this Strategy must be broke

[Gandalf Parker]

I have alot of different little strategies Im trying and I can usually see the pros and cons. This one seems like I must be missing something. Its probably a "formula answer" that someone will give me in algebraic code since thats my weak point.

Anyway... I was having trouble developing a frontline fleet to stave off the AI. building large ships at safe backside shipyards then flying them forward had them all strung out and easy to pick off. I cried at the lost build time for losing a large ship that was meant to be a support-type unit in a fleet and not fighting alone.

So, I developed multiple Versions of the ship. 3 or 4 specialized combat Versions. And a shell which had only what was needed to fly it like hull, cabins, and engines. The backside shipyards built these shell ships then flew them to the more frontline shipyards. There I had them "refitted" to combat Versions. It seems like multiples can be refitted at the same time. My frontline fleet was intimidating even if it was mostly shells. And the repairs had them becoming combat ready gradually so in the event of an attack it might have a weapon, or two, or a shield. Sure they die if attacked while having 1 weapon but I only lose the shell and one weapon so it was still more usefull than before.

With some tinkering Ive improved things abit. Sometimes I add a solar sail or a couple of cargo holds so it will move forward faster and can carry some sats or mines while its going forward anyway. If the refit undoes that small add-on its not a big thing. I also found that I can send the shells to the farthest-forward shipyard for the refit command, then fly the ship farther forward to a fleet that has a repair ship so it can sit impressively in a fleet while it rebuilds itself.

So instead of a dozen dreadnoughts spread out trying to reach the front, I have a dozen dreadnoughts that quickly get built and sent to the front sitting there in a fleet on a forward planet with fleet training facilities (even though they are shells being armed). Surely there is some horrendous waste of resources or time that Im missing here?