Testing the design's weight trade-offs

The simulated ship is set near 41,000 tons standard displacement and initially comes in slightly overweight. The design choices include anti-torpedo measures, shell types, ammunition allowance, and the distribution of belt and deck armour. Lighter shells improve reloading and accuracy at costs to range and damage in the game model, while heavier shells trade velocity and reload time for greater damage. Aft protection is reduced while the heavily armoured forward battery is preserved, making the model's weight choices explicit. Because the selected game year supplies radar, the fit also shows how later equipment can consume design growth margin. The simulation makes those trade-offs visible, but it cannot prove that a historical navy would have built this exact ship.