Variety/Replayability in the Crew Experience

[Audie Murphy]

So, I've been playing for a little while now, and while I'm still pretty green, I have noticed something about being a crew member on a ship.

It's always the same. Fun. REALLY, REALLY FUN...but it's always the same. Piloting has lots of variety, because the variance in the different ship hulls, how big they are, how fast they are, where their guns are mounted, and what those guns are, influences how you fly in a fundamental way.

But on the crew, you have your three roles: Main Engineer, Secondary Engineer/Gunner, Main Gunner, and no matter what ship you're on, those roles stay the same. More over, the experience of performing them stays essentially the same, too. So, while piloting a Squid is a really different experience from piloting a Spire, being an engineer on either of those ships is pretty much the same.

Now, like I said, doing those jobs is FUN. REALLY RUN. But there's no variety like there is for pilots. Every ship has the same set of vital components which need to be repaired in the same order of priority.

Now, as to what causes this, and what could be done to help increase variety among the crew roles, I don't really know. What I do know is that I don't seem to be the only one who's noticed this.

Someone in an earlier thread suggested ship-specific subsystems, which would be one way to add much more variety to crewing. My idea was to add ships that had bigger or smaller crews than the 4-man standard. Or perhaps instead just modify existing hulls. The squid could very much be crewed by 3 ppl and the galleon is more than large enough that a 5 man crew would still have its hands full. What if loading heavy guns with ammo required a bit more micro-management from the crew? That could be really fun, because the engineer and the gunner would have to work together to bring the weapon to bear.

Of course, I understand that implementing something like those ideas and balancing it would be really hard and that Muse already has its hands full with Adventure Mode (WHICH I AM SO LOOKING FORWARD TO), but I think that GOIO would gain a lot of replayability by offering more variety when it comes to playing an engineer or a gunner.

[Coldcurse]

and so he became a dutchmen ;P

[N-Sunderland]

Engineering is pretty much the same on the Squid and the Spire? That couldn't be further from the truth. Each ship requires a whole different set of skills and strategies from the main engineer. The Squid, for example, requires extremely quick decision-making and knowledge of all the shortcuts on it. The Galleon requires the engi to know exactly when to switch between the hull and the left gun, while also working to keep the balloon in shape. The Spire requires a lot of patience. The Pyra requires perfect judgement of when it's safe to leave the hull to fix the engines or fire the guns.

I also have to disagree that five people would be a safe amount for the Galleon. Think of how powerful it is now. Now think of it with an extra engineer constantly buffing the side guns, and going up to help the main engi when needed. It's a fun idea in principle, but in reality all of the ships were designed to be suited for four players, and changing the number of crew would simply be unworkable.

(Just to be clear, I respect your suggestions fully, I'm just respectfully disagreeing)

[Audie Murphy]

(Just to be clear, I respect your suggestions fully, I'm just respectfully disagreeing)

No worries, man. I just wanted throw my thoughts out there and start a discussion. I know I'm still pretty green, so I wouldn't be surprised if this has already been discussed.

I also have to disagree that five people would be a safe amount for the Galleon. Think of how powerful it is now. Now think of it with an extra engineer constantly buffing the side guns, and going up to help the main engi when needed. It's a fun idea in principle, but in reality all of the ships were designed to be suited for four players, and changing the number of crew would simply be unworkable.

I understand that the galleon is already powerful, and that something would likely have to be changed to balance out the buff of an additional crew member. Also keep in mind that team sizes would stay the same, so having a 5 man galleon on your team will restrict your team's choices when it comes to their other ships. So not only will there be more variety crewing different ships, there will be more variety in team compositions, as now there's a choice between having a few big ships or lots of smaller ships. Hard to balance? Absolutely. Worth it for the fun factor? I think so.

Still, it's only one possible suggestion. I also really like the idea of ship sub-systems. Not only would it make engie's roles more exciting and varied, it would give each of the ships a bit more character.

Engineering is pretty much the same on the Squid and the Spire? That couldn't be further from the truth. Each ship requires a whole different set of skills and strategies from the main engineer. The Squid, for example, requires extremely quick decision-making and knowledge of all the shortcuts on it. The Galleon requires the engi to know exactly when to switch between the hull and the left gun, while also working to keep the balloon in shape. The Spire requires a lot of patience. The Pyra requires perfect judgement of when it's safe to leave the hull to fix the engines or fire the guns.

The way I'm seeing it, extremely quick decision-making, knowledge of shortcuts, knowing when to switch between repairing and gunning, patience, and good judgement are all qualities that you have to have to be a good engineer on all of the ships. Some require a bit more in one area than others, but I've only seen trivial differences. It's still fun, but I'm beginning to lose interest in being a main engineer because every game I've played as one has been the same thing. Repair the hull, repair the balloon, repair the engine, put out fires, and if that's all done, man a gun. Every game. Every ship.

[HamsterIV]

Even on the same ship type engineering for different captains can be a completely different experience. Some captains will try and micromanage you, others will not say a word. Some will ask you for strange ammo choices, and others will run with a standard build every time.

[Audie Murphy]

Even on the same ship type engineering for different captains can be a completely different experience. Some captains will try and micromanage you, others will not say a word. Some will ask you for strange ammo choices, and others will run with a standard build every time.

That's true, but I don't think that drastically changes the way you approach your role the way that the huge differences in maneuverability between ships affects the way a pilot approaches his role, or even how gun layouts and choices affect how a gunner or gungineer approaches his.

[Mattilald Anguisad]

Actualy every gunner aroaches every gun diffirently than the other or even the same veapon on a diffirent spot on a diffirent ship.

Being a hull engineer is nearly allways the same, unless you are in the Engineer's Goulag (aka. Spire). Altho you can allways fidn new things to learn or to improve (like I learned yesterday with QWERTY that you can repair armor on junker from bottom deck O_O ).