Post by OrcaFlutter on May 16, 2019 17:41:51 GMT -5
separate issues, I thought I should continue my posts on those topics here rather than cluttering up the general boards
Again I am just blown away by how much time the Brothers spend reading feedback
1. Regarding pure negative traits, To either a. decrease frequency, or b. enable removal, c. randomly remove over the course of a game (cf. crew members who spontaneously heal from the pox and even get pox survivor.)
This is one where game balance runs into narrative/gameplay elements, because the game balance is ok.
For me, here are the purely negative traits: drunk, spice addict, highbrow, stubborn, and (less frequently) malcontent and brute. Spice addict is more of a nuisance, but the extra clicks on Spice Hall get frustrating after a while (Morale why won’t you get up?!) Feel free to add more to the list.
Please feel free correct any of my errors
As as far as I can tell, the base probability of rolling a pure negative trait (at least for starting crew) is 10%. However, crew start with 3 traits (2 visible for the non mysterious) and eventually get 5. Over the course of the game (ignoring modifiers which get complicated), 24% will have a substance use disorder and 41% will have one of the dealbreakers. The actual number will be higher because of the modifiers (tough ship battle, spicing at port, etc). Compare the 24% to (based on a very cursory literature search) real-life American veterans serving since 2001 (12.7%; even lower in Vietnam veterans but I speculate that the Vietnam statistic suffers from survivorship bias) and real-life French merchant marine (16% cannabis use in the last 30 days, probably not all of them addicts).
This means that to get a clean, sober, non-highbrow, non-stubborn crew, I need to fire 4 off-the-bat (was my pre-employment drug screen and personality inventory that useless?) and will eventually need to fire at least 17 not counting officers (some of the replacements will be un-hireable too even with Discerning Glance.) I’ve tried getting a clean crew twice and it is maddening.
To maintain narrative integrity, I would say
—highbrow/stubborn/mutiny/brute, decrease frequency but no healing. (a. but not b. or c.)
—drunk and spice addict, decrease frequency and spontaneous healing (a. and c. but not b.)
I respect the disciplines that treat these illnesses in real life, but I feel that they would add too much complexity to the gameplay.
That said, it is somewhat endearing that my starting Quartermaster is an addict (cf. Colonel Tigh in the Battlestar Galactica reboot). Actually I’m going to change his name now.
2. I think Fallen has already added a request to speed up crew combat. I have to board a lot in the early game (imho Galteak and Frontier Liner are not terribly powerful for ship combat when you make room for a prisoner and 2nd passenger), and those repeated crew combats are a tough, monotonous slog. I acknowledge that changing this is harder than adding story lines and tweaking mechanics, because from experience, I’m guessing Fallen won’t compromise on aesthetics.
If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading my rambling!
Again I am just blown away by how much time the Brothers spend reading feedback
1. Regarding pure negative traits, To either a. decrease frequency, or b. enable removal, c. randomly remove over the course of a game (cf. crew members who spontaneously heal from the pox and even get pox survivor.)
This is one where game balance runs into narrative/gameplay elements, because the game balance is ok.
For me, here are the purely negative traits: drunk, spice addict, highbrow, stubborn, and (less frequently) malcontent and brute. Spice addict is more of a nuisance, but the extra clicks on Spice Hall get frustrating after a while (Morale why won’t you get up?!) Feel free to add more to the list.
Please feel free correct any of my errors
As as far as I can tell, the base probability of rolling a pure negative trait (at least for starting crew) is 10%. However, crew start with 3 traits (2 visible for the non mysterious) and eventually get 5. Over the course of the game (ignoring modifiers which get complicated), 24% will have a substance use disorder and 41% will have one of the dealbreakers. The actual number will be higher because of the modifiers (tough ship battle, spicing at port, etc). Compare the 24% to (based on a very cursory literature search) real-life American veterans serving since 2001 (12.7%; even lower in Vietnam veterans but I speculate that the Vietnam statistic suffers from survivorship bias) and real-life French merchant marine (16% cannabis use in the last 30 days, probably not all of them addicts).
This means that to get a clean, sober, non-highbrow, non-stubborn crew, I need to fire 4 off-the-bat (was my pre-employment drug screen and personality inventory that useless?) and will eventually need to fire at least 17 not counting officers (some of the replacements will be un-hireable too even with Discerning Glance.) I’ve tried getting a clean crew twice and it is maddening.
To maintain narrative integrity, I would say
—highbrow/stubborn/mutiny/brute, decrease frequency but no healing. (a. but not b. or c.)
—drunk and spice addict, decrease frequency and spontaneous healing (a. and c. but not b.)
I respect the disciplines that treat these illnesses in real life, but I feel that they would add too much complexity to the gameplay.
That said, it is somewhat endearing that my starting Quartermaster is an addict (cf. Colonel Tigh in the Battlestar Galactica reboot). Actually I’m going to change his name now.
2. I think Fallen has already added a request to speed up crew combat. I have to board a lot in the early game (imho Galteak and Frontier Liner are not terribly powerful for ship combat when you make room for a prisoner and 2nd passenger), and those repeated crew combats are a tough, monotonous slog. I acknowledge that changing this is harder than adding story lines and tweaking mechanics, because from experience, I’m guessing Fallen won’t compromise on aesthetics.
If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading my rambling!
