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[Draba]

While I can see being what the ideal balance point being hard to pin down quantitatively, I do see there is a balance to at least be considered.  If a 15 Atlas, 15 Prometheus fleet was as fast and hard to detect as an all phase frigate fleet, then I would agree the logistics hull mod limit exists for no reason.  But there is a multidimensional continuum of campaign stats that logistics hull mods move ships in different directions on, and by limiting hull mods, you are restricting how far you can move from the initial starting point, which looks like a balance consideration to me.  In the same way that OP limits combat ship stats all going up to the max as well.

Another consideration is how much value a story point has for you.
I do think story points make the limit mostly pointless, but I run lots of non-ironman combat with relatively small fleets and saw plenty of people with different playstyles for whom they are much more limiting.
OP is pretty low on cargo ships so without SP and some cost changes doesn't matter much for his post though.

Removing the cap wouldn't do much, if you refuse to S-mod non-combat ships they won't have enough OP for the dock only mods anyway.

Freighters will, actually, especially if they aren't using ADF. Tankers have more OP in general, so you can get about 5 hullmods on them. At that point, though, just buff spreadsheet ships by 30% and remove Civilian Hull, Militarised Subsystems and all +30% cargo/fuel/crew hullmods. Same effect, less clicking.

Among the most useful(IMO) ships Buffalo, Atlas, Revenant and Ox all have pretty low OP so wouldn't gain much (if anything).
Yep, Phaeton/Prometheus are a bit more lenient and there are other, less all-out civilian ships that could benefit.

See above, not a fan of the dock mod system but that's simply because s-mods circumvent it anyway.
Whatever you need you can get, usually with some leeway for extras.

[eidolad]

What are fast paths to beeline to being able to purchase an Atlas?    (besides Prism Freeport or other mod-specific feature)

I like having an Atlas either:

a) once I find that I'm running four Colossus...and would like replace with one Atlas so I can add more ships
b) or once I'm about add a capital ship to my fleet. 

But I have a hard time getting access to purchase Atlases.  Once path is:  start with Tri-Tachyon to get access when playing a Nexerelin game via the "rep up to get access to military ships" and hope that an Atlas comes up for sale in a large population Tri-Tachyon planet's market.

Anyway, what stops me from wanting an Atlas early is the fuel efficiency of these massive ships, especially when I play Ruthless Sector mod where the operating expenses are a big deal.  Fuel ain't cheap.

[Thaago]

They are often for sale in the open market at Chicomoztoc, or at least in my game.

[Locklave]

I am perhaps misinterpreting your statement, so please correct me, but it sounds like to me that you're implying there are no balance considerations for the campaign and navigation layer.  I'm pretty sure a giant profile, low sensor range, and low burn fleet (a fleet with all civilian tags and no mitigating hull mods for example), is going to be found and caught by hostile fleets more often than a small profile, high sensor range, high burn fleet.  Especially if neither has transverse jump.

I'm saying that there is already a self imposed penalty connected to Campaign vs Combat hull mods, the OP cost.

The Campaign hull mods are inferior to combat by such are margin that unlocking the logistics limit would have minimal impact on the lions share of ship/fleet builds. Because those OP are already needed elsewhere, combat related specifically.

All the logistics limit does is prevent weird/exotic fleet builds like a crazy stealth fleet or super high detection range fleets that use them to avoid combat. To do that now you are forced to use SP, because of the limit. Even if you were willing to sacrifice the fighting power for it. The logistics limit is preventing interesting fleet builds that focus less on combat by forcing the use of the players most valuable resource SP to achieve them.

SP aren't unlimited, I don't care if they are in theory, they massively slow down late game and when you start wanting to use them for colonies you will be able to blow 20 SP with 3-4 clicks. SP are too important to spend on minor campaign upgrades. Early game it's raining SP, you spend them like you are drunk and more pour down. Late game you wish you hadn't been so wasteful.

So why does the logistics hull mod limit need to exist at all? Why does the Atlas in the first post need to waste 2 SP for such minor Campaign bonuses? I have never heard a good answer. That Atlas isn't overpowered because of those 2 SP, it's a really good support ship mind you, but I can sure a hell make a fighting ship overpowered with 2 SP.

[Draba]

SP aren't unlimited, I don't care if they are in theory, they massively slow down late game and when you start wanting to use them for colonies you will be able to blow 20 SP with 3-4 clicks. SP are too important to spend on minor campaign upgrades. Early game it's raining SP, you spend them like you are drunk and more pour down. Late game you wish you hadn't been so wasteful.

20 SP on a single colony, no wonder you wish you haven't been so wasteful
Maybe spend 2 on pop&infra or starport for the first colony to speed things up, maybe another 4 for the other one if you are feeling frisky.
That sweet, sweet ground defense upgrade for only 64 might look enticing but if you skip it most of your SP problems will go away.
SP is also faster to get later on, you have a full fleet against XP dispenser pirate armada/invasion/ordo stacks.

[Locklave]

SP aren't unlimited, I don't care if they are in theory, they massively slow down late game and when you start wanting to use them for colonies you will be able to blow 20 SP with 3-4 clicks. SP are too important to spend on minor campaign upgrades. Early game it's raining SP, you spend them like you are drunk and more pour down. Late game you wish you hadn't been so wasteful.

20 SP on a single colony, no wonder you wish you haven't been so wasteful
Maybe spend 2 on pop&infra or starport for the first colony to speed things up, maybe another 4 for the other one if you are feeling frisky.
That sweet, sweet ground defense upgrade for only 64 might look enticing but if you skip it most of your SP problems will go away.
SP is also faster to get later on, you have a full fleet against XP dispenser pirate armada/invasion/ordo stacks.

I was being a bit hyperbolic but w/e. You can blow tons of SP on colonies.

Also not really my point.

[SCC]

Among the most useful(IMO) ships Buffalo, Atlas, Revenant and Ox all have pretty low OP so wouldn't gain much (if anything).
Yep, Phaeton/Prometheus are a bit more lenient and there are other, less all-out civilian ships that could benefit.

See above, not a fan of the dock mod system but that's simply because s-mods circumvent it anyway.
Whatever you need you can get, usually with some leeway for extras.

It's a topic that I discussed some time ago, so I have a few examples. I didn't have an Ox or a Revenant at the time, so I didn't play with them. Even then, Atlas can get 3 logistic hullmods, while Buffalos can get 4.

I've raised logistic hullmods limit to 10, then experimented a bit with Phaeton, Buffalo (P), Buffalo (A), Atlas and Prometheus. Most optimal Phaeton seems to have Militarised Subsystems (probably should have picked IEA, but eh), Auxiliary Fuel Tanks, Efficiency Overhaul, Surveying Equipment and High Resolution Sensors. For Buffalo (P), I picked EO, Insulated Engine Assembly, Solar Shielding and SE. For Buffalo (A), I picked Expanded Cargo Holds, EO and SE. For Atlas, I picked MS, ECH and EO. For Prometheus, I picked MS, AFT, EO, HRS and SS. Without logistic hullmod limit, it seems that you could almost always get better logistic stats (via ECH/AFT, EO or both) and for ships with more OP, you could get SE or HRS, too.