Now that I look at it this new system doesn't actually slow or stop the giant ship problem.
However, this system introduce the idea of a relationship between max power available and size of the ship ( due to stabilizer distance ) and a top off losses of power for weapon system.
To get a gigantism deterrance, you just have to add a few things :
1) - confirm an " active reactor only in the main ship " rule
2) - tweak the relation between reactor size and stabilizer distance so that it strikes harder and harder the more power output you want to get ( making it linear would already be quite hard because ship size, along with power consumption of a completelly system filled ship is almost cubic ).
Here you already get a kind of soft cap on the energy regen which shouldn't be bypassed - the 1) part would already be beneficial to the current system -
3) - add top off losses on shield capacity : so that it requires a minimum shield recharge - that is to say a minimum power requirement - to get working shield.
Here, you get a real power based balance as filling space with "free" shield capacity is prevented. Moreover people will be able to have some RP room without losses of efficiency, and the % of recharge/capacity keeps some freedom
A few other quick improvement for interresting/more realistic fight :
- add a 100% shield coverage of docked entity ( no more ablative docked armor )
- give shield their real purpose ( according to most fictions ) : greatly
reducing damages to the hull,
not preventing it completely, at least in the lower halve of the shield capacity.
At 100% to 60% shield capacity it would work like now, whereas the lower % of max shield capacity would let some damage be dealt to the ship ( 1/10000 at 59%, 1/1000 at 55%, 1/200 at 50%, ... 1/3 at 5% ). However the shield capacity would go down like now, a 1000 damage hit while the shield is at 5% would deal 333 damages to the hull of the ship, but would still reduce the shield capacity of 1000 to prevent shield stagnation at 1-2% and make alpha weapon a must
Optionnal one
I would love to see in the game.
- give shield and weapons their own reactor/chamber-like reduced efficiency system, the shield capacitor/recharger would need to be in groups ( various groups could be allowed, but it would be limited : 1-500 mass ship have right to 1 group, 501-1500 mass to 2 groups....8 groups for 100k mass ), it would prevent " i have a 2 block space here, i will fill it with shield" and allow a efficiency/damage system for groups of shield along with weapon's ( which already need to be grouped )
Those systems could be similar but harsher than chamber's : groups would lose efficiency with damages for weapons ( a group of weapon would be completely disable if destroyed by 30%, and it would keep its one output and consumption features until then, a bent gun tube prevent it from firing, it doesn t turn it into a grape shot launcher which consumes 1/3 of a cartrigde ).
While it could completely disable the one groups of shield which was hit for half a minute ( it further reduces the already low amount of shield remaining/prevents that one group from doing its share of a shield re-activation )
These suggestions would allow damages to docked entity - which are less armored than the main ship - to be dealt before the complete shield depletion ( which was the main point of the current on/off shield sharing ), and extend it to the main ship. It really make shield system a main one, you have to protect your shield generator or some early hits could completely disable some of them for dozens of second, it prevents the 90% destroyed main gun of a frigate to turn into a bunch of pistol fire.
