Oh yeah, I mean on ship configuration I’m being a complete noob, I go with default configurations so far. I was saving customization for the next campaign. So you’re definitely right about optimization of kitting out the configuration, I’ve not done that.
And that’s actually part of the coolness of the game, not only can you go with different set of ships to accomplish the task at hand (and store the rest) you can also for battles use different sets. Along with of course the mods on them.
There’s a lot of depth to the ship and battle element of this one, a lot.
Reminds me of discussions in Total War, what’s the right way to configure a stack. Well, as it just so happens there’s really no right answer to that.
This game hits a total sweet spot for me, much more so than I would have ever anticipated. And reminds me strangely enough of Rimworld, which I rank in my top set of games I’ve ever played.
Edit: BTW, Astrals are 45, so 5 more than an onslaught to bring into a battle