The paper deals with an extension of the Polis modeling process that concerns war-vessel type dynamics. The study provides an opportunity for considerations on conceptual distance in SD models. We address the question with stating that a complex system cannot be simulated by an invariant model and that its change require adjustment in the conceptual distance which can also imply the treatment of discrete events. The models of Kuhnian theory suggested by the literature allow us a comparison for concluding that the POLIS approach could be of more interest in the simulation practice of complex systems.