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Crew management update - discussion


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Sorry if I got the wrong impression about your amount of play. Your first sentence, "After 1 month i just sign in what happening on forum, whats the next step in development. I see, nothing changed." sounded like you had joined a month ago, stopped playing, and then jumped back in, looked at one or two posts for some very specific features YOU happen to want, didn't see them, and then proceeded to bitch, moan and stamp your feet like an angry Child.

 

The fact is I took a two month hiatus from the game, and was astonished to see soooo many things different when I came back.  Land in battles, TP rules changed, smuggling, about 5 new ships including mortar mechanics. Just before I left there was the production buildings added, crew management in battle, and a bunch of other things I can't even remember now, so I think your way way way off base to say they haven't been making progress. These aren't spell casters able to summon code from their imaginations alone, writing good software is HARD, and takes TIME, to do it. 

 

I think with how ambitious this project is, and how small the development team is, they have done one hell of a job putting the core in, while trying to flesh out open world ideas and problems.

 

To your comment "But all of that 3 games developers just care about how to satisfy the players, they communicate with them, they try to keep them in game with thier patches, and they answer the players questions." As either ignorant, as in you haven't looked and participated enough to see, or blinded by unrealistic expectations and your own self importance.  I see Admin, the lead of the developers, who has over 1700 hours in game to show for how well he knows the players experience, posting in most active threads on this forum, and responding to reasonable comments and questions at least once a day. 

 

If your last couple of posts are any indications, I would not consider your comments reasonable. They are difficult to read, grammatically horrific, walls of text that lack any meaningful punctuation. Seem to offer no suggestions, and come across as just juvenile and illiterate rants, especially when you claim to speak for "most players" when talking about what is currently pissing you off.   Now if English is your second language, the grammar and punctuation is excusable, but I would suggest you slow down and put together a couple of concise points and ideas for solutions, rather than the all encompassing spew you currently seem to use.

 

I think with how ambitious this project is, and how small the development team is, they have done one hell of a job putting the core in, while trying to flesh out open world ideas and problems. The play is not there currently to hit mainstream, but early access sales seem to indicate that many people purchased, and never even tried the game, instead opting to wait for it to be more fleshed out.  With 300 hours in, I already have had my moneys worth of fun, considering it's was less than a mid range dinner out with the wife.

 

I also think your assumption that successful early access games all have a rising population needs one hell of a sample size to prove your case.  I can't imagine any early access game that people install to just check out, that has continuous growth through the entire early access phase.  ED comes to mind, and I know many people who enthusiastically started in that game, and ran out of interesting things to do in much fewer hours than this game.

 

So please show me one game in early access that has had continuous player participation growth over the course of 6 or so months, cause I would love to play a game that good.

Paragon,, World of Tanks, World of Warships, and so one. Many games have continous player base rising in early phase, and i think only they can be succesfull after. I made loads of suggestions in my posts, never get answer, never get any reflection.  For example from start i wanted teleport system like system implemented only some month ago. i bet they just lost at least half of the 7000 trial playerz, because they dont care about thier opinion about that, and forced the old system. Because they wanted players to feel the sea endless and huge. (Admin wrote something like that) Jeah, 45 min sailing for a battle, huge mistake.... Same happened with the repair system, Time after time they change it, and when they just made a no repair system in battles, like 70% of comments supported that, just look after that thread. It was really good, and realistic. Then they changed back and wrote something like: "we know most of u support the no repair system, but...".. Some month ago i saw a poll about most important changes. As i wrote i think diplomacy win, and the crew system they now implement was like last or before. These are just the examples hurt me most.  I see not any real communication, teamwork between developers and players here, u are a just a pure tester mate, and u cant change anything,, ur opinion doesnt count mate. When early acces started EU 1 was always full in the evening, some month ago it was like 1000+, and nowdays? I dont want to argue with u, time will tell, who is right.  Sorry for my english!

