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[Histidine]

What?

Ships in the player fleet with the following properties:

• Can't be refitted or have their officers (if any) changed
• Can't be used as flagship in battle
• Officers don't gain XP
• May or may not pay for their own supply/fuel costs
• May or may not have ally fleet-style AI (can't be given orders, decide when to retreat on their own, etc.)

Specific applications I'm thinking of:

• Escort missions or rent-a-merc, without having to manage a separate fleet following the player around
• Custom scenarios for missions/campaign quests where ally ships should not be commandable (case in point: Dire Straits)
• A fast, powerful guest destroyer at start that leaves the player fleet after a certain level could be helpful for the early game difficulty problems

[AgroFrizzy]

• A fast, powerful guest destroyer at start that leaves the player fleet after a certain level could be helpful for the early game difficulty problems

But that's the best part :O

I like the idea, that line just isn't to my taste haha. It could be an easier beginning option for players that do I suppose.

[Midnight Kitsune]

• A fast, powerful guest destroyer at start that leaves the player fleet after a certain level could be helpful for the early game difficulty problems

But that's the best part :O

I like the idea, that line just isn't to my taste haha. It could be an easier beginning option for players that do I suppose.

Or a good option for the tutorial system

[Sy]

sounds good to me. more opportunities for bigger battles early on and more varied fleet compositions are two things i'd like to see in general, and this could help with both. if it can also be used as a simple way of reducing early-game challenge for new players, even better!

i'd prefer if we'd be able to give these ships direct orders, as they are after all part of our fleet and on our payroll. them retreating automatically if things get dicey could add a bit of merc-feeling, though.
this might be too much complexity for too little gain, but: this could also change with different types/'qualities' of mercs. a shady character willing to fly for a bit of quick cash, hired on some crime-ridden backwater station, would probably turn tail and run at the first opportunity if your fleet is caught by an overwhelming enemy force and chance of survival seems slim. but a well-known escort freelancer with a reputation to lose might even fight to the bitter end -- for the right price.

[Wyvern]

I'd definitely like to see this as a feature.  That said, I'd also suggest that this is very much not a one-size-fits-all situation.

At one extreme, you have the escort mission: a set of freighters, possibly with their own captains, where you can't even use their cargo/fuel/crew capacity, and they will only enter combat if you have to try to flee an enemy.  This matches all the features you listed, with one extra: the guest ships don't require crew (it's assumed they have their own crew that isn't part of your inventory).

At the other extreme, you have things like an advanced AI drone vessel that either can't have an officer assigned to it, or perhaps has its own built-in officer that can't be removed - but is otherwise just like any other ship in your fleet.  This ship can't have its officer changed & can't be used as a flagship, but can be refitted, sold, scrapped, etc.

And inbetween you might have, say, a loaner vessel from the Hegemony military as you go to engage a particularly dangerous traitor fleet; they don't care if you refit it (since they're just loaning you the hull sans armament) or put one of your officers in command, but you can't sell it, and scrapping it will impose a hefty reputation penalty (and come with a warning dialog asking if you're sure you want to incur the Hegemony's wrath).

[Megas]

Would such guests would be loot stealers?  I do not like allies stealing my pile of supplies, fuel, and rare weapons after I win a fight.

[Wyvern]

Depends on how they're set up!

...Which reminds me, there's a feature we need: the ability to do what the AI can do and say "Nope, sorry, you're not allowed to help me in this fight."

[Midnight Kitsune]

...Which reminds me, there's a feature we need: the ability to do what the AI can do and say "Nope, sorry, you're not allowed to help me in this fight."

^THIS! Seriously I HATE how they can come and join me any time they want and end up stealing a large portion of loot even though they are many times just a small group of frigs...
I can understand getting lower quality gear when I join a large battle with a tiny fleet but when it is ME that is the large fleet and I STILL get screwed over on the loot is BS

[Spoorthuzad]

...Which reminds me, there's a feature we need: the ability to do what the AI can do and say "Nope, sorry, you're not allowed to help me in this fight."

^THIS! Seriously I HATE how they can come and join me any time they want and end up stealing a large portion of loot even though they are many times just a small group of frigs...
I can understand getting lower quality gear when I join a large battle with a tiny fleet but when it is ME that is the large fleet and I STILL get screwed over on the loot is BS

I suggest making another topic for that.
Unless Alex has already seen it.