Engine size and components versus Hull size

The only problem is see with moving to a % basis for components is that it would allow smaller ships to get more components than now, without using the miniaturization techs. That sort of breaks the larger ships should have more components Style. 

Granted, a hull size to engine power ratio should probably used so that larger ships need more engines to keep up with smaller ships.  Likewise, if you assume the corvette is the standard, then ships smaller than that would get a boost. 

You could, but then you'd have to increase the capacity of the larger hulls to keep it balanced and you'd end up in a similar place to where you started.

Keep in mind small hulls already have a much higher tactical speed (ie the speed boat).  But for travelling long distances larger hulls (ie an aircraft carrier) should have the advantage.  

A speed boat racing an aircraft carrier would certainly accelerate more quickly, and have a higher top speed.  But if your going around the world the speed boat won't have the endurance and I'd bet the aircraft carrier would have a higher cruising speed even if the speed boat could somehow make the trip on its own.

yeah, there's something to that.

it all leads into bigger issues, such as -- should a large ship of X logistics size outgun X tiny 1 logistics sized ships?

edit:  though, I think the combat simulator hurts the small ships more than the larger ones wrt in combat speed due to the small ships getting to the enemy first adn getting shot first.

Large ships tend to waste a lot of their fire power atm.  If they could spit fire I'd definitely agree that the smaller ships should out gun them.  But at the moment a huge hull will swat one or two fighters and then die.

Its hard to see balance right now though.  I find the only way I can see large fights is to build fleets and then give them to the AI.  Even then when you give them the ships they won't always put them into a fleet.

If you compare to the sailing ships of the Pirate era, a sloop would carry fewer guns or guns of a lesser caliber than a Galleon however it could outmaneuver the Galleon.   So it could shoot less cannon balls per firing turn so to speak but it was more difficult to hit.    The Galleon could sink the sloop if it could hit a broadside.   So the sloop had to be lucky on every shot, whereas the Galleon need only be lucky once.


I would like to see smaller engines for the smaller hulls (even if we restrict those to the specific class of their ships) for example a Tiny engine could only be used on Small and Tiny Class a medium engine to Cargo and medium sized hulls.

For shield protection I'd like to see more protection for the same unit so a smaller vessel doesn't need to have as many on board.  

On the counterpart, the smaller hulls could carry fewer weapons and have a smaller firing rate. Due to recharge time for lasers or limited ammunition / missles.

Thrust to mass and whatnot would be nice, but it would definitely mean a different balance job because small ships are already pretty big compared to the big guys.  Extra mass for stuffing things is baked into the hull size allocations.  They go 25/50/75/100/250 on the mass and 10/30/60/100/200 for hitpoints.

Logistics, unfortunately, do not follow that wonderful path, a huge hull being worth five tiny's...

Erong comparison a carrier isn't built for speed. You mean a speed boat could outrun a carrier don't you. The problem with this scenario is a speed boat also doesn't have weapons. In order for your scenario to work you are saying that tiny ships shouldn't have guns. A new scenario I would like to compare the cruiser to the pt boats. Mind you will have to use world war two ships. I don't know who would win on speed can someone look this up for me. Or at least compare the right ship ehich is the cruiser.

I see it differently...

Tiny Hull -> Speed Boat 

Small Hull -> Corvette or PT Boat

Cargo -> Container Ship

Medium -> Cruiser/Destroyer

Huge ->  Battleship/Carrier

Of course, this is debatable but certainly the cargo hulls theoretically carry more mass than any other ship and are able to handle whatever engines you choose if you are willing to trade the space for power.

As for the rest, I don't have a problem with putting the same type of engine on different ships as long as you take into consideration the power to mass ratio and the fact that the engines may be the same type but obviously they must be smaller. Think in terms of the jet engines on a fighter vs the engines on a 747.

They can't put enough technical nuance in the game for me but I will take what they give me  

for completeness of the analogies though, we have to keep in mind that range is a factor. Consider it fuel.

Ie, Speed boat has 1 range, the carrier has 32000 range.

Ofc, that sort of means that small ships shouldn't be able to go far distances, but with starbases of any kind increasing range of all ships, it sort of messes that up.

True but Lindbergh flew the Atlantic by stripping the ship. Small or tiny ship should not have long range because they should normally be well armed and not have the space for a lot of life support.

Short range for fighters without a midair refueler is 100 miles. United states of america doesn't use short range fighters.  fighters have two hulls. Bombers come in four. Short,  medium,  long range,and Inter continental. I don't know hpw to measure transport, intelligence,  or spy. Only in world war 2 did japan use planes to carry plsnes.

Aibout sizes you forgot large hulls. Since the game uses carriers,  and most huge hulled designs are more like iowa class battleships,  or battle cruisers. There are two sizes of battleships. I guess reasoning large and huge hulls. Carriers ate not made for speed or defence that's why they are escorted by seven or right cruisers. Lets be honest you role up a speed boat up to a iowa class battleship,  or battlecruiser for a fight. We need to also remember that the battlecruiser is expecting to fight the speed boat. Who is going to win. Their is no way your running from my battlecruiser. 

I guess you mean Hindenburg. I was speaking of Charles Lindbergh who was the first to cross the Atlantic in an airplane. 

Yeah I was talking about the hindenberg ignore if not applicable.

A smaller engine will power a smaller vessel nicely. That said, it is tough to but a nuclear reactor on a speed boat. 

Not the only problem. You can't kill a ship in one volley because if there is even 1 defense left for the corresponding damage type, the ship won't lose hit points (defenses go negative instead).

This needs to be changed, because seriously, a titan shouldn't need 2 shots to destroy a tiny ship. Conversely, large ships are too fragile.