Your crew is not your character

[Kieve]

I've seen a few requests for enhancements to the crew members - more skill tiers, more in-depth masteries, equipement options...
Honestly, I do like them all. They're great suggestions. But I think these requests are missing an important point.
Your crew is not your character. Your ship is.

Think about it. It's not your crew going through each level (sector/node), gaining new equipment, better upgrades, more stat points - oh sure, they can learn to man a particular station better, of the few there are, but their advance is severely limited in comparison to your ship. The ship is the real character of this "roguelike." Your ship gains the direct benefits of the scrap you acquire, new weapons, augments, ever-stronger systems and the power to support them.

The crew come and go. You gain new members, or lose some through random events. Failed boarding parties. An unlucky hit. The ship carries on, and while you may "lose" if your entire crew is slain, you can reach the final boss with an entirely different party from the one you started out with.



...Maybe this has already been pointed out, I just figured it was an interesting talking point for discussion.

[Tuesday]

Thank.
You.

[Kieve]

Thank.
You.

You're.
Welcome?


Honestly I'm not trying to "talk down" to anyone, if that's the impression I give. I actually really like the idea of expanding the crew options a bit - particularly the "synergy" suggestion for multiple skill masteries. It just seems to me most of these requests gloss over the above fact: the "character" of this roguelike(-like) is the ship itself.

[Tuesday]

Thank.
You.

You're.
Welcome?


Honestly I'm not trying to "talk down" to anyone, if that's the impression I give. I actually really like the idea of expanding the crew options a bit - particularly the "synergy" suggestion for multiple skill masteries. It just seems to me most of these requests gloss over the above fact: the "character" of this roguelike(-like) is the ship itself.

I agreed with what you said, didn't feel talked down to.

I'd like to throw out there, that the FTL team had some crew enhancing ideas in the XML that weren't used:

Code: Select all

<!--OTHER IDEAS -- 
<augBlueprint name="PERSONAL_TELEPORTER">            requires a teleporter system to be working???
	<title>Personal Teleporters</title>
	<desc>Crew on an enemy ship that is jumping or being destroyed will be automatically recalled.</desc>
	<cost>150</cost>
	<rarity>4</rarity>
	<stackable>false</stackable>
</augBlueprint> 

<augBlueprint name="FLIGHT_SUITS">  
	<title>Integrated Flight Suits</title>
	<desc>Crews take half damage when in rooms without oxygen</desc>
	<cost>80</cost>
	<rarity>2</rarity>
	<value>0.5</value>
	<stackable>false</stackable>
</augBlueprint>

<augBlueprint name="SHIP_SEALING">
	<title>Improved Ship Sealing</title>
	<desc>O2 will deplete at 50% speed when the Oxygen system is unpowered.</desc>
	<cost>100</cost>
	<rarity>2</rarity>
	<value>0.5</value>
	<stackable>false</stackable>
</augBlueprint>

<augBlueprint name="MISSILE_REPLICATOR">
	<title>Missile Replication System</title>
	<desc>The first missile/bomb weapon fired after a jump will consume no explosive</desc>
	<cost>100</cost>
	<rarity>3</rarity>
	<stackable>false</stackable>
</augBlueprint>
	
<augBlueprint name="INTERNAL_AI">
	<title>Improved Internal AI</title>
	<desc>Your interior drones (repair and battle) are 20 percent more effective.</desc>    maybe they just move at normal human speed
	<cost>100</cost>
	<rarity>3</rarity>
	<value>0.2</value>
	<stackable>true</stackable>
</augBlueprint>

<augBlueprint name="EXTERNAL_AI">
	<title>Improved Internal AI</title>
	<desc>Your exterior drones (defense and combat) are 20 percent more effective.</desc>
	<cost>100</cost>
	<rarity>3</rarity>
	<value>0.2</value>
	<stackable>true</stackable>
</augBlueprint>




<!----PROBABLY NOT:---

<augBlueprint name="ENCODED_DISTRESS">
	<title>Encrypted Distress Signal</title>
	<desc>Your distress signal will be more likely to be picked up by friendly ships.</desc>
	<cost>100</cost>
	<rarity>3</rarity>
	<stackable>false</stackable>
</augBlueprint>
<augBluepring name="TELEPORTER_PREIGNITE">
	<title>Teleporter Pre-igniter</title>
	<desc>The teleporter is made immediately available after an FTL jump.</desc>
	<cost>130</cost>
	<rarity>3</rarity>
	<stackable>false</stackable>
</augBlueprint>
<augBlueprint name="HEAT_RESIST"> 
	<title>Heat Resistant Suits</title>
	<desc>Reduces damage crew takes from fire by 50%</desc>
	<cost>70</cost>
	<rarity>2</rarity>
	<value>0.5</value>
	<stackable>false</stackable>
</augBlueprint>
<augBlueprint name="BEAM_PIERCE">  
	<title></title>
	<desc>Gives all beam weapons 1 shield piercing</desc>
	<cost>80</cost>
	<rarity>2</rarity>
	<value>1</value>
	<stackable>false</stackable>
</augBlueprint>

[AngleWyrm]

Usually I name the pilot, and treat him as my avatar. This includes moments where I've lost my pilot in combat and felt like the game was over.

[actionhero112]

It depends on how you treat the game. Sometimes I like to play the role of captain over the ship. More important than the view of the game is how it makes you feel, and this game makes me feel like the captain of a space fairing vessel. Not like a ship. I find it easier to relate to a crew anyways, and immerse myself from that perspective. The crew could possibly have emotions and other relatable traits, while the ship is cold and inhuman.

Or possibly this is just me.

Just because your crew might not be the main character in your eyes, it does not mean the gameplay couldn't benefit from crew upgrades and augments.

[xdiesp]

You can have both, like my Kestrel being the USS Defiant with Sisko, Dax and Worf on board, but the game thinks differently as my Sisko learned when he was dumped for another rockman.

[thomsedavi]

What I love about this game is that it is one I had always thought I would like to make if I ever made games. So when I started playing it, I was a little disappointed that a lot of the crew elements I would have included were not present.

But...

I think this works to the game's advantage. The game I had in mind would have been too complicated, with the crew having different personalities and needing to eat and sleep and having phobias about certain aliens and the ability to train their aim and even making friends or enemies with other crew members.

The game as it is now is much better for being simpler. My version would have been like the more advanced levels of Civilisation, where you have sixteen cities and are trying to micro-monitor what's going on in them while also paying attention to the enemy. Even with good levels of automation, I still find it difficult to play through a whole game of civilisation.

I would welcome a couple of ways to modify the crew, but that's it. Tools for better disabling ship's systems and getting through doors. Different weapons and armour. Portable health packs so they can heal each other. The ability to lock themselves in a room in an alien ship. But I don't think the game suffers for focussing on the ship rather than the crew.

[xdiesp]

Thomsedavi, here's hope the devs ascend to stardom and put out some Super FTL with a hundred ppl-carrying ships and with personalities for each