The purpose of crew when you fly the ship?

allnamestaken · 2013-07-13T22:38:37

Been distracted by space-sims and elite-likes of late, so if you guys would humour some ideas? Taking into account a few requests on space-sims, the main one for this post is having a fully crewed ship ala Star Trek (or even Firefly) and a small side one is missions on foot, planetside, boarding actions, etc (to tie it in nicely with the crew, think Away-Missions). In most space sims you have the majority if not complete control over the ship your piloting, and I can see taking away a large portion of this control and handing it over to AI crew might lead more to frustration and annoyance. So my thoughts where based around how else having an able crew would benefit you in flying your ship. In the end I decided that crew would have abilities in up to 3 areas. Flight Support: Rather than taking over control they can enhance certain aspects to make life even easier for the captain (you). Independent Tasks: When left to their own devices with enough resources will go about doing useful things on the side that don't directly bump noses with flying the ship. Away Team Role: In the vain of Star Trek, you select members of your crew to accompany you on missions on the ground, forming squad under your command. So I imagined there needs to be reasons to choose different crew members with different roles. As such, crew come in a number of traditional classes and roles, each I wanted to give some of the above to (But some admittedly may miss out in areas such as flight support or away team role). I pictured crew gaining experience and 'levels/ranks' and becoming more efficient in their roles as well. So I was hoping you guys could help me out with ideas on abilities in these ability categories, as well as suggestions for other important crew I may have missed. MAIN CREW ROLES Navigator: Your expert on traveling through space. Flight Support: Perhaps maps out nearby star systems for you to jump to, the higher the rank the further out systems are mapped. Can be assigned to setting up routes and way points? Can find shortcuts and maybe necessary for traversing the likes of wormholes? Reduce the amount of fuel/energy it takes to FTL around? Independent Tasks: No idea really, can be given over control of the ship as a sort of superior autopilot? Away Team Role: Again no idea ... Tactician: Experts on capital ship combat (cap-ships being the kind of ships you would captain). Flight Support: Can be assigned to take over fire controls, perhaps you can distribute some weapons between yourself and your tactician, so he can concentrate on aiming turrets on fighters and such. With higher rank will be able to identify weak points on enemy ships for you. Gives you faster missile locks and such. And can perform alittle move I call 'shield blocking', if you remember the likes of X-Wing/Tie Fighter or Wing Commander you could redirect the power of your shields - forward, back, left, right etc, the shield block has the tactician quickly redirect power to take on incoming fire while your busy doing other things. Independent Tasks: Not sure, afraid I'm not giving any examples of what I mean here yet. Away Team Role: Again, not sure. Engineer: "I can not do'et captin, she needs more power!" This one is abit more fleshed out in its three roles. Flight Support: Mainly need to be assigned to what I'm calling 'Engineering Bays' where they will act to repair damage done to the ship. At higher ranks they repair faster and can come up with ship overhauls/overclocks? Like getting more boost out of the shields, guns, engines. Independent Tasks: Finally an example, on your ship you can create 'workshops' and assign engineers to them, where they will manufacture new equipment and upgrades from resources gathered (Sort of like X-Com's bases with their workshops). Away Team Role: The engineer will be a support role on the ground, able to repair equipment (vehicles?) and possibly construct certain buildings (monitoring posts, outposts, auto-turrets?). Scientist: So as one performs away missions and collects 'data' and explores anomalies in space the scientist takes that info and creates new toys and technology for you. Flight Support: The opposite to the others so far, I have little idea what the scientist does to help you midflight. I considered having them give occasional advice when encountering new planets or spacial anomalies "It would be unwise to fly into that supernova Captain". Independent Tasks: Very much like the engineer, I picture part of the game is collecting research materials and artifacts on away missions, your scientist sits around trying to unlock the mysteries and will eventually give you a new technology that your engineers can often manufacture something from (Again, your ship is kind of like an X-Com base in my idea). Away Team Role: Not entirely sure, I imagine they could detect and identify research materials and artifacts you encounter on the ground letting you collect the more valuable items "No Captain that is not an alien death-ray ... its a spoon, made in china it says". Possibly they can also give advice on dangerous environments and lifeforms as you explore, or simply taking them along increases their research output. Physician: The one who puts the rest of your crew back together after something tries to burst out of their chest. Doctors who provide medical assistance to the rest of the crew. Flight Support: No idea, apart from administering to injured crew in battles and such. Independent Tasks: Will typically work in the sick bay healing up the crew, possibly battling any dangerous alien viruses you may pick up along the way. A side idea was that they could at later ranks do stuff like cybernetics and such. Away Team Role: Easily enough the physician is your team medic while on away missions. Security: Typically big tough bruisers who are the first to get a hold of the ray guns and kick some ass. Your soldiers and such. Flight Support: Again, no idea what they would do for you while you fly around space. I suppose defending the ship from boarding actions (if those where to be implemented) or performing boarding actions. Independent Tasks: Again not sure, I considered having them 'police' your crew to perhaps keep they from getting up to mischief and mutiny. Away Team Role: I imagine you would always take some security along, equipped with weapons and armour to protect you and any others from any dangers, and on the occasion when you are leading a military style operation on a planet. Comms?: A role I was unsure of including, communications officer who deals with ... well communications. Flight Support: When I thought on it I decided that they could possibly be a sort translator/diplomat when you contact other vessels or aliens, a higher ranked comms will give you much more diplomatic and persuasive conversation options when dealing with them, or know exactly the best way to threaten a Graqf into surrendering. Possibly they would also need time to translate alien languages before you could communicate with them (higher ranks would translate faster). Independent Tasks: Eavesdropping and spying on transmissions between other ships and letting the captain know about that secret attack on Planet Z, possibly this lets you pick up extra 'missions' without having to poke around so many space bars. Away Team Role: Again, no idea. OTHER CREW ROLES Pilots: If any one has played Battlecruiser Millennium you had a number of smaller fighters and shuttles aboard your ship, basically pilots would fly these. Since these aren't part of what I consider the 'main' crew I didn't think they needed a role beyond that. Steward/Cook?: The only other one that came to mind, would I suppose improve crew morale depending on their rank? Thats all I have for now, any thoughts/suggestions?

