Multi-crew "issues"

[Firebeard]

Edit 1: Collating the comments into a coherent point.

Folk seem happy that crew could become an interactive part of the game and I would propose something along the lines of requiring a number of crew members before they can launch.

With that in mind I'd suggest:

Small ships

Sidey
Vulture
Eagle (+ ieagle)
Viper (3 + 4)
Dbx
Dbs

No crew requirement no crew facility

Cobra (3 and 4)
Hauler
Adder
Dolphin
Icourier

No crew requirement facility for 1 crew member (I believe these all have spare seats in the cockpit)

Medium Ships

Federal Assault Ship
Fed Gunship
Fed Drop ship
Asp (S & E)
Type 6

1 crew required 2 crew facility

Alliance Challenger
Alliance Chieftain
Alliance Crusader
Mamba
Keelback
FDL

2 crew required 2 crew facility

Krait (2 and phantom)
Python

3 crew required 3 crew facility

Large Ships

Type 7

2 crew required 4 crew facility

Orca
Type 9
Clipper

4 crew required 4 crew facility

Anaconda
Imp Cutter
Type 10

5 crew required 6 crew facility

Beluga
Corvette

6 crew required 6 crew facility.

This I think gives purpose to the cargo ships in that they take larger pads but need less crew.

The luxury liners need more crew to look after the passengers.

Coupled with this the crew hire facility would negotiate a cut rather than being fixed so if you desperately need a crew member to launch they may hold you ransom a bit.

 

[rootsrat]

All great ideas Commander. Not sure why the proper crew mechanic was shallowed down rather than expanded upon, compared to the previous games. I'd love more complexity in that department!

 

[PauloG01]

+1

o7

 

[Nadreck]

IIRC, in one of the many rumours surrounding Fleet Carriers, it was said that they would require multiple crewmembers to operate. It was also said that you wouldn't lose a Carrier until your last squadron member left, disbanding the squadron. So that would imply that if the rest of your squadron quits, either you end up with a Carrier that won't go anywhere, or you can use your NPC copilots (and you can have up to 3 of those). Maybe Command, Helm, Navigation, Engineering?

 

[Ian Skippy]

IIRC, in one of the many rumours surrounding Fleet Carriers, it was said that they would require multiple crewmembers to operate. It was also said that you wouldn't lose a Carrier until your last squadron member left, disbanding the squadron. So that would imply that if the rest of your squadron quits, either you end up with a Carrier that won't go anywhere, or you can use your NPC copilots (and you can have up to 3 of those). Maybe Command, Helm, Navigation, Engineering?

Pretty sure that they meant that the grinding for Carrier Fuel would be too much for one person to effectively do.

 

[Kissamies]

My idea is that there would be generic crew and specialists. The types of generic crew would go with the ship size classes, though there might be some exceptions. Small: no crew, Medium: small crew, Large: full crew. The generic crew should mainly need to be managed and take its share of the earnings, though a good and happy crew would give some small bonuses on very wide areas.

The number of specialists you could hire might correspond with the number of bridge seats. They are the SLF pilots, gunners and such. Engineer could decrease the failure rate of damaged components and make AFMU more effective.

 

[Red_Beard_98]

+1, I like these ideas.

Say mandatory crew were implemented for certain ships (large, maybe medium) then I would think the profit share would have to decrease a bit? hiring several expert crew at 14% would start to diminish profits pretty quickly. Even more so as they become more skilled. I rarely use crew but if there were some kind of incentive other than them piloting a single SLF (sometimes not even well) then I would be far more inclined to use crew members and not fire them before handing in a big haul.

 

[firemane]

Would people play coop on this type of game? You can hardly find a multicrew seat open nowadays. Also orgs don't seem to run too many winged/multicrew events either.

I've tried other games of that type such as Pulsar, and it is hard enough to find a crew. It'd be grand to have Pulsar's bridge and away team play in ED, but I doubt the type of player ED currently attracts would bother with it.

I'd see it if ED was the kind of MMO where you started on the ground and had to work your way up to an expensive ship. However, in ED you can have an Anaconda in 24 hours and then buy a new one every two hours after that. There is just no reason to bother being in someone else's ship when you can fly your own End Game Dreadnought Super Fighter (tm). Every ship is basically a fighter, and everyone can have his/her own and manage it "solo" just fine.

For Multi-Crew Coop to actually work you'd need to open new paradigms.

The Fleet Carriers, for example, would sort of work, IF they required direct player-control.

Or perhaps a mini-carrier/System Patrol Vessel/Long Range Hauler-Miner/Explorer class that could take 3-4 player owned (by other players) small pad ships (ie. sidewinder, etc), deploy a medium multi-crewed SRV, deploy specialized equipment, and serve as an in-system respawn point. You could add some extras to encourage teamwork. For example; (extra) specific hard points that must be turreted and require a backseater, faster FSD boot/activation if you have a navigator, a small diameter directional shield that can be controlled directly by a systems manager (think ship-buckler), and perhaps limited ship refuel/rearm/repair for the small parasite ships. Hopefully, the ship will have the weight, inertia, and presence to qualify as a proper Capital ship That-Needs-A-Crew, not just another implausibly maneuverable fat fighter. It should be turrets/missiles only. It should also carry a 50% to 70% insurance deductible, a multi-billion credit price tag, expensive repair bills, and big earning potential. That way it won't be disposable, and it will reflect the current credit inflation. Endgame contents for endgame players.

I'd love to see that. Don't hold your breath. In the meantime, play Pulsar. It is a good game that needs more players.

 

[Firebeard]

This is great keep adding ideas folks they all sound great.

 

[Genie]

I can only agree with all this too. For further NPC crew thoughts; hire a pirate who would be skilled at invoking silent running at the right time based on thier experience, also good at cargo scanning and limpet breakers (even better? - capture a pirate from thier escape pod and "turn" them to be your crew, or turn them in). Like firemane, a navigator that could (say) also help fly in between asteroids whilst you pulse wave for that one off asteroid of gems. Give you more detail / cartography in the galaxy map based on where they've also been. Lots of options here.