Optimal star fleets and other stuff.

I've been following the discussion on optimizing fleets and I'd
like to add my 0.02 Cr.

First, invoking Game Theory, since a fleet battle is a two person
zero sum game, the Minimax Theorem *guarentees* there is *one*
optimal strategy (in this case fleet design) which is expected
(barring) luck to win a greater percentage of the time than any
other strategy.  Work has been done at Stanford by the EURISKO
an heuristic evolving computer algorithm, on the TCS problem!  It
seems that a fleet of relatively small ships (I don't know the
sizes) with some Meson Gun spinal mounts and some PA's is a
better fleet than an homogenous one.  Note, that I don't believe
that EURISKO has found *the* optimal fleet for any TCS parameters
as it is unable to consider radical design changes which require
creative use of obscure rules and prescedents in the Traveller
rules.  I think I could beat EURISKO this way in TCS (if I get
some choice in the parameters to be used) but once an heuristic
program allows from some of my ideas, it will probably beat my
fleet pretty handily.  For those of you who are interested, the
only printed reference I have for EURISKO and TCS is pp. 72+
of _Engines_of_Creation_ by K. Eric Drexler.

It is true that there is more to a space based navy than TCS
ships, but it is my feeling that the main battle line would
be designed in this way.  Also, once a major interstellar war
started, production would shift to favor these designs (along
with Troop and *SUPPLY* ships!)

Side comment on programming GM aids for Traveller:
I don't like Graphics Interfaces at all, but a majority of
*buyers* do.  Also, I don't agree that you have to make this
thing horribly portable.  I say make a universal data processing/
storage/retrieval system that you can *add* graphics interfaces
onto for different platforms.  I don't think that *many* gamers
have problems with wanting to run the thing on a Mac some nights,
a VAX others and an HP every other major holiday.  Make a
universal driver and then interested parties can write an ASCII,
Mac, PC, NeXT or whatever driver for it as they see fit.

Nick Christenson
[email removed]