[Erax]

Picking up on Chronon's ideas :

1) Moddable resources - let's have, say, 99 resource 'slots'. the standard game uses 3 of them, but you can use the others in your mods. This would allow us, for example, to link production of engines to an 'engine factory' facility by creating a 'propulsion hardware' resource.

2) Allow facilities to consume resources. This would allow us to build up a 'production chain' type of infrastructure, with mines that produce ore, then smelters that convert it into metal, then various types of factories that make different components.

3) Allow different kinds of supplies on ships. Beam weapons and engines would use energy (similar to supplies as they are now), but CSMs and DUCs would use ammunition - another kind of supply. Life support would convert energy into food and atmosphere (a third kind of supply).