# Request Emergency Temporary Access - RETA

## Summary

Paramedics currently start with broad department access. This proposal replaces that by granting temporary department access only when an emergency is called.

When a player presses "Call X" on a Requests Console, responders called receive temporary access to the common work areas of that department.

They do not receive access to sub rooms or high risk areas.

- Access lasts 5 minutes (configurable)
- Access is removed when the timer expires or the emergency is resolved
- No mapping changes are required (uses existing request consoles)
- Removes their broad round start access but gives them external access to rescue bodies in space by default

---

## Problem

Paramedics currently have broad access far beyond their role. This creates issues:

- They can freely enter Cargo, Science, Mining, and other departments.
- They overlap with other jobs by taking equipment or using consoles without permission.
- They are disproportionately strong as antagonists because they can move almost anywhere.
- Maps are not designed with the assumption that non-command staff have this much access.

---

## Alternatives Considered

| Proposed | Issue |
| -------- | -------- |
| Keep current access | Preserves all of the problems |
| Restrict paramedics to medical and maintenance | Prevents them from responding effectively to emergencies and punishes them |
| Access key item | Still grants broad standing access once obtained, with little accountability and an item to be stolen |
| Mapping changes | Rejected by maptainers as too costly and inconsistent |

---

## Proposed Fix:


Access is no longer given to paramedics at roundstart. Instead, they gain temporary tokens when a Request Console is used.

### How it Works
- A crew member presses one of these buttons on a request console
- "Call Medical"
- "Call Security"
- "Call Engineering"
- The console sends the normal department-wide announcement.
- Responders in that department receive a temporary access token for the general department flag.
- The token lasts 5 minutes (configurable).
- Repeat calls blocked instead of stacking or spammed.
- Access is removed when the timer expires or the emergency is resolved.

### Example

[Security] The Automated Announcement System coldly states, "SECURITY EMERGENCY in Research Lab! (Called by Sloan Keppel, Scientist) RETA door access granted to responders."
[Science] The Automated Announcement System coldly states, "RETA activated (Called by Sloan Keppel, Scientist). Security personnel now have temporary access to your areas."

### Granted vs Not Granted


| Department (call origin) | Granted | Not Granted |
|---|---|---|
| Engineering | `ACCESS_ENGINEERING`, `ACCESS_ATMOSPHERICS` | `ACCESS_CE`, `ACCESS_ATMOSPHERICS`, `ACCESS_ENGINE_EQUIP`, `ACCESS_EXTERNAL_AIRLOCKS`, `ACCESS_MINISAT`, `ACCESS_TCOMMS`, `ACCESS_TECH_STORAGE`, `ACCESS_CONSTRUCTION`, `ACCESS_EVA`, `ACCESS_KEYCARD_AUTH` |
| Science | `ACCESS_SCIENCE` | `ACCESS_RD`, `ACCESS_GENETICS`, `ACCESS_XENOBIOLOGY`, `ACCESS_ROBOTICS`, `ACCESS_ORDNANCE`, `ACCESS_ORDNANCE_STORAGE`, `ACCESS_RESEARCH`, `ACCESS_MINISAT`, `ACCESS_TECH_STORAGE`, `ACCESS_AI_UPLOAD`, `ACCESS_TELEPORTER` |
| Cargo | `ACCESS_CARGO` | `ACCESS_QM`, `ACCESS_SHIPPING`, `ACCESS_VAULT`, `ACCESS_AUX_BASE`, `ACCESS_MINING`, `ACCESS_MINING_STATION`, `ACCESS_MECH_MINING`, `ACCESS_BIT_DEN` |
| Service | `ACCESS_SERVICE`, `ACCESS_KITCHEN`, `ACCESS_BAR`, `ACCESS_HYDROPONICS`, | `ACCESS_CHAPEL_OFFICE`, `ACCESS_LIBRARY`, `ACCESS_THEATRE`, `ACCESS_JANITOR` |
| Medical | `ACCESS_MEDICAL`,`ACCESS_SURGERY` | `ACCESS_CMO`, `ACCESS_PHARMACY`, `ACCESS_VIROLOGY`, `ACCESS_PSYCHOLOGY`, `ACCESS_MORGUE_SECURE`, `ACCESS_PLUMBING`, `ACCESS_MECH_MEDICAL` |
| Security | `ACCESS_SECURITY`, `ACCESS_BRIG`, `ACCESS_BRIG_ENTRANCE` | `ACCESS_HOS`, `ACCESS_ARMORY`, `ACCESS_WEAPONS`, `ACCESS_DETECTIVE`, `ACCESS_MECH_SECURITY`, `ACCESS_COURT`, `ACCESS_RC_ANNOUNCE` |
| Mining | `ACCESS_MINING`, `ACCESS_MINING_STATION`, `ACCESS_CARGO` | `ACCESS_MECH_MINING`, `ACCESS_AUX_BASE`, `ACCESS_BIT_DEN` |
| Command / Bridge | `ACCESS_COMMAND`, `ACCESS_BRIDGE`, (Admin Verb only!) | `ACCESS_CAPTAIN`, `ACCESS_RC_ANNOUNCE`, `ACCESS_KEYCARD_AUTH`, `ACCESS_TELEPORTER`, `ACCESS_AI_UPLOAD`, `ACCESS_GATEWAY` |

