Folks,
After a long hiatus, I've been playing a SFCOP (Mirak) and a SFC1 (Hydran) campaign, alternating between the two. Based on my recent experiences and my previous campaigns (when these games were newer), I have a few nagging questions:
1) Is there an optimal time to add ship(s) to your starting fleet of one? Obviously for the ISC, their tactics are designed around an echelon of 3+ ships, so they would be an exception. For everyone else, though, is there a general consensus?
2) Should a player add a 2nd / 3rd ship as they go along from hull class to hull class? For instance, should you add two FF types once you are flying a DD type, then replace the FFs with DDs once you are flying a CL, etc.?
My personal experience has shown that I am better off waiting until I'm flying my preferred ship (class and model) before adding ships to my fleet. This keeps the odds / drafting from being lopsided which, in turn, can make some of the campaign missions feel darn near impossible. On the other hand, reaching this point doesn't take a huge amount of missions and after that, the game seems more repetitive, as I'm not upgrading ships (and in SFC1, changing officers) very often.
Any thoughts on building and maintaining a fleet as you progress through the campaigns?