Suggest Test Pilots whom give modifiers to new planes in dev

[Daza99]

Sometimes we get a unit that gets a promotion and becomes a unit with modifiers for combat in the unit they are in. (im not sure in the game if this is triggered by units that have actual combat experience > x or what- but having some kills under their belt could be a condition- but for recon and transport pilots- perhaps the criteria is x number of sorties flown before they are rolled against for chance of being used in this role. It could be something that doesn't occur very often but can do.

What if some pilots can be come test pilots in the same way. However a profile could be generated in the same way when using a Recruit Merc stratagem card and going into the reserve pool. This test pilot could be assigned to a type of aircraft you are designing. Giving it a bit of a boost in some areas of design because of testing done in the air and experience of the pilot etc. Either this pilot is attached to a plane type indefinitely, where you see his profile image top right (much like an attached Advisor) in the aircraft design page for a specific type eg. Heavy Aircraft, he/she cannot be moved around to other types.


There could be a 5-7% chance during the research to production phase that the pilot is killed, just an event where the plane malfunctioned and he wasn't able to eject in time or whatever (having a rng of different reasons to mix things up..bird strike, attacked by alien birds, sabotage etc).

Some pilots could specialize in a specific area, such as developing wings or improving engine, perhaps that isn't realistic as they would give overall feedback in real life but just giving some variety to the kinds of test pilots that might get generated. Intelligence could be another stat as well. This might mean a certain plane might have a efficiency modifier for fuel or has a better defense rating that otherwise would.

I do not know if they would get a wage and relation rating with the leader, that could be bypassed, but for extra risks and drama suppose they did and they could be become resentful and sell secrets to the enemy (enemy gets the modifier too) or time to develop a plane takes a little longer than usual. But the upsides to this risk is having a better plane from the start. Of course some might think that this might be going too far and of course that part could be removed, just rare chance of getting a good test pilot and their risk of dying while testing could be high or low based on (planet type, season and if a current war is going on).