---

## Balance

- A player or AI must press the request button for access to be granted.
- Only public and work areas open, not private or high-risk areas.
- Access is temporary and expires automatically.
- No mapping work is needed.
- Tokens are stored per mob and checked only when a door is used. Expiry is handled by timers, not polling.
- Admins have a verb to trigger it with the ability to allow multiple departments to be added for fixing round issues or roleplay situations.

---

## Abuse Prevention

- A department cannot call itself.
- An engineer pressing "Call Engineering" from any department does not grant engineers any access. That engineer can still call Medical or Security.

- Cooldown is department-wide.
- Pressing one console stops that department’s button on all consoles in the same department with a cooldown.
- Multiple calls within the cooldown refresh existing timers instead of stacking.

- All calls are logged with the caller ID and job if known. Can monitor for misuse.

---

## Why This Works

- Removes paramedics’ broad “Doctor+” access.
- Keeps them effective as emergency responders.
- Responders must be called in OR access upgraded.
- Keeps sensitive areas secure.
- Prevents spam or stacking through cooldown.
- Scales across all maps without mapper work.

---

## For Changelog

:cl:
add: RETA System - Request Consoles give temporary access to responders when used for some areas. Paramedics lose broad access but get external space access.
qol: Request consoles now show name and job role on call message & Cooldown on spamming calls
admin: Gives admins "RETA door access" verb for giving department wide area access on maps.
unit tests: RETA system validation checks to ensure works.
logging: Seperate RETA log file for debugging and audits important things to game log as well
config: New config settings for RETA
/:cl:

## Wiki Documentation

https://wiki.tgstation13.org/Guide_To_RETA

## Pull Request

https://github.com/tgstation/tgstation/pull/92753

# Technical Nerdy Bits

AKA how I went insane trying to make this...

## Key Features

- **Automatic Access Granting**: Responders receive temporary access to emergency locations automatically
- **Multi-Department Support**: Supports all major departments including Command (admin-only)
- **Smart Access Control**: Grants only essential access, not full departmental permissions
- **New Player Integration**: Automatically applies active grants to newly spawned players
- **Radio Announcements**: Dual announcement system for both responders and calling departments
- **Performance Optimized**: Efficient scanning of living players only
- **Comprehensive Logging**: Separate RETA log file for detailed tracking

## How It Works

### Emergency Call Flow

1. **Emergency Trigger**: Request Console emergency call or admin manual trigger
2. **Department Detection**: System identifies calling department from console location
3. **Access Validation**: Prevents self-calls and checks cooldowns
4. **Responder Scanning**: Finds all living players with matching department job trims
5. **Access Granting**: Applies temporary access to responder ID cards
6. **Announcements**: Sends emergency alerts to responders and confirmations to callers
7. **Automatic Cleanup**: Access expires after configured duration (default: 5 minutes)

### Access Grant Mechanics

- **Target-based**: Finds personnel in the responding department
- **Origin-based**: Grants access to the calling department's areas
- **Temporary**: Access automatically expires and is cleaned up
- **Non-destructive**: Does not interfere with permanent access
- **Persistent**: Active grants automatically apply to new ID cards

## System Constraints

### Usage Restrictions

- **Living Players Only**: Only scans active, living players with clients
- **Job Trim Matching**: Requires proper job assignment for department detection

### Request Console Limitations

- **Location Dependent**: Console department determined by area name
- **Limited Emergency Types**: Only Security, Engineering, and Medical emergencies
- **Area Mapping Required**: Unmapped areas (like random maintenance) won't trigger RETA

## Configuration

Add these entries to your `config.txt`:

## Enable the Request Emergency Temporary Access system
RETA_ENABLED

## Duration in deciseconds for temporary access (default: 3000 = 5 minutes)
RETA_DURATION_DS 3000

## Cooldown in deciseconds between calls (default: 150 = 15 seconds)
RETA_DEPT_COOLDOWN_DS 150

## Admin Interface

For roleplay or debugging purposes, Admins have a shiny new tool!

