04-16-2011, 03:01 AM
(04-15-2011, 07:17 PM)JonO Wrote: In addition to the Captain and Exec who are the avatars of the player, there are lots of officer-types (27 at present) who may be recruited to increase a ship, base or colony's ability to accomplish certain tasks. Their skill is tracked on a 9 point scale and is directly reflected by their rank which goes from "acting ensign" to "senior commander." There are higher ranks than that, but they are reserved for player-characters. An officer may be promoted at any time, but the ship has to have enough training points available to it to increase his/her/its rank. (The higher the rank, the more points needed) A ship earns training points by engaging in activities - the riskier the activity, the more training points are accumulated.
It is possible, occasionally, to recruit a high ranking officer from a starbase, but they know their own worth and expect to be promised extraordinary salaries and a fat recruiting bonus, so it's usually less expensive to promote from within.
I think that this feature holds much potential, especially if you can fine tune it to where it appeals to individuals who are attracted to those Star Trek role playing simulations, the ones where people role play characters aboard starships, star bases, etc.. There's tons of those out there, and the always seem to be popular.