a Seadogs/AOP officer system

[Pieter Boelen]

We definitly had a boatswain and an assistant boatswain too. So that term is still used on modern ships. Though merchant (cruise) in this case.

 

[Aconcagua]

I consider this discussion as an attempt to draw sort of sketch of a road map...
This could then look like this:
<ol type='1'><li>new officer system, simple version</li><li>interface changes</li><li>multiple officer requirements for ships</li><li>new officer system, advanced version</li></ol>

The advanced version could be brought forward, but then we'd have to handle the junior roles as simple synonyms for the senior ones.

Trying to do all in one go would certainly end up in trouble...

Of course the officers would boast with the primary role. I was wondering about officer of the watch being the primary one for defense and surgeon only secondary... About physician being the senior, I'm not sure - especially, if the only hint for this idea is a single film, which itself could provide a bad perspective on the matter. 'Physician' sounds to me as universal as 'doctor', so not really an improvement in my eyes. For my previous post, I looked up the translations to be found for "Sanitäter" (ambulance man). Appearently these exist nowadays on German marine ships, as i found <a href="http://www.marine.de/portal/a/marine/kcxml/04_Sj9SPykssy0xPLMnMz0vM0Y_QjzKLNzKODwwyAsmB2d5mIfqRcNGglFR9X4_83FR9b_0A_YLciHJHR0VFANp9QB8!/delta/base64xml/L2dJQSEvUUt3QS80SVVFLzZfMjNfUVIy?yw_contentURL=%2F01DB070000000001%2FW27M8ATZ310INFODE%2Fcontent.jsp" target="_blank">here (German!)</a>, which led me to "aidman" and "corpsman" - but I don't really like it either, cause I never heard of a corresponding difference between surgeon and ambulance man on historic ships...

If we make the quarter master the junior boatswain, then junior purser is open - could this be a steward?


Well, I do please: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boatswain" target="_blank">boatswain</a>.

It's true, the boatswain IS responsible for cargo storage - but that's far from being all of his duty: "The boatswain works in a ship's deck department as the foreman of the unlicensed deck crew. [...] A bosun must be highly skilled in all matters of marlinespike seamanship required for working on deck of a seagoing vessel. [...] Originally, on board sailing ships the boatswain was in charge of a ship's anchors, cordage, colours, deck crew and the ship's boats."

The problem is, we have only 10 skills gameplay is based upon, and now we need some officer roles that fit more or less to the skill he's designated...
For grappling we need a grapnel, a grapnel is to be found at the end of a rope, and the rope leads us to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ropework" target="_blank">marlinespike seamanship</a> and finally we end up at the boatswain... It does not help us to have Purser, quartermaster and boatswain all being responsible for commerce (if we consider commerce including the storage of the supplies, too), whereas we do not have any for grappling. So in the end, we need to find compromises between gameplay and reality - and I think, we haven't done too bad so far, although admitting that there are still improvements possible...

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navigator" target="_blank">Navigator</a> might not be the official name, but at least he existed. However, I like the term "sailing master". We could have this and the navigator for the sailing skill - which one would be senior and which one junior then?

 

[Peter Willemoes]

Alright, I rest my case - I was wrong <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="smile.gif" /> Excuses of differencies in navies will not due here.

I did not know you were actually considering a purser, and grappling in every case seems more suitable for a boatswain.
Captain's mate was young - above 30 and he was considered old for a captain to be. Navigator, Jr and sailing master, Sr? (he had other duties besides the navigation as well)

Doctors were called "surgeons" for their function - they sometimes_were_ doctors, but most of them from by degree in everything from aptothecary clerk, animal veterinarians, biologists and botanics.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

I think I don't have much to add here; I agree with pretty much everything.
Looking forward to seeing what you come up with eventually. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/icon_mrgreen1.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="icon_mrgreen1.gif" />