I'd like to start a topic talking about the core implementation of both of these features, and how we could change them down the line to make the game more dynamic.
One of the things I like about this game the most is the ship control. It's fluid, works great, and it fits the combat perfectly. But sometimes I have problems in ship selection. If the ship has a system I'm not that comfortable in using I just go for others that have systems that are better suited for my playstyle. For example I never really play with a Hammerhead because I'm not too keen on the ammo acceleration system, and since it is such a big part of that ship I usually go for other options when it comes to low tech destroyers. But does it have to be this way forever?
There is only so much we can do with hullmods with the current system. They take precious OPs after all, points that players would rather use for weapons and for flux. Most of the current hullmods barely change how a ship works anyway, a lot of them are just passive stat changes and I'd say that those that have the biggest impact, the shield changes, are too expensive to actually be that dynamic.
This is why I'd like to suggest a new category for ships: Active Subsystems
Subsystems would be a new way to customize your ships further without breaking the delicate OP system we have currently in place. Differently from hullmods they would directly affect how a ship works. Here is the system I currently have in mind:
The Basics
Much like the basic ship system mechanic we have in place today, subsystems would be an active ability that you can activate during combat. Those would be separated in three categories: Armaments, Engines and Support.
Armament subsystems would be focused on abilities related to your weapons. The aforementioned Hammerhead Ammo Feeder system would be included here, along with other abilities that are related to weapons.
Engine subsystems would be abilities that affect your movement. The popular Burn Drive would be included here along with Maneuvering Jets and so on.
Support subsystems would be everything else, from drones to flare systems. Anything not directly related to weapons or movement.
Now that we have a clear breakdown of how they are separated how would you install those systems in each ship?
When thinking about this I was worried that giving too much choice for the player would take away what makes each ship unique. Therefore, I separated the systems into categories so different ships can have different slots. Let's go back to the Hammerhead, a ship focused on frontal combat. It doesn't really need a support subsystem, does it? So a ship like that could have two slots for offensive systems and maybe one for engine. The Ammo Feeder would come pre-installed but the player can have the choice of replacing that with something else.
So now a low tech destroyer that most players ignore for others now has the capability of having two offensive systems, giving it an edge over more advanced ships once properly configured and upgraded.
But how would the players customize their own ships? This brings me to my next point:
Acquisition
I feel that the method to acquire subsystems is as important as the abilities themselves. While I enjoy the hullmods for what they are it has always bothered me that you basically have them all available to you and there is no progression there, no cost. Some mods are trying to take this further by limiting some hullmods to some faction ships but still, they are very limiting in what they do because again, they use precious OP points and there is no burden of having to actually acquire the system.
Subsystems would work in a completely different way. The idea I have in mind is that you don't actually acquire a subsystem like you do with other items like weapons and cargo. You'd get access to them the more affiliated you become with a faction. I feel it is important to bring factions into this because at the moment we don't really get that many perks from getting up to cooperative with a faction. Subsystems would be one of such rewards that we are currently lacking.
For that purpose, we can have a new type of structure in the game: Faction Shipyards.
Shipyards would be the one place in the sector to change your ship's subsystems. Each faction would have one or two of these facilities, and they would offer installation of some of their own systems for a price, and the systems available to you will change depending on your relationship level. Alex has been talking about possibly implementing blueprints into the game and requesting ships for constructions, well the shipyard would be the perfect place to implement such features, wouldn't it?
Anyway, back to subsystems. Now that we have this system in place we can limit certain things to make each faction more unique. Let's go back again to the Hammerhead. In my previous suggestion I said that it could possibly have an Engine Subsystem slot, didn't I? But wouldn't the Phase Skimmer be an engine subsystem since it affects movement? So if you get high enough with the Tri Tachs, according this system you could set a Hammerhead that could teleport around.
Sounds silly, doesn't it? I'm sure none of us wants to see that happening.
Therefore, I'd like to branch off subsystems further:
Common Subsystems
These would include stuff we usually see in low techs, stuff like Burn Drives, Maneuvering Jets, and so on. You'd be able to install these on most ships (but not all) from every shipyard in the game, especially the independent faction shipyards (if they end up having any).
Faction Subsystems
Now here is where things get interesting. Each faction would have a selection of subsystems that you could install on your ships, but not all of those would be universal. The Phase Skimmer for example, I'd imagine that being a system that could only be installed on Tri Tach hulls. This opens up a way to differentiate the factions on a way not currently present in the game. For example the Church fleets and ships would use their own systems that are closer to their doctrine and playstyle, the Hegemony could have incredibly aggressive systems for their ships, and Tri Tach's systems can be focused on energy weapons and being elusive in general. Of course the player would have control over those, and would be able to mix and match to some extent depending on the affiliations they make.
Furthermore by choosing to ally yourself with opposing factions would in turn inherently change your ships. The Pirates for example would have their own systems that could be installed on a bunch of different hulls, systems that otherwise you would never have if you allied yourself with the Hegemony. There is a lot of overlap between faction ships in Starsector. A lot of the ships from the Hegemony, Church and Sindrian are the same. But now with this systems we have a way of making each feel different, each fitting their different factions.
Closing Thoughts
I am aware that many ideas are thrown in here and I'm not expecting this to be implemented in the game. But I really would like to see an attempt to make the current ship system mechanic at least a little bit more dynamic. A lot of us are getting to the late game with tons of cash and it would be really nice if we could throw some of that into our own ships to customize them further, and to make them feel more like our own. The idea of upgrading ships has been discussed a lot and it goes a little bit in conflict with the low tech/high tech progression currently in the game, but I hope that the ideas here would give low techs some more options while also keeping the high techs unique and powerful, as they should.
