Crew Size

[Reginleif]

So, I'm a role playing nerd and I like to think about stuff like crew and crew size.

And it got me wondering.

Your aunt or whatever leaves you the Rasputin, right? It's a corvette so one dude flying around in it might be feasible though real world corvettes have crews from 50 to 85 in size. It got me wondering where your character might've gotten a crew together because it doesn't sound like you're the spacefaring kinda guy/girl.

Friends? Family? Mercenaries? Random hires? Auditions?

And it gets more interesting as you go from corvette to frigate to destroyer and finally dreadnought.

Real world destroyers have crews of around 300. A Star Wars Star Destroyer can have over 7,000 crew. . though I don't think Rebel Galaxy ships are QUITE that big.

Thus my question to you, fellow Rebel Galaxy captains, how big of a crew (if there is a crew) do you reckon you have? And where do you suppose they all came from?

[Cookie]

It's not a good idea to use Star Wars as a basis for crew complements, believe me.

The game doesn't cover operating costs at all, but working as a crewman has always been pretty good pay. It's simply a matter of advertising the jobs and waiting for experienced enough crewmen to come along. Considering how well you can do right from the start, I don't think the player seems like someone not accustomed to captaining a ship. I think I remember some obscure line in-game referencing the larger, more civilized galaxy as being a confederacy. Perhaps you've spent some time in the navy? Juno didn't call some other relative, she specifically called for you because she thought you could handle the Rasputin.

As to the crew complements, it takes a lot of people to run and maintain a larger craft. Automation might reduce the numbers a bit, but I wouldn't estimate them being that far off. As you prove yourself killing octopus faces and either merchants or pirates, I'm sure reputation will spread and it'll become easy to staff a couple thousand crewmen for the much larger vessels. Keep in mind, a day of in-game time is passing every 60 seconds of space flight. It's not like you're gonna get a Blackgate in "a few days".

[Dzaka]

i think its a single operator ship with a suite of V.I.'s in control of turrets and such

[Cookie]

There's only so much you can do with automation. What happens if you drag in a crate of cargo and it turns out to have some 'stowaways' with weapons, or a bomb? And robots don't have the adaptability to run stations like gunnery control or comms.

[Dzaka]

Originally posted by [e-mail]/rlwizgaming:

There's only so much you can do with automation. What happens if you drag in a crate of cargo and it turns out to have some 'stowaways' with weapons, or a bomb? And robots don't have the adaptability to run stations like gunnery control or comms.

your cargo area and your main control cabin and living quarters arn't connected in any way.. they don't have a way to get in. and if they do start causing trouble you just vent the area where they are

but yeah just think about when you start taking massive damage. it's not a person or people commenting about damage and such. its a yes pretty but unemotional V.I. telling you about it. and if your alone out there bored and lonely on long hauls. your going to gender your main V.I. cabin control for atleast someone to talk to

and if your wondering why i'm not sayind A.I. theya rn't AI's. they are Virtual Intelligence's there is a difference

[Reginleif]

Originally posted by Dzaka:

Originally posted by [e-mail]/rlwizgaming:

There's only so much you can do with automation. What happens if you drag in a crate of cargo and it turns out to have some 'stowaways' with weapons, or a bomb? And robots don't have the adaptability to run stations like gunnery control or comms.

your cargo area and your main control cabin and living quarters arn't connected in any way.. they don't have a way to get in. and if they do start causing trouble you just vent the area where they are

but yeah just think about when you start taking massive damage. it's not a person or people commenting about damage and such. its a yes pretty but unemotional V.I. telling you about it. and if your alone out there bored and lonely on long hauls. your going to gender your main V.I. cabin control for atleast someone to talk to

and if your wondering why i'm not sayind A.I. theya rn't AI's. they are Virtual Intelligence's there is a difference

That could just be in the bridge. Remember in Star Trek and Mass Effect, there was always an ever present AI of some kind. Even in Halo, the incredible self-aware Artificial intelligences weren't enough to run the entire ship. There was still a large crew.

[Zidders 'Rockin' Bard' Roofurry]

Originally posted by [e-mail]/rlwizgaming:

There's only so much you can do with automation.

Sure. Now. This takes place in a far flung future. There's nothing saying ships can't be piloted by a single pilot. Everything in the game indicates your ships are fully automated. That's the point of buying all that extra equipment. Otherwise instead of the ships AI talking to you, you'd be talking to other members of your crew. The bar would be full of beings instead of barely empty most of the time.

It's closer to Silent Running than Star Trek.

[Reginleif]

Originally posted by Zidders Roofurry -{EAC}-:

Originally posted by [e-mail]/rlwizgaming:

There's only so much you can do with automation.

Sure. Now. This takes place in a far flung future. There's nothing saying ships can't be piloted by a single pilot. Everything in the game indicates your ships are fully automated. That's the point of buying all that extra equipment. Otherwise instead of the ships AI talking to you, you'd be talking to other members of your crew. The bar would be full of beings instead of barely empty most of the time.

It's closer to Silent Running than Star Trek.

As I said before, that's not entirely true. In the examples I listed, people like Picard spend time talking to the ship computer. A powerful computer that can do a lot on the Enterprise. Yet we still see a crew.

[Reginleif]

Also, looking at it, the bridges on some of these ships are truly massive. I find it hard to believe one person and an AI are operating in such a large bridge. Ships are also dotted with what appear to be viewports. Lots of them.

[Cookie]

Yes, the Militia bridges in particular show an awful lot of consoles. Why would there be so many consoles if only one person was operating the ship? You can only be reading one console at a time, and they take time to walk between.

Plus there are decisions best left only to a true sapient being, the Trolley Problem in particular. Enough of these decisions might have to be made at once that it wouldn't be good for one person to handle it.

And while I'm piloting the ship, who's cooking my yikyak meat?

[Reginleif]

Agreed.

As pointed out, I don't think we can trust Star Wars. Their numbers are always wonky.

Looking at Halo, Babylon 5, and Star Trek. . Or even real life. . I would suspect the numbers for Destroyers to be several hundred while corvettes would be sixty or under. With automation and AI in mind.

The very modern USS Zumwalt has a crew of 142. The much older Arleigh Burke class has a crew of over 300.

[Dzaka]

you arn't a milicia ship though. your you.. the milicia are a military.. ish.. organization. but than you talk to the traders.. notice how big a bridge is on a trader's ship?