Goonhub
02-19-2026, 03:12 PM
I think Cargo sadly feels very limited in its scope, even with major changes to requisitions which have helped a lot with gameplay. Almost any shift with more than 1 QM is guaranteed to be relatively uneventful for everyone who isn't directly running Cargo, and it sometimes leads to shifts with 3 QMs where only one of them actually processes orders and the other 2 act like glorified staffies with easy access to contraband and unlimited credits.
So, what am I waffling on about all this for? I want to gather community ideas on how to expand the responsibilities of Cargo, and see if there's anything that people think could fit well with the department! I think that if we're gonna give stations more than 1 QM slot, it shouldn't feel useless. Ideally, at least to me, it'd be best if these new responsibilities would be simple to implement with existing code and mechanics, rather than the creation of completely new systems. The big thing that stands out to me is maybe making more things recyclable, with it being Cargo's job to recycle the various trash items around station and sell them or turn them into more valuable items, rather than them all just getting thrown out.
I dunno though, QM sometimes just feels like a Roboticist situation, where they have a little work at the start of the shift, then their job becomes largely unimportant during the vast majority of rounds. Of course, there are some exceptions if people wanna buy a bunch of stuff, but most rounds I've played in have cargo budgets >150,000 credits at all times, and just selling artifacts and opening mail crates is enough to keep any spending balanced. Also, let me be very clear and say that QMs themselves do not feel useless! Rather, having multiple of them really just feels like a waste of manpower, since Cargo is relatively easy to do entirely alone, and often lacks the sort of work necessary to have 3 people in Cargo working on things. I've made this thread mostly to just figure out if I'm alone in this feeling, and to see if other people have any ideas on how to make Cargo feel like a more engaging job.
So, what am I waffling on about all this for? I want to gather community ideas on how to expand the responsibilities of Cargo, and see if there's anything that people think could fit well with the department! I think that if we're gonna give stations more than 1 QM slot, it shouldn't feel useless. Ideally, at least to me, it'd be best if these new responsibilities would be simple to implement with existing code and mechanics, rather than the creation of completely new systems. The big thing that stands out to me is maybe making more things recyclable, with it being Cargo's job to recycle the various trash items around station and sell them or turn them into more valuable items, rather than them all just getting thrown out.
I dunno though, QM sometimes just feels like a Roboticist situation, where they have a little work at the start of the shift, then their job becomes largely unimportant during the vast majority of rounds. Of course, there are some exceptions if people wanna buy a bunch of stuff, but most rounds I've played in have cargo budgets >150,000 credits at all times, and just selling artifacts and opening mail crates is enough to keep any spending balanced. Also, let me be very clear and say that QMs themselves do not feel useless! Rather, having multiple of them really just feels like a waste of manpower, since Cargo is relatively easy to do entirely alone, and often lacks the sort of work necessary to have 3 people in Cargo working on things. I've made this thread mostly to just figure out if I'm alone in this feeling, and to see if other people have any ideas on how to make Cargo feel like a more engaging job.