Crew Bar in the trailers and screenshots.

I just wanted to let you know that my first instinct on reading the topic title was that there was a hidden bar/lounge area for the crew that would be in game. A place to relax and chat with your alien associates. Possibly with an arcade machine where you can play SC1.

I don't think this WAS in the works, but it totally should be now.

True true, or it could be like the Easter egg of the Final Fantasy II Developer's Room -- However I like the thought of them utilizing it as a rest area for in game NPC captains as well.

Thanks for the feedback on this.

In the old SC2 game   every crew felt VERY valuable.      They were represented by DOTS for the shuttle.  (those green bubbles).   

You definitely felt more like   OMG   One of my guys died feeling.

The sense of   "every green ball lives matter" feeling. 

When you're in super melee or space combat  the crew were square dots.  and again those were very important especially when you were using the Syreen Penetrator that steals crew from other ships and you had to go out and collect them.

And the Mauler ship that fed crew into the furnace.

Yeah, I mentioned this in another thread somewhere, but it's important enough to me to chime in again. Ron hit it right on the nose - the dots made each crew member feel valuable. I disliked letting any die at any time for any reason. And was pretty impressed/weirded out by the doog. 

When it comes to crew "Dots" I agree with Ron on how they're all valuable but it gave me a different idea...

If the game has an adjustable difficulty level, maybe some of the following could be added in for added realism

Crew losses via events outside of battle/exploration

IE

Unlucky Redshirt #1 falls out of the shower & breaks his/her neck

Micro asteroid penetrates the hull killing Redshirt #2 during a shield malfunction

Family A just gave birth to their child, one or both parents needs to be re-assigned

Repair crew accidentally spaced when the airlock they were repairing failed.

Food poisoning causes half the crew to be unavailable for X number of days

Pirate attack

Etc

Or gains

Lifepod(s) detected and rescued -- Possibly opening a mission to open diplomatic relations with a new race.

Stowaways after trading at certain locations

Recruited Mercenaries at random minor star bases

I do like the idea of events, discoveries, etc, resulting in crew loss and I also (while it may make things a lot more difficult) kind of like the idea of having them not be entirely just "health" in terms of replacing. 

Like the bonuses you mentioned for finding lifepods etc.

I think there should also be bonuses for if you decide to spare other ships, diplomatic stuff, etc. Maybe you can inspire people to join you in conversation even if you don't get another ship about it, you might be able to get a crew member or two.

But it's probably best to not have to think about it all the time, I'd rather roleplay without having to worry about min maxing my ships.  

https://forums.starcontrol.com/474233/page/1/#replies

Noobs need to read the forum.

Also, dots for crew was cuorebrave's original comment back in days when we had forum not looking like a nuclear blast at plum jam factory.

Yeah, I think all of us are pro dots and have been making the case for them for months.  I can't think of a single post where somebody was in favour of the lifebar. 

If you guys have ever played Zelda  (the very first game),    the "Hearts" were like the Dots/Orbs.     Each Heart  was valuable.    There was an emphasis on maintaining perfect health or life.   Gaining new hearts and restoring heart was a big deal.

With health/life BAR.  it just feels like a gas tank or meter bar.  You can't realize gauge the importance of anything- you just had to 'maintain' the health bar.   which feels a bit lifeless and those poor crew members!  Every member matters in space.  (except if you're a Mauler, then you throw your crew into the furnace for energy!)

^ I'm glad you're on our side. I'm sure Stardock will listen and present health bar is just a placeholder. 

I do like the look of the bar with the rest of the art style. I think dots could be too "busy". Instead, I propose to keep the bar and add a number of crewmembers to the bar. I think it would look best if it overlayed into the bar, but the height of the bar would need to extend to allow readability. Otherwise, a number next to the bar could suffice.

