a few crew management questions

[rcs929]

Hi

I had some crew management questions and was interested in some of the fellow Captains opinions on these matters.

1) Should I use the crew management screen in SH3 Commander or in game for promotions & awards?
I was a bit reluctant to make any changes yet for fear of messing up my crew so I haven't attempted using SH3 commander to make any crew changes yet. I was curious about the promotions & awards such as, is there more awards available in SH3 Commander than in the SH3 game? Example I have more men with enough experience to be promoted than promotions are available from headquarters in game, does SH3 commander's Crew Manager remedy this? Also does morale go down if they do not get promoted in a timely manner? Ol' Hans in the engine room has been passed over for promotion a couple times in favor of the sonar or watch men.



2) Keep officers or lose them to tranfers, promotions etc?
SH3 commander suggests that I should release my Exec, Navigator & Weapons officer because they are ranked high enough for thier own boat. They are good men, been with my boat since the beginning & I would be sad to see them go but I don't like to holding them back as well. In fact I would be very proud of them if thier names showed up on the tonnage or aces list later on! The reason I haven't released or replaced them yet is that I didn't want to pay renown for replacements, 200-500 per patrol. The reason for this is; on one hand I think the navy would send replacements so I shouldn't have to 'pay' for them. But then again I do get to choose which officer I want in the game so perhaps that's why I should pay for them, just like boat upgrades. I'm afraid that I am going to end up with an elite crew that could make the game stale BUT I have yet to experience 43-45 yet so... :p What's your opinion on crew losses/replacements and how do you fellow captains handle this?



3) Which fatigue model do you like the best?
I was using the SH3 default fatigue model for a while then tried the Rub model. Next I tried Rub 1xTC but then noticed the men never fatigue at all. I have not tried NYGM's fatigue model and have not even read much about it yet. I have noticed that with Rub fatigue model that it never replenishes fatigue. My IIA crew was half fatigued by the time I reached my patrol grid & I hadn't even seen any action yet. I did rotate them & keep them off station when not needed. That patrol was a case of running out of fatigue before torpedoes and fuel. (the scene in Das Boot comes to mind when the navigator asks, 'When are we going to return' & the capt responds with, 'when it's time!' or to that effect) I guess it was time in my case. :) I barely made it back to port because the men were so tired and not many left to run the diesels! So I returned to using the default SH3 model again because they can at least rest up if not on duty. I had read that the RUb model represents 'battle stress' but there were patrols where we weren't even fired upon & they were stressed out. Granted a combat patrol is duty & rough seas day after day could wear them down. Is it even possible to return from America using the Rub fatigue model using x256 TC or less? I should have enough crew now with my VII to shuffle them around, my IIA didn't have a lot of extra men. I am curious what type of fatigue model do you guys use and or recommend?

4) I noticed that qualifications can be awarded to all men but once all the major officers have 3 each they are no longer granted. Is it a good strategy to leave one officer with one less qualification so that I can give them to lesser ranked officers and sailors as well?

good luck out there...

[panthercules]

1 and 3. So far I have decided not to use the SH3 Commander process to give awards or promotions to my crew, preferring to dole them out more sparingly as the game grants them. However, I did use it to grant a few of my crew some qualifications when I switched over to using the NYGM crew mod, since the posts I saw made it sound like things wouldn't work very well without qualified crew and since I was only on my 6th patrol I only had 1 or 2 warrant officers with qualifications. Since using the NYGM mod for the last patrol and a half, I've about concluded I really didn't need to do that. I also used the SH3 Commander process to give qualifications to several of my seamen - that doesn't affect the fatigue model but lets me easily determine which seamen I want to use for my bridge watch and my engine room and control room crew shifts when I set up my 2-shift alternating watch arrangements. While I'm still testing the NYGM mod out, so far I'm liking both the way the crew fatigues and the way they can (unlike the RUB model) regenerate, and I've just about gotten the hang of creating a workable 2-shift, 12-hour watch schedule.

2. I have set SH3 Commander to do crew transfers, but so far have only lost maybe a couple of crewmen to transfers (in 7 patrols). Generally (in my other careers), I have been manually transferring/releasing my then-most senior officer about every 6 or so patrols, figuring it was about time for him to get his own boat by that time. I usually just replace him with one of the free officers - it doesn't eat up renown and also gives me a chance to keep grooming up the more junior officers instead of ending up with a totally ace officer corps of equal rank to my own.

4. I've never gotten to the point of fully loading up all my officers with 3 qualifications, so I haven't experienced this behavior.

Good luck and good hunting!

