I'm sure this has been posted b4, but here's is another take for posterity;-)

Simulator is excellent for player battles, but completely inappropriate for pirates:(
I have lost 2 fleets of 15 BCs, 10/9/9 against modest pirate forces (12/12/12) that simulator showed i would win with max losses of 3 ships:(
I am aware that officers can make simulator more accurate, but this is gross misscalculation.
Plz make simulator against pirates more accurate, and post warning that it is still way off with pirates:(

You really should warn players about using the simulator. A vague description like the one in the officers "level 1 will add several defenses, level 2 supports big ships..." is nothing. You should be more specific. Especially for new players who learn to trust the simulator from early battles, loose fleets because of it without a warning. It is a waste of the time and the effort they have put into game, so they get angry and leave it:(

Instead, simulator should be a lot more specific about what it can do. When called with a simulation that includes small and large shields, it should pop up a window saying that "small and large shields were detected. Results will not be accurate , unless officer l 1 is hired". Giving the wrong result without a warning, is a gross error:(

Simulator should never give wrong results, and cause players' damage. It should either give correct results if data/features are up to the task, or give nothing at all and cite the reason (ie large shields need officer l 1).
As it stands right now it causes players to loose fleets. That's completely wrong. Plz fix