Below is an example of what modern spacecrew are paid for their services. Galactic Minimum Wage policies dictate that each crew member will get paid a fair amount, and is expected to be in charge of their own earnings. They will get paid every five minutes under most circumstances, and the amount paid will vary based on their job at the start of the shift. These are only starting values, and they can be changed by the Accountant or Head of Personnel.
| Unpaid ($0) | Minimal Pay ($5) | Below Average Pay ($20) | Average Pay ($30) | Above Average Pay ($40) | Exceptional Pay ($100) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intern, Passenger, Prisoner, Tourist, Franchise Owner, Salesman, Merchant, Drone, Cyborg, AI, Actor, Debtor, government or corporate posts not housed on the ship or station | Assistant, Security Assistant, Medical Assistant, Research Assistant, General Assistant, Maintenance Assistant, Technical Assistant, Clown, Mime, Artist, Food Service Worker, Cashier, Assembly Line Worker | Curator, Librarian, Janitor, Clerk, Botanist, Rancher, Cargo Technician, Lawyer, Bartender, Chef, Sous Chef, Chaplain, Military Police Cadet, Marine Cadet, Secretary, Machinist, Nurse, Waiter, Barber, Musician, Mailman, Coach, Boxer, Wrestler | Psychiatrist, Mining Medic, Atmospheric Technician, Chemist, Geneticist, Medical Doctor, Pharmacist, Surgeon, Psychologist, Coroner, Quartermaster, Roboticist, Scientist, Virologist, Paramedic, Network Technician, Detective, Engineer, Brig Physician, Battle Pod Pilot, Squad Radio Specialist, Squad Specialist, Squad Smartgunner, Squad Medic, Squad Engineer, Squad Marine, Munitions Technician, Ordnance Technician, Fighter Pilot, Air Traffic Controller, Forensic Technician, Mechanic, Xenobiologist, Xenoarchaeologist, Telescientist, Researcher, Chemist, Tour Guide, Journalist, Corporate Reporter | Warden, Miner, Salvager, Security Officer, Explorer, Search and Rescue, Shuttle Pilot, Pilot Officer, Requisition Officer, Command Secretary, Master-at-Arms, Military Recruiter, MP Warden, Military Police, Squad Leader, Munitions Officer, Flight Leader, Resource Manager, Customs Officer, NovusCorp Security Operative, Vice Officer, Internal Affairs Agent, Diplomatic Officer, Union Representative, Inspector, Lawyer, Corporate Recruiter, Bodyguard, Asset Protection, Accountant, Medical Specialist | Captain, Commander, Executive Officer, Staff Officer, Helm Officer, Comm Officer, Weapons Officer, Chief Medical Officer, Chief Engineer, Head of Personnel, Research Director, Head of Security, Senior Listed Advisor, NovusCorp Consultant, Overwatch Officer, Chief MP, Magistrate, Head Surgeon |
Unlike other corporations, NovusCorp does not provide different paychecks for different species.
Non-crew positions, as noted, are not paid by a department's payroll budget. However, the following positions earn $100 per five minutes automatically, paid for by other sources outside of the ship/station/colony: Tourist, Franchise Owner, Actor, government and corporate posts not listed in the payroll department.
The following positions pay $25 per 5 minutes for the privilege of being a passenger: Passenger, Tourist, Franchise Owner, Salesman, Merchant, Actor. This is paid into the Civilian budget.
The position of Debtor accrues an active negative balance which must be paid off in order to become a Passenger (who can then be hired on as a fulltime crewmember); this accrues at the rate of $25 per 5 minutes. Debts paid go into the Civilian budget. Anyone who cannot pay for the privilege of being a passenger becomes a Debtor.
Departments will get a budget card which is what individual pay is taken out of. They can be found in the respective head or warden's locker. The budget cards hold a set amount of money at the start of each shift, but more can be gained when certain conditions are met. Budget cards can be used to directly pay for Cargo orders placed on a Supply Request console, which not coincidentally, tends to expedite Cargo's desire to fulfill these requests.
