I. Introduction
I have been playing Artemis for about 2 years now.  While I'm fascinated by the player interactions (ask me about the 3 year-old captain of one family crew in particular), I keep getting the feeling that there's got to be a 'better' way to play the game.

So here's my take.  This is an experiment: YMMV.  But beyond the specifics, consider which problems this approach is trying to solve.

II. Rationale
The notion of having a captain tell all of the bridge officers what to do, move by move, is fundamentally absurd.  The game (at any reasonably interesting level, say 5 and above with a basic cruiser) simply moves too fast.  Yes, you might have a perfectly lovely command-and-control-fest in one particular battle... only to find that your stations have been inundated by other battle groups in the meantime.

I believe that bridge officers need better communication with each other, and they need a standard sense of which kinds of tactics they will use.  Heck, even in 'real' (?) Star Trek, Kirk or Picard is always shouting "attack pattern omega 3" or some such nonsense.  What if that actually meant something?

My ideas here are based on the basic cruiser, no fighters.  But they could easily be expanded to other scenarios.  Imperative statements ("abc should xyz") are merely my opinions.

III. Visual Communication
Words are slow.  Vision is faster, but can't communicate intent. 

At the engineering station, I've found that if I position myself so that I can see the helm and weapons station screens, I can frequently anticipate what they need.  E.g. tighter turning, faster loading of torpedoes, or faster shield repair.

So I propose this rough arrangement of stations:

     main view screen, TAC or LRS
    ==============================   


            ---science---


       ---helm---     --weapons--


       ---comms---    --engineering-- 

1. Helm can see Science, useful when scouting out which clusters of enemies to go after.  Science should never have to tell Helm where to go.
2. Engineering can see Helm and Weapons, useful as noted earlier.  Engineering should know what's needed.  If the captain has to tell the Engineer, it's already too late.
3. Comms can see Helm, and has more of a clue where the heck we are, and what we're likely to be doing.  (Especially taunting enemies, or encouraging them to surrender.)

IV. Tactical Codes
The different kinds of encounters in Artemis are actually pretty limited.  A small handful of tactics will suffice for most situations.

So rather than having the captain "rudder order" each station in detail, let's abstract the most common encounters into standard "codes".  For each code, each bridge station should know exactly what to do.

I've organized these codes into a few related categories.  I'm literally suggesting that the captain could yell "Code XYZ" and one or two more words, and the bridge crew would know exactly what to do!

1. Bases
   1. Code Go Home, base 1.  Head for DS1, dock, and recharge.
      • Helm: Warp 2 if possible
        Lower shields unless needed.
      • Weapons: be ready to convert torpedoes to energy as needed (we may be low).
      • Comms: inform base we're going to dock.
   2. Code Rescue, base 2.  Head for DS2, draw away enemies attacking the station.
      • Helm: Head for DS2 at high warp (probably 2).
        Slow to full impulse, and fly within beam range of the enemies.
        Continue on past the station.  Go far enough that battle won't hurt station.
        Get them to follow you, but stay just out of range.
      • Weapons: Shields up.
        Target the main enemy.
        Fire beams at them (automatic) to get their attention.
        Load EMP and Mine/Nuke to be ready for battle.
      • Engineering: speed torpedo loading if needed.

2. Movement, Maintenance, & Defense
   1. Code Gum-shoe, scout out enemy group.  Fly by and around, see what's really there.
      • Helm: Warp to group, then use short bursts of warp 1 to fly around enemies.
        Near enough to see, but just out of range.
        Watch out for fighters or missles.
      • Weapons: Load an EMP, be ready to load nuke or mine.
      • Engineering: boost maneuvering when we get near.
   2. Code Drag Away.  Get a cluster of enemies to follow us away from base(s).
      • Helm: circle around to far side (away from base) of enemies.
        Stay out of range, but close enough to keep them following.
        Then use Reverse impulse so we can stay facing them.
      • Weapons: Shields up.
        Use EMP or normal torpedo to get/keep their attention.
        Shoot down any missles.
      • Engineering: boost maneuvering to allow Helm to circle and position.
        Can reduce when in-place for "drag".
      • Science: inform comms about enemy captains.
      • Comms: taunt enemies
   3. Code Drag Minefield.  Drag enemies into minefield. All stations same as 'Code Drag Away', but get them to follow us near a minefield.
      • Helm: when we're close, warp 'around' the corner of the minefield.
        Aim so their shortest path cuts through minefield.
        Stop.
        Slide up or down side of minefield as needed as enemies get closer.
      • Weapons: use EMP or normal torpedo to get/keep their attention.
        Watch out for missles.
      • Comms: taunt enemies
   4. Code Treasure.  Get gear from wrecks or anomolies.
      • Helm: Fly over nearby anomalies.
        Position wrecks within beam range.
        When wrecks destroyed, fly over treasures/anomalies.
      • Weapons: target wrecks, destroy them with beams.
      • Engineering: boost maneuvering to shorten time to grab treasures.
   5. Code Energize.
      • Weapons: convert torp to energy (usually 2 at a time).
        Tell captain # remaining!
   6. Code Incoming. Incoming missile(s)!
      • Helm: turn to face missile(s) (so that beams can hit it)
        If necessary, use Reverse impulse to back away from enemies.
      • Weapons: target missile(s)
        Shields up!
      • Engineering: boost maneuvering.
   7. Code Run. We're getting clobbered.  Move away, then stop to think.
      • Helm: warp us away from the enemies.
        Stop when we're 2-3 beam diameters out of range.
        Be ready to turn to face incoming missiles if they appear.
      • Weapons: shields up!
      • Engineering: boost maneuvering
        Then boost shields if needed.
3. Attacks
   1. Code Hail Mary. Throw torpedoes at enemy from a safe distance.

