Okay so first of all... whow. Finally. Anyone remembers me posting for two years we need fighters to be a weapon class, not a ship class? Yes? No? I don't care. Finalllllllyyyyyyy.
I love it. Solves so many issues. Finally I can steal those pesky fighters as salvage! Finally no more slowing down a fleet because fighters can't be sped up (and the as many wings as flight decks and they won't count for speed mechanic somehow went to Narnia when I wasn't patching...). Finally not every carrier replacing every wing at will (which was weird. An Astral being able to churn out several types of fighter... okay. But all those mini-carriers, mostly modded, I know, how on earth do they keep parts around for 12 different fighter wings?)
Now there is only one thing I don't understand. I like the idea of a hangar-meter, but it's an additional set of features. Why not just do it via CR? Make every replacement cost a small percentage of CR on the carrier, the more expensive the individual fighter, the more it should cost.
Reason for that: Fighters should remain a finite resource, not just a limited one. Think of the new Battlestations coming up. With only the meter You could sit in Your corner after swiping the mobile defenses and just keep sending wave after wave for a really long time. Even if they only did minimal damage, that would be a major advantage, then combine the final couple of waves with an actual assault of Your big ships just called in. Also it might make sense in that combination, assuming Stations would have more or less infinite CR, they could be churning out actually endless waves of defensive fighters, unlike a siege fleet. Also, would stations get a hullmod that improves fighter engagement range as well? Given their more or less endless supplies that might make sense (just pour in the good fuel en masse...) not the pirate moonshine...
Also, small carriers could become a real nuisance. They could be made rather fast and maneuverable and piloted well, they'd just wear down direct fire ships of a similar size.
I think CR cost should be a factor, maybe not the only one, but it really would make sense. What is CR? The availability of combat supplies easy to reach during battle, and resistance to the continued strain on the crew and systems. Losing fighters won't make the pilots and flight deck officers go all jubilant, the machines screwing together prefab engines and chassis will eventually take a toll if used at ultra-fast mode continuously and yeah... the parts will run out.
Also this would reflect that those fighters... they cost something. Those parts don't grow on hydroponics-stalks. So CR cost = supply cost later on.
This brings me to my second point. Missiles. Missiles are the weapon of choice for modern warfare... why? Because they are the perfect weapon, end of discussion. Versatile, long range, little to no danger for the user, - their only drawback is their cost, which is why they are fielded today where there is more than enough money, productivity and resources available to just build them en masse. So I find it funny, lore-wise and gameplay-wise, that carriers are capable of churning out endless amounts of fighters, while all ships, even dedicated missile carriers, are limited to whatever they can stuff into their racks at the start of combat. Some missiles have been revamped to have a low fire rate but infinite ammo, okay, but that ammo seems to just spawn as well. If we are talking hangar-meter, why not missile-meter? Why not CR drain for missiles as well? In combat, they would be awesome as they should be, but You'd have to think about using them a lot... it will drain Your ships CR, which will cost You dearly after combat (more time needed to restock, also supplies are costly...) - and the weakening of the ship during combat could be explained via the abstraction of CR and supplies. So if Your wolf can fire off lots and lots of missiles, probably they ripped out the spa-section to make room for more... missiles. And the crew suffers from it.
I say, endless fighters? Give me endless missiles. And make both drain CR to make them less endless.
Posted here instead of suggestions, as I don't know if I am alone with my opinion or actually missing some points. Always been a bit wobbly on balancing-issues, have a weird playstyle. So....
(edit: after reading several complaints now on here, and as this is related to new features just wanted to also say... darn, I don't care how long it takes. This game is awesome, and it actually is done right. Even the place-holder mechanics are more thought out and balanced than in most other games, so it is allowed to take its time. And meanwhile, it is already a game well worth it's 15 bucks, or 10 when I bought it. It's easy to sink hours and hours and hours into this without getting bored, and it's somehow never frustrating (unless there is a savegame-corrupting crash...). This game has over years been my personal holiday at home and probably prevented more office-massacres than any shrink or prescription ever could have. I would not complain about the current game for that price, much less with the option of it constantly expanding without getting rushed.)