Last September I went to some length to discover if the ships that are flown throughout New Eden could be flown by a lone capsuleer or if a crew was required. The information was available in the dark depths of EVE lore but it was far from conclusive. My archeology led me to discover there was a wide range of viewpoints, some suggestive fiction and a few outdated ship schematics that some figures could be gleaned from. I thought I left no stone unturned and fruits of my research can be read in this blogpost.

But that doesn’t really matter now. It seems that CCP t0nyG, CCP Abraxus and the content team have revisited the canon themselves and finally put the debate to rest. The following image was apparently taken from CCP t0nyG’s Fanfest presentation, ‘Words Words Words’, which I sadly missed.

It’s interesting to note that there appears to be some disparity between the figures my research suggested and these new ones. For example, the Evelopedia states battleships are “…crewed by many as 10,000-15,000 lives”, whereas the new table suggests the maximum is now 8,000, with Minmatar crews having up to 9,600. With a capsuleer instead of a regular command crew “…the combat efficiency increases greatly with the use of the pod reducing minimal crew needed to the hundreds.” Many of the other new crew ranges seem to more-or-less agree with those detailed in Evelopedia with minor variations. The figures found on the ancient schematics are vastly different, but they should probably be discounted as apocryphal.

So whilst the Immersion Project team have stayed true to the general concept, they have tweaked the figures slightly. I’m glad that they have looked over this issue and are tightening the bolts on the official lore. The above table certainly seems to provide a definitive answer as to whether a crew is still required in a pod-controlled ship; it seems frigates can be completely controlled by a capsuleer, but anything larger still requires the vessel to be crewed.

One thing that struck me as an interesting statistic was the ‘Statistical Average Survivor Rate’. If this is as it sounds and represents the average number of people who survive the destruction of their ship, it might be quite interesting (at least to a pedant like me) to revisit the galactic attrition rate calculations I made in The End of New Eden is Nigh. Given the number of ships destroyed on a daily basis, if these official figures are indeed canon, it could be argued that cluster-wide spaceship combat will result in the rapid annihilation of the human race.

Go read that blogpost now if you don’t believe me, then never undock again.


9 Comments

TetraEtc · 14/04/2011 at 00:54

To lazy to write much.. and i must be off anyway… But what about cloning technology with a default brain scan… Surely that could work

Logan Fyreite · 14/04/2011 at 01:21

Wow, well this messes it all up. END OF THE WORLD!

Ridlaw · 14/04/2011 at 06:29

Great now I have guilt 🙁

Eric Deloitte · 14/04/2011 at 08:44

Got to say I'm not happy with the idea of crew, in my head when I'm flying I'm like a shaow pilot from B5, now I got to put up with hundres of meat-bags messing in my ship, I dont like it one little bit.

Also it raises some questions:

Who pays them, it certainly isnt me?

Why dont I have to pay millions in compensation to their families when my negligence leads to their untimely demise?

Why does Concord penalise you massively for killing a pod, but killing hundreds of crew warrants a minor sec hit?

Where do they come from, surely these people must be highly skilled and trained, why is there a never ending supply?

Why the hell do I need to dock to repair, surely one of the hundreds of meatbags stinking up my corridors can wield a spanner?

Seismic Stan · 14/04/2011 at 10:06

@Bob – link fixed, sorry about that.

@Erc Deloitte – those are indeed some fine and hard-hitting questions. I hope you don't mind me taking the liberty of posting them in the relevant thread on the EVE-O forums.

Forum thread

Sae · 14/04/2011 at 11:15

I would've thought that with all their technological advantages as well as having the smallest population (I believe, it's been awhile since I looked at the PF), the Caldari would have (or would prefer to have) a below average crew complement.

So more like Caldari: -10%; Gallente: 0%; Amarr: +5% and Minmatar: +10%

…but oh, well.

Sae · 14/04/2011 at 11:16

Eh, I just followed that link to the forum and I guess others have already asked the same question.
/latetotheparty

Funny, my word verification is podogs

Myrhial Arkenath · 14/04/2011 at 20:20

I have always found it funny in a way that certain players care so much about crew and what harm may come to them, while at the same time having no objections to scamming other players, which could be seen as harming real human beings.

If you ask me, these numbers are only a good thing, I love the grimdark universe.

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