first a little story: i love the design of my t2 empire “hydra 2”. i do own it’s successor the “cerberus” but the design just isn’t like the “hydra 2” … i think you get my point.
my suggestion includes a complete overhaul of the current tier / ship lvl system and might be impossible
idea: all ship models are available at tech tier 1 and rank 1: for example the harpy, the hydra, the cerberus and the thor (empire frigates) are all available, they all share the same stats, module slot count … - they are basically the same ships execpt for the looks
when you gain reputation you hit the different tech tiers: 1-1, 1-2, 2-1, 2-2…
while you advance in your faction rank and tech tier your ship will level up as usual. when you hit t2-1 you get a chance to upgrade your ship to this tech tier and it will gain all the module slots and capabilities of a former t2-1 ship.
example: i choose a harpy at tier 1 and start playing. i hit rank 4 and upgrade my harpy to t2-1 - it gains weapon modifiers and more modul slots as well as improved stats (t2-1), ship level is reset to level 1 as if you’d buy a new ship
i know it’s just a cosmetic aspect, but i think there are many players which like the ship design they’re currently flying or want a different design but don’t want to switch the tech tier to get this ship…
think about it - i’m looking forward to constructive suggestions…