Can anyone explain the random component placing?

[AWOL_Joe]

For AI ships, that is. I'm planning to make a couple of campaigns that use new ships, and I'm worried about getting weird-looking results when using the "Use random components" option in Main_Enemies (such as having the bridge in an odd-looking spot). Does anyone know how the algorithm works, and can sum it up in a relatively simple way?

[Suicide Junkie]

In the ship design, wanted comps.

You choose the component name you want, where it goes, and the chance of choosing it for any particular ship.

After you have the basic components, weapons and defenses placed, there will be some space left over, say 20kt.
In order to keep some variety, you can for example, place a shield regenerator with a 50% chance, and then an afterburner with a 100% chance.
Half the ships will have a regenerator... Those that do will have no space remaining and be finished. Those that didn't add the regenerator will still have space to fill, and an afterburner will be placed instead.

[AWOL_Joe]

I more or less got that; I was asking more of a way to determine which hull slot the components would be placed in. For components like weapons, shields, and engines, that's easy as they have specific slots, but for hull components, it seems to be a lot trickier.