Modding questions

[President_Elect_Shang]

I see where you are going now. To implement this I would have to create the two like this or I would deviate from the original layout so much the two would become new elements. I don�t want to do this which is why I have made the CQ and LS both stand alone and assigned the required crew quarters for ships on math using the CQ/CQ. In other words once you read the below I divided all hull sizes by 500kT for crew quarters needed then took that result and divided by 5 for life support needed.

First this is how I would have to make the two you laid out in the example:
CMB = 10 size and 15 cost
SEP = 60 size and 45 cost.

I think I made an error below or maybe need to flesh out the three (LS/CQ and CQ/CQ and LS) a little more. Keep in mind that every 10kT of ship are used to calculate life support and crew quarters, even things like armor must be counted.

LS/CQ = provides life support AND crew quarters for every 250kT of ship at a cost of 15 and size of 10kT. So this does not need the stand alone LS described below.

CQ/CQ = provides crew quarters for every 500kT of ship at a cost of 5 and size of 10kT. This needs the stand alone LS described next.

LS = this is a stand alone LS that provides LS for every 5 CQ/CQ on the ship at a cost of 20 and a size of 10kT. So if you have 4 CQ/CQ you only need 1 LS; however, if you have 8 CQ/CQ you need 2 LS (8/5 = 2 drop fractions.)

So the smallest ship (70kT) would only need a single LS/CQ to meet the requirements; however, the largest ship (5,000kT) which is 16 steps up the ladder would either need 20 LS/CQ or 10 CQ/CQ and 2 LS. Now that does not even touch on the largest hull which is a base (7,500kT).

The base only counts if I don�t include the mother of all units, an asteroid fortress at 10,000kT). Before I could do that mother I would have to figure out a way to restrict its construction to only systems which have asteroids. And I don�t see how that can be done!

Finally you brought up the point that there should only be one optimal choice? Not so true and here is why:

1) If I use the 20 LS/CQ on the largest hull (in the example above) I will spend 300 and use 200kT; however, all 20 systems will need to be destroyed before I suffer any penalties.

2) If I use the 10 CQ/CQ and 2 LS choice I will spend 70 and use 70kT of space. Now the enemy only needs to knock out my 2 LS on the master of my fleet.

When I play I always use choice 2 and most everyone else I know does this also. I have meet plenty of people who take choice 1 though as they feel it is dumb to suffer for the loss of two components on a behemoth that cost so much and took so long to build in the first place and losing 200kT out of 5,000 isn�t that high a price to pay for the added security.

[Suicide Junkie]

As I said earlier:
If you are focussed on the cost, and are not worried about taking damage and having the backup CQs work, then how about this...

Still, it sounds like you could get away with simply using the half-size CQs.
There will be a little bit of rounding error, in whether your need 3 halves instead of 2 whole ones, but that is a minor issue.
And CQ's will never be your weak point for damage anyways.

[President_Elect_Shang]

I see what you are saying SJ but same as before I am not sure where the cost comes into play? Why does it appear to you that I am focused on cost? I get the feeling we are not on the same sheet of music so to speak. I am trying to preserve as much as possible of hte source game feel. If you are saying that because I need to compromise on some point than I would think cost would be the first thing to get changed.

Is it because I mentioned the unit of purchase is important? If this is the case it was not because I want to keep fixed costs, it was to help explain the difference between the two. Specifically that the combined unit (LS/CQ) is a more economical choice for some hulls but not for all of them; although it is still a valid choice.

As for damage it is true they will not be my weak point per say; however, when you lose CQ or LS your ship gets an automatic penalty to combat. So with that the idea some players use is that I do not want to have a penalty for something I can avoid happening to the ship altogether. SE4 has an equivalent system even if the post combat penalty is not as harsh.

[President_Elect_Shang]

As I said before I do not agree with this line of thinking. My thoughts are that IF a ship this big is getting pounded that BAD I need not worry about life support and where the crew sleeps. I need to start thinking about building a lot more coffins and training the next crop of sailors!

So my point is I am concerned about taking away freedom of choice from the player. The game is designed to make either option valid and provide advantages and drawbacks to both. If I must decide I will stick with what I have built into the mod already; one CQ and one LS to do it all.