Small rework of the rebuild system

[jeeweej]

Right now the rebuild system works pretty well, but IMHO it has a somewhat weird quirk.
Let's say we have a shipclass named Bob. We built four Bobs in 1900 and in 1901 we rebuild two with new turbine engines. (I just grabbed random years and techs here, it's just for example purposes)

So now we have:

2x Bob
2x Bob (1901)

Through science  and a dash of RNG magic, it is now the year 1902 and we have a new FCS available! So we rebuild the two original Bobs with said new engines AND the FCS, resulting in the Bob (1902) spec.

With the current game logic, I cannot rebuild the 1901 spec to the 1902 spec. I would need to create a new 1902a spec for them. Leading to two separate branches of rebuilds.
So we'd have:
2x Bob (1902)
2x Bob (1902a)
They have the same specs, it's just that the a's have had that earlier rebuild.

Wouldn't it be easier for the user to allow ships within a class to be rebuild to any design within that class? Even though it will cost the player more resources?

(one could even think of the game keeping the exisiting wear&tear on the already partially rebuilt class, but that would make things maybe more complex than they need to be)

[director]

A thing like this, is:

If you are building two or more ships of the same class, where their launch dates are, say, two months apart.

The first ship launches and needs (say) a fire control update, so you send it in for a rebuild.

Then the seconds ship launches while the first is in rebuild - and it might get a speed gain or loss. Rebuilding it results in two ships becoming two separate classes, which forever after cannot be refitted back into the same class.

I support allowing any ship of the original root class to be rebuilt to the latest version.

[jeeweej]

May 25, 2023 12:10:43 GMT -6 director said:

A thing like this, is:

If you are building two or more ships of the same class, where their launch dates are, say, two months apart.

The first ship launches and needs (say) a fire control update, so you send it in for a rebuild.

Then the seconds ship launches while the first is in rebuild - and it might get a speed gain or loss. Rebuilding it results in two ships becoming two separate classes, which forever after cannot be refitted back into the same class.

I support allowing any ship of the original root class to be rebuilt to the latest version.

Yes, or at least give the player the option to choose: rebuild a ship to keep it in line with the rest of the class, or make it a class of its own.
Something like that.