Best "ship and crew" genre games

[al_infierno]

This is an oddly specific request which I figure the groggies are uniquely suited to answer.

I'm looking for the best games the revolve around managing a ship and its crew - whether it's a space ship, a boat, a submarine, or what-have-you.

The first few that come to mind are:

• UBOAT - bought it but haven't played it
• Silent Hunter 3 - the classic sub sim that everyone's played to death
• Barotrauma - a different take on the sub sim, you control an individual crew member in a 2D perspective.  Best suited for multiplayer though which is my big gripe   
• FTL: Faster Than Light - another tried-and-true one I've already played to death

Any others I'm missing that I should check out?

EDIT - A quick mosey on the board shows this adaptation of the U-Boot board game which looks promising: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1897450/UBoot_The_Board_Game__Digital_Edition/

[Jarhead0331]

Bomber Crew
Space Crew
Star Trek: Bridge Commander
Star Trek: Klingon Academy
Between the Stars
Carrier Command 2 (no real crew other than drones)
Mass Effect series
Aircraft Carrier Survival
Pulsar Lost Colony
Destroyer Uboat Hunter
Dangerous Waters
Genesis Alpha One
Universal Combat, dare I say?

[The_Admiral]

Sub Commander

It's free, it's good, it's merciless

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/sub-commander
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-flare-path-wharf-fortress

[Vox]

B-17 Flying Fortress : The Mighty 8th (2000)

Crew Management and RP is central to to this sim. Crews members are are specialized (pilot, navigator, bombardier, gunners, etc). Crew members are trained by player, and improve with combat.  They can be moved around by the player to build better crews, etc. This Sim is all about completing the mission objectives and crew survival so they gain experience.

[Jarhead0331]

B-17 Flying Fortress : The Mighty 8th (2000)

Crew Management and RP is central to to this sim. Crews members are are specialized (pilot, navigator, bombardier, gunners, etc). Crew members are trained by player, and improve with combat.  They can be moved around by the player to build better crews, etc. This Sim is all about completing the mission objectives and crew survival so they gain experience.

Good call. A classic.

[Phantom]

...or if you fancy progressing onto board games 
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/44890/picket-duty-kamikaze-attacks-against-us-destroyers

[glen55]

Star Trader: Frontiers is a space combat/trading game with a plot that you can follow if and when you care to. I've had a lot of fun with it.

The ship is highly customizable, and you can also save up and buy a bigger ship or a ship of another class.

You have a large crew, 20 or more, that you assign to particular jobs. Each one is an individual with skill ratings in a number of skills and the ratings can improve.

https://startraders.fandom.com/wiki/Ship_Combat_Strategies

https://startraders.fandom.com/wiki/Starting_Crew_Guide

[FarAway Sooner]

I'll second Glen's sentiment.  I'm not that into RPG games, but this one is a very nice RPG/spaceship commander sim.

There are a few games out that involve "base and crew" where it's a starbase (or a restaurant, or a weapons shop) that design pretty deep interactions with your crew and customers in, but I assume that's outside your range?  I've had Oxygen Not Included on my "Following" list on Steam for a while, but never pulled the trigger on it.

[joram]

I would second Aircraft Carrier Survival.  Hate the name, but it's a good ship/crewamagement game.

[JasonPratt]

Armored Commander II is a frequently updated and expanded (for free) inexpensive game on Steam which involves quite a bit of crew management on a tank platoon in WW2.

Which tank platoon?

"YES!"

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1292020/Armoured

"ArmCom2 is a game of survival rather than destruction. You will frequently find yourself outnumbered and outgunned. Your success in a campaign will depend on your ability to deal with a variety of challenges, and to make best use of all the tactics and tools that you have at your disposal. Different tanks, historical eras, and regions of the world will produce a very different play experiences, from the initial armoured clashes in Asia and Poland in 1939, to the final drive on Berlin and the Pacific Islands of the Japanese Empire in 1945."

The graphics intentionally evoke the Commodore 64, but anyone considering Sub Commander won't mind that. ;)

The dev has ceased active development as of Nov 27th, although he encourages mods, and anyone who'd like to officially take the challenge of designing ArmCom3, plus he'll continue to do bug fixes. (He included one today, coincidentally.) But as of quitting, he has include 816 units types (from infantry to battleships) and 57 historical campaigns from Khalkin-Gol through the invasion of Okinawa.

Be aware, the game is designed to work with a gamepad primarily; mice do not work (or mine didn't just now), and keyboard functionality seems only partial.

[al_infierno]

Armored Commander II is a frequently updated and expanded (for free) inexpensive game on Steam which involves quite a bit of crew management on a tank platoon in WW2.

Which tank platoon?

"YES!"

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1292020/Armoured

"ArmCom2 is a game of survival rather than destruction. You will frequently find yourself outnumbered and outgunned. Your success in a campaign will depend on your ability to deal with a variety of challenges, and to make best use of all the tactics and tools that you have at your disposal. Different tanks, historical eras, and regions of the world will produce a very different play experiences, from the initial armoured clashes in Asia and Poland in 1939, to the final drive on Berlin and the Pacific Islands of the Japanese Empire in 1945."

The graphics intentionally evoke the Commodore 64, but anyone considering Sub Commander won't mind that. ;)

The dev has ceased active development as of Nov 27th, although he encourages mods, and anyone who'd like to officially take the challenge of designing ArmCom3, plus he'll continue to do bug fixes. (He included one today, coincidentally.) But as of quitting, he has include 816 units types (from infantry to battleships) and 57 historical campaigns from Khalkin-Gol through the invasion of Okinawa.

Be aware, the game is designed to work with a gamepad primarily; mice do not work (or mine didn't just now), and keyboard functionality seems only partial.

Oh yeah, I forgot about this one!  This game is absolutely excellent as well.

[CptHowdy]

just came out on epic games store tortuga-a pirate's tale. played about an hour or so and seems pretty good. you are a captain with upgradeable skills. you have to please your crew by making them promises and fulfilling them otherwise they get rid of ya! ship combat is turn based which makes it easier to control your fleet of ships which have their own captains and skills.

[Destraex]

Nobody mentioned Naval Action? You do manage your crew in that game. If not in an RPG sort of way at least in battle.
Naval Action is free to try now.

[JasonPratt]

There's also a surprising amount of crew management in Warhammer: Man-o-War: Corsair! -- which I really like. Isn't sold on Steam anymore, but I discovered it's still sold on GoG! At a hefty discount this past week, too, although I'm not where I can check at the moment.

You hire each crewmember, adjust their names and look (to some degree), assign them to stations based on their stats, outfit them with armor and weapons, sometimes move them between stations during actions, pay them off on a regular basis, pick perks for them as they level up.

If you like to buy and sail your ships and walk around the deck during fights or while your first mate is sailing it, upgrading it, buying/building new ones... some of the tweaking options are slim (because development barely managed to putt in before being cancelled) but there's a full game there.

[Gusington]

^Is Corsair a finished game? How many hours did you get out of it?