Suggestions that just make sense

[robochibi]

- Beacon Maps
Theyre really should be a way to see how the beacons are connected to each other in a sector or maybe this could just be a cheap augmentation on your ship. The last game I played I had drone control, full cloaking, fully upgraded weapons, full crew and suffice it to say i was kicking the flagships ass. it made its first escape and I went to grab repairs before facing it a second time but because of a slight miscalculation at how the final sector was constructed I managed to not be able to get to the flagship in time... This should just not happen, if the player loses in this kind of setup it should be because they lost to the flagship a second time because a repair dock just wasnt in range, not because the star map is constructed in a totally blind fashion to the player. Bottom line is the player should be able to weigh the gambles and risks based on how the beacons are placed without playing a guessing game as to which ones are

- Assigning roles to crewmembers
The player should be able to assign roles to the crewmembers (ex. shields guy, navigator, weapons etc.) so that if two or more crewmembers are in the same location than the one who is assigned the role will take priority. It would also help to assign engineer roles to those crewmembers who do nothing but go after repairs and, in this way, they would work like repair drones. A menu where you can set priorities as to which systems should be fixed first and the ability to turn the AI on or off as needed. So it could work similar to this, whenever you click on a crew and give him a direct order than his AI shuts off, when you turn it back on than he will go back into his usual role of manning the system he is assigned or repairing systems as needed. Perhaps some of that might be a lil too complicated, but at least the first suggestion of them taking priority of a console when in the same room should be present. There could also be penalties/rewards of assigning a role.. ex. someone assigned a navigator role levels up quicker on the nav console but levels up slower on repairs. A warrior class could level up faster at combat but slower on system consoles.

- Having autofire on/off for specific weapons.
Maybe this is possible but I cant figure it out. You should be allowed, for example to set ion weapons on autofire and manually select hull damage weapons for another. this is useful for capturing a ship.. you dont want to kill or injure crewmates so you just pelt it with ion weapons with the option of shooting a laser manually to disrupt a particular system. in this way, the weapons will be fully charged and ready but others on autofire. So far, it seems like i have to power off a weapon for it to not be affected by autofire.. correct me if im wrong

[Gorlom]

For the beacon maps issue: have you checked the options menu? I thought they added a function in there for that. It's turned off by default, so you might have missed it.

So far, it seems like i have to power off a weapon for it to not be affected by autofire.. correct me if I'm wrong

select the weapon as if you are about to select a new target for it. move the cruiser to empty space and right click to cancel targeting.

without a target the weapon won't fire but will still charge full and be ready to fire when you want it to fire.

[robochibi]

Nice, I didnt experiment with it too much so I wasnt sure and yeh I did find the option for beacon maps
Why dont they have that as a default!

[Jephrey]

I would also like to see #2 and #3 implemented. Perhaps for #2 (assigning roles) the player could double-click a crewman while he is at a workstation. That would mean "this is the guy who should be doing this job, whenever he is in the room.". You could manually change it by having that guy leave the room, then assign someone else and double-click.them.

I'll take it a step further: double-click on the workstation, and the assigned crewman (if any) walks to it, replaces anybody else there, and starts working. This would eliminate a lot of tedium.

I disagree about #1 - I think judging the map and predicting routes is a good part of the gameplay. I would still play if the links were visible tho.

[boa13]

Nice, I didnt experiment with it too much so I wasnt sure and yeh I did find the option for beacon maps
Why dont they have that as a default!

Because they prefer the game is played without this option. They like the added risk and excitement.

[zarakon]

Per-weapon autofire would be great.

I want my ion cannon to keep firing, but nothing else!

[Gorlom]

Then untarget the other weapons you lazy bum

j/k about the bum part

[robochibi]

Ok so autofire per weapon- there's a workaround for it so no big deal right.
And beacon maps can be toggled in options so once again, no big deal

Now for the crew roles, since this game is so structured around manipulating your crew than there should be a way to assign them stations and make sure they are tacked on to that station if they happen to be in the same room as another crew member..

[Gorlom]

There is no way currently to force one crew member to be at the console as standard. but you can always do this:
step 1) pause the game,
step 2) select the crew member(s) that are not supposed to be at the console,
step 3) give them an order to move to another room and then
step 4) without unpausing give them order to return to the room they are currently in.

That way they will move away from the console and let the other person in the room man the controls, without leaving the room.

[robochibi]

Yes I know how you could do it but it should be more streamlined since crew members become specific to their roles as they level up.