SEIII's system worked because both repairs and damage were measured in components. SEIV's current system is a bit in-between; we repair per component, but build and destroy by kt. If the build system was changed to repair purchased ships instead of building, you'd have the problems with instant stellar manip comps.
If you changed the repair to kt, and then repaired ships you had purchased, the system would work more appropriately. Emergency build would speed up repair times, which would then drop to lower repair rates. It might even be better not to pay up front, but to pay for components on the turn on which they're completed.
Being able to destroy ships-in-progress also added some suspense to attacking planets--are those 35 dreadnaughts functional, or empty shells?
[ July 17, 2002, 04:49: Message edited by: Krsqk ]
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The Unpronounceable Krsqk
"Well, sir, at the moment my left processor doesn't know what my right is doing." -
Freefall