      Some enemies can shoot down our torps, in which case we should Dive Bomb instead.  But if they can't, we can stand out of range, and throw an EMP and then nukes or plain torpedoes at them.

      If you're not sure, throw a plain torpedo at them.  Did it get thru? (Weapons, magnify view to verify.)

      • Helm: circle just out of range.
      • Weapons: throw appropriate torpedoes at the center of the cluster.
      • Engineering: boost maneuvering.
        Be ready to boost torpedo load speed.
      • Comms: request surrenders

   2. Code Dive-Bomb. Run through the middle of a cluster, and bomb them.

      This is the single most effective, and most dangerous, attack maneuver.  It's also the only way to win higher level games.  If the shields can stand it, it sometimes takes multiple dive-bombing runs to succeed, with pauses between each to get ready.

      There are two scenarios: a cluster of enemies, or a single big-bad enemy (e.g. Skaaran). 

      1. For a cluster, we want to do the maximum damage near the center of the cluster.  Precise aiming is not needed.
      2. For an individual ship, we need to get very close, so that it can't shoot down our torpedoes.  EMP/Nuke pairs are best for taking out Skaarans, but if we're out of nukes, mines are effective -- but then aim is critical.  Pause a little longer if necessary to get the stern aimed at the enemy, then drop the nuke and run.

      Bridge station details:

      • Helm: Hang outside a cluster, facing it.
        Use Reverse impulse if needed.
        Aim for the big ship(s) near the center.
        When weapons & Captain are ready, dive into the cluster with a short warp-1 burst.
        Pause briefly, just past the center, to let bombs fly
        Then warp 2 out of the cluster until clear (but not too far)
      • Weapons: have EMP and nuke/mine loaded.
        Target big ship(s) near center of cluster.
        Coordinate timing closely with helm!!
        When helm pauses just past center of cluster, fire EMP.
        Pause about a half-second, then drop nuke or mine
        Start reloading nukes or mines immediately
      • Engineering: boost maneuvering at outset
        At the end of the run, boost shields or torpedo load speed as needed.

   3. Code Bread-crumbs.  Get a trail of fighters to follow us, and mine them.

      Enemy carriers can launch a bunch of small, fast, and deadly fighters.  We can't handle fighters and big ships simultaneously, so get away from the main battle area -- but not too far, don't lose the fighters.  Get them to follow you in a nice, straight line, and drop mines on them.

      • Helm: Turn to get a clump of fighters following directly behind you.
        (This may take some maneuvering until they and we are all lined up.)
        Use full impulse and very short bursts of warp 1.
      • Weapons: when helm is ready, drop a mine, wait, then rinse & repeat.
        One well-placed mine can take out a bunch of fighters, if they're clumped together.
      • Engineering: boost maneuvering at first
        Then boost torpedo reload

   4. Code: Shoot-em-in-the-back

      Beam smaller ships to death from behind.  Good against Kraliens, retreating fighters, i.e. any ship that does not have rear beams.

      • Helm: circle around ship or ships as necessary to get behind them.
        Get one in our beam range.
        Turn with them to keep in target.
        Use stop or Reverse impulse as needed to stay in position.
        If they manage to turn towards us, warp away, reposition behind them, and try again.
      • Weapons: target!
        Adjust beam frequency
      • Engineering: boost maneuvering
        Boost beams if possible, esp if target is not turning (much)
      • Science: report shield frequency
      • Comms: request surrender