POWs

[Garfunkel]

Option 2. POW camps are very specialised facilities that have no other purpose. Remember, they need to be able to accommodate different gravities, atmospheres and so on. It's not just a pre-fab huts surrounded by barbed wire.

Transporting POWs also gives hospital ships a second job which is good. And I'm all for adding new diplomacy options regarding them - aliens demanding repatriation, improving relations with them if you hand them over quickly or without being asked, POW camps generating unrest because civilians are uneasy living next door to them, and yeah, chance for escape if the POWs are the same species. Ground units definitely need a chance to surrender too!

But perhaps this all could be a check box in game options like maintenance, jump gates and realistic promotions.

[Alsadius]

I don't think option 2 will actually be worth the effort, either for you or for us. Option 1 is just fine by me.

But if you've got a good idea in the back of your mind and you feel like going for it, then do. It might be nifty in practice, and I'm not opposed to it or anything.

[nuclearslurpee]

Option 2, preferably accompanied with an option to transfer prisoners from one ship to another so warships conducting search and, um, rescue operations can offload to the slow prison ship for transport.

[Kiero]

Option 2, plus convert processed POWs to a population? (Prison colony)

[villaincomer]

Option 2

[Zed 6]

Option 1 for all the reasons others have already stated.

[ISN]

If you just kept the current intel and diplomacy systems and added POW management on top, I think it would be more trouble than it's worth: the intel often just doesn't seem very valuable. But if you took this as an opportunity to expand the diplomacy system as others have suggested I think it could be great.

[Steve Walmsley (OP)]

If you just kept the current intel and diplomacy systems and added POW management on top, I think it would be more trouble than it's worth: the intel often just doesn't seem very valuable. But if you took this as an opportunity to expand the diplomacy system as others have suggested I think it could be great.

I have had a lot of useful intel from prisoners, which is why i thought it maybe should be harder to get.

BTW, regardless of what I do with POWs, I will follow option 1) for rescued crew and officers of the same race. They will become available immediately.

[Kaiser]

If you just kept the current intel and diplomacy systems and added POW management on top, I think it would be more trouble than it's worth: the intel often just doesn't seem very valuable. But if you took this as an opportunity to expand the diplomacy system as others have suggested I think it could be great.

I have had a lot of useful intel from prisoners, which is why i thought it maybe should be harder to get.

BTW, regardless of what I do with POWs, I will follow option 1) for rescued crew and officers of the same race. They will become available immediately.

Can We at least keep the possibility to unload them at a colony and keep track of them in a small box of how many they are and which species they come from? Just for RP purposes.

[nuclearslurpee]

If you just kept the current intel and diplomacy systems and added POW management on top, I think it would be more trouble than it's worth: the intel often just doesn't seem very valuable. But if you took this as an opportunity to expand the diplomacy system as others have suggested I think it could be great.

I have had a lot of useful intel from prisoners, which is why i thought it maybe should be harder to get.

BTW, regardless of what I do with POWs, I will follow option 1) for rescued crew and officers of the same race. They will become available immediately.

I get a good amount of useful intel, but getting active sensor designs is a huge disappointment so I can understand why some people would have an impression that intel is not useful. Honestly, sensor lowrolls could probably be removed and no one would shed a tear...

[Steve Walmsley (OP)]

If you just kept the current intel and diplomacy systems and added POW management on top, I think it would be more trouble than it's worth: the intel often just doesn't seem very valuable. But if you took this as an opportunity to expand the diplomacy system as others have suggested I think it could be great.

I have had a lot of useful intel from prisoners, which is why i thought it maybe should be harder to get.

BTW, regardless of what I do with POWs, I will follow option 1) for rescued crew and officers of the same race. They will become available immediately.

I get a good amount of useful intel, but getting active sensor designs is a huge disappointment so I can understand why some people would have an impression that intel is not useful. Honestly, sensor lowrolls could probably be removed and no one would shed a tear...

I'll give some thought to what could replace them. I prefer not to boost the chance of some of the other ones by just eliminatiing it, so I will look at options and maybe a rebalance.

[Barkhorn]

If you just kept the current intel and diplomacy systems and added POW management on top, I think it would be more trouble than it's worth: the intel often just doesn't seem very valuable. But if you took this as an opportunity to expand the diplomacy system as others have suggested I think it could be great.

I have had a lot of useful intel from prisoners, which is why i thought it maybe should be harder to get.

BTW, regardless of what I do with POWs, I will follow option 1) for rescued crew and officers of the same race. They will become available immediately.

I get a good amount of useful intel, but getting active sensor designs is a huge disappointment so I can understand why some people would have an impression that intel is not useful. Honestly, sensor lowrolls could probably be removed and no one would shed a tear...

Maybe I'm mistaken, but wouldn't stealing an active sensor design be a huge intel win?  You get to know the exact capabilities of your enemy's sensors, and can thus have an easier time avoiding detection and/or target lock.

[alex_brunius]

How are PoWs handled when it comes to boarding? Surrendering crew and officers should be a great opportunity for interrogations here with big bonus to learning even more about the captured ship class (like where is it deployed, built, how many exist and so on).

I always assumed that an abstraction of interrogating and pressing the captured crews into limited service (under guard) was one reason why you could get captured ships up and running somewhat quickly (which seems to be changing now in 2.6.0)
https://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php?topic=13463.msg171632#msg171632

[Steve Walmsley (OP)]

How are PoWs handled when it comes to boarding? Surrendering crew and officers should be a great opportunity for interrogations here with big bonus to learning even more about the captured ship class (like where is it deployed, built, how many exist and so on).

I always assumed that an abstraction of interrogating and pressing the captured crews into limited service (under guard) was one reason why you could get captured ships up and running somewhat quickly (which seems to be changing now in 2.6.0)
https://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php?topic=13463.msg171632#msg171632

Boarding tends to kill the crew - although its possible that could change. However, for ships that surrender, their crew will now become prisoners on their old ship. I've just posted the updated rules.

http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php?topic=13463.msg171766#msg171766

[alex_brunius]

Boarding tends to kill the crew - although its possible that could change. However, for ships that surrender, their crew will now become prisoners on their old ship. I've just posted the updated rules.

http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php?topic=13463.msg171766#msg171766

Cool 

Maybe the total Xenophobia (for both different races) could be used to determine an overall ratio of surrendering crew (and possible ground forces down the line) with some randomness built in?

Logic being that both the actions of the race doing the capturing and the race being captureds expectations on how they will be treated as prisoner are important to determine if it makes sense for them to surrender.