Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)

While the game leaves it entirely to you to decide how best to operate the carrier, there are some common strategies that seem to work best. This thread will focus on that.

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Crew Management
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Crew Counts
While technically you can operate a carrier by yourself, it is far more efficient to operate with a crew.​

• 3 players - This is the minimum recommended crew number. This will allow you to be fairly effective in most situations.
• 4 players - Since game servers are limited to 16, this is the standard number of crew to have so that up to 4 carriers can operate on one server.
• 5 players - While 4 is considered the standard, it is possible to be even more effective than normal with five people if you assign well-defined roles.
• 6 players - It is not recommended to operate a carrier with 6 people unless one person doesn't mind observing or waiting on standby sometimes. On a short-term basis, it's still good for teaching very new players how to effectively run a ship, but beyond that, it is recommended to run two carriers with 3 players for each instead.

Suggested Crew Roles
(listed in descending order based on recommended levels of player experience)​

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Captain (CO) - best suited for someone who is very familiar with all other roles.
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• Observes holoconsole and notifies on enemy movement/attacks.
• Handles all logistics and setup of vehicle loadouts.
• Handles the helm and ship navigation.
• During amphibious assaults (ie. not sea combat), may sit at 3rd (middle) drone station to assist air & ground forces.
  
• Handles ship defenses if Deck Chief is manning 3rd drone station.

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Deck Chief (XO) - assists in a variety of ways; does a little bit of everything except logistics.
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• Observes carrier radar and handles all carrier-based weapons.
• May assist Captain with the helm and ship navigation.
• During amphibious assaults (ie. not sea combat), may sit at 3rd (middle) drone station to assist air & ground forces.
• May assume Captain's duties when they are away/busy.
• Only assign this role with 4 or more crew.

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Carrier Air Group (CAG) Tactician - most difficult combat-focused role; for advanced combat controls, ideally suited for those who can handle direct control and/or have access to a gamepad.
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• Controls air forces when at sea or during amphibious assaults (scouting and airstrikes).
• Provides air transport of ground forces for island defenses and setup of radar stations.

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Tactical Armor Group (TAG) Tactician - easier combat-focused role; good position for newer/more casual players.
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• Controls ground forces during amphibious operations.
• Assists Deck Chief with defense of the ship when at sea (esp. calibration and launching of torpedos).
• May assume Deck Chief's ship defense duties (radar/turrets/gun scope) when they are away/not available.

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Helmsman (Crewman) - easiest role for new players
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• Mans the helm when at sea.
• Can assist air & ground forces at 3rd (middle) drone station (allows Captain and Deck Chief to focus on bridge duties).
• Only assign this role with 5 or more crew.

Port-side Bridge Layout
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Starboard-side Bridge Layout

*NOTE: Tactical Support (middle chair) can be filled by anyone not GroundTac or AirTac.​

 

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Carrier Tactics
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Assault Positioning
(courtesy of Trevnor)​

1. The stern should be stopped closest to landing zone.
2. The holding pattern for aircraft on approach cuts very close to the carrier on the starboard(right) side, and swings out wide on the port(left) side.

If we're in starboard configuration, our air assets can come in for landing(which they need to get low for) and not have nearly the same risk of AA fire as they would coming in over land
I lost two of our Albatrosses because of this oversight

Here's a crude, shitty map courtesy of Paint, and also not to scale. I think should should be a minimum of no closer than 1000m meters from shore.

 

Air Tactics
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Ground Tactics
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Logistics
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Miscellaneous
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