Good to hear it works!
Here's a good thread about strategies:
http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?t=415364
I'm not sure if there are any realism/accuracy mods made but if you're curious enough you can edit files under Data/AI with notepad. Dunno what kind of accuracy you mean but f.ex cannonball damages and accuracies can be adjusted at Data/AI/misc.txt.
Well that's something but I think the game needs some tweaking that can't be done via modding.
I have been playing intensively, very intensively I should say, this week so I have a few impressions to express and I hope you guys will listen.
The limit to 5 ships per fleet can be accurate because at that point in time there really wasn't the habit of travelling in convoys. However, the real issue with the 3d battle is that unless there's very strong wind, most of the battles will take a lifetime even at higher speeds because ships move very very slowly. The bigger the ship, the slower it moves of course.
This limit on 5 ships then becomes critical because you would use a cutter to slow down the big enemy ships and then close in (next day, when it arrives) with your galleons. This is a real issue with the 3d, ships move far too slowly and if you have the misfortune of starting against the wind, you easily get caught almost immobile by the enemy fleet coming downwind on you. Unfortunately you either use cutters/fast or transports/slow or galleons/immobile so a fleet with max 5 ships is not versatile. Just a bit more manouverability and speed for all ships (keeping the proportions) would help a lot enjoying the 3d battles more. At present time it's pretty tedious with you being almost immobile almost all the time... yet if you simulate the battle those ships you would NEVER catch, actually engage your galleons and you get to sink them. This is BAD... sim should reflect the most likely result of a 3d battle otherwise when facing one transport with my 5 galleons I will always in win SIM battle and always have the transport escape in 3d battle. This means in SIM mode the battle should end with the transport escape not with my victory by sim-sinking it.
Another issue I found is related to wait for full load. Ships that are loaded with Marines will be considered as cargo-empty but of course those marines ARE cargo so they can't be loaded. If you tick this option on a commander that has marines in his fleet, you are sure to keep for 1 or 2 years his fleet totally imobile in a port (this increases the micromanagement component dramatically and should be fixed ASAP).
On a final note, if I as Britain hold 4 ports and Spain only holds one, and if I keep sinking its ships where does all its money come from? We need a better AI and better AIs do not cheat. This is most certainly my top priority, personally. All the rest can stand and I am ok with it but these things should be a bit worked on.
Just my 5c I hope you guys will listen for next patch.