Edited by DrZoidberg
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What this means for you

  • This means that fleets could come back, but they will be based on your crew that you can manage and you will actually have to hire that crew paying for them 
  • This means that ship capture could come back (with limitations)
  • This also means that ships no longer will be teleported to outposts and players will have to get their captures to ports themselves
  • This also means that maintenance for heavy ships will go up dramatically as it should be
  • This also means that losing a first rate will cost you

What this means to me.

 

  • Fights will be more difficult to come by
  • Battle Campers will always have an advantage
  • Returning to battle will be a long laborious process limiting action
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What this means to me.

 

  • Fights will be more difficult to come by
  • Battle Campers will always have an advantage
  • Returning to battle will be a long laborious process limiting action

 

 

Actually on your third point it does not have to be - you can manage crew in the battle results screen. So if you sail out with less than your max available crew you can replenish crew in the screen. You can also use the medikits to regenerate crew.

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Someone said that CREW gets replenished automatically over time to your top permissible--in my case 650--without having to pay for it. Is that true? I have not found any automatic increase in my crew numbers. Am I doing something wrong, or am I missing something?

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found the same to be true, something is not working

 

Someone said that CREW gets replenished automatically over time to your top permissible--in my case 650--without having to pay for it. Is that true? I have not found any automatic increase in my crew numbers. Am I doing something wrong, or am I missing something?

found the same to be true, something is not working

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I understand the basic idea of the new Crew system, but am repeatedly perplexed by how it actually works out in practice.  Sometimes I need to replace crew losses after a battle.  Sometimes not.  Sometimes Hammocks covers part of the crew losses and I don't need to pay for those.  Sometimes not.

 

Today, three separate battles with distinctly different outcomes regarding crew losses/replacements.  The first two were Rank 7 (Brit Post-captain) Fleet Orders, entered solo in a Connie (equipped with Exc Hammocks, which provided an extra 56 crew on top of the base 450, thereby starting battle with 506 onboard).

 

In Battle # 1, I lost exactly 100 men, finishing with 406.  After the 56 "free" from Hammocks, I expected to have to hire/medkit 44 crew.  Instead, none.  Not one crew replacement required; crewpool untouched.

 

In Battle # 2, I lost 95 men, finishing with 411.  After first battle, didn't really know what to expect.  Turns out, I had to replace 82 crew...which is very close to the "after Hammocks" losses for the two battles combined.  At this point, I thought maybe crewpool updates once per hour, somewhat like the hourly LH uptick?   Regardless, over the two battles, I had lost a total of 195 men, and had been required to replace only 82 of them, so it appeared to me that the Hammocks were indeed providing "free extras" for crew management purposes.

 

Battle # 3.  Then later in the evening, participated in a group for Rank 6 fleet order in Belle Poule.  280 base + 35 extra provided by Hammocks.  Lost only 25 crew, so expected no replacements necessary.  Nope, my crewpool depleted by the full 25, as if the Hammocks had had no effect.

 

Ultimately, I don't have a strong opinion on what the specific mechanics should be, or whether Hammocks should or should not have an economic bonus through saving crew replacement costs (although as a player, I'd rather enjoy it if they did).  I do, however, want consistently predictable results which are easily understandable.  I'm not seeing that right now.

Edited by Bramborough
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If it's training, then why do you get XP/Gold/lose Dura/cap ship? The PvP in those battles are exactly the same as you'll get in OW, just balanced in terms of team size/BR

Either Magnum^ is correct, or people are just generally whining / want the game dumbed down to World of Sailing Warships levels.

Yeah, to me there are 2 main Groups in the Forums atm one is Whining all the Time that its getting to complicated / player rates are sinking(Fucking hell this is testing, ALPHA they dont want 10000 Players playing at a time) And the Other one is supporting the Dev´s more. They actually appreciate Updates, And give constructive feedback other than "BlaBlaBla Players Gonna leave BlaBlaBla".

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Someone said that CREW gets replenished automatically over time to your top permissible--in my case 650--without having to pay for it. Is that true? I have not found any automatic increase in my crew numbers. Am I doing something wrong, or am I missing something?

