ok, this is for all to give me some input based on the proposal at hand, and the previous ideas.

gimme something to chew on here. let's not make the same mistakes twice.

define 'too big'?

understood, but unlikely

the CSS is an option. not everyone will want to be a ships's crewman or a deck officer or  a gunner. someone will always want to be the hotshot pilot.

we will, however, ensure that the CSS and the SFC (starfighter corps) garner equal recruits

More to chew on....

OOC:

Vast Empire Capital Ship Service:  Version 2.0

  Candidates go thru the normal Basic Training procedures as set by the Academy.

  Upon graduation, members will choose between the Starfighter Corps, and the Capital Ship Service.

  Members would be placed as Bridge Officers on board a capital ship:


          Ship’s Complement
•    Captain
•    Executive Officer
•    Bridge Officers: Chief Engineer
                            Tactical Officer
                              Security/Communications Officer

The officers would interact between themselves; the NPC’s aboard the ship, and the other ships in the fleet, along w/the actions happening to the ship.

The Captain of the ship could work their way up the ladder to a larger, more important ship, or a Fleet command.  The XO would work their way up to Captain, and the Bridge Officers would follow in turn to XO slots on board this or other ships.

As members distinguish themselves they would gain higher rank, position and more powerful ships.  They could also earn the title of Task Force Commander or even Fleet Commander.

The ships would be either attached to a Task Force for a large story, or be given an individual mission to be completed alone.  Missions could range from Diplomatic to Intelligence to Patrol.

The Bridge Officers would use their positions as Naval Specialties.  They would write individual stories on their skill sets to earn marks toward promotions and further their careers.

The BO positions would be interchangeable, so members could gain different skills on different ships.

less complecated and less tiered.  5 crewmembers every ship regardless of size.  bridge officers are entry level roles, and thier Specialty training is optional.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the command of the Atrus always fall to the NCC?  And wouldn't any sort of large taskforce do so, as well?

at this point all CSS slots would go to current veteran members that have proven their ability to write and lead. that will change as the Service gains strength.

3 is an ok number for the ship, however it does not give you much interaction between players and fewer points of view.  Squadrons are 12 at full strength, a ship would be approximately half that.  i feel that 3 is too small of a number to adequately create meaningful stories.

also, at this point the Atrus is not involved in the Service, unless Den wishes to take her out for a spin.

PS: and don't call me 'At' i am not a preposition, please use either Driver or 'G'...thank you

@Driver: You could have the capital ships linked, say have 2 manned capital ships in a group to start (6 people). As those people progress, XOs can be given command of new ships, TACs move up to XO and eventually to their own ship, until that group of 2 ships is actually a group of 6 ships, with 6 ship COs (and one of them a Task Force CO or something).

not too far off of my latest CSS proposal...

i'd say it's good, but lose 2 of the 3 ranks for Gunnery, shieds and comm.  make the member work their way up those positions by interacting w/NPC's.

ie: Boomer would join the ship as the Comm Operator. he' have an NPC XO and Officer (as would the ship as a whole). he'd work his way up to XO (keeping the NPC Officer and now replacing him w/an NPC Opp), and finally up to Comm Officer and the XO and Opp slots be NPC's

might sound complicated, but not really. it also keeps us from having to place 12 members on 1 ship, as opposed to 5. more ships, more missions, more fun.

I think Atrasin just brought the entire CSS idea together in one post. I have nothing more to say.

In my lowly position as Senior Crewman and Flight Member, I support this idea.

I imagine communications would be face-to-face and through the ship's comm network.

As for jobs, that's an area that's really up to the writer. Someone with an eye for detail will excel, whereas a member who writes in general terms will find little to write about.

Elements CSS members could bring up during a post:
-Main Task (Ex: Firing a turbolaser)
-Basic damage control/Repairs
-Assisting with the removal of wounded
-Dealing with misc problems (Ex: Hatch gets sealed shut, locking them in. Ship begins losing air pressure due to hull breach. Etc, etc)
-Communicating with superiors and subordinates (Ex: Discussion, receiving orders, giving orders)
-Repeling boarders (occasionally)

Those are off the top of my head, created in just a few minutes. Crewing in the CSS will be a challenge, for sure, but creativity tames even the most savage RPing beast.

