I was just thinking a bit and thought about SC’s concept of “pirate” ships. They are really really weird. The fact that made pirate ships pirate, was that they were outfitted however the captain/crew wanted. If they needed more ports for cannons, they sawed some more holes. If they needed another sail for more speed, they posted another. (Though very crudely.)
What I’m saying is that instead of having set modules and systems, pirate ships should be one of the most customisable ships in the game. They should have the ability to use the “refit” function and should be able to modify stats of active modules and weapons. Now before you freak out and start screaming, here is what I had in mind:
The weapon and modules equipped on the ships could be modified through a balance slider via right-click. Upon right-click of a module, a new option, “balance,” would be shown. When clicked, it would open a very simple GUI with a few sliders depending on the module:
Recharge: Makes recharge time higher or lower but costs module power.
Effect: Makes the module more effective but costs module recharge time.
Range: Makes the module work in a longer range, but costs a small bit of power and recharge.
Duration: Makes the module last longer/shorter. Sacrifices power.
Energy: Making this higher will increase all the stats. Opposite happens in reverse.
This way, modules could be balanced to the user’s ideal module function. They could have high power, short-range modules that take ages to reload and use lots of energy, or very weak modules that can be spammed very quickly. The module balance itself will stay the same, but it will just make the module suit the user better.
For weapons:
Damage per shot: Raises or lowers damage. Can lower rate of fire or range.
Rate of fire: Changes rate of fire. Costs damage and spread.
Range: Changes range. Costs damage and fire-rate.
Spread: Changes spread. Costs rate of fire.
Targetting: Chanes critical chance. Costs range or rate of fire.
The special modules should also be able to be modified in this way.