Prioritizing the Maritime Control Center is not a tricky
exercise. The more water on your world, the more you'll need this. Likewise, if
your faction is isolated on a small island, this will come in useful. Basically,
you need this project if you like ( or need ) ships. If you're already on a landmass
that has all the expansion room you want, and you don't feel like running off
to bother the other factions, then you might as well do without. Of course, if
you're trying for a victory by conquest, you will need to take to the oceans eventually
- unless you're willing to wait until you're ready to try orbital insertions
against remote enemies. For peaceful factions, this project will increase your
ability to explore, and also make things that much harder for expansionistic,
seafaring factions to get into your face.
This is one of the earlier projects - early enough to be extremely
useful in quick-kill conquests. That +2 to nautical movement is just a useful
little extra late in the game when your ships are big and powerful, but early
on when your ships are small and limited in movement, it can amount to a crucial
tactical advantage. If you're planning on building a lot of your ships early,
this project is significantly more important than if you're willing to wait.