The Command Budget is a separate account from the other departments, and not only pays for the Command staff, but also has a discretionary fund that increases by a flat 100 credits per living crewmember per five minutes, which can be transferred to other departments where needed to cover their payroll. If a department falls short, it deducts money from the Command budget first.
The Corporate Budget is what funds those pencil pushers and resource managers, from the lowliest secretary to the NovusCorp Representative. The Corporate Department is expected to draw profits from other departments to make themselves sustainable; if the ship is proving most unprofitable, it is their job to encourage these departments to work harder. They may make deals with other corporations and stations on behalf of NovusCorp to bring in additional revenue, and take a small fraction of all transactions as a service fee.
The Medical Department doesn't make a lot of money, as medical services are generally provided free of charge, but it fortunately doesn't usually require many things from Cargo, and can perform medical experiments to earn money from the NC Frontier research program by testing out new cybernetics and bio-enhancements. However, they are more frequently funded by negotiated transfers from other departments paying for the medical costs incurred from their latest disaster, or use of the Medical Booths found around the ship that provide automated medical services at a price for those who don't want to go all the way to Medbay.
This department is often in the black, between the sales produced by the bar, kitchen, and cafeteria, and whatever Hydroponics produces that they choose to share with Cargo (usually staggering amounts of farm-fresh produce and high-value narcotics), although Cargo sales are technically under the Supply budget.
This department commonly makes profits from selling unique artifacts (when Research doesn't monopolize all the credit) and other finds from its expeditions (when Supply doesn't claim all the good ore and supplies), allowing it to afford replacement and improved gear.
The Supply Budget refers to the cargo department, which is built-up of typically low paying jobs. This budget card starts the shift in the Quartermaster's locker. Cargo's budget is based mostly on its purchases and sales - sell goods and the budget card will gain money, buy goods and the budget card will lose money. Fortunately, the Supply department typically has a lot of minerals to sell, plus whatever else the ship can produce, and especially money from bounties. They also can charge other departments for purchases, if the Supply Budget is tight.
The Research Budget funds the research of the structure as well as its researchers, typically made up of medium-to-high paying jobs, this department is funded by the results of experiments reported through the NC Frontier application, as well as bar-code-marked sales of Research materials through cargo. Roboticists are especially valued for their ability to make valuable mechs and robots that can easily find a buyer, if the Research Director can convince them to put the department code on rather than their own. Research commonly spends money on supplies, though; Roboticists in particular use a lot of resources, and every department uses up phoron.
The Engineering Budget funds repairs and important supplies of the ship, and typically is drawn upon when Cargo needs someone to pay for that stack of plasteel and replacement engine parts they just ordered. While the Engineering department seldom has revenue, barring the bar-coded sale of mass-produced parts and machines, Command is in their right to shift budgets to resupply the Engineering budget, particularly when essential services like phoron refueling are required. Or to yell at Engineering to go make something useful to sell for themselves, either way works.
Also a department that typically generates revenue, in this case by charging the accounts of Passengers, Tourists, Franchise Owners, Traders, and such for passage aboard the ship. Generally, the cost of admittance is 20 credits per person per five minutes. Those unable to pay lose their passenger status and ship access and instead become Debtors who owe a debt (that continues to grow as they remain aboard) to the corporation! Tour Guides, Radio and TV Hosts, and other civilian 'jobs' draw their paychecks from the Civilian Budget. Government and corporate representatives who may be visiting have their own bank accounts which earn commensurate to their position every five minutes (funded by their corporate or government bosses); these are not funded from the Civilian or Corporate budgets of the ship, but rather from the presumably vast finances of NovusCorp Home Office or their government of choice.
