Capital ship control scheme

[A5PECT]

Just let me set a baseline turret behavior, then give me hotkeyabale "Open Fire" and "Cease Fire" functions. Naturally, if this is implemented then it would be wise to add a UI element to ships with turrets that shows whether the turrets are active or in cease fire mode.

If you want to have fun with it, let me mark targets so my turrets will prioritize them when they're in the turret's range and field of fire, and automatically have them switch to normal turret AI when they're unable to hit the target.

For more fun, let me do the inverse as well. Allow me to mark targets for exclusion, so my turrets won't attack that target no matter what (unless I remove the exclusion flag).

[Fedora01]

I'd be up for a Silent Hunter-esque control scheme. Although I'm sure most people would find it unbelievably boring and it'd be an extra strain on the developers to do such a control scheme.

[LittleBird]

Reading all suggstions I would like to see less control options for the player.
You are the captain you command and AI will do.

With manual fly you can exploit the AI. If you press left AI aims were your ship will be. But if you simultaneously roll and stear your ship AI failes at aiming.
Yes we all did it I know
And it feels more... right. The captain sitting on fly controls? Or loading torpedos? Noooo... but moving arround on your bridge and watching your crew executing your commands? Way better.
Wish for some red shirts...

[ajime]

Reading all suggstions I would like to see less control options for the player.
You are the captain you command and AI will do.

With manual fly you can exploit the AI. If you press left AI aims were your ship will be. But if you simultaneously roll and stear your ship AI failes at aiming.
Yes we all did it I know
And it feels more... right. The captain sitting on fly controls? Or loading torpedos? Noooo... but moving arround on your bridge and watching your crew executing your commands? Way better.
Wish for some red shirts...

Not for me. CQC is my fun. I am more concerned the AI navigation failing to provide a good broadside gun arc than its aiming failure. If there's one thing that i learned about auto assault by your captains in XR, is that if you stay stationery, your turrets die faster. In that aspect the AI is somewhat competent with the zigzag but usually ends up with terrible firing arcs with minimal guns. When it does get into a good arc I always have to manually command the ship to hold positions. What can i say, I like to see my toys go maximum pew pew.

[Killjaeden]

You are the captain you command and AI will do. <snip>

There's the problem - you are the captain, but the AI won't do exactly what you want from it, because it's incapable of this.

If there was real human crew, you could easily tell them to bank hard right and then left, keep the ship such that front and right turret banks always can shoot at the designated priority target, not waste laser energy by trying to hit M5 with PPC lasers, not shoot missiles while simultaneously firing when in a fighter, not crashing against a station or target ship, etc etc.

That's usually why manual control is allowed in such games - to allow players execute what they want to do rather than beeing limited by what can be done with AI.

Therefore,

Reading all suggstions I would like to see less control options for the player.

I strongly disagree. Unless the AI is made so good, that it is capable to execute whatever i would have done as player in direct control.

Even the most basics in capitalship combat are not realized in X thus far. Ships trying keep a certain facing towards their priority target (if they have turrets), and preferrably not the side that is already rendered ineffective from combat damage... In that regard (and also the way to easily and efficiently control ship) they should take a look at the AI auto-engage preference options of Battlefleet Gothic: Armada.