Thank you for the suggestions
Embarrasingly, I completly forgot about SBMHAWKs. But you're right, drones would be an ideal way to simulate them.
I may use both gunboats and SBMHAWKs as drones, and use various ship sizes and comp requirements to distinguish them, like I did with the external racks.
I'm thinking gunboats would require 100% cargo units, and I would give all gunboat components the cargo ability, and SBMHAWKs would require 100% Fighter Bays, and give all of those components the fighter bay ability.
This would, unfortunatly, make it almost impossible for the AI to design drones and gunboats, but maybe something could be done. I'm no expert at AI programming.
I don't plan to use R2s, atleast beyond using 1 shot empty drones that get destroyed when they exit.
Mines in Starfire were placed surrounding a warp point rather then on it, because the gravity effects of the warp point would destroy anything placed on it. I wonder if warp points can be given a mine-sweeping ability. Worth a look
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I don't think components can destroy a ship on use, and while there is a "Destroy component on use", it is used on components used in the strategic game rather then battle, and I'm not sure if it would work on a weapon. Anyone know? I planned on just making them 30 fire rate weapons.
Fighters do indeed have primary guns, something which I expect to need a lot of balancing (Imagine 30 fighters firing null space weapons).
I plan to leave ship movement mostly the same, or even slower. Troop combat I havn't tackled or planned yet.
P.S. I am leaving for a three week vacation Monday. If possible I will have a new Version by then, and I'll post a link to it in this topic. But I'll be busy, so don't count on much new stuff, if any.