[kylesplanet]

Originally Posted by LukeFF

As AVG explained, I have invested a ton of time into getting the crew configs set up properly for each boat. The crew setups you see for each boat in the game are very, very much in line in reality. As was stated by AVG, here are some other things you will be seeing:

• Realistic crew configurations based on both the rate and job of the real-world sailors. Three crew rosters were used for this: for the S boats, USS S-44; for the older fleet boats (Porpoise, Salmon, Sargo), USS Swordfish; and for the Gato, Gar, Balao, and Tambor, USS Corvina.
• Realistic crew limits for officers and petty officers. Stuffing the boat full of noncoms and officers is no longer an option.
• The specialties for the officers have been adjusted to reflect their real-world jobs on the boats. What this means is your officers will have one of two specialties: Watch or Command. Of course, you can still put them in places where they wouldn't historically stand a watch (engine rooms or radar, for instance), but you will not be getting the most of out their skills.
• The bridge watch officer is now the officer in charge of the boat. It is from his leadership skills that other crewmen in the boat will recieve a skill bonus.
• Your damage control team now consists of crewmen that would not stand a watch in the compartments modeled in the game. These men are your cooks, stewards, and yeomen and can be spotted by them not having a speciality icon on their crew portrait. In this way, your damage control team has become a backup for your "real" damage control team, which is the crew in each compartment. This reflects a reality still present on submarines today: every person on a submarine has to know damage control. As such, you will get the most efficiency out of repairing damaged items by calling your crew to General Quarters and putting the "Damage Control Team" to work in the area they are needed the most.
• Submarines now have 1 or 2 Pharmacist's Mates on board, which was made possible by the addition of crew skills with 1.5. It has been modded that only they can have the Medic skill, i.e., you aren't suddenly going to see a torpedoman suddenly gain the Medic skill in the middle of a patrol.
• Crewmen on deck are now much, much, more vulnerable to damage from enemy fire. Crewman can and will be hit, and their efficiency will drop like a stone.

Some other things I've been working on:

• With Ducimus's help, I've adjusted the files so that the probability of receving a conning tower upgrade is much greater, yet still in line with reality.
• Equipment upgrades now better reflect the reality for each type of submarine. S-18 boats will get SJ radar in late 1942 but not SD radar; S-42s will get both SJ and SD radar but will have to wait until June 1943 to get it. This is part of a new feature with the S boats whereby the equipment availability is based on when the boats finished their modernization program, which was a lengthy process.
• Shell damage power has been adjusted for the 20 mm and 40 mm guns. They are still plenty powerful, but they (especially the 40 mm guns) are no longer the touch of death they were in the past.
• Ammo type and quantity has been adjusted for every gun, based on real-world records.

I think out of all the things I'm looking forward to this is the most anticipated. The configurations intrigue me the most. It adds so much to the immersion and knowing who is where really keeps me interested and focused on what I'm doing.

I love to personalize the crew with names of friends and family. RFB is gonna just keep getting better!