### Manual RETA Trigger

- **Location**: Admin Events category
- **Verb**: "RETA Door Access"
- **Functionality**:
- Select calling department
- Multi-select responding departments using interface
- Bypasses cooldowns and console limitations
- Includes Command (Bridge) department access
- Logs to admin chat who dunnit and what they did, behave!

| Which area needs help? | Which departments are going? | Temp access timer? |
| -------- | -------- | -------- |
| | |  |

UI is tweaked further since those screenshots.

### Features

- **Multi-Department Selection**: Can grant multiple departments access simultaneously
- **Command Access**: Only available through admin interface
- **Enhanced Announcements**: Uses "CENTCOM" caller identification
- **Detailed Feedback**: Reports success/failure with responder counts

## Area Name Mapping

The system maps area names to departments:

| Area Name Contains | Maps to Department |
| -------------------------------- | ------------------ |
| "engineering", "engine" | Engineering |
| "science", "research" | Science |
| "cargo", "supply" | Cargo |
| "mining", "mine" | Mining |
| "service", "civilian", "library" | Service |
| "medical", "medbay" | Medical |
| "security", "sec" | Security |
| "command", "bridge" | Command |

**Unmapped areas** (like random maintenance rooms) will trigger emergency announcements but won't grant RETA access.

## Radio Announcements

### Emergency Alerts (to responders)

**With Access Granted:**

"MEDICAL EMERGENCY in Mining! RETA door access granted to responders."

**Without Access Granted:**

"MEDICAL EMERGENCY in Bridge!"

### Confirmation Messages (to calling department)

"RETA activated (Called by John Doe, Paramedic). Medical personnel now have temporary access to your areas."

## Technical Implementation

### Core Files

- **`code/modules/reta/reta_system.dm`** - Main system logic and department grants
- **`code/modules/reta/reta_id_card.dm`** - ID card temporary access functionality
- **`code/modules/reta/reta_debug.dm`** - Admin debug verbs and manual triggers
- **`code/_globalvars/reta.dm`** - Global variable definitions
- **`code/controllers/configuration/entries/reta.dm`** - Configuration system

### Integration Files (Modified)

- **`code/game/machinery/requests_console.dm`** - Emergency call integration
- **`code/game/objects/items/cards_ids.dm`** - Access system integration
- **`code/datums/id_trim/jobs.dm`** - Paramedic access reduction

### Testing

- **`code/modules/unit_tests/reta_system.dm`** - Unit tests yay

### Key Data Structures

/// Global registry of currently active grants
GLOBAL_LIST_EMPTY(reta_active_grants)

/// Global department access definitions
GLOBAL_LIST_EMPTY(reta_dept_grants)

/// Global job trim mappings by department
GLOBAL_LIST_EMPTY(reta_job_trims)

## Logging

### Dedicated Log File

All RETA activity is logged to a separate `reta.log` file for detailed tracking:

[2025-08-28 10:30:45] RETA: Engineering called Medical emergency, granted access to 3 responder IDs for 300 seconds
[2025-08-28 10:30:45] RETA: Granted Medical access to ID 'John Doe (Paramedic)' for 300 seconds
[2025-08-28 10:35:45] RETA: Cleaned up expired Medical grant for Engineering department

### Debug Logging

Set to DEBUG mode for detailed player scanning information:

[2025-08-28 10:30:45] RETA: DEBUG: Looking for Medical personnel with trims: [list of job trims]
[2025-08-28 10:30:45] RETA: DEBUG: Found eligible Medical card: [card details]

## Performance Considerations

### Optimizations

- Living Players Only: Scans only alive, connected players
- Efficient Scanning: O(n) where n = living players, not all entities
- Lazy Evaluation: Skips processing when no active grants exist
- Memory Management: Automatic cleanup of expired grants
- No persistent storage requirements
- No impact on existing access checking
- - Minimal memory footprint

## Troubleshooting

### Common Issues

**"No access granted" despite emergency call:**

- Check if calling area maps to a department
- Verify responders are alive and online
- Confirm responders don't already have required access

**Emergency announces access but no access granted:**

- Request console in unmapped area
- All eligible responders already have access
- No personnel online in responding department

**Admin manual trigger not working:**

- Verify admin has R_ADMIN permissions
- Check RETA system is enabled in config
- Ensure department names match exactly
- Ummmm, Pray for help?

## Potential Improvements

- Request Console Integration: Add Command/Janitor emergency types
- Area Detection: Improve unmapped area handling
- Access Refinement: Granular access control per emergency type
- Visual Indicators: Optional door highlighting
- Integration: Hud or scanner emergency integration