Consult Officer

[celu]

Another idea here Cory (Sorry for abusing this section, but I got a few pop in my head now and then).

How about a Consult (Advice) button before and during battle.
I think its realistic for a "good" captain to ask for a report or advice from his officers before taking actions.

Example:
Encounter:
Should I manhandle this Thulun Patrol?

Political - Captain, any action taken against them will jeopardize our reputation/permit/lose ranking with such and such...

Military - We have enough weapons on hold to make swiss cheese.

Mechanic - 50% of our engine is off line, combat maneuvers will be difficult.

Spy - We detected a lightly/heavily armed crew aboard the other ship.

During battle:
Torps, Guns or Board?

Veteran: Cap'n, we have a better chance engaging in short/long range.

Military: We have enough weapons on hold to make swiss cheese.

Mechanic: No disrespect to your ego Cap'n, we are out of fuel and most of our engines are down. but we have enough sails to skudadle out of here.

anywhere else we can think of putting the advice button? maybe before explorations?

[sgtcookie]

This...would actually be pretty useful. Especially for new players.

[taatuu25]

Yay! That would be very nice. I would love to see it ingame.

[captain nemo]

that could be helpful

[sebastian]

I think it would b awesome to get advice from your officers, it would be nice if it were an option that you could turn off after awhile maybe.

[gearheadwhat]

Well, I don't think you'd need to turn it off so much, as the OP is asking for a button you can press to get the advice. So it's only there when you ask instead of always, so to speak.

At least that's what I gather.

And I think it's a really good idea Might be a pain to figure out how to code though.

[brotherswing]

It's still a good idea, though....

[celu]

sometimes we overlook the level of the opposing captain before we become ground beef due to hull collapse.
Also, I had this idea because on other threads, players are asking for the hidden/unknown figures that affects battles and other actions.
So, instead of giving us complicated numbers, let's humanize those numbers and interpret the officers' advice.
Example:
If the immature pirate decides to ram you twice in a row due to lack of battle and piloting skills on his part, but still manage to survive, you may seek advice from your officers. What are the chances of us surviving this encounter?
maybe the veteran officer will say - we have very little chance on close encounter maneuvers.
Or your overzealous mechanic will say - I observed the piloting skill of our enemy, we may have less sails, we can still escape safely.

Or even an option to only activate advice if critical situation occurs during battle (red numbers) just like how your first mate shows up during flight when your low on fuel or the crew are about to rebel.