Pilot Not Limited to Captain

[ikej]

I hope that it will be possible in the future for the someone who is not the captain to be the pilot. In the crew I play with we have someone who is extremely good as the pilot but cannot play pilot because I am usually the captain and play engineer. Normally I would not mind making him the captain, but since I've spent money on customizing my ship I want to use it and the only way to do that is to be captain. What I am getting at is that I think that it should be possible for me to stay as the captain and play engineer while someone who is not captain can play pilot.

[Richard LeMoon]

No.

Used to be able to. It was removed because of second pilot trolling. Best thing that happened in a while. Now if they will only limit gunners to what the captain requests, we will be golden.

Also, it is a bad idea to not be at the helm and pilot as captain. You absolutely need to talk to your fellow captains.

[BlackenedPies]

The ability to be a pilot in a crew slot was removed some time ago for important reasons. Captains need to be able to communicate in match using the C key. Trying to talk to your ally doesn't help when they're an engineer. The captain is able to use the "B" target command which needs to be used by the pilot. The captain chooses the ship so if you're not playing with your friends then being a non-pilot captain is a turn off to the whole lobby.

I get that you'd like to use the customized ship but if you're not playing with friends then this wouldn't be an option. There's simply no benefit to having a pilot in the crew slot and pilot crews/non pilot captains were a big problem in games. Seeing that your ally had an engi captain and pilot crew was disheartening and caused many to leave lobbies. Every opportunity I get I remind non-pilot captains to please switch to the pilot class because the captain slot is for the pilot.

Here's what I recommend. Email feedback@musegames.com and explain the situation. They can send your friend the item codes. The devs are friendly and will help.

[ikej]

What do you mean by second pilot trolling and limiting the gunner like would be horible limits like these just suck the fun out of a game like this. I do communicate with my fellow captains, you dont need to be at the helm to do that. The set up i use works well for my crew and if i already have a crew member who is a good pilot and i spent money on my ship why retrain half my crew or not get to use my ship. The problem with having my pilot friend captain is he has no way of communicating we can only talk through skype and he has to use his phone for that, he has no pc mic or money to buy one.

[BlackenedPies]

Richard means that players used to be able to join a crew as pilot to troll. It was also common for someone accidentally join an in-progress match as pilot in a crew slot. The game system makes it impossible to switch classes without a workaround so crews would be stuck with an extra pilot. If someone decided to join your crew as pilot there's nothing you can do. By limiting gunners he means that you can't have two gunners join a ship. Without at least 2 engineers you stand no chance and it ruins the game. Second gunners can hijack the ship and force captains to leave. If a captain wants two gunners then fine, but they don't. It sucks the fun out of the game.

Everyone liked the change because of experience dealing with those problems. On an individual basis it wouldn't be a problem to let you have a pilot crew, but overall it creates too much conflict. It won't be changed because it was an important fix.

[GurasOguras]

In short: playing with captain on the crew slot is ok, but only  if you play with friends. for public matches and matchmaking random crew it just can't be allowed.  some people doesn't even know they're  trolling.

[Schwalbe]

horible limits like these just suck the fun out of a game like this

At first I reacted with my typical, angry, foul-mouthed rant.
Then I deleted all of it.

Instead I'll post this:

[ikej]

Okay i can see everyones points, but what about a system where if while you were setting up your crew in the main menue like before you even start the match making process it would be possible to have pilot crew b/c at that point, if im not mistaken, randoms cant join, but once you enter a lobby you cant switch to a crew pilot and you cant join a game in progress as a crew pilot. Personally i think that would be a solution that benifits everyone it combats the same problems that the current system does yet allows for crews to be set up how a premade team opperates.

[Richard LeMoon]

I think a better option would be to give the Captains of the ships the ability to use some of their crews' purchased items. Then your friend could pilot and use your items.

Though, that might be a little too complicated as well.

[ikej]

Maybe not just items but whole ships might be easier like have a drop down menu where the ships name is and have all the crews ships there, but that still leaves the issue that if i let my pilot captain he had no way of communicating

[Atruejedi]

I miss allowing a pilot class in the crew slot. It would be beneficial for a good pilot who lacks communication equipment to fly the ship in the crew slot so someone WITH a microphone can coordinate with the team ships from the captain's slot. I tried to do this earlier this week with a good, silent captain, but we were unable and I was sad.

[DaOrks]

horible limits like these just suck the fun out of a game like this

At first I reacted with my typical, angry, foul-mouthed rant.
Then I deleted all of it.

Instead I'll post this:

+1 for calling out the heretic. Doing the Emperors work son.

[Schwalbe]

horible limits like these just suck the fun out of a game like this

At first I reacted with my typical, angry, foul-mouthed rant.
Then I deleted all of it.

Instead I'll post this:

+1 for calling out the heretic. Doing the Emperors work son.

Says filthy xeno. :p

[EXTERMINATUS INTENSIFIES]

[Byron Cavendish]

While the enemies of the Emperor still draw breath, there can be no peace.

[nanoduckling]

Gunner captains used to be a very occasional thing, mostly for training purposes, since typically only the gunner or pilot can have the necessary situational awareness to co-ordinate with your ally. Pilot should usually mean captain, because gunner captains add a lag between decision and movement, and engineer captains have that plus the engineer having way to much other stuff to think about.

That said they changed it because trolls. Also because some players decided they wanted to fly certain ships, but didn't want to pilot or captain them, often without a clue if the ship was suitable or not because achievements. I would say if you want the responsibility of picking ship configuration then you are also taking on the responsibility of making that ship work which means you are managing it. If you pick the ship you are the de facto captain and I've no problem with the mechanics enforcing that.

As far as doing it for customization reasons, I'm probably not the guy to ask about that. I will say whoever is captain should be in command and feel like the ship is theirs, and having some other players customizations wouldn't appeal to me. I think if you want to be on your ship, then it needs to be yours with you are in command.

I will say this is not going to be a long term problem for you. Outside of training up a new pilot no one uses gunner captains, because pilot captains are just more effective. If you want to stay competitive as you improve in the game either your friend is going to need to get in a place where they can communicate, or you are going to have to take the helm.

It would be nice to have ships restricted to exactly one pilot and at most one gunner, maybe with 'vet' level players allowed to override it by unanimous vote on a ship to let them nerf themselves.