Game Design and Theory Game Design

Started by allnamestaken July 01, 2013 09:56 PM

15 comments, last by wodinoneeye 10 years, 9 months ago

sunandshadow

7,435

July 04, 2013 07:17 AM

Hmm, now I'm imagining a space game where you are the captain of a mercenary ship, and you recruit your crew. It would be kind of like Fire Emblem for planet-based combat, or like one of those worker placement time management games (Artist Colony, Gemini Lost, Virtual Villagers) for non-combat away missions. The captain would be the base unit and/or an elite unit. The ship would be your home base that you developed, and the NPCs would hang out at their various posts being shopkeepers, medics, repairpeople, a farmer in the hydroponics lab, and some or all would be romanceable characters. So on the ship you'd only control the captain and walk around the ship interacting with the others. Also, an NPC would have one or a few special abilities that would be added to the crew pool; as captain you could just use them. Probably you could assign crewpeople to learn or level up special abilities too.

I want to help design a "sandpark" MMO. Optional interactive story with quests and deeply characterized NPCs, plus sandbox elements like player-craftable housing and lots of other crafting. If you are starting a design of this type, please PM me. I also love pet-breeding games.

Orymus3

18,866

July 04, 2013 04:36 PM

Hmm, now I'm imagining a space game where you are the captain of a mercenary ship, and you recruit your crew. It would be kind of like Fire Emblem for planet-based combat, or like one of those worker placement time management games (Artist Colony, Gemini Lost, Virtual Villagers) for non-combat away missions. The captain would be the base unit and/or an elite unit. The ship would be your home base that you developed, and the NPCs would hang out at their various posts being shopkeepers, medics, repairpeople, a farmer in the hydroponics lab, and some or all would be romanceable characters. So on the ship you'd only control the captain and walk around the ship interacting with the others. Also, an NPC would have one or a few special abilities that would be added to the crew pool; as captain you could just use them. Probably you could assign crewpeople to learn or level up special abilities too.

Did you keep notes from project Copper? I think someone mentioned that then...

SondreDrakensson

213

July 06, 2013 01:09 AM

or that you get new people on your team, and all of these are different. a gunner for instance. one gunner is more sensetive to stress and misses more shots then the other, but once he hits his shots are stronger. these differences can also give them dignity or purpose if you like that word better

sunandshadow

7,435

July 06, 2013 08:03 AM

Hmm, now I'm imagining a space game where you are the captain of a mercenary ship, and you recruit your crew. It would be kind of like Fire Emblem for planet-based combat, or like one of those worker placement time management games (Artist Colony, Gemini Lost, Virtual Villagers) for non-combat away missions. The captain would be the base unit and/or an elite unit. The ship would be your home base that you developed, and the NPCs would hang out at their various posts being shopkeepers, medics, repairpeople, a farmer in the hydroponics lab, and some or all would be romanceable characters. So on the ship you'd only control the captain and walk around the ship interacting with the others. Also, an NPC would have one or a few special abilities that would be added to the crew pool; as captain you could just use them. Probably you could assign crewpeople to learn or level up special abilities too.

Did you keep notes from project Copper? I think someone mentioned that then...

I'm not sure I actually know what Project Copper is.

Orymus3

18,866

July 06, 2013 09:34 PM

I'm not sure I actually know what Project Copper is.

It was the name you, I, John Maurer and a few others were 'meant to start' at some point. During the inception phase, someone brought an idea much similar to the one explained above, I was just wondering if you had kept any notes regarding this, since, as far as I can remember, you were the one in charge of compiling the results? (if memory serves...)

(apologies for driving the thread off topic here, if not relevant, please proceed and ignore)

sunandshadow

7,435

July 09, 2013 01:41 AM

I'm not sure I actually know what Project Copper is.

It was the name you, I, John Maurer and a few others were 'meant to start' at some point. During the inception phase, someone brought an idea much similar to the one explained above, I was just wondering if you had kept any notes regarding this, since, as far as I can remember, you were the one in charge of compiling the results? (if memory serves...)

(apologies for driving the thread off topic here, if not relevant, please proceed and ignore)

Oh! That was the one I ran several surveys for, and popular vote decided it should be an RTS, or something like that? I do in fact have all the notes from that, pages and pages. I just forgot it had a codename, or I thought it was cobalt or something, lol. I'll PM you to see if you want copies of any of that material.

wodinoneeye

1,691

July 13, 2013 10:38 PM

freeking thing erase my post once ....

anyway all the stuff that keeps everyone else able to do their jobs

Commissary feeds crew cook supply officer, etc...

Guy who scrubs the toilets (fixes them too) -- all the routine maintenance

Morale officer / entertainments

Law enforcement/security/brig MPs Shore Patrol often overlaps with marine detachment seen on many official ships) Marine complement often worked ships guns while on board

Medical personel/hygeine enforcers

Religious/chaplain

Cargo crew/handlers and commercial agent

Ships owner and family often went with their ships

Gophers

Trainees

Prisoners (crew or otherwise)

Ships pets/mascots ?

Mission specialist who are actually for external operations but are whats being transported

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The purpose of crew when you fly the ship?

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