RR, I mostly agree with what you have to say. Certainly from the point of view that the player is the captain, it makes all the sense in the world to have a virtual plotting crew do all the heavy lifting in terms of putting together observational data to create the managament information the captain needs. Leaving them out of the simulation loop is unrealistic. And RFB (my current chosen mod) certainly greatly changes the game from stock.
That said, even with RFB, almost everything you need to know about the target in terms of speed course and range is easily obtained in 3 minutes using the marker, ruler and stopwatch. Having that info is not the end all of the encounter; indeed it is really just the beginning as there are almost countless command decisions to be made after that initial determination, along with additional calculations to be made and continued monitoring of the target area for changes in data or additional individual contacts.
I guess my only minor 'gripe', such that there is one, is that even with RFB the on-map contact position "feels" like it is *continuously* updated too accurately, too close to real time, especially at long range. If there was a way to get rid of/diminish the accurate continuity of updates, especially in terms of range data not derived from active sonar/radar observation, I think the game would be enhanced. Perhaps the map contacts could be updated discretely rather than continuously if relying solely on visual observation/estimation as to range, but that's probably an impossible thing to mod. A player would still have the benefit of the guys working the virtual plot, but in this way their processing time, and any inaccuracy/uncertainty of the information relayed to them by the watch, could be worked into the mix.
I have no knowlege of modding this particular application and I bow to the skill and dedication of those who have provided us with what we've got. I've got a feeling the things I'd like to mess with in this regard are hard-coded in the engine. In the end it's all about fun anyway, and getting what you want out of the game. No amount of fidgeting with these simulation elements changes the fact that no matter what decisions we make in this regard, we have no chance of ending up dead with dozens of other good men at the bottom of the Pacific, which is the only realism that really matters.
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