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[CoverdInBees]

Hi, judging from things like the blogposts and replies by Alex here in the forum i get the impression that the current release cycle is at least getting close to the latest stage, so decided that now is the time to get off my ass and create an account to suggest some improvements.
I'm sure i thought of more things during my last playthrough but can only remember two things now, so here they come:

First, it would be nice to be able to toggle between "tank controls" and inverted by pressing shift, instead of having to hold it down. I only use tank control in broadside ships (Conquest and Odyssey) while using inverted for everything else. Right now when switching ships I have to switch it in the menu, which is only a few key presses but that's already enough to keep me from doing it sometimes, which in turn leads to me switching ships less, which leads to inefficient deployment for smaller battles, using more autoresolve for pursuits, etc.
I'm sure i'm not the only lazy bastard out there, and also imagine that most people vary between the controls in the same way i do, so it might even make sense to make "shift to toggle" instead if "hold down shift" the standard option.

Next one probably requires a bit more work since it involves at least some UI changes, but i hope it's still relatively easy:
It would be nice to be able to sort the order of your officers in their selection/management screen. Right now it's the order you hired them in (with the PC at the top) but i often find myself wanting to order them in a different way. Sorted by agressiveness or by wether or not they have carrier skills, for instance. This would be especially useful in those stages of the game where your fleet composition is in constant flux, but also later in the game if you want to quickly move some officers to smaller ships for an easy fight, and then back to their capitals or cruisers when the fight is over.
I guess the easiest way to do this is to have up/down arrows on a selected officer so you can move them up or down in the list one by one.

That's all for now. If i do another playthrough before the next version comes out i'll probably remember a lot more though

[Apfelkuchenbemme]

Well I definitely agree on the second point; being able to move them around would be nice. I wouldn't use arrows tho since that sounds a bit finicky if you want to move someone all the way to the top, just give the player the ability to "throw" the officers around like the ships in the fleet overview.

But as for the first point,

I'm sure i'm not the only lazy bastard out there, and also imagine that most people vary between the controls in the same way i do,

I can honestly say I have never used that option before and after giving it a shot, I'd say I like the current version better. Probably comes to if you look around a lot so you only use Shift to follow a target or if you only want to use Shift to take a peek or something like that. However since inverted is currently done with the Shift key, it'd make perfect sense to be able to lock it with Caps Lock, wouldn't it?

[CoverdInBees]

Ah yeah. I would agree that being able to "throw" them might be better, at least if done in a way that doesn't interfere with the screen's current functionality. I just suggested the arrows because i imagine that's the easiest way to do it, not remembering that the throwing is already possible in another UI.

When it comes to your second point, about the controls, i have the idea that we might misunderstand each other. When talking about how i assume most people do it like me, i mean that most people probably switch to inverted controls in the menu and then use *only* inverted, never touching shift, for most ships.
And then when they switch to a broadside ship they'll use *only* tank controls, either by constantly holding shift or by changing it in the menu.
In other words i think the people that use one method normally, then switch to the other method occasionally for "special maneuvers" (or for looking around like you mention), all while flying the same ship, are probably the minority.

Hence why i think that if we get an option to use shift as toggle that should probably be the standard instead of the option you have to change. (just like i think "inverted/strafe" controls should probably be standard instead of "tank" controls, by the way)
But in the end this doesn't really matter much, except for new players that aren't aware of the different controls and menu options yet.

*edit* ah and when it comes to using capslock for lock and keeping shift as it is now... I guess that's also a possibility, then you could do both instead of having to choose between functionalities in a menu. Anyway another thing that would probably be best to leave to Alex to decide how he'd go about it if he decides to do something with it.

[SCC]

Shift being a toggle or not is personal preference, but it would be nice to have that option nevertheless. I use tank controls all the time, but I'm not going to force that onto other people.
It would be nice to be able to drag officers around. You can do that with ships, you can do that with items, why not officers as well?

[CoverdInBees]

... I use tank controls all the time ...

You do? Even with fast frigates (like a starter Wolf) for instance? I can't hit a thing flying like that... But maybe i'm just getting old.
Anyway after thinking about it a few minutes more, having another key to use besides shift (like capslock as apfelkuch suggests) might make the most sense in the end. That way you don't lose any functionality, which would probably be best for people that often fly small ships with omni shields for instance. (and still having the reflexes and nimble fingers to fly them optimally xD)