[Hrothgar]

Fyron, that's a good idea. Damage IS too predictable in SEIV. However, I don't see why both variables couldn't be included; for example, in one game:

DUC V damage 40-60 40-60 40-60 40-60 40-60

But, in another game:

DUC V damage 30-50 30-50 30-50 30-50

Possible variations in damage and range for a given weapon from game to game should probably not be too extreme, but even if it's only a 10-30% variation in average damage and a 10-30% variation in range, that would probably be enough to change the relative effectiveness of different weapons from game to game, so that it could pay off to be more flexible in your research plan than is currently the case--given that now we all know from the get-go EXACTLY what we'll get out of each research project.

Perhaps either or both of the variables above could be optional choices when setting up the game. If you wanted to play without them, you just wouldn't check the box to activate them.