I've been thinking about science, especially in relation to the UFoP, and I have some thoughts. Hear me out on this.
I'm going to start with the Oberth Class. As you know, that's the default science ship in the game. However, we don't really see it that often in TNG (twice, maybe?). It's an old ship that goes back to the TOS movie era (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock). It's inclusion as the science ship makes sense since it was designed specifically as a science ship, but it just doesn't sit well with me. It's too small, too old, and has a one-off appearance in the TNG era.
That brings me to the stated mission of Starfleet: science and exploration. Starfleet is a de facto military organization, but it has science and exploration as its main mission. It sends its ships out to do science and exploration, effectively making them armed science and exploration vessels. The Enterprise fulfilling a dual military/science role in-game makes total sense, but shouldn't that be every ship in the fleet? Each ship in Starfleet would be expected to fulfill defense, science/exploration, and diplomatic roles. Should that not be true (albeit in perhaps some limited way) in the game?
The UFoP should have an advantage in science since that is one of its primary missions. It should have more scientists available, and scientists that are better and faster at completely science and exploration/survey missions. Furthermore, Starfleet ships should have duals roles, meaning that they should have the ability to choose their specified roles (defense, science/exploration, diplomacy). If the science-exploration role is chosen, a scientist can be added alongside the captain. The captain's role is in defense and diplomacy, and any minor faction encountered would be dealt with by the captain, including ship-to-ship interactions with other factions just as in the show.
So, this brings in potential limitations to this part of gameplay. If you want to limit the types of ships that can be used for the dual-role, at least at first, then why not replace the Oberth Class with the Excelsior Class? The Excelsior Class shows up everywhere during the TNG era even though it began in the TOS movie period (Star Trek III). The reason for this was that the Excelsior was just a great ship. It was well-built, versatile, hardy ship that quickly became the workhorse of Starfleet, a ship that could be be slid into almost every single role, including defense if needed. Why not use it as a jack-of-all-trades ship, available to use for science/exploration, construction, diplomacy, and defense? Make it cheaper to build in-game (it undoubtedly would be a cheap option by the TNG era). And, again, assign additional (there's always a captain) specific personnel depending on its assigned role (scientist/engineer). And, yes, we should have engineers in-game for construction/repair/ship research.
As for the other factions, their science should perhaps be tailored to their proclivities. I'd imagine Klingons get a science penalty since they are a warrior race. Maybe instead of science they can use a subjugation/occupation dynamic that allows them to expand, albeit with certain limitations that may prevent them from taking over everything. That said, I'd imagine they may have a small advantage in expansion speed because they don't bother with the niceties of science and peace, but with certain expansion penalties like over-expansion that hits at unity or certain population penalties for occupying (colonizing) planets before they adequately checked them out for suitability. And make the Bird of Prey the primary ship for that. Other factions could have their own dynamics (the Cardassians could use shady diplomacy that allows them to surreptitiously subjugate worlds, for instance).
Anyway, just some thoughts that could add some additional flavor and spice to an otherwise fun game.
I'm going to start with the Oberth Class. As you know, that's the default science ship in the game. However, we don't really see it that often in TNG (twice, maybe?). It's an old ship that goes back to the TOS movie era (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock). It's inclusion as the science ship makes sense since it was designed specifically as a science ship, but it just doesn't sit well with me. It's too small, too old, and has a one-off appearance in the TNG era.
That brings me to the stated mission of Starfleet: science and exploration. Starfleet is a de facto military organization, but it has science and exploration as its main mission. It sends its ships out to do science and exploration, effectively making them armed science and exploration vessels. The Enterprise fulfilling a dual military/science role in-game makes total sense, but shouldn't that be every ship in the fleet? Each ship in Starfleet would be expected to fulfill defense, science/exploration, and diplomatic roles. Should that not be true (albeit in perhaps some limited way) in the game?
The UFoP should have an advantage in science since that is one of its primary missions. It should have more scientists available, and scientists that are better and faster at completely science and exploration/survey missions. Furthermore, Starfleet ships should have duals roles, meaning that they should have the ability to choose their specified roles (defense, science/exploration, diplomacy). If the science-exploration role is chosen, a scientist can be added alongside the captain. The captain's role is in defense and diplomacy, and any minor faction encountered would be dealt with by the captain, including ship-to-ship interactions with other factions just as in the show.
So, this brings in potential limitations to this part of gameplay. If you want to limit the types of ships that can be used for the dual-role, at least at first, then why not replace the Oberth Class with the Excelsior Class? The Excelsior Class shows up everywhere during the TNG era even though it began in the TOS movie period (Star Trek III). The reason for this was that the Excelsior was just a great ship. It was well-built, versatile, hardy ship that quickly became the workhorse of Starfleet, a ship that could be be slid into almost every single role, including defense if needed. Why not use it as a jack-of-all-trades ship, available to use for science/exploration, construction, diplomacy, and defense? Make it cheaper to build in-game (it undoubtedly would be a cheap option by the TNG era). And, again, assign additional (there's always a captain) specific personnel depending on its assigned role (scientist/engineer). And, yes, we should have engineers in-game for construction/repair/ship research.
As for the other factions, their science should perhaps be tailored to their proclivities. I'd imagine Klingons get a science penalty since they are a warrior race. Maybe instead of science they can use a subjugation/occupation dynamic that allows them to expand, albeit with certain limitations that may prevent them from taking over everything. That said, I'd imagine they may have a small advantage in expansion speed because they don't bother with the niceties of science and peace, but with certain expansion penalties like over-expansion that hits at unity or certain population penalties for occupying (colonizing) planets before they adequately checked them out for suitability. And make the Bird of Prey the primary ship for that. Other factions could have their own dynamics (the Cardassians could use shady diplomacy that allows them to surreptitiously subjugate worlds, for instance).
Anyway, just some thoughts that could add some additional flavor and spice to an otherwise fun game.