Crew

Crews are necessary for operating ships and stations.

They consist of crewmen of different professions which fulfill different jobs on ships. Not every ship needs a crew of every type. A ship's crew capacity can be increased with crew quarters.

## Hiring Crews

Crew can be hired at stations, as long as your relations to that station's faction is upwards of -25000 and your ship is able to hold crew. All-purpose **crewmembers** will be unemployed at first, and you have to train them in order assign them to a certain job.

Every station can only hold a certain number of people who are willing to work for you on your ship. In order to hire more men, visit more stations.

It is also possible to dismiss workers from their posts, removing them permanently from the workforce.

## Responsibilities

### Morale

Crew require housing and payment in order to operate the ship. If your ship has more staff on board than it can support, or the crew is not paid for a long time, morale will drop. At a low morale rate, specialized crew members will no longer level up and they eventually start leaving the ship. In order to satisfy your workers' needs, build sufficient Crew Quarters and set up payment.

### Minimum crewmen

Certain jobs on a ship need a minimum number of crewmen in order to work optimally. Not employing enough professionals may cause deficiencies in the everyday operation of the ship or its related equipment.

As of 2.4.1 (needs testing for prior versions), Stations require Engineers in it, but aren't necessary to be supplied. The only 3 blocks that ask for them are Thrusters, Engines and Shield Generator blocks, of which a Station only has the last one, and if not supplied, there is no downside: Shield will regenerate normally and the block will get repaired by Mechanics as usual.

## Specialists

Other than all-purpose crewmembers, specialists can also be employed. They can be hired at stations or converted from the general crew.

### Officers

As more crew members work in the same profession, a select few of them will be required to keep them in line. Superiors are automatically organised roughly every 5 people, requiring larger salary to operate:

* **1 Sergeant** for every 5 employed crewmen
* **1 Lieutenant** for every 4 sergeants
* **1 Colonel** for every 3 lieutenants
* **1 General** for every 2 colonels

### Worker levels

As specialized crew work on the ship, they gain experience over time and reach higher levels. Every specialist starts at level 1, which can increase to level 3. Workers of higher level grant additional effects in their field, depending on profession:

 Pilot
 Boarder

## Captains

* *See also: Captain (2.0)*

While not part of the ship's general crew, a captain can also be hired in order to operate the ship autonomously via advanced sector commands and operations. Captains are unique in that they can have a class and carry traits, influencing operations. As long as a captain takes helm, their class perks apply.

Multiple captains can be present on the same ship, occupying a passenger slot each. Passenger captains must still be paid their salary.

## Improving Workforce

### Cloning Pods

If a ship has Cloning Pods installed, it is possible to increase the ship's workforce cheaply. After the cloning procedure, new staff will join the ship as unspecialized crew members.

### Academy

All-rounder workers can be specialized into certain roles, if the ship has Academy Blocks installed. Specialization requires time and credits, depending on the profession.

## Required Crew

Required Crew per Volume (personnel/m^3):