[clark]

I'm all for this, but it seems a bit complicated (which can sometimes be an AI killer)

So how about it get's simplified a bit...

A cargo component (or some duch derivation) that allows for a "Captain's Chair". The only thing that can go into it is a "Captain/Admiral/President/Diplomat/Whatever".

Allow the cargo inside to have effects (not currently allowed in SEIV... but seems might be possible) when loaded into the cargo unit.

Basically, have a facility that can build the Special units (ie the Captains) at whatever rate you want to mod in.

If the Captain's Chair component get's destroyed in battle, well, anything inside would be dead too. By making it a cargo component, you would be able to transport/trade your captains between ships and other Empires.

To do this, it would require some code changes to allow cargo units to produce effects (such as sats that can produce intel/research, but they can only do it outside of a cargo bay).

You can mod in different limits on the number of Captain's by changing the production costs/time/ maintenance.

Allow for the units inside the cargo holds to gain experience (or not, simple flag) if they are in a battle within the cargo hold. Have the experience be another moddable flag that can be applied to Ship/Fleet/System/Global.

Have a line that defines how experience from combat is accrued to the Captain Unit- have it only work when the Captain is in the Captain's Chair (so you don't get the bonus with a bunch of Captain's in a cargo hold).

By allowing a "Captain's Chair" component, this will allow the modders to mod Admiral Chairs/President Chairs/Etc that can only allow predefined characters. It gives you options.

i like the promotion idea, but it might be too difficult to work within SEIV/V structure. The AI isn't the best, and if it can't use it, then it will probably be dropped. Not sure if "life time" can really be implemented either- better to try and think within the lines of SEIV and how things are set up- more likely to be included that way.