====== Security Camera ======
[{{ security_camera.png?200|A Security Camera.}}]
[{{ security_camera_hacked.png?200|A Security Camera that has been hacked.}}]

**Security Cameras** are [[:security measures]]. They have [[:vision]] with a range of 8 tiles and an arc of 90°, allowing the corporation to see [[:agents:]] on tiles that the camera sees.

Security Cameras are [[:mainframe devices:]], and can be hacked to give vision to the player instead of to the corporation. They can also be [[:rebooting|rebooted]] to temporary disable their vision, or shot with [[:lethal damage|lethal]] [[:weapons:]] to permanently disable them.

Security cameras can only be located in corners where two walls meet at a 90° angle, facing diagonally. They are never located in the [[:facility#starting room]] or in [[:facility#objective room|objective rooms]]. The locations of all Security Cameras in the facility can be revealed by hacking a [[databases#Camera Database]].

A Security Camera sometimes appears on the same tile as another device, such as a [[:Console]] or a [[Corporate Safe]]. When this happens, the other device never provides [[:cover]] from the camera.

Security Cameras are found in all [[:facility|facilities]]. The number of cameras depends on the [[:mission difficulty]]; additionally, [[:corporations:K&O]] facilities have fewer cameras than other [[:corporations:]].

===== Inactive cameras =====
[{{ security_camera_inactive.png?200|An inactive Security Camera.}}]

Some Security Cameras are **inactive**, meaning they have no vision and cannot be hacked or rebooted. When [[:alarm level]] 1 is reached, these cameras will [[:rebooting|reboot]] for 1 turn and then become active. In [[:modes:Beginner]] mode, this happens instead at alarm level 2.

In the [[:Contingency Plan#extended campaign]], there are no inactive cameras in or after the [[:missions:OMNI Foundry Lab]] mission.

===== Being seen by cameras =====
> //That camera will keep making things harder for us Operator. [[:Incognita]] has a program to deal with it.// \\ ---[[:agents:Central]]
 
When an [[:agents:|agent]] steps on a tile "watched" by a Security Camera, the [[:alarm tracker]] is raised by 1 step, and all nearby [[:guards:|guards]] (but at least one) will come to [[:guard behaviour#investigating|investigate]] the tile stepped on. The text **''REC⏺''** will appear next to the camera, to indicate that it has been triggered. This happens **at most once per turn** per camera, so even if the agent (or another agent) steps on other tiles seen by the camera in the same turn, the [[:guard behaviour#interest point]] will always be the //first// tile where that camera saw an agent that turn, and the alarm tracker is not raised further.

Security Cameras are triggered by movement and [[:peeking]], so if an agent is in a camera's vision at the start of the player's turn, they will only trigger the camera by moving to another "watched" tile, or peeking from the "watched" tile they are already on. Additionally, cameras always "see" immediately after [[:rebooting]], including cameras which were previously inactive.

Security Cameras are also triggered by a rescued [[:Courier]] or [[:Prisoner]], but not by hacked [[:drones]].

===== Strategy =====

It is usually best to hack cameras (or reboot them using [[:items:EMP Packs]]), to avoid being seen by them. Hacking cameras also gives you vision of rooms you aren't in, allowing you to know where the [[:guards:]] are and [[:observing|observe]] their movement. However, if there are cameras in empty dead-end rooms or in directions you don't want to go, it might be better to save [[:PWR]] by not hacking them. It's also sometimes possible to get past an unhacked camera by staying in [[:cover]], depending on the room layout.

The most dangerous time to be seen by a camera is at the start of the enemy turn. If an enemy-controlled camera finishes rebooting, and sees your agent, then a guard will come to investigate your agent, even if you have previously [[:observing|observed]] that the guard would do something else, and you will have no chance to [[:strategy:distraction|distract]] them during the enemy turn. Pay particular attention to [[#inactive cameras]] at the start of alarm level 1 (or alarm level 2 on [[:modes:Beginner]] mode). If you reboot a camera using an [[:items:EMP Pack]] or [[:programs:Fool]], use the [[:Incognita]] view to check how many turns it will take to re-activate.

It may sometimes be infeasible to hack cameras due to a shortage of PWR, or [[:daemons:Paradox]]. If it's an emergency, and you don't have a [[:items:Cloaking Rig]] or [[:agents:Archive Prism]]'s [[:items:Holo Projection Mesh]], then you might just have to get seen by a camera --- or even more than one camera. The guards will investigate the first tile you're seen on, so you can still end your turn in [[:cover]] even if your hiding place is seen by a camera. On the next turn, if you are still seen by the camera, you can avoid triggering it again by staying still and not [[:peeking]]. 

Stepping into a camera's vision is also a possible way to [[:strategy:distraction|distract]] a guard, although other distraction techniques such as making [[:noise]] or stepping into their [[:vision#peripheral vision]] are preferable to avoid raising the alarm tracker.

It is always safe to be seen by cameras on the same turn you leave the facility, because the enemy won't get another turn anyway.