Using fictional ships to test design trade-offs

Fictional fleets provide a way to reason about familiar naval design choices. The Venator is preferred because a large fighter base with well-sited weapons can be more useful than a powerful but inflexible ship. Properly distributed centreline weapons preserve firing arcs while a large hangar multiplies the ship's reach through embarked craft. The County-class and Town-class cruiser comparison makes the broader lesson concrete: additional punch is not automatically worth a major loss of flexibility.