Friday 25 January 2013

Science complete, now for the next Handbook

Yesterday, I managed to complete the update to the Officer's Handbook for the role of Science Officer, expanding the content considerably. I did receive a message regarding an addition that I could make; stating that the Science Officer should be able to comment on enemy capabilities such as weapon capabilities. It was a valid point and I intend to add the comment in a future update. Before I do so however, I am going to complete the Ship Recognition Handbook in order to reference this as a source of information. The Science Officer can then use the document to aid their recognition of enemy vessels. The completion of the Science Officer's Handbook now means I need to shift my focus on to the next Handbook project of course.

Of the Officer's Handbooks, I still have Communications, Helm, Tactical and Captain to review and update. Both Helm and Tactical Officers already have a great deal of content to draw on, both from version 3 of the Officer's Handbook as well as the Tactical Handbook that I have released. As a result I am considering focusing initially on the Communication Officer's role.

The role of Comms Officer is one that most seem to see as the 'less engaging' role aboard a vessel, with little to do, particularly during engagements with the enemy. I have read many comments of "during combat my comms officer has very little to do", or "I regularly have to shout at comms to keep them awake." Since the beginning of my TSN career, I have found myself disagreeing with the view that Comms Officer is 'less engaging' entirely. I believe however, that it is down to Comms Officers themselves to ensure they are being a productive member of the crew. With some thought and initiative, the Comms Officer can become an extremely valuable addition to any crew. The information that I would include therefore, would be guidance on how to make the most of the role.

As with all the new handbooks, I intend to include a section on giving a status report, outlining the kind of things that the Comms Officer should report on. I also want to include information on ship-to-ship communications when operating with another vessel, or as part of a Division or Fleet formation. In my opinion, the Comms Officer should be relaying orders to the Captain from the Division Commander or an Admiral. I also think an important aspect of being a Comms Officer is having a good strategic awareness. Having access to a sector map means the Comms Officer can effectively coordinate allies, as well as influence the movements of enemies. Knowing how and when strategies should be implemented to affect the course of a mission is learned with experience, but I hope that I can include guidance to make Comms Officer's aware of their potential capabilities in this area.

TSN Handbooks

Thursday 24 January 2013

Officer's Handbook: Science Officer

Today, I have been continuing with the update of the Officer's Handbook, focusing primarily on the Science Officer's role aboard a vessel. The content is being expanded to include additional details with the aim of improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the Science Officer, and the extent to which they are utilised by the captain. I was dissatisfied with the previous section as it is rather short and does not provide detail and depth in to really operating as a science officer. To me, it is too easy to ignore the input that the science officer can provide, relegating them to scanning enemies and reporting shield frequencies as the captain's map can provide the same wealth of information. In my opinion, it is up to the captain to use them to a much greater extent, relying less on the captain's map and more on the science officer.

Borrowing ideas from the engineering section that I previously released, I have included information on how to provide a status report to the captain. There is an incredible amount of information that the science officer has access to, and I feel that it is the captain's duty to allow the science officer to provide this information, and the status report allows a science officer to do so in a structured manner.

I believe that a science officer should also be utilised in a navigational role on occasion, in order to free up the captain and allow him/her to focus on other aspects of command. With the information available, a science officer could provide bearings to a helms officer and effectively guide the vessel around a sector and potential hazards. For example if the vessel needs to transit through a narrow gap in an asteroid field, or steer around particular nebula, the science officer could plot the course and give bearings and speeds to navigate the ship safely to its destination. In the meantime, the captain would have the opportunity to check in with other officers, or plan the next course of action.

Along with the above additions, I am also re-writing the information on one of the fundamental aspects of the role of science officer; gathering intelligence. Tracking enemy movements and gathering details on shield frequencies, shield strength and current level of damage is the key requirement of a science officer when encountering hostile forces. This information provided to the captain and the bridge officers can have an immense impact on engagements and the tactics used and therefore essential information to include.

I am hoping to complete this section of the handbook soon and will be releasing it initially as a Science Officer's Handbook, just as I did with the Engineer's Handbook.

TSN Handbooks

Wednesday 9 January 2013

Additions to TSN Structure and Operation Handbook

I have made additions to the Structure and Operation of the TSN handbook this week. The new content includes more information on officers ranks, from Officer Cadet to Captain. The additions include details about the how promotions work in the TSN, with notes on the examination process that the officer must undertake. I have also separated Flag officer ranks from officer ranks and defined ranks of Lieutenant-Commander and above as "command ranks"; the ranks in which you could be assigned either temporary or permanent command of a TSN vessel.

In addition to this, I have been writing guideline questions that can be posed during the officer examinations. I also have a series of questions that I would ask a new officer (an Ensign just graduated) who requests assignment to my vessel that will allow me to ascertain their suitability for the position.

Over the coming weeks, I am going to continue adding more detail to the TSN Officer's Handbook. I was considering rewriting and expanding the Science Officer or the Comms Officer sections as I think both need an alteration to the information within them. For the Science Officer section, I was considering adding information on plotting courses and directing the Helms Officer. It will allow a Captain to free themselves from having to continually navigate, particularly in situations where multiple anomalies results in multiple course changes being made.


Sunday 6 January 2013

Recruiting

I have made the decision to begin recruiting officers to form a permanent crew. So far I have Captained a number of vessels for short periods, however I have been tasked by T.S.N command to form a permanent crew. Currently one officer has submitted an interest in joining my crew; an Ensign who specialises in Engineering. I am considering giving officers trial runs in order to see what additional training I may need to organise and to ensure they are fully aware of the operation standards and guidelines set out in training manuals. 

I have high expectations of my crew, but I am confident there are many highly skilled T.S.N officer's out there. 

Saturday 5 January 2013

TSN Handbooks; What Next?

Last week, I completed the Engineering Handbook and uploaded it to the Wiki. From the comments I have received, it seems that many officers find it a useful document. Looking back on the handbook, I think I have managed to write something that provides a solid foundation for all engineers, both novice and experienced, from which they can effectively work from. I have tested the ideas during simulations and found that they have improved my own management of the engineering systems.

Now that the engineering handbook is complete, I am going to shift my focus back to my other handbook projects, although at the moment I am unsure which one. The Tactical Handbook needs additional content adding to it and some revisions. I want to add guidance for operating a fleet of ships, commanded by an Admiral. The section on operating a Division of ships needs refining further too, however I still need to gather other captains and crews so I can test the principles that I lay out in the document. The original Officer's Handbook is one that I was aiming to continually update (the new Engineer's Handbook will be incorporated within it in the next revision). I have already started the update to a new "Version 2", so could continue to focus on that update. I am intending to re-write the whole handbook, releasing each section as a handbook in its own right. The section on the Captain's role will most likely be the focus if I were to pursue this project, releasing a Captain's Handbook when the section is finished. Other projects that are unfinished include the Ship Recognition Handbook and the Structure and Operation of the TSN Handbook. One is a matter of plugging in data and inserting graphics, whilst the other is more creative. 

All that remains is to decide which of the four I will pursue first.........