 

 

found the same to be true, something is not working

 

found the same to be true, something is not working

 

Actually you need to log off in port to get it back. I guess you guys were afk fishing hmmm? Or logged off @ sea?

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I have been playing PvP almost exclusively several hours a day since the patch and still have not hired a single crew member or used a medical kit. I suspect many people do not understand how crew replacement works.

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I have been playing PvP almost exclusively several hours a day since the patch and still have not hired a single crew member or used a medical kit. I suspect many people do not understand how crew replacement works.

Please tell us so we too can understand how it works.

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1. You can replenish crew from your total pool at any time using the manage crew function in end battle screen, OS or port. This allows you to maintain a cushion to draw from by not sailing ships that maximize crew use for your rank and by not taking AI fleets. As rear admiral, I sail Trincomalee or Constitution and can totally replace crew 2 or 3 times over without returning to port. If I am going to bring a 1st rate to a fight where heavy crew loss is possible, I plan ahead and bring medical kits, which in turn are a good use for all that surplus fish. Considering what you have already invested in a First Rate, 1 or 2 large medkits are hardly that significant of an additional investment to ensure you keep it fully crewed.

2. Your total pool of crew will replenish at some point (possibly either X amount or completely every 24 real hours, but have not pinned this down yet).

3. Surrendering is a viable option to reduce crew losses in the face of certain defeat that many players are still not using. (Trollish suicide by fireship seems to have become an ingrained behavior in some people).

4. Likewise, you don't have to make your AI fleets fight to the death if you chose to bring them along. Simply using fleets as throwaway speed bumps to deter attack is not very wise anymore.

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This Crew management is my biggest nightmare. 

 

 

Managing crew = bad game play. 

 

10 crew per h. 

 

1 rate sink 1 month afk.   

 

Well done.  

 

Med kits hours to build them are crazy.  Should be balanced more. Otherwise u wont see many ppl sailing to fight.

 

I will wait and see how things changes, but one thing sure ii cant play the game with current crew system.   For me its unplayable. 

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 I do say crew are a bit expensive, maybe half the price? 1 Rake can cost a player 30 minutes of time to make the gold for that, it is unnecessary from a game play prospective and it makes the game more of a grind and a chore to play and It adds 0 fun to gameplay. 

 

Also some players do buy the game to use all ships, not be stuck in frigates all the time because the grind to buy crew or make med kits is a bit much for people who don't have all day to spend on the game. Crew needs to be cheaper & I do not really see what fun it adds to the game though, iy just adds more grinding which means less players. The less grind and cost to upkeep playing a game you paid for is a lot better in the long run, keeps more players happy. Forcing players out of line ships is not what you want to do, people are going to quit because of that. We should be trying to keep all players, not force them out by making the game a chore. :)

 

When has more grinding to play a game made more people keep playing or come back to a game? Never.. Adding to the grind to is the opposite of what you should be doing. It's not very attractive for players.

Edited by masterjedi
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Crew accountancy is making the game less enjoyable for me. Still, no one has explained how the crew auto-regenerates. Perhaps it's one of those pieces of misinformation that get bandied about to make the originator feel good at fooling players. Then, there is the distraction of the fishing and the anxiety over finding your very own bottle. This game is reverting toward a silliness that is destroying the pleasure of the wargame.

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Still, no one has explained how the crew auto-regenerates.

Thats my biggest complaint during alpha testing.

There is no real documentation of the changes. No changelog, only few short notes. You have to figure out for yourself what exatly changed. This is tedious work and inappropriate for 1000 testers and more. And I don't see any reason in that. Why not publicly announce detailed information. You can test new features more quickly when you know what to look for.

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Actually the opposite of what you post is exactly why I love testing games. NA is exceptionally good for testing and finding out :)

 

Totally enjoy the hidden little things à là "darksouls" like the devs put it.

 

A game that shows me all the info gets stale very very fast.

