"Thus, one more option: when docked at a port, you can “restore” a ship to peak condition, getting rid of all d-mods. This is quite costly, up to several times the cost of buying a new hull – but is always an option for a ship that’s worth it..."
"For using ship recovery to acquire new ships that you’re not able to find for sale, then – compared to current boarding there’s a much higher chance to be able to recover one, but a higher cost to fully restore it once you do have it."
Why not mix credits, supplies and heavy machinery (and any other related commodity) as a "currency" used to remove D-mods?
D-mods would use diffirent elements depending on their nature/origin, and and ships would get theose more in line with their function, so civilian ship would more likley loose structural integrity, primitive military suffer from armour micro-damages, tugs and frigates engine failures and advanced prism/teleport craft get some electronic glitches.
There was an old saying about those "restorations" (as i worked in this branch for time) and even more common in recent times for everyone..."it might be more cost-effective to buy a new one"...mostly due to policy of mostly electronic-oriented companies and an extreme example for industry. For balance purposes costs need to be high, but "several times the cost of buying a new hull" is balance-breaker in other way around. Same as new one would work, as you already payed in supplies to drag it out of debrie field costs are higer, two times would give you a pause...but several times - i hope its a hyperbole.
As for boarding...i love boarding in almost every other game...lets say taking over is my little "fixation" from dungeon keeper to Homeworld (where in main storyline I captured all enemy ships above corvete, not destroyed even one exept bugged attack carrier of turanic raiders) ...so new system even if a large step forward brings mix of smile and sadness.
I still hope for good boarding system...but more oriented around EMP weaponry and specialized to this role craft, like we have a carrier for fighters maybe reffited salvage/mining rigs. Then use marines, who had easy time in their power armors killling those officers. Or infiltrator frigates.
We can't play pirates or get immersive feeling without it. Firefly and Serenity would not stand for it =P
Read today all blog updates, love your aproach expecially around rising Time-To-Kill on higer levels.
Its more fun when those large ships struggle and struggle rather than volatile exploding, what about making their chunks break off like in SCY Nation, as i see Orbital Stations/Platforms almost have it?
Regards!