I guess my totally naive question is does any of this crew stuff make any difference?
I can see where a skilled gunner may hit more often, but does a better watch keeper see stuff quicker, or a torpedo specialist load faster?
In fact when I tried to mix up the crew locations, it didn't make a noticeable difference.

Suplementary question: When I start a new career, should I fill the empty slots on my boat, including Damage Control?

This is really a big question for me too. But there is some good info in this thread I haven't seen before.

Another section for a future FAQ

How Do I Use My Crew (And Does It Matter?).

The only big difference I've seen is gunnery. But that's pretty obvious that people with better gun skills will hit things more often. Watch makes sense for the AA gun because your ability to see things accurately at longer ranges/higher speeds is a much bigger factor when shooting at specks overhead. But it sure as heck isn't the intuitive skill. I'd be thinking guns for AA as well.

I've also been reading about special skills that the crew can develop in other threads. I haven't seen it happen yet but I'm really curious how that works too.

Hello OddjobXL,

I think those "Special" Skills are those little Pics you see at the top of the Crewman sheet. The more Skilled someone seems to be, the more pics they get. When you point at them, they will tell you what they are for.

They seem to start out Light Yellow and end and Red. I think 4 is the max.

Not so sure as to how these work either as far as assigning. I would like to cross train 1 Crewman in many fields but I don't think you can as far as "Special" Skills go.

I know in SH3 the "performance bar" was directly releated to their fatique levels.

Thanks, Gspector. I didn't notice the color coding before. I'll have to look into that. What I was actually refering to were the special skills cited in this thread:

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...ading+speed%22

Things like "Fanatical Commander" or whathaveyou. How do you get them? What do they do? But without even having a strong grasp on how basic affinities and skills work, what do the numbers actually mean in terms of performance for example, I'm not sure how to take best advantage of these unique traits. Hey, Ubi guys - love ya - but help us out here! :D

Hello OddjobXL,

I'm just as clueless as to how they are earned or how that can be best used.

My only guess is that if someone earns these "unique specialties" at a station, just keep them there to see if it changes.

I dont know how to get the red specialties either, but I once got 2 at the beginning or a carreer. Maybe they are rare because of just that, they are so "special." yuk, yuk, that sounds funny. I may be getting specialties mixed with skills here. This is truly one of the most enjoyable features with SH4(thanks Dev team)
I never load out the Damage control team. I fill them in as needed, this goes for the guns too. Where do I put the gunners in the first place, you might ask? Well, I just place them at the watch stations, after all, they are up there in the conning tower. Also, I place them on the same watch, cuz they can swap battle stories!:smug:
As far as who to place where, I generally try to be as historically accurate as possible. I dont know much about what ranks were where and so forth, but I kinda like having 6 officers and the rest enlisted. Also, if you find a recruit with good stats, put him in a place where he's the best at, and when promotion time comes... BAM! you suddenly have a tip-top ship-shape crewman where before you didnt.