I think you should tone down the pd drones on the foxhound. That system is supposed to go on destroyers, on a fast frifate is like having 5 more free machineguns (basically more then +10 free op). Maybe make a custom system with 1-2 drones? The other stats are ok imho.
The ProblemPersonally, I think the Foxhound is victim of synergy. It's the combination of being fast, having drones, and good weapon arcs that make it a terror on the field. Any one of those traits on a frigate is powerful. Having all three gives us the shield munching monstrosity we have today.
Still, I agree with Uomoz and HELMUT that the drones are the biggest part of the problem. Five flux-free machine guns in addition to whatever you mount on the hardpoints make it dangerous alone, and absolutely lethal in packs against anything that depends on shields. (And good gods,
don't try it with those new plasma flamethrowers . . . unless you like barbecues and murder
)Essentially you have a Hound with it's very own wing of Talons.
My (stolen) SolutionI like Uomoz's idea -- a custom drone system of 1-2 drones would greatly reduce the damage output.
My Less-Stolen-But-Most-Likely-Stupid SolutionAnother thought i just had: at the moment, don't those drones inflict kinetic damage? (Hence the shield mauling) If the damage type were switched to fragmentation, that would dramatically reduce the Foxhound's drone effectiveness against shield based opponents while still retaining the point defense capacity, yes?
And now . . .
*JD casts . . . WALL O' TEXT!!!!*About Tup BalanceAs to the balance of TuP ships and their ordinance points, I'm not necessarily sure that more mounts = more power, especially if the weapons themselves are properly balanced. That being said, I've never felt completely crippled by the OP allotment on any of the TuP ships. Have I felt restricted? Absolutely. Unable to fulfill the ship's intended role? Not so far.
Honestly, I think it comes down to the flavor of the TuP shipset itself. These aren't Tri-tachyon ships of the line. Hell, they aren't even Hegemony production cruisers; they're the salvaged, scavenged, held-together-by-bubblegum-and-grit kind of ships that smugglers, traders, miners, and pirates would make and use. Most of the ships probably predate their crew by at least a generation. I interpret OP to kind of represent the capacity of ships systems (CPU, power generation, etc) It makes sense that these ships would lack the efficient and powerful (or at least well maintained) power generators and systems that higher-end ships possess.
Most importantly though,
TuP ships fill an important role in the modded Starsector universe in regards to both gameplay and lore (especially in UsS). They provide newer players with a variety of ships to fight against and use which won't smash newbies to pieces, which can be utilized by a logistically unskilled commander, and won't bankrupt them if lost. Sometimes you don't need the newest system defense carrier or anti-battleship dreadnought. You just need a ship that will still fly true.
TL:DR TuP ships (aside from the Foxhound) fill a well balanced role both lore and gameplay wise. I vote that you leave the OP be, but that's just me.