I've been playing 0.5 for a bit (it is awesome and pretty much everything I'd hoped with the exception of a no-limitations ship builder, but that's not really relevant) and I got into a fight with a damaged Astral carrier - it wasn't quite fast enough to run away from me, even though it outran the hegemony.
Anyway, I managed to beat it, and even better got a chance at boarding it! Except, of course, my 10 marines were not sufficient
- still I thought, no big deal, I only lost a hound to kill this, it'll be worth it anyway.
The only problem was it wasn't. I killed an entire capital ship with an arguably inferior fleet (I only won because it was already damaged) and yet the rewards were meagre - it dropped a single Large weapon and around 1500 worth of computer cores, not nearly enough to pay for the Hound I lost, and that was the cheapest frigate there is.
I've had similar issues where I lost some other frigate or a wing of fighters, and destroyed 4-5 enemy frigates. Occasionally they'll drop enough fuel and guns and supplies that it almost feels worth it, but it's usually still not enough to recoup any losses - and I considered these great victories, with a minimum of loss!
I'm aware that you want the loss of a ship to feel significant, but right now I think that fighting is -too- destructive. A scrapped ship is worth a pittance of its cost, and rarely drops more than a single weapon mount. For winning to mean progression, I think that either: They should drop more, possibly most of their weapon mounts, or alternatively they should drop more scrap credits. Personally I'd favour the first, as you can sell them for cash (but it's not worth full price) or more plausibly, use them on your own ships, expanding your arsenal depending on what you can manage to kill.
