Okay, several hundred lines of code into my re-write of the combat engine. On the plus side, adding some nifty features for more easily tracking what different ships are getting up to during a battle!
I've decided to pretend that there is no combat engine and it all runs on narrativium with the ship statlines as guidelines, because understanding changing rules is stressful.
Oh god I do not trust that Rigellian as far as I can throw him.
On the other hand, Betazoids in cloaks are a
really good idea and look kind of terrifyingly mystical.
Mathematically it will matter an extremely small percentage of the time unless stacked with (several) other bonuses. It's just a small advantage, not a significant one.
Small advantages add up very quickly over time, and even small battles take a while. Having a 5% edge over your opponent may not help
every time but it will help
many times, and it becomes decisive
some times. It's a way to win four battles out of six, rather than three out of six.
The main thing is that the other two options for a Cardassian Report don't seem all that appealing either. We have a pretty good grasp on their ships and shipbuilding.
Well, we'll have to get another report on their fleet in a year or two.
@OneirosTheWriter, have you considered doing a report option for "Klingon/Cardassian/Romulan Affiliates?" One thing our intelligence might be able to do is affirm the
existence of species allied with those three empires if applicable. The Klingons would almost certainly have vassals and we know the Cardassians do.
It wouldn't surprise me if recruitment became easier during wartime. With an all volunteer navy, it makes sense more people would be willing to sign up when their lives are threatened. of course you still have to train them, but it should become easier to replace losses as we mobilize for a long conflict.
The big problem is that Academy classes take four years to train. Even with accelerated recruitment you don't start seeing the benefits until the third or fourth year of a war, and the extra recruitment will stop as soon as the war ends. Plus a fair chunk of your volunteer forces will leave to go back to civilian life.
I'm not saying you're wrong, but I am saying it's not something I'd care to rely on. In particular, it doesn't help us deal with the need to replace crew casualties
If the Cardassians lose five thousand spacers they can draft five thousand more and keep fighting, as long as they have ships. If we lose five thousand spacers and don't have replacements (given that an
Excelsior crew is about, oh, 600-800 and a Connie crew is 300-400)... we're sunk.
][REPORT] Progress report on the development of Starfleet cloaking devices
