Imagine, if you will, that research stations (and perhaps some derelicts near gates) had improved versions of plans for ships. These would give you a small bonus to a certain ship... +5% to a stat, randomly, for one ship type only. Perhaps Kites with +5% top speed, or Atlases with +5% armor. You could also get a hullmod on the ship built in at the cost of half the usual OP. You need a pristine nanoforge to make these ships, and of course you need a colony with an orbital works. There's a screen where you can select which of these you use for any given ship, and building them like that makes the ship a variant for your faction, like the Hegemony variant frigates for the Hegemony.
The result would be that if you get particularly lucky, your fleet makeup might change. Perhaps you were using Atlases, but if you get two expanded cargo mods on Colossus and a +5% cargo for the same, perhaps you switch over. Perhaps in this game you start using the Conquest a lot more ever since you lucky rolled +5% armor, +5% flux draining, and cheap armored weapon mounts. It might increase replayability, and it would certainly make those research stations more interesting.
