This is essentially a rehash of my spiel concerning fleet combat and the extent that it is supported by the EV plugins. Those who have been following the discussions over the years may remember this and may not want to re-hash it again here. However, I believe that this is very important to the EV storyline development.
I believe that supporting, or even encouraging, fleet development and combat does not remove the ŇchallengeÓ of the game, as some might at first think. Instead it is a natural continuation of pilot and story development: start as a fighter pilot, work to a Kestrel, then a cruiser, then a fleet, then a fleet of capital ships. Aside of the combative challenge of actually capturing your fleet (capturing is much harder than outright destroying which is hard enough), you have to contend with all the enemies make - you can become quite unpopular.
Fleet development does not preclude conducting missions, nor does having a fleet necessarily make missions easier. In fact, having an trigger-happy fleet can often make the missions or even surviving more difficult. Fleet development adds a whole new dimension to the game. Fleets have to be designed (which ships to include), captured, used effectively (much experimentation), and preserved.
Most of all, fleet combat is interesting because it is very complex. The tactics are at least as varied than one-on-one combat, which the newbie must learn in the earlier stages of pilot development. After all, mearly one of the possible tactics of fleet combat is to stand-down the fleet and to fight alone (used particularly when trying to capture or when vastly overpowered). Even with your fleet active, youŐre using every one of your fighting tactics just as for one-on-one.
For fleet combat, decisions have to be made of whether/when to use the large on-board fighter group, when to bring in your escorts, when to recall your fighters and/or your escorts (perhaps to stall for shield restoration), whether to have your fighters deployed before battle or to use them just for cleanup, whether to let your fleet fight on its own or to go into the ŇthickÓ of things so you can alternate your fire with theirs (very effective), etc. When you have the choice, you also have to decide whether to start combat at close range or far range (particularly important decision with escorts like an EVGE Polaris Destroyers are present). The topics go on.....
Also, youŐve got to protect and preserve your fleet as well as yourself. Your fleet canŐt, or wonŐt, flee as well as you. In a large inter-fleet battle, youŐve got to try to protect the members of your fleet from taking on an opponent too large, or too fresh...all the while your probably trying to avoid a few dozen torpedoes. This protection is very often needed if you try to stand-down your fleet after battle has started. Also, youŐve got to make sure your fleet doesnŐt expend their weapons needlessly while traveling between systems (theyŐll sometimes send a dozen fusion missiles after a fighterm, EVGE again). I WISH ESCORTS COULD BE SHUT OFF UNTIL FURTHER NOTIFIED. Sometimes they are already battling before I even jump into the system!
Some ways of supporting fleet combat is to have missions requiring a LOT of fire-power (not just the final mission - TAG), having Capital ships travel in groups (as the real U.S. Navy ships do), having a variety of formable ships (the like the Ňdouble-edgedÓ EVGE Destroyer with itŐs fusion missiles adds great complexity to fleet design...another discussion), having real CAPITAL SHIPS, purchasing (not renting) Capital escorts, more control over the escorts such as shutting them off and having the option of having them on automatic or selecting their target (as with on-board fighters). IŐm sure there are many more that IŐm would never think of (IŐm not an Author).
Anyway, just my opinion. I hope enough Authors agree and can figure out how to do it. ItŐs easy to make the wishes, not so easy to grant the wishes.
-Cruiser
