GameSpy: What you could call an RPG element in Starfleet Command 3, is the possibility for your crew to develop. Tell us more about this.
Daniel Hagerty: It's a fairly simple system. When you acquire a ship, it has six officers, each assigned to a particular station (e.g. helm, tactical, engineering, etc.). As you progress through either the single-player game or the Dynaverse, each officer gains experience. As they gain experience, they also increase their abilities in a wide range of skills. These skills contribute to the efficiency and overall combat-worthiness of your ship. For example, the better your engineering officer gets, the better your shields reinforce. Good tactical officers provide bonuses to targeting and firing weapons. A good security officer increases the effectiveness of your away teams when attempting to capture a ship.

Your officers can get injured, and can even die, in combat. (That's why it's wise to have a good medical officer!) When this happens, they are replaced by a "red shirt" -- essentially, an unskilled crewmember. You can, however, replace them (after a mission) with another one of your officers if you are unable to recruit a new officer from a starbase. All officers have some semblance of skill in each of the six stations, and some highly experienced officers may have more than one specialty.

Besides letting your officers gain experience organically, you can swap officers in and out at friendly starbases. You can use prestige to "purchase" a new officer, and will have the chance to review his or her skills before bringing them aboard. Officers will never perform tasks for you, like in Bridge Commander. Instead, they contribute to the overall excellence of your ship, and enhance your own abilities in flying, fighting, and exploring