[h3][i]Captain, it's time to solve a dilemma! We've recovered some Lusk technology and need to decided how to use it to benefit our ship. The Gunnery Officer thinks it should be used to elevate our weapons to the next level, but our Science Officer disagrees, saying that further research is needed before we make a rash decision...[/i][/h3] [h3]In Earthless, a Captain is only as good as their crew. Manage your crew's relationships correctly and you'll see wide-ranging benefits on the battle grid. Ignore their advice, and you'll face a range of negative debuffs. We sat down with Game Director, Hoi-Fung to explain crew management in more detail [/h3] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44238279/0a8283365a79ee1cc992fa68a07012313ae3e029.jpg[/img] [b]How and when did the addition of a crew management mechanic enter Earthless' development?[/b] From the very beginning, we wanted to create an experience that really evoked that feeling of being your own starship captain — the intrigue, the interpersonal drama, the impossible decisions. But the earliest prototypes of Earthless mostly focused on combat and exploration. In fact, we treated it like a D&D campaign, where we still had in person dungeon master-style narration for the events to the players. As Earthless evolved and we were able to dig deeper into that idea of Captain Fantasy, it quickly became clear that a captain without a crew isn't much of a captain at all. So we started looking at ways we could incorporate a crew into the game and took a lot of inspiration from shows like Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica where the cast was often the officers on the bridge, each with their own unique worldview and speciality. It felt like a great fit for Earthless. Over time the system grew more and more complex. Like any good roguelike, we saw an opportunity to generate a new crew for each voyage, with their own personality traits that would (hopefully) lead to some really fun interpersonal drama and conflict aboard your ship. This demo is only a taster for what’s to come! [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44238279/27c3cbddc51790c51f4b05bd117b689b0526d8ef.png[/img] [b]How does the crew system work and how will it affect other game mechanics?[/b] Now we're talking! So on each voyage you're assigned five officers who represent the basic functions of your ship: Gunnery Officer, Chief Engineer, Communications Officer, Navigation Officer, and Science Officer. These specialties are also reflected in the different "suits" of cards available. For example, a lot of damage-dealing cards are naturally Gunnery cards. Each officer has personality traits that'll loosely define their perspective. And as you voyage deeper into space, they'll often weigh in with their perspective on what choices you should be making. For example, when landing on a narrative event, your crew all hops into a chat channel to discuss the event and vocalize their opinion (if they have one). Choices you make that align with a crew member's perspective will increase their morale, while going against their wishes decreases it. So it'll be up to you to decide how to manage your crew when they have opposing ideas on how to handle all the different situations you'll find yourself in. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44238279/0dd8bf8789d78368708beac7686f23bbb357efe9.png[/img] [b]If the player fails to maintain a good relationship with a crew member, are there any negative effects that they can expect to experience?[/b] Oh, absolutely! Because each crew member specializes in a different function of your ship, you can expect that pissing them off is going to lead to some dire consequences. If your strategy primarily relies on dealing heavy damage, you might want to think twice before you upset your Gunnery Officer. This is a system we see SO much potential in, so also expect it to grow throughout Early Access, too! [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44238279/f8f84a33f94bdec8f305fca9b200534e0549b288.jpg[/img] [b]Any tips for how players can keep their crew in check?[/b] A good leader knows it's impossible to appease everyone all the time. So don't be afraid to make choices just because one of your officers won't like it – especially if the outcome is worth the risk. When push comes to shove, I always like to side with the officers who actually empower my ship and complement my combat strategies. With the rest, it's about mitigating and keeping them just happy enough to keep them from burning the ship down while I'm napping. [h2]Wishlist Earthless:[/h2] https://store.steampowered.com/app/2058960/Earthless/