Standard Hull Seal SOP
Hull Seals SOP, Guidance and Procedures 
Revision 7
What is this Document?
The Standard Operating Procedures are designed to be the guide for all Seals as to how to be the basic unit of the Hull Seals - the Seal. The Seal is analogous to the Rifleman in the United States Marine Corps - Every member is a Seal, but not all Seals are other roles. This document is designed to be your guide to how to carry out a repair - but no document is perfect.
The SOPs are the sanctioned and encouraged way of doing things that we have found to be the best way for what we do. However, it is not inflexible. If something is not covered by the SOPs, Seals are encouraged to improvise. However, if something is covered in the SOP, we do ask people to follow that process. In this way, this is one of the places where we are rather strict. Not following the SOPs can cost the life of a client.
General Guidance
Repair requests will come in through the designated channel in the chat solution. At present, this is the #Repair-Requests channel in the Fleetcomm Discord. If you see a request elsewhere, direct them to the proper location. In the event that they are unable to access or connect to the chat solution, alternative methods may be used such as in-game chat. This is expected to be primarily console players.
Let the Dispatcher do their job as, they are there to communicate to the client, gather the information, and assign Seals to calls. Don’t try and do their job for them, or distract by requesting information directly from the client. Listen to the dispatchers. If you have an issue with a dispatcher, contact the Hull Seals leadership. Offer advice constructively in the Hull Seals chat after the case is finished if they make any errors or mistakes.
Do not post unnecessary chatter in the active repair channels. Anything that is not critical to repairs can go in the general chat channels. Please don't tell people off if someone else posts in the channel - the Dispatchers can manage that!
Always remember the golden rule - we are here to have fun and enjoy Elite too. If you are unwilling or unavailable to go on a repair operation for any reason, simply do not call jumps to target and the dispatcher will not assign you. If you have to leave or abandon the repair for any reason, just let the dispatcher know and you can be un-assigned from the operation.
Do not report yourself as "Online" or "Offline". Signing in and out of the chat solution is enough of a report status, or putting on the Seal tags. Without these tags or being offline, you won't get a notification unless you set up something intentionally.
Do NOT ping large roles, such as Active Mechanic, with requests that can be made specifically to a few people. The ping ability may be removed in the future if pings become problematic, these are intended for necessary announcements and key information only. For repair calls, Dispatch will ping the appropriate group.
Guidance for Seals
In general, your name on any chat client should match your in-game name. You may wish to append [PC] or other tags to your name. This is acceptable, so long as the meaning is clear. If your name does NOT match your In-Game-Name, you should put in your In-Game-Name when calling your jumps.
Assist the Dispatcher! If there are multiple cases ongoing, mention which case you are on. For example, if you are reporting wing received, say something such as: “Wing received for Client123”. So long as you don’t ping the client, it’s ok. Clear communication and confirming key events are essential.
Do not post jumps that are significantly higher than everyone else. If your jumps are significant then wait a few seconds to see if there is someone much closer. For example, if 4 people post jump ranges in the sub-20j category then your 85j is an unnecessary addition (an exception being Code Black events, see Code Black SOP for full details).
Communicate with your dispatcher on various events that could change what happens next. Events like the hull of the client being reported differently, Client in a different game mode, or instancing issues.
Keep other communications (e.g. in-game) between yourself and the client to a minimum until you are in the instance with the client. Otherwise, the client may start to ignore the Dispatch chat, and you’ll end up dispatching in-game whilst trying to fly.
Do not ping the client as this will distract them and they should be focused only on the Dispatchers commands.
If carrying weapons, it is highly advised to check your fire groups and aim away from the client when firing the repair limpet to reduce the risk of incidents. Enabling analysis mode is also an option. In addition, you may wish to go into your in-game settings and set “Firing deploys hardpoints” to OFF. This means you can launch limpets without the risk of weapons fire.
On a similar note, when dropping out of supercruise on a client’s beacon, it is highly advised to zero throttle. At the same time, you should deploy landing gear or cargo scoop and point your ship at an angle to the client to avoid boosting into them by accident. Putting 4 pips to shields is also recommended.
Remember to report your repairs via the correct form. This form will be provided by Dispatch. If the damage has been done deliberately (e.g. Testing) this should be logged clearly in the notes.
NOTE: Do not report repairs of less than 5% hull.
Seal Equipment
ChemSeal Equipment
There are several modules that all Seals will use that should be standard on all Hull Seal builds. Without these modules, the Seal may be unable to repair their client. The average at minimum will require the following equipment:
- Limpets (Standard Hull Seal Equipment)
- Repair Limpet Controller (Standard Hull Seal Equipment)
- Cargo Bay (To house limpets)
- Fuel Scoop (You're going out into the black to rescue a CMDR... don't become a client for the Rats!)
