NPC Gameplay

This page is a Work in Progress as much of the lore/Development for the game is yet to be established.

This page provides an overview of the various ways players can interact with Non-Player Characters (NPCs) in Starship Simulator, ranging from basic communication to complex crew management and social dynamics. Understanding these interactions is key to effectively operating a starship and navigating the galaxy.

Types of NPCs

Different NPCs serve different roles and offer unique interaction opportunities:

• Player Crew: NPCs serving as part of the ship's active crew:
  • Captain / Executive Officer (for specific roles if not player-controlled)
  • Pilots
  • Science Officers
  • Tactical Officers
  • Stewards
  • Engineers
  • Other Human NPC Crew
• Unique Characters: Named individuals with distinct personalities or roles:
  • AVA (AI character)
  • Jonesy (Ship's Cat)
  • Cluck Norris
• Other In-Game Characters:
  • Passengers
  • Enemies/Hostiles in Combat (Planned)
  • Alien delegates (Planned for First Contact)

Behaviour

Pathfinding

NPCs can currently travel on floor meshes designed into each deck. Depending on their duties and schedule, NPCs identify locations that they need to travel to and calculate a path of shortest distance to reach it. Some, such as Cluck Norris and Jonesy, will not use these, instead will travel around the ship freely. If a destination is on another deck, they will generally use stairs to travel to them; however, those that cannot use stairs or travel between decks, such as RM-84, will only find routes on the deck they are stationed on and prioritise tasks in the set location.

Schedule

From Dev Build 0.226.0.15, NPC crew members were given schedules and shift patterns aboard a starship. On a Magellan Class starship, there are three crew members assigned to each position, with each working in a rotational pattern of 5 minutes. These are split into three different sets: shift hours, leisure hours and rest hours.

During shift hours, the NPC will take up position at their assigned post and perform duties at the station. For example, a Security Officer assigned to a Security Desk will take up post at it and man the station until their shift ends. The NPC is currently coded to remain there until their shift ends. During the leisure hours, the NPC will wander away from their post to rest or look after their wellbeing, such as eating meals, going to the bathroom and entertaining themselves. In the rest times, they will head to their quarters to sleep until they are scheduled to start their next shift.

Interaction

NPC interaction with the game world is currently limited, but expanding. In current versions, NPC crew members are assigned only to interact with certain stations of the ship depending on their duties. Some, such as engineers and RM-84, are programmed to affect the game world, such as by fixing broken objects or clearing grime from deck floors.

The player can currently only interact with crew assigned to the Bridge stations by looking at them and pressing the F key. They can be spawned in and dismissed by interacting with a relevant station, such as the Helm and Sensors Station. Interacting with the station whilst an NPC is present brings up the command menu, providing the player with a list of actions that the NPC can perform. For example, an NPC at the Helm can navigate the starship to a selected part of the galaxy, whilst an NPC at the Sensors Station can control the display distance of the Holo-Display and perform surveys on selected celestial objects.

Development

Planned Enhancements

These interactions are gameplay elements that have been mentioned as possible or distant planned Gameplay features. The wiki will be updated as each feature will become available.

As Starship Simulator evolves through Steam Early Access and Full Release, NPC interactions are expected to become more sophisticated. These are planned to include:

• more complex AI behaviours and routines
• crew management and orders
• social and casual interaction, probably involving deeper dialogue trees and relationships
• dialogue directed at information exchange
• combat and security actions
• service and amenity duties
• diplomatic interaction with extra-terrestrial species, such as First Contact, trade and negotiations
• reflecting the impact of player actions on NPC morale or efficiency