somehow doesn't destroy significant parts of the station, the evac shuttle still usually needs to be called because setting up another containment-based power generation method will be very difficult to do before the station runs out of power.
Station engineers are also responsible for setting up one of these generation methods if they are available, and will move to set this up after turning on the AME. Always defer to the chief engineer about which to set up, or if these risky engines should not be used in favor of other power generation.
Other permanent power generation
There are three other significant power sources that are available on different stations. Each of these are more time-consuming or difficult to set up than containment-based power, but don't have a risk of destroying the station if containment is breached.
- Solar power - The station's solar arrays are a passive means of generating power, however they do not provide enough power to run the entire station by themselves. They always require some additional setup (either connecting HV cables or repairing the panels themselves) and take a lot time merely walking to each array. Even though other permanent power sources have enough output to fully power the station, solar panels are still useful in case of emergency situations that temporarily disrupt the power grid.
- Thermoelectric Generator (TEG)- If the station has a TEG it will be in the Atmospherics sub-department, so unlike most other power sources this should be set up by Atmosians instead of station engineers. Sometimes the TEG can be set up quickly (before a singularity or tesla) but often it will take more time to get running - the amount of work needed to construct gas loops varies between stations, and an engineer unfamiliar with TEG setup will need more time to complete it.
- Supermatter Crystal (SMC) - The rarest and most difficult to set up power source - an SMC is not available on most stations. The crystal itself can immediately kill anyone who touches it, and usually only the chief engineer can safely set it up.
Maintaining Atmosphere
Main article: Atmospherics
The main responsibility of Atmosians is maintaining breathable air for all the station's inhabitants. Maintaining atmosphere involves mixing nitrogen and oxygen to create breathable air, filtering hazardous chemicals out of the station's air supply, and patching holes in the station hull to prevent spacing.
Distro and waste
All stations have gas miners in the Atmospherics sub-department that provide an infinite supply of oxygen and nitrogen (and often other gases), and those should be piped into every room of the station to meet these environmental conditions:
- Ratio of 79% nitrogen and 21% oxygen
- Pressure of 101.325 kPa
- Temperature of 293.2K
At the start of the shift, the mixture of breathable air must be set up in Atmospherics and pumped out to the rest of the station in what's typically called the 'distro' loop. Typical activities in the station - breathing, scientific experimentation, unexpected gas leaks, other biological processes - will produce undesirable gases like carbon dioxide and ammonia. A separate loop from distro, called the 'waste' loop, uses air scrubbers set up all over the station to filter those waste gases out of the air and pump them out of the station. The single point where the waste loop vents into space is also in Atmospherics, and typically requires some kind of setup at the start of shift to correctly dispose of these gases.
Spaced rooms
Some random events and player actions can damage the station, exposing the interior to the vacuum of space. When this happens, a nearby air sensor will read the drop in pressure and trigger firelocks to close and seal off the spaced section (unless they have been destroyed or sabotaged) which keeps the the rest of the station pressurized. If many sections of the station are spaced at the same time, it becomes very difficult to restore pressure to the whole station and the evac shuttle must be called.[1]
Engineers are responsible for repairing the station when this happens and restoring pressure so other department may continue their work in safety, as low pressure damages players not wearing an EVA suit or other hardsuit. These repairs often include rebuilding floors and windows, and also possibly rewiring a room if an explosion damaged the power network. See this guide on Fixing Hull Breaches.
Other responsibilities
The engineering department also is responsible for keeping the gravity generator and telecommunication servers (required for radio communication) running, but these do not require any active management. Unless they are sabotaged or the whole station loses power, these machines will not need attention during a shift. Also, the station anchor is sometimes in an area only accessible to engineers, but it does not require power and it's unclear what sabotage is possible with the anchor.
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Equipment
Man is a tool-using animal. Without tools he is nothing; with tools he is still an animal.[2]
The tools used by each engineer depend on their sub-department.
- Station Engineer - Template:Crowbar, Template:Wirecutter, Template:Screwdriver, Template:Wrench, Template:Multitool, Template:RCD
- Atmosian - Template:Item, Template:Item, Template:Multitool, Template:RCD
- Chief Engineer - Template:Jaws (improved crowbar & wirecutter), Template:Power drill (improved screwdriver & wrench), Template:Item, Template:Multitool, Template:RCD
Here are other items found in Engineering:
- Tools: Template:Item, Template:Item, Template:Item, Template:Item
- Suits: Template:Item, Template:Item, Template:Item, Template:Item
- Masks: Template:Item, Template:Item, Template:Item, Template:Item
- Additional equipment: Template:Item, Template:Item, Template:Item, Template:Item, Template:Item, Template:Item, Portable generators, Portable air scrubbers
Also, here are some vending machines commonly in Engineering departments:
| Vending Machine | Available items |
|---|---|
Most good stations have coffee and snack vending machines in Engineering.
Working with other departments
Everyone on the station requires the power grid and air distribution/waste loops to be fully operational. However beyond those basic requirements, here are a few other interdepartmental activities you can work on:
| Department | What engineering needs from them | What they ask engineers for |
|---|---|---|
| Cargo | Flatpaks for power generation, gas canisters, construction materials | Selling expensive gases such as tritium and frezon |
| Science | Researching technologies in the Industrial tree | Specific gases for anomaly research |
| Medical | Medications for radiation damage | Air filtration of Morgue, construction of Cryogenic Pods |
- ↑ https://github.com/space-wizards/space-station-14/issues/29525
- ↑ The actual quote attributed to Thomas Carlyle is "Man is a tool-using animal. Without tools he is nothing, with tools he is all."