Hmm, I initially wanted to go Empath, because I think its a very cool concept to meld with the algontherine entities thoughts and feelings... and it really suits my Druid melding with the forest thing.

I'm not sure now, seeing the skills. I don't know if there would be much benefit in doing so unless the ship engages in a lot of ship-to-ship combat.

I wasn't planning on going commander, but I guess its the logical choice. :shrug:

Then suggest skills in the specialization thread that both fit the concept of the class and don't break from the premise of aetherships And that aren't nearly impossible to code, like the cool siren idea seems.

I'm almost certainly going to go commander, as I love flying the ships, and I have a huge amount of resources for it already coded. I even figured out how to code a system to take me home from anywhere, no matter where I am, but I would have to use a different client since it takes 30+ minutes to run in zMUD

You are an awesome commander, Shorlen... I love when you pilot.

And I don't know what else I can suggest, I wish other cleverer people could offer some RP-interesting utility stuff for empaths.

Almost certainly going Empath, but with Fartarget I've got a little bit of a temptation to go for Combateer now. Because exploding aether creatures is fun! Still probably going Empath, though. And piloting a little while Nejii and Elryn were blasting away at the ship we were on was fun too.


But yes, Shorlen is an awesome commander! Just needs to slow down a tiny smidge in evading while we're killing creatures so those on turrets can acquire targets if needed.

Hmm, as I understand the need of each speciality, in number the amount of people in each should go something like

Combateer >>> Empath > Commander

I suppose at least that makes Commanders rarer.

For combat, yes, but not for travel. For everyday travel, it's the other way around. You need a pilot. A healer is nice. Gunners can be okay, but not needed if you're just going somewhere.

Well, I meant more in terms of need in taking the specialities.

Anyone with aethercraft can pilot, heal and shoot... so general travel isn't too much of problem.

It's going to be fairly rare (I imagine) for an owner to give up control of his ship, so Commanders will mostly be manse owners.

Empaths in ship-to-ship combat have a lot of responsibility for the crews survival, and aside from only requiring one on each ship I imagine these will more frequently go to 'experts' or trusted friends than hired out casually. (A non-specialized empath's only disadvantage is being slightly slower)

Hiring a non-expert combateer is less risky, because you have three to share the load and pick up the slack if one fails... and more helpful in general non-combat situations.

All the feedback on aetherships I can give so far is:

Incredible feature!

Thanks

Commander for me. Sidra is just that sort.

I imagine we'll see most PKers go Combateer.

And I think Empath is quite nifty - Sidra just isn't the type.

Its too bad you feel the need to choose your specialty based on skills rather than your character though, Elryn. I really don't think Empath is that bad to warrent it. But, your choice.

I've already got 1200 lessons stockpiled to get as high in Combateer as conceivably possible the moment the specialisations are released.

I've also been retitled "Geomantic cabin boy".

Is this really true? It was the intent that the Captain (ship owner) could serve in any position. Would it help for captains to be able to lockdown the ship so it can only undock with his or her permission?

The problem with that is, will the captain have to be on the ship? I've heard of a lot of people lending their ships out to friends, so they aren't always on it.

And doesn't restricting who can lock with the command chair already mean that the ship can't undock without the captain's permission?

As long as I'm around I wouldn't mind someone piloting, but I enjoy piloting, so when I'm there I always want to. The problem I have is when I'm out of the realm, what if someone takes my ship to a bubble, goes hunting, dies, and my ships then stuck out there with my having no way to get to it.

In fact, that gives me an idea for another commander, or basic skill. A way to call your ship to the Aetherplex, or home dock for a certain amount of ship power.

Your ship will implode on its own after it runs out of power.

It doesn't drain power if its docked at a bubble

Yes it does, but very slowly. Estarra said something about taking a week for a full powered ship to power down.

Isn't that only off-prime?

No, I think the permissions on the captain's chair module allow this effect anyway.

It's not a problem, I just meant that the Commander is really the specialization that allows you to 'use' and direct the ship fully. If the manse owner chooses the other two specializations, they must relinquish essential control of their vessel to someone else if they want to use that specialization. Also, Commander is the only one which is able to use their higher level benefits if other crew cannot be found, or is not desired for the flight.

Nothing that needs changing, just a reality of what each career means.

Yep.

Aye, sounds realistic to me. The best navigator won't be able to do much if his ship gets cornered by a bunch of pirates without proficient crew to man the battle stations... And vice versa.