View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMD-t1OjGys
It definitely sounds to me they are striving for the kinds of functionality I have been hoping for. They specifically mentioned at time index 18:25 on, they are looking at fire teams being able to act like teams, with some NPC's taking cover and providing cover fire while others advance. They did not answer the question of whether PC controlled NPCs will come with the ability to assign these roles. Can you give specific instruction to an NPC marine to hold a position and have him automatically open a shield and slip behind a hall corner and tell others to advance in waves where they can target high and low? Can they go prone and have their comrades fire over them to hit Vanduul with waves of concentrated fire?
One thing is certain--Franchesco is committed to building AI where the NPC's do what makes sense. They are not going to stand in the open in a firefight, so at times it may be difficult in a fight to tell which are PCs and which are NPCs. That is COOL!
It is a key observation to note what Tony is saying at time index 28m, that there is no limit to how large a ship you can command with all AI crew. There is no doubt in my mind that wealthy players will be flying Javelins and Bengals essentially alone, and inviting their friends to come aboard and take any position they like. Some players will be spending thousands of dollars a month to play this way, and if they are playing pirates, that will directly affect everyone in the game. You should count on this. Cooperation and collaboration is still going to be the most effective and powerful form of play, since AI is less effective than real players, but wealthy players who want to fly a Javelin up your ass will be able to do that.
I was a Fleet Commander at Star Wars Combine for the Ailon Nova Guard, and later a Battle Group Commander and a Task Force Commander for The Wraiths. My primary job in both organizations was training thousands of NPCs to fight. Based upon that experience, and what has been said about SCs intentions, I think people are going to want to have, keep and train as many NPCs as they can reasonably afford. You can steal ships, but you have to pay for NPCs. Without the NPCs, you will be extremely limited as to what you can do, even what you can reasonably fly. It seems to me you really will want several pilots flying escort over your StarG when you go on that collection run, and several marine NPCs aboard in the event you are boarded. You can steal the StarG, but you have to pay the NPCs. You can get friends to collaborate with you, but you will need to pay them for their time and it seems to me obvious, NPCs will require less pay and stake in the equity of an op, than players will want.
No affirmation that NPCs will grow in their skill abilities, but I hope that is true. If it is, managing NPCs will all by itself become a true art form. If you can recruit a level 1 gunner for your Sentinel and turn him into a level 5 gunner by flying anti-pirate missions, people are going to do this. Right now I am guessing this is the way SC is headed. For some it is going to be a magnificent and expensive hobby. Regardless of how you spend though, the most rewarding parts of the game are going to be based upon player to player relationships and interactions. Paying big bucks is not going to give a better experience, IMHO.