[JScones]

1) Should I use the crew management screen in SH3 Commander or in game for promotions & awards?
I was a bit reluctant to make any changes yet for fear of messing up my crew so I haven't attempted using SH3 commander to make any crew changes yet. I was curious about the promotions & awards such as, is there more awards available in SH3 Commander than in the SH3 game? Example I have more men with enough experience to be promoted than promotions are available from headquarters in game, does SH3 commander's Crew Manager remedy this? Also does morale go down if they do not get promoted in a timely manner? Ol' Hans in the engine room has been passed over for promotion a couple times in favor of the sonar or watch men.
SH3Cmdr models the same rules as SH3 in respect of promotions and medals. Using SH3Cmdr to award promotions and medals will not mess up your crew (otherwise the feature would not be available!?) and apply as if awarded in SH3 itself. Changes are reversible.

I use SH3Cmdr in instances where I feel EK2's should be awarded to all crew (ie a very successful patrol or somesuch - it did happen in reality but can't happen in SH3).

I use SH3Cmdr to award bulk war badges to crewmen who have completed 2 patrols.

I use SH3Cmdr to promote sailors and petty officers to ensure that I maintain a correct management ratio (ie as a result of crew transfers).

But I still use SH3 to augment as well.

2) Keep officers or lose them to tranfers, promotions etc?
SH3 commander suggests that I should release my Exec, Navigator & Weapons officer because they are ranked high enough for thier own boat. They are good men, been with my boat since the beginning & I would be sad to see them go but I don't like to holding them back as well. In fact I would be very proud of them if thier names showed up on the tonnage or aces list later on! The reason I haven't released or replaced them yet is that I didn't want to pay renown for replacements, 200-500 per patrol. The reason for this is; on one hand I think the navy would send replacements so I shouldn't have to 'pay' for them. But then again I do get to choose which officer I want in the game so perhaps that's why I should pay for them, just like boat upgrades. I'm afraid that I am going to end up with an elite crew that could make the game stale BUT I have yet to experience 43-45 yet so... :p What's your opinion on crew losses/replacements and how do you fellow captains handle this?
Why pay? Why not pick up an Oberfahnrich and simulate a likely real scenario? That is, in reality you couldn't pick and choose who you got nor could you really influence who you lost (although in addition to letting SH3Cmdr manage my crew transfers, I also "release" any officer with over 600 experience). A replacement would most likely be a fresh officer straight out of training. That's how I play anyway. My senior officers leave, either by my hand or by transfer, and I replace them with fresh junior officers at random.

3) Which fatigue model do you like the best?
RUb - always have. Soon to try NYGM model in more detail.

4) I noticed that qualifications can be awarded to all men but once all the major officers have 3 each they are no longer granted. Is it a good strategy to leave one officer with one less qualification so that I can give them to lesser ranked officers and sailors as well?
Quals are not exclusive so I can't see where it matters. I find it strange that SH3 only allows one qual per patrol. Again, I like to replicate reality and I award quals via SH3Cmdr as appropriate. However, in about 20 patrols across a few careers I've prolly awarded no more than three or four quals. I maintain a few torpedomen, radiomen, machinists, watchmen and repairmen and that's about it.

I really use SH3Cmdr's Crew Manager component to remind me who I have on board and to allow me to effectively manage my crew and crew profile - I'm a Director in real life so looking after my crew's welfare is intrinsic in me. Of course, in real life I have managers to maintain the day-to-day running of my teams and keep the mundane cr*p away from me, so I would really be happy if my SH3 2IC got more involved (lazy bugger is 'ol Egon). Maybe this will change when he is transferred out...but then again, maybe not... ;)

[P_Funk]

3) Which fatigue model do you like the best?
RUb - always have. Soon to try NYGM model in more detail.


Are you kidding? I couldn't get anything done with that one. The fact that normal ship operation was such a drain made chasing a dud merchant ship such a frustrating endeavor.

[JScones]

It's a bit of a challenge for the first few patrols (I should also state that I use SH3Cmdr's realistic crew), but by patrol 4 we're all in the zone and I then find the need to focus on quals and micro-management somewhat less important. I'm not saying it's perfect - there are some aspects that I don't fully agree with - but I found I couldn't go back to standard or no fatigue after using it. NYGM's crew management model looks interesting; it's good to see morale playing more of a role...

[Kilamon]

How is morale implemented? I mean, what effects morale?

[rcs929]

Thanks for the replies it is much appreciated. The extra insight on how others manage crews is helpful.

Also the 'mess up the crew' bit was my lack of confidence in myself with using the crew part of the software or trying to achieve results I was looking for, not in the software itself. SH3 is an awesome mod, it adds much to the game, imo!

Going to wander over to the NYGM crew mod post & try it out as well.

Good hunting!