I think that the balance issues can be summarized as follows:-
- M, L and XL ships for the non Split factions seem to be universally worse than their Split counterparts. They may have more shields, but the Split are often more survivable due to their higher hull. As an example, the Split destroyer, despite having lower shields is actually more survivable than Vanguard variants of all other destroyers and on par with Sentinel variants while at the same time having substantially more crew capacity, much better speed and massively larger quantities of firepower.
- Vanilla weapons are still unbalanced; for example, beam lasers are still pretty much worthless as weapons.
- Cargo space, though an attribute for combat ships, has no actual role in combat while seemingly affecting OOS calculations.
- Carriers have no purpose and are outclassed by Auxiliaries. An auxiliary has access to trader subordinate roles, can service a greater quantity and variety of ships. A carrier carries the same (for too small) number of ships, doesn't have access to trader subordinates, and can only service M and S class ships.
- Both carriers and auxiliaries have far too little cargo space to effectively service fleets; for example, auxiliaries barely carry enough missile parts to refill a single destroyer.
- Add in more destroyer variants for the non Split races to act as heavy destroyers with 4 main guns and much heavier hull and shields, in line with the trend of keeping the number of main guns the same across a single ship class (for example, all Frigates have 2 main guns), with standard/light destroyers have 2 rather than 4 main batteries. A light destroyer for the Split may also be added with less hull and 2 guns as a counterpart to the existing destroyers, having 2 guns instead of 4 and commensurately lower hull.
- Increase the hull, crew capacity and shields (for example, by increasing the amount of shield strength provided by each generator) of destroyers so that they exceed those on their Split counterparts substantially. The Vanguard variants especially are presently completely outclassed by the Split Rattlesnake. The utility of Vanguard variants of ships was already questionable, but the addition of the Split just emphasizes this; for Vanguards especially, we could do with some extra drone carrying capacity, more manoeuverability and more crew carrying capacity.
- Non Split Carriers need to be improved every single way; they need more ship storage. more ware storage, access to the trader role and a massive increase to firepower. Right now, the Split carrier is the only one worth getting and it outclasses it's counterparts in every single way. The Split carrier should be taken as a benchmark of how carriers should be, and the other carriers should be reworked accordingly.