The Defense Budget funds the security and military departments, which are built-up of typically medium-to-high paying jobs. Money is directly accrued for the Defense Budget based on how many crew members are currently alive, and how many monsters are dead. Defense transfers funds to cargo to order Security crates, and automatically deducts from its own budget when the Requisition Officer orders Military crates from their Supply Console. This budget card starts the shift in the Armory under the Warden's control. Every five minutes, the Defense Budget increases by 50 per living crewmember, and also increases whenever a 'monster' of any kind is killed, neutralized, or successfully imprisoned in the Permabrig or Xenobiology, regardless of whether Security, Military, or other entities are directly responsible, as long as an appropriate after-action report is faxed to Corporate Command, generally either by the Head of Security or by the Executive Officer. Some example payouts:
There is a specific set of bounties on planetary critters / Xenomorphs / other unfamiliar beings that are shipped off for analysis, etc. in addition to the credits earned for killing them:
Corpses can be sold in the following ways:
Note that dissected corpses, gibbed bodies, or still-living antagonists count for nothing, and certain antagonists do not leave a proper 'corpse' when deceased. CorpComm pays for intact bodies only.
Although this all seems to encourage killing rather than negotiations, it is worth noting that bounties are also paid for successful diplomatic interactions as long as a report is filed (in this case, generally by the Diplomatic Representative or Ambassador), and this is sometimes far more profitable should this first-contact scenario result in prevention of loss of life or even valuable trade of artifacts and technologies.
Your account number and PIN number are listed in “notes” in the IC tab.
Should you lose your ID, you will need to request a blank ID card from the Head of Personnel. Once done, simply alt+click the new ID and enter your account number.
Alt+click your ID card and select the amount of credits you wish to take out. This will transfer the credits in a holochip. You can alt+click the holochip to split the money up further.
Holochips, space cash and coins can all be inserted into your account simply by hitting your ID with them.
Your account number resets at the start of each shift. Thanks to Canon, in most cases your balance will be retained between play sessions, as long as you survive the shift. If you die, your balance will be reduced to starting levels.
Use of the Economy features requires an active Telecommunications network that can reach subspace properly; when Telecomms goes down due to combat damage or sabotage (or very occasionally, mechanical failure), all bank accounts are temporarily unavailable and all transactions must be processed through space cash or existing holochips. This also means that purchasing through Cargo or Requisitions is unavailable.
With the exception of the permabrig vendors and certain vendors that take spacecash, all vending machines require a valid ID card with a linked payment account. All vending machines will cost money to use and the price of each will vary depending on their type and location. Use of department vendors are free to anyone working for that department - for example the engineering-specific vendors are free to engineers, but not to medical doctors. Once payment has been made from a vendor, the money will be transferred directly into the appropriate department budget.
Spacecash vendors are open to anyone with space cash or holochips handy, and allow you to pay spacecash to receive the items in the vendor. These vendors pay the Supply department directly. Snack vendors are a common example of spacecash vendors. Most spacecash vendors can also use ID cards to make payment through bank accounts, assuming Telecomms is available.
These vending machines accept any item and allow the vendor's operator to receive payment rather than a department. Examples of the custom vendor can be found in the Cafeteria, where the kitchen loads some of the vending machines with tasty food.
With digital money comes the arrival of the paystands. Paystands are ways to pay someone without having to hand them physical money. Paystands start pre-built in various locations around the map, usually in the markets, the bar or pub, the cafeteria, and wherever else commerce needs to occur; they are also easy to construct wherever needed. Basically, the seller slots their card and puts in the charge amount, then the buyer slots their card and marks their agreement to pay, and the transfer of funds is concluded.
Several of these can be found on most maps, allowing people to withdraw money from their accounts as space cash, or deposit space cash or holochips into their bank accounts.
The bank machine is located in the Vault and allows money to be directly inserted into a department budget by swiping the department budget card and depositing space cash or holochips. Money can also be siphoned out and will appear in holochip form. Be careful though as, after enough credits have been siphoned, an alert will appear over the common radio.
Located outside the Brig in the public hallway is the security warrant console. Anyone with a TicketMaster, particularly Security, can issue a citation with a fine to a crew member, which they can then use this machine to pay it off with. Those with significant debts may find themselves set to arrest to force them to come in and pay off their debts! These payments go into the Defense budget.