-Drac

"Medic! Medic! Kriffing hell! He's nearly cut in two!"

Will that work?

On a serious note: I think we could create loose standards for that sort of interaction- just a list of things that need to be included: (Using the Medic as an example)
-Initial contact w/ Medic
-Reports location
-Reports type of injury, location on body, and severity
-Adds details as to blood loss, shock, etc
-Follows Medic's orders for First Aid until the Medic's arrival
-Provides whatever assistance the Medic requires

Done right, that interaction should last two or three posts each.

-Drac

*see edit in above post*

-Drac

Okay, here's another whole new idea :-p I don't know why I keep trying lol, but anyways:

VEN = 1 x Battlegroup

1 x Battlegroup (BG) =
  1 x BG Flag Ship
      -1 x BG CO
  3 x Task Force

1 x Task Force (TF) =
  1 x Flag Ship =
      -1 x Task Force/Flag Ship CO
      -1 x Flag Ship XO
      -1 x CTO
      -1 x CWO
  3 x Capital Ships =
      -1 x Ship CO
      -1 x Ship XO (optional)

Bridge Officer Progression:
  1) Ship CO
  2) Ship XO
  3) CTO / CWO

Tactical Officer / Weapons Officer Progression:
  1) Chief Tactical Officer (CTO) / Chief Weapons Officer (CWO)
  2) Tactical Executive Officer (TXO) / Weapons Executive Officer (WXO)
  3) Ship Tactical Operator (STO) / Ship Weapons Operator (SWO)


I'm going to be jumping around a bit here so try and stay with me, it's not that complicated :-p

So, the way it would work is to start with 4 members (the testing phase). Each would take a place on the Flag Ship. You'll have a CO (who also commands the Task Force), an XO, Tactical Officer and Weapons Officer. The members will start at the Operator level and work their way up to Chief Weapons and Chief Tactical Officer. When the XO is promoted to command one of the other 3 Capital Ships, the XO spot comes open for either the CWO or CTO to take over. That opens up the Weapons or Tactical Operator position for a new recruit to take over.

When it is decided whether or not to open up the Capital Ship Service to all members, you can open the other two Task Forces. Promote the TF CO to BG CO and the other 3 to lead the TFs. This Battlegroup acts the same as a squadron, 3 TFs with 4 members each = 12 members. If the CSS needs more then one Battlegroup, open up another, just like you would a squadron. If it needs less, only open 2 TFs

Look at the Task Forces as a flight in a squadron. This system works better because it has goals to work toward while the members are in their flight. Each TF (or flight) always has 4 members (or however many), just those members get to work up the ranks aboard a ship to get the hang of the CSS and then they get to take control of their own ship.

I'm not sure about the CWO/CTO Progression. I was also thinking of something more else like this as a replacement:

Bridge  Progression
1) 1 x Ship CO
2) 1 x Ship XO
3) 1 x Ship TAC (Tactical Officer)

TAC Progression
1) Ship Tactical Officer
2) Weapons Operator
3) Shields Operator

In this form, there'd still be a ship CO and XO. The thing that would change would there would be two members "learning the ropes" in the form of the Tactical Officer Progression. They'd start out as writing about Shields, get promoted to Weapons and finally to the Ship TAC. They would get a taste of writing about shields, weapons, and tactical decisions, the basics for running your own ship.

It would be somewhat competitive between the two members going through Tactical Progression if they come in at the same time to see who can get there first, as there is only one per ship.



And... I'm spent.

For some that are really really interested in being part of the CSS program, I would suggest watching a bit of Battlestar Galactica. In my opinion, it provided a lot of details and information on what running and being part of a capitol ship should be like. At the same time, give a lot of ideas for possible positions that would be good for development and for members to write about.

Also, seperately, once we have the CSS program off the ground, we might include a flight of fighters on the ship, fighters are an essential part of a tast force. Right now, we have almost zero interactions with anyone outside our squadrons. (Unless we purposely get into bar fights.) And any little interactions we do get are very little, undeveloped, relationships, as opposed to if they were consistent members. But this can be added at a later time.