I’m dissapointed that many variables are tied to particular module types. This prevents me and other modders from using and combining features from different modules together, or to add features to “undesires” modules like the cloak or ecm defense. I’m not saying those modules are completely useless, but it seems like having to dedicate an entire module slot to that one statistic of your ship is a bit of a waste.
Imagine if “turbo shields” gave you ECM defense… some people might be more inclined to consider it, while others might insist that they are still inferior… which is pretty much much the ideal situation.
There seem to be a lot of modules that are just inferior, primarily because of their exclusivity – they perform one function and only one function and don’t necessarily do it well or justify taking up a whole slot. I think a lot of tactics, diversity, and balance can be added to the game if the coding for modules would all use similar variables, or even adjust each other’s variables.
For example, a cargo bay that holds additional repair supplies. A power plant that adds to the shield regeneration rates. A targeting computer that only effects a certain class of weapons. A shield that cloaks your ship. All of these are a bit too complex to shrug off are “useless”, but still don’t necessarily replace the standard variety modules that perform one function very efficiently. But then, I like well-rounded ships, so its no surprise I like well-rounded fleets and even well-rounded modules.
Weapons and defenses are the most common things a player is going to want on their ship, so it seems to me like it would make sense they the variables governing these items would be some of the most commonly featured variables, even on modules that don’t usually support them. After all, every specialized module is a sacrifice of some kind of weapon or defense. Allowing us to combine weapons and defenses with specialized effects allows us to mitigate that sacrifice somewhat, giving the module its niche without the burden of under-powering the whole ship. This is especially true in the case of defenses which may or may not be used in a battle anyway. Giving them a secondary purpose ensures their continual usefulness throughout the battle, even if only to a lesser extent.
I can’t imagine why you would want to add target booster features on a shield… but that doesn’t mean someone out there might not think of a justification that turns out to be pretty cool.
(Hmmm… actually if this was a negative value, the result might have a similar use to how some people use the cloaking device… hindering your own ability to fire for additional protection from the enemy while you advance into close range. Not really my think but some people might like as an alternative to cloaking technology in their mod. Or they might just like the idea that shields enhance the weapons, and when the shields go down it represents critical inefficiency throughout the ship, reducing weapon accuracy and engine speed. Who knows?)
The lack of secondary features strike me as an unnecessary limit on the growth and diversity of this game. (Growth in terms of modding opportunities and evolution of gameplay… just so we’re clear.) And giving additional power to modders eases some of the burden on Cliffski to answer to the demand for new features. (Either a good thing and a bad thing, depending on what his plans are.)