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[SpacePoliticianAndaZealot]

Hello everyone, I've been lurking here ever since I've bought the game one year-ish ago, and I've been playing it on and off until the last few months. I think I've mostly learned the ropes by now, but still have a few questions.

1)There are pre-made variants for every ship in the game. Most names are self-explanatory, but a few I do not understand:
-are Elite loadouts meant to make ships excel at single combat?
-what is the difference between Attack and Assault loadouts ie. what is the philosophy behind these?
-are Outdated variants meant to be some kind of OP-savers at the expense of genereal combat performace? Or is it lore-based?

2)After a while, I've started using mods in my game, and I've come to like the idea of enhancing the vanilla theme very much. SS+ is practically a must-have, and the relatively recent THI amazingly integrates itself into the Sector. I have nothing but praise for these.
Are there any more like these that I've missed? Most of the mods are focused on adding completely new things, right?

3)This one buggers me for quite a while now. How applicable in certain situations is the "Blast Doors" in regard to "Reinforced Bulkheads"? Is the latter meant to be a late-game upgrade of the former? (I don't get the crew loss/hull damage ratio) And in which situations is there a point to using it at all?

4)On my primary character (in pure Vanilla SS), I have reached level 40, and it advances at a snail's pace. I exclusively hunt bounties, and can take on every bounty fleet except the largest deserter ones without noteworthy losses (on average, I keep losing the one same Wolf which I miracuously manage to restore every time). If I were to continue exclusively bounty-hunting, would this be considered end of the game?

I look forward to your answers. And the new update, too. 

[Megas]

I use Blast Doors primarily to cut crew losses, if I have OP to spare.  I almost never use Blast Doors because I almost never have enough OP to make my ships more overpowered killing machines.

Since you can stack Blast Doors and Reinforced Bulkheads, I doubt Bulkheads is an upgrade over Blast Doors.

Re: Level 40+
Yes.  At this point, learn to exploit food shortages and disruptions.  They provide much more experience than combat.  You can extend the soft cap by twenty or so levels if you can exploit trade successfully.  Get some Atlases for cargo capacity!

[SpacePoliticianAndaZealot]

Well, I have. I've played as a pure trader/smuggler on other character. Food gluts are HILARIOUS 

[Megas]

You can do it all by late game.  My character began as a warmonger until level 40 or so, then branched out into trade, while still being a bloodthirsty headhunter.

[SpacePoliticianAndaZealot]

I understand your point, as I've done it with the beforementioned character (though w/ warships, didn't spend any money on transports), but I prefer either sticking exclusively to combat or trading. Only when I play as a pirate I combine these two regularly. And i regard the Bulkheads as an upgrade to Blast Doors because I can't think of a situation where I would be able to have both without losing out significantly on firepower.

[heskey30]

Elite variants are generally better than others in combat, but have rarer, more expensive weapons. (And possibly hullmods that are harder to get? I never checked.)

Outdated use the cheaper common weapons but don't fight as well in general. 

These variants are kind of lore based, but it isn't like only stupid AIs make outdated versions - I make them all the time early game. They can hold their own and they are much easier to get, and much less of a pain to lose. I'm not sure about assault vs attack though - maybe assault focuses more on being able to take damage?

As for mods, I recommend Ironclads. It is a total conversion, so you won't see anything from vanilla, and it is not compatible with other mods, but it has a whole new feel to it.

And endgame - yeah, you are pretty much at it. You can fight the hegemony or the tri-tachyon, but I'd start a mod character, like on ironclads or nexeralin. Once industry and stuff is out there will probably be more to do at this point...

[Gothars]

Are there any more like these that I've missed? Most of the mods are focused on adding completely new things, right?

Tore up plenty is an awesome vanilla style mod, but currenty out of date. Hopefully Erick will update it for .7.

[Schwartz]

Elite loadouts use more high-end gear. I see lots of Mjolnir Cannons on those variants. So they're awesome, but not the cheapest OP-wise or the most easy to find parts for. I'd recommend sticking to your own loadouts with cheaper but equally effective alternatives like Hellbores and Heavy Autocannons. They're really hard to beat if you're strapped for OP.

