Ghost in the machine?
 

Is it fair to say that even though most people
consider themselves captain of their sub, the game
itself does not represent the player directly within the
game? By this I mean there exists no crewmen or icon that represent
"you" so you can't be wounded or killed outright. You can
only be killed indirectly by losing your sub. But, damage
that kills/wounds your crew, such as a strafing plane or
armed merchantman never kills you directly. Isn't this
a bit strange? Or maybe one of those officers really
"is" you and if he dies then your career ends too?
This was never clear to me.

I'd that you are indeed not directly represented with an icon or avatar like the crew. To be honest, I don't remember what happens if you are on deckgun or AA gun and planes/ships are shooting at you. If you die by bodily damage or damage to the gunmount.

It's not something that should really worry you though. The welfare of the entire boat is your responsibility. Don't save your own bacon alone.

I have been on the deck when all of a sudden destroyers hit the tower. The screen will shake, and blur. But I have never been killed directly.

Unfortunately I do have the unpleasant experience of getting hit...
In command of the AA guns, I'm often a much better shot than my crew. I especially have gotten good at hitting targets with the early model 3.7cm, so I don't like to let the crew waste ammo.
I feel myself tensing up and almost feeling the impact, with gritted teeth, when the bombs come down and the tower is rung like a gong.
Suddenly, the view shifts and know it's really bad, when the watch crew comes back on duty...
I check the crew management screen, and right click on the red man and "bury dead crew at sea".

Or, my favorite, is when I shoot down an incoming plane, and it crashes full force into the sub, but that's another subject altogether...

The reason why the captain is not identified is to make it easier for the player to project himself (sorry ladies), into the game.
Your main focus is the welfare of your boat and crew, and when they fail, you do. Lost with all hands was a very common occurrence in the kriegsmarine...

I understand why it was done and other games do have similar
mechanic. Just feel like the captain should be at same risk of
death/injury as rest of his crew so a physical representation
of him on the ship could only help the role playing aspect.


But it is not a major issue. Just an idle wish. I could always
rename a sailor with my name and pretend he is me and if
he dies, so do I and my captain's career. That would work.

This is a very good point!
:Kaleun_Wink:
KUrtz