I would love to see hullmods that grant a few additional OPs rather then using them up. Those mods would weaken certain aspects of a ship and allow to emphasize others that way. The possibility of very specialized ships that this would open up is always interesting in my opinion. I think the front shield emitter is a first step in that direction. Just to be clear, I think granted OPs should be few, I would not want a situation where the only sensible choice would be to use system X on hull Y (like we have now with the resistant flux conduits).
For example:
- Shield emitter removal. Would remove a ships shields, so you could increase it's armor, speed or make sure it stays away from the front lines. The Bufallo Mk.II already has this.
- Compact engines. Install a sub-par engine to free up space. "This carrier doesn't need to get around anyway."
- Turret lockdown. Half the rotation arc of all turrets. Ships that don't have turrets like the brawler should be excerpt from this.
- Minimal storage. Decrease cargo and fuel space by 90%. This ship is really dependent on logistics ships now.
Like normal hullmods that have some minor drawbacks, these negative hullmods could even have some minor advantages to point the way how to utilize them. Maybe shield emitter removal grants +5% armor because the shields emitters are structural weak points. Or turret lockdown improves turret HPs.
Thoughts?