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For me crew regenerate themselv after some time. Even if im at sea.

 

And about prices ... STOP WHINING.

You can see @ landlording topic that bigger and more ports will boost your crew replenishment timers! You can buy/craft medkits! You can sail smaller ships!

You can wait for automatic replenishment ( if it doesnt work, F11 raport bug )!

Get outside of your box! Take off blidners from your eyes and watch how it`ll impact gameplay! You want everyone to sail 1st rate all the time? Because it will happen! It`s just a matter of time.

Personally i love that bigger ships costs more. That way it`s more important to think strategically. Hit enemy economy! Take important ports! Blockade with smaller ships? Or maybe full strike with 1st rates and risk huge amount of gold? Stop sailing arround with precious ships! Or pay for your own stubordiness and stupidity ( no offence, nothing personal )!

We mostly should sail 4-5th rates. Thats more a) interesting, B) healthy, c) realistic, d) creates more variation and options.

It`s so annoying how people are so egocentric and how they demand changes to please themselves.

Please devs, dont listen to them. First introduce all mechanics that will support crew managment, then test it for some time and eventually tweak what needs to be changed! Stop listening to whiners that whine 2-3 days from patch/fix! They only think about their pleasure, nothing more!

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For me crew regenerate themselv after some time. Even if im at sea.

 

And about prices ... STOP WHINING.

You can see @ landlording topic that bigger and more ports will boost your crew replenishment timers! You can buy/craft medkits! You can sail smaller ships!

You can wait for automatic replenishment ( if it doesnt work, F11 raport bug )!

Get outside of your box! Take off blidners from your eyes and watch how it`ll impact gameplay! You want everyone to sail 1st rate all the time? Because it will happen! It`s just a matter of time.

Personally i love that bigger ships costs more. That way it`s more important to think strategically. Hit enemy economy! Take important ports! Blockade with smaller ships? Or maybe full strike with 1st rates and risk huge amount of gold? Stop sailing arround with precious ships! Or pay for your own stubordiness and stupidity ( no offence, nothing personal )!

We mostly should sail 4-5th rates. Thats more a) interesting, B) healthy, c) realistic, d) creates more variation and options.

It`s so annoying how people are so egocentric and how they demand changes to please themselves.

Please devs, dont listen to them. First introduce all mechanics that will support crew managment, then test it for some time and eventually tweak what needs to be changed! Stop listening to whiners that whine 2-3 days from patch/fix! They only think about their pleasure, nothing more!

No, my CREW DOES NOT REGENERATE neither when I am at sea nor on the dunny.

I think you mean that I am the 'whiner' that 'only think(s) about (his) pleasure, nothing more!' What do you play wargames for? to increase your intelligence quotient? or, to be discovered and find paid work as a developer? or, you just like paper-work and can't get enough of it, perhaps.

I play wargames for PLEASURE. (What a surprising revelation!)

Edited by Lannes
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If the crew effectively regenerates every 24 hours, and you surrender your ship instead of letting it sink when all hope is lost, you can only lose massive crew when getting stern raked or when boarding or getting boarded. Now both of these things can be avoided in some extent. I need to check out if crew realy regenerates as some say it does some say it doesn't, if it does i'm totaly fine with the price thing. If it does not regenrate it realy is very expensive...

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There is definitely a bug regarding crew, I just did a 152 fleet mission in a connie, I capped a ren and cerb and sent them back to an outpost to sell, when I docked then teleported to willem I was back to 1100 crew without hiring any crew. I did not take any screrenshots but I will try to replicate it and take some.

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There is definitely a bug regarding crew, I just did a 152 fleet mission in a connie, I capped a ren and cerb and sent them back to an outpost to sell, when I docked then teleported to willem I was back to 1100 crew without hiring any crew. I did not take any screrenshots but I will try to replicate it and take some.

I believe it is your free crew that replenish as soon as you dock in a port. Those not getting any replacement might be because they suffered losses far beyond their free crew level and must then buy the difference.

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