[Suicide Junkie]

Well, deciding whether to use the % or absolute tonnage from the text files would be a problem. You'd have to rework the code that reads the text files. It expects a fixed sequence of entries.
(The thing can't handle double blank lines without choking, I'm not sure how easy it would be to change)

You'd also have to repeatedly recalculate the actual size of the component when changing the ship designs, and make sure it works right.

By using the "custom group" restrictions, you just have to check each component on the ship to see if it is in a custom group forbidden to the ship, and do that only when you normally update the "warnings" box in the ship design screen.
Then all you have to worry about is the AI's design process, whatever the process is that is used to check it for validity.

Instead of using an "engines per move" trick, and using 30 engines on a baseship, you could have a "Baseship Engine" that weighs 100KT and gives 2 movement, and an "Escort Engine" that weighs 5kT and gives 1 movement.
The baseship would only be able to use "baseship engines" with the custom group "10", while the escort can only use "escort engines" with a custom group "2".


[This message has been edited by suicide_junkie (edited 17 April 2001).]