I've spent about 6 hours trying to find where this might have been brought up/discussed, and I haven't managed to; so HOPEFULLY it's a new thing (or I'm blind. Very possible
)
ANYWAY!
I am so far LOVING the new way that stations will be implemented, and their viability as forward support locations and fleet support installations in deep space. Brilliant!
I also recognize that morale for commercial bases and ships is being effectively removed, as it has never actually done anything to degrade performance anyway. Though I'd be lying if I said it never bothered me seeing those numbers at zero (those poor, bored, harvesting crews!). However, what I haven't seen is how the morale of MILITARY stations might be addressed?
There's never been a way to actually 'rotate crews' in Aurora, and that's pretty much torpedoed the real possibility of building stationary defense bases to look after jump points (at least, not ones that weren't prohibitively huge and expensive anyway). This is why mine fields are generally opted for, I feel. However, I know that I'd much rather use a few genuine space-based forts hovering on a jump point that are more than just a one-and-done line of defense!
I feel that one change being introduced into C# might afford a perfect opportunity to address the issue of military base morale. Since the lore of the game is being altered to make shuttles the means by which goods and personnel is transported between orbit and the surface of a planet, I'm wondering if either of these solutions is feasible:
1) a station equipped with a shuttle bay, in a system with an appropriate colony world or recreation module-equipped station, would not be subject to morale degradation, denoting the ability of said station to send its crew out on regular leave rotations; or:
2) abstract this by a little by allowing a player to opt for such stations to have a higher annual mineral upkeep in order to represent the associated cost in money and material of using (invisible) commercial shuttles to rotate out crews.
Either case should probably also require that such stations have a higher than normal crew requirement, as both the on-station personnel and those currently on shore leave would be unavailable for assignment on new construction.
Not sure how much other players would want a system like this, or how hard it would be to code; I just know it's something that has always frustrated me a little that I couldn't do, so I figured I'd post it here!
LOVING the game, btw!