Outdated and middling variants exist for the NPCs to throw more varied and flavourful (usually less effective) enemies at you. You can work your way up the food chain with these bad loadouts and get a feel for what it's like to face off against a Dominator.

Attack vs. Assault etc. I don't know off-hand. Just compare the weapons used and make your own assessment?

Blast doors and Reinforced Bulkheads are not that useful, with one exception: Self-repair hullmods or Exigency ships. More hull points equal faster regeneration and more breathing room because they work off percentages. They're still not that good because hull melts away quickly and you should want to have (intact) armour instead, but that's how you get the most out of these.

Endgame is what you make of it. I just reached level 70 on my pirate character. Piracy is much, much harder than bounty hunting mostly because you have no easy cash income and no easy way to get the best ships except for boarding. Good fighters are extremely difficult to obtain. He's now hunting Templars in a scavenged and fully kitted Paladin (aww yeah), and that just about becomes manageable with max Combat and Tech.

[Adraius]

Regarding other mods to complement vanilla, I highly recommend Interstellar Imperium - they slot cleanly into the lore and gameplay as a rival and counterpart to the Hegemony, to the point where it feels strange to play in a game where the Hegemony is the only 'imperial' power.  Their ships feel like 'vanilla-with-a-twist' in the same way Tiandong Heavy Industries' ships do.

[SpacePoliticianAndaZealot]

Elite variants are generally better than others in combat, but have rarer, more expensive weapons. (And possibly hullmods that are harder to get? I never checked.)

Outdated use the cheaper common weapons but don't fight as well in general. 

Ah, I think I understand now. Nevertheless I don't use the Elite loadout as a guideline when creating personalized flagship.
Here is my personal mount in that bounty hunter char of mine:

As for mods, I recommend Ironclads. It is a total conversion, so you won't see anything from vanilla, and it is not compatible with other mods, but it has a whole new feel to it.

Never heard of it

[TJJ]

Attack vs. Assault

I've always differentiated the roles as:

• Assault.
  Close & engage at close range, and pursue.
  Typically fast & maneuverable, with plenty of Armor. PD not a priority. Favors missiles(high dmg, limited ammo, limited guidance). Avoids using shields.
  Yolo death or glory! Favorite of Klingons.
  AI's over-reliance upon shields makes it bad at this strategy
• Attack.
  Close support. Trading blows at medium range.
  Typically fields flux-positive shields & medium-long range ballistic/energy weapons, moderate speed, PD important.
  Archetypal Ship-of-the-line.
  The basic behavior of the AI
• Strike.
  Hit & fade. Same as Assault, but retreat instead of pursue.
  Fast, with either huge flux reserves, extreme maneuverability, or phase shield. High alpha-strike. Hit, withdraw, vent. PD unnecessary, just dodge.
  AI phase skimmers & fighters can execute this strategy with some competence. AI phase ships...... not so much.
• Support.
  Fire at range, attempting to hit without being hit.
  Missiles (long range, high ammo), Beams, Carriers. PD important.
  AI's passivity makes it good at this

[Clockwork Owl]

Hmm, would be nice if AI(or, at least, when an officer commands it) took consideration of shield efficiency.

[SpacePoliticianAndaZealot]

Regarding other mods to complement vanilla, I highly recommend Interstellar Imperium - they slot cleanly into the lore and gameplay as a rival and counterpart to the Hegemony, to the point where it feels strange to play in a game where the Hegemony is the only 'imperial' power.  Their ships feel like 'vanilla-with-a-twist' in the same way Tiandong Heavy Industries' ships do.

Seems interesting enough, especially the lower tariffs part, *especially* if that means more trade fleets.
Will check it out

[Serenitis]

Seconding the Imperium.
Also might be worth checking out Blackrock, there's some nice stuff in there.

Adding blast doors and bulkheads to your boarding ships also makes them marginally more survivable.