Q&A ยท 7:34:40-7:37:04

Modeling spoiled water and provisions in a naval simulation

A logistics-tool question develops into a proposal for random spoilage of water and salt pork in naval games.

Question

What kind of tool could support naval logistics in a historical simulation?

Short answer

Shared documents or spreadsheets can track assets, while random rolls could represent uncertain losses from spoiled water and food.

Notes

A request for a spreadsheet-like logistics tool leads to suggestions for shared documents and spreadsheets already used to coordinate naval forces in a role-playing game. The more difficult modeling problem is uncertainty in the provisions. Water and barrels of salt pork can go bad, and a simple inventory cannot by itself predict when that happens. Random rolls are suggested as a way to represent those losses. The distinction is between tracking what a force has and deciding how much of it remains usable during a voyage.