Unusual Events
No Dispatcher
If there is no Dispatcher available, you may self-dispatch, asking the client for the next step of the process. This scenario is a last-resort event. If 2 mechanics are available one should pick up the dispatcher role with the other on the repair case. Always put all conversation in the main channel not in-game to allow for a dispatcher to pick up should one arrive and allow for fellow mechanics to help if they can. If you see this occur as a mechanic when you are not on a case offer to dispatch. A novice dispatcher is better than no dispatcher!
Inside Asteroid Ring Repair
When dropping on the wing beacon, approach the ring so you are coming in at as close to 90 degrees as possible. Do not skim the surface as this has been known to cause issues with nav lock drop.
Planetside Repairs
If the client is planetside, request they carefully climb to 500m to receive repairs. Being too close to the surface prevents repair limpets from engaging properly.
Close to Star/Planet/Object Navlock Repairs
When a client is close to a stellar object, navlock will be unsuccessful and will often drop you several light seconds away from your target. Inform Dispatch, who will then take appropriate steps to have the client to move away from the object before commencing repairs.
If this scenario is not possible, engage in a Tactical Face Plant if trained and comfortable.
Busy Times
There may be times where the repair channel is too busy, often during major events like Code Blacks or when 3+ rescues are already ongoing. The Dispatcher may in these occasions choose to redirect cases over into an alternate channel. The Dispatcher will make this very clear with a statement requesting the channel chatter cease. Please cut all non-repair chatter until the Dispatcher gives the all-clear, in these events, there will be a high level of stress so anything we can do to help (including keeping quiet) should be done!
NOTE: An experienced seal that is capable of self dispatching and that has been assigned to the case, may be asked by the dispatcher to self dispatch in game with the client, so as to lighten the load on the requests channel. You will not have the bot available in game, so you will need to copy and paste the info into your game chat. The seal can still report into the requests channel to update the main dispatch as appropriate. The seal can also ask a dispatcher for assistance if issues are encountered.
Open Mode Cases
If you are hesitant about the case being done in open mode, speak up. Let dispatch know and it will not be held against you. A seal's personal PG can be used to complete the case. The only time this may not work is if the client only plays in open mode and refuses to use a PG.
Walkthrough
- Repair assignments will come from the Repair Request channel. Being signed into the chat channels related to repairs, or having the tags on, means you are ready and able to take assignments.
- Wait for Dispatchers to request for active Seals. Check the platform before pressing send! Put in your current jumps to the system, being mindful of the jump numbers others are posting.
- Start jumping! You can decide to wait until assigned or get the first jumps made.
- Accept the Friend Request from the Client needing assistance and report confirmation to Dispatch.
- [Optional but strongly advised] You may wish to check your communications panel and confirm the client’s game mode. When in the correct game-mode you may wish to confirm the client's system within the galaxy map to see if their friend icon aligns with your route. Both of these, if done, should be reported to the dispatcher.
- Accept the Wing Invite from Client needing assistance and report confirmation to Dispatch.
- Enable wingman nav-lock on the client via the comms panel.
- Report confirmation of Beacon Contact to Dispatch e.g. “BC+”, if the distance is low the distance need not be reported.
- The Seal will drop into clients instance, target client and launch a repair limpet. Once the limpet engages successfully report confirmation of repair success to Dispatch.
- The Seal will file Repair Log Entry on the reporting document, and confirm to Dispatch
The Codes
The Hull Seals classify repairs on a 5-color scale. These codes signify the severity of the repair and dictate how to approach every repair.
|
Emer. Rating |
Damage Sustained |
|
Green 50% - 99% Hull Intact Stand By for Target Rendezvous System
Amber 11% - 49% Hull Severely Damaged Avoid High-Risk Activities. Do Not Leave System
Red 0% 0 % - 10% Hull Integrity Critical Hold Position. Do Not Land. Do Not Leave System.
Black CabinCanopy PressureFailure Failure. Emergency O2 In Use.Use Emergency Logout. Await Further Instruction.
Blue Client is Stuck in Neutron Cone Emergency Logout. Await Further Instruction.
Points of Emphasis
If remaining Fuel reserves are low, and the case is a Code Red, the Client will be instructed to log out.
If the Client's Fuel emergency is more critical than their Hull Emergency (All cases except Codes Black and Blue), put the case on hold and instruct the client to contact the Fuel Rats.
Repair Flowchart
