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The Dilemma Encounter Simulator (DES) allows you to test your decks against other players’ actual dilemma piles, or against your own custom-made dilemma piles.
The first step is to choose a dilemma pile as prompted by the “Play against ...” pop-up menu (or “drop-down list” for those of you using Windows). The menu includes an option for the DES to randomly select a dilemma pile for you to play against (what would an STCCG tool be without a random selection?) as well as an opportunity for you to supply your own custom-made dilemma pile.
Once you have chosen a dilemma pile, you may begin simulating mission attempts. You may type your mission names in the fields provided, or leave the fields as they are; the mission name fields do not affect DES functions. Use the radio buttons to choose the mission you wish to attempt. Type the appropriate number of personnel in the “Attempt with ...” field, then click the “Attempt” button. The DES will draw and appropriate number of dilemmas and display them to you in a list. At this point, you will have to take over. The DES is just a collection of JavaScript routines, not an AI engine, and cannot make human-like decisions.
You can also simulate the use of cards that let you examine cards from the top of an opponent’s dilemma pile and put them different places. Type the number of dilemmas you are entitled to examine in the “Manipulate” field and then click the “Manipulate” button.
While a list of dilemmas is visible, click on the dilemma
name to view the dilemma image. Click 
to
replace a dilemma on top of its owner’s dilemma pile;
to
place a dilemma on the bottom of its owner’s dilemma pile; 
to
stack an overcome dilemma beneath your mission, or 
to
place a dilemma as a damage marker or place it atop a mission (you will
have to remember which mission).
If you want to reset the simulator entirely, click the “Reset” button or refresh your browser.
The DES is designed to be used in two basic ways: as a simple mission attempt simulator, or as a more thorough deck tester.
If you simply want to simulate mission attempts, remove all non-personnel cards and duplicate unique personnel from your deck, then shuffle. Decide how many personnel you want to use in the mission attempt, and deal off that many cards from the top of your personnel stack. Run an attempt with that stack of personnel. Repeat as often as you wish.
If you want a more thorough deck testing experience, choose a dilemma pile, lay out your missions, shuffle your deck, and draw your starting hand of seven cards. To determine “who goes first,” simply roll a die (odd = you go first) or flip a coin (tails = you go first). Play out your cards as you normally would in a game, keeping track of the number of turns played. To give your deck the best possible workout, assume that your opponent has an eidetic memory, knows exactly what personnel you have where at all times, and always chooses the most efficient way to stop your mission attempt. Also, on your opponent’s tenth turn, flip a coin or roll a die; if the result is tails or odd, your opponent reaches 100 points on that turn. Obviously, the DES is not actually playing a game against you, and most of your opponents will not have eidetic memories or be able to perfectly follow your shell game of beaming personnel around, but testing your deck with these rigors will help make it the best it can be.
The DES will be updated frequently with new dilemma piles, and piles that do not take into account the most recent set will be rotated out of the DES database. The DES also gives you the ability to specify your own customized dilemma pile. This is a good way to test your own dilemma pile against other decks. Load up your personal dilemma pile and play it against the fastest mission-solver deck you can build.
Due to the way the DES handles dilemma piles, you cannot simply type in the names of the dilemmas. To the DES, a dilemma pile is really just a list of numbers, and the numbers allow the DES to look up the corresponding dilemmas. In order to simplify the coding of custom dilemma piles, a separate page, the Dilemma Pile Code Generator, allows you to simply enter the quantities of each dilemma and then click “Generate.” The DES will then “translate” your choices into its coding system, and you can copy and paste the resulting numeric list into the DES custom pile field.
If you create custom dilemma piles for the DES, please consider submitting them for other users’ use.
The DES is not sophisticated enough to deal with cards that manipulate dilemma draws (Machinations, Talosian Trial, Unexpected Difficulties, I Don’t Like to Lose, etc.). To simulate cards that add or subtract from the number of dilemma draws, just do the math yourself and “lie” to the DES about how many personnel or attempting. For example, if you want to simulate the effects of I Don’t Like to Lose, just type an appropriately lower number in the “Attempt with” field and spend an appropriately higher number of dilemma counters.
The most serious current limitation of the DES seems to be that it cannot distinguish for you between face-up and face-down dilemmas when you use the “Manipulate” option. If you examine more cards than are face-down in the pile, the DES shuffles the face-up cards and then draws off the top of the shuffled stack (just like when you reach the face-up cards when drawing for dilemmas).
The DES and DPCG have been tested successfully on Safari and on Internet Explorer for Macintosh and Windows. If you are using a browser not on this list, please report your experiences (whether successful or unsuccessful) to Unimatrix Zero One.
Various enhancements such as a turn counter, simulated opponent’s point scoring, and simulated opponent’s core event tracking are all possible future enhancements.
The Star Trek Customizable Card Game is published by Decipher Inc. and is based on the Star Trek series and films produced by Paramount Pictures. All copyrights and trademarks remain the property of their respective holders. Neither Decipher nor Paramount has endorsed this web site. Christopher Heard a.k.a. Unimatrix Zero One is solely responsible for the contents of this site.