One less crew required (which means one more crew to do something else - man another gun, or add more propulsion). This can be done for Supply/Cargo Ships, but not so much for Combat Ships. Might be OK for aircraft carriers or automated anti-aircraft ships. Something with lots of flak guns, perhaps - have not tried it yet though.
Idk if it's fair to set ballistaes at max range against cannons and rifles, like of course they're gonna do badly when they are outranged. I still think an argument could be made if the role of the ship is to attack static stuff and just drop the ships in the middle of the battlefield where the weapons can actually land their shots without the need to use aimed fire command to up the accuracy. Well that or you may also try to set a fast, low command ship on the fleet to cockblock any attempts of the enemy ships to move around into the blindspots. Or harpoons. It's not like you actually need to have them 1v1 stuff on the campaign, and on big battles there is always stuff to shoot even if you don't command half your armada.
What's the advantage of not using a cockpit, considering the low cost and crew requirement?
One less crew required (which means one more crew to do something else - man another gun, or add more propulsion). This can be done for Supply/Cargo Ships, but not so much for Combat Ships. Might be OK for aircraft carriers or automated anti-aircraft ships. Something with lots of flak guns, perhaps - have not tried it yet though.
Idk if it's fair to set ballistaes at max range against cannons and rifles, like of course they're gonna do badly when they are outranged. I still think an argument could be made if the role of the ship is to attack static stuff and just drop the ships in the middle of the battlefield where the weapons can actually land their shots without the need to use aimed fire command to up the accuracy. Well that or you may also try to set a fast, low command ship on the fleet to cockblock any attempts of the enemy ships to move around into the blindspots. Or harpoons. It's not like you actually need to have them 1v1 stuff on the campaign, and on big battles there is always stuff to shoot even if you don't command half your armada.
That's a good point! There could be a role for such ships in a fleet.
to be honest I expected something like a floating anti-air barge like a flying fort or something
Thanks - you know - I think I might try this again, with your ideas in mind.