Hm, could we make Shield Shunt replace the shield with Damper Field?* (It'd probably need Shield Shunt to be a more expensive hull mod, and it'd probably need to be a nerfed version of the Damper Field, but I think that'd make that hull mod a lot more viable without needing to rely on the current implementation of Derelict Contingent.)
* Edit: or install a damper field right-click on ships like the Hound that don't have a right-click system already.
I feel like this sort of thing is really, really difficult (or, rather, actually impossible) to balance. What system a ship has is such a big balance/gameplay factor for it, and being able to just swap it out for something else could range from "useless" to "incredibly overpowered" with no balance levers to turn to fine-tune it.
I mean, I love the idea of just being able to slap burn drive on something, or some such. But I can't really see it as anything other than a story based one-off or something along those lines.
And, well, you're not talking about swapping it out, but replacing shields with it, but I think the same general points apply.
I don't hate the concept of the Hound/Cerberus having it be a "primitive shield", though. But I think it'd also rule them out as useful, easy early game enemies for the player to face. Though if that were done with a hullmod, as you're suggesting... hmm. See, for the Hound and the Cerberus, that has potential. But what about for a ship that's designed to be a full-on combat ship without relying on a Damper Field special? I think this just enables really wild swings in power.
Flares are far too powerful for a D-tier ship like the Paragon.
Perhaps we can settle on the Gladius's single Decoy Flare, then
Full-think it! Vanilla needs a couple more large ballistics imo and upgunned destroyer is a lot of fun for the player.
Yeah... I mean, I already have a ship system in mind for it! So "half" is probably underselling it.
Oh thank Ludd! Don't scare me like that!
My actual apologies
I really shouldn't joke like that, I mean, someone's bound to take it seriously.
Edit: IS it even possible to add a ship system as a Right Click System via a normal hullmod?
(I don't think it is right now, but, I mean, it *could* probably be done with some back-end work.)
Why not name ship classes after elements in the game's lore? While a lot of video games fall into the trap of only giving generic "cool-sounding" English words as names for spaceships, real ship classes are usually named after iconic things - places, events, people of renown and so on.
Let's make use of Starsector's lore! For example, whatever "Hegemony"-style ship classes are added in the future could be named after things in the Domain's history, with a small explaination about the origin of the name in the ship class description.
Fixes the issue of limited name space and can be an organic way of adding/detailing lore in the game.
Not necessarily a bad idea! But 1) it's nice when ship names sound cool in a vaccum, and 2) it's a bit late to start now and just pepper that sort of thign in.
Really liking the low tech changes. Every time I try a low-tech playthrough I end up adding some mid or high in there to balance it out.
If I might add some 2¢, given the low-tech's "decisive confrontation" idea, perhaps some sort of ballistics weapons that utilizes actual charges like the Autopulse. Currently the only time I've ever used Expanded Magazines is for my Autopulse Paragon and my antimatter harbinger.
It could even eject a little magazine on empty for extra visual flair.
Hmm, that could be interesting, yeah. The light and heavy needler already kind of do that, minus charges, though. I guess... by itself, this isn't enough to base a weapon on. I could see perhaps something like the Storm Needler using that approach, but it finally seems like it's in a pretty good place now, and I don't want to mess with it. Still, I get what you're saying, and will keep this in mind! (Equally, though, one might argue that charges/burst damage is good for the high tech "dart in and do damage, then back off" approach.)
