Some Thoughts About NPC Crew

[Ambroza]

I was reading through the old DDF proposal for NPC crew, and I really liked the ideas presented. Of the four originally proposed NPC positions, we currently have just one: pilot. If we extend the scope to include multi-crew, we have pilot and gunner.

The engineer role should be more interesting and useful than simply stocking an AFMU. Perhaps having an engineer on-board would allow some modules to be overclocked to squeeze out some extra performance, either as an active ability or a passive bonus. Certain engineers could have certain specialties; some might specialize in overclocking weapons, and some might specialize in enhancing the performance of exploration equipment.

In addition to new roles, I would like to see new ways to acquire crew. Presently, we can only hire them from the crew lounge at stations. What if we could find potential crewmembers through mission strings? Perhaps you save somebody from a pirate lord, and they offer to work as your engineer. Or, perhaps you find an occupied escape pod out in the black, and once you bring it on-board and open it, the grateful occupant offers to be your fighter pilot. I think this would be a great (and hopefully relatively easy to implement) way to add some depth to the crew system.

Obviously, the marine role will be very important and fairly self explanatory, if we ever get combative ship boarding.

 

[Hasaf]

Some time ago I mentioned these two Crew members that I would like to be able to have on my ship:

As a trader, there are two crew members that I would like to have on my ship.

The first is a Cargo Master.

He is responsible for supervising the loading of the ship and is an expert at squeezing stuff in where no one though though would be possible.

His (or her) presence on the ship would increase the carrying capacity of the ship beyond the capacity of the racks. The percentage would depend on his rating. Ideally he would also gain experience on particular ship classes (if he gained rank on a T-9 then he would be even more effective at loading T-9s').


The second is a Master Negotiator.

The Master Negotiator is skilled at just that. She can always negotiate the best price for fuel, in the markets, and sometimes the shipyard. Of course, her ability is influenced by how many times she has visited a particular market, and how well regarded her employer is.

As she gains rank when employed by a particular Commander, her ability to negotiate his needs and expectations also improves.



These crew members can make having a crew on-board useful for traders; who, otherwise, tend to fly alone.