Here is a quick mock-up of what I imagine, but I know a different text font/color would look better:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8DkihHr8d3eWUtWVVlrZ0tPaW8/view?usp=sharing

I dislike the number overlay, and don't think it accomplishes the sense of feel that we're looking for. Little people or little dots was "silly" but really felt like each thing was an individual. The compromise that seems "ok if not great" for me, is having the bar separated into sections that each represent one crew member. 

Yes, the number in the bar is the same thing as the bar.  Programmer game design.  It's individualizing the crew members in some way that really does make a psychological difference.  And if crew members are going to be a resource in SCO as they were in SC2 that is just another reason for some type of individual icon even if they are just dots like the original.

In SC crew members were a general resource used in different ways, even to represent energy for the Mauler Cannon.  The Mauler Cannon is an SFB weapon (in SFB it is called... a Mauler Cannon) and if you know it from SFB the way it consumed crew just makes you smile knowing where they got this from:-)  The crew were not really crew in SC, they were a general resource that might represent anything including "reserve power" as they did on the Druge (those "consumed crew" are SFB batteries being discharged).

I also would be pro-dot.

That said, I'm curious if we couldn't have both crew and hull points. Star Trek: Armada did that and I thought it added some interesting depth and innovative gameplay mechanics. The basic idea was that more crew = faster repairs, no hull = ship explodes, and no crew = ship goes derelict. I'm not saying that's exactly how we should implement it here but I like the idea.

I also am very much in favor of Pyro411's idea of losing or gaining crew via events. It's a little Star Trek-y, which I like, and reminds me of the events in SCI. 

I've brought up the same points before as well. I'm all in favor of expanding on the hit point dynamics for ship health. Having just a crew value to represent ship health seems woefully antiquated. Even back in the day, I thought the crew count serving as a ship health indicator made no sense and was probably one of my few criticisms of Star Control. A ship doesn't just explode because all its crew is dead; it explodes because its physical structure has been beaten to a pulp.

Your examples of how hull and crew affect one another in Star Trek Armada were similar to what I mentioned in an earlier thread. Perhaps hull damage causes the ship to slow down or fire more slowly, while having enough crew intact could provide you with gradual hull repair, or something to that effect.

Not saying every ship should have the same hit point metrics either. It would be terrific if we could see different ship metrics for different species. Perhaps some species have a regenerative shield with a lower hull value or crew count, while another has a huge armor value that reduces damage to the crew and/or hull. Perhaps another species could be a biological/organic ship with a life meter instead of a crew count or hull value. I'm sure with a little bit of playtesting, these dynamics could be decently balanced.

Action gameplay has evolved a lot in 25 years. There's an opportunity now to mix it up and expand on it, and not make every ship have the same boring crew count meter.

It's retro, that's how SC2 ship health mechanics worked and WE LOVED IT THAT WAY.

I'd love that more than anything. Even if it's just a cosmetic feature. It would add a lot to ship/race personality.

Yeah, that's kind of what I was thinking. SCII's combat was deceptively mechanic rich but all ships took damage the exact same way. Having separate crew and hull allows you to potentially make that more interesting. You could have weapons which damage crew more than hull or visa-versa; you could have armor which gives damage reduction; you could have weapons which punch through or corrode armor; etc. Like you said, this would need to be balanced and this might end up being far more complex than what the devs have time for. 

Probably some ships will only have "one" crew, technically - a single pilot fighter, or an organic vessel, an integrated intelligent computer, or so on. 

The main thing for me is I like the sense of personality and urgency you get from worrying about an intelligent being dying. You want to save them, and use it differently than when it just feels like a "resource" to manage. 

Hmm maybe instead of a crew of 1, a scan-able crew of 1 for certain organic based ships like Kosh's in Babylon 5.  -- For a way of shrouding ship strength from us during the game if they're an enemy ship

That would suck, 'cause I wanna buy and sell people. I also wanna space some of them and use others as an ammunition. 

I think those should all be options, for you space war criminals out there. 

I think having the options makes my decision to not indulge in them feel meaningful, and not just default hehehe 

Just no taking up trading Orion slave girls or else your ship may no longer be yours after a while.