Manpower as a resource

[gregebowman]

Another thing that might affect ships is computers. The more that the tech is researched, the more things can be automated and there would be less need for a skilled crew. It might take a lot of game years to do the research and gain the technology. In the meantime, you would need such skilled staff. But eventually, you'll need less population to build and crew ships. Then you can use them to colonize more planets.