SH3Commander

[scunnygsi]

Forgetting commander then, if i had 5 PO's with torps quals would they load quicker than 5 PO's without the quals ? or is it not factured into the gameplay and just purely "eyecandy"

[frau kaleun]

Originally Posted by scunnygsi

Forgetting commander then, if i had 5 PO's with torps quals would they load quicker than 5 PO's without the quals ? or is it not factured into the gameplay and just purely "eyecandy"

The first qualification given to a PO is never eye candy, it will be recognized by the game and factored into gameplay.

IIRC Commander lets you give two quals to a senior PO but I don't think the game recognizes the second one as a factor in his performance.

However keep in mind that once the "efficiency bar" above a compartment is 100% green it is running at 100% efficiency and putting in more men who are qualified in the relevant specialty will not give you any more improvement in the compartment's performance. If the compartment efficiency is already maxed out, you'd be wasting quals if you gave them out for the sole purpose of increasing it.

[Gargamel]

Originally Posted by frau kaleun

The first qualification given to a PO is never eye candy, it will be recognized by the game and factored into gameplay.

IIRC Commander lets you give two quals to a senior PO but I don't think the game recognizes the second one as a factor in his performance.

However keep in mind that once the "efficiency bar" above a compartment is 100% green it is running at 100% efficiency and putting in more men who are qualified in the relevant specialty will not give you any more improvement in the compartment's performance. If the compartment efficiency is already maxed out, you'd be wasting quals if you gave them out for the sole purpose of increasing it.

A side effect of this is when you promote (and maybe give them medals, but taht could affect fatigue only, not sure). If it took an Officer and 5 PO's plus some seamen to get a compartment to 100%, 8 patrols later, that compartment may be at 120% (with no effect on the game). So it might be a good idea to run < 100% early in your career and let the men grow into their jobs. This will allow you to reassign "extra" PO's as you need.

[frau kaleun]

Originally Posted by Gargamel

A side effect of this is when you promote (and maybe give them medals, but taht could affect fatigue only, not sure). If it took an Officer and 5 PO's plus some seamen to get a compartment to 100%, 8 patrols later, that compartment may be at 120% (with no effect on the game). So it might be a good idea to run < 100% early in your career and let the men grow into their jobs. This will allow you to reassign "extra" PO's as you need.

Yep, I'm pretty sure that if you retain all or at least most of your original crew throughout many successful patrols, compartment efficiency will increase even if you leave the same bunch of guys together in each one. Even a guy who doesn't get promoted gains something in the way of experience each time out, so efficiency tends to increase one way or the other (provided you're not having all your more experienced men constantly replaced by n00bs). Just as it would, I imagine, with a real crew that grows accustomed to working together over time.

[desirableroasted]

Originally Posted by frau kaleun

IIRC Commander lets you give two quals to a senior PO but I don't think the game recognizes the second one as a factor in his performance.

It does not.

By the way, another good thing about using SH3 Commander to manage qualifications is that it lets you get rid of qualifications that add zero to the game (helmsman) or little, if any (medic).

[scunnygsi]

[QUOTE=By the way, another good thing about using SH3 Commander to manage qualifications is that it lets you get rid of qualifications that add zero to the game (helmsman) or little, if any (medic).[/QUOTE]

Does this mean i can take the helmsman qualification off my officers as it has no relevance on the game mechanics ? you learn something new every day

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by desirableroasted

qualifications that add zero to the game (helmsman)

Are we playing two different games? I have two POs with Helmsman qual, with two different ranks, and when I switch them out the green bar certainly does move.

[scunnygsi]

could that be down to the different ranks and thus experience of the PO's ?

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by scunnygsi

could that be down to the different ranks and thus experience of the PO's ?

Possibly. The next time I play SH3 I'll replace him with an ordinary seaman and see what happens.

[desirableroasted]

Qualifications don't matter a bat in the control room. As long as you have officers -- any officers, qualified or not -- you will maneuver as if you had Uncle Karl's personal staff on board. You will dive, surface, turn, put topside watches, etc. as quickly as if you had an elite crew.

Do some throwaway careers out in the harbor... or go out to the North Sea and play with neutrals. You will find you could load out with rank n00bs or an experienced crew and your boat will handle the same.

Qualifications in the game count here, and only here:

• Dedicated repair POs and officers.
• Your sonarmen and watch officers for their acuity, though yours will always be better.
• Your torpedomen, for loading faster.
• Some machinists

Don't bother with:

• Helmsmen, ever
• Medics... lots of threads, but generally say it is of low value
• Officers as radiomen .. useless.