What does it take to crew a capital ship? Who has what it takes to do the job?

[NKato]

I've been musing a bit over the past few days about multicrew ships. I've always thought that having large player crews in Star Citizen produced significant risks to the security of the vessel, especially with the potential for "EVE mindset" to bleed into the game and completely upend the intentions of the devs.

Let's put that issue aside for now, and consider what it takes to have a crew. Before I share my thoughts, I want to hear what you think it means to be a ship captain, and what it means to be a crewman.

 

[SPRNinja]

People crewing large ships, especially the captain, will need to learn to delegate and trust thier 'subordiantes' Ive spent enough time in the military to know that when people in charge try to micromanage, things go to shit really quickly.

People in crew stations need to learn to do what theyre told, even if they dont think its right, cause they minght not have the full picture.

Everyone needs to learn to keep channaels on discord (or vent or TS) clear so that the only communication is important and relevant.

Apart from these, If im getting people to crew my personal bengal *cough* Im going to want them to be people i know arent going to try to take the ship off me or do dumbshit with it.

 

[Unshaven]

Here's an idea for a Test Squadron Crew Selection system-

1. Pickup Truck.
2. Long neck beer bottles.
3. Attach beer bottles to truck bumper.
4. The ones that follow are crew.


"Don't tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results."
-Gen. George S. Patton

 

[SPRNinja]

Here's an idea for a Test Squadron Crew Selection system-

1. Pickup Truck.
2. Long neck beer bottles.
3. Attach beer bottles to truck bumper.
4. The ones that follow are crew.


"Don't tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results."
-Gen. George S. Patton

TEST strategy aleph-177 confirmed

 

[WarrenPeace]

Crewing a capital ship, or any multicrew ship, will require the commander to have an understanding of the capabilities of their ship and of the crew. There's no point in asking the pilot of a Constellation to out-maneuver a Gladius, nor to outgun a Javelin. A commander should also be able to trust their crew to carry out their jobs correctly, and the crew needs to trust the commander to give the correct orders for a given situation.

What sets a commander and crew apart is when they know each other well enough to anticipate orders, or to expect that actions will be taken without needing to be said. That degree of cooperation allows a crew to reach the highest levels of efficiency, and can mean the difference between defeat and victory in combat.

 

[Wolf Lord Caldersson]

People crewing large ships, especially the captain, will need to learn to delegate and trust thier 'subordiantes' Ive spent enough time in the military to know that when people in charge try to micromanage, things go to shit really quickly.

People in crew stations need to learn to do what theyre told, even if they dont think its right, cause they minght not have the full picture.

Everyone needs to learn to keep channaels on discord (or vent or TS) clear so that the only communication is important and relevant.

Apart from these, If im getting people to crew my personal bengal *cough* Im going to want them to be people i know arent going to try to take the ship off me or do dumbshit with it.

Me personally I will not lead a ship in a military fashion. I know myself and other military members don't want to do that shit in a game. I'll be taking my idris's and playing them in a more relaxed environment. You want to man a gun, go ahead, but i expect you to know what to do, if you don't just let me know so we can get you up to speed. I want people to enjoy their time on a capital ship and not make it seem like a drag. I expect if people can enjoy crewing on my cap ship, they will come back and work even better. After you know your job though, break open a beer and shoot shit up, i'm not going to hold your hand or control you.
*edit: thats not to say there will not be orders, there will be. I just am not going to jump down your throat and tear you a new asshole if you mess up. It's a game, having fun is most important imo. I don't expect people to treat me like a officer, or any of the other BS. I want everyone to be frank with everyone and a group of players that can mutually respect each other. If one member looks down at another, there will be a discussion. Whether your the best pilot in the game, or having troubles manning a gun, everyone in test deserves the same respect. Though if you are not performing to the standard expect us to help, not hurt, you.


I will have a rule about being on discord though, communication is key even in a drunken states. And speed of message is vital, we can't have 1 person unable to easily talk to everyone else. I have seen it in combat in a-stan, and I have seen it in combat in EvE. It doesn't matter your playing field communication is key. Comm chatter even if BSing shows you are doing okay and nothing is wrong. In EvE you have one guy typing important messages no one reads that, boom dead. This is one of the reasons why SC's delayed communication will never work, speed of message is just as important as the message itself.

 

[Derkerter]

TL;DR version because I'm hopped up on Nyquil

A captain should be charismatic, loyal, logical, and aware. Honestly, an Eve veteran would be good here, especially if they flew capital or squad command. They need to be able to both Macro and micro, but focus on the Macro. I personally believe there should be some form of test to this, like a google docs form, before someone who is not a capital ship owner can use a cap ship.

Crewmen. I'm splitting this into 4 groups.
Sub-commanders. These people are in charge of divisions such as guns (split based on ship design), engine room, shield, scanners, etc. they are to do the majority of the micro. They need the same qualifications in general as the captain, but able to lead and be lead.
Wing commanders: See above, but they are in charge of fighter squadrons.
Wingmen: Follows wing commanders. Quick thinking, self-sustaining, and thinks for the sake of the group as a whole.
Crew members: Able to manage themselves appropriately, take orders, and follow the rules of silence.

Rules of silence: Captain has full override. He can talk whenever he feels is appropriate to issue commands. Commanders: Silent at most times. Freedom to talk to members, but needs to pay close attention for captain commands. Crewmen: Only report if absolutely needed. Wingmen and Wing command: Split into separate comms if need be since there will be a lot of chatter for fighter wing op

Secret edit: This is for during-operation. In casual non-op people should still respect their superiors, but the comms silence rules don't apply unless alarm sounds.

 

[NKato]

This is one of the reasons why SC's delayed communication will never work, speed of message is just as important as the message itself.

Delayed communication over the Spectrum, not inside the ship, buddy. The lore states that any spectrum messages will take time to reach its destination according to the galactic data propagation model - that is to say, information will not leave the solar system until the comm drone leaves the Relay Station, goes through a jump point, and transmits that data to the data relay on the other side.

Why would CIG ever want to implement a time delay to communication mechanisms for a single-ship crew being able to talk to each other?

 

[Wolf Lord Caldersson]

Delayed communication over the Spectrum, not inside the ship, buddy. The lore states that any spectrum messages will take time to reach its destination according to the galactic data propagation model - that is to say, information will not leave the solar system until the comm drone leaves the Relay Station, goes through a jump point, and transmits that data to the data relay on the other side.

Why would CIG ever want to implement a time delay to communication mechanisms for a single-ship crew being able to talk to each other?

I was talking fleet to fleet communications during that time, apologies just got done with a 6km run a bit winded atm. If one cap fleet tries to call another cap fleet for reinforcements and there is a delay, it could mean life or death. If you were in discord its instantaneously done allowing your chances at survival to be higher. It is just reinforcing the idea that discord is and will always be superior to SC comms, until delayed comms is nullified. They are going to need to make a very very heavy benefits to use SC comms. I can't think of anything they could offer that would nullify this difference.

 

[NKato]

I was talking fleet to fleet communications during that time, apologies just got done with a 6km run a bit winded atm. If one cap fleet tries to call another cap fleet for reinforcements and there is a delay, it could mean life or death. If you were in discord its instantaneously done allowing your chances at survival to be higher. It is just reinforcing the idea that discord is and will always be superior to SC comms, until delayed comms is nullified. They are going to need to make a very very heavy benefits to use SC comms. I can't think of anything they could offer that would nullify this difference.

Well, CIG has said that it's possible that they will be making org-wide communications be FTL, and lore-breaking for the sake of gameplay. That means org fleets should not have any problems communicating with each other, if they are in different systems. That shouldn't be an issue.

However, the point of this thread is to focus specifically on captain and crew, not the fleet. I want to engage people in TEST on the line of thinking required to maintain a crew.

 

[maynard]

Well, CIG has said that it's possible that they will be making org-wide communications be FTL, and lore-breaking for the sake of gameplay.

we already have org-wide FTL comms, it's called Discord

I want access controls for crew members so that, for instance, a gunner can't open the cargo hatch and dump all the ammo

because, you know, spais

 

[thedeadlybutter]

On my Tali (and I think many ships in general), you'll have a specific set of jobs for differenent scenarios, split by primary and secondary

Primary jobs on my ship would be bombardier, gunner, pilot

However when shit hits the fan (eg: boarding attempt, fire, whatever) everyone will have a secondary job ready to respond to that. Otherwise it'll be chaos as everyone tries to figure out wtf to do.

I wouldn't expect top notch performance, just a good effort. It takes me weeks sometimes before I get really good at a game, I expect star citizen to take even longer with all of the complexity this game offers

 

[TheZekk]

I plan to captain my idris like a mini guild. With group officers and members free to do their roles.

The plan is that people will do the role they have the most fun with, and in doing so become good at it.

In times of battle I expect comms silence and seriousness, but most of the time it won't matter I figure.

I still need more info before I decide the exacts for idris crew command, but the fighter wing will be led by a single squad commander. Mixing info coming from the ship with their situational awareness

 

[chimpdaddy]

I am personally struggling with the concept of crewed ships...and maybe because that I have never played a game that employs this before. How does one get enough real people interested in sitting at their computer on another players ship. I guess I have always played as someone in control of my direction and gameplay while joining others in Raids, team play, etc... And I need a situation where I have to shut down when I want to because of family (that means wife) cutting playing time short. I can't seem to envision myself sitting in another players ship and enjoying that...and that may be because I haven't done enough research on the mechanics of it or I am just too old...can anyone enlighten me as to why this will work?

 

[KingNerd]

 

[Schmunkel]

I am curious how the NPC crew will perform as I see a lot of ships having a mix of actual humans and NPC's.

 

[COUGARHUNTER]

If anyone is looking for crewman I can't wait to do this. I was in too many Arm

I am personally struggling with the concept of crewed ships...and maybe because that I have never played a game that employs this before. How does one get enough real people interested in sitting at their computer on another players ship. I guess I have always played as someone in control of my direction and gameplay while joining others in Raids, team play, etc... And I need a situation where I have to shut down when I want to because of family (that means wife) cutting playing time short. I can't seem to envision myself sitting in another players ship and enjoying that...and that may be because I haven't done enough research on the mechanics of it or I am just too old...can anyone enlighten me as to why this will work?

I may be speaking for myself but I played ARMA for a long time in squadrons where they would have odd jobs that don't exactly include any shooting of the enemy and I found it very enjoyable. Just being in a realistic squad with orders being given and taken and figuring challenging things out together was extremely fun to me. Granted, I didn't play like this 24/7, but as someone who doesn't have much income to be spent on this game, I don't have many ships of my own, and I would love to be on a multi-crew ship, doing my part, and can see the fun in it. I'm excited and if anyone needs a crewman should definitely PM me!

 

[Myre]

*points to first and only series of Firefly*

 

[SlowFuse]

I'm excited to see how all this plays out. My big hope is that some smaller crews in our org meld well together and get really good at it, so they can share experience and drive others to do well too.

I'm concerned that multi-crew will be a big revolving door of confusion and frustration, as everyone changes positions and ships like the ADD society we are.

I see myself being solo most of the time (or in wings of Org players) and occasionally joining in on multi-crew ops. Sort of like the MMO raid mentality, where you grind your life away a big chunk of the time, and then group up for challenging content